\^^%C^ 
 
 it^K 
 
1}- i/ 
 
u c^r^ne. **> O-r-c: 
 
 .^ ^:. 'y.^ 
 
 Bnit)e?(al 3R.eftitutton 
 
 a 
 
 This prov'd in feveral Letters 
 
 WROTE ON THl 
 
 Nature and Extent of Christ's Kingdom: 
 
 ' WHEREIN 
 
 The scripture PASSAGES, 
 
 Falfly alleged in Proof of 
 
 The Eternity of Hell Torments, 
 
 Are truly tranflated and explained. 
 
 Ei J'f 01 rug UuB'pOdTiVOV? OtXOU? ^KZtp^lipOVTliy B'OiVXTU XXTX- 
 
 ^txa^ovraj ; voa-ca f^xXKov oi rriv X^tra Si^eumxXiav vod'£vsiv ettj- 
 p^£ipoui/Tf?, aiuvixv licrov(ri J'»xl]^, V7np rig fxvpov x) ^xvutov vtts- 
 fASivtv Kv^tog Iria-ag, o ts 0fou /Aovoyfujf vlog', « T37V ^i^acfiia- 
 
 'OMOinZ AE xj Tra? a>^pc<j7r(^, o to J'laxp»^£^;/ Trapa ©fcu 
 tiXri<pugy xoAaa-S'rxTtlai, XTriipu TroifAiVi J^«KoAoi»S'Jl9"«f, >c) vlyfiKyr) 
 - lo^uv wg XArtd^r, o£^x[xi]f(^. 
 
 Ignatii Epift. ad Ephef. 
 
 Sold by R. Dodsley, \t\ Pall-Mall^ London-, 
 and T. Cadell, hi lP'J?:e-S!rr''L Bi'i^ro', 
 
 MDCCLXI 
 
)^ ¥ )9( )fl( )!K )«( )^ 
 
 )fi(*)^ )j(*)K ^^ya )K*^ )^*)«( ¥*^ )^*}^ 
 
 -_, THE 
 
 Subject of each Letter refpedively. 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Page 
 cr'HE Englijh words eternal, everlajling, for- 
 ■*■ ever, ^c. are unfcriptural, and exprefs not the 
 true import of the original words aon, olem [aiwu 
 
 oSv] --.---. I 
 
 } ,5TTER II. — The kingdom of Chrift which is caWd 
 aonian [«iwv»^] is not eternal ----- 2| 
 
 Letter III. — Chrift'j kingdom what, and where 
 it is, and when it began -------^4 
 
 Letter IV. — ChriftV kingdom will confift of many 
 fuccejfive parts or periods -------64 
 
 Letter V. — The term Ionian [«tww(^] applied to 
 the word spirit, imports not that he is eternal - 78 
 
 Letter VI. — Logos, the only begotten fon of God, 
 is the true aonian fpirit [aiw^joi/ 7rvivy,oi] and di- 
 JiinSi as fuch from the father 105 
 
 Letter VII. — Farther remarks on Chrift'j aonian 
 character, imply i7ig his perfonal dijlin^ion before 
 injifled on. - 118 
 
 As touching asonian reftitution wrought by Chrift, 
 
 Letter VIII. — God wills effectually that all 
 men floall be refiored ii^fj, 
 
 Letter IX. — Of the explicit and implicit will of 
 God ------------144 
 
 Lettir 
 
The Subject, l^c. 
 
 Page 
 Letter X. — Chrift in his character of a rejlorer 
 ( sioma.n aiuvii^) con^dered aHarge - - - i6o 
 
 Letter XI. — The property «f Qhri^k. as redeemer 
 may be doomed to i^onianfufferings - - - - 20S 
 
 Letter XII. — The do£lrine of an univerfal recon- 
 cilement to God in Chrift, excludes not that of the 
 damnation of the wicked [£»? rov a»wv«] ceonianly - 229 
 
 Letter XIII. — The efficacy of Chn{^' s facrifce mufi 
 
 extend to all his creatures - - - - - - -244 
 
 Letter XIV. — The extent of the promife (Rev. 
 xxi. 4) that death fhall be no more - - - - 2yo 
 
 Letter XV. — In Chni^: the frji fruits, the whole 
 creation is deem' d holy before God - - - - 293 
 
 Letter XVI. — Apaffagein the epijile to the He- 
 brews (viz.Q\\. ii. 8, 9.) confider'd: and the fallen 
 angels compared with fallen men - - - - -318 
 
 The fcripture paffages objetfled againft the doftrinc 
 
 of univerfal reftitution from 
 2Cor. iv. 17. 1 fXVII. -337 
 
 I Tim.i. 17. I I XVIII. 345 
 
 Matt. XXV. 46. I i XIX. 358 
 
 Eph. iii. 10. >confidcred in Letter's XX. - 367 
 Heb. xiii. 20. j j XXI. 382 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 4. j j XXII. 394 
 
 Heb. ii. 16. J LXXIII.411 
 
 jfjT The Quotations in the learned languages, found in the 
 notes, are all tranflated into Engliftx at the end of ths book, as are 
 the other quotations in the text. 
 
Univerfal Reftitution, ^c. 
 LETTER I. 
 
 'That the EngUfi words eternal^ everlajiingy Jor ever 
 and ever, &c, are wifcriptural^ and exprefs not 
 the true import of the original words [oam cs^j;) 
 aeon olem. 
 
 c*oo$oc^o$oo$oo!^o$3c^c$oo$o:$oc$oc$oc$oo5cc$oc^ 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 !9(^^MHAT I have to advance upon this great 
 hV ^^S ^^"^^^5 ^h^ Restitution of all things, 
 >^^^^ will be drawn moftly from two corifi- 
 derations. ift. From a confideration of 
 the kingdom of God to be eftablifhed by divine 
 management in tlie perfon of the God-man Chrijl 
 yefus : And 2dly from a confideration of the pre- 
 fent fallen nature and difpofition of the creature; 
 but more immediately of the human foul. 
 
 Thefe two points will divide my enquiries into 
 two parts, the fivd of which will refpedl the king- 
 dom of God. But as preliminary hereto I mult 
 begin with Vv'hat I take to be the true import of 
 
 A 2 the 
 
Letter I. [ 4 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the words 0*?^ olem and «»w!/ son, the foundation 
 of the miftake I have fo often complained of. 
 
 SEC T. I. 
 
 The word ^y)^ olem, its meaning and force. 
 ^HE word EisSvolem (or^iSiV owlem) which 
 
 T 
 
 the Septuagint tranllate (wherever it refpeds 
 time) by the greek word «'wv (and which tranflation 
 feems to have been the occafion of the frequent ufe 
 of that word oc-m afterward among; the greek chrif- 
 tians) it is well known, is ufually in our Old, a« 
 is alfo the word aiwv in our New Teftament, ren- 
 der'd by the englifli words eternal, everlafting, 
 and without end j but how juflly is the queftion 
 in debate. 
 
 This word EdS;; olem among the Hebrews (ig- 
 nified as a verb to hide, to conceal, to referve in 
 darknefs and fecrecy'j as a noun, uncertain, Inde- 
 iinite, undetermined, undeclared ^ and confequent- 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 ^^'hus Job xxviii. 21. it is hid (A£A-/i9< r"i::Sp it 
 liideth itfelf ) from the eyes of all living, and kept clofe 
 from the fo-ivls of the air, Eccl. xii. 14. God fhall 
 bring every ivork to judgment -with every fecret thing, 
 (E^^p '^) whether it be good or whether it be evil. 
 Pf. x.4|. V/hy Jlandefl thou afar off, Lord, why 
 hi deft thou thyfelf {^*hv^) if^ iinie of troubled So Lev. 
 iv. 13; V. 2, 3, 4. Nmn. xv. 13. 2 Kings \v. I'j. Job 
 xHi. 3. Lam. iii. c6. Nah. iii. 11. i Kings %. 3. 
 Prov. xxvWi. 27. If. i. 15. Pf. xliv. 21. 
 
Letter I. [ 5 ] Sect. I. 
 
 ly, applied to a perfon it means an uncertain 
 indeterminate perfon ''j and applied to time (its 
 only ufe which at prefent concerns us) an inde- 
 finite, undeclared, tho' very long, time." 
 
 The word cnui/ among the Greeks fignified in its 
 genuine meaning an age or fo long as very old 
 men live, a term of about an loo years; yet fome- 
 times the Greeks applied it to a much longer term 
 than an looyears, andfometimes toafhorterterm": 
 Sothat the word <»'wv aioncorrefponds tolerably with 
 
 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ I Sam. xvii. /^6. And the king /aid enquire thou whofe 
 fon this unknown perfon (sSj;n m i. e. "iJ'^rT fee v. ^■^.) 
 is. Gen. xxiv. 43. Behold IJlmtd by the well of '•Jiater^ 
 and it fhall come to pafs that when that unknown woman 
 (PL^'jjn i. e. nc'K fee v. 40.) cometh forth to draw wa- 
 ter and I fay unto her, ISc. 
 
 « Ex. xii. 14. And you fn all keep this day a feafi hy 
 an ordinance i^jy^') of long undetermined antiquity. 
 If Ixi. 4. And ye floall build up the defolations (w^i^' 
 ewlem) of long undetermined antiquity . Jer. xxv. 9. Iwill 
 bring Nebuchadnezar againji this land, a?id againji the na- 
 tions round about, and will d'^Jlroy them utterly and make 
 them deferts (sS^j; owlem) of long undetermined antiquity. 
 Mich. ii. 9. J he women of my people (of Judah) have 
 ye (Ifraelitcs) caft out from their pleafant houfes, from 
 their children have ye taken away 'my glory {z^'^1^'^)for an 
 age or long undetermined feafon. 
 
 «• aiwi/ fignifies the fpace of an 100 years, thqlthe 
 deftrudion of the Jews foretold Mat. xiii. 40. 9 "^'^ 
 o-j-^lcKcix Tn aiojK^ TjfTs") came to pafs before 50 Years. 
 Sc&Leigh\ Critica Sacra upon the word ay.-j; and 'Tully 
 it fecms renders this greek word by the lathi \vor(^ 
 yinnus a year, ar.d by Scciilum an age. 
 
Letter I. [ 6 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the word sS]; olem in its ufe, tho' not in its natu- 
 ral import J for tho' a»wv aeon fignifies, not as s*?;? 
 olem hidden, cover'd, concealed, indefinite, un- 
 afcertained, yet as applied to time it denotes, 
 what is very like this, a long tho' undetermined 
 portion or period of time. 
 
 SECT. IL 
 
 'T'he wcrd ['x.-u''') ineam not eternity. 
 
 HOWEVER that the word aiwj/ son, even in the 
 fcripturc acceptation of it, cannot iignify, 
 what we moderns mean by the word eternity, 
 ■will appear for the following reafons. 
 
 Firji^ Becaufe fuch meaning of it is in many 
 Inllances repugnant to other parts of fcripture^ fo 
 2 Cor. iv. 4. In whom the God t« muvoi; rara of 
 this aon has blinded the minds of them that believe 
 not^ &c. Now fuppoling the word seon to mean 
 age and not eternity", Satan may here be aptly 
 
 exhibited 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 * Since the words atwv uiccu:^ t^Sj? ^h'^p olem 
 owlem have no word in the E}igJifrJ language that will 
 anfwcr their ufe, I Ihall beg leave, as I fliall have oc- 
 cafion, to make ufe of the words a?on reonian to ex- 
 prefs them. Alfo as the word eternity in the modern 
 notion of it (tho' not in its natural import) means a 
 perpetuity endlefs and never ceafing, I fhall hence 
 forward mean thus .much by the terms eternal and 
 eternity. 
 
Letter I. [ 7 ] Sect. IL 
 
 exhibited to us in this grand and horrible dcfcrip- 
 tion of him, the god of this age, or aeon; but it 
 were blafphemy to call him the god of eternity, 
 beiides the abfurdity of ftiling him the god of thii 
 eternity; for the word this fo ufcd muil: imply 
 fome other eternity beiides the prefent, and twa 
 ^ernities are an inconliftency in terms. 
 
 Again, Epb. vi. 12. JVe wrejile not againji 
 fleJJj and blood — but againji the rulers of the dark- 
 nefs T8 xmvoq TBT-d of this ceon. But tranllate the 
 word son here eternity, and this palTage would 
 be, againji the rulers of the darknejs of this eternity, 
 fo I Cor. i. 20. Where is the wife, ivhere is the 
 fcribe, where is the difputer Ta ocmvo? Tsra of this ceoUy. 
 and not of this eternity ; i Tz'/w. ii. 6. Charge 
 them that are rich iv tw vjv utmi in the now aon^ 
 (not in the now eternity) that they be 7iot high^ 
 minded^ &c. fo Tifn. ii. 12. T^hat denying ungod- 
 linefs and worldly lufts wefiould live fiber ly, righte- 
 oujly and godly iv ru i/ui/ aiwn in the now aon; fo Mat. 
 xiii. 22. The feed among the thorns is, he that 
 heareth the word and the care ru atuvog r^r'^ of this 
 ceon (not of this eternity) and the deceitfidnefs of 
 riches, clooke the word and he becometh unfruitful, &c. 
 For what common fenfe can endure that the word 
 cciui, aeon in thefe places fhould be thus render'd by 
 the word eternity? ^ Secondly y. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The term xiuv infcrtpture no fubfiilute for the term xaa-fji.);. 
 
 *■ T H E tranflators of our New Teftament, fcnfiblc 
 of this abfurdity, have render*d the word oauv agp 
 in thefe places (as if a fubditute or fuccedanum for 
 
Letter I. [ ^ ] Sect. II. 
 
 Secondly^ That the word aiwi- does not lignify 
 eternity is alio clear, becaufe there was a time 
 
 before 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 }£0(r/x(^) by the word world ; viz. The rulers of this 
 («iwv) world, the difputers of this (ociuv) world, the rich 
 in the prefent (aiwv) world, &c. But without reaching 
 the intention of the fcripture, for it is the age and not 
 the world which the fcripture every where complains 
 of. The worldly inhabitants of the prefent age are 
 wicked, but the worldly inhabitants of a future age 
 fliall be righteous. The ruler of darknefs in (i. e. the 
 dark ruler of) this age is Satan, the ruler of a fucceeding 
 age, even upon this world of ours, will be JefusChriJi. 
 
 So that the cares of this jeon are the cares of the 
 people of this age-, and a conformity to this a^on is 
 a conformity to the people of this age, &c. And fo 
 f;? Tov aiwva, tho' it may be render'd phrafeologically as 
 long as the world ftands, yet in its true force it mean: 
 as long as the age (that is the great age of wickednels 
 which comprehends many other leifer ages of the fame 
 kindj endures. This world will weather out many 
 ages, and that not only the ages of rebellion, but alfo 
 ages of godlinefs and peace. To fuppofe therefore the 
 word osjwi/ peonage, to be equivocal with the word xocij.oz 
 kofmos world, is without farther proof unreafonable : 
 But befides this, and befides that v/e have no precedent 
 for tranflating it fo out of any of the G;v<?i^ heathen au-- 
 thors whole works are tranfmitted down to our times, 
 this way of tranflating the word will alfo make many 
 fcripture pafiages, more than abfurd, even arrant non- 
 fenie, as the few following examples, which have very 
 many like them, will dcnionftrare. 
 
 The term «fwv then being tranflated world, the fol- 
 lowing texts will be tranflated as follows : Mat, vi, 1 3, 
 
Letter I. [ 9 ] Sect. IL 
 
 before (onuv) aeon was, yea before the asons plural 
 were; e. g. ABs xv. i8. Kncw?i unto God are all 
 his works {a-rr a>>(A¥(^) Jince the {eon (i, e. the great 
 comprehenfive ason) began. A&s'\\\.2i. Spoken by 
 the mouih of his holy prophets («7r' aw^^ Jince the 
 €eon began. 'John ix. 32. (« ts u.\mo(i) Jince the eeon 
 bigan^ was it not heard that^ ^c. And in the fame 
 
 B fenfc 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory (« ? tkc 
 aima^) to the worlds. John vi. 15. He that eateth of 
 this bread jhall live («i? tov atwva) to the world, ch. xi. 
 20. He Jhall not die (ek tov a:wKx) to the world. Heh. xiii. 
 8. Jefus Chrift the fame yejlerday, to day (>t»j fif ts? 
 ctimxq) and to the worlds. Rom. xiv. 11. The fmoke 
 of their torments afcendeth up (£i? ajw:/« a»wvw^) to a world 
 of worlds. Heb. xiii. 20. 57?^ God of peace who thro* 
 the blood (^ja3-»i>«i? aiwi/jou) of the worldly covenant. 
 Mat. xix. 16. 5^i6^ nV^ man fays to our Lord, what Jhall 
 I do to have {C^unv ociuvm) worldly life, i Tim. vi. 12. 
 Fight the good fight of faith^ lay hold on (a«wi/t» ^o.*)?) 
 worldly life. John xii. 25. He that hateth his life 
 {iv Tw xoo-juw ralw) in this world, Jhall keep it (fic C^un* 
 atwuoi/) to worldly life. Rom. xvi. 26. /According to the 
 commandment (ra ajwws fi£») of the worldly God. Heb. 
 ix. 14. Chrift who {^kx, Trvsvfji.oiTog a uuts) through the 
 worldly Jpirit offered himfelf to God, i^c. 
 
 But what common fenfe will admit of the ftrange 
 impertinence of the above tranflations of the terms 
 
 So that unlefs wc claim a like ufe of the word JEon 
 as is related of a nofe of wax, which its owner could 
 convert and transform at pleafure, its vulgar tranfla- 
 tions (namely world, eternal, &c.) muft be renounced. 
 
Letter I. . [ io ] Sect. 1L 
 
 Tenfe are ufedaeons, ages, in theplural number; e.g. 
 I Cor. ii. 7. Thehidde?! inyjiej-yof God pre-ordain d 
 -Ztnto his glory (•^po twu aiwvwi/) before the ceom bega?t^ 
 which no?iC of the princes (t» (3:jwj/(^ rsra] of this ao?t 
 'Jzncw. Eph. iii. 9. T'he myjiery which has been hid 
 inGoB (oi-n-o Twv ffAuimv)from the beginni?2g oftheceons. 
 Col. i. 26. T/3f myjkry that has been bid (-xtto twi» 
 ^:wvwv ^ of,7ro ruv yBV£(>})/) Jrom the ccojis and the genera- 
 tionSy, but now is made manijeft unto hisfai72ts. 
 
 T^hirdly^ It is evident again, that the word aeon 
 cannot fignify eternity, becaufe there are more 
 aeons than one; whereas eternity, everlaftingnefs, 
 and for ever, muft be an individual, as implying 
 an unity of conliftenee, and limple continuance. 
 Lz^y^vxx. 34. A?id ]tiws f aid unto them^ the chil- 
 dren (tk aiwv^ Ta1a) of this a?on marry, and are given 
 'i?j marriage, but they which Jl: all be accounted wor- 
 thy to obtain (fa aiwi/©^ £)t£n/«) that other aeon, and 
 the refurreSfion from the dead, neither marry, nor 
 are given in marriage, &c. 
 
 Here we find this and that, and confequently 
 two aeons, a diftindiion obfervable in many parts 
 of fcripture; fo 1 Cor. ii. 6. Tet not the wifdom 
 ^T8 !x.'Mw<; -v^-a) of this ccon which comes to nought. Rom. 
 xii. 2. Be not conform d (t« aiww rarw) to this aon. 
 And in a like diftinguifhing fenfe, we often find 
 mentioned the cares, the wifdom, the men, the 
 ^things, the children (^a «,a>i/<^ t8t«) of this aeon ; 
 all which imply that there mufl: be fome other 
 aeon befide the prefent, and confequently more 
 <geons than one. 
 
 Fourthly, That the word aeon cannot mean 
 •eternity is evident yet farther, becaufe there 
 
 arc 
 
Letter I. [ ii ] Sect. IL 
 
 are not only more aeons than one, but thefe aeons 
 fuccecd one the other, as the links of a chain, 
 the one beginning where the other ends; e.g. 
 Mat. xii. 32. But ivJooJoever fpcaketh againjl the 
 Holy Ghojt it J}:all not be forgiven him^ neither 
 
 liv Tarw TW aiwvi) /// this CCOU-^ (<"JT£ £i/ tw ujAAovtj) nOT. 
 
 in that to come. Eph. i. 2 r. And fet him at his own 
 right hand in heavenly places. Jar above all prin-^ 
 cipality^ and power ^ and mighty and dominion^ and 
 every name that is named, not only {^y tu x.uvi t^toj) 
 in this ceon, but alfo in that which is to come. Gal. 
 i. 4. Who gave himfelf for our fins that he might 
 feize us {j^y- -a £i/£rwl(^ cawf^ Trovvpa) out of this prefent 
 wicked ceon. Eph. ii. 7. That (iv toi? ajwcrt to»?- 
 f7r£p;^o//-£voK) in the aojis to come, he might few the ex- 
 ceeding riches of his grace-, fo 2 Tim. iv. 10. 
 Demas is faid to have forfaken Paul becaufe of his 
 love to the prefent ceon. Whereas Chriftians are 
 defer ibed Heb. vi. 4, 5. Such as have taflcd of 
 the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers 
 of the Holy Ghoft, and have tafted the good word 
 of God, ' and the power (or virtue) ^ of the aon 
 'to come, {^J:>j^^' |^^k^/ JII-»-m.o') 
 
 The prefent aEon therefore', as it began, fo will 
 it alfo end ; and in its end be fucceeded by an 
 a3on to unfold itfelf in a moft effential difference 
 and dilTimilitude from the paft. 
 
 Fifthly, From hence alfo it appears again, That 
 the word (aiwv) aeon cannot mean eternity becaufe 
 it muft end, and be no more; of which we have 
 further allurance, Mat. xxviii. 20. And lo I am 
 with you {TTxiTxg ruq r,^ifxz) all thc days, even to th& 
 end (t» on'^vQi) cf tl^e aon. Mat. xiii. 29. the harve/l 
 is the end (ra x^'xu©^) cf the (ton-, v. 40. Sofiall it be 
 
 B 2 i'l 
 
JUETTER I. [ 12 ] Sect. III. 
 
 in the end (tk enm(^ rars) of this aon. Mat. xxiv. 3, 
 What fiall be thejign of thy comings and of the end 
 /t8 a;«fc(^) of the aon. 
 
 Sixthly, And not only son fingly and indefinite- 
 ly, but (oj ajMvj?) the aeons plural, fliall alio have 
 an end. Heb. ix. 26. But now once about (or to-* 
 wards) the conclufion (or clofing up together) of the 
 ^ons (f'j'i (nii/TiAsja Twi/ a wviwf) he ai>peardy to put away 
 Jin by the Jacrifce of himfef. i Cor. x. 1 1 . And 
 they were written for cur admonition upon whom the 
 ends (rm aiw.wi/) of the aons are come. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 farther remarks upon the word («»wi') (;eon, 
 
 THO' the word (aiwv) aeon to a curfory reader 
 may feem only a trite familiar term of no 
 other import than vulgar ufe has given it; yet if one 
 critically obferves its variety, ufe, and acceptati- 
 ons in fcripture; one may eafily fufpe<St that very 
 myfterious truths may be couched in the diver- 
 iity of its ^orms, and peculiarity of its applicati- 
 ons. At leaft the aeons, intelligently obferved, 
 muft appear to be periods or portions of time, v^^ork- 
 ing together, by a divin e mechanjfm, the will of 
 God. For it is clear they have their beginning 
 and end in what we call time, and are circum- 
 fcribed by it, in the fame manner as the feveral 
 ipherical fyllems that feem to mete put the unir 
 
 yerfc, 
 
Letter I. [ '3 ] Sect. III. 
 
 verfe, are altogether comprehended in fpace, are 
 wholly circumfcribed by it. And as the many 
 fyftems of worlds promote and ad: their feveral 
 appointed tafks in the boundlefs tracks and vaft 
 embrace of fpace : Thus the asons, operating in 
 the capacity of time, have their feveral changes 
 and revolutions to difclofe, their feveral courfes of 
 mercies and judgments to exhibit, their feveral 
 degrees of revelations and difciplincs to unfold, 
 with variety of ftrange and unfearchable parts 
 and expedients and ilTues to produce, towards the 
 fucceflive reconciling, digefting, and ripening the 
 many creatures fubfifting in them, to the various 
 purpofes of God, and to their glorious ends and 
 ufcs in eternity, or when time itfelf fliall be no 
 more. 
 
 Here many, convidled with thcfe evidences of 
 the temporal purport of the word aeon, contend, 
 that tho' in its proper fignification and common 
 ufe it may not denote eternity, yet that when appli- 
 ed to things of an eternal nature, its meaning is 
 enhanced, and it acquires in fcripture language, 
 their force. That thus when we read of believers, 
 ^bat Luke xvii. 13. John xi. 26. they fl:all Ircc, 
 or that they fl: all not die (fi? toi/ a»wva) to the age. 
 7)6^/ John xiv. 16. the comforter J/:all abide mth 
 them (fif rov a.uvx) to the age. 'That i John ii. 2. 
 ihe truth fi all dive II in them («*? -rov a uvcc) to the age. 
 And of Chri/l John xii. 34. Heb. vii. 24. that 
 he abidethy C07Uinucth (^^^^ji^) to the age. ^hat 
 2 Cor. ix. 9. Heb. i. 8. i Pet. i. 23. i John 
 ii. 17. his j-ighteoufnefsy his throne , his ivord^ his 
 willf remaincthi abideih, contimuth (a? tov k^wx) to 
 
 the 
 
Letter I. [ H ] Sect. III. 
 
 the age. 'That Heb. v. 6. vii. 28. Chrift is a 
 priejl and conjecrated ( jg>Sv vS ) to the age. That 
 Heb. xiii, 8, he is the fame yejlerday^ to day^ and 
 (^^-i.^) to the age ^ And that glory be to him 
 (a? Tijj aiwi/a? twi/ ccjwvwvj to the ages of the ages. 
 
 We 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The true force of the jewifh (^^jb^^) Lolm^ rendered 
 in Greek by £i? toi/ awfa. 
 
 2 IT is obferved by fome, and it feems very juftly,/ 
 that the word toJ^^X among the Jews rendered 
 in Greek by £*? toi/ x^w. was a fort of phrafe or 
 jdiomatical exprefilon of common ufe to fignify at ran* 
 dom a long doubtful time, as when we fay in englifh, 
 while the world ftands. 
 
 So we read i "John iii. 8. Peter faid thoufhalt never 
 {iiq rov ccMva to the age) wajh my feet. Mat. xxi. 19. 
 Let no fruit ^row on thee henceforth (ft? rov xiuux) to the 
 age, or while the world ftands. John viii. 35. The 
 fon ahideth in the houfe (viz. of his father, £»? rov awvyJ) 
 to the age, or continually, or as long as he lives. John 
 vi. 51. He that eateth this bread fh all live (a? toi/ aiwv«) 
 tp the age, or continually, i Cor. viii. 13. If meat 
 maketh my brother to offend, I will eat no flefh, (a? tov 
 ciioovu) to the age, or continually, or while the world 
 flandeth, leaf I make my brother to offend. John xii. 34. 
 tVe have heard that Chrift abideth (ft? rov olmvx) to the 
 age, or continually, i. e. without leaving the earth. 
 
 Now if this be fo, the frequent application of the 
 phrafe fc?> V ^ V ('or nq rov ajwv^s) to things truly seonian 
 is very accountable; for in the hebrew and other eaft- 
 crn languages we obferve a familiar ufe of the figure 
 meiofis, whereby, as fay the rhetoricians. Res extenua- 
 tur ultra verum, or fninus dicitur quam intelligitur-, that 
 is, vv'hereby more is implied in an exprefTion than 
 that expreilion naturally imports. 
 
Letter I. [ ^5 J Sect. III. 
 
 We cannot underftand by the word son, fo ap- 
 plied to thefe promifes, declarations, and doxolo- 
 gies, any time fhort of eternity. But 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 So Rom, iv. 19. And being not weak in Faith ^ i^c. 
 Here the extenuating term not weak, the apoftle ex- 
 plains in the following verfe, as meaning (v. 20.) 
 being Jlrong in faith. Rev. xii. 11. And they loved 
 not their fouls unto death •, i. e. John xii. 25. And they 
 hated their fouls unto death. Heb. xi. 16. Wherefore 
 God is not afhamed to he called their God ; by the ex- 
 prefTion not afliamed, we are here to underftand, that, 
 i/! Ixii. 4. He is delighted to he called their God. So A5ls. 
 xvii. 28. He (God) is not far from every one of us., for 
 in him we live., and move., and have our being -, by the 
 exprelTion not far from, we are to underftand moft 
 intimately prefent with every one of us: But to illuf- 
 trate this the better, I will here prefent to your view a 
 few inftances of this vulgar jewifh phrafe ( in V >^ N^) 
 lolm (that is, n? -rov onuux) to the age, in contraft with 
 a few other Inftances ol the figure Meiofis in fcrip- 
 ture ufe. 
 
 The figure Meiofis ufed in 
 The phrafe ^iiiji)^ (or 
 
 uq Tov oiiuvcc) to the age. 
 For in this phrafe, tho' itfelf 
 ixpreffes only a lefs, intelli- 
 gible, and decifive period; 
 is imported yet a larger, 
 unintelligible, and unde- 
 termined period. 
 
 /S^k ,\ ^. 
 
 John iv. 14. He that 
 drinketh of this water fhall 
 not thirJijQi^jii^ioY f k tov 
 
 The figure Meiofis ufed in 
 terms, which tho' exprefs- 
 ing only moderate and di- 
 minutive particulars -, yet 
 import particulars of a 
 far larger and fublimcr 
 nature. 
 
 Other Injiances in con- 
 traft. 
 If xi. 28. Hafi thou, 
 not known that the aonian 
 God, fehovahy the creator 
 
Letter I. [ i6 ] 
 
 Sect. Ill, 
 
 But is not this cavilling rather than arguing ? 
 If I was to fay, that tho' the word fmooth in 
 its proper lignification does not denote roundncfs, 
 
 yet 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 aiwva) to the age; that is 
 to the utmoft limits of this 
 prefent fecular ftate of our 
 exigence, hereby however 
 is imphed other fucceed- 
 ing periods, ftiU far be- 
 yond. 
 
 John xiv. 1 6. That he 
 (i. e. the comforter) may 
 abide with you (ft? rov onmot.) 
 to the age, i. e. and not 
 only fo, but to periods 
 unknown and .far beyond 
 the age. 
 
 Luke i. 33. And he 
 Jhall reign over Jacob (a? rov 
 amvoi) to the age, i. e. and 
 not only fo, but to periods 
 far beyond this, even con- 
 tinualiy. 
 
 John X. 28. J}:d they 
 Jhall not periJJj («»? tvv qciu^vx) 
 to the age, /. e. and not 
 only fo, but alfo for pe- 
 riods far beyond this, e- 
 ven to the utmoft ^on. 
 
 Mat. iii. 29. He that 
 blafphemeth againfr the Holy 
 Ghojl frjall not he forgiven^ 
 (;E<f Tov ociwoi) to the age, 
 
 of the ends of the earthy 
 fainteih not? The great- 
 nets of Jehovah is here 
 exprefs'd only in his being 
 creator of the ends of the 
 earth, yet in this diminifh- 
 ing particular, he is to be 
 underftood as God, the 
 founder of all the univerfe. 
 Pf Ixxii. II. Kings 
 Jhall fall down before him^ 
 all nations Jhall worjhip 
 him. (v. 17.) His name 
 Jhall he continued as long as 
 the fun., and all nations 
 fhall call him bleffed. Here 
 again, tho' the worfhip of 
 kings and nations only 
 are exprefs'd, yet under 
 them, all the powers of 
 heaven, and all the realms 
 of other worlds are im^ 
 plied, as alfo to become 
 his worfliipers. So again, 
 tho' his reign is here ex- 
 prefs'd only by the conti- 
 nuance of the fun, yet 
 thereby is imported the 
 far exceeding extent of 
 his dominion and autho- 
 
Letter I. 
 
 [ 17 1 
 
 Sect. IIL 
 
 yet that when applied to a bowl which is iri ItS 
 own nature round, this term fmooth acquires one 
 
 C and 
 
 T E S. 
 
 rity even to the end of the 
 asons. 
 
 Pf. cxxi. 6. Thefunjhalt 
 notfmite thee by day nor thi 
 moon by night ; Jehovah Jhall 
 preferve thee from all evil, 
 Tho' the particulars trorii 
 which Jehovah's people 
 Ihall be prefer ved, are here 
 exprefs'd by the heat of the 
 fun and moon, yet therein 
 is intended all the evils of 
 fallen nature, both in cur 
 prefcnt, and in our every 
 other ftate of life. 
 
 Pf xc. 2. Before the 
 mountains were brought 
 forth, and thou hadji formed 
 the earth and world, and 
 from age to age thou art 
 God. And fo again in this 
 paflagc, by the terms be^^ 
 fore the mountains were 
 brought forth, there is nO 
 doubt but we muft under* 
 Hand far more then the 
 words themfelves do na- 
 turally import. 
 So then in the fcantinefs of icripture terms we have 
 often to expecSb a meaning of the greatcft latitude, and 
 yet that latitude difcovered will not prove any natural 
 and adequate comprehenfivenefs in the t«rm« imply* 
 ing it- 
 
 N O 
 
 that is, and not only fo, 
 but alfo far beyond this. 
 Lam. V. 19. 'Thou Je- 
 hovah fhalt remain {ZZj'A)^^) 
 lowlem to the age, and thy 
 throne to generation and ge- 
 neration, i. e. Ihall remain 
 not only to the age, but 
 alfo to a duration infinite- 
 ly beyond human concep- 
 tion, even to eternity i for, 
 as has been by many 
 obferved, the fcriptures, 
 which delight in types and 
 analogy, do ufually intend 
 far more in their letter 
 then the verbal fcribe is 
 aware of, or the critical 
 infidel will venture to ac- 
 knowledge, tho' to the 
 feeing eye it be eafily dif- 
 cernible. 
 
Letter I. [ iS ] Sect. Ill, 
 
 and the fame import with the word round j and 
 that therefore when I fay a fmooth bowl I mufl 
 mean a round bowl^ would you not laugh? 
 
 If it be a juft inference that becaufe the word 
 aeon is often applied iit fcripture to eternal things, 
 therefore it mufl mean eternal ; it may be as 
 fairly pronounced that the word fmooth is often 
 applied to round things, therefore it muft denote 
 roundnefs. 
 
 Again, if the word aeon is to fignify eternity 
 only when adjunct to objedis of a fuppos'd eter- 
 nity, this its comprehenlive import being no more 
 than its objedl gives it, one needs only deny the 
 eternity of the objedV, and the comprehenfivenefs 
 (/. ^. the eternal import) of the adjundt fails with it. 
 
 In other words, if the term fmooth is to denote 
 roundnefs only wjien adjund: to objedis of a fup- 
 ^ofed roundnefs, one need only to deny that an 
 objedt is round, and then the word fmooth ceafes 
 to denote, its. roundnefs. 
 
 Again, if the word (a»wi/io?) asonian is not to 
 prove the eternity of the noun fubftantive to which 
 it is adjund:, but the faid noun fubftantive the e- 
 ternal import of its adjunct (aiwwo?) aeonian, then 
 is the terni (atwuo?) aeonian become as ufelefs to- 
 wards any proof of a thing's eternity as if it had 
 never, been applied to it at all. 
 
 Or in other words ; if the term fmooth is not 
 to afcertain the roundnefs of a bowl, but the 
 bowl (which is called fmooth) is to afcertain a 
 globular import in the term fmooth, then does the 
 term fmooth become as ufelefs towards any proof 
 of an objc6t's being a bowl, as if it had never 
 Heen applied to "it at all. In 
 
Letter I. [ 19 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 In fliort, as the word fmooth does not import 
 a globular form, neither does the word Ionian 
 import an eternal duration ; and therefore as one 
 may call a bowl a fmooth body without denoting 
 thereby that it is globular, fo one may call an e- 
 ternal objed: aeonian, without denoting thereby 
 that it is eternal. 
 
 However, not to be tedious upon this abfurdityj 
 I iliall prove laftly as follows : 
 
 v/ v** >»* >ia' Vv? ^ft' Vif ^A!f ^fli' M^ 'v^ ^Rrf :iUi Xflr? ^A** \i<»' No* ^a/' vi^ \^ 
 
 55 qnb cHB ?nB Cp oCp qLP cnp 2up iCp -xp qCp ^ ecp <tjp CUP <tf QuP 2up flCp CUP QLP ^Cfc Cp 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 PROPOSITION. 
 
 I'd thmgs of an eternal iiatiire (or fuppofed by our 
 ■ adverfaries to be fo) terms of a finite limited in- 
 tention may be applied^ without having Juch their 
 natural limited import changed^ without becoming 
 thereby charaBers of eternity. 
 
 PSALM Ixxxix. 36. His feed {m^ =S"i:;S)yZW/ 
 be ceonian and his throjie as the fun before me-, 
 it jldall be efiablified [^^^V) ceonianly., as the moon^ 
 aiid as the rainbow (or faithful witnefs in heaven) 
 V. 29. His feed alfo p>S -nrir J I cjlablip fecidarly 
 (or to a feculum, age) and his thro?ie as the days of 
 heaven. Pf Ixxii. 5. They (i. e. the church) f:all 
 revere thee as long as the fun and moon endureth, 
 throughout all generations. V. 17. His name fiall 
 be (^iIj^i^/'S) to the aeons, his name fl:all be continued 
 as long as the fun. 
 
 C 2 Now 
 
Letter I. [ 20 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 Now fince thefe paflages, and many others of 
 like cxpreffion, apply the eftablifliment of the fun, 
 the duration of the moon, of the rainbow, of the 
 days of heaven, of an age, and of the generati- 
 ons of men, in order to illuftrate the continuance 
 of the church of God, and of the feed of Christ 
 and of his throne, and kingdom, and name, and 
 glory, without fuppofing any alteration in nature, 
 without fuppofing any unnatural continuance of 
 fuch fun, moon, rainbow, age or days of heaven; 
 why muft thefe things, viz. the throne, the king- 
 dom, the name, the glory of Christ, becaufe 
 of their eternal nature, have a different effed upon 
 the words (sSy otm^) olm ^on, when applied to 
 them? 
 
 The duration of the fun, moon, and rainbow, 
 is allowed to be only temporal, notwithftanding 
 things of an eternal nature are compared to their 
 continuance; why then may not the words !— S;? 
 and ajoji/ retain the temporal import which is na- 
 tural to them, notwithfianding they may therein 
 be applied to eternal things ? 
 
 Yea, and unlefs the terms olm and aeon Import 
 a duration as far fhort of the word eternity, in 
 our piodern notion of it, as is the duration of the 
 fun, moon, rainbow and generations, which mufl 
 all pafs away and reach their end; the holy 
 writers miflead us in blending the exprefHons 
 (aS;;"b ^^^-25^) lolm (i. e. £«? rov aium to the age) 
 with the duration of the fun, moon, rainbow and 
 generations, in one and the fame fentence, and as 
 if terms of equal force; fince by fuch applica- 
 tion they teach and unteach, averring the fame 
 
 things 
 
Letter I. [ 21 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 things to be of finite duration and of infinite du- 
 ration in one and the fame line; for if it be need- 
 ful to believe that our Saviour's throne and his 
 church and his name as head of fuch fhall en- 
 dure to all eternity, then is that a mifleading com- 
 parifon which (hall date its perpetuity by the en- 
 during of the fun, moon, rainbow^ and genera- 
 tions, which all muft pafs away. 
 
 And on the other hand, if it be not a point 
 needful to be believed that the Lord's throne and 
 church fhall continue to all eternity; then may 
 we without fcruple declare aloud that the word 
 (ajwv) ajon means not eternity, and that the idea 
 of eternity can never be prov'd by the word ason 
 in any form of it; and that whatever part of 
 fpeech we may fhift it into, it can no more pro- 
 nounce the eternity of any thing by becoming its 
 adjund:, than the duration of the fun, moon, 
 rainbow, or foundations of the world can pro- 
 nounce the eternity of the fubjedl with which 
 they, or any of them, may ftand in comparifon. 
 
 Yea a man might with a more tolerable afTur- 
 ance fuppofe the fun and moon to be eternal, 
 than that the word aeonlan means eternal ; be- 
 caufe the fcripture no where fays, in exprefs terms, 
 that the fun and moon fhall pafs away, whereas 
 it declares in exprefs terms that the earth (hall 
 pafs away, and that on that earth fo to pafs 
 away the feed of Abraham fliall have the land 
 oi Canaan for an aeonian pofleflion. So Gen. xvii. 
 8. Ajid I Tk) ill give unto thee and thy feed after thee 
 all the land of Canaan fcr an ceonian (O^U*) poffeffiony 
 Gen. xiii. 15. (sS^;; i;*) even to an ceon (Ex. xxxii. 
 
 13- 
 
Letter I. [ 22 ] Sect. IV, 
 
 13. and they JJjall inherit it ceonianly i^^y^i) to en 
 aon. If. Ix. 2 f . Ihey jhall inherit the land i^^yH) 
 to an ceony Ezek. xxxvii. 25. and they fiall dwell 
 therein, even they and their children, and their chil- 
 drens children (i:»S it; 1^, ) even to an ceon, and my 
 fervanf David fiall be their Prince (^h'lj;^) even 
 to an ceon. 
 
 But if after certain aeons are pafs'd away, 2 Pet. 
 iii. 10. The heavens fijall pafs away with a great 
 wife, and the elements fijall melt with fervent heat, 
 the earth alfo and all the works that are therein fijali 
 be burnt up-, what mufl then become of the 
 asonian land of Canaan I* From the face of our 
 Saviour, Rev. xx. 1 1 . The earth and heaven fiall 
 jly away ; and will not the land of Canaan fly a- 
 way with it ? Hov/ then will it be, or have been, 
 an asonian pofTeflion to the feed of Abraham fup- 
 pofing Ionian to mean eternal? When at the laft 
 day, the flars fliall fall from heaven, and all the 
 worlds we fee, ftarting from their fpheres, fliall 
 crufh together in one vaft ruin, our little world 
 will be loft in the immence combuftion ; and 
 then mufl: the land of Ca?2aan alfo be no more. 
 
 And if the land Gi Canaan will not be an eter- 
 nal pofTciTion to the feed of Abraham, then nei- 
 ther is it promifcd to be fo, and confequently the 
 term iph"^) olm cannot mean eternal, but ftill it 
 muft mean an asonian poUeffion : and as we 
 have already iliewn that there are many sons,, 
 and that thefe asons will fucceed one the other, 
 and at laft will all of them have- an end, we 
 muft fearch for the meaning of the word (o^jcovi©^) 
 '£onios in time and not in eternity. 
 
 LET- 
 
[23l 
 
 
 LETTER IL 
 
 Thaf the Kingdom (t/* C h r i s r njohkh is 
 called ceonian^ is not eternal, 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 jB!^^k.HE vulgar fenfe of the Greek words 
 £ T r6 ^'^"^ aiww(^, &c. and as they are render- 
 "*i^!^?^ ed in our englifli bibles eternal, everlafl- 
 ing, for ever and ever, affording the 
 moft prevailing argumento againft that beautiful 
 truth, the Reftitution of all things, it was the 
 bufinefs of my former letter to prove that thofc 
 words are miftranllated. 
 
 My next labour ought to be the afcertaining 
 the true meaning of thefe words ; but this can- 
 not well be done otherwifc than by a previous 
 account of the kingdom of Chriji-, becaufe, as the 
 diftinguifliing character of this kingdom is that 
 it is ironian, the word aeon, in its feveral applica- 
 tions throughout the fcriptures, will always allude 
 
 to. 
 
Letter II. [ 24 ] Sect. L 
 
 to, and bear fuch alliance and affinity with the 
 kingdom of Chrijiy as that its notion and latitude 
 will be determined by it. 
 
 Thus indeed our tafk conliderably enlarges, 
 yet, fince my work requires it, I will under- 
 take it chearfuUy. And to obviate the error of 
 Chrifi% kingdom being eternal, my firll point to 
 prove muft be as follows : 
 
 LETTER XL 
 SECT L 
 
 ChriflV aonian kingdom ^ill not be eternal, 
 
 IT has been the ufual method with divines to 
 prove the eternity of Chrifi\ kingdom from 
 the words aeon and seonian (a*wy aiww(^) being fo 
 often applied to it : and yet at other times, and 
 on other occafions, they argue that the words 
 aeon and asonian (a'W!' ««ww^) muft fignify eternal, 
 becaufe fpoken of Chriji\ kingdom which, fay 
 they, is eternal. 
 
 Now if it can be proved that Chriji's kingdom 
 is not eternal, it will follow that the words aeon 
 and sonian [onuv atwvfi^) not only cannot be thus 
 converted to thefe purpofes, but that the words 
 themfelves muft import fome limited duration, 
 for that Chrijf% kingdom is and will be jeonian 
 is beyond difpute. 
 
 The word eternal is ufed by divines to import 
 a twofold duration, and muft therefore be con- 
 lidered in its different acceptations, Eter- 
 
Letter II. [ 25 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Eternity then ifl and in its ftridteft fenfe and 
 propriety, imports duration abflradled from quan- 
 tity and mutability i orexiftence altogether, with- 
 out any flux or fucceiTion of parts prior or pofte- 
 rior to each other: and this the fchools C2i\\ per- 
 petuum nunCy perpetual now 5 others, unfucceflive 
 duration or abfolute immutability. 
 
 But lince eternal in this notion of the word 
 cannot be applied either to the kingdom of 
 Chriji, or to the land of Canaan, or to any 
 other creature; we will conflder, 2dly, the word 
 eternal as meaning duration in fucceffion, or as a 
 feries of times infinitely protra6led ; an infinitely 
 perpetuated chain of diftind; NOWS. 
 
 Now in this account of the word eternal, the 
 difficulty is that at the fame time that Chriji is de- 
 clared the asonian God, and his kingdom the seon- 
 ian kingdom, his gofpel alfo is ftiled the asonian 
 gofpel. Rev. xiv. 6. and the land of Canaan is 
 promifed to the 'Jews for an asonian pofl^effion. 
 Gen. xvii. 8. which applications quite confufe the 
 meaning of the term, fince we know not what to 
 underfland determinately by this term fo differ- 
 ently applied. 
 
 If we are to underfland by the term asonian 
 when applied to Chrifi the Ionian God, that 
 he is of immutable duration ; we muft not un- 
 derftand by the fame term, when applied to 
 Cb'iji's kingdom, that this is not of immutable 
 duration, but of infinitely progreffive duration. 
 
 However, to connive at this, what are we far- 
 ther to underfland by this term eternal when ap- 
 plied to the gofpel, or to the jc-ivs ateinian inheri- 
 tance in the land of Canaan/^ 
 
 D To 
 
Letter II. [ 26 ] Sect. I. 
 
 To the "Jeim is promiled the land of Canaan for 
 an asonian pofleflion, and yet this land can nei- 
 ther be of duration immutable, nor of duration in- 
 finitely progrefTive; for it muft have an end when 
 this world fhall be deftroyed. And the fame may 
 be cbjedted to the asonian gofpel, fince the gofpel 
 alfo, when its teftimony fhall be fuperfeded by our 
 immediate vifion of Chrift^ (^nccrx^yvi^n<nrou'j i Cor. 
 xiii. 8, 12. fhall be invalidated, or rendered ufe- 
 lefsj and fo will not be eternal in either of thefe 
 acceptations. 
 
 But if the kingdom of God, and his gofpel, and 
 the inheritance of the Jews in the land of Canaan 
 be all Ionian; if all and each of them have the word 
 EBonian equally and refped:ively applied to them, 
 then have they all that which the word asonian 
 imports in common; and confequently as the word 
 SBonian applied to the jewifh inheritance of the 
 land of Canaan is no proof that Canaan will be a 
 land of eternal duration; neither is the fame word 
 applied to the kingdom of Gob, a proof that the 
 kingdom of God will be of eternal duration in 
 either fenfes of the word eternal. 
 
 However, for our better fecurity of this confe- 
 quence, and as a more certain evidence that the 
 kingdom of God will not be eternal, we have 
 the words of St. PauU i Cor. xv. 24, — 27. T^hen 
 cc?7ieth the end when hef/:all deliver up the kingdoin to 
 God even the father-, ivhen he fi all have (xccTccpync-v) 
 invalidated all principality and authority and power, 
 'for he muft reign 'till he has put alle7iemies under his 
 feet. 'The laji eiiemy that pall be invalidated (narap^ 
 yii-vAi).is dxath (or, Heh.. ii. 14. He who has the 
 
 power 
 
 *•- ■ 
 
Letter II. [ 27 ] Sect. I. 
 
 power of death, that is the devil) for he has fubordi- 
 nated (i7r£T«^£v) all things under his feet. But when 
 he fays that all is fubordinated (uVoriraxlai) to him, 
 it is manifeft that he is excepted who did fubor- 
 dinate all things unto him; and when the all 
 fliall be fubordinated unto him, then {hall alfo 
 the Ibnhimfelf be fubordinated (uTroTayjio-frat) unto 
 him who fubordinated all things unto him, that 
 God may be the all in all. 
 
 In which words we find comprifed the follow- 
 ing Points, viz. 
 
 I ft. That our faviour's kingdom fhall have an 
 end. 
 
 2dly. That its end fhall be after a previous fub- 
 ordination of all things to himfclf. 
 
 3dly, That its end fhall be by a furrender of 
 the kingdom unto God the father. 
 
 4th ly. And fliall be attended with a fubordi- 
 nation of the fon to the father : And 
 
 5thly. That this final fubordination of Chrijly 
 being the ultimate end and point in view of all his 
 willies, muft be the uttermoft completion (or 
 7rAtipi}/x«) of the joy that was fet before him. 
 
 The kingdom of Chrift is that which he rules 
 and condud:s as mediator. But when all things 
 fliall be fubordinated unto him, and fhall with 
 one breath fay unto him " my Lord, my God, 
 " my ALL," then will Chriji's mediatorial office 
 ceafe, as having attained its purpofe; and fo ceaf- 
 ing, that great comprchenfive xon of his media- 
 torial kingdom Vvill be accompliflied, and will be 
 fucceeded by a purely divine o^conomv, wherein 
 D 2 ' Chriji 
 
Letter II. [ 28 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Chrijl will no longer reign as mediator, but as 
 God, and one with his father. 
 
 And thus we underfland our Lord's words, 
 Luke xxii. 37. For the things concerning me have 
 an end; by the word me he means himfelf as 
 mediator, and by the end which the things con- 
 cerning him fliould have, he means a final con- 
 clufion of his mediatorial office : for a mediator 
 is, CoL'i. 20. A peace maker y Rom. v. 10, 11. A 
 reconciler^ i John ii. i. An advocate: fo that finity 
 and determination are implied in the very term ; 
 when therefore the creature's fubordination is ac- 
 complifhed, and in confequence thereof every 
 creature is become perfectly at peace with, and 
 perfcdly reconciled to God, then is alfo our 
 Lord's bufinefs as a mediatorial advocate accom- 
 plifhed, and at an end. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Four points rcquifite. 
 
 WE find in fcripturc frequent mention of 
 four points deftined to be accefifary to this 
 great end. Two of thefe are fulfilled; namely, 
 
 Firjl^ Our Lord's facrifice and fatisfacflion by 
 virtue of which Heb. vii. 3. He abideth 4^rieji 
 continually (or ^^jii.!^ a^onianly or throu^iKfall 
 the 3sonian life, and not as other priefts ceafih^y. 
 See Hcb. x. i.) 
 
 Seccndiv, His inflalment into his father's throne 
 of which we read, Hcb. x. 12. He is fit down at 
 
 the 
 
Letter II. [ 29 ] Sect. II. 
 
 the right hand of God (^^k^!i»^) aeonianly, that is, 
 he is to continue head and king over his church, 
 and with a view to this over all the creatures, 
 till the end of his government is anfwered. 
 
 But the two following points are flill in ex- 
 pedlation and unaccomplifhed, viz. 
 
 I'hirdly, That God Ihall make the enemies of 
 Chriji his footflool ; of which we read Alat. xxii. 
 44. Jehovah y^^zV/ unto A6.1'A fit thou on 7ny right 
 hand till I make tJjyfoes thy footjlool ; as llkewile in 
 the 24th verfe above quoted ^ he (i. e. God) hath 
 put all enemies under his feet : for it is remarkable 
 that our mediator waits for his polTeflion from 
 the immediate donation of his father : fo John vi. 
 37. All that the father ginjeth me fiall come unto 
 me 'j and the like as to his exaltation, of which 
 we read, Eph. i. 20. He (God) rai/ed him from 
 the deady andfet him (or caufed him to lit) at his own 
 right hand in the heavens^ far above all principality y 
 and power, and might, and dominion ^ and every 
 name that is named, not only in this seon, but affo 
 in the future ; fo that being already made the 
 powerful fovereign of all the obedient children of 
 God of whatever kind and degree, he fliall alio 
 be made fo over all the rebellious part of the 
 creation, for that thefe in due time fliall alfo be 
 made his footflool: and this effedled, the fourth 
 point Ihall enfue, namely, 
 
 Fourthly, Thefe the enemies of ChriJI fliall by 
 Chriji be reconciled to their God, who is already 
 reconciled to them ; of which wc read, 2 Cor. v. 
 19. God was in Chrifi reconciling the world unto 
 himfelf. And again, Col. i. 20. And by him to 
 
 .. reconcile 
 
Letter II. [ 30 ] Sect. II. 
 
 reconcile all things unto him (having made peace 
 by the blood of his crofs, by him I fay) whether. 
 they be things on earthy or things in heaven. And 
 again, Phil. n. 10, 1 1 . In the name ofjefus every knee 
 Jhall bow of things in heaven^ and things on earthy 
 ajid things under the earth-, and every tongue fiall 
 confefs that fefus Chriji is Lord to the glory of God 
 the father. 
 
 So then we have to exped; that after Chriji's 
 kinp"dom fhall have lafted thro' feveral 2:enerations 
 and scons, even to the utmoft ^on very far beyond 
 the end of this world, and probably long after 
 the new heaven and the new earth j when (by 
 a management moft divinely wife, and merciful, 
 and righteous, and within compafs of Chrijf^ 
 GEonian kingdom) God fliall have put down all 
 unchriftian power, dominion and authority, and 
 fhall have put under the feet of Chriji every 
 enemy, even laftly fatan himfelf who is the 
 prince, or has the power, of death ; and when 
 Chrili fliall have efte<fted the general Reftitntion, 
 bv the reconciling of all things to God, and by 
 the making all things new ; and in confequencc 
 hereof fliall have extin8;uifhed all Dain and forrow 
 and death; Kev. 21. Then fliall i Cor. xv. 28. 
 {x%\ auTc? 0' j'.oj,) even the fon himfelf, Col. i. 15. 
 (TrpiJTOToxo? 7r«(r>i? ^c7^o•fw,',) the fifil: bcgottcn of cvcry 
 creature, now his father's fubllitute and lieuten- 
 ant, deliver up his vicarial and a-onian, or tem- 
 porary power, together with all the fubjedts of it, 
 to God, even the father; and become thencefor- 
 ward, together with all the fubje«5ts of his now 
 harmonizing kingdom, fubordinate, that is vo- 
 
 luntarilv. 
 
Letter II. [ sO Sect. III. 
 
 luntarily, as the complement of his defires and 
 end of his miniftry, unto Godj that foGoD may 
 be himfelf immediately the all in all, communi- 
 cating himfelf in fullnefs to all his faints, and 
 admitting them to an union with the Deity v/ith- 
 out farther intercellion of the mediator. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Christ's kingdom how without end, 
 
 NO W to this doctrine is very reafonably 
 objedted the pafTage in Luke i. 33. And of 
 bis kingdom there Jl jail be no end. 
 
 And to this we anfwer, that the end of the 
 Meiiiah's reign as Meffiah, or anointed one, will 
 be the beginning of his reign as God. 
 
 As the fpirit covenanting with God, as the 
 fent of God, the anointed one, his prieft, and 
 mediatorial agent with his creatures; as his ason- 
 ian vice-gerent whom he has fet at his own right 
 hand, in his own throne, and entrufted folely 
 with the concerns of the creation ; himfelf the 
 Mefllah will be fubordinated to the father, and 
 all creatures with him. 
 
 But v/hen the father's purpofe in his fon's vica- 
 rial government is anfwered, this very Mefiiah 
 as equal with the father, the fplendor of his 
 glory, his exprefs character, whom M^?. i. 2. He 
 has confiiiuted heir of all things, will inherit the 
 then reflored creatures in feme immutable, and 
 
 perhaps 
 
Letter II. [32] Sect. III. 
 
 perhaps purely divine manner, tranfcending all 
 that we can conceive of it infinitely; and at a 
 much farther diftance from reality, than the 
 beauty of light and colours exceeded the blind 
 man's defcription of them, when he fuppofed 
 them to be fomewhat like the found of a drum. 
 
 This doctrine of a final conclufion of our fa- 
 viour's kingdom, faits with all fcripture accounts 
 of the nature of this kingdom: for this kingdom 
 is there reprefented as a ft ate preparatory to fome 
 great defign, the concern and employment of 
 the whole triune God ; a ftate of drawing, re- 
 proving, condemning, cleanfing, regenerating, 
 creating anew, reconciling, chaftifing, and com- 
 forting. 
 
 A ftate wherein Chrift the Lord of it is re- 
 prefented as a purifier or a refiner's fire, as a 
 fountain opened for fin and for uncleannefs, as a 
 paftor or bifliop, as a prieft, propitiator and ran- 
 ibm, as a mediator, as the power of God to 
 falvation, and as the door and open entrance 
 into him. 
 
 A ftate which has in view the creature's piety, 
 love, and humility towards God ; and his com- 
 pafiion, innocence, uprightnefs, and communion 
 with all his brethren and fellow-creatures. A 
 ftate in fhort where every creature (^^iroTxyvi'TircfA) 
 ftiall 1)L' reduced to its natural fubordinatlon. 
 
 But then what means (the uVcra^i? and '^ttotxy^) 
 this fubordination ? The word is plainly applied 
 to both the creature and to Chrift himfelf : the 
 creature fliall be fubordinated to God ; and the 
 fon of God (hall be fubordinated to the father. 
 
 l6 
 
Letter II. [ 33 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Is then Chriji now in fom.e inconceivable manner 
 (and for the creature's fake) diftindt from his holy 
 father? And if Cb'iji fliall in the end be what he 
 now is not, furely this mufl: imply feme change 
 which at the end of things fhall be wrought on 
 him, as with regard to his hnhian, fo no lefs 
 with regard to his angelic nature, and thro' him 
 on his now holy family, who in, with, and by 
 tneans of their moft intimate oncfhip with him. 
 As John X. 9. — xiv. 6. the door or pajjage cpened^ 
 f nail then y Eph. ii. 18. have an accefs unto the fa- 
 ther. AndHeb. X. 19. )jA^:bo:D' )2l) la*:^^* 
 VkQJLj.^^ OL^y^- )-a.,an' L-=i>' ' an opennefs 
 of countenance (the mari4 of confidence) ^ to an eii- 
 terance ' of the houfe ^ ofhlinejs ^ thro the blood ^ of 
 yefus', and thereby the honor of becoming 2 Pet, 
 i. ^.partakers of the divine nature ^ even of being fo 
 united to God as that God may be the all in 
 all; and ourfelves Eph. iii. ig. filed with all the 
 fullnefi of God. 
 
 And here then is that end in view which the 
 whole creation drives at ; the labour of the aeonlan 
 life. And, in defiance of all cavilling, this end, 
 place it where you pleafe, muft prove at laft the 
 limit clofing, and the determining of this sonian 
 life. But Mark xiii. 32. of that day and hour 
 knoweth no one (««^fK) neither the angels which are in 
 heave?i, jieither thefon, but the father only. Offo 
 high a valuation is the creature widi his GodI 
 
 R LET- 
 
[34] 
 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 ChristV kingdom what^ and where it is\ 
 and when it began, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Of the power of Satan, 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 )^)^)fi()S(HERE are various conje(5tures concern- 
 O T w i"g the power of fatan over degenerate 
 ^^^Nj^ nature, but among the moft probable 
 are the two following. 
 
 Some have thought this his power to be con- 
 natural to him, an original afcendency given 
 him at his creation over certain principalities, do- 
 minions, and orders of creatures, of which part 
 fell with him and fo continued his fubjecHis, and 
 part revolted from him, and fo continued heaven- 
 ly inhabitants in their refpedlive habitations. 
 
 This his authority thefe fuppofe to be founded 
 upon virtues and endowments lodged perfonally 
 
 in 
 
Letter III. [ 35 ] Sect. I. 
 
 In him, and communicable from him to his de- 
 pendents, as light and heat are communicated 
 from the fun to all fublunary beings j or as many 
 animals receive their life and vivid efficacy from 
 the rays and nourifhing warmth of its effluence. 
 
 Others again have fuppofed this power of fa- 
 tan over fallen creatures as neither originally de- 
 ligned by God, nor the effecfts of any natural af- 
 ccndency given him over others j but to be meer 
 ufurpation, the work of fatanic art and fagacity. 
 
 That as by dint of our human endowment?, 
 man, having arts and fciences which brutes can 
 form no conception at all of, not only becomes 
 fuperior to the brute creation, but, by the exer- 
 cife of thefe arts, the mafter alfo and tyrant over 
 the brutes: fo fatan, by means of his fuperior 
 contrivance, fubtlety and penetration, is become 
 the prince and tyrant over other fallen creatures, 
 domineering in them with an authority which 
 they can no more efcape or refift, than a blind 
 man can efcape the malice of his adverfary, or an 
 horfe in harnefs the drudgery of his driver. 
 
 But whichever of thefc conjed:ures be true, 
 and by whatever means, in fadt it is certain that 
 fatan is poflefTed of a vaft fovereignty, wherein he 
 controls with a force and defpotifm, of which 
 the oppreffion and cruelty of the mofl mighty ty- 
 rant over his brethren upon earth, is but a faint 
 and unequal figure or refemblance. 
 
 In the fcriptures therefore he is defcribed as a 
 powerful potentate. Eph. ii. 2. ^be prince of the 
 power of the air^ the fpirit that now worketh in the 
 children of difobedience. That in our chriftian war- 
 
 E 2 fare 
 
Letter III. [ 36 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fiare we have him for our enemy, that as fuch he 
 exceeds in abihty of mifchief every thing that 
 fiefh and blood can work againft us; or to give it 
 in the apoftle's own words, Eph. vi. 12. JVe wrefile 
 not againjl flefi and bloody but againjl principalities^ 
 and powers J againji the rulers of the darknefs ( ^a 
 otmvi^~ T8T«) of this age, againft wicked fpirits in 
 heavenly places. Yea fatan is declared to be even 
 2 Cor. iv. 4. (Qjo? r^ cciwog Tjjra) the God of this 
 (not world, but seon, or) age-, and to have Luke 
 xi. 1 8. his ki77gdom^ Rev. ii. 13. his feat and throne^ 
 I Cor. viii. 10. his temple. Rev. iii. 9. his fyna- 
 gogue,' Kgv. xii. 7. his angels , 2Pet. ii. i. 2 Cor. 
 xi. 13. Rev. ii. 2. his prophets, 2 Kings xi. 18. 
 his priejlsy Pf. cvi. 37. Rev. ix. 20, 21. hisfacri- 
 fees ajid worjkipers, 2 Thef. ii. 2, i John iv. i. 
 Rev. xiii. 4. bis revelations. Matt. iv. 9. his pro- 
 viifes ', and even, 2 Thef. ii. 3, 8, 9. Rev. xiii. 2. 
 a chief fon, to be hereafter revealed in the perfon and 
 character of the antichrift, after the working of fa- 
 tan, with all powers, and figns, and lying wonders. 
 
 SECT. IL 
 
 Our Lord's defcent into hades. 
 
 U T this dreadful authority of fatan king of 
 
 ,' terrors, and fohn viii. 44. firfl murderer, 
 
 God in his coaipailion determined i^'^v.ry.^ynv') to 
 defeat or invalidate in the perfon of his fon, now 
 the man Chrijl fefus: and for this purpofe the 
 
 foul 
 
Letter III. [ 37 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Ibul of Jefia was to dcfcend into hades, where is 
 the principal feat of fatan's empire. 
 
 Accordingly after his death upon the crofs, 
 his flefh being depofited like that of other dead 
 men in the grave, his foul like theirs went into 
 hades, as St. 'Paul tells us, Eph. iv. 9. Now that 
 he afce?ided, what is it but that he defce?ided fi-Ji 
 (fK rot. KXTUTifx ixipn th? -yn?) ifito the /ower parts of the 
 earth. That by the cxpreffion lower parts of the 
 earth is meant hades, appears not only from the 
 general opinion of the primitive people to whom 
 the fcriptures were addrelTed, but from the very 
 context of the above quoted fcripture paffage 5 
 for herein our Lord's defcent into the parts be- 
 low the earth, flands in oppbfition to his afient 
 into the parts above the earth j and implies that 
 his afcending was in confequence of his prior 
 defcending -, that he afcended far above all 
 heavens that he might fill all things, as the na- 
 tural procefs of his work, having firfl defcended 
 into the parts below, and there difpenfed of his 
 fuln«fs. 
 
 And agreeably v/ith this notion, was this his 
 defcent into hades alfo prophefied of him, Pfabn 
 xvi. 9, 10. I'herefore my heart is glad, a?id my 
 glory rejoiceth ; my fejh alfo fl^all rejl in hope, ^he- 
 caufe ''thou wilt not leave ''my foul ^infaul, or hades^ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ''THE greek word (ot.h() hades, which anfwers to 
 the hebrew word ( *?")J?'v:* ) faul, dots by no means de- 
 note a place of mifcry, neither does it a plsce o( 
 happinefs. But as, /«/, the word ( "I2p ) qbr d-- 
 
Letter III. [ 38 ] Sect. II. 
 
 thou give thy ' compajjionate 07ie ( ^'^I'cri ^) to fee ^'cor- 
 ruption (mti^^). For this prophefy is applied to 
 
 him 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 notes the gmve or repofitory of dead bodies-, fo does, 
 Secondly^ the word { '"it ) faul the repofitory of fouls 
 departed ; alfo, Thirdly^ that in hades (or faul) there 
 is a place of refidenee for happy fouls, what follows 
 will evince. 
 
 Firft^ The word flSJ?) qbr ufed as a verb, fignifies 
 to bury, and as fuch is rendered in the feptuagint by 
 {^c.-rrloi) fepelio to bury; and as a noun it is there ren- 
 dered by the word (ra^o?) fepulcrum^ a grave. Let the 
 following inftances fuffice in proof of this, G^«. xxiii. 6. 
 1 Kings x\\\. 22^ '^\. xiv. 13. 2 Kings xm, 20. xxiii. 
 16. y^r. viii. 1. Ez. xxxvii. 13, 14. Pf. v. 9. 
 
 Secondly^ That by the word (SiKt ) faul or hades, is 
 meant a repofitory for departed fouls, appears from 
 P/lxxxix. 48. Job.vn.g. xxi. 13. xxvi. 6. And be- 
 caufe the dead were fuppofed, upon their bodies being 
 depofited in ( "irip ) qbr, the grave, to find this their 
 foul's reconditory in the lower parts of the earth; the 
 ■word faul or hades is ufed for the depths below, in 
 oppofition to the heights above : fo Pf. cxxxix. 8. 
 Deut. xxxii. 22. Amos ix. 2. 
 
 At leafr that by the word faul is not meant a grave, 
 js evident from Job xi. 7, 8. Canji thou find out the 
 Almighty to perfetiion ? It (i. e. Providence) is high as 
 heaven^ what canft thcu do? deeper than (faul or) hades, 
 'wkat canJi thou know? Here the depths of faul or hades, 
 are {tt in oppofition to the heights of heaven, import- 
 ing tliat as nothing is higher than the heavens, nothing 
 is deeper than faul or hades. Now fuppofing laul or 
 hades here to mean ( '^2f. ) qbr, the grave (which all 
 knov/ is feldom more than five feet under ground j 
 
Letter III. [ 39 ] Sect. II. 
 
 him by St. Peter, A<5ts ii. 25, 27. For David fpake 
 concerning hitn — becaufe thou ivilt 720t leave my foul 
 (£K a.h) in hades, neither wilt thou fuffer thine holy 
 one to fee (^^locip^opccu'j corruption. And 
 
 N O T E S. 
 
 however, fuppofe if you pleafe, the ancient burying- 
 
 places to have been five yards under the furface ot the 
 
 earth) how idle a compariibn were thefe Ihallow vauks 
 
 to the heights of heaven? Again, Matt. xvi. 18. Upon 
 
 this rock have I hutlt my churchy and the gaies of hades 
 
 Jljallnot prevail againjl it. By gates in fcriptures it is 
 
 well known are meant the council-rooms, or courts of 
 
 judicature, which in all cities were anciently kept over 
 
 •their gates; fee Deut. xxi. 19, Ruth iv. i. 2 Sa?n. 
 
 xviii. 33. xix. 8. Pj. xcvi. 12. cxxvii. 5. Dan. ii. 49. 
 
 Jer. xxxviii. 7. xxxix. 3. Amos v. 10, Zech. viii. 16. 
 
 &c. But what can be meant by the door or gate of a 
 
 fepulchre prevailing againft any thing ? And what 
 
 harm is the church of God to expedl from the gate or 
 
 trap-door of a vault under ground? Whereas one may 
 
 well fuppofe, that courts ot council are held in the 
 
 regions of the dead, where is the domain and empire 
 
 offatani and fuppofmg fo, our fcripture exprcffions 
 
 fpeak good fenfe. Again it is laid of Chrijl, Acts ii. 
 
 27. Thou wilt not leave my foul (£i? ah) in hades, a- 
 
 raong the difembodied fouls. Again, Luke xvi. 23. 
 
 The rich man being in torments in hades, lift up his eyts, 
 
 i. e. not the eyes of his dead body, but of the body 
 
 called, I Cor. xv. 40. ((rw|ua. fTroupanoi/) henvcnly body -, 
 
 becaufe of its heavenly nature and original. 
 
 Thirdly, That in faul or hades there is a place of 
 refidence for happy fouls, is again evident from Gen. 
 xxxvii. 35. I Jhall defend unto my fon mourning into 
 feci, or faul, or hades; it is plain that Jacob expelled 
 to meet his fon after death, fince he fays, / fall go 
 
Letter III. [ 44 ] Sect. II. 
 
 And from hence we infer as follows : Thq 
 foul of Jefus was not left in hades, orfaiil-j there- 
 fore his foul had been in faul, or hades : but his 
 
 foul 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 down to my fon; but he expefted not that his body 
 fhould go down to his fon's body, becaufe his fon's 
 body, having been in his belief devoured of beafts, 
 was not fuppofed by him to be in the grave : there- ' 
 fore this expeftation in Jacob of going to his fon after 
 death, argues that he fuppofed a place where the de- 
 parted fouls of men refided •, where his Ion's foul then 
 was, and where his own, when dead, fhould find him. 
 Again, fince it cannot be thought that Jacob ex-- 
 pefted, either that himfelf after death fhould go into 
 a ftate of torment, or that his fon's foul was then in 
 fiich a ftate of torment, he muft have underftood by 
 the word faul or hades fome happy region, the refi- 
 dence of bleffed fouls after their bodies are depofited 
 in ( 1^1:! ) qbr the grave •, and this opinion concern- 
 ing departed fouls we find alfo in Plato, Sophocles, Di~ 
 odorus Siculus, Virgil, Plutarch, and other heathen 
 philofophers. 
 
 The paradife in hades, whither Lazarus was tran- 
 tlated, confifted of manfions of delight and confola- 
 tion, where alfo Abraham before the refurre6tion of 
 our faviour, prefided as the head of the family of aU 
 tlie faithful ; and as it feerns in patriarchal honours, 
 a reprefentative of Chriji : for under his patronage it 
 may be prefumed thefe bleffed fouls had a hopeful 
 expe6lation of the time of our faviour's refurreftion, 
 when his heavenly fanduary fhould be opened, and 
 themfelves received into the prefence of the divine 
 humanity. Of this we therefore read, Luke xv'i. 22, 
 23. That Lazarus was feen in it by the rich man^ 
 enjoying the comforts of the faithful Abraham. 
 
Letter III. [ 45 ] Sect. II. 
 
 foul was not left in hades at his refurreBion-, 
 therefore his foul muft have been in hades before 
 his refurredion : but his foul was not in hades 
 
 during 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 As to the expreflions ek tov wXttov and zv too; x.oXttoj? 
 feme fuppofe them to denote the fame as the latin 
 phrafe {infinu ejfe) to be under the umbrage, care, or 
 proteftion of any one; as the complaint of Mofes 
 feems to import. Numb. xi. 12. Jehovah^ where- 
 fore layejl thou the burden of this people upon me, that 
 thou fhouldft fay unto me, carry them in thy bofom : m 
 which ufe of it, a wife is in fcripture familiarly para- 
 phrafed by, fhe who refls in thy bofom ; fhe who lies in 
 thy bofom : but others again, infilling upon the re- 
 markable variation of number in the word xoAtto?, con- 
 jecture that iv koXttoj? nvxi muft have been a Greek 
 phrafe (fmce St. Luke wrote in greek) denoting what 
 the Latins exprefs by in deliciis eJfe, according to which 
 it is to be prefumed, that tho' Lazarus was carried 
 by the angels dire6tly (v. 22. £»? tou xoXttov) into the 
 embrace of Abraham, yet t}iat Dives did afterwards 
 fee Lazarus, not {iv tw koXttco) in the bofom, but {iv 
 TOK xoAttoi?, in deliciis) in the enjoyments of Abraham. 
 But be this remark good or bad, the antiquity of 
 the doctrine among the Jews is certain -, they believed 
 that the fouls of all men when they died went to hades, 
 and that they there divided into two different focieries, 
 viz. the fouls of the juft went into the comforts 
 of Abraham, and the fouls of the wicked into the tor- 
 ments of the damned. And from them this opinion 
 was adopted by the Gentiles: therefore in Virgil ^Nt. read, 
 Hie locus efi partes ubife zia findit in ambas -, 
 Dexter a qua Ditis magni fub mania tendit; 
 Hac iter elyfium nobis : at lava malorum 
 Exercet panas, fc? ad impia tartara mi t lit. 
 
Letter III. [ 46 ] Sect. U, 
 
 during his bodily life; therefore the time of his foul's 
 being in hades muft have been the interval be- 
 "tWeen his death and his refurred;ion. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 •which paiTage correfponds likevvife with that of So- 
 phocles, 
 
 Kat yap xaS' a,h,v Svo rpiSou? i/o^aii^OjUfi/, 
 ILoiTTSira (rcc(T£i ttxu^^ (x, Trpoa-y aTruXitrsv. 
 
 From which words I beg leave alfo to remark, that 
 the verb crooi'^w among the Greeks was quite confident 
 >yith their verb aTroAXyjui; and that a foul may be 
 ((Tu%va,i) reftored which alfo {octtoXXutcci) is deftroy'd -, 
 and confequently that the verb (tu^^co does not properly 
 fignify to lave (viz. from wrath to come) but to re- 
 ftore, (viz. from evil which has befallen us.) 
 
 For the truth of the above account of hades, the 
 curious are referred to JuJIin Martyr, Origin, Terlul- 
 lian, Chryfoftom, Jofephus and Jerom-, in which laft 
 author we read as follows ; 
 
 Ante adventum Chrijii (i. e. before the heavenlv^a- 
 radife was opened, of which feafon he fays, i^^jA^^ 
 faradift januam Chrijtus effregerat, jucdum ^fimmeam 
 illam roniphaam iS vertiginem pr^ftdentium cheriihin fan- 
 guis ejus extinxerat) omnia ad inferos fariter ducebantur ; 
 iinde IS Jacob ad inferos fariter decenfurum fe dicit -, iS 
 Job pios iS impios in inferno queritur retentari : Cff eva?t- 
 gelium chaos magnum interpojitum apud inferos-, Cff A^- 
 ham cum hazo.ro, IS divitem in fuppliciis effe tefialiir^ 
 
 But now, the heavenly paradife being opened ^^ 
 Chriji alcended, all true believers go thither, Jahk 
 xii. 26. — xvii. 24. 2 Cir. V. 8. Phil.'i. 23. where th«. 
 patriarchs alfo now are, in the enjoyments of the glOcy 
 of Jefus; Matt. viii. i i, 12. Mark xvi. 19. Heb. 
 X. 12. 13. — xii. 22 — 24. 
 
Letter III. [ 47 ] Sect. III. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 ^he reajbn of our LoRD'i defcent into hades. 
 
 OUR Lord's bufinefs in hades was to loofe 
 the bands or ties of hades (or feul, or fiul, 
 or fiol, or flieol, or faul) this we learn from ABs 
 ii. 24. Whom God hath raifed up having loofe d 
 C\o^9^\ rM .N^-> ..' 'the ties or cordages "-of 
 Jiuly becaufe it ivas not poffible (01 ^^ ^«^A.!.^^o ^ 
 \s,cljiJlj^') ^that heJJ.ouldbe detaijied "-in the ^fiul 
 (or f aid.) Our Lord's breaking thro' the bands 
 hereof, became the dehvcrance of all others its 
 inhabitants, who then incorporated themfelves 
 into Chrijij and became his members by believ- 
 ing in him. Here 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 'IT is true we read this pafTage in the greek (Auc-a? 
 T«? wJ'n/a? TK ^ccuxTn) bavh:^ :ooJed the pains of death •, 
 but it is poflible.that the word (w^n') pain was ufed by 
 the Greeks to fignify band, cord, fetter, ligament as 
 well as pain, fince the fyriac (jN. -> >.) hbla does 
 certainly mean both •, that it does fo, appears from 
 A5fs xxvii. 32. Then the foldiers cut ( OL j.'^vZLja ) 
 the ropes^ or cords, of the boat and let her fall off\ 
 as alfo from the hebrew v/ord (^l^in) hbl a rope, from 
 whence the fyriac word hbla is indifputably taken. 
 'And as hbla muft ncceflarily fignify a rope in this 
 paflage, how reafonable is it that we fliould render 
 (^Q-kA.^' 01 »N.^ >.' |_'^jj.o') "and he loafed -the 
 hands (or fetters) '^ of hades. As to the place of hades 
 
Letter III. t 48 ] Sect. 111. 
 
 Hefe therefofe was the theatre of our Lord's 
 triumph, of which we read, Coin. 15. Having 
 fpoiled (or devefted) the principalities and powers j 
 he made ajhew of them openly triumphing over them 
 (ff auTw i. e. IV io(,\jruY in himjelf'j viz. in the vidlori- 
 ous efficacy of his prefence, in the authoritative 
 afcendency of his own perfonage. 
 
 The 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 we need only fay, that there is fpace enough between 
 us and the fun for all the feveral apartments which the 
 fcriptures feem to fuppofe in it. That hades is out 
 of this our world we think, with Grotius, very pro- 
 bable : who fpeaking of the abyfs in his comment on 
 Luke vm. 31. Says, Si quis tamen modeftce conje5iura 
 ejl locus^ malim extra htinc mundum ajpe^abilem^ eunt 
 (i.e. abyjfi locum) ponere^ ut ^ regionem beatorum fpiri- 
 tuum, quam cum quibufdam in centra terra. Ipfa certe 
 vox oitva-cra vo/Iitatem quandam pr<e fe fert ; ^ videri 
 potejl TO 0-y.oT^ TO i^uolipoy ideo did quod extra hunc orbem 
 Jit qui in ufus nojlros eji conditus. Nee male forte hue 
 refer as quod apud Johannem eJi cap. xii. 31. Princeps 
 hujus mundi ejicietur fords. Which opinion the anci- 
 ent author of the book of wildom feems alfo to fa- 
 vour; fee Wifd. i. 13, 14. And that hades is within 
 the earth's orbit, and fo, according to the copernican 
 fyftem, under the earth, or farther retired Irom the 
 heavens than we are, feems to be reafonably conjec- 
 tured, from the fcripture expreffions concerning it, 
 as well as from other confiderations too long, and per- 
 haps impertinent, to deferve inferting in this place. 
 
 ''IT is well known that the greek pronoun «utoj 
 fignifies either him or himfelf •, and that in this place 
 the latter is intended appears from the fyriac, viz- 
 
 I 
 
Letter III. [ 49 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 The events here prefumed correfpond alfo with 
 our Lord's own account of things, Luke xi. 21. 
 When ajlrong man arnid keeps his palace^ his goods 
 are in peace ; but when a fironger than he Jhall come 
 upon him, and overcome him, he takeihfrotn him all 
 his armour wherein he trujled, and divideth his 
 prey (|is.^:a bztha, that which he has, )j.j:i bzaj 
 plunder'd, or poffefs'd himfclfof by robbery) 
 
 However, to purfue my point more diflindllyj 
 I fhall prove the three following articles. 
 
 Firjl, That the kingdom of Chriji is already 
 begun. 
 
 Second, That the kingdoms of this world will 
 all at laft be comprehended in it. 
 
 Third, That the kingdom of Chriji is under 
 his particular condud: as fon of God and man. 
 
 SECT. IV* 
 
 ChrIst^s kingdom began. 
 
 OF the three points propofed we have to 
 prove, I"- 
 
 That the kingdom of Chriji is already begun. 
 For this we have our Lord's exprefs word«, 
 Luke xi. 20. If I by thefiiger of God cajl out de- 
 1:1 is, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon yen, 
 
 G or 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Col. ii. 1 5. OL^axn-ii-' L-I^V^s^' X^-^? Lot J1.J0' 
 
 ^et eruhefcere fecit ^ eos ^ pal am '^iu femetirfo^^ and put 
 them to an open fhame in lumklt. 
 
Letter III. [5^1 Sect. IV. 
 
 or (as in the fyriac teftament ol^ * 2.^;d ' 
 loil^^^ CM-Kod^xio' yO^uXi.') 'The kingdom 
 ^of God draweth near "- unto you. Again, Mark 
 ix. I . Inhere be fome of the ftanders here, who fiall 
 not tajie deaths till they fiall fee the kingdom of God 
 come in power. Again, Col. i. 13. Who has delivered 
 us from the power of darknefs^ and has tranflated us 
 into the ki?igdom of his dear f on. 
 
 Not that the kingdom of God prevails as yet 
 vifibly in this world, but it is neverthelefs begun, 
 and has therefore many of its people and denizens 
 living in it, having its triumphant country and 
 oeconomy elfewheie, in as much reality, as any 
 earthly nation has an ceconomy upon the earth. 
 
 St. Faul has given us a moft majeftic ac- 
 count of our Lord's entry into his kingdom in 
 F^ph. iv. 8, 9, 10. Wherefore^ he faith ^ when he 
 afcended up on high, be led captivity captive, and 
 gave gifts unto men ; now that he afcended, what is 
 it but that he alfo defcended firfi into the lower parts 
 of the earth ? He that defcended, is the fame that 
 alfo afcended far above all heavens, that he might 
 fill all things. 
 
 Which may be paraphrafed as follovs^s: He, 
 the Jehovah Chrift, when he afcended up into the 
 heavens, having refcued as his own rightful pro- 
 perty, thofe who had hitherto been the captives 
 of other potentates, out of the hands of their 
 oppreffors ; he took them in triumph as his own 
 captives, and made them a part of that magnifi- 
 cent retinue which attended him : but in faying 
 that he afcended it is neceifarily implied, that he 
 alfo defcended lirfl into the lower parts of the 
 
 eaith^ 
 
Letter III. [ 51 ] Sect. TV. 
 
 earth, where arc the regions of hades : he that 
 defcended is the fame alfo that afcended far above 
 all heavens, that being there feated in the fullefl 
 power and dignity, he might fill all things. And 
 hence it is that we his members (and meerly 
 becaufe we are his members) receive of him 
 gifts and graces, becoming thereby fome apoflles^ 
 feme rcmigelijis^ fome pajiors and teachers, for 
 the perfcdiing of the faints, for the work of the 
 ininijiry, for the edifying of the body of Chrif -, 
 till ive all come in the imit\ of the faith, and of 
 the knowledge of the fon of God, unto a pe?'feii 
 man, unto the mcafure of the ft at ure of the fulneft 
 of Chrift. 
 
 But becaufe the meaning of the word captivity 
 in this text is difputed, before we go farther, we 
 fliould give our reafojis for what we here prefume 
 upon as the true import of this pafTage. 
 
 Vcrfe 8th, He led captivity captive (in greek 
 
 We underftand what it is to lead a captive in 
 triumph after a conqueft made ; fomewhat like 
 this was done by our Lord when he afcended 
 up on high ; and on this account we have the 
 great events of his paffion exprelled in this re- 
 femblance : Is it not ftrange then that it fliould 
 remain a queftion what we are to underftand by 
 the term captivity ? 
 
 However, let us firfl obferve of this term cap- 
 tivity, that it is an abfirad noun-fubftantive, 
 and as it is known that the fyriac language, 
 which was native to our faviour and his apoftlcs, 
 does moflly exprefs its adjedive by an abftradt 
 G 2 noun- 
 
Letter III. [ 52 ] 
 
 Sect. IV. 
 
 poun-fubftantive, we may conclude this expref- 
 fion to be a fyriacifm, with which the greek 
 teftament abounds. 
 
 Like it both in term and conftrudtion is that 
 
 in Rev. xiii. 10. (^' tij on^i/.xXco<Ti(;)iv cvvxyii, ttg ui)Q- 
 
 fj-aXwixv uVaysj) If any one lead captivity^ he Jhall go 
 into captivity. Here the abftradt noun («;;)(;^aAw(na) 
 captivity is ufcd for the adjeftive (ai;)(^aAa)Tev) 
 captive, /. e, a captive perfon or prifoner. 
 
 In confirmation of this remark, I here give in 
 the notes'" a few of numberlefs other Inftances 
 obvious in the greek teftament j and muft con- 
 fefs that thefe feveral inftances are of themfelves 
 fufficient evidence, that by the apoftle's word 
 
 captivity 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Syriacifms why fo frequent in the New Tejiament, 
 
 ""NOUNS adjedlive in the greek teftament are in 
 fyriac exprefs'd by abllrad nouns : Thus, 
 
 Inftead of, 
 An iron rod, 
 A glorious throne. 
 The higheft power. 
 His glorious power, 
 Unjuft works. 
 Our vile body. 
 
 His glorious body, 
 
 A contrite fpiri;. 
 Impious works. 
 Shameful affections, 
 A forgetful hearer, 
 
 We read 
 A rod of iron. 
 A throne of glory. 
 The power of the higheft. 
 His power of glory. 
 Works of injuftice. 
 The body of our vilenefs, 
 
 (to (TwtAX T>5j Ta7rftvw(r£wg 
 
 The body of his glory, 
 
 A fpirit of contrition. 
 Works of impiety. 
 Affedlions of fhame. 
 A hearer of forgetfulncfs. 
 
Letter III. [ 53 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 captivity is to be meant, thofe who are in a ftate 
 of captivity, or the captives ; and that therefore 
 by our Lord's leading captivity captive muft be 
 meant, that he fcized himfelf of thofe who were 
 
 captives. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The unjuft fteward. 
 
 The eled have obtain'd 
 
 it, 
 The flefhly mind is dead, 
 
 <ppovriiji.x (Txpxizou ^]/r\(rifji.xi- 
 &v J fo ^po\/7\^x 7rvevy.XTH(.ou 
 
 The fteward of injuftice. 
 
 The eledion has obtained 
 
 it. 
 The mind of the fiefli is 
 
 death, ((ppoiriy.x cxpucr; 
 Qxuxrog ; fo (^povry^x ttvbv- 
 
 Whatever may be the reafon, certain it is that St. 
 Paul ufually prefers the hebrew, that is the fyriac man- 
 ner of exprefiion to the greek idiom. Altho'he furcly 
 nuift have underftood the greek in its purity and ele- 
 gance, yet he writes all his epiftles as a native of Ju- 
 dea.y that is in the fyriac phrafe and didion; fo that 
 tho' they confift of greek words, they are in form and 
 conftruflion moftly fyriac. 
 
 This indeed often renders his greek obfcure to the 
 polite reader, upon which account St. Jcrom cenfures 
 him pretty freely, not confidcring that, to the learned 
 in the holy languages, fuch ftyle is of all others the 
 moft appofite, figni^cant and intelligible. 
 
 Notwithftanding the Jews muft have ufed the chal- 
 dee tongue during their captivity, yet they ftill retain'd 
 the phrafe and idiom of the hebrew j and irom hence 
 it came to pafs that the fyriac, which refults from the 
 union of the two, retains the force and liberty of the 
 latter : of which therefore fays our learned Fuller ^ " h 
 is fo near aktn to the hebrew as defervedly to be called 
 its daughter-, and is the only huignage ivhich can with 
 
Letter III. [ 54 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 captives, and fo delivered them from their ftate 
 of captivity, to their becoming his own freemen. 
 This was alio foretold of him, If. xlii. 6, 7, 8. I 
 yehovab have called thee in righteoiifnefs^ and will 
 hold thee by thy handy and will keep thee^ arid will 
 
 give 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 propriety^ and true emphajis^ render the hehrew word 
 for word.''^ 
 
 Beza feems to have believed that the hebrew only 
 can vf\t\\ propriety cxprefs the mind ot God to man ; 
 if this be fo, the fyriacifms frequent in the New Tefta- 
 ment befpeak propriety inftead of inelegance, the fy- 
 riac diale6l being as well adapted to the divine man- 
 ner of exprefTion as the hebrew. 
 
 This remarkable opinion of Eeza's we find in his 
 notes upon ^^s the loth as follows, " Ut autem he- 
 braijmos permifcerent^ non modo hac caufa fuit quia he- 
 hrm erant (potuijfet enim fpiritus fan5fu5 hoc qukquid 
 erat in ipfis emendare^ fi difplicuijfet) Sed quia cum de its 
 rebus differerent qua Hebraicis Uteris erant tradit^^ necejfe 
 fuit mult a retinere^ ne do5frinam quampiam novam afferre 
 viderenttir. Et certe tarn mullos hahraifmos ab illis fer~ 
 vatcs fuiffe minime miror, quum pkrique funt ejufmodi ut 
 nullo alio idiomate tarn f elicit er exprimi poffint^ ifno inter- 
 du',n ne exprimi quidem : tit nifi illas formulas retimtiffenty 
 nova illis interdum vocabula &? no'Va diccndi g^pera com- 
 ?ninifcenda fuerinty qu^e nemo plane intelkxiffetfJj Pcftfemb 
 (ut tandem dicendi finem faciam) quum bos unos delegerit 
 Deus^ per quos fcribi vellet qu£cunq; ad nofram, falutem 
 ncceffaria Junty illud quoq; nobis ejl conjiituenduziy cundem 
 ilium Deum it a effe ip forum Unguis mcdcratumy ut ne ver- 
 btirn quidem temcre ipfis cxciderity imo vero cunu^a fic 
 planey apte ^ appofite dixerint, ut pknius ac melius a 
 qtwpiam de his did nunquam potuerit. ' 
 
Letter III. [ S5 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 give thee for a covenant of the people^ for a light of 
 the nations^ to open the blind eyeSy to bring out the 
 pr if oners from the prifon, and them that fit in dark- 
 nefs out of the prifon boufe ; / fehovah this is my 
 name, and my glory will 1 not give to another. 
 
 So then the expreffion (»!x/*<*^wT«vc-f;/ «i;)^|u,axw<ri*i!) 
 he captivated captivity, together with that paflage 
 
 in ^ev, iii. lO. (f' tk cci^iJ^ccX'^c-iau cvva,yii, sig a'.}(_y.oi- 
 
 ;\.«(r:ai/ JTraya) If any one lead captivity, he fall go 
 into captivity y may be juflly tranflated, the for- 
 mer text, he led away in triumph thofe that had 
 been captive ; the latter, if any one lead away 
 any other for his captive, himfelf £haU become 
 a captive. 
 
 This prefumed meaning will alfo appear fron> 
 that original prophefy from whence bt. Paul 
 quotes this pafTage, for he gives us this prophefy, 
 not as his own, but as the words of the Pfalmijiy 
 Pf. Ixviii. 1 8. I'hou hafl afcended into heaven (the 
 exceeding height, ^-^*' n'itt") 'y6^/ captivated 'the 
 captives, haft received gifts for men. But to cap- 
 tivate captives is to take for ones captives thofe 
 who were before captives, or in a Hate of capti- 
 vity j as ^z/^y6 explains this exprefiion. If. xiv. 2. 
 And ihcy fall take them captives, whofe captives they 
 were ( crn^Dwh^ 3'Dw* vnv 'et eriint ~coptivantes 
 ^captivantes eos^ and fall rule over their opprcffcrs. 
 
 This fame expreffion we likev/ife find in Pzeh. 
 xvi. 53. (r::;'"!L5 n^at'* r.K' ji-irorii-' ri." --si:"!') 
 ^And I captivate (or will captivate) 'their 'cap- 
 tives ' even the * captives - of Sodom, and their 
 daughters, and the captives of Samaria, and 
 their daughters, 'a7id the captives (that are) 'thy 
 
 captives 
 
Letter III. [ 56 ] Sect. IV* 
 
 captives ( ^n^ity * n^au*^ • ) in the midfi of them 
 (viz. Sodom and Samaria^ 
 
 And again, in Judges v. 12. -/^r//^ Barak, ^and 
 captivate (or lead captive) V^^ captives {'y^'^'' T\2vy) 
 that is lead home out of that part of Canaan 
 which is the kingdom of Jabin, thofe Jews, thy 
 brethren, which he, the faid king Jabin, there 
 detain'd in captivity." 
 
 Whether therefore we compare the term cap- 
 tivity in the place contefted with that other place 
 in the Revelations, where alone we find the word 
 ^a.iyj^x\w(rixv) repeated in our greek teflament ; or 
 whether with the original paflage in the Pfalms, 
 from whence the apoftle quotes it; or whether 
 with the fcveral like palTages in the old tefta- 
 ment ; or whether, laftly, we compare it as an 
 abftradl noun fubftantive with other fuch in the 
 new teftamentj ftill we find this term every 
 where fpeaking, that our Lord at his afcenlion 
 carried with him as captives, not fatan lord of 
 death, but of thofe who had been the captives of 
 fatan, and other infernal powers before that time, 
 and confequ.ently that his kingdom was at that 
 time began authoritatively. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "The words ('y'2V niir^) captivate thy captivity, in 
 this place c.ianot be underftood of Sifera's army, fince 
 it is exprefsiy faid of thefe (chap. iv. 16) that tkey all 
 to a m.mfell by the edge of the /"jncrd: fo that the cap- 
 tives which Barak was invited in this fong to lead 
 captive, miift have been his brethren, v/ho had been 
 bciore the captives of Jahin, 
 
Letter III. [ 57 ] Sect. V. 
 
 SECT V. 
 
 Cbri/i's kingdotjifiall prevail under his government, 
 as God-man univerfally. 
 
 JJdly. 
 
 THE thing we have to profe, is that the 
 time will come when the kingdom and 
 (Economy of God fhall polTefs itfelf of, and pre- 
 vail over all the world. 
 
 To this purpofc we have only to produce a 
 few texts. 
 
 Ifa. xlix. 5, 6, 7. And now fat d 'Jehovah^ form- 
 ing me from the womb to be his fervafjt, to reduce 
 facob to hi?jjfelfy Thd Ifrael be not gathered yet f mil 
 /(namely ^JiK the my Lord the future man Chrijl 
 fefus) be glorious in the eyes of febovah, and my 
 God has been my ftrength. And again he faidy it is 
 a light thing that thou (the Adni or Lord, /. r. the 
 future man Chrijl Jeftis) fiouldfi be my fervant to 
 raife up the tribes of facob^ and convert the prcferved 
 of Ifrael : Ihave alfo given thee to be a light of the 
 Gentiles, to be my falvation even to the end of the 
 earth. T'hus faidfehovah the redeemer of Ifrael his holy 
 one ; to the defpifed foid, to the abominated nation y 
 to the fervant of majiers, kings fall fee, and arife^, 
 princes fall bow themfelves, becaufe of fehovah-, for 
 he isfaithfid, the holy one of Ifrael; and he hath chofm 
 thee. Pf. Ixxii. 8. He fall have dominion alfojrom 
 fea to fca, and from the river unto the ends of the 
 earth. Pf ii. 7, 8. Jehovah faid to me ( *:";k adni, 
 for that thefe words were fpoken typically of, and 
 relate properly to feftis we are alTured, Heb. i. 5. 
 
 H chap. 
 
Letter III. [ 58 ] Sect. V. 
 
 chap. V. 5. ABs xiii. 23. T'hou art my Jon ^ to-day 
 have I begotten thee-, ajk of me and I will give thee 
 the Gentiles for thy inheritance^ and the ends of the 
 earth for thy pojfejjion. Zech. xiv. 9. And fchovah 
 fhall be king over all the earth -^ in that day Jehovah 
 Jhall be one and his name one. 
 
 Promifcs like this are to be found in fo many 
 other places, that this point will, I fuppofe, be 
 eafily granted me. 
 
 iir'^ 
 
 This kingdom of Chrif is under his particular 
 condud as fon of God, both Logos ana man. 
 
 Firf. This kingdom of Chrijl is his as a man 
 the fon of God. 
 
 fohn xiii. 3. ffus knowing that the father had 
 given all things into his hands ^ &c. Matt, xxviii. 
 1 8. And Jefiis came andfpake unto them faying all 
 power is given unto me in heaven and on earth. Ep. 
 i. 19.- — According to the energy of his mighty power 
 which he wrought in Chrift^ ratfing him from the dead; 
 and he hath fet him (namely the fon of man) at 
 his own right hand in heavenly places^ far above all 
 principality and power and might and dominion, and 
 every name that is named not only in this ceon, but 
 alfo in that which is to come, and he hath put all 
 things under his feet. i. Cor. xv. 27. But when he 
 faith all things are put under him, it is nianifejl that 
 be, who did put all thiiigs under him, is excepted. 
 
 The kingdom of Chrift may again be called 
 his as man, in regard alfo to its being condudted 
 fingly and folely by himfelf without deputies or 
 reprefentatives. 
 
 This is a mofl Invaluable privilege, lince we 
 have reafon to believe that the government of all 
 
 thofe 
 
Letter III. [ 59 ] Sect. V. 
 
 thofe regions and fyftems of worlds in the im- 
 menfe depth of fpace, excepting only where the 
 paradife or kingdom of God is extended, is car- 
 ried on by the adminiftration of the angehc pow- 
 ers; and that from fuch delegated authority thefe 
 potentates have their titles of thrones, dominions, 
 principalities, lordfhips, virtues, &c. But in the 
 regions of paradife the cafe is otherwife, for, 
 Heh. ii. 5. Unto the angch he has not put in fiihjeBion 
 the future age (^Zs^^^ j^'l^j*^) whereof we fpeak^ 
 i. e. the chrifti'an kingdom or paradifaical age, 
 which is began only amc^ig the blefTed. 
 
 So that what unchriftian, [i.e. ftrange)fubje(flion 
 a chriftlan has ever to experience, will be in this 
 fliort worldly age only, lince, not only no enemy 
 or injurious being fliall, after our Lord's refurrec- 
 tion, have been fuffered to approach his paradi- 
 faical domains, as he fays John xii. 31. Now Jhall 
 the pri?2ce of this world (t8 y.o(r/xa r^a) be caft out, but 
 neither will any celeftial dignity however great or 
 holy have any fort of authority therein. 
 
 And it is to be prefumed that on account of this 
 efpecial prerogative of the people of Jehovah, was 
 the Ifraelites defire of a king fo particularly fig- 
 nalized by the expreffions of his refentment, as 
 we read i Sam. chap. viii. 
 
 Secondly^ This kingdom of our Lord's is his 
 alfo as Logos fen of God, ;. e. as Jehovah Adni. 
 
 Heb. i. 2, — 10. And in thefe la ft days has he 
 fpoken with us by his own foUy whom he hath crdai?i- 
 ed the heir of all tlmigs, by whom alfo he confiitutcd 
 the ages ; who is hiwfelf the fpk7idor of his glory y 
 and the ifnage rf his rffijice, and upholds all things 
 by the virtue of his word, and he by hi mfe If purged 
 H 2 our 
 
Letter III. [ 60 ] Sect. V. 
 
 curfmSy and fat at the right hand of the majefiy in 
 the highefl ; 'ajtd (for) he was ''altogether 'more ex- 
 fellent than *t he angels (^^ t^V-*' ot-^^' jxctjo' 
 ((xpL^isk^V ^^ ^^ inherited a more exalted (ijki^s!^) 
 name than thev -, for unto which of the angels did God 
 ever fay Qo) >^ paf p^O-bsH^) thou art my fin 
 ' — and let all the angels of God worjhip him — of the 
 angels he faith , who maketh his angels fpirits and his 
 minifters an ardent fire : but to the fin he faith ^ thy 
 throne^ O God (^j^^^* j<^ V ^ '^ ' ) ^^ '^^ ^^^ ^^^ 
 of 'ages J afiepter of equity is the fcepter of thy king- 
 dom^ thou haft loved righteoufnefs and hated iniquity y 
 therefore God^ even thy God, hath anointed thee with 
 the oil of gladnefs above thy fellows. And again, 
 I'houfrom the beginning haji laid the foundations of 
 the earth, ajid the heavens are the work of tljy hands ; 
 Again, Heb. ii. 5—8. He hath 770t fiibjeBed to an- 
 gels the future age of which wefpeak, (i. e. that age 
 which is quite a new fcene of being, opened on- 
 ly in the paradife of Gop, where the new crea- 
 tion in Chriji is began) but — thou haft humbled him 
 a little lower than the angels, and put upon his head 
 glory and honour, and given him power over the work 
 of thy hands; and haft fubjeSled all things under /j|$ 
 feet J. but in that he fubjeBed all things unto him, he 
 left not any thiiig notfubjeBed unto him ; but now hi- 
 therto we by no means fee all things jubje£ied unto him. 
 And this He is, If a. ix. 6. T^he child born, the mighty 
 God, ("nrio Sn) the ceonian father, the prince of peace. 
 This iirft general exercife of our Lord's ason- 
 ian power, fecms like wife to be the thing meant, 
 v/hen he fa3^s fohn xii. 31, 32. Now ft:all the prince 
 of this world be caft out ; 'and I, ""when Hhat I am 
 lifted up 'from 'the earth (^Oso^'^L^.).,' j^o' )-l|o' 
 1-1.^)^ ^^^) ft^'all draw all men unto ?ne. And 
 
Letter III. [ 6i ] Sect. V. 
 
 And thus, I fuppofc, this point alfo to be fuf- 
 ticiently proved. 
 
 But leaft what I have advanced in my prefenC 
 letter may appear to you as wild and fantaftical, 
 I fhall erideavour to juftify myfelf, by fubjoining 
 a few quotations from moft of the chriftian wri- 
 ters of the two firft centuries, which too will, 
 I dare fay, yield you an agreeable entertainment. 
 
 The teftimonies of the moil: primitive chriftian 
 writers, touching our Lord's defcent into hades. 
 
 Origen. 
 OOLUS enim (Chrijftus)y^// inter mortuos liber. 
 ^ Et quia liber inter mortuos fuity idcirco devi&o 
 €0 qui habuit mortis imperium, abjlraxit captivita- 
 tem qua tenebatiir in mortem ; et non folum femet- 
 ipfum refufcitavit a mortuis^ fed et eos qui teneban- 
 tur in morte, Jimul excitavit^ fimulq\ federe in cce^ 
 le/iibus fecit. Afcendens in altum captiva?n duxit 
 capti'vitatem ; non folum animas cducens^ fed et cor- 
 pora eorum refufcitanSy ficut teflatur evangeliufny 
 quod midta fanSlorum corpora refufcitata flinty et 
 apparuerunt midtis et introierunt in janclam civita- 
 tem Dei viventis^ Hierufalefn. In c ant i cum cantico- 
 rumy Homilia tertia. 
 
 Iren^-eus. 
 R A propter dornmum in ca qua funt fub terra 
 defcendifjcy eijangeli'zantem et illis adventum fuuniy 
 remiffam pcccaiorum exijlentem his qui credunt in 
 eum. Crcdiderunt autem in eum omnes jiijU & pro- 
 phet ce ^patriarchal qui bus fimiliter ut nobis rem: fit 
 pcccata. Omnes enim hommcs cgcnt gloria Dei ; 
 jufiificantvr autem non afemetipfis, fed a domini ad- 
 'veiitUy Old intendunt lumen ejus. Lib. 'w. Cnp. xlv. 
 
 Justin 
 
Letter III. [ 62 ] Sect. V. 
 
 Justin Martyr. 
 
 EMNH20H ^c Kupiog o Qsog tuv airo IcrpaJiA vixpui/ xvra 
 ruv X£xoi^ii)iJi,£vccv ft? yi^v p^WjuaTOf, Hj roiTi^ri Tifoq ocvrisq svocy- 
 ysXia-xa-^oii aurotj to <ruTripiou avT^. DialogUS CUm Try- 
 
 phone Judteo. 
 
 Justin Martyr. 
 
 ^JJUM dicit ', excitata junt mult a eorum qui 
 ohdormierunt fanBorum corpoj'a : perfeBam denotat 
 refiirreSlionem. Prajlita aiitem ejl janBorum ijio- 
 rum refurreBio^ lit demonftratio ejjet^ mortijicatio- 
 7iem cjje mortis omnium noftrum Chrijli mortem^ qiiam 
 pro falute et vita mortalium omnium pert ulit . Is certe 
 quidem vlvificam potentiam fuam^ mortids excitandis 
 mirijice cxhibuit in prafcnti rerum jtatii, et animis 
 piis defunBo7'um apud inferos ojnnihiis liberandis, 
 
 Ai' '11' aiTJav ouJ'f iTiKix>Tr\(Ty,v vraAn', ocXka y.svov(Tiv iv ocScc- 
 vcca-ioc. ; xoc^xTrsfi o Ei/wp/ Xj o HAia?, >t, bkti (tvv aurot? bu 
 Tw TTScpx^^igoo a,]/(X.[ji.S]/ovTBgy rriv n^n atwviai/ t)1? ra Xp'fov ai/ara- 
 (Tiug yivo^-:]/v\v v.xrot, ivxKkdyA'j^ JcaO' riv., cog (py\iT.v o Ofioj a- 
 'TOfoXog^ Travrsg a.XXa.yva'oy.s^cc ; iig yocp a^avarov n xj OKp- 
 S"i3iprov C^iony OUTTW yiyovz nvo? '/i av«rwJ(r»?, ttAjiv t8 (rwTTjpo? 
 Xp'fa. (J'ko >^ TTcwTOTOJCOf Twi/ i/£Jtpwi/, X; a7rapp^») twv xixoijiArj- 
 
 fAfi/o-'v a:'-i'}/op£u-ai. Refpcnf. ad orthodoxos. 
 
 But Clemens Alexandrinus even exceeds this, 
 for, fays he, 
 
 O KTPIOS rj7]yhXi(Taro x) toi? ff aJ'ou — oi ev dh iiot-rarcc- 
 yyjng, >4 Big a,7roo?:Siocv ioc'jr'dg iK^Bour.OTsg^ y,x^x7rBp bx. rivog 
 fscog Btg ^a,Kcc.(T(Ty,v ixovng (XTro-.pll'ZVTzr-^ avroi roiyvi/ Bigiv li 
 t7rx>(.ov(roc,vrBg no? ^-iccg ^ut/xuBoog t£ x, ^w^Jif. ClcJUentis A- 
 
 kK^^ndrini Jlromatum. Liber fextus. 
 
 As alfo Tertullian. 
 INFERNUM petit hie animas pro crimine vinBas^ 
 Since Jine prafidioy conchifcB pondere Jegisy 
 
 Olim 
 
Letter III. [ 63 ] Sect. V. 
 
 Oli??! promijfa, ^ fperata^ & tarda rogabant^ 
 Sancloriim in requiem deditj & cum luce retraxit. 
 *Tertia namq\ die fiibiem cum corpore vicior^ 
 Immani virtute patris, viafa^afalutisy 
 Inq-y creatura portans hominemq^ detimq-, 
 Confcendit c<xlos^ captivas ille rediicem 
 Primitias, munus domino caramq\ jigiirajn. 
 Confeditq-y patri liicis virtute recepta^ 
 Gloria qua miinitus erat^ dum vinceret hojleniy 
 Spiritu conjunBuSy de nobis came ligatus. 
 Hunc pater, & do7ni}ium&ChriJlu?ny regeynq-y dciimq-, 
 yudicio regnoq-y dato^ mijjurus in orbem eji. 
 
 Adverfas Marcionem, Liber quintiis. 
 
 I beg leave to trouble you with only one more 
 iliort quotation, which ihall be from 
 
 Ignatius. 
 
 AAH0n2 cTc, xj 8 hv.'.-,<THy fraUjSwSyi, xj OLin^Mz, ZXiiroy- 
 
 tt.(ru[/.XTUv ipxxrsw, iTnys.m ^e la^ociuv >^ Pw^aatwy, k^ twv ttx- 
 
 nx-xPoviuv hy u; TH 7s-Xri%-jg th crvvxyxs-xi/Tog ru Kvpiu ; ttoAAx 
 yap, <pno-J, cu^xtx rcau xr/.Ci^u;riy.[i/uii oiyuou yiysf^r, tuv 0,1%- 
 ^nuy\> M'M)(Pivruv ; x) xxrri7.^iv itq a,>/]u ^ovogy oivnXd-i <?£ 
 
 xxTx TrXrid-ovg. Epiji..ad Trail. 
 
 
 LET- 
 
[64] 
 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Chris t'x kingdom will conjijl of many 
 fuccejffive parts or periods, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 "W^S^Y third point as to the kingdom oiChriJly 
 w M w was, that as it will be fecular, it will 
 l^www alfo, like other fecular things, confift of 
 many fucceffive parts or periods of time. 
 And this you will admit of as evident from the 
 letters I fent you upon future events foretold in 
 Icripturej wherein I argued that our Lord's next 
 coming to judgment, and the refurreftion of the 
 faints which fhall attend it, will be a feafon very 
 far (hort of the end of this world; that it will be 
 the end only (i-a «twv(^ tsts) of this prefent age 
 or period of time, this prefent untheocratical ftate 
 of things. 
 
 That 
 
Letter IV. [ 65 ] Sect. I. 
 
 That when the unbelieving part of Ifrael^ which 
 hitherto have been Snd {hall be enemies to xht 
 gofpel, fhall all have had their efFecftual aBoniari 
 fufferings (namely the dead in Gehenna^ the liv- 
 ing under the antichriftian perfecution)^ and when 
 after the fulnefs of the Gentiles is come in, the 
 'Jews (hall, all of them, even the whole family 
 of Ifrael, be faved from the wrath tliat fliall then 
 come upon this world: that then fuch "Jews as 
 fliall be dead fliall rife again into life, and fliall 
 with their then perfecuted brethren be fecurely 
 gathered into their own land in Jtidea, and be- 
 come a nation and people of God, according to 
 the promife made to their father Abrahdviy which 
 is circumflantially defcribed Gei2. xxviii. 4. By the 
 land wherein thou art a Jiranger^ that is, of which 
 thou art not as yet owner but a fojourner by faith, 
 as in a foreign country, the land thou feeji^ even 
 the land whereon thou liejl, (v. 13) to thee " will I 
 give it, atid to thy feed. 
 
 1 For 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "THE inheritance of the land of C^;/<3<2», is pro- 
 mifed not only to the defcendants of the patriarchs, 
 but to the patriarchs themfelves-, therefore the patri- 
 archs muft perfonally poflefs this land, and this their 
 poflefTion muft be after their refurre6lion trom the 
 dead, for whilft they were living in this world, Jifs 
 vii. 5. God gave them none inheritance in this land^ no 
 not [0 much as to fet their foot on: fo then the patri- 
 archs fliall hereafter be members of both the paradife 
 above, and the paradife below, and probably hold a 
 free, mutual intercourfe with both at the fame time, 
 refiding fomf:tim«s in heaven and fometimes on earth, 
 
Letter IV. [ 66 ] Sect. I. 
 
 For the "Jews being now cleanfed from all their 
 wickednefs, fhall live a devout earthly life, in the 
 millenium, on this earth, fee Jer. chap, xxx, and 
 xxxi. -5^x1. Ez. xxxvii. while the chriftian church, 
 even all the firft fruits, fhall form the millenium 
 which is above in heaven, fee huke xxii. 28, 29. 
 Kev. xix. I — 7. 
 
 You there find it proved that all this fliall 
 happen upon our Lord's very next coming to 
 judgment, when the antichnft and falfe prophet 
 fhall be caft into the lake of fire, but fatan fhall 
 be imprifoned for 1000 years in the abyfs. 
 
 And that during this period the heathen (pro- 
 bably a remnant who fliall efcape in this vifitation 
 of the lamb's wrath, and fliall not be killed by 
 his next appearance) fhall be converted by the 
 'Jews now chriftian inhabitants in the land of Ca- 
 naan^ and that fo the world for a feafon (fhort 
 indeed, yet typical of what in fome after age will 
 be produced in a more eminent manner) fhall be- 
 come the kingdom of God and his Chrift, For 
 the kingdom of the faints fha!l prevail over all the 
 kingdoms of the earth, and fucceed in their place, 
 and confequently fhall be an earthly kingdom, 
 or kingdom below, anfweruble to the heavenly 
 kingdom, which fhall alfo be at the fame time 
 in the paradife above. 
 
 That towards the end of the jewifh millenium, 
 and in this fair flate of things, fatan fhall be re- 
 leafed out of prifon, but with a fpirit not much 
 altered by his confinement; for he will deceive the 
 nations (tho' not the Jews) who by his artifices 
 fliall decline in heart from bad to worfe, being 
 
 firft 
 
Letter IV. [ 67 ] Sect. I. 
 
 firft lukewarm, then carelefs, then infidel, and 
 at laft devillfh; in which wicked zeal they will 
 become the army of Gog and Magog, and be ga- 
 thered by fatan to battle againft Jerufakm, where 
 they will be deftroyed, and latan caft to the beaft 
 and prophet in the lake of fire, by our Lord him- 
 felf, 2 Thef. ii. 8. Rev. xx. lo. appearing now 
 again to vindicate his people's honour, and judge 
 the reft of the dead, fpoken of in Rev, xx. 5. who 
 jfhall live again, when the 1000 years arefiniflied. 
 That thefe events (liall be followed by yet an- 
 other period of happlnefs ; for, Ez. xxxviii. they 
 who dwell in the cities of Ifrael fhall burn the 
 weapons of Gog Magog's Army, as being enough 
 for (cwtn years fuel for them; fo that they {hall 
 take no wood out of the field, neither cut down 
 any out of the forefts; and feven months fhall the 
 houfe oi Ifrael be burying of the multitude of Gog, 
 and all the heathen fliall fee the Lord's judgment: 
 and Zee. xiv. 16 — 26. Every one left of all the nations 
 which came againfl '^eimfalem, f:all go up from year 
 to year to worfljip at 'Jerufalem\ and in that day the 
 bells upon the horfes fiall be holijiefs unto the Lord. 
 If. xi. 6. The wolf alfo Jloall dwell with the lamb., and 
 the leopard fiall lie down with the kid-, and the calf\ 
 and the young lion, andthefatling together, and a little 
 child fljall lead ihetn-, for the lion fl:all cat flraw like the 
 ex, and thes fl:all not hurt nor deflroy in all the mountain 
 of my holinefs, (i. e. in yerufale?fi) the holy city, the 
 city of the livwg God, the place which he hath chcfcn, 
 the joy of the whole earth, which f 'all be then called, 
 Jer. iii. 17. yerufalem the throne of the Lord, and 
 all nations flzall be gathered into it, for the earth 
 
 I 2 Jhall 
 
Letter IV. [ 68 ] Sect. L 
 
 fiall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the wa- 
 ters covef" thefea. 
 
 And thefe events fliall fucceed one another in a 
 regular procefs and time-like feries, even to the end 
 of the world, v^hen 2 Peter m. 10. the heavens fhall 
 pafs away with a great noife, and the elements Jhall 
 be melted with feitvent heat, the earth alfo and all that 
 are therein f jail be burnt iip\ and, If. xxxiv. 4. all 
 the heft of heaven Jhall be dijfohed^ and the heavens 
 fjall be rolled together as a fcroll, arid all their hoji 
 fhall fall down (whither their centripetal force fliall 
 liurry them) as a leaffalleth off from the vine.^ 
 
 And 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 p This univerfaj cataftrophe was alfo the expefcation 
 
 of the Gentiles^ as we read in Ovid. 
 
 EJj'e quoque in fatis reminifcitiir affore temfuSy 
 ^0 mare., quo tellus, quo reSfaq\ regia ccsli 
 Ardeaty i^ mundi moles operofa laboret. 
 
 Which words fay near as much as the fybil oracles, 
 
 fuppofed to be the forgery of (tho' probably only col- 
 
 lefted by) fome chriftian. 
 
 Tunc ardens fluvius ckIo manahit ah alto 
 IgneuSy atq; locos confumet funditus omnes^ 
 Terramq-i oceanumq; ingcntem^ i^ c^rula ponti 
 Stagndy lacuSy fiuviosy fontes^ Diiemq; feverumy 
 Ccelejlemq-y polum •, cceli quoq; lumina in umim 
 Flu:s:a fluent y forma dsleta prorfus ecrnm : 
 Jfira cadent etenim de ccdo cuEla revulfa. 
 
 So again Sophocles y 
 
 ¥.s-Cii yzp srx,'. Xcivoc uMvocv yjiovoqy 
 Qrav TT-ufo; yi^ovry. d^n'TX.-jpoy <Tyj>:<T-/\ 
 
Letter IV. [ 69 ] Sect. I. 
 
 And lince thus far, and in all the chansjes and 
 periods revealed, and which reach to and beyond 
 the end of this world, we fo evidently fee all things 
 to move in a regular feries and gradual procefs 
 from event to events we cannot well fuppofe o- 
 therwife of what is yet farther forward in the 
 depths of time, and which will occupy the im- 
 menfe interval between the end of this world and 
 our Lord's delivering up the kingdom into his 
 father's hands, when God fhall be all in allj ef- 
 pecially iince this kingdom is every where in 
 fcripture defcribed as fucceffive, as having fucccf- 
 livc work to be performed in it, and in many- 
 parts emphatically declared to fubfift from time 
 to time, from age to age, from generation to ge- 
 neration. 
 
 So Lam. v. 19. Thou^ O Jehovah, /halt re7}win 
 ( aSipS ) to the age, and thy throiie ( "Tni "imS ) 
 from generation to generation. Dan. iv. 3. Hi^ king- 
 dom ts a7i aonian kingdom, and his poiver with gem- 
 ration and generation ( 1"Ti "^"i "^V) and verfc 34. 
 nsohofe power is an ceoniaii power, and his kingdcm 
 with ge?ieration and ge7ieraiion ( "Hi "l" w^" ) i. e. in 
 a fucceflion of ages and generations even to the 
 time when, Dan. vii. 27. ^n^liT. f-J:L*"U,'l t^nv^'-r:) 
 the (fJvSy ^t-np =:pS rrj^rv ^^''d-^ S5 rmn nitStt ''^ 
 kingdo/n and empire and great nefs cf dcminicn under 
 all heavens, Jhall he given to the people of the jaints 
 of the mojl high one. 
 
 Doubtlefs there are innumerable alterations in 
 the womb of dcfliny, which furmount the fcanty 
 capacities of human conception and intelligence: 
 but yet that thefc will be, in like manner with what 
 has been, temporal iHid fucceffive, thro' all the 
 
 N'anctv 
 
Letter IV. [ 70 ] Sect. II. 
 
 variety of ftages, iiTues, and aflonifhing revolu- 
 tions in the creature life, may as reafonably be 
 prefumed, as that the courfe of nature, which has 
 "been for ages and years and months and days, will 
 flill be continued 'till the objeds of nature become 
 themfelves different and fit for immutability. 
 
 Says our Lord, 'John v. 17. My father ^worketh 
 hitherto^ and I work : and here ftands the foun- 
 dation and reafon of Chriji\ kingdom, the propri- 
 ety and convenience of the created seonian lifej 
 all the dread conduct of divine love during this 
 his jEonian government, thro' all its unfolding 
 fcenes, towards thofe that love and thofe that 
 hate him, thofe who know him and thofe who 
 know him not, whether in heaven or earth or hell 
 or wherever elfe, refls upon this truth, that God 
 hath a work to finifli, a work for Vv^hich his invio- 
 lable word is engaged, a work upon a creature 
 already produced, a creature born and exiiling in 
 time and in variety. 
 
 SECT. IL 
 
 TE have to prove that the kingdom QiChrifi 
 will be a feafon of a vaft continuance. 
 
 W E look upon it as an exceeding length of 
 time fince our father Adam and his wife rejoiced 
 together over their firft-born fon Cain in their mif- 
 taken hopes of him as the prom.is'd reftorer. See 
 
 Gen. iv. i. And fhc concerced and bar e Cain ^ and faid^ 
 ( T\yn'-- ris '_'w'\s* ^T^p' ) which fliould be rendered 
 
 ^ I have 
 
Letter IV. [ 71 ] Sect. IL 
 
 '7 hdvc gotten 'a man Hhe ^ Jehovah.'^ For the fe- 
 ries of years pafTed lince Adam lived in this world, 
 a fruitful fealbn of fo great a variety of events, 
 feems very great indeed when compared with the 
 few imcertain years which each of us expedis as 
 his refidue in life j and yet all this length of years 
 is far lefs than fo many minutes compared with 
 the duration of the aeonian life. 
 
 I remember to have heard you fpeak very 
 highly in favour of Bengeliiiss Gnomon^ but as 
 you have no other of his writings, let me here 
 give you the opinion of this fagacious author up- 
 on the word aeon : the ideas which it excites will 
 at leall dilate your thoughts agreeably. 
 
 By dividing the number of the beafl 666 by 42 
 the months of the beaft, he has exhibited a fett 
 of 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ When TiK ftands between two nouns, it joins them 
 together by appofition, and altvays denotes an accu- 
 fative cafe \ but it then only fignifics ' IZJ^ ) cum when 
 joined with a verb tranfitive or verb in hithphael ; 
 in the Lutheran bible this pafiage therefore is tranf- 
 latcd 31c5 Sabe lien maim ttw i^crru, I have got- 
 ten the man the Jehovah : according to which is 
 alfo the fyriac verfion ([_>.-^>oX^ )-*,.^i^' KaX£5' ) 
 '/ have gotten ^a man Hhe Jehovatj. 
 
 Eve fuppofed that fhe had now brought forth the 
 promifed feed Jehovah, who, flie believed, would be- 
 come a man by being born of her, the oilspring of 
 j-ier hufband: for the doctrine of the preincarnate ex- 
 igence of fouls is as old as the human race-, our firft 
 parents pre fumed not that by begetting they created 
 men, but only that beings already created, were thro* 
 them formed into human exiftences. 
 
Letter IV. [ 72 ] Sect. IL 
 
 of produfts which he thinks correfpond fo fortu- 
 nately, as to bid fair for opening fome of the 
 moft important truths of the revelations. ' 
 
 In this work an («iwi/) aeon proves to be a 
 term of 222 2y years, which fquared yields the 
 (^xtm aimwv, age of ages, i. e. the) aeonian aeon, or 
 the term of 4938271,605 years.' 
 
 This is a very fliort time compared with what 
 the plural aeons import, and yet fuppofing our 
 
 world 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 >■ S«e Bengelius's introdu6lion to his expofition of 
 the apocalypfe, tranfiated by Dr. Robertfon. 
 
 * jEvi quadratum (ne de cubo dicamus) eft sevum je- 
 vorum, annorum 49382711/^ longijjime ultra atateM 
 mundi excurrens: quadrati duplum, ava {duo) avorum^ 
 annorum 9876543^^. Hoc ideo tantum notamus^ quid 
 afertius figuratum habet numerum ; in a:'uo avorum no- 
 tabiks funt fahus a g ad S^ ad y. (5* a 4. ad ^y ad 2, 
 ad I. U' ■ in fraSOy Ji ekdem proportione refohatur^ nu- 
 merator fupplet 6. g. In avis avorum notabiles funt 
 gradus ^9 ad Q^. i^ fc in fra^o^ fi eadem proportione re- 
 fohatur^ numerator JuppleP^ift^ i . i^c. vividius rem fub-^ 
 jeaerint ccctdis nurjMri expanji: 
 
 '■ « 7 
 
 3 
 
 40 
 
 500 •^ 
 
 - '6600 • V 
 
 ^'7oooi& 
 800000 
 I 9000000 
 
 In itloy fra^a f? accedit ad-t-o + li-a ^c. in his frac- 
 tnra \l- accedit ad t% + 700 ^c. in utraq; fra^iird nume- 
 rator es 6, 5, y 2, I, feri^m ab 1 ad g explent. 
 
Letter IV. [ 73 ] Sect. IL 
 
 world to be 6000 years old, this fimple fquare 
 will amount to above 823 times our world's age. 
 But how prodigioufly is this fimple fquare ex- 
 ceeded by only the («««>£? onumv or) ages (dual) 
 of ages, a term ftill fo very (hort of the vafl ex- 
 cefs involved in the (««wv£? onuvuv) the aeons of 
 aeens three, 4, 100, 1000 tihies augmented^ that 
 human thought baffled in the conception muft 
 cry out, profundiim I ' 
 
 K And 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^id porro erunt ava avorum tria, quatuor^ centum, 
 mille? Qc. Oprofundum! i^ t amen hoc ne vadum qui- 
 dem eft de mart JSierniiaiis ahfolut^e^ quam denotant OI 
 aiuinq TilN oauvuu. Ingentia momenta interdum fcriptura 
 per ftibtiles ftrWuras obiter innuit. ^i capit, capiat. 
 
 Caveant fihi, qui apocataftafin poft banc vitam decent, 
 ne remjiibilao in millennium du^o exhauriri pUtent ; multo 
 amplior eft menjura aonum\ qua hie attigimus, non ad 
 curiofitatem irritandam, fed ad pe^us dilatandmn, ut cnn- 
 ditati alernitatis, accipiamus. Iri tempore fumus. 
 
 See Bengelii ordo temporum, p. 325. Slut. 1741. 
 
 -j^ * T H E C O M P*U T A T I O N. 
 
 Aiw)-, afe aeon or age = 2222 | years. 
 
 Aiu-j atuvuv, an aeon of ceons 2222^ x 2222^=4938271,60570.^3. 
 
 01 atojvE^TffNaiwi'aji', the aeons of the aeons ^938271^605 x 4938271, 
 
 605= 24386526444749, 276025 years. So thot 
 Suppofing the world's age to be 6000 years, the_ above laft pro- 
 
 duft being divided by them, you have the number of times 
 
 this world's age is contained in the faid laft produft, viz. 
 
 4064 millions 421 thoufand, &c. 
 
 6000) 243865264.44749, 276025 (4064421074, 124S79. 
 So that our Lord's kingdom by the fhorteft calculation will continue 
 
 4064 millions 42 i thoufand and 74 times the age of this world, 
 
 when this woild ihall have arrivad to 6coo yeats of age.' 
 
Letteji IV. [ 74 ] Sect. II. 
 
 And yet even all this, fays Bengelius, is ftill 
 fcarcely a ford of that ocean of perpetuity denoted 
 in the ftill higher terms 01 onung TUN aiwuv, l^c. 
 found in certain parts of fcripturc ; fo Rev. iv. 
 9, lo. T'be living creatures give glory to him that 
 Jitteth on the throne^ and liveth to the aons'of the 
 ccons («"^ f^f ot.iuvxq ruv onwwv^ in fyriac f | No\.>,^' 
 ^„tbdi^*') lolma dolmin 'to the fecula 'of the 
 fecula; and again, Rev. xi. 15. The kingdom of 
 this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of 
 his Chriji^ and he p:all reign to the aons of the ceons 
 (£j?Tii? a cova? Twi/ aiwiwv) Rev. xxii. 5. And hi s (er- 
 vants fiall fee his face, and his name flmll be in their 
 forehead^ and there f) jail be no nighty for the Lord 
 jh all give them lights and they fhall reign (e'J t«? a;- 
 wv«? Twv a»w «;/) to the ceons of the ceons. 
 
 But thefe conceptions you fay favour too violent- 
 ly of the aftonifhing and marvellous, and that they 
 have too much of wonder in them to be true. Shall 
 then the term marvellous render the promifcs of 
 ■God ridiculous? His difpenfations are all marvel- 
 lous and full of wonder; and that they appear 
 otherwife to the infidel, is owing to his blindnefs, 
 and brutal ftupidity. 
 
 " For that a branch cut off, a wither'd rod 
 Shou'd at a word pronounc'd, revive p.nd bud; 
 Is this moreftrange, than that the mountain's brow, 
 Strip'd with december's froft, & white with fnow, 
 Should pufh in fpring ten thoufand thoufand buds, 
 And boaft returning leaves, and blooming woods? 
 
 That each fuccclTive night from op'ningheav'n, 
 The food of argels fliou'd to man be given. 
 
 Is 
 
Letter IV. [ y^ ] Sect. II. 
 
 Is this more ftrange than that with common bread 
 Our fainting bodies every day are fed ; 
 Than that each grain and feed confum'd in earth, 
 Raifes it's ftore, and muhiplies its birth ; 
 And from the handful, which the tiller fows, 
 The labour'd fields rejoice, and future harvefl 
 
 [flows ? '' 
 
 But as to Bengeliuss calculation whether this- 
 may have been right or wrong, yet that the length 
 of our Lord's seonian kingdom muft needs be 
 prodigious, the very nature of fuch an ceconomy 
 might perfwade the unprejudic'd; efpeclally whca 
 we obierve the fingular llrudure of the expreffi- 
 ons teaching this dodtrine in the original, and the 
 remarkable fuggeftlons they contain. 
 
 So Exod. XV. 1 8. Jehovah JJ.all 7'eign to the ceon 
 
 and beyond. ( -ip aSpS ) Dan. xii. 3. ^hey JJjall 
 
 Jkine as the brightnefs ef the ftrmament^ ajid they 
 
 that turn many to righteoujnefi^ as the Jiars ti the 
 
 ceon and beyond ( "i;?^ riSi^iS). Mich. iv. 5. We 
 
 fiall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to the 
 
 aon and beyond ( "J>"i l^S'JS ). Dan. ii. 44. And 
 
 in the days of theje (clay-iron) kings ^ ():all the God 
 
 of heaven fet up a kingdom which to (plural) teons 
 
 ( pjSj;S ) Jkall not be dcproycd.-and Jhall Jiand to 
 
 (plural) (Cons (^'f-Si;'^). Dan. vii. \%. And the 
 
 jaints of the moji high fiall take the kingdom^ and 
 
 jl:all pofcfs the kingdom to the cvon^ even to the cecn 
 
 oj the ceons ( n'd^;? qSv np ^ r^S>' ":>' ) 
 
 The adding od to olem, and the ihifting the 
 terminations from hcbrew to chaldec, from fin- 
 gular tQ plural, and from fimple to emphatic, 
 and th^t too in the fame vcrfe, as tho' the ex- 
 K 2 . preflion 
 
Letter IV. { 76 ] Sect. II.' 
 
 prcffion was not to be found which might reach 
 the prophet's purpofe;" and the labour'd peri- 
 phrafis of the laft text, are all indications ftrong 
 enough that in the prophets then fublime idea, 
 
 thQ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Why the word <eon m fcripture imports otherwife than in 
 the heathen greek authors. 
 
 " I T is on account of the fingular ufe of the word 
 ( aSv ) olm in the old teftament, that the word (aiwv) 
 aeon in the new is ufed in forms fo unlike what occurs 
 in our heathen greek author?. I fuppofe that among 
 thefe the following exprelTions will not very readily be 
 found, 'viz. ng rsg ajuca?.- sig onmcc (Ziuvog. £»? onwvx ociu- 
 vcov. lug rr\g (rumXfja? ra xtcovog. £»? ou? rot, rsXv ruv eciuvuv 
 xxrrivT-na-ev. si? t«? onccvocg tuv amvuv. ng TTtztroig rag yei/ixg 
 m ot,iu>vo<; ruv ocioovuv. 
 
 And the reafon is becaufe infpired writers only had 
 fuch notions of the ages as thefe exprefiTions import. 
 
 Thefe fons of light reading in the old teftament 
 ntiSj;. ii&^^\ pS;}S. l^^ n^dS^*?. -i>' 'r:Siy -i>\ &c. at 
 once underftood that there was a plurality of agesj 
 and that a certain number of thefe conftituted a gene- 
 ral or inclufive age, as a number of days conftitute 
 a week, or as feven years conftitute a week of years i 
 and thefe again (even times repeated, compofethe great 
 week of all which is reckoned from one jubilee to an- 
 other, terminating in a great labbath, to the general 
 delivery of every bondfman and prifoner. 
 
 I fay our facred writers underftood that the cere- 
 monies of their law, Hek viii. 5. 'were Jbadc-ivs of hea- 
 venly things^ or, Heh. ix. 25. patterns of things in the 
 heavens^ and this occafioned their uncommon critical 
 ufe of the word ^q|i. So when they intended a du- 
 
Letter IV. [ jy ] Sect. IL 
 
 the words olem and od, in whatever form, would 
 denote but very inadequately, the boundlefs fpace 
 of the zeonian life. 
 
 LET- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ration of many ages, ijiey wrote Ca? ra? amvxt;) to the 
 aeons, when they had in view a comprehenfive JEon 
 including in it many other fubordinate seons they wrote 
 (fj? a»wv« aiwi/wi/) to the age of ages: when they in- 
 tended the comprehenfive «on alone without regard* 
 to its conftituent particulars they wrote {n<; aiuva. xiuvog) 
 to an aeonian ascn Cfor this being a fyriacifm, means 
 in greek the fame as uq oauj/x octuiuiou) to the asonian 
 seon : and when they int-ended the feveral general or 
 comprehenfive aeons altogether, colledlively, they 
 WTOtQ (bk; ri}(; cx,iuvx<; ruv- oauuuv) to the (plural unafccr- 
 ^ined) aeons of the (plural unafcertair. J) rrons. 
 
[78] 
 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 TTjc term ceo7tian applied to the 'word Spirit^ 
 imports not that Ht is eternal, 
 
 T O — 
 
 SIR, 
 
 ^^^^AVING proved that the terms aeon and 
 # H * o^n^ ^re frequently ufed in fcripture to 
 ^^^^S* denote a temporal duration, the con- 
 clufions built upon them as importing 
 eternity, are at once defeated. Notwithftanding, 
 I dare maintain (tho' my prefent argument does 
 not require it) even what you challenge me to 
 maintain, viz. that the words aeon and olm do no 
 where in fcri{>ture fignify eternity j and that in 
 whatever paffages we find them, they relate to 
 time, and the periods of time, cither before, dur- 
 ing, or after the continuance of this world. 
 
 It is eafily granted that the Ionian life will in 
 effe(5t be an eternity to them that arc faved ; for 
 when time arrived to its end vanlflies away, and 
 
 is 
 
Letter V. [ 79 ] Sect. i. 
 
 is no morej tlien that life, which was before 
 temporal, will commence fomewhat elfe, which 
 thoie who like the term may call eternal. 
 
 This, however, in the courfe of our corref- 
 pondence will appear upon examination of the 
 ufual texts urged againft us ; and among the 
 chief of them will be that in Heb. ix. 14. V'> •• h 
 as you declare in your lad to be your flrongeft 
 proof that the idea of eternity is fcn'ptural, AyaW 
 be my next bulinels. 
 
 I forefee indeed that it will require a good deal 
 of time, and the length of feveral letters, to ex- 
 plicate this text to your fatistadion, and to- the 
 purpofes I have in view i it being neceflary that 
 1 clear my way by difcuiTing another point in 
 which I know we greatly differ: however, ?.ll I 
 will demand for my trouble in writing them is, 
 that you read them once over confiderately, be- 
 fore you proceed to cenfure. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Heb. ix. 14. 
 
 TF the blood of bulls and goats fancl if y to tie puri- 
 Jp^^S rf^^^^fifii ^-'^^'^ Wi/<:A more J ha II the blocdcf 
 Chrijl^ ivho thro the ■£ox\VAnfpirit (^ a Trtfu^arof aia>»2 
 or as in the fyriac we read it ^^j>^/ ).j^q.v^/ 
 'who ([.OL^j.^^ ).iac::io'' Jll/ to-tb' ola^j^ 
 by the fpirlt ' (olem) ceonian ^cfjered up ^his joul 
 \vtihcut blcmijh 'unto Gody purify cur confcience 
 fnm dead -works ^ toferve the living God. 
 
 The 
 
tETT^R V. [ So ] Sect. I. 
 
 The charadter here given us of the aeonian 
 fpirit is, that thro' it Chrifl oiFered up himfelf to 
 God irreprehenfible or without fault. 
 
 Now tho' we feem fufficiently acquainted with 
 the term Chriji, yet before we can judge fairly of 
 this text, we ought alfo to know, ift, who the 
 fpirit is, thro' whom Chriji offered up himfelf to 
 God 5 2dly, upon what account it is faid that thro' 
 him Chriji offered up himfelf to God -, and 3dly, 
 why he is called the asonian (or the olem) fpirit. 
 
 For effecting this to our purpofe, we beg leave 
 to clear our way by the following politions, viz. 
 
 I. That the name Spirit does belong to the 
 Logos or Meffiah, or that the only fon of God 
 is a fpirit. 
 
 II. That this Logos, Meffiah, or Filial Spirit, 
 exifts perfonally diftind from God the father. 
 
 III. That this Logos or Filial Spirit has a will 
 diftindt from God his father, in the freedom of 
 which will he offered himfelf to the father to be 
 a facrifice for man in the future man ChriJI Jefus. 
 
 IV. That this Logos or Filial Spirit muft have 
 been that fpirit who moved or influenced the man 
 ChriJI Jefus to become (i. e. is He thro' whom 
 He became) a facrificial offering for us. 
 
 And having proved thus much (fince we have 
 already proved that Jefus Chriji is the aeonian 
 God) we {hall have confirmed our point, viz. that 
 the aeonian fpirit, thro' whom Chriji offered up 
 himfelf to God for us, was the Logos, or Filial 
 Spirit, ufually called Adn, Lord, or rather Adni, 
 my Lord, in the old teftament, and who is the 
 only fon of GoLtj perfonally diftind from his fa- 
 ther. I. The 
 
Letter V. [ 8i ] Sect. L 
 
 I. The name Spirit belongs to the Logos* or 
 Mefliah; in other words, the only begotten fon 
 of God is a fpirit. 
 
 I Cor. XV. 45. I'he jirjl Adam became a living 
 foul (i. e. became an animal or foul life) the lajl. 
 Adam (became) a quickening fpirit-, that is, being 
 
 L in 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ''The term {x^iyoC) Word, in greek, is intended to 
 anfwer the term ( KILD ) mmra, or ( Nitt'D ) mimra, 
 which fignifies juft the fame in the chaldee language, 
 and very frequently occurs in the ancient jcwifh writ- 
 ings, and was well known to the Jews of our faviour 
 and his apoftles times. 
 
 Now by the term ( KIC'D ) mimra, i. e. Logos or 
 word, they underftood that perfonal prefence who 
 in the old teftament is called Jehovah Adni, and 
 which St. Paul calls (TrpwToIojto?) the firft begotten, who 
 talked face to face to Mofes, Adam, Noah, Abraham, 
 Ifaac, Jacob \ and is every where ftiled the creator of 
 all things. 
 
 This appears from the jeWiiK targums, or chaidee 
 ' paraphrafes on the books of Mofes, which being writ- 
 ten before our Lord's time, and being ftili in high 
 repute among the Jews, are an unexceptionable wit- 
 nefs of their opinion concerning the Meiliah. Alfo it 
 appears from them that they believed him to be an 
 angelic perfonage in whom the divine nature refidedj 
 and they afcribe to him all the attributes of God. 
 
 So then by the terms Logos, Jehovah, Adni, and 
 firft-begotten, we muft mean what the apoftles and 
 their cotemporarics thereby meant, namely, one and 
 the fame perlbn cxprefs'd only by different titles-, the 
 ( 'JIN Adni or ) my lord of the Jews, the (>tip»o? or) 
 Lord of the Chrijlians, i. e. Luke ii. it. Chrijl thr. 
 Lord, who (Acts X. 36} is Lord of all. 
 
l^ETTER V. [ S2 ] Sect. I. 
 
 in himfelf a fpirit, even a quickening fpirit, he 
 became a quickening principle to the fons of 
 Ada?Jt ; for John iii. 6. T'hat which is born (or be- 
 ^o^tn) of the Jiejh, isjiejh-, and that which is born 
 (or begotten) of the fpirit, is fpirit. 
 
 And this begetting, and fo quickening fpirit is 
 the very fon of God, who is the Lord, the 
 Logos, or word of God. John v. 2 1 . As the fa^ 
 ther raifeth up the dead, and quickeneth them % even 
 fo the fon quickeneth whom he will. 2 Cor. iii. 16. 
 Who alfo hath made us able minijters of the new tef- 
 t anient, not of the letter, but of the fpirit j for the 
 letter killeth, but the fpirit giveth life. V. 17. Now 
 the Lord (i. e. the Logos or Adn) is that fpirit. 
 As he is again ftiled, 2 Cor. iii. 1 8. The Lord the 
 
 fpirit. (XTTO 3tUp»8 TTJ'fVjWlXTO?) 
 
 But the Logos, or Adn, or fon of God, is alio 
 called the fatlier of fpirits, which is again a proof 
 that the appellation fpirit is moft juftly his. 
 
 Heb. xii. 6, 9. Whom the Lord loveth he chafien- 
 eth', V. 9. iind fJja II we not be in fubjeSlion to the 
 father of fpirits, and live? But the fame who chaf- 
 teneth is alfo the father of fpirits ; therefore the 
 Lord called (Adni) my Lord in the old tefta- 
 ment, even the firft and only begotten fon of 
 God, who is now become the man Chrifl Jefus, 
 he is the father of fpirits. 
 
 To conclude then. Since it appears that Chrifl 
 is a quickening fpirit, the fpirit of the refurredtion, 
 tlu: accompliihing fpirit of the law, the true fon 
 of God wlio is a fpirit, and the father of fpirits; 
 characters all which are no where applied as be- 
 longing to a-iiy other perfon than Chrifl Jefus-, 
 
 our 
 
Letter V. [ 83 ] Sect. II. 
 
 our firft article is evinced; namely, that the Mef- 
 iiah muft be a fpirit, and therefore may, at Icaft 
 for any thing contained to the contrary in the term 
 ipirit, be aptly called the asonian fpirit." 
 
 SECT. ir. 
 
 II. He this Ofjly begotten fen of God or Legos ^ exijis 
 perfonally diJiinEl from God the father. 
 
 THIS appears from P/ ex. i. Jehovah ( M'n'' ) 
 faid unto ( '^^l^ Adni) my Lord, fit thou on 
 my right hand 'till I ivake thy foes thy footfiooly this 
 paflage we alfo find Mat. xxii. 44. Mark xii. 36. 
 
 Now Jehovah is God, and Adni is the fpirit 
 covenanting with God, who faid, Heb. x. 7. Lo 
 I come to do thy wiilj O God, i. e. He is the Mef- 
 fiah: God therefore and the Meffiah are perfo- 
 nally diflind: from each other, or are two con- 
 trading parties, the one propounding, the ether 
 L 2 accept- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 * Poffibly you may expe6l that I here fpeak more 
 diftinftly concerning the fcripture do6lrine ot the fpirit 
 of the father, and the fpirit of the fon, obfervablc in 
 many parts of the new teftament. So Mat. xii. 28. 
 Luke'w. I. A^sx. 38. John XV. 26. Gdi. iv. 6. i Pet. 
 i. II. I John iv. 13. i Cor. vi. it. Ro;?i. viii. 9, 15. 
 But as this point belongs efptciatly to the fecond part, 
 which I intend, if it pleafe God to give me life and 
 ability, 10 write to you upon the human foul, as I 
 promifed you, I fliall decline it in this place. 
 
Letter V. [ 84 ] Sect. II. 
 
 accepting propofals of treaty: but without further 
 urging this palTage at prefent, I fliall proceed to 
 prove my point from the vifibility and other pro- 
 perties of the Logos, which cannot be applied to 
 the invifible father. 
 
 1 . That God the father of the only begotten fon 
 of God, is not vifible, appears from many places 
 of the bible; let the following fuffice 'John i. 18. 
 No one (a^fi?) hath feen God at any time-, the only 
 begotton fon (« wv) who is in the bojom of the father, 
 he {i.e. he only, having feen him) hath declared him. 
 John vi. 46. Not that (tj?) any one bath feen the fa- 
 ther , except he who is of God, he hath feen the father. 
 I John iv. 12, 20. No one (jj^jk) hath feen God at 
 any time. — He who loves not his brother y whom he 
 has feeny how can he love God whom he has not feen f 
 I Tim. vi. 16. whom no man hath feen, nor can fee. 
 So I T'im. i. 17.^ 
 
 2. That the Logos or only begotten fon of 
 God is vifible, appears from numberlefs pafTagcs 
 in fcripture, of which we fliall prodiice a few. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 '>' ISIon enim (nt quidam putant) natiira Dei inviji- 
 hilis eji alicui (s' aliis vifibilis eft; non enim dixit apoftolus 
 imago invifibilis Dei hominibiiSy aut invifMis peccatoribus ; 
 fed valde conftanter pronunciat de ipfa natura Dei dicens ; 
 imago invifibilis Dei. Sed (jf Johannes in evangelio di- 
 cens, Deum nemo vidit unqiiam., manifefte declarat omni- 
 bus qui intelligere pojfunt, quod nulla natura eft cui viji- 
 hilis fit Deus: non quafi qui vifibilis quidem fit per na- 
 turam^ l^ veltit fragilioris creatiir^^ evadat atq; excedat 
 afpe^um, fed quoniam naturaliter videri impoffibik eft. 
 Origen de principas, lib. i. cap. i. 
 
Letter V. [85] Sect. II. 
 
 Gen. iii. 8. And he heard the voice of Jehovah 
 God walking in the garden in the cool of the day ; and 
 Adam and his wife hid themfelves from the prefence 
 of Jehovah God^ ( u2*nSi« rrrr ) among the trees of 
 the garden. 
 
 Jehovah God is here declared vifible, fo viflble 
 as to be the objed: of human eyes, and fo the ob- 
 jcd of them, that Adam in his nakednefs, would 
 have avoided feeing him, by hiding himfelf a- 
 mong the trees. 
 
 Now that no objedion may be here ftarted from 
 that great term ( ^hSk nin^ ) Jehovah God (or 
 Gods) it {hould be obferved that God both father 
 and only begotten fon are diftindly and feparately 
 called by names denoting in common the divine 
 being. So Gen. xix. 24. And Jehovah ( frm^ ) 
 caufed to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah, b?'imJione 
 and fire from the Jehovah ( rwi^ nK?: ) out of the 
 heavens, i. e. Jehovah the fon, perfonally diftind: 
 from Jehovah the father, caufed this rain from 
 his father, who was in heaven. 
 
 Gen. xvii. i. And when Abraham was gg years 
 old, Jehovah appeared to Abraham, and faid unto 
 him, lam ( nt^ Sv ) the almighty Gcd, (or rather 
 God that produceth or poureth forth all things) 
 walk before me, and be thou perJ'cB. 
 
 Here again is certainly a perfon feen of Abra- 
 ham: but Abraham could not fee the father God 
 invifible : Whom faw he then ? he faw him who 
 is God vifible, who is. Col. i. i :;. the image of the. 
 invifible God, the firfi- begotten of every creature, and 
 in feeing him he in effedl faw the father, as fays 
 our Lord, John xiv. 9. He that hath feen me, hath 
 
 feen 
 
Letter V. [ S6 ] Sect. II. 
 
 feen the father alfo \ becaufe (ver. lo.) lam in the- 
 father, and the father in me. The like again wc 
 read Gf;2. XXXV. 9, 11, 13. And God appeared unto 
 yacob again when he came out of Padanaram, and 
 hleffed him, and faid I am God Almighty, be fruitful 
 and multiply, &c. and God went upfront him in the 
 place where he talked with him. Exod. xxxiii. 1 1. 
 And Jehovah fpake unto Mofesface to face, as a man 
 [peaks unto his friend. Numb. xii. 5, 8. And the 
 Lord faid, if there be a prophet among you, I the 
 Lord will make mfelf known to him in vifion, and 
 willjpeak unto him in a drcam-y my fervant Mofesis 
 7iot fo; with whom I will fpeak mouth to mouth, and 
 in vifton, and not in fimilitudes', and (in io much 
 that) he Jljall contemplate ( D^3^ mn^ r^cm ) the 
 ifnage (or figure, or perfonagej cf Jehovah ^. 
 
 This 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 * D'3* Is the third peiTon fingular of the future 
 tenfe of the conjugation hiph of the verb LJ»3% which 
 figniBes to fpeculate upon, look into, revolve in 
 mind, contemplate. See in Ifaiah viii. 22. xxii. 11. 
 h. I, 2, 6. The antithefis here is remarkable; fays 
 the Lord, To a prophet I ivill reveal myfelf only in 
 dreams and vifwns, but io Mojes more apparently and as 
 a friend familiarly And may we not hence infer that 
 the Lord revealed hi mfelf to Mofes neither by phan- 
 tafm, nor by proxy, but in a way more evident and 
 apparent than thefe, yea than vifion itfeif ? And what 
 could this way be lefs than (what the words we infift 
 upon mean in their critical acceptation and truthj a 
 familiar converfe with Jehovah in his perfonal circum- 
 fcribed prefence, called in the old teftament (nNI^ VU) 
 the face of Jehovah ? Thefe words can in no wife be 
 
Letter V. M? 1 Sect. II. 
 
 This perfonage JWe/^jfirft faw at the bufhj Exod, 
 iii. 2, 1 5. who there declared himfelf to be the 
 God of his fathers, the Jehovah y the ( ^l^^.J< *.t'K. ^:^"I» 
 or which is the lame, nriN lU'K n1^^ ) I will be 
 who will be-, from whence his name ( n'n* ) Jeve, 
 or Jehovah, He will be. Jehovah 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 faid of that divinity which no one has feen or can fee, 
 nor can they be underflood of an airy phantaftic body, 
 becaufe to contemplate fuch is fo far irom feeing God 
 face to face apparcndy, that it is not to fee him at 
 all, fo that this appearance can have been no other 
 than that real angelic preincarnate perfonage, which 
 was the (ttpwtotoxoj or) firft-begotten fon in which the 
 divine nature dwells. 
 
 Chriji in his invifible, infcrutable, eternal nature, is, 
 1 John V. 20. (0 ux-n^mq 0£o?) Ihe true God. Tit. ii. 
 13. (0 i/.iycx.q Qioq) The great God. Rom. ix. 5. (J jtt; 
 TTx\iruiv Qioq) The God over all., blejfed for ever. 
 
 In his preincarnate maniteflation, he is {-Tr^uixolc-A^) 
 the firft-begotten, {^<Jvoyivv\q \i.oq) the only generated fon 
 of GoD; Mat. Xvi. lb,(o moq T8 (^i^ ra^oji/TO?) The Jon of the 
 thing God-y Rom. viii. 32. (<^toj J.cf) his ozv7i proper fon y 
 whom Melckifedeck is made to typify by being repre- 
 fented as having, Heh. vii. 3. {yf.rt a^xri^ ^ju-pw;/ ^mt 
 ^faj*i? TiKoq) neither beginning of days., nor end of life \ the 
 lame who appeared to the patriarchs in form angelic, 
 and who performed the work of creation-. Col. i. 16, 
 1 7. For by him were all things created that are in hea- 
 ven., and that are in earth, vifible and invifible., whether 
 they be thrones., or dominions., or principalities , orpo'wcrs; 
 all things were created by him and for him. And he is 
 before all things, and by him all things confift. 
 
 And as he was the angelic fon of God before the 
 fallj lo afterwards and by occafion of the fall, he be- 
 came the man-fofi of God, ?". e. like one of us, our 
 
Letter V. [ 88 ] Sect. IL 
 
 Jehovah therefore has an image, or figure, or 
 perfonage; and this image Mofes having feen with 
 his eyes, could ideally contemplate ; and agree- 
 ably with this account of him St. Paul calls him, 
 2 Cor. iv. 4. ^he image of God (^««««i» t8 ©w^ Heb. 
 i. 3 . T^he jhining forth of his glory ^ the exprefs image 
 
 ef his fttbjiance, ^ocrrxvycigiAX rrc ^o^Ti? 3^ xupxxlvp T»i5 
 
 vVorao-fw? ocvTz) and hence it is that our faviour fays, 
 yohn xii. 45. He that hath feen me, hath feen him 
 that fent me, '^ 
 
 Jof V. 1 3 . A?2d fofiiia looked and behold there 
 flood a man over-againjl him^ with hisfword drawn 
 
 in 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 brother-, in which form the father proclaims him his 
 Chrift, and Mat. iii. 17. His beloved f on, in whom he is 
 well pleafed'y and in which he atchieves the work of re- 
 ftitution, becoming {Col. i. 18.) the head of the body, the 
 church : who is the beginning, the firjl-begotten from the 
 dead, that in all things he might be the foremofl. 
 
 By the word fon we here underftand, a reality of 
 relation, aptly and analogoufly fignified in that of 
 fonfhip known among men : fince we have reafon 
 to believe, that the human relation of father and fon 
 was at firft ordained on earth, to exhibit to us what 
 the word of God is to his invifible father. 
 
 Thus is our Lord at all times and in every view of 
 him (n aX»)S-£»a a7ro<pan/0|U,£V}j) the truth manifefted, or 
 reality difplayed ; and his effential charader is perpe- 
 tually prefer ved. 
 
 » Some ha\'^ thought that God in thefe places^ def- 
 cribing his prefence, muft have fpoken in the perfon 
 of fome angel, that is of a creature •, but when we 
 confider his authority who appeared, who fpoke, who 
 moved, was feen, and heard, we cannot reconcile our- 
 
LfeTTER V. [ 89 ] Sect. IL 
 
 in hi shandy and'Jofiuah went unto him mid f aid unto 
 him J art thou for m^ or for our advcrfaries'^ and he 
 faid, 7iay but ( V'tv:}" nn^^ m.T* «33;' -..:" ^:n' ) 'ego 
 'princeps 'in or dine militari flans ^nunc ^veni (vel, 
 nunc in venire me) 'I '^Jehovah ' am now ^come 
 "^ a prince ^'in military attitude, &c. and Jojhuah 
 fell upon his face and worfhiped: ' then anfivered ^ Je- 
 hovah fanding '^ chief [ov prince) 'in ??iilitary atti- 
 tude, 'unto ^Jojhua {V^^rr^^ *?i<s n^n"'* Kai^ nil* ",»K'*,i) 
 loofe thy fiocs from off thy feet ^ for the place whereon 
 thoufafidef is holy, and Jehovah f aid I have given 
 into thy hands Jerico^ 
 
 Ifaiah vi. i . — And in the year that king Uzziah 
 died I faw ( "i"iN* n*s; ) the Adni fitting upon a throne 
 high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple ^ 
 above it Jlood the feraphim — and one cried unto an- 
 other andfaid, holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hojis. — - 
 Tihenfaid 1 wo is me for mine eyes havefeen the king 
 Jehovah of hofts. M That 
 
 N O T E s] 
 Helves to this opinion -, efpecially as this prcfence ftiles 
 himfelf (what no angel would dare) abfolutely, di- 
 redlly and without reftriclion, Ex. xxxiv. 6. Jehovah^ 
 "Jehovah God, ( ^K n'^n'' M*n' ) mercifid and gracious, 
 long-fuffering and abundant in goodnefs and truth -, and 
 diftinguifhes himfelf (as fending) from an angel (his 
 meffenger) Exod. xxxiii. 2, 3. And I vjillfend an angel 
 before thee, and is ill drive out the Canaanite, &c. for I 
 ivill not go up in the midfi of thee, for thcu art a Jlijf- 
 necked people. 
 
 ^ N-o being by appearing can evidence his prefence 
 more fenfibly, than the fubhme obje6t here fecn ot 
 JcfJma, die real preincarnate perfonage of our faviour. 
 
 As his form was vifible, fo was his voice audible ; 
 and his manner and geilure were altogether human, 
 the mien and carriage of a man. 
 
Letter V. [90] Sect. IT. 
 
 That this glorious objeft feen here of Ifaiah 
 was Jehovah, we are alTured both from the 
 apoflle Johriy who fays of this appearance, chap, 
 xii. 41. I'hefe things J aid Ifaiah when he faw his 
 glory and /pake of him; and Hkewife from the 
 words of Ifaiah himfelf, who fays, ver. 5. Mine 
 eyes have feen the Lord of hojis. 
 
 And yet it is hkewife as evident that the objedt 
 here feen was a fubftantial appearance of human 
 fhape, of perfonage circumfcribed, diftinguifli'd 
 by features, hneaments and other perfonal acci- 
 dents and properties, fpecifically expreffive of 
 himfelf, and in like manner as one man is by 
 fuch diftinguifhed from another i infomuch that 
 the individual fubftantial perfonage now feen by 
 Ifaiah y" was in ftri^teft truth there, where this his 
 prefence was obvious to the fight. For 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 We have in fhort as good reafon to doubt whether 
 our fellow creatures whoni we daily fee and hear, arc 
 real beings, as Jojhua had to doubt of the real perfonat 
 prefence of Jehovah Adni now before him. 
 
 Yea thefe appearances of the Logos were fo fenfible, 
 that the Jews even thought the eternal God to have a 
 material perfonage j Jujlin Martyr therefore reproaches 
 them as follows, 
 
 rspx ruiv oAwv, »j aysvuriTov Ofw; oi t<i/£? Xy oix raro w^S'a-i 
 rca A^paajw. >^ rco laxwS ocurov tou irocTipx oiaacKnari. 
 
 JuJlin Martyris dialog, cum Tryphone judao, 
 
 •^ And in like perfonal characters of diftin<5tion was 
 
 our Lord frequently feen of the Ifraelites\ as of Gz- 
 
 deon., {i:t Judges y\. 11. — 24. where the pofture, the 
 
 itction, the name as well as the exprefs words of the 
 
Letter V. [ 91 ] Sect. II. 
 
 For as a man, tho' he cannot behold either the 
 fpirit or the foul of his father, friend or fellow crea- 
 ture, yet beholding the perfonal prefence of thefe, 
 may in ftri<5l troth be faid to behold even them; 
 fo the patriarchs feeing the angelic prefence of 
 Jehovah, were faid, even by God himfelf, to be- 
 hold Jehovah. 
 
 Says Jehovah, If. xlv. 22. / (that is I whom 
 thy eyes behold) am God^ and there is none elfe. 
 The object here vifible was only the angelic per- 
 fonage of Jehovah, i. e. of the fon of God j and yet 
 this feen, Jehovah, the only God, is declared to 
 be himfelf feen, in that he was fo feen as a man 
 is feen when he fays of himfelf, I whom thou 
 feeft am thy father, friend or brother ; altho' he 
 diftinguifhes not between his external and inter- 
 nal exiftence; between the temple vifible, and 
 its inhabitant the inward man invifible. And in 
 M 2 this 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 hiftory, do all atteft die Lord vifible to him, and 
 the fame to Manoah, lee Judges xiii. 3. — 22. and 
 to Amos, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Elias, and 
 Simeon., and even mod of the prophets. But not only 
 the Ifraelites, for even Nebiichadnezar law him in the 
 furnace of fire walking with Shadrack, Mefak and A- 
 bednego; and fays of him, the form of the fourth is like 
 i he fon of God: by which it fecms that the appearance 
 of Chriji was no uncommon thing in thofe days ; fc.r 
 fmce it is the ufual manner of fpeech to defcribe ftrange, 
 new, unknown things, by comparing them to things 
 better known, and of which one has a clearer notion; 
 Nebuchadnezar^s words imply, that he knew the fon of 
 God by the dcfcription of him heard from others, 
 who had feen the real prefence he exhibits. 
 
Letter V. [ 92 ] Sect. II. 
 
 this regard of them are the following fcripture 
 paflages to be underftood by us. 
 
 Ifaiah xliv. 6. I am the [firji and I am the laji^ 
 and be fides me there is no God. Verfe 8. Is there a 
 God bejtdes me"^ yea there is no (other) rock^ I know 
 not any. Dent. iv. 35. 'Jehovah he is Gody there is 
 7ione elfe befides him. Deut. xxxii. 39. 1 even I am 
 he and there is no God with me. If. xliii. 10. Be- 
 lieve and under [i and that lam he-, before me there was 
 noGodformedy and after me there Jhall be none. Ifa. 
 xlv. 5. I am Jehovah, there is none elfe, there is m 
 God except me ( ^61? ) ver. 6. ( •'^>S3 ) befides me. 
 
 That the perfon fpeaking in the above paffages 
 may be the fon of God cannot be doubted, fince 
 we iind the fon of God expreflly called {fJoh?i \. i. 
 Matt. i. 23.) God. John xx. 2ci. My Lord and my 
 God. 2 Pet. i. I. Our God. i John v. 20. True God. 
 Pfalpi Ixxviii. 56. i Cor. x. 9. The moft high God. 
 Rom. ix. 5. God over all. Rev. xv. 3, 4. Lord God 
 Almighty, who only art holy : and in numberlefs 
 places Jehovah, names intelligible only in our 
 Lord's own account of himfelf, Jchnx. 30. land 
 my father (not £»? ^(ri^sv are the fame in perfon or 
 manner of fubfiftence 5 but «" £o■|U.f^) ^^e the fame 
 thing, or one in nature-, and for this reafon alfo the 
 fon is called God even by his father himfelf. Heb, 
 \. 8. But unto the fon he (the father) faith, Thy 
 throne, O God, is to the aon of aojis, a fcepter of 
 equity is the feepter of tlyy kingdom. 
 
 This vifible God of glory before the incarna- 
 tion is caHed ( M'.T ^ilK Adni leve or) My Lord 
 Jehovah. If.Yix. 20. Jobxix. 25. ( 'S^•J or Sf*'J 
 My redeemer. Mai. iii. i. The angel of the cove- 
 nant. Zech.m. i. The angel Jehovah. IfAxm. 9. 
 
 The 
 
Letter V. [ 93 ] Sect. II. 
 
 'The angel of his prcfence', but moft ufually Je- 
 hovah or God: and when his diftindion from 
 the father is intended, himfelf is called lingly 
 God, and his father is called his God; fo PJhlm 
 xlv. 6,7. I'hy throne, O Gody is aonian and beyond 
 ( -i^'i elS^V D'hSk ) — God even thy God ( :z:"nS« 
 ^Thii ) hath anointed thee with oil ofgladnefs abcue 
 thy fellows, i. e. Thou who art God, art anoint- 
 ed by thy God above the angels, who, tho' 
 created by thee, are notwithftanding thy fellows, 
 in that they bear thy likenefs, and are the vary- 
 ing images of thee the one God-begotten uncre- 
 ated angel ; for fuch thou art in thy vifible na- 
 ture, at the fame time that in thy unfearchable 
 nature, thou art unknown to, being beyond the 
 conception of all but thy father only. 
 
 And with like import and infinuation fpeak 
 our Lord's own i^ords, John xx. 17. / afcend 
 unto 7ny father ^ and your father^ and to my God, 
 and your God. 
 
 But after the incarnation our viiible God is 
 called. Matt. xvi. 16. Chrifl the fin of the living 
 God. I Cor. XV. 47. T^he Lord from heaven. Ad:s 
 X. 36. T^be Lord of all. Adls vii. 2. 'The God of glo- 
 ry. Phil. ii. 6, 7. Who being before his incarnation 
 (fi/ iKo^(pr\ 05a) in the form of God, did, after his in- 
 carnation, allbme the form of a fcrv ant (^f^op(pnv hxa) 
 becoming the likenefs of man ^ and is diftinguiflied 
 from the father by the term fon.' Of 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Some of the primitive chriftian writers fpeak very 
 clearly of both thefe natures of the fon of God. So 
 
 E^£ij Hv {/.oi, cru (prs rov (teov iv tottu (jli) Sz'.v yji^pmr^ou, ^ 
 
Letter V. [ 94 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Of thefe his two diftin(5l ftates, viz. that before 
 his incarnation, and that after it, our Lord often 
 {peaks in the gofpel. 
 
 Thus when our Lord prays, yohn xvii. 5. iii. 
 13. And now, O father, glorify me with the glory 
 
 which 
 
 N O T E S. * 
 
 /W.E1/ Geo? Xj Trarnp ruv oXuv cc^copyiroi; fr», ^ £i> totu oup^ ju- 
 puTKiToci-y ou yxp £r» TOTTo? T»5 xaTaTTauo-JCt)? avTa; (Jf Xoyoq 
 ccvra, ^i 8 TC6 'rrocvra TrsTrotriKBy ^vvocy-ig uv Xy (ro(pitx. uvth, 
 
 (for the antient Jews and primitive Chriftians defcribe 
 the Logos, as having in him, for his chara6leriftie 
 attribute, a principle of divine wifdom and efficacy ; 
 and on account of this they frequently call him the 
 wifdom of God and the virtue of God) avochocfj^Qavw to 
 
 -TTxpocSiKTov iv 7rpo<TU7r<i) T8 Oiij (for Chnjl's angcllc form is 
 here meant by to TrpoirwTrov ra Tnxjpog and t« ©ecu, /". e. 
 the perfonage of Chnji is here alfo called the perfon- 
 age of the Father and the perfonage of God) >^ wy^iXsi 
 rci) ASoc^. — Theophilus ad Autol. lib. ii. 
 
 OvTt ovv ACpocxy. ovrt aXXog av^puTruv «(Jt rov Tracjipot x) 
 otppriTOV xup:oi/ ricv ttocvtcov aTrXwf, Xj aura ra Xpifn; aXA' £- 
 iiEiuov rov >t«T« j3aAt]i/ tvw ?x£n/a >tj 0£oi/ ovroi Viov aura, x^ Ay~ 
 fcXov IX ra ■uTrnpirsii/ rv\ yvw^y\ aura ; ov Jt, a^S■|5W7^o^ yzvvi\~ 
 S'fi/at ^(« T»)f TrapS'fi/ou PsSouXvilaii o? Xj Trvp iroli ysyovi Trt 
 rrpoq Mwtrfos ofMiXix rri (xtto rv\g jSara. ETrft £av jm.» outw 
 voTKTOjasv ra? ypaipa?, cu^p?i(r£laf rov Trxnpoc Xy xvpiov ruv 
 eXuv jj^ri <y£yfi/r)(r3'at rore iv roig apac-joK;, cri Skx, Mw<r£W? Xi- 
 
 A£)c1at, 3tj K-jpJO? EkpB^SV BTTl "Zo^Of^X WVp Xj S'fJOV TTOipX XVpiS SK 
 
 Ta oupava. >^ TraAiv (J\a AaStJ* ot£ XsXixlxi outw?, apotrs TruAaj 
 o« apj^cyxfj Jjuwv, >^ STrapGriTS 7ri»A«t ckwi/jo;, jtj £(?£A£Uo-£la» o 
 Pao-iAsu? Tnj J'o^r)?. — x^ ort o p^pirs? >^ ^£0? 6£eLi viog VTrxp^uv^ 
 ■3^ $vvx[j,£i (pxivofj^ivoq zrpOTspov ug ccynp-, Xj a,yhx(^^ x, iv Trvpog 
 ^o^n w? £;» rr, (ioClu m'px.vra.i^ Xj iti rr,q xpiauiq rv\q yiyivr\fj^(vTn^ 
 £urt l^oSo^x^ u-n-o^i^EiyJtoa iv ttoAAoj? toj? £ipT]j!xfi/ot(r, ^eT. ^J'f. 
 
 Juftin Martyr, dialog, cum Tryphone judaso. 
 
Letter V. [ 95 ] Sect. IL 
 
 which I had with thee before the world was ; how 
 can this be underftood but of his preincarnatc 
 angehc nature which we maintain ? Can Chrijl 
 in his divine nature fufFer any diminution of his 
 glory ? Muft not the fon of God in his divine 
 effence be immutable, without variation or iha- 
 dow of changing ? 
 
 But in his angelic nature, as the firft begotten 
 of the creation, or as the begotten before all 
 creatures, all this may be, conliftent with all 
 revealed accounts of him. As we read John i. i. 
 In the beginning (that is before the creation began) 
 was (i. e. exifted) the word (Logos ; but how did 
 he exift, by Creation ? No;) he was Col. i. i ^, 
 (TrpwToIoxi^) The Jirjl- begotten (and fo begotten as 
 to be) the image of God (and fo compleatly his 
 image as) that in him fiould dwell all the plenitude of 
 the Godhead. In him, in his angelic flate, dwelt 
 the plenitude of the Godhead; and becaufe all ful- 
 nefs (i. e. creaturely as well as divine) muft dwell 
 in him, he alfo became man ; in which capacity 
 being now the bodily ten. pie of God, we read 
 of him, that Col. ii. 9. In him dwelleth all the plen^ 
 itude of the Godhead bodily. 
 
 It is therefore this the preincarnate perfonage 
 or filial fpirit. Logos or Chrijl, which enjoy 'd a 
 glory with God before the worlds were ; which 
 laid afide his glory at his incarnation, and refum- 
 ed it after his refurredtion j of which himfelf 
 fpeaks, John VI. 62. What if you fiall fee the fon of 
 man afce?id up where he (\. q. who now inhabits my 
 body) was before , i. e. Rom. vi. 4. ifito the glory 
 of his father, which John xvii. 5. He had iviih the 
 father before the world was. In 
 
Letter V. [ 96 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Tn this perfonage Job both faw him and heard 
 him, when he fays, Job. xhi. 5. / heard of thee 
 with my ears, but now mme eye hathfeen thee ; i. e. 
 I have leen thee as evidently with my eyes, as 1 
 had heard of thee with my ears : and again. 
 Job. xix. 26, 27. Tet in myfleJIdjldaUIfeeGod^ whom 
 IJballfee for myfeJf {^ infuper porro as well as, and 
 i. e.) Tea mine eyes haiiefeen thee, and not a fir anger. ^ 
 
 And of this again our Lord fpeaks, when he 
 tells us John iii. 13. No man hath afcended up to 
 heaven^ but he that came down from heaven, even 
 the f on of man, who is in heaveh. 
 
 So that, as there is a perfonal diftindlion be* 
 tween God the father and the man Chrif Jefus, 
 and yet the man Chrijl Jefus is the fon of God 5 
 fo there is alfo a perfonal diftindlion between God 
 the father and the filial fpirit call'd Jehovah Adni, 
 and yet Jehovah Adni was the fon of God. 
 
 And as the man Chrift Jefus is not created, 
 but the begotten fon of God ; fo Jehovah Adn 
 was not created, but the begotten fon of God : 
 
 only 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 e ,J^J,^t .,V7 njHK'^ ^:^5 -,^J{4 ^^t l^jpj^i* ^-Itt^ifiV 
 
 -J5II j,tj<^or <,j^^»^9 ^et de came men ^videbo Deum '^ quern 
 ^ ego ^vifurus fum (\. e. videbo) "^ mihi, ^ et (\. e. porro)' 
 oculi met "^viderunt ^°et ?ion ^^ aliemim. 
 
 The original fpeaking firft in the future tenfe (^^;^^') 
 videbo, and then in the preter tenfe {^Ki) viderunt, im- 
 ports that Job comforts himfeif in tiTe hopes of feeing 
 our Lord in another itate of being-, and grounds his 
 hopes on a confidence of his redeemer's living, be- 
 caufe his own eyes had now feen him in his true, and 
 not in a ftrange or borrowed appearance. 
 
Letter V. t 97 ] Sfect, IL 
 
 6nly the man Chriji Jefiis was begotten after the 
 Creation, whereas Jehovah Adn, or the Logos, 
 was begotten before created nature began. 
 
 Again, as Jehovah Adn^ being begotten of 
 the father, became the {n ot^xf^ rn? >c7»o-£w? ts ©jx) 
 the original of the creation of God ; fo the man 
 ChriJI yefuSy being begotten of the Holy Ghoft, 
 becomes the original of the new creation which 
 is to be effedled by him, Rev. xxi. 5. 
 
 Again, as after the incarnatiortj the individual 
 perfon Cbriji Jefus was God aftd man ; fo before 
 the creation, the individual perfon Logos was the 
 God afterwards known by the title Jehovah Adn, 
 or God and angel the Lord. 
 
 Again, as Jefus Chriji after his incarnation was 
 vilible as to his manhood, and not as to his di- 
 vinity; fo Jehovah Adn before the incarnation 
 was vifible as to his angelical perfonage, and not 
 as to his divine nature. 
 
 Again, as it is the efpecial privilege of chrifl- 
 ians to know that Jefus ChriJI is the fon of God ; 
 fo it was propounded to the Jews as their efpecial 
 privilege, to know that their gracious Adni was 
 true Jehovah. 
 
 And here I cannot forbear remarking, that in 
 this idea of the divine Logos, that text which 
 the Mennonijls fo tenacioufly -and commcndably 
 infifl: upon, and with which they ^o much per- 
 plex their learned Oppofcrs, namely, John i. 14. 
 (0 xoyc<i aup^ syvjiTo) ^hc ivord wjs luadc fep.\ be- 
 comes quite intelligible and without exception. 
 For theie words fay not that the divine nature 
 was converted into humanity ; but that the vili- 
 ble Logos, who was the angelic f 7rf>uro1c::oi or) 
 
Letter V. [98] Sect. Ilf. 
 
 firft- begotten of God, the original or beginning 
 of the creation of God, (<j"«pH ^y^vsro^ was made 
 flefli or man, or became om-anu-al, i. e. tzij? 
 with "ijN* us ^N* God, or God vifible and know- 
 able j for the divine effence is itfelf ever with us^ 
 as being every where prefent ; but then whereas 
 this prei'ence yields us neither knowledge nor view 
 of God, becaufe we are utterly incapable of fee- 
 ing it J the Logos by being man not only be- 
 comes himfelf a natural objecft of our fight, and 
 knowledge ; but in him, that is in his human 
 prefence, his holy ones fhall be enabled alfo ta 
 behold the glory of the divine nature. 
 
 SECT. IIL 
 
 'The man Jefus a true Jon of God ^ 
 
 THE Gomrortablenefs of thefe reflexions a- 
 gain increafe upon us, when we confider 
 that even the manhood of Jefus Chrijl is of divine 
 generation 5 Mat.'i. 18. Mary fsvpe^YievyoifpiE^isa-x 
 £y. TTPtvf^^oiTo? ay»8, or as in the fyriac, in which this 
 gofpel was written, ^' (~i-^' K^/^JS^p 
 |»SL^an^' |.j^a-,^) 'wasfoujid -pregnant ^by {pi 
 or i):ovc^the 'holy ^ghoft. So verfe 20. (v-^^x. * Q.01' 
 ct-JD"^ ,j!^>u.^J^O ''^^'^ ^that ^ which is begotten '^in 
 her is by (of or'from) the holy ghoji. Again, Luke 
 
 i. n r. (irvivtMcc ayiov nriXivtriroa tTn <ts, ?t, ^u]/ix{/.tg Jij/jfs 
 £7ri(r>ci«.(r£j croi J'jo >t, to yBvvuy,£vov ocytov xXfiS'Jio'fTai Jioj 6£a) 
 
 • the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 f ETTio-jctao-st <roi, fliall ovcr-fhadow thee, that is, (fays 
 Lighfoot in his harmony) fiipplehit defe^nm maris^ eji 
 
Letter V. [ 99 ] Sect. III. 
 
 the holy ghoft JJjall come upon thee, even the highefi 
 power fiall overfiadow thee, ivherejore aljo that holy 
 begotten one jl: all be called the fin of God. That is, 
 that fame perfon who (liall be called (/. e. lliall 
 be) the Ion of man as conceived in thee, Hiall be 
 alfo called fon of God, being an oifspring from 
 the holy ghoft. 
 
 T'/^ffp^/vY^/ glofles thus on thefe words; Virtm 
 altijjimi fditis Dei ejl, Chrijius enim cfl Dei 'virtus r 
 ob umbra bit tibi, hoc ejl contegct te, hoc eji undique 
 
 te circtandabit, Jicut cfois obumbrat pullos fuos. 
 
 Illud quod najcebatur in utero fuit Jilius Dei, et 7i07i 
 
 N 2 alius 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 enim ha:c modefia ■phrafis qua amflextis conjugalis exprimi- 
 tur^ ut Ruth iii. 9. and fo ;as fays Vetabliis) lihid 
 fanSlum non humand fed druina 'ui gignitur. 
 
 s Theophila^ in confining the term ((^ui^cx-fxi^ v^im) 
 the power or efficacy) of the higheft to the Logos, 
 feems to miftake the true force ot thefe words. 
 
 In the fyriac tongue, in which thefe words were 
 fpoken {S-jvxiJ.ig C^iss) the power of the highefi is equi- 
 valent to {^\jmfji.ig u4/ir») the higheft power (fee Letter 
 III. note "") and fo the terms (Iji/ajau utj/ifa) the power 
 of the higheft, are appofite to {TruiVfAx dyiov) the holy 
 ghofl, according to which conftru<5tion this pafTage 
 fhould be tranflated, the holy ghoft pj all come upon thte^ 
 even he who is the highefi po-iijcr (or efficacy) fbdl over- 
 fhado-w thee, the event of which fliall be, that holy con- 
 ception, vvhicli fliall therefore be called the fon of God. 
 For the holy gholl may as aptly be call'd {hmui; u-^ira) 
 the highefi efficary, as the Logos. And fmce St. 
 Matheiv exprel'sly tells us that the holy conception was 
 of the holy gholl, we mull believe that the holy ghoft 
 is cliflinftiy the agent in this holy conception. 
 
Letter V. [ loo ] Sect. III. 
 
 alius quidem fcetm eji uteri, alius autem filius Dei 
 (id ejij non unus fit Dei alter i)ero Marice jilius) 
 fed unus et idem fuit Jilius virginis & Jilius Dei, 
 " That is, the virtue of the higheft is the fon of 
 " God, but Cbriji is the virtue of God (fee the 
 " note foregoing) {hall overshadow thee, i. e. fhall 
 *' cover thee, i. e. fhall furround thee on every 
 <* lide, as a bird overfhadows her young — That 
 " vv^hich was conceived in the womb was the 
 " fon of God : alfo the fruit of the womb 
 " was not one objcd:, and the fon of God ano-r 
 " ther (that is, the fon of God and the fon of 
 
 ** Mary 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The very words of the angel were probably as folr 
 lows, (|.it^),i.' )»Ji.^^' )-jsA.o-, ') the 'fpirit * of 
 holinefs {i. e. the holy fpirit) ^ fhall corpe (o i K. .^rs^ 
 
 L'-Ci^^'' Lqu^\*") 'even the ^Tupre'rue 'efficacy 
 ^fliail cover '^over thee, ^ tor this reafon, ^he ^who 
 is begotten *of thee ' is holy, "and '^fliall be called 
 '°the Ton "of God. 
 
 And thus this text is quite confiflent with that in 
 St. Mathm;, which tells us exprefsly that the virgin was 
 pregnant from or by the holy ghoft, and that her con- 
 ception was of the holy ghoft. 
 
 In this view of our redemption, is alfo that dark 
 palTage found in Ignatius\ epiflle to the Ephejians^ 
 
 very intelligible. EvS^v tuuipxiviro a-ogioi. y.oc-[xixrj^ a,yvony,g 
 Po<p^ ^iS<T>i£itx,vrjTO, x) rvpcivviyin ccp'/7\ )ca6'/ip£iT0, Ofou wj av- 
 Sp&JTTOU (pa.ivoi/.iVis, ^ ay^purrov wf Osa ii/£pyovvTO<;. ccKkoc oute 
 TO TTPOTipoi/ ^o^a,y ovT£ TO JiUTcpsi/ T^iXoTxg. ciXXoi TO ^2)/ aAv;-« 
 
 S^a«, TO ^£ 01XOV01MX. 
 
Letter V. f loi ] Sect. III. 
 
 " Mary were r>ot different) but identically one 
 " and the fame, the Ion of the virgin and the 
 " fon of God." 
 
 Agreeably hereto we alfo read in Jujlifi Maj^Iy?\ 
 
 ftkvfJWTTfKZf, ^£0^ Xy TTocrrip TWi/ oXoou yivocT^ai ccvtov j^sA^.e? 
 
 " That is, — Mekbifedec, Does not this fignify to 
 " us that from above and in an human womb (fee 
 " Mat. i. 20, TO f^ «-jT»j ym-A^iv) the God and father 
 " of all would have that he (the Logos) fhould 
 " be begotten (avcoSev, i. e. by the holy ghoft.) — 
 " See Dialog, cum T'ryphone judceo. 
 
 So alfo ^ertullian. Non competebat ex feminc 
 humano DeiJiUum nafci, ne Ji totus ejjet Jilim hominisy 
 Non cjfet et IDeiJiliiis, nihilq; haberet amplius Solo- 
 mone. Ergo jam Dei Jilius ex patris Deijetnine ^ 
 ut ejJet hominis jilius. Caro ei fola erat ex hominis 
 came fwnenda fine 'viri femine. Vacabat enim 
 viri Semen, apud habentem Dei femen. Tertullian 
 de Carne Chrifte, cap. 1 8. 
 
 " It fuited not that the fon of God fliould be 
 *' born of human feed, leaft if he were altogether 
 " the fon of man, he would not be alfo the fon 
 
 "of 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 '' By patris Dei femine, Tertullian means the divine 
 fpirit, and fuppofcs its diftin6lion from his flefh to be 
 the ground of our Lord's words, which he cites as 
 follows, ^(od ex carne natum eft caro eft, quia ex carne 
 natum eft-, £5? quod dc fpiritu natum eft fpiritus eft, 
 quia Deus fpiritus eft, ^ de Deo natus eft. And this 
 palliates his otherwife flrange exprelTion, the feed of 
 God. 
 
Letter V. [ 102 J Sect. III. " 
 
 " of God, having nothing more than Solomon. 
 " He is then the fon of God by a feed of God 
 *' the father, that fo he might be the fon of man. 
 *' His flefh only was to be derived from human 
 " flefh without the male feed; for the nlale feed, 
 " in that fhe had the feed of God, was fpared." 
 
 But without appealing to the authority of an- 
 tiquity, our own judgment muft teach us, that if 
 the body of Chnji had been radically the offspring 
 of the virgin, it mufl have been, like its fource, 
 unclean; lince, yo^ xiv. 4. john Hi. 6. a clemz 
 thing cannot come out of an unclean ; and lince the 
 virgin mother mufl have been, Eph. ii. 3. by na^ 
 iiire the child of wrath .y even as others. 
 
 Alfo if the facrifice of an impure thing is odi- 
 ous to God, our Lord's body, had it been pri- 
 marily the offspring of the virgin, mufl have 
 been fo far from a fufhcient attonement for fin 
 and uncleannefs, as to have been in itfelf an of- 
 fenfive and rejeded offering. 
 
 As we learn therefore. Gal. Iv. 4. Kom. i. 3. 
 that he was born oj\ or conceived out of a woman^ 
 (^iz y^uccinoi yivo[/.svov^ of the feed of David, according 
 to the flefi', and from thence infer that, with re- 
 fpe6t to our Lord's maternally augmented fub- 
 flance, he was the true fon of the woman; fo we 
 learn that that very conception of the woman was 
 begotten of the holy ghofl, and thence infer that 
 with refpedl to our Lord's being a human fub- 
 liftence or man begotten, he was the the true fon 
 of God, that is, he was his fon-man, called in 
 the jewiih language (tflL-L*, ^) fon-man; or which 
 is the fame (jlkj-), v-^) fi'-^^^ ^ui Homo (fcilicet 
 *. (ft) 
 
Letter V. [ 103 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 eji) fon who (is) man^ or as in other places 
 (Ljcj-!^ OL-'yC^flius ejus qui homo) his fon that is 
 a man'; for by fome one of thefe appellations 
 does our Lord ufually call himfelf/ 
 
 And for this reafon alfo, is the human perlbii 
 oi'Jefus called in fcripture the fin of God, and his 
 blood the blood of God, and his congregation of the 
 faidiful the church of God-, (o Rom. viii. 32. Jf 
 God /pared not his own fon {oi.ys^flio ejus, namely 
 the man Chrijl Jefus) but delivered him up for us 
 all, &c. Rom. v. 10. We were reconciled to God by the 
 death of his fin. Adls xx. 28. The church of God 
 which he has piirchafed with his own blood, &c. For 
 the man, or human perfon, Jefus Chrijl is fingly 
 and individually that fon of God, i John i. 7. 
 whofi blood was fpi It for us, who (Heb. vi. 6.) was 
 crucified, and (Ac5ls iii. 26) was raified up from the 
 dead; after having indeed fiuffered (Rom. vi. 10) 
 death, eve?! the death of the crofs. 
 
 There can be no doubt but God is able to 
 effed; out of his own fulnefs a bodily fubftance, 
 verily indued with all the properties of an human 
 body; and fuch fubftance we believe did reiiilt 
 
 from 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 J I would not here be underftood to fay that (y) d af- 
 fixed to the latter of two fubflantives in the* fyriac 
 language, may not anfwer to the latter of two fubflan- 
 tives ot a genitive cafe in the greek or latin tongue ; 
 for it is certain it does. But I fay that the import of 
 thefe two forms are different-, and that (,) d in the 
 fyriac tongue aflixed to the latter of two fubflantives 
 fignifies the fame as qui eji^ who is-, and will there- 
 fore bare a conflruftion and force which the latter of 
 two fubrtantives in the greek will not. 
 
Letter V. [104] Sect. IIL 
 
 from God as a father, to the effeding the hu- 
 man nature of our Lord j but with refped: to that 
 fubftance which as the fon of a wontan accrued 
 to this his divinely generated fubftance, this we 
 doubt not was from the virgin. 
 
 The man Jejus Chriji was therefore the fon of 
 GoDj railed out of the fruit of Davidy conceived 
 of (by being implanted into) Mary, who was of 
 the feed of David; and hence that diftindtion^ 
 I Cor. XV. 47. TheJirJ} man is of the earth earthy^ 
 the fecond man is the Lord from heaven, i. e. is the 
 Jehovah Adn, who (""ap^ lyivi-^o) is become iiefhj 
 or man, in a conception divinely derived, tho' 
 earthlily augmented. 
 
 Having then fufficiently proved that there muft 
 be a perlbnal diftin<ft:ion between the firft-begot- 
 ten fon of God and his holy father/ we will 
 proceed to our third point propofed. 
 
 LET- 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ \\\ the prefent ftate of nature, no creature probably 
 can think as he ought of the veiled or hidden nature 
 of the fon of God. Mat. xi. 7. (ow^ftj) No one knowtth 
 the [on but the ffJher. But we hope this will not be 
 always the cafe with us, tor that we fhall hereafter 
 fee him, whofe we ail are, and by whom we all fub- 
 fift, not as now, only in his perfonal diftin^tion, but 
 as he is, i. e. in his as yet invifible nature-, yea, and 
 this fight of hini may then be natural to us that are 
 his, becaufe we fhall ourfelves bare his likenefs. i John 
 iii. 2. JVe know that when he JJjall appear^ we Jhall he 
 Uke him, for we fhall fee him as he is\ and 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 *>7//^ face imvdhd ( ayoc}<.iKaiX'j[ji,[jm/u TTpoa-urru) beholding 
 as in a glafs the glcry of the Lord, fhall be chawed into 
 the fame ir.'iage, from glory to glory ^ even as by the Lordy 
 the fpirit (c/,~o xuois ii>jix)<j,s!.-r^.') 
 
1 105] 
 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Logos the only begotten f on of God is the 
 true ceonian fpirit^ and diflinEi as fuch 
 from his father^ 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 ^^^^AVING in my laft letter proved two of 
 o$o H <*> the points propofed, namely, jft. That 
 v^^^ the term fpirit belongs to the only be- 
 gotten fon of GoD; and 2dly. That the 
 only begotten fon of God has a perfonal diftindtion 
 from God his father j the 3d and 4th points will 
 be the bulinefs of my prefent ; and firft the 3d 
 point, or that 
 
 III. The Logos or only begotten fon of God, 
 as he exifts perfonally diftincfl from God his fa- 
 ther, fo has he a will diftinft from God his fa- 
 ther, in the freedom of which will he offered 
 
 O himfelf 
 
Letter VI. [ io6 ] Sect. I. 
 
 himfelf to the father, to be a facrifice for man in 
 the future man Chriji 'Jejus. 
 
 John vi. 38. 1 came down from heaven y not to 
 do my own will^ but the will cf him that fent me. 
 
 I'hey who beheve ^ejiis Chriji to be the 
 Lord God, revealed in the old teilament by the 
 name of Jehovah Adhi, believe that he was with 
 the father in heaven before he became incarnate, 
 or man reveal'd in the flelh ; and therefore that 
 when he became man, he came down from 
 heaven : and in this view of him thcfe words of 
 his will be duly paraphrafed as follows j /, who 
 came down fj'c??! heaven, came down not to do my 
 OWN WILL, but the will oj him that fent me. For 
 the terms own will belong to the perfon /, and 
 by the perfon /, being meant he who came down 
 from heaven, the fingle qucflion arifing is who 
 this I that came down from heaven mufl be, 
 and this will appear from other texts. So fohn 
 xvi. 28. I came forth from the father and am in the 
 world -.y but who is the 1 who came forth from the 
 father ? The anfwer we fliall find in fohn xvii. 5. 
 
 And now, father ^ sJ^^^fj ^^ '^^^^■^ ^^-'y ^'^^''^ /^^' "^^^^ 
 that glory I had with thee before the world was. 
 
 The perfon therefore who came forth from the 
 father is he who was with the father, and who 
 had a glory with the father before the world 
 was ; but the man Jefisy who was born of the 
 virgin Mary^ was not with the father, neither 
 had a glory with the father, before the world 
 was ', therefore neither is the man Jefus the per- 
 fon here meant by the terms, / that came forth 
 Jroni the father y I who came down from heaven. 
 
 This 
 
Letter VI. [ 107 ] Sect. I. 
 
 This cxpofition of the above text is indeed 
 forced upon us by St. Pauh way of reafoning, 
 Eph. iv. 9, 10. Now that he ajcended^ what is it 
 hut that be alfn dcfce?idcd Jirft into the lower parts of 
 the earth ? He that defcendedy is the Jame that alfi 
 afcendedy &c. That is to fay, That which never 
 was beneath the heavens, cannot be faid to afcend 
 into the heavens; by a parity of which reafoning 
 we infift ahb, that if the man yefus Chrifi never 
 was in heaven, neither could he have defcended 
 from thence, or came down from heaven -, and 
 that therefore the man Chrifi Jefus came not 
 down from heaven : who then did come dowMi 
 from heaven ? The omniprefent divinity, the 
 God who filleth heaven and earth ? No man in 
 his fenfes will fuppofe fo much ; it muft then be 
 the facred Adni of the yewSy the Logos, or filial 
 fpirit, who came down from heaven to be a fa- 
 crifice for man in the future man Chrifi yefus. 
 
 And this is again declared in Hcb. x. 5. Where- 
 
 fore entering (or being about to enter <^'o f»(r£p;^o,a£^o? ) 
 
 O 2 into 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' That i\<T:^yoit.iv'^ has here a future import, appears 
 
 from Heb. i. 6. CT«i/ ^i 7ra.\n^ n^xyxyri to'j TrpuiTOroKOv hc 
 
 TT.u civ.'>iJ.ivr\'\ and ngahiy iz-han he is about to intro- 
 duce his [on into the world \ for die word acxyxyry 
 which hc-re anfwers to the word ncip^ci^^ ^5 being the 
 2d aoriil fubjunclive, has a future import, and there- 
 fore alfo muft uqirx°l^'^^ ^^^''■' ^^^^ ^Amc •, and the 
 like force of exprefTion is no lefs vifible in the fyriac 
 |.V::>o^' \v^^/- a.bc)' 'vvhen Uhat intro- 
 ducing ' his fir ft -begotten. 
 
Letter VI. [ io8 ] Sect. I, 
 
 into the worlds he faiths a body haft thou prepared 
 me, that is me the Adn, or Jehovah, who am 
 about to come down from heaven, having been 
 there with the father, and having had a glory 
 with the father from the beginning. 
 
 For Adn or Jehovah is alone the perfon, who 
 
 Phil. ii. 6, 7. Bei77g in the form of God, before the 
 
 creation was, did in due time become a man, or 
 
 emptied himfelf, a?id took upon him the form of a 
 
 fervant, and was ?nade in the likenefs of man. 
 
 But moreover this text, thus underftood, argues 
 alfo that the Jehovah, who came down from 
 heaven, having been from the beginning with 
 the father, had a will of his own, a will diftindl 
 from his father's who fent himj and the which 
 will he entered this world not to do, but to 
 deny ; by doing, what was diftindt from it, his 
 father's will, tho' this might oppole his own. 
 
 For if Adn came from heaven not to do his 
 own will, but the will of his father, then mufl 
 he have had an own will, diftind: from the will 
 of his father; as we alfo read, Heb. x. 7. T^hen 
 faid J, (that is I who was about to enter this 
 world) /(?, I co7ne to do thy will, God. 
 
 The apoftle defcribes the fon here as difcourf- 
 ing with his father concerning our redemption, 
 the conditions of which fhould be a body prepared 
 for him. The fon's reply to this propofal was, Lo 
 I come to do thy will, O God. So that his affuming 
 a body was the confequence of this his voluntary 
 compliance with the will of God, the event of 
 his furrendering himfelf up to the will of his fa- 
 ther; and it is in purfuance hereto (namely to* 
 
 Chriji'% 
 
Letter VI. [ 109 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Chrifi's afluming the body) that we are a fandi- 
 fied people, as it follows, ver. 10. fy the which 
 will we are fanBified^ thro the offering of the body 
 of Jefus once for all. 
 
 And of this contract, and will renounced, our 
 Lord may be prefumed to fpeak, John xvii. 2, 4. 
 I have glorified thee on earthy I have finijloed the 
 work thou haft given me to do. John v. 30. Ifeek 
 not my own wilU but the will of my father who hath 
 fent me. Mat. xxvi. 39. Neverthelefs not as I willy 
 but as thou wilt. John iv. 34. My meat is to do 
 the will of him that fent me. But in the pfalmift, 
 fpeaking of the divine covenant before the incar- 
 nation, we find the palTage above infifted upon 
 in terms ftrongly exprefiive of this perfonal dif- 
 tin6lion: Pf xl. 7. Then faid I^ lo 1 come^ in the 
 volume of the book it is written of me. Ver. 8. I de- 
 light to do thy will my God^ yea thy law is within 
 mv fecret receffes^ ( "V^^ *Tins in interno interiorum 
 meorunty or fing. interioris mei) i. e. in the central 
 faculties of the Logos (Adn or filial fpirit) who 
 afterwards became the man Chrift Jefus. 
 
 We conclude therefore that the Logos or Je- 
 hovah Adn, being a perfon diilindt from his fa- 
 ther before he came into the world, was our Lord 
 fpoken of, i Cor. viii. 6. To us there is one God 
 the father^ of who7n are all things^ and (who in his 
 image or vifible character, the firft- begotten, is 
 after the incarnation diftindlly called) one Lord 
 Chrift Jcjus by whom are all things^ and we by him. 
 So I Cor. XV. 47 The fecojid man is the hord from 
 heaven : and again, i Tim. ii. 5. For there is one God 
 and one Mediator between God and men (namely the 
 Adni or Logos or firft-begotten, who afterwards 
 
 became) 
 
Letter VI. [ ho ] Sect. 11. 
 
 became) the man Chrijl Jefus. He being in his 
 fingle pel fun, 4^s n. 36. Both Lord and Chriji -, 
 or, Luke \\, a. Chriji the Lord^ or Jehovah."" 
 
 Again, we conclude that being perfonally dif- 
 tind: from, he had alfo a will diil:in(5l from his 
 father's J that in the freedom of this will he of- 
 fered himfelt to be a facrifice for man in the fu- 
 ture man Chrift Jefus-j in whofe perfon he alfo 
 Condud:ed himfelf as a devotee to the covenanted 
 purpofe of his lather's will, in the manner de- 
 fcribed thro' all the gofpels: and as we read of 
 him in LLeb. v. 7, 8. Who in the days of his flejh^ 
 'when he had offered up prayers and fuppli cations with 
 firong cryings and tears^ unto him who was able to 
 fhve him from deaths and was heard (fo as to be 
 delivered by an angel fent to ftrengthen him) 
 frcfn his horrors ; thd he were a fon^ yet learned he 
 obedience by the things which he fuffered, and being 
 perfeBed^ he became the author of Ionian falvation 
 to all tJjem that obey him. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 IV. ' I * H E Logos (offering himfelf in the 
 
 I freedom of his will to he a facrifice 
 
 for man in the future man Chriji J(fus) mufl: have 
 
 been 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "> The vifible Adn, addrtTs'd everywhere through- 
 out the old teftament as God, was not the father, 
 therefore he was the fon of the father, therefore the 
 fame whom St. John calls the Logos, Rev. xix. 13. 
 I John V. 7. John i. i. St. Pr/ul the (TrpojTOToxo? or) 
 firfl-begotten, Col. i. 15. Heb. i. 6. 
 
Letter VI. [ iii ] Sect. It. 
 
 been that fplrit who moved or influenced the man 
 Chrijl Jefiis to become (i. e. is that fpirit through 
 whom he became) a facriiicial offering for us. 
 
 This propolition follows from the foregoing 
 already proved j for if the Logos or Adni had 
 been other than that fpirit who was to move or 
 influence the future man CfmJ} jefus to become 
 an offering ; he could not have covenanted with 
 the father that the future man fl:iouId become 
 that offering. 
 
 So that his covenanting with his father in the 
 words, /(?, / cc?)ie to do thy ivi/I, argues him to be 
 that fpirit who was to move or influence the fu- 
 ture man Chriji Jefus to become, in the body pre- 
 pared, a facrifice for fin. 
 
 Moreover as the perfon covenanting is denoted 
 to us in the firft perfon I, viz. I come to do thy 
 willy and the body prepared was to be the body 
 of him who fo covenanted, the perfonal property 
 of the I covenanting, exprefs'd in the term mc 
 (namely a body haft thou prepared t}ie) ; it ap- 
 pears from the very text itfelf, that the body and 
 the perfon covenanting were to be one and the 
 fame individual : and fo it follows, that this pre- 
 pared body was both the future body of that pre- 
 incarnate perfon v/ho covenanted with the flither, 
 and was alfo the very body of the incarnate man 
 whom we call yefus Chri/i. 
 
 That is, the Adn or Logos, who was the co- 
 venanting: foirit before the incarnation, was the 
 
 Ok ' 
 
 man Chrijl Jefus, to whom the prepared body 
 bclong'd, after the creation. 
 
 And whereas the will of God, we are now 
 fpeaking of, was to be done by him the Adn or 
 
 Logos J 
 
Letter VI. [ 112 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Logos ; the offering made of the prepared body 
 muft have been performed by him the Adn or 
 
 Logos. 
 
 But this offering was performed by the man 
 Chrift Jefus ; therefore the Logos and the man 
 Chrift Jefiis were both of them the offerers or 
 priefts offering the prepared facrifice. 
 
 Now how ihall we adjuft this account of thefe 
 divine matters but by conceiving that Jefus Chrijiy 
 who was the incarnate priefl or offerer, was the 
 Logos himfelf, in his preincarnate ffate, and be- 
 fore he became man ? 
 
 Again, whereas we know that the man yeftis 
 Chrijt, being compleatly man, had a fpirit, a 
 foul and a body, (for every perfect man confifts 
 of fuch, fee i The/, v. 23. Gal. vi. 18.) we may 
 eaiily conceive that the fpirit by whom the man 
 Jefus Chrift offered himfelf may have been his 
 own fpirit j that is, that Jefus Chrift, moved by 
 his own fpirit, who is a fpirit of companion and 
 zeal, covenanted with his father to perform our 
 redemption in a body, to be prepared and by him 
 affumed for that purpofe. 
 
 Thus, Heb. i. 3. Being the brighfnefs of his fa- 
 ther s glory ^ and the exprejs image of his perfon, and 
 upholding all things by the word of his own power , 
 he by himfelf [^^^ iocvr^) purged ourJinSj to the ful- 
 filling the will of the father. 
 
 This furvey of our redemption Is anfwered by 
 a variety of fcripture paffages, of which I fhall 
 produce a few. 
 
 The bufinefs of a priefl: is, Heb. viii. 3.' — v. i, 2. 
 to offer facrifice for fin y and Chrift was to be a prieft 
 after the order of MelchifedeCy that is, Heb. vii. 3. 
 
 without 
 
Letter VI. t ^^3 ] SEct.lt. 
 
 without father, without mother,'' without pedigree ^ 
 having neither beginning of days, nor etia of life: 
 But the mail Chriji Jefus had a known mother, 
 P and 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Jcfus Ghrift is that God with whom the creatures are 
 immediately concerned. 
 
 n The invifible God, the father of the Logos, be- 
 ing utterly undifcoverable to us but by the fpirit of 
 Jefus Chriji, who is the light of man, living in us ; 
 we cannot pofTibly know any thing of him, till we are 
 what the apoftle calls, Eph. v. 8. (^w? £v tw Kupjw) 
 Light in the Lord. Says he, Te were indeed a while 
 ago darknefs, but fiozv are ye light in the Lord. So that 
 to man void of the chriftian light, the father is as 
 tho' he had no being at all, as tho' he were not; thac 
 is, the Logos, or the fon, is to us as the original God, 
 or fole 7ravTo.)cp«Twp. Yea probably the creatures (at leaft 
 man) would not know that a father was, but by being 
 inforpied hereof by him who only has feen the father, 
 namely the Logos or God of nature. 
 
 Therefore, fay the fcriptures, John i. i8. No one 
 hath feen (that is known, fee 3 John 11. Johnxw. 7.) 
 God at any time, the only begotten fon, zvho is in the bo- 
 fom of the father, he hath declared him; i. e. revealed 
 him fo as to render him the objeft of our knowledge, 
 tho' not of our fight. See alfo John xiv. 8, 9. 
 
 And thus Iren.ciis teaches us, Edocuit aiitem Dcminus 
 quoniam Deum fcire nemo pojfit, nifi Deo docente, hoc eft 
 Jine Deo non cognofci Deum. Hoc ipfum aulem cognofci 
 eum, voluntatem ejfe patris; cognofcunt efiim eum qiiibuf- 
 cujnq-, revelaverit filius, i'i ad hoc filius revelavit patrem 
 ut per eum omnibus inanifejletur, £5? eos quidem qui ere- 
 dunt ei, jujli in incorruptelam & sternum refrigerimn reci- 
 piat. Credere ejl facere ejus voluntatem, eos autem qui 
 }wn credunt, £5? propter hoc fugiunt lumen ejus, in tenzbris 
 quas ipfifihi elegerunt jujle recludct. ^ ideojuflum 
 
Letter VI. [ 114 ] Sect. II. 
 
 and a reputed father j a known lineal defcent 
 from David, by his mother's fidc; and a known 
 beginning of days and end of life 5 therefore un- 
 
 lefs 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 judicium Dei fuper eos qui ftmiliter quidem viderunt, non 
 
 autem ftmiliter crediderunt ff? per ip/um verbum 
 
 viftbilem Gf palpabikm fa£ium^ pater ojhndatur, etiamji 
 non omnes ftmiliter credebant ei ; fed omnes viderunt in 
 filio pair em •, invifble etenim filii pater ^ vifibile autem pa- 
 tris filius. Irenseus, lib. iv. cap. 14. 
 
 That colleftive knowlerige we have of God from 
 his creation, as a being endued with all power, v/if- 
 dom, JLiftice, as good to the obedient, terrible to the 
 wicked, and controlling the iiniverfe, belongs to the 
 Logos, who is, and is beheld perlbnally as being, all 
 this, and whofe fpirit pervades the whole creation. 
 
 But fuch our knowledge affords us no conception 
 of that eternity, infinity, and immutability which be- 
 longs not negatively but pofitively, to the fimple ef- 
 fence God. 
 
 In his eflence God is, Heb. xiii. 8. The fame y eft er- 
 day, to day, and for ever, James i. 1 7. with whom is no 
 variablenefs, or Jhadow^of altering (| » 1 o«^ chang- 
 ip.g like the weather or feafons of the yearj •, 'and this 
 account of him fo baffles all our notions of an adlive 
 omnipotent agent, creating, governing, altering, pleaf- 
 ed and angry with his creatures, as to leave us quite 
 in the dark, and without fentiment concerning him. 
 
 And as our knowledge and experience drawn from 
 things fenfible, can only teach us what the Logos muft 
 be ; the Logos is that only God whom the creature 
 can know ; yea, he is fo the utmoft limit of our in- 
 telligence, as if he were without tather and without 
 ulterior fource or origin. 
 
 Chrift therefore is defcribed as one whofe original 
 no man knows, IfaiahXni. 8. AndwhoJJj all declare his 
 
Letter VI. [ 115 ] Sect. II. 
 
 lefs we will confider yefiisChrifl as more than a 
 fon of Mary^ he proves not to be the true ir.cl- 
 chifedecal priefl promlfed us for our redeemer. 
 
 P 2 Who 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 generation \ sls hys Iren^us, ^ds prolationem five genc- 
 rationem ejus inenarrahilem novit ? neq; angeli neque 
 archangeli^ nifi [ohis qui generavit pater & qui natus ejl 
 filius. See p. 134. — So Jufiin Martyr^ Oreo/ yxp cJ; mov 
 
 uv^puTTOV Xeyri Aai/niA tov TrapxXocf/.^avoi'rx mv xmviov Bact- 
 
 Afiav, dy^ avlo t«]o ccivktcsIui ? ( fcilicet that Chrtjl the Je- 
 hovah of the old teftament was to be born a man) 
 
 TO yxp w? viov avS'pwTTz £i7r£U/, (pxvo^svov jw,£i/ y.a.1 yivoiMuou 
 avS'puTTOv iJt,ri)^vsi, x^ £0 uuB'puTni'OV ^s a-syspfj^Oili^ inrocpyovjoe. 
 
 SnKoi ; Xat TO AjS'OI/ TUTOV HTTBIV OCViV X^'f^^ T^'/l3'£UTa, sv 
 
 fx'jfripiu TO auTO jcjicpayf ; to yap a^£lJ Xi'^P^^ utthv ocvrov iXTsl- 
 [xria'3'xi, on o'jjc ffn/ «^^■pw7r!^ol/ fpyo^, aAAa T'/)f jSaAn? tjj 
 7rpoo«AAo^TO? auToi/ Trcczp^ toov oKoov 0£a. 3ta» to H(rxixu 
 <pxvxi^ mv yivix\/ aura ng ^iriyr\(T£TXi^ uucX$.-/iy7\jov lyoyjx 
 TO ysuoi; xurou sortXov. ov^en; yxy xv^puTTog uu s^ ai/S'pwTrwv, 
 
 a,]/ix.§ir\ymoy iyii. to ysK^. Juftiui Mart) ris Dialog. 
 
 cum Tryphone Jud^o. 
 
 And as the generation of the Logos is (like M'lchi- 
 fedec^s) unknown, and as his father is likewife u' terly 
 unknowable, till the fon (who is our known God, 
 who gives us life and breath and all things, and made 
 heaven and earthj reveals him, fo are our addrclfes 
 to the father to be confidered as a matter of chriilian 
 privilege, indulged us purely as members of his I'on. 
 John XVI. 25, 26, 27. But I pall pew you (namely 
 tiiat are mine) plainly of the father. At that dav xe 
 flmll afk in my name, and I fay net unto you, that I will 
 pray the father for you •, for the father himfelf lovetb jou, 
 Lccaufe yc have loved me, and have believe..: [bat J came 
 forth from God. And {v. 23.) whatfoever yc jhall ojk 
 the father in my name, he will give it you. 
 
ijETTER Vl. [ ii6 ] Sect. II, 
 
 Who then was this melchifedecal prieft without 
 known father, mother, pedigree, and without 
 beginning of days or end of hfe? 
 
 The anfwer is, the perfon whom Melchifedec 
 reprefents, namely the only begotten fon of God ; 
 for Melchifedec was Heb. vii. 3. [oi<p(^i^oiui^iv^ rux Jiw ra 
 6sou) made a type^ of or propofed to reprefent in the 
 prementioned particulars the fon of God. The 
 motherlefs fon of God then is our true melchi- 
 fedecal prieft, and the fame of whom our Lord 
 fays, yoh?i viii. 42, (^^ -'"« Ssa £^>ia&oi/ ^ y'x«) / (the 
 Adn or Lord the fon of God) came forth from 
 Gody a?2d am here (a bodily man.) i. e. /, John i. 18. 
 
 /o fj^ovoycVYiq Jjo? <iiv £J? rov xoXirbv rs TrtXTpogJ the Ollh 
 
 begotten fon y who was in the bofom of the father, am 
 now become a palpable man; Heb.ix. 11. Rev. xiii. 
 6. Jehovah tabernacled in thefeflj-j a body prepared, 
 alt'ho' of precious, yet of corruptible materials 
 (even as the fanduary called, Heb. ix. i. ayjoi- 
 :<Qtry.iKov the wordly fanduary was made of cor- 
 ruptible 
 
 ^ O T E s!~ 
 
 ^ The greek word afw^oiw^ajvo? being rare and un- 
 known, has been mifreprefented by feme of our moft 
 able commentators to the confufion of the text. But 
 the fyriac teftament helps us here, by afcertaining its 
 meaning in the word iLo-^bO^ which fignifies type, 
 pattern, image, &c. and frequently occurs in the new 
 teftament. So in Hel?. viii. 5. ix. 23. ix. 24. Rom. 
 i. 25. viii, 29. 1 Cor. xi. 7. xv. 49. 2 Cor. iii. 18, 
 Phil. ii. 6. iii. 17. Col i. 15. iii. 10. i The/, i. 7. 
 I Tim. iv. 12. Tit. ii. 7. (^c. Infomuch that wa 
 can have no longer any doubt that o^V-^ )LoiO^O 
 I o t'^s . means In the pattern of the fon of God, 
 
Letter VI. [ 117 ] Sect. II. 
 
 ruptible materials) and which I am entered, the 
 aeonian prieft, to make atonement by performing 
 a facrifice, according to a covenant which I made 
 with my father, before I became the fon-man. 
 
 Bcfides all this, that the Adn or Logos in the 
 freedom of his will offered himfelf up to God a 
 facrifice for us, without being moved thereto by 
 any other influence than that of his own bounty and 
 benevolence, and which was the offspring ot his 
 innate love, appears farther from his own words. 
 
 John X. 18. No one (3<^«f?) taketh it (my life) 
 from mCy but 1 lay it down of my own fdf (0^'^' £/xauT«) 
 ef my own free will : I have (j^«(r*av) authority to 
 lay it downy and I have authority to take it again : 
 this [ivroXrw, commifliou or) inJtruBion have I re- 
 ceived of my father (who impofes no nccefjity uppn me 
 his hofom love.) 
 
 But if Chrifi enterprifed his redeeming office as 
 a matter precarious, and dependant upon his 
 own will, as a voluntary atchievement, to which 
 he was incited purely by his own native com- 
 miferation j then is Chrjji's, fpirit that only fpirjt 
 by whom the man JefuSy the Chrifty devoted 
 his body a facrifice for fin j or in other words, 
 then is that Logos, Adn or filial covenanting 
 fpirit that Ionian prieflly fpirit, thro' which the 
 man ycfiiSy the Chrijiy offered up his prepared 
 body for the fin of the world. For 
 
 That fpirit who moved the man Jefus Chrifi to 
 become a facrifice for fin is the true scnian fpirit; 
 
 But the Logos (or which is the fame his fpirit) 
 is that fpirit who moved the man ffus Chrijl to 
 become a facrifice for fin ; 
 
 Therefore the Logos (or which is the fame his 
 fpirit) is the true atonian fpirit. LET- 
 
[ n8] 
 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Farther remarks on C h r i s t ' j ceonian 
 chara&ery implying his perfo?tal dijlinc- 
 tion^ and injijled on in the two fore- 
 going letters, 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 ^*(My^OUR interpretation of the word (ttp^to- 
 ^ Y ^ '^^'^^'^ or) firft-begotten appears to me 
 ^j-w-L^ to be unwarranted bv fcripture : neither 
 lee 1 now this word inters created ex- 
 iftencc in the ordinary acceptation of it.'' But 
 that in my acceptation of it, it imports diftinftion 
 
 I readily 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 p That the Meffiah was the begotten of God before 
 the creation began is certain, becaufe all the creatures 
 were made by the firft-begotten : but it does not 
 thence follow that we are to underftand otherwife by 
 
Letter VII. [ 119 ] Sect. I. 
 
 I readily acknowledge, have been in my two laft 
 letters contending for, and fhall in my prefent 
 inforce with farther arguments j as judging that 
 the fcripture accounts of our redemption cannot 
 be underftood without fuch diftindtion fuppofed. 
 We are taught to conceive of our redemption 
 as a contrivance between two parties, who tho* 
 of divine exiflencc, arc the one a father, the 
 other a fon ; and of the agreement itfelf, as de- 
 pending upon reciprocal covenants binding each 
 party. SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the word (Trpoororoy.^) firfl-begottcn than is its natural 
 import, and known ufe in fcripture. We read Matt^ 
 i. 25. 'That Jefus was the {ttputotoko©^) frjl-begotten 
 cf Mary; that (Heb. xi. 28.) the {tx ttputotokcc) Jirjl- 
 begotten of Egypt were dejlroyed (Heb. xii. 23.) that the 
 church confifts of the {ttpoototokuv) firfi -begot ten of cur 
 Lord, or fuch as Chriji has regenerated or rebegotten, 
 i. e. v^homChriJl has made his children by (TrocXiyUHa-icc) 
 a begetting again, Matt. x'::. 28 ; or by (xvotyivKnu) a 
 regeneration, viz. i Pet. i. j, 23. (ax. vk a-^opxi; (p^xprv;^ 
 aXXa, a<pS-apT«) Hot of corruptible feed., but of incorrup- 
 tible. And fince the fame word is fingly applied to 
 the Mefiiah as the fon of the father, we are at liberty 
 to underftand this word thus ufed, in the fame fimple 
 meaning of it, as in other applications. 
 
 It behoves us alfo to obferve here that our erroneous 
 deduclions concerning the fon of God arife chiefly from 
 our miftaking the force of the word beget, in which 
 his relation to the father is revealed to us. 
 
 The word beget by no means implies creation or a 
 ftate of not-being antecedent to that of being begotten. 
 For altho' a man is begotten by his father, yet he is 
 not created by his father j and altho' he becomes a 
 
Letter VIL [120] SeCt. I, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 I. /^^ N the part of the fon it was covenanted 
 \_y I ft. That he fhould become man made 
 of a woman, made in the likenefs of man. 
 
 2dly. That being fo incarnate, Emanuel, the 
 word made flefh, ^Miii. 10. Hejhould make his foul 
 an offering for Jin, his body an atoning facrifice. 
 
 And this appears from the text fo much urged 
 in my laft letter, Heb. x. 5. Sacrifice and offering 
 thou (my God) ivouldji not, but a body hafl thou pre- 
 pared fney then f aid I {w'lz. this fpirit, the Mefliah) 
 4o, I come to do thy will, O God. That is, as has 
 been already argued, to do the will of the fa- 
 ther: with relation to which will our Lord 
 
 fpeaksj 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 man by being begotten, yet he becomes not a poffef- 
 for of life or being, thro* his father's begetting him. 
 
 Yea our Lord himfelf, who was the only begotten 
 of God before he became man, did likewife become 
 man by being again begotten of God -, and fa'rther, 
 when afterward he became the firft fon of the refur- 
 reclion, he became a third time the begotten of God i 
 as the Apoftle affares us, J^s xiii. 33. This day (i. e. 
 the day of his refurredion) have I begotten thee, i. e. 
 regenerated (or re-begotten) thee -, for the refurrec- 
 tion is called the regeneration, and Chi'ift is called the 
 firfi -begotten of (or from among JS,^,:::) v^ j ^^^ ^^'^'^' 
 Col. i. 18. Rev. i. 5. and being fo, he is after his re- 
 furrec^ion, addrefs'd in thefe words by his father, 'This 
 day have I{av%^Yiqv,z having raifed, yiymiKiy.) begotten thee. 
 
Letter VII. [ 121 ] Segt. 1. 
 
 ''■Ipeaks, jfohn v'l. 2^. I came down fiom benven, not 
 to do my own willy but the will of him that j'ent me. 
 And as this is that part in the divine covenant 
 which it became the Ion to perform, fo by his per- 
 formance of it, Heb. X. 10. We his children are 
 
 fanciijiedj or have his holinefs imparted to us. 
 
 This contrad: is given us in Uke form in Ifaiahy 
 where Jehovah is reprefented as faying. If. liii. 10. 
 If he Jhall make his foul an offering for fin ^ he JImU 
 
 fee his feed J and prolong his days, and the pleafure of 
 Jehovah fiall profper in his hands. 
 
 And as the terms of this treaty between the 
 father and his fon do manifefl their perfonal di- 
 ftindion, fo does alfo St. Paid confirm the fame, 
 Gal. iii. 20. Now a mediator is not a mediator $f 
 one, but God is one ; and who then muft the me- 
 diator be, but he whom I have been defcribing ; 
 and of whom fays good old yujiin the martyr, 
 
 T8TO TO TW 01/TJ (or Ovlu;) XTTO TH tTXTfOq TTpO^X'/lS'SV y£]/n[XOif 
 
 TTpo iravTUv tuv froiviJ^aTuv (txivav tw ttoct^i^ v.oh t8tw o 7roiT»ip 
 
 ■sTpoc-oi^iXn. " This is that offspring truly produced 
 " from the father; before all creatures he was 
 '* with the father, and with him the father holds 
 ** converfation." — Dialog, cwn T'ryphone fiidceo. 
 
 So then the Mef]iah (being before he became 
 ileQi a fpirit, namely, the firfl-bcgotten of God 5 
 and exifting filially diftinft from his father; and 
 having as fuch a will diilinct from his father) 
 was capable of entering into a conditional agree- 
 ment with his father: wherein his fatlier accents 
 a profered fervice of the fon, who undertakes to 
 execute it, according to that fuMime ^.ccount of 
 him in Ifaiah. 
 
 Q. Ifaiah 
 
Letter VII. [ 122 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Ifaiah Ixiii. i, 2, 3. Q^^ho is he that cometh 
 from Edom (the Edomites being the moil inve- 
 terate enemies of the Jews^ do reprefent all the 
 church's enemies) with dsed garment s, travelling 
 in the greatnefs of his ftrength (or as a vi(ftoriou?> 
 general) ? A. 1 who [peak in right eoufnefs^ mighty 
 to fave. (X:^JVherefore art thou red in thy apparel y 
 and thy garments like one that treadeth the wtne-fat .? 
 A. I have trodden the wine-prefs (trampled down 
 the enemies of the church) alo?ie, and of the people 
 there was none with me. 
 
 And as this Meffiah, this firll and only be- 
 gotten fon of God, made a compadl, and con- 
 certed its covenants, before his taking upon him 
 our fleilily nature j fo he provided for the full 
 performance of them, in that nature ; and being 
 indeed, from firft to laft, the life, and fource, 
 and root of all its workings, he faithfully accom- 
 plidied the utmoft requifites, both as fon Logos 
 and fon man, with the utmoft zeal, induftry, 
 and fuccefs. 
 
 As he is in himfelf, and throughout his whole 
 nature, the true copy (axau-yao-iuo. and X'^^pajtrup) the 
 fhining forth and exprefs image of the father \ 
 fo is his will alfo as abfolutely the exprefs copy 
 of his father's will. 
 
 And tho' fiHally diftindl from his father, never- 
 thelefs he coincides compleatly with him both in 
 nature, and in will. Therefore as in nature he 
 is defcribed to he, fohnxw. 10. In the father, and 
 the father in him-, and fohn i. 18. hi the bofom of 
 the father-, fo fpeaking of his will he tells us,, 
 that John v. 19. 'The fon can do nothing of himfelf 
 
 but 
 
Letter VII. [ 123 ] Sect. II. 
 
 but what he feeth the father do\ fir whatfoever things 
 the father Jothy thef alfo doih the fort likewife. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 II. \T 7 ^ ^^^^ ^° Tpeak of the divine cove- 
 VV nant, as to its articles on the father's 
 part, whereby it was ftipulated, 
 
 ift. That the fon ihould have the power of 
 the refurre£tion given him. 
 
 Not that he had no native power in him to 
 raife the dead, but that this event fhould be ef- 
 fe6ted by a new kind of hfe, firft to be produced 
 and manifefted in Chriji as mediator ; by a life 
 hitherto unknown in the creation j and whereby 
 the dead in him fhould likewife be quickened in- 
 to his Hkenefs, when rifen 3 and become that new 
 creature which St. PW calls, Eph.n. 10. Created 
 in Chrifty his isoorkmanJJiip. 
 
 Moreover this power of raifing the dead was 
 to belong to Chriji in the capacity of a mediator, 
 as his own property by covenant, and in his own 
 right ; or as that to vv'hich he was equitably in- 
 titled by dint of his own perfonal merit. 
 
 John V. 20, 21. T^he father loveth the foiu ^^^d 
 f:}eweth him all things that hinfcf doth, and he ivill 
 JJjew him greater works than theje, that ye may mar- 
 vel -, for as the father raifefh up the dead and qidck-r 
 eneth them, even jo the fon quickcneth wbcm be will. 
 Vcrfc 26. For as the jathcr hath life in himjelj, fo 
 hath he given to the fen to have Hfe in hirnfclf, 
 CL,3 Ckilh 
 
Letter VII. [ 124 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Chriji\ mediatorial prerogatives being his (v. 27.) 
 becaufe he fubmittcd to be^ or becaiife he is the Jon 
 of man.'^ 
 
 Again, Phil. ii. 6. — Who being in the form of God, 
 
 deemed it no aB of robbery to be equal with God\ yet 
 
 emptied himfelf and took upon him the form of a 
 
 fervant, and was madu in the likenefs of men, and 
 
 being 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Ver. 27* "^ s^HO-ioiv i^uxiv auTw 7^ Hpi(nv TToniv, on vioq 
 co/^ptaTTH fr». Beza tranflates on in this paffage by qua- 
 tenus, viz. quatenus filius hominis eft; and tells us that 
 on is put tor xoc^oli or xi^^m; ; and fo j^ etiam he refers, 
 not to )tj5i(rn/ TToisiv, but to on mo? av^piOTTn ff*, by which 
 means the fenfe, he fays, will be " and he gave him 
 " authority to execute judgment not only as God, 
 " but alfo as fon of man." 
 
 But I cannot interpret this paffage fo •, ifl-. Be- 
 caufe on for za^wc appears to me unnatural. 2dly. Be- 
 caufe >^ becomes thus awkwardly mifplaced ; for cer- 
 tainly as it {lands immediately before, it naturally re- 
 fers to xp,(7iv TTsiEJi/. gdly, Becaufe the fyriac interprets 
 oTt by J quod ,^7 vero, quidem, etenim, viz. oi_i.j:i?* 
 )a,J..L^' >^i' CO" 'becaufe "he was 'the fon 'of 
 man. •4thiy. Becaufe it is not true that Chrift will 
 judge the world as man, but as God in the man Chrift 
 Jeftds. So A^s xvii. 30, 31. God hath appointed a day 
 'wherein he will judge the ivorld in righteoufnejs {eu <x,vSpi 
 CO ccpitrs) in the man whom he has appointed, Rom. ii. 1 6. 
 In the day when God will judge thcfecrets of men (J'ta) hy 
 JcfusChrift; i. e. by the Logos or firfl- begotten called, 
 Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11. The ancient of days; and Zech. xiv. 
 5. exprcfsly Jehovah. So that not the man, but Je- 
 hovah, in the man Jefiis Chrift, wall be judge of quick 
 and dead. See alfo ^ohn xii. 4-'^. 
 
Letter VII. [ 125 ] Sect. IL 
 
 being found in fajhion as a many he humbled himfelf 
 and became obedient unto deaths e'oen the death of the 
 crofs'y wherefore Ood aljo hath highly exalted him, 
 and given him a name which is above every nat?ie j 
 that in the name ofjefus every knee fiould bow ^ &c^ 
 Pf. xcviii. I. Sing unto the Lord a new fof?g for he 
 hath done marvellous things^ his right hand and his 
 holy arm hath gotten him the viBory. 
 
 That mighty power therefore which wrought 
 upon our Lord, and raifed him from the fepul- 
 chre, ASls ii. 24. Loofmg the ( oi-aI^^ .li jl» hblie) 
 bafids of death, a power refulting from his becom- 
 ing again begotten, even the firft begotten from 
 the dead; was the wages of his fufferings, his by 
 purchafe from his father, a property derived from 
 his own meritorious obedience, the earneft {jn<; 
 src-ptiroino-fw?) of that pur chafed poffefjion fpoken of, 
 Eph. i. 14. 
 
 It is alfo by virtue of this mediatorial title that 
 our Lord prays in fuch confidence, Johnxvn. 24. 
 Father {^o.u Ivoe) I will that they alfo whoju thou hafl 
 given me, be with me where I am 3 that they may 
 behold the glory which thou haft given me. 
 
 But had there been no diftindion of will in the 
 Meffiah or iirft- begotten fpirit ; Chrijl could not 
 have performed his mediatorial office agreeably 
 to the fcripture account of it : and without a 
 mediator, and (what fuch fuppofes) the agree^ 
 ment or contrad: between the fon and the fatlier; 
 there had been no debt or demand commenced, 
 no merit contradled, no facrifice made, no ran- 
 fom given; and, as far as we can fee, no rcflora- 
 tion or redemption contrived for man. 
 
 For 
 
Letter VII. [ 126 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 For fince it is upon a diftin(5lion of will that 
 the contrad: between God and the aeonian fpirit, 
 his only begotten fon, refts for its foundation and 
 validity 5 without this diftinftion, all that folcmn 
 account, which the fcriptures give us of a divine 
 treaty, muft be meer farce and falfehood, too weak 
 to amufe (illy men, much lefs thofe great intelli- 
 gent fpe<ftators of the other world, who long fo 
 earneftly ( i Pet. i. 12.) to pry into (Trapaxuvjyat) this 
 myftery -, and to whole capacities it is fo full of 
 miracle and aftonifhment. 
 
 2dly. A fecond article of the divine treaty was, 
 That the Mefiiah fhould have given him a king- 
 dom, and a people. 
 
 Luke xxii. 29. My father hath covenanted to me 
 
 Daf2. ii. 44. In the days of thefe kings JJ?all the 
 God of heave?! fet up a kingdom^ which fiall fiever 
 be deftroyed; and the kingdom fiall not be left to an- 
 other people. 
 
 Luke i 31 — 33. j4?2d thou fialt call his name 
 yefus, he fall be great ^ andfl:all be called the fon of 
 the highejl ; and the Lord God flail give unto him 
 the throne of his father David^ and he Jljall reign 
 ever the houfe of facob forever ^ and of his kingdom . 
 there fiall be no end. 
 
 Ifaiah xlii. i . Behold my fervanf whom I uphold ^ 
 my eleB in who?n 7ny foid delight eth -j I have put my 
 fpirit upon him^ and he fall bring forth judgment 
 unto the Gentiles y (v. 4.) and the if es fall waif 
 for his law. Ifaiah xix. 25. Jehovah of ho jls flail 
 blefs, faying^ blfed he Egypt my people, and Syria 
 ihe work oj my hands, and Ifrael my inheritance. 
 
 And 
 
Letter VII. [ 127 ] Sect. IL 
 
 ' And thefe are faid to be given him for a retri- 
 bution, and reeompence, and reward ; yea, and 
 as his abfolute right, fo i Tim. ii. 6. IVho gave 
 himfelf a ranfomfor all. i Cor. vi. 20. Who hath 
 bought us with a Price. Ads xx. 28. Who has pur - 
 chafed us with his own blood. 
 
 And from hence it is likewife evident that the 
 ffonian fpirit mufl be diftindl from the father ; 
 for he to whom this kingdom is promifed as a 
 reeompence, retribution, and purchafe, is that 
 fpirit who afterwards became the Chriji ; and by 
 force of whofe will and determination Chri^ fuf- 
 fered, or offered himfelf without fpot to God ; 
 he is therefore the jEonian fpirit : and fince that 
 fpirit who afterwards became ChriJl, did himfelf 
 earn his kingdom, and receive it from the father, 
 not as his native right, but as his acquired right; 
 he muft alfo be in his redeeming mediatorial 
 charader diftind from the father. 
 
 3dly. By a third article in the divine treaty. 
 The kingdom of the Mefliah was to be enjoyed 
 by him as a fon, diftindl from his father. 
 
 This indeed may alfo be rationally infer'd from 
 the nature of ChrijTs righc to his kingdom, viz. 
 the having earned or purchafed it of the father; 
 for to poffefs as earned or purchafed of, is to pof- 
 fefs as diftind from the father, therefore not as 
 the father, but as the only begotten of the father, 
 become a mediator. 
 
 And fo Chri/l a$ king in his kingdom appears 
 by neceffary confequence, as to be the asonian 
 fpirit, fo alfo to be the fon of God diflindl, or 
 become diflind from his father. 
 
 Of 
 
Letter VII. [ 128 ] Sect. XL 
 
 Of this we are farther afTured from Daniel^ 
 Dan. vii. 13, 14. Ifaw in the night vijions, and behold 
 one like afon a man came with the clouds ofhearven; 
 and he came to the ancient of das s^ and they brought 
 him near before him, and there was given him 
 (this human perfonage) a dominion^ and glory and 
 kingdom^ that all people and fiations and languages 
 JJjouldferve him. His dominion is an aonia?2 domi- 
 nion which fiall not ( m"!^'' ) be taken away (or of 
 which he fhall not be fpoiled) a?id his kingdom 
 what fiall not be dijfolved (or ruined ^snnn i^S) all 
 which anfwers to what we are taught in the paf- 
 fage already quoted, viz. John v. 27. T'he father 
 hath given the f on authority to execute judgment ^ be- 
 caufe he is the man- [on. 
 
 And from hence we argue as follows; 
 
 The fbn covenanting with God his father is he 
 who enjoys the kingdom of God ; 
 
 Therefore is he who bought or purchafed the 
 kingdom of God ; 
 
 Therefore is he who offered up the body of 
 fefus for it; 
 
 Therefore is he by power of whofe will and 
 influence the man fefus became a facrifice; 
 
 Therefore is he to whom the term aeoniaii 
 fpirit belongs. 
 
 The kingdom of God was, not only by cove- 
 nant, the property of the fon of God long before 
 the man fefus was born; but the birth and being 
 of the man Jefus or fon-man was in purfuance of 
 this covenant ; and this in order that the fon of 
 God might, in the man fefus^ have a body to 
 offer up unto his father for the fulfilling the terms 
 of fuch covenant with him made, Neither 
 
Letter VIL [ 129 ] Sect. IL 
 
 Neither Was the fon of God meerly to ofJer up 
 a body, but a body which fhould be his own, 
 himfelf. And therefore is the body of Jefus the 
 body of the fon of God, and the perfon of J ejus 
 the perfon of the fon of God, as is evident from 
 the fcripture accounts of this fubhiiie matter, 
 which tells us, Rom. viii. 32. ^hat God delivered 
 up hisfo7ifor us all : Rom. v. 10. That We are re- 
 conciled to him by the death of his fin: And ( A6ts xx. 
 28.) that we are the purchafi of his (viz. God's) Own 
 blood', for that he offered up his body for us, and fie d 
 his blood for us upon the crofs. 
 
 4thly. A fourth article in the divine treaty was, 
 That the kingdom which fhould reward the fori s 
 mediatorial fervices fhould become an univerfal 
 dominion, wherein the whole creation fhould be 
 his fubjed:s. 
 
 Ifaiah iv. 5. The glory of fehovah fioall be re- 
 vealed , and all flefi fiall fie it together. If. xxvii. 6. 
 Ifrael fiall blofjom and bud, and fill the face of the 
 world with fruit. If xlii. 6, 7. / the Lord have 
 called thee in right eoifinefis, and I will hold thy hands, 
 and will keep thee, and give thee for — a light of the 
 Gentiles^ to open the blind eyes, to bring out the pri- 
 fioners from the prifin, and them that fit in ddrknefis 
 out ofi the prifin-hcufie. If xlix. 18. Lift up thine 
 eyes round about, and behold all thefie gather them- 
 fielves together and come to me : as I live, fiaith the 
 Lord, thou fi:a!t fiurely chat he thee with them all, as 
 with an ornament, and bind them on thee as doth a 
 bride. If liii. 11. He (viz. my holy one, whom' 
 v. I o. It pleafed Jehovah to hru\(z) fi:allfice the tra- 
 vail of his foul, and be fatisfied\ by his knowledge 
 fl:all m.y righteous fierv ant jrdfiir'x the many (S'S"**? 
 
 R" "' the 
 
Letter VII. [ 130 ] Sect. III. 
 
 the multitude, i. e. all the members of Chriji's 
 fulnefs)yor he jhall bear their iniquities. If. xlix, 6. 
 And he Jehovah /aid. It is a light thing that thou 
 jhouldjl rejiore the remnant of Ifrael — I will ajfogive 
 thee — that thou may eft be my fervant unto the ends of 
 the earth. Eph. i. 8, 9, 10. He has abounded towards 
 ns in all wifdom and prudence, having made known 
 unto us the myjiery of his own will, according to his 
 own good pleafure which he has purpofed in bimfelf 
 {ty^lsS cm^*,/ -^^ ;a,.,iQ^n^') even 'that (or 
 namely that, in the difpenfationofthefulnefs of times) 
 ^ he fiould gather together in one 'all things (anew or) 
 from ''the beginning' in Chriji, both which are in 
 the heavens, and which are on earth, even in him. 
 
 The extent therefore of Chrif's acquifitions is 
 no lefs than this his purpofed recolledtion of all 
 things into himfelf, the work of his aeonian go- 
 vernment ; and the knowledge of this his purpofe, 
 is the efpecial privilege of his church. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Of the ceonianfpirit. 
 
 NOW every ufe of the word asonian in fcrip- 
 ture will vouch for the confiftency of the 
 
 account 
 
 N O T E s! 
 '(JIlo.^^ ^!^ ab initio, capite, principio in this place 
 
 rrtull import like ab integro in Latin, fo in Virgil we 
 read 
 
 Magnus ah integro feclorum nafcitur ordo. 
 the harmonious unity of the creation, being diffoJved 
 in its revolt from God, is to be conftituted anew, re- 
 peatedly, over again, afrefh in Chriji. 
 
Letter VII. [ 131 ] Sect. III. 
 
 account here given, at the fame time that, after 
 the vulgar acceptation of it, this word becomes 
 in many places abfurd, vain, yea ridiculous and 
 unintelligible. Suppofe only the word aeon to 
 fignify an age or feculum, and that the asonian 
 life is a life conftituted fecularlyj with what pro- 
 priety and ftri<5tnefs may that fpirit, who now is 
 Chrijl JefuSy be called the true aeonian fpirit, be- 
 ing in the fulleft fenfe the God and foul of the 
 aeonian life, in the perfon of the man Jefus ? In 
 which perfon alfo he becomes feated in the throne 
 of divine majefty, has all things put under him, 
 rules all as the head of all, Heb. i. 3. Upholding 
 all things by bis po^ver, confuming all things that 
 oppofe him, and is likewife to continue thus, in 
 purfuance of his agreement made before the world 
 was, the ruling God j till the xons and time it- 
 felf {hall be no more, till all be fubordinated to 
 God in the man Jefus Chrijl, and till even the 
 man Jefus Chrijl becomes the omega, or conclud- 
 ing of all the creation. 
 
 And thus again we have propounded to our 
 faith things not repugnant to our human notions 
 of fitnefs when we read, Matt, xxvin. 18. All 
 power is given unto me in heaven and earth, i Pet. 
 iii. 22. lie is gone into heaven^ and is on the right 
 hand of God, angels, authorities and powers being 
 made fubjeSf unto him Eph. i. 22. God hath put 
 all things under his feet, and gave him to he head 
 over all things to the church. Heb. ii. 8. T^hou hajl 
 put all things in fubjeBion under him j — he hath left 
 nothing that is not put under him. 
 
 So that the diftind:ion of the Logos (whofe is 
 the Ionian fpirit) from the father is a doctrine, 
 
 R 2 much 
 
Letter VII. [ 132 ] Sect. III. 
 
 much more than fupported by the words of a 
 ijngle text ; it is the voice of the grand principles 
 of our redemption. 
 
 It is true the manner of this diftindlion muft 
 be to us inconceivable ; but if it might therefore 
 be; denied, we may alfo deny for the fame reafon 
 that Chriji is at once both God and man ; which 
 yet is an unqueftionable article of our faith. 
 
 Yea the vilible, intelligible, ceonian nature of 
 Chrifi is not only diftind: from the father, but 
 can alfo adl uninformed by his invifible incom- 
 prehenfible nature ; and from hence we obferve 
 that admirable variety in the motions of his foul, 
 now become human, thro' all the gofpels; where 
 fometimes v^e fee him afFeded with fo fublime a 
 fentlment as fcarcely to remember that he is a 
 man, engaged among earthly creatures ; at other 
 times again, fo deprefs'd and humble, as fcarcely 
 to advert to his being Jehovah from heaven. 
 
 And his fpeech being always the language of 
 his heart, we hear him talk fometimes as tran- 
 sported with the fenfibility of his native glory and 
 fellowiliip with his holy father ; at other times 
 again, when immerfed in the mortifying fenfati- 
 ons of his human infirmities, as meer man. 
 
 Nor is this difference lefs confpicuous in him 
 even before his flate of manhood; infomuch that, 
 tho' the old teftament fpeaking of him as the Je- 
 hovah God, calls him the only God, the al- 
 mighty God, befides whom there is no one, no 
 other, none elfe ; yet when it fpeaks of him 
 fmgly as Jehovah Logos, it tells us. Gen. vi. 6. 
 
 isS °* ^K 9 :3i>5;nn ' ' ajid it repented ' Jeho'vab 
 
 Uhat 
 
Letter VII. [ 133 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Vte ^he had made Uhe ^man ''on the earth (i. e. 
 that he had undertaken his terreftrial ceconomy 
 with us) J "^yeay he grieved himfelf ^to '°his heart . 
 
 So that as the human fon of God was forfaken 
 of him, to his agonizing, even to the fweating 
 of blood in the garden, and to his fuffering for 
 our redemption ; in like manner had the angelic 
 fon of God been before forfaken of him, to a 
 ftate of forrowful repentance over us. For it was 
 Jehovah in his angelic nature only that grieved ; . 
 and he was forfaken to this ftate of grief pro- 
 vifionally to his future incarnate fufFerings : fo 
 amazingly is the fon of man the concern of the 
 almighty God ! 
 
 Yet then we may fuppofc that this ftate of our 
 Lord's grief could have been only critical ; for 
 when his internal ungenerated nature (which had 
 fufpended its fenfible influences for a while) again 
 exerted itfelf within him, he muft have feen alfo 
 with joy, what St. Paul afterwards learnt of him, 
 viz. Rom. xi. 29. 'That the gifts and callings of God 
 are {^a.y.ira.y.iXr!ix) iji^ithout repentance ; or as wc read 
 it in the fyriac teftamcnt, that ()ql!^^' v|.Scn' JJ* 
 n\\ . ' n^ n^ cnLrido^ori'^) ^God ^alters 'not ^ in 
 his gfts^ "^ajid in his callings. 
 
 But what can mortal (that is linful) thought 
 prefumc upon thefe fublime matters ? We can 
 only fay, that they are reafonably inconceivable ? 
 As fays the poet : 
 
 " How God exifts, and vvhnr he is, 
 " His own omnifcience only fees." 
 Agreeably to what our Lord himfelf fiys. Matt. 
 xi. 27. No one (s'^f*?) knoueth the Jon hut the fitlxr-y 
 neither knoweth any one the father^ but the fon ^ and 
 he to ivhcm the fon iji'ill reveal him. Nor 
 
Letter VII. [ '34 ] ^ect. III. 
 
 Nor is this to be wondered at, fince the crea- 
 ture knows not how himfelf is at one and the 
 fame time both diftind: from, and fubfifting in 
 him, who is Rev. iii. 14. {ji o^px^ "^^^ xtio-ewj m Ofou) 
 ^he beginning of the creation of God. 
 
 Irenaus therefore writes very difcreetly upon this 
 head : — Si qtiis autetn nobis dixerit quomodo ergo 
 iiHus prolatus a patre ? Dicimus ei quia prolatio- 
 nem iftam, five generationem^ five nuncupationem 
 five adapertionenty aut quomodolibet qiiis nomine voca- 
 verity generationem ejus inenarrabilem exifientem 
 nemo novit, non Falentinus, non Marcion^ neq\ Sa- 
 turninuSy 7ieq-y Ba/ilides, neq-, angeli neq; archangeli, 
 neq-y principesy neq\ potefiates^ nifi folus qui generavit 
 pater, et qui natus eft iilius. Inenarrabilis itaq\ 
 generatio ejus cum fit y quicumque generationes et 
 prolationeSy enarrare nituntur, non funt fui com- 
 potes, ea quce inenarrabiliafunt narrare promittentes. 
 * Should any one afk us, how then is the fon 
 
 * produced from his father ? We anfwer that the 
 
 * produd:ion, or generation, or pronouncing, or, 
 
 * by whatever other term one calls it, his ineffa- 
 
 * ble generation, no one knows ; neither Valen^ 
 *' tiniiSy nor Marcion, nor SaturninuSy nor Bafi- 
 '^ lidesy nor angels, nor arch- angels, nor principa- 
 '^ lities, nor powers, but the father alone who 
 '- begat, and the fon who was begotten. And 
 ' fince his generation is ineifable, they whoever 
 "• attempt to declare it, are to be reputed not in 
 ' their right fenfes, pretending to fpeak things 
 
 * unfpeakable.' Irenasus lib. 2. chap. 48. 
 
 But I have now faid on this fubjed: all which 
 I think needful to my prefent purpofe. 
 
 LET- 
 
[ 135 ] 
 
 LETTER Vlir. 
 
 God wilh eff equally that all men Jhall 
 he rejlored. 
 
 T G 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 jrfkjHf^CEPTICKS and Deiils fuppofe them- 
 J S C ^^Ives to have advanced an invincible 
 ■5RjtrU[«r argument againft the fcriptures, when 
 they tell us that thefe defcribe the God of 
 the chriftians as either cruel, implacable, unjuft; 
 or elfe, which is no lefs abfurd, impotent and 
 unfortunate in his labours ; being found unable 
 to effed: his purpofes in his own creation. 
 
 For fay they, its abettors divide themfelvcs into 
 two parties, both of which maintain as a certain 
 truth the eternity of hell torments : only the 
 one party prefumptuoufly avows, that God has 
 
 made 
 
Letter VIII. [ 136 ] Sect. L 
 
 made a vaft number of his creatures fenfible and 
 patible, with a predetermined purpofe that they 
 {hall endure in the flames of hell, which fhall 
 never be quenched, an endlefs and exquifite pain 
 and wretched nefs J while the other party, fay 
 they, being a better natur'd people, will have it 
 that thefe poor fufferers are damned to their eter- 
 nal mifery, not by the politive decree of their cre- 
 ator, for that God is benevolent and merciful, 
 but becaufe, tho' he would fain have obviated 
 their fate, and prevented their torments, this 
 could not juftly be effected ; in defiance of all his 
 wifdom, love and power, not only the bulk of 
 mankind, but, among thefe, many alfo of his 
 darling people, even thofe he once called the 
 iheep of his pafture, muft become doom'd to tor- 
 tures that (hall laft, like himfelf, to all eternity. 
 
 The poet defcribes the loft fheep expoftulating 
 in flames as follows : [blifs, 
 
 " And canft thou then look down from perfect 
 " And fee me plunging in the deep abyfs ? 
 " Calling thf e father, in a fea of fire ; 
 " Or, pouring blafphemies, at thy defire ? 
 " With mortal anguifti, wilt thou raife thy name, 
 " And by my pangs, omnipotence proclaim ?" 
 So that, tho' the end (fay they) which the God of 
 the chriftians might have in creating were, ac- 
 cording to the latter, worthy this his infinite 
 bounty and benevolence ; yet as his wifd-om and 
 power were not adequate to his love and good- 
 nefs, he could not fuccced in his attempts, con- 
 fiftent with his creatures native liberty; and upon 
 this account he muft, as a patient, hear their 
 
 rag 
 
 c 
 
Letter VIIL [ 137 J Sect. I. 
 
 rage and blafphemies, and be witnefs of their 
 fruitlefs diftrefs and agonies, thro' all eternity.' 
 
 This their argument the Scepticks alfo deem 
 juftrfied by the following fcripture paffage, viz. 
 I Tim, ii. 4. God will have all men to hejavedi for 
 fay they, if God wills this which will not be, he 
 wills impotently and in vain, and not as a God 
 omnipotent, and from whom all defeats muft be 
 removed. 
 
 Let us then examine this fcripture paffage in 
 the original languages, iT'im.ii, i — 4. I exhort 
 therefore y thatjirjl of all^ fupplicationSy prayers ^ in- 
 terceJJionSy and thankfgiving be made for all men ; 
 for kingSy and all that are in authority ^ that we may 
 lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godlinefs and ho- 
 nejly -j for this is good and acceptable before God our 
 (fyr. I 1 . ..Nn) life-giver y or (gr. ra o-wlrpo? n'/xwi/) our 
 rejiorer ; who wills that all men (according to the 
 vulgar tranllation) befaved; (but according to the 
 greek cu^nvxi) be 7-ecovered or rejlored (and accord- 
 
 S ing 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 * God is to be called good only in fo far as he wills 
 and does good to his creatures; but he is good to all, 
 or univerfally \ therefore he muft will and do good to 
 all, or univerfally; /. e. he muft work or decree the 
 good or happinefs of all, in general, and every one, 
 individually, of all his creatures. We muft however 
 confider well here, what deferves to be called doing 
 good ; becaufe that which may feem a good to us at 
 prefenr, may in its ifllie prove an evil, at leafl may 
 introduce what is fo. 
 
Letter VIII. [ 138 ] Sect. I. 
 
 ing to the fyriac ^OjuwxJ ') Jhall live^ revive, or 
 recover (fyr. ^ox^i-io) and be converted to the ac~ 
 hiowledgement of the truth. 
 
 But from this pafTage thus tranflated either by 
 the greek or fyriac, all the abfurdity vanilhes : it 
 
 only 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The words to fave, faviour, falvation, &c. fo much ttfed 
 in our new tejiament, convey not the true force of the 
 greek., o-w^w, a-urnp, (rurnpiXy i^c. 
 * In the greek teftament this paflage runs thus : 
 
 Of irxvlxq ai/S'pwTra? ^iXii (rw3'iivat. In the fyriac, 
 
 ' ^Pfi * i^^ '^^^^ ' ^^ omnes ^filii h'ominum ^* vivant. 
 
 But frfi we affirm that the word faved can by no 
 means be a fit tranflation of the greek (ru^mxi in this 
 paffage, becaufe what it imports is fo contrary to the 
 fentiments of an apoftie who fo well knew that all men 
 would not be faved from the wrath of God, Col. iii. 6. 
 Which fhould come upon the children of difobedience. St. 
 John in a like cafe fpeaks thus, i John v. 16. If any 
 man fee his brother fm a ftn which is not unto deaths he 
 fhall afk, and he will give him life for him that finneth 
 not unto death : there is a fin unto death y Ifay^ that he 
 fhall not fray for it-, for God willeth not that his people 
 lliould pray in vain, D(?«/. iii. 26. J^r.vii. 16. xv. i. — 
 
 But can it be believed oiherwife than that St. Paul 
 mufl have thought too like St. John., to have advis'd 
 Tifnothy to pray for what he well knew could never 
 be.'' Whereas on the other hand, fuppofing St. Paul's 
 direflions to Timothy to have been only to recommend 
 all men in his prayers to the mercy o^ Jefus Chrift^ this 
 was acceptable to God, and a praying after the mind 
 of God •, fmce his will is that all men fliall be reflored, 
 or recover their original fpiritual life j and fo be de- 
 livered from a Hate of mifery. 
 
Letter VIII. [ 139 ] Sect. I. 
 
 only aflures us that God wills (what at prefent is 
 not, but by the efficacy of his will we doubt not 
 ihall in its due time be accomplifhed, viz.) that 
 all men (liall live, or (as in the greek a-u^moci) be 
 
 S 2 . recovered, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 It is alfo a praying to feme purpofe, not only be- 
 caufe God knows how to fhew mercy to thofe that 
 perifh, as well as to thofe that are faved ; but alio be^- 
 caufe he has in his eye the real, tho' diftant, reftitu- 
 tion, delivery, and quickening of all his creatures, 
 having i Tim. ii. 6. Given himfeJf a ranfom for all^ to 
 be tejiified in due time (to fxafl-jpiov xaipac »(JtoK). 
 
 But, 2dly. It being evident that St. P^ul could not 
 order Timothy to pray that all men might be faved ; 
 we will examine what he mud have advifed Timothy 
 to in the word a-u^n-^oa ; and this will appear in the 
 following texts, where the words o-co^co (Fu^ofj-ai muft 
 evidently intend, what is very different from the 
 meaning of our englifh words to save, to be saved, 
 as that word is ufually underftood by us. 
 
 Matt. ix. 21, 22. And the zc^man ('with the ififue of 
 blood _) /aid within her/elf, If I may but touch his gar- 
 ment {<TUi^ri<To\t.a.C) 1 fjall be fnot faved, but) reftored to 
 health •, and the woman (eo-wS-ji) was (not faved, but) re.- 
 fiored to health from that hour. Mark v. 21, 22, 23. And 
 J aims hefought him greatly.^ f^y^^'^-) I f^^-y ^^^^ l^y thv 
 hands upon her (cVw? o-wS-n) that f}je (his daughter) might 
 (not be faved, but) be rejiored to health. Mark vi. p^6. 
 And as many as touched him (^(rw^onoj were recovered to 
 health. John xi. 12. And his difcipks faid^ Lord., if 
 he CLtlt-^tus) fleep (o-wS-no-t-ra ) hefJiall be (notfaved, but) 
 rrjlcrfd to health. Afts xiv. 9. And Paul perceiving 
 that he had faith (o-wS-Jivai) to he rcjlcrcd to health., faid, 
 ■ See alfo, Luke viii. 36. xvili. 42. ^4sls iv. q. 
 
Letter VIII. [ 140 ] Sect. I. 
 
 recovered, or reftored, and come to the acknow- 
 ledgement of the truth. It is not laid he wills 
 that all men (r^/j^S-n^ai) fhould be faved, viz. from 
 the wrath appointed to fall upon this world, or 
 
 on 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 James v. 15. and page 46 in the notes, where a like 
 remark is made on a quotation out oi Sophocles. 
 
 Hence then let us take our notion of the words 
 o-w^w <ru^oy,x.i when applied to the tollowing texts : 
 I Tim. ii. 4. H^ho wills that all men (a-u^von) Jhould be 
 (not faved from the wrath prepared, but) refiorcd to 
 healthy and come to the acknowledgment ef the truth. 
 John iii. 17. God fent his Son into the world, that the 
 world thro* him might be (not faved from hell, but) re- 
 ftored to health {\vx (ru>% o x.og[xog $1. ocvtou). I Tim. iv. 10. 
 fFho is the (o-wmp) reft or er of all men., efpecially of the 
 faithful; (becaufe he faves them even from the wrath 
 prepared.) i John iv. 14. JVe do teftify that the father 
 fcnt the fon to be {(rurvifa, t« ko(tij:.s) the reft or er of the 
 world, notwithftanding its previous doom to the JEon- 
 ian fire. So again, John iv. 42. This is indeed the re- 
 ft or er of the world, the Chrift, {a.XnB'ui <rco]'ip rs xo(rix}i, 
 yji^o';) i. e. becaufe the world's recovery, or reftora- 
 tion, will be its laft refource in Chrift, therefore is our 
 Lord thus called, its reftorer. 
 
 A critical obferver will, I think, find the words 
 erw^w o-w^O|W,«j, when fpoken with reference to a (late 
 of evil or danger into which a man is fallen, to fig- 
 nify to deliver, to refcue : fo Mat. xxvii. 42. He de- 
 livered {e<tuitiv) others, can he not deliver (o-wo-ai) himfelf. 
 
 But when fpoken in reference to a ftate of happi- 
 nefs or blefling loft, or from which man is fallen, it 
 llgnifies to reftore, or recover : fo Luke xix. 10. The 
 fon of man is come to feek and {(rutrxi to «7roAwAo?) to re- 
 cover that zvhich is loft. 
 
Letter VIII. [ 141 ] Sect. II. 
 
 on the wicked in general j fcripture fpeaks nothing 
 of, is quite filent as to any fuch will in Godj it 
 fays only that it is the will of God that all fhall 
 hve, or be reftitutcd, or reftored. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Of damnation and rejloration, 
 
 ALL men as fons oi Adam are under doom 
 of aeonian death, all men as heirs in Chriji 
 are deftined to an aeonian life : but then this life, 
 
 being 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 So that tho* in englifh we fay a man is delivered 
 out of a ftate of danger or mifery, and that he is re- 
 Jiored into a ftate of fecurity or happinefs, yet in 
 greek the fame word ferves both purpofes. 
 
 But I no where find that the verb o-w^w imports the 
 fame with the verb T^ipEw, when theGr^^^j would fignify 
 to fave, preferve, or keep from mifchief they ufed the 
 verbrnpfwj {ojohnxvn.ic^. I pray not that thou Jhouldji 
 take them out of the worlds but that thou jhouldji fave ^ 
 prejerve^ or je cure them {Ivot, ryif>r,(Tr,g aura?) jrom the evil 
 one. Rev. iii. 10. 1 will pre jerve^ jecure^ or jave thee 
 (Tvipvio-w o-e) jrom the hour oj temptation ivhich jhall come 
 upon all the world to try them. Jude i . Jude the jcr- 
 vant oj Jejus Chriji to the jan£lijied by God the jather., 
 prejerved^ jecured, javed (T£TyJp»]p£^ol,') in Jejus Chriji., Cffc. 
 I Thef. V. 23. I pray God your whole jpirit, joul and 
 body be pre jerved., je cured., javed {^^r^n-n) blamelejs., un- 
 to the coming oj our Lord. And thus it is alfo faid of 
 wordly treafurcs •, as John ii. 1 o. But thou Iwjl prejervcd, 
 jccured, or javed {my.prixxg) the good wine until nczv. 
 
Letter VIII. [ 142 ] Sect. II. 
 
 being in Chrijl only as the root, muft firft.be by 
 him quickened in a man, before that man can 
 live 5 and this quickening is his reftoration; when 
 we are begotten of God, then only are we re- 
 ftored, by having a new fpiritual life begotten in 
 us, by being quickened in Chriji\ geonian life, 
 /. e. by being nevs'' begotten of our fecond Adam 
 as really as we were before of our natural parent. 
 
 But then where this regenerating does not hap- 
 pen before the day of the divine wrath is difclof- 
 ed, there is damnation j or the being condemned 
 to the fuffering of that wrath ; as the reverfe of 
 this is falvation, or the being faved from the 
 power of that wrath : and thus you arrive at the 
 difference between the terms reftored and faved. 
 
 Neither life nor falvation belong to us as men; 
 as men we arc all obnoxious to divine wrath, 
 and doom'd to the terrors of the sonian death ; 
 wrath is our natural element, and death our na- 
 tural tendency. Yet then when Cbrifi'% feed of 
 immortality is within us ; that which in the loft 
 may feem to be the wrath of God reveal'd, will 
 prove in us a kindling of life inftead of death, 
 and heaven inftead of hell. 
 
 And now let us put our queftion, it being 
 the will of God that all men ftiall be re- 
 ftored, or become quick in fpiritual life, when 
 ever this happens, viz. that all men do fo live, 
 is not the will of God in this refpe(fL accomplifli- 
 ed ? And may he not then have reached an end 
 in creating man worthy his love and benevolence? 
 If Gud created man for the enjoyment of the 
 divine life, the purpofe of God is effeded when 
 
 the 
 
Letter VIII. [ 143 ] Sect. II. 
 
 the divine life, is generated in a man; alfo the 
 works of fatan, which Chrijl came to dijfohe^ 
 I John iii. 8. (iV« xuo-n ra ifyoe. Ta hx^oX^) are then in 
 that degree diflblvcd. 
 
 Or to apply the term deliver in this cafe; 
 God expreflly willeth that all men fliall be de- 
 livered from their mifery ; this their deliver- 
 ance mufl therefore certainly be in its due time : 
 but God willeth not expreflly that all men fliall 
 be kept, preferved, or faved from falling into 
 mifery ; mifery therefore may happen to many ; 
 there is no decree of God againit it; it ftands 
 among the poffibillties of nature. 
 
 Tho' what has been already faid may prove a 
 fufficient anfwer to the above-mentioned Objec- 
 tions of the Deifts and Scepticks ; I fliall however 
 proceed to give you briefly my prefent fentiments 
 concerning what we call will in God. But this 
 I mufl referve for the fubje<5t of my next to you. 
 
 LET- 
 
[ 144 ] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Of the explicit and implicit will ^ God, 
 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 ^)r"3j;^N treating on the will of God, I fhall 
 vl^ I ^ confider it in two refpedts. 
 ^k.j^^ I. As exifling in its original freedom 
 in the divine mind unexprefTed, unpro- 
 duced, unformed, having only an effence in God; 
 tho' difcoverable to us by analogy and refem- 
 blance with what we find in the only begotten fon 
 ou,r creator, his true type or pattern." 
 
 II. As 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Our relation to the Logos as our God. 
 « We are taught of the Logos or {■K^morov/^') firft- 
 begortti-'n, CoL i. 17. ^hat he is before all things^ and 
 
Letter IX. [ 145 ] Sect* I. 
 
 II. As expofed, given forth, produced ; as we 
 behold it in ad:ive exiftence, exhibited in, and 
 exprefs'd by the fon of his love, in whom we call 
 it his decree, or will declared. For diflindlion fake, 
 and that we may fpeak the more clearly of fcrip- 
 ture reprefentations, the firft of thefe we will call 
 the implicit will of God, the fecond the explicit 
 will of God. 
 
 By the implicit will of God I therefore meanj 
 that limple velleity in the divine mind which 
 lives there eternally, even while as yet unde- 
 creed, unproduced, unexhibited. 
 
 T This 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 hy him all things (o-ui/sriKf) conjift ; or that there is^ 
 I Cor. viii. 6. One Lord J ejus Chriji^ by whom are all 
 things., and we hy him. Ads xvii. 24, 25, 28. JVho 
 made the world and all things that are therein ; — who 
 giveth to all life, and breath, and all things ; — in whom 
 we live, and move, and have our being , — for we are all 
 his offspring. 
 
 The Logos or firft-begotten is alone the offspring 
 of the father : but we are the offspring of the Logos. 
 As fays Clemens Alexandrinus {y\ [mv yap ra ©£« «xi;v 
 
 Aoyoq avTH •, £ix.wi/ h ra Aoya o cny^j-cciroq) * the HTiage of 
 
 ' God is his Logos or word, the image of the Logos is 
 ' man.' Admon ad Gentes. 
 
 It is true the Logos is to mod men, as worfliipped 
 by the Athenians, the unknown Gou-, yet this is fo 
 bccaufe, Rom. \. 28. As they approved not to retain God 
 in their knowledge, he gave them up to a mind (ocaoy.tixov) 
 void of judgment ; even that judgment which all men 
 might otherwife make concerning him •, for Aofs xiv. 
 17. He left not hi infclf without j -ivttnefs^ in that he did 
 
Letter IX. [ 146 ] Sect. t. 
 
 This being implied in the nature of God, we 
 will here, for conveniency of conception, afcribe 
 to the father as hisefpecial character j and it is 
 difcoverable to the creature in the harmony of 
 thofe excellencies which we attribute to the Lo- 
 gos our creator, whofe likenefs we bare, and 
 therefore whofe good pleafure we conceive : See- 
 ing the will of the Logos, we can conceive of his 
 father's will, by prefuming its harmony there- 
 with. 
 
 In contrail hereto we fet the explicit will of 
 God -y whereby we mean what exifts, as pro- 
 duced 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful feafons^ 
 filling our hearts zvith food and gladnefs. 
 
 But the father of the Logos, by whom the Logos 
 doth all thefe things, is unknov/n to all befides the 
 Logos only •, unknown thro' his efiential diftinclion 
 from the creature j i 'Tim. vi. 16. Dwelling in the light 
 ivhich no man can approach unto, whom no man hath 
 feen, nor can fee. 
 
 The perfonal diftinftion between the Logos and his 
 father feems conceivable to us in the following refped, 
 viz. that the father is the elTentiai fource of all poffi- 
 bility, ungenerated, and fo concealed in the divine 
 invifible fulnefsj whereas the Logos is this eflfential 
 fource of all poflibility, generated, and fo revealed, 
 and expofed to thofe who are created into a likenefs of 
 his nature-, and this produdlion feems to be the ground 
 of their diftinflion ot wills ; and yet this is a dillinc- 
 tion confident with a fundamental famenefs. 
 
 But that will which we vulgarly call the will of God, 
 and v/hich to us is intelligible, is properly the will of 
 
LETTER IX. [ 147 ] Sect. I. 
 
 duced or exhibited out of the father, in his word 
 or Logos, his asonianly or temporally form'd will. 
 
 This we afcribe to the Logos or only begotten 
 fon of God, as remarkably belonging to his of- 
 fice and character j and it is cognifable to man, 
 and poffibly to all other creatures, thro' him on- 
 ly, and that by revelation. 
 
 By revelation we here mean not meerly the 
 written word of God, but every other way of 
 difcovering the mind of God with certainty. 
 
 So then, when we fpeak of the implicit will 
 of God, we here mean that which is fuppofed 
 to fubfift in God, as the original and father of 
 
 T 2 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the Logos our creator, whofe offspring we are; and 
 his will is intelligible to us becaufe we are his offsprino-. 
 
 By being his offspring we perceive the propriety of 
 goodnefs, juftice, truth, and virtue ; and the defor- 
 mity of malice, unrighteoufnefs, falfhood, and vice -, 
 i. e. the Logos is intelligible to us by what we learn 
 of him in our ownfelves. And therefore St. Paul tells 
 us Rem. xii. 2. that in order to a true teft of his. will, 
 we muff: have our minds reneived and iransfcrmed \ for 
 that (Eph. V. 8, 10.) we are to prove isjhat is acceptalk 
 unto the Lord^ by becoming light in the Lord. 
 
 Our perception of virtue or fitnefs, is not tlie re- 
 fult of reafoning, or juxta-pofition; but of our fpi- 
 ritual. feeling and inward light; John i, 9. He is 
 that true light, zvhich lighteth every man that cometh in- 
 to the zvcrld. This, however, may in fome wicked 
 people be much obfcured, arid in others as it were loff:. 
 
 So then we know the divine will by the Logos; but 
 the Logos, cxifting in an immediate fenfation, and un- 
 interrupted vifion of the will of his father, frames all 
 whatever he does by this as his mcafure and archetype. 
 
Letter IX. [ 148 ] Sect. II. 
 
 the Logos j and when we fpeak of the explicit 
 will of God we mean the copy and likenefs of 
 the foimer, and as fubfifting in the Logos or 
 only begotten fon of God : for as the fon of God 
 is the exprefs image of the father, yet diftind from 
 the father J fo is the will of the fon of God the ex- 
 prefs image of the father's will, yet diftindl from it. 
 
 SECT. IL 
 
 ^he implicit and explicit will of God contrajled. 
 
 THE implicit will of God, above conlider'd, 
 we may conceive as exerting no adive force 
 or power upon the creature, otherwife than thro' 
 the fon: we may alfo conceive of it as temporally 
 refiftable; yea, as violently refifled by the creature. 
 For all the works of fatan which Chrijl came to 
 loofen or difTolve, all the diftreffes and miferie? 
 of human life, all the defers, confufions and 
 deformities in the natural world, all that which 
 the fcripturc forbids or complains of as odious 
 and repugnant to the divine nature, is alfo odi- 
 ous and repugnant to this implicit will of God j 
 for God forbids only what he diilikes, and com- 
 plains only of what is hateful to him. 
 
 But that explicit will of God which fublifts in 
 Chrifl as iirfl-begotten,feems to be irrefiftable;"and 
 
 to 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ This is thus dcfcribed in many parts of fcripture. 
 iSee G^«. xviii. 4. 1. 19. If.xWi, 10. Rom/ix. 19. but 
 
Letter IX. [ 149 ] Sect. II. 
 
 to have in it an effe<5tuating energy which no crea- 
 ture can withftand j this is excellently defcribed 
 by Mofes, Gen. i. 3. And God [aid ^ let there be lights 
 and there was light ; (v. 6—) and God f aid, let there 
 be a firmament in the midfi of tlje waters y and let it 
 divide the waters from the waters; and it was fo. 
 And Godfaid, let there be lights in the firmament of 
 the heavens ; and it wasfo. 
 
 The implicit will of God feems to have, as the 
 obje(ft of its concern, iingly his only begotten fon^ 
 however for him, and that he may fee the travail 
 of his fold and be fitisfied; it likewife feems to 
 concern itfelf with the effences of all things, and 
 with contingents of all kinds, even all that may 
 not as well as that may exift. 
 
 Any of the poffibilities of futurity furveyable 
 in the divine mind, one fliould think, might be- 
 come matter of divine favour and complacency, 
 without having ad:ual exiftence decreed them j 
 without being pronounced creatures. And it 
 feems as tho' God had thus, in his implicit will, 
 approved of the creation long before it was cre- 
 ated 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the paflage in Job is very expreflive. Job. xlii 2. / 
 ha've knovju that thou canfi do all things., and that no 
 thought conceivable in thy divine mind jh all be cut off from 
 thee ( -1V3* decifa erit, prohibetur; idefi, nonprchibetur a te 
 quicquam ecrum qua tibi venerint in mentem)ox be imprac- 
 ticable to diee •, and fo Chriji himfelf fays, Luke i. t^j. 
 IFith God nothing flj alt be impoffible^ i. e. with God as 
 he is plealcd .to operate in his firft-bcgottcn the 
 Logos. 
 
Letter IX. f 150 ] Sect. JI. 
 
 ated : and this his approbation, wc call his vel- 
 leity or una6live will, fince his will, thus regard- 
 ed, exprefles fome approbation of what it forbears 
 to produce. 
 
 The explicit wi/IofGoD has for the objeds of 
 its concern the whole creation external to, aod 
 diftin6l from God: It regards the feveral crea- 
 tures as related both to himfelf, and to one an- 
 other, naturally or accidentally j and to the fe- 
 veral ends and purpofcs he has in them. It re- 
 gards them, not only as what they were when 
 they came pure and fimple out of his forming 
 hands, but as they now are deformed, and diffe- 
 rent, creatures by their fin and rebellion.'' 
 
 The 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The expediency of a mediatorial God to the happinefs of 
 the creature. 
 
 '^ LET us here confider that upon the exlftence of 
 the creature, God became otherwife related than whilll: 
 himfelf was the all ; that he became in fome man- 
 ner fo concerned with his dependants, as that his be- 
 ing influenced and affedled by them fliould be abfo- 
 lutely neceffary for the creature's good ; and then the 
 idea of a mediator at once appears quite reafonable. 
 
 But when the creatures are farther confidered as 
 both variable and to vary, as liable to unnatural con- 
 tingencies, yea as aftualiy fallen, divided into differ- 
 encies, and deformed with ilrange contrarieties and 
 repugnancies; a mediator, partaking ot both the di- 
 vine and the created nature, by being inconceivably 
 connetled with the latter, and fo inveiled v/ith a vi- 
 carial office •, appears, much more than reafonable, a 
 fentiment of moft delightful propriety. 
 
Letter IX. [ 151 ] Sect. II. 
 
 The implicit will of God is immutable, be- 
 caufe it is implied in his immutable nature, and 
 has its foundation in that central principle, whence 
 we fuppofe his excellencies radically to refult. 
 
 Thus an immutable benevolence is one of the 
 attributes of what we call God's implicit will, 
 becaufe it is implied in his nature love ; has its 
 fcfUndation in his very effence. And as God can- 
 not 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 We may fuppofe in fuch an one, what cannot well 
 be prefumed in the divine efTcnce, a fenfation or feel- 
 ing of the creatures evils andcafualties. The' nothing 
 can move God in his original nature, tho' no creature 
 can have any neceffary connexion with this, yet cer- 
 tainly the cafe is far otherwife with our Lord the fon 
 of God ; we find in him one (Heb. iv. 15) that cannot 
 but he touched with a feeling of our infirmities ; for hav- 
 ing our real genuine nature in his own felf, in and 
 thro' that nature there lives in him fuch a fufcepti- 
 bility o[ relative imprefiions from our necefTities, and 
 fo of foiicitude in behalf of Us, anc: of fympathetical 
 Attachments to us, that he cannot bat love us. Yea 
 and does not the fcripture give us to uiiderftand that 
 our mediator ftho' not in himfelf, and as the fon of 
 the father, yet as the head of his body the church, and 
 is the refource, or uniting point, ot the creation, 
 i. e. as now related to his creatures) is even impcrfed:, 
 or fliort of what he is intended to be, without us ? 
 Col. i. 19. It pleafed God that in him fhould all fidnefs 
 (/. e. both eternal and created- dwell, fc'p. iv. 10. 
 He is afcended far abo'ue all heavens^ that he might fill 
 all' things. The Logos then is not only neceffary 
 for our creation, he is forever needfull for us. 
 
Letter IX. [ 152 ] Sect. II. 
 
 not diminiOi his benevolent will, becaufe emer- 
 gent from his nature love : neither can he dimi- 
 nifh his implicit vi^ill, becaufe that fame lovely 
 nature is alio its fource. 
 
 The explicit will of God is mutable and con- 
 ditional ; and it exifts thus in Chrijl with a 
 view to his concern with mutable creatures, and 
 their complicated circumftances; and this feems 
 to be the foundation of our blelTed Lord's won- 
 derful prayer to his father/ that this cup (what- 
 ever he thereby meant) j?iight pafs away from him. 
 Mat. xxvi. 39; and of his no lefs myfterious la- 
 mentation owtv yertifalem, [Mat. xxiii. t^j.) and of 
 all his conditional difpenfations, [Rev. iii. 20. Ez. 
 xviii. 23.) and of the aftonifhing efficacy of prayer. 
 So Ja?nes v. 16, 17, 18. Jonah iii. 5 — 10. 
 
 The implicit will of God affeifts not immedi- 
 ately any creature, but leaves the whole creation 
 both to will and ad in its full liberty; fo that all 
 the efforts and tranfadions of evil creatures are 
 one continued oppofition to it. ABs vii. 51. Tou 
 Jo always reftji [clvnTrlTrJiTB bare againft) the Holy 
 Ghoft, as your fathers didfo do you. 
 
 The explicit will of God is the power of every 
 creature; without it no creature can be or ad^, 
 and no event can happen; both good and evil 
 exifi, continue, and have their effect by this. 
 
 Ifaiah 
 
 ~N O T E s! 
 vWe may eafily fuppofe our Lord to have known 
 that his father's will was at liberty to decree or pro- 
 nounce, and fo to produce explicitly, as he pleafed. 
 See John viii. 28, 29. John v. 19, 20. And without 
 his will, himfeif he tells us, cun do nothing. 
 
Letter IX. [ 153 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Ifaiah xlv. 7. I form light and create darknefs^ 1 
 make peace a?id create cvil-j I yehovah do all thefe 
 things.''" 
 
 Tne implicit ivill of God regards nothing as 
 lovely but (what is fo) his only fon >" thole who 
 are in the image and likenefs of his fon (/. e. to 
 whom his holinefs is imparted) j and thofe who 
 are dear to him upon his fon's account. The lad 
 in fcripture terms are called accepted in the bekved^ 
 and mentioned in the following manner j John xvi. 
 26. — And I fay not unto you that I iv ill pray thefa" 
 ther for yoii^for the father himfelf loveth you^ bccaife 
 you have loved me^ and have believed that I came cut 
 frojn God. Gal. iv. 7. Now after that ye have k?jown 
 God J or rather are known of God, how\ &c. 1 Cor. 
 viii. 3 . Jfany man love God^ the fame is known of him. 
 
 By this his implicit will, God feems to re- 
 nounce all concern with what is wicked, and to 
 repel every evil creature from his prefence. Hab. 
 i. 13. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil , and 
 ca?j?J0t look upon iniquity. James i. J3. God c a? mot 
 he tempted with eviU neither tempteth he any man. 
 For the contrariety between God and fin is as that 
 
 U be- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "^ Amos iii. 6. Shall there he evil in a city^ and I Je- 
 hovah have not done it ? 
 
 ^ The father loveth no one necefllirily befides his 
 fon-, and he being his own true image and perfect 
 fcif, is adequate, and fingly fo, to all the divine ca- 
 pacities of love and enjoyment; the one fufficient ob- 
 ject tor the whole exertion and difplay of infmiie be- 
 nevolence. 
 
Letter IX. [ i54 ] Sect. II. 
 
 between light and darknefs; i John i. 5. God is 
 light and in him is no darknefs at all. 
 
 T^he explicit will of God permits providently 
 the wicked in all kinds of evil and wickednefs; 
 makes ufe of both good and bad to fubferve 
 his endi*" engages both men, devils," and all the 
 perverfeft powers that are or will be, in its fer- 
 vice :'' and exerting itfelf in the midft of all con- 
 fulion and mifchief, guides the malice of his crea- 
 tures 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Pf. Ixxviii. 49. He cajl upon them the fiercenefs of 
 his anger ^ wrath^ indignation and trouble^ by fending evil 
 angels among them. Ez. xiv. 9. And if the prophet be 
 deceived when he hath fpoken a things I the Lord (i. c. 
 Jehovah) have deceived that prophet. Rom. i. 24. Where- 
 fore God gave them up in the lujfs of their own hearts to 
 uncleannefs ', (ytr. 29.) being filled with all wickednefs. 
 — Jer. vi. 21. 'Therefore I will lay fiumbling blocks before 
 this people^ and the fathers and the fons together fh all fall 
 upon them. If. Ixiii. 17. O Lord^ whi haft thou made 
 us to err from thy ways^ and hearderCd our heart from 
 thy fear ? Return 
 
 <: I Kings xxii. 23. The Lord hath put a lying fpirit 
 into the mouth of all thefe thy prophets ; and the Lord 
 hath fpoken evil concerning thee. Judges ix. 23. And 
 God fen t an evil fpirit between Abimelech and the men of 
 Sichem^ i^c. 
 
 ^ 2 Thef. ii. 11. — For this caufe God will fend them a 
 firong delufion that they fhould believe a lie., that they all 
 might be damned who believed not the truth., but had 
 fleafure in unrighteoufnefs. i Tim. iv. i. Now the fpirit 
 fpeaketh exprefsly that in the latter times fomejhall de- 
 part from the faith., giving heed to feducing fpirits and 
 do^rines of devils. 
 
Letter IX. [ 155 ] Sect. III. 
 
 tures and regulates the profoundeft of their evil 
 productions, to more proiound and more fohd, 
 tho' fecret good.' Infomuch that fatan himfelf 
 knows not how to relift the implicit will of God, 
 without fcrving the purpoies of his explicit will. 
 Yea fatan becomes in all he contrives a moft im- 
 portant inftrument in the fublimefl plan of cre- 
 ated good.^ 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Reflexions on the above dijiinguifl:ed will c/'GoD. 
 
 WE may reafonably prefume that all our 
 philofophical inquiries, and refearches 
 into nature would at once be anfwered in a com- 
 petent knowledge of the Logos. Becaufe iince 
 
 U 2 nature 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' The good thus contrived is hitherto revealed only 
 as touching the firft fruits; fo Rom. viii. 28. And '■joe 
 know that all things work for good to them that love Gcd, 
 to them who are called according to his purpoje. 
 
 *^ Rom. ix. 17. 'The fcripture faith unto Pharoah, 
 (who was a type of fatan) even for this very purpcfe 
 have I appointed thee, that I might Jhew my power in 
 thee. Ver. 18. Therefore he has mercy on whom he will 
 have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Ver. 22. 
 And willing to fhew his wrath and to make known (to 
 ^vmrov uvTs) the capability of his power, or what effefts 
 it was able to produce (i. e. was potential of) he en- 
 diireth with much long-fuffering the vt'(fds of wrath 
 fitted for dejlru^ion^ 
 
Letter IX. [ 156 ] Sect. III. 
 
 nature refults from the God of it, who is the 
 Logos ; the knowledge of him feems to imply 
 the knowledge of his produdions. 
 
 And if we could fee the Logos as he is, the 
 knowledge thence refulting, would in all likeli- 
 hood give us alfo a view of that diftindtion which 
 arofe between himfelf and his father, by his be- 
 coming the firfl:- begotten; and fo of confequence 
 we might difcover how the will of the Logos, 
 altho' ever regulated by, yet becomes diftindl 
 from his father's will ; as alfo how the creation 
 fprung from hence; that is, as we imagine it, 
 a finite from an infinite. But all this is at pre- 
 fcnt altogether inconceivable to us. 
 
 At prefent, the implicit will of God, as vifible 
 to the creature by femblance and in parts, is, like 
 tlie members of a machine not underftood, myf- 
 terious, and unaccountable : yea, we cannot pe- 
 netrate the reafons and proprieties even of its dif- 
 penfations ; who can explain how wrath, and 
 pain, and mifery fliould be allowed of in the cre- 
 ation of God ; fliould prove a contrivance of his 
 love, and infinite benevolence ; or in anywife 
 fubferve or tend towards confummate happinefs ? 
 And yet, this our darknefs notwithflanding, that 
 fo it does, we cannot doubt, when we behold our 
 Lord himfelf drinking of his bitter cup, bound 
 to the pillar, trembling under the tormenting lafli 
 of the Scorpio, and nailed to his crofs; of whom 
 fays the Poet : 
 
 <•' That healing hand- — 
 
 *' The fliies it form'd; and now it bleeds for me — 
 " But bleeds the balm I want — 5'et ilill it bleeds \ 
 
 '■' Draw 
 
Letter IX. [ 157 ] Sect. III. 
 
 "Draw the dire fteel — ah no! — tht dreadful 
 
 blefling 
 " What heart, or can fuftain, or dares foreo-o ? 
 " There hangs all human hope: that nail iiipports 
 " Our falling univerfe : that gone, we drop j 
 " Horror receives us, and the difmal wifli 
 " Creation had been fmother'd in her birth. — 
 " Darknefs his curtain, and his bed the duft ; 
 *' When ftars and fun are duft beneath his throne! 
 **' In heaven itfelf can fuch indulgence dwell ? 
 " O what a groan was there ? A groan not his : 
 " He feiz'd our dreadful right, the load fuftain'dj 
 " And heav'd the mountain from a guilty world. 
 '' A thoufand worlds, /o bought, were bought too 
 dear." 
 
 When we view this amazing objed:, we can- 
 not but acknowledge it a moft convincing evi- 
 dence that infinite love is indeed capable of behold- 
 ing the miferies of what it loves, with a view to 
 its happinefs : Yea, and not of beholding only, 
 but of enduring itfelf the utmoft extremities in 
 profped: of future good. 
 
 For it was the bands of our Lord's love that 
 bound him to the pillar j and the nails of his 
 companion that faftened him to the crofs : Na 
 other bands, and no other nails could have held 
 him ; no material cords could have confined 
 him, whom the fepulchre could not hold ; no 
 iron nails could have detained him j who yJ^s i. 
 9. While they beheld was taken tip^ and a cloud re- 
 ceivedhim out of ihei?- fight. 
 
 If any one will difpute what we here advance 
 concerning the explicit will of God, as efpecially 
 
 vifjble 
 
Letter IX. [ 15S ] Sect. III. 
 
 vifible in the Logos, hhn with whom we have to 
 do, and as the exad: pattern of that implicit will 
 of God which we call his immutable will, and 
 of which we can have no adequate idea or con- 
 ception j let him firft teach us better, and wc 
 will hear him : but at prefent we both fee no 
 abfurdity in this opinion, and think it reafonablc: 
 for as the fon is the exprefs image of the father, 
 fo muft his will be the exprefs image of the fa- 
 ther's will ; and in proof that it is fo, we think 
 we have many fcripture teftimonies. 
 
 Thus fays our Lord, accommodating this 
 great truth to our human conceptions, yohn 
 viii. 28, 29. I do nothing ofmyfelf^ but as the father 
 has taught me, fo I fpeak ; ajid he that fent me is 
 with me : the father has not left me alone, for I do 
 always thofe things that pleafe him. Again, ^ohn 
 V. 19, 20. The fon can do nothing of himfelf but 
 what he feet h the father do-, for whatfoever thing he 
 doth, thefe alfo doth the fon likewife j for the father 
 loveth the fon, and fheweth him all things that him- 
 felf doth : and {\Qr. 30.) 1 feek not my own will^ 
 but the will of the father who hath fent me.^ 
 
 And 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 8 We above obferved diat our Lord, knowing the 
 will of God in its inmoft centre, governs his creatures, 
 and condu6ls himfelf in exa6l conformity to it. But 
 notwithftanding this, Chrijl^?, conduft as it appears to 
 the creature, may feem repugnant to the will of his 
 father, and fuch feeming repugnancy is owing to the 
 narrownefs of our apprehenfions, and weaknels of our 
 judgments j for tho' our Lord fees in the bofom ot 
 
Letter IX. [ ^59 ] Sect. III. 
 
 # And as man by an innate propenfity wills al- 
 ways what he thinks his own good; fo our Lord 
 being the God of nature, fceks indefatigably the 
 good of his creatures : If. Ixiii. 15. ^be fcundifig 
 of his bowels atid of his ijiercies is towards us, and 
 all the workings of his will tend incefTantly to 
 our ultimate, and higheft happinefs : Cari ■ eji 
 illi homo quamfbi ; man is dearer to him than to 
 his very felt. 
 
 LET- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 his father a pure difinterefted invincible love of the crea- 
 ture generated there upon his account; yet our Lord 
 fees alfo how the creatures temporal miferies and af- 
 fliftions fuit and confift with this love: He fees that 
 the benevolence of his father towards the wicked is 
 ajnfwered in their damnation and death, yea in all that 
 will or can be fuffered 'till to the end of fuffering in. 
 his jeonian kingdom. No wonder therefore that there 
 fliould be an imaginary difference between the implicit 
 and explicit will of God, between the wrath of the 
 Lamb, the terrors of the Lord, the fiery indignation 
 of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, of whom we read, 
 'vengeance is mine, and I will repay it, faith the Lord; 
 and that will which is pure immutable love, which is 
 good to all, which breathes with a tendernefs of mercy 
 over all his works, which mnketh his fun to rife on the 
 evil and the good \ and fendeth rain on the jujl and the 
 mjtijt. 
 
[ i6o ] 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Christ in his charaEier of a rejiorer 
 confiderd at large, 
 
 I Tim. iv. lo. 
 
 We trufi in the Uvi?ig God^ who is (<rwT»ip) the rejiorer 
 
 or deliverer of all men, efpecially of the believers. 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 l"^"^ HAVE already fhewn that the words 
 w I 3 ""'^'^""P' <^«T£pia, o-w^co, Sec. which we ren- 
 
 1»LJH^ der faviour, falvation, to fave, &c. are 
 improperly fo render'd ; and that they 
 would be more jullly render'd reftorer, reftora- 
 tion, to reftore, implying thereby fome mifery 
 or misfortune already incurred, fome diflrelTed 
 circumftances befallen the perfon fo to be rcftor- 
 ed or delivered out of them. 
 
 In this notion of it, the term {<Tur'A?) foter in our 
 prefent text, is to be underflood ; and by fo un- 
 derftanding it, the paffage becomes intelligible 
 and unexceptionable, and yields us three points 
 of confideration ; namely, that Chriji is (^rwTy.p 
 
 i. e.) 
 
LEfTERX. [ i6i ] Sect. 1. 
 
 L e.) the feftorer or deliverer ; 2dly. that he is the 
 (o-wTu/j) reftorer of all men ; 3dly. that he is in an 
 efpecial manner the (<rwT»i/i) reftorer of believers, 
 or them that believe. 
 
 Adam in that he w^as appointed to be the fa- 
 ther of all mankind, had a general characfter, be- 
 coming the reprefentative of all mankind by their 
 appointment to be his feed or children; infomuch 
 that all thofe fouls who were deftined to become 
 Adam% feed (i* e. who were appointed thro' him 
 to the privileges of humanity) were to (hare the 
 fate of him their common parent; and this is an 
 ad: of grace indulged them out of the bounty of 
 their great creator. 
 
 But becaufe in treating here on our reftitution, 
 I cannot well fpeak intelligibly, without betraying 
 my belief that the human foul was a fallen crea- 
 ture before the creation of this world; and that 
 Adam was appointed to be our father with a viev^ 
 to our recovery; I ihall firft declare my opinion 
 on this fubjed. 
 
 S E C T. I. 
 
 T^he fons of Adam were firmer s before they became 
 the fons of Adam. 
 
 ALTHO' Adam be the father of all men^ 
 yet the creator of all men is God.'' So fays 
 W the 
 
 N O T E S. 
 
 ^ It has been indeed the opinion of fomc that both 
 tl*e fouls and bodies of men are formed out of the fub- 
 
Letter X. [ 162 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the Pfalmift, Pf. c. 3. Know that Jeh'uah himfelf 
 is God, he himfelf hath made us, andnotweoiirfehes-, 
 reflcding hereby upon fuch infidels as vainly ima- 
 gined that men by being begotten of their fathers' 
 do derive their exiflence from him. So again fays 
 Malachi ii. 10. Have we not all one father; hath 
 not one God created ns'? So Eph. iv. 6. There is one 
 God and father of lis all; who is above all, and 
 thro all, and in you all. 
 
 And fince creation and generation muft be the 
 effecfts of powers fo different, there muft be be- 
 tween thefe two kinds of produftions fome dif- 
 ference as incomparable as their caufes are in- 
 comparable. 
 
 Hence we obferve of the creatures that they 
 have all of them a power to generate, yet that 
 they have no power at all to create, no nor even 
 to make one hair black or white -, and why is this 
 
 ^ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 fiance of their parents, as a branch grows out of the. 
 fubftance of a tree, and this they therefore call tra- 
 duftion. 
 
 But this notion few will now infifl upon, becaufe 
 of the abfurdities attending the fuppofition of fuch a 
 partial and progrefTive produdion. 
 
 Very like this, altho' in name different, and no lefs 
 irrational is the opinion of others that the foul is pro- 
 duced by propagation, and that out of the body, and 
 by the agency of bodily organs. For to fuppofe that 
 a foul fhpuld be propagated by a body, and become 
 thereby oi a nature different from that body whence it 
 fprung; is to fuppofe in the body a creative power (for 
 to produce what onefelf is not is to create) and of fuck 
 
Letter X. [ 163 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Coj but becaufe creation refultsfrom nothing fliort 
 of omnipotence itfelf? 
 
 So then begetting being only a manner of pro- 
 ducing or exhibiting what is already created, in- 
 to a newftate of exiftence (a power common to 
 man with the meaneft infed: whofe life is but for 
 a day) muft always imply creation as antecedent 
 to it, or that the fons of Adam, altho' not as 
 fuch, had fome real exigence antecedent to their 
 becoming by generation his children. 
 
 Thus was our Lord himfelf the firft-begotten 
 (and prior to all creation, the Logos) before he 
 became the human fon of God, inverted in the 
 flefli of Mary. This has been already urged in 
 letter 5th, and appears alfo from the words taken 
 notice of letter 4th, fe6t. 2. note('^) on Gen. iv. i. 
 / have gotten the man the Jehovah -, for certainly 
 when Eve fpake thefe wordsj fhp muft have be- 
 W 2 lieved 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 fort as to yield forth a nature, not only difl:in<5l from, 
 but even fuperior to itfelf, and even with faculties 
 which itfelf has not. 
 
 And befides all this (and which is ftill harder to be 
 conceived} this production muft refulc, a moft accom- 
 pliflied and artificial fyftem, by the operation of a body 
 which knows not what it docs, which afls not with 
 defign of (but without either thought, or purpofe, 
 or confcioufnefs of) the thing produced. 
 
 Thefe two perfuafions were therefore condemned as 
 one in the Lateran council, held in the 15th century, 
 who determined it as a point of orthodoxy, that every 
 fingle foul, in every fingle man, was created and io- 
 fufcd by God. 
 
Letter X. [ 164 ] Sect. L 
 
 lieved that Jehovah fhould hccome a man by be- 
 ing born of her J and that men are not (as is the 
 vulgar notion) created and begotten at one and 
 the fame time; but that they are firft created of 
 God, and afterw^ards begotten of men; that they 
 have their firft exiftence from their heavenly fa- 
 ther, and afterv^^ards their production from their 
 earthly father; and hence it is that the fcripture fo 
 often fpeaks of people as in being for ages before 
 they are born; our Lord fays of himfelf, John 'in. 
 1 3 . No one has afcended up to heaven , except the fon- 
 man who came down from heaven^ where he was be- 
 fore, vi. 62. And again we read oi Cyrus y ijCxliv. 
 28. lam Jehovah that faith to Cyrus who is myjhep- 
 herdy and Jhall perform all my pleafure, &c. but this 
 Cyrus here fpoken of by name, lived not on earth 
 'till above 100 years after this prophecy of him. 
 And fo we read of the anti-chrift, that man of fin 
 and fun of perdition, that (Rev. xvii. 8.) he fiall 
 afcend out of the bottomlefspit, or abyfs-y but he muft 
 have been in the abyfs, before he can afcend from 
 thence, and be born a man upon earth ; and at 
 his death he fhall not return to the abyfs, but 
 (Rev. XX. 10.) be thrown into the lake fi^? onuva. atwi/o?, 
 or jV>v> \ I^Q^^^^) for an ceonian aon. 
 
 Now this our antecedent ftate of exiftence fup- 
 pofed, we muft have exifted in it either fallen 
 creatures, or elfe creatures pure and innocent. 
 
 Had we been innocent, we could not have for- 
 feited our favour and accefs to God by the per- 
 fonal fin of Adam; for the injuftice of fuch for- 
 feiture God renounces; £2;. xviii. 19. And yet fay 
 IV, whyl Doth not the fon bear the iniquity of the 
 
 father ^ 
 
Letter X. [ 165 ] Sect. I. 
 
 father'^ (ver. 20.) T%e fon Jhall not h^ar the imquity 
 of the father :, neither fiall the father bear the imquity 
 of thefon^ but the righteoujnefs of the righteous J]:a II. be 
 upon him ; and the wickednefs of the wicked jball be 
 upon him.' Therefore we mult have betn crea- 
 
 li.r 
 
 ures 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 * God can confiftent withjuftice, confer good upon 
 his creature, without propofing his intention to that 
 creature, for the concurrence of his choice therein. 
 
 Wherefore, we being fallen creatures, God can ap- 
 point us to become the begotten fons of fallen Adam 
 for our good, without having our confent to fuch 
 appointment. 
 
 Alfo, by fuch his appointment, God may entitle 
 us to all that his acceptance, and pardon, and grace, 
 and other bleffings which he has caufed to belong to 
 Adan'C% nature, or endowed it with. 
 
 Alfo, thefe Bleffings to which we are entitled as 
 fons oS. Adam-i God can charge with limitations, grant- 
 ing them only on certain terms and provifos; and 
 one of thefe provifos may be, that we fhall inherit the 
 miferies and evils together with the good and benefits 
 of that nature, and which thro* our father may con- 
 tingently affed; us. 
 
 Again, we may aver with certainty that, if the 
 •ondition of the moft unhappy man upon earth, be 
 preferable to the former condition of the lead mifer- 
 able of thofe fouls that are begotten men ; every foul 
 becoming a gainer by his being begotten, has reafoo 
 to be thankful to God for his humanity. 
 
 According to this view of manhood, a man becom- 
 ing a loofer in his father's lofs, or a fufferer in his fa- 
 ther's nature-, ought not to be called a fufferer for hi% 
 father's fin, but a fufferer by implicit contra6l-, be- 
 caufe his fufferings, being a part of the terms where- 
 
Letter X. [ i66 ] Sect. L' 
 
 tures fallen from God before we were begotten 
 
 of fallen Adam J" A 
 
 gain 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 by he enjoys the rights, immunities and other bleff- 
 ings of his paternal nature, are to be regarded as only 
 circumftancts accidentally connedled with an advan- 
 tagc(.>r.s inheritance ; as cafual, unfortunate incidents 
 attenuiiig a beneficial compact made for him in his 
 parent. 
 
 For it may by no means be fuppofed that the judg- 
 ments of God upon the guiltlefs fons of a wicked fa- 
 ther, can befpeak his anger againft thofe guiltlefs 
 fons as finners perfonally ; becaufe to affirm fuch an- 
 ger to be in God, is to affirm that God can he angry 
 at people as being what they are not, and for crimes 
 which they have not committed. 
 
 Laftly then, hereditary right, or a right by geni: 
 ture being thus confidered ; I fuppofe no inftance can 
 be found in fcripture to contradid the paflage above 
 quoted out of Ezekiel xviii. 20. viz. The fen (hall not 
 hear the iniquity of the father -, neither fl:all the father 
 hear the iniquity of the f on ^ &c. for the evils which we 
 inherit from our father, are in confideration of bleff- 
 ings which we alfo derive from our father by afTuming 
 his nature, and which abundantly more than recom- 
 penfe fuch evils : even as the fhame and perfecutions 
 which fail upon men for being Chriftians, call'd bearing 
 therepfoach of Chrifl^ our fecond father, Heb. xiii. 13. 
 xi. 26. are infinitely exceeded by the privileges and 
 honours that fliall reward them, fo bearing his fhame. 
 
 k If we fuppofe the fouls of men (for I here con- 
 cern myfelf not with their bodies) to have been crea- 
 tures of God before they were begotten on earth, we 
 mufl either fuppofe them to have been fallen from 
 God before that time ; or elfe we muft fay that God 
 forces his holy creatures into a ftate of exiftence, 
 vJierein, by paffing thro' a vile abominable parent, 
 
Letter X. [ 167 ] Sect.-:, I. 
 
 Again this notion of the pre-incarnate delin- 
 quency of man fefems to be no lefs clearly implied 
 in the contrad: and covenant between the father 
 and the Logos touching our redemption: becaufe 
 to fuppofe the Logos offering himfelf to the fa- 
 ther as a victim for fmners who as yet had no 
 exigence, for a people who were firfl to be made 
 by the Logos, and afterwards to become a guilty 
 finful race, is not only unnatural; but even imports 
 that fin refults originally from the approbation 
 and choice, and fo operative will of God: where- 
 as we learn from fcripture that fin refults not from 
 the will of God, but merely from the creature's 
 choice; that fin .is altogether the event of the 
 creature's choice in his liberty to will and do, 
 and that no other in God than his permifiive 
 will only, was concerned in the produdion of fin 
 and mifery. Every 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 they muft infallibly become a race, like that parent, 
 {Job. XXV. 4. P/ cxliii. 2.) v^^icked, corrupt, malici- 
 ous, the objedt of God's difgLift, yea more, of his 
 afflidtive wrath and indignation. But we cannot fay 
 thus without a violent impeachment of his jufticc and 
 love towards a creature pure and holy like himlelf, 
 and fo deferving good and not evil from his bounty 
 and benevolence. 
 
 This conjedure is alfo repugnant to all our ideas of 
 the divine regard for fitnefs, truth, and mercy. 
 
 Yea and fince it fuppofes that the vile pafTions found 
 in man arife from his foul's union with flefh, a fa- 
 brick of inert and harmlefs matter: we demand how 
 fuch a depravity can be fuppofed to arife from fuch 
 an union } And on v/hat c^cpcricnce wc are to ground 
 this fuppofition ? 
 
Letter X. [ i68 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Every creature has his emanations or Sowings 
 forth or ifTues, anfwering to his inward nature; 
 and a finful courfe of living is the emanation of 
 a creature cut off, alienated from, or in a ftatc 
 of enmity againft God. 
 
 But it appears to me extravagant to affirm that 
 the fon of God ftiould fuffer, from the hands of 
 his holy father, for creatures not as yet exifting 
 in fuch ftate of malice and fin-produd:ion ; for 
 creatures that were iirft to be made by him pure 
 (fince nothing can exift impure immediately from 
 his forming hands) and then to be cut off from, 
 or made finful enemies to God, by being begot- 
 ten or born of a lin- producing and infed:ious hu- 
 man creature, his future father. 
 
 For this not only implies our Lord's fufferings 
 for crimes not committed, and that need not to 
 be fo; but it alfo implies either iff an abfolute 
 predeftination of God that the fouls which he 
 ihould hereafter make pure, fhould become im- 
 pure, and haters of God and goodnefs; or elfc 
 2dly. that Chrifl fhould fuffer, and that for fin, 
 whether fuch fin might be ever committed or not. 
 
 That is, either that Chrift mufl fuffer by the de- 
 cree of God for fins not decreed to be committed; 
 or elfe that the innocent creatures of God (to be 
 created) mufl be prcdeflinated (before they were 
 made or had being) to become (/. e. muff una- 
 voidably become) wicked: they become unavoid- 
 ably wicked, and yet mufl fo forfeit the favour 
 of God by being wicked, as to need the blood of 
 yefus to reflore them. 
 
 How much more reafonable is it to believe that 
 all the creatures were already made of God, and 
 
 fallen 
 
Letter X. [ 169 ] Sect. I. 
 
 fallen from God, before the covenant between '", 
 the Logos and his father exilled: and that by- 
 virtue of this covenant the creatures, being fo al- 
 ready fallen from God, were deftined to become 
 men, together with the Logos ; that fo, thro' the 
 manhood of the Logos, they might be reftored. 
 
 And thus alfo it is eafy to conceive that all 
 creature guilt, both in its root and in its outflow- 
 ings, being already fo recompenled and atoned for 
 by C/jri/lj as that himfelf fliould now be our only 
 creditor ; he our redeemer or purchafer, can par- 
 don or punifli his own {jfohn i. 11.) when, where, 
 and how he pleafes. 
 
 That Ch?^i/i by his aCi of ranfoming from a 
 doom voluntarily and previouily incurred, being 
 moft equitably poffefTed of the thing ranfomedj 
 in all its circumftances of debt, and obnoxiouf- 
 nefs, and with all its rights and forfeitures ; en- 
 joys even all that arbitrary dominion over all 
 v/ho have fmned, v/hether before or fince their 
 human form of life, which is in any wife tranf- 
 ferable from his father to himfelf. 
 
 Cbnji being perfonally the plenitude of his fa- \ 
 ther, and containing in his fingle perfon greater 1 
 worth than exifts in all the creatures put toge- • 
 ther; is in himfelf a facrifice equivalent to all \ 
 the creation : wherefore, fuppofing only that thivS j 
 do(flrine of atonement is not unnatural, the prac- ', 
 ticability of it in the dignity of ChriJTs perfon may \ 
 be prefumed v/ithout difficulty; which done, it ; 
 ceafes to be incredible that all creatures as they are, 
 with all their paft, prefent and future guilt, may ; 
 be the purchafcd pofTeffion of Chri/iy and as fuch i 
 the devoted fiibicds of his will and pleafire. 
 
 X ■ In 
 
Letter X, [ 170 ] Sect. I. 
 
 In this cafe, whatever right fatan might origi- 
 nally have had to finners by the permiffion of 
 God, this is now all done away and fuperfeded 
 in the facriiice of Chrijl, become in his aeonian 
 charadter the abfolute Lord and uncontrollable 
 defpet of every flnful fubjedl, yea and even of 
 fatan himfelf. 
 
 Again, In this notion of our 6riginal condition 
 are the word: of Jehovah to the prophet jferemiah 
 very appolite and intelligible. Jer. i. 4, 5. 1ke7i 
 the word of yehovah came unto me^ foy^ng^ before 1 
 fonned thee in the belly ^ Ilmew thee; and before tkoii 
 cameli out of the womb, Ifanclified thee^ and ordain- 
 ed thee (to be) a prophet unto the nations. 
 
 And from thefe words we learn three things ; 
 I ft. That God refpedls thofe creatures whom he 
 has chofen to be a part of human race, with fa- 
 vour and acceptance, and as a people he is al- 
 ready reconciled to. Thus much is implied in 
 the words, 1 knew thee, IfanBified thee. 
 
 2dly. That the guilt of our fall in our ftate 
 of exiftence prior to our ftate of manhood, muft 
 have been deem'd as aton'd for in fome deftined 
 expiation hjChriJi, before our birth into this world. 
 
 3dly. That upon our becoming men we were 
 efteemed pure and innocent, as to all other guilt 
 than that only which belongs to us by genera- 
 tion, and that federal relation to God in which 
 we ftocd by being the appointed fons of Adam. 
 
 So that being now regarded (by virtue of Chrifi's 
 covenant with his father for us) as redeem'd in 
 Chrijiy and fo guilty to him only j it was his plea- 
 fure that we fliould become men, the fons of 
 fallen man, and change our perfonal, for a guilt 
 
 " by 
 
Letter X. [ 171 ] Sect. I. 
 
 by birth; our guilt contracled before our human 
 life, for a guilt affumptive with our father's nature. 
 
 To this dodirine refers alfo that remarkable 
 queftion propofed by the apoftles to our Lord at 
 his healing a blind man. 'John ix. 2. Mcz/ier, 
 who did Jin, this ?nany or his parents, that he was 
 born blind. 
 
 They conceived that this man had enjoyed 
 life in fome ftate of exiHence antecedent to this 
 of his flefhly ; and that he might have been 
 born or begotten a blind man in punifhment for 
 his fins perpetrated in his pre-exiftent life. 
 
 That fuch was the opinion of the Jews in our 
 faviour's time, we have unqueftionable teftimony 
 from Jofephns and Pbilo Judeus -, who tell us, 
 that they believed the fouls of men to be of one 
 nature with angels and demons ; that they were 
 created together with them 3 and that they lived 
 with them in the regions above, from whence 
 they defcended into the bodies they animate up- 
 on earth. 
 
 Alfo Menajje Ben Ifrael, fo famous for hi? 
 jewifli learning, tells us, Communis ejt opinio omnium 
 Hebrceorimi animas hiunanas prcecejjijje corpora. — 
 Lib. de creat. prob. 15. p. 61. — " It is the com- 
 " mon opinion of all Jews that human fouls were 
 " before their bodies." See alfo Wijd. viii. 19, 20. 
 
 Many of our modern divines, who protcft 
 againft this doctrine as erroneous, prefume that 
 it is rejected as falfe in our Lord's reply to 
 his difciplcs upon this occafion : but if it were 
 fo, one would think that our Lord, having 
 {q fair an opportunity, would have been more 
 tr«vplicit on this occafion, would have now re^- 
 X 2 proved 
 
Letter X. [ 172 ] Sect. I. 
 
 proved this error fo univerfal among the Jeivs^ 
 and regulated his diiciples notions of human na- 
 ture' by truths which yet his anfwer is fo far 
 from doing, that it manifeflly imports the truth 
 of the opinion j for filence in the face of fuch a 
 dodrine cannot but authorize it. 
 
 Jefus a?2Jwered (John ix. 3) neither hath this 
 man jinned nor his parents; but that the works of 
 God Jljould be manifeji in him: our Lord could 
 not here mean, that neither this man nor his pa-^ 
 rents had ever committed any fm, his objed:ion 
 therefore mud evidently have refpe(5ted the appli- 
 cation only; and not the matter it (elf of his dif- 
 ciples opinion: that is he denied that the fin of 
 this man or of his parents was the very leafon of 
 his being born blind; but he denied not that they 
 had finn'd; they ftill might both have finn'd; as 
 the father before he begat his fon, fo the fon be- 
 fore he was begotten of his father. For fince our 
 
 Lord's 
 
 N O T E S^ ~ 
 
 ^ This too is the more probable becaufe our Lord 
 tells his difciples, Luke viii. 10. Unto you it is given 
 to know the myjieries of the kingdom of God. And again, 
 John XV. 15. Henceforth I call you not few ants hut 
 friends^ for the fervant knoweth not what his Lord doth ; 
 but I have called you friends, for all things that I have 
 heard of my father, I have made known unto you. Our 
 Lord often declares to his apoflles that, and what 
 himfelt was before he became incarnate : and fince he 
 knew that his apoftles, with all other Jews, fuppofed 
 that all mankind alfo exiftcd before they became in- 
 carnate •, he could not but be confcious that his ac- 
 count of his own pre-incarnate flate, would confirm 
 them in this opinion : but he who was truth itfelf 
 would not confirm his apoftles in any error. 
 
Letter X. [ 173 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Lord's anfwer on this occafion cannot be under- 
 flood of the father, /. e. as faying that the father 
 had never fmn'd, why fhould it be fo underftood 
 of the fon ? It equally relates to both -, and if it 
 argues not but that the father had finn'd in this 
 life before he begat his fon^ neither does it argue 
 but that the fon alfo had finn'd in a former life 
 before he was begotten. 
 
 And in this view of it, our Lord's anfwer 
 proves a tacit acknowledgment of the juftnefs of 
 this jewifh maxim; difowning only the conclufion 
 his apoftles would draw from it: for our Lord's 
 objcding nothing to the fuppofition itfelf, of a 
 man's fmning before he was begotten, muft cer- 
 tainly have confirm'd his difciples in their notion 
 of the foul's pre-exifting; at the fame time that it 
 dilated their minds with other and greater con- 
 ceptions as to thedifpenfations of divine providence. 
 
 So that if this opinion be falfe, our Lord's 
 anfvver to his apoftles thus believing, would have 
 amufed and deceived them with a notion repug- 
 nant to the reality of things, /. e. would never 
 have been given by fo wife and gracious a teacher, 
 to his firft and moft beloved church; and if not, 
 then that the foul pre-exifts the body, deferves 
 cur affent, not merely for being a received maxim 
 among the Jeivs, but for being a docftrine coun- 
 tenanced, and alTented to by our Lord himfelf; 
 and as we may judge, to indicate thereby to his 
 apoftles this point as the key for opening the 
 myftery of our defection in our father Adam^ and 
 recovery by means of him. 
 
 We have an inftance of our faviour's condudl 
 on an occafion ^'c^y like this in A^s i. 6. where 
 
 his 
 
LETTteR X. [ 174 ] Sect. I. 
 
 his apoftles aik him, Lord wilt thou at this time 
 rejiore the kingdom of Ifrael. 
 
 The temporal kingdom on this earth, it is well 
 known was expelled by all the Jews as one day 
 to be reftored to them. And as this belief of the 
 yews was founded upon indifputable promifes; 
 we here obferve our Lord acquiefcing in it, and 
 approving of it, in like manner as in the inftance 
 above, by his iilence ; tho' at the fame time he 
 correds his apoftles curiolity, as to the time of 
 this expedied event; ver. 7. It is 7iot for you to 
 know the times or the feafons, which the father has 
 put into (not mine but) his own power. 
 
 They are reproved only for inquliiting the 
 times, becaufe as to the event itfelf they were not 
 reprovable, the kingdom ofi/r^tVmuft be reftored, 
 tind that temporally. 
 
 So in the foregoing inftance, the apoftles were 
 reproved only in the conclufions they would draw 
 from their knowledge of the foul's pre-exiftence^ 
 becaufe as to the pre-exiftence itfelf, they thought 
 right; it was a found truth. 
 
 Things thus confidered we may prefume ift. 
 that \i Adam had not fallen, /. e. had not forfeited 
 his Ipiritual life or quickening graces altho' we 
 fhoald have been, in his likcnefs, upright ; [for 
 Ecclef.vii 29. God made the fnan Adam (siKii nK 
 Admn% lelf, fo y^'^ thyfelf, '^^'^ ) upright] yet fmce 
 uprightnefs docs not import purity or holinefs 
 inherent in a man's own perfon; how eafily might 
 numbers of us have fallen, as did Adam, nfter 
 our becoming men. 
 
 Aj^ain, altho' if Adajn had not forfeited, the 
 terms of his paradifaical happlnefs, we ftiould 
 
 have 
 
Letter X. [ 175 ] Sect. IL 
 
 have been happier in this hfe than wc now are, 
 yet it feems not that we fhould have been thereby 
 happier in an after hfej or that we fliould have 
 been fecurer or lefs hable to damnation from our 
 condudl in thisj or that either the reftored or lofl 
 among men would have been gainers upon the 
 whole. But 
 
 2dly. If our condition as the begotten fons of 
 Adam fallen, be in itfelf preferable to our pre- 
 incarnate condition, our condition before we be- 
 came men j it is our intereft to have been be- 
 gotten, even tho' begotten into the likenefs of a 
 fallen parent. Yea and who knows how hope- 
 lefs our circumftances might have been if we had 
 never been begotten men ? 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Chrifl the fecond Adam. 
 
 IN regard to his gcnei.J character, and as re- 
 prefentative of all who were to be born of 
 him, the firft man Adam was the figure of Jefus 
 Chriji, typifying ChriJ} as a future reprefentativc 
 or head of all mankind, in fome general parental 
 character, like that of Ada?}i\ : in that as all 
 mankind was to fliare the fate of their common 
 parent Adain^ fo might they afterwards fhare the 
 fate of him who, in fome other refpe(5l, might 
 alfo become their common parent, 'Jefin Chrijt. 
 
 Upon this foundation is grounded the apoltlc's 
 reafoning : Rom. v. 12. As by one fiian fm e?itered 
 into the icorldy and death by fm^ and fo death pa fs d 
 upon all men y for all hair Ji?wed, (Verfe 15.) If 
 
 thro' 
 
Letter X, [ 176 ] Sect. IL 
 
 thro the offence of one ^ the maiiy (or multitude »» toa- 
 Aoi ) are dead, much more the gi-ace of God^ and the 
 gift by grace, which is by ofie man fefus Chriji, hath 
 abounded unto the many (or multitude ra? ttoAaouj) .• 
 wherefore (ver. 18, 19.) as by the offence of one^ 
 judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; fo by 
 the righteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all 
 men unto jujlification of life. For as by one 7nans 
 difobedlence the 7na77y (or multitude) were madefi7i- 
 ners; (becaufe, having now forfeited in their fa- 
 ther's fall that fpiritual life which by his fall 
 their father loft, and which had been fufficient 
 to have fupported them upright, had they inhe- 
 rited it, as was intended, from him by bearing his 
 liken efs,) Jo by the obedience of 07ie, fiall the many 
 (or multitude) be 7Jiade righteous, i Cor. xv. 21, 22. 
 Since by man ca77ie death, by man came alfo the re^ 
 furreSiion of the dead; for as i77 Adam all die, eve7i 
 fo in Chrift fball all be quicke77ed. 
 
 Ada77i by (in became a fubjedt of fatan's power; 
 and all mankind in Adam are alfo become the 
 fubjeds of fatan's power. 
 
 This power (as refulting only from the fall of 
 Adam) is at prefent indeed much contraifled and 
 reftrained, rendering us only partially the fubjedis 
 of that great fallen chief; infomuch that, tho' 
 lord of corrupted nature, he is forced upon ilaifts 
 and expedients to rule and manage us. 
 
 But this notwithftanding, fo formidable ahold 
 has he in us, that by dint hereof, he can exaf- 
 perate and provoke that which is akin to him in 
 our nature, to the producing in us all kinds of 
 lufts and fears and baneful palTions, i7iworking as 
 St. P^?// terms it in the cbild7'e7i of unbelief {tvz^yoMv- 
 
Letter X. [ 177 ] SEct. II. 
 
 roi lu roig vioig rv? a.Trn^£nxg) : and as he fees occaiion, 
 or has permiflion, he can fend his angels, or in- 
 fernal meflengers to poflefs us, even {Lukexi. 26.) 
 to enter into us by legions and dwell there. 
 
 Partial therefore as this power of the evil one 
 is over us, it is ftill great, forcible, full of horror, 
 and by thofe who underftood it beft, is called our 
 ftate of bondage or flavcry : "Jolm viii. 34. 'Jefus 
 anjwered^ verily, verily , I fay unto you, be that cofji- 
 mitteth Jin is (M©^) the bond-fervant of Jin (i« e. 
 of the {inner, or of fatan."" Again, Rom. vi. 16.) 
 Know ye not, that to whotn ye yield yowfehes (^aAoi) 
 bondfervants to obey, his bond-fervants ye are to 
 ik)ho7n ye obey, whether of fin (mo\ dixxpriccg, i, e. 
 whether of the grand finner fatan) unto death, or 
 of obedience (/. ^. the obedient one, ov Chriji) imto 
 righteoufnefs: fo 2 Pet. ii. 19. While they promife 
 
 Y the?}t 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 " Satan in this, the following, and fuch like places 
 is called a,o(,a/iT(« and <pS-o/5a by a fyriacifm. The Jews, 
 as has already been fhewn page 52, ufe the abftract 
 noun inftead of the adjedive, fo that {hho^ tti? daaf- 
 Tixq, or Tnq ipB'opxg) the fervants of fin, of corriipiioh, 
 are to be underftood as if it had been written {hxoi 
 ra dixocprcaXa) flaves of the finful One, i. e. of iatan 
 prince of finners •, and ($ovXoi m (p^optic;) Jlaves of the 
 corrupter, i. e. of fitan, the lord of corruption. See 
 alfo the like expreflions in Hcb. xi. 25. 2 Thef. ii. 3. 
 Rom. viii. 7, 14, 17, 23. Gal. iii. 13. 
 
 For when St. Paul wrote in greek, he thought in 
 *he oriental tongues. The above expreflion is how- 
 ever not altogether oriental, but partially fo, a mix- 
 ture of both greek and oriental-, lor the Orientals in- 
 itead of the genitive cafe, the latter of two fubili'.n- 
 
Letter X. [ 178 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 U^em liberty^ they themfehes are the {^(^^'Koi) bondf- 
 men of corruption (t»)? ?i3-op«f) /. e. of the corrupter. 
 
 Now from what has been advanced we at once 
 arrive at the true meaning of the term (o-wrup) 
 dehverer, or reftorer. 
 
 The fon of God is called fo from his relation 
 to human nature fallen into a ftate of flavery to 
 fatan, the great finner and corrupter. 
 
 'Till exhibited unto us in this lafl charadler, 
 our Lord's title is Jehovah Adni, my Lord Je- 
 hovah; and he reveals himfelf to us in this laft 
 charad:er before his incarnation, becaufe he had 
 already undertaken to redeem us. 
 
 Out of the numberlefs palTages of the old tefta- 
 ment, prophefying of him under the charadler of 
 a deliverer, let the following fuffice. Jer, xv. 21. 
 Saith Jehovah 'I pluck (or will pluck) thee ''out of 
 
 the 
 
 NO T E S. 
 
 lives, ufe two appofite fubftantives ; and before the 
 latter, the Syrians moftly fet ^ qui^ fo Heb. XLJ^il^vt] N3V 
 " the hoft^ the heavens. Syr. L,^*,. LLci^^ja the 
 ■powers which heaven. Heb. NTI Jfn'^K '"i^j; fervant God 
 living. Syr. I.4j^ ).OU^s^ 01, ^^^^ fervant who God 
 living. . ' • 
 
 By this idiom the oriental expreffion becomes much 
 more equivocal and indeterminate than the greek : fo 
 Cli*nSK "]kSd may be rendered either angel God, or 
 angel of God-, MIIT' "jN'St: angel Jehovah, or angel of 
 Jehovah y [01 n^^^ LiJUito angel who God, or angel 
 of God ; ).a.: iQ, pi jl^ ^;/g-f/ who the Lord, or ait- 
 gel of the Lord. So Chald. i<^Oty mSk and Fleb. 
 a*i:\;'^ri Sk God heavens mean the God of heaven -, and 
 
Letter X. [ 179 ] Sect. II. 
 
 the hands of Hhe wicked ones ""and deliver thee -from 
 the palm of "" the terrible ones. (aT' "i'^* -pn^iH' 
 j-3.^^6 pw,j.5 ^.rnsi4) If. xliii. I. O Ifrael, I have 
 purchafed thee ( ^nS^:; ) / have called thee by my 
 name, thou (belongeft to me or) art jnifje; If. xli. 
 .14. Fear not thou worm Jacoby I will heal thee ^ 
 faith yehovahi and thy deliverer (or purchafer 'f/^*^•) 
 the holy one of Tfrael. 
 
 All thefe expreflions are intended as allufive 
 to the condition of bondage and mifery which is 
 ours by the fall of Adam^ and wherein the wicked 
 ones and terrible ones, even in this life, control 
 us with a mighty fway and influence. 
 
 In terms ftmilar hereto we likewife find our 
 Lord defcribed in the new teftamentj Mat. i. 21. 
 And thou Jfjalt call his name fefus, for he JJ:all de- 
 liver his people from their fmSy (in which they are 
 by nature) Again, Liike'iw. 18. He hath anointed 
 me to preach the gofpel to the poor , he hathjent me to 
 heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the 
 
 Y 2 captives, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 in the Syriac L*!^jl:^, Lot^j God who in heave??, 
 means God of (or who 'is in) heaven. So Col. i. 5. 
 )L*f.j:iia> lljLon* pVv^ -N in the word of the truth 
 of the gofpel, may 'be rendered, in the word which (is) 
 the truth, which (is) the gofpel. Again, Mat. xvi. 23. 
 thou favourefl not (the things) Jcu^s, which (are) of 
 God, but (the things) Ljljl.j.J--2'*' "^hich (are) of 
 the fons of men. Agam in the 'Lord's prayer, 
 I , .\o #). ->, wO_3? 0^^' father who in heaven, means 
 our father'wbo art in heaven. This note may fcrve 
 to illuftrate what has been already oblcrved, page 
 103. note \ 
 
Letter X. [ i8o ] Sect. II. 
 
 captives y and recovering of fight to the blind, arid to 
 fit at liberty them that are bruifed (under the yoke of 
 their fervitude); to preach the (year of jubilee, the) 
 acceptable year of the Lord. Again Luke xiii. i6. 
 And ought not this woman being a daughter ofAbra- 
 hamy whom fat an has bound, lo thefe eighteen years, 
 be hofedfrom this bond on thefabbath day^ For that 
 which our Lord performed vifibly, on the bodies 
 of the diflrefs'd, during his niiniftry in this world; 
 was ohly to reprrfent his inviUble work upon the 
 fouls of them who in their diflrefs fhould cry unto 
 him: his true character is, Luke i. 71. [a-coT'^pix s^ 
 
 f/^^'jov v\ij.tjv, Kj fK XJ^'fog TTOtvruv rccv /xKrai/rwi/ rifji^icgj A de~ 
 
 liverer from our enemies, and from the hands of all 
 them that hate us-, and in healing the bodies of the 
 afflicted, '{Adis vii. 25.) He fuppofed his brethren 
 woidd have imderjioodhow that God by his hand would 
 give them (irwriiptav) deliverance-, and that in him 
 the grace of God was intended as Tit. ii. 11. 
 (y\ p^ap'j y^ crwTnjjKj? Trao-jv (xv^^unro^z) a reflorwg (recover- 
 ing, or delivering) grace to all men; iince (Luke xix. 
 10.) thefon of man is come to feek a?jd to rejlore or 
 deliver the ruined i^'^^'^y^ ro aTroAwXo?) /. e. fuch whofe 
 defperate and undone circumftances St. Paul per- 
 fonates, Rom. vii. 24. O wretched man that I am, 
 who fmll deliver me from the body of this death! 
 
 And becaufe this our delivery was to be ef- 
 fected by means of a facrifice expiatory and equi- 
 valent to our guilt, we alfo have our Lord cha- 
 ra6lered to us in the term Aurpov a ranfom, or price 
 given to redeem a captive out of his ilaveryj for 
 the word {^^'oti^o^J) lutron, contaiins the notion of 
 loofening, from the verb {^■'^'A luo, to loofen, 
 
 viz. 
 
Letter X. [ i8i ] Sect. II. 
 
 viz. the chains and fetters that bind the prifoner; 
 we being all confidered as naturally (at leaft by- 
 inheritance) the flaves or bondfmen of the wicked 
 one." 
 
 Agreeably hereto we are told, Mat. xx. 28. 
 the fori of man came not to be minijiered unto, but to 
 Tninifter-y andto give (tw/ ^^^x^^ '^^'^^ ^inpov ccvri voxxuv) 
 his ({mglejfou/ ararifomfor many. Tit. ii. 14. fi^/:o 
 gave himfelf for us that he might ranfom us ( Ivx au- 
 T/)wo-»iTai riiAuq) from all iniquity. Upon which ac- 
 count he is faid, Heb. ix. 12. to have obtained 
 ^xurpcoa-iv oauviav) an ceoutan ranfom for us. And this 
 acceptation we find again confirmed by the like 
 term (f^«;y«>/>«C") which fignifies to recover or re- 
 deem again a mortgaged land: Gal. iii. 13. Chrifl 
 has redee?ned us (^y-ccg i^Y\yo^oc<Tiv) from the cwfe of 
 the law, being made a curfe (^accTupx for xaraoaTo? ac- 
 curfed) /or us. 
 
 This our redemption from the tyranny of fatan 
 was moreover prefigured by the yews delivery 
 from their cruel bondage in the land of Egypt, 
 of which Jehovah boafts to his people; Mid. vi. 
 4. I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and 
 from the houfe of flaves have I redeemed thee : I fay 
 Jehovah boafts of this with a view to an after- 
 
 w^ork, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " It is obfcrvable, in evidence th^it this idea may 
 be depended upon, that die Jews were likewife taught 
 to conceive of their redemption by a word of like 
 import, viz. .Lj.n:o£i that which breaks off or 
 forces afunder, namely ones bonds or fetters, and fo 
 fets a man free from flavcry. 
 
Letter X. [ 1S2 ] Sect. II. 
 
 work, of like kind, tho' of a far higher nature, 
 and more worthy for him to boaft of, the re- 
 demption of their fouls j concerning which St. 
 Stephen fo keenly infinuates in his fpeech to the 
 fanhedrim, A^sv\\.2^. For he fuppofed his brethren 
 'would have underjlood that God by his hand would give 
 them (c-wTi^puzv) a deliverance (or reftoration to their 
 ioft libeity) hut they underjlood not. 
 
 It is alfo obfervable that this our delivery from 
 the tvranny of fatan being our Lord's proper 
 work, we find that they only who feel the want 
 of lucb ddivcry, are called upon to accept of him 
 for their lord and maftcr. So Mat, ix. 13. Go ye 
 Ci'.d learn volvJt this means ^ I will have mercy and not 
 Jacrljice^ for I a?n not come to call the righteous but 
 fiiners." Mat. xi. 2H, 29. Cofne unto me all ye that 
 labour and are heavy laden ^ and 1 will give you rejl ; 
 take fny yoke upon you — and ye jlmll find rejl unto your 
 fouls. And becaufe the unbelieving fews were in- 
 fenfible of their llavery, fays our Lord to them, 
 yohn\\n. 7,4. JVhofoever committeth finis the fervant 
 of lin\ ver. 36. If the fon (hall make you free you 
 fiall be free i?tdeed. But feeing you will not believe, 
 ver. 44. you are of your Jather the devil, andthe lufis 
 of your father ye will do. That is, fince ye feek not 
 me for your deliverer, you will and mufl conti- 
 nue in your llavery to him who is of old your fa- 
 ther, and into whofe power you are relapfed by 
 the fall of your father Adam. And 
 
 N O T E S. 
 
 "The words ro repentance are not read in the moft 
 antient MS. nor in the fyiiac teftament, and may 
 therefore ht deemed as an interpolation. 
 
Letter Xr [ 183 ] Sect. II. 
 
 And thus I fuppofe it proved that the englifh 
 word faviour does not anlwer the import of the 
 word (o-wrnp) foterin the new teftamenti and that 
 by this word we are to underftand a retriever 
 or dchverer out of lamentable, diflrefsful circum- 
 ftances. 
 
 Permit me farther to obferve that our delivery 
 as men out of the tyranny of fatan, may prefume 
 and refer to a delivery far exceeding this, altho' 
 at prefent we have no remembrance of it; namely 
 a delivery from an oppreffion and tyranny by 
 means of our becoming inverted in our human 
 ftate of life, a delivery con fequent upon our being 
 begotten fons of Adam\ and concerning which, 
 iince revelation affords us too little light to fpeak 
 with confidence, we fhall be filent. 
 
 Wherefore we content ourfelves with faying, 
 that altho' our lapfe into and under the power of 
 fatan by the fall of Adam, was our misfortune and 
 not our fault; yet that we may well think of it 
 with fatisfadion, feeing it is a misfortune belong- 
 ing to our moft advanfn^eous covenant in our 
 earthly father; a misfortune too whofe ill effedis 
 we may eafily efcape, whofe real evils are toler- 
 able, and of very fhort duration, and whofe bond- 
 age we may fliake off without difiiculty, and ren- 
 der vain andharmlefs; if only wc provide for this 
 in time, and ufe the opportunity put into our 
 power; before the ftroke of our natural death 
 fliall feal and ratify our flavery; confirm us the 
 aeonian property of our enemy, inevitably; and 
 at the fame time aggravate our wretchednefs, 
 with the guilt of having ncgleded the gracious 
 call of God to liberty. 
 
 SECT, 
 
Letter X. [ iH } Sect. III. 
 
 SECT. in. 
 
 II. Christ th ((rwT»)p) rejlorer, or deliverer of 
 all men. 
 
 f i *HIS truth is pronounced and eftablifh'd by 
 J fo many correfponding texts in fcripture, 
 and in fuch variety of expreffion, that the unpre- 
 judiced mind muft readily affent to it. So Luke 
 iii. 6. Alljlejhjhallfee the rejioration of God. i John 
 ii. 2. He IS a propitiation for our fins ^ and not for 
 ours onlyy but alfo for the fins of the whole world. 
 John iv. 42. IVe know that this is indeed the Chrifi 
 the refiorer of the world. \ Tim. ii. 4. Who wills 
 that all men fijould be refiored^ and come to the ac- 
 hiowledgment of the truth. Tit. ii. 11. The grace 
 of God which bringeth rejioration to all men hath ap- 
 peared. In the lyriac this pafTage is read thus : 
 
 ^ooCi^o )• « . / -nV^ \i^' ^T^he grace ^oj God 
 ^ refioring (or quickening) "all has appeared unto 
 all the Jons oj men. i John iv. 14. We do tefiify 
 that the father hath fent the fin to be the rejlorer of 
 the world. 2 Pet. iii. 9. The Lord is lo?ig-fuffering 
 for your fiake^ being not willi?jg {y-if) 6«xo^.k^ i. e. 
 not counfelhng) that any onejhould perifij, but that 
 allfi:)Oidd come to repentance. 
 
 Neither R*ftfift<great event revealed to us merely 
 as what fhall bej but as an event refting upon 
 and having its root in the very nature of things : 
 as a purpofe in God not arbitrary; but grounding 
 its bafis upon the greateft of all other occurrences 
 which heaven or earth has yet been witnefs of, 
 
 namely 
 
Letter X. [ 185 ] Sect. III. 
 
 namely redemption finifli'd for us. For Chrifi 
 has indeed exhaufted the whole venom of fin in 
 his owli body, and is in himfclf fingly both the 
 caufe and power of oiir recovery. 
 
 And hence again we read yoh?i i. 29. Behold 
 the lamb of God which beareth away (tjii/ uy-aprixv) 
 the Jin (ih the fingular number) of the world-^ 
 2 Cor. V. 1 9'. God was in Chrifi reconciling the 
 world Unto hiinjelf not imputing their trefpajfes', 
 ver. 21. for he hath made him to be fm for us {y-^^^? 
 Til^m u[xoipTiocv £7rojn5-£j/) that w'e might be made the righ- 
 teoufnefs of God in hi?n. If. xxxviii. 17 Thou haft 
 caft all my fms behind thy back, i Jolm i. 7. If we 
 walk in the lights &c, — The blood of fefus Chrifi his 
 fon cleanfeth us from all fin-, iiifomiich that If. i. \%, 
 thd your fins be as fcarlct they fioall be white asfnow, 
 thd they be red like crimfon theyfi:allbe as wool. And 
 this merely becaiife Chrifi is fingly and in his oivri 
 perfon the propitiation for the fins of all; fo Heb. 
 i. 3. who being the bright nefs of his glory and the ex^ 
 prefs image of his peifon^ and upholding all things by 
 the word of his power ^ when he had by himfelf{^^ saura) 
 purged our fins^ fat down o?i the right hand of the 
 majefiy on high. Col. ii. 13. Having forgi'-oen all 
 trefpafies blotting out the haiid-writing of ordinances 
 that was againjl us, which was contrary to us, and 
 he took it out of the way nailing it to his crofs. Heb. 
 
 ix. 26. But now once (jT^i o-vvrfAaat tm u\mm'^ about 
 
 the meeting of the extremities of the ccons^ hath he 
 appeared to put awavfin bv ihejacrifice of hitnfelf 
 
 Z" ' Our 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 p In fpcaking of tlic two extremes of a thing, we 
 fiiy the two ends, \q end is the nomeu generis, as ia 
 
Letter X. [ i86 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Our redemption being now perfeded in Chriji, 
 the lins of man no longer relpedl God diftind: 
 from Chriji, but God in Chriji; and all our guilt 
 is that of ingratitude to him our common Lord 
 and God. 
 
 As we were originally God's by creation, even 
 fo are we now Chriji\ by purchafe j and his pur- 
 chafe of us has given him a title to us fo abfo- 
 lute, that we are now guilty to no one befides 
 him, indebted to no other but him, obnoxious 
 to no other punifliment than his, being with all 
 we are or have, his flaves, his prifoners, his for- 
 feiture 'y and, when freed by him, his freemen. 
 
 And fince his father is fatisjfied with us in him, 
 earth and hell cannot be otherwife^ fo that we 
 are altogether compleat in him, innocent in him. 
 Can fatan then accufe us ? Yes, but not upon his 
 own account. Can man condemn us ? Yes, but 
 
 hot 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 TsAo? finis. When we fpeak of twofpecies feparately, 
 we call the one c^xT^ initium the beginning, the other 
 retains the nomen generis the end. A common prac- 
 tice in divifions, as a man in genere is in fpecie a man 
 or woman. 
 
 Tot, TfAn rm cxiuvuv are the contiguous extremities of 
 the two asons of figure and reality, fhadow and body, 
 law and gofpeU which are alfo (confidered as one 
 boundary) <TwlsXeict confinium the confines ; and thai: 
 common bciiiidary ^whether you end the son of the 
 law [the oIq teftament ^^y] at the death or refur- 
 reftion of Chriji, at the deftru6lion of the temple, or 
 between both, with the ends of both asons, or end of 
 one and beginning of the other) came in St. Paurs 
 time or his cotemporaries. 
 
Letter X. [ 187 ] Sect. III. 
 
 not as his own debtors. Our debts are all amply 
 difcharged to all in Chriji."^ Rom. viii. 33, 34. 
 
 Again, becaufe all, both men and angels, are 
 debtors to our Lord infinitely more than they 
 can be to one another j all equity, foreign to this 
 oi ChriJl'Sy finks and terminates in the perfon of 
 Chrijl. And hence it is that his righteoufnefs fets 
 afide and fuperfedes all other righteoufnefs, fpread- 
 ing as far and as wide as the univerfe itfelf j for 
 being of one compafs and comprehenfion with his 
 paflion, it grafps the concerns of all his creatures 
 put together. Roni.'w. 5, 6, 7 — 13, 16 — 22. x. 4. 
 
 This is again the reafon that nor men nor de- 
 vils can touch an hair of our heads but by his 
 
 Z 2 leave. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 •3 It is upon this account, and to obviate any per- 
 verfe reafonings that might arife in the view of this 
 truth, that we have it fo often and eminendy related 
 oi Chriji, that he is a righteous and impartial king, 
 that {Heb. \.^) a fcepter of equity is the fcepter of his 
 kingdom; fo i Ccr. iv. 5. A8s xw'\i. 31. ^c. For here- 
 by we are cautioned to take no faife umbrage in an 
 imputed righteoufnefs, which belongs only to the in- 
 grafted and living members of the vine-, whom his 
 imparted nature has cleanfed •, in ivhom he is the hope 
 of glory \ who are lleh. xii. 10. Ihe partakers of his 
 holinefs. Our Lord can with all equity a^Tt abfolutely 
 in his asonian kingdom, as being in himfclf the folu- 
 tion of all debt, and recompence of all merit; yet he 
 will moft furely punilh and reward every one perfo- 
 nally, according to his works; infomuch that injured 
 innocence and injurious power fhall in no inftance ef- 
 cape his notice ; neither fliall the unholy ice him. 
 Heb, xii. 14. 
 
Letter X. [ i88 ] 5pct. HI. 
 
 Ig^ve. Being creatures devoted to his purpofes, zb 
 
 abfolutely his property as a man's goods (earned 
 
 by his labour) are the creatures of his fovereign 
 
 will and pleafure 3 our well or ill-being are by 
 
 all the rights and terms of jufticc at his fole dif- 
 
 pofal. No hell can torment us, no fire can burn 
 
 us but as he configns us to fuch torment, and 
 
 gives fuch flames their commilllon to confume 
 
 us. neither is this any exclufive privilege for the 
 
 ^le6t only; all the verieft bondfmen and flaves of 
 
 |fatan are his property as truly as are the faved ; 
 
 jand muft alfo be reftored, like ourfelves, by be- 
 
 ! ing begotten anew of him. Upon this ground fays 
 
 ot. Paiilj I Cor. xi. 3. He is the head of every man-, 
 
 and not of man only; for [Rom. xiv. 9.) to this end 
 
 Chrijl died^ and rofe again^ and revived^ that he 
 
 might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living 
 
 (or quickened), as it is written. Every knee fljoll 
 
 bow to me J But 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Christ truly tajied death for all. 
 
 *■ OUR Lord had not a mere human body capable 
 of fuffering, as fome have imagined ; but his very 
 foul, by means of his body, was rendered obnoxious 
 to, and fufFerable from the wrath of man. And herein 
 lay the efficacy of our redemption; for this foul of 
 Chrift was the true atoning fon of God, and is that 
 of which he fpeaks Mat, xxvi. 38. My foul is exceeditig 
 farrowful even unto death. And John xii. 27. Now is 
 my foul troubled. 
 
 But the moft aftonifhing account tliat revelation 
 ever gave us, is of that divine dereliction of the foul 
 of Chrift which was his experience at his entrance 
 into his Hate of death. 
 
Letter X. [189] Sect. III. 
 
 But if all this be true how Idle the fuppofition 
 that fatan (hall be the lord of corrupted nature fo 
 long as is Chrift of reftored nature : or that fin- 
 jiers (hall be linners in hell eternally irrecovcia- 
 bly? Does the fcripture teach us fo? i John iii. 8. 
 For this purpofe the fon of God was mam/e/Iedy that 
 he might dijfolve (auo-^j the works of the devil. H« 
 will therefore moft furely diflblve them or re- 
 duce 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 When a chriftian man is faid to die, thereby is 
 ©nly meant that his body, being fo feparated from his 
 foul (which is the quickening principle of his bodily 
 life) as that its vital union therewith is diflblved, 
 ceafes to partake of the foul's quicknefs, and other fa- 
 culties, and fo becomes a iifelefs mafs : but then the 
 foul, retaining the communion with God which is 
 natural to it, ftill continues to partake vitally of the 
 divine fulnefs {John i. i6.) is in God alive and im- 
 mortal. Therefore fays our Lord of the believers, 
 John viii. 52. He that believeth in me Jhall (ou jtx??) by no 
 means tajie death ; that is, Ihall never have the expe- 
 rience of a foul vitally feparated from God. 
 
 But with Chriji the cafe was otherwife; it is faid of 
 him, Heb. ii. 9. He tajled death (uV^p Trxvro';) for all: 
 that is, not that cither his body or his foul corrupted 
 (for he faw no corruption) but that both his body and 
 his foul were in a ftate of vital didinclion and fepara- 
 tion from their true quickening fource; were even 
 vitally difunited from God. Even as his body was 
 vitally relinquifhed of his foul, fo was his foul vitally 
 relinquifhed of his holy father i and it was our Lord's 
 fenfibility of this condition that made him cry our. 
 Mat. xxvii. 46. My God, my God, ijohy hajt thou for ^ 
 faken me ? 
 
Letter X. { ,190 ] Sect. III. 
 
 duce them to nothing ; and how ? In a few in- 
 ftances only ? But his work will be a perfed: and 
 accomplifhed work, extending univerfally to every 
 individual. Yea, if he fliould fail in any fingle 
 inftance, his work in that degree muft fall fhort of 
 the purpofes of his wW], feeing he will have all mett 
 to be rejloredy and come to the acknoiioledgment of the 
 truth ', which is only faying in other terms, that 
 
 he 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Chriji the ( HK ) Lord, or (ttpwtoIoh©^) firft-begot- 
 ten, had emptied himfelf before he came down from 
 heaven i for Phil. ii. 7. (loivrov £y.£uu(rB) He emptied him- 
 felf when he took upon him the form of a few ant ^ and 
 was made in the likenefs of men. Yet ftill, fo emptied, 
 he enjoy'd the fulnefs of his father by a free and full 
 communication and influence from him ■, for John i. 
 14. He was full of grace and truth -, and Col. ii. 3. 9. 
 ^he fulnefs of God (the Godhead) dwelt in him bodily. 
 
 But in his laft extremities the divine influences feem 
 to have ceafed, and our Lord feems to have been 
 quite deferted, forfaken, cut off from all vital union 
 with his God, an event now only feen ; and which 
 we find expreffed {Dan. ix. 26.) by the verb nx: cut 
 off or fevered, as a branch is fevered from its trunk ; 
 for fays the angel Gabriel to Daniel.^ And after 62 weeks 
 pall Meffiah he cut off(r\'^W^ nn^^ j but not for himfelf. 
 
 Death confifts in a feparation from our true life, as 
 its life fupport -, and the father is the true life or vital 
 fupport ot the fon-, what then mull have been our 
 Lord's fenfibilities in this flrange feparation ? He was 
 left as forlorn and naked as ever foul was or fliall 
 be left. And at the fame time he knew that all guilt 
 muft exhauft and confume itfelf in his perfon. In. 
 thefe exceffes of diftrefs, refignation was his refource. 
 
Letter X. [ 191 ] Sect. III. 
 
 he will have all the milchievous works of fatan 
 in every man, to be utterly defeated and invali- 
 dated} he will have all to be reftored to life in him. 
 But belides thefe confiderations, are not lofl 
 fouls declared expreJJJy to be our faviour's ? Are 
 we not aflured that the loft are thofe very fouls 
 which he caj?je to feek and to rejiore -, fo far are 
 thefe from being unfufceptible of refloration, 
 that they are the very dejlined fubjecls of his 
 reftoring power, the reafon that he now is God- 
 man. I Tim. I. 15. This is a faithfid faying^ and 
 worthy of all acceptation^ that Chriji J ejus cajne into 
 the world to reJlore (or deliver) //w2<?r^. Our 
 
 N O T E s! 
 
 Luke^yXvi. 46'. Father y into thy hands Idepofit- my fpmt. 
 
 Had there been now in the foul of Chriji any prin- 
 ciple of guilt or mortality, corruption would have 
 feized upon it; fo then that corruption could not touch 
 him, was an evidence both of his purity, and' of his 
 having life in his own felf. John v. 26. As the father 
 hath life in himfelf^ fs hath he given (b^ooh) the fon to 
 have life in himfelf. 
 
 Our Lord's inviolable condition in this his flate of 
 death, was aUo as mighty an c<'iclence that all that 
 guilt which lay upon him as tlie atonement, muft 
 have been fully abolifli'd on his crofs. 
 
 Think only what an objeCl of aftonifliment mufl 
 our Lord now have been among the inhabitants in 
 Hades ! This point, however, I fhall not farther ex- 
 pofe-, I fliould rather fay upon it, Proctd ejlc profani! 
 
 But the reafon of our Lord's dying, and fo of his 
 rifing and reviving, the apoftle tells us {Ro-m. xiv. 9.) 
 was, that he might be the Lord of both the dead and liv- 
 ing ; i. e. both of them, who fhoulcl hereafter be aban- 
 doned and in a like condition of death •, as well as of 
 thofe, who iliould be his living members, quick in him. 
 
LipTERX. [ 192 } Sect. III. 
 
 Our Lord accordingly flyles himfelf, The friend 
 cf publicans andjinners 3 tells us, that he died for 
 finners while they were finners ; that he was mani- 
 fejied to take away their Jins ; that this taking away 
 their fins, is that favourite bufmefs which iirfl 
 brought him down from the bofom of his father; 
 which moved him to empty himfelf to take upon 
 him the form of a fervanty to become a man of m 
 account y a man of for rows ^ acquainted with grief 
 
 Moreover when a man, it was not any natu- 
 ral infenfibility or hardinefs, for he had a weak 
 and delicate frame of body, but it was the ex^ 
 pedtation of feeing the travail of his foul in the 
 reftoration of finners, that encouraged him thro* 
 all his fufferings; that made his thorny crown 
 tolerable; that allay'd the violence of his flripes; 
 and that fupported his refolution upon the crofs, 
 'till he could cry out with a loud voice, It is 
 fnifhed. 
 
 Luke xii. 50. J haiie a haptifm, fays he, to he 
 baptifed withy and how am ifiraitened 'till it be ac^ 
 compliJHdl and can we believe that this his ftrait- 
 ening labour, his reftoring office, is now no longer 
 his dear concern; that it now ceafes to be his ur- 
 gent employment, his joy, his glory? can we be- 
 lieve that Chrift\ love is abated by his dying? or 
 is his power leffened lince his afcenfion ? is he now 
 no longer able to reftore loft fouls from hades, of 
 feize his redeem'd from out of the grafp of the 
 wicked one ? The thought either way is very un- 
 worthy of him, a bafe impeachment of fo much 
 love, of fo efficacious a facrifice, and of io great 
 an authority. 
 
 SECT. 
 
Letter X. [ '93 1 Sect. IV. 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 Wickednefs Jhall have its due punijhmenf, yetjhallmt 
 defeat our Lord's purpojed rejloration. 
 
 I HAVE often wondered at the weaknefs of 
 people's reafoning for an eternal damnation 
 from the obferved prevailing power of fin, from 
 its abounding as it were in defiance of God, and 
 becaufe, fay they, fuch numbers of the dying 
 mull be daily loft among the damned. 
 
 For what can be argued from hence againfl: the 
 univerfal efficacy of our Lord's atonement here- 
 after to prevail, as now in the firft fruits, fo, finally 
 in all? Does it follow that becaufe the eiFeds of our 
 Lord's facrifice do not immediately difplay them- 
 felves Univerfally^ that therefore they never will? 
 
 Were not the 'Jews declared to be a redeemed 
 people long before that redemption was difpens'd 
 to them? For ages before its accomplishment, or 
 even his incarnation, does our Lord pronounce 
 himfelf the reftorer or redeemer of his people. 
 So If. xliv. 22. i have blotted out as a cloud thine 
 iniquities^ and as a thick cloud thyfms, return unto 
 ihefor I have redeemed thee: Jing O heavens for fe- 
 hovah has done it. A promife not even yet formally 
 accomplifhed, 'Rom. xi. 25, 26. fo If. liv. 4. 5. 
 Tihqu fhalt forget thejl:atne oj thy youth, for thy ma- 
 ker is thy hujband, Jehovah ofhofis is his name, ana 
 thy redeemer the holy ctie o/Ilrael, the God oJ' the whole 
 earth. Again, Jehovah is king of Ifrael, his re^ 
 
 A a deemer 
 
Letter X. [ 194 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 deemer yeho'vah ofhcfis. Again, / will gather them 
 for I have redeemed them. Again, 'Their redeemer 
 is Jiroiig^ ^Jehovah of hofts is his name. Again, 
 Hof. vii. 13. Wo unto them for they have frayed from 
 me^ defruBion unto them becaufe they have tranf- 
 grejj'ed againft me. 'Thd I have redeemed them, yet 
 have they fpoken lies againft me.' 
 
 The whole therefore we can conclude from the 
 thrcatnings againft the wicked is, not that the blood 
 of Jefus fhall never be applied to them, but that 
 (Rev. xiv. ID, II.) they fiall drink of the ivineqfthe 
 wrath of God (ra ^si(.s^oi<T^ivit ait^oarz quod infufum eft 
 non mixtum, that is prepared without gull of hope 
 or mercy, or) poured without mixture into the cup 
 of his indignatiojty and fiall be tormented with fire 
 and brimfione in the prejence of the holy angels^ aftd 
 in the prefinee of the lamb [i. e. with their fulleft: 
 approbation of that dreadful fcene)j andthefmoke 
 of their torments afcendeth up (sk aiwv* aiiavm^^ to an 
 
 ^^^ ^ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 « Here we lee deftruftion and redemption exprelsly 
 declared of the fame individuals •, and that they on? 
 whom woes and deftruftion are denounced are never- 
 fihelefs the redeemed of God. 
 
 ' We find this remarkable expreffion in three placesi 
 o^ tht Revelations J VIZ. in ch. xix. 3. denounced upon 
 the great whore-, inch. xx. 10. denounced upon fatan- 
 the beaft and the falfe prophet; and in the quoted text, 
 denounced upon the wicked. In the common editions 
 of the greek teftamenn the reading in thefe places is £k 
 Tag ocmmq. ruv ouuvuv, to the SEons of the sons. But the 
 authority of fuch reading is difputed, becaufe they are 
 found in Andreas arch-bifhop of C^farea (who wrote 
 
Letter X. [ 195 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 age of ages J 07^ the aonian age-, whilfl they who are 
 rejioredjhall rejoice y becaufe (Luke i. yy) he giv- 
 eth them the knowledge of their rejioration in the re- 
 mijjion of their fins: the foretaftes of which even 
 in this life amounts fo high that (i Fet. i. 8.) 
 whom having not feen we love, in whom thd now we 
 fee him not^ yet believiiig we rejoice with joy unfpeak- 
 able and full of glory. 
 
 We cannot doubt but that it is by the permif- 
 iive will of Chrijl that the principles of fallen na- 
 ture are not as yet abolifhed^ and that, tho' the 
 malice of fatan has no natural tendency towards 
 the will of God, has nothing in itfelf that can 
 produce his kingdom, yet eventually, and under 
 the conduct of our Lord's wifdom, this malice 
 of our arch enemy may greatly promote his end. 
 Tho' heat in a piece of iron will by no means of 
 itfelf conftitutc it aninflrument ufeful to mankind j 
 
 A a 2 yet 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 upon the Revelations in the year 500 or about the 
 latter end of the fourth century, and doubtlefs both 
 had and ufed the beft copies of it; as follows, viz. the 
 former paflages ag oama. aiumv, to an jcon of £eons, the 
 latter £k uiuva. aiwi/o?, to the ;:eonian reon, which are 
 equivalent according to Bengeliush computation of the 
 word JEon. 
 
 For this and other reafons (fee Bengeliiis) the col- 
 Jeclors of the various readings of the new teftamcnt 
 h"eely prefer the reading found in Andreas^s copy to 
 that of the ufual editions of our greek teftament, where 
 doubtlefs we find in many places the wrong reading. 
 
 According to this reading the punifhmcnt of the 
 wicked is not threatened to the x-ons of tlie neons-, but 
 
Letter X, [ 196] Sect. IV. 
 
 yet that heat, by the malliable effeds it gives, 
 will render that iron, under the fhapening hand 
 of a fkilful artificer, fufceptible of all kinds of 
 ufeful forms. 
 
 Gompaflion in God proceeds not, like com- 
 paflion in man, from a weaknefs of nature ; it is 
 the efforts of his pure, genuine benevolence. 
 
 We men are urged to relieve a fuffering fellovir 
 creature from the uneafy impreffions which his 
 fenfations make upon ourfelves. Thefe impref- 
 fions, as God immutible cannot have, fo neither 
 can our Lord (whofe conduct is the copy of, and 
 altogether regulated by, his holy father's mind) be 
 determined by them; as the father's compalllon 
 muft be the fame with his goodnefs, fo muft the 
 fon's alfo attend upon it, and be regulated by 
 thofe great ends he has in viev^^ for his creatures 
 real intereft, to the abolifhing and removing the 
 very root of our difeafe. There- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 sig otmvoc atwvwi/, and, which amounts to the l^me, «? 
 cuavix. eciuuo?, to the jEonian seen. 
 
 But the promifes to the blefied are exprefs'd in far 
 higher terms, ^e (the blefTed) i 7'hef. iv. 1 7. Jball 
 meet the Lord in the air, and fo fiall we (ttocvtoIs cuv 
 Kv/5jw £(70jtA£3-a) ever afterward he with the Lord-, that is 
 our exiflence with the Lord in glory fhall be coeval 
 with his glory. But his glory Ihall be, not fas the 
 punifhment of the damn'd e»? amyoe. oaoomv) to the seon- 
 !an cEon ; but, what infinitely exceeds this in duration, 
 
 viz. Eph. iii. 21. (jk Trcca-a.^ Tocg yiviag rs aiwv©^ ruv 
 
 Kiww) or which feems at leaft to be the fame (ag t«? 
 iumxg ruv cciuvw) to all the generations of the ason of 
 tht aeons, or to the seons of the ^eons. 
 
Letter X. [197] Sect. IV. 
 
 Therefore as God could fee his own beloved 
 child in agonies fweating great drops of blood, 
 and not fpare him in all the miferics of his fuffer- 
 ings, even 'till he bowed his head and gave up 
 the ghofi: : fo alfo are the terrors of our redeemer 
 Chrtft. Heb. x. 3 1 . It is a fearful thing to fall into 
 the hands of the living God; a God (Deut. x. 17.) 
 greats mighty^ and terrible. And yet are our fuf- 
 ferings permitted in his tender love of us : they 
 refult from a beneficence veiled, that it may be 
 the more efFedlual, in the forms of feverity. 
 " Good when he gives, extremely good 3 
 
 " Nor lefs when he denies : 
 ** Even curfes, from his bounteous hand, 
 *' Are bleffings in difguife." 
 
 But for vain and ufelefs miferies, or which have 
 no good event in view, we can find neither ground 
 of exigence, nor place in nature, nor author 
 to produce them j they contradi6t all our ideas 
 of power, goodnefs, mercy and wifdom in the 
 divine dignity ; and have nothing to recommend 
 them bcfides texts mif-rendered, and an authority 
 which it is the profefTion of proteflants to renounce. 
 
 Tho' God may not have decreed one half of 
 the events that occur, yet fince he has provided 
 that every courfe of willing within the poffibllity 
 of the creature's choice, fhall terminate ultimate- 
 ly in real good ; the free will of any creature can 
 ultimately do him no harm. 
 
 Temporal fufFerlngs, however exquifite or laft- 
 ing, necefiarlly fuppofe an end fultable to the na- 
 ture of him by whofe authority they are contin- 
 gently conftitutedi and of confcquence an end 
 
 falutary ; 
 
Letter X, [ 198 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 falutary ; i. c. one way or other, according to 
 the creature's choice, for the creature's benefit. 
 But what is permitted by God as falutary, mufl 
 be big with falutary effed:s. 
 
 In purfuance of this reflection then we may well 
 fuppofe the moft violent infernal anguifh (altho' 
 merely the event of the creature's own will) to 
 be occafionally a produdion of love concealed, 
 having joy and glory, with all the bleflings of a 
 divine bounty, in its ilTuc: and this too infallibly, 
 iince no refiftance in the creature can finally de- 
 feat the gracious ends ofChnJi's facrifice for all. 
 
 Moreover the workings of our aeonian God, or 
 the God of nature, towards this gracious direc- 
 tion of all occurrences, are already, even at this 
 very time, obvious in all men ; as we gather 
 from the apoftle's words, Rom. viii. 19—23. T'be 
 earnejl expeBation of the creation waitethfor the 7'e^ 
 'Delation of the fins of God. For the creation was 
 made fuhjeB to 'vanity (not willi?jgly, but by him 
 who fiibje^ied it) in hope that the creation itfelf 
 JJjoidd be delivered frotn the bondage of corruption t, 
 into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For 
 we know that the whole creation groamth together, 
 and travelleih together until now : and npt only they^ 
 but even we ourfches who have thefrji fruits of the 
 fpirit, even we oiirfelves groan within oiirfelves, 
 waiting for the adoption^ the redemption of the body. 
 
 A late good author whom we will call B. re- 
 marks with a generous franknefs upon this paf- 
 fage as follows : 
 
 " Verfe 19. Cbc ea?ncS erpeftaticm. The 
 
 ^' words denote a lively hope of fomething draw- 
 
 <'ing 
 
Letter X. [ 199 ] Sect. IV. 
 
 " ing near, and a vehement longing after it. 
 " flDf tt)t Creation— of all vifible creatures (be- 
 " lievers excepted, who are fpoken of apart) each 
 " kind according as it is capable. All thefe have 
 " been fufferers thro' iin, and to all thefe fhall 
 " refrefhment redound from the glory of the 
 " children of God. Upright heathens are by no 
 " means excluded : no, nor the vainefl of men, 
 " who (altho' in the hurry of life, they miflake 
 " vanity for liberty, and partly ftifle, partly dif- 
 " femble their groans, yet) in their fober, quiet, 
 " fleeplefs, afflidled hours pour forth many iighs 
 " in the ear of God. Verfe 21. ^|)aU fie }}C' 
 " litJCreH* — Deftrudion is not deliverance." 
 
 Mr. B. here by the whole creation, mentioned 
 of the apoftle in this palTage as fubjed: to vanity, 
 and groaning together for deliverance, under- 
 ftands " all vifible creatures who are unbelievers;" 
 for, fays he, " the believers are excepted, and 
 fpoken of apart:" and whereas the whole creation 
 fo groaning, according to the apoftle's w®rds, 
 verfe 21. Shall be delivered. Mr. B. mufl: mean that 
 " all the vifible creatures who are unbelievers 
 fhall be delivered, even the vainefl of men." 
 
 We make no doubt but Mr. B. will likewife 
 acknowledge that all unbelievers fhall die, perifli, 
 be deflroyed ; becaufe we can no othcrwife be- 
 lieve the fcriptures. But he fays farther, that " de- 
 flrudlion is not deliverance ;" therefore accord- 
 ing to him the whole creation of unbelievers mufl 
 be both deflroyed and delivered. 
 
 And becaufe Mr. B. cannot fuppofe that the 
 whole creation of unbelievers fliall firll be deh- 
 
 vCrcd, 
 
Letter X, [ 200 ] Sect. IVc- 
 
 vered, and afterward deftroyed ; he muft mean 
 that the whole creation of unbelievers fhall iirft 
 be deftroyed, and after that delivered; as has 
 been already obferved on a palTage of Sophocles, 
 fee page 46, the wicked foul ((^u^mirxi) fhall be 
 recovered, after that(a7raA/Jo) it has been deftroyed. 
 
 According to Mr. B. therefore, deftru6tion and 
 delivery infallibly awaiting all the unbelieving vi- 
 able creation, the one, namely, deftrudlion, fhall 
 be the doom, the other, namely, deliverance, the 
 recovery of all vilible creatures who are unbe- 
 lievers. 
 
 Now a type of this our deftrudlion and deliver- 
 ance we have daily before our eyes in the bodies 
 of our fellow creatures, which all die and corrupt 
 in order to revive again into an higher kind of life. 
 
 Let us then fatisfy ourfelves that as Chrijiy is 
 the rcftorer of the world, the world muft finally 
 be reftored ; that as he draws all men unto him> 
 all men muft finally come unto him; that as he 
 enlightens every man that cometh into the world, 
 every man that cometh into the world muft be 
 finally a child of the light; (for this light fo 
 given muft have an end worthy the kind giver;) 
 and that as he died for the fins of the whole 
 world, and in fo dying tafted death for every 
 man, the fins of the whole world are atoned for ; 
 and the benefit of his tafted death muft finally 
 reach every man. 
 
 But before I leave this head, permit me to ad- 
 vance only one confideration more, which is, 
 that fince mankind cannot judge of things but by 
 the fenfations which thofe things excite in us; 
 
 and 
 
LETf ER X. [ 201 j Sect. IV. 
 
 and fince thefe excited fenfatlons bare no real 
 refemblance with the objedts that excite them ; 
 Our conceptions of God, founded upon thofe fen- 
 fatioiis which we call the perceptions of his wrath 
 or anger, may alfo have nothing in them refem- 
 bling any reality in the divine effence : In likr 
 manner as thofe fenfations which we call pain, 
 ficknefs, pleafure, fmells, colours, taftes, founds, 
 have nothing refembling them in the objed:s 
 themfelvcs that raife them in us, have no corref- 
 pondent reality exifting in the bodies felt, heard^ 
 or feen. 
 
 By this way of thinking the fenfations of God's 
 wrath, revenge and anger (excited in the minds 
 of reprobates by the light of their reafon and re- 
 monftrances of a diflatisfied confcience) are like 
 the yellownefs of objedls to a jaundiced eye; which 
 exifls not in the objects of its vifion, correfponds 
 not at all with any re^ility in the things feenj but 
 is the mere effecfts of inward diftemper, vitiated 
 juices, and a ruinous conftitution. 
 
 And to this idea of things anfwcr all the fcrip- 
 ture accounts of the darkncfs of lofl fouls ; that 
 ^hey who believe noty *iiialk in darknefs, that dark- 
 nefs has blinded their eyes : whilfl of believers it is 
 faid, that they are called out of darbiefs into the 
 tnarvelkiis light ; and that God hath fiined in their 
 hearts to give the light of the bioroledge of the glo- 
 rious Gody in the face of jefusChriJl. 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 And from hence alfo we may prefume it hap- 
 pens, that even the holy angel?, and mbft be- 
 nevolent and reafon able of all creatures, will be- 
 hold the mifcries of the damned with all a'ppfo- 
 
 1- b bation 
 
Letter X. [ 202 ] Sect. V. 
 
 batlon and praife : Rev. xlv. 10. xix. i — y. 
 XV. 3. Exod. XV. I, 6, 13. even as God beheld 
 the fufferings of his only begotten, in view of the 
 glorious energies and ilTues which he had decreed 
 to produce out of them. 
 
 SECT. v. 
 
 III. Efpecially of thofe that believe. 
 
 'AVING infifted upon the former claufe of 
 this text as declaring Chrijl to be the re- 
 ftorer of all men, it will be incumbent upon me 
 to account for the word efpecially in the latter 
 claufe of it ; and this is done by fhewing how 
 thofe who believe are diflinguiflied from the reft 
 of mankind by an efpecial reftoration j fo that the 
 illuftrating this difference will be our bufinefs 
 under the prefent head : and this will be fuffi- 
 ciently done in the acknowledgment that the un- 
 believing part of mankind fliall die in their fins ; 
 and fo be left to tafte what death means j or 
 what it means to exift without him, who is the 
 fupport of all life, in a ftate of feparation from 
 God, in the violence and fiercenefs of their own, 
 nature, in a wrath not allay'd by the blood of 
 that man who alone was begotten of God, and 
 who alone is in all his natures the true offsprings 
 of the Deity, and principle of life. 
 
 He who can engage (if I may ufe the expref- 
 fion) the good will of Chrijl^ acquires in him all 
 that his foul can wifh for : therefore fays David^ 
 
 Pfalm. 
 
Letter X. [ 203 ] Sect. V. 
 
 Pfalm ii. 12. KJfs the Jon left, he be angry, and ye 
 periJJdfrom the right way ; whe?! his wrath is kind- 
 led yea but a little, blejj'ed are all they that put their 
 triijl in him : becaule he only can deliver from 
 the jaws of lin and deaths and his audiority to 
 deliver is fure, and what we may rely upon fafely, 
 as fays the prophet i/2?/V?^, xxviii. 16. Behold I lay 
 in Zion for a foundation, a fione, a tried f one, a 
 precious corner Jione, a Jure foundation ( Jer. xxiii. 
 6.) the Lord our righteoufnefs. 
 
 But what then is the efpecial vt{k.ov2X\on of them 
 that believe ? And to anfwer this, we refer you 
 to fobn v. 24. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, he 
 that heareth my word, and believeth on him thatjent 
 me (^x^* ^wrii/ aiwvjov) hath ceonian life, and Jl:all not 
 come into condemfiation, but is paJJ'ed (j^na-^i^riKtv) 
 from death into (f?) life, i John iii. 2. Belovedy 
 now are we (n^v fc/AEi/) the fons of God. (verfe 14.) 
 We know that we have pajfed (^'Mra^i^mccfAiv) from 
 death into life. Heb. x. 14. By one offering he hath 
 perfeBed cconianly (^^jj.^) them that are fanBi^ 
 fed. Eph. ii. 5. He hath quickened us together 
 ((TuvE^woTroircTfy with Chrifl. i John v. 12. He that 
 hath (0 iyj^v) the fon of God, hath life ; and be that 
 hath not the fon of God^ hath not life. 
 
 So that the elpecial relloration of believers con- 
 fifts in that they are now, even in this life, with- 
 out any accelTary fufferings, without any dam- 
 nation to be inflicted upon them, reftored to life; 
 having their fins obliterated, and their perfons 
 accepted, merely for their believing ; they be- 
 lieve and are reftored, at once reftored, and fo 
 reftored as that they pafs from death into lite, 
 'B'b 2 never 
 
Letter X. [ 204 ] Sect. V* 
 
 never tafte what death means, and are in fhort 
 without any previous merit the children of God, 
 compleat in Chriji^ by dint of ffee gift and a fu- 
 perinduced nature. 
 
 In this view of free-grace are defcribed to us 
 the conyerfions of many in the a(^s of the apoftles 
 and elfewhere ; thus the Lord no fooner opened 
 the heart of Lydia^ but fhe believed and was 
 baptized : the jaylor at Philippi was no fooner 
 touched in his heart, fo as to cry out to his pri- 
 foners, Paul aqd Silas ^ What Jl: all I do to befaved^ 
 but he was alfd baptized and rejoiced-, believing in 
 God with all his houfe. The thief upon the crofs, 
 crying out to our Lord, Remember me when thoti 
 cotneft into thy ki?igdom^ was immediately anfwer'd 
 by our Lord himfelf, This day fialt thou be with 
 me in paradife. The eunuch pointing out the 
 water to Philipy (faying. See here is water, what 
 fiould hinder me to be baptized) was iriimediately 
 baptized, and went his way rejoicing. And the like 
 may alfo be faid of Crifpus, and Jujius, and Ser- 
 gius Paulas, and Dionyfius, and Damaris, and 
 Eneas, and Cornelius, and the 5000 to whom 
 Peter opejie^ the gofpel at the day of pentccoft. 
 
 All thefe without any conditionary virtues, 
 probationary works, or initial fervices, received 
 the word and were reftored ; they became With 
 all readinefs of acceptance and freedom of accefs, 
 of heathens chriftians, of the bondfmen of fatan, 
 a quicken'd people, alive in Chrijl: they pafs'd 
 from death into life, even into the glorious liberty 
 of the children of God, and were renew'd at once, 
 by the all-powerful gift of grace. So great is the 
 efficacy of the believing fpirit ! Now 
 
Letter X. [ 205 ] Sect. V. 
 
 Now when one confiders the vafl difference 
 between being thus received in the favour of 
 God for believing only, and the paffing thro' the 
 horrors of hell-fire ; one has abundant reafon to 
 apply the word efpecial to the falvation of thofc 
 that believe. 
 
 Indeed, a man's reftoration being fo eafily at- 
 tainable in this hfe, the guilt of thofe that perifli 
 will be aggravated hereby, and therr damnation 
 render'd the more feverely afHidlive in their after 
 rtate of being ; therefore fays the apoftle, Heb. 
 xii. 25.' Sec that ye refufe not htm that fpcaketh-, 
 for if they efcaped not, who refufed him that f pake on 
 earthy much more fiall not idc efcape, if lue turn 
 away from him that fpeaketh from heaven, for (verfe 
 29.) our Cod is a confu?ni7igfre'. and again, Joh?! 
 jii. 18, 19, 20. He that believeth not, is condemned 
 already, becaufe he hath not believed in the name of 
 the only begotten fon of God. And this is the condem- 
 nation, that light is come into the world, ajtd men 
 loved darkncfs rather than light, becaufe their deeds 
 were evil; for every one that doth evil, hateth the 
 light, neither cometh to the light, Icji his deeds jhould 
 be reproved', and he muft therefore experience 
 the condition of Bjfau^ who, having flighted his 
 birthright, found no place of repcntancej but fpent 
 his tears and earned fuit in vain. Heb. xii. 17. 
 
 So then the difference between the efpecial re* 
 Aoration, and the u?iiverfal Tcdor^thn, is ftill the 
 difference, which, for the prcfcnt a.'on, fubfifts 
 between heaven and hell, between Adam in his 
 ftate of innocence, and a loft foul in the realms 
 of darknefs. 
 
 Where 
 
Letter X. [ 206 ] Sect. V* 
 
 Where the fplrit of God is there is beauty and 
 uprightnefsj and herein confifted the beauty and 
 uprightnefs of Adafn before he fell. So long as 
 he continued the temple of the living God, the 
 beauty and fruits of the Holy Ghoft difplay'd 
 themlelves in him> and he was both the wonder 
 and envy of fatan. 
 
 But having neither uprightnefs nor beauty, but, 
 by donation and grace j the fpirit of God had no 
 fooner departed from him, thaji he found himfelf 
 naked: Gen.m. 10. And Adam [aid ^ I heard tin 
 'voice in the garden^ and I was ajraid^ hecaufe I was 
 naked ^ and I hid imfelf. He was now ftripp'd at 
 once of all his excellencies, and ftood detected in 
 his fliame. Having forfeited the free-gift, his 
 inveftment of immortality, he appeared, as he 
 truly was, a poor, contemptible, apoftate wretch, 
 a fource of mifery and unclean nefs. 
 
 Says our Lord to him, (verfe 11.) Who told 
 thee that thou wajl 7iaked? How didft thou difco- 
 ver this thy condition ? Haji thou eaten of the tree ? 
 Here therefore was the means of this difcovery. 
 And this diltreffing fliame of Adam will be ours 
 alfo, if we die in our fallen nature ; unrenew'd, 
 unquicken'd, not cloathed upon by the fpiritual 
 nature of yefus Chrift. 
 
 The chrifiian nature is that new man which 
 -wt are bid {Epb. iv. 24. CoL iii. 10.) To put on^ 
 and Tjhich after God is created in rightecnfnejl and 
 true hoUnefs. This is [Rev. xix. 8.) That fine linen 
 clean and white ^ the righ^ectifnefs of the faints -^ in 
 which (2 Cor. v. 3.) Being cloathed we fiall not be 
 found naked y but fliail be fecured and faved when 
 
 that 
 
Letter X. [ 207 ] Sect. V. 
 
 that fire pafTeth over us, which {iCor. iii. 13 — i^.) 
 Shall try every 07ies works of what fort it is j for 
 this teft-fire will reach every one j as fays our 
 Lord {Mark'ix. 49.) Every one fJmU be jalted with 
 fre, and every facrifice (viz. whoever has devoted 
 himfelf to God a living facrifice^ as St. Faul per- 
 fuades, Rom. xii. i. i^hil. ii. 17. 2 T^im.'wi. 6. 
 
 1 Fet. ii. y) Jhall be faked with fait (Lev. ii. 13); 
 which, being a fymbol of incorruptibility [Numb. 
 xviii. 19.) relates to incorruptible (or, as it is 
 moftly called, eternal) life, i Cor. xv. 50 — 54. 
 
 2 Cor. V. 4. 
 
 This our new nature is called a cloathing, or 
 a put-on incorruptibility, becaufe it is our's af- 
 fumptively only, and by free gift ; a nature pof- 
 fefs'd by a new birth, or rather by being re- 
 begotten. And becaufe it Is our only title to 
 paradife, and to an accefs into the prefence of 
 the Lord ; it is reprefented as a royal caftan, a 
 weelding garjnent (Mat. xxii. ii — 14.) without 
 which we cannot be admitted into that imme- 
 diate reft which will be the portion of the blef- 
 fed : and whofe difference from their brethren, 
 as yet unreftored, is as tlie difference of that 
 glory to be revealed in the firfl fruits > and the 
 wifli'd for drop of water to cool one's tongue a- 
 midfl the torments of the aeonian burnings. 
 
 And yet notwithflanding all this, againfl: the 
 endlefs damnation of the damned, our text is ftill 
 a fufiicient witnefs : bccaafc the Lord Jftis can- 
 not be the reflorer or deliverer of all thofe that 
 will be eternallv damned : i. e. who will never 
 have any reftoration or deliverance at all. 
 
 lET- 
 
t 20« ] 
 
 J^*#?9j^# #»J^^# #?j!^^* *3^^# #^^* #^ 
 ^* #S^);^# #!5^)f^# *fe^)^# *feS^l^* #S%* *^ 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 T^he property f?/* Christ «^ redeemer may 
 he doom d to ceonian fufferings, 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Tim. il. 6. 
 
 Wh gave hi mf elf a ranfomfor all to be fejiified in 
 due time, 
 
 W^^"^ Very ingenious writer argues for his fa- 
 ^ A §^ vourite point of partial redemption as 
 k^*j„( follows : 
 
 Prop. i. All men who are of the ranfom'd of 
 Chf'ift will be faved ; 
 
 2. But all men will not be faved ; 
 
 3 . All men therefore are not of the ran- 
 
 fom'd of Chrift. 
 His miftake here lies in the word fai^eci, if in- 
 ftead of faved he had ufed the word rejlored, his 
 "• fecond 
 
Letter XI. [ 209 ] Sect, t 
 
 fecond propofition would have been falfe : but as 
 his argument is now worded, his firft propofition 
 is falfe, fince all the ranfomed of Cbri/l will not 
 htfavedy altho' they will be reftored. For I fhall 
 endeavour to (hew that a man may be damned, 
 condemned or accurfed, and yet at the fame time 
 be a perfon ranfomed of Chrift; and as fuch that 
 his reftoration or delivery from that damnation 
 may be determined in the decree of God. 
 
 So that my argument will be as follows. Chrijl 
 IS a ranfom for all men; but many of that all fo 
 ranfomed will be damned; therefore Chrijl is a 
 ranfom for many that will be damned. 
 
 And thus my bufinefs will be to prove the fol- 
 lowing propofition. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 ^he beloved property c/'Chrift may^ for good reafotiSy 
 be damned or accurfed to certain pai?j5 arid penal- 
 ties due to a damtied and accurfed creature. 
 
 MY firfl argument fhall be drawn from a 
 famenefs of nature in God and his Chrijl, 
 Our Lord Christ and his father are one, fo 
 that fpeaking after the manner of men, we may 
 fay that Chrifl and his father have one heart and 
 one mind; that whatfoever the father is capable 
 of doing confiftent with the genuine goodnefs of 
 his nature, Chrifl is likewife capable of doing 
 confiftent with the genuine goodnefs of the fame 
 nature. 
 
 C c Now 
 
Letter XL [ 210 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Now the efpeclal and moft beloved property of 
 God is the man Chriji jefus-y and yet for good rea- 
 fons God furrenders up him, his only fon to be 
 as an accurfcd man, baniflied his prefence (tho* 
 that was his natural right) to be confined in a 
 body fubjedl to all the calamities, diftreflcs, and 
 hardihips of a fallen, accurfed nature; and im- 
 prifoned in an afflidive mortifying world, the a- 
 bode of wicked men and wicked angels, and 
 where fatan his greateft and moft inveterate enemy 
 was permitted to rule as a god. Yea laftly this 
 great obje<ft of paternal love omnipotent, thus 
 confined and invefted in a vehicle whereby he be- 
 came acceffible and obnoxious to diabolical wrath, 
 and forlorn in a wicked world which hated him, 
 was alfo delivered up a facrifice to the malice and 
 cruelty of its inhabitants, by his beloved father, 
 and only comfort, the God of all ; who all this 
 time beheld and acknowledged him notwithftand- 
 ing as the joy and glory of his nature, his bofom 
 delight, his only offspring, his ownfelf. 
 
 The father therefore of our Lord yefus Chrifl 
 is capable of yielding up, for good reafons, his 
 moft beloved property to be condemned or ac- 
 curfed to the pains and pf'nalties due to a con- 
 demned or accurfed creature. 
 
 But as the father is capable to deliver up, for 
 good reafons, the deareft objed: of his love to 
 curfe and condemnation ; our Lord yefus Chrifl 
 is alfo capable to do the like. 
 
 So we read [Hcb. xi.) that in old times, he de- 
 livered up his deareft people among the ews, 
 (of v/hom he tells us, 'The world 'was not w.i ihy) 
 
 int» 
 
Letter XI. [ 211 ] Sect.!. 
 
 i?2to the hands of wicked men to be Jioned, and mock- 
 edy and fcGurgtdy and tempted^ and fawn afunder -^ 
 to wander about in fieepjkins and goatfiins, thro 
 defarts and mountains and dens and caves of the 
 earth ; being dejiitiite^ aJiiSiid, tormented. 
 
 And it has been the conftant obfervation of all 
 ages, that (as fays fujlin Martyr ^ fee his apologia 
 
 primal xara Tvjp TWf cpx'jXuv ^xifMovwu iv^pynccv^ raj (Ttzov- 
 
 nvx: ; ^xp^a.MXTrcii,Xov J'f, X; KirtKovpov, Ji; tou? o[j.oiov^, fv 
 cap'^ovix x) $o^v, ooKSiv, S[j^xiy.oviiV. " Thl'o' the WOrk- 
 
 *' ings of evil fpirits, the well-meaning, fuch as 
 *' Socrates, and thofe like him, were perlecuted 
 " and imprifonedj while Sardanapa/us, Epicurus, 
 " and thofe like them, lived in affluence, and 
 " honour; were well treated, and fortunate." 
 
 And a like argument may be drawn from the 
 fews themfelves; our Lord declares that his 
 love of this people is indefefible; Rom. xi. 28. 
 T'hat they are his beloved for their fathers Jake ; 
 (Rom. iii. 3.) that their unbelief fial I not make his 
 faithfulnefs invalid; for that {B.07n. xi, 29.) his gifts 
 and callings are without repentance. And yet this 
 very people (that is all who believe not on him, 
 and notwithftanding that [Rom. ix. 4.) 'They are 
 IfraeliteSy to whom appertaineih the adoption, and 
 the glory, and the covenants, a?id the giving cf the 
 law, and the fervice of God, a?id the fromifes, and 
 whofe are the fathers) aTe by him conligncd to the 
 damnation and curfe of hell-fire. 
 
 Chrif therefore, as well as his father, is capable 
 of yielding up for good reafons, his beloved pro- 
 perty to the curfc and damnation of hell j to pains 
 and penalties due todamn'dand accurfcd creature^. 
 Cc 2 But 
 
Letter XI. [ 212 ] Sect. L 
 
 But becaufe a proof may be called for to efta- 
 blilh this laft argument taken from the unbeliev- 
 ing y^zfj, J fliall proceed to fhew, ift. that the 
 Jews not believing in Cbrijl are in the damnation 
 of gehenna. And 2d]y. that thofe very Jews 
 who are delivered up to this damnation, will be 
 likewife delivered out of itj or, in the vulgar 
 phrafe, be faved, that is reftored. 
 
 1. T'he Jews not believing in Chrift are in the 
 damnation of gehenna or hell. 
 
 This point will be proved without much trou- 
 ble J not that we have better evidence for it than 
 for the following, but becaufe this is already 
 generally acknowledged, and people moftly be- 
 lieve with the multitude. So 
 
 Mat. xxiii. 15. IVo unto you Scribes and P bar i- 
 feeSy hypocrites^ for ye compafs fea and land to make 
 one proJelytCy and when be is made^ ye make him 
 twofold more the child of gehe7jna than yourfelves : 
 (vcrfe 32, 33.) Fill up then the meafure oj your 
 fathers, ye ferpents, ye generation of vipers, how 
 can he efcape the damnation of gehemia f Mat. viii. 
 11,12. / fay unto you, that many fiall come from 
 the eafi and wefl, and jhall fit down with Abra- 
 ham, and Ifaac, and facob, in the kingdom of 
 heaven -y but the children of the kingdom (i. e. to 
 whom the kingdom belongs) yZW/ be caji out into 
 outer darknefsy there Jl:all be weeping and gnaJJnng 
 of teeth. 
 
 From thefe and many other like tex^, it be- 
 comes a matter paft doubt, that the unbelieving 
 fews have their portion in gehenna. 
 
 SECT- 
 
Letter XI. [ 213 ] Sect. II. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 II. ^hofe very Jews who are delivered tip to the 
 darrmatton of Gehenna^ ivill be likcwife delivered 
 out of it J or in the vulgar phrafe, hejaved^ that 
 isy rejlored. 
 
 THIS St. Paul expreflly aflerts, Rom. xi. 25, 
 26. Blind fiefs is happened to Ifrael in party 
 until thefulnefs of the Gentiles be come in^ and fo all 
 Ifrael ( cru3-/]cr£Ta; ^ fall be refer ed. So alio lays Micha, 
 (ii. 12.) Ifurely will affemble^ Jacob, all of thee 
 (l^i) I ivill furely gather the rcfidue of Ifrael, 
 i. IE. all whatlbcver remains as yet ungathcred^ 
 verfe 13. T^he breaker (i. e. he who breaketh bonds 
 afunder) is co?ne up before them, &c. But Ifaiah 
 exprelTes himlelf in Aill more decifive terms, 
 xlv. 25. In Jehovah fall all the feed of Ifrael be 
 jiiflified, and ( iSSriiT hith) yZw// boaf thcmfelvcs 
 ('SN-itt/> ;jnr S5 "^SSnnn npnr nm^u) this paliage 
 
 when 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " That this word p"iv fignifies to jullifyj or to de- 
 clare or eftecm juft, appears from numberlel's pbccs 
 of the old tefcament. Let the following here luffice, 
 Gen. xliv. 16. What jhall we fay unto my Lord, and 
 ( pnUjJ T\f2' ) how floall ive jujlify ourfelves. Ex. xxiii. 
 7. For I will not jufiify ( p'T^fK ^^ ) the zvicked. Dev.t. 
 ;x:xv. I . And they fall judge them, and Jloall jujiify 
 (p'*T>m) the jujl. Job. xxxiii. 32. Speak now for J 
 dfire to jujiify thee ( -jpli* ). PI. xix. 9. The judg- 
 fnmls of Jehovah are Iruik-, and they arc jujlificd (ip'T2<; 
 
Letter XL [214] Sect. II. 
 
 when we confider the ufe of the general term 
 ( J?"^f Sx ) the whole feed in the iingular number 
 with the plural future verbs ( 'h^T\tr and p^' ) 
 JJoall (plural) boajl themfeheSy and Jh all (plural) 
 be jujitfied ; we muft allow to be as conclufive 
 and emphatical as the words of language can 
 make a thing. The whole feed of Ifrael therefore 
 (who {Rom. ix.) are no^ children of the jit fi, and 
 not the children of Gody who are as yet only (ver. 6) 
 (oi £? Ifl-pa-ix) the feed oflfraeh, and not (of \<Tfa.r{K) the 
 Ifrael of Gon) fiall bejiiftifed, andfiall boaji them- 
 Jelves in the Lord; that (ver. 11.) the purpofe of 
 God according to the eleBion might fi and not of works ^ 
 but of him that calleth. 
 
 This however, to the glory of God's juftice, 
 fhall be after an antecedent fuffering, and an an- 
 tecedent blindnefs. For faith Jehovah, Lev. xxvi. 
 4-^, 44. Andtheyfiall accept the punifjment of their 
 iniquity — and yet for all that—^1 will ?iot cafl them 
 away, neither will 1 abhor them, to dejiroy them ut~ 
 terhy to break my covenant with them, becaife 1 
 Jehovah am their God. And as to their blindnefs, 
 St. Paul tells us, fpeaking of the Ifrael who in 
 
 his 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 altogether. Pf li 4. That thou might ejl be jujlified 
 
 ( j^ivn ) when thou fpsakeji., and be dear when thou 
 
 judgejl. Pf cxliii. 2. In thy fight jh all no one living be 
 
 jufiifiediyr^'^ V^ ^r\ Sd). Ifaiahxliii. 26. Let us 'plead 
 
 together., declare that thou ma}- ft be juftified (p")i*n ]'^vh) 
 
 Ifaiah 1. 8. He is near that jtiftifieth me ( "pniiD ) who 
 
 will contend with me. Ifaiah liii. ii. By his knowledge 
 
 Jhall my righteous fervant juftify the many ( p''li*'' ) for he 
 
 (hall bear their iniquities. 
 
Letter XT. [215] Sect. IL 
 
 his days were unbelievers (2 Cor. iii. 15.) That 
 
 they had a veil upon their hearts untaken away. 
 And fays he (verfe 16.) When it (Ifrael, ETr^rp^)! 
 •np<i ILvfioy) JJjall return unto the Lord^ that 'veilJJ^all 
 be taken away. 
 
 i)0 then we might venture to fay to every yew 
 we meet, Ifaiah Ix. 20. The days cfthy mourning 
 jJmll be endedy thy people alfo fiall all be righteous. 
 For the Lord hath faid, Ezek. xx. 40. In my holy 
 vioujitain — there Jhall all the hoiife of Ifrael ferve me^ 
 the whole of it in the earth. Again, i Sam. xii. 22. 
 For the Lord will notforfake his people^ for his great 
 name fake ; becaufe it has pleafed the Lord to ??iake 
 you his people. Again, Jer. xxxi. ^7' ^hus faith 
 the Lord, ij heaven above can be meafuredy and the 
 foundation of the earth fe arched out beneath, I will 
 alfo cafi off all the feed of Ifrael, for all that they have 
 done ; i. e. maugre all the wickednefs and pen- 
 verfenefs of the fews, the Lord notwithftanding 
 will not caft them ofFeternally. 
 
 And hereto agrees what St. Paul fays of the 
 ^ews ( I Cor. x. I — 4) / would not that youjhould 
 be ignorant, brethren, how that our fathers were 
 all under the cloud, and all paffed thro the fea (i. e. 
 were initiated a people of God by thefe events) 
 and were all baptized unto Mofes in the cloud and in 
 the fca ; and all eat the fame fpiritual food (that is 
 were all nourifhed in their fouls as well as in 
 their bodies by eating that fpiritual food, this 
 being on the part of God given, as well to the 
 unbelievers as to the believers among them j fee 
 ver. 5, 7, 8, 9, 10.) and all drank the fame fpiri^ 
 iualdr inky for they drank out of the fpiritual rock 
 
 which 
 
Letter XI. [ 216 ] Sect. II. 
 
 which followed the7n^ and that rock was Chrift, 
 And in lb doing, the wicked among them ( i Cor. 
 IX. 29) did eat ajid drink da7nnattQn to themfehes. 
 
 And the jewifli fathers being hereby made a 
 people in covenant with Jehovah, their feed (i.e. 
 all the yewi) are likewife io. As St. Paul upon a 
 like occaiion fays, i Cor. vii. 14. Elfe (i. e. unlels 
 the parent be made a covenant member) were 
 the children unclean, but ?iow are they holy. 
 
 However notwithstanding this, the jewifh fa- 
 thers acceptance by perfonal inination, and their 
 children's acceptance for the fathers fake; both the 
 fathers and children, which among them are per- 
 verfe, efcape not the judgments of God. For 
 ( I Cor. X. 5.) with the greater part of them God 
 was not well pleafed, i. e. by a meiolis was high- 
 ly difpleafed, not fparing his own inheritance 
 who wickedly prefumed upon his favour ; the 
 account of which things fays St. Paul was written 
 (verfe 11.) for our admonition^ upon whom the ends 
 of the ages hair met. 
 
 Again this account of the univerfal reftoratlon 
 Q>^ Ifrael, correfponds alfo with that remarkable 
 Chapter P,.om. 1 1^^' where we learn that that very 
 perverfe part of IJrael, in whotn is zingcdlinefs, who 
 are in their fins, enemies to the gofpeU and in blind- 
 7icfs till the fulnefs of the Gentiles is come in ; are 
 notwithftanding, the eleft of God, the objects of 
 his mercy, for their fathers fake, and becaufe the 
 gifts of God are without repentatice. 
 
 This vv'hole pailage avows in terms the mod 
 unavoidable, that not the chriffian converted Jf- 
 rael^ not its believing and ah'eady rellored rem- 
 nant 
 
Letter XL [ 217 ] Sect. II. 
 
 nant only ; but that the very perverfe part of 
 Ifrael alfo, eve?! they who are JJjiit up together in 
 unbeliefs who are not circumcifed of hearty neither 
 the true children oi Abraham y but the imcircum^ 
 cifed and unbelieving-, that that very Ifrael fhall be 
 rcftoredj and that this their reftoration fhall alfo 
 be no longer delayed than whilft the church of 
 the firft fruits of the Gentiles fliall be in collect- 
 ing. For fays the apoftle {Rom. xi. 15.) Thefe are 
 they who are caji away to the reconciling of the 
 world, and their receiving fjall be no lefs than life 
 from the dead; for (verfe 24.) if thou (namely the 
 Gejitile) wert cut out of the old olive tree, which is 
 wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature 
 into the good olive tree ; how much more jlmll thefe 
 (namely the unbelieving perverfe part of Ifrael) 
 which are the natural branches, be grafted into their 
 own olive tree. 
 
 But it is notorious that thefe pafTages, collect- 
 ed in proof of our two lafl points, namely the 
 damnation and reftoration of the reprobate Jews, 
 are, according to the vulgar acceptation of the 
 words favtd and damned, moft glaringly repug- 
 nant, expreflly contradicting one the other ; and 
 yet, fincc they are both notwithftanding true, as 
 they ftand in fcripture ; that is, lince it is true 
 that the unbelieving Ifrael P:dlnot efcape ('ip'cn' rr? 
 yffi/v*)?) the dafnnation of gehenna, and as true that 
 the unbelieving Ifrael (o-w^rirfTaj) yZw// be reftored-, 
 how elfe can thefe two truths be reconciled, but 
 by confidering the miferies of gehenna as tempo- 
 rally inftrumental to the great deligns of an uni- 
 verfal redeemer ? 
 
 D d This 
 
LettprXL [ 218 ] Sect. II. 
 
 This view of things will alfo render clear and 
 intelligible that remarkable paflage which has 
 been the aftoniflimcnt of chrillian writers, found 
 in Rom. ix. 1, 2, 3. I fay the truth in Chriji^ I lie 
 not J my conjcience alfo bearing f?ie wit7iefs in the Holy 
 Ghojly that I have great heavinefsy a7id contij^ual 
 forrow in my heart-, for I could wijh (or it has been 
 my wifli) that I inyfelfwere accurfed from Chrijiy 
 for J7jy brethren^ my kinfmen according to theflfh. 
 
 All agree that ihe apoftle muft not have meant 
 in this place his eternal damnation from Chrijl 
 his Lord as a thing he could wifh himfelf for 
 his kinfmens fake ; becaufe fuch wifh, being not 
 only rafh, but an high ingratitude to redeeming 
 love, would have been very impious. 
 
 And yet a wifh (avo(,^s^.c<, avon. 0.170 m Xpira »jVi/» 
 Toii- cyJs?.(puv [xa^ to be anathemafifed from Chrijl for 
 my brethren^ can be no otherwife underftood 
 than a wifh, that the damnation of his brethren 
 might be his own for their goodj that himfelf 
 could ftand in their place ; and have their curfe 
 transferred upon his own head 3 in which accep- 
 tation, fuppoling their miferies to be eternal, we 
 muft likewife fuppofe that St. Faid wifhed him- 
 felf to be eternally miferable, eternally accurfed 
 inovci Chrifl for their fake. 
 
 Some indeed have endeavoured to diftinguifh 
 between the terms anathematifed and damned, in- 
 timating that St. Paul\ wifh was not to be 
 damned, but to be anathematized (/. e. fay they, 
 .facrificed) only for his brethren: but fince the 
 moft reafonable of thefe do however acknowledge 
 that this their diilindion is unwarrantable from 
 
 fcrip- 
 
Letter XI. [ 219 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fcripture, or the jewifh ufc of the word anathema^ 
 tifedy"' they thereby fufficiently confefs that they 
 are altogether perplexed with this pafTage. 
 
 But here, fuppofing the apoftle's wifli, to be 
 a fubjedl of gehenna for his brethrens redemption 
 thence, to have been made in an alTurance that 
 his curfe there would be only for a time, and to 
 the fulfilling an event which his Lord Jefus Chriji 
 defired, namely the reftoration of his brethren ; 
 1 fay fuppofing this, the difficulty at once vaniOies. 
 
 For there had been nothing unreafonable in 
 the apoftle's wifliing himfelf accurfed from the 
 
 D d 2 fame 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "* The greek word ai-aS-c/^a, is ufed to exprefs the 
 force of the hebrew word ( cnn ) hrm •, which a- 
 mong the Jews imports a devoting to be extirpated, 
 deftroyed, and, as far as may be, annihilated. 
 
 So thofc who facrificed to falfe gods were by Mofes 
 (Exod. xxii. 20) devoted to be extirpated ^ as Achan 
 (Jof. vii. 15) was by the order of God exterminated, 
 and himfelf and all that he had was confumcd by fire. 
 
 Accordingly we read this very word hrma in this 
 place in thefyriac teftam.ent (>1^0',j^^ ct-^iQa-LD' [~l(./ 
 PsjloJl^' ^* \oasy J 'That 1 ^;m/^//(hrma aeud) 
 ^Jbould he annthematifed '^from (for Vp anfwcring to 
 the greek word otvo determines its meaning to be 
 from; ^Chriji. 
 
 By this kind of curfc the Jews^ it feems, always un- 
 derftood an excommunication Irom all lociety with 
 the faithful, and from all the bleffings which belonged 
 to them, even from the benefit of their prayers, and 
 from receiving fo much as their public rites of burial; 
 and in confequence hereof, a condemnation to hell-fire. 
 Pfs ix. 17. i'he ivicked Jl'jall he turned into hell, and the 
 nations that forget God. See alio Pf. xi. 6. 
 
Letter XI. [ 220 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fame motive that had already caufed his Lord to 
 be ad:ually and voluntarily fo accurfed. 
 
 There could have been nothing wrong in the 
 wifh, that as Chrift laid alide that glory which he 
 had with his father before the world was, and 
 became a curfe for man j fo himfelf might forego 
 that glory which awaited him, thro' a defire of 
 the reftoration of his brethren. 
 
 Moft certainly our Lord both wifhed and 
 willed himfelf accurfed that he might thereby 
 fulfil his father's defire in the reftoration of the 
 creature, at lead of man: fuppofing then in St. 
 Faid a charity by his Lord's example, and in 
 the pov/er of his fpirit j and it mufl be allowed 
 that he might eafily have willed himfelf a like 
 fate with his Lord, in view of a like end. 
 
 And thus the apoftle's wiili proves great, rea- 
 fonable and generous, an high inftance of the 
 prevailing love of Chrift working in him; and 
 that from a motive, not of indifference to his 
 own reftoration, but of genuine zeal for, and a 
 longing to bring forth, and realize the known 
 defire of his moft beloved mafter. 
 
 Doubtlefs the predominant defire of St. PWs 
 heart was, that he might be found in Chrifty not 
 having his own righteoufnefs, but the righteouf- 
 nefs which is of God by faith : and his moft joy- 
 ful confidence was that neither death nor lifcy nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
 ■Prefent, nor things future, ?ior height, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature, coidd feparate him from the 
 love of God which was in Chrift his Lord. 
 
 But there could be nothing contradictory to 
 this his dodriiie, or this his confidence in a 
 
 wifti 
 
Letter XL [ 221 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 wifli to be only temporally feparated from his 
 Lord, with a view to advance his Lord's work, 
 and in the fervice of his Lord's knov/n inclina- 
 tions; becaufe fuch defire and fuch confidence 
 was alfo in the fon of God towards his father, at 
 the fame time that he left his father's glory, and 
 became accurfed for the fervice of his father's pur- 
 pofes in the reftoration of man. 
 
 It may be obferved that our proofs of the above 
 propofition reach no farther than to what is con- 
 tained in the terms of it, namely accurfed to cer- 
 tain (by which we mean, to fome of the) pains 
 due to an accurfed creature; for we prefume that 
 no inftance can be given of any creature being 
 accurfed to all the pains and penalties due to him, 
 that is to all the confequences of this defedtion, 
 but only to a certain portion of fuch penalties, 
 even to that degree of them which fuits the pur- 
 pofes of God in him, and which as a redeemed 
 of Chrijl is fit for him. And as no creature ever 
 fuffers all thofe penalties which are his due, a 
 creature's being accurfed to certain pains only, 
 can by no means fuppofe him unranfomed; they 
 fuppofe no more than that his ranlom exempts 
 him not from all degrees of fuffering. 
 
 SECT. in. 
 
 Christ a ranjom for all. 
 
 THERE can be no doubt but that they who 
 in this life are reconciled to God in Chrijl 
 will be thenceforth exempt from every tafte of 
 
 niifery ; 
 
Letter XI. [ tzz ] Sect. III. 
 
 mifery; will pafs immediately from death unto 
 life, and will ever afterward be where Chriji is: 
 this is the reftoration of which we have already 
 fpoken as that elpecial privilege of the eled fo 
 perpetually promifed in the fcripture. 
 
 Yet the reft, namely the unreftored in this life, 
 who muft fuffer, will however not fuffer as un- 
 ranfomed, but as the ranfomed of Chriji -y feeing 
 it is expreflly faid that yefus Chriji is the ranfom 
 for all. Upon which words I fliall therefore 
 make a few remarks, fliewing, — I. How Chriji 
 is a ranfom or redemption price. — II. How com- 
 prehenfively he is fo, for all. 
 
 I. HoiD Christ is the ranfom for z/s. 
 
 This the following fcripture texts will illuflrate. 
 Eph. v. 2. Chriji hath loved us, a?id given himfelf 
 for us an offering and facrifice to God^ a fweet fmell- 
 ing favour. 2 Cor. ii. 15. For we are unto God 
 a fweet favour in Chrif. 2 Cor. v. 19. God was 
 in Cbrift reconciling the world unto himfelf 7iot 
 imputing their trefpajjes unto them. Col. i. 19. For 
 it pkiifcd the father that in him all fidnefs fioidd 
 dwell y and by him to reconcile all things to himfelf 
 (having made peace by him thro the blood of the 
 crofs) "" whether things on earth or things in heaven. 
 Rev. V. 8, 9. And the four beings (<w5i living ones, 
 
 /". e. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "^ It has been already obferved (let. 5*% feft. 3'',) 
 that the body of Chriji., being fomehow wondertulJy 
 beo-otten of the Holy Ghoft, was pure and without 
 blemifli, a fpotlefs lamb \ and upon this its purity is 
 
Letter XI. [ 223 ] Sect. III. 
 
 /. e. cherubims) and the twenty-four elders fun7 - 
 
 thou ivaji fuiin and hajl redeemed us (riyopxa-xg) to 
 God by thy blood ver. 11, 13. And I heard the voice 
 of many angels — and every creature which is in ka- 
 ven and on the earthy faying, blefing and honour and 
 glory and -power be unto him that fit teth upon the 
 throne (Adts vii. 56. Rev. v. 7) and unto the lamb 
 («? Taf aiwva? twi/ aiwkav) to the a:oji5 of the ceons. 
 From whence we may learn 
 
 I ft. That Chriji is our ranfom by becoming a 
 facrifice to God. This is reprefented to us ty- 
 pically in tlie lacrifice Noah made to Jehovah. 
 Gen. viii. 21. And fehovah fmelt a fweet favour y 
 and fehovah faid in his hearty I will not curfe the 
 ground any more for maris fake. See alfo Lev. i. 9. 
 xxiii. 13. Numb. xxix. 2. and m.any other places. 
 
 2dly. That therefore the members of O^r/// are 
 a favour oi Chriji (X^ira iMUi^^x scrixev) that is ChriJI 
 is the fweet favour in our perfons, Chri/l in us, 
 as aromatic herbs yield a fmell in the breath of 
 them that feed on them. 
 
 3dly. That God was in Chri/l the facrifice pre- 
 pared, reconciling the world (for the world's 
 convicflion, converlion, and fand:ification, is his 
 prefent and more immediate concern) to re- 
 concile all things (for a general converlion and 
 fand:ification, or the reftitution of all will be his 
 
 after- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 grounded the value of the facrince it afforded; by 
 its value with God, far beyond the whole creation, 
 it became in itfelf a fweet fmclling favour, and (o 
 we in it. Col. i. 21, 22. 
 
Letter XL [ 224 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 after-work) and having already reconciled his 
 members to himfelf : for he is already in his 
 members a life reftored. Col. i. 27. Chriji in us 
 the hope of glory. We are new creatures in him, 
 I Cor. iii. 16. T^he fpirit of God dwelleth in us, we 
 are his holy temple , and by the power of this his in- 
 dwelling fpirit, we bring forth fruit to God, the works 
 of true righteoufnefs, acceptable to God in Chriji. 
 
 4thly. That the voice of men and angels will 
 be (^lyopao-a?) thou hajl redeemed, or ranfoined us un- 
 to God', or we are \hy pur chafed poffej/ion, 
 
 II. How comprehenfively Chriji is our ranfoniy 
 is imported in the words^^^r all (uVf/) Tra^Twv). 
 
 If man, that is human nature, only had been 
 intended in the words (uVfp Trayrwi/) for all, the 
 word (av^pwTTo?) man, would have been ufed with 
 the word (Ta?) all; that is, we fhould have read 
 (uVf/) trxwm ai/^pwTTwv) for all men, fuch being the 
 well known flyle of the fcripture greek.^ Where- 
 as 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^According to the fcripture ftyle, a^S-pwTr^ is ufed as 
 an expletive to all kind of adjedlives where man is in- 
 tended, fo inftead of t»? we read tk ai/3-p«7ro? ; e. g. 
 
 Luke X. 30. Av3"pW7rO? T»? KCCTtQoHVlV. ^ 
 
 Mat. vii. 9. H tj? £r«v a^^•pw7^©J. 
 
 Lukexn. 16. Ai/3-pw7ra tiv©^ TrAao-ia iv<pofri(r^v y\ X^pa. 
 Mat. Xviii. 12. Tt J/^tv ^omi', socv yivnrxi rti/i «v3"pw7rM 
 ixxrov TupoQoiTX. 
 
 And thus we read ai/S-pw7ro? with E3-k^, VufMon©^, lou- 
 
 ^Xif^, [ji.r)$£i?, avg-npo;, J'jxato?, aycc^o;, Trouepog, £p(;3'p0'j 
 £/A7ropo?, aJ'f*?, tvyivrii;, aj«.«pTcoAo?,* Trifof, oiyioi, £U(rfp»)? 
 
 J 
 
Letter XI. f 225 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 as the adjedlivc [ttxvtuu) all, being ufed neutrally 
 without (av^pwTTW!/) men, we may conclude that 
 in it is intended, not all men but, all things; that 
 is, that the all for whom Chriji is a ranfom, com- 
 prehends the whole univerfe, or that Chri/i is a 
 ranfom for all that which himfelf created, and 
 will therefore, in due fcafon, work effectually in 
 all that which himfelf has created, towards their 
 reflitution. 
 
 Accordingly we hear the good angels, even 
 like Abrahmn, rejoicing to fee his day [Luke ii, 
 14.) Praifjig God) and faying^ glory to God in the 
 
 E e highefiy 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 And thus avS-pcjfro? is no lefs conflantly ufed (as we 
 contend it ought to iiavebeen in our prefent text, had 
 not a critical import been intended therej with the 
 adje6live *a(r, e. g. 
 
 Rom. xii. 18. "Kiiru Trxvro^v a.v^pu:7r'.cv Eiaf,vsvovT£i. 
 I Cor. vii. 7. 0£Aw TTiivrcng atS'pwTrs;^- £i>cti wf >tj f^xauTsv. 
 Rom. V. 18. Etf Trai/ra? avS'paTrag £<? §iv,xlu<riv ^uy.;. 
 I Cor. XV. IQ. EA££tvOTJpot TraiTo.!/ avS'scoTra-:/ i(T>ji.tv. 
 1 Cor. iii. 2. AvxyivuiTy.ou-vjr, \)Tro 770cvtu:v ocv^puTruv. 
 Col. i. 28. NawTouj/rs? TrxvTO, av^puTrou^ xj ii^occKO'/zii; 
 •TTXVTa. avS'pwTTOv £y iraicrJi O"0(pia, Ivci 7rxoxfK<ru[ASv irxi/rx av- 
 
 G<2/. V. 3. IlxvTi avS"pw7rM 7r;pirsiJi.yOfA,ivu} p-apVufo^ai. 
 
 Phil. \V, ^. To iTTlEiiiCg V[Jl.UV 'yVM!r3'nT(jC TTXCriV avS'pWTTOJf. 
 
 I 'The/, ii. I a;. Kxi Tracrtv xu^'puiroiS ivx'j-nuiv. 
 
 1 TV;;/, ii. 4. 'O? Trai/ra? «v3"pw7raf ^-fAa (ra.'3-»iv«Jt. 
 
 I Tim. iv. 10. 'Oj fr* aop-np Trxvro)./ xv^pxTTUv. 
 
 Tit. ii. II. H p/aptf T« S-£« r! (Tu}Tr.pi(^ 'xx(riv x-j^puTrai. 
 
 N. B. In confirmation of the juftnefs of this re- 
 miirk [ have alfo produced the above inftances moftly 
 out of Sr. r.'.u!'^ writings. 
 
Letter XI. [ 226 ] Sect. III. 
 
 higbeji, and on earth peacCy good-will towards men 
 [i. e. all the human race) and fo in the above 
 quoted palTage out of the Revelations (v. 9) The 
 four living ones (or cherubims, Ezek. i. 4 — ) toge- 
 ther with the twenty-four elders fung the new (i. e. 
 evangelical) 7^?/^, faying, thou art worthy, for thou 
 wall jlain, and haft redtemed us to God by thy blood\ 
 not that thefe living ones had fo fallen as did fatan^ 
 for the happy angels (of which thefe four arepre- 
 fuiiied to be the higheft) fell not thus j yet that 
 their condition however was fuch as to need (a 
 o-wTiif) a reftorer (ayopatwi/ purchafing or) redeem- 
 ing them unto God by his blood. 
 
 Neither is this ufe of the word (tt^?) all, pe- 
 culiar to our prefent text, we find it applied with 
 the Jame latitude of intention in many other paf- 
 foges of the new teftament. So in Rom. xi. 36. 
 
 I Cor. XV. 28. Col. i. 16, 20. Rph. i. 10. (^a Travm 
 
 the all) Heb. ii. 9. {^'^^^ Trxvrog for all) i Cor. 15, 
 
 22. (TravTf? all) ver. 28. (^v Trxa-tu in all). 
 
 We may therefore prcfume that the joys and 
 pralfes of the heavenly hofts, are the free tribute 
 of fouls delighted with a view of the genuine 
 eflential goodnefs of the divine dignity, and con- 
 fequently of his love for all his works. Thefe 
 rreat and wife beings, infpeding the deliberate 
 delicacy and abundant bounty of God's provifion 
 for all his creatures in his Chrift, are charmed 
 v»'ith a fenfe of his lovely attributes, and beneficent 
 nature. 
 
 Yet then it being repugnant to the conftitution 
 of ^TtG. creatures to admire a partial mercy, a ca- 
 pricious bounty, an irregular, uncertain, preca- 
 rious 
 
Letter XI. [ 227 ] Sect. III. 
 
 rious generofity; this their heavenly love will reft 
 upon the fame foundation as does our earthly 
 love, namely the love of him ( 1 'John iv. 19.) be- 
 caufe he jirjl loved us-j and fo the words {y-r^i? TrxvTuv) 
 for all, becomes a principle ingredient in the cup 
 of angelic confolations. 
 
 Indeed all our affiance in God (or which is 
 the fame, faith) and love of God has its root in 
 an opinion of his natural and intrinlic goodnefs. 
 We can trull: him becaufe we believe him faith- 
 ful, we can love him becaufe we believe him to 
 be lovely. And when we hear him limiting the 
 number of flripcs to be laid upon the wicked man, 
 his very feverity recommends itfelf to us. Deut. 
 XXV. I — 3. The judgei JImII juftify the righteous and 
 condemn the i^icked-, and if a wicked man be worthy 
 to be beaten — -forty fripes he may give him and not 
 exceed^ lejl thy brother fjould feem vile unto thee. 
 
 Wherefore alfo to confound this our idea of 
 our God by fuppoling in him a partial love, a 
 defeafible mercy, a cafual, freakiOi, paffionate, 
 indulgence ; is to fap the foundation and all true 
 reliance on, and efteem of, the divine excellence. 
 
 For if we can fulpedl in any degree the genu- 
 ine goodnefs of God; in that degree we grow fliy 
 of him, withdraw our afftd:ions from him, orini 
 fcripture terms, continue unreconciled to God. 
 
 We no fooner conceive the divine exiftence as 
 capable of malice, or revenge, or unmcrcifulnefs, 
 but our former filial affiance which foftened us 
 towards him, crying within us, abba father, at 
 once extinguiflies into a dread of him; and a fer- 
 vilc terror of his majeffy occupies our hearts. 
 
 E e 2 What 
 
Letter XI. [ 228 ] Sect. III. 
 
 What thinking foul therefore can endure the 
 fuppofition, that potentates of celeftial magnani- 
 mity (hould fing praifes to, and adore a perfonal 
 preference, an exclufive munificence, a liberajity 
 contrived for the bleffing of a few onlyj or in a 
 word any benevolence fhort of univerfal ! 
 
 The praifes of an unequal Lord become hy- 
 pocrites and flatterers, but not natives of light, 
 and capacities of true honour. 
 
 Truth, love and greatnefs are the fame in 
 heaven as on earth j but it is a conftant obferva- 
 tion among men, that the meaneft fpirits, that is 
 the proudell of us, are beft pleafed with abfolute 
 dominion, refpefl: of perfons, and the preroga- 
 tives of power. 
 
 And if to haughty y that is to 7ne(in fouls, the 
 idea of a fupreme power, void of goodnefs, love 
 or wifdom, and diftinguifliing his favourites by 
 dint of authority, be not a difagreeable objed: of 
 worfhip ', it is to be fufpcdled that the exercife of 
 fuch authority, is their natural inclination and 
 delight ; and that therefore an idol of like com- 
 plexion with their own, will comport with their 
 blindnefs and degeneracy. 
 
 
 LET- 
 
C 229 3 
 
 
 LETTER XIL 
 
 7/5^ doEirine of an univerfal reconcilement 
 to God in Chrift, excludes not that of 
 the damnation of the wicked. 
 
 T p 
 
 S I R, 
 
 S E G T. I. 
 
 Redemption and fahafion how different, 
 
 3t*C*)*^E find the followins: fublime account of 
 # W * original nature and triumphant grace. 
 
 Who is the image of the invifihle God, 
 the Jirji'begottcn of every creature (or the whole 
 creation) ; for [Iv avru) in himfelf were all fhijigs 
 created that are in heaven^ and that are on earthy 
 "oifible a7id invifihle^ whether they be thrones^ or do- 
 minions^ or principalities ^ cr pow<TS ; all things were 
 
 created 
 
Letter XII. [ 230 ) Sect. I. 
 
 created {^'i' a^TH) byhimfelf, afid[iU auroi/) unto himfelf: 
 and he is before all things y and (}v dvrca) in him all 
 things Jlood together -, ajjd he is the head of the body^ 
 the churchy who is the beginning, the firjl-begotten 
 from the dead-, that in all things he might be thefirjl 
 
 (Ivx yimron iv troc^iv auT©^ zTpurrjuv which Compare 
 
 with the fyriac ^^jio oia^^ |.c-olj, that he 
 fhould he foremoft in all, or) in all ilmjgs -, for 
 ■if fee me d good that in him fioidd all fuhiefs dwell, 
 €ind by him to reconcile all things unto him > having 
 made peace by the blood of his crofs, by him (Ifav) 
 whether {they be) things on earthy or things in the 
 heavens. 
 
 We will take the following words of this paf- 
 fage for our prefent fcrutiny (verfe 20.) and by him 
 to reconcile all things unto him (^ ^» «'^-^>i uTroyixroiX- 
 
 XCC^XI TO. TTOCi/TX £1? aUTOl/). 
 
 And firft as to the true meaning of the word 
 (aTTsx^araAAagai) to reconcile (the curious may fee 
 it in the fcriptures remark'd in note ^) there, is 
 nothing critical, it univerfally denotes a reftora- 
 tion from a ilate of difcord to a flate of peace, fo 
 that without being detained hereby, we wi^ make 
 the following our firft article. I. By 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " A'7roxaTXAXix]% is to be found only in Eph. u. i6. 
 fbat he might reconcile both unto Ged, and in Col. i. 20, 
 zi. as above. KaraAAao-o-w is found 
 
 Rom. V. 10, II. When enemies were reconciled. 
 
 1 Cor. vii, II. Or he reconciled to her hujhand. 
 
 2 Cor. y. 18. IVho has reconciled us to himfelf. 
 
 19. God in Chriji reconciling the zvorld. 
 
 20. Be ye reconciled to God. 
 
Letter XII. [ 231 ] Sect. I. 
 
 I. By Chrijl to reconcile. 
 
 As the terms reconcilement by Chrijl muft im- 
 port all that work wrought by Chrijl alone, and 
 in his fingle perfon for our reftitution, or which 
 is the fame, our recovery from our fpiritual death, 
 this firft point becomes a matter of fad:, indefe- 
 fible, faft as the creation of God, being already 
 paft and accompliflied. It is of this fcparately 
 and diftindly the gofpel fpeaks, when it tells us 
 that by means of the mofl: amazing facrifice of 
 the body of Chrijl, contrived for that end, man 
 is rendered, of a linner funk in guilt and mifery, 
 acceptable to God, welcome before his holy 
 throne, and in all the charms of a beloved child, 
 pardoned and reftored to the neareft accefs of 
 favour, and reconcilement. 
 
 That tho' to his own fenfe he may feem a 
 poor naked inhabitant of this world, expofcd to 
 all its milcries and liable to all the circumftances 
 of diflrefs, poverty and (hame; that yet he is 
 now as kindly look'd upon of God in the atone- 
 ment by his Chri/l, as if he had always continued 
 his firft eftate of innocence, and that he has as 
 much indulgent love and kind treatment to ex- 
 pert from God, as tho' he had never finned, 
 from his firft creating till now, but were in him- 
 felf as good and faithful as any angel in the 
 realms of blifs. 
 
 For that [John i. 29.) Chrijl is the o?:e Icmb of 
 God which beareth away the fin of the world. Wl^ 
 (If liii.) was wounded for our tranjgrfjions, and 
 bruifcd for our iniquities, by whofe Jlripes we were 
 healed -y for the tranfgrrfjion of his ptople was he j mit- 
 ten. Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
 
 And 
 
Letter XIL [ 232 ] S£ct. t 
 
 And (Heb. i. 3.) "when he had by himfelf purged out 
 fins, he fat down at the right hand of the majefty on 
 high (If. liii.) waiting to fee the travail of his foul 
 fatisfied in the faving effeds of his paffion, con- 
 tent therewith as a full recompence for his la- 
 bours. But then where we read [If xliv. 22.) / 
 have blotted out as a thick cloud thy tranfgreJiotiSi 
 end as a cloud thy fins 5 we read alfo, in the fame 
 verfe, Return then unto me, fince I have redeemed 
 fjjg^^ Whereby we learn that the' the blot- 
 ting out of our fins is abfolutely effedted, yet is a 
 return to our faviour as abfolutely requisite for 
 the defired reconciliation : which brings me to 
 the fecond point. 
 
 II. 'To reconcile unto hi?n. 
 This fecond article is the foundation of the a- 
 poftle's comparifon which we read in Rom, v. 6, 
 ii — 10. For when we were yet without fir ength,'' in 
 
 due 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 a We find ihis paffage in the fyriac worded as fol- 
 lows: But ifCbriJl ^...l.^^^' ^Kq.oLaV.o'\^j^2:sO ' ) 
 
 (j^„*:bo' J..>K.^-/ Ei^is^' ).J-d for a. e. moved by) 
 * Gur debility ' in the very time of it "^died ^for ^the un^ 
 godly -, herein God demonftrateth his love towards us j 
 becaufe if while we were finners Chriji died for us, by 
 how far more the rather fhall we be now jufiified by 
 his blcod, ''and by him ^be delivered ^from ^°the wrath 
 (J.^—.Q--^''' ^' (-£Lj^j' 0UJ30'); for if while we 
 were enemies ^AcLyi^"^ JQU^' ^^Q-i." CAJb^yLj') 
 
 (t«,oi-a-A-wc»::i"° ^ God *is reconciled ^wiih us '^by the 
 death ^ of his Jon, ^by how much Uhen the rather ^ ihra*' 
 his reconciliation ^Jhall we live ^^in his life. 
 
LETTER XII. [ 233 ] Sect. I. 
 
 due time Chriji died for the ungodly; but God com- 
 mendeth hii love to us in that while we wej-e yet Jin- 
 ners Chriji died for uSy much more then being now 
 juJUJied in his blood, wejhallbe [retrieved or) deliver- 
 ed from the defined wrath thro him; for if when w^ 
 were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death 
 of his fen; mif<rhmore being reconciled we fiall be re- 
 trieved (delivered) /;z his life. The apoftle's ar- 
 gument here is a majori, and two degrees of 
 bleffing are fuppofed in it. ift. Our being recon- 
 ciled to God by Chrift. 2dly. (And as founded 
 upon this) the being recovered or faved from 
 Wrath prepared.'' It argues that iince we arc al- 
 ready the firftj we may eafily become the fecond ; 
 that iince we are ahxady reconciled to God by 
 Chrift, we may ealily prevail to be (refcued, re- 
 covered or) delivered, from the wrath which the 
 aconian God will bring upon his incorrigible peo- 
 
 F f pie, 
 
 ■ ■■ ■ - --' -■■■■ - - -,■■■-..:..■ ^ . , ;. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ** It cannot be doubted that there is a wratH con- 
 trived and prepared by the fon of God for ends wor- 
 thy his good nature, and the purpofes ot his jeonian 
 power. We read huke iii. 7. Who hath forewarned 
 you to flee *from "^the wrath ^■prepared (|.|.^_«.a.*,^ ^?^* 
 ^Lik^^). So Matt. XXV. 41. T^he Ionian jire (to r'roj- 
 /w.a(r|(X£/cj/) prepared for the devil and his angels. And 
 verily. Job. v. 17. Biejfed is the man whom God ccr- 
 re^Ieth, for he makethfore and bindeth up. Heb. xii. 7. 
 If ye endure chajlening, the Lord dealelh with yon as 
 withfons; and P/ cxix. 75. i^SLys David, Jehovah out 
 of very faithfulnefs has ajfiihed me, but (Lam. iii. 33 J 
 he doth not affile from his heart (^3^^^) 7uilher grieve 
 
Letter XII. [ 234 ] Sect. I. 
 
 pie, who will not have him to reign over thenfi, 
 who renounce fubjedion to his sonian authority, 
 who fet at nought their redemption by his blood. 
 Altho* we are not faved from the wrath of the 
 lamb merely by our being reconciled to his father 
 (fince others equally reconciled with us fhall how- 
 ever fuffer the wrath prepared) yet our recon- 
 cilement, at the expence of fo great a facrifice, 
 fo forcibly demonftrates an inclination in Chrijl 
 that we fliould become even recovered in his life 
 (and be thereby fecured even from the wrath pre- 
 pared) that we cannot doubt of it."" The oppo- 
 iition therefore in fhort runs thus. If, while we 
 were yet in our abandoned ftate, the love of Chriji 
 could prompt him to die for usj much more, be- 
 ing now by his death reconciled, and in a ftate 
 of favour, with God, may we become refcued, 
 from the wrath prepared for unbelievers. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the children of men. But if wrath, which includes death 
 and hell and damnation, be prepared of God ; we 
 ought to refped it as the gracious work of a good 
 father, as a falutary means to life, as an intermediate 
 meafure towards rendering himfelf the fulnefs of all 
 things, and towards his perfefting the work of {Eph. 
 Vi. 15.) creating in himfelf the two (namely the creature 
 and creator) into one new man. 
 
 " This is evident from numberlefs pafTages in fcrip- 
 ture, fuch as Ez. xviii. 32. / have no pleafure in the 
 death of him that dieth, faith Jehovah, wherefore turn 
 y our f elves and live ye (v. 31.) for why will ye die^ 
 Jjoufe of Ifrael? 
 
Letter XII. [ 235 ] 
 
 Sect. II. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 The fiat e of reconcilement to God. 
 
 THE diftindion I have infifted upon between 
 being reconciled by Chrijiy and the being 
 faved from wrath, is farther evident from a com- 
 parifon of the following texts, as they contrail 
 each other. 
 
 The world damned. 
 I. 
 Mat. xviii. 7. JVo un- 
 to the ivorld (tm xo<r/Aa)) 
 becaufe of offences, i Cor. 
 xi. 32. When we are 
 judged ice are chafieiied of 
 theLordthat weJJmdd ?2ot 
 be damned with the wo?'Id 
 
 Rev. iii. 10. Bccaufethou 
 hajl kept the word of my 
 patience^ I will ke£p thee 
 from the hour of trial which 
 Jhall come f^-- t^ oixa/^jj/v;,' 
 0^^^) upon the inhabited 
 univerfey to try (-^^^ >i^-- 
 
 TotxGui/ra? tin rn; yy]^J the 
 
 inhabitants of' the earth- 
 
 John xvii. 9. I pray not 
 
 for the world ((^'^f^ ^a xoo-jtAa) 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 7. The hea- 
 vens and the earth — I'e- 
 
 The world reconciled. 
 I. 
 
 2 Cor. V. ix. God was 
 in Chrijl reconciling the 
 world (xoT/xo;/) unto him- 
 felf not imputing their 
 trefpajfes unto thejn. John 
 i. 29. Behold the lamb of 
 God which taketh awa^: 
 the fm of the world, (t^ 
 xoT/Aa) Which world is 
 however to be damn'd, 
 and for which the Lord 
 will not pray ^ as the texts 
 incontraftalTureiis. Ac- 
 cording to the wifdom of 
 God therefore, altho'fin 
 be taken away in the per- 
 fonofCZ'r;//; yetfhallthe 
 finner by Chrifl be both 
 condemn'd & chaflen'4. 
 
 I John iv. 14. We 
 
 ha'-ce fcen and do tef.ify 
 
 Ff 2 
 
J^ETTER XII. [ 236 ] 
 
 Sect. II. 
 
 The world damned. 
 
 ferved unto fire at the day 
 of judgment and perdition 
 of ungodly men. Rom. ix. 
 22. Veff'ehof wrath fitted 
 for dejiruBion: yet who 
 the contrail tells us (hall 
 be reftoredj and this can 
 no otherwife be than 
 ^fter their deftrudtion. 
 
 Phil. iii. 19. Whofe 
 end is df^ruBion. Rev. 
 xiv. 1 1. And the fmoke 
 of their torment afcendeth 
 up aonianly who worjhip 
 the beafi and his image. 
 John viii. 24. If ye be- 
 lieve not that 1 am he^ ye 
 Jloall die in your fins. 
 
 Rom. i. 18. For the 
 wrath of God is revealed 
 from heaven againft all 
 ungodlinefs and unrighte- 
 cufnefs of men. 2 Thef. 
 i. 7. T^he Lord fimll be 
 revealedfrom heaven with 
 his mighty angels inflam- 
 tjigfire^ taking vengeance 
 on thcjn that kmiv not 
 
 The world reconciled. 
 
 that the father hath fent 
 the fon to be the refiorer 
 
 of the world (o-wrnpa Ta 
 
 )to(r/A8) John iii. 16. God 
 fo loved the world that he 
 gave his only begotten— r 
 (ver. 17) that the world 
 thro him might be re- 
 
 Jlored (»W (rw9ji xo(r/xoj J^t 
 auT8, fyr. l-jgw J^ Ut vivat. ) 
 
 I John ii. 2. He is 
 
 the propitiation for our 
 
 fins, and not for ours only 
 
 but alfo for the fins (o^a 
 
 ra Hoo-jajj) of the whok 
 
 world. John V. 51. And 
 the bread that I give is 
 my fiefiji which I will 
 give for the life of the 
 
 world (uTTfp T>3f T8 M<T(Jf.ii 
 
 I Tim. ii. 6. WJjo 
 gavehimfelfa ranfom for 
 ally to be teftified in due 
 time; i. e. when the fit 
 fcafon for this teftimony 
 {hall come: and then it 
 ihall appear that among 
 the all, for whom Chrifl 
 \ gave himfelf a ranfom, 
 ' are the ungodly, and un- 
 
Letter XII. [ 237 ] 
 
 Sect. II. 
 
 The world damned. 1 The world reconciled. 
 
 Qody and that obey not 
 
 the gofpel-r-'uoho Jhall be 
 
 pu?tif:>ed with ceonian de- 
 
 jlru5iio7ifrom theprefence 
 
 of the Lord and from the 
 
 glory of his power. 
 
 S- . 
 Pfal. xxxvii. 18, 20. 
 
 'The Lord k?ioweth the 
 
 days of the upright and 
 
 their inheritance JJjall be 
 
 (tonian. — But the wicked 
 
 Jl:all perij]?, the enemies 
 of fehovah JImII be as the 
 
 fat of lambs^ they Jloall 
 confeme, into fmoke Jhall 
 they confume away. Rom. 
 viii. 13. If ye live after 
 the flejh ye jloall die. 
 
 Rom. ii. 8. But unto 
 ihcfn that obey unrighte- 
 oufnefs indignation ajid 
 wrath, tribulation and 
 anguifl:) upon every (vpuxr'v 
 ai^^pwVa) fold of man that 
 doth evil, of the few fir/1, 
 and alfo of the Greek. 
 Rev. XV. I. The feven 
 Iflfi plagues, for in them 
 
 {j-TiXicrhy^ 6:-/!x(^) is fi~ 
 
 nified [or confujnmatcd) 
 the wrath of God, 
 
 righteous J whole doom 
 it is to be punifhcd with 
 aeonian dell:rud:ion from 
 theprefence of theLoRD, 
 or Jehovah, who is both 
 
 their creator& redeemer. 
 S- 
 I Cor. XV. 22. As in 
 Adam all die, even fo in 
 Chrift fiall all be made 
 alive ; but every man in 
 his own order: Chrift, the 
 firft fruits, afterwardthey 
 that areChrif sat his com- 
 ing; and after this, the 
 reft; viz. they that are 
 periflied and confumed 
 away by tlie wrath pre- 
 pared. {7ra.vT'.i; ^(oo7roir>hTou- 
 
 ra^- ) all Ihallbe quickened. 
 6. 
 Heb. ii. 9. He tafled 
 death for every one. — 
 John xii. 32. And /, 
 when I am lifted up from 
 the earth, will draw all 
 unto me, (7ra>Ta) Can. 
 Lin. Copt. Goth. Lat. 
 Sax. Iren. Ambr. Hie- 
 rom. Leo. Cyril. Auguft. 
 et alii. 
 
 For 
 
Letter XII. [ 238 ] Sect. II. 
 
 For if the world (as Is }iere proved) tho' re- 
 conciled by Chriji unto himfelf, and tho' its {in 
 be taken away, fhall neverthelels be judged or 
 damned; is nevcrthelefs without the prayer of 
 Chriji for it; if not withflan ding Chriji be the re- 
 ftorer of the world, yea fent into the world of the 
 father, that the world thro' him might be faved, 
 that is reflored; yet the ungodly in it fliall be 
 prepared and fitted for defi:rud:Ion, and referved 
 to the fire of the judgment day; ifChri/i may be fo 
 a propitiation for the fins of the who\e world, as he 
 is for their fins who are faved ; may be the bread 
 given for the life of the whole world, as for the 
 life of the eled:; and yet that fame world for its 
 unbelief may die in its lins, may be deflroyed and 
 t)urnt aeonianly: then are the ftate of reconcile- 
 ment and the flate of damnation lb far compatible, 
 as that the world may be both the one and the 
 other in varying refpecfts at the fame time; re*- 
 conciled to God, and condemned of C^n//: and 
 fo the difference here argued for (viz, between the 
 being reconciled by Chri/i, and the being faved 
 from wrath prepared) mufl be fcriptnral. 
 
 Tho' Chriji be a ranfom for all, yet will he 
 take vengeance on the moft part, and deftroy the 
 ungodly asonianly; and tho' all who die in Adam, 
 even all men, fhall be requickencd in Chriji; yet 
 fhall all fuch of thefe as lived after the flefli die, 
 and confume away into fmoke as the fat of lambs. 
 Becaufe tho' Chriji tafled death for every man, 
 and draws 'all men unto him, yet his juflice fhall 
 alfo have its perfedl work; and no foul of man, 
 unreformed from evil, fliall efcape the wratJiHlMl 
 God, or be delivered from the anguifli ot his" 
 damnajtion. Laflly 
 
 / 
 
Lbtter XII. [ 239 ] Sect. IL 
 
 Laftly then, what mean we by being faved 
 from the wrath prepared? I anfwer, we mean 
 the being fo recovered or reftored unto God in 
 this hfe, as to be deUvered from that wrath which 
 mufl fall upon the unreftoredj and which will be 
 their doom 'till their day of reftitution fhall like- 
 wife come; when a difpenfation of that life which 
 quickens the now in Chrijl^ being made to them, 
 will alfo quicken them, and fo render them re- 
 conciled unto God in Chrijl together with us. 
 
 When we are reconciled to God his peace lives 
 within US; and the means hereto is our abfolution 
 in Chriji^ difpenfed to us in a fenfibility of our ac- 
 ceptance thro' Chriji. And becaufe this fenfibility 
 afi^e<fts our hearts in a fpirit of believing, the terms 
 faith in Chriji^ and reconcilement by Chrijl, be- 
 come reciprocal, and that juftly; for the believer 
 feeing himfelf to be the redeemed of God, the 
 ranfomed of Jehovah, the delire of his creator, 
 opens his heart to this conception, and receiveth 
 it as his confolation; and in the charms of this 
 light, he enjoys a peace which in other words is 
 called the being reconciled unto God. 
 
 So then, reconcilement unto God is the refult 
 of a man's believing that God is attached to him 
 in his Ch'i/}, by the ftrongeft ties of love and al- 
 liance; that God is his father in Chrifty and that 
 in this alliance he has nothing to expe<0: but dif- 
 penlations of bounty continually. Moreover, be- 
 caufe Cbri/} is conceived by him as the founda- 
 tion and caufe of this his acceptance with God; 
 Chri/l is the firft objed of all his hope and con- 
 fidence, and confequently his reconcilement be- 
 gins in him. 
 
 He 
 
Letter XIL [ 246 ] SicT. 11. 
 
 He who believes that the good will of God iS 
 the pure fountain of all that is good and delirable, 
 muft naturally unite himfelf to the will of God, 
 in proportion to the firmnefs of fuch his belief. 
 So again, he who believes that the love of Chrijl 
 towards him is the caufe of all his favour with 
 God ; muft as naturally unite himfelf to Chriji m 
 a love proportionable to the firmnefs of fuch his 
 belief. And fuch uniting of our affe6lions to 
 Chrift is called our being reconciled unto Chriji. 
 
 The unbeliever has doubts concerning the dy- 
 ing love of yefuSy he fufped:s it to be pretended, 
 not genuine, not cordial, not from a bottom 
 principle of difinterefted tendernefs; he therefore 
 fears that this will of Chriji may have felfifh pur- 
 pofes in view, and that in purfuit of thefe it may 
 lead him into difgrace and poverty and mifery; 
 at leaft that it will withold from him the free 
 ufe of many of the good creatures. 
 
 On the other hand when his faith hath taught 
 the believer that the dying love of Jefus is cordial, 
 genuine, unfeigned, even from a central principle 
 of pure affection; he then begins to defire no 
 creature but from the hand of his Lord only, 
 and to will, both for himfelf and all mankind, 
 all that and that only which he thinks is the will 
 of Chriji for himfelf and them: and hence it is 
 that you find him, thro' all his fecular dealings 
 and concerns, equitable, upright, affedionate; he 
 is therefore fo, becaufe he dares venture on the 
 word of God and its teftimony of reconciliation 
 as no deceitful prefumption. 
 
 And herein confifted the flrength of thofe holy 
 men of old, penecuted only for being fo, of whom 
 
 St. 
 
Letter XII. t 241 ] Sect. XL 
 
 St. Paul tells us in his epiftle to the Hebrews-, 
 (chap, xi) that they wandered about in fjeep Jkins 
 and goat Jkins ^ in defarts and mountains and caves 
 of the earthy being dejiitutey ajiidfed, tormented^ of 
 whom the world was not worthy. Their faith told 
 them that they were the Lord's property as much 
 as his holy angels were 5 and in this confidence, 
 they refigned themfelves blindly into their Lord's 
 hands to be either rich or poor, happy or mifer- 
 able in life, as their Lord pleafed for them. 
 
 When the fufferings of our Lord can reach a 
 man's heart with a convidlion of the fincerity of 
 his dying love 5 when thefe have taught a man that 
 he is dear, defirable and precious in the eyes of 
 his God ; then only can he defire nothing out of 
 the will of God, and fear nothing in the will of 
 God: then are the goods of life to him only fo far 
 good as they come from his God, and the misfor- 
 tunes of life he refpedts as allotted him in view of 
 his true intereftj having in his eftimation no ca- 
 fual occurrences, or works of chance. 
 
 Hunc neq-y paupei'ies ?ieq'y mors neq; luncula terrejit-, 
 Refponfare cupidinibuSy contemnere honor es 
 Fortis: & in Chrifto toiuSy teres, atq-y rotundus.-—^ 
 In quem inanca femper ruit fortuna. 
 
 Untcrrify'd by want, or chains or death; 
 Brave'to repulfe importunate delire; 
 To all the promifing? of honour deaf; 
 Round and intire in Chrljl his Lord, his all. — 
 Againfl him hoilile fortune vainly points 
 Her efforts, always worfled in the charge. 
 
 Believing this his Mafler's unfeigned love of 
 liin\, he unites himfclf without refer\'e to his holy 
 G g Willi 
 
Letter XII. [ 242 ] Sect. II. 
 
 will; and in this attachment profperity and ad- 
 verfity begin to lofe their names with him. 
 " His Lord's his all, nor finds he in the whole 
 " Creation ought, but God and his own foul." 
 
 His contented heart, receiving all that comes 
 from the hand of God with faith and thankfulnefs, 
 regards even life and death as alike welcome ; for 
 which ever offers itfelf, this is at once confidered 
 by him as the beft paifage to his truefl confolation. 
 And to live in this belief is to be holy, for the 
 will of our God is the meafure of true holinefs. 
 
 This do&ine may appear indeed very unrea- 
 fonable to the reafoning foul, becaufe the powers 
 of our human underftanding being converfant 
 only with fenfible objedls, we cannot judge rea- 
 foningly but by reflections drawn from fenfible 
 nature; whereas the word of God (having its 
 foundation in truths that fi:and upon celeftial fit- 
 nefiTes, which are invifible, and incomprehenfible 
 to our human judgment) tranfcends all meafures 
 of human reafoning. And hence it is that the 
 fcripture fometimes foimds fo ftrange to us, and 
 that its precepts feem to want what we men call 
 common fenfe. 
 
 But altho' the divine fitnefs of thefe truths may 
 be beyond the length of our fathom, yet as they 
 are truths conceivable enough by their analogy 
 with worldly things, and are certainly pronounced 
 by the mefl'engers of God; they ought to be fa- 
 tlsfadory to us, and gratefully entertained by us, 
 in defiance of human reafoning. 
 
 When therefore we are bid to cleave unto the 
 Lordy to belie'-ce 07ily in yefus, to truji in the living 
 God, not to doubt in our hearts^ to ajk in faith 
 
 nothing 
 
Letter XII. [ 243 ] Sect. II. 
 
 nothing doubting^ for that all things are pojjible to 
 him that helieveth: that without fatth it is impojjible 
 to pleafc Godj for that ichatfocver is net of faith is 
 fin : that the fearful and unbelie^-cing Jl:all ba've their 
 part in the lake of fire ^ which is the fecond death \ 
 that the wrath of God abideth on thenty that they 
 fiall not fee life ; but that they fjall die in their fins y 
 becaife they belie've 7iot that yejlis is the Chrifi-y and 
 farther, that God confumes their days in vanity be-^ 
 caufe they belie've not on him. 
 
 I fay reading thefe truths pronounced by the 
 word of God, we are to prefume that there is a 
 depth of divine wifdom in them j that our Lord s 
 command belieijey muft be founded upon a reahty 
 in nature, muft reft upon divine proprieties^ and 
 that the title which fuch behef can give us to the 
 bleffings of God in Chrifl is infalhble. 
 
 Our Lord afTures us that in order to work the 
 work of God we have only to believe , for Johji 
 vi. 28. T'his (fays he) is the work of God y that you 
 believe on him whom he hath fent. We are to believe 
 (Rom. iv. 18.) In hope againft hope (i Cor. ii. 13.) not 
 as 7nans wijdom teacheihy but as the holy ghoft teach cth 
 (2 Cor. i. 9.) tru/iing not in ourfeheSy but in Gcdy 
 who raifeth the dead. And whereas all our right or 
 title, is founded folely on, and is fiifliciently in 
 the grant of God (for as we have no right to any 
 thing but by his grant, fo in it we may have a 
 right to all things, becaufe all things are his) our 
 rail and command from God to believe, muft be 
 our fufflcient qualification to the throne of grace: 
 and diis qualifying belief is that which the apoftlc 
 means, Vv'hcn lie fays (2 Cor. v. 20.) We pray you 
 m Chrifi.'s flcad be sou reconciled to God. 
 
 ' G - 2 L E T- 
 
[ 244 ] 
 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 7T)e efficacy of Cu'b.i^t'* s facrijice muji ex- 
 tend to all his creatures* 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Col. i. 20. 
 
 By him to reconcile all tf)in0fif to himfelf, 
 
 S^^^^REATING on this palTage in my lail 
 ^ T ^ letter I fliew'd two things, ifl. that the 
 s5-%5r^ word to reconcile by Chriji, refped:- 
 ed Chrifi\ perfonal atchievements as 
 our redeemer, or, in the words of the fcrip- 
 ture, his having made peace {oio, t« di[j,aT<^ t8 r^c-jjjs 
 Kvra) by this blood and crofs, or fy the blood of his 
 crofs: and 2dly. that by reconciling the creature 
 (lie a-jTo>) unto Chi'ijl^ was meant his rendering 
 them of enemies believers, by which is meant his 
 producing in them (probably thro' a gradual pro- 
 ccfs) an yielding to him, a being pleafed with 
 him, a being delighted in him. „ 
 
J1,ETTER XIII. [ 245 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Our terms thus fettled the thing taught is 
 
 ( VJ^OX.Yi(T£ J't OCVTH £tf OiVTOV aTTQy.XTOCKKx^Xi rx irX'jTO, \ 
 
 it feemed good (i. e. to God) by him unto him- 
 jfelf to reconcile all things, or as in the fyriac 
 
 ^y^V}!S o^ ClJ^' Ca-i.v^^' OL^|..^o' 'and 
 by 'him 'to reconcile ' to him ^ aW things ivhat- 
 every i. e. that the decree of God is to reconcile 
 the loft affections of all things" towards him, 
 (namely ChriJI) to render him (namely Chri/l) 
 the complacency, the pleafure, the delight of all 
 things; for that it is his gracious purpofe, the 
 purpofe of his good pleafure, that all things may 
 find their comfort, confolation and plenitude of 
 joy in Chj'ijl. 
 
 The four chief points of chriftian knowledge arc 
 
 ift. That human nature, or man, having loft 
 his life in God, has within him a natural hatred 
 of, and enmity againft God. 
 
 2dly. That in order to his recovering a genu- 
 ine love of God, his loft life in God muft be 
 recovered. 
 
 3dly. That this recovery can no otherwife be 
 made, than by his having the chriftian nature 
 imparted to him. 
 
 4thly. That he can no otherwife have the 
 chriftian nature imparted to him, than by being 
 regenerated in Chrijl. 
 But 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ The' ra TTxvrx bc literally rendered all things^ yet 
 with equal propriety in the greek tongue, it alfo ex- 
 prefles all perfons, i. c. all intelledlual being*?; for 
 the greeks often apply the coUetflive neutral adjeflive 
 to perfons. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 246 ] Sect. I. 
 
 But all things fhall be reconciled to God, 
 therefore all things fliall again love God, there- 
 fore all things iliall recover their loft life in God, 
 therefore all things fliall be regenerated in Chriji, 
 
 Now if this regeneration of all things be the 
 decree of God, his good pleafure (as the words 
 of our text to reconcile ail things to himfelf do moft 
 naturally import) no chriftian man ought to 
 doubt of its due accomplifliment. 
 
 But fince moft of our commentators here ob- 
 jedl againft the compreheniivenefs of the term 
 TQi TravTos, and argue that by all things is only to 
 be undcrftood fome things, we ftiall in the next 
 place examine the expreliion t« Travra, which we 
 render all things. 
 
 SECT. L 
 
 ^be latitude of the exprejjion ru Tra.wa, all things. 
 
 BEZA and his party^ contend that by the 
 term all, is intended all the members (i. e. 
 thofe who in this life become the members) of 
 
 Chrijl\ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Omnia ^ roc ttxvtx, fccpe jam annotavimus to xaS-oAx 
 frequenter apud Paulum ad id de quo agitur ejfe rejtrin- 
 gendum^ ut {i Cor. xv. 28. and vi. 12. and viii. i.; 
 et alibi f^penumero. Sic ergo hoc in loco qiuim de media - 
 toris officio di]Jeratm\fit autem mediator folis ele^is dcjti- 
 natiis, appellatione twj Trai/rxv intelligo totum ipfms Ex- 
 clefue Corpus^ quod pojiea in duas veluti partes dividitur : 
 7iempe in ea quisfunt in c^elis (fcilicet Jideles ante Clrijil 
 
Letter XIII. [ 247 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Chrift\ church, or the whole collefted body of 
 the eled: or chofen^ while on the other hand the 
 arminian party, with all thofe of like perfuafion,*' 
 contend that by the words all things is indeed in- 
 tended both men and angels, that is, fay they, 
 not the wicked of either fort, but all the good, 
 for that all that are good of both men and an- 
 gels fliall be colled:ed together, and united into 
 one perfed whole in Chri/i^ while the bad, hav- 
 ing no part or Ihare in this (^lavxiis(pxKoiiu(ng ) reca- 
 pitulation, mufl continue in their ftate of repro- 
 bation as beings loft beyond redemption. 
 
 But we cannot judge of thefe pafTages with 
 either of thefe parties ; becaufe while the term 
 ALL THINGS is fo often repeated in the former 
 part of the context, in the moft comprehenfive 
 
 accep- 
 
 N O T E S. 
 
 adventum mortuos) i^ ea qiide funt in terris (fcilicet eos 
 quos Chrijlus vivos deprehendit^ vel qui funt ejus adven- 
 tum ccnfequuti. Beza in Ephef. i. 10. Annot. 
 
 Again, ra -Kxyra.^ i. c. univerfaw ecclefiam^ quomcdo 
 jam pluribus expofui (Eph. i. 10.) Bcza in Col. i. 20. 
 Annotat. 
 
 ^So fays alfo Grotius, in his annotations on Ep. i. 10. 
 Afitea inter angelos fa£liones erant^ £5? ftudia pro populisy 
 videY)din. x. 13 — 20. xii. i. e t adde ^ohumiv. 18. Ea 
 fujlulit Chrifius^ Rex fa5lus etiam angelorum, unum ex tot 
 populis fibi populuni colligens, cui angeli minijlerium nunc 
 dcbeant. Heb. i. 14. vide exempla a^ v. 19. xii. 
 II. xvi. 26. xxvii. 23, 44. addeVi-Sit. 18. 10. 6f 
 
 1 Cor. xi. 10. Ubi de angelis agitur. Again, Ad 
 
 Chrijli regmtm^ quod in angelos ejl adepUis^ nonnuUi refer uut 
 id quod efi (Col. i. 16.) quia xrlC^uv creare^ fccpe ordinal i- 
 onem novam fignifcat, Certe ut pleraque ep:JtoU ad Co- 
 
Iett ER Xili, [ 24§ ] Sect, t 
 
 acceptation of the wofds, with what fhew of 
 probability can we confine its meaning in the lat- 
 ter part of the fame paragraph ? 
 
 We read (verfe 16, 17.J By him ivere all thingi 
 created that are in heaven, and that are on earth, 
 infible and in-vifibk, ivhether they be thrones, domi- 
 7iions, ■principalities, or powers, all things were cre~ 
 ttted by him and for him, and he is before all things, 
 and by him all things confifi. ,Now if the all 
 THINGS here fpoken of mufh mean univerfally 
 all, all both good ^nd bad; why muft all things 
 in the conclufion of this period mean dl the good' 
 only, and not the bad ? If in the term all things 
 it is declared that both good and bad were equal- 
 ly created by him and for him ; if by the all 
 things confifling in him, and by his being before 
 
 all 
 _ _ _ _ _ _ 
 
 hjfenfes cum hac epijioh congriiunt, ita i^ locus ijie huic 
 hicem adferre & incijfiryi ab eo luceni mutuari videtur. — 
 Nunc mutata omnia, conciliati et deo et inter fe utriufq\ 
 generis homines qui vocationi faruere. — Item angeli, a no- 
 bis, tanqtim peccatoribus i^ apojlatis, avulfi ^ elienati, 
 jam nohifcum reconciliati, i^ in unum idemque confortium 
 &' corpus, Jub Chrijlo capite, nobifcum colle£ii [tint, ut pa- 
 fiter utrique deo conjiin£li, communem Beatitudtnem ob- 
 tineant. Angeli Omnes, infenft geniibus ob idololatricos 
 cultus, favent iifdem nd Chrijlum converjts, iifque propter 
 Chrijiuni libentur injerviunt, ut ad angelicam dignitatem 
 vocatis — Jtid^i alienigenas oderant ut idololatras : genti- 
 bus invift judd^i ob injtitutorum diverfitatem (qua de re 
 diximus libro 2"° de jure belli 6f pads xv. 9 J. — nu7ic 
 qui ex utroq-, genere r^d Chrijtum "jeniurJ, amici, imo 
 fr aires, inter fe, umis Jimul dei populus. Grotius an- 
 notat. on Euh. i. 10. 
 
Letter XIIL [ 249 ] Sect. L 
 
 all things, and by all things being made for him, 
 we are to underftiind all things imi'verfally^ all 
 things bad as . well as good j from what rule ox 
 form of fpceeh are we to difcover that by the all 
 things reconciled to him, is to be meant only 
 all the good, and not all the bad ? 
 
 There was an heatheniling party of chrlftians 
 in the 2d century who perfuaded themfelves that 
 the world was not nlade by the Logos or word 
 of God. : to thefc were objefted the very words 
 of St. Paul above-mention'dj and at that time 
 the words (-ra ttccvju) all things, were fo forcible 
 that the adverfary knew not how to refifl: them. , 
 
 If it be afked why thcfe words (t« Tra.vrc.) all 
 things will not work a like eonvidion on another 
 occafion now a-days, the only anfwer is, that if 
 taken in fo comprehenfive an acceptation, the 
 fcripture term ( sau^^io; ) jeonian, cannot mean 
 cternah 
 
 For if all things are reconciled to God,-, and 
 if God Ihall quicken all things, then will no 
 creature be damned to all eternity ; but, lay our, 
 opponents,- fome creatures will be damned to all 
 eternity, and therefore the terms all things muft 
 not be here underflood in their exten.Gve fig-nifica- 
 tion, or as meaning all intelle(fhial creatures. 
 
 They allow that ('^. 7r^i/ra) all tilings, are ap- 
 plied without diilindion, in the paflage quoted,- 
 to both the created and reconciled $ and yet not- 
 withftanding this, they boldly diilinguiih between 
 the all things created, and the all things to be 
 quickened, that they may not be forced to quit 
 the point of eternal damnation. 
 
 II h . We 
 
Letter XIII. [ 250 J Sect. L 
 
 We read therefore as in our text, T^hat it h 
 the father s good pleafure by Chriji to reconcile alt' 
 things to bimfelf whether tbijigs on earthy or things 
 in heaven. Eph. i. 10. T^hat he will gather toge- 
 ther in one all things in Chriji^ both which are in 
 heaven and which are on earth, i Tim. vi. 13. Hhat 
 he quickeneth (or is in the a(5tual work of quick- 
 ening) all things. That (Rom. xi. 36.) of hinty, 
 and to {or for) hint' are all things, i Cor. xv. 28. 
 '^kat all things fiall be fubordinated unto him^ as 
 himfelf fhall alfo be fubordinated to his father; for 
 that {Jieb. ii. 8.) the father hath (by promife)^^^2' all 
 things in JubjeBion unto him 3 althd we hitherto fee 
 not all things infubjeBion unto him\ and that (Heb. 
 ii. 10.) all things being made by him and for him^ he 
 fhall in the end [Eph. iv. \o.) fill all things. I 
 fey we read in thefe feveral palTages the words 
 all things, without any meaning, left they {hould 
 affirm more than we like to believe, the reftitu- 
 tion of all things. 
 
 We refolve to believe that fome things fhall 
 never be reftored, and then affirm that the words 
 all things muft not comprehend all the loft, but 
 only thofe of them who in this life are reftored. 
 
 For tho' it be acknowledged that we have no 
 better authority to limit the natural import of the 
 terms, all things^ than to change them for fome 
 other ; yet rather than that we ffiould doubt of 
 an eternal damnation, thefe terms muft be limit- 
 ed, even to fuch a degree, that all things Ihall 
 not only mean fome things, but a few things, yea 
 a very few things, even thofe only who are enter- 
 ing into the fir aight gate and narrow path which lead- 
 eih unto the ceonian life, Tha 
 
Letter XIII. [ 251 ] Sect. I. 
 
 The cautious •commentator knows that it is 
 cafier to foften and extenuate an exprejjion^ than 
 to reform a received maxim ; that what people 
 have of old believed, they may eafily be continued 
 in the belief of, however abfurd : and it fuits 
 his inclinations rather to caft a veil over ofFenfive 
 palTages, than toihockhis readers with novelties. 
 
 We cannot but impute it chiefly to this, that 
 the words of him wioo fpake as no man everfpake, 
 are fo lower'd, and accommodated to the receiv- 
 ed maxims of a blind profeffing multitude. 
 
 But it fhould be confidered that our good 
 Lord declares warmly againft the tradition of 
 the elders 5 that Proteftants upon this account 
 chiefly declare againfl: the church of Rome j and 
 that the veil, which now covers the fcriptures, 
 and which we pray to be removed, can no other- 
 wife be removed than by a free enquiry into the 
 genuine texts of fcripture, and a free detachment 
 from ancient fentiments. 
 
 Tho' the primitive writers do highly defervc 
 our honour, and were fome of them indeed very 
 enlightened men, yet as they had no apofl:olick 
 deputation from God, they are to be confldered, 
 not as apofl:les, but as brethren. 
 
 So then this paflage in the Colojfians being an 
 acknowledged proof that Chrifl made all things 
 univerfally bad as well as good, is as powerful a 
 proof, that he will reconcile all things to him- 
 itii^ bad as well as good : and to prefume other- 
 wife, to prefume that all things in a former'claufe 
 of a text, is not the all things in the latter claufc 
 of it, is to render the fcripture language doubtful, 
 Hh 2 pre- 
 
Letter XIII. [ 252 ] Sect. I. 
 
 precarious, deceiving, which is by no means 
 warrantable or ferviceable to the truth. So that 
 thofe worthy men who teach that all things aini- 
 verfally were created by the Logos, that all 
 things univerfally confift in him, but that the 
 all things which he is to reconcile unto himfelf 
 are not univerfally fo, are but partially all things, 
 namely the good only among all things, are not 
 in this refpesft to be credited. 
 
 We muft underfland this fublime paiTage as 
 telling us that all the creatures fubfift originally 
 and perpetually in the Logos; that he is the lource 
 of all the univerfe; that life and its body or ta^ 
 bernacle matter, are nothing at all but in him; 
 that as the Logos fon of God is the one fingle, in- 
 Ttegral, compleat offspring or produ6tion of the fa- 
 ther, fo are the number of created individuals, 
 the many or diverfe and partial produ(5tions of 
 ChriJV.z fulnefs. 
 
 That altho' as to his unbeginning nature, Chrijl 
 is what no one knoweth belide the father only; 
 yet as in his angelic nature he is revealed to be 
 the firft-begotten and foundation of all created 
 exiftence: alfo in his human nature he is ap- 
 pointed to become the colled:ive fource of all in- 
 dividuals. 
 
 The perfon of the Logos both contains and 
 comprehends all the excellencies of his father, and 
 that not effentially only, or in poffe, but in reality 
 of exiftence. 
 
 Morcovei", that he might have a temple be- 
 iitting himfelf, his human tabernacle likewife 
 i'5 the offspring, ' not of man, but of the Holy 
 
 ■ Ghoff 
 
Letter XIII. [ 253 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Ghoft. And in this, being man begotten of God, 
 and not radically a creature, there emerges, that 
 wonder among all inteUigent creatures, an hu- 
 man ion of GoD.^ 
 
 This prodigy of heaven is called seonian God, 
 and has a capacity, even as man, potentially 
 equal to his father's fulnefs. 
 
 And altho' this man-capacity while upon earth 
 was not filled with all the excellencies of God, 
 yet now it is filled with them, that is fo far filled 
 with them, as that all the excellencies of the di- 
 vine nature do indeed dwell in or inhabit it 3 as 
 fays the apoftle, Col. ii. 9. I?i hint divelletb all the 
 fulnefs (t5i? ^iorm^ o-w^anxw?) ' of the Godhead ''bodily. 
 .jo.) \ NnflLQ-s^" jLaoi^^^' 
 
 And as the man fefiis'is already the bodily 
 temple of the divine plenitude, or has all the ex- 
 cellencies of the divine nature dwelling in him; 
 fo iliall men and angels likewife, the complex 
 progeny of the Logos (called in fcripture &* ttoaao* 
 
 the 
 
 NOTE S. 
 
 ^ N. B. We fpeak here even with refpeft to the hu- 
 man nature of our Lord ; for it is our firm beliet' 
 that our Lord, excepting that only which he receiv- 
 ed from the virgin Mary as his mother, has not any 
 thing in him but what alfo was from all eternity. As 
 the Logos was not created but begotten of the father; 
 fo was the man Jefus not created, but begotten of the 
 Holy Ghoft: and whereas begetting is not a produc- 
 tion out of nothing; he muft have been eternally in 
 tlie father, altho' temporally generated. See Jcbn 
 iii. 13. xvi. 2'S. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 254 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the many, who are his images, in oppoiition tft 
 himfelf who is fingly the image of God) '' become, 
 when hereafter (during Chriji's aeonian govern- 
 ment) they fliall be colle<fted together in one, a 
 body, the temple of Chrtfi's plenitude. 
 
 I fay as the man Jrfi^s has now all the exceU 
 lencies of his father dwelling in himj fo ihall 
 (q TOAAei) the many hereafter, have all the excel- 
 lencies of Chriji dwelling in them. Yea and fur- 
 thermore, in the end their collective capacities 
 will be fo enlarged as not only to be filled with, 
 but even to comprehend the fulnefs, or all the 
 excellencies of the fon of God. And by this 
 means God at laft will be, all in all. 
 
 We conclude then, that as furely as that all 
 things univerfally bad as well as good confifl: in 
 
 Chrijif 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^' As every fmgle ray of light is a true image of the 
 fun, and yet is not its plenitude; fo every angelic 
 fpirit is a true image of the Logos, and yet is not his 
 plenitude. But Chriji is the plenitude of the father, 
 his entire felf, he in whom alone and fingly the ful- 
 nefs of the father dv/eileth. And this I underftand by 
 the terms partial and compleat : the father, being 
 compleat in his begotten fon, has no other begotten 
 fon than him fingly, and he muft forever be his only 
 begotten fon : whereas the Logos, having no fuch 
 compleat offspring, is reprefented in a multitude of 
 individuals, each of which is a dillind, and varying 
 ray of his fi.ial glory. The unity of the divine 
 effence is charaftered in the perfonage of the only 
 begotten fon of God; but multiplicabiliry is the cha- 
 racter of that perfonage. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 255 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Chrijl, fo certainly fliall all things bad as well as 
 good be by him reconciled to himfelf. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 '^ke Catholic Eulogium. 
 
 THE dodtrine above infifted upon eorre/ponds 
 with many paiTages in fcripture, as Eph. 
 i. 9 — 14. Hivvi?7g made known to us the inyjiery of 
 his own will according to his own good pleajure, 
 which he has purpofcd in hiTufelfy (namely) in the 
 difpejijdtion of the fid?iefs oj times to gather together 
 in one all things anew {imm. the beginning) in Chrifly 
 both which are in the heavens and which aj'e upon 
 earth, even in him (iv w ^ s>:\r,pa)h{^sv) in whom we 
 filfo are become his portion, being predefiinated qc- 
 cording to the purpofe of him who worketh all things 
 after the council of his own will, that we Jhould be 
 to the praife of his glory whofirfl trujled in Chrifi'-, 
 
 in 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 *But how otherwife are we to the praife of God'?; 
 glory than by beif^ming ref^ored by him, quickened 
 again in his iite? Our faviour's glory is in his rcllor- 
 ing power, as we read (ver. 5, 6.) Having ■predef- 
 iinated us unto adoftion — to the praife cf the glory of 
 his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the be- 
 loved. And as this his office is firft flicwn forth in us 
 who firft truftin him, Ihewn forth by our being fealcd 
 with the holy fpirit of promife,. which fcal, evident 
 in us, is the earncft of our inheritance -, fo will it iji 
 
J^' 
 
 Letter XIII. [ 256 ] Sect. IL 
 
 in whom ye af/o trujled^ after that ye heard the wordi 
 of truths the gofpel of your fahation; in whom alfe 
 after that ye believed^ ye were fealed with that holy 
 fpirit ofpromife^ which is the earneji of our inheri- 
 tance^ unto (or until) the redemption of the purchafed 
 pojfefwn, unto the praife of his glory. Phil. ii. 
 10, II, At the name off ejus every knee Jhall bow y 
 of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things 
 under the earth ; and every tongue fiall loudly cele- 
 brate^ that Jefus Chriji is Lord^ to the glory of 
 God the father. 
 
 But farther andlaftly, what this catholic eulo- 
 gium is, which every tongue fhall be employed 
 in, and which fliall refled: glory to God the fa- 
 ther, we read as follows; Rev. v. ii — 13. And I 
 faw and heard a voice of many angels round about the 
 throne, and of the living creatures, and of the elders-^ 
 and the number of them was ten thoufand times teii 
 thoufand, and thoufafids of thoufands ; fayi?jg, with a 
 loud voice ^ worthy is the lamb that was fain, to re- 
 ceive th? power, and the riches, and the wifdom, and 
 the f\r^ngth^ and the honour and the glory and the 
 •'■ blefing. 
 
 N . O X. E S. 
 
 .-^^thers, in due time to be f&^red by him, Who work- 
 eth all things after the counfel of- his will, this will 
 being made known to the^church, as purpofing in 
 the tulnefs of times, to gather together in one all 
 things in Chrifi. 
 
 ^ E^ofjt,oXoyr,(r7ira.i, ke. (f^) loudly (oy.^)- with one ac- 
 cord-, i.e. witii on^' voice, altogether, both men and 
 angels, whither they -have formerly been good or bad, 
 fliall at laft cordially found the praifes of their catho- 
 lic redeemer. : . - . 
 
Letter XIII. [ 257 ] Sect. II. 
 
 blejfing. And every creature which is in the heaven 
 and on the earthy and on the fea and all that are in 
 them-y I heard them all faying to hitn that fit eth on 
 the throne y and to the lamb is the blejjing and the ho- 
 nour and the glory and the power y to the ccons of the 
 aons. 
 
 A doxology unutterable but by fpirits both ifl 
 reconciled by Chriji to God, and 2dly reconciled 
 alfo to Chriji in one concordant heart of love, 
 adoration, and thankfulnefs. 
 
 The opinion that heavenly fpirits which we call 
 holy angels, ftand in need of a redeemer or re- 
 ftorer, appears to me far from being unfcriptural 
 or unreafonablc. 
 
 There may be degrees of delinquency very con- 
 fiftcnt with an heavenly continuance, and a fa- 
 vourable accefs to the throne of the (7rpwTo7oxo?) 
 iirft- begotten, or fon of God ; for the fame reafon 
 that we find even fatan himfelf, tho' the moft 
 ftubborn of all the rebellious angels, to have thus 
 accefs to his throne. 
 
 The certainty of this his accefs appears from 
 yob i. 6. When ihefo?is of God came to prefent them- 
 felves before yehovahy fat an came atnong them to pre- 
 fe?it himfelf. And ver. 12. Satan went forth fro?}i 
 the pre fence of yehovah {f^TV ^JS hnt^) Zech. iii. i. 
 Aiid he Jljewed me yojlmay the high-priefl ftanding 
 before the face of (n^rT" 'Y^'t) the ai7gel ydiovah, 
 and fatan flanding at his right hand to re/ijl him\ 
 and yehovah f aid unto fat an y yehovah (to the invi- 
 iible) rebuke thecy O fat any even yehovah who has 
 chofen yerufalem. Rev. xii. 9. And the great dra- 
 gon, that oldferpent called the devil and fato.Uy was 
 
 li ' ca/i 
 
Letter XIII. [ 258 ] Sect. II. 
 
 caji out into the earth , who accufed the brethren be^ 
 fore God (that is Chriji) day and night. 
 
 We acknowledge alfo that the perfon whom 
 fatan faw as God before the incarnation, was the 
 perfonage called Jehovah the angel; and lince 
 the incarnation the man ChriJI Jeftis. For that 
 tho' the divine nature always ihines in full luftre 
 in the perfon of the Logos, even that glory which 
 be had with his father before the world was; yet this 
 his glory, as fon of God [yohn^Nii, 24.) is vifible 
 only to the holy, or thofe who are by Chrift recon- 
 ciled to God; and fandlified in his imparted nature, 
 
 I fay akho' it be certain that Jehovah Adn in 
 his fimple glory is invifible to all that are impure 5 
 flill it is as certain that an accefs to him perfon- 
 ally as the obje6L of divine prefence, is both prac- 
 ticable, and at proper feafons allowable to the 
 worft of creatures; and this granted, it will like- 
 wife follow that an angel's continuance in heaven 
 is no proof that he is altogether without guilt. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' As the Jewsy refufing the teftimony of Jefus con-r 
 cerning himfelf, did at laft fmcerely believe him to be 
 mere man ; fo it feems probable that the angels who 
 fell, refufing to acknowledge the Logos as their Je- 
 hovah, might at length believe him indeed to be mere 
 angel. And if fo, fince darknefs increafes by perverfe 
 reafonings, they might foon grow utterly blind, and 
 •unable (i John iii. 2.) to fee him as he is; in which 
 condition, if (as we may fuppofe) they flill remain ; 
 their prefent acknowledgment of Jefus as the fon of 
 God, mull refult rather from revelation, than any real 
 vifion of his glory and dignity. Jam.n.i^. Mat. iv. 6, 
 
Letter XIII. f 259 ] Sect. III. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Angels delinquent, 
 
 ST. yUDE fpeaks of the fall of the rebel an- 
 gels in the following terms, verfc 6. (Ay^fAa? 
 
 Tf T2? |M.7J T>]pj](r«VT(Ji? TTIV iOCVTXV O.^'/JiV"^ VJKKo. aTroXlTTOl^TCig TO 
 
 i^iov oiznrr,piov £i? Kpuriv [/^iyaXrii; r\ij.ipccg ^((ry.oig aiSioig itto 
 
 ^o(pov myip-nxiv) the afigels 'who kept not their own prin- 
 cipality^ but left their proper tnanfton, he has referved 
 for ceonian chains under darknefs at the judgment of 
 the great day. 
 
 But fince thefe words declare no more than 
 
 that the reprobate angels fo finned, as to fall by 
 
 it from their own proper man lions, keeping no 
 
 longer their principality, or tliat royalty which 
 
 li 2 Jehovah 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ P^^X^ here fignifics imperial dignity or principality-, 
 fo our Lord is faid to be fet in heaven, Eph. i. 21. 
 (•j7repa.uu -rroLTr^q ty.pyj^q) far abovc every pr}ncipaUl)\ and 
 ■pozver^ tft". So Col. ii. 10, Lie is the head {7ra,(T7\g xp)(rig 
 li) ilmria;) of every principality and poij^er ; fo (i Cor. xv. 
 24.) ivhen he fhall have invalidated [ira-tyxv c.pyjiv., >^ 
 TTxa-xv f^Hcrioiv) every principality and every power (Col. 
 i. 16.) li-hither thsy be thrones or dominions or (xpyxi) 
 principalities or pczvers^ all things ivcre created by bi;u 
 find for him. And hereto, agrees alfo the fyriac 
 
 CLClJiikjt^'^ ^i^ho 'kept ^not "' their principality '•but ^re- 
 linquifled ^ 'their own ^habitation. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 260 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Jehovah had given them; they are no proof of 
 ablolute innocence in the casleftial inhabitants. 
 
 And till it can be proved that any, the leafl 
 degree of, guilt in angels muft render them in- 
 capable of living in heaven j we are at liberty to 
 beheve that the holy [clyioi ") angels are not ab- 
 folutely void of guilty altho' they kept their prin- 
 cipalities. Our 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 n Altho' a.y^og may, as applied to God, denote ab^ 
 folute holinels, yet it may alfo be applied to fubjedta 
 not in themfelves abfolutely holy. 
 
 A man may be holy as a man, and an angel may 
 be holy as an angel, and therefore called fo, even 
 whilft they are detediive in true abfolute holinefs. 
 
 Our Lord fays. Mat. xix. 17. H'^by calleji thou me 
 good, there is none good but one, that is God. 
 
 And yet {ABs xi. 24.) Barnabas is called a good 
 man, and {Luke xxiii. ^o.)Jofeph o\ Aramathea is called 
 (atrp ayaS-o? x) (J^ixajo?) a good man, and a jujl : and the 
 like ufe we alio find of the word dyioi;. 
 
 Ail believers throughout the new teftament are 
 called {(^yioi) holy; and fo are the prophets called 
 (aytot <Fpo(pnTai) holy prophets; John the Baptiji is alfo 
 {Mark vi. 20. j declared to be (a^Jpa ^muiov y^ dyiov) 
 ajuji and holy man. And fo are the zealous preachers 
 of legal righteoyfnefs among the Jews (2 Pet. i. 21. 
 ayiot 0t« ai/S-fa-TTOj) hob men of God; and the women 
 who of old trufted in God, St. Peter flyles (i Pet. iii. 
 5. ayixi ymociKzq) holy zvomen; all who were yet by no 
 me?ins abfolutely holy in themlelves. 
 
 When therefore the fcripture fpeaks of holy angels, 
 diis appellation may be intended only to diftinguifl:^ 
 fi-om the rebellious angels, who left their principa-^ 
 lilies and became revolt, from their loyalty. 
 
Letter XIII. [261] Sect. III. 
 
 Our Lord fpeaking of the aeonlan tabernacles 
 and heavenly riches, has thefe remarkable words, 
 Luke xvi. 9 — 12. Make youtjehes frietids of the 
 ileceitfid mammon^ that when ye faily they (the 
 children of light thus made your friends) 7nay re- 
 ceive you into ceonian habitations. He that isjaith- 
 ful in that which is leafi, isjaithful alfo in much ; 
 and he that is unjufi in the leafiy is unjufl alfo in 
 much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the 
 deceitful mammon^ who fhall commit to your truji the 
 true (mammon) .^ And if ye have not been faithfid 
 in that which is foreign {^y ™ aAAorpjo)) i^^ho Jhall 
 give you (to -jixsTipoi/) that which is your own F 
 
 (To C[/.iripov fcilicet ^«i^w^^) your own, viz. mam- 
 mon, fuch as that (^oiTnTnpiov) manfion, and other 
 your cicleftial goods which were your own ori- 
 ginal inheritance, and which only can be called 
 (aXy,3-ivoi/ jua/Awva) the true Hches; and from which 
 being now /alien, the mammon you now poiTefs 
 is (aXAo7pioj/) ftrange, foreign, unnatural to you° be- 
 ing that which was not created for y^ .; -, this, I fay, 
 while faithlefs, you muft not be enti iirted with. 
 
 That mammon which was created for us is 
 ipecifically fuited to our natures; whereas that 
 
 which 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ° That this is the true meaning of the word (aAXo- 
 rfioq) foreign, the fair enquirer will be eafily con- 
 vinced of, from its ufe in fcripture; fo {Johi x. q, 5,) 
 My Jloeep hear y,iv voice — a fir anger faAAorpiw) ivill they 
 not follow — for they know not the 'voice of fir angers {~m 
 axxojpiwv). Ileh. xi. 9. He fojonmed in a ftrmige country, 
 iyrcj ccXXolpixv) verfe 34. they turned to fight the armies 
 of the aliens (twv ccXKolpiwv). 
 
Letter XIII. [ 262 ] Sect. III. 
 
 which is now ours, we ufe only as a maimed 
 man walks upon his wooden leg. 
 
 Now that the bleffed angels did not, as we, 
 loofe their orginal mammon, we grant ; and yet 
 it does not thence follow that they always con- 
 tinued and ftill are, fo without blame before 
 God, as not to need the great reftorer. 
 
 It is alfo true that our Lord fpeaks of fome 
 of the angels {Mat. xviii. 10.) as always beholding 
 the perfonage of his father which is in heaven. But 
 in Ipeaking thus, he implies likewife that thefe 
 angels are diftinguifhed from others by an efpe- 
 cial indulgence, and exclufive favour, and that 
 confequently other angels in heaven do not al- 
 ways behold in the father's perfonage or repre- 
 fentative, the lignatures of his prefence and glory. '' 
 
 With thefe refledlions correfponds that paiTage 
 in fob iv. 18. He piiteth (or will put) no truji in 
 his fervaf2ts, ''even in his angels 'he imputeth (or will 
 impute) Hranfgrejjion (nSin^ a'ls;^* v:.»NSt:DV). 
 
 S^^n Elel certainly imports that tranfgreffive 
 kind of folly which renders men linners in the 
 
 fight 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 P The one only (irpoiroiTrov aTrauyas-jaa, or yjx,pa.y]nf) 
 
 perfonage, effulgence, or exprefs image of the invi- 
 fible father is the Logos-, for John i. 18. no one hath 
 feen God at any time ; the on^y begotten fon^ "Lvhich is in 
 the bofom of the father^ he has declared him. John vi. 46. 
 I Tim. i. 17. vi. 16. i John iv. 12, 20. 
 
 All therefore whatever of the father can be feen by 
 any of the creatures, mufl appear in this his perfon- 
 age or exprefs image : and whereas the glories, and 
 
Letter XIII. [ 263 ] Sect. III. 
 
 fight of God. So Ff Ixxv. 4. 'Ifaid ^unto the 
 tranfgrejjon 'deal not tranfgrejjingly (trrSSinS* thick' 
 ^'nn ^>s ') P/^lxxiii. 3. / nxjas zealous againjl the 
 trajifgrefors ( ti.^'/SinD 'n»v:p )Pf.v. 5. '7hefoolifj, 
 (i. e. the tranfgrefling) 'fiall not Jiand 'before thy 
 eyes ( '^t'^ ij:S' :..:-^S:r!* 'arn-' i<S') that is fo long 
 as they are in this ill frame of mind. 
 
 And that elel imports finfulnefs in this place, 
 its application, and ufe, and oppoiition, and the 
 whole thread of £///>/'tf2;'sdircourfes do manifeflly 
 evince. And that this paffage here quoted out 
 of Job contains the words of truth, is evident in 
 that it is fpoken by a voice from heaven, and 
 only related by EHphaz on this occalion. 
 
 Moreover that the minifters of God here charg- 
 ed with elel, and with being fuch as that in them 
 God putteth no truft, are the holy angels, ap- 
 pears as follows : 
 
 I ft. That they are angelic fpirits and not men, 
 appears in that they are diftinguiflied from men 
 by the particle ^|^^ which we find in the englifli 
 bible juftly tranflated how much lefs. See yob iv. 
 19. He putteth no trujl in his feri^ants — how much 
 lefs in thejn that dwell in hoifcs of clay {\. e. in men) 
 whofe foundation is the diifty ^&c. Efpecially as 
 
 this 
 
 N O T E s! 
 
 other fignaturcs of the father's prefence, eminent thus 
 in the perfon of the Logos, fliew themfeives only to 
 the holy; our Lord in declaring, concerning the 
 guardian angeis of children, that the father's glories 
 are vifible to them in his pcrfonating prefence, or 
 image, does thereby declare that they are great, /. e. 
 holy dignitaries ; diftinguiflicd from other angels as 
 in holinels, (<^ of conlcquence in the favour of God. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 264 ] 
 
 Sect. III. 
 
 this diftindtion refers to an oppofition in ver. 17, 
 Shall mortal man be more pure than his maker? —^ 
 behold he putteth no truji in his minijiers. i. e. his 
 angels or miniftering fpirits, who are abundantly 
 better than mortal man, and therefore better to 
 be trufted. 
 
 2dly. That thefe angelic fervants of God, here 
 complained of as in whom he putteth no trufl:, 
 ,are not the wicked, but the holy angels, appears 
 from Job xv. 1 5, where the fame man (i. e. E- 
 liphaz) fpeaks the fame fentiment, in the fame 
 terms, changing only the term his minijiers into 
 that of ('^'^'vi^ip ) his holy ones or Jaints. Let us 
 compare thefe places together, 
 
 Job iv. 17, 18, 19. 
 
 *l3:7-inD^M!T^»j;K^ 'Shall 
 mortal man ""be jujiijied 
 ^before God? "- Jhall 'a 
 man ^be more pure Hhan 
 his maker ? 
 
 Behold '^in his fervants 
 'hetrujlcth ''7iot; ^^afid 
 
 Job XV. 14 — . 
 
 ht^N' TiV^ p^2f.6 ^u^jj^f 
 is "-man Uhat ^he jlmll be 
 clean? 'and that "one born 
 ^ofa woman ^fiallbejufi. 
 
 "" Behold • Hn his faints ' ^he 
 trujleth ^^not; '^ and the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 '^ That the word ( li'lp ) qds, is ufually applied to 
 the holy angels is notorious : fo Beut. xxxiii. 2. Jeho- 
 vah came from Sinar. — He came with ten thoujand of his 
 {pip ) holy ones or angels. For where the Lord dwell- 
 cth there is hohnefs ( i Ccr. iii. 1 7. ) holinefs by parti- 
 cipation {Heb. xii. 10. 1 Pet. i. 4.) but abfolute holi- 
 nefs is in none but God. Rev. vx. 4. And they fung, 
 faying — Lord God Ahnighty — thou only art holy. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 265 ] 
 
 Sect. III. 
 
 in his angels ' ^he imputeth 
 ^^tranfgrrJJionJ 
 
 nr:r.'^ ts'' ^I'zz''^ f|X'' 
 
 ^^ Surely then (in them) 
 '^that ifihabit houfes '^of 
 chy\ ^'^whofe '^foundation 
 (is) ' 7« //?£' <^z^/. 
 
 heave?is (or, heavenly 
 ones) /7rf '^fiot '^ clean 
 '^ /;7 Z^/i eyes. 
 
 ''^Surely then ' ^'^^^^^^ ' 9^- 
 bcmindbk ^^ and Jiinking 
 ""'man^ " /to drinks 
 ''^iniquity *^ like water. 
 
 K k 
 
 Neither 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "', •% ''. N.B. The futiH-um in the hebrew 
 tongue importing continuation as ufually as futurity •, 
 the rendering of [ r-K" and Cw" as above, namely as 
 prefent tenfes, is juft. 
 
 Thus Jehovah, continual being, is given ns in the 
 future tenfe, viz. 'r^T\"' in the third perfon, and M^'n^J in 
 the firll-, a pradice as frequent alfo in the apoftoHc 
 writings. So Rev. iv. 9, 10. Ayid when the living 
 creatures give glory {Soio-dTi §o%oiv)—the twenty-four elders 
 fall down {7zi(Tii)/-a.i')—-a7td worfhip (—poc-jcur/xr^G-iy — ahd 
 cafi (^xX»(Ti) their crowns before the throne. 
 
 It may be expedient likewife to obferve on this 
 paflTage, that (Ji:'?2w') fmim may be rendered witheqifal 
 propriety, either heavens, or heavenly ones ; for it is 
 well known that the oriental languages ufe the fame 
 words without alteration tor both nouns fubilanrive, 
 and nouns adjeftive, and verbs : fo (3io) tub, is botli 
 bonus good, bonitas goodnefs, or bonutH ejt it is good : 
 ( |pi ) zqn, is both fenex an old man, fenium old age, 
 or fenuit he grew old : fo ( ^iMD ) ter, is botli clean, 
 cleannefs, or he was clean: ( p*^!* ) jdq, juft, juilice, 
 to juftify : fo ( n;;r ) zi^e (or by apocope I1 ) pure, pu- 
 rity, to purify : ( w'"'p ) qds, holy, holincfs, to finc- 
 tify: (•,!2K)amn, faithful, fidelity, he truftcd, ^'c. 
 
Letter XIII. [ 266 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Neither is this opinion to be rejedled under pre- 
 tence of its being novel, or the whim of a few en- 
 thuliafts; it is as ancient as our Lord's days, and 
 was in his time generally received among the or- 
 thodox JewSy as appears from their targum then 
 in ufe, which explains this text of 'Job xv. 15. in 
 the following words; I'Dn^' ^^'* ^nSv' "c^npl" i«n' 
 ^itnp'° p^. '' yS« i<Lnr:7 ^S:jn-.« 'Behold ^in his 
 ^ fupreme ''holy ones ^he tj'iifteth ^?iotj ^even his '^fub- 
 lime '^angels are not '^pure ^''before hifn. 
 
 Moreover the default of angels being a dodlrine 
 of the targum, and fo of the yews in our Lord's 
 time ; this muft alfo have been the belief of our 
 Lord's difciples while he lived among them. But 
 what conflrudion muft a people thus taught, 
 put upon our Lord's words to them, when he 
 tells them, Matt.xix. 17. Why calleft thou ?ne good? 
 (Ov'.iiq ccyoSoq H [/.r\ li? o 0fo?) f20?2e [Ro being) is good 
 but one^ that is God. Muft not fuch a declaration 
 naturally refer them to the dodrine of the tar- 
 gum as juft f' And confirm them in an afturance 
 that angels were defe«flive beings, and that no 
 being was abfolutely good or holy, God only 
 excepted ? 
 
 And when the angels, yea the feraphims, are 
 reprefented as covering their faces betore God, 
 (If. vi. 2) what elfe could the difciples, thus taught, 
 think of this, than that thefe fublime beings muft 
 have veil'd themfelves from an humble felf-abafe- 
 ment, and ftiame of their own imperfe(5lions ? 
 As the targum imports on this pafl*age : (|'"in3 » 
 ^hn^ n^m:^ "Ei^X^^ pnni'* Tn' rS"i* ^'^^£)K^ •=::,»* 
 *';nnD'"') 'with two (wings) ''each covered 'his face 
 
 Hhat 
 
Letter XIII. [ 267 ] Sect. III. 
 
 ^that he might not [fee -, ^'and with tivo 'he covej'cd 
 ^his body 'that he might not befcen^ &€. 
 
 But the chriftian church has ahb tlie ^eflinlony 
 of St. yoh?tj which is no lefs determinate in this 
 account of the creation. Rev. xv. i — 4. And I 
 Jaw fe-ven angels — a7id them that had gotten the 
 viBory over the beafi — and they fivig — (Kupj£ J ©joj 
 TTocvToxpalu^i) — Lord Gody aeaior of all — who 
 JJ:all not glorify thy natne^ for thou only art holy 
 
 (on fMovoq o(nog). 
 
 The angels therefore muft have, as we, an 
 interefl in Chri/l the rellorer of all his creatures; 
 and their knowledge of this is doubtlefs that 
 (^iuxyyiXiov^ glad tidings which fills them with 
 chriftian love of us as their brethren ; for fo we 
 find they ftyle themfelves. Rev. x'lx. 10. Aiid I 
 fell at his (the angel's) feet to worjljip him^ but he 
 faid imto me^ fee, thou do it not, I am thy fellow - 
 fervant., and of thy brethren, that have the teJlimo?iy 
 of fefus : worjlnp God. 
 
 The minifters therefore of God, who are his 
 angels, and holy in comparifon with man, are 
 however not abfolutely holyj in that they are 
 chargeable with tranfgrefllvenefs, and arc not 
 ( IX? ) pure in the eyes of God. 
 
 But even chrifiinn men you fay are holy in the 
 eyes of God: I grant it, yet not perfonally fo. It 
 is certain that the moft holy of men are abfo- 
 lutely and perfonally unholy; and fo may alfo 
 the blefi^ed angels be. On the other hand as the 
 human faints of God are in their Lord holy; 
 in like manner may the bleifed angels, who are 
 reconciled to God, be in their Lord holy. 
 
 K k 2 And 
 
Letter XIII. [ 268 ] Sect. Ill, 
 
 And if it be true that the angels in heaven arc 
 alfo finners, it is no longer a wonder that they 
 dcfire [i Pet. i. 12.) (7rap«>tu4/an) to pry into the 
 myjieries of redeeming love, it is a myftery in v^hich 
 themfelves are intereifted. 
 
 To all this you objedt that, tho' we fliould fup- 
 pofe a ftate of delinquency in angels to confift 
 with their heavenly continuance j yet that we can- 
 not fuppofe fuch itate of delinquency to confill 
 with their enjoyment of the divine vifion. 
 
 Why not? It v/ill be allowed that we have no 
 fcripture pafTage againft the former, namely that 
 a flate of delinquency may confift with an hea- 
 venly fituation, with a continuance in the pofTeffion 
 of an heavenly principality and an heavenly mam- 
 mon j and as to the latter, namely the poffibility 
 of a delinquent being's enjoyment of the divine 
 vifion, this muft alfo be allowed me upon the 
 chriftian fcheme; becaufe the faints of Chriji are 
 all of them delinquent beings, and yet all of therr> 
 will enjoy the divine vifion in heaven. 
 
 But thefe you fay enjoy the divine vifion in 
 Chrifi; true, and fo may the bleffed angels, whilft 
 (feeling the reconciling fentlment) their minds 
 become foftened with that humble thankful reve- 
 rence which is in the four beings, and the twenty- 
 four elders, when they (Rev. v. 7, 9) fall down 
 bejore the lamb., and fng^ f^y^^^Z ^^''^ ^^^ worthy^ 
 for thou ivafljlain and haft redeejned us unto God by 
 thy blood. When thro' this pardoning fentiment 
 they are clean (fohniiv. 3. xiil. 10. iTet.i. 
 2, 15, 22.) faneiified in Chri/i (i Cor. i. 2, 30, 
 yi. II.) and partakers of his holinefs [Heb, xii. 10.. 
 
 Rci; 
 
Letter Xlll. [ 269 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Rev. XX. 6.) their capacities of fight are reftored 
 them, and nothing further can hinder their en^ 
 joyment of the divine vilionj' and thus thpfe paf- 
 fages in Jolf ceafe to be the gordian kncjt, as the 
 learned Drujius calls them, Si in eis (i. e. angelis) 
 infania.^ non funt perfeSii, fohat hunc maiwi c[ui po^ 
 tejiy e^o nihil dejinio. " If a dotage be in them 
 " (/, e, the angels) then are they not perfed:, lofe 
 " this knot who can, I determine nothing." 
 
 So then [Rom. 'in. 23.) all have Jinned and come 
 Jhort of the glory of God : which coidd not have 
 been permitted to happen but in view of fome 
 iffue worthy fo ftrange an event. 
 
 LET- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' So 'Thcophilus Antiocenus imputes the impotence 
 of feeing God fingly to a defedl in the eye, from our 
 uncleannefs, ETrsi hi^ov (^XettoCIx^ tov? o<p^ocXy.o\)q mq v|/!j- 
 
 y/iq (TCj, Xy TO, uToc T/\q xxp^tag <tou xkovovtoc — ^Xiimoci yap 
 ©tO? TOij ^wocfxBiOiq cc'jTOi/ opOii/, iTTtx,]/ fp^WJ"! 7ou? o^^a,X^o\jq 
 ciutuy[A.£vovg Tr,<; ^'JX^^- Havrff fAiu yap i^o-jo-i rag o(p^ot,Xy.ovg^ 
 scXXx £noi u7roxfp^U|W,£K>u?', jc, |w,vi (^XsTTOi/Tocg TO /p((}g Ta rAiou. 
 Kon o'j TTotpoc TO jw,n j3Af7r£»i/ THj TV^Xo'jq^ r/Jri >cy hx eri to (pug 
 ra rAio'j (putvoVy tzXXx ixvTovg aiTiot(r^co(rxv oi tu^Aoi, x) tb* 
 iXVTCcv oyS^aXjixous ; outw Xj (tu, w ai/^poiTrf, ^X^'"' ^^^roxtpj^^'j' 
 l/.£vo-jg To'jg o(p^x?i[JLO'jg tyi^ vj/yp^rj? cou, &C. 
 
[ 270 ] 
 
 * *l 
 
 * * 
 
 * * 
 
 
 * * 
 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 'The extent of the promife that death 
 Jhall be 7to more. 
 
 Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 And there Jljall be no more deaths 7ieiiher forrow^ nor 
 crying^ neither fiall there be any more pain. 
 
 ^^^}^i'^^^^f^¥f^^^^^^i^^|f^^^^^i'**^X^^i^■^i^i^^^^.^)^^^^ii^f^i^^:j^,^f^jtf^^ 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Of that death which the fcripiure calls our LordV 
 lajl enemy. 
 
 jaJ'^^k. -^ order to decide the true import of 
 (g?^ r h^ thefe words, we fhould firft examine 
 ^^ ^j^ what is here meant by the word 
 
 "^If^ death. 
 
 Now it is univerfally agreed that death is 
 the very oppolite to lifej and as life is faid to 
 coniift in an enjoyment of thofe adtive powers 
 which refult from fome peculiar union of our 
 conilituent principles ^ death is fuppofed to confiil 
 
 in 
 
Letter XIV. [ 271 ] Sect. I. 
 
 in a deprivation of the due ufe of fuch powers, 
 occafioncd by a lofs of that pecuHar union of 
 our conilituent principles: for doubtlefs hfe re- 
 fults not merely from an union, but from fome 
 efpecial kind of union, of our conftituent princi- 
 ples, to us unknown. 
 
 However as all true phyfical knowledge of 
 thefe xonian matters vaftly exceed human pene- 
 tration ; at leaft as our difquifitions are intended 
 to be rather fcriptural than philofophical; and as 
 the death intended by the fcripture palfage we 
 are debating, is the fecond or latter death, de- 
 clared in Rev. XX. 14. xxi. 8. to be in the (Aj^wi/n 
 t5 TT-jpci the) Idke of fire ^ which is the laft refource 
 of all evil ; we (hall fpeak of death, and the ef- 
 ficacy of this laft lake as one and the fame thing. 
 
 Of this lake it is faid, that {Rev.xx. 14.) ^eatb 
 (ind hades i^ere cafi into it : and thefe two words 
 importing an account of things not fo well known 
 in our times, as they feem to have been to the 
 church of St. Johris days; a fhort explanation of 
 them may be here need.iil to the opening the 
 above palfage. 
 
 We are all agreed that every man confifls of a 
 foul and a body, and that a man's foul will not 
 die till the day of his judgment is come, and his 
 fentence is palled upon him 3 but that the bodies 
 of men die before the day of their judgment 
 comes, is our daily experience. 
 
 Now as the dead bodies of men are depofited 
 in the grave, there to corrupt ; their fouls arc 
 convey'd into invifible regions, of which we czn 
 know nothing but by revelation. 
 
 Of 
 
Letter XIV. [ 272 ] Sect. 1. 
 
 Of thefe regions we have different names in 
 fcripture, becaufe they are in place different 
 from each other, being different refidences fuited 
 to the different conditions of thofe who poffcfs 
 them. 
 
 Wherefore when we read of the prifon, the 
 abyls or bottomlefs pit, Abrahajns paradife, the 
 paradife of God, yenifalem which is above, the 
 temple of God, the fan(fluary, the prefence (or 
 before the throne) of God ; we underfland by 
 thefe terms places diftind: and different from one 
 another. 
 
 But fince what we call death as applied to the 
 foul will not befall any foul till after the judiciary 
 fentence has been paffed upon him (that is, till 
 after his day of judgment) it will be afked where 
 then are the fouls of thofe men who are not as yet 
 called to judgment, during their expeftation of it? 
 
 To this we anfwer that the fouls of fome of 
 thefe may be in the happy manfions of hades, 
 which the Jews called fometimes paradife, and 
 fometimes (that is before our faviour's death, 
 till . which time Ahraha?7i prelided there) Abra^ 
 bam^ bofom; that the fouls of the wicked will be, 
 at leafl fome of them, in the prifon 3' but that 
 
 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 «The fcriptures fuppofe that in the regions of hades 
 there is a prifon for the fouls of fome of thofe whofe 
 bodies are in the grave, they having not been as yet 
 raifed from the dead, or called to judgment. Com- 
 pare Rev. XX. 3, 7. ix. II. with Matt. v. 25. Ifa. xiv. 
 9 — 16. xxiv, 22. £;2. xxxi. 14—18. Jol/ixxv. §. 
 
Letter XIV. f 273 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the fouls of the faved Chriflians will be in the 
 paradife of God." 
 
 For as we find a great variety of fortunes at- 
 tending die inhabitants of this cur fmall globe, 
 
 L 1 with 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 As therefore there is a paradife and gehenna in 
 hades •, fo is there alfo in hades a prifon, and an abyfs, 
 prepared it feems rather for confinement than painful 
 exercifes, altho' not without wretchednefs. Accord- 
 ingly ot the abyfs wc read, Luke viii. 31. And they (the 
 devils) befou[^ht him thai he -would not coimnand them to 
 (leave the chearful aereal regions of this world, and) 
 go out into the abyfs. For the abyfs is their proper 
 abode, being here (Jude 6.) referved wider darknefs 
 ().Ji^^ jy ^.yQm|..:i) h unknown (jy not idioa 
 known, gr. dldio.q Irom a. non ('^"() ido novitj chains^ 
 to the judgment of the great day. 
 
 " We read ot two paradiles in the fcriptures, the 
 firft the paradife in hades •, Luke xxiii. 43. I0 day 
 jhalt thou be with me in paradife ; i. e. in the paradife of 
 Abraham which was in hades, whither our faviour's 
 foul went when he died {A^s ii. 31."! and the foul of the 
 thief attended him : therefore fays Pifca/or, fuit itaq-^ 
 dives quidem iv aJ'rj, fed fuit fc ah etiam Lazarus, difler- 
 minatis a-h regionibus., nam ^ paradifus ^ gehenna funi 
 
 tv oih. 
 
 The fecond paradife js reprefented to us as not in 
 hades but in hea'ven, and is called {Rev. ii. 7.) The 
 paradife of God:, in the midft of which is the tree of life 
 ',v'hich grows in (Rev. xxii. 2. Gal. iv. 25, 26.) the 
 ferufalem which is above .^ the mother of us all. 
 
 1 he inhabitants ot this city are [lleb. xii. 22, 2;^.) 
 innumerable angels.^ and the fpirits of jujl wen made per- 
 fetl^ and God the judge of all. 
 
ILrETTER XIV. [ 274 ] Sect. I. 
 
 with regard to their perfons, countries, fuhje(5li-f 
 ons, polTeffions, poverty, relations, dependencies, 
 and the multiplying circurnftances of all thefe ; 
 we may believe that there is like wife as great a 
 
 variety 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 It is of this our Lord fpeaks when he fays {John 
 xii. 26.) Where I am there jh all alfo my fervant be: and 
 St. Paul (2 Cor. V. 8.) We are willing rather to be ah- 
 fent from the hody^ and prefent -with the Lord fPhil. i. 
 23.) having a defire to depart and to be with Chrift^ 
 which is far better. %oJohny:y\\.^\. Father^ I will 
 that they alfo whom thou hafi given me, be with me 
 where I am -, that they may behold my glory which thou 
 hafi given me. And again, Matt.Vm. 11, 12. And 1 
 fay unto you, that many fio all come from the eafi and wefty 
 and fhall fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob 
 (who at the refurrection of our Lord were to be a part 
 of his retinue, and to go with him into the paradife 
 above, and be with him) in the kingdom of heaven-, 
 but the children of the kingdom fijall be cad out into outer 
 darknefs, there floall be weeping and gnafhing of teeth. 
 
 The reality therefore feems to be this, viz. In the 
 heavens is the paradife of God, which paradiie is the 
 celeftial country ; and Jerufalem which is above, is 
 the city of this country •, and in this city there is (in 
 the prefent ftate of it) a temple, of vv^hich v/e read, 
 Kev. iii. 12. Him that over come th will 1 make a pillar 
 in the temple of my God, and he pall go no more out ; 
 and I vnll write upon him the name of my God., and the 
 name of the city of my God, which is new Jerufalem, 
 which cometh down out of heaven from tny God : and I 
 izill write upon him my new name. 
 
 Alfo in this temple there is a fanfluary {lleb. viii. 2. 
 ix, 8, 12.) in which {Heb. ix. 12, xii. 24. xiii. 11.) is the 
 
LfiTTER XIV. [ 275 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Variety diverfifying the condition of the departed 
 into other ftates of exiftence ; and that the blef^ 
 fed are as varioufly blelTed, and the wretched as 
 varioufly wretched in an after hfe as in this prefent. 
 
 LI 2 It 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Hood cf fprinkling, and{KzY. viii. 3.) a golden altar of 
 incenfe^ and a throne^ and a divine prefence. 
 
 It was tinder, i. e. at the foot of or attending round 
 about, this altar of incenfe, where St. John faw {ReVi 
 vi. 9,) the fouls of the martyrs, crying for vengeance, 
 and afterwards, cloathedwith whiterobes before the throne^ 
 fmging a doxology to God. Rev. vii. 14 — 17. Thefe 
 (namely the array'd in white robes) are they "j^ho came 
 out of great tribulation, and have wafhed their robes, and 
 wade them 'white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are 
 they before the throne of God, cndferve him day and night 
 in his temple : and he that Jit teth on the throne fo all dwell 
 among them. They fDall hunger no more, neither thirfl 
 any more, neither frjall the fun light on them, nor any heat ; 
 for the Lamb, who is in the midjl of the throne, floall 
 feed them, andfljall lead them unto living fountains of 
 •waters: and God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 This paradife is emphatically called the paradife of 
 God, as being that genuine, natural paradife, which 
 (tho' not open'd 'till after our Lord's refurreflion) 
 is that prefigured by Adam'?, paradife. 
 
 Its manner and form of life and enjoyment was in- 
 tended to be typified and exhibited to man, in the 
 manner and form oi Adam's primitive paradiiaical life 
 and enjoyment; where the feiifations of body and 
 mind were infcparable; and palpable gratifications 
 (or fuch as refulted from touch) charm'd the intellec- 
 tual fcniibility widi knowledge, love, and delight 
 in God. 
 
. Letter XIV. [ 276 ] Sect. I. 
 
 It is true having very little from revelation to 
 guide us in theie inquiries, belides a few differ- 
 ent names above-mei)tion'd, viz. the prifon, the 
 abyfs, gehenna, the lake of fire, the paradife ia 
 hades, the paradife of God, the yfr///^/(?/« which 
 is above, 6cc j terms which were probably in- 
 deed, among the apoftolic chriflians, fignificant 
 of real knowledge ; yet as they afford us, for 
 want of tlie apoftolic conceptions of divine 
 truths, very few, and precarious notions of our 
 future ffate, we can fay very little of them, or 
 by them of the life they relate to, with certainty. 
 
 However we are affured that at the laft great 
 day, and after that judgment, which fliall con- 
 clude the fcene of triumphant wickednefs, all 
 whoever are not then deemed worthy of the pa- 
 radife of God, fhall (together with their bodies, 
 which death mufl then deliver up) go away into 
 the lake of fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels."^ 
 
 So 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "'At the time which the fcripture calls the laft day, 
 every evil, or every one unreconciled to God, who 
 fhall be found remaining in gehenna, fhall likewife, 
 together with all other inhabitants of hades, and every 
 body that occupies the grave, from their fcveral places, 
 and receptacles, be calt into the lake, the laft doom 
 of all wickednefs : which a Roman Catholick writer 
 defer ibes as follows : Co^ita fornacem igneam, fiammas 
 conglobantem cj ejaciilantem quaqtmverfiim : i^ in eo cor- 
 pora damnatorum iclutari^ mincq-, afcenderCy nuncq; de- 
 fcendere^ nunc gyrari in omneni partem, idq; Jugitur, nof^s 
 &' die^ in [iccula [senior urn ^ ^c. But the following of 
 
Letter XIV. [ 277 ] Sect. I. 
 
 So that the exprefiion death and hades fliall 
 be caft into the lake, is a meronimy, as Grotius 
 has juilly commented upon this place/ and im- 
 ports that the accurfed, together with all that 
 belongs to them, whether living or dead, that is 
 whether in hades or in death (namely the death 
 ot the grave or otherwife) {hall become one ag- 
 gregate mafs of wickedneis, doom'd to a like 
 cataflrophe in this lake, referved till now to be 
 the laft fate, the ukimate doom of all that is 
 abominable. 
 
 It is farther obfervcd of this lake that its iire is 
 charadlered as devouring and confuming; fo Hcb. 
 X. 27. xii. 29. 2 Pet. iii. 7. which fuits with 
 that dilTolution, coniumption, and deftrudtion, 
 fo frequently denounced in fcripture upon the 
 
 incor- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Gregory^Sy on Matt, viii, is rather a defcription of 
 gehenna. Ejicientur in tenehras exteriores., ubi frigus 
 erit intoUrabiky ignis inextinguibilis^ vermis immortalis^ 
 j<etor intokrabilisy tenebra palpabiles^ flagella Cccdentiuniy 
 horrida vifto damonmny conjufw peccatoruniy nulla fpes 
 honiy nulla defperatio mali. 
 
 '^ Ilic ejly lays Grotius, metonymia fubje5fi\ vel con- 
 tinens pro contento., ut caelum pro c<elicoliSy terra pro iis 
 qui terrain incolunt: it a hoc loco mors, i. e. mortui\ infer- 
 nuSy i. e. ii qui erant in inferno. And thus fays our 
 faviour {Luke x. 13.) IF'o unto thee Corazin^ and unto 
 thee Bethfaida\ i. e. wo unto ye the inhabitants of 
 Corazin^ and Bethfaida : fo (//^7jviii. ij^.) Samaria 
 received the ivord of God ^ i.e. the inhabitants of ^S"^- 
 maria \ Zech. xiv. 19. and this jJj all be the puniffrment 
 of Eg)pty i. e. of the people or inhabitants oi Egypt. 
 
Letter XIV. [ 278 ] Sect. I. 
 
 incorrigible as their laft end. So Phil. iii. 19. 
 ^whofe end is [a,Tr(^xuo'.) dejlruEiion (Rom. ix. 22.) 
 'vejjeh of wrath fitted (£»? a.Tr<aKnoi,v) for deJlruBion. 
 Pi', xxxvii. 20. 'The wicked JJ:all perijh, the efjemies 
 ^f the Lord Jh all be as the fat of lambs, they Jkall 
 confume away, into fmoke jhall they confume away.^ 
 For the things of this world are the true patterns 
 ©f the things of the world to come, as fays our 
 Milton : 
 
 *' Earth is the fhadow of heaven, the things 
 therein 
 
 •* Each other like, more than on earth is 
 thought." ° So 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 y Let it not here be deem'd an abfurdity that the 
 fubjefts of another Ule have material bodies : revelar 
 tion gives us no reaJon to fu ppofe that there are in na- 
 ture creatures akori^eihcr iminaterial; or that any the 
 inhabitants of thr upper rgions are void of matter. 
 From the fcripture accoui.is of them we gather only 
 that the angels are fp'.rits invifibl.^ from within, cloath- 
 ed with material, tho' very fubtle vehicles, vifible 
 from without. i hele vehicles it may be prefumed 
 befit their inward nature, and that manifefting in 
 them their hidden life, they become fociable, know- 
 able, relative fubfifbences. And being thus, doubt- 
 lefs they can en]oy certain bodily pleafures as well as 
 tve, aiid for the fy.me reafon, evil fpirits can alfo fuf- 
 fer the mifeiles ot the lake ot fire. 
 
 Neither vv'iil our experience of bodily motion, of 
 rather of bodily tirdinefs aiibrd (as feme pretend) any 
 foiid argument againll this hypothrfis. Becaufe he 
 who has given to che rays of light a fpeed that can 
 carry then~. 200,000 miies in a fecord, or the 0*0 of a 
 minute, can iikevViic indue other bodies with a like 
 
Letter XIV. [ 279 ] Sect. I. 
 
 So that fatan who feems to have been proof 
 againft the fires of gehenna, and to have exer- 
 cifed his goverment hitherto without fuffciing 
 much himielf from the elements of his kingdom 
 (for the regions of death are fatan's kingdom, he 
 there fuftains an imperial dignity and power, 
 Heb.'ii. 14. (to v.^ccToq'^ i-xwv Ta 3•a^«ra) Ha'v:7ig the 
 empire of death) will however find in this lake, a 
 fire equal to his firmeft faculties, irrefiftible by 
 the utmoft efforts of corrupted nature, even by 
 all whatfoever is not quickened v/ith the principle 
 ■of chriftian life, Rev. xx. 6. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 fvviftnefs by numberlefs means inconceivable to us : 
 yea, and if he pleafes (fuppofing it even true that the 
 velocity of a body proportions its fubtilty) can give 
 them a fwiftnefs many hundred times exceeding that 
 in a ray of light, by giving them a conflitution ma- 
 ny hundred times more fubtik than have the minut- 
 eil rays of fun or flars. Nor indeed is it at all impro- 
 bable that this will be the cafe, fince a chrifhian body 
 will be quite pure after it has been fown in the earth, 
 and requickened by the refurre6live energies into its 
 native vigour, rarenefs and liberty; for then fliall our 
 bodies (hine fublimed in glory, and renewed in JlrengtL\ 
 as fays the prophet ' Ifa. xl. 31.) They fl: all mount up 
 with ivings as eagles, they JJjall run and not be ivcary, 
 and they Jhall walk and not faint ^ in the realms of our 
 God, regions of unbounded fpace and light. 
 
 "" The word y.^ot,Tcq, here is in the fyriac teftament 
 I \ VV ^ ih fultna which fignifics a monarchical or 
 imperial dignity and power, the fjme as the turkifli 
 word fultan which is derived from the fyriac fultna. 
 And thus we find it ufed in Rev. vi. 8. xii. 10. xiii. 
 
Letter XIV. [ 280 ] Sect. II. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 ^he Jake which is the [econd and mojl properly named 
 death, willy as our Lord'^ laji enemy y be iiUi- 
 mately dijannull'd. 
 
 Ltho* the fecond, emphatical death (whofe 
 operations are to be in the lake of fire, the 
 lail difgraceful relult of rebeUion) will dcflroy hor- 
 ribly all the enemies of our Lord, yet as a deftroyer 
 it is itklr ftiled his enemy, i Ccr. xv. .26. The laj} 
 enefny that is to be invalidated is death. And be- 
 ing our Lord's enemy, that is his laft enemy, it 
 muft itfelf likewife lailly ceafe to be, or as is our 
 text, be no more : the force of which terms we 
 
 riiall 
 
 N O 7^ t. S. 
 
 2,4, 5, 7, 12. xvii. 12, 13. So that the true meaning 
 ot this paffige mull be as it is exad:iy in the fyriac, 
 {.u^aia, 5-Xl!:^.^^. ^~*J^|., "^ho holdeth the empire 
 cj aenth'% i. e. reigns as king' in thofe regions, where 
 death is produced whether in the ( nii.p ) grave or in 
 gelienna. 
 
 la our countryman Bede^ fo learned in the opinions 
 of the primitive writers, we read concerning devils as 
 iollows : yalde verijimile eft in inferno d^mones habitu- 
 ros corpora i7}iea. W hereby one would think it to 
 have been the notion ot his times either that the wick- 
 ed angels, being imperifhable in gehenna, had their 
 bodies afiimulatcd inio the nature of its fire; or that 
 lignc, rerider'd grois by impurity, deforms and thick- 
 ens into fire; in whic:: cafe either way, fire may be 
 dermM latan's "^rue element, and therefore in a degree 
 fupporubie and confiiteat with his life. 
 
Letter XIV. [ 281 ] Sect. It 
 
 fliall therefore in the next place inveftigate by i 
 comparifon of fimular pafTages. 
 
 This comparifon is expedient becaufe the words 
 of our text are diredly apphed to man only (viz. 
 Rev. XXI. 3* Behold the tabernacle of God with man, 
 (vcrfe 4.) a?id God fiall wipe away all tears fro^n 
 THEIR eyes) and conclude, no other wife than by 
 confequence, a like reftitution of all other fallen 
 creatures. The arguing they afford by confe- 
 quence is as follows : 
 
 The death of the lake, which death is the fe- 
 cond death (into which all wicked men at the 
 laft day of this world, called the great day of 
 judgment, fliall be cafl:)' will itfelf ultimately be 
 no more, or ceafe to be -^ therefore all wicked 
 flien fliall ultimately be no more (or ceafe to be) 
 its fubjedls. 
 
 But into the fame lake at the fame time will 
 
 all the fallen creatures of God, together with 
 
 M m fallen 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 =* That this lake is the hifb refort of all wicked mcMi 
 appears from Rev. xx. 13 — 15. The fca^ and death, 
 and hades delivered up their dead-, and ivhatfoeverwas not 
 found in the book of life was cafi into the lake of fire 
 {iro<; fru' SrjTipoi; S'xvxro;) this (death in the lake) is the 
 fecond death, Afatt. xxv. 41. Depart f -cm me ye curfed 
 into aonianfire^ prepared for the devil and his angels. 
 
 ^ That the death in this lake, or the fecond death, 
 is the death here fpoken of as what fhall be no more, 
 is certain, becaufe the firfl or former death, had al- 
 ready for an whole period ceafed : fee Rev. xx. 14, 15. 
 And death and hades icere caji into the lakei ^c. Yea 
 
Letter XIV. [282] Sect. II. 
 
 fallen men, be likewife cail;' therefore a like 
 inference is to be prefumed for all other fallen 
 creatures that are not men ; namely that when 
 the death of the lake fhall ceafe to be, thefe like- 
 wife fhall be no longer the fubjedls of its violence. 
 
 1 hat this fecond death found in the lake, lliall 
 be no more, cannot mean lefs than that its period 
 is determined J and this determination of its period 
 mufc be for ths fubfequent new fcenes related 
 (Rev. XXI. 1 — 4.) viz. Tbe new heaven and the new 
 earthy and the new 'Jeriijakm dejcending from God 
 out of heaven. 
 
 Again, by the following compared texts the 
 final ceafing of this fecond death, the death in 
 the lake, will be yet farther confirmed. 
 
 We have lately mentioned one pafiage to this 
 effedl in i Cor. xv. 26. The laft enemy thatfiallbe in- 
 validated is death', fo that we fhall proceed directly 
 to a like pafiage which we read in Hof. xiii. 14. 
 
 deaths 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 as this fecond death had been now for an whole period, 
 ever fince the laft judgment, the one only death fub- 
 fifting, unlefs the death of the lake be intended in the 
 words "Jheref/jall be no more death ; thefe words, tho' 
 iffuing from the throne, can mean nothing at all. 
 
 <^ The certainty of this will appear from Matt. xiii. 
 41. The angels fhall gather out of his kingdom {Trxurot, rix 
 (yKx.v^ii?.cc) all that are offenjive, and them (tsj? men) 
 %vhich do iniquity, and Jh all caji them into the furnace of 
 fire; which compared with Matt. xxv. 41. Rev. xx. 
 II, 15. proves to have been prepared for devils as 
 •well as men j and for theirs as well as them. 
 
Letter XIV. [ 283 ] Sect. II. 
 
 O de^thy I ivill be thy ( n-1 ) dlffoliition^ or perdi- 
 tion : and this teaches us to underftand the word 
 invalidated {v-x-xx^yv.jyA^ in the foregoing pafTage, 
 as intending the real perdition and diffolution of, 
 this laft enemy of Chriji^ death. 
 
 It is true our englifli tranflators render this text 
 in Hofea^ O deaths I will be thy plagues ; upon 
 which account fome have fancied that the words 
 intend that ChriJI will be the plague of the con- 
 demned ; whereas the word ( 'iIjI ) dbr fignifies 
 a peftilence, or murrain, or pining away, as we 
 find ( "131 ) dbr tranflated in the feptuagint by the 
 
 words (O^ii/^TC?) death («7roAAy;y.j) to deftroy (jxrr'jiw) 
 
 to melt away.'' According to which this pafTage 
 means, O deaths > I will be thy dijjolution : that is, 
 by the working efficacy of my own death and 
 facrifice and rcIi.uTe(5tion, I will caufe both thy 
 works and thee to be annihilated^ to vanirti away, 
 to be no more. Death, however, lliall be our 
 Lord's laft furviving enemy, becaufe of the ufc 
 he has to make of him in his other enemies. 
 
 If a. XXV. 7. And 'Jehovah will fw allow up — the 
 
 veil that isfpread over all nations ^ and will fwallow 
 
 M m 2 up 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " So by {^xvccTo^) Jer.xx'x. 6. Both man nnd bcaji JJjall 
 die li'ith a great (1-1 ^xvxtu)) pejlileace. Ezek. v. 12. 
 A third part of thee Jhall perijh "joith ("13"? S-at/axo.') "jjaft- 
 ing iEzek. vii. ic^.) famine and ( nisi c«k^to?) feftiknce 
 Jhall devour. By (ciTroAXuai) iChrcn. xxii. 10. And he 
 dcjiroyed ( 1ST aTrwA^o-e ) all the feed of the royal houfe. 
 By (sx.TiiV.cd) I Sam. \. 16. For in the multitude of my me- 
 ditations and indignation have I pined away ( ^'^n sxTi- 
 in^x) even till now^ * - 
 
Letter XIV. [ 284 ] Sect. II. 
 
 up death in triumphant perpetuity ; (nifi*? T\TJr\ )h2 
 or to a viftorious durance; i^^Jfa. xxy. 8. Ivii. 16. 
 Amos viii. 7. Lam. v. 20,) ^;z^(Adni Jehovah or) 
 the Lord God will wipe away tears frcfit all faces ^ 
 and the difgrace of his people fia II he take away from 
 all the earth. St. Paul renders this palTage, 1 Cor, 
 XV. 54. ylnd when this mortal [i. e. this mortality 
 of both the ( -^^-xji ) foul (compare ver. 43—50. 
 I Cor. ii. 14. Kom. v. 14. viii. 9. James m. 15. 
 fude 19. I I'im. vi. 16.) and body, even all that 
 is corruptible, or mortal in \x%\ Jhall have put on i?n- 
 mortality^ then fiall be brought to pafs thefayiiig that 
 is written y Dteath is [wallowed up in 'victory : where- 
 by is intended that death, our Lord's lail ene- 
 my, fliall in the end be fo abolifhed, as that no 
 traces oi it fliall remain, even fo much as to evi- 
 dence its jiaving been, as a thing that is fwal- 
 lowed up or devoured, becomes lofl and difap- 
 pears for ever. 
 
 But all this you fay proves not rny point, be- 
 caufe thefe palTages are applicable to the eledl 
 only, or thofe whom no damnation fhall afFe(ft. 
 So that when I fay from Rev. xxi. 4, That there 
 fiall be 710 more deaths you demand, ^ But why 
 muft I underfland this as fpoken of all even the 
 loft as well as the ele<5l ? I anfv/er, 
 
 A. Becaufe Chrijl is called without reftric^ion 
 
 (2 7/W. i. 10. 'O y.xloipyn(roc'; tov ^xyoirov^ He who in^ 
 
 validates, or is in the very ad: of invalidating, 
 deaikj^ for thefe words import that he is now 
 
 working 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ The wofd Y.xrx^yv^ fignifies to invalidate, abolifh, 
 render effedlefs, difannui. So iCor.v'i. 13. Godjhall 
 
Letter XIV. [285] Sect. II. 
 
 working the utter abolition and annihilation of its 
 power and efficacy. And again, Hof. xiii. 14. O 
 death y I will be thy ( "IS"! ) confumption-y whereby is 
 denoted that gradual decay, and lefTening of death's 
 empire, by delivering his fubjedts, one after ano- 
 ther, out of his hold and tyranny; as iirft the eled: 
 in this life, who lliall never tafte death; 2dly. 
 and in an after feafon the Je%vSj 3dly. in a flill 
 more diftant period the nations, and fo on : 
 
 ^ But this is all whim and conjed:ure; prove 
 that the damned will ever be delivered from 
 their death. 
 
 A. The damned are our Lord's enemies; yet 
 they are not called his laft enemies, for dearh is 
 
 called 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 invalidate (or difannul, or abolifh) both the belly and 
 meats \ by putting an end to their prefent offices, 
 (xiii. 8.) He Jljall difannul prophefiesy tongues, and know- 
 ledge, or fcience; by caufing them to ceafe, or which 
 is the fame, to be fuperfeded by c ireft view of the 
 Lord. Eph. ii. 15, He Jhall difannul the lazu by ren- 
 dering it ufelefs, &c. 
 
 This word is often ufed to anfwer the hebrew word 
 ( yh^ ) to fwallow up. So 
 
 The hebrew. yi'2 The greek, xxrxpyiu 
 
 Pf. cvii. 27. So that all! i Cor. ii. 6. Tet not the 
 their wifdom {'^'ZT\T\) isK isjifdom of the princes of this 
 fwallowed up. ----- -^ age which is invalidated. 
 
 Kxxv.y. HffwiIlfwal-1 2 Cor. iii. 14. fFhich 
 lozaup theveil(U'y:n'y)b:2^)\' veil is abolijhed in Chriji 
 fpread over all nations - -J nxTx^ymxi. 
 
 Job ii. 3. Altho^ thoul Rom. v].6. ('J.cc xotroco- 
 movedfi7ne{'\);h':h) tofival- > yn%) that he may difannul, 
 low him upy or abolifh him. J or abohfli the body of fin. 
 
Letter XIV. [ 286 ] Sect. II. 
 
 called his lafl enemy. Now all the Lord's ene- 
 mies fhall be juhof-dijiatcd unto him before death 
 fiall be invalidated or difannulled. But fuppof- 
 ing the damned never to be otherwife than the 
 Lord's enemies, how is death diftinguiflied from 
 all other enemies by being that enemy who fliall 
 laft of all be invalidated or difannulled ? At the 
 time when death (hall be difannulled, the Lord 
 will have no other enemy than death to dif- 
 annul; but the Lord will have other enemies 
 than death long after his accomplifhment of the 
 number of the eledl, therefore the time of death's 
 difannullmg fliall not be immediately upon the 
 accomplifliing the number of the ele6l ;*^ and 
 therefore neither do the terms difan7ml death re- 
 fped: death's tyranny over the eled:, but his ty- 
 ranny over the damned. 
 
 The eled:, who are our Lord's firft enemies 
 to be fubordinated, fliall firft be refcued and lafe 
 from the influence of death ; afterwards the 
 damned (who are the Lord's next enemies to be 
 fubordinated) Oiall alfo in the next period be ref- 
 cued ; and t'nen laftly death himfelf fhall be dif- 
 annuU'd. But death it is faid fiiall be difannul- 
 led. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 *' That death Ihall not be difinnulled immediately 
 upon the accompliniment of the number of the eleft, 
 is alfo evident, becaufe the damned are fcntenced to 
 death in the lake as their ultimate fate-. Rev. xx. 14. 
 This (death in the lake) is the fecond death; but this 
 fentence v.-ill not be paiTed till the number of the eleft 
 is acconiplirned, and iecure in thofe arms from whence 
 no creature can pluck them. 
 
Letter XIV. { 287 ] Sect. II. 
 
 led, as the Lord's lafl: enemy, i. e. not till (i Cor. 
 XV. 27.) all other thi?igs (i. e. perfons, and con- 
 fequcntly the damned) f:ali he fiihordinated to 
 Cbrijl. 
 
 ^ But by death is meant thole that are damn- 
 ed, and not any imaginary being to fucceed them 
 as the final fubject of rellitution. 
 
 A. Yet fuppofing this, the confequence is flill 
 the fame, for if by death is meant the damned, 
 then are the damned they, who i Cor. xv. 26. 
 As cur hordes lajl cncwy Jl:all be difa?imdled. But 
 thcfc (i Cor. XV. 25, 20.) Ihall like wife h^fubof-- 
 diiiatcd', and thus the word difannulled and fu- 
 bordinatcd will fignify the fame thing. 
 
 Their enmity will be difannulled, and thereby 
 themfelves become fubordinatcd; and fo alio will 
 they be capable to join party with the univcrfal 
 body of whom fiys St. 'John in Kev. v. 13. Every 
 creature which is in heaven^ and on earthy and un- 
 der the earthy and fuch as are in the fea, and all 
 that are in them heard /, Jaying, hlc//ing, and ho- 
 nour^ and glory ^ ajid power be unto him that fits 
 upon the throne^ a?id unto the La:.:b to the ceons of 
 the aons. 
 
 Whether by death therefore be meant fatan 
 lord of death, or whether that death which is 
 to be found in the lake, or whether the colle(51:- 
 ed multitude of dead fouls; flill it will follow 
 that, as death fhall be difannulled, his eflicacy 
 as an enemy Jhall ceajcy or, as the prophet ex- 
 prelfes it {]/d. xxv. 7.) Jehovah will /wallow up in 
 the mountain (othcrwifc called Zion upon which 
 the temple flood) the face of the covering caft over 
 
 (or 
 
Letter XIV. [ 288 ] Sect. tU, 
 
 (or the covering film which covers, and fo dark- 
 ens the eyes of) all people, and the veil that is 
 fpread over all nations : he will /wallow up death 
 to a prevailing perfevera?2ce ( ni^J^ ), i. e. to all per- 
 petuity (compare i Cor. xv. 25 — 28. Heb. ii. 8.) 
 So then, until to the words Death shall be 
 NO MORE you fhall have found fome other mean- 
 ing than that " death fliall continue to exift no 
 longer ;" I think it ought to be a doubt with 
 you that death is immortal, and that the truly 
 dead fhall never die. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Death and mifery exifls providentially. 
 
 FROM what has been above argued, I think 
 we may venture to pronounce as a fcripture 
 dodrine, that death, even the asonian death, 
 and which our englifh bible calls everlafting 
 death, which is our Lord's laft enemy, being in 
 the lake of fire, the ultimate refort, and doom 
 of all evil, where fatan and his angels will find 
 that perdition, whofe diftinguifliing character is 
 the fecond or latter death j 1 fay we may pro- 
 nounce as a bible truth, that this death will 
 hereaf'Cr be invalidated, or loofe its effcd:; that 
 it will be djjolved, or ceaje to be-, for that Jeho- 
 vah w 11 dejtroy it, or make it to melt away, will 
 utterly confame itj that it fhall be no longer 
 vifible eidier in the foul or body where now it 
 
 reigns ; 
 
Letter XIV. [ 289 ] Sect. Ill, 
 
 reigns; but fhall be abforbedhy the prevailing in- 
 fluence of an incorruptible nature, or as St. Paul 
 emphatically expriefles it, 2 Cor. v. 4. Mortality 
 (or all that is mortal both in foul and body) fiall 
 he /wallowed up by life. 
 
 Moreover, ^nd as a ftill farther confirmation 
 of this doctrine (fince what is here faid of death 
 is alfo faid in the fame pafTage of pain, and for«- 
 row, and crying ; we conclude that) Rev, xxi. 4. 
 ^here fiall be no more deaths Jieither forrow:, ndr 
 crying i neither jhall there be any more paih ; for the 
 former things are pajfed away ; and (as we read 
 verfe ^.) he that fat upon the thro?iej faid^ behold I 
 make all things new -, {b then both pain, and for- 
 row, and death, (hall finally ceafe to trouble 
 men any longeri 
 
 And thus will be acCompliflied thofe words 
 of St. Paul (exprefi"ed in the aorift participles 
 in order to import thereby indeterminate time^ 
 viz.) 2 T'im, i. 8 — 10. Be thou partaker with 7ne of 
 the affiiSiions of the gofpvl, actor ding to the power of 
 God faving lis — according to his good purpofe and 
 grace^ given us in fcfus Chrijl before his aonian 
 feafons^ but now appears by the manifejlation of our 
 Saviour fefus Chrijl (pcP'-^^ xATap-j'txrauT©^ i^iv tov Oaf- 
 yxTov'j invalidating for who is employed in the 
 work, of invalidating) dei7th (^wTiVai/T^^ ie ^unv) but 
 evidencing (or who is employed in the work of 
 evidencing) life and immortality thro' the gofpel. 
 
 And in this view of things death, and hell^ 
 
 and pain, and forrow, ap()ear to be (not as ufu- 
 
 ally looked upon, accidental creatures that ftole 
 
 N n into' 
 
Letter XIV. [ 290 ] Sect. III. 
 
 into exiftence by a fort of chance, or fome kind 
 of inadvertency in God, butj the provifionary 
 creatures of God's wifdom, and goodnefs j pre- 
 ordained, by reafon of a fitnefs in their nature, 
 to produce, in the contingent cafualties fore-feen, 
 the great events of his benevolence, and com- 
 municative inclinations i v^hich, when they ihall 
 have fully ferved (being creatures of a temporary, 
 and aeonian confiftence) they muft vanifh and 
 be no more. 
 
 And of this kind are likewife the fufferings of 
 this life, vi^hich the apoftle tells us are intended 
 by God as a means to our real good. Heb. xii. 
 6 — f I . Whom the Lord loveth he chajieneth, and 
 fconrgeth every Jon whom he receiveth ; // ye endure 
 chajlejiing^ God dealeth with you as with fons^ for 
 whai fon is he whom the Lord chajieneth not ? But 
 if ye he without chaftening, whereof all are partak- 
 ers, then are ye bajiards, and not fins and no 
 
 chaflening for the prefent feems to be joyous but griev- 
 ous, 72everihelefs afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
 fruits of righteoufncfs unto them that are exercifed 
 thereby. 
 
 It is true, terrible indeed muft be the punish- 
 ments of the lake, and as fuch fo far from being 
 agreeable to our Lord, that it, together with all 
 punifhment in general, is ftyled the ftrange work 
 of God ; a work which he has an averfion to. 
 Ifa. xxviii. 21, 22. fchovah flmll rife up as in 
 mount Perazim, he fiall be wrath as in the valley 
 of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his f range 
 ( Ti? zur, i. e. odious) worky and effeSi his Jirange 
 
 (or 
 
Letter XIV. [ 291 ] Sect. III. 
 
 (or "iv odious) operation — a confiimption ( fi^D kle^) 
 determined upon the whole earth. 
 
 And yet, however horrible the fufferings of the 
 lake may prove, and however unequal or differ- 
 ent our Lord's dealings with different fouls may 
 feem, ftill (as we have all the reafon we can wifh 
 to believe, that love and benevolence is at the 
 bottom of all the works of God) we may well 
 reft fatisfied that he (who muft fo intimately 
 know every individual that he has made) will be 
 fure to contrive what beft fuits that fpeciiick 
 difference which, thro' all the creation, diftin- 
 guifhes its individuals from each other; as in con- 
 ftitution, fo in the feveral intermediate ends (but 
 above all in that grand ultimate purpole) which 
 the Lord of all may have in each. 
 
 And upon this account we are farther to regard 
 the promifes and menaces of God (not as the 
 effedl of any mere abfolute power, decreing what 
 either may or may not be, according to the 
 caprice of an almighty fovereign, but) as purfij- 
 ant to that nature which he has eftabliflicd in his 
 creatures, and whereby his wifdom produces that 
 grand object of his labours, which, as it was his 
 firft purpofe in creating, mufl: ever after continue 
 his invariable aim, and be (like his gifts and 
 callings which are without repentance) the fteady 
 N n 2 tendency 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 s nS^ is ufually rendered in the feptuagint by the 
 verb E^ai/aXiVxw to confume, e^oAoS-ceuw to abolilh utter- 
 ly, J'jaTfXfw to put an end to, KaTarpjjSw to wear away, 
 Tx-rrpou: to rot awav, aTTsMu^v-i to deftroy. 
 
I.ETTER XIV, [ 29? ] Sect. III. 
 
 tendency of both his executive and permiffive pro- 
 vidence ; namely that all men become quickened 
 with the fpiritual life of his Chrifi^ and that him- 
 felf may become the all in all creatures. 
 
 And in this light we are to upderftand the 
 paffage in i I'm. iy. lo. He is the rejlgret; (or 
 1 1 t .Isr» quickener) of all men ^ efpecially of believ- 
 ers^ yea, and his benevolence extends yet farther, 
 for {Pf. cxlv. 9.) fehovah' is good to all, and his 
 mercy is over all his works. His mercy however 
 will not prevent his chaftiling every one according 
 to his wickednefs. For (L«^^ xii. 47, 48.) that 
 fervant who knew his Lord's willj and prepared not 
 himfelf neither did according to his willy fiall be 
 beaten with many Jiripes : but he that knew not, anj 
 did commit things worthy of flripes^ JhaJl be beaten 
 with few jiripes. 
 
 And yet our Lord's fevereil difpenfations of 
 judgment, are only acceflaries to thofc of his 
 tenevolence; and whether he brings evil or good 
 upon us, ftill it all comes from the bowels of his 
 love, and in his faithful provifion for our trueft 
 happinefs. 
 
 
 L E T- 
 
[ 293 ] 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 J;i Christ the fir Jl fruits^ the whole cre- 
 ation is deemed holy before God. 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Rom. xi. i6. 
 
 Now if the Jirfi fruits be holy, the lump (or rather 
 mafs) is alfo holy ; and if the root be holy, Jo are 
 the branches. 
 
 jHf^i^jjV^JlE terms of this paflage which need 
 ^ T $ adjufting are, — ift. The firft fruits,— 
 J^)'^^ 2^^y* '^^^ mafs, — sdly. The word holy. 
 I. ^hejirjl fruits. 
 This term throughout the new teftament has 
 only two applications. 
 
 I ft. It is applied to Chrijl as the only one, 
 who in the moft eminent and firi^eft propriety 
 may be called the firft fruits. So i Cor. xv. 22, 23. 
 As in Adam all die, fo in Chi'iji Jlall all be quick- 
 ened, but every one in his cwn order, Cbrifl the frft 
 fruits^ after^vaid they that are Chri/l's at his coming. 
 
 2d]y. 
 
Letter XV, [ 294 ] Sect. I. 
 
 sdly. It is applied to the 144,000 mentioned 
 in Rev, xiv. 4. Thefe however it feems are to be 
 deemed firft fruits only in a fecondary accepta- 
 tion, upon which account, fays St. James, i. 1 8, 
 
 (hi; to Hvxi 'vi^-ocg oc7rap^r\v tiux rui\) uvth HjKTjaaTWi/) that 
 
 we Jhould be a kind of firjl fruits of his creatures: 
 and therefore I think the («?') in the paffage of 
 the Revelations ought to be tranflated even, viz. 
 
 the 144,000 [Rev. xiv. 4. CiTrocpxn tw ©fw 3^ ru apviu) 
 
 being the firft fruits unto God, even unto the Lamb. 
 
 And according to this acceptation, we may 
 diftinguifh Chrifi (as the only one who, in ftriA 
 propriety, may be called, the firft fruits unto 
 God) from the 144,000, who, in ftridl proprie- 
 ty, are the firft fruits unto Chrift. 
 
 It being then certain that Chrift is truly and 
 properly to be underftood by the firft fruits, we 
 will examine 
 
 II. What is meant by the lump or mafs. 
 
 But as the term mafs is difcoverable in its rela- 
 tive firft iruits, we muft again confider our Lord 
 in two relations, ift. As a few, in which rela- 
 tion the whole body of the Jews are the mafs : 
 2dly. As a fon of Adam, or as our fecond Adam, 
 in which refped all mankind is the mafs. 
 
 For the mafs is all that remains over and above 
 the firft fruits, not the greater part only, but the 
 whole. And we read agreeably hereto, i Cor. 
 xi. 3. 'The head of every man is Chrift. 
 
 And as all the fruits of Canaan belonged to 
 Jehovah in the firft fruits, fo Chrift being the 
 fir a fruits unto God of all the fons of Adam, all 
 the fons o^ Adam are claim'd of GoD.in his Chrift 
 as his property J that all fouls are his, himfelf de- 
 clares 
 
Letter XV. [ 295 ] Sect. I. 
 
 clares, Ez. xviii. 4- Behold all fouh are mhie^ as the 
 foul of the father y fo alfo the foul of the fon is minCy 
 the foul that finneth it fiall die y that is die by the 
 abfolute will of Jehovah j which aflurance is agaia 
 a farther evidence of his fovereign right in the 
 fouls of all. And upon this account he is alfo 
 called, Rom.xiv. 9. T'he Lord both of the dead and 
 the livings that is [not that he is the God of any 
 thing indeed dead and extincft, fince he aflures 
 us (L^k^ XX. 38.) T'hat God is the God of the liv- 
 ingy and not of the dead, but] that all thofe, whe- 
 ther fouls or bodies, which to our eyes appear 
 dead and extind:, are to him vilible, and dif- 
 played in all their both prefent realities, and fu- 
 ture evolutions J ^ or to ufe his own words they 
 all live to him. 
 
 Now as to the latter claufe of our text, this is 
 only a fliort comparifon, of the fame import with 
 the former, a comparing of the firft fruits and 
 its mafs with a root and its branches, fo that our 
 laft term to be inquired into, is 
 
 III. fhe term holy^ ay*^. 
 
 And as the firft fruits and the root are in our 
 text emphatically ftyled holy, we fliall eafily ar- 
 rive at the meaning of this term, by conlidering 
 how it relates to Chrijl the firft fruits or root ; 
 for Chrift will equal the full import of the term 
 (a'y»(^) holy*" in the fublimeft notion of it; being 
 the perfe(ft excellency and adequate likenefs of 
 
 God : 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ** Some people will have it that (aV'<^) lio'y in this 
 place fignifies, devoted or confecrated; others that 
 it Hgnifies a being like God, pure, and without blame. 
 
LEtTER XV. [ 296 ] Sect. L 
 
 God : or as St. Paul defcribes him, Heb. i. 3 . T'he 
 exprefs image of the father: agreeably to what alfd 
 he fays of himfelf {John xvi. 9.) He that hath 
 feen me, hathfeen the father alfo. 
 
 And thus the words explain 'd, give us the 
 meaning of our text, viz. If Chriji the frji fruits 
 he holy, i. e. without blemifli before the father, 
 being his invariable likenefs; the mafs, that is, 
 I ft. the whole body of the jewifh race, and, 
 2dly. all and every the fons of Adam are alfo holy, 
 or regarded as without blame before God in his 
 Chrift. Rom. iii. 23, 24. — iv. 5. — v. 18. 
 • Again, if Chriji (conlider'd as the vine, fo yohn 
 XV. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches, or as the 
 olive-tree, or as) the root be holy^fo are the branches , 
 or all thofe that are ingrafted into himj infomuch 
 that {Phil. iii. 9.) Winning Chriji they are found in 
 him (as the ingrafted branch in the tree) 72ot hav- 
 ing their own righteoufnefs which is of the law ; but 
 that which is thro the faith of Chriji, the righteouf- 
 nefs which is of God by faith 4 And 
 --: ^ T^ ^ ^^ 
 
 fuch ajs the confcience of all God*s creatures muft ap- 
 prove and admire -, in which fenfe, fay they, it is to be 
 underftood in Lev. xx. 17. Be ye holy, for I am holyy 
 (i Pet. i. 15.) as he who hath called us is holy, fo he ye 
 holy in all manner of converfation. Eph. i. 4. He hath 
 chofen us that we fhould be holy, and without blame be- 
 fore him in love. Col. i. 22. To frefent you holy, un- 
 blameabk and unreprovahle in his fight. But taken 
 either way, this word hojy will be of equal ufe here, 
 fince the holinefs of the mafs is equally averred, 
 whether it be holy, that is blamelefs In its firft fruits, 
 or holy, that is devoted, or dedicated to God in it* 
 firft fruits. 
 
Letter XV. f igf j Sect. t. 
 
 And thus this text correfponds with the fol- ' 
 lowing, I Cor. xv. 2.2. As in Adayn all die^ Jo in 
 Ch'rijl fiall all be (quickened or) made alive. lia. 
 liii. i r. He Jhall fee the travail of his jhul and be 
 fatisficd; by his knowledge Jhall ?ny righteous fervani 
 juflify the many (or multitude), for he fall bear 
 (as upon his fhoulders) their iniquities. Rom. v. 
 12. As by one fuan fi?i entered into the ivof-ld^ and 
 death by fin -y a?idfo death paffed upon all men^ for all 
 have finned — (fo far greatef things may be faid of 
 that free gift which will come thro Chrifi, the 
 fecond member of the comparifon, to all the 
 race of men ; lince) v. 15. If thro' the offence of 
 the one (t» ew{^ namely the firft Adam o» ttoaao* ^tpo- 
 ^aw^) the many (that is all his fons) died\ much 
 more the grace of God; and the gift^ by the grace 
 (t8 iy(^ ai/OpwVa) of the one mail Chrifi {ifn^ta-a-zva-i') 
 O o aboundeth 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^he true import of the fcripttire exprejjlon ('a ttoxXoi) tb6 
 many, as oppofed to (0 hoq) the one. 
 
 »EnEPI2IET2E being the firfl aorift is indefinite, 
 and may mean either does, or may, or fliall abound. The 
 fyriac has it '^JS^j-LL for cji^^^^jlLL Hiall be. abundant. 
 
 By £K in the above paflage is undoubtedly to be un- 
 derfteod J efus Chrift {mg\y . But (oi iroxxoi) the many, 
 has a typical and transterrable meaning, ift. and in 
 the prefent (late of things it regards all the collet^licd 
 members of Chnjl which form his body the church,', 
 of which we read, Heb. ii. 13. Ifa. viii. 18. Behold I 
 and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are for 
 figns and for wonders^ (fjc. 2dly, and in a larger fcnfe 
 it regards a future gathering, in a future age, of all 
 mankind. But, 3clly, and laft of all, it regards ail 
 the univerfe, 
 
Letter XV. [ 298 ] Sect. I. 
 
 ahoundeth («'? th? ttoaas?) unto the many, 2 Cor. v. 1 2. 
 He hath made him who knew no Jin ^ a Jin- offering for 
 m, that we might be made the righteoufnejs of God in 
 him. Rom. x. 4. Chriji is the end of the law for 
 (unto) righteoufnejs to every one that believeth; fo that 
 
 To 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 For as the one begotten of God is fingly the (Arau- 
 yocciA-cc) effulgence of his fathef s plenitude \ fo are all the 
 creatures deftined to be colledively the (A7r«Liya(r//,ai) 
 effulgence of Chriji's plenitude. 
 
 God is reprefented by one perfect image of himfelf 
 his fon Jefus Chriji : but ChriJl will be reprefented by 
 the many called therefore (01 -rroXXoi) the many ; and 
 who fhall be colledled together into one, in order to 
 form one full image of himfelf their alpha or fource. 
 
 And therefore we read, Eph. i. 9, 10. Having made 
 known unto us the myfiery of his own will^ according to 
 his own good pleafure^ which he has purpofed in himfelf; 
 namely, in the difpenfation of the fulnefs of times to gather 
 together in one all things in Chrijt, both which are in the 
 heavens, and which are on earth, even in him. And 
 therefore alfo is even the church itfelf called Chriji, 
 So I Cor. xii. 12. As the body is one, and hath many 
 members ; and all the members of that one body, being 
 many, are one body ; f» alfo is Chrifl, i. e. the church. 
 
 I fay as the logos is the total image of, fingly ex- 
 preffing the invifibie father ; fo are the creatures alto- 
 gether to become the total image of, colleftivcly to 
 exprefs, the divine fon, their common seonian vifible 
 father. 
 
 The creatures as yet being only feverally, and as {o 
 many individuals, the partial images o^ Chriji; Chriji 
 is as yet v/ithout his full image ; but the workings of 
 the seonian life in him fhall produce him fuch. 
 
Letter XV. [ 299 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fo foon as he bclieveth, he is holy and righteous 
 in Chrijlj and partakes of his iandtifying nature. 
 
 And now the words being underftood, we will 
 in the next place view them in the paiTage where 
 we find them. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Romans xi. 7, to the end. 
 
 Verf^ 
 
 7 JSRAEL hath not obtained that which he 
 
 8 -^ feeketh-y — As it is written ^ God hath given 
 
 11 them the fpirit of Jlumber.-^Have they /tumbled 
 that they might fall? God for bid ^ but thro their 
 
 falU fahation is come unto the Gentiles to pro- 
 
 12 voke them to emulation, — Now if the fall of 
 them be the riches of the worlds how much more 
 their fulnefs — (or to cxprefs it in other terms) 
 
 15 Ifthecajiingawayofthem, be the reconciling of 
 the worlds what fiall the receiving of them be, 
 but life from the dead? For (that fuch receiv- 
 ing of the Jews into the favour of God as his 
 people, fliall furely happen j is evident from 
 an infallible maxim in the methods of divine 
 
 16 love, namely) if the fir ji fruits be holy ^ the mafs 
 is alfo holy \ and if the root be holy, fo are the 
 
 ly branches. And iffome of the branches be broken 
 offi and thou being a wild olive treCy wert graft- 
 ed in among thcm^ and with them partake ft of 
 the root andfatncfs of the olive tree. Boajl noty 
 
 ao — Becaufe of unbelief they were broken off, and 
 O o 2 thou 
 
Letter XV. [ 300 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 Verfe. 
 
 thou flandejl by faith. — Behold therefore th£ ^ 
 goodnefs andfeverity of God-, towards them which 
 
 23 fall, fever ity ; towards thee, goodnefs :• — ^nd 
 they alfoy if they abide not fill in unbelief, fall 
 be grafted in ; for Qod is able to graft them in 
 
 5,4. again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive 
 
 tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted 
 
 contrary to nature into a good olive tree -, how 
 
 ' much more foall thefe, who are the natural 
 
 branches, be grafted into their own olive tree .^ 
 
 2^ For I would not, brethren, that ye fiould be ig- 
 itorant of this myftery — that hdrdtiefs is happened 
 tolfraelinpart, until the fulnefs of the Gentiles be 
 
 26 come in. Andfo all Ifrael fiall be refiored; as it 
 is written, there fiall come out of Sion the deli- 
 verer (or reftorer) and flmll turn away ungodlinefs 
 
 28 from facob.—As conctrning the gofpel, — but as 
 
 concerning eleSfion, they are beloved for the fake of 
 the fathers (to wit. Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, 
 as is evident from another infallible maxim 
 
 29 in the ways of God, namely) T^he gifts an4 
 
 30 calling of God are without repentance. For as 
 ye in times paft have not believed God, yet have 
 
 3 1 now obtained mercy through their unbelief: even 
 fo thefe alfo have noiv not bclitved, that through 
 
 32 your mercy they alfo may obtain mercy. For 
 God hath fmt up altogether in unbelief, that 
 
 23 he might have mercy upon all. O the depth!- — 
 36 For out of him {fi aVS) and through him (<?*' aura) 
 
 and unto him (£k auTcv) are all things, to whom 
 
 be glory cconian. 
 Give me leave to comment upon a few points 
 in the above pafTage. 
 
 I 
 
I^ETTER XV. [ 301 ] SeCT.il 
 
 REFLECTIONS ON 
 
 Verfei '^\ 25, 26. 
 
 When we compare thefe, may we not prefume 
 that the curfes of God, fuch as a fpirit of flumber, 
 and delufion {zTkef.W, 11/ have their commif- 
 fion liom him,. not K^ccUiV *.- dehghts in the 
 mifery of his creatures, but becaule he ha^ fome 
 remoter work of mercy to produce out cfthcm? 
 Pfaim c^xx.jl. 
 
 Verfes 29, 26. 
 
 A poflhumous reftitution of loft fouls prefumed 
 from the above paftage of fcripture. 
 
 Since the gifts and calling of God are without re- 
 pentance (or fuch as God repenteth not the hav- 
 ing beftowed) how can we doubt but our favi- 
 our's work of reftoration muft be carried on in 
 our pofthumous ftate of being ? For we muft 
 either fuppofe thefe gifts and callings of God 
 without effed:; or elle we muft fuppofe that thro* 
 all the changes and fortunes of an after life, our 
 good aeonian king and fovereign will purfue what 
 he has begun in every foul, till he has finiflied 
 his purpofe of grace in him, and accompliihed 
 the end of his calling and eledtion. 
 
 His prefent concern is more immediately with 
 his firft fruits; thefe he now (lieb. xiii. 20.) thro 
 the blood of the ceonian covena?it (Kara^Tt^a) redinte- 
 grates — working in them what is pleafng to him ; 
 and the efficacy of the fame blood will in due 
 time be applied to the mafs alfo; for the value 
 of his blood may be prefumed to furvive thro' 
 the utmoft ages of his aeonian governmeitt cry- 
 ing 
 
Letter XV. [ 302 ] Sect. II. 
 
 ing, in behalf of thofe for whom it was fhed 
 (i. e, for all, fee CoL i. zo: Eph, ii. 13.) till it be 
 fati.^fied. 
 
 And nothing can fatisfy the blood of Jefus fo 
 crying, till all (even the worft of iinners, even 
 thofe who, Heb. x. 29. Have accounted the blood 
 of the covenant wherewith they were janSliJied^ an 
 unholy thing) be redeem'd by it : fince even their 
 unbelief {Kovn. iii. '}^.) fiall not make the faith of 
 God of no?ie effeBy or pervert the bleffings of that 
 blood which fpeaketh better i hi tigs than that of Abel. 
 
 That the ufe and efEcacy of this blood muft 
 needs extend itfelf beyond the limits of this life is, 
 one would think, clear enough from (ver. 26.) 
 andfo all Ifraelfiall be rejiored, Becaufe that the 
 prefent circumftances of the far greater part of 
 Ifrael are miferable, cannot but be concluded 
 from thofe frequent terrible denounciations againft 
 them in the gofpel j fuch as, How can ye efcape 
 the judgment of gehenna ? Inhere fore yejhall receive 
 the greater damnation^ &c. For unlefs this blood 
 were of efficacy in an aeonian, and after life, there 
 could be no referves of mercy ftill awaiting the 
 Jfraelites ; when hereafter thefulnefs of the Gentiles 
 are come in^ and when the times of refrejloing fiall 
 rejtirn^ and the found of the great trumpet lliall 
 publifh their year of jubilee : {Lev. xxv. 9-^55. 
 If. xxvii. 13. I Cor. xv. 52.) when {Luke iv. 18,) 
 he Jhall heal the broken hearted^ and preach deliver- 
 ance to the captives., and recovering of fight to the 
 blind., and fet at liberty them that are bruifedy and 
 preach the acceptable year of the Lord-, in a manner 
 of which what is already done is only a fliadow. 
 
 Re- 
 
Letter XV. [ 303 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Remarkably to this purpofe is what we read in 
 Heb. vii. 25. He is able (irw^av) to rejiore (ek to ttoLv- 
 T£X£?) '' to all perpetuity them that come unto God by 
 him, being [ttxutots ^m) forever livi?7g to make in- 
 ter cejjion for them-y for if our faviour were able to 
 reftore a man only during the date of his natural 
 life in this world, it would not be true that this 
 his reftoring power would continue ("? to navTiTCiq) 
 to all perpetuity; becaufe that fufceptibility of re- 
 ftitution which is at an end, and muft ceafe with 
 
 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ In the fyriac teftament we find this pafTage thus, 
 ici^.i^ o.^ju^)^qI^ cj.:iJOiao ^^d he is able to vi- 
 vify aonianly thofe who approach unto God by him. 
 
 The expreflion (Jj? to -KocvTiXiq) to all perpetuity, i. e. 
 thro' all the ages, is by moft people applied not to 
 Chri/l's power of reftoring bur, to the ftate of the re- 
 ftored -, in which acceptation this text will mean, that 
 Chriji is able to reftore his faints by a reftoration to 
 continue to all perpetuity ; a fenfe which fuppofes 
 fome fuperlative preference of reftoration, or two di- 
 ftinft reftorations, the one of which was to laft to all 
 perpetuity, the other not. Whereas by the chriftian 
 doftrine we are taught that every true believer is as 
 fuch in a ftate of reftoration, which is to laft to all 
 perpetuity •, as will hereafter appear from many fcrip- 
 ture palfages. 
 
 Yea indeed he is fo already -, for {John v, 24.) He 
 that believeth hnth Ionian life — is pajfedfrom death unto 
 life; fo I Cor. vi. cj — 1 1. Knoiz ye not that the unrigh- 
 teous fhall not inherit the kingdom of God — and fuch izryg 
 fome of you^ hut ye are -wafkied^ but ye are fanSfified, but 
 ye arejufiified in the name of the Lord JefuSy and by the 
 
Letter XV. [ 304 ] Sect. It 
 
 the term of a man's natural life, cannot be faid 
 to laft (fK TO TTxvTiXBg) to all perpetuity. 
 
 Chrijl as a fin-oifering is related to every fin- 
 ner, 2 Cor. v. 1 8. H^ made him afm- offering for us^ 
 and in this relation the reflitution of finners is his 
 proper part and office j that office which gives 
 him his gofpel name and character, yefus or Re^ 
 Jiorer. 1 iitn. i. 15. Chrijl J ejus came into the 
 world to refiore finners. Luke x ix. i o. The Jon oj 
 man is cometo feek and to rejlore that which waslojL 
 
 And 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 fpirit of our God: compare alfo, i Pet. i. 2g. tit. iii. 
 5. John iii. 3. — xiii. 8. i John iii. 2. But every true 
 believer being already reftored to life, wafhed, fandti-^ 
 fied, juflified, &c. his after reflitution, his reftoration 
 (£1? TO TTxvTiXiq) to all perpetuity muft be chimerical. 
 
 The claufe therefore (a? to -na^nXiq) in this pafTage 
 niufl prefume upon our Lord's being as able to rellore 
 men in an after fcate of exiftence, as in this life, 
 Chrijl ever liveth, why ? By making intercelTion to re~ 
 ftore; whom? Thofe who are already reflored? Surely 
 not ; whom then ? them CuVsp dvTuv) in contradiftinc- 
 tion to us CjiV*" v. 26.) i. e. them the unreflored, and 
 who hereafter jhall come unto him., as diftinguiflied 
 from us that are already cojne to him, and are al- 
 ready reftored. 
 
 But \{ChriJi ever liveth to reftore by his intercefTiori 
 the unreftored •, it follows, that thofe who after this 
 life, during his reonian reign, fliall need reftoring, 
 may well expeft the benefit of this his perpetual office. 
 
 The tranflators of the englifh bible render this 
 phrafe to the uttermoft, viz. He is able to rejlore to the 
 mtermojt, but the context \Jje continues ^eonianly^has a. 
 
Letter XV. [ 305 ] Sect. it. 
 
 And therefore fits he now in the throne of his 
 father: as fays St. Peter y ASfs v. 31. God has ex- 
 alted hi?n to his own right-hand a prince and a re- 
 Jiorer, to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgivenefs 
 ofjins. 
 
 Alfo in prbfpedl of this his covenanting cha- 
 racter (Rom.v. 8) 'whil/i we were yet Jinners (i. e; 
 
 P p mere 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 priejlhood that pajfeth not away — wherefore alfo, he is 
 able to rejlore {uz to ■7rx-^zXi(;) being for ever alive'] 
 plainly infers his jeonian power of refloringffK to ttuv- 
 liXiZi from the Ionian continuance of his. life and prieft- 
 hood, and fo takes (-TravlfX??) in the fignification of 
 time. The words are literally in the fyriac, or origi- 
 nal as follows. He is able to quicken {y^\ v\) i^oni-x 
 anly thofe who approach unto God by him (La,^>,^ ^Qd jlj«>' 
 (yCLOi i<=^\,i.>'' l-l-o!^^^ coiaiao* ■^-> j V^ ^^ 
 "^for ^he liveth ^thro* all time *and offers sprayers ^in- 
 jlead of them. And befides this, the rendering to re- 
 ftore to the uttermoft (lince all who are reftored muft 
 bereftored to the uttermoft) is alfo chargeable with the 
 fame abfurdity, as the acceptation above objected to i 
 whereas the fuppofition that our Lord is as able to 
 reftore loft fouls in another life as in this, is by ho 
 means repugnant either to Common ferife, or our ex- 
 perience of our redeemer. VVhilft upon earth he 
 claim'd the prerogative of forgiving fins abfolutely 
 and without referve. And fince no powe*- of his cari 
 have been diminiftied, cither by His rifing again from 
 the dead, or by his afcenfion into heaven, we can 
 make no doubt but his power to forgive fins (i. e. vir- 
 tually to reftore) muft ftill continue as prevailing, as 
 abfolute, as depending upon his free choice as ever j 
 and thus the one grand queftion is always, if ke wiLt, 
 
Letter XV. [ 306 ] Sect. It. 
 
 mere finners, finners only, without any afFinity 
 to him, and not as now his kindred, his own 
 ilefli and blood, his brethren; 1 fay whilft we 
 were thus aliens, prompted by his native benevo- 
 lence) Ckriji died for lis [John iii. 5) was inani- 
 fejted to take away our fins, much more then, be- 
 ing now conftituted our fin-offering in a famenefs 
 cf nature with ourfelves, fhall we be reclaimed, 
 or fome way or other brought home to himfelf. 
 
 Wherefore that a man is a linner in any de- 
 gree, fituation or place, becomes fo far from be- 
 ing a proof that he fhall be excluded forever the 
 poflibility of rcftoration, that it even prefumes 
 the certainty of his reftitution. 
 
 Alfo it is with a view to this flate of things 
 that our Lord is called the asonian prieft. Ff. 
 ex. 4. Heb. vii. 21. T^he Lord /ware and will not 
 repeftty thou art d priefi (a? to^ aiwi/a) ceonianly^ or 
 thro' the ages, after the order of Melchifedeck. 
 
 Is Chrifi a prieft aeonianly ? then is he fo not 
 only till, but after the refurrediion of the faints, 
 /. e. during the continuance (and fo the faints en- 
 joyment) of the aeonian lifej and feeing the office 
 of a prieft is {Heb. v. i.) to offer gifts a?id facrifice 
 for fin, Chriji^ interceffion, which amounts to 
 this, mufl: likewife then be a part of his office ; 
 that is, after his faints are transformed into his 
 own likenefs, and fo enjoy with him aeonian life, 
 he will intercede for them who are condemned 
 to the asonian punifhment. 
 
 For when our Lord's faints have no longer 
 any fins for which he is to make his prieftly of- 
 fering, propitiation, and interceffion; for whom 
 is his prieftly interceffion made 2;onianly, but for 
 
 thofe 
 
Letter XV. [ 307 ] Sect. II. 
 
 thofe whofe fins are asonianly remembered, and 
 2Eonianly punifhed? 
 
 The fins of the faints will (at leaft and by the 
 acknowledgment of all) after the day of judg- 
 ment is pafibd, be altogether clea?ifcd, purged^ a- 
 biindantly pardoned^ no more to be found by thofe 
 that feck after them, no more to be remembered^ co- 
 'vcred, that is buried, caji into the depths of the 
 fcdy blotted out, annihilated, dofie away, &c. 
 
 And fince (lleb.n. 18.) where remifjion of fins 
 is, there is no more oferingforfin, that interceffion 
 which Qmft fliall make aeonianly (or thro' all 
 time, and after his faints are glorified) mufl be 
 for them that fliall then not be faints, and there- 
 fore not as yet glorified : in like manner as his 
 interccfilon had before been for thofe finners who 
 ihall then be his faints, the fir/i f'ldts unto God in 
 Chrif. Chriji is related to linners as their fin-of- 
 fering and prieil aeonianly, and therefore may 
 finners have aeonianly an accefs to God by him. 
 
 Let us not then prefume in our own wifdom, 
 without the word of God, and only becaufe our 
 lexicons teach us that the word «»wko? may be de- 
 rived from afi wi/,' to limit the efiicacy of the in- 
 comparable blood of yefus, begotten of the Holy 
 Ghofiii but be aflured that it (i Pet. i. 18, 19.) is 
 Pp 2 fiill 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' It is vulgarly objedled againll us that (ajwv) aion, 
 is derived from {ecu wv) aei on, ever being, and there- 
 tore it muft fignify eternity-, but this is no confequence 
 at all i as mod evidently appears from the fcripture ufe 
 ol this word above fhewn in many inftancesi befides 
 that, as mod greek primitive words come from the 
 hebrew language, a.iw may as well come froni iTK 
 
J.5TTKRXV. [ 3o8 ] Sect. II. 
 
 ftill frefh in its falutary vigor, a grateful ob- 
 ject before the eyes of God, ever pleading, ever 
 ready in the heavenly fan(fluary'" for the iprink- 
 ' ling 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 where, or (fince adverbs and preporitions of place fig- 
 nify alfo time in all ancient languages) when, or how 
 long ? And thus otn and aim may well denote time in- 
 definite the fame as does xzh)^ — See p.. 5*'' and 6'^ 
 
 *" Heb. ix. 2 — 8. There was, a tabernacle made (con- 
 fiding of two parts) the fir fi wherein was the candlejiick, 
 and the table, and the Jhew-bread; which (firft part) is 
 called the holy. And after (behind) the fecond veil (was 
 the other or fecond part of) the tabernacle, which is 
 called the holy of holies -, which had the golden ccnfer, and 
 the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold-, wherein was 
 the gold pot which had the manna, and Aaron^s rod that 
 budded, and the tables of the covenant, and over it the 
 
 cherubims of glory fhadowing the mercy feat. Now 
 
 the priejis went always (i. e. every day) into the firfi 
 tabernacle accomplifhing divine fervice -, but into the fe- 
 cond (tabernacle called the holieft) went the high-priejl 
 only, once every year, not without blood, which he offered 
 for himfelf, and for the errors of the people ; the Holy 
 Ghojl this Jignifyingt that the way into the holiefl was not 
 yet made manifefi, while as the firft tabernacle was yet 
 
 fianding. But Chrifl (ver. 12.) by his own blood 
 
 entered in once into the holiefi (or holy of holies) having 
 obtained aonian redemption for us ; or that redemption 
 bv virtue of which we efcape the a?onian damnation. 
 (Heb. xiii. ii-) But very remarkable is thatpaflage. 
 Rev. xix. 13. And he was cloathed with a veflure dipt in 
 blood; compar'd with Ifa. Ixiii. 2. IVherefore art thou red 
 in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the 
 vine fat? I have trodden the vine prefs alone, and of the 
 people there was none with me-, yea, and I will tread them 
 ii.i, my enemies) in my anger, and trample them, &'c. 
 
I.ETTER XV. [ 309 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 ling " the redeemed of his beloved fon «»? rw diwu^ 
 aeonianly. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Pojlhumous reftituticn farther frefutned from ether 
 parts of the fcripture pajjage above cited. 
 
 Reflections on verfe 20. 
 
 BY unbelief they were broken off ifis dirn-toi, fee 
 aVjr»« in Mark ix. 24. xvi. 14. Rom. iv. 20. 
 I ^im. i. 13.) 
 
 Unbelief (as we have already obferved) is re- 
 prefented by the fcriptures as the greateft fin. 
 
 Says 
 
 N O T E s! 
 
 " Chriji is fEonianly a priefl, and his blood is jeoni- 
 anly in the fan6tuary, to effed: the reftoration of them 
 that come unto God by him. So Heb. xii. 22, 24. But 
 ye are come unto 7nount Sion^ and unto the city of the liv- 
 ing God, the heavenly Jerufalem — cind to the blood of 
 fprinkling, which fpeaketh better (things) than that of 
 Ahel [k, ai^aaTj '^xy-nrr^M xpnT^ot/x XocXo\jvti Trccftx rou (i. C. 
 aiju,a. rx) A?£a]. I Pet. i. 2. Eleff — through f an fJif ca- 
 tion of the fpirit unto obedience, andthefprinkUng of the 
 blood of Jejus Chri/i. Even this incorruptible blood, 
 by which, after his refurredlion Chrijt entered the hea- 
 venly fan(5luary ; and which is called his own blood, 
 in oppofition to that whereby {Heb. ix. 12.) the earth- 
 ly high prieft wn,s wont annually to enter the earthly 
 fancluary, and which is here ftyled the blood of o~ 
 thers, ver. 7, 25. 
 
 See Bengelius in Jleb. xii. 24. Chrijlus per fanguinem 
 proprium in fa^iEiuariiim introivit ; (ncn modo pojl cffufum 
 fanguinem, i^ vi effuftonis, neque cum fanguine in corpus 
 refumpto, fed plr fanguinem) ergo fepsratim a corpore 
 
Letter XV. [ 310 ] Sect. III. 
 
 Says the Pfalmlft, (Ixxvlil. 21.) Anger came up a- 
 
 gdinji Ifrael becaiije they believed not God, and trujted 
 not in his fahation. Says our Lord to the "JewSy 
 John vili. 14. If ye believe not that I am he, ye jJoall 
 die in your fins. And again, John xvi. 9. He^ the 
 fpirit, naill reprove the world offn, becaife they be-r 
 lieve not on me. John iii. 36. He that believeth not 
 the fon fall not fee life, but the ivrath cf God abid- 
 eth on him. Ver. 18. He is condemned nlready be- 
 cmfe he has not believed on the name (i. e. eflicacy) 
 of the only begotton fon oj God. Heb. iii. 11. ^0 I 
 fivare in wrath that they foidd not enter i?it-o 7ny 
 reft. Ver. 18. And to whom fware he that they 
 fjould not enter into his rejl but unto them that be- 
 lieved 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Janguinlen profrium hie ipfe facerdos in fan^uarium in- 
 tulit. — Ipfo in'roitus tempore fejunolum Chriftus a cor- 
 ■pore fanguinem hahehat: efxangue corpus erat ; non tamen 
 
 exanime, fed vivum- 
 
 Sanguis Jefu fccrjum ah ipftus corpore conjideratur 
 Heb. xiii, I r, 12, 20. — ut Dorfcheus (a Lutheran) iyi- 
 quit, '* 1"™ ^lia hoc requirit typi ratio. Sanguis enim in 
 *''■ V fo:dere, ut extravafatus & effufus, confiderabatur^ 
 " y hoc ipfo adumhrabat profufwnem £s? effufioneni fan- 
 " guinis in N feeder e futur am. 2''° ^lia hoc fct'deris di- 
 **" vini indoles requirit, qua pojlulat dy.ocTiy.^v(TKx,v. 3"™ 
 *■' ^fia in hacratione fanguinis cxercetur a3us obedi entire 
 **■ fatisfa^ori.e Deo pro peccacis debits', [3'c.'' So So- 
 ionnon Deyiinguis, (a Lutheran) " Chriftus in calos e- 
 '*■ "veofus, fedenfq; ad dexter am Dei res 7tofiras commendat 
 ••'■ Deo, Q fanguinem pro nobis effufum ac z'ulnera ojten- 
 " tat patri.'" Iteram Rappoirum (a Lutheran) lau- 
 dans: " Fatri fuo (inquit) fanguinem fuum,' ut Xvrpau 
 4 4 ^ pretium redempiionis pro nobis offert, ejusq; effujione 
 " jujlitid^ divin^e fatisfaitum efj'e docet.'^ 
 
Letter XV. [ ^ti ] Sect. III. 
 
 Jieved notf Ver. 12. Take heed therefore leaft there 
 be in any of you an evil heart of unbeliefs in depart^ 
 ingfrom the living God. For (Heb. xi. 6.) with- 
 out faith it is impofjible to pkafe God. 
 
 Yea and the refufing to believe in Jefiis as our 
 redeemer, is worfe than the (in oi Sodom ^ as ap- 
 pears from the woes our Lord denounces upon 
 Corazin, Bethfaida, and Capernaum. Mat. x. 15. 
 xi. 20. — 24. of whom he fays, It Jljall be more 
 tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judg- 
 ment^ than for them."" And the reafon perhaps is 
 that given in i fohn v. 10 — 13. He that believeth 
 not the fon (tw Jto)) hath made him (i. e. God) a 
 liar^ {^i'kri^) becaufe he believeth not the laitnefs that 
 God gave of his fon. And this is the ivitnefs that 
 God hath given unto us eternal life^ and this life is 
 in his fon, he that hath the fon hath life, and he that 
 hath not the fon hath not life. Thefe things have I 
 'written unto you, that ye may know that, belitving 
 in the name of the fon of God, ye have ceojiian life. 
 
 And may we not i'l^s from hence conclude, 
 that the unbelieving Chnjlian has fiill more dread- 
 ful fliocks to fuffer, a greater damnation to fear 
 then even the unbelieving Jews; fince no unbe- 
 lief can be more highly aggravated than ours ; no 
 
 ingra- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " Bengelius refnarks as follows upon M^/. x. ir;. Pe- 
 jus ejl non credere e-cangclio quam Sodomitas imitari. 
 Ch. xi. 22, 24. Urbs ilia in die judicii graviorem p^enavft 
 fuhibit quam terra Sodomorum aut pridem pertulit aut in 
 judicio babehit. Siperhrrcis repulfa tam grcviter punie- 
 tur, luidjiet Us qui morofnis refijlunt. 
 
Letter XV. [ 312 ] Sect. 111. 
 
 ingratitude enhanced to our degree of it. Heb, 
 xii. 25. See that ye refufe not him that fpeaketh, for 
 if they efcaped not who refujed (Mofes) him that 
 fpake on earthy much more jhall not we efcape, if 
 we turn away from him that /peaks from heaven, 
 Heb. ii. 3. Matt. xxi. 44. — vii. 22. 
 
 Reflections on ver. 31, 32; 
 
 From thefe wc infer as follows : 
 
 If unbelief be emphatically the fin of the world, 
 
 then Chriji died for unbelievers}'' then is unbelief 
 
 atoned for before God 5 then have unbelievers 
 
 their claim in ChriJI ; then arc they the objedl and 
 
 con- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 •• That Chriji died for the fin of the world, we are 
 afTured, John i. 29. Behold the Lamb of God that taketb 
 away the fin {0 aipuv rnv a.iJ.xpTioc.v, that beareth the fin) 
 cf the world. So i John ii. 2. He is the propitiation 
 for our fms^ and not for ours only^ but alfo for the fins of 
 the whole world. And becaufe the fin for which Chrifi 
 died, is called by an hebraifm {Rom. vi. 6.) the body of 
 fin (that is, fin erriphatick) it has been the enquiry of 
 fome what fin is in its root or firft principle, but 
 without fuccefs ; and probably its real nature will re- 
 main a fecret unknown to us in this lite. However 
 we all fee it outwardly in its fruits of falfehood, un- 
 righteoufnefs, and cruelty •, and feel it inwardly in a 
 Ipirit of unbelief and averHon ro God. 
 
 The natural man has within him an enmity againft 
 God, therefore he hates to converfe with him j and 
 becaufe of his forfaking God, God gives him up to 
 follow his own lulls, which he purfuing as his chief- 
 elt good, yields forth all the outvi^ard works of wick- 
 ednefs. 
 
Letter XV. [ 313 ] Sect. III. 
 
 concern of his reftoring power; and then is fuch 
 their reftoration a part of the bufinefs of hib a;o- 
 nian kingdom, or of his Seonianly-priertly office. 
 
 Thus we account for two things. 
 
 lit. The future reftbratioh of the iinbeheving 
 yews^ as promifed ver. 20. to whom God has hi- 
 therto given a fpirit of Jlumher, eyes that they f mild 
 hot fee J and ears that they fiould iiot hear : and 
 whom (ver, 15.) he has cdfi away to the prior re^ 
 concili?ig of the world. (Vef. 31.) They have hi- 
 therto dilbeheved, that thro' a previous mercy 
 fliewn to the Gentiles, they (the Ifrael) alfo maj 
 obtain mercw 
 
 And 2dly, we thus account for the apoftle's 
 feafoning (ver. 32) viz. God hath fiut up all toge- 
 ther in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. 
 For the having mercy is here the end propofed of 
 God ; but that faith of believing is the dired: 
 mean to this end the fnercy of God, every part 
 of fcripture fo loudly proclairfis that we need no 
 quotation for its proof: and yet we here learn 
 that not belief only, but alfo unbelief is a mean 
 provided by God to thio fame end his mercy; 
 fince he who flnits and no man opens ^ who opens and 
 no manjlmts^ has fut up all (Tra^I^^?) together in im- 
 belief -J that fo he might have mercy upon all; even 
 all in general and every one in particular, fince 
 the two charafters believer and unbeliever, leave 
 no individual unexcepted. 
 
 And thus the feverity of wrath of God, in its 
 fevercfl ad: of fliutting up in unbelief, thro' his 
 provident contrivance, becomes a means directing 
 to the fame end v/ith love itfelf; a paradox hidden 
 far from the reach of Our ken, in the depths of 
 divine wifdom^ Q^ And 
 
Letter XV. [ SH ] Sect, III. 
 
 And may we not here venture to fuppofe that 
 mercy the end mufl be fomehow naturally, and 
 by a fort of divine phylics, comprehended in fe- 
 verity the means? And if fo, love and feverity in 
 God, tho' oppofites in our eftimation, not only 
 tend to one and the fame end, but have that end 
 fomehow involved in themfelves the means; that 
 fo the great work of divine love may be practi- 
 cable in earth, and hell, and heaven; thro' time 
 in all its forms and periods; and fucceed gradu- 
 ally and unforced in the conned:ion, tendency 
 ^nd relation of a concordant mean and end. 
 
 Reflections on ver. 36. 
 
 Out of him^ and through him^ and unto him are 
 all things. 
 
 The apoftacy of the creatures from God has 
 indeed produced a vaft variety of wonders, which 
 otherwife would not have been in the creation. 
 It is true again that thefe cannot be numbered a- 
 mong the things created ; becaufe, as hath been 
 elfe where fhewn, they are the mere formalities 
 and phantoms of nature in its deformity; or, if I 
 may fo fpeak, the appearances of nature unna- 
 tured; of nature fhatter'd by the violencies and 
 clafhings of her own energies; fo as that noth- 
 ins: remains Ioniser vifible in her, but the mon- 
 llruous iffues of defedl and diforder, the produc-* 
 tions of power feparate from love. 
 
 However, notwithftanding this, tho' nature, as 
 feen thus in her vizard and contrarities, be no crea- 
 ture of God's; yet that her fallen circumftances 
 were forefeen and permitted by him, and with a 
 view to his purpofes, cannot be denied; fince he 
 
 upon 
 
Letter XV. [ 3^5 ] Sect. III. 
 
 upon whom the being and nature of every thing 
 prefent andfuturedepends, muflnotonlyintimate- 
 ly know, but exert a controlling power thro' all 
 and every the concern of his creatures. He muft 
 have forefeen what events their powers might pro- 
 duce in what circumftances^ he muft have fuper- 
 intended tho' invifibly, thro' the whole train of 
 caufes and effedsj and have alfo prefixed, at leaft 
 in many cafes (tho' in fome exalted and perfed: 
 way, very different from our manner of knowing 
 things, and confiftent with the creatures full en- 
 joyment of his liberty of willing) what fhouid, 
 and what fliould not determine the freedom of 
 his creature's choice. 
 
 This confidered we cannot but prefume that 
 all thofe events we call evil, however they may 
 feem to crofs, impede or oppofe the will of God 
 in his creatures, do in reality all confpire (for ge- 
 nerals confift of particulars) to produce one com- 
 pacfl fyftem, fome prodigious plan of magnificent 
 love becoming fo great and fo provident an au- 
 thor. For as fays the poet, 
 
 " All nature is but art unknown to thee, 
 " And chance direction which thou can'il: not fee.' 
 Neither does this at all infer a fatality; fince 
 God can accomplifli the fame end by means in- 
 finitely variable, fince he can bring forth all and 
 every event he pleaies, conformably with the crea- 
 ture's full enjoyment of his liberty and free choice. 
 
 Reflections on ver. 28, 32. 
 
 If all Ifraelht beloved of God for the father s fake ^ 
 
 can we prefume lefs of all mankind for our favi- 
 
 our's fake? Are we not all the price of his blood r 
 
 Q^q^ 2 and 
 
Letter XV. [ 316 ] Sect. Ill, 
 
 ^nd is not his blood declared the full ranfom for 
 all ? Neither is it any where f aid that few or lefs 
 than all fliall receive the benefit of it^ hqw then 
 can it be thought that he who forbids (Lev. xix. 
 1^. Deut. xxiv. 14, 15) that the wages of the 
 hireling be detained beyond the end of the day, 
 fliall deny his fon the due purchafe of his blood 
 beyond its due f^afon ? 
 
 Were ten righteous perfons acceptable to God 
 as a ranfom for Sodom? how much more fhall 
 the blood of the fon of God be a ranfom for all? 
 even for all the darling product of his creative 
 power? For Cbriji is a public perfbn not only as 
 an Iff'aelitCj but alfo as man: all creatures have 
 a joint intereft in Chrift ; and the life of us all was 
 qffered up in Chrift facrificed [Luke xix. i o. i yoJm 
 iv. 14. Rom. V. 6. ^^^iii. 21. Eph. i. 10. Col. i. 
 20) from hence alfo is the apoflle's reafoning 
 (2 Cor. v. 14) If one (that is Chrijl) died fir all^ 
 then were all dead^ i. e. dead virtually in Chriji fo 
 dyjng for them. But Chrift died for all men, 
 (fee I john ii. 2. 1 'Tim. ii. 6. i Cor. xv. 22, 49. 
 Rom. V. 6. 'yohn I. 29.) therefore are all men dead 
 virtually in Chrift. 
 
 Since then it is promifed that thro' the feed 
 of Abraham all the families of the earth fliall be 
 bleffed; where is the abfurdity in prefuming that 
 in the feed of Adam all the inhabitants of other 
 worlds fliall find their reftorer? As Abraham in 
 the term father reprefents the whole body of the 
 faithful; and as Adam in like charad:er reprefents, 
 or is the head of all menj thus Ch7-ift in a far 
 hig^her manner, being only figured by Abraham 
 and Adam^ is the father, head and reprefentative 
 
 of 
 
Letter XV. [ 317 ] Sect. III. 
 
 of all fpirits, as has been already fliewn. But 
 this being fo, why may not the fate of them all 
 follow him, as the fate of all the fons of Adam 
 followed Adatn? 
 
 We read accordingly, Rom. xiv. 9, 1 1 . To this 
 
 end Clrijl both died and rofe and revived, that he 
 
 might be the Lord of both ihe dead and the livit.g — 
 
 for it is writ ten y as I live, faith the Lord, every knee 
 
 fall bow to me, and every tongue JImU ccnfefs to God, 
 
 Ep. i. 9. Having made known to us the my fiery cf t-is 
 
 will, according to his good pie afure, which he hath 
 
 purpofed in hitnfelf, namely, in the difpcnfation oj the 
 
 fuhiefs of times to gather together in one all things 
 
 [but (^« TTx^x) all things importing the fame as 
 
 (^TTocvlxg TH? sx^po^J^) all intelIe<Stual beings as yet 
 
 Chrifs enemies (compare Col. i. 20. Phil. ii. 10, 
 
 1 1.) this text teaches us that all Chrijl\ enemies 
 
 fliall be collected together] in Chrif, both which 
 
 are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him. 
 
 And thus as in the firft Ada?n fallen, all his fons 
 
 became likewife fallen; fo in the fecond Adam, 
 
 dying a facrifice for fin, all fpirits, and fo all the 
 
 fons of the fecond Adam, became likewife dead 
 
 and facrificed, i. e. virtually, and fo as to render 
 
 them in Chrijl acceptable before God. 
 
 I fay acceptable before God, becaufe this they 
 may be by imputation, even while at the fame 
 time they are finners in regard to thcmfelves [Rom. 
 IV. 4 — II. — v. 8 — 19. If. xl. 2. — liii. 6. Numb. 
 xxiii. 21. fohn xv. 3. — xiii. 10. Zech. iii. 3, 4.) 
 not yet juftified in the redeemer's eyes; but ob- 
 noxious to the penalties of his government, and 
 (as many of them as Chrift {\\d\\ repudiate) to the 
 difcipline and death of the xonian puniOimcnt. 
 
 I. E T- 
 
[ 3i8] 
 
 
 ^^, 
 
 ,-fe: 
 
 
 D * * a> <r J -* # Cti 
 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 -^ pajfa^e in the Epiftk. to the Hebrews 
 coy^Jidered^ and the falleii a7tgels co7n^ 
 pared with fallm men. 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 ji^^^S^V- HAVE now to offer only one paflage 
 ^*^ J more, refpedting my prefent fubjedl, in 
 
 ^ur^S proof of an univerfal reftitution i which 
 is as follows: 
 
 Hebrews ii. 8, 9. 
 Now we fee mt yet all things put under him, hut 
 we fee Jefus, crowned (i. e. rewarded) for the fuf-^ 
 fering cf death, with glory and honour, lowered for 
 a liitle while (Ppa^u t., fee A£fs v. 34) lower than 
 the angels, that fo he might tqjte deatf) for ally exr 
 cepting God. 
 
 The exprefiions of this palTage are fo very de- 
 ciiive that we fhould need no other in proof of 
 our point, if the terms of it were not difputed. 
 But as it is ufually read in our editions of the new 
 
 tefta- 
 
Letter XVI. [ 319 ] Sect. I. 
 
 teftament, it amounts to no higher a proof than 
 many other texts which 1 pafs by without notice; 
 neither would this have been here iniifted on by 
 me, but becaufe of the opinion 1 have of the ge- 
 nuinenefs of its reading as above given. 
 The difference of its readings is as follows, 
 
 07rci;?-s /L\ ?-©£a '^Tna irxvl^ yjufniTat flavara 
 
 IXO^fm (b) i ' 
 
 which is in englifh, that fo he might tajie death 
 
 foralk^''^'^^^'^^^^^^^^ 
 -^ iBy the grace of God (ft) 
 
 The reading (a) is found in many of our mod 
 ancient and beft manufcripts^ and fo is likewife 
 the reading (b). The reading (b) is alfo found 
 in mofl of the editions of the greek teftament; 
 that is, it has been preferred by its editors. 
 
 However, little regard is to be had to fuch pre- 
 ference, becaufe the moft part of our greek tef- 
 taments are printed from the Complutenfian (i. e. 
 cardinal Ximeness) or Erafaiuss, or Bezas editi- 
 ons of it. For Coli7i£eiiss and Aldus s editions are 
 moftly the fame with Erafmuisr, and Stephens 
 edition is moftly one with Ximeness in the begin- 
 ning, and with Erafmuss afterwards. But thefe, 
 cfpecially Eraftnuss and Bezas editions, being by 
 them collcdted from different manufcripts, each 
 following that reading which beft fuited his own 
 judgment, have moft defervedly loft their autho- 
 rity, fince the publiftiing the various readings of 
 the fevcral manufcripts themfelves. 
 
 So that the prefent text or vulgar readings 
 of our tcftaments, tho* ftill continued according 
 to the old editions, have now no authority at all 
 againft the authentic reading of good ancient 
 
 copies > 
 
LEtTfeR XVI. t 320 ] SEtt. t 
 
 copies ; but we prefer to the text or vulgar read- 
 ing, any different readings which we find in good 
 and authentic manufcripts correcfting it. 
 
 This being premifed it will follow, that in the 
 paffage under our confideration, the queftion is, 
 not whether x"P'f or x*P''^' be found in the editor's 
 text or vulgar reading, but which of thefe two 
 readings can claim the beft authority from anci- 
 ent and good manufcripts. 
 
 And here I mufl refer you for what has beeri 
 faid againft, and in favour of thefe two readings 
 xwpl? and X'^'r"'^'> to Bengeliuss Various Readivgs^ or 
 to his Gnomon^ where you will find this difference 
 of readings largely difcufs'd. 
 
 Bengeliiis was a Lutheran^ I fhall therefore give 
 you the opinions alio of Grotius of the Arminian 
 party, of Beza of the Cahimji's party, and of 
 Cornelius a Lapide, a 'Jefuit^ yet a very learned 
 and good man, of the Roman party, concerning 
 this important text. But this in my notes for 
 your more leifure confideration.** 
 
 this 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Grotius comments upon this text as follows : Fro 
 •/a^ixi 0rS quidam codices jam olim habuere x,''V"^ ®^^ » 
 quod fequunttir nonnuUi codices fyriaci^ ^ Ambrofius de 
 fide ad Gratianum: unde apparet non debere hujus fcrip- 
 ttircs mutate culpam in Neftorianos conjici. (For Am- 
 hrofe fiourifhed about the year 370, the ISIeJiorians a- 
 bout the year 440.) Videntur qui id mutarunt, id 
 fenjijje^ chrijiiim etiajj! pro angelis mortuum^ dtque adeo 
 pro omnibus extra fckim Deum. 
 
 Beza, a Cahiniji^ as follows -, Gr^cus fcholiaftes ad' 
 momt Neftorianos Glim hunc locum aufos fu'J^e depravare^ 
 
I;etter XVI. [ 321 ] Sect. I. 
 
 This pafTage tells us that Chrijl ivas crowned 
 with glory mid honour {\%l'!io)Jvr (or becaule of) 
 'hisfufferifig death, which luits with what we are 
 taught, Fhil ii. 8, 9. Mcb. ii. 7, 9. And he was 
 lower d, for a little while, lower than the angeh 
 (oTTco?) that fo he might tajle death ("^Vrp 7r«vTi2>^) for 
 ally that is, not for man only, but /or all; which, 
 the following verfe tells us were made by him, and 
 for his fervicc, and the foregoing verfe tells us 
 were to be fubordinated unto him, . . 
 
 R r Had 
 
 NO T E S. 
 
 6? pro ;i|^a/>*Ti 0£a fcribere x^?''^ ®^^* ^^ tamen hanc fcrip* 
 turam fecuti funt & Syriis interpres, £5? Ambrofius da 
 Jide ad Gratianum, lib. 2. cap. 4, atq^iie adeo Vigilius 
 contra Eutychen. 
 
 Cornelius a Lapide, a very learned and ingenious 
 Jefuit, as follows •, JSIota, pro ;)^wp«r Qis i. e. Deo escepto 
 Theodoret, Theophylaft, CEcumenius legunt xocpin 
 ©£a, id ejt gratia Dei-, adduntque, it a corruptum ejfe 
 hunc lociira a Neitorianis, hinc enim illi prohant in Chifij 
 diias fuijje perfonas, & Deum ah homine fuijfe feperatum : 
 verum ante Neftorium, Arribrofius, lib. de fide, cap. 4. 
 legit quoque to Jine Deo ; ftcqiie explicat ; " Chrijlus pro 
 omnibus fine Deo, id ejt excepto Deo, mortem gujiavit, 
 q. d. Cbri/ius pro ojnnibus omnino, etiam angelis non au- 
 tem pro Deo ipfo (Deimi enim excipio) mortuns ejl. And 
 t'hen he fubjoins, Non quaji angelos redemerit Chrijlus^ 
 fed quod angelos homimbus reconciliarit, corumq-, Utiiian^ 
 <y gloriam aiixerit, dum fcdes eorum ex quibus collap/i 
 erant d^mones, per homines rejlauravit t? replevit." — 
 Which laft words fhew that he favours the readings 
 hotwithftanding he would willingly avoid our conclu."" 
 fions from it. 
 
Letter XVI. [ 322 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Had Chrift tafted death for man only, this had 
 been here expreffed by {y-s^^^ ttcivtuv ai/^pwTrwv) for 
 all men. Such being the well known ftyle of 
 the fcripture greek [fee the note{'') in page 224.] 
 and not by the lingular neutral adjedlive [-nravT^y 
 as of one, as comprehending the whole creation 
 in one fingular term. 
 
 And tiierefore we find the ingenius Origen ar- 
 guing on this text as follows: " Whether, fays 
 he, (fee the pafTage at large) ■" we read that text 
 '' in He b. 11. 9. He tajied death for all^ God ex- 
 
 " cepted, or (80 fomc copic0 %mz it) %z taCeD 
 
 " DCatD for all tjp tfje giUCe of (^on, the fenfe 
 
 " fiill amounts to the lame; fmce to die for all 
 
 *' excepting God, is to die for more than man, 
 
 " even all intelHgent beings ; and to die for all 
 
 " by the grace of God, is to die for all, God 
 
 *' excepted." But 
 
 _ _ _ « _. 
 
 "^Hic igitur qui tot nominibus ntmcupatur (fcilicet Jefus) 
 ndvocatus, propitiatio, propitiatorium^ compajfus infirmi- 
 tatihis nojlris^ tent at us in omnibus humanis juxtajimili- 
 tudinem fine peccato, magnus ejl pontifex non modo pro 
 hominihus^ fed tiam pro omni, quod rationis eji capaXy 
 hojiiam femel oblatum femetipfum offerens. Sine Deo enim 
 VEL PER GRATIAM DEI (UT IN QUIBUS- 
 DAM EXEMPLARIBUS EpiJloU ad Hebr^os 
 ponitur) PRO OMNI giijlavit mortem: five fine Deo pro 
 cmni giijlavit mortem, non folum pro hominibus mortuus 
 eji, verum etiam pro ceteris rationis capacibus -, five per 
 gratiam Dei pro omni gufta-vit mortem \ pro omnibus fine 
 Deo mortuus ejl ; per gratiam nanique Dei pro omni guf- 
 tavit mortem. See Origenh comment upon St. John's 
 gofpel, torn. 2'""' dc variis nominibus filii Dei, under 
 the name Jufiitia, 
 
Letter XVI. [ 323 ] Sect. L 
 
 But may we not prefume from thefe words 
 of Origen that x4*^ mull have been the moft 
 ufual reading in the tellaments of Origen s time; 
 and that this reading mufh have been refuied 
 by the copifts after his time, thro' fear of counte- 
 nancing the fuppofed errors of this able father; 
 fince he fays that (viz. in his time) X'^V''"' was 
 read only IN QUIBUSDAM EXEMPLA- 
 RIBUS, in fome CCpieS, and confequently that 
 p^wpK was found in moft of the copies at that time 
 extant? Moreover, Origen being catechift at Alex- 
 undria in the year 203, and the epiflle to the 
 Hebrews being wrots about the year 63; in fay- 
 ing thus of ;ic^'F»fj we affirm that for 140 years 
 after the writing this epilfle (x'^/"? ®^«) excepting 
 God, was the reading of moft general credit and 
 countenance. 
 
 But the two different readings of this text we 
 find in the fyriac as well as in the greek copies. 
 So in the Paris and '\tremellius' s edition we read 
 Jto V-A-^^ (excepting, or fetting afide) inferted 
 before jQi^Xv (God). And I think every reafon- 
 able man will allow it to be from hence highly 
 probable that the notion of univerfal redemption 
 muff have run thro' the whole church in very 
 early times, dividing them into two perfuafions, 
 altho' without amounting to a controverfy; the 
 one infilling that God died for all univcrfally, 
 and fo abiding hy the text; the other infifting that 
 he died not for all, and accordingly fuppofing that 
 the greek w was written for an «, and the <t for -; 
 or that the fyriac words Jio yL^ had crept 
 from the margin into the text: a luppofition much 
 R r 2 more 
 
Letter XVI. [ 324 ] Sect. I. 
 
 more natural than that %wpicr could have beei^i 
 wrote for X'^P^'^^, or that ,^0 V-A-^ "°^ found in 
 the text, might have been added to it. For what 
 prefumtuous hand would have ventured to add 
 two fuch momentous words to an apoflolic copy? 
 
 In fliort an alteration in the words of this text 
 moft certainly has beenj and that in our beft and 
 moft authentic copies; as early as the time of 
 Origen : infomuch that nO copy can now rq^fona- 
 bly be preferred as a flandard in this inftance; or 
 •as an authority whereby we may afcertain the 
 true tranfcript of the original apoftolic writing. 
 And in this cafe I think the boldeft and moft dar- 
 ing alteration (which the changing of p^a/uTi into 
 X^pK or the adding of ^bo '^ISD to the text moft 
 certainly is) muft be the leaft probable. 
 
 But if after due confideration your thoughts on 
 this matter will not be my thoughts on it, 1 muft 
 content myfelf to argue critically upon the term 
 '-TTxvTog in our text, by St. Paul's way of arguing 
 upon the term o-Trfp^art in Gal. iii. 16. Now to 
 Abraham and his feed were the promifis made-, he 
 faith not and to feeds ^ as of many ^ but as of one ^ and 
 to thy feed which is Chrift. ' After which reafon- 
 ing, a comment on our paflage will run thus. 
 Now it vv^as uV.'p Trai/rp? for all that Chrift tafted 
 death i he fays not for all men, as of men only, 
 but as of one, he tajled death for all^ which all is 
 the entire univerfe. 
 
 So then lince we believe God to be the father 
 
 of the univerfe, becaufe he is called in fcripture 
 
 (JVaifp TravTwi/) the father of all ^ i. e. of all angels 
 
 as well as men: a like expiefticn ought to teach 
 
 ' ' . us 
 
Letter XVI. [ 325 ] Sect. II. 
 
 us for whom Cbri/l died; namely {y-m^ -n-Mrm^ for 
 alU that is, for all angels as well as men; and 
 confequently the angels as well as men fliall be- 
 come regenerated by that feed which is Chri/t. 
 
 Thus T'tirtuIIi an argues upon another occafion, 
 ^id eji o?nnis? nifi omnis generis^ omiiis ordinis^ 
 omnis conditionis, omnis dignitatis, omnis atatis-^ 
 fiquidem omne totum eji^ & integrim, & miUa fid 
 parte defeSium. De Virg. Veland. p. 222. " What 
 " means all, but all of whatever kind, order, 
 " condition, dignity, age? feeing that all is the 
 ** whole and integer without defeat of any part 
 " of it." 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 T^be condition of fallen man paralleled with that of 
 fallen fpirits, 
 
 THE difference between men and angels 
 feems to be merely fleflily. Man is an 
 angel in the flefli, and when his flefli is laid in 
 the duft, he will be again what he was before, 
 an angel : as fays the learned Cornelius a Lapide, 
 J^ijlrahe homini corpus; & homo erit angehis, " ex- 
 " empt a man of his body, and lie will be an 
 ^' angel." And (o the ingenious Dr. 7liing^ 
 
 " Angels are men in lighter habit clad, 
 " High o'er celeftial mountains wing'd in flight; 
 *' And men are angels, loaded f.)r an hour, 
 *' Who wade this miry vale, and cliirib with pain, 
 " And flipp'ry ilep, the bottom of the lleep. 
 *' AngeLb their failings, mortals have tlicir praife." 
 
 Agree- 
 
Letter XVI. [ 326 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Agreeably with what yuftin Martyr alfo fays of 
 
 them, Ty,v XoyiV.ov ^1^111/ — riq afiuoovtricj; uvcn (pxfAsv rag t£ 
 
 ^yhxovi; m) rag Sxii/^ovag — '* the rational foul — whofe 
 " effential likenefTes we fay arc both angels and 
 ** demons." ^i^- ^ rejpons ad Gr^cos. 
 
 And thefe accounts of the human foul anfwer 
 to all the experiences we have of it. We find 
 among mankind many who are certainly not lefs 
 wicked than are many among the evil fpirits; and 
 fuch our Lord fcruples not to call devils, as in 
 the cafe o^ Judas ^ John vi. jo. Have not I chofen 
 twelve, and one of you is a devil f But whence can 
 this wickednefs in human nature arife? from the 
 body? certainly notj there can be no more wick- 
 ednefs in an human body, than in the body of 
 any other animal. Our wickednefs therefore muft 
 be in the foulj the foul muft be the principle of 
 our pride and fierccnefs and fenfuality and envy 
 and malice and other mahgnant paffions: and for 
 this reaibn it is that the foul needs to be faved^ 
 that in cafe of non-renewal it will be loft ; that 
 in order to be the fpoufe of Chrift it muft be re- 
 quickened; that if it be not requickened by the 
 fpirit of Chriji it muft die; [Ezek. xviii. 4, 20.) 
 and that its death is prefigured by the death of 
 its tabernacle the body. 
 
 But you fay God made man upright, that is in 
 his own image,' and this image is the foul. By no 
 
 means: 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^We acknowledge that God made man upright, 
 but, that he made him more upright than he now 
 makes every chriftian man, we deny. The uprightnefs 
 
Letter XVI. [ 327 ] Sect. If; 
 
 means. As the chriftiah foul when quickened by 
 the {pint of Jtfus Ckrijl becomes the image of Je^ 
 fas Chrijl\ jull fo the foul of Adam, being quick- 
 ened when he was made man by the ipirit of the 
 Logos, became the image of the Logos.* And 
 this quickening fpirit of the Logos being loft inr 
 
 Adam 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 of man is in his will or defire •, but the will and dcfirc 
 of every chriftian is as upright as was the will and 
 defire of Adau before he fell. We grant that chriftian 
 men are luffered (and doubtlcfs for good reafons) to 
 feel the weaknelTes and propenfities and other evils of 
 fallen nature, which Adam felt not. But that the will and 
 defire, or (as it is otherv/ife called) tlie heart of chri- 
 ftian men is lefs upright than was the will or defire 01 
 heart of Adam^ we will not grant 'till we have it well 
 proved •, but will rather believe ivith St. John, who 
 aflures us ( i John iii. 9) -whofoever is begotten of God 
 doth not commit fin; for his feed ahideth in him, and hs 
 cannot Jin, becaufe he is begotten of God. i John v. 4, 
 Whofoever is begotten of God overccmeth the world, and 
 this is the viulory that overcometh the ifjorld, even our 
 faith (ver. 1 8 ) whofoever is begotten of Godfinneth not \ 
 but he that is begotten of Gcd kcepeth himfelf, and the 
 wtcked one toucheth him not. 
 
 And as to the infirmities of fallen nature, It ii lo 
 far from being either our difgrace or real harm to kd 
 thcfe, that it is our honour and glory to fupport them; 
 in that by fo fupporting them we bear that crofs 
 whicli Chyiji our fecond Adam has dignified, and 
 given a blefiing to. 
 
 ' The image of God not as yet made fiefli is the 
 Logos, and in or after his image or iikenefs, wa^- 
 Adam made-, this fame glorious image of God in- 
 
Letter XVI. [ 328 J Sect. Hi 
 
 Adam before his children were born, his children 
 had no title at all to it in him, but were born 
 mere (m^ux'^^O foul men, and muft continue fo 'till 
 regenerated by Chrift the fecond Adanty who be- 
 getp them trviv^oin'KQi fpiritual men, or new crea- 
 tures in himfelf. 
 
 It 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 carnate is Jefus Cbriji, and in or after his image are 
 Chrijtians regenerated. Let us then only learn what 
 makes the fons of Adam the images of Jefus Chrift; 
 and we at once learn what made Adam the image of 
 the Logos. 
 
 Now the fons of Adam become the images of Jefus 
 Ch'f ill by partaking of the fpirit of Jefus Chrift. This 
 wiil follow from the grand charadler of Chnjiians^ 
 viz. that they (i Cor. iii. 16) are the temple of God, 
 in wh'om the fpirit of God dwelkth : and from their 
 being diftinguifhed Chriftians by the very having of 
 this fpirit; fo Rord. viii. 9. If any man have not the 
 fpirit of Chrift he is none of his. Becaufe that fpi- 
 rit vv^hich dwellerh in Chriftians and quickeneth them, 
 is alfo the fpirit that transformeth them into the image 
 of God. Compare i Cor. xv. 49, with ver 45. 
 
 The transforming energy of the fpirit of Chrift 
 dwelling in Chriftians we learn from numberlefs paf- 
 fagcs ot the new teflament, let the following fuf- 
 fice. Rom. xii. 2. Be not conformed to this o:on^ but be 
 ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Tranf- 
 formed [Rom. viii. 29) by being conformed into the 
 image of his fon., by being (2 Cor. iii. 18) metamor- 
 phofed into the fame image with him, by the Lord the 
 fpirit, even the fpirit called (2 Cor. iv. 11) v\ ^m rx 
 Iiier^) the life of Jefus, namely the Holy Ghoft : for 
 
Letter XVI. [ 329 ] Sect. II. 
 
 It is the fpirit of God that makes the creature 
 like his God. As the blefied angels are hke God 
 by partaking of his fpirit; fo is man alfo made 
 like him by partaking of the fame fpirit. 
 
 Yea the blelTed angels do many of them par- 
 ticipate of the divine nature in fo intimate and ex- 
 traordinary a degree and manner, that they arc even 
 S f called 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the word ^un in fcripture always denotes that li(^ 
 which is by the fpirit of Gooi 
 
 Chriji is called {Col. ill. 4. -n ^m r^ixu]/) our life ; and 
 this 71 ^wt) is that fpirit in Chrijt of which it is faid, 
 {Rom. viii. 11) If the fpirit of him that raifed up Je- 
 fus from the dead dwelleth in you \ he that raifed up 
 Chriji from the dead, will alfo quicken your mortal bodies 
 hy his fpirit that dwelleth in you. And its quickening 
 efhcacy is to transform into the image of Chriji \ a 
 work to be begun in this life 5 fo Col. iii. 10. Put 
 on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the 
 image of hira that created him: and to be perfe6led 
 when Chriji Ihall appear. So Phil. iii. 21. who fhall 
 transfigure our vile body that it may befafljioned like unto 
 his glorious body, according to the mighty energy whereby 
 he is able evert to f lib ordinate all things to himfelf. At 
 which time (the objeft feen by the eye correfponding 
 with the feed hidden in the heart) we fhall be raifed 
 into the true likenefs o^ Chriji. i John iii. 2. We fhall 
 he like him for we fhall fee him as he is. 
 
 As therefore (»' ^w»)) the divme life of fefus, by 
 being- imparted to his children transforms them into 
 his image i fo the fame ((^w») divine hte by being im- 
 parted to Adam before he fell, transformed him into 
 the image of the Logos, and he became (vvhat Chri- 
 Jlians now become in the inner man) the image of 
 him who is the imas-e of God, 
 
Letter XVI. [ 330 ] Sect. II. 
 
 called by the divine name itfelf (a\'nbK) Gods. So 
 Ffalm Ixxxii. 1. God ( a^'^^^^ ) Jianding in the con- 
 gregation ( ^N ) a chiefs fiall judge in the midft of 
 the Gods ( \^t>^^ a\'nSK D"ij?:s ) that is, amidfl thefe 
 great angels, the offspring of the Logos, appear- 
 ing like himfelf in brightnefs and dignity, and 
 compofing an aflembly of which himfelf is chief. 
 
 Again, PJ. cxxxvi. 2. Do homage unto the God 
 of the Gods ( r^^'^S>?!^ niSnS ) for his mercy is to the 
 ages. Pf. xcvii. 7. Worfhip ye him all gods (cd'hSk '^i) 
 this laft verfe St. Faid expounds, Heb. i. 6. het 
 all the angels of God worjhip him. Again, pro- 
 phefying of the humiliation of Cbrijl^ fays the 
 pfalmift, Pf viii. 6. ( d\^Snj: DV» ^mcnni ) Thou 
 JImU kfen him a little lower than the Gods-, that is, 
 thou fhalt make him a man, in which condition 
 he will be lower or inferior to the angels, his 
 fons of glory. 
 
 And laftly to extlnguifh all doubt concerning 
 ithis obfervation, we have our Lord's own words, 
 yobn X. 34. Is it not written in your law, I [aid 
 ye are Gods, (O^oi ^rf) whereby he refers us to Pf. 
 Ixxxii. 6. 1 faid ye are gods, and all of you children 
 of the mojl high. »:.S:) jv'^V ^JS^ onK q^mSn *nnD« "jtt 
 
 How exalted a being then is man, O fijua no- 
 rintl But fince our God out of his communicative 
 bounty has made us fo fublime a creature ; how 
 vile, how inexpreffibly bafe is our ingratitude to 
 him, or {hame of him and his! and how juflly 
 will his threatning be verified. Mark viii. 38. Who- 
 ever ^jall be aflamed of me and of my words in this 
 adulterous andfnful generation, of him, alfo fall the 
 fon of man be ajhamed when he cometh in the glory of 
 his father with the holy angels. What 
 
Letter XVI. [ 331 ] Sect. II. 
 
 What then has man to boaft himfelf in? no- 
 thing but his Lord: 'till we are regenerated by 
 the Ipirit of our Lord, wc are poor wretched crea- 
 tures, the children of the devil like other wicked 
 fpirits, and differing from them only by being 
 incarnate. 
 
 Are they enemies of God? fo are wej are they 
 deliberate in their rebellion againft God? fo are 
 we J were wc created the offspring of God? fo 
 were they; are we miferable; fo are they. 
 
 Yea and when we hear them call Chrift the 
 holy one of God [Mark i. 24) one might almofl: be- 
 lieve that they have fome intrinfic love of holinefs 
 in them; fome inftind: of virtue inclining them 
 to goodnefs and rendering virtue approvable to 
 them like what we obferve in ourfelves: and that 
 confequently fome gracious principle mufl: be al- 
 ready at work within, inclining them to fome 
 great end, worthy the God of all goodnefs, as 
 well as founder of all nature. 
 
 There is alfo a like famenefs in the divine treat* 
 ment of them and us. We are alike in banifli- 
 ment from the divine prefence, and yet we con- 
 tinue alike prifoners at large, man in this his 
 fublunary world, the fallen angels in their lower 
 etherinl regions, (ttLukevm. 31. Eph.W. 2. For 
 altho' their doom be the abyfs, yet they arc not 
 very clofely confined there. 
 
 Again we have alike our liberties to make ufe 
 of; alike our occafions to employ that liberty: we 
 have alike our remorfe and fears and evil propen- 
 fities; as well as our defires and confcioufnefs of 
 God and his Chrijl, Mark i. 24. For evil angels 
 
 S f 2 now 
 
I^ETTER XVI. [ 332 ] Sect. III. 
 
 now know as well as we their fubjedtion to Chriji, 
 and that they are fallen from God; and that he is 
 a being holy and good and exorable. Mat. viii. 31. 
 Again, like us they roam about thro' dry places 
 feeking rejl and finding none. Like us they tremble 
 in the woful expectation of their abolifhed king- 
 dom, and of their torments amidft its ruins. And 
 as man doubts not but he muft one day fee this 
 world in flames, fo are the unhappy angels alfo 
 afTured that all their heavenly habitations, and fyf- 
 tems of worlds, now their dear, tho' deform'd, 
 manfions Ihall withdraw their glory, and fall from 
 their fpheres, with themfelves in vaft combuftion. 
 James ii. 19. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 HAVING ventured fo far on this ftrange and 
 mortifying fubjed:, the likenefs of men to 
 fallen angels ^ I may as well venture yet a little 
 farther; and by the light which to me feems gi- 
 ven from that remarkable paffage in Ifaiah xxiv. 
 compared with other texts, proceed to fhew that 
 the fame likenefs of circupiftances which attends 
 evil men and evil fpirits in this prefent time, will 
 alfo follow them thro' fucceeding ages, as far as 
 we have any account of either them or ourfelves, 
 even to the laft day of this world. 
 
 This palTage I think ought to be tranflated as 
 follows : 
 
 Ifaiah xxiv. 2 i. ^ And it fijall be ^in ""that ""day, 
 ^ yehovah ^Jhall I'ifit ^ upon the heavenly " hofl^ - in 
 the heavens; ^^ and upon ^^ the chiejs ^'' of the earth 
 
 (or 
 
c 
 
 Letter XVI. [ 333 ] Sect. III. 
 
 (or the earthly chiefs) '^upon '*the earth-, ^^for 
 they jhall be gathered together^ ''' a captive '^fociety^ 
 ^^in "'^the pit (or abyfs, prepared fomewhere in 
 the realms aerial, as a prifon for wicked fpirits) 
 ^""and jhall he flnit up ^'in '■^ the prifon (namely the 
 place of cuftody for wicked men, fomewhere in 
 the regions of ( SiKtt> ) feul) "-^ and after many "-^days 
 "■Uhey Jhall be vijited, 
 0')"it:n» j<D!f' Sv* <^"'fn^' ■'ps^'* **"i^!^' ^'^'-^ ^'^^^ 
 
 -iJDD^'* Sv" 'n:Dv° 113 '* hy^^ tdn" nicK*^ i^jdnv^ 
 
 So 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "C^.t:3 in excelfo loco, i, e. in the aerial heavens. 
 So verfe i8th we read (ant:!: r,0"iN) the catarafts 
 from heaven fhall be opened ; for wicked fpirits have 
 their refidence in the heavens or aerial regions ; as 
 we read E^h. vi. 12. — ii. 2. And are therefore here 
 called heavenly hofts in contradiftinftion to men who 
 are earthly inhabitants. 
 
 "" ^SDNl colligenter autem, the prefer being put for 
 the future. And l has the fame fort e here as h a- 
 mong the Greeks: for the prifoners .ire fuppofed to 
 have been aheady collefted for many days; the migh- 
 ty men in the ( IJCX: ) claufurd., the angeJs in the pit ; 
 and in the day here fpoken of, each Ihall be vifited 
 in their refpeftive places, viz. the angels in their aerial 
 aboadsi the men become imbodied, for this vifita- 
 tion, on the earth. 
 
 This pafTage is I think literally tranflatcd in latin 
 as follows : Et erit in die ilia vifitabit Jehovah fuper 
 exercitum excel/urn fvel qui excellens eft) in excelfo^ ^ fuper 
 rcges humi fvel terreftres) fuper humo. Colligentur autem 
 ■colle5lio vin5la in puteo (sf claudentur in daufura i^ a 
 /;;, i !^- i; Dierum vijitabuntur. 
 
Letter XVI. [ 334 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 So that as there is ( *)JD)d or -piJAajcJi fee i Pet. iii. 
 19) a prifon for wicked men after this life, there 
 is alfo ( 115 ) a pit or abyfs for wicked fpirits, where 
 each will be referved (ASls i. 25. iv ru toVw t« ISm) 
 in Us own proper place y 'till the day of vifitation.'' 
 
 Laft of all there is (Kev. xx. 15. a a(«.v»! th Trupo?) 
 a lake offi-e^ the ultimate doom of thofe that iliall 
 flill be found incorrigiblej- and here again the 
 
 wicked 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ By the v/ord viftting the fcriptures do not always 
 intend pumjbing; for (Gen. xxi. i. i Sam. ii. 21.) The 
 Lord vijited Sarah, and Hannab, by giving them fons ; 
 and {Gen. 1. 24.) Jofeph promifes his brediren that the 
 Lord will viftt them by bringing them out of Egypt ; and 
 David prays {Pf. cvi. 4.) vifit me with thy falvation. 
 Sojer. XV. 15. — xxiii. 2, Sec. 
 
 Moreover that by the word vifit in this palTage is 
 to be underftood deliverance, appears from the fyriac 
 bible, in which we read it as follows : 
 
 V}-^a<s^'' •^j.m)'*^ \;^'' ).a£.clj..d" ^Q-JLJ-njo'' 
 
 ^In that very ^day '^Jehovah *Jhall vifit ''upon ^ the fiiblime 
 powers "in the fublimity (or fublime place) ^and upon 
 ^the earthly kings ^"in the earth ; ^^and ajfemblies ^^Jhall 
 ajfemble ^^over the '^bcund ^^of the pit-, and ^^fioall con- 
 fider ^"^over ^^the imprifoned. ^^And after a multitude 
 '^° of days "^Uhey floall be delivered (enlarged, freed). 
 
 As therefore both men and devils fliall have alike 
 their prifon, their vifitation, their judgment ; fo fliall 
 tb.cy alike after a multitude of days be tclilJCl*fi)» 
 
Letter XVI. [ 335 ] Sect. III. 
 
 wicked both of men and angels will be treated as 
 brethren ; for both will be cafl together into this 
 lake; and become conforts in one common mi- 
 lery (Mat. xxv. 41.) Depart from me ye cur fed 
 (fi? TO Tr\jf TO aiuviov) into the cjeofii an fire prepared for 
 the devil and his angels. 
 
 And as it is farther remarkable concerning fa- 
 tan, that before he is configned to the terrors of 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 But delivery, you fay, does not always imply a 
 reflitution : I grant it : yet many may be reflored at 
 this time of deliverance. And as to others (who ftill 
 proving incorrigible, fhall be configned to the lake,^ 
 one may conjecture confiftently with their reftitution 
 many ways. For inftance. 
 
 When fatan's hatred of God is heightened to fo ex- 
 quifite a degree of it, as that he fliould hate even his 
 own exiftence -, difTolution may be at laft his choice, 
 and that wherein his defires may concenter. And in 
 this fituation his difeafe may pofTibly be advanced 
 and ripcn'd to its true, intended and neceflary crifis 
 or point of change. 
 
 Uefire has a moft effeftive power in it-, and will, 
 when become intenfe and determined, procure any 
 thing. And working now in earneft after difTolution, 
 why may it not acquire it ? Efpecially fince fuch de- 
 fire feems to accord with the real purpofe of God -, as 
 we gather from that maxim (i Cor. xv. 36. John xii. 
 24. That which thou foweji is not quickened except it die. 
 But Chrijl is fo the refurpeclion of the dead as that 
 nothing can die beyond the reach of his quickening 
 energy, i Sam. ii. 6. Johnv. 21. i T/'w. vi. 13. 2 Cor. 
 V. 14. And in his beftowing hereof, two things are 
 obiervable, ill:. That he beftovvs it trcely. 2dly. That 
 he bellows it by a regeneration or begetting anew. 
 
 According to thefe reflections the lake of lire may be 
 confidered as a feed-foil to the ultimately reprobated. 
 
Letter XVI. [ 336 ] Sect, llh 
 
 the lake, his previous doom (hall be the ('TIS i. e. 
 gr. a/3u(r<r(^ or) pit/ the fame thing we alfo learn 
 of the beafi: or anti-chnft who will be a man ^ 
 that he fhall firfl have been a prifoner in the 
 abyfs ;^ {Rev. xi. 7. — xvii. 8.) before he fhall 
 have his conlignment to the perdition of the lake. 
 
 And fince the parallel between wicked men 
 and wicked fpirits anfwers thro' all the accounts 
 we have of the Lord's difpenfation towards 
 them; what can we conclude, but that one inde- 
 fatigable love purfues both, and that hades and 
 the abyfs, and the lake of firej exift all by the 
 providence of God j and for this divine reafon ; 
 namely, becaufe God will be all in all; will have 
 all intellectual creatures colledled into himfelf 
 church wife ; will quicken all men-, will reflore all 
 thifjgs 'y will be the head of all; will have every 
 knee bow to him, and every tongue confefs him^ to 
 the glory of God the father. LET- 
 
 NOT E S. 
 
 y At the next appearance of our Lord, fatan will 
 be only caft into the abyfs (where is even now his 
 proper place, Jude 6.) and confined for 1000 years, 
 that is during the time of the millenium; and at the 
 end of the 1000 years, being releafed, yet continuing 
 ftill to exert himfelf as before againll God, and to 
 gather the armies of Gog and Magog againfb the be- 
 loved city, he fhail thereupon be caft into . the lake. 
 See Rev. xx. i, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10. 
 
 "^ We are told exprefsly ot the beaft or anti-chrift, 
 tho' not of the faife prophet, whence he is ; namely^ 
 {Rev. xi. 7.) That he afcendeth out of the abyfs (Rev. 
 xvii. 8.) that he was and is not (>^ Trapsrai) and fhall be 
 "again \ in that by fjjall afcend out of the abyfs^ and after- 
 ward go into perdition^ i. e. {Rev. xix. 20.) into the lake^ 
 
[ 337 ] 
 
 >^ ¥ )^ ^ )^ ^ i< 
 )^*)^ ^*^ )^*)5( ^*¥ ^*)^ )^*)^ )^*^ 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 7^^ fcrtpture pajfage objeSied againjl ta^ 
 from 2 Cor. iv. 17. conjidered, 
 
 T d 
 
 S I R, 
 
 F'S^^'^HO' I have feveral other fcripture paf- 
 ^ T ^ Tages to exhibit in proof of our point in 
 ^Qd^S hand, the final reftitution of all things- 
 I fhall not difcufs them at prefent be- 
 caufe they properly belong to my fecond part : 
 in which I purpofe to give you my fentiments 
 concerning the human foul j and fo fhall referve 
 them for this work. 
 
 My only remaining tufinefs therefore, with re- 
 gard to this firft part, will be to anfvver the far- 
 ther objections you make againfl the temporality 
 of Chrifi\ kingdom, or, which is the fame, a- 
 gainft the temporal expofition of the w6rd(a"an^) 
 aeonian. 
 
 T t YoUf 
 
Letter XVII. [ 338 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Your firfl:, and I think moft fpecious objedion, 
 is that paffu^e in 2 Cor. iv. 17. For the momentary 
 light nejs f-^o -;> «/> 7rx:.xvTixa. iXoc(ppovJ of ciir tribulcition 
 worketh for us a weight oj glory (''taQ' iVrpCoAji;' m 
 uTTifitoXrtv aiw^4o^) j exceedingly to an excefs (i. e. far 
 more than) eternal; 'while we look not at the things 
 feen-, but at the things not feen ; for the things feen 
 are (7rp:.(r>iccipxJ oj jhort continuance ; hut the things 
 not feen are (^onian or xiwvix)for ages. 
 
 You ur^c that as K^ipo? and a"^y are here fo 
 diredly oppofed to each other, the latter mufl 
 import fomewhat very far exceeding the former; 
 but the former intends temporal life, therefore 
 the latter muft intend eternal life ; a conclufion 
 by no means juft, fince an hour and an age will 
 bear a very firong antithefis, tho' an age be far 
 lliort of fome loco ages, and yet ftill this infi- 
 nitely fhort of eternity. 
 
 One of our moral writers, in his, well-mean- 
 ing Zeal, has illuftrated eternity as follows ; fup- 
 poi'e fays he a mountain of fand, of an enormous 
 fize; and that once only in every 1000 years, an 
 eagle were fent to lelTen this mountain by carry- 
 ing away from it one fingle grain of fand; what 
 a prodigious trad of time would it require thus 
 to remove this whole mountain, and before every 
 fingle grain of this vafl: body fhould be carried 
 off: but, adds he, the time required for all this 
 work 10,000 times repeated bears ftill no pro- 
 portion with eternity. 
 
 PofTibly the sonian kingdom of Chrift may en- 
 dure a longer time than would be required thus to 
 remove this gentleman's mountain of fand ; but 
 
 that 
 
Letter XVII. [ 339 ] Sect. I. 
 
 that the damn'd (hall be in torments, during all the 
 periods of Chriji^s reign as mediator, I cannot believe, 
 having no revelation to found fuch belief upon. 
 
 1 cannot but perfwade myfelf that the univer- 
 fal hymn (of which we read in Rev. v.) will be 
 heard fliouting thro' the univerfe from every crea- 
 ture to the glory of Jcfus^ long before the faid di- 
 latory eagle would perform his tafk. 
 
 I think too that if this gentleman's mountain 
 of fand were much lefs than he fuppofes it, the 
 removal of it at the rate of one finglc grain every 
 1000 years, would occupy time enough to form 
 a contrail: ftrong as one could wifh, between the 
 continuance of our momentary life, and that com- 
 prehenfive age which we mean by (0 oam ruv aiwtwi/) 
 the great inclufive age, the age of the ages; with- 
 out having recourfe to eternity, of which we can 
 form no conception. 
 
 1 have already given you in my fourth letter 
 
 a computation of the asonian periods, which as it 
 
 advances one ftep further than BeftgcUusSy does 
 
 vaflly exceed his." But let us here follow him and 
 
 Tt 2 take 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 "Bengeltus computes only two articles, viz. aiwi 
 aiwvwi/, and a»wv£f aiwuwv, as follows : 
 
 Aiwv, an JEon or age being = 2222;^- years. 
 
 Ift. Article, — h^i^y cciui/uv, an age of ages, that is, 
 2222AX 2222| is = 4938271.605 years: in which 
 prodiidt the rank of the iigurcs ('4 — 3 — 2 — i — o, be- 
 ginning with the firft and Dripping over every alter- 
 nate figure-, tlius again alternately, 9 — 8 — 7 — 6 — 5) 
 is pretty remarkable ; but much more fo that of the 
 
ipETTUR XVII. [ 340 ] Sect. I. 
 
 take the loweft of his numbers for the duration 
 of the aeonian kingdom, viz. 4938271.605, &c. 
 (=one aeon of aeons) and divide this by yy/yyt 
 (the age of the prefent world according to this 
 author) and the quotient 634.920 will fhew that 
 the aeonian kingdom cannot be fuppofed to laft 
 lefs than about 635 times as long as this world's 
 duration, fuppofing this to confift of y/y/y years. 
 It may indeed, and probably will, be of a prodi- 
 gioufiy greater continuance, but it muft be owned 
 that this fliorter fpace, a continuance of about five 
 millions of years, will afford time enough to il- 
 luflrate a fufficient difference between an aeon i an 
 and a temporary duration; the ufual fliort traniit 
 of human life, and an age by angelic computa- 
 tion : 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 figures in the product of the lid. Article, vi?. Aiung 
 c/Aocmv, i. e. two ^ons of aeons (two being the lowed; 
 plural) which is double the former article : for an 
 teon being 222 2|. and two of thefe making 44441 
 44441 X 2222i = 9876543^7 = 9876543.21 : the 
 order of the figures here is fo confpicuous that it 
 needs not to be pointed out. 
 
 Thus far Ben^elius proceeds in the calculation : and 
 if you will go on farther, and multiply an reon of 
 aeons by an ?Eon of sons, as in p. y^ (where is given 
 you the loweft number which fuch cal,cuiation will 
 admit of) the amount will be prodigious. 
 
 But Bengelius fuppofes, 'Oi atw^f? TUN otiuvov (i: e. 
 a»wi/ ocicovuu an pson of aeons rendered plural feverally 
 by the addition of the plural articles) to be the fcrip- 
 ture expreflion for endiefs eternity, and in this cafe 
 all computation is fuperfluous ; fince no produ<5l of 
 finite numbers can equal an infinite duration. 
 
Letter XVII. [ 341 ] Sect. I. 
 
 tion : and confcquently that thefe words of the 
 apoftle will not want lenfe, when they tell us, 
 that the momentary fliortnefs of human life will 
 be incomparably exceeded even by the finite con- 
 tinuance of the aeonian life. 
 
 Indeed that St. Paul intends no fach thine as 
 eternity in this paflage, feems implied in the hc- 
 braifmin the former claufe of it; namely >ia&' (nnp- 
 fcArii/ fi? uTfpfcoA?iu aiwvioi-) which, Bcza fays, mean?, 
 reternitas ipja ceternitatc uidgis cetervta^ eternily 
 more eternal than is eternity itlelf. For that, as 
 fay others alio, the reduplicated word i7r:-f,Go\ii 
 imports exccfs, and enhances the word (ata.'no?) 
 aonian beyond its natural force ; ^ as does the 
 
 \^'ord 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The emphatical exprefTions are certainly to be un- 
 dcrftood of an extremely greater number of years than 
 the fimple one without the articles : but hoiv much 
 greater a number, it mufl; be confefTcd the articles do 
 not determine ; polTibly they may import fome myf- 
 tical number, concerning which all that God intends 
 at prefent to reveal is, that it is immenfely great ; 
 and this one fhould the rather think becaufe the com- 
 putation of them made in {). 73 is the Ihortcd, or firO: 
 number, feven of which muft go to the conftitutinq; 
 one week of thefe cmpharical num.hers. 
 
 ^ KaO' uVfpjSoAw tjf 'j7rf/3|3oArV Jecufidum excelkntiam c.d 
 excellentiam^ id ejl excellenter cxceUens^ ait T\\^oY>h.. five 
 mirc^ i^ fupra modum ceJJum-Sic enim hebrici fer ^enii- 
 )iationcm rods figmficant vehementiam & fuper/aiivuw ; 
 I'J *^^'?^ "!m mad mad^ id eft valde v aide ^ hoc eft fv.pra 
 inodum^ ^ plurimum : q. d. incomparakiUter majus^ in- 
 comparably greater than, or exceedingly more than. 
 See Cornelius a Lapide in locum. 
 
Letter XVII. [ 342 ] Sect. I. 
 
 word ( *^isi2 ) valde among the Hebrews, which it 
 is well known forms, by repeating, the highefl 
 fuperlative in that language. 
 
 And thus the force of this pallage is — ^he mo- 
 mentary lightnefs of en?' tribulation, worketh for us 
 a glory eijen tnore thaji ceoiiian, [a glory not only 
 (gi? TiJ? aiwvaf Twv atw wv) to the a^ons of the aeons, 
 but yet ilill farther to (2 T^im. i. 10. {mv y^ cctp^xp- 
 cixv) that life that is even incorruptibility] ivbere- 
 Jore ovcT-looking the things ijijibley we fix cur eyes 
 upon the things invijible, fince the things fee n are hut . 
 during this Jhort life-, whiljl the things not feen are 
 ^>ca9' iTTsp^ioXyiv tig uVf/j^oAiiv,) hyperpolically hyperboli- 
 cally (i. e. exceedin;?, beyond hyperbole, that im- 
 meafurable feafon ot blifs, the life) ieonian; where 
 all our fufferings fhall be recompenfed, and our- 
 felves regaled with abundant confolations. 
 
 According to this import of the words, this 
 text of fcripture, whilft it diredls us feemingly 
 but to the pomifes, gives us at the fame 'time a 
 hint that fliall dilate our thoughts, enlarge our 
 proJped:, and extend our expectations flill beyond 
 them; a pradice very obfervable in numberlefs 
 palTciges where the "''envs have their promifes given 
 them of their earthly Canaan. 
 
 And iu this c'brcrvn'ion will admit of the fol- 
 lowing argument, i'''^ If (as by the apoftle's ufe 
 of the abovt hebiaifm) the word asonian be in his 
 opinion too 'canty and confined to exprefs the full 
 contiUuanc" of rlir pomiled glory; if this promis- 
 ed glory, tlio' It be Ionian, is yet flill more than 
 fo; then the v>. !rd a3'.;nian m-v.ft import lefs than 
 a real eternity; bccaufe what is really eternal 
 
 cannot 
 
Letter XVII. [ 343 ] Sect. I. 
 
 cannot be exceeded or fiirmounted by any ad- 
 ditional continuance ; becaufe an eternal con- 
 tinuance cannot be eflimated as lefs durable than 
 the promifed glory and confolations purpofed of 
 God for us. 
 
 But without regard to this phrafe there may 
 well be, and moft probably there is, a great na- 
 tural difference between what we call time as it 
 fublifls in the aeonian, and time as it fubiifts in 
 our traniitory life. 
 
 We conceive time in this life as confifiinpr of 
 fuccemve momentary points, a perpetual alter- 
 ation; poffibly in the asonian life it may prove to 
 be of a more flable nature; yea thofe traniitory 
 points of which it now feems to conliil:, may then 
 appear to have been a fucceffion of generating 
 and corrupting parts, like the fucceffion of ani- 
 mals and plants. 
 
 All the things in this world bear the characters 
 of death, but in the land of the livi?ig it may be 
 otherwife; then our time may pofTibly bear the 
 vifible characters of eternity; and afford us a ty- 
 pical reprefentation of that limultaneous manner 
 of exifting, of which we now conceive only by 
 its oppolite, mutability or tranfitorinefs. 
 
 But however this be, certain it is that this 
 text can prove nothing againftus; becaufe to fay 
 that the word (7rpo?Kat/)o? proikairos) temporal^ is 
 here fct in oppofition to the word (atwi/jo,-) (X072ian^ 
 therefore the word a;onian muff fignify eternal; 
 is to argue at as high a rate of inconfequence as 
 to fay the prophet Da?iiel compares the eternal 
 continuance of the throne of the Meffjah to the 
 
 durativ/a 
 
LETTEk XVII. [ 344 ] SEct. L 
 
 duration of the fun and moon; therefore the fun 
 and moon mull endure to eternity. 
 
 For as the fun and moon may laft to an ex- 
 ceeding length of time, which yet fhall be fhort 
 of eternity ; lo may the word seonian import an 
 exceeding length of time, which yet is fhort of 
 eternity. 
 
 And as the reign of an earthly monarch (to 
 which the reign of Chrijt is oppofed) may be 
 incomparably exceeded by the duration of the 
 fun and moon, without iuch fun and moon's en- 
 during eternally ; fo may a temporal life (to which 
 the ffionian is oppofed) be incomparably exceeded 
 by the duration of the aeonian life, without fuch 
 Ionian life's enduring eternally. 
 
 If 1 was to fay that the aerial height of the 
 pic of Teneriffe is incomparably exceeded by that 
 of the orb of Saturn s revolution, therefore the 
 orb of Sa^u?'?2s revolution is the utmoft ftretch of 
 all altitude; would this be an inference? Can we 
 conceive no poiTible medium between the very 
 fublimeft extremity of all altitude, and the fum- 
 mit of the pic cf T'eneriffef And may not the orb 
 of Saturn's revolution be incomparably higher 
 from us than the fummit of the pic of T'eneriffe; 
 and yet at the fame time as incomparably fhort of 
 the very fublimeft extremity of all altitude? 
 
 Thus honeycombs feem palaces to bees; 
 And mites imagine all the world a checfe. 
 
 LET. 
 
[ 345 ] 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 The fcripture pciffagB ohjeEled againfi us^ 
 from 1 Tim. i. 17. conjtdered. 
 
 T O — 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Christ the king of the ceom. 
 J)f^S8^kOUR fecond obiedion to our dadirine 
 "% Y "^ i^j That the word Ionian mull im- 
 ^/^^^ port eternal, becaufe ufed as one of the 
 
 characters or attributes of God. So 
 I Tim. i. 17. And to the king eternal^ &'c. But 
 here again the fauh is in the tranflation. In the 
 original we read not king eternal^ but king of 
 the aeons or ages j fo in the fyriac (w*: [.j^lllii.^^ 
 &c. ooi I V)N. vX) to the king therefore of the ages^ 
 or ceonSy who, <oV. as alfo we read in the greek 
 (tw Si {^uciXii Twi/ aiw!/iiv) to the king of the cvons^ im- 
 mortal, irrcifble, the only God be glory, &c. So alfo 
 we read in P/.* X. 16. 'Jeho'vah 'is king 'of the 
 ceG?n^ "- and beyond ( l^T £371^^ i^'^"' '"i^'~i'* ). xlv. 7, 
 Thy throncy O Gcdj is (■ "1S1 zd^^)^ ) (eonian^ and be- 
 yond. And in 'Rom. xvi. 26. According to the re* 
 U u '■relation 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 346 ] Sect. I. 
 
 'Delation of the myjfery kept fecret (xpJ'ok uiuviok;^ Jor 
 aeonian feafom-, but now is manifcji by the prophe- 
 tic Jiriptures^ according to the commandment of the 
 aonian God ( a^mU ©£« ) j made hioiam to all the Gen- 
 tiles for the obedience of the faith. 
 
 To thefe texts therefore the anfwer is obviousj. 
 namely, that Chrifi is the very God of the asons, 
 and may be called the aeonian God and King, 
 not on account of his eternal nature, but becaufe 
 he fhall reign a^onianly, as univerfal king ; and 
 becaufe he is moft ftridlly fpeaking the God of 
 the aeonian life j and father of that fpirit which 
 is to enjoy the asonian life.^ And alfo becaufe 
 
 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 «=Our Lord is called in If. ix. 6. aonian father, in- 
 Beh. xii. 9. fathrr of Jpirits. in i Cor. xv. 45, 47. the 
 fecond man-, the laji Adam, a quickening fpirit, [for the 
 firft Adam was intended to be only {Rem. v. 14.) a figure 
 of him that was to come, namely of the fecond father.] 
 
 Now by being begotten of this fecond Adam, we 
 receive a fpirit by which we enter the asonian life, 
 otherwife called, the kingdom of God. See John i'ii. 
 5, 6, James i. 18. i Pet. i. 23. John i. 1-3. 
 
 Without this regenerating fpirit (John'm. 3.) we^ 
 cannot fee the kivgaom of God ; for it becomes vifible 
 only by a being born into it, or made alive in Chriji. 
 Therefore fays St. John (i jfohn v. 11, 12.) God hath 
 given us aonian life, end this life is in his fon, he that 
 kath the fon of God hath life, and he that hath not the 
 fon of God hath not life. 
 
 So then in order to enjoy the jeonian life, we muft 
 be the begotten fpiritual fens of the aeonian fpirit, or 
 fpirit of ChriJI ; for he only (ver. 10.) is true God and 
 amian life. Rom. viii. 9. 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 347 ] Sect. I. 
 
 the ages or sons are all under his government 
 .and direction. 
 
 It has been already obferved that the sons or 
 ages are portions of duration, working together 
 the will of God temporallyj that an age may be 
 conlidered as that in time which our lolar lyliem 
 is in fpacej that as fpace may comprehend an 
 unknown number of thefe fyflems, fo time may 
 comprehend an unknown number of ages. 
 
 That therefore we read in fcripture of a vari- 
 ety of ages, of ages paft, and of ages to come, 
 and of this age, and of the next age, and of af- 
 ter ages ; but of all thefe Chriji is chara(flered as 
 the king, ruling and conducing them according 
 to his good pleafure. 
 
 Againft this acceptation of our prefent text it 
 is objcfted, that not ChriJI but fa tan is called 
 (2 Cor. iv. 4.) the god of this age, being [Eph. ii. 2 ) 
 the Ipirit that now worheth in the children of imbc- 
 liej J feeing that ( i fohn v. 19. 'O y.o<r^^ cxo; iv ru 
 TTovnpu) Hi.Txi) the ivhole world lieth in the wicked one 
 (or deviiy Yea that this is fpoken in contradi- 
 ftindiion to a future age; when [Ifa. xi. 9.) the 
 earth flmll be full of the knowledge of the Lordy as 
 
 U u 2 the 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ There can be no doubt but J 7roi'»?p(^ denotes the 
 devil ; fo it is evidently to be takeji in the verfe pre- 
 ceding the paiTage here cited •, and ought Hkewife to 
 he Jo rendered in the lollowing •, therefore ii? iv ru 
 <n•o^npcJ in this verfe fet in contraft to lu tu aXn^ivu^ 
 f/ rw Xoifw in the to Ho wing. Says verfe 19. The vjhde 
 
Letter XVIIL [348] Sect. |. 
 
 the 'Waters cover the fea j when the whole world 
 fliall be quick and 7?icide alive [^^ tw x^.r^) in Chrifi^ 
 as now they lie dead in fatan. And that fince all 
 the ages are not under the imrnediate government 
 of Chrijiy neither can it be his true charatfter that 
 he is the king of the ages. 
 
 To this objedion we anfwer that there may b^ 
 a divine wifdom in appointing the firfi: ageg of 
 the world for the portion of the wicked ; that fo 
 thefe, having received their carnal life, and ma- 
 nifefted themfelves by their works in human na- 
 ture againft the day of wrath, which is to happen 
 at the concluHon of the wicke4 ages ; the ages of 
 chriflian peace and enjoyment, v/hich are to fuc- 
 ceed, may be undifturbed by the intermingling 
 pf wicked men among the godly. 
 
 Alfo it rpay be anfwered that the wicked them- 
 felves by being the iirft poffelTors of humanity, 
 and fo haflened to their doom, may be the fooner 
 prepared for after purpofes of gathering them in, 
 or fome of them, among the number of the eled: 
 {Epb. i. 10.). Moreover that other reafons, to 
 VIS iippenetrable, may ocpafion the wicked to bq 
 tlie firft ordained to human life. 
 
 But 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ivorld lieth in the wicked one, and fays verfe 20. JVe 
 (who are not of the world) are in Cbrijl. 
 
 And hence it comes to pafs that the world is full 
 of fraud, and violence, and vanity, and wantonnefs, 
 and negleft of God, and hypocrify : whilft the chrift- 
 ian fhines in trutii, and meeknels, and chaftity, and 
 light, and piety. 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 349 ] Sect. L 
 
 But that however this may be, and however 
 fatan may feem to govern the firft ages of this 
 world, yet that Chriji is ftill the invilible king of 
 all thefe, prefiding in even the worft of the ages 
 as really, altho' not as triumphantly, as in the 
 good and happy ages. For that all the ages are 
 by him ordained, being made [Heh. i. 2.) by him 
 {Col. i. 16.) and to him^ and for him. And that 
 the words ^xtnXixx; tw^ aiwi,a;y are truly rendered the 
 king efthe ages^ and not the eternal king. 
 
 We may likewife fiippofe that as the ages are 
 different and diftindt members of time, they may 
 afford each their different and did:ind: modifica- 
 tions of life. That therefore that form of life 
 which man now has in this world is fo often 
 called by the Lord the now age^ this pre fent age-, 
 to diftinguifli it from that form of life which a 
 fucceeding age will bring, called by him the next 
 or future age. 
 
 In this view of things the meafure of time as it 
 exifts momentarily in this world, moft reafonably 
 deferves fome other term than ajon, or age to de- 
 note it; and which flill our cngl ifli word tempo- 
 ral will not anfwer; becaufc we underftand our 
 word time as comprehenfive of the ages; but pof- 
 fibly the word (Tr/jofx.at/jf?) profkairos'" as ufed a- 
 mong the Greeks may have better ferved this 
 purpofe. Again, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 •■ The Greeks had three words in ufe among them 
 to denote time in its fevcral gradations, )taip(^, ym'^ 
 and ctiuv. By aio.^ they meant -an age, by yjc^<^ 
 a time of confiderable continuance, and by v.a.if^ 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 350 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Again, whereas all the feveral flates and fcenes 
 of things exifting in the aeonian ftages may be 
 called nature; and the Logos, who is the God of 
 nature, prefides in them all as his father's vice-roy 
 and reprefentativej probably upon this account 
 alfo he, the Logos, may be called the king of the 
 (^ons or ageSy and the God of the ages, called foj, 
 I fay, as a charad:er intended to reveal him to 
 fallen nature. 
 
 This is the more probable becaufe our Lord 
 is vl/iMe as God to the eled: only; lince it is faid 
 of them only that they fiall fee him as he is^ i. e, 
 in the glory of his divine nature: and if to others 
 bis fubjed:s he appears at all, this may be only as 
 their fupremeft ( J"»" ) or Lord; and only fo often 
 
 and 
 
 r - - ■■ - ■ .1. — ..- . — I I. I ■ ■- —■■■-■■ — ' — - — " " " ' ' " I ■■» 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 a fliort inconfiderable time. So {Eph. vi. 18. J pray 
 (fi> TTccvTi X v.'pw) every part of time. See alfo Dr. Ro^ 
 hertfons r:\tailation o[ Bengelius's hlroduuion to the 
 Apocrdypjd'. To thr.t xva^^ and a»wv are two extremes 
 of time, having ypv'^ for their medium •, and by 
 this means itaip'^^ and £».c:> oppofe each other in a very 
 natural antidicfis. And befide this, they reprefent, 
 the former, that fleeting trnnfitorincfs of which this 
 life confifts, the latter that Ifeadinefs and ftability o^f 
 perduradon which our time will probably have in a 
 future ftate of being ; wherein we may prefume it 
 ■will bear feme refemblance of immutability. 
 
 Mor-over this fame obfervation holds as good in 
 the fyriac, as the greek language ; the Jitlvs having 
 alfo three names to exprefs their time by, viz. (^^.^) 
 odn anfwered by the greek xaj/)©---, (^.^j) zbn* an- 
 fwered by the greek ;yjo>^ ; and ( joj^ji.) olem an- 
 fwered by the greek aiwj'. 
 
Letter XVIII. [351] Sect. II. 
 
 and in what manner he in his wifdom and good- 
 nels fhall deem proper/ 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Of Christ'^ (Ionian kingdom. 
 
 T T TE believe we have (liewn fufficient grounds 
 
 V\ in our former fedion for admitting that 
 
 Co (ix- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Christ vi/il>le as the begotten f on <?/ God, wbilj} invifible 
 in his ijitenial nature. 
 
 ^ I N proof of this di(lin6tion, it fhould be here ob- 
 ferved that our Lord may be invifible in his hiddci* 
 and immutable nature, at the fame time that he is 
 vifible in both his angelical and human nature. 
 
 Altho' therefore he could converfe with Adam^ and 
 "Noah^ and Abraham^ and Jacobs and Jcjhua^ and 
 Gideon^ and Manoah, and the prophets, vifibly as man 
 with man -, without any violence wrought thereby up- 
 on their mortal conftitution •, yet was he in his unre- 
 vealed nature the glorious God himfelf ; as fays St. 
 Stephen to the Sanhedrim {Affs vii. 2.) the God of 
 glory (z. c. the glorious God, for the Syrians and He- 
 bre-ws ufe a genitive fubllantive inftcad of an adjedive) 
 appeared to our father Abraham in Mefopotamia, i^c. 
 even that fame glorious being, who in a different dif- 
 play of himfell", namely in that glory in which he 
 converfed with Mcfes upon mount Sinai^ could not her 
 beheld, as himfelt then declares, {Excd. xxxiii. 20.) 
 thou canft not fee my face, for there fjall no man fee r>ty 
 face and live (ver. 23.) thou fhalt fee ('nr\K) my back 
 farts^ but my face f jail not be feen. 
 
 This pafTage is remarkable for its intelligence con- 
 cerning Jehovah, ill. as importing that at the inllant 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 352 ] Sect. ll. 
 
 (0 jSao-iAfu? TWf *iwvwv) //?f king of the ceons^ miift be 
 one of the charadtcrs o^Ch7'iJi, as mediator; but if 
 it fliould feem to you otherwife, we think it muft 
 however be granted that the word asonian cannot, 
 either in our prefent text or elfewhere, be applied 
 to Chrift^ or to his kingdom as eternal; becaufe 
 in fuch application they muft needs fail of theif 
 ^fftdij iince the terms age and seonian are fo of- 
 ten ufed in fcripture, n(^t only in a finite, limited 
 
 mean- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 of time whilft (ver. 22.) he covered Mofes with his 
 hand in pafling by him, the divine nature flione forth 
 only from the fore parts of his perfonage, ieaving his 
 hinder parts vifible. And 2dly in that the perlbnage 
 here fpoken of, was the fame who (ver. 11.) fpckc 
 with Mofes face to face •, and whom Mofes calls {Exod. 
 xxxiv. 9.) Adni, my Lord, and defires to go amidfl 
 them himfelf inftead offending only an angel (xxiii. 2) 
 and prays to him. Pardon our imquity, and our Jin, 
 and take us for thy inheritance, isc. i. e. is the very 
 Jehovah tempted by the Jfraelites, whom St. Paul 
 tells us ( I Cor. x. 9.) is the Chrift ; ajjd is (Heb. xii. 29.) 
 a confuming fire; as he is alfo defcribed, Ex. xxiv. 17. 
 
 In this view of things it is not difficult to fuppofe 
 that at our Lord's next appearance, his vifiblc perfo- 
 nage may be adorned with a glory wherein the cha- 
 rafters of divine dignity are dillinguifliable to his own 
 people (feeM<r7//. v. 8. i Cor. xiii. 12. i JohnVu. 2.); 
 their confolation, which yet, as it begins to fhine forth 
 from him in its genuine luftre, may become infuffer- 
 able to the corrupt beholder, his difmay and confufion. 
 
 The primitive chrillian writers fpeak with great 
 propriety and alTurance on this point, afcribing our 
 power of feeing God to our union with God, by vir- 
 tue oi the incorruptible lite regenerated in us. So 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 353 ] Sect. II. 
 
 meaning, as hath been already fhewn In nu- 
 merous inftances: but are fometimes moreover 
 fpoken even of inanimate things, fuch as doors, 
 hills, mountains, &c. 
 
 So Gen. xlix. 26. Even unto the iitmoft bound of 
 the ceofiian hills. Hab. iii. 6. He beheld and the ceo- 
 nian mountains were Jcattered. Pf. xxiv. 7. Be ye „ 
 lift up ye ceonian doors, and the king of glory fiall 
 come in. 
 
 Whereas on the other hand, fuppofe only that 
 Chrijl\ kingdom is what we, in want of other 
 words to exprels it, may call temporal j that it 
 began upon earth 1700 years agoj that it will 
 proceed to the end of the world, and long after 
 that, even till to the reftitution of all things j 
 and at laft be refigned into the hands of the fa- 
 ther : fuppofe this, and fcripture language will 
 
 W w be- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Chrijlus^ qui in novijjimis temporibus homo, in hominihui 
 faElus ejl, ut finem conjungeret principro, id ejl homineni 
 Deo — etiam hoc cojtcedit its qui Je diligunt, fcilicct I'idere 
 Deum — Homo etenim a fe non videt Deum. Ille autem 
 njolens vidctur ah hominibus a qiiibus vult^ £f? quemadmo- 
 dum vult. Videbitur autcm i^ in regno calorum paterna- 
 liter, fpiritu quidem pr^eparante hominem infilium Dei, 
 filio autem adducente ad patrem \ patre autem inccrrup- 
 telam dcnante in (fternam vitatn, qucs unicuiq; evenit ex 
 eo quod videat Deum. ^emadmodum enim vi denies lu- 
 men, intra lumen funt, ^ claritatem ejus recipiunt,fic ^ 
 qui vident Deum intra Deum funt, percipientes ejus cla- 
 ritatem. Vivificat autem eos daritas; percipiunt ergo 
 I'itam qui vident Deum. — Viv ere fine vita impcjfibile ejl ; 
 fubjijientia autem vitte, de parti dp atione evenit : parti- 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 354 ] Sect. II. 
 
 become clear and confiftent ; and the terms 
 ceonian God, and aonian kingdom^ will yield 
 us a pertinent revelation, which they would in 
 no wife do in the vulgar acceptation, iince all 
 men know that the one immortal God mufl be 
 eternal King, without the lame help of twi/ onmuv 
 to declare it. 
 
 But that there are many aeons or periods to 
 come in which God will eredl to himfelf a pecu- 
 liar and wonderful kingdom, formed upon a con- 
 ceivable temporal plan j in which God will be, 
 in a vifible familiar form, the King and God of 
 us all; God like ourfelves, God-man, God ac- 
 ceffible, prepared and anointed by his father, 
 with a direct view to us, to be the fenlible objedt 
 of our delight, benediction and intereft; and in a 
 manner fo aptly and compleatly anfwering this 
 
 defign, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 cipatio autem Dei eft videre Deum, i^ frui Benignitate 
 ejus. Homines igitur videbunt Deum, &' vivenl per viji- 
 oneniy immortaks fa£fi^ ^ pertingentes ufq-., in Deum. — 
 Irenaeus lib. 4. cap 37. 
 
 Oujc Six, TO (T\jyyi)/i<; opx (fcilicet o ocv^puTr^) toy 0fov, 
 QM^^ oTi i/ou? £r(i/, aAX' ^T» (Tw^pwv Xj J'jxai©^ ', fa^, >tj o»« t» 
 
 iX^Kv w .).'0£» tQv Giov.- Juftin Martyr Dialog, cum 
 
 Tryphone Jud^eo. 
 
 Likewife, Origen, in his comment upon St. Johny 
 calling our faviour the autoptes, the felf-feer of his 
 father, tells us, that God is not vifible but by him: 
 wherefore, altho' every eye Jhall behold the man Jefus 
 as their judge {Rev. i. 7.) yet they only fhall fee him 
 as God who are regenerated by him. 
 
 / 
 
Letter XVIII. [355] Sect, II. 
 
 dcfign, as that it fhall aftonifh, and amaze at 
 the fame time that it bleffes, the greatell and 
 fubhmeft beings in heaven : this is news as im- 
 portant to man now, as it will be comfortable tp 
 him hereafter ; a treafure of hopeful tidings to 
 counterpoife his mortifying experience of fatan's 
 kingdom ; which has for fo long a time, harraf- 
 fed and diftrefTed us, and, like Pandoras fabled 
 box, filled this world witK all kinds of evils. 
 
 It has been a difpute among Philofophers 
 whether love, and goodnefs, and juftice in God, 
 be the fame in kind as what we call love, and 
 goodnefs, and juftice in man. But this alfo, at 
 leafl the ill inferences intended in thofe who 
 urge it, is utterly invalidated in the knowledge 
 here propofed of the God of ages. 
 
 The charadter of the fon of God as now be^ 
 come asonian, an angelic, vifible, and at length 
 human being, annuls and fets afide all the diffi- 
 culties of this queftion : in that we know the 
 love, and mercy, and joy, and grief of yefus 
 Chrifi to have been the love, and mercy, and 
 joy, and grief of a man ; as alfo that the love, 
 and mercy, and joy, and grief of the Logos, be- 
 fore he became the man 'Jefiis Chrifi^ was the 
 love, and mercy, and joy, and grief of an angel. 
 So that tho' it fliould be uncertain what is 
 love, benevolence, and the other attributes of 
 God, as they cxift in his original, and from- 
 eternlty divine nature ; yet as they were in him 
 the firll: begotten, or vifibly-exprefTcd image of 
 the father, from the beginning of the creation ; 
 ^nd as they are now found in the blefled God- 
 W w 2 be- 
 
Letter XVIIL [ 356 ] Sect. IL 
 
 begotten man, or humanly- expreffed image of 
 the father, fmce the incarnation 3 we can form 
 as adequate conceptions of them, as of any thing 
 whatever belonging to human nature. 
 
 We can therefore now have no doubt but that 
 the love, and goodnefs, and mercy, and fidelity, 
 ■which are the objedis of our hope and depen- 
 dence in God, are truly and identically the fame 
 as what we experience in our fathers, or friends, 
 or benefa(5lors : and this point difcovered muft 
 furely prove a moft plentiful fource of comfort 
 and fatisfadion to every difcreet and confiderate 
 mind. 
 
 Thus then the believing heart is able to tri- 
 umph in hope, and pray with eagernefs thy khig- 
 dom comCy not only as for an inconceivable and 
 infenfible good ; but for a good the obje<St of his 
 thoughts and defires; and for a friend who at 
 the fame time that he is God, is alfo a man like 
 himfelf, even that affable, benevolent, harmlefs 
 Lord, whofe hiftory he reads in the bible; 
 who fed the fainting multitude, was kind to pub- 
 licans and finners, gave to every one that afked 
 of him, wept with thofe that mourned, and bore 
 the contradiction of finners : I fay in thefe re- 
 fiedtions it will alfo be a confiderable circum- 
 flance to a man's comfort that the kingdom of 
 Chri'i is zV/t"^ likewife to continue thro' ages and 
 periods numberlefs, yea vaftly beyond all the li- 
 mits of his fcanty comprehenfion and wifliesj and 
 yet then even after all, and after himfelf is ren- 
 dered a fubjed: of divine fulnefs, that it is fiill 
 to be furrendered up, by the gracious king of it, 
 
 fecurcly 
 
Letter XVIII. [ 357 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fecurely into the hands of his father, God of all, 
 who is (i Cor. x'l. 3.) ihe head of Chrijl^ even as 
 Chriji is the head of every man. 
 
 But criticks and philofophers catch and faflen 
 upon fcripture texts of this kind to prove their 
 theological fyftems of divine attributes ; (a pur- 
 pofe which the facred writers never had in view) 
 and being not ferved in them to their content, 
 wonder that tlie holy penmen fliould exprefs 
 themfelves in terms fo vague and difatisfadory -, 
 while to an unvitiated evangelical talle, fcrip- 
 ture terms appear to be nioft critically chofen 
 and befl accommodated to truth and reality. 
 
 *000€*4>0<>C>O^0O€>0©OO<S>0O0OO«>O00O0<S>00O# 
 
 •OOOOOOOOOOOCXXXJOOOOSO^&OOOOOCOOexJXXOO 
 
 LET- 
 
[ 358 ] 
 
 ,jSS r^ r*^ /*, i-*s ,*, rOS r*s r*> <*i r*< ^, 
 
 <®^^'^^^^^3 ^<^^^^^^^> 
 ^^ ^ ^ ^ft^ S*^ Sj,^ Sc^ ^ ^ So^-^Sft- ^-^ 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 The fcripiure pcijfage objeEied againjl tiSy 
 from Matt. xxv. 46, confdered, 
 
 T O — 
 
 S I R, 
 
 ji('^''5'''^-H-^ objcdilon agalnft our dod;rlKe, which 
 }i,* ^ ^^ ^iil |3(^> ti^e fubjed: of my prefent letter, 
 ^^ .^^ is the moft commonly made of all, and 
 *\e^f^c 1 think as inconclulive as any. We 
 find it in Mait. xxv. 46. And thefe JJ:all go away 
 into cconian pnriijhment^ but the righteous into life 
 ceonian (ai^'nov). 
 
 Having fliewn at large that the aeonian life is 
 not properly termed an eternal Jife, fmce it will 
 have its temporary periods; and fmce the aeons 
 themfelves, of which that life confifts, are crea- 
 tures; dillind: parts or portions of time; as every 
 grain of fand is a diftindl part or portion of mat- 
 ter; the meanino; of tliis text is obvious; namely 
 that the {vonian life will be the joy of the righte- 
 ous; while the seonian puniflHnent and its con- 
 fequcncc deaths will be the curfc of the wicked. 
 
 And 
 
Letter XIX. [ 359 ] Sect. I. 
 
 And herein is the difference between the righ- 
 teous and the wicked, that the one iliall rejoice 
 in the SDonian kingdom of God j the other mourn 
 and bewail himfelfaeonianly; the one fliall fuffer, 
 and be baniflied the prefence of the Theanthropy 
 (fj? Toi/ a»wv«) a^onianlyj the other fliall be happy, 
 and with Chriji in his kingdom (f'? toi/ aium) aeo- 
 nianly, or to the ajon. 
 
 For fays the fcripture, Gal. v. 21. T^he workers 
 of lafci'vioufnefs^ UL-rath^ enijyirjgs^ — -Jljall not inherit 
 the kingdom cf Qcd. Mark iii. 29. He that biaf- 
 phemeth againji the Holy Ghoji {ay- ^x^^ oi^^o-iu ag tov 
 
 ajwi/a aAA* fJ'o;^©^ ffji/ atmiK Kpjo-fc;?) hdS UOt forgiveiiefs 
 
 to the ao7iy hut is liable to cconian judgment y even 
 as Sodojn and its adjacent cities being deflroyed 
 by fire, fuffer (as St. fude tells us, ver. 7.) the 
 *ve?igeance [t^^?^ «iwna) of ceoiiian fire -, whilft thofe 
 who are in the paradife of God, fliall be aoni- 
 anly happy^ in whofe blefled regions {Rev. xxi. 27) 
 ihere J]?all in no wife eiiter any thifig that dfileth, 
 neither whatfoever ivorketh abominotiony or makcih 
 a lie. 
 
 But how does any thing here fald, prove that 
 the punifliment of the wicked fliall be eternal? 
 there is nothing of eternity fo much as hinted at; 
 the whole fpoken of as hereby promifed, is an 
 aeonian life, a life in the fecular kingdom of 
 Chrifi; and the whole fpoken of as hereby threat- 
 ened, is the aconian death, or fecular punifliment 
 of the damned: ihcfe fall go away i?ito the (votiian 
 pumjlj?ne?ity the righteous into the a:ohian Uje. 
 
 But you fay, how then can you prove the eter- 
 nal happinefs of the faints? This is eafy to be 
 
 done. 
 
Letter XIX» [ 360 ] Sect. L 
 
 done (tho' not from the paflage before us, n» 
 fuch dodtrine being there taught, yet) from the 
 many other fcripture palTages^ where the immor- 
 tal bleffednefs of chriftians is expreflly declared. 
 
 The aeonian life of chriflians arifes from a prin- 
 ciple of immortality in them, which they derive 
 from Chrijl, and which will alfo carry them thro* 
 ail the asons into eternity: but the wicked, not 
 having this principle in them for the power of 
 their exiilence in the aeonian periods, will be in 
 
 a ftatc 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 s Such are the following, i T'hef. iv. 17. 'Theji we 
 who are alive^ who are left, flmll be caught up together 
 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and 
 fo Jhall we he for ever with the Lord, (Travjols, for ever, 
 i. e. as long as the Lord lives) according to what our 
 Lord fays, John xiv. 19. Becaufe 1 live,. ye Jhall live 
 alfo, oTi iy(Ji (^w (in the prefent tenfe) x) u/Aa? ^no-jo-S-c 
 (in the future tenfe) for the life of believers is in con- 
 fequence of the life of Chrifi, their life is not in them- 
 felves, but in him its fountain, fee John vi. 57. A- 
 gain, I Cor. xv. c^^^. This corruptible muji put on incor- 
 ruption, (afS-apr-ai/) and this mortal muJi put on immor- 
 tality (a3-a>/i36(rt«!/) I Pet. i. 3. BleJfed be God the father 
 df our Lord Jefus Chrifi, who hath begotten us again — tff 
 an inheritance incorruptible ( atpB-xpTO!/ ) and undefiled, 
 (cci^ixvlov) and that fadeth not away (a/^ap«^]ol/) referved 
 in heaven for you. Luke xx. 34 — 37. But they wh» 
 are accounted worthy to obtain that aon, and the refur^ 
 reElion from the dead, neither marry nor are given in mar^ 
 riage; for jieither can they die any more-, for they are 
 equal to angels, and are the children of God, being the 
 children of the refurreBion. So i John iii. 2. Fhil. iii. 
 21. and many other places. 
 
Letter XIX. [ 361 ] Sect. L 
 
 a ftate of niifery, whence will infue their corrup- 
 tion, and finally death. 
 
 A late writer, not obfcrving this, labours to 
 prove the eternity of hell torments by the follow- 
 ing argument. 
 
 " The punifhment of the wicked will not be- 
 " gin 'till the laft day of this world (gr. ocKfOvo?^ 
 " aeon, or age); but at the laft day of this world, 
 " time (hall be no more ; therefore the punifh- 
 " ment of the wicked will not begin till time fhall 
 " be no more. But puniftiment which is not in 
 " time muft be in eternity; and what is in eter- 
 " nity muft be eternal." 
 
 Before I can give a full and more dired; anfwer 
 to this gentleman's argument, I muft firft defire 
 him to tell me what he means by the time which 
 is to be no more after the laft day of this world, 
 (i. e. aeon ) ; and what he means by the eternity 
 which will fucceed the time to be no more; pof- 
 fibly we differ chiefly in terms. And in the mean 
 while 1 ftiall obferve, 
 
 ift. That the end of this prefent aeon, and the 
 day of judgment thereupon, will conclude our pre- 
 fent emphatical age, or aeon, of profperous wick- 
 ednefs. 
 
 2dly. That this great age or ason concluded, a 
 fucceeding age will enfue wherein dwelleth righ- 
 teoufnefs. 
 
 Now during this fecond great age, the age of 
 righteoufnefs, the wicked will fuffer deftru(5tion 
 together with fatan and his angels, while the righ- 
 teous will rejoice in life asonian together with their 
 brethren the holy angels ; and therefore is this 
 X X fecond 
 
Letter XIX. [ 362 ] Sect. L 
 
 fecond son called the Ionian life to the righte- 
 ous, and the a^onian death to the wicked. 
 
 But our philofophical notions of time or eterni- 
 ty are in no wife concerned in thefe events. If by 
 time be meant the portion of duration which is 
 divided and diilinguid'ied by a fucceffion of oc- 
 currences, as we now mcafure it by the motion 
 of our fun or moon or earth ; it affecfts our point 
 as little to fay that, after the laft day, duration 
 will be no longer meafured by the revolution of 
 planetary worlds j as to fay that it will be no longer 
 meafured by the motion of a clock. 
 
 And as to eternity, if thereby be meant (as it 
 feems to be by the above faid late writer) endlefs 
 duration ; 1 know not how to diftinguifli fuch 
 endlefs duration from time, otherwife than as a 
 man would diilinguifh between the middle part 
 of a chain which he holds in his hands, and its 
 inviiible length which the utmoft ftretch of his 
 eye- fight mull reach after in vain. 
 
 However, without infifting upon the true no- 
 tion of this word, it happens that eternal life in 
 the forementioned acceptation of it, is not the life 
 intended in the terms of the paflage before usj 
 becaufe St. Paul declares of Chrijl'?, kingdom as 
 mediator that it fliall have an endj and fo the 
 promife here made to the righteous is their fliin- 
 ing forth in a kingdom tliat is to have an endj but 
 their lliining forth therein, is their life therein. 
 
 The earth is faid by Solomon [Ecclef. i. 4) to eii^ 
 dure ( aS^>'S ) aoiiianly^ which our englilli bible 
 renders y^r ever^ in conformity to the feptuagint, 
 which tranflates this word by £'? -^^ i^-'^vcc -, yet not- 
 
 with- 
 
Letter XIX. [ 363 ] Sect. I. 
 
 ^vithftanding this, we have no doubt but that the 
 earth in due time, fliall arrive to its end: and in 
 like manner when the aconian kingdom of the 
 chriftians glory in Chri/i fhall have arrived to its 
 period, then will their life in this kingdom be 
 iikewife arrived to its period ; and being fo, will 
 be changed, together with this kingdom, into a 
 life of divine fulnefs (E/>/^ iii. 19. l G?r. xv. 28.) 
 of which we can only fay [Eph. v. 32. to /AUfrpiw 
 Talo /x?ya ig-iv^ Thls is CI great myftery. 
 
 But befidcs even all this, it fliould be here far- 
 ther obferved, that there is no fuch fcripture text 
 as that on which the above-mentioned gentleman 
 refts his argument, viz. '"■ thcTe JImiU be time no 
 hnger^'' for {Kev. x. 6.) XP*^"^ ^^ ^^^^ "^•> ought to 
 be rendered, there Jl:all be not even a chronos (i. e. 
 the term mi years fhall not be expired) before 
 the fulfilling of thefe events predided. See Dr. 
 Robertfoji^ tranflation of Bengelins's preface fo the 
 npocalypfe. 
 
 And thus the argument above-mentioned loofes 
 its force. The laft day of this Jton will not be 
 the laft day of this world : the laft day of this 
 world may not be the lafl day of time : the pu- 
 nifhment of the wicked will begin in time : and 
 fome things which exifl in eternity, m;iy (for all 
 that we know to the contrary) be notwichftand- 
 ing in themfelvcs temporal. 
 
 But it is indeed an important inqLiiry concern- 
 ing the kingdom of Chrip^ who fluill, and who 
 l]rall not enjoy that glory which is to be difplayed 
 in it J and of this we read ( 1 Cor. vi. 0, 10, 11.) 
 Neither the unrighteous., nor fornicators., nor adul- 
 i^rerSy nor drunJiards, nor railerSy nor extortioners^ 
 X ^ 2 fial! 
 
J^ETTER XIX. [ 364 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Jhall inherit the kingdom of God: and fuch wer^ 
 fame of you y but ye are wajhedy but ye are Jandiijied^ 
 but ye are jujiifiedy in the name of the Lord Jefus 
 Chrijly and by the fpirit of our God. 
 
 Moreover, becaufe no wicked perfon can inherit 
 the kingdom of God; when a man becomes a 
 behcver, he is wafhed with pure water \iieb. x. 
 23. (v(?«T» y^o^^xf)Exek.-^-yi-yis\. 25. (CinirD S'D) 
 '^ohn ill. 5. — xiii. 8.' — xix. 34. i John v. 6.] he is 
 fandlified {Tit. iii. 5.) by the wajhing of regenera^ 
 tion and refiewing of the Holy Ghofi. 
 
 But every man unwafhed, unfandlified, un- 
 cleanfed, will moft furely find himfelf an inhabi- 
 tant of outer darknefs, in company with other 
 abandoned creatures, ivhere jlmll be weeping and 
 gnafhing of teeth. Where tyrants will domi- 
 neer cruelly beyond conception, and of whom 
 the tyrants of this world are but faint reprefen- 
 tatives. There will the gay, the carelefs, the 
 luxurious, the infidel, be Ihocked at the muUi- 
 tudcs devoted to the power and barbarity of thofe 
 regal fpirits, whom they here dcem'd as bug- 
 bears. Thefe bugbears will there appear dread 
 authorities; and fuch as may probably know 
 how to avail themfelves of the wretched nefs of 
 their vaflals. Then will the loft foul experience 
 too late the confequence and importance of his 
 tranfa(Slions in this world ; when his every work 
 will have its natural effc(fl, and he fliall find 
 nothing loft or forgotten of all his impieties and 
 and perverfenefs. 
 
 And the thus condemned, who [fohn v. 40.) 
 would not come unto the Lord that he might have 
 life, mufl thus abide alfo in outer darknefs ; 'till 
 
 a tedious 
 
Letter XIX. [ 365 ] Sect. I. 
 
 a tedious and woeful experience fhall horribly 
 panifeft his diftrefs, and the morning of a long- 
 fome night fhall reveal to him his relief; 'till 
 the lingering day of his vifitation draweth near ; 
 and [A^b iii. 19.) the Wne of refrejhing jhall come 
 from the prefence of Jehovah : 'till (as a fhip- 
 wrecked and defpondent mariner grafps at a pro- 
 jeding rock, which the returning dawn prefents 
 him as but jufi: within his reach) he fhall gain a 
 iight of that true cleanfer who alone has the 
 pure water. For Hill, the Lord can cleanfe 
 him, from all his filthinefs, and from all his 
 iniquity, with the wafliing of water, by the word 
 of the aeon i an gofpel ; ( i 'Tim. ii. 6.) fo be teftifed 
 in due time (>t«ipoiV »Xk). 
 
 Moreover when a people are cleanfed, it im- 
 ports nothing that they have been filthy; they 
 have the fame right to enter into the kingdom of 
 (God as their elder brethren. ^Ixi. 3. Jehovah 
 will give them beauty for aP:es^ the oil of joy for 
 mournings and the garment of praife for the fpirit of 
 heavinefs', that they may be called the trees of righte^ 
 oufnejs^ the planting of Jehovah. 
 
 And in this regard of them thofc words of ciir 
 Lord may have a prophetical profpc6t, which we 
 read John v. 25. The hour is coming (that is ftill 
 to come) and now is (that is however in one rcf- 
 pedt really prefent) ivhen the dead f:all hear the 
 voice of the f on of God ^ and they that hear Jh all live: 
 for (ver. 2 1 ) the Jon quickeneth whofn he ivill. So 
 Eph. ii. I, 5, 6. And you hath he quickened who 
 were dead m trefpa[jcs and /ins : even when we were 
 dead in fms hath he quicke?irdus together with Chrijl, 
 and hath raifed us up together^ and made us (it toge- 
 ther in heavenly places in Chrifl Jefus. The 
 
Letter XIX. [ 366 ] Sect. I. 
 
 The 'Jews are a type of the gentile church, and 
 with regard to their calling moft eminently fo. 
 When now our Lord's death drew near, we ob- 
 ferve him denouncing his judgments upon thefe 
 as follows; iVf^/. xxiii. 37 — 39. O Jerufalenjy Je- 
 riifalefUy I ivotild have gathered you — and ye would 
 not. Behold your houfe is left unto you defolate: and 
 then doling their doom with thofe memorable 
 words, Jor I fay unto you^ ye fall not fee me hence- 
 forthy 'till ye fall fay^ Me fed is he that cometh in 
 the 7iame of the Lord. But were the fcws [Exod. 
 xix. 5) ^ peculiar treafure imto fehovah above all 
 people'^ So are the Cbrijiians: Were the Jews 
 (Rom. xi.) cut off from their olive-tree for unbe- 
 lief? The Gentiles will alfo be cut off for unbelief, 
 yohnxvn. 2, 6: Will ihtJewshQ 2ig2i\n ingrafted 
 into their original , flock? They will, and that 
 too for the remarkable reafon given us Ro77i. xi. 
 29. becaufe the gifts and calling of God are without 
 repentance; becaufe [Rom. ix. 6) the word of God 
 muf have cffeB. But if for this reafon the repro- 
 bate fews have their day of vifitation and glad 
 tidings to expedl; why may not the reprobate 
 Gentiles alfo found upon the fame reafon a like 
 expectation of fome future feafon in the incon- 
 ceivable ftretch of ages, in the unfathomable 
 depths of time; when, what Jehovah fays of his 
 returning Ifrael^ may likewife be applied to his 
 returning Gentiles^ Ezek. xvi. 62. Then thou fait 
 remember thy ways and be afamed. — and 1 will ef- 
 tablif my covenant with thee^ and thou fait know 
 that I am 'Jehovah ^ that thou may ft remember and be 
 confounded^ and never open thy mouth any more be- 
 caufe of thy fanu\ when I am pacified towards thee 
 for all that thou haft doiw. LET- 
 
[ 36? ] 
 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 The fcriptiire pajfage objeSied againjl us^ 
 from Eph. iii. lo — . conjidered. 
 
 ^^'^^^'^^'^s^'^^'^^'^^'^^^'^^'^^'^^'^^ 
 
 T O 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 * # 
 
 .*4-}.yHE text, the fubjecfl of my prefent td 
 ♦ rp 4.* you, will again prove no argument a- 
 *J^ J* gainfl me, but as it (lands in our eng- 
 * * * * lifh teftament, where we read it [Eph. 
 iii. lo — .) 'That now unto the principalities and 
 powers in hea'uenly places^ might be made known by 
 the church the manifold wifdom of God, according to 
 the eternal purpofe which he niade in Chrifl our Lord. 
 You here objed: that the word eternal^ ufed 
 with the vjovd purpofe^ mufl fignify eternal in the 
 ufual meaning of that term, becaufe (as you fay) 
 the purpofe of God mufl be eternal in fuch com - 
 prehenfive meaning of that term. 
 
 Now 
 
Letter XX. [ 368 j §ect. t 
 
 Now altho' this is by no means to be granted 
 you; and altho' the above paffage has its anfwer 
 from what has been already urged; 1 (hall rather 
 object to it as mil- rendered; not for want of a fuf- 
 ficient reply to what you have advanced, tho' the 
 true rendering had been aeonian covenant, but be- 
 caufe the giving a juft conftrudion to a text is al- 
 ways the prefer.ihje work. 
 
 In greek we read it if-oila. TrpoS'fo-tv ruv amuuv n^ Erroiw^v^ 
 whicil is littei ally thus, x-sOx 3-i(riv'nu iTro-.vTfv 'n-po rm 
 
 Ui-vcov^ in englifh, according to the purpcfe which he 
 made before tbe ages or (^ons began-, agreeable with 
 v/hat we read Heh. i. 2. where our faviour is faid 
 to have made the aons, and ni 2 l^im, i. 9. tt/jo p^jpo- 
 vw ajwi/tuf) before the aonian feafons: the like to 
 which we alio read, i Cor. ii. 7. We [peak the hid- 
 den wifdom which God pre-ordained {jr^o rm aamuv) 
 bejcre the ages or ceons began. 
 
 This hidden wifdom of God is the myflery of 
 his love to finners in Chrijl Jefiis, and has proba- 
 bly been opening and unfolding gradually and in 
 parts, long before the foundation of this world; as 
 it has, fince the fall, been alfo gradually opening 
 to man. 
 
 During the antidiluvian aeon it became the 
 fubjedl of human fpeculation in the promife of a 
 redeemer to be revealed in the feed of the woman; 
 a promife which, tho' it may appear dark to us, 
 yet to the fpi ritual fouls of thofe times, fuch as 
 were Job and EliJJ:a, afforded a moft defirable 
 and bright profpcd: of comfort. 
 
 In the following seon, the son of the law, it 
 was farther reprefented to the chofen people of 
 
 God, 
 
Letter XX. f 369 'j Sect. 1. 
 
 God or to his then church, by typical ceremo-, 
 nies, rites and facrifices, and in the perfons of 
 holy men, as we read thro' all the old teftament. 
 
 Again in the following age, the now gofpel 
 aeon, it is declared to us in a ftill more circum- 
 ftantial and fublime manner 3 the which a fuc- 
 ceeding seon will in all likelihood illuftrate to the 
 intire fatisfadtion and joy of all true believers. 
 
 This gradual and progreffive difcovery of yefiis 
 Chriji is appofitely defcribed in the firfl para- 
 graph of the epiflle to the Hebrews, chap. i. i. 
 
 (c^L^^C:*^' X^:^^^^ \s:s^o' ^ojJio' \>^^' 
 
 OL^o^' j;ivia.^3/^ [Is^yj^'' p,^'" ci^:^.^'' 
 
 I sn V X \ - ' ^^15.^^"")* 'In all 'parts (or portion?, 
 gr. TToAu/xfpw? in feveral parcels) ^and in all ^Jimili- 
 tildes ^God 'fpake '°in times p'aji 'with "^ our fathers 
 '^by the prciphets \ '' moreover in thefe 'Hajl '""days 
 ^"^hefpafte '-with us '^by his fan y '"^even him whom 
 '^he has appointed "^heir '-° of every thing, "-'and by 
 whom alfo '""he conflituted '''■the (olema) ages or aons. 
 Now to the conftrudlion here given to this paf- 
 fage in Rph. iii. 10, 11. the fubjedl of my pre- 
 fent to you, the fyriac teftament anfwers ftill 
 more fuitably (cn.Kbci3jo^ M^Ll' )It-=>-^ r*"^t* 
 )oci r^^l' '^^^ |--LJc-,o3~ 'iS^J^ijo' )CL^/ 
 
 viz. 'T^hat *the wifdom' 'of God (^ abounding with 
 'variety) ^ which he had '^ordained (or prepared) 
 ^'from (i.e. before or for) ''ages '^ and produced 
 
 Y y (or 
 
Letter XX. [ 370 ] Sect. I. 
 
 (or efFed:ed) ^Hn 'Jefus '^oitr Lordy ^ might be known 
 ""thro ""the churchy viz. to all intelligent beings. 
 
 This wife contrivance therefore of God is not 
 called by the apoftle eternal j but a wifdom or 
 wife plan, prepared only, for ages or aeons be- 
 fore, of God, and produced or effe(5ted in his 
 fon Jefus Chriji. 
 
 And vv^hat the apoftle intends to tell us in this 
 fcripture pafTage, is only that God before the ages 
 began, had formed a plan or purpofe in Chrifty 
 for the difcovery of his manifold wifdom to the 
 principalities and powers in heaven; that in pur- 
 fuance to this plan, fuch difcovery (hould be made 
 to them by or thro' the church; and that, in or- 
 der hereto, himfelf is fent to preach the unfearch- 
 able riches of Chrifi-y and Eph. iii. 9. (<pwTiV«i 
 TTMrxi) to enlighten all (intelligent creatures)'' ti? 
 11 aixoi/o/A»a T« jwur»piou fo as to fee) what is that 
 myjierious ceconomy which till then had been a fecret 
 hidden in God («7ro tw^ oi,\mm Lio^.^^ v© afecu- 
 lis) from the very begitining of the aons, or celcf- 
 tial ages. 
 
 SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ''Had man only been here intended in the word 
 (Wi/Taf) all, the reading would had been noivrocq dv- 
 ^picTTn;, whereas it is only (Trai/ra?) all; /. e. all the in- 
 telligent creatures of God. 
 
Letter XX. [ 371 ] Sect. II. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 T'be aonian purpofes of God more largely illujlrated, 
 
 IT feems that without revelation no force of 
 created tiiought or intelled; could have devifed 
 the aftonifhing things of Godj that angels muft 
 learn their Lord by manj that it is thro' us they 
 difcover rightly who is the author and what the 
 end of created exiftence; that we are the fecond- 
 ary offspring of the living God; that the unbe- 
 ginning fource of being has a fon like himfelf, 
 whom it is his purpofe to honour j a fon begotten 
 into a diftindlion from himfelf; begotten into 
 that form and nature of which angels and men 
 are the likenefs, and juft copy; and that he is 
 charad:ered by the name Logos or word. 
 
 It is from revelation they learn that by the 
 Logos all the creatures were made, and nothing 
 made without him; that they were made (Col. 
 I. 16. «" *uTw) inhhn (^^ at^rs) dy him, and (f»? aJrov) 
 for bimfelf and that this Logos our common cre- 
 ator can love us his creatures even unto death. 
 
 It is by means of us that they fee him now 
 botli Logos and man, as St. fohn alfo faw him 
 Rfi'. xix. 13. jnan cloatbed with a vejiure dipt in 
 blood, yet ftill retaining his iirft name Logos or 
 the word of God; that they fee him as Logos- 
 man the fupport of all things; for (Heb. i. 3.) 
 he (who ivhenhe had by himfelf purged our fms, fat 
 doitm at the right hand of the high majefly) is the 
 per fon alio upholding all things by the word of his 
 
 poivcr 5 
 
Letter XX. [ 372 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 power-, and of whom it is faid {ASfs xvii. 2%) He 
 is not far fr 0771 e'uery OTie of its, for i7t him we live, 
 and move, and have our being. And doubtlefs they 
 muft conceive moft delightful fpeculations from 
 what they read in Col. ii. 9. viz. that in him (this 
 our common aeonian father) dwelletb the fulnefs of 
 God (arw/xaTJjto)?) bodily. 
 
 And as our Lord is now, fo will he continue 
 to be feen, admired, adored, for millions of ages 
 or asonSj preiiding over his univerfe of creatures 
 in one conftant charad;er of Logos-man j being 
 thro' all his natures the lingle genuine fon, and 
 (^op(pri 0£ou) form of God. 
 
 This is that lovely glorious objetfl of all the 
 holy fcriptures, the wonder of the univerfe, whom 
 the father alone can truly know, his only be- 
 gotten our Jehovah Lord. 
 
 As the fun in its firmament has a body, a body 
 locally fituated and circumfcribed, which not- 
 withftanding can diffufe from its habitation the 
 beams of its prefence and energy, thro' all its fir- 
 maments j and fill the whole of its domains with 
 its ownfelf, even beyond faturn's orb, the verge 
 of its empire and influence : fo, but in an infi- 
 nitely tranfcendent manner, the Logos-man from 
 his throne in the heavens {Prcv. xv. 3) has his 
 eyes /?? every place beholding the evil a7td the good. 
 Pf. xxxiii. 1^' He kokethfrom heaven ajid beholdeth 
 all the fins of 77mi 'y fi^om the place of his habitation 
 he koketh uphn all the inhabitants of the earth-, alfo 
 he is {^Heb. iv. 12) a difcerner of the thoughts a7id 
 intents of the hea7't: as fays fob (xxxi. 4) Doth he 
 7iotfee all my ways a7id count all my jieps ? 
 
 And 
 
Lettbr XX. [ 373 ] Sect. II. 
 
 And as he always lees us all, fo by fome way 
 of effluence, or otherwife inconceivably to us, he 
 moreover from his fulneis communicates of his 
 prefence, his virtue, his glory, Im life, to all the 
 millions of faints received into rhe extenfive plains 
 of paradifej whofe happinefs is his prefence, apfd 
 who therefore behold his glory continually. And 
 yet at the fame time, 
 
 " His genial parent rays beftow 
 " Life and light on us belov\^." 
 He nouriflies no lefs his people on earth perfon- 
 ally and feverally with fuitable reliflies of himfelf. 
 Nor thefe alone, feeing his omnifcience compre- 
 hends, in one illimited, perpetual, fimultaneous 
 profpedl, every circumftance of every individual 
 being in and thro' every individual world.* 
 
 Great is the difference between a man (/. e. 
 the offspring of a man) and a worm (/. e. the 
 
 oft- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^be divine attributes in Christ. 
 
 'WE acknowledge that the vifible perfon of Cbriji 
 is not in itfelf omniprefent, but of local and circum- 
 fcribed prefence : its glory is however diffufed thro* 
 all his kingdom. 
 
 It will be acknowledged alfo that the fpirit with 
 which the perfon of Jefus Chrifi is mod intimately 
 united, whole virtues and excellencies it enjoys, and 
 who is immenfe, omniprefent and infinite-, can com- 
 municate to that perfon the efficacy of its attributes, 
 fuch as its power, knowledge, &c. as truly and uni- 
 verfally, as an human foul can communicate to the 
 inert body which it inhabits, the ufe of all its feveral 
 powers and faculties. 
 
Letter XX. [ 374 ] Sect. II. 
 
 offspring of that, ftupid animal). But the differ- 
 ence here, you fay, is in kind, and that a worm 
 differs in kind, is in kind a creature different 
 from a man. 
 
 This however obferved, may illuftrate the per- 
 fonal difference between a man, the fon of God, 
 and a man, the fon of a merely human creature. 
 
 yefus is in kind, as we are, perfed: man j /. e. 
 as to his natural form and conlfitution altogether 
 like one of us. But he exceeds us all in the pof- 
 
 Jibilities 
 
 N O T%E S. 
 
 It is by means of the foul, that the bodily eye 
 difcerns (or is capable of any fcnfations from) dillant 
 objedls. As fays Anfdm^ — T'ota fenfatio pft in anima ; 
 cum enim ocuh videmns^ aure audimits, manu tangiinus ; 
 ipfa vifio^ auditio, & taBus perceptio non ejl in oculo, 
 aure, manu^ fed in ani'ma. ISlon enim corpus^ fed anima 
 efl qUcS per oculum Z'idet, per aures audita Jentitq; per 
 manum. But fince the divine nature may be eafily 
 conceived as that in the perfon of Cbrifl, which the 
 foul is in the bodily organs ; we may likewife con- 
 ceive that by means of this union, Chrifi can know 
 all things, and fee a.nd ail and do all dungs every 
 where, as if he were every where perfonally prefect. 
 
 Yea we find that, even while in his mortal flare, 
 our Lord difcerns (fee A/^/. ix. 4. — xii. 14, 15. Mark 
 ii. 8. Luke'ix. 46, 47. Johnii. 24, 25, — vi. 61, 64.) 
 the thoughts and reafonings of all about him : (fee John 
 \v. 17, 18. Luke xiii. i6. — yix. 5.) the names and 
 circum.ftances of every one he fjt his eyes upon : and 
 ike John \. 48. — xi. 11, 14. — xxi. 6. Maii. xvii. 24. 
 — xxi. 2.) every occurrence that happened in diftant 
 
 places. 
 
Letter XX. [ 375 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fibilities of his humanity, and the excellencies of his 
 human capacities. 
 
 As the body of a man mufl have a conftltu- 
 tion, proportion, and fitnefs for the foul which 
 is to inhabit it ; fo the body of Chri/i mufl have 
 had a conftitution, proportion and fitnefs for tlie 
 foul inhabiting it ; and hence it is eafy to con- 
 clude that this body muft have had (what much 
 farther exceeds ours than a man exceeds a worm) 
 a fufceptibility of God. Our Lord's body, as to 
 the poivcrs and fufcepfibiliiies innateh green to he 
 unfolded in it, may have excelled the bodies of 
 his brethren, much farther than theirs exceed 
 the meaneft animal. 
 
 As his native capabilities as an angel^ muft have 
 have been more than equal to all thofe of all the 
 millions of angels that are or can live ; in like 
 manner his native capabilities as a man^ mufl 
 have been more than equal to all and every the 
 endowments of all and every man that can be 
 produced. No creature can have any excellency 
 or fpecific virtue in him but what mufl have pre- 
 exifted in Chri-}. Pfalm xciv. ^. 
 
 Being alfo declared to be in the Bofom of his 
 father, we can have no doubt but our Lord 
 inherits the whole of his father in real life j and 
 thereby fhews forth to his creatures in his own 
 perfon an omnifcience, omniprefence, and omni- 
 potence, like to, fmiilar with, the copy of his 
 holy father's. For the father reveals him to the 
 univerfe as his one genuine image ; that fo, ychn 
 ver. 23. (Trayrf?) all Jhculd honour the fon, even as 
 tbci lonour the father. Wherefore fays St. Paul, 
 
 (Col. 
 
Letter XX. [ 376 ] Sect. III. 
 
 (Col. ii. 3.) in our Lord are hid all the tfeafures of 
 
 wifd;m and knowledge -, he is (i Cor. i. 24.) the wif- 
 dojnofGody and the power of God.^ 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 WH A T we have advanced concerning 
 Chrijl in the foregoing fediion, is, I think, 
 very conceivable, but what follows exceeds in- 
 deed 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 '^he omnipre fence of Christ defended. 
 
 k A fneering philofopher here eagerly oppofes us. 
 Says he, " Anima Chrifti ejl finita, nee omnium rerum, 
 " nee diftin£fijfime ccnjcia. — Corpus pariter ejl finitum. 
 *' Ab aliis atq-, aliis fubiiantiis necejario longius dijiat, 
 *' niji corpus finitum ex corpore finito tollas. — Finitum 
 " 7ion efi capax infiniti — infinitum nequit a finito limi- 
 " /<3n." That thereforr the doclrine of the univerfal 
 prefence of Cbrijt^ can be only an enthufiaftical fancy. 
 
 But thefe maxims afie6t not our point. We allow 
 that {hifimrum.^ qua infinitum, nullos admittit limites) 
 *' inFiniiy as ilich admits of no limits" that therefore 
 as to a phyfical capacity, thefe affertions may be true; 
 y t this argues not but that Chrifi thro' his eternal 
 fpirit, a fimple uiicompounded nature, may be inti- 
 mately prefent with all his creatures; and cxercife his 
 wifdom, and knowledge, and power upon every indi- 
 vidual-, as the eye may be faid to be prefent with what- 
 ever It can fee. 
 
 Prefence is that relation whereby one perfon may 
 fee and a6l upon another, without any preparation 
 thereto, ai:d in this fenfe Chrifi may be faid to be 
 every where prefent. 
 
Letter XX. [ ^yj ] Sect. Ill, 
 
 deed our wifdom. Our LoRl) tells us {'John v. 26.) 
 As the father hath life i?t himfelf fo hath he given 
 the I on to have life in himfelf For thus the fon of 
 God becomes the image of his father even in his 
 independency. Becaufe to have life in himfelf 
 is to have it without continued derivation of it 
 from another: and lince the father is faid to have 
 
 Z z given 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The fon cannot Ihine thro' a cloudy neither thro' 
 any other opaque body, and hence comes darknefs^ 
 faid to be from the fun's abfence : but neither clouds, 
 nor worlds, nor diftances can exclude the power of 
 Chrijlh vifion ; all things are alike tranfparent to hirn 
 Heb. iv. 13. Neither is there any creature that is not 
 manifefi in his ftght^ hut all things are naked and open to 
 the eyes of him (v. 14. this great high-prieft) with whom 
 we have to do. As fays the Pfalmijl (xc. 80.) Thotc 
 hajl fet oiir iniquities before thee^ and our fecret fins hi 
 the light of thy countenance. 
 
 Alfo as the eye can comprehend the magnitude of 
 tlie fun, without extending itfelf to the fun's dimen- 
 lions ; fo may the human capacity of Chrifl compre- 
 hend the whole of his creation, altho' his vifible per- 
 fon be lefs than that of many of his creatures. 
 
 But as to the mere aft of vifion, we find that even 
 chriftian men may be enabled to extend this thro' all 
 interpofitions. Thus not only the lofts and roof of 
 the Sanhedrim chamber were tranfparent to Stephen^ 
 when he fays {A£ls vii. p^^.) Behold 1 fee the heavens 
 opened., and the Son-man Jlanding at the right hand of 
 God; but diftance itfelf (which Obfcures all things) 
 and in its grcateft extent, loft its effeft to his eyes 
 now ftrengthened, by the fpirit which was in him, to 
 behold his Lord in the higheft heavens. 
 
Letter XX. [378] Sect. III. 
 
 given him thus to have life in himfelf, that other 
 from whom he is poffelTed of life without con- 
 tinued derivation of it, is the father. 
 
 So that his life in himfelf is a life which he pof- 
 felTeth without continually deriving it from the 
 father. But to have life in himfelf without con- 
 tinually deriving it from the father, is to be a liv- 
 ing God in himfelf. 
 
 So then the Logos-man is a living God, the 
 fulnefs of all what his father is, exhibited even to 
 independency itfelf; exhibited fully, expreflly, vi- 
 fibly, and (o-wjaariKw?) bodily, in the prefence of 
 Chri/l. And thus we arrive at the true import of 
 the terms aeonian God, aeonian father. And, for 
 the manifefling of him in the man Jefus, the text 
 we treat of tells us that God^ before the aons began^ 
 had formed his purpofes. 
 
 What vaft truths are thefe ! and how contempt- 
 ible is the wifdom of the learned, compared with 
 them; Cogifo ergofum^ fays the philofopher, " I 
 *' think therefore 1 exift:" but to the Audious in 
 the fcriptures, learning there the great and inte- 
 refting revelations of the decrees of God, and their 
 high value in the realms above, fuch talk is toa 
 trifling to excite their notice. 
 
 And as are the myfteries of things above, fo 
 are likewife the myfteries of things on earth, dif- 
 coverable only by what revelation affords us con- 
 cerning our Lord and his aeonian purpofes, of 
 which our text fpeaks. 
 
 If you aik the philofopher. Why is the pious 
 man defpifed and miferable; the vicious man ho- 
 nourable and triumphant? why can the tyrant 
 
 torment 
 
Letter XX. [ 379 ] Sect. HI. 
 
 torment and opprefs, while the innocent man 
 mufl languilh under his oppreflion and cruelty? 
 or why fliould an omnipotent and an omniprefent 
 God hear the blafphemer daily infult him with 
 impunity? or afford his avowed enemies the 
 ftrength to refift, and faculties to countermine his 
 declared will? — With all his wifdom, this your 
 wife man can no more account reafonably for 
 fuch phoenomena, (altho' his daily experience) 
 than for the time and manner and circumftantials 
 of his exigence. 
 
 But the gofpel rightly underftood, at once clears 
 up thefe difficulties: hereby we find that we are 
 creatures made, not for ourfelves but, for the plea- 
 fure and defigns of the fon of God ; that the beft 
 and devouteft of men are notwithftanding finners: 
 that they fuffer however with defign ; for that not 
 an hair fhall fall from their head but by permif- 
 fion of their heavenly father. 
 
 That as to the carelefs and voluptuous part of 
 mankind, they are happy and profperous in this 
 life, becaufe their day of trial is referved for the 
 other; becaufe they have a doom to fuffer before 
 the work of divine love will take place with them, 
 or the chriftian calling to the divine life be heard 
 of by them; for that [Mat. xiii. 15) their heart 
 is waxed grofs, and their ears are dull of hearings 
 and their eyes they have clofed^ leaft they JJjould fee 
 with their eyes, and hear with their ears^ a?:dJIjoii/d 
 underjland with their hearts^ and fi:ouId be converted, 
 and I (fays our Lord) Jljould heal them. 
 
 And that as to the barbarians among mankind, 
 
 and fons of belial, thefe can now blafpheme and 
 
 Z z 2 per- 
 
Letter XX. [ 380 ] Sect. III. 
 
 perfecute without controul, becaufe gehenna is 
 provided for them, where every tyrant will be 
 configned to the fury of the tormentors [Matt. 
 xviii. 34) who will gratify their appetites of cru- 
 elty, in making each, according as he hath been 
 mercilefs, a fpedlacle of torture andwretchednefs. 
 
 Yea and if even gehenna will not foften the 
 reprobate, there is yet laflly a lake prepared for 
 the devil and his angels, which will however not 
 fail to work due effedis upon the fubjeds of its 
 horrors. 
 
 The long-fuffcring yefus endures wickednefs, 
 not thro' want of a principle of refentment, or 
 the confcioufnefs of what we all are doing in this 
 worlds but becaufe of certain purpofes which 
 he is able to render all wickednefs produdtive 
 of, and fubfervient to: purpofes worthy of his 
 juftice as well as his love; and which when ac- 
 compliflied, the whole univerfe will conteniplate 
 with amazement, delight and adoration. 
 
 And thus the condud: of God with the unbe- 
 lieving Jews^ who are the iirft fruits unto God of 
 the reft of human race, and a type of his concern 
 for all, will be alfo his condud; with all repro- 
 bates; they are brought to grace by affli(ftion. 
 
 So we read Ez. xx. 37. I will caiife them to 
 pafs under the rod, and then will they remember their 
 ways J and loath thejnfehes. Hof. v. 12. 1 will be 
 unto Ephraim as a moth^ and to the houfe of 'Judah 
 as rottennefs'^ (ver. 10) and I will pour jjiy wrath 
 upon them like water ^ (ver. 15) //// they acknow- 
 ledge their offences and fee k my face -y in their affic- 
 tion they willfeek me ( ^JJini:^ ) eagerly. 
 
 But 
 
Letter XX. [ 381 ] Sect. III. 
 
 But in order to judge duly of the feverity of 
 Jehovah towards his people, we fliould firfl ("ee the 
 end and ifTue of itj and of this we read (Ez. xiv. 
 22, 23.) i?eho/dy thd there remain in it (Jerufalem) 
 a remnant of the banified, Jo?2s and daughters; (who 
 are not as yet carried away into the babylonifli 
 captivity, which is a type of fome far more def- 
 perate ftate of captivity that (hall come upon the 
 Jews for their unbelief) lo thefe (fJjali) co?ne forth 
 unto you (^nd fhall be companions with you in 
 bondage) a72d ye (ff:all) contonplate (or infped: 
 lludioufly) their way and their doings^ and (fiall) 
 be comforted penitenti ally o^er the evil which 1 have 
 brought upon ferufalem, (even) with all things 
 which I have brought upon it: yea they JJjall (i. e. 
 in my dealings with them fliall be a means to) 
 comfort you penitentially when ye fiall contemplate 
 their way, and their machinatioiis (or devices) and 
 (in this your penitential ftate of contemplation, 
 and convidtive light, and holy fliame, and joy 
 and gratitude) ye fijall know that it is not without 
 caufe (and a provifionary care for your good that) 
 I have do7ie all thitigs which I have done a linji it, 
 (my church) faith Adjii Jehovah. 
 
 LET- 
 
[ 382 ] 
 
 } M ^ w y^ ^ ^ M ^'< 
 
 )^*M ^*M ^*^ M*^ M*M ^*)^ M*^ 
 
 >)^ ^ )«( M M ^s )^< 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 T!he fcripture paffage objeBed againji us^ 
 from Heb. xiii. 20. confidered, 
 
 T O — 
 
 S I R, 
 
 S E C T. I. 
 
 F%*^^'^.OUR next objeaed text is that in 
 ^\-v^.W a^b. xiii. 20. iVi?w //^^ G^// (?/' peace 
 4r^j^^it ih^i brought again from the dead our 
 fc.t^*^^jS( Lord Jefus Chriji^ thro the blood of the 
 aonian cove?iant, &c. Our engliili tranflation has 
 it eternal covenant, and upon this rendering you 
 prefume that you have here found a paffage 
 where the term oami'^ mufl mean eternal. 
 
 But upon a due coniideration of thefe two 
 words, you will find them to be repugnant terms 
 in your acceptation of them; for the word cove- 
 nant implies a diftin6l temporal tranfadiion, a facft 
 before which time wa?, and after which time is, 
 and whicli therefore cannot be eternal. 
 
 Neither 
 
Letter XXI. [ 383 ] Sect. L 
 
 Neither will the word eternal confift with a 
 covenant made between two perfonally diftind:, 
 as is God and the mediator ; the latter of whom 
 too was to perform the conditions of it by means 
 of a material fabrick of body and blood ; for the 
 blood was an efl'ential confideration in that cove- 
 nant between God, and the mediator Clmft-, 
 who was to fpill the blood of that body which 
 his father was to prepare for him j and the 
 blood fo fpilt was to ratify that covenant made 
 with his father : and by virtue of this blood-rati- 
 fication, Chrijl became immediately in tided to 
 that divine energy which brought him again from 
 the dead. 
 
 And thus the abfurdity, which attends this 
 paflage under the notion of an eternal covenant, 
 vanifhes at once. This covenant is term'd jEon- 
 ian, not from its duration but, from the refer- 
 ence it bears to the aeonian fpirit ; and to the 
 xonian ftate of things during Chrijfs reign. 
 
 Chriji as king is this very aeonian fpirit, and 
 his kingdom is this very aonian ftate of things 
 which the asonian covenant relates to. By virtue 
 of this aeonian covenant our faviour is called the 
 God and father of the a?onian life ; and the 
 aeonian life becomes what it is, a fecular occono- 
 my conducfted fecularly by him the Melliah, on 
 account of it, he being, in order to this govern- 
 ment, both God and man. 
 
 Himfelf is the image or fimilitude of God, and 
 after his own fimilitude he formed the creatures. 
 This form they (at Icafi: fome of them) loft, and 
 the bufinefs of his ironian kingdom is to rcftorc it 
 
 in 
 
Letter XXI. [ 3S4 ] Sect. I. 
 
 to them anew: to reftore it even by a divine birth, 
 for his children are now even begotten of him in- 
 to his own fimihtude. We were originally cre- 
 ated after the fimilitude of the Logos; now are 
 we appointed to become that fimilitude by a di- 
 vine begetting, a begetting into a life fubiifting 
 by the rei'urrediive energies of the Logos become 
 the man 'Jefus Chrijl. 
 
 Thefe are fublime ideas; and when we con- 
 fider the ignorance of Chriftians, we cannot but 
 wonder how they became known to the ancient 
 'Jews ; yet we are by them told, that the MefTiah 
 is the fhadow of God, his copy or exadt likenefs; 
 but that, of the creatures he is the prototype or 
 original. So fays Fhilo Judcem^ Xkix Qsa Aoyog 
 
 «iiT8 ffti' j ocvTVi Si n ana >t, to w<T(x.vsi aTTUXovKT^a Irepou tfiv 
 
 cip^ETVTTOu ; ua-TTsp yap o @£og TrapaSnyfAse, rvig uxovog, outw? n 
 
 Kuv a) Aw!/ yivsTUi ■srapaSe^yy.a. liber feCUnduS jikgor, 
 
 ' The Logos is the fhadow of God; but this 
 ^ fhadow, and as it were copy, is likewife another 
 ' prototype (or original); for as God is that ori- 
 ^ ginal after which his image is a copy; fo is 
 ^ his image that original after which others 
 ' (viz. the many creatures, and who are not 
 ^ Gop) are a copy." 
 
 All are the purchafe of his blood, and he died 
 for all, becaufe all were predeflinated to become 
 the £»)ioj/5? Triz £1)10^^, ' as the primitive chriflian 
 
 writers 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The human foul in its own nature mortal or corruptible. 
 
 ^ WE read (Rom. viii. 29.) God has predejiinated tis 
 to he of one form with the image (or perfonal reprefen- 
 
Letter XXI. [ 3S5 ] Sect. L 
 
 writers term it) the image of the image, the 
 (imihtude oiCbriJl varioufly reprefented, and dif- 
 fering in variety of individuals. 
 
 It is true the a3onian covenant thus reprefented 
 as concerted only between God and his fon; and 
 fuppofing the creatures virtually and by covenant 
 reftored already thro' the atchievements of the 
 fon fingly, without the concurrent concern of the 
 creatures will, excludes all boafting in the crea- 
 ture; and it ought to do fo. Says St. Faiil (Korn. 
 iii. 27.) where then is boajling'4 it is excluded -y by 
 what law -, of works f nay^ hut by the law of faith. 
 
 A a a But 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 tation of his fon ^ i. e. to become like Chrifi^ glorious 
 in our outward perfons, by being inwardly begotten 
 of him, and fo lull of his life and immortality. For 
 this life is to be efl^efted in us by a regeneration •, the 
 foul of man being, as his body, a mere mortal in her- 
 lelf, until flie derives her fpirit or quickening princi- 
 ple by regeneration from Chrijl the fecond Adam, 
 i Cor. XV. 47. John i. 13. Eph. ii. i. 
 
 By this derivation (which St. Peter calls, 2 Pet. i. 4. 
 a being made a partaker of the divine nature) fhe be- 
 comes, what her fecond father is, a living fpirit, as 
 fays OLir Lord, John iii. 6. 'Jbat ix;hicb is born of the 
 fief J is flefh., and that which is born of the fpirit is Jpirit. 
 John vi. 67,. It is the fpirit that quickeneth. So fays 
 St. Peter (i Pet. i. 3, 4.) He (Chrijl) hath begotten us 
 again CRom. ix. 26. the children of the living God, and 
 by fo being) to an inheritance incorruptible. 
 
 St. Paul tells us that ( i Tim. vi. 16.) God only hath 
 immortality ; and does not this fufficiently prove that 
 liis creatures have it not ? and that immoitahty can 
 no otherwile be had by them than from him ? and it 
 is produced in us (i Pet. i. 23. w) out of au iacorraP- 
 
Letter XXI. [ 386 ] Sect. I. 
 
 But tlien fuch exclufion is matter of joy for us- 
 In that it confirms the certainty of the event 5.. 
 fince God would not enter upon a treaty with his 
 fon for the reahzing a precarious iffue ; lince a 
 contract ellabLfhed between the fon of God and 
 his father, argues a power in the parties equipol- 
 lent thereto, and altogether fecure of effecting it. 
 
 On the other hand neither does the prefent 
 forlorn condition of fallen nature at all invalidate 
 this truth j becaufe, tho' God be already recon- 
 ciled, by this covenant performed in our behalf, 
 to all his creatures j tho' the father looks upon 
 
 them. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 tihle feed {^la,) by the Logos of the living God which ahid- 
 eth ^onicily ; as we alfo abide in him, the fons of his 
 own fimihtude. 
 
 The mortaHty of the foul was therefore a doflrine 
 univerfally received by the primitive chriftian writers,, 
 namely JujHn Martyr, Tatian, Iren^us, Athenagoras, 
 ^heophilus Antiocenus, TertuUian, Cyprian, Arnobius, 
 La^antius, as well as by the Jews of the apoftolic 
 age •, till about the end of the fourth centry -, when 
 the opinion of a natural immortaUty in the foul firft 
 begun to fpread itfelf, with the notorious decay of 
 chriftian raiih and light. 
 
 Indeed common fenfe may teach us that whatfoever 
 is pafiible (as is the foul) muit alfo be mortal in its 
 own nature, fmcc pafiion or fuffering tends to diiTo- 
 lution, and fo to death. 
 
 In this view ot things we learn how to underfiand 
 the word (wsvixx) fpirit, as ufed with the word body, 
 in James ii. 26, viz. As the body without the fpirit 
 
 (i.e. foul) is dead; fo, ^c. For the fpirit, which 
 
 Chrijl imparts to us, is that to the foul, which the 
 foul is reprelented to be to the body. 
 
Letter XXI. [ 387 ] Sect. I. 
 
 them all as the purchafed polleffion of, and fo 
 as righteous and innocent in his Chrijt. their root 
 and iirll fruits j it is notwithftanding the will of 
 God that the creature himfelf become rcco?iciIed 
 to Chrift^ and fo created anew in his imari;e, 
 made alive and righteous and innocent by his 
 fpirit, before he can enjoy immediately the be- 
 nefits of his merits, and the power of his refur- 
 reclion. 
 
 A a a 2 Alfo 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The foul is naturally (i. e. in her unregcnerated 
 ilate) void ot a fpirit, and fo in a corruptible habit. 
 This we learn from Atts iii. 23. Matt. x. 28. James 
 V. 20. compared with Jiide 19, where the pfychical 
 or foul-man is by a periphrafis called a foul (without, 
 or) not having, a fpirit. 
 
 The foul's prcfent unquickcned flate of living is 
 the refult (not of any immortalizing fpirit cfientiallv 
 united to her, much lefs of any power of life in her 
 ownfelf, but) of a uli' n m!::wJ (or which is the fame 
 uD'Ti m'^) breath of lives, called in greek 7r;^&r) (fcc' 
 A^is xvii. 25.) extrinfically communicated to man in 
 common with all other animals -fee Gen. ii. 7, — vi. 
 17. — vii. 15, 22.) antl imparting to all creatures i 
 fucceifivc vitality fuitablc to their refpeclive natures. 
 
 So then to be predeftinatcd to become the imager 
 of C/'r//?, is to be prcdellinated to become hii children 
 or to live in his life, of which we read {Rom. viii. 10) 
 N01V if Cbriji be in you., the body indeed is dead., thro' 
 the fin- offering, but the fpirit (derived from Cbri/i) is 
 aiive^ thro' the righteous one ^ and if tbe fpirit of him 
 that raif'd up Jefus from the dead d'vell in ycu^ he thai 
 raifed up Chriji frcm the dead 'ujill alfo quicken your jnor ■ 
 la I bodies, by his fpirit that dvi'elUtb in you. 
 
JLettfr XXI. [ 388 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Alio tho' this covenant, fufficiently accom- 
 pliihed in Cbrifi, has as yet fo httle effeft upon 
 the wicked, as fays the apoftle, it profits them no- 
 thing {Heb. iii. 18, 19 ) becaiife of their unbelief % 
 yet the time muft unavoidably come when it 
 iliall profit them ; and in order to the due and 
 gradual operation of fuch their profit to be effect- 
 ed, were the a;ons created, or the a^onian revo- 
 lutions (and probably differing modes of life) 
 jcontrived. As we read [Heb. i. 2.) ^^ -^y^ "^^^ aiwi/a? 
 f7ror/5cr£^j by whofJi difo be made the aons.'"^ 
 
 1 ney were contrived, 1 fay, for the good of 
 all ; as means for our Lord's univerfal benevo- 
 lence to exert itfelf univerfally. For his provi^ 
 dence is as diffufive as his works ; he fuperin- 
 tends the whole creation as if that whole were 
 one individual ; he fuperintends every individual 
 a«5 if tliat fingle one were his whole creation : as 
 numbers cannot exhaull his attention, neither will 
 fjngularity diminiili it. SECT. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Our englilli tcftament often renders the greek 
 word cct6.)i/ by the word worlds as tho' it were a fubfti- 
 tute or fuccedaneum for the v/ordxoj-^,©^, world. The 
 abiurdity of this pradice has been already expofed in 
 the notes of page 7. But that the words (ra? ajwva?) 
 the ages, fliould in this place be render'd worlds as a 
 general name for fun, and moon, and ftars, is ftill 
 more unreafonable. 
 
 Thtjews and Syrians^ being altogether ftrangers to 
 our modern notions of agronomy, had proper names 
 for the earth, and fun, and moon, as creatures with- 
 out their equals ; the two laft they therefore called 
 the king and queen of heaven, and as to all other the 
 
Letter XXI. [ 389 ] Sect. II. 
 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 THE torments which the aconian ages will 
 bring upon the ungodly found indeed fright- 
 fully to flefli and blood -, and when related, a- 
 waken in us a dread of divine majefly, and un- 
 eafy jealoufies concerning his intrinlic goodnels : 
 but this dread and jealoufy are the effe(5ts, not of 
 right compafTion, but of our ignorance of the 
 nature of true love. 
 
 When we know the Logos as his holy angels 
 know him, and fee him as he is; we lliall be fully 
 fatisfied that he is altogether lovely, that in his 
 heart is pure goodnefs, that no wrath can dwell 
 there but what love alone muft generate, that 
 
 our 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 CJeleftial appearances they called them their hofl or 
 militia, and lumped them together under one com- 
 mon appellation (j.j:i^oji) i^ars or fparklers: but hav- 
 ing no conception ot more than one world in the uni- 
 verfe, and not dreaming that the flars were habitable, 
 they no more thought ol" calling them wcn-lds than of 
 calling them moons or Tuns. So that for our tranila- 
 tors of the telbment to conjeflure, id. that the term 
 fli.wi/ may fignify {y.o<yu.(^y) the world, and then 2dly. 
 to proceed to apply the term rton \'o render'd as a 
 common name given here by the apoltle to denote all 
 the ccleftial bodies (/. e. cam, quaft y.oT[j.<^^ nuofi <ti- 
 Atii/>i, qiioji YiXi^, quiifi ur^o \ and lb &t «»wi£;, cidiff ci 
 sff^p:?) is an unprecedented prcfumption. 
 
Letter XXI. [ 390 ] Sect. II. 
 
 our intereft is his perpetual concern, that it is the 
 pleafure of his good- will to blefs us even in defi- 
 ance of our own perverfenefs, that his abfolute 
 authority is conduced by a moil perfed: wifdom, 
 and a moll: bountiful difpolition towards all his 
 creatures, and that his benevolence is fo adequate 
 to, as if it were the very reafon of his power and 
 prerogatives. 
 
 When wc know tlie Logos a^ J>e is, we fliall 
 rather think how defirable an effort is the wrath 
 prepared under the adminiftration of fuch a power, 
 a pov/er that cannot but have the happinefs and 
 recovery of his creatures at heart ; that cannot 
 but have a feeling of our infirmities ; and per- 
 haps who, in ail oi/r confiid:s and cffliBions, is 
 hiuifelf^ffiiBcd'y as was Darius in the doom of 
 Draiielvjh'ich himfelf commanded. Dn?i. vi. 16, 18. 
 
 Our own experiences do conftandy teach us 
 that the defign of mifery is to awaken us, to fe- 
 perate our affediions from a fi.atc of llavery and 
 wretchedncfs, and to kindle in us defires that 
 may give us a ivtQ accefs to what is truly great, 
 and good, and glorious. 
 
 We mufi: alfo have obferved that altho' the 
 bleffmgs of heaven are brought down to us, and 
 fet within our reach, and altho' our faithful 
 Loi^D fo often ffands at our door and knocks ; 
 yet are Wc {l:ran2;ers to him, and infenfible of his 
 prefence, fo long as we withold our hearts from 
 him, i. r. in other words, fo long as we refufe to 
 believe him our trueft good. 
 
 Altho' the :^ornel. were it rio-htlv believed, and 
 
 ^ ill' O J ' 
 
 conceived in liie evidence of graciuus light, would 
 
 be 
 
Letter XXI. [ 391 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 be irrefiftible tidings to us ; like that of vifion to 
 the blind, health to the wretched, and liberty to 
 the imprifoned : and altho' it is thro' a ilupidity 
 to, and ignorance of its privileges and bleffings, 
 that it is ever defpifed or negleded by us ; yet 
 by daily experiment we learn that it will be neg- 
 leded by us, 'till dillrefs, and poverty, and want, 
 and the being heavy laden and labourincr, or 
 what is equivalent to thefe, have made us in 
 emmejl^ to hunger and thirfl after a reflorer, as 
 the ha7't paideth after the water jireams. And thefe 
 confiderations may convince us of the ufe and 
 necelTity of the a?onian fufferings. 
 
 All true goodnefs (/. e. fincere, genuine virtue, 
 holinefs, or purity) is derived from God the one 
 fountain of it. As man has only fo much good- 
 nefs as he derives from God, fo have the ano-els 
 only fo much goodnefs as tliey derive from God. 
 Therefore fays our Lord, there is none good but 
 one^ that is God ; not that there are none amono- 
 men or angels good, but that no one is abfolutely 
 and in himfelf good bcfides God alone. Thus 
 a ball of glafs has only fo much light in itfelf, as 
 it receives from a luminous body ; becomino- a 
 pidure of the fun by his light exiliing in it, and 
 penetrating thro' it. 
 
 The communicable nature of God is a mof^ 
 ineflimable account of him. To enjoy this were 
 all intelligent creatures made j made therefore 
 the temples of the living God, bright in his Ijo-ht, 
 full of his holinefs. But this their original beau- 
 ty and holinefs having been obfcurcd in all, muft 
 be again recovered in all in its f rimitive luRre : 
 
 and 
 
Letter XXL [ 392 ] Sect. IL 
 
 and luch recovery, and fo difplay of the divine 
 likenefs in us, is the true motive and principle of 
 Jehovah's being an avenging Judge, a w^rathfu! 
 Lamb, a confuming fire, a quickening fpirit. 
 
 Whereiore, altho' the Lord may feem to them 
 that luffer to be an angry God, and a devouring 
 fire ; yet the blclTed ( w^hofe eyes are clear and 
 ftrong to fee thro' the vail of wrath, into his real 
 ch:^ra<5ter> perceive with all joy and complacency 
 that fuch anger and fuch fire are emergent from 
 love only, and that it can only burn up what is 
 heterogenial to true life, can only confume 
 what ought to diej namely, that fpirit in us 
 which lives to the ruin of ourfelves and others ; 
 and this done, all will be well again. 
 
 We no fooner aflfront an earthly friend but we 
 thereby cancel the worth of many years fervices, 
 and alter his gracious purpofes towards us at a 
 jfiioke J but the genuine love oi Chrijl is invinci- 
 ble, indefefible ; we may by our perverfenefs 
 alter his condudi towards us, but not his heart : 
 his love mitfl ftill remain inviolable j infomuch 
 that when he can no longer blefs us with the joy 
 of his courtenance, his contrivance will never- 
 thelefs be continually at work to blefs us imper- 
 ceptibly, and in the difguife of a chaflifer ; for 
 all the while of his anger is our Lord, in his 
 true unveiled reality, that humble, compaffion- 
 ate, harmkfs being, whom we behold in the 
 gofpels, pitying the afflicted, giving to every one 
 what he •i.'^u.^^ weeping with the forrowful, the 
 friend of publicans and fi.nn£rs, returning blefs- 
 ings for curies, praver? for indignities, good for 
 evil. - ' But 
 
Letter XXI. [ 393 ] Sect. II. 
 
 But is a divine benevolence the fource of all 
 our fufferings ? Is it the arm of a divine benevo- 
 lence that chaftifes us ? And does it chaftife us 
 that [Hcb. xii. 10.) we may become partaken of his 
 kolinefs ? Let us then believe him to be what St. 
 Jo/m defines him, and reft fatisfied that the ex- 
 preflions of his wrath, are the energies only of a 
 ialutary influence, wrought within us to the fub- 
 ordinating all to himfelf, that fo he may accom- 
 plifh in us his own life, and joy, and plenitude, 
 and render us fufceptive of divine happinefs. 
 
 BlefTed vocation ! if we knew our true good, 
 how eagerly fhould we purfue it, in contempt of 
 all the gay fcenes of pleafure and intereft, and 
 the falfe fricndfhips of this world ^ notwithftand- 
 ing it fliould lead us thro' that narrow pathy and 
 ^^xjlraight gate, into which our LordV bigots 
 and devotees have abandoned themfelves, in the 
 renouncing of their own will, in an honourable 
 fellowfliip of his crofs, and perfecutions, and 
 fhame, and with a refolute attachment to what- 
 ever he, their only mafter, recommends to them, 
 or choofes for them. 
 
 Bbb L E T. 
 
[ 394 ] 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 The fcripture pajfage objeEted againjl uSy 
 from Matt. xxvi. 24, conjidered, 
 
 T O 
 
 SIR, 
 
 S E C T.- I. 
 
 Matt. xxvi. 24. ^0 unto the man by whom the fin of 
 man is betray' d, it had '^e en good for him^ if that 
 ma?2 had not bee ft born (kssAoi/ nv aurw, « ouk syyj^- 
 
 )^=?oc^)^ X is generally acknowledged that thefe 
 2 I J words of our Lord allude to the feve- 
 ^c$ooSbW ^^^ exclamations which we meet with 
 from many inftances of the diftreffed in 
 fcripture;" alfo that they were proverbial, and of 
 common ufe as fuch in men under calamitous 
 circumftances among the Jews. Thus 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " Nam quod viris pits Jobo i^ JeremiiE impatientia 
 ut dicerent exfrejfit^ id hie uere ac ferio de judo. Chrijlus 
 ajjirmai. Grotius. 
 
y 
 
 Letter XXII. [ 395 ] Sect. I. 
 
 Thus JD^-uzV prays (P/ Iviii. 8.) Let them pafi 
 away like the untimely birth of a woma?!^ that they 
 may never fee the fun. Jer. xx. 14. Ciirfcd be the 
 {lay wherein I was born (ver. 17) becaufe he few me 
 not from the womb^ that my mother might have been 
 
 my grave. Wherefore came I out of the womb 
 
 to fee labour and for row ^ &c. Job. x. 18, 19. 
 Wherefore then haft thou brought me forth out of the 
 womb? Ohy that I had given up the ghoft, and no 
 eye hadfeen me ! Ifiould have been carried from the 
 womb to the grave ^ &c. 
 
 Some have indeed underftood the word iyn^^n^^ 
 in this pafTage as fignifying begotten, in which 
 'fenfe it will be affirmed that it had been better 
 for Judas never to have been a man, a begotten 
 fon of Adam^ than to have been the betrayer of 
 the Lord : but our beft critics rejeding this ac- 
 ceptation, agree that his being bo7'n and not his be- 
 ing begotten mufl: have been intended in this term; 
 becaufe, ift. The proverbial ufe of thefe words in 
 our Lord's time cannot well be doubted of. adly. 
 Becaufe their alluiion to the circumflances oijob 
 and Jeremiah feems fo very probable; but moft of 
 all becaufe, 3dly. the emphatical ufe of the word 
 a!/S-pw7r(^ can no otherwife be accounted for, fince 
 a man cannot be called «v^p:o7r(^ or man till after 
 he is begotten. And 4thly. Becaufe, as the greek 
 verb ymav^ when applied to a father, fignities to 
 beget, fo when applied to a child it as conflantly 
 fignifics to be born." But 
 
 N O T K S. 
 ° ymoLijd applied to a father fignifiCS to beget {Matt. 
 i. 2.) and Abraham (s-yfi/rKTf) begat Jfaac, and Ifaac {tyi- 
 iTiO-c) begat Jacoby id'c. (John \. 13.) '•^•bich zvcte begot- 
 
Letter XXII. [ 396 ] SpcT. I. 
 
 But thefe words of our Lord, thus underftood, 
 import no more than that it had been better for 
 f^avB-puTT^ £)t£»/©^) that man that he had died in his 
 mother's womb j that he had proved an abortive 
 births that he had been carried from the vi^omb to 
 the grave j that he had never feen the fun ; had 
 never been duly born : and in this meaning of 
 them, which 1 prelume every unprejudiced reader 
 will admit of, they contain nothing repugnant to 
 the Dodrine which we are concerned in, and 
 cannot be forced to conclude any thing againft 
 our principles. 
 
 If Judas had died in his mother's womb, he 
 Hill would have been a man, and fo have had 
 all the advantages of a fon oi Adam j and at the 
 
 fame 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ten not of hlood^ nor of the will of the flefh, nor of the 
 will of man^ but of God (fx 0f8 iyivvnBv\<T(x.v). Adls vii. 
 29. And Mofes begat {iyivv/\(T£v) two fons. 
 
 ymoioi applied to a child fignifies to be born. So 
 Matt. ii. I. Nozv when Jeftis was born in Bethlehem 
 (vji/vnS-fyT©^ J"£ Ta lm^) ver. 4. he demanded where Chrifl 
 jhould be born {ttz yBwcclai). Matt. xix. 12. And fome 
 were born Eunuchs {iymn^Tityoiv). John ix. 20. We 
 know that this our fon was born blind [iyinviBn). 
 
 But becaufe our Lord talked to his Difciples in the 
 fyriac language ; and confequently the acceptation of 
 the fyriac word, in which he in this place expreffes 
 himlelf of Judas^ is mod to our purpole, I fliall here 
 flievv (and that by the pafBiges already quoted) that 
 the word (y-^-») ^^^-^ ^" which our Lord threaten^ 
 Judas^ fignifies, as ytn/aw, when applied to children, 
 to be born, or to come into the world. 
 
Letter XXII. [ 397 ] Sect. I. 
 
 fame time he would not have been the betrayer 
 of his Lord and redeemer, and fo would have 
 efcaped that curfe which was the horrible iflue of 
 his treachery. 
 
 The lefs ihare a bad man has in this life, and 
 the fhorter it is, the more fufferable will be its 
 .confequences when ill-fpent. This is a truth 
 evident to every man's confcicnce ; for every 
 man's confcience tells him that the longer a wick- 
 ed perfon enjoys his iftate of liberty to do evil, 
 and the more multiplied and complicated that 
 evil grows, the more envenomed will be alfo his 
 portion of bitternefs. 
 
 In 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 So Matt. ii. I. When therefore Jefus ivns horn at 
 Bethlehem (^^cus/^^wZ^^j^Ji VtOJu. ^jlLJ ^-^ ^). 
 Ver. 4. And he demanded of them where Chriji JhoiUd be 
 born[\hh itilxl ^JS^iS^^ l-^-*-^)- ^^'^- ^"^- ^2. Thefe 
 are eunuchs who' are born fo from the womb of their mo- 
 ther {\,±^a) o^^j.iSvf ^ooLia), )-my^ x?^^)- 
 John ix. 20. We knovj that this is our fon^ and that' he 
 was born blind (^ V '^) )sr>m ^a^o). 
 
 We may therefore, I think, fairly concKide, that 
 fmce r V . ) ild, denotes to be born when applied to a 
 child, 'it may alio iignify to be born when applied, 
 as in our text, to Judas \ and that the following 
 words ought to be tranflated as follows: Mat. xxvi. 24. 
 
 // had been expedient for thai man if he had not been 
 born., \. e. that he had died in his mother's womb, 
 and had not been a living member of the prefcnt age. 
 
Letter XXII. [ 398 ] Sect. 1. 
 
 In this view of events it might be good not 
 only for Judas, but for a great part of mankind, 
 that they had died in their mother's womb. 
 
 Again, the oftner a man refifts the inward 
 calhiigs of God upon his confcience inviting him 
 to repentance, the more ungracious he grows, 
 hardening under indulgences j for fin begets fin; 
 and in this view of Judas, it may have been 
 happy for him that he furvived not his mafter 
 till to the day of penticoft. 
 
 Again, when the time of God's chaftifements 
 is come upon us, if we meet thefe with a front of 
 felf-righteoufnefs, and with an heart unbruifed ; 
 our enmity foon faces itfelf with impudence, and 
 our defpair is transformed into infolence. 
 
 Thus when hereafter the confcience- feared fol- 
 lowers of antichrift {Rev. xvi. 1 9.) fliall be fcorch- 
 ed with the intenfe heat of the fun, occafioned by 
 the 4''' vial of wrath poured upon it ; inftead of 
 repenting under their calamities, they vt^ill retort 
 upon them in blafphemies : and when (ver. 10.) 
 the 5''' angel fliall proceed to pour a freih vial 
 of wrath upon the kingdom of the beaft; a greater 
 chaflifement will be anfwered with a greater efr 
 frontery ; for they will blafpheme the God of heaven, 
 becaufe of their pains and fores, repenting not of 
 their deeds. 
 
 But Judas was not thus abandoned ; altho' he 
 was born to the calamity of a traitor, yet was he 
 not fpared in his wickednefs to the becoming a 
 blafphemer j but, being arrefted for fin in this 
 aft of treachery [Mat. xxvii. 3, 4.) he repented 
 himfelf, and went and confefled his guilt. He con- 
 
 feffed 
 
Letter XXII. [ 399 1 Sect. IL 
 
 fefTed it too before the parties concerned with 
 him } and parties who were well able to rcfent 
 his confefTion, as an accufation recoiling upon 
 themielves, with feverity; yet in the face of tlieir 
 power, and in defiance of their dignity, he brought 
 the pieces of lilver to the chief priefts and elders, 
 and caft them down before them, and declared 
 to them all, / have fmned in that I have betrayed 
 innocent blood. 
 
 However his awakened confcience was not re- 
 lieved hereby; his guilt was left to prey upon him 
 to the aecomplifliing its full effed: : ASis i. 20. 
 (» £7ravAif auTa fp-/),ae? iytyiro^ his eftate or maufion be- 
 came dcfolate^ and without inhabitant ; Z'/j office a:s' 
 apoftle, became Mathiass ; and his foul [unfit for 
 the £7r«uAif or ^o^vi [yohn xiv. 2, 3.) /. e. that man- 
 fion of grace which his mafter had provided him, 
 aonian in the heavens] went to its own place^ the 
 refort of difembodied fouls difeafed. 'John xii. 
 40. Acts iv. 1 2. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 A few moral rejieBions on Judas. 
 
 TH E abufe of our grace is the meafure of 
 our guilt j and wicked men will therefore 
 be more miferable than wicked fpirits, becaufe 
 they have abufed that grace which has never yet 
 been indulged to wicked fpirits. 
 
 But the fin of Judas had an aggravation be- 
 yond the degrees of fin ufual at that tinfs ; in 
 that the grace which he abufed was his call to 
 God in Ckrijl, As 
 
Letter XXII. [ 400 ] Sect. II. 
 
 As the fin of man exceeds that of evil Ipirits, 
 fo the fin of one called to God in Chrijiy exceeds 
 that of man knowing no fuch call. 
 
 It is upon this account, as has been already 
 hinted, that the Lord denounces a more intoler- 
 able judgment upon Corafm, Bethfaida, and Ca-> 
 pernaum (Matt. xi. 21 — 24.) than upon Tyre and 
 ^idon, Sodom and Gomorrah. And again (chap, 
 xxiii.) a greater damnation upon the Scribes and 
 Pharifees, than upon oxh^rjews; and (chap, xii.) 
 upon the yewifi nation than upon Ni?je'veh z 
 comparing them (ver. 43.; to a man difpofTeffed 
 of a devil, who being caft out, and walking thro 
 dry places^ feeking rejl and finding none, he refolves 
 to return to his poflelTion, and takes (ver. 45.) 
 with him f even other fpir its, more wicked than him- 
 feif, and they enter in and dwell there, and the laji 
 Jiate of that man is worje than thefirfi. 
 
 The condemnation of the "Jews was [Luke xix. 
 44.) becaufe they knew not (i. e. refufed to diftin- 
 guKh the day of grace, or) the time of their vi/ita- 
 tion. They refufed to obferve this their day; 
 and fo refufing, their eyes were foon judicially 
 blind to it. Luke xix. 42. If thou hadfi known, 
 even thou, at leajl in this thy day, the things which 
 belong to thy peace ; but now are they hid from 
 thine eyes. 
 
 A moft important hour is life ; its occur- 
 rences are all a crowd of interefting events that 
 deferve well our obfervation, being big with pur- 
 pofes of divine love for us. Gop is not far from 
 every one of us, we are his workmanjloip, and he is 
 ever at work upon us. This is fo univerfally 
 
 tr«eir' 
 
LETTEk XXII. [401 ] Sect. II. 
 
 true, and fo abfolutely the condition of human 
 life J that every man hving may fay of himfelf, 
 jam mea res agitur^ now is my fortune at ftake.'' 
 
 But 'jiidas difcovered the ufc of Hfe too late ; 
 had he reflected thus during his iirfl parley with 
 fatan, and before the confolation he promifed 
 himfelf from the thirty pieces of filver had de- 
 termined his refolution, this might have been an 
 happy thought for him. 
 
 As it happened, his chriftian call became a 
 fnare to himj and he proved the father of thofe 
 {Matt. vii. 15. ap7r«y£? Xwoi) plundering wolves in 
 the chriftian church, who have ever fince con- 
 ftantly attended every true work of chriftian 
 grace. JoJm xii. 6. Inwardly he was a thief -^ and 
 therefore perverted his holy office into an oppor- 
 tunity to fteal, making it a cloak, or fieeps cloath- 
 C c c ing^ 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 pThejuftnefs of thefe refleftions even an heathen 
 eye could difcern, fays Perjitis in his third fatyr j 
 Eft aliquid quo tendis^ ^ in quod dirigis arcum ? 
 An ■pajfim fcqueris corvos, tcjtdq; lutoq-f 
 Securus quo pes ferat^ atq, ex tempore 'vivis ? 
 Hellcborum frujtra, cum jam cutis agra tumehit^ 
 Pofcentes videas : venienti occurrite morho — 
 Vifcite O miferi^ i^ caufas cognojcite rerum, 
 ^id fumus, & quidnam vi^wri gignimur, or do 
 i^is datus, mit met a- qua mollis jlexus^ IS iindx : 
 ^is modus argento^ quid fas opt are, quid afper 
 Utile nummus habet \ patri<^, carijq\ propinquis 
 ^antum elargiri deceat : quern te Deus ejfe 
 Jujfit^ & humand qua parte locatiis es in re^ 
 Difce -, nee invideas quod mult a fidelia putet 
 ■ Jn locHpIete pcnu^ dcfenfis pinguibus Umlrisy idc. 
 
Letter XXII. [ 402 ] Sect. II. 
 
 tT^y to Ms de^gas €£ rstBery. And being by this 
 meaBs accompli^bed {ydin xyiL iz,) nfon if per- 
 Jitism {Heb. im, 17. Msit, xx'di, 3, 4, 5,) hefomd 
 7m place of rep&2t£m£€^ and died (tho' probably not 
 aitogedser obdiirate, yet) 'wkimai hope. 
 
 Wli€fi the d-sq of mercy is pail, and the execu- 
 fcion of divine J uiiice begins J then alio repentance 
 begins to fern in vain. For the feoke fails up- 
 on i^m olFeoder with that repeated, unrebadng 
 violence wbicli prov:£s it to be in earneft. 
 
 The dilpenfedofis of ibrrow Jehovah calls in 
 EzekieiMs unFeienting juilice, the accompliihiog 
 anger; and defcrifaes as multiplying troubles. 
 Reu. smM.. S- 1^ pkgtiesjh&li eome upon ber in otie 
 diiy\ JeMtBf mvurmug miifamns^ and fix Jhall be 
 uttci'ly kwfft witbjiri. 
 
 And thus the reftlels paiSon of yudas\ defpair 
 related in die golpel, was but the beginning of 
 his dilireiles. For when his fiefhly tabernacle 
 was laid in the du^, and its refrefliments could 
 no longer relieve or eafe him ; when by his bo- 
 dily death the faculties of his foul became alive, 
 and thereby his fouFs original inftindis and de- 
 fires began to be revealed and awakened within 
 him I revealed in their native ftrength and ur- 
 gency ; then muft he have underftood the want 
 of that grace which he had negleded, and the 
 value of that redeemer whom he had fold. 
 
 The fouls appetites give the true hunger, bodi- 
 ly hunger is but a type or Ihadow of this ; and 
 the fierce impatience of thefe appetites unfatlated 
 fcems to be the condition of hell : as T^antaliis is 
 fiibuloufly defcribed under the violences of this 
 
 paffion, 
 
Letter XXII* [ 403 ] Sect. It, 
 
 pafHonj making cfibits vain and impradicable 
 of fnution. 
 
 And as the ibal's hojiger is tiiat very appetite 
 which Cbrzji became man to ailay with hh grace, 
 ^nd fatBrate witli bis owa faJfieis ; "Jiidas dymg 
 imder the guilt of grace negleded, and the |>re- 
 ference of a pecuniary triSe to his Lokd fjrom 
 h-aven ; was «ndo?3bted]y fufe-ed lo i^^ in 
 carneft what it is to exiil in an a^x life wrthout 
 this Lord for a redeemer. 
 
 Jehovah con^lains of his people the Jews 
 {Jn, ii. 13,) ilij fiopk have commit ed iwo evils ; 
 tbey baveforfaken me the fountain of living ^vaters^ 
 and hew d ihemfilva cut ciffems. hroJitn djicrns ihat 
 isnll bold no 'uuata\ On the other hand of the 
 bleilcd we read (P/J xxxvi, 8>) 'Thm fiak mnkf 
 fhem io drink of the river ef ihy pk^fitreSy for with 
 ihee is the fotrntmn rf lifi. Pf. xvi. 3 3> ^e fatu^ 
 rating joy isfrem ihf prefence^ (mdat thy right hand 
 an pleafures for evermore. 
 
 But when die eager cravings of the ibwl's life 
 iliall be our experience ; {\\2i\ again revive and 
 kindle in us in their primitive vigour {cravings 
 which not the whole univerie csn fatisfj^ which 
 can be gratified only by the cnioyrnent and vilion 
 of the God of glory denied) what m«ft be that 
 man's defp^air who fees a3J his hopes of interelt in 
 him, and favour from him, fold, forfeited, or 
 lofl ! 
 
 Judas wanted that eye of faith which fliould 
 
 have il^evved him his mailer'^ true value : here 
 
 was his misfortune. And this will hereafter prove 
 
 to be tlie cafe not only of Judai the Ifcariot^ 
 
 C c 9 2 but 
 
Letter XXII. [ 404 ] Sect. III. 
 
 but many Judafes will the chriftian world difclofe 
 at that day, when the dignity of the crucified per- 
 fon fliall Ije manifefted ; when the defpifed Jefiis 
 ihall appear to have been the Logos ; the firfl 
 fountain of all life; the beginning of the creation 
 of Gop : and to be then and for ever afterward 
 the one fource of all glory, that fupreme divinity, 
 in whofe prefence vifible is the one true delight 
 and blefiednefs, for all iiitellcdlual beings of every 
 degree of happinefs. 
 
 However as in the love of the Jehovah-Jefus 
 there is a keennefs of feverity, which has very 
 falutary effeds; this account of the ancient or 
 modern Judafes can in no wife defeat my point -, 
 fince it will by no means argue their endlefs dam- 
 nation, or any unwillingnefs in God to reftore 
 even thofe who have denied him. So far from 
 it that could we but clearly fee his love of his 
 enemies we fliould difcover every event pointing 
 towards the reftitution of all, and every emer- 
 gent revolution opening into the fulnefs of him 
 >vho is about to fill all in all. 
 
 • >!/ ■ M^ "^ ylr 'sXt ^1< ^i' "^ ^^ ^^ >J^ "^^ ^J' >1^ ^^ "^^ "^ "^ "^ Sir ^^ M^ ^tj "vt^ 
 
 ^ S^ S^ §^ §) §1 i^ iS^ ^ ^ ^.^§h ^ ^ ^1 ^ §> ^ w^ ^ ^ ^ §i 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Farther rejlediicns on the foregoing fubjedi. 
 
 WE have already acknowledged a retribu- 
 tive juftice in God, and in confequence 
 thereof, a damnation of the wicked ; a damna- 
 tion correfpondent with all the forms of equity 
 and realities of truth ; and verily fucli as is not 
 
 only 
 
 J 
 
Letter XXII. [ 405 ] Sect. III. 
 
 only confiftent with the higheil notions of univer- 
 Tal latisfacftion, but feems to be even implied in 
 them i as fays St. Paul {Rom..ni. 3 i.) Do ivc theti 
 make "void the laiv thro faith "^ God forbid; yea y we 
 ejlablijh the law. 
 
 In order to judge rightly of the creature it muH 
 be conlidered in two relations, viz. its relation to 
 the divine immutible effence, from the which it 
 is afunder and feparate 3 and its relation to the 
 firft-begotten or Logos, in and by whom it exiils 
 and lives and moves. 
 
 With regard to the firft of thefe relations, 
 nothing can be more certain than that the utmoit 
 a iinner can do or fuffer for himfelf, or that any 
 creature can do or fuffer for him, will avaiL.hini 
 nothing towards expiating the guilt of fin, and 
 reftoring him to the notices of divine favour. This 
 .event can be effedled only by the invaluable deatli 
 and humiliation of the only begotten uncreated 
 fon of the holy eternal God. But by him it has 
 therefore been fo effeded, and that too in the 
 moft accompliflied manner. As we read {Rom. 
 iv. 25.) He was delivered for our fins ; {2 Cor. v. 
 21.) he was made fm for us (Eph. v. 2.) afacrifice 
 to God of a fweet-f?nelling favour (Co\. ii. 14.) blot- 
 ting out^ by his decree^ the hand writing againft us, 
 that was contrary to us, taking it out of the way, 
 nailing it to his crofs. 
 
 And that this great work was finiflied whilfl 
 he lived a man on this earth wc arc alfo taught : 
 for (i Pet. ii. 24.) he hi?nfclf bare our fins in his 
 ozvn body en the tree — by hisjlripes wc arc healed. 
 
 Hcb. 
 
Letter XXIL [ 406 ] Sect.' 
 
 Keb. L 3 , — 3X. 1 2 . WBo^ when hi had hy himfelf 
 purged our fins he fat down at the right hand of God, 
 
 P^XiA that this great facrifice was for all we 
 alfo learn ( i 'tint. ii. (>-) for be gave hirnfelf a ran- 
 fo;?2 for all. Heb. ix. 27. He has abolijhed Jin by 
 the facrifice of himfelf -^ being once offered to hear the 
 fim of the multitude. 1 John ii. 2. He is the propi- 
 tiation for our fins y and not for ours only y b^t for 
 the ^ns of the whole world, Heb. x. 14. By one 
 (fiDgle) oblation he has perfeSlsd for ever the fanSfi- 
 fed by him. 
 
 And of the effect of this great facrifice we read 
 [Rom. v^.' 10.) we are reconciled to God by his death, 
 2 Cor. V. 19. God was in Chrifi reconciling the 
 world unto himfelf not imputiyig their trefpajes unta 
 them. Col. i. 20. And by him to reconcile all things 
 tmto htm (having made peace by the blood of bis crofs 5 
 hy hiniy 1 fay^) whether they be things on earth or 
 things in heaven. 
 
 But notwithftanding all this, snd altho"^ all 
 creatures are juftified already, in the oian fefia 
 before his holy father, yet are they oot thereby 
 |uftiiied before him their juftifier ; or exempted 
 from the bar of his fovereignty, and the prevail- 
 \x\^ operativenefs of what is called in fcripture 
 his wrath. 
 
 The ufual charafter of this our ]ui1ifier In the 
 old teftament, where he is alfo called ( ii^n^ ~:5"t 
 mT "]«Sd) the word Jehovah, the angel Jehovah j 
 is that he will vifit iniquity y trivnfgrefiion and fin -^ 
 that he will vifit both the hojh of angels and fhefons 
 of mcn^ both fewi and Gc?2tileSy both thofe who 
 know him and thofe that know him not. And 
 
 there- 
 
Letter XXIL [ 407 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 therefore are his own people cautioned by Jehovah 
 himfeifagainfl offending him; as we read {Exod, 
 XX, 22.) And yehovah /aid unto Mofes (xxiii. 20.) 
 Mold I find ( y^^^ ) the angel before thee^ bewdre 
 ^ thyfilf before bimi be ftot rebelliom ngaifiji him ; 
 for he will not /pare your perverjhiefs ; for my name 
 (or that which denominates me Cod) ii 'vjithin 
 him ( "i^^ps in his interior or inmoil: being). 
 
 So that as it is the prerogative of Jehovah to 
 forgive ;(ins; this is alfo the prerogative of his 
 angel ( '^J^'ro nin^ the angel Jehovali) in that the 
 fnlnefe of Jehovah dweJls in him ; in whole 
 power alfo, he will exert himleh^ againll his ene- 
 mies, altho* they are his redeemed ones, and 
 demonftrate himfelf an avenging, as well as a 
 redeeming Qo'd, 
 
 To this charad:er of our Lord anfwer num- 
 berlels accounts of him m the new teftament; 
 where he all along affures us that we Hiall be 
 accepted of him according to our condud: as 
 men; for that (Matt, vii. 21.) Not every one that 
 faith unto me^ Lord^ Lord, fall ent^r into the king- 
 dom of Ijearcen^ but he that doth the will of' ?ny father 
 wIjo is in hearcen. That (Matt. xii. "^y.) by thv 
 icords thou fait be juflified, and hv thy ivords thou 
 fait be condemned. In fliort, as has been by us 
 fo often urged, that he will bring irikdation afid 
 janguifi upon every foul that doth evil, and that in 
 proportion to that evil ; for the difference in de- 
 grees of fuffering, is as the diflazice between 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 And yet we moreover doubt not but that, as 
 die arm which afflids is diredcd by tlie heart 
 
 whicli 
 
Letter XXII. [408] Sect. III. 
 
 which redeemed us, and as our chaftifer is our 
 very fin-offering j the utmoft mifery may, under 
 the condu6t of our God, be rendered produdlive 
 of equal happinefs. And furely it is lefs abfurd 
 to beheve thus, than to prefume that God can be 
 nonplulTed by contingencies unforefeeji ; or that 
 evil coeval with God, is the deftined plan of the 
 pure benevolent nature. 
 
 What ftores of mercies, what a provifion for 
 beneficence is difclofed to us from the defperate 
 circumftances of fallen Adam ! We learn too that 
 the imagined defeat and death of him who was 
 born to be our reftorer j was fo far from ruining 
 the purpofes of his birth, that it proved the very 
 means of finifliing it ; therefore before he bowed 
 his head and gave up the ghoft, he declared 
 {Jjohn xix. 30. rersXis-on) it Js Jimfied ', by which 
 we are to underfland that the great work of re- 
 demption is now accompliflied, confummated, 
 and the reftoration of the loft infured. 
 
 And as it pleafes God continually to produce 
 good out of mifchief, light out of darknefs, beauty 
 out of deformity, harmony out of difcord, a pa- 
 radife out of a chaos, and refurre6tion out of 
 corruption -, why may we not alfo believe him 
 both able and willing to bring happinefs out of 
 mifery, heaven out of hell, and eternal life ou 
 of a^onian death and perdition ? 
 
 And thus when the hated Jzidas (hall make 
 
 one among the twelve apoftles (Matt. xix. 28.) 
 
 fitting upon twelve thrones^ judging the twelve tribes 
 
 cf IJrael-y this promife of fitting as judge of Jfrael 
 
 was made to Judas as abfolutely as to the reft of 
 
 the 
 
 X^ 
 
Letter XXII. [ 409 ] Sect. Ill* 
 
 the apoftles, he being one of the twelve. And 
 altho' his office as an apoftle in this world was 
 filled by Matbias {A£fs i. 26.) yet his (fTrauXt?) 
 maniion or eftate provided by his m after for him 
 (fee John xiv. 2, 3.) was to lay defolate, i. e. was 
 not to be filled by any other. Acis i. 20. {y^vA^mui 
 
 bis 7nanJion become defolate^ and let there twt be an 
 inbabitant in it \ i. e. it was to lay wafte like the 
 principalities of the fallen angels [(teyude 6.) — ■ 
 But why ? and for how long ? for ever ? by no 
 means. When the number of the firft-fruits 
 fhall be accompliflicd, there will be no defolate 
 manfions wathin the enclofures of paradife (where 
 Judas s was provided him) each will be furely 
 occupied, and that by its proper owner, even by 
 him for whom it had been prepared of the father. 
 Matt. XX. 23. Then will it be his exultation 
 and fong of praife, that the bleflings of God pre- 
 deftined ivitbout repentance to be his, have been^ 
 by the wifdom and bounty of his divine provi- 
 dence, wrapped up fecurely for him in all his 
 perverfenefs and unbelief j and that his God 
 knows how to unfold to man fuch treafures of 
 love, and referves of mercies from the hell open- 
 ed in his foul, as fliall abundantly recompence 
 all his forrowsj and make him to regret his fuf- 
 ferings, chiefly as marks of his ingratitude to in- 
 jured innocence, and neglected love divine. Hof* 
 xiii. 9. Jfrael thou baft dc/iroyed thyfelf[i. e. with- 
 out the concurrence of my will) but in me is thy 
 help, 
 
 D d d So 
 
Letter XXII. [ 410 ] Sect. IIL 
 
 So then we cannot efcape our ultimate reflltu- 
 tlon; but we can efcape thofe dark horrible con- 
 ceptions the God of nature which may make us 
 rue in our bllndnefs, not only that we had ever 
 been born, but that we had ever exifted at all his 
 creatures. 
 
 To prevent this, that is to obviate the dire ef- 
 fects of the now natural ftupidity of the human 
 foul, is the gofpel publin:ied; propofing to us the 
 God of all for our true good, pointing out his 
 love and faithfulnefs and righteoufnefs and pleni- 
 tude, for our fure dependance^ hope, fortune, 
 eftate, inheritance, and all-fufficiency for ever- 
 more ; that fo poffefling him, and thereby par- 
 taLiiig of his holy nature, we may be delivered 
 out of the hands of them that hate us, and 7nay Jerque 
 him without fear, in holinefs and righteoufnefs before 
 him all the days of our life. 
 
 But if we refufe the God of glory thus exhi- 
 bited to us as our reconciled Lord and Re- 
 deemer ; and fet at nought his righteoufnefs, fanc- 
 tif cation and redemption ; then fhall we be left to 
 the workings and progrefs of our own blindnefs, 
 which, containing in its iifues the elements and 
 principles of mifery, will teach us by dread- 
 ful experiment, to what extremities of anguifh 
 an adive, refleding, darkened, and hungry foul, 
 grown defperate in error and impatience, can 
 arrive. 
 
 LET- 
 
[411] 
 
 )J( ¥ )^ )«( )j^ )^ >^ 
 
 )^*)«( ^*)^ Ws*M ^*)^ ^*^ )^*^ ^*)«^- 
 )«( ^ )K )^ )^ ^ ^ 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 The fcrtpture pajjage objeBed againjl us^ 
 from Heb. ii. i6. conjidered. 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^r^^^^: 
 
 T O 
 S I R, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 Heb. ii. l6. (O^ y>^p J'rjTrou ayyEAwy EviXocfA^xviTXi, xXXx 
 <rw£p^uaT©J A?paa/x £7riAa/tx€«i<£Taj) For VCTlly he Ciltch- 
 
 eth not hold of angeh^ but he catcheth hold of the 
 feed of Abraham. 
 
 (®UR opponents can no otherwife forge 
 
 w O 5 a" argument againft us out of this text, 
 
 (S^alJa^S) ^^^^" ^y h^^'^^g recourfe to a falfe tranf- 
 
 lation of it in our cnglifli teftament, 
 
 where we read it as follows : 
 
 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, 
 but he took en him the feed of Abraham. 
 
 Say they, our Lord took not on him the nature 
 of angels, therefore angels will not be reftored. 
 
 The falfehood of the antecedent propofition 
 
 here appears from Gen. xxii. 15, 16. — xlviii. 16. 
 
 D d d 2 Judges 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 412 ] Sect. I. 
 
 fudges vi. 22. — xiii. 21, 22. Ifa. Ixiii. 9. Zech. ili, 
 I. MaL\\\. I. ^<^ivii. 38. but neither will the 
 confequent ferve them, for we hereby retort a- 
 gainfl them from their own principle as follows : 
 
 Our Lord took upon him the nature of all 
 men, therefore will all men be reftored; which 
 is as much as to fay, that all men are of the 
 feed of Abraham^ which is not true. 
 
 Yea farther, our Lord being as much an an- 
 gel as he is a man, we might argue with them 
 again as follows : 
 
 They whole nature the Lord beareth will be 
 reflored; but he beareth the nature of the angels, 
 therefore the angels will be reflored. 
 
 But becaufe I have no inclination to cavil, I 
 .(liall only obferve that the word s7nXa.[xQoc>o(xoii does 
 by no means fignify to take upon him the nature 
 oJ\ but that it lignifies to catch hold on with 
 ones hands, or to grafp fafl in ones arms, as i« 
 evident from very many places in fcripture, of 
 which I give you fome in my notes.*^ 
 
 So that this paflage declares no more than that 
 he fuffers the angels to fink into perdition ; he 
 lays no hold on them as they are falling, it is 
 only of the feed of Abraham that he catches hold. 
 
 He 
 
 NOT E S. 
 
 '^ Heb. viii. 9. In the day of tny taking ihem by the 
 hand {zv ^[xspx sttiXchQo^suh i^s m? X-^f^ avruv) to lead 
 
 them out of the land of E-^ypt. Afts xxiii. 19. The 
 chief captain took the young man by the hand and went 
 afide ffTTj^abo/Afi/©^ hT'f\<; -x/i^oq ocvrov). Acts xvi. 1 9. They 
 caught Paul and Silas {iTrO^oi^o-^uvoi tov tjtxj^.ov) and drew 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 413 ] Sect. I. 
 
 He fufFers angels to fall, he lufFers alfo men to 
 fall, all but the faithful among them, who are 
 otherwife called the feed of Abraham. 
 
 For, as before man was created God permit- 
 ted thofe rebel angels w^ho forfook their princi- 
 palities to fall, whilft others their fellows were 
 gracioufly fupported by him that they fliould not 
 fall ; in like manner he now catches hold on 
 thofe among men, who are called the feed of 
 Abraham^ and fuffers them not to fall into that 
 perdition, which is referved for fatan and his fol- 
 lowers, and which fhall be revealed in proper 
 time on all abufers of preventing grace. 
 
 As among the angels thofe who hearkened to 
 preventing grace fell not, neither fliall thofe a- 
 mong men fall who hearken to preventing grace; 
 but they Ihall efcape the wrath prepared, and 
 pafs immediately from death into life ; they diall 
 not even tafte that de^th which confifts in the 
 foul's feparation from Chrijly the one true life of 
 all fpiritual fubfiftcnce. 
 
 Accordingly they who have their eyes open, 
 obferve clearly that whilft all condemned nature 
 is going down the tide together towards one com- 
 mon vortex of mifery and death; thefe, the chil- 
 dren 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 them to the rulers. Luke ix. 47. And Jefus taking up 
 a little boy {iinXxto^i]/^ "TrxJm) fat him in the tnidjl. 
 Matt. xiv. 31. And Jefus fir etched forth his hand and 
 caught him (in-iXu^tTo avm) namely Peter finking in the 
 waves. See alio Gen. xxv. 26. Exod, iv. 4. fv-dg. 
 xvi. 3, 21, &€. in the feptuagint. 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 414 ] Sect. I. 
 
 dren of Abraham, are here and there gather'd out 
 from among the devoted crowd, as Jirehrandi 
 plucked out of the fire. 
 
 And yet notwithftanding this we may not doubt 
 but that unbounded mercy follows all both loft 
 and faved to their utmoft deftiny. 
 
 The central motive of divine power is love or 
 gooGDefsj for as divine power is ever excired by 
 divine Vv^ili, and divine will is ever benevolenti the 
 fame benevolen'je which we rejoice in, and which 
 attends every divine effort, muft be the one incite- 
 ment of that we call divine omnipotence, thro* 
 all its exertions ; and fo it will ao^ount to the fanie 
 thing whether we fay divine benevolence, or di- 
 vine power, or divine juftice, or divine wiidom 
 permitted death to the fons of perdition. 
 
 It was permitted by God, therefore by love, 
 therefore with a provilionary purpofe of good out 
 of evil continually. 
 
 We may create evil to ourfelves, and this evil 
 when created fliall be our portion ; but fmce Je- 
 hovah knows how to control all evils in the event, 
 they are all made to fubferve a good end ; and 
 hence it happens that mifery itfelf becomes inftru- 
 mental to high defigns of grace, and the fublimeft 
 projedis of mercy. 
 
 Saith Jehovah (If. xlv. 7.) / form light and 
 create darknefs^ I make peace and create evil ifith. 
 iv. 13.) neither is there any creature that is noi- ma- 
 niftfi in his fight. 
 
 All things are 72a ked and open to his eyes, and 
 they are faid to-be fo becaufe he concerns himfelf 
 in all things J he is alfo faid to be the Lord, both 
 
 f 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 415 ] Sect. II. 
 
 of quick avd dead-y becaufe he adls as a Lord 
 whofe property are all tliiiigs; as a Lord prefid- 
 ing over all whether they be quickened or dying 
 fouls; as a Lord condudling all things in heaven 
 and earth and hell, among the loll and among 
 the recovered. 
 
 All mufl: be reftored, all muft: be requickened; 
 life is our deftiny we cannot efcape it j we may 
 withftand it and kick againft the pricks ; Vv'e 
 may delay it and tafte the condition of devils ; 
 but to diminifh the {jf^cacy of the divine facrifice 
 is impoflible ; and bleffed are they that enjoy it 
 in this life, 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 The conclusion. 
 
 1H A V E now anfwered every objedlion pro- 
 duced from fcripture tcftimony which, refpcc- 
 ting the kingdom of God, is ufually alledged 
 againft the doctrine of univerfal reftitution. 
 
 I intend hereafter in the courfe of mv iucced- 
 ing letters to examine the fevenil fcripture tefti- 
 monies refpeding the human foul, ufually al- 
 ledged againft this dot'Tirine : among which is 
 that remarkable paiTage in Mark ix. 43 — 5c. 
 
 But before 1 conclude indulge me in a few 
 familiar reflecftions with you. 
 
 You fay that notwithftanding all which has 
 been advanced, yru dare not give your credit to 
 
 this ftrange doctrine. 
 
 Never- 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 416 ] Sect. It 
 
 Neverthelefs you muft acknowledge it to be, if 
 true, (fuayyfAioi/) good ncws, glad tidings j yea, 
 he has not the heart of a man who can abhor it. 
 
 It is a pregnant argument of a bad mind to love 
 prerogative, exclufive privileges, and preference 
 above others, ^he angels rejoice in heaven over one 
 fmner that repenteth. 
 
 But perhaps the readieft way to the difcovery 
 of this great point is the knowledge oijefus Chriji, 
 and of our acceptance in him the beloved ; at 
 leaft without this, without the knowledge of our 
 acceptance in Jefus Chriji the beloved there is no 
 true knowledge of God, and fo no true happinefs 
 to be found. Let it then be our iirft bulinefs to 
 know yefus Chriji, fo, by the light refulting from 
 this knowledge, it will be clearly feen, whether 
 this notion of univerfal redemption be a mote in 
 my eye or not. 
 
 My dear friend this is no ill advice, the hap- 
 pinefs of angels confifls in their knowledge, that 
 is, vilion of God ; and they who fee him moil 
 are the moft fublimely happy. 
 
 And as the vifion and therefore knowledge of 
 God is appointed for the enjoyment of angels, fo is 
 it no lefs for ihe enjoyment of men. We are all 
 both angels and men called alike to this vifion 
 of God j as the one fountain of happinefs for all 
 intelledual creatures ; as that only which is ade- 
 quate to all our capacities. 
 
 Again as it is this knowledge of God which 
 makes the difference between good and bad an- 
 gels, fo it is this fame knowledge which makes 
 the difference between good and bad men. This 
 
 power 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 417 ] Sect. II. 
 
 power of vifion is grace, diflinguifhing grace, 
 
 good fpirits have this grace, bad fpirits have it not. 
 
 Therefore fays our good 'Jiijiin the Martyr in 
 
 his epiflle to DiogneiUS ^xv^^uiruv h ov^en; ovre siisu ovT£ 
 iyi/iopKreu (fcilicet tov 0£oi/.) j auT@^ ie eocvjov iinSn^tv ; iirihi'^c 
 $i Six TrjffWf ; Yi {xor/i ^£ov iSnv (Tufxfp^wpiiTai.l ** JsJq man 
 
 *' hath either feen or known Gop ; but he has 
 " manifefted himfelf ; and this manifeftation is 
 ** made by faith, to which (virtue) alone it is 
 " indulged to behold God." 
 
 To this idea of things relates the firft com- 
 mandment which Chriji gives us as the greatefl 
 of all others [Matt- xxii. 37.) T^hoii fialt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy hearty with all thy foul^ 
 with all thy mi fid, and with all thy ftrength. 
 
 For fincc we cannot be commanded by God 
 to love whom we know not ; a command to 
 love God with the utmofi: force of all our facul- 
 ties, muft be as fure a command to know or 
 learn God with the utmofi force of all our facul- 
 ties. And becaufe it is our higheft glory and 
 privilege and duty and bleifmg to love God, it is 
 like wife all this to know him. 
 
 And poffibly fin originally began by an aver- 
 fion of the eye from God to the fond admiration 
 of creature excellence ; feeing it is the teflimony 
 of conftant experience, that the darknefs of the 
 inner man refults from the neglecft of intercourfc 
 with our God. 
 
 Now fuppofe a creature to be a (Inner, and 
 
 confequently in darknefs, and not feeing God, 
 
 and therefore not knowing him ; and you will 
 
 foon apprehend that in thefe circumftances his 
 
 E e e firfl 
 
Lett$:r XXIII. [ 418 ] Sect. II. 
 
 firfl knowledge of God muft be that defcribed 
 {Exod. xxxiv. 6.) that he is merciful, and gracious, 
 abundant in goodnefs, forgiving iniquity, traifgrej- 
 fion andftfi. 
 
 But fin is a ftrange unnatural thing, and what 
 the creature as he firfl came pure out of the hand? 
 of God could have no notion of j and for the 
 fame reafon we may prefume that divine forgive- 
 nefs muft be as ftrange a thing, and that of 
 which the darkened creature could naturally 
 form no notion, nor difcover any fitnefs in. 
 
 This ftrange idea of forgivenefs in God the 
 pure efi^encc, muft therefore require a frefii re- 
 velation from God to render it credible to our 
 reafon, the objed; of our hopes : and the now 
 delinquent creature darkened by his delinquency, 
 fo darkened as no longer to fee God in his purity, 
 muft be much lefs able to fee his love in the un- 
 natural relation of a finning creature and a for- 
 giving God. 
 
 So then a preternatural revelation from God 
 being now needful in our ftate of delinquency, 
 namely a revelation ©f God's pardoning love; 
 we find it made as defcribed in the evangelical 
 writers. Says Ifaiah (liii. 4 — 6.) Surely he hath 
 horn our griefs, and carried our forroivs, yet we did 
 efleern him Jmitten of God and afliSfcd. He was 
 wounded for our tranjgrcffions, he was bruifedfor 
 our iniquities ; the ckajiifement of cur peace was up- 
 on him, and with hisflripes we arc healed. All we 
 like Jljeep have gone aflray, we have turned every 
 cue to his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on hitn 
 the iniquitv of us all. 
 
 And 
 
Letter XXIII. [419] Sect. II. 
 
 And thus here becomes again opened to us 
 the view, and fo the knowledge of God in a 
 freih account of him, namely our vifion of him 
 in the perfon of yefiis Chrijt, a vifion for all de- 
 linquent creatures whether angels or men, a 
 vifion (as St. Faul exprefles it, 2 Cor. iv. 6.) of 
 the glory of God in the face of Jcfus Chrijl. And 
 whatever this vifion of God may be in angels, it 
 is called in man his faith ; for faith is vifion in- 
 ternal. 
 
 As there was no entrance iato the fandituary 
 but thro' the veil, and with tliei^Iood of the fin- 
 cffcring; fo there can be now no entrance into 
 that knowledge of God which fieds abroad the 
 love of God in our hearts^ but thro' a previous 
 knpwledge oiChrifl the Lamb of God who bear- 
 cth away the fin of the world. 
 
 The knowledge of our falvation by the remif- 
 fion of our fins thro' the tender mercies of our 
 God, this is our only pcrfpedlive thro' which we 
 can behold God in his real nature, love. 
 
 Thus much we learn from our Lord's own 
 words to Simon the Pharifee {huke vii. 41 — 47.) 
 'Inhere was a certain creditor who had iivo debtors^ 
 the one owed five hundred pence ^ the other fiffy-y and 
 when they had nothing to pay^ he frankly forgave 
 them both ; tell tne therefore which of them will love 
 inoji ? Simon anfwered and jaid^ I fuppofe he to 
 whom he forgave moft ; and he [aid unto him, thou 
 haft rightly judged. And he turned wilo the woman, 
 and f aid unto Simon, feeft thou this- woman-, I en- 
 tered into thy houfe, thou gavfl me no water for my 
 feet — thou gavefi me no ki'fs — mine head with oil thou 
 
 E e e 2 didji 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 420 ] Sect. II. 
 
 didjl not anoint — wherefore I fay unto thee^ herJinSy 
 'which are many, are forgiven, therefore fhe loved 
 much ; but to whom little is forgiven, the fame lov^ 
 eth little. So that the degree of our forgivenefs is 
 the meafure of our love. 
 
 We are apt to think that if we were only in a 
 ftate of perfect innocence, we fliould addrefs our 
 heavenly father with a confidence that he would 
 hear us graciouily. The fews alfo thought thus. 
 Says the blind man, whofe eyes Jefus opened with 
 clay, to the Pharifees ifjohn ix. 3 i.) we know that 
 God hear eth notfinners ; but if any man be a wor~ 
 fjiper of God, him he hear eth. 
 
 But a dependance upon being thus accepted of 
 God on account of our own innocence would at 
 beft be very precarious, becaufe, as fays the Tfal- 
 mifl, who can tell how often he offendeth 3 yea who 
 can at any time fay, " Now I offend not i" for 
 (Ff cxxx. 3.) when the Lord marketh iniquities, 
 whofiallfand. 
 
 But we know that the only begotten fon of God 
 is dearer to him than any creature can conceive, 
 (Prov. viii. 30. npntyD ar or a^v">^J?^^ f»*^ i^^tk 
 nj; '^^s r^sb) his very truth, his daily delight, re- 
 ioicing always before him, or rather whofe oper- 
 ations are his perpetual pleafure,' and (Matt, 
 xix. 28. Heb. viii. i.) fetting in the throne of 
 
 his 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' That the Jews underftood this pafTage in the Fro^ 
 verbs as fpoken of the Logos, appears from Philo 
 Jud^eus, lib. i . legis allegoriarum. 'H ra ©£» co^ia, ss-iu 
 T8 0£a Aoyog — » ra ©£» (roipta ;(;a»/3£t x^ yocvvvrKi j^ Tpo(po6 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 421 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 his glory : now could we but find means to 
 become dear to God in his fon ; could we but 
 be prefcnted to God as holy and unblamable 
 in the righteoufnefs of this his Son, called 
 (2 Cor. V. 2.) the right con fncfi of God: could we 
 but become thus accepted in the beloved 5 we 
 might proclaim with St. Paul (Rom. viii. 3 i.) 7/' 
 God be for us, whoJJjallbe againji us I he that fp are d 
 not his own fon but delivered him up for us all-y 
 how fiall he not with him alfo freely give us all 
 things. Who fiall lay any thing to the charge of 
 God's eka ? Shall God that juftifieth ? Who fall be 
 he that condemneth ? Shall Chrifi that died ? Tea 
 rather that is alfo rifen again ? Who is at the right 
 hand of God, who alfo maketh inter ceffionj or us ? 
 
 David long before our faviour's time forefaw 
 fuch gratuitous acceptance in the imputed worth 
 of Chri/l, when he laid, Blejfed is the man whofe 
 iniquities are forgiven, and whofe fin is covered ; 
 blejfed is the man to whom the Lord will not im- 
 pute fin. 
 
 And if our love of God depend upon our 
 knowledge of him, and our knowledge of God 
 is revealed to us in the vifion of his atonement 
 and pardoning love, then is this vifion of God 
 atoning our moft important bufinefs. 
 
 It is our higheft interefl: to love God, there- 
 fore to know God, therefore to know fcfus 
 Chrifi and ourfclves in him crucified. That fee- 
 ing 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 " The wifdom of God i.s the word of God — the wif- 
 " dom of God glories and exults and has his cnioy- 
 " ments in God, being dcHghted, and dignified by 
 " him his only father." 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 422 ] Sect. 11. 
 
 ing our acceptance in Chriji the beloved, our eyes 
 may open into the miftery of divine love, and 
 may be able to love God becaufe he jirft loved us ; 
 or to love him in contemplation of that facrifice 
 which he had predeftin'd for us Jefus Chriji the 
 innocent. 
 
 Till the divine light has difperfed our foul's 
 darknefs, and, by awakening the feeing powers 
 of the inward man, has fliewn us our linful 
 felves ; the exhibiting of Chriji crucified proves a 
 fruitlefs work : whilft a man has nothing within 
 him that anfwers that great obje6t, it can yield 
 him no more enjoyment than the light of the fun, 
 fhining upon a darkened eye, can delight it with 
 its glory. 
 
 Hence is the do6lrine of a crucified God ftale, 
 taftlefs, . impertinent, and void of all excellence 
 to an heart dead in its natural felf righteoufnefs, 
 and In-defire of mercy. 
 
 A man may indeed contemplate the Logos as 
 a God of all power and perfeftion, but this is 
 not to know him as a God of all confolation 
 and comfort. Yea, and the view of him as an 
 all perfeil God is fo far from rendering him our 
 happinefs, that it has a contrary efFed:. Says 
 Teter unconverted, depart from me^ for I am a 
 fmful fiian, O Lord-, fay the evil fpirits to him, 
 let us aloney what have we to do with thee fefus 
 thou holy one of God? art thou come to torment us 
 even before our time f They complain of his holi- 
 nefs, and at the fame time dread him as their 
 enemy. But fays T^homas when the converting 
 light of grace and acceptance operated upon him, 
 " my Lord at J my God{ that is, he appropriated 
 God to himfelf. The 
 
'Letter XXIII. [ 423 ] Sect. II. 
 
 The chrlftian calling is to a life of blelTednefsj 
 of bleflednefs thro' the perfon of J ejus Chrijl j a 
 blefTednefs given and fhed abroad in our hearts, 
 by his enlightning and cheering fpirit j who 
 therefore is called the teacher and comforter, and 
 whofe part it is to reprefent 'J ejus to us during 
 his feeming abfence, as a prefent, pardoning, 
 loving God and father. 
 
 By the light of this comforter our blindnefs to 
 all that which is lovely in 'J^Jus vaniflies, as the 
 fcales fell from the eyes of Paiil^ turned to his 
 God j and then what we hear of him becomes 
 mulick in cur ears, like the voice of a mother 
 returning to her child for fome time witheld 
 from the breafts of her confolation. 
 
 What food is to the hungry, and drink is to 
 the thirfty, even that is an intercourfe and com- 
 merce with 'Jefus opened in the unhappy heart. 
 Chriji revealed fills it with peace, and joy, 2i\\^ 
 thankfgiving, and godly forrow, and holy fliame, 
 and thofe fighs of gratitude, whofe pleafures 
 none can tafte till after he has refolved, as the 
 returning prodigal, Iwill arife and go to my father, 
 and ivillfay unto hlm^ father^ I have finned agaifiji 
 thee J and a?n no more worthy to he called thy jhn. 
 
 Says our Lord, God is a fpirit ^ and thny who 
 worfip him^ ?ntiji worfip him in /]nrit and in 
 truth; or in fpirit even in truth, inafmuch as the 
 fpiritual worfliip is the only true worfhip, and 
 the bodily worfhip of little ufe. 
 
 But of the fpiritual or foul worfhip the peni- 
 tent foul only is capable, fince it is the penitent 
 foul only that can exert its faculties of admira- 
 tion. 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 424 ] Sect. II. 
 
 tion, love, defire, gratitude, humility, refigna- 
 tion, faithfulnefs, complacency, a lingle eye, a 
 felf contempt, and a confident dependence in 
 the facrificc of Chrijl ; thefe all being the refult 
 of looking upon yefus whom wc have pierced. 
 
 And fince the fpiritual or foul worfhip is in- 
 tended to be our heaven and perfedion and 
 glory j the ftudy of our fuffering Lord of glory 
 muft certainly be intended for our higheft and 
 greateft concern in life. 
 
 Neither may we fuppofe that our knowledge 
 of God in Chriji belongs to this life only j yea, 
 but it yields that very fpirit of gratitude which rules, 
 as has been already obferved in the four living 
 beings and the twenty- four ciders, and the many 
 angels round about the throne of God [Rev. v. 
 9, 12.) whofe numbers are ten thoufand times 
 ten thoufand, and thoufands of thoufands 5 for 
 thefe all proclaim aloud v/ith one voice, worthy^ 
 is the Lamb for he was JlaiUy and hath redeemed lis 
 to God by his blood. 
 
 And lince redemption thro' the blood of the 
 Lamb is as truly the topic of joy amidfl the 
 liofts of angels in heaven, as in the church of 
 God upon earth 5 we can devife no other reafon 
 for its being fo, than that the view of Chrijl cru- 
 cified opens to the eyes of the creature that joy- 
 ful knowledge of God, which alone can ravifli 
 the creatures affedions with its true delight in 
 him. 
 
 I muft obferve farther, that as the vifion of 
 God in the face of Chrijl is the fountain of all 
 the creature's enjoyment 3 fo is it the fountain of 
 
 all 
 
Letter XXIII. [ azs ] Sect.IL 
 
 all the creature's holinefs. Our vilion of God in 
 the face of Cbri/i fills us with joy and peace in 
 believing > and this our inward joy and inward 
 peace brings down all heavenly tempers into our 
 hearts, and transforms us into the likenefs of 
 Chriji whom we behold. 
 
 The chriftian is like CbriJI becaufe he fees him, 
 and fo long as he fees him, his own natural lufl 
 and pride and wrath are ftanched, fuperfeded, 
 precluded. His calm joy within, the antepaft 
 of celeflial blifs, replenifliing his heart with a 
 fpirit of thankfulncfs, he becomes dead indeed 
 unto fin, and alive unto righteoufnefs. 
 
 All thofe abominations which we fee abroad 
 in the world, the reproach and mifery of the 
 fons of Adanty owe their origin to a departing 
 from the face of God j to a living without God 
 in this world. For the now natural tendency of 
 the fallen foul is from God. 
 
 Indeed, if there were no innate difgufl and 
 enmity in the human foul againfl God, fbe 
 would certainly rejoice in the invitations of friend- 
 fliip, made her by the word of God, as her in- 
 eftimable honour, as a blefiing tranfcending, be- 
 yond all comparifon, every creature imaginable 
 as an objedt of her wiflies. 
 
 But inftead of this, it is the charat^ter of mofl: 
 men that [Rom, i. 28.) they like not to retain God 
 in their knowledge \ their fouls, regarding him not 
 as their higheft good, turn away from him j and 
 feek their happinefs in vanities which the princi- 
 pal evil fpirit has contrived for their fatal amufe- 
 ments. 
 
 F ff Vanities 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 426 ] Sect. II. 
 
 Vanities which, tho' imbellifhed with all the 
 beauty this world can afford, are ftill fo much 
 below the excellencies of the human foul, that 
 they could have no charms fer her but by means 
 of this iiverlion which we fpeak of. 
 
 And fince our averfion to God appears to be 
 the root of our mifery, that great fin from whence 
 all other fins follow as effed:s, the fource of all 
 thofe evils which difgrace, torment and infefl 
 human nature [Rom. i. 21 — 24 — 28) ; wicked- 
 nefs may not unfitly be confidered as our fhame 
 and punifhmcnt for forfaking Chriji, whofe fpirit 
 is the fountain head of all true virtue. 
 
 In like manner virtue may be confidered as 
 the refult of a foul's drawing near to her God j 
 her honour and reward of feeking after him. 
 
 Man would not willingly be wicked, if by 
 bare wifhing he could efcape the being fo : pre- 
 ventive grace within him, is his hearty approba- 
 tion of virtue. 
 
 So then, according to this way of thinking, to 
 be delivered from our enmity againfl God and 
 his Chriji y is to be delivered from every other 
 vice: and on the other hand to love God in the 
 fpirit of Jefiis Chriji^ is to be pofTefled of every 
 virtue. 
 
 Experience likewlfe exa(5lly anfwers to this ac- 
 count; for bring anyone, the worft of men, to 
 behold his crucified Jefiis j and the fource of fin 
 within him is ftay'd at once, as the fiowings of 
 a river by the dropping down of its flood-gate ; 
 and he at once proves a wonder to himfelf, and 
 to his former affociates in wicked nefs. 
 
 On 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 427 ] Sect. II. 
 
 On the other hand no fooner does the beHever 
 ceafe to behold his acceptance in "Jejus, but the 
 body of fin roufes itfelf again within him ; and 
 its inward worivings become, as before his con- 
 version, rcftlefs hke the troubled fea, continually 
 cafting up mire and dirt. 
 
 Says Jehovah prophetically, that is, of what » 
 lliall hereafter happen, [If. xlv. 22.) All the ends 
 of the earth ( '^N 1:1:) ) look unto me (lyt^'ini ) and are 
 caufed to be delrcered {qi[ enlarged);^ /. e. they are 
 
 caufcd 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Having frequently and in many of thcfe my let- 
 ters infifted that the greek word o-w^w in our new tef- 
 tament ought no where to be rendered to Jave^ or fre- 
 ferve-, but always to fct at liberty^ to deliver^ to rejlore 
 (viz. to our primitive ftate of enlargement, life and 
 happinefs) : it may be to your entertainment, as well 
 as to my purpofe, to give you the criticifm of that 
 moft accurate and fagacious linguift Albertus Schultens 
 upon the hehrew word >'w'^; whofe force and import 
 we know the facred writers of the greek teftament 
 have always intended in the ufe of their word o-a^^w, and 
 which the fyriac teftament moftly renders by the word 
 Lu^ he lived or revived^ in Aphel cajjl? he quickened 
 or made alive, &c. 
 
 This author, after fliewing in general the neceflity 
 of knowing the proper or radical fenfe of a word in 
 order to have a juft idea of the many various figura- 
 tive fignifications of it, metaphorical, metonymi- 
 cal, &c. in which moft words in all languages are 
 much more frequently ufed than in the proper (a prin- 
 ciple eftabliftied, and a fad well known to all judici- 
 ous critics) gives feveral examples of the ufefulnefs 
 of difcovering this original or radical fenfe, in he- 
 
JLetter XXIII. [ 428 ] Sect. II. 
 
 caufed to be delivered by looking 5 and till they 
 look they are not caufed to be delivered. 
 
 For in confequence of this look there fprings 
 forth within us that truly divine influence, in the 
 power of which alone we are able to ferve God 
 without fear in holinefi and right eoujhefs before him, 
 all the days of our life. But to ferye him without 
 fear is to ferve him voluntarily, as his children 
 and not as his flaves; in the reftored liberty of our 
 wills, by dint of that life in which the new crea- 
 ture, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 brew words, and firfl in a word of the highefl impor- 
 tance, viz. j/tt'^ from which root die name of our 
 Lord and Reflorer, Jesus, is derived : the proper 
 import of which he fliews both Jews and Chrifiians 
 have been at a lofs for. Its proper and original fenfc 
 is roominefs, fpacioufnefs, wide extention, in oppofi- 
 tion to n^iV implying, narrozvnefsy cotifinement , Jtrait- 
 nefs, as the two words are joined together in Pfalm 
 xxxiv. 6. Jehoi-ah (^JJ''t:^in' vnili** b^'^') ^ has fet 
 him at large ''from all ''his fir eights. Pf xliv. 7. Thou 
 hafi caufed me to fiand enlarged ( li-^i'D "ijn^'iyin ) from 
 all my fireightners or difirejfers. Jer. xiv. 8 . Jehovah 
 the expefiation of Ifrael, ^his enlarger "^ in the time ^ of 
 confinement (nni*^ n^'ls* ij;"^'^^ ' ). This neutral fig- 
 nification in the firft conjugation kal, becomes adive 
 in hiphel, and fignifies to bring another out of flraits 
 and confinement into full room and free fpace. This 
 being fet at large is by a metaphor extended to fignify 
 being fet free from diftreffes, opprelTion, troubles and 
 fufferings, whether temporal or jEonian, and enjoying 
 without reftraint all the advantages of that freedom 
 ^nd deliverance. 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 429 ] Sect. II. 
 
 turc, our Inward man, lives: but this lives and 
 grows thro' his beholding the face of ^i'fus^ and, 
 by the vifion of him, fpontaneoufiy produces in us 
 all the bleiled works of humanity and godlinefsJ 
 
 Again, fays the apoftle {^Heb. xii. 2) Let us run 
 iLHtb patience^ locking unio yefus the begmiier and 
 perfeBer of our faith, i. e. we are firfl to look un- 
 to yfus becaule in this vifion he is the beginner \ 
 we are afterwards to continue to look upon him, 
 becaufe in this vilion he is alfo the perfeSler of 
 our faith. 
 
 % 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The method the author ules to find out thefe radi- 
 cal fenfes of words, and the fpring from whence he 
 draw* the neccfFary informations, will be befb learned 
 from his own writings \ and the application of them 
 to "^^a^ may be found in p. 15 — 20, of his Ori^ines 
 Helr^cC, Vol. I, and a curious fpecimen of the fame 
 critical art applied to latin words may be read in the 
 beginning of Cap. iii. of Vol. 2. 
 
 However as this excellent author is n<'L in your 
 fludy, nor to be bouglit in England, I here fend you 
 a large part of whjit he writer on this word : " J,'D** 
 
 " fpatiofus, laxus, amplus tuit. Valde quidcm 
 
 " Ijbcralcs vulgo iunt Icxicographi, &: ft-x feptcm 
 " plura vocabula latina, pro uno hebraico largiuntur 
 • ' — qua:: fi omnia omni ex parte colligercm, atq; ad 
 " radicem hcbraicum cumuhircm, tanto majoribus 
 " eam tencbris implicuifle videri debcrcm, quanto 
 " ampliorem lucem, ex vctbornm ubeutate, pr;t me 
 " tuiilTLMn. — Sed id laboratur, quidnam i!lud fit quod 
 " a primo fui ortu >"';:"in complcftatur, & cui m.ax- 
 " ime cogitationi, tanquam propria? iu,T tbrm?j, 
 •* hebrxi vcrbum hoc alligarint, undc vclutcx capite 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 430 ] Sect. II. 
 
 By our firft looking upon Jefas, that principle 
 of finning convey'd into us from our conception 
 and nativity, and wrap'd up in our mortal nature, 
 becomes ftunn'd and inad:ivej and by our conti- 
 nuing to look, it languifhes apace towards death. 
 The viiion of Jcfus as it delivers us from the bond 
 of fin and fatan by its iirft exercife ; fo by our per- 
 fevering in it, it preferves us from ail defilement. 
 
 Many indeed have believed that holinefs or 
 virtue is the purchafe of human labour, the ac- 
 quirement of our own will and good purpofes; 
 
 but 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 alter ille ufus decurrerit — Ea eft hujus verbi in 
 facris ratio, ut primitiva ejus fignificario, cujus 
 genninam virtutem & vim perveftigamus, ne unico 
 quidem in loco compareat ; cum alter ille tran- 
 fumptus & a prima itirpe defiexus ufus, loca ter- 
 centa- & quadraginta admodum obtineat, e^^ quo 
 efficitur, a nemine unquam veram ejus indolem 
 vel indagari vel faltem finiri & certa ratione ac via 
 conftabiliri pofTe, nifi uberiori abundet ope & luce, 
 atq-, ea eft quam una fola facri textus ledio & 
 meditatio fuppeditare valet. 
 
 " Quis cnim, ut re ipfa, verborum velitatione 
 omifla, in aciem prodeam, unquam afifequi fe po- 
 tuifle, fibi fumere aufit, verbi noftri naturam fitam 
 antiquitus fuilTe, in atnpliludine^ laxitate, i^ fpacio\ 
 primamq; radicis "^V ut conjugationem, fic figni- 
 iicationem dixijTe, ampins fpatiofus £s? late patens 
 fiiit^ undc cum v^^*T\ facili & perquam proclivi 
 via, gradus fa6lus fit in fervare & falutem ferre 
 (/. e. nojlro fenfu^ refiituere^ expedire^ liber t ate do- 
 nare, i^c.) quod eft, aliquem qui angujiiis prejfus 
 erat & circumfeptw!^ in fpatiiim & liber tat em, cum 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 431 ] Sect. II. 
 
 but that this is a miftake both fcripture and con- 
 ftant experience will convince the awakened 
 heart. 
 
 That righteoufnefs which will exceed the righ- 
 teoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees, is alto^e- 
 ther an imparted grace, the efFeds fingly of our 
 correfpondence and communion with Chrijiy and 
 is therefore ours only fo long as our intercourfe 
 with our God is continued; for its influences are 
 eafily loll:, altho' on our humihation, they asfoon 
 
 return again. 
 
 While 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ampUtudine i^ ahundavtia conjun5iam^ traducere. — 
 Hsc vera hcbrje?e radicis vis eft ha;c dignitas, 
 h?ec majeftas, ad quam amplificandam fi vel unum 
 faciam verbum, pucidus fim : quemadmodum 
 nee animus eft, in locum communem excurrere, 
 qui omnibus hie patet, ad divinam nominis Jejii 
 gravitatem ex fonte hoc dcducendam, atq; fupra 
 aftra evehendam. lUud tamen monuiffe, fortafle 
 non plane de nihilo tuerit, frequentari a fpiritu 
 fando oppofitionem inter mv anguftiam & J/w'^ five 
 n>"iU?^ quod proi nde laxitatem t5? amplitudinem pro- 
 prie, dein omnis felicitatis 07r,nhw:q\ copiarum magnam 
 quandam abundantiam fonare nemo eft qui ultra du- 
 bitare poffit. — Qiiam vibrare,--quam turtitcr intor- 
 qucre eficc, has confimilcfq; phrafes ? vmil' ^^O 
 •yiy^n ex omnibus ejus angujfiis '\^^T[ ad fpatium^ 
 lucem, liberum /pint urn eum rez-ocavil, y, in ubcrrijija 
 omnium rcriim copia^ in amplijfimo beatitudinis gro.du 
 collocavit. Pf xxxiv.7.— 'xliv. 8. "iJ-ilD unj'fiM 6c 
 Jer. xiv. 8. mv n>'3 IJ.'-L'ID quorum locorum radii 
 ut nerninem proetervolare poffunt, ita non eft quod 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 432 ] Sect. II. 
 
 While we breath in his fpirit, while we live in 
 him as a branch liveth in its vine, and fo partakes 
 of its fubftance and virtue j fo long only are we 
 holy, and able to produce fruit anfwerable in na- 
 ture and excellence with the vine whofe we are • 
 but immediately when our correfpondence and 
 connexion with our Lord fails us, our power of 
 virtue likewife at once ceafes with it. 
 
 And that this dodrine may not be blafled with 
 the ftale unmeaning reproach of new, chimerical, 
 enthufiaftic, let it be conlidered that this again is 
 as old as Abraham the father of believers, to whom 
 Jehovah himfelf prefcribes it as the true mean of 
 
 god- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 pluribus notionem a me pofiram adurgeam — ex 
 Arabum lingua — hie primum vidi J?^"" fua in ori- 
 gine dicere, fpatiofiis., ^ late patens fuit^ & adlionem 
 verbi V^"* ^^^ contrarium angnjli^ : & in pihel five 
 2^^ con'jugatione dageflata, yc^ contrarium ejfe pre - 
 mendi £sf arEiandi^ ut docet Gjeuhari cEterni nominis 
 lexicographus quum ait, '' dicis in fecunda ''n;;^'^ 
 Tpacium & amplitudem feci, & in oftava 3;iynK 
 fpatiofus faftus eft, fimiliter in decima, faftus eft 
 amplus : & in quinta, inconcefTibus lyi^'Vi fpatium 
 & locum habuere : & vir >*Kt*l qui ample incedic 
 paffu i de quo ctiam in prima dicitur '^''O^ plenum 
 gradum fecit." 
 
 " Hoc de prima radicls indole nemini dubium re- 
 linquunti inde immenfum fibi fumit campum, in 
 quo decurrat, & linguam permittat. Prnsiertim 
 fedem fixit in beatijfima renim cmnium copia, inq\ eo 
 fortunaruyn Jiatu^ qui o',nnih{S undil\ bonis tarn corpo- 
 ris quaw animi circtimfliiitJ'^ 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 433 ] Sect. IL 
 
 godlinefs. Gc?2. \. ij. And Jehovah appeared unto 
 Abraham and fat d {'^sh' ^Snnn* n'r^ ^.v- 'ii^' 
 ( =D'»n n^nni /. e.) D'^n.i-jw*) 'Ia?n 'God 'Almigh- 
 ty, *caufe thyfelfto walk Hn my prcfence ^ end thou 
 jhalt be upright (or innocent, fimple, without 
 guilt or wickednefs.) 
 
 He who lives in this viiion may expe^fl indeed 
 to be the hated fpedtacle of evil men and evil fpi- 
 ritS} and therefore hated of the former, becaufe 
 the latter dare not come near him ; as the Ifrael- 
 ites could not behold the face of Mofes for the 
 glory of his countenance. 
 
 Becaufe the wicked one cannot without harm 
 touch the Chriftian himfelf, he fets his emiffaries 
 at work upon him ; fatan can both fee and feel 
 the brightnefs of the believers light, tho' man 
 cannot: therefore fays this evil fpirit to the fons of 
 Sceva the Jew [ABsxix, 15.) Jefus 1 know and 
 Paul I know, but who are ye that prefume in your 
 own ftrength to oppofe my kingdom? but to fuf- 
 fer for Chriji is the Chriftian's glory and not his 
 difcouragement. 
 
 So then chriftianity is faitli, and faith Is viiion, 
 and vifion is happinefj:, and happinefs is love and 
 holinefs. 
 
 The evidences of this important truth to the 
 obfervant fcripture -reader will be continually pre- 
 fenting themfelves. What an unintelligible paf- 
 fage is that in the Pfalms, without light thrown 
 upon it by this conception of divine vifion, viz. 
 (Pf. civ. 4.) who maketh his angch fpirit s, and 
 his minijlers a flaming fire. 
 
 G g p: But 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 434 ] Sect. II. 
 
 But when we are taught that Jefus (^wo7rot«) 
 quickeneih all thijigs^ that he (i Cor. xv. 45) the loft 
 Adam is made a quicke?ii?ig fpirit ; and that 
 . (2 Cor. iii. 18) the chriftian beholding as in a glafs, 
 with face unveiled, the glory of Jehovah Chriji, is 
 changed into the fame image from glory to glory : I 
 fay reading this we can eafily conceive that angels 
 like men become quickened fpirits by beholding 
 the face of Jefus j and that thofi who minijler be- 
 fore him are rendered (DfiS ii^N) a fagrant flame^ 
 (even like himfelf, as defcribed in Kev. i. 14, 
 and elfewhere) by being perpetually familiar with 
 his glory. 
 
 It was alfo this vifion, tho' in a lefs feraphick, 
 that is, in a faith-degree of it, which gave St. 
 Stephen, the firft martyr, all that wifdom and ipi- 
 rit by which he fpake ; and which the fews were 
 not able to refift. It was this vilion that made 
 his face to fhine before the grand fanhedrim as 
 if it had been the face of an angel : and this 
 alfo made him to pray with his lall breath. Lord 
 lay not this fm to their charge. 
 
 Nor 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ^ Some by tranfpofmg the terms of this pafTage ren- 
 der it as follows : " Who maketh the winds his an- 
 " gels, and fire his minifters." But that this con- 
 ftrudion is falfe appears from Heh. i. 7. where the 
 apoftle quoting this very verfe, allures us, that it is 
 fpoken of the angels ; and confequently not of the 
 winds or fire. Kai ttjoo? ^iv mg a.yyO'&g Xiyn; TTOiuv 
 Tag xyy-?^^^ aura Trvcv^xra, t^ raj Afjrs/jyaf avm rrvpi^ 
 (p7\cyoi. 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 435 ] Sect. IL 
 
 Nor is it in its operation lefs powerful now. 
 The fweeteft offers of fin lofe their inchantment -, 
 the moft importunate cravings of appetite their 
 energy ; the fuddcn efforts of innate corruption 
 their fuccefs j and the triffling fubtleties of the 
 learned their authority, before the prevailing 
 afcendency of an eye attentive to his God ; his 
 God becomes a plentitude of pardoning love. 
 
 Chriftianity confifts not in a fet of pious rules 
 inftrud:ing us to deal fcientiffically with corrupted 
 nature, or to efcape the fnares of fatan, and pol- 
 lutions of this world, by a flight and artifice learnt 
 in devout books: but it confifts in a power and 
 life, which, being derived from jfefus and having 
 him for its parent, fuperfedes the ill propenfities 
 of the fallen foul with a prevailing vi(florious effi- 
 cacy. Therefore, fays St. Patil (Ro?!i. 14. 17.) 
 the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ^ hut 
 rightcoufnefs, and peace ^ and jcy in the Holy Ghojl; 
 importing hereby that the chriftian righteouf- 
 nefs refults fpontaneoufly from a divine know- 
 ledge of yefiis Chriji hlling the heart with joy and 
 peace in believing : and that the fame fpirit which 
 is joy in the heart, is at the fame time a power of 
 righteoufnefs in the will. And thus we clearly 
 underlland the apolUe's words {Rom. viii. 2.) T^he 
 law of the living fpirit in fejus Chrift hath made 
 me free frcni the /a-w of fin and death : that fo, 
 (Rom. vi. 22.) I;ei7jg made free from Jin, and become 
 the fervants oj Goj), ive have cur fruit unio holi- 
 7iefs and the end rcouian life. 
 
 I well know the ufual objedions advanced a- 
 
 gainft this great truth ; and to obviate them I 
 
 G g g 2 grant 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 436 ] Sect. II. 
 
 grant that not every elevating fally of a felf-excited 
 hope is from a genuine love of God in the foul, or 
 that it befpeaks a true vidlorious faith there. We 
 grant that the force of believing is contained, not 
 in every fond weening of a prefumptuous mind, 
 but, in a confidence founded upon fure grounds, 
 and confirmed by as fure an experience. 
 
 We allow alfo that faith is of a progrefiive 
 augmenting efficacy, that it encreafes from degree 
 to degree, from ftrength to ftrength, is nurtured 
 by grace upon grace ; and has an inexhauftible 
 abundance and fountain of good to feed upon, 
 even that rightcoufnefs of God for us, which 
 (Rom. i. 17.) is revealed fro7n faith to faith. 
 
 Yea angelick ages and capacities are too fhort 
 and too weak to exhauft the wifdom and riches 
 of this rightcoufnefs ; much lefs is the human 
 life equal to its myfterious energies. Like a ve- 
 getive feed it may be improved, every hour of it, 
 to the effediing our nearer converfion to God, 
 and a more intimate clofing with him in depend- 
 ence, refignation, and fcederal attachments. 
 
 Says the Apoftle (i John iv. 18.) Inhere is no 
 
 fear in love, but perfect love cafleth out fear, becaiife 
 
 fear has torment -^ he that j ear eth is not made perfe^ 
 
 in love. But fo to know the heart of Jefus as to 
 
 be void of all fear, is not the lot of thofe who 
 
 flightly know him. 
 
 Fear notwithfcanding its repugnancy to, is ufu- 
 ;illy the firfl n:iotive of our approaches towards 
 God -y for we ufually fly to our reftoring Lord 
 in terrors, and begin the work of our reflitution 
 with trembling 
 
 And 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 437 ] Sect. II. 
 
 And even after the windows of heaven have 
 been opened upon us; and we perceive ourfelves 
 adopted the fons of God, and heirs of his glory ; 
 our fears are ftill too apt to continue the fervilc 
 motives, the feeble pillars of our infant obedience: 
 and the fenfibility of our perfonal vilenefs, and 
 guilt, and worldlinefs, and drynefs, and want of 
 all things ; inftead of bringing us home to him 
 who can content and relieve us ; too often con- 
 fufes the powers of our fouls -, indeed fometimes 
 imbitters it with relifhes even of difpair itfelf ; 
 repelling and witholding many, for years toge- 
 ther, from the arms of his fecurity : fo unnatu- 
 ral is it to man to believe ! 
 
 However the ilTue of this wavering Is moftly 
 good, becaufe, God in his faithfulnefs leaves not 
 the warmed heart without applying his fhapen- 
 ing hand to itj by repeating again and again the 
 peaceful teftimonies of his love, and fo reconciling 
 it more and more to himfelf ; till by a fecond and 
 a third, and many frefh manifeftations and afTu- 
 rances, we are at laft convinced that the fenfc 
 of our own vilenefs is our beft qualification j that 
 a wearinefs of our own righteoufnefs, and of the 
 performances of an evil nature, are the highell 
 evidences of our Lord's drawings ; and that fin- 
 ners felf- condemned are the prepared fubjedis of 
 his triumph. 
 
 Says the Apoftle (Rom.w. 3.) 'Tribuldiion ivork- 
 eth patience^ and patience experience^ and experience 
 hope^ and hope maketh not aj]:amcd. That hope 
 therefore which gives us a firmncfs in our chri- 
 ftian calling, and hardens our face hke a flint a- 
 
 gainfl 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 438 ] Sect. II. 
 
 gainft every foothing and affliding enemy; fprings 
 from a fteady experience of, and a mature ac- 
 quaintance with our God ; fuch as a well culti- 
 vated correfpondence, and frequent intercourfes 
 can give ; eftabliihing the repofed foul in the 
 knowledge of him as our (i Cor. 1.3 o.) righte- 
 oufnejsy fanBijication and redemption^ as our all 
 abfolutely and independantly of all beiides him. 
 
 As the plant unwatered drops and withers, fo 
 will the ftrong faith unexercifed become weak 
 and languifhing. On the other hand the feeblefl 
 drawings of grace duly cultivated, and kept in 
 exercife, will foon become, of a grain of muftard- 
 feed, a flouriihing tree, which all the violences of 
 the elements cannot injure. 
 
 It is the exercife of the body which makes it 
 robuft and athletic; it is the exercife of the mind 
 that gives its faculties a vigour and penetration ; 
 and the like effed; will attend the exercife of our 
 chrilliian belief. "Wherefore St. Peter advifes that 
 by crowding eixry effort (2 Peter i. 5. <n!-o\)hv ttoc 
 ca,y Traosi^myKccvVi;) we add to oiir faith courage^ and 
 to courage prudence^ and to prudence temperance^ &c. 
 
 abound- 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 *> The Chriftian man (exifling in Chrift as the branch 
 in the vine into which it is ingrafted) partakes of the 
 fulnefs, and thereby of all the virtue which belongs 
 to our Lord, as fays St. Paid^ fpeaking of himfelf 
 {^hil. iii. 9.) For him I have fnffered the lofs of all things ^ 
 and do account the-r/i hut dung that I may gain Chrift and 
 he found in him, not having my own righteoufnefs which 
 is of the law, hut that which is thro' faith in Chrift, 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 439 ] Sect. II. 
 
 abounding in tfje knowledge of our Lord Jefus 
 Ghrift. 
 
 The power of believing is in the leafl: degree 
 of it, a true talent, a gift of God, an inva- 
 luable depolitum; which we may not bury in a 
 napkin, but improve by every means that offers: 
 and in our ftudious improvement of it the day- 
 light will break gradually upon us; we fhall 
 thrive in the knowledge of his love; we fliall fee 
 ourfelves as his pleafant children-^ we Ihall live 
 fecure in his care and wife provifions for us ; we 
 fhall begin to reduce our delires to him alone ; to 
 be his without referve 3 to want nothing which 
 he does not give us ; to depofite all we have and 
 all we are into his hands as our benevolent fa- 
 ther ', and firmly to fix our feet upon his word, 
 as on a rock of ftedfaflncfs, lofing our fears and 
 lin and guilt, even in proportion as we lofe alfo 
 our unbelief. 
 
 Then fhall we " behold (as fays the excellent 
 yujiin, whom we have fo often quoted) " tho' 
 " ourfelves are on earth, Gud in the heavens 
 
 ruling 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 the righteoufnefs which is from God by faith. So (Rom. 
 xi. 16.) for the Chriftian is reputed as {Col. ii. 20.'' 
 dead with Chrif., and {Gal. ii. 20. Rom. vi. 6) crucified 
 with Chriji., becaufc {Gal. iii. 27.) they who are bap- 
 tized into Chrijl, have put on Chrijl, which alfo is the 
 foundation of that blcfiing (Rom. iv. 7.) Bleffed is 
 the man whofe iniquities are forgiven., and whofe fins are 
 covered-., bleffed is the man to wkxjm the Lord will not 
 impute fm. liom.\'\. 8. Jo/mxvn. 19. ytr. xxiii. 5, 6, 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 440 ] Sect. II. 
 
 " ruling here as fupreme magiftratej then fhall 
 " we begin to fpeak the myfteries of God ; then 
 " fhall we love and admire thofe who fuffer 
 " becaufe they will not deny God ; then fhall 
 " we condemn the cheat and miflake of the 
 " world J when we have learnt indeed to live as 
 " denizons with faints of heaven :" 
 
 ToTi ^so!,(rr\ Tufp^ai/wi/ etti tti? yvig on Qsog iv ovpoivoig 
 TToXiTivsrxiy roll (Avs-ripioi ©£a XaXnv otp'^vi, rols tou? noAa- 
 ^OjM.£i/oiif, £7ri Tw jotTj S'jAsji/ a,pvri(roi(rQo6i Qiov, 7ty aya7r»i(j"£i? 
 x) S"aUj«a(rf»?, role rrig avciTYig ra v.o<yif.a >t, rvi; TrAavn? xa- 
 Ixyvcaa-n ; orocv ru aXnd'w; iv ovpxvco ^riv S7rifvu(Tri. 
 
 To believe is to live in light, and light in- 
 flames the heart with a love, and reliance, and 
 gratitude, which nothing can withftand. It is 
 by walking with God in light, and with our 
 eyes open, that we difcover his faithfulnefs ma- 
 nifefled in all difpenfations j that we adore and 
 refl upon him with confidence in all diflrefTes ; 
 that we blefs his bounty and goodnefs in all dif- 
 ficulties; that we find him ready and near us in 
 all extremities, and perplexities ; and read his 
 mercies in the book of occurrences thro' all the 
 emergencies of life, to the extinguifliing of every 
 terror, to the fupprefling of every diftrufli and 
 to the quickening and profperity of the divine 
 life and thankfulnefs in our fouls. 
 
 Regarding then the chriflian life as a life of 
 knowledge, and Jehovah God, as the object of it; 
 let us begin to improve ourfelves in this our know- 
 legde of Jehovah God, by exercifing the eye of 
 ^4ur inward man upon him continually : let us 
 
 obferve 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 441 ] Sect. II. 
 
 obferve and trace him in his feverity, in his in- 
 dulgence, in his JLiftice, in his humility, in his 
 reproofs, in his fidelity, and in the inviolablenefs 
 of his love j fo fliall we learn to live, rejoice 
 and glory in his good pleafure only. 
 
 We fliall learn to juftify his fe'verity in experi- 
 ence of the fweets accompanying it : to be mo- 
 deft with his indulgencies in a filial refigned en- 
 joyment of them : to blefs hisjujlice in confidence 
 that his heart and hands can defign and produce 
 good only : to admire his humility in the abafe- 
 ing confcioufnefs of our own prefumption : to 
 loath burfelves under, his reproofs in the fenfe of 
 a cordial foftening hallowing fliame: to adore his 
 faithfidnefs in the pleafing emotions and mixture 
 of grief and joy and gratitude ; and to draw our 
 motives of obedience from the indefeafiblenefs of 
 our mafter's love. 
 
 Let us cultivate a continual intercourfe of peace 
 with him, and rcfufe to live but in an uninterrupt- 
 ed fenfe of his friendship and abfolution. And 
 when upon any occafion our peace with him is 
 weakened, let prayer be ever our refource as foon 
 as may be: Chriji alone can help us here j there 
 is no other name under heaven given ajnong men where- 
 by we can he reftored. 
 
 Let us confider him as always opening the arms 
 of his mercy towards us j as always the fame 
 gracious father ready to receive his returning pro- 
 digal. 
 
 Our greateft injury from fin is, that it with- 
 draws our heart from our redeemer, and feparates 
 between him and us. But as his voice always 
 H h h is. 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 442 ] Sect. II. 
 
 is, My fofi give me thine heart, let us not in un- 
 belief protradl our darknefs, but rather inceflant- 
 }y plead with him before his throne of grace, till 
 we have found our pardon returning upon our 
 hearts afrefli, and till our fenfe of acceptance is 
 again our confolation. 
 
 This is a devotion I muft again call old, for 
 it is old as the days of Solomon, who advifes 
 (Prov. iv. 23.) Keep thy heart with all diligence, 
 for out of it are the ijfues of life : and he who 
 purfues it will iind it fo ; for by an intercourfe 
 thus perfifled in he will thrive apace j and will 
 foon be brought home to that reft in God, which 
 is the true end of Chriftianity. 
 
 The true end of Chriftianity, we learn In our 
 Loi^d's difcourfe with his difciples (John xiv.) 
 Judas faith (v. 22.) Lord, how is it that thou wilt 
 manifeji thyfelf unto us, and not unto the world ? 
 fv. 23^ y^fi^^ anfwered, If any man will love me 
 he will keep my words, and my father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him, and make our abode with 
 him. ('u. 20.) At that day ye Jloall know that I ant 
 in my father, and you in me, and I in you. (v, 1 6, 
 17.) I will pray the father and he will give you an-- 
 other co?nforter, that he may abide with you forever, 
 even the fpirit of truths whom the world cannot re- 
 ceive bccaufe it feeth him not, neither kncweth him, 
 but ye know him, for ye dwelleth with you a?td 
 fall be IN you. 
 
 When the Lord has fo manifefted himfelf to 
 a foul as to be no longer only with hiju, but in 
 him ; that foul will convcrfe with his God in a 
 ready and clofe correfpondence, in an unveiled 
 
 fellow- 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 443 ] Sect. II. 
 
 fellowship and communion not 'till then known ; 
 he will live in his prefence, fo as to be (Rom. xv. 
 i^.) filled with all joy a7id peace in belie'ving. 
 
 Being [Epb. ii. 21.) aiz holy temple in the Lord, 
 (2 Cor. vi. 16.) God will dwell in him and walk in 
 him\ and {Kom. v. 5.) will p^ed abroad his love in 
 his heart by the Holy Ghoji. For thefe are the blei^ 
 lings of which we read as diftinguifliing the firft 
 churches of God from other men. Says Peter 
 of them (i Pet. i. 8.) whojn having not feen the 
 love, in whom thd now ye fee him not, yet believing 
 ye rejoice with joy unfpeakable and full of glory. 
 
 Happy is the man to whom the Lord is a God 
 at hand, and not a God afar off: but v/hen (Heb. 
 vi. 4.^ we fmll have tajled the heavenly gift, and 
 have been made partakers of the Holy Ghojl, and have 
 tafied the good word of God, and the powers of the 
 teon to come, when (i Cor.xv. 22) we are made 
 alive in Chrif; 2LYid. (Phil.m. 10) experience the 
 power of his refurredfion-, when (Gal. iv. 19) 
 Chrifl (|t*o/3<pw5n) is faf toned in US; when (Epb.m. 
 17) Chrifi dwelleth in our hearts by faith; wlien 
 (Col. i. 27) Chrifl is in iis the hope of glory: then 
 ihall wc tafie indeed that the Lord is gracious; and 
 experience what it means to love God ; that high, 
 facred privilege and prerogative of faints, which 
 is fingly all what an human foul can need, her 
 ftrength, her transformation, her glory, her ho- 
 linefs, her righteoulhefs. See Afj/. xxii. 36 — 4c. 
 
 Then will the divine ftranger, the fpirit of our 
 
 God, now become our comforter, (i Cor. ii. 10, 
 
 12) reveal to us the things that are freely given to zcs 
 
 of God (2 Cor. i. 5.) with abundant coifolations, 
 
 H h h 2 fucli 
 
Letter XXIII. [ 444 ] Sect. I|. 
 
 fuch as no one knoweth but he that receiveth them, 
 Pf. xciv. 1 9. uD'»in:n ) coiifolatiom that will delight 
 the foul Wi\ii things which ( i Cor. ii. 9) eye hath not 
 feen^ nor ear heard, neither have they entered into 
 the heart of man to conceive. 
 
 This heavenly guefl is called by St. Paul (2 
 Cor. iv. y.) a treafure in earthen 'veffels, and it 
 proves to be To, in that it not only abolifhes the 
 power of fin in us, and clears our confciences of 
 \Rom. vm. i) all condemnation , and (Eph.'i. 13) 
 feals us with the holy fpirit ofpromife, the earnefl of 
 our inheritance: but is moreover within us (i 
 yohn ii. 20J an unBion from the holy one (i Cor. 
 ii. 19.) difclofing to us the deep things of God (fohn 
 xvi. 13.) guidi?7g us into all truth \ enlarging our 
 hearts with a capacity of (i Cor. ii. 15.) difcern^ 
 ing all things (that is all perfons) thd ourfehes bg 
 difcerned of none \ and bleffing us with comforts 
 which neither poffeffion will rifle or abate, nor 
 familiarity render cheap or contemptible. 
 
 But St. Feter calls it a marvellous light-, becaufe 
 the difference between feeing the fame divine 
 truths by the common light of the underftanding, 
 and by the evidences given by the Holy Ghofl ; 
 is as the difference between the firfl glimmerings 
 of the morning dawn, and the bright fhining and 
 glory of the fun at noon day. 
 
 However you will at leaft acknowlege, that he 
 who has (Rom, vili. 9) the fpirit of God dwelli?ig 
 in him, has therewith (i Cor. ii. 16.) the mind of 
 Cbrifl ; and that having the mind oiChrifl ( i fohn 
 ii. 27.) he needeth not that any man teach him ; but 
 is ( I T^hef. iv. 9. ©Eo^»^a>:l(^ i 'John ii. 27.) taught 
 
LEtTER XXIII. [ 445 ] 
 
 Sect. II. 
 
 of God (tt^p' -rrxi^luiu) cof7cerm/?g all thi'fjgs which the 
 occafions and occurrences of IFe fhall make re- 
 quifite for him to know: and being affured of this, 
 you have at once an expedient pointed out to 
 you, whereby you may efcape the being deceiv- 
 ed, either by the well-meaning miftakes of the 
 rcligiomjl ; or the artificial fandity of- the wolves 
 mid robbers ; or the warm remonftrances of the 
 learned zealot. 
 
 ^r^^^^^5^^^^^^S^^^^^:^^X^^^ 
 
 j^i 
 
 ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 JRM. JU 
 
 sa. 
 
 THE 
 
[447] 
 
 ^ 'l^ # .^^ * ^'^^^'^ * •^'^ * *^ ^ 
 THE 
 
 Q^U O T A T I O N S 
 
 In the notes 
 
 Tranflated into English. 
 
 fage 45. — Hie locus ejl partes ^c. 
 
 TT^IS here, in different paths, the way divides: 
 
 X The right to Pluto's golden palace guides : 
 The left to that unhappy region tends, 1 
 
 Which to the depth of Tartarus defcends ; C 
 
 The feat of night profound, and punifh'd fiends. 1 
 
 Dry den* s Virgil. 
 
 Page 
 
 " ' ' ^^^^^■^^^■^ ■ ■< 
 
 N. B. We have all along ufed In the Greek and other quotati- 
 ons, the fame ftops (or points) which are ufed in the Latin, Eno^llflt, 
 and all our modern languages ; by which means the eye may at once 
 diftinguifh the paragraphs in the tranflation anfwerlng to thofc in the 
 original. 
 
44^ ^he Quotations 
 
 Page 46. — Ka» yocp xit&' ^c. 
 Two are the paths to Hades -, one the juft 
 To life, the other to perdition takes 
 The wicked. — In the end however all 
 That are deftroy'd fhall be reftor'd again. 
 
 Page 46, — Ante adventum Chrijli &c. 
 Before the coming of Cbriji (when he had not yet 
 open'd the gate of paradife, neither had his blood ex- 
 tinguifhed that flaming fword and brandifliing of the 
 cherubirrt that kept it) all in like manner were con- 
 duced down into hades, and hence Jacob fays that he 
 likewife fhould defcend into hades -, and Job complains 
 that in hades both the godly and ungodly were de- 
 tain'd ', and the gofpel teftifies, that in hades is a 
 great interpofing gulph ; and that Abraham was there 
 with Lazarus •, and that the rich man was there in a 
 flate of punifliment. 
 
 Page 4S. — Si quis tarnen &c. 
 If one might venture to make a modeft conjedture, 
 one would chofe to fuppofe this (abyfs) as alfo the re- 
 gions of bleffed fpirits, to be fituated without the li- 
 mits of this our vifible world, rather than, as fome do, 
 in the center of the earth. Indeed the word abyfs im- 
 ports a kind of vaftnefs; and the exprefTion outer dark- 
 nefs feems ufed purpofely to imply a fituation without 
 the limits of the orb which is deftined for our ufe. 
 Nor perhaps is that paflage in St. John unfitly referred 
 to on this occafion, viz. {John xii. 31.) 'The prince of 
 this world fhall be caji out. 
 
 Page 54.. — Ut autem Hebraifmos &c. 
 
 But the reafon why they made ufe of hebraifms, 
 
 was, not only becaufe they were Hebrews (for the fpirit 
 
 of God could have amended any thing in them that 
 
 he had difapproved of ) but becaufe feeing they treated 
 
 of 
 
I'rdnjhted into 'ENGLISH, 449 
 
 of things delivered in Hebrew, ic was neceffary to re- 
 tain many exprelHons, lead" they fliould fecm to pro- 
 pound any new do6lrine. And indeed I do not won- 
 der that fo many hebraifms were preferved by them, 
 feeing many of thefe are of that nature as not to be fo 
 happily expreflible in any other language, nay fome- 
 times as not to be exprefs'd at all: fo that if they had 
 not retain'd thefe forms, they mufl have fometimes 
 invented new words and new phrales which no one 
 could have underftood. Laftly, to fay no more, fee- 
 ing God has chofen thefe only, by which he would 
 have the feveral things written which are neceffary for 
 us, wc ought alfo to be fatisfied that the fame God 
 had fd limited their language that not a word might 
 rafhly drop from them, nay that they might fpeak all 
 fo plainly, properly, and to the purpofe, that nothing 
 could be exprefs'd concerning thefe things, more fully 
 and better by any one. 
 
 Page 61. — Solus enim (Chrifius) ftiii ^c. 
 
 For Chrift alone was at liberty among the dead, 
 and being fo, having fubdued him who has the em- 
 pire of death, he led captive the captives that were de- 
 tained in death; and raifed up not only himfelf from 
 among the dead, but thofe likewife who were in the 
 cuftody of death, and quickened them together, and 
 caufed them to fit together in the celeftial habitations. 
 
 Afcending up on high, he lead them captive, not 
 only bringing forth their fouls, but alfo awakening 
 their bodies, us the gofpel tcibfies ; for many dead bo- 
 dies of the feints zvere awakened^ and appeared unto 
 man)\ and entered Jerufakm tki^ holy city of the hvinw 
 Cod. 
 
 Page 6 1 . — F^a propter Dominum i^c. 
 That therefore he (Chriji) dcfcended into the places 
 that are beneath the earth, and preached his advent, 
 
 I i 1 and 
 
450 'J^he Quotations 
 
 and the remiflion of fins to them who believe in him. 
 But all the juft, and the prophets and patriarchs be- 
 lieved in him j whofe fins he remitted in like manner 
 as ours. For all men have need of the glory of God : 
 and are juftified, whoever apply to his light, not of 
 themfelves, but by the advent of the Lord. 
 
 Page 62. — EMNHSQH h &c. 
 The Lord God was mindful of his deceafed IJr/^d, 
 which (lept in the land of graves, and went down to 
 thgni, to preach his reftitution to them. 
 
 Page 62. — ^uum dicit-, excitata &c. 
 When he fays, many bodies of the faints who ilept, 
 arofe : he denotes a perfe6l refurre6lion. The refur- 
 re6lion of thofe faints was effeded, as a demonftration 
 tiiat the death of Chrijl was the abolifhing of the death 
 of us all, which death he endured tor the reilitution and 
 life of ail mortals. In very deed he exhibited his quick- 
 ening power in an amazing manner, in the prefent con- 
 dition of things, raifing up the dead, and delivering 
 all the pious fouls of the deceafed that were in hades. 
 For this reafon they died not again, but abide in im- 
 mortality, even as Enoch and Elias^ and are with them 
 {iv Tw yraipoiSeigco^ ocvoc^ivovnc,) in the paradife {viz. gf God) 
 awaiting the as yet asonian energy of the refurreftion 
 of Chrijiy according to that order, by which, as fays 
 the divine apoftle, we Jhall all be changed: for to that 
 immortal and incorruptible life there has been hitherto 
 no refurredion of any one, excepting of Chrijl alone the 
 rellorer-, wherefore he is pronounced the firft-begot- 
 ten of the dead, and the firft fruits of them that fleep. 
 
 Page 62. — O KTPI02 ivnyfiX^crxTo t?f. 
 
 The Lord preached to them in hades whofe 
 
 appointment was in hades, and who iiad devoted them- 
 felves to deftru^ion, like men that had call themfelves 
 
 out 
 
^ranjlated ifito English. 451 
 
 out of fome fhip into the feaj even thefe are they who 
 have hearkened to the divine power and calling. 
 
 Page 62 and 6^.—lNFERNUM petit &c. 
 
 He vifited in hell the woful fouls 
 For crimes, done in their days of nature, bound. 
 An helplefs croud, beneath the legal weight 
 Oppreflive, fall : long had their cries implor*d 
 The tardy promifes, a ceafelefs fuit. 
 
 Quick in the light of life he lifts them, rais'd 
 To be co-habicants with faints in refb. 
 
 'Twas his third day of Death ; when to th' fhades 
 Expectant, their embodied God, he came 
 Defcending, charader'd as conqueror 
 Supreme, and in his father's virtue fraught. 
 Effulgent; God in man imperfon'd one. 
 Up to the heavens, fublim'd in Chriji, arofe 
 I'he wretched, with him chang'd to fons of day i 
 Firft-fruits triumphant of redeeming power. 
 Retinue, prize, and image, of our Lord. 
 This done, he fat him in his father's throne 
 In ftate divine ; array'd in ornaments 
 Vidorious •, partner in his father's life ; 
 Yet linked with us in human ties of love. 
 Him, Lord and Christ and King and God, his God 
 3hall fend the future judge and defpot of this world. 
 
 Page 6^. — AAHeaS (?£, >t) « ^oy,ri<Tn (j?c. 
 He verily, and not in appearance (onlyj was pfu- 
 cified and died, a fpeftacle to the heavenly and earthly 
 and jubterranean inhabitants : to the heavenly as are 
 the natures unimbodicd ; to the earthly as are the 
 Jews and Romam and fuch men as were prefent at 
 the time of his crucifixion; to x.\\tfubterra7jea?i as the 
 multitude who arofe together with him. For it is 
 faid, that, the gra'ves being opened^ he raifed up mam 
 I i i 2 bodies 
 
452 'The Quotations 
 
 hodks of the faints thatflept. He defcended into iiades 
 alone, but he returned with a multitude. 
 
 Page 68. — EJfe quoq; in fatts ^c. 
 It {lands recorded in the book of fate, 
 That the dire time fhall come, when earth and fea, 
 Yea Lucifer's high palace in the fkies 
 Shall burn ; and the world's labour'd rnafs fhall prove 
 A wreqk in flames. 
 
 Tunc ardens fluvius ^c. 
 The burning torrent fhall dcfcend from heaven, 
 A bickering flood-, and Ipread it's defolation. 
 The earth and mighty waters of the main 
 With all its rivers, lakes, and feas and depths, 
 Shall this confume, exhale, reduce to fire. 
 Thine empire, Pluto^ Hiall it's rage devour : 
 Yea all the fl:ars of heaven, convuls'd, fhall fall, 
 'Fus'd in one confluent flaming mafs ; 
 Their beauty, place, foundation, lofl: and gone. 
 
 Page 68. — Er«' yap iToci &c. 
 That time of the prolapfing feons mufl: arrive. 
 When golden aether fliall refolve her fl:ores 
 Full fraught with fire ; a fierce devouring flamp 
 Raging o'er all things, earthly and fublime, 
 In furious conflagration. 
 
 Page 72. — jE'vi quadratum ^c. 
 The fquare of an ^on (to fay nothing of its cube j 
 is an ason ofreons, of 49382718^ years reaching far 
 beyond the age of the world : the double ot the 
 fquare, JEons (two) of ^ons, of 9876543' r years 
 This I have therefore noted only becaufe a figur'd 
 number appears more plainly. In the age of ages the 
 ikip is notable from 9 to 8, to 7, and from 4 to 3, 
 
 to 
 
T'ranjlated into English. 453 
 
 to 2, to I. And the fradion (into decimals) being 
 refolved in tlie fame proportion the numerator fup- 
 plies 6, 5. In the ages of the ages the gradations 
 are remarkable from 9 to 3, and fo on in the frac- 
 tion, by refolving it in the fame proportion, the 
 numerator fupplies 2, i, ^c. But this will appear 
 more clearly in the numbers extended as follows: 
 
 40 
 
 500 
 
 6000 
 
 70000 
 
 800000 
 
 9000000 
 
 In the one the fraction t? is nearly equal to A + Tool 
 iSc. In the other the fraftion il is nearly equal to 
 ■h + T^ i^c. In each fraction the numerators 6, 5, 
 and 2, I, fill the feries from i to 9 (thus 4938271.605 
 and 9876543.21.) 
 
 But if you proceed, to what an immenfe fum will 
 3, 4, 100, 1000, ^c. jEons of ^eons amount .? O the 
 depth ! and yet all this is not fo much as the fhallows 
 ot the fea of abfolute eternity denoted by the empha- 
 tical CEons of a^ons. The fcriptures fometimes hint 
 by fmall ftridures, and as it were en pajfant, matters 
 of immenfe moment. He that can receive this, let 
 him. 
 
 They who fpeak of the rcflitution after this life, 
 fliould beware not to imagine that this matter is ex- 
 haufted in a millenary jubilee (or 50,000 or 49,000 
 years); far wider is the meafure ot the ruons. This 
 we have here touched upon, not to provoke curiofity, 
 but to dilate the mind •, let us receive it as candi- 
 dates of eternitv. We are in time. 
 
454 ^'^^ Quotations 
 
 Page ^(). 
 Et? ra? «iwvaf To the ages. 
 
 £»j «»«va aiwi/o; to the age of the ages (or 
 
 to the asonian age) 
 to the age of the ages, 
 to the common boundary 
 of the emphatical ason. 
 in whom the ends of the 
 
 HZ otnavx Oiiuvuv 
 
 £»j ou? Toc. nXri tuv onmcon 
 
 KXTtiVTvitrev 
 £t? raf (Xiuvxg ruv onut/uu 
 
 vog TCiiv uiuvav. 
 
 
 to the ages of the ages, 
 to all the generations of 
 
 the age (emphatical) of 
 
 the ages. 
 
 The «on. Helf. 
 
 the £eon. Syr. 
 
 the ages. 
 
 to the ages and beyond 
 
 even ages and beyond. 
 
 Page 84. — Non enim (ut quidem put ant) natiira ^c. 
 For the nature of God is not (as fome imagine) in- 
 vifible to fome, and vifible to others; for the apoftle 
 fays not that the appearance of God is invifihle to men^ 
 crinvifible tojinners •, but moft conftantly pronounces of 
 the nature of God, faying, the appearance of the invijible 
 God. Yea and St. John fays in his gofpel, no one has 
 feen God at any time, plainly declaring to all that are 
 capable of underftanding, that there is no nature to 
 which God is vifible. Not as tho' he was vifible in 
 his nature but as it were efcapes and tranfcends the 
 .fight of a frail creature -, but becaufe it is naturally 
 impofTible he fhould be feen. 
 
 Page 90. — ^cJjTTip J/jcojv 01 Si§a.<j-iiccKoi, ^C. 
 
 As your rabbles deem, fancying that the father of 
 all, even the ungencrated God, has hands, and feet, 
 
 and 
 
TraTi/Iafed jfifo Ekglisu, 4^^ 
 
 and fingers, and a foul, like a compound animal; 
 and who therefore teach that the father himfelf ap- 
 peared to Abraham and Jacobs bcc. 
 
 Juftin Mar. dial, 'with 'Trypho the Jew. 
 
 Page 93. — fpfi? ^v 1/1.01 ^c. 
 But you objeftto mc; " You aflert that God is not 
 contained in place, how then fay you that he walks in 
 paradife? Hear what I reply, the God and father of 
 all is incomprehenfible, neither is he found in place; 
 for the place ot his abode is not : yet his Logos, by 
 whom he made all things, being his power and wif- 
 dom, affuming the perfonage (in that he became the ex- 
 prefs image) 01 the father and Lord of all, even he went 
 to paradife in (this) the perfonage (i.e. apparent in the 
 exprefs image) ot God, and converfed with Adam. 
 'Theophilus to Autolycus.^ 2d book. 
 
 Page 94. — O-jTf o-M A^pxoiiJi. &'c. 
 Neither Abraham^ neither any other man hath feen 
 the father and ineffable Lord of all univerfally, and even 
 of Chriji himfell; but (they have feen) him {isjho is) ac- 
 cording to his (viz. the father'' s) own council both God 
 his fon, and alfo angel for the adminiftering his pur- 
 pofe; and whom he (the father) will'd alfo to become 
 a man of the virgin-, (oTid) who alfo formerly became 
 a fire for the talking to Mofes at the bufh : {This muji 
 be granted) becaufe, unlefs we thus underftand holy 
 writ, it will follow that the father and Lord of all was 
 not then in the heavens, when it is faid by Mofes (as 
 follows) and the Lord rained upon Sodom fire and brim- 
 fibne from the Lord out of heaven., and again when by 
 David it is thus faid, take away your gates ye princes^ 
 be ye lifted up ye a^onian gates, and the king of glory 
 Jhall enter in. Moreover, that the Chrift is alfo God 
 the fon of God, who alfo appeared of old as a man and 
 angel, and was feen in a glory of fire ;^s in the bufh, 
 
 and 
 
45^ ^he Quotations 
 
 and at the judgment which happened at Sodom -^ is a- 
 bundantly evident from what has been faid. 
 
 Jujlin Martyr's dialogue with Trypho the Jeuu, 
 
 Page lOO. iV^iV £[JI.UpOHVOTO ^C. 
 
 Hereby is worldly wifdom befoord, the darknefs of 
 ignorance difperfed, and the tyrannical empire abo- 
 lifhed, (namely) God appearing as a man, and man 
 operating as God. But neither is the former a feem- 
 
 S'ngnefs only (Jince God became true man) nor is the lat- 
 fer mere human energy (fince the man operating is very 
 ► i^od) ; yea the former is a reality, and the latter is fa 
 flep of hisj oeconomy.^ 
 
 Page loi. — ^od ex came natum i^c. 
 That which is born of the flefh is flefh, becaufe it 
 is born of the flefh; and that which is born of the 
 fpirit is fpirit, becaufe God is a fpirit, and it is born 
 of God. 
 
 Page 113. — Edocuit autsfn Dominus &c. 
 But the Lord has taught us, that no one can know 
 God, unlefs God himfelf teaches him, that is, with- 
 out God, God cannot be known. But that the very 
 knowledge of him is the will of the father ; for they 
 know him to whom the fon fhall have revealed him: 
 and to this end the fon has revealed the father, that 
 thro' him he may be manifefted to all, and may re- 
 ceive thofe that are juilified by faith in him to the in- 
 corruptible (late and eternal refrelhmcnt. To believe 
 ifi to do his will, but he will jultly fhut up thofe that 
 ^ believe not, and for this reafon fhun the light, in the 
 darknefs which they have chofen for themfelves. — 
 
 Jnd 
 
 ^ I'he antient chriftians underftood by the term ceconomy the 
 whole procefs cf our redemption towards which God faw it expe- 
 dient, to afTume humaiiitv. 
 
7'ra?2/IafcJ into English, 457 
 
 yhtd therefore the judgment of God is (jufl on) them 
 who did not fo believe on him as they had feen him. — And 
 that by the very word made vilible and palpable the 
 father might be fliewn ; altho' all did not accordingly 
 believe on him, yet all have feen the father in the fon; 
 feeing that the father of the fon is invifible, while the 
 
 fon of the father is vifible. As fays Irenaus^ his 
 
 ineffable production or generation who has known ? 
 neither angels nor archangels, but only the father who 
 begot and the fon who was begotten. 
 
 Page I 15. — orav yap cJ? uioi/ i^C. tB_ 
 
 But when 'Daniel fpeaks of him as the fon of man^ 
 receiving the Etonian kingdom, does not this import 
 thus much? for the expreffion as the fon of man., indi- 
 cates that he indeed appeared as and was a man ; tho* 
 certainly not of human feed. Alfo the exprefiion this 
 ftone was cut out without hands., proclaims the fame 
 thing in a myflery ; in that the faying that he 
 was cut out without hands (proclaims the cutting out) 
 to have been no human work, but (a work) of the 
 will of the father, God of all who produced him. 
 The fame may appear from that paffage in Ifaiah., 
 who hath declared his generation ? which manifefts that 
 he has a generation ineffable. But no man (begotten) 
 oi man {can be faid to) have an ineffable generation. 
 
 Page 246.- — Omnia rx -Kavra. f^pe., i^c. 
 We have often obferved already, that the words tct 
 voc-^ra,., all things., univerfally fpoken are frequently in- 
 tended by St. Paul 3iS rcftriftively relative to thole things 
 of which he fpeaks, in iCor. xv. 28, and vi. 12, and 
 viii. I, and in numberlefs other places. Thus then 
 in this place when he treats of the office of a medi- 
 ator, but the mediator is dcftin'd fuch only to the 
 cleifl ; by the appellation (tw> -rrxClji]/.,) of all., I under- 
 ftand the whole body of the church itfclf, which after- 
 wards is divided as it were into tvvo parts •, namely 
 that in heaven {viz. the faithful who were dead before 
 
 K k k the 
 
458 ^h^ Quotations 
 
 the coming of Chrijl) and that on earth (viz. thofe 
 whom Chrijl fhall find alive, or who have obtained 
 his advent.)* Beza in Eph. i. lo. 
 
 Page 247.' rX TTOCVTOi i^c. 
 
 All things, that is the whole church, as I have 
 already expounded in at large, viz. Eph. i. 10. 
 
 See Beza in Col. i. 20. 
 
 Page 247. — Antea inter angelos i£c. 
 Heretofore there were faftions among the angels, 
 and they were inrerefted for their refpeftive people. 
 See Dan. x. 13 — 20. xii. i. and alfo Joh. iv. 11. — 
 Chrijl removed this, being alfo made king of the an- 
 gels, by chofing one out of fo many people to him- 
 felf, to whom the angels now owe their fervice, Heb. 
 i. 14. See examples alfo mA5lsv. 9. xii. 11. xvi. 26, 
 27. xxiii. 44. in Matt, xviii. 10. and iCor. xi. 10. 
 where angels are treated of (Again) To the kingdom 
 
 of 
 
 * A^ B. Beza by this note of his confutes himfelf; for if, as he 
 allows, St. Paul always intends by the expreffion (ra %a,v\a.) all 
 things, the whole univerfally of [id de quo agitvrj that concerning 
 which he \s treating ; he mull in the place before us intend the whole 
 of the creation, and not the whole of the ele<S only ; becaufe the 
 things created, and not the things ele«5l are by this apoftle here fpo- 
 ken of. The all things here (ver. 16) fpoken of, are all things that 
 were created in heaven and on earth, vifible and invifible, whether 
 thrones, dominions, principalities or powers; therefore the ^;// //'.-'wgj 
 inrr;ridoi here as to be reconciled to God, muil: be all things in 
 hesvcn and earth, vifibie and invifible, even all things that wwe 
 by Uy. iji created. 
 
 Caoi) is in C.ht'tn reconciled to all, and being fo he will have that 
 a!) be reconciled to himftlf in Cbnit ; but the all hitherto reconciled 
 to God are only the Chiiilians truly ^o called, and the heavenly in- 
 habitants, as we read [Col. i. zi. 2 Cor. v. 20.) You that ivere ene- 
 mies has he no-xv reconciled to God; fo (i Pet. iii. 2 2.) angels, autho- 
 ritiis und pijt<:crs [vTrolayivrcvv uvru;) being jubordinuttd (and COnfe- 
 (juently reconciled) unt'.. bun. 
 
 So then unclinftian men and evil fpirits are the future fubjefts of 
 reconcjltmcnt and fubordination ; agreeably to what we read [Ueb. 
 ii. 8 ) But iianx-- nvt Jee not as ytt ail things Jubotainattd unto him, 
 their fubcjrdi nation then is a work to come j lee alfo Phil. ii. 10, 1 1. 
 'John V. 23. Rev. V. 13. 
 
Tranjlated into English. 459 
 
 ti^Chrifl which he gain'd over the angels, fome refer 
 that which is fpoken in Col. i. 16. becaufe (lC]i^£*v) to 
 create., often fignifies a new adminiftrarion. Certainly 
 as feveral parts of the epiftle to the Colojfians agree with 
 this epiille, even fo that pafTage feems to throw light 
 upon this, and alternately to borrow light from it — 
 Now all things arc changed, the men of every kind 
 who have obeyed the calling {of God) are reconciled 
 both to God, and to each other. — Alfo the angels 
 who were torn away and alienated from us, as being 
 finners and apoftates, are now reconciled to us, and 
 gathered with us into one company and body under 
 Chriji our head, that both being in like manner united 
 to God, may obtain the bleffing, now comm.on to 
 both. All the angels being difpleafed with the Gen- 
 tiles on account ot their idolatrous worfliip, are recon- 
 ciled to them when converted to Chriji., and ferve them 
 willingly for Chri/i^s fake, as a people call'd to angelic 
 
 dignity. The Jews hated thofe of other nations 
 
 as being idolaters: and they themfelves were hated by 
 the Gentiles on accQunt of their different forms ot re- 
 ligion (of which we have fpoken in our treatife on war 
 and peace xv. 9) Now of both kinds thofe who come 
 to Cbriji., being both friends and brethren, are toge- 
 ther one people of God.:|: 
 
 Page 269. — Ettjj ofi^ov j3Af-7rov7a? ^C 
 
 Approve the eyes of thy foul feeing {eyes) and ears 
 
 of thy heart hearing {ears) for God is feen by them 
 
 K k k 2 that 
 
 X N. B. Grotiui by interpreting the evpreflion la. Tra-Cor, all things, 
 as intending only things of all forts, ;. i. men and angels, 'Jt-.':! and 
 (Jtntilii, or all that are good of thefe, would infmuate that ChriJ} did 
 not make all things, and accordingly he tells us roundly, that 
 xTi^av, to create, in Col \. i6. may nion no more than that Chrijt 
 put all things into (ordinationem novam, or novum quendani llatum)' 
 a new order, ftate or adminiftration. But 1 preluine this exposition 
 of the exiirelfton ra. va.O.x, is too contrary to our text to be admitted 
 of by any but thofe of the Socinian perfuafion, and fuch as wou d nt 
 any rate efcapc the force of die apollelic language, 
 
460 ^he Quotation 
 
 that have power to behold him, after that they have the 
 eyes of the foul opened. All indeed have eyes, but 
 fome fuffufed {eyes) and which dlfcern not the light of 
 the fun •, but that the blind do not fee, is no proof 
 that the light of the fun does not fhine. Let then 
 the blind blame themfelves and their own eyes. In 
 like manner thou alfo, O man, haft the eyes of thy 
 foul fuffufed, &c.. 
 
 Page 273. — Fuit itaq; Dives ^c. 
 Therefore, fays Pifcator^ the rich man then was in- 
 deed in hades, but Lazarus alfo was in hades, the re- 
 gions of hades being divided into diflin6t appartments. 
 For both paradife and gehenna are in hades. 
 
 Page 276. — Cogita fornacem igneam &'c. 
 Imagine a fiery furnace convolving, and calling 
 about it's flames ; and in the midft of thefe the bodies 
 of the damned tofled to and fro, afcending now, now 
 plunging in its waves j then whirl'd to diftant parts; 
 and this incefTantly, day and night, to ages of ages. 
 
 Page lyy.—EJicientur &€. 
 They fhall be call into outer darknefs, where the 
 cold fhall be intollerable, the fire unquenchable, the 
 worm immortal, the flench intolerable, darknefs which 
 may be felt, the fcourges of the tormentors, the ghaftly 
 appearances of devils, the confufion of finners, no 
 hope of good, no defpair of evil. 
 
 Page 277. — Hie ejl, fays Grotius &c. 
 Here, fays Grotius^ is a metonimy of the fubje6l; 
 or the containing for the contained, as heaven for its 
 inhabitants, the earth tor thofe that live in it. So in 
 this place death is put for the dead ; hades for its in- 
 habitants. 
 
 Page 309. — Chrijius per fangiiinem &c. 
 Chriji enttred by his own blood into the fanfluary 
 (not only alter he had Ihed his blood, and by the 
 
 efficacy 
 
^ranJJated into English. 461 
 
 efficacy of the effufion, neither with his blood refumed 
 into his body, but by blood) therefore even this high- 
 prieft himlelf brought his blood feparate from his 
 body into the fanftuary. At the very time of his 
 entrance Chrijl had his blood feparate from his body, 
 • his body was bloodlefs-, yet not inanimate but living. 
 Sanguiiiis Jefu feorfum^ (^c. 
 The blood of y^j is confidered apart from his 
 body {HeL xiii. 11, 12, 20.) as Dorfchcfus (a Lu- 
 theran) fays, *' I ft. Becaufe the nature of the type 
 " requires this. For the blood in the old covenant 
 " was confidered, as extravafited and poured out, 
 " and by this very thing it (hadowed the pouring out 
 " and effufion of blood that was to be under the new 
 " covenant. 2dly, Becaufe the nature of the divine 
 " covenant requires this, for it requires a fhedding 
 " of blood {a,iy.a,riy.yjj<T.ccv) 3dly, Becaufe by this 
 " condition of the blood is excrcifed the a6t of fa- 
 " tisfaclory obedience to God due for fins, ^r." 
 So Solomon Deylingitis {2. Lutheran) " Chriji being taken 
 " up into heaven, and fitting at the right hand of 
 " the father, commends our affairs to God, and ex- 
 " hibits his wounds and blood poured out to his fa- 
 " ther for us." Again, citing Rappoltus (z Luthe- 
 ran) he fays, " He offers (/, e. Ihews) his blood to his 
 *' father as a ranfom and the price of redemption for 
 " us, and teaches us that by it's fliedding, the divine 
 " jufticc was fatisfied." 
 
 Page 311. 
 Bengelius remarks as follows upon Malt. x. ir^. 
 Not to believe the gofpel is worfe than to aft as the 
 Sodomites. Col. xi. 22, 24. That city in the day of 
 judgment Jh all endure feverer punijhment than the land of 
 the Sodomites has either already fuffered, or zvill in the day 
 vf judgment. If fo flight a ncgled fiiall be fo grievoufly 
 punifliedj what will be done to thole who obftinately 
 refift! • 
 
 Page 
 
462 ^he Quotations 
 
 Page 320. — Pro %«^iTi 0f5 quidam codices ^c. 
 Inftead of by the grace of God^ fome copies of great 
 antiquity have, God excepted : which laft reading is al- 
 fo in fome of the fyriac copies, and in St, Amhrofe in 
 his book de Fide ad Gratiantim : from whence it is 
 evident that the Nefiorians are not to be blamed as 
 having altered this text {for Amhrok fourijhed about 
 the year 370, and the Neftorians after him about the 
 year 440) It feems to have been the opinion of thofe 
 who altered this text that Chriji died even tor angels, 
 and lb lor all excepting God. Grotius. 
 
 Bezt?, a Cahinift^ as follows-, (Gr^ecus Scholiaftes^ 
 ^c.) the greek commentator admonifhes us that the 
 Nejlcrians had formerly prelumed to corrupt this paf- 
 f^ge and write God excepted^ inftead of by the grace of 
 God. And yet this reading (i. e. God excepted) is 
 found both in the fyriac teftament, and in St. Amhrofe 
 in his de fide ad Gratianum^ lib. 2. cap. 4-, and more- 
 over in Vigilius againlt Eutyches.-f 
 
 Cornelius a Lupide^ a very learned and ingenious 
 Jefuit as follows-, {Not a., pro ^^wp^ ©js id eft) — Note, 
 inflead of God excepted., both Theodoret Theophila^ and 
 CEcumenius read by the grace ef God., and add that this 
 paflage was thus corrupted by the Neftorians., who 
 from its teitlmony prove that in Chrift were two per- 
 fonages, and that the Godhead was diilinft from the 
 manhood : but before the Neftoriajis., Ambroje in his 
 book de fide., cap. 4, reads alfo the expreffion God ex- 
 cepted', and expounds it as follows: " Chrift tafted 
 " death for all excepting God, which is as much as 
 " to fay, Chrift died for all altogether (even for an- 
 " gels) only not for God, God I except." And 
 then he fubjoins, not that Chrift redeemed angels, 
 
 but 
 
 f /. p. The reading Coei excepted is acknowledged to be the trye 
 reading both by Eutychfs and Vigihris, (viz. Tapitt,fti) .who, tho' of 
 contrary opinions, were both alike condemncr!; of the Ntjiorians. 
 
Tranjlated into English. 463 
 
 but becaufe he reconciled them to men and enhanced 
 their joy and glory in that he rcllored and filled 
 again thofc manfions from which the Demons were 
 fallen with men.§ 
 
 Page 322. — Ilk igitur qui tot nominihus &c. 
 This man -therefore even Jefus called by io many 
 names, advocate, propitiation, propitiatory, compal- 
 lionating our infirmities, tempted as men are in all 
 
 things, 
 
 § A'^. B. The clofing paragraph here of this Author is furely both 
 incredible and unfcriptural. liic fcripture tells us, That CLriJl ap- 
 peared to put wway JiH by the fcicnfice of hmjslf. That he 'iA.ui once 
 ojfcred to bear the Jin s of the many, or multitude. That he bare our 
 jins in hit body on the tree. That he ^ojui nx^oundtd for tranforef- 
 fion, and bruijtd for iniquities. That the iniquity of us till ivus laid 
 upon him ; and that he <^vas manifejitd to take a-iuay fn. 
 
 If therefore Chrij^ died for angels, he died to bear the fins of, and 
 conl'equently to redeem angels ; and not merely to reconcile them to 
 mar:, and niuchleis to increafe their joy in feeing the manfions of the 
 wicked fpincs filled up by a iubftitution of wicked men redeemed in 
 their ftead. Why Ihould wicked men be redeemed to fill up the 
 manfions of wicked angels ? At leaft, from what authority are we to 
 believe that this ^' as fo ? 
 
 Moreover, redemption is fo infeparably conned^ed with the death of 
 Jefus as not to admit of the above diftindion, fee i Tim. ii. 6. M<it. 
 XX 28. Col. \. 14. "Tit.u. 14. to redeem is to buy again by payin'^ 
 a price for ; fee Le-v. xxvii. 20. — xxv. 24. fo that if Chtijt died for 
 angels, he paid a price for them (See 1 Pit. i. 18) and by this I'rice 
 they becaiuc his redeemed property, the reward of his facrifice 
 
 All things are redeemed by J>Ju,, and therefore are all thinos 
 {John \\\i. 3. Mat. xi. ^7 ) dtiivcriii cf the father into his hands y 
 even (1 Cor. xv. 27. tLb. ii. 8 ) ail things exapting Cod : delivered 
 to him in purfuancc to his death, who cby he purchafed them j and 
 as [Eph. i. 14 ) hu purcbifci ptijjijjtij!.. For [liutn. xiv. y.) to this 
 end Chr'ijl both ditd and rfvi'Vid, ih.it he might be the Lord both of 
 the dead (i e the as yet unquickened} and the li-x'tn'i (i c. the really 
 tjuickened, fince ihtie two icrms comprehend the univcrle). 
 
 y^W»;&/.'s notion therefore of our LoRi''^ d}ing lur iingeii, and yet 
 not redeeming angels is vviihoiit loundation And the only Quelhon 
 is, what our Lok u will decree concerning I11.1 redtcjiicd rebel;,, and as 
 to this we have great reafon to hope favourably, becaufe (/^ cxlv. 9) 
 Jehovah it ^'Ji,A tj all, and his tthder mercies aii 'tier uli hii ac-fcj. 
 
464 ^'^^ Quotations . 
 
 things, yet without fin ; is the great High-Prieft not 
 only for men but for all, whatever is intelleftual, 
 offering himfelf a vidom once facrificed. For he 
 tailed death tor all excepting God, or (as certain Copies- 
 have it) by the grace of God. (But) whether (we fay) 
 he tafted death for all God excepted, he died (how- 
 ever) not only for man, but for all intelledlual beings; 
 or whether (we fay) he tafted death for all by the 
 grace of God, he died [however) for all excepting 
 God; becaufe it was by the grace of God that he 
 tafted death for all. Origin on St. JohrCs gofpel. 
 
 Page 341. KaO' U7rj/)|3oA-/)i/ uq ^C. 
 
 By hyperbole upon hyperbole, i. e. excellently ex- 
 cellent, lays Jheophraftus., or wonderfully, and above 
 meafure exalted, — for thus the Hehrevjs by doubling 
 a word exprefs a vehemence, and fuperlativenefs ; as 
 7nad., mad., i. e. very, very, or above meafure, and 
 extremely much; as much as to fay, incomparably 
 more. Cornelius a Lnpide. 
 
 Page Q^^^)- — Chriftits., qui in novijfimis 13 c. 
 Chrift in the latter times became man among men 
 that he might join the end to the beginning, that is 
 man to God — alfo this privilege of feeing him he 
 gives to them t^.ar love him — for man of himfelf fees 
 not God. But God likes to be feen of thofe whom 
 he wills to fee him, and in the manner he fo wills. 
 And he will be feen in the kingdom of the heavens as 
 father, the fpirit preparing man into a fon of God, 
 and the fon (i. e. of God) prefenting him to the father ; 
 while the father gives him incorruptibility for the 
 enjoyment of the eternal life; this happens to each 
 by his feeing God. As they who fee light 
 are in that light, and receive of its brightnefs; fo 
 alfo they who fee God are in God, and partake of 
 his brightnefs. For the brightnefs quickens them ; 
 
 lb then they who fee God polfefs life. — To live 
 
 without 
 
TranJIateJ info English. 465 
 
 without life is impoffible ; but life fprings from the 
 participation as its fource, and to partake of God is 
 to fee God, and enjoy his bounty. Men therefore 
 fhall fee God, and fhall live by feeing him, becom- 
 ing immortal, and arriving even into God. Ira^n^us. 
 
 Page 3^4. — Oi/Ji J'ja TO (yvyyii/ig ^C. 
 
 He (i. e. man) feeth God not by virtue of his 
 confanguinity, neither becaufe he is an intelligent 
 creature, but becaufe of his probity and uprightnefs; 
 yea, and becaufe he has wherewith he apprehendeth 
 God. Jtijlin Martyr. 
 
 Page 374. — Tota fenfatio eji in anima ^c. 
 All fenfation is in the fouU for when we fee v/itli 
 the eye, hear with the ear, touch with the hand ; 
 the real vifion, hearing, and feeling are not in the 
 eye, car, or hand, but in the foul: for it is not 
 the body but the foul which fees by the eye, hears 
 by the ears, and feels by the hand. 
 
 Page Q,y6. — Anima Chrijli eft finita ^c. 
 The foul o^ Chrift is finite, confcious neither of all 
 
 things, nor with abfolute diflinftion Alfo his body 
 
 is finite, neceffarily and proportionably diftant from 
 objefls varioufly fo, unlels you exempt a finite body 
 of its finitencfs. A finite is not capable of an in- 
 finite an infinite cannot be limited by a finite. 
 
 Page 40 1 . — Eft aliqidd quo tendis &c. 
 Haft thou not yet propos'd fome certain end. 
 To which thy life, thy ev'ry act may tend ? 
 Haft thou no mark at which to bend thy bow ? 
 Or like a boy purfu'il th' carrion crow 
 With pellets, and with flones, Irom tree to tree: 
 A fruitlcfs toil, and liv'fl extempore':' 
 Watch the difcafe in time: ior when within 
 The dropfy rages and extends the fkin, 
 
 L 1 1 In 
 
466 I'he Quotations, &c. 
 
 In vain for Hellebore the patient cries, 
 
 And fees the Doftor ; but too late is wife : 
 
 Too late, for cure, he proffers half his wealth ; 
 
 Conquefi and Guibbons cannot give him health. 
 
 Learn, wretches, learn the motions of the mind, ^ 
 
 Why you are made, for what you were defign'd j > 
 
 And the great moral end of human kind. 3 
 
 Study thy-felf : what rank or what degree 
 
 The wife creator has ordain'd for thee : 
 
 And all the offices of that eftate 
 
 Perform ; and with thy prudence guide thy fate. 
 
 Pray juftly, to be heard : nor more defire 
 Than what the decencies of life require. 
 Learn what thou ow'ft thy country and thy friend ; 
 What's requifite to fpare, and what to fpend : 
 Learn this; and after envy not the ftore 
 Of the greaz'd advocate, that grinds the poor : 
 Fat fees from the defended Umbrian draws ; 
 And only gains the wealthy client's caufe: 
 To whom the Mar/tans more provifion fend. 
 Than he and all his family can fpend. 
 Gammons, that give a relifh to the tafte. 
 And potted foul and fifh come in fo fall. 
 That e'er the firft is out, the fecond ftinks : 
 And mouldy mother gathers on the brinks. 
 
 Dryden's Ferfius. 
 
 N I S, 
 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 \f. for, d. dele, n. notes.] 
 
 Page. 
 5- 
 
 /• 
 S. 
 
 12. 
 
 26. 
 
 59- 
 62. 
 
 65. 
 80. 
 
 94. 
 
 96. 
 
 98. 
 
 99. 
 103. 
 104. 
 
 Line, 
 n. 2. 
 n. 4. 
 
 5- 
 
 n 
 
 n. 4. 
 n. 21. 
 n. 22. 
 
 7' 
 1 1. 
 
 »7- 
 
 7- 
 24. 
 
 2. 
 
 »7- 
 
 20. 
 14. 
 
 33- 
 n. 18. 
 
 n. 5. 
 
 '7- 
 
 8. 
 
 n. 9. 
 
 n. 3. 
 
 Read. 
 
 nr/. m 
 
 maid /". woman 
 ( nD7j;n whom 
 
 thou haft appoint- 
 ed for niL'N a wife 
 to my mafter's 
 fon. Seev. 40.) 
 
 Succedaneum 
 
 (a;on age) 
 
 (Ko£7p.^ world) 
 
 (or common boun- 
 dary) of the sons 
 
 a'ons have met f. 
 are c6me 
 
 to be the aconian 
 God 
 
 fuperfeded 
 
 ftigmatized f. fig- 
 nalized 
 
 VOVTff 
 
 only begotten fon 
 only begotten fon 
 
 nrnx 
 
 increafes upon 
 Ihcopbitad 
 bear a 
 Mat. xi. 27. 
 
 Page. 
 107. 
 
 .64. 
 
 224. 
 225. 
 239. 
 240. 
 248. 
 
 2>7- 
 
 261. 
 
 269. 
 
 276. 
 304. 
 
 308. 
 
 310. 
 
 310. 
 
 333- 
 334- 
 
 435- 
 456. 
 
 Line, 
 n. 10. 
 
 n. 2. 
 n. 3. 
 
 16. 
 
 13- 
 n. 5. 
 
 n. 5. 
 
 n. i t. 
 
 '5- 
 
 n. 7. 
 
 n. 1 1, 
 n. 6. 
 
 n. 30. 
 
 n. I. 
 n. II. 
 
 n. 10. 
 
 Q- 
 6. 
 
 n. I 
 
 Read, 
 the firft-begotten 
 
 expletive with 
 critical difference 
 toChriJi fhyChriJi 
 bottom-principle 
 tanqua^n 
 alienati 
 libenter 
 
 Jehovah (the in- 
 vifible) x.Q.d. xm 
 
 jugiter 
 n<; TO 7ra;T=>.=,- 
 
 wine fat ? wine 
 prefs alone 
 fanguinem 
 
 feparalum. 
 
 Rev. XX. 1 5 . ^lJWJ* 
 
 Tov irvc^j i." e. 
 d. a, 
 
 1. e. <7. 1 ^^ 
 become/ bccomei 
 
 UlilfSCMzTi. 
 
«ti<)^-8e¥^e¥)^*^^^g??^'9e?^>«*^^^ 
 
 anijeitifement^ 
 
 TH E Author of the foregoing Work intends to publifh a SY- 
 RIAC GRAMMAR, which wi'.l be prefaced with a Treatifc 
 in Defence of the Syriac Teftaments, old and new : Ihewing their 
 authenticity, antiquity, and great authority; and anfwering theOb- 
 jeftions ufually made againft them, to the lellening that high credit 
 and veneration among us (who rely <dtogether on the greek) which 
 they fo juftly find in the Eaftern churches 
 
 This work will be concluded with the original fyriac epiftle to the 
 Hebrews tranflated, as is Montatiui% heb ew bible, with the literal 
 latin over each word ; together with a lexicon of all the fyriac words 
 in that epiftle engliftied. 
 
 But as this work will be expenfive, the Author, before he begins 
 to print it, will require 600 Subfcribers, who by applying to Mr. 
 DoDsLEY, or Mr. Cadell, may ki>ow the Terms on which it will 
 be executed. 
 
 Qs3<^Q|^^)^ft&W^*^^^<W^Ss^(^ 
 
vf^ 
 

 1'.' -. fi^'*«> 
 
 i^j** i»»*' 
 
 
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