What death he should die

What death he should die

But this, in name and thing, is the doctrine of the old Libertines in Calvin's time, as ye may read, Calvin opuscul instructio adversus Libertinos, chap. 18. p. 450, 451. "The Libertines (saith Calvin) seem to be of the same mind with us, and extol mortification and regeneration, and say, We cannot be the sons of God, except we be born again; and if we belong to God, the old man must in us be crucified, the old Adam must perish, and our flesh must be mortified;" but they destroy all holiness, and transform themselves into beasts, when they explain to us their regeneration and mortification; they say, "Regeneration is the restitution of man, to that innocency in which Adam was created."

And they expound it thus; "This state of innocency was to know nothing, neither good nor ill, black nor white, not to know or feel sin; because this was Adam's sin, to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; so, by the mind of Libertines, to crucify old Adam, is no other thing than to discern nothing, not to feel sin in ourselves, (as Mr. Eaton saith) but all knowledge of sin being removed, it is, according to the custom of children, to follow sense and natural inclination; hence they drew into their mortification all the places of scripture in which the simplicity of children is commended." Eaton just so, Honey-comb, p. 165 unto natural reason (or sense) objecting, if we be perfectly holy in the sight of God, then we may live freely, as we list, in sin. Paul answers, "Nay, that is impossible; for (saith he) how can we that are dead unto sin live yet therein? That is, as if a man be by justification restored to the case of the first Adam, or perfectly freed from all sin in the sight of God, as he is freed from the traffic and business of this life that is dead, which must needs be, if we be made perfectly holy in the sight of God from all spot of sin? Nay, he cannot chuse but shew and declare the same, by holy and righteous living to the sight of men, and mortify them to himself and to his own feeling and sense, as he is by justification dead to them in the sight of God." Consider, if Antinomians and Libertines do not both join in this, That tho' sin in our conversation and before men, as to walk after our lusts, we being once justified, is truly contrary to the law of God, yet to mortify sin to our sense, is to attain to a sense and feeling that it is no sin to us and before men, as it is no sin in the sight of God, and in the court of justice, because it is freely pardoned. This is the current doctrine of Antinomians.

Par. 2. "When Libertines saw any man troubled in conscience with sin, they said to him, O Adam, knowest thou somewhat yet? Is not the old man yet crucified in thee? If they saw any stricken with the fear of the judgment of God; hast thou yet (said they) a taste of the apple? beware that that morsel strangle thee not; sin yet reigns in thee." So Mr. Towne the Antinomian said, p. 103. "David confessed his sin, "not according to the truth and confession of faith, but from want and weakness of faith, and effectual apprehension of forgiveness. Page 97. I can look on myself, my actions, yea, into my conscience, and my sins remain (this is the sense of the old Adam, the unmortified flesh) but look into the records of heaven, and God's justice, and since the blood-shed of Christ (Why, were not the fathers pardoned before Christ shed his blood?) I can find there nothing a gainst me, but the band by my surety is satisfied, and cancelled; and even these present sins, which so fearfully stare me in the face, are there blotted our, and become a nullity with the Lord." I need not cite Mr. Denne, Eaton, Crispe, Saltmarsh; for Towne, and all the Antinomian race, teach that it is unbelief, a work of the flesh of the old Adam, and our weak sense, and want of mortification, that the justified person feels sin, sorroweth for sin, complains of the body of sin, as Paul doth, Rom. 7 for in that chapter (saith Crispe) he doth not act the person of a regenerate person, but of a scrupulous and doubting unbeliever: "But for the justified person, 'tis more than he ought to do, if he confess sin, crave pardon, mourn, fast, walk in sackcloth; he has peace (saith Towne, page 34.) security, consolation, joys, contentment, and happiness, except his flesh rob him of these: 'Tis legal, and bewrayeth the man to be under a covenant of works, if, upon the committing of incest, or the greatest sins, he doubt whether God be his dear Father, Rise reign, Er. 20. And after the revelation of the Spirit, neither the devil nor sin can make the soul to doubt." Er. 32.

Par. 3. "Libertines said, sin, the world, the flesh, the old man was nothing but an opinion or an imagination; and these were new creatures, that were free of that opinion, that sin was any thing, or such as believed sin to be nothing; and the benefit of Christ's death they place in taking away that opinion, by which the first sin of Adam entered into the world; and under this opinion, they comprehended all scruple of conscience, sense of judgment, or remorse or sorrow or sin: And when this opinion is taken away, then here is no more sin, nor the world, nor the devil, for the flesh."*

Antinomians come well near fully up to Libertines in this; for in their writings they tell us, That what sins justified persons fall in, being once justified, are sins with H. Denne) of our conversation, and before men, sins in the conscience and in the court of divine justified. Or, as Eaton saith, Honey-comb, pag. 165, 166. Before God they are no sins, and in his sight they are perfect abolished; yea, and become nullities, saith Mr. Towne, assertion of grace, pag. 97. But to our carnal sense and feeling (saith Eaton) they are sins, till our sense be mortified; and when we look in ourselves, our own action, yea in our own conscience. Now, the adulteries, murders, denying of the Lord Jesus, that David and Peter and other saints fall in after their justification, cannot be sins in themselves; but only in the opinion and sense and feeling of such as commit these sins, and in such a sense as is contrary to faith and the light of faith, that believeth free justification in Christ's death, and must be abolished and removed by perfect mortification: then all the justified are to believe, whatever sins they commit in their conversation, and before men, are no sins in themselves, or the court of divine justice, or in relation to a divine law; but they are sins in their sense or erroneous opinion. If Joseph be only dead in the opinion and in his father's mistaking judgment, then he is not really dead, but lives. 2. Under this head, Libertines said, mortification was not in abstaining from fleshly lusts, that war against the soul; but in removing the opinion and sense of apprehending sin to be sin. And so Saltmarsh forbiddeth, 1. Any man to doubt whether his faith be true or no, and it is true faith; and willeth all within the visible church to believe God loved them with an everlasting love, and 'tis true they are all chosen to salvation, and that Christ died for all: and that opinion makes it true, that Christ died for them all, and they are all justified in Christ's blood. There is here strong power in opinions. 3. Saltmarsh, Denne, Towne, say, mortification is not in personal abstinence from worldly lusts, but in faith apprehending that Christ dying on the cross satisfied for the body of sin; then if they abstain from adultery, murder, perjury, being once justified, it is of mere courtesy, and of no obligation to either the saw or gospel command; and if they commit such fleshly sins, they are only sins to their weak flesh and opinion, not in themselves; and if they lay aside that opinion and carnal sense, by the which they believe these to be sins, and believe that Christ has abolished them, then these sins are no sins, but perfectly mortified and abolished. That I do them no wrong, I repeat Mr. Eaton's words, Honey-comb, chap. 8. page 165. "The Holy Ghost seeth us not properly mortifying, cleansing and purifying our sins out of the sight of God ourselves, for then he should see us robbing Christ of that glory which his blood hath freely done, before we begin: but when the wedding-garment, wrought by his blood hath freely purified them out of God's sight, then the Spirit (we being thus first clear in his sight) enters into us to dwell in us, which otherwise he would not do; but being entered and dwelling in us, he enableth us, by walking holily and righteously, to avoid and purify out of our own sight, and out of the sight of other men, that sin which the wedding-garment hath purified and abolished before out of the sight God; and so we merely declare before the Spirit, that he himself and Christ's righteousness have originally and properly cleansed and purified away, and utterly abolished them out of God's sight freely." But this holy walking, they talk of, is not opposed to sinning or walking after the flesh; it is but a removing of the sinful sense and feeling or knowledge of unbelief, by which we apprehend sin pardoned to be sin, when it was no such thing, but our erroneous sense or opinion; as the taste of the forbidden apple remaining, could not rightly judge of these sins, because our life of justification is hid with Christ in God, and we apprehend ourselves to be under a law, and our lying, adulteries, swearing, &c. to be sins before God, and contrary to his holy law, when they were no such thing; for we being justified, are under no law, and so as clean from sin as Christ himself, but our dreaming sense judged so, but erroneously and falsely; for abolished sins are no sins.

Parallel 4. Libertines taught, That regeneration "was a clean angelic state, in which they were void of sin; and when they were rebuked for sin, they answered, Non ego sum qui pecco, sed asinus meus, It is not I, but my ass, or sin dwelling in me, doth the sin." And they cited the same text that Antinomians do now, 1 John 3. He that is born of God, sinneth not. So Antinomians. Mr. Eaton frequently, especially Honey-comb, chap. 6. chap. 7 saith, "Being justified, we are made perfectly holy and righteous from all spot of sin in the sight of God." Saltmarsh's flowings, Par. 2. chap. 29. pag. 140. "The Spirit of Christ sets a believer as free from hell, the law and bondage here on earth, as if he were in heaven; nor wants he any thing to make him so, but to make him believe he is so; for Satan, sinful flesh, and the law, are all so near, and about him in this life, that he cannot so walk by fight, or in the clear apprehension of it, but the just do live by faith." So Saltmarsh abets nothing of what Libertines say; he will not have sin dwelling in the saints, but will have the justified as clear from sin, both the guilt and obligation to eternal wrath (which we yield) and from the bondage and indwelling of sin, of which Paul complaineth so sadly, Rom. 7 as the glorified in heaven. 2. If the justified sin only, he doth not really sin, but only in the dreamings and lying imaginations of his sinful flesh; because sin, Satan, and the law are near him; so that it is the devil, and the living flesh, the ass, not Paul, that makes him, Rom. 7 complain he was sold under sin. Crispe saith, Paul lied when he saith so; if Peter walk by saith, then Peter shall see his denial of Christ, and David his adultery and murder to be no sins; for they want nothing to make them as free from sin and death, as these that are now in heaven. But believe it is so, believe adultery and murder in these justified persons to be no sin, and they are no sinners; this looketh as like the devilish mortification of David Georgius, and Libertines, and the casting off their sense of discerning good and ill, and the banishing common honesty, and the principles of a natural conscience, as milk is like milk. Yea, Mr. Towne contendeth for a compleat perfection, not only of person justified in Christ, but also of performances; so that (saith he) page 73. I believe there is no sin, no malediction, no death in the church of God; for they that believe in Christ are no sinners: and he will have a perfection, not only of parts, but also of degrees, pag. 77. This he proveth from Luther's words perverted.

Parallel 5. "Libertines (saith Calvin) because the scripture saith we are freed from the curse of the law, and made free in Christ, without all distinction, will have the whole law abolished, and that we are to have no regard of the law at all."

Now I need not cite Mr. Towne and other Antinomians, who will have believers freed, not only from the curse and rigor of the law, but from the law as a rule of righteousness: it is obvious to all that read their writings, to which Calvin answers well, There is not (saith he) any epistle of Paul, in which he doth not send believers to the law, as to a rule of holy living, to which they all must conform their life: yet Antinomians are not ashamed to pretend Calvin's name and authority for their opinion; when Calvin, in a learned treatise refuting the Libertines of his time, doth clearly condemn the Antinomians of our time, and proveth, from the necessity of sanctification, that we are not freed from the law.

"Some a little legally biassed (saith Saltmarsh (f) are carried to mortify sin by vows, promises, shunning occasions, removing temptations, strictness and severity in duties." (what aileth him at walking [Gr. akribôs,] strictly, Eph. 5:15; Psal. 16:4; Jude v. 23?) "Fear of hell and judgment, —— watchfulness, scarce rising so high for their mortification as Christ, —— but pure, spiritual, (g) mystical mortification, is being planted together in Christ's death, in our union with Christ. So as a believer is to consider himself dead to sin only in the fellowship of Christ's death mystically, and to consider himself only dying to sin in his own nature spiritually; so as in Christ he is only compleat, and in himself imperfect at the best. I find (saith Saltmarsh) (h) no promise made against the never committing such a particular act of sin which a man lived in, in his unregenerated condition; there are differences made, but it puzzles both divines and the godliest to find a difference between sins committed before and after regeneration; for, take a man in the strength of natural or common light, living under a powerful word or preacher, by which his candle is better lighted than it was, such a man shall sin against as seeming strong conviction, as the other, if not more; this to me is that which the Libertines of New-England (i) say, That there is no difference between the graces of hypocrites and believers in their kind; and (k) now in the covenant of Works, a legalist may attain the same righteousness for truth which Adam had in innocency, before the fall; and (l) a living faith, that hath living fruits may grow from the living law." I see not but all these must follow, if a regenerate David, or Peter, may commit the same act of relapse and falling in the same sin of adultery and murder after conversion, which he commited before conversion; then he must commit the same sin with the like intention and height of bensil of will after as before conversion, and he must now, after he is converted, fall again in the same act of murder, denial of Christ, being now converted, which he committed before conversion; that is, as the unconverted man, with the rankest and highest strength of lust and unrenewed will in its fervor of strength and rebellion, did murder and deny Christ, without any reluctancy and protestation on the contrary from the renewed will, or the Spirit; he may, being converted, fall in the same sin, yea, with a higher hand, and with out any reluctancy from the regenerate part; this to me must infer necessarily the apostacy of the saints, as that believers may fall again in these same sins with as high and up-lifted hand against God, with as strong, full and high-bended acts of the will after, as before conversion, so as the battle of the Spirit against the flesh in this wicked relapse does utterly cease: for Perkins, who denieth a man can fall in the same sin, of which he once sincerely repented, and whom Saltmarsh judgeth a legalist and Antichristian in this point, denieth that a convert may fall in the same sin that he committed in his unregenerated state, or that a convert can fall in the same sin, every way the same with the like strength of corruption that this convert before acted in his unregenerated condition, yea, or regenerate, he having a further growth of habitual renovation in the second fall, and so a higher habitual reluctancy of the renewed part, than when he formerly fell in the same sin; and so it cannot be the same sin but a lesser, otherwise he never sincerely repented of the former sin, if this be more grievous and committed with a higher hand: now, Saltmarsh his ground is different from all Protestant divines, to wit, (m) "That the wound, pricking or sorrow for sin in an enlightned soul, leaveth no such habitual impression of remorse, as the man dare never adventure to commit the like again; for (saith he) the gales and breathings of the Spirit of sorrow for sin are like the wind, that makes a thing move or tremble while the power of the air is upon it; but as that slackens or breathes, so doth it."

But this is to say right-down, that the Spirit of grace, that causeth sorrow according to God, and repentance which is never to be repented of, is but an evanishing and transient act, like the blowing of the wind on a tree. The scripture maketh the Spirit that produceth mourning and remorse of sin, when the sinner sees him whom he has pierced, an habitual in-dwelling Spirit, and calls him, Zech. 12:10. The Spirit of grace and supplication; if then the Spirit of adoption be no transient, but an habitual and inbiding grace, as is evident Rom. 8:23, 24, 25, 26 it is a received Spirit, abiding in us helping our infirmities, teaching us what to pray; it is, Isa. 44:3, 4, 5, 6. Water poured on the thirsty, making us confess and subscribe the covenant; and if it be, as it is, the new heart, Ezek. 36:26, 27. The law in the inner parts, Jer. 31:33. The seed of God, 1 John 3:9. The anointing abiding in us, 1 John 2:27. A well of water of an everlasting spring within us, John 4:14. I see not how a spirit groaning in us when we pray, Rom. 8:26. Sighing, sorrowing for the indwelling body of sin, Rom. 7:14, 23, 25 can be but a passing away motion like a blast of air; but this is the mystery of Libertines, that there is no inherent grace in-biding in the saints, no spring of sanctification, all grace is in Christ and is imputed righteousness; and so they destroy sanctification. 2. The aim of Saltmarsh is here, that if we sorrow once, and scarce that, at the beginning of conversion, we are never to confess or sorrow for sin, when that transient motion like a fire-flaught in the air is gone. But for mortification, against all contrary blasphemies, we say,

Asser. 1. Mortification is not, as Mr. Denne faith, an apprehension of sin slain by the body of Christ: 1. Because this apprehension is an act of faith in the Understanding faculty, believing that Christ has mortified sin for me; and so Mr. Denne saith, Vivification is to live by faith, that is, to believe that I am justified and have righteousness and life freely, in Christ. Now mortification is not formally any such apprehension, it doth flow from faith as the effect from the cause; but mortification denominates the man mortified, not in his apprehending and knowing that Christ was mortified, and died for him, but in that he really himself is dead. When it is said, Col. 3:3. For you are dead, Gal. 6:14. By Christ I am crucified to the world, and the world crucified to me: by this fancy, the world and the sinful pleasures crucified, must be the faith and apprehension that is in the fleshly pleasures and lawless lusts, by which these lusts apprehended and know that Christ died for them; for Paul faith as well that the world is crucified to him, as he unto the world.

2. Mortification is a deadness in will and affections, and the abating, half death, the languor and dying of the power of our lusts to sin; as a believer is dead to vain glory, when contentedly he can be despised, have his name trampled on, be called a deceiver, a Samaritan; and when the apostles went out from the council, Acts 5:41. Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame; and the saints are persecuted, reviled, and men speak all manner of evil against them falsely for the name of Christ, Mat. 5:11, 12 and yet are so far from the boiling and rising of sinful lusts in them, that, as if their lusts were dead, they rejoice under the hope of glory; then are they mortified to these lusts and the like, I say of fleshly pleasures, of unlawful gain. 2. Mortification is when the heart runs not out wantonly and whorishly upon the pleasures of the creature, we are too ready to take the creature in our bosom; but mortification is when the heart stands at a distance from creatures, as Job saith of himself, chap. 31:24. If I have made my gold my hope, or said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence, verse 25. If I rejoiced because my wealth was great. 3. It is to be from under the power or bondage to the creature or the world; the believer is above the creature, and the world is under his feet as a drudge or servant, they have no dominion over the heart; he has a wife, as if he had no wife: the man buys and possesseth not; because when he has bought houses, gardens, lands, they are no more in the centre and heart of his love, than if they were the houses and lands of another man; mortification is a lord over the creature. But there is nothing more contrary to the gospel and the grace of Christ, than that the apostles rejoicing, when they were scourged and shamed for Christ, had nothing of reality of scourging, of shame, nor of real joy and deadness to the world in their persons; only they believed and apprehended that Christ was scourged, shamed, crucified for their sins; this is but opiniative, not real mortification; the scripture knoweth nothing of imputed mortification, as contradistinguished from real, personal and inherent mortification.

3. When Paul saith, Col. 3:5. Mortify therefore your members, which are upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence —— for which things the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience; his sense must be, believe and apprehend that fornication, uncleanness, are mortified to your hand, and that Christ has slain the body of sin on the cross, and there is an end. Now this is to annihilate sanctification, and to make justification all; whereas justification, it alone, is no justification, being separate from sanctification, as Libertines do; and the Popish sanctification, or the moral acquiring of a new habit of holiness, and the infusion of supernatural habits, is not justification at all, yea, nor true sanctification; for they separate it from the free imputation of Christ's righteousness, to a believing sinner; the Libertine takes away sanctification, and makes justification all; the Papist takes away justification by faith and the free grace of God, and in the place thereof substitutes a supposed moral or civil sanctification, which to him is all in all. Further, if this (mortify your members and the body of sin) be nothing but believe that Christ has mortified the body of sin already; then, as we are justified from eternity, as some Libertines say, or as all say, before we believe remission of sins in Christ's blood; so to be mortified to our lusts, must be to believe we are mortified to our lusts long before we believe. Paul thinks not so of the Colossians; for he faith, ver. 7. chap. 3. In which also ye walked some time, when ye lived in them; ver. 8. But now also put off all these, wrath, malice, &c. Then, before they were converted, and did believe, they were not mortified nor freed from uncleanness, fornication, because then they walked in these; except Libertines say, that they were mortified, and did not walk in uncleanness, before they believed, but were delivered in themselves from walking in these lusts, only they were not in their own sense delivered; but in their own sense, though not really, they did walk in fornication and uncleanness; this is not sober divinity; for they say, before we believe we are justified, though not to, or in our own sense and feeling, till we believe: and why are we net also sanctified and effectually called before we believe? For, whom be called and predistinated, them also he justified, Rom. 8:30. And the scripture never shews us of a man in time justified, before he be sanctified and mortified in some measure.

4. When Paul saith, Col. 2:6. As ye have therefore received Christ, so walk in him; he means, so mortify your lusts: then he must intend this, walk in Christ, that is, believe that Christ walked in Christ for you; and put on love and brotherly kindness, and pray continually, in all things give thanks, abstain from worldly lusts, love one another, keep yourselves from idols, seek the things that are above, &c. must have no other meaning but believe that Christ has put on love for you, that he abstains from fornication for you, gives thanks, abstains from worldly lusts for you, keeps himself from idols, seeks the things that are above, mortifies his members that are on earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, for you; all which are blasphemies: or they can have this sense at the best, love one another; that is, Believe that Christ hath satisfied for your hating one another, and then ye love one another; and, keep yourselves from idols, that is, apprehend and believe that Christ hath died for your idolatry. Now, this is a mocking of sanctification, not a commanding of it.

Then, to do all these, and abstain from fornication, must be commanded and forbidden in some other gospel; otherwise we perform will-worship, and will-obedience to God, without warrant of his word; and the grace of God in the gospel doth not teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, in our own person, but only to believe that Jesus Christ has and doth deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and perform active and personal obedience for us, and to our hand; for Libertines cannot expound one gospel charge one way, and another gospel-command another way, and that we are obliged to personal active obedience in one precept, and imputed active or fidei-jussory, or mediatory obedience in Christ, in another; yea, when we are in the gospel to believe with a promise of life and righteousness, and that damnation is threatned, if we believe not; so are we commanded to mortify our lusts, and seek the things that are above with promises, and forbidden to walk after our lusts, because for these things the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience; then I may with equal strength of reason say, that the sense of these passages, believe in Jesus Christ, who justifies the ungodly, and believe the immediate testimony of the Holy Ghost witnessing to your hearts that ye are the sons of God, must be not to believe in your own persons, but believe that Jesus Christ believeth for you, on Christ that justifieth sinners; and believe that the Spirit witnesseth to Christ's Spirit, that ye are the sons of God: now, if the commands of the gospel urge us not to personal obedience, but to believe that Christ (as Saltmarsh saith) has obeyed for us, and that in the gospel-way, they cannot oblige us in a law-way, as they teach; so by law and gospel we shall be freed from all personal obedience and mortification. Saltmarsh and Libertines bid us be merry and believe that Christ has done all these for us.

A fleshly presumer, walking after his lusts, may believe that Christ mortified sin for him, obeyed the law and repented for him: so, if a hypocrite, as an hypocrite, a presumer vainly puffed up, void of all down-casting and conscience of sin, believe that Christ has repented and mortified sin, and believed for him, though he live as the devil, believing and trembling, he is not to doubt his faith.

If they say, that men believing savingly or sincerely, cannot go on in a constant walking after their lusts, never humbled for sin, never despairing in themselves, never out of love constraining them to please God, and strive to walk in Christ as they have learned him; for if they be such, their faith is but wild oats, and empty presumption: Then they say, 1. Men know their faith to be sound, by holy walking: 2. Men may call in question their faith, if there works bely their faith: 3. They deny that a fleshly man, as such, and never humbled, can believe. (This is our doctrine.)

Asser. 2. Never any of our divines said, that pure mortification is the not-acting of sin, or the not-conceiving of lusts; nor that it is the mere absence of the body of sin: this is a soul-slander; which, if wilful Antinomians, though in their own eyes perfectly holy, in the sight of God must answer to God for. Nor is that any argument of weight to prove that mortification is not the absence of the body of sin, because there (saith he) dead and sick men were mortified persons; except we admit such new vain divinity, that a bodily ague or sickness does extirpate the body of sin out of the soul; which mad or frantic men would not say. And if it be truth, that the body of sin dwelleth in us, in this life; this body of sin is either sin, or no sin: if it be no sin, let Libertines speak plain truth, We deceive ourselves, if we say we have no sin; If it be sin, then let Libertines resolve us, how Crispe, and Eaton and Denne say, We are all as holy and clean from sin, being once justified, as our surety Christ is; and as spotless on earth, as the angels and glorified that are in heaven, that stand before the throne: now, 'tis certain, neither in Christ, nor in angels, is there any spot of sin, or any indwelling body of lust. And Crispe* gives this reason why sin dwelling in the saints, is no sin; It cannot sink (saith he) into the head of any reasonable person that sin should be taken away (by the Lamb of God, John 1:29) and yet be left behind; it is a flat contradiction; if a man be to receive money at such a place, and he doth take this money away with him, is the money left in that place, when he hath taken it away? Mr. Denne† has a sine shift for this; he saith, There is sin in the conscience, and sin in the conversation: Christ hath taken away sin out of the conscience of his called people, 1 Pet. 3:21; Heb. 10:22. The white raiment wherewith the saints are clothed, signifieth not only cleanness before God, but also purity and cleanness of conscience, consisting in the apprehension of that glorious estate and condition in Christ's death; so there is no sin at all in the saints, 1 John 1:8 and the blood of Jesus Christ shall purge you from all sin; in the conscience does joy and gladness dwell, and there is no more place for sorrow and sighing; and there is sin in the conversation or hands: now a man may be strict in conversation, and yet not pure and clean in conscience; so 'tis possible a man hath been an exceeding sinner, and yet is not wholly cleansed from all wickedness in conversation. If this seem a mystery to you, that sin in the flesh (in the body, outward man or conversation) should stand with purity of conscience, take these reasons; if purity of conscience could not be found but where there is purity in the flesh, a pure conscience could not at all be found on earth, for there is none that doth good, no not one, Rom. 3:12. (2.) Purity of conscience ariseth not from purity of conversation; but the original of purity of conversation is from the conscience's apprehension that all our impurities and sins were laid on Christ. And in regard of sin in the conversation, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 1 John 1 and 1 John 3:9. He that is born of God, doth not commit sin.

Answ, 1. Sin in the conversation and outward man, is essentially sin; to kill my neighbour with my hands, to speak with an unbridled tongue, to the apostle James, argueth a vain religion, and must be pardoned, else such sins condemn; for he that offends in one, is guilty of the breach of the whole law. Ergo, Sin in the conversation must be sin in the conscience; and the distinction must be vain, for the one member is essentially affirmed of the other.

Now when John saith, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; he must mean of sin in the conscience, and of sin before God, and not in the flesh and conversation only; because if sin in the conversation be no sin, then when we commit sin in the conversation, we fail against no law of God, and do nothing that can bring us under eternal condemnation; and if in committing sin in the conversation, we do nothing contrary to God's law, we may well lay we sin not, and yet not lie in saying so.

2. John must understand sin in the conscience, and in the sight of God, when he saith, If we say we have no sin, we lie; because that of that same sin of conversation of which Mr. Denne supposeth John to speak, he addeth in the next words, 1 John 2:1. If we sin, we have an Advocate; but the sin which has need of an advocate, has need also of a pardon, and is a sin against the law, and in the sight of God, and in the conscience.

3. By this we may be pardoned, pure in conscience, justified in Christ's blood; and yet before men, in the flesh, outward man and conversation, under sin, and yet not be guilty before God; so drunkenness, murder, sodomy, incest, denying of the Lord Jesus Christ before men, shall be no sins before God; for that which is pardoned, is no more sin than if it never had been committed, as Libertines say, and is no more sin than any thing that ever our Saviour Christ did, or the elect angels. Now the sins which they call sins of conversation, and the apostle Peter's denial of Christ, and all the sins of the justified saints, their murders, adulteries, parricides, &c. are pardoned, before they have the being or essence of sin, ere they be committed; ergo, when they are committed they are no more sins before God, and in the court of conscience, and no more, capable of pardon than they were before they had any being, and were not as yet committed at all: the murder that David is to commit some twenty years before ever he be king of Israel, and shall commit, it is no more his sin to be charged on him in the sight of God, than original sin can be charged on David before David or his Father Jesse be born; what may be charged as a sin on David, in regard he is not yet born, is no more his guiltiness, as yet, than the guiltiness of any other man: now, David's murder, Peter's denial, they being justified from these sins, and pardoned ere the sins have any being in the world, cannot be sins at all, nor such as are charged on mankind, Rom. 3; Psal. 14. There is none that depth good, no not one; for this sin stops the mouth of all the world makes them silent, guilty and under condemnation before God, v. 19, 20. And how Mr. Denne can cite this, to prove that there be some sins of conversation distinct from sins in the conscience, let the reader judge; yea, to my best understanding, by these reasons, while I be resolved otherwise, Libertines must hold neither the elect before or after justification can sin any at all.

4. It is most false, that a man, strict and upright in conversion can have a full and polluted conscience, if you speak of true sincere strictness and uprightness of conversation, as the scripture speaketh, Psalm 50:23. To him that ordereth his conversation aright, I will shew the salvation of God, Psal. 37:14. The wicked draws his bow to slay such as be of upright conversation; the principle of a sound conversation is the grace of God, 2 Cor. 1:12 the sound conversation is heavenly-mindedness, Phil. 3:20 and is in heaven, and must be, as becometh the gospel of Christ, Phil. 1:27 a good conversation, Jam. 3:13 we are to be holy in all manner of conversation, 1 Pet. 1:15 and so even before men; God beholds the sins that we do to men, no less than our secret sins we commit against God; and the scripture requires in our conversation that it be holy, 1 Pet. 1:15 honest, 1 Pet. 2:12 chaste, 1 Pet. 3:2 without covetousness, Heb. 13:5 not vain, 1 Pet. 3:16 not as in times past in the lusts of the flesh, Eph. 2:3 but the putting off the old man, Eph. 4:22. In charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, 1 Tim. 4:12. Now every conversion contrary to this, argueth an unjustified and unpardoned man, and must be an unpardoned and sinful conversation, so as there is neither strictness nor uprightness, nor any thing but sin and an unpardoned estate, where this conversation is not, whatever Antinomians say on the contrary, being in this, as in other points, declared enemies to the grace of sanctification. But if we speak of a strict and upright conversation, in an hypocritical outside, 'tis true, many are, as Paul was, strict Pharisees, precise civilians, painted tombs without, but within full of rottenness and dead men's bones: but this way Satan only saith, Job is a strict walker, and serveth God for hire; and the enemies of Christ join with Antinomians in this, to say, that the justified in Christ, have but sin in their conversation, not wide consciences, because they study strictness of walking with God. But purity of conversation (as the places cited prove) must be unseparably conjoined with purity of conscience; separate them who will, Christ hath joined them.

Mr. Eaton and Mr. Towne call the sins of justified persons, sins according to their sense of the flesh; but in regard of faith they are clean of all sin, and without spot in the sight of God. So Eaton's Honey-comb, chap. 5. p. 87. God freeth us not of sins, to our sense and feeling, till death, for the exercise of our faith, yet in his own sight he hath perfectly healed us. Chap. 5. pag. 95. So Saltmarsh, free-grace, page 57. chap. 3. article 3 calls it the lust of sin, The just (saith, he) shall live by faith, which is not a life of sense and sanctification merely, but by believing of life in another.

I should gladly know, if sin in the justified be sin really and indeed, or against any law? I believe not. 1. Eaton saith, Sin hath left its being in the justified. Saltmarsh, part 2. chap. 32. If a believer live only by sense, reason, experience of himself as he lives to men, he lives both under the power and feeling of sin and the law: now, he should not live; so this is the life of unbelief: ergo, He ought to believe that he hath no sin; and so he bath no sin, nor doth he sin, only the blind flesh falsely thinketh that is sin which is no sin.

But faith is not to believe a lie; then a believer may say, he has no sin; John saith, that is a lie.

Asser. 3. Mortification essentially is in abstaining from worldly lusts, and in remiss and slacked acts of sinning, and in begun walking with God, and acts of holy living, yet so as all these do flow from faith in Christ; another mystical or gospel-mortification is unknown to the gospel, Rom. 6:4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of the Father, so we also (consider the formal acts of mortification) should walk in newness of life, v. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: v. 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Then, as it is one thing to sin, and another thing to serve sin; so acts of mortification must be in abstaining from greedy sin, as hired servants make it their life and work to sin; and in remiss and weakned acts of sin, as a dying man's operations are less intended and heightned than of a strong man in vigor and health. As for the plenary mortification, expiring, and death of the body of sin, we think it cannot be, so long as we are in the body, Col. 3:3. Ye are dead; v. 5. Mortify therefore your members that are upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, &c. To mortify fornication, must be the non-acting of fornication. 1. Because it is an abominable sense to imagine that we mortify fornication, when we believe that Christ abstained from fornication for us. 2. Or to believe that Christ died for our fornication and uncleanness; for both these may hold forth mortification of fornication and committing of fornication. 3. Because for not mortifying of fornication, the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience, v. 6. Now wrath comes not on wicked men, because they believe not that Christ abstained from fornication for them; many walk in uncleanness, covetousness, who are therefore under wrath, who are not obliged to believe that, because they never heard the gospel. 3. Such an abstinence from fornication is here commanded, as the Colossians and other Gentiles walked in, v. 7 and which they had now put off with the old man, v. 8. But the Colossians, while they were Gentiles, and heard not of the gospel, did not walk in this as in a sin, that they believed not that Christ abstained from fornication for them, and satisfied Divine justice for their fornication; but their sin was, that in person, they committed these sins, 1 Pet. 2:11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. v. 24. Who his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live to righteousness. Rom. 8:11. And if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies, v. 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. v. 13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. v. 10. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin. Gal. 5:24. They that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. Gal. 2:19. For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. All gospel-commands, to subdue the lusts of flesh, not to serve the flesh, as debtors paying rent thereunto, to mortify the deeds of the body, not to live to ourselves, &c. were mere precepts for justification, not for sanctification and mortification of lusts, and should turn the saints into mere Solifidians and Gnosticks, empty prosessors, and fruitless trees, if our mortification were not in the weakning of lusts, abstinence from sin-service, and living to him who is our Ransomer. There is nothing more false, than that ever our divines taught 'to mortify sins by vows, promises, strictness, and severity of duties, watchfulness, scarce rising so high for mortification as Christ:' for, 'tis Christ, and faith in his death, that is the spring and fountain of mortification: yet is mortification formally in holy walking, and not formally in believing, for then should we be justified by mortification. For sure we are justified by faith: 2. Faith is a duty of the first table, respecting God in Christ as its object: mortification to uncleanness, vain-glory, or the like, is a duty of the second table, respecting men.

Asser. 4. The living of the just by faith, is as well the life of sanctification, as of justification; 'tis true, the life of justification is the cause, more compleat and perfect, and the other the effect and imperfect; but our spiritual condition is not only in sanctification, but also in justification. And only enemies of free-grace, separate the one from the other; and heighten the one to feed men on the east-wind, and lessen the other, as if sanctification were an accident, and some indifferent ceremony, that men walk after the flesh, and believe that Christ for them walked after the Spirit, and that is enough: nor do we teach men to weigh their state of grace in the scales of mortification, or simple not acting of sin, as mortification cometh from moral and natural principles, but as it floweth from faith apprehending Christ crucified, and from the Spirit of the Father and the Son drawing the sinner to Christ; and our blessedness is no less, in that corruption is subdued, and that dominion removed, than in that the curse is taken away. Saltmarsh, when be willeth the sinner, as a sinner, a parricide, a man-slayer, a slave to his lusts, to believe and apply Christ as his Redeemer, without any sense of sin or humiliation at at all, and then saith, The man's blessedness is more to have the curse of sin, than the corruption of sin removed, clearly concludeth, that a man that walks after his lusts, in actual lusting against the Lord Jesus and the gospel, proud, vain, self-righteous, is, as such, a man to believe, and so blessed, and may promise to himself peace, though he walk after the imaginations of his own heart.

Nor is arguing against the temptation with spiritual reason from the word, as Joseph did, Gen. 39:8, 9 and Job, chap. 2:9, 10 and David, 2 Sam. 16:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 our own power, or contrary to the fighting by the shield of faith, the word of God; as Saltmarsh imagineth.

Asser. 5. It is to be reputed as a most blasphemous assertion, that we know we are Christ's, not because we crucify the lusts of the flesh, but because we do not crucify them: for, 1. Crucifying of our lusts, is a mark of our being in Christ, Gal. 5:24; Rom. 8:13. This maketh walking after the Spirit, and departing from iniquity, and being pure in spirit, and dying to sin, a mark of no interest in Christ, contrary to Rom. 8:1, 2; 2 Tim. 2:19; Matt. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:4; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:18 contrary to the whole gospel: which was that blasphemy of David George, who taught, 'Mortification was to act all uncleanness, without shame, or sense of sin; and the more men are void of the common passion that follows sin, the more mortified and spiritual they are:' and this is very like the Libertines way, who teach, (a) 'That to take delight in the holy service of God, is to go a whoring after God;' and that they are (b) legally biassed, 'that would mortify the flesh by watchfulness and strictness of walking;' whereas, to put our crown on our mortification, as if we were there by justified, is the idolatry: 'But the delighting in the law of the Lord, and taking of the Lord's testimonies for our heritage, a serving the Lord with cheerfulness and fervour of spirit, Psal. 1:2; Psal. 119:111, 162; Isa. 58:13; Psal. 112:1; Rom. 7:22; Rom. 12:8; 2 Cor. 9:7; Phil. 4:4; Acts 20:24; Jam. 1:2 are marks of a blessed condition. If any teach, 'That we mortify the flesh by watchfulness and strictness of walking, as if these did merit mortification,' we judge it cursed doctrine. But, if Libertines deny, and they do, that acts of mortification do formally consist in watchful, strict and accurate walking with God, in being not taken, nor madly drunken with the lusts of sin, but dead to pleasures, as these acts flow from the Spirit of Christ; we curse their fleshly doctrine also.

It is no consequent to say, Because (c) 'Regeneration is not a work of nature, but of the Spirit of God; and the way of the Spirit is not so gross and carnal as the divinity of former times, it being hard to trace and find the impressions of the Spirit; therefore we are not to take experience so low, and carnally, by the feelings of flesh and blood, and signs not infallible, as to write of regeneration, as philosophers do of moral virtues.

Answ. 1. Regeneration is above nature every way, but in this it is most suitable to nature, that as a man come to age doth not at all times, even when he is sick, in a swoon, in a deep sleep, know that he liveth; yet ordinarily life hath reflex acts on itself, so as living, man may know that he lives by many signs of life; so a regenerate man, except he be deserted, may know that he lives the life of God.

2. If Antinomians find out new divinity, less carnal, more spiritual; than in former times, how is it that Christians are to live from under all rule of life; and not to pray, Forgive us our sins, when they pray for daily bread; and that none justified are to confess their sins and to sorrow for them; that new obedience, mortification, repentance, is to believe, that Christ has done these for us; that we are not to pray continually, but only when the Spirit stirreth us? An hundred of these false ways may be shown: is this more spiritual divinity than in former ages? Is it not the most carnal divinity that we read of? For, when Dr. Taylor objecteth to Antinomians, as a limb of their fleshly divinity, 'No action of the believer after justification is sin;' Mr. Towne* answereth nothing at all, but off the way, 'No action is sin, the disorder and ataxy of the action is the sin.' But, Dr. Taylor meaned, there is no disorder in the actions of a justified man, by their way: to this Mr. Towne replieth not one word, but faith, 'Unto faith there is no sin, because there is not one spot in a justified person:' and he citeth Rev. 1:15; Eph. 5:26; Cant. 4:7 and 6:9; 1 Cor. 6:11 because Christ hath washed, Rev. 1:5 purged, Heb. 1:3 abolished, Heb. 9:26 all our sins, and hath made us holy and unblamable, and unrebukable in the sight of God: we are, like Christ, void of sin; which is not the removal of sin, but of the guilt; that is of the obligation to eternal wrath, and the curse of the law: for if we say, we (even though justified, as John the apostle was) have no sin, we are liars. Can this be any but a divinity of the flesh that Antinomians teach?

3. Sanctification is a far other thing than moral virtues: a moralist that is temperate, chaste, is never so over-clouded in his faith, as to doubt whether he be a temperate man or not; a sanctified soul will often doubt if he have any sanctification at all. 2. A sanctified man must have the use of the light of the Spirit to know his state, and these things that are freely given him of God, 1 Cor. 2:12. A moralist knoweth with the light of his own sparks, what he is; Does Saltmarsh know of any desertions or over-cloudings of the Spirit, in a moral Seneca, Aristides, Plato? 3. The moralist dreams of justification by his virtues. 4. He needs only natural reason, not the breathings and stirring of the Spirit, to act according to his moral habits. 5. Nor are his habits infused from heaven, but his own conquest. 6. Nor knows he an absence or a presence of the Spirit; all which are peculiar to sanctified and justified persons.

We are not completely (saith Saltmarsh) or perfectly mortified to sin, by our being planted into Christ, and the fellowship of his death.

Answ. But if mortification be the faith and apprehension, that Christ mortified sin for us, then as we are perfectly justified, so are we perfectly mortified: now, Antinomians teach the former.

Let not (saith he) mortification of sin in Christ, tempt any to a neglect of mortification of sin in the body, no more than the free-grace of God in forgiveness of sin ought to tempt any to take liberty to sin.

Answ. 1. Surely, as to add any thing to justification, so to advance in mortification, must be as wicked and blasphemous, according to the way of Antinomians: for, if mortification be the believing that Christ has slain the body of sin, as Mr. Denne saith (and Saltmarsh seconds him as a brother) then our neglect of mortification is no sin; for we are to believe, that Christ hath removed all neglects of mortification, if mortification be faith and belief that Christ mortified sin for us.

2. I cannot neglect justification, or apprehension that Christ mortified sin for me, any otherwise, but by a remiss act of believing, or neglect of a higher measure, and a more intense and strong act of faith, and not by an abstinence from fleshly lusts: such an abstinence is no faith, or apprehension that Christ has slain and mortified the body of sin for me; for non-sinning cannot formally be believing; that were nonsense.

3. If the meaning be, that we are not to abstain from fleshly lusts, that is, from sins that the flesh or the body of sin acteth in us; this is neither mortification, nor any part thereof, to Antinomians. But I defy and provoke Antinomians to satisfy us in these, if Saltmarsh one of their patrons can,

1. Whether or no sins of the body, or in the body, as Saltmarsh calleth them here, or sins of conversation, as Mr. Denne saith, or sins (as Mr. Towne* speaketh) arising out of the earthly members of our flesh, be sins against the law of God? If so, they involve the justified under a curse, and so they are sins formally; and the justified either cannot sin at all, which I fear is the fleshly way of Libertines, a way that my soul abhors, if I be not deceived; or then, the sins, the adultery of a justified man, the murder, the denial of Christ in Peter, is no less a breach of the law of God, than the denial of Christ in Judas (it may be the one with a greater bensil of will denies Christ, than the other; sed magis & minus non variant speciem) and so the justified do as truly and essentially sin against the law, as the unregenerate doth; then they are not as clean from sin as Christ the surety is.

2. If murders, adulteries, committed by the justified, be sins of their flesh and body; that is, such sins as they are not by any prophet or Nathan to be rebuked for; because the Spirit, that is not in their power in his actions and motions, did not assist them to abstain; and they are under no other law, but the only irresistible action of the Spirit, to hinder them physically in all sins, to abstain from any sin? This must be Antinomians' spiritual divinity, to make no rule, no law of ordering the life and conversation of a justified man, but only the motions of a Spirit separated from the word.

3. Whether or not, when Paul said, Rom. 7:17. Now, it is no more I (that sin) but sin that dwelleth in me: v. 18. I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing; his meaning be, according to the Antinomians' divinity, that no regenerate man sinneth, but his flesh and sensitive part, which is not capable of any law, sinneth; but he who acteth the sin being above, or from under law, rule or direction, sinneth not against God, or any law?

4. Whether or no the Enthusiast's rule, which is the immediate and irresistible inspiration of a spirit, which doth press a brother to kill a brother, and has done it, as Bullinger saith of the practice of divers Anabaptists, and some of New England said, Tho' they resisted the Christian magistrate, and fired the churches of Christ there, yet they should be miraculously delivered from the court, as Daniel was from the den of lions: Whether or no this rule of the Spirit's immediate acting, without law and gospel, be the only law and rule that the justified are under and led by?

5. Whether from this spring does not flow the rejecting of all the scriptures or written law or gospel, as if they were but a covenant of works, and the walking by the Spirit separated from the word, and the denying any marks, as love to the brethren, sincerity, keeping of the commandments of God, recommended in the word, John 14:15; 1 John 2:3, 4, 5; 1 John 3:14 and if this be the spiritual divinity spoken of here?

6. Whether or no sins of the body and of the flesh or conversation (as Antinomians call them) be not sins against the law of God, and make the justified truly guilty, if the Lord shall enter into judgment with them, and though they that commit them be justified, and so also absolved from obligation to eternal wrath, are not formally and inherently blotted and sinful in those sinful acts?

7. If they are not to be sad for them as offensive to the authority of the law-giver and the love of Christ, though they be not to fear the eternal punishment of them? For sorrow for sin, and fear for sin, are most different to us.

8. Whether the free-grace of God doth not tempt men to sin, most kindly and from the nature of free-grace, according to the Antinomian way? If the free-grace of justification do free the justified so from sinning, as their indulgence to the flesh and sinful pleasure, can be no sin in God's court, no more than there can be sin in Christ; and if they beas free, not with standing of all the sins they do, being once justified, as if they never had sinned, or as the sinless angels; and if the essence of sin, and all they do against the law of God, be as clean removed, as money 'taken away out of a place, which sure can not be said, without a contradiction, to remain in that place, as Dr. Crispe speaketh, and that before the sin be committed? Whether can a thing in its essence be wholly removed as if it had never been, before it have any being at all? Can a rose be said to be withered and destroyed, as if it had never been, before ever that same rose spring out of the earth? Sure faith cannot fancy lies and contradictions.

However it be, Christ's death teacheth us mortification of our lusts; it is a mortified like death, for he dieth on a visible journey leaving the earth; his back was towards life, pleasure, profit. He is not dead to his lusts, whatever be his boasting, who is not dead in or with Christ, to sin.

For, 1. Christ's death and his contempt of the world teacheth that we should follow him. 1. He looked even straight before him, neither to the right, nor left-hand, nor behind him; the meadows, buildings, fair flowers and roses in the way of this passenger, did never allure him to stay in the way, and fall in love with any thing on this side of heaven, Heb. 12:2 as our [Gr. Archegos] the Captain of our faith [Gr. anti tes prokeiménes autô charâs] for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross; his heart was so upon the crown, and that which was his garland, his conquered spouse, that he did run his race with all his breath and wearied not; his heart was much upon the prize that he did run for.

2. He was nothing beholding to the world; he came to the house of his friends, they refused him house-room and lodging, John 1:11. His own received him not, and therefore he was fain to ly with the birds of heaven and the foxes of the earth; Christ was no landed man on earth, he had never a free house of his own above his head; he had a purse, but no free rent, no income by year, Mat. 8:20 he had not whereon to buy a grave when he died, John. 19:41. The earth was his Father's land; but he lodged in a borrowed grave; his coat was all his legacy, yet it could not buy a winding sheet to him; the soldiers thought it too little see for their pains in crucifying him; and it was not of much worth, when they put it to the hazard of lots, take it that wins it: his heart was never on the world, he refused a king's crown, when it was offered to him without stroke of sword, John 6:15. He had neither heart nor leisure to enjoy the world. John 4. When he wanted his dinner, he begged a drink of water from a stranger, and was weary with walking on foot; yet he was the one great Bishop, the Head of the body the church; and had neither horse nor coach, and he could have made the clouds his chariot; He became poor, that we might be made rich. Was sweet Jesus thy Saviour a poor man in the world? Learn to be a stranger, and to want, and to be content to borrow, and to lie in the fields, and to have a dead heart to the world. 1. O glory worldly, O all crowns, and gold, and stately palaces, blush, be ashamed, take not such a wide lodging in the hearts of saints, go not with so broad and fair peacock wings; ye are too big in men's eyes, Christ our dear Saviour refused you. 2. Rich saints, drink at leisure, use the world at the by, as if you used it not. Look with half an eye, the least half of your desire, upon this borrowed shadow; let not thy heart water, nor itch after white and yellow clay. 3. Gold, thou art not God; saints, look over crowns and court; see, see what a kingdom is above your hand; pilgrims, drink, but lay not down your burden and your staff; let it be a standing drink, and be gone. 4. Ye are longed for in heaven. 5. Your King lodged with poverty, and abasement, and shame; love the lodging the better, that he was there before you. Christ's love is languishing to have you soon out of this passing transitory world, and to be at your best home.

3. Christ did never laugh on earth as we read of, but he wept; O what a sad world! Psal. 69:11. I made sackcloth my garment; O precious Redeemer, cloth of gold is too coarse for thee. v. 20. Reproach hath broken my heart, I am full of heaviness; he was a man made of sorrow, Isa. 53:3 and had experience and familiar acquaintance with grief. There be a multitude that goes laughing, harping, piping and dancing to heaven, as whole and unbroken-hearted christians; "Mystical mortification (say they) is only faith, and joy; we have nothing to do with weeping, confessing, sorrow for sin; that is a dish of the law-vinegar and gall, it belongs not to us; we are not under the law, but under grace; that sour sauce is the due of carnal men under the bondage of the law." But will Christ wipe away tears from the eyes of laughing men, when they come to heaven? believe it, there goes no unbroken and whole professors to heaven; that is far from mortification: heaven will not lodge whole souls, with their iron-sinew in the neck, never cracked by the death of Christ.

Object. 1. "But godliness is not melancholy, but joy of the Holy Ghost."

Answ. 1. True; but whom does Christ, with the bowels and hand of a Saviour, bind up, but the broken-hearted mourners in Zion, and such as ly in ashes? Isa. 61:1, 2, 3. Sorrow and joy may lodge in one soul.

2. Christ feasts some in the way to heaven, and diets them daintily; some feed ordinarily on the fat and marrow of the Lord's house, Psal. 63:5. And there is a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, Isa. 25:6 and has not the King a banqueting house, a wine-cellar (Cant. 2:4) for some? and do they not feed upon the honey-comb, and the wine, the spiced wine and the milk? Cant. 5:1; Cant. 8:2. But these that drink wine at some times, must at another time be glad of a drink of water.

2. And if there be varieties of temperature of saints, some rough and stiff, some mild, some old men, and some babes, 1 John 2:13. And as there be some lambs, some fainting, weak and swooning tender things, that Christ feeds like kings' sons, with wine of heaven: so there be others that are under the care of the steward Christ, who are heifers and young bullocks, like Ephraim not well broken yet, Jer. 31:18, 19 and there be hoping and waiting saints, that must bear the yoke in their youth, Lam. 3:26, 27 and sundry kinds and sizes of children; every one must have their own portion and diet, 2 Tim. 2:15; Mat. 24:45. One man's meat is another's poison, and yet they are both the sons of one Father.

3. Can every head that shall wear a crown in heaven, bear this wine, on the earth, being clothed with such a nature? and must every one be taken into the King's house of wine, and sit between the Father's knees, at the high table, and eat marrow, and drink spiced wine? are there not some set at the by-board, that must be content with brown bread and small drink or water?

4. Tho' the word should be silent, it is easy to prove that saints have not the like fare of Christ's dainties at all times; for the church, Cant. 2:4 is taken into the banqueting house, and feasts on fatness of free-love; and yet again, Cant. 3 cries hunger, and seeks and finds not; and, Cant. 5:1 feasts with Christ on wine and honey and milk; but ver. 5, 6 there is a dinner of gall, hunger, and swooning; My soul (saith the spouse) went out of me.

5. How many saints go to heaven, and you never heard another word from them but complaints, want of access, straitning of spirit, deadness, absence, withdrawings of the beloved, at every slip, scourged, chastised every morning? Their complainings cannot be praised; yea, till they land, they are ever sea-sick, till they be ashore, never see a fair day, nor one joyful hour, Psal. 88:15. I am afflicted, and ready to die, [Heb. minnohar] from my youth I suffer thy terrors, and am distracted sore. For the Lord's dispensation, we may say, who hath been upon his counsels, and who hath instructed him? Antinomians allow daily feasts, & the strongest of the gospel-wine for daily food to all that are sinners; this we dare not do: but as we judge it a sin to stand aloof from free-grace, because we have no money nor hire; so to fill out the wine of the gospel more largely and profusely than the King of the feast allows, even to sinners as sinners, and all unhumbled and high minded Pharisees, is to be stewards to men's lusts, and to turn the gospel into the doctrine of licence to the flesh, and not to extol free-grace.

4. Christ in his way had no reason to glory in friends. (1.) How was he despised of them? Isa 53:3. We did hide our faces from him; all his friends thought shame of him, and fled the way for him, they refuse to give him one look of their eye. (2) Psal. 31:11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance; they that see me without, fled from me; this is more, to be a reproach and a fear to neighbour and friend. (3.) Nature and blood went against itself, Psal. 59:8. I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children.

All the saints idols are broken, to the end God may be one for all. This is a good ground of mortification; men shall beorul brethren, and redeemed ones shall have the iron bowels of an ostrich, a lion to kill you, and to consent to make war against you, that Christ's meekness may appear; friends must be sour, that Christ may be sweet; and you may be deadned in love to brethren and friends, yea to a forsaking father and mother, Psal. 27:10.

5. No lust had any life or stirring in Christ, this cannot be in us; the old man, that has lived five thousand years and above, is not so gray haired as to die in any saint while he die; his deceivable lusts at best come to a staff and trembling, and gray hairs in the holiest and most mortified, but expire not till dust return to dust.

If I be lifted up, I will draw. When Christ is weakest and bleeding to death on the cross, he is strongest, Col. 2:15 he triumphed over principalities and powers; there is more of strength and omnipotency in Christ's weakness, than in all the power and might of men and angels; the weakness of God is stronger than men, 1 Cor. 1:25 there is more of life in Christ's death, than in all the world; he was a grain of wheat cast in the earth, and sown in the grave, and there sprung out of dead Christ a numerous off-spring of children, all the redeemed ones grew out of the womb of his grave, his catholick church was formed out of the side of the second Adam, when he was fast asleep on the cross.

2. This makes the way of redemption so much the more admirable, that out of a way of weakness, of death and shame, the Lord should out-work sin and the devil, and rear up to himself out of dust, hell and death, glory, heaven, and eternal life: infinite glory made a chariot of shame, and from it highly honoured Christ: Omnipotency did ride upon death, and triumph over hell and devils, 1 Cor. 1:27. God hath chosen the weak things of the worlds, to confound things that are mighty, 28 and [Gr. tà agenê tû kosmu] the base, the kinless thing that are of no noble blood, and [Gr. ta exuthenemata] things that are despised, the nothings of the world he hath chosen, and things that are not. [Gr. kaì ta mo ònta] that he may make idle and fruitless, or bring to nothing, things that are.

Use. If the Lord Jesus at the lowest and weakest, his dying and shamed condition, be so strong as to pull his bride from under the water, and out of the bottom of hell, up to heaven; what power has he now, when he is exalted at the right-hand of the Majesty of God, and has obtained a name above all names, and is crowned King in Zion? It is better to be weak, and sick, and weep and sigh with Christ, than to be strong, and live, dance, sing, laugh, and ride upon the skies with men in the world; sure his enemies will be now less than bread to him, and shall be his footstool.

2. Christ had cause to mind himself, and forget us, being now lifted up to the cross under extreme pain and shame; but love has a sharp memory, even in death.

Two things help our memory, and they were both in Christ: 1. Extreme love; the mother's memory cannot fail in minding her child, because the child is in her heart, and deep in her love: the wretch cannot forget his treasure, his gold is in his heart: Christ loved his church, both by will and nature, and cannot forget her, she is Christ's gold, and his treasure, Isa. 49:14, 15. Christ could not cast off nature, the husband cannot forget the wife of his youth; and the deeper love is rooted, the memory of the thing loved is the stronger. O but it is many years since Christ loved his redeemed Ones! 2. Sense helpeth memory; a man cannot go abroad in cold weather and forget to put on his clothes, sense will teach him to do that; a paining boil will keep a man in mind of pain: the church is a fragment and a piece of mystical Christ; he cannot forget his own body; the church is bone of his bone; the head forgets not a wound in the hand. Love did sweat up an high and mighty mountain with thousands on his back: 1. O what sweating for us, even in death, and sweating of blood! 2. O what praying, and praying more earnestly, Lord help me up the mountain with this burden; and all this time, he is drawing and carrying on his shoulders hell up to heaven. 3. What a fight was it to behold Christ dying, bleeding, pained, shamed, tormented in soul, wresthng in an agony with divine justice and wrath, receiving strokes and lathes from an angry God, and yet he kept fast in his bosom his redeemed ones, and said, Death and hell, pain and wrath shall not part us. It pleased the Lord to bruise him, to afflict his soul, not to spare him, to smite the Shepherd; but it pleased him in that condition, out of deep love, to draw his redeemed ones from the earth up after him to heaven. Christ was a good servant, he always minded his work, even to his dying day.

Use 1. If he in his weakest condition draw all men,

1. How easily can he, with one look, blast the beauty and strength of his enemies, being a God of such majesty and glory? How weak is hell and all the iron gates of it, when Christ, at the weakest, plucks his church out of the jaws of death, and triumphs over death and hell.

2. It shall be nothing to him with a pull of his singer, when he appears the second time in power and great glory, to break the pillars that bear up heaven and earth; and to dissolve, with the heat and sparkles of fire that come from his angry face, the great globe of the whole world, as a hot hand can melt a little snowball of some few ounces weight; and to loose, with one shake of his arm, all the stars in heaven, especially since the world is now but an old thread-bare-worn case, and the best jewel in the case is man, who is old and failed, and passeth away like a figure; and it shall be but a case of dead bones, and of old broken earthen sheards at Christ's coming; and Christ, with no labour or pain, can crush down the potter's house, mar all the clay-vessels, and burn with fire all the work of the house, the houses, castles, towers, cities, acres, lands, woods, gold, silver, silks, and whatever is in it. Glory not in the creatures, but glory in Christ.

3. Death and the cross are the weakest things in the world; but, being on Christ's back, they are the strongest things in the world, 2 Cor. 13:4. Though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God: 1. The cross was Christ's triumphing chariot; there is power and strength in Christ's tears, in his sighs, in the holes that the thorns made in his head, in the stone laid above him, when he is buried. 2. His shame, death, and burial, made the greatest turning of wheels in the earth and heaven that ever the ears of man heard. The more providence does concern God, his highness, his glory, the more special it is and accurate: not that infinite wisdom is not infinite in the care over a worm, as over an angel; but because there is more art of seen external visible providence in whole kingdoms, in kings, in the church, than toward one man or one saint; so providence must have more of the art, wisdom, special care of God toward his catholic church, and his own only begotten Son in redeeming the whole catholic church, than in caring for the lilies of the field, and the worms of the earth, or some one particular saint: what wonder than there be an eminent providence observed in the disposing of Christ's coat when he died, and in the borrowing of an ass for him to ride on, and in casting a garment on the ass for a saddle, or a foot-mantle, when he rode into Jerusalem? So in Christ's suffering there is much of God; there was a more noble work in his dying on the cross, than the creating of the world. And there were four things of the greatest baseness imaginable upon Christ in this providence; for there were upon Christ, 1. The weakness of death. 2. Extreme pain. 3. The openest shame; Christ dying poor, despised, forsaken of all, friend and unfriend. 4. The curse of the law in the manner of his death; yet in all these he acted the part of a triumphing Redeemer, Col. 1:19. For it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell: ver. 20. And (having made peace through the blood of his cross) by him, to reconcile all things to himself, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Use. Yea, we see Christ has never losed any thing by the cross, but has gained much, Rom. 8:37. In all these we are more than conquerors: in death we die not, a dead man is more than a conqueror; and if he should not live and triumph, he could not be capable of conquering, far less could he be more than a conqueror. Rev. 12:11 the saints overcome, but it is a bloody victory; they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: then, if the word be an overcoming and prevailing thing, the cause overcame. But what if the persons be killed, then they are overcome? No, for the victory is personal; the followers of the Lamb overcame by dying, because they loved not their lives unto death; triumphing in the grave is admirable. Things work in a threefold consideration: 1. According to excellency of their being, modus operandi sequitur modum essendi: men's, operations, flowing from reason, are more excellent than actions of beasts; and angels excel men in their actions. 'Tis a noble and excellent being that is in Christ, being the only begotten Son of God. What excellency of working is this, that not only the dead, but death should live, and shame should shine in glory? I he dumb may speak, and the deaf hear; but that dumbness should speak, and deafness hear, is more than a miracle: here Christ causeth death, shame, cursing be immediate organs and instruments of life, glory, immortality and honour. 2. Christ was never weaker and lower than now, and never more glorious in his working, Isa. 63:2. Wherefore art thou red in thy apparel, and thy garments like one that treadeth in the wine-fat? Rev. 19:15. He himself was trodden on in the wine-press, and fierceness, and wrath of Almighty God. But, Isa. 63:1. He is glorious in his apparel, and travelleth in the greatness of his strength: so, in his lowest condition, when he is shamed, he is glorious; when he is weak and lying on his back, he walketh, and walketh in the greatness of his strength. From the baseness of the instruments, in excellent works, we collect that there must be a high, noble and excellent cause, who acteth on these instruments. 3. Agents work according to the distance they are to that they work upon; a shot afar off is weaker. Now, on the cross, 1. Christ is nearer to us, and so getteth a heartier lift of us; death and blood are near of kindred to us. 2. Christ coming so near death, hath a fairer shot and visie of death, and the grave, and hell, and all our enemies, Heb. 2:14, 15. He died, that by death be might destroy him that had the power of death.

1. Drawing when he is on the cross, doth most extol Christ's love: death parteth company amongst men, and often parteth loves; but Christ dying, drawing his church into his bosom and heart, as not willing that the grave should part them and him, John 14:1. Christ having loved his own that were in the world, to the end be loved them: Christ died loving, and died drawing.

2. The cords of love, with which he draweth sinners, were woven and spun, in all their threads and twistings, out of the bowels and heart of Christ, out of his blood, death, and pain. Though it be sweet to Christ to draw, yet 'tis laborious and painful to Christ: it cost Christ a pained back, and holed sides, and pierced hands and feet, an head harrowed with thorns, and a bleeding body, and a bruised soul, to draw sinners; he drew while he did bleed again, he died under the work.

3. All the bones of all mankind, that have been, are, or shall be, all the strength of angels in one arm, could not have drawn one sinner out of hell. But O the strength of the merits of his lifting up on the cross! One sinner is as heavy as hell, as a mountain of iron; what burden must it be to Christ, to have millions of souls and all their sins hanging on him; He carried on his body on the tree, so many millions of sinners, and drew up after him so many thousand redeemed ones, as would have made the world to crack, the whole earth to groan and cry for pain like a sick woman in childbirth pain.

4. The white and red in a flower or rose, contempered together, make up a beautiful colour, and pleasant to the eye; 1. Love in Christ, 2. Lowhness, 3. And singular care to save, made up a sweet mixture in Jesus, that Flower of Jesse, to draw strongly sinners to him. See a father carrying seven or eight children on his back, through a deep river; he binds them all in his garment, that none of them fall in the water; he leans on his staff: how doth he with advised choice and election order every step, that he seem not to them to slip or fall? And he cries comfort over his shoulder to them, Fear not, be not dismayed, I will present you safe on dry and: so Christ with all his children, great Jesus Christ had his offspring lapped up in his merits, and did wade through the floods of death and hell and the curse of the law with redeemed ones in his arms, crying, Fear not worm Jacob, be not dismayed: I will help thee, the floods shall not drown thee; and for his own condition, his faith was that he should safely swim through the sea, and the mighty waters of all his deepest sufferings, and that he and his mystical body (for Christ was a public surety, not one private man in this case) should shore on the land of praises, and this is above all doubting, when be faith, Isa. 50:7. For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed; and then Christ had a most watchful and prudent care, Isa. 52 that not one penny, not one wheel in the work of our salvation should miscarry, but all should go right, nothing neglected, in doing, comforting, preaching, praying, suffering, sweating, weeping, believing, hoping in patience, in being shamed, spitted on, scourged, accused, railed on, traduced, condemned, belyed, pained, crucified between two thieves, buried in a sinner's grave; there was not one hole, one want, one stumble, one slip in all or any thing, but the work was whole, intire, and perfectly finished to God's satisfaction, Isa. 53:11; Luke 22:37; John 19:30.

5. That drawing of sinners to Christ was his last work in his death-bed and departure out of this life, cryeth that he was desirous to lie in one grave with his spouse the Lamb's wife, and died inclosed in an union with saints; it faith also, O how admirable was his love! and that love was Christ's last work in this life, he died of no other sickness but love, love, love was Christ's death-work, Christ's testament, Christ's winding sheet, Christ's grave, he took his bride lapped in his love and heart to paradise with him, his last breath was love. The myrrhe, when it is withered has the same smell (and a sweeter) than it had while it was green. Christ, that bundle of myrrhe that lyeth all the night between the church's breasts, when withered and dead, smelled of love, for he opened the graves and raised the dead, and took a repenting sinner to paradise with him, which are acts of great love; it is considerable that he is at one time a dying, a drawing, and a loving Saviour; and ask what was Christ's last act on earth, it is answered, he died in the very act of loving, and drawing sinners to his heart.

Use. We are engaged to love him, and if so, to keep his commandments, and to draw him after us; his own image, holiness in the saints takes Christ, and causes him fall in love with us, Cant. 4:9. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart, with one of thine eyes, with a chain of thy neck; it is much love that ravishes Christ; yea it so overcomes him, that he professes it is above him, he must desire his spouse to look away, Cant. 6:5. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me, Cant. 7:5. The king is held in his galleries: holiness makes our King, the Lord Jesus, a captive, for eternity he will delight to see the Lamb's wife his bride, when she shall be decked up with endless glory; be holy, and the King shall desire your beauty; engage Christ more to love you, deck yourselves with chains, with bracelets, be attired in raiment of needle-work; the braver in this apparel you are, ye are the lovelier so Christ, the wedding garment makes you fair to the King; put on the crown of grace on your head, and be highly beloved of this Prince.

Ver. 33. Now this he spoke signifying what death he should die.

The last article in Christ's drawing of sinners, is the exposition of the evangelist John, who openeth to us the sense of Christ's words, to wit, what was meant by Christ's lifting up from the earth; for it is not an ordinary phrase to express dying on the cross; therefore, faith John, he meaned by his lifting up from the earth, the kind and manner of his death, to wit, that he should be crucified, and die the shameful and ignominious death of the cross. It would seem that the exposition of John may be referred to the whole verse 32. What is the sense of this? If Christ be lifted up, he will draw all men to him, that is, if he be crucified, by that shameful and painful death, and the merits thereof, he will draw all men to him, and translate them from the kingdom of darkness to the state of saving grace; which is true in itself, but seemeth not to be the sense of the words.

1. Because the evangelists use to expound what may appear ambiguous to the hearers, as John 7:8, 39. But this he spoke of the Spirit. John 20:23. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple (John) should not die: yet Jesus said not to him, he shall not die: so Mat. 2:16, 17, 18. But that Christ draweth sinners by his death, was not so much controverted; for, to come to Christ, to believe in Christ, to be drawn to Christ, were phrases obvious enough, and known to all.

2. It is most pertinent to the text, that lifting up from the earth, which is ambiguous, and may seem to allude to Elias his being carried up to heaven, should be expounded by Christ's manner of death, to wit, by crucifying.

Because the Holy Ghost expoundeth not the connexion of the conditional proposition, If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men after me, which he must do, if the sense go thus; but only speaketh of the kind and nature of Christ's death, which was known to the Jews to be both shameful and cursed; but in his exposition, he speaks nothing of the fruit of Christ's death, but of the kind and manner of death.

Now that the evangelist expoundeth the sense of Christ's words, what he meaned, by being lifted up from the earth, it holdeth forth to us a necessity that the Lord speaks plain language to us in scripture, and that one scripture expounds another.

In finding the meaning of scripture, these considerations may give light.

1. The scripture in the plainest expressions is dark, that is, high and deep, in regard of the matter which is deep; high, above the reach of reason, and yet the language plain, obvious, easy; that a virgin shall be a mother, the Ancient of Days a young sucking infant; that through one man, death digged a hole in the world, and sin passed on all; through a second man life and heaven entered again; are high and deep mysteries; yet is not the gospel obscure, as Papists say.

2. In mere historical narrations and prophecies, foretelling the wars of the Lamb, the dragon and the beast, the Antichrist, their pursuing the woman travelling in birth, to bring forth a man-child; the matter subject is not profound, nor deep, yet the expressions are dark and covered, while the works of the Lord be a key to open his word. Here's the wisdom of God, that in deep and high mysteries, necessary for salvation, the Lord is plain and lower, and easier stories are foretold more darkly; articles of faith are not set down in dark and enigmatical prophecies, but plainly; whereas histories of things to come are more mysteriously proposed.

3. The scripture in no place is, in the popish sense, dark, that is, that we are not to take any sense for the word of life, and the object of our faith, but that which the church giveth as the sense, in regard the scripture is a nose of wax, with equal propension to contradictory senses, except the mistress of our faith, the witch of Babel expound it; and then it is for such formally the word of God, as she expoundeth it.

4. The Holy Ghost, the author of scripture, has concreated with the words, the true native sense, which all the powers on earth cannot alter.

Then, when we swear a covenant with the Lord in plain easy country-language, not devised of purpose to be ambiguous, or to hold forth that all sects, Antinomians, Socinians, Arminians, Prelatical Halters, Anabaptists, Seekers, &c. may save every one his own way, and his [Gr. phainómena] what he thinks good; to obtrude any authoritative interpretation on this covenant, which it holds not forth in its own simple words, to the reader, is the greatest tyranny and equivocating juggling in the world, and we may easily distinguish and dispute ourselves out of a good conscience, or rather confess we had never any intent to keep it, or acknowledge it was our sin we did swear it, and because unlawful, it obliges us not.

When we accuse the scripture of darkness, we would but snuff the sun, and blow at it with a pair of bellows, to cause it shine more brightly. But the mischief is, that we either charge our souls beyond their stint, thinking to compass that world of the deep wisdom of God with our short singers, or we stumble at the wisdom of the scripture, because it is eccentric to, and complies not with our lusts. And here's a deep not seen; God intends to carry Pharaoh and blinded reprobates to hell, through the wood of his mysterious works and word, they being blinded and hardned; and they intend the same, but in another notion; God aims at the same end materially with them, but God levels at the glory of his own inviolable justice; they level at the word, the works of God, to flatter their lusts, and take up a plea with both from the womb.

What death he should die

Two things offer themselves to our consideration.

1. Christ's dying.

2. The kind of his death, what death he should die.

Christ came into the world, with as strong intention to die as to live, to be a pained, an afflicted man, as to be a man. In Christ's dying, these considerations have place.

1. The love of man can go no farther than death; Greater love than this hath no man that a man should give his life for his friends, John 15:13 for this love can go no farther than the living lover. Now he cannot go one step beyond death; Christ went on to the first and second death, so far as to satisfy justice: love is like lawful necessity, neither of them can live, when God is dishonoured. Christ's love burnt and consumed him till he died; love followed and pursued his lost spouse through the land of death, through hell, the grave, the curses of an angry God; tho' Christ's love was both ancienter than his manhood, and survived his death; love was of longer life in Christ, than his life as man; this sun of love burns hard down from heaven to this day.

2. It was a hard law that Christ subjected himself unto, that die he must; heaven, angels, the world could not save his life; this fair rose had life and greenness in abundance, and yet it must wither; this fountain of heaven had seas of waters, yet dried up it must be; this beauty of highest glory was full and vigorous, yet it must fade; the lily of the excellentest paradise, that cast rays of glory and majesty over the four corners of the heaven of heavens, and outshadowed angels, men, and the large circuit of the whole creation, must find its death-mouth, and must cast its fair and timely bloom: the love of loves must become pale and droop; that fire of love, that warms angels and men, must become cold: and there was strong and invincible necessity; thus it must be [Gr. Deî] Mat. 26:54. Christ must die. Mat. 8:31. The Son of man must suffer many things. Luke 22:27. For I say unto you (saith Christ) that which is written must have an end in me. John 3:14. The Son of man must be lifted upon the cross. Christ could not pass to heaven another way; death was that one inevitable pass that he behoved to go through; there was no passable ford in the river but one; there was but one strait pass and sort between Christ and his Father, his glory and a saved church; and justice kept this pass. Christ must lay out himself, his life, blood, estate and glory for his church, to gain his sort, and save his people from their sins. The law laid it on him; 2. Love laid it on him; 3. Our necessities and everlasting perishing burdened him.

3. Might not the dead all wonder? There was never before nor after, nor never shall be such a Christ amongst the dead as the Lord of life: all these in the dust could say, O life, what dost thou here among the dead! the worms and clay might say, O Creator, canst thou ly near to us! Would not the fountains be offended, that they could not have leave to furnish a draught of cold water to their Creator, who made the seas and the rivers, and divided Jordan with his word? Would not life itself grieve at such a dispensation, that it could stay and lodge no longer in the body of the Lord of life, but behoved to be gone, and leave the Prince of life to fall, that he could not stand on his own feet? Was not bodily strength discontented, that sweet Jesus complained, Psal. 22:15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; ver. 17. I may tell all my bones. Would not joy and beauty take it ill that sweet Jesus was a sad Saviour, and his face soul with weeping, and his fair countenance, that was like Lebanon, all marred, and our lovely Redeemer was put to his knees to pray with strong cries and tears? Isa. 52:14; Heb. 7:5. If there had been sense and reason in all the purples, silks, fleeces, wool, fine linens that ever the earth had, they would think themselves unhappy, that they could not cover the holy body of the Redeemer of men, and their Creator, when he complained, Psal. 22:18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots on my vesture.

4. It was too much in regard of our deservings, that the Lord of life should descend to a natural life, to be under the lowly condition of base clay; but that this tent of clay, that the Lord was to dwell in, should be of the finest and most precious earth that can be, would seem reason: it might be said, it were fitting for the glory of the Godhead united in a personal union with the man Christ, that the body of the Son of God should be above pain, weakness, or the law of death; that it should be more glorious than all the peerless and precious stones of the earth, yea, than the sun in the firmament: yea, but, Isa. 53:2. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. But this was incomparable condescension of love, that the Lord would take his own death upon him, and assume the manhood of sick, weak, pained, sad, sighing, and dying clay, Isa. 53:4. Surely he hath born our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows.

5. If there be any that ever tasted the sweet of life, it being the most noble and desirable of created beings, if it were from a glorious angel to a poor gnat or a base worm, they keep possession of life with all their desire; they will part with all things, men even with teeth and skin, ere they quit their life, Job. 2:4. The more excellent life is, they struggle the more to keep it; a young man will do more than an old man for it; and the old man, who has but a chip of life, the dregs of it, or the hundredth part of an hand-breadth, the twentieth part of an inch, yet holds it so long as there is so much as the fourth part of a drachm of natural vigor in him: now Christ had cause to love his life, as any man else. It was about the flower of his age, the thirty-third year of his life; and it must be a noble life that dwelt personally with the Godhead; yet when he was called to a treaty for rendering his life, he gave it not up, but upon princely and honourable quarters, even that he should see his seed, have a noble prize and a ransomed spouse, a fair crown, a rich kingdom to mystical Christ, but he parted with his noble and glorious life deliberately, intentionally, most willingly, John 10:18 there was more will, more love in Christ dying, than in dying of all men from the creation to the last judgment; O how he thirsted and longed to pay that ransom! he had it by him, to give it out on demand; he did not first die, and bow his head, but he first bowed his head, and beckned with his hand, and called upon death, and then rendered his spirit.

6. O what a wonder! this rose of life on the cross withereth in its full beauty, the sun of life would shine no more on it. The prime delight of the sons of men, the second Adam from heaven fades, and life can breathe no more, and beauty shine no more, and greenness blossom no more; and when most low, clothed with a curse, most lovely, most lordly and princely, because in the act of redeeming.

7. Christ's death must come under a three-fold notion: 1. As a torment inflicted by God's enemies: 2. As a punishment inflicted of God for sin, as a ransom paid to justice: 3. As the crown and end of Christ's journey.

In the first notion, Christ's death, as coming from wicked men, wanted three ingredients that all the wicked world and hell could not give it: 1. All the world cannot add a curse to the death of any man, God only is the master and Lord of cursing and blessing: God cast this in from heaven of his own; for, 2 Cor. 5:21. God made him sin, Isa. 53:6. Jehovah the Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all. Who said that, Cursed be every one that abideth not in all that is written in the law to do it? Gal. 3:10, 13; Deut. 21:23; Deut. 27:26. The only law-giver who can dispense curses, he made Christ's death a curse: one death has not a curse more than another, and Christ's death of the cross had not a ceremonial curse only in it, for that was common to the deaths of all that hangeth on a tree, Deut. 21:23. But the curse of the moral law which is upon the sinner, Deut. 27:20; Gal. 3:10, 13 was laid upon Christ; and this is heavier than ten million of deaths of the cross: O how many thousands and what millions of talents-weight of gall and vengeance did the Lord from heaven add to the cup of Christ? 2. Because Christ was made sin, he behoved to be made the sinner; and from Christ's person his death had the sweet perfume of infinite merit, and a sweet smell of a savour of rest to God, above all sacrifices and offerings that ever were offered to God; infiniteness of merit, this Christ gave to his own death. 3. The Lord gave it a third ingredient, that it had acceptation even in the point of law and justice, which no man could give; to feel a smell of everlasting love, peace, reconciliation in blood, is the sure mercies of David; O but it was white blood to God, crying blood, or rather singing blood, that sings the sweet gospel song! Abel's blood cried a song of vengeance; Ye are come to the blood of sprinkling, [Gr. chreitona laloenti] that sounds better things than the blood of Abel, Heb. 12:24.

In the second notion that Christ came under the law of dying (for it is appointed for all men to die) speaks much love. To come to sleep, which is death's brother: to come under pain, weakness, bleeding, that are the near blood-friends of death, is great love expression: but to die, the lowest, and the saddest and sourest of bodily infirmities, and then for other men's faults, it sets out of the love of God.

In this respect, Christ dying was a ransom for justice; there be four of the saddest things in a ransom that are here.

1. To give person for person, is the hardest bargain; by the law of nations, they are meeker wars where moneys and gold may buy a captive. God in this bargain could send captives away for neither silver, nor gold, nor any corruptible thing, 1 Pet. 1:18. A gift, a reward will not bow justice; rubies, sapphires, let ten earths be turned into gold of Ophir, they cannot buy the offended law of God; therefore it must be man for man, person for person, or nothing; a man is more precious than gold.

2. If you must have man for man, then let proportion of common justice be kept; a soldier for a soldier, a servant for a servant, a free-man for a free-man, a master for a master; ye cannot demand a king to ransom a servant: Yea, (saith justice) but I will; they are but men and slaves, and servants of sin. Their father Adam was indeed a King, but by law he is fallen from the crown, and all his children are traitors and born servants; therefore justice would have no less ransom than one of the king's line, one of the blood-royal; and more, the only heir of the crown of heaven and earth, the King of kings and Lord of lords: he is more than an over-ransom and over-sum; this is hard: but infinite wisdom cannot be against justice; but it was the strictest justice that ever was, the King's Son for the traitor's son, the prince for the slave, the Lord of lords for the poor clay-subject.

3. But the ransom King must have honourable conditions like himself; if he must be a captive, let him have some freedom befitting his birth and condition. Now, because this bargain was to be stretched out to the utmost line and border of strict justice (as also it wanted not deepest mercy shining in glorious rays through justice) therefore the King standing a ransom, was as far below his place, as a servant is below a king. Phil. 2:6, 7. You have the lowest and the highest steps, Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant; a King and God made a servant, Mat. 20:28. For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many; see here, the Son of God a ransom in his own person, and the lowest of ransoms, a servant far below a king.

4. It is not universal in these persons that are given to ransom others; but poor souls, if they be turned in servants, their life should be spared; but Christ was such a ransom, as must lay down his life for the captives, Mat. 20:28. No ransom can come lower than a man, and an innocent man's death; if the captive be wounded and sickly, the man that goes a ransom for him, by no law should be sickly and wounded also. 1. It is not ordinary, that he that stands as a ransom for captives, should take their natural infirmities, their body, sighs, sadness, sorrow, wants, and be like them in all things; but Christ was like us in all things except sin. 2. And what greater hardship can you put on a ransom captive than death? All these Christ did undergo for us.

The third and last consideration of Christ's death, is as it was the end of Christ's journey, and all his labours in the flesh; and this I desire to be considered in these respects.

1. As death is Christ's last enemy.

2. In the concomitants of it.

1. As in his triumph of victory.

2. His welcome to his Father.

1. As death was Christ's last enemy, dying was to him, as to man, the last day and moment of his week, when he entered into his sabbath and rest, and died never to die again: the world and devils chased him into the grave; and when he was there he was in his own land, in paradise, in a kingdom: death was the wearied way-faring man's home, the end of his race, and at this place was the fore-runner's gold his garland, and prize, even the glory set before him, for which he endured the cross, and despised the shame; he then sat down; it was Christ's landing port after a stormy sailing. 2. He had no more to do in the merit of redemption, in the way of satisfying justice; for Christ's burial, or lying in the grave, was but his Mora, his lodging all night with death, or a continuation of his death. When he died, all was finished; the law of God for satisfaction could crave no more: as the last enemy of the body is death, 1 Cor. 15:26 so it was the head Christ's last enemy on earth. 3. Heaven was Christ's place of refuge, his sanctuary and his asylum; when Christ was in the other side of death and of time, he was in his castle, in his strong sort; enemies can neither besiege him nor take him; he cares not for the world's feud, or for death or the grave, Rev. 1:18. There was no more law against Christ after his soul was in paradise; the believer has a perfect acquittance of all crosses, when he is once in the land of glory.

2. There be two considerable concomitants in Christ's death, 1. His victory. 2. His welcome. His victory was in his very act of dying, that death and the justice of a divine law had their will of Christ, and could demand no more of him for all engagements, and to answer the bill, but death, and such a death; it was a sort of overplus, and abundance of ransom to God, that death was put to the worse, and could in justice never arrest any believer or saint after Christ. O death, what wouldest thou have more! Or, what canst thou demand in law? 2. Christ, and all his, legally were crucified, and died; and Christ, and all his, were not destroyed under death, but Christ lived, and all his with him, John 14:19. When two strong enemies do conflict, and put out their strength one against another to the full, and the one lives in his full strength, the other must be soiled. Christ after death lived, and can die no more, and is strong and omnipotent: Now, death did all it could against Christ, in that he died; then he must be the victor, and death the vanquished party; death was Christ's land-port, his shore after sad sea-sailing, his last stage in which he posted to glory; and he came into paradise and his Father's kingdom in a sweat of blood (and the cross accompanied him in over the threshold of the gates of heaven) so he was welcomed, he, and all his seed (who then were legally in him) as one that had acquitted himself bravely and honourably in the business that most highly concerned the Lord, and the glory of all his blessed attributes, mercy, justice, grace, wisdom, power, sovereignty, &c. There was a most joyful acclamation in heaven, a welcome and embracing, and a hand-shaking (as we say) 1. Between the Father and the Son; and this is a sweet meditation, Dan. 7:13. I saw in the night-visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought, him near before him; v. 14. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people and nations and languages should serve him. Now, who be these that brought Christ to the Father when he ascended? who but the holy angels, his ministring spirits, or servants; they attend his ascension to heaven, as the estates of a king wait on, and convoy the prince and heir of a crown, in his coronation-day, Heb. 1:6, 14. The disciples, Acts 1:10 see two men in white apparel, at his ascension, go up to heaven: sure, there must have been a host of them, as there were at his birth, and shall be at his second coming. And it is little enough that the peers of heaven, such a glorious parliament of the high-house, bear the tail of his robe-royal, and attend to welcome to heaven their Lord Creator, and their Head Christ, by whom they stand in court; they are the servants of the bridegroom: it was much joy to them, when Christ returned a triumphing Lord to heaven, having done all gloriously and completely. The Father after his death made him a great Prince, and gave him a name above all names, and set him at the right-hand of the majesty of God. 2. And, if the Lord shall say to sinful men, Well done, good servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord; far more, being infinitely satisfied with the travels and service of his Son, he must say, Well done, well suffered, O Son of my love, enter into the joy of thy Father's soul: for the Father's soul ever delighted in him, Isa. 42:1. 3. And to see the Father embrace his Son in his arms after the battles, and put the crown on his head, and set him down at his right-hand, and exalt him, as an eternal Prince for evermore, and accept all his labours, and his faithful and most successful acquitting of himself, in all his offices, as Redeemer, King, Priest, and Prophet, must be a joyful sight.

Use 1. No believer takes it ill to die; death sips at every blood, noble or low, and would but drink the blood of this celebrious and eminent Prince of the kings of the earth: 1. For, besides that God hath stinted our months, and the ship cannot pass farther than the length of the cable: here is the matter, Christ, for imputed sin, behoved to bleed to death. 2. Only Enoch and Elias were reprieved, by the prerogative of free-grace; we are by birth and sin, but some ounces or pieces and fragments of death, and it is appointed for all men to die: there is more reason we should die, than the Lord of life; for life was essential to the Prince of life, but life is a stranger to us; man is but man, but a handful of hot dust, a clay-vessel tunned up with the breathing of warm wind, that smokes in and out at his nostrils, for a inch of fleeting away time. And sin adds wings to the wheels of his life, and lays a law of death on man; and it Christ had not come into this clay-city, he had been under no law of death; he dies for us; then we should far rather have died, propter quod unumquodq; tale, &c. Now, because your Redeemer laid his skin to death, and was willing to kiss death, believers are to esteem of death as the cross that Christ went through; love the winding-sheet and the coffin the better, that they were the sleep-bed and night-clothes that your Saviour sleeped in. 3. And Christ had the more cause to be willing to die, that he was little beholden to this life; it looked ever with a frowning face on Christ: 1. The first morning-salutation of this life when Christ was new born, it boasted and threatned Christ with the cutting of his throat in the cradle, and banishment out of his own land to Egypt. 2. He had good hap all his life to sufferings, he had ever the wind on his fair face, and the smoke blowing on his eyes, as if his whole day had been a feast of tears and sorrow: yea, life and the sad and glooming cross parted both together with Christ, as if the world had sworn never to lend the Son of God one smile, or one glimpse of a glad hour. 3. Christ thought himself well away and out of the gate (as he foretelleth, when the people mourned for his death, Luke 23:5, 28, 29, 30, 31) before the destruction that came on the city of Jerusalem, that killed many of the Lord of the vineyard's servants, and at last killed the righteous Heir. 4. You may remember Christ's message that he sent to Herod, Luke. 13:32. I do cures to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day [Gr. Ieleîumai] I shall be perfected; Heb. 2:12. It became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings; (Gr. dià pathemàton teleiôsai) death made Christ perfect; for the Lord put the fair crown of redemption on Christ's head with a very black hand; it was a black boat-man that carried our Prince Jesus over the water to paradise; but sweet Jesus would have it his perfection, his crown, his glory, to be swallowed up in death's womb for us. It is considerable, that death perfecteth the head, 1. As a Priest; he had been an unperfect sacrifice, if he had not died; and being offered dead to God, Christ's dead corpse had an infinitely sweet smell in the nostrils of a just God; never sacrifice, never burnt-offering like this, which perfected all. 2. He had not been a perfect King and Conqueror, had he not pursued the enemy to his own land, and made the enemy's land the seat of war, and triumphed dead upon the cross. 3. He had not been a perfect Redeemer, had he not died, and paid life for life: no satisfaction without death, no remission of sins without blood, Heb. 10. But, it was the heart-blood, and blood with the life, that was shed to God. Now, these same befal the dying saints: 1. While the saints are here, they are from home, and not at their Father's fire-side; and this world, their step-mother, looks ever asquint on them, John 16:33. And the cross gets a charge from God concerning a saint, wait on him as his keeper, while he die, leave him not; the cross follows the house of Christ, and all the children of the house; it is kindly to all the second Adam's seed; it is an income by year that follows the flock: every child may in his suffering say, my Father the Prince of ages, even the Head of the house, my brother Jesus, and all our kin, were sufferers; the sad cross runs in a blood to us; Psalm. 34:19; Mat. 19:24. This is not our home, I would I were ashore and at home, in my Father's house.

2. The Lord takes the righteous away from the ill to come, Isa. 57. When Christ was taken away, vengeance came to the full on the Jews, when he was in heaven. Christ's followers, that die, out-run many crosses; as we see a man upon his life chased by his enemies, gets into a strong house, and with speed of foot wins his life; sad days pursue the saints, and they escape to their castle, before the affliction can reach or overtake: there be some Cruces, posthumelate-born crosses, calamities and ill days, that come on the posterity of the godly; the Lord closeth their eyes, that they never see them. The grave is a house, the devil and the world and afflictions cannot besiege; sure, when a saint is in heaven, he is beyond doomsday, death, and tears; he defies the malignants of this world then, and the wars and blood that his own brethren can raise against him.

3. What shall we say, that as Christ thought himself maimed, and he wanted a piece, or an arm or leg of a Saviour and a perfect Redeemer till he died, and then when he died, he was perfected? Indeed, our redemption had been lame and unperfect, had not Christ died; and his escape through death and the land of darkness, the grave, to his Father's old crown, that he had with him before the world was, was a perfecting of Christ, 1. So, dying, to a saint, is the sun-rising, the morning birth-day of eternity, the opening of the prisoner's door, the coronation-day, the marriage-night. 2. He is ever a lame man, he wants incomparably his best half, so long as he wants Christ in a fruition of glory: all the travelling and way-faring men, in their journey toward heaven, are but sick men; for sickness is but a lameness of life, a want of so many degrees to make up a perfect life (because good health is but the flower and perfection of life) and the only perfect life, Col. 3 v. 3, 4 is the life of glory, then all the saints, yet wanting the life of heaven, must be crazy, weak, groaning men, not healthy in a spiritual consideration, while they be in heaven. 3. When a saint dies, he but takes an essay of the garment and robe of glory (though death make it seem strait and pinching) and enters in the joy of his Lord, Rev. 16:15. There is both word and writ, and from a land where there can be no lies, from heaven, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labours, [Gr. hina anapáuson de ek tòn ko pon autòn] that the travellers may over-rest, or exceedingly breathe, and refresh or comfort themselves after much toil and sweating in the way; therefore is death, 2 Tim. 4:6. [Gr. analysis] an unfolding of the net, or of the tent, that the man may go out, or a taking up the burden and laying it down in another inn, or a loosing the cables of ships to sail, or an untying of cords of a tabernacle to go to a choicer place.

Use 2. From Christ's dying, we learn to die to sin, and live to him that died for us, 1 Pet. 2:24; Rom. 6:2, 6; 2 Cor. 5:15. Mortification to this goodly and godlike idol the world, is a special lesson of the death Christ, Gal. 6:14. It is a great distance, and many miles about and off the road-way to heaven, to go through such a thorny, thick, and bushy wood of honours, riches, pleasures worldly; it is a shorter and easier way to stand at a distance from the silken and golden creature, and despise the fairest created excellencies that fill both sides of the sun. Antinomians would have us rest satisfied with moral mortification, in the brim of the imagination, to believe that Christ dying, mortified sin and the body thereof on the cross, and there is an end; and that we are obliged by no command, no precept no law, to a personal mortifying of our lusts, to walk in new obedience; and that all that we do is arbitrary and free to us, coming on us by the immediate Spirit's impulsion: for, say they, "Christ works in the regenerate as in these that are dead, not as in these that are alive; and that after conversion we are altogether dead to spiritual acts" (say they) contrary to 1 Cor. 15:10; Phil. 2:13; Rom. 6:11; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:5, 24. And, "That it is the efficacy of Christ's death, to kill all activity in his members, that he might act all in all: yea, and that there is not any command in the gospel, (all is but promises) Christ is obliged to do all in us; and if he suffer us to sin, let him see to his own honour: yea, to act by virtue of, or in obedience to a command, is a law-way, and we have nothing to do with the law." But, the gospel teacheth us a real and personal mortification, and that we are to be holy as he is holy, perfect as he is perfect; that is a new covenant command, Gen. 17:1. That we should walk before him and be perfect, that we should walk after the Lord, Deut. 13:4 walk in all his ways, Deut. 5:33 take diligent heed to walk in his way, Josh. 22:5; Psal. 119:93; Prov. 2:7, 20; Isa. 2:3 walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, Rom. 4:12 according to this rule of the gospel, Gal. 4:16 and worthy of the vocation, Eph. 6:1 worthy of the Lord, Col. 1:10 in light, 1 John 1:7 even as he walked, 1 John 2:6 after his commandments, 2 John 6 honestly, as in the day. Rom. 13:13 in love, Ephes. 5:2 as children of the light, v. 8 as we have received Christ, Col. 2:6 in wisdom, v. 4, 5 as wise men, Ephes. 5:15. And the gospel forbids and condemns walking as the Gentiles do in the vanity of the mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God. But observe, by Antinomian's fleshly doctrine, no gospel-command under pain of eternal death, be it a command of believing in him that justifieth the sinner, or of holy walking as a fruit and witness of our faith and justification, obligeth these that are in Christ; as if, in regard of any scriptural command of law or gospel, we might live as we list, and follow the inspiration and leading of a lawless spirit, separated from all word, either law or gospel, either commanding or conditionally promising or threatning. We are not so to live after the flesh in lascivousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and abominable idolatries, 1 Pet. 4:3 not after the flesh, 2 Pet. 2:10; Rom. 8:13. If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. There is a gospel-threatning as a promise of life; yea, the arms, colours, the badge of gospel-grace, is to deny ungodliness, Tit. 2:11. Not to walk in darkness, nor hate our brother, 1 John. 2:8, 9 for this is the new commandment; and that the gospel has commandments, is clear, Mat. 15:3; John 15:12; Rom. 16:6; Ephes. 6:2; 1 Tim. 1:1. The holy commandment, 2 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 3:23; Rev. 22:14; Prov. 2:1; John 14:21; 1 Thes. 4:2; 1 John 2:4 & 3:24. And, he that keepeth his commandments, dwells in him, and he in him. John 14:15. If ye love me, keep my commandments, Mat. 5:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 20, 21, 22, 24; Mat. 7:1, 2, 3, &c.

Use 2. We have rich consolation from the article of Christ's dying; the sinner's debts are paid, his band, and the hand-writing of blood and eternal vengeance, is cancelled, and taken out of the way; the gates of the prison broken, and the prisoners brought out by the blood of the everlasting covenant, 1 Pet. 2:24. With his stripes we are healed, Isa. 53:5. The chastisement of our peaces, or treaties of peace, as the word bears, were upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. The word stripe in either languages,* is a mark of a wound, where blood and humours are neighboured together; it leads us to this, that the only medicine of sick and dead sinners, was that which is sickness, pain, swellings from nails in hands and feet to Jesus Christ. Christ the physician's pain was our ease, his wounds the healing and covering of our wounds with his skin, and his death the life of sinners. To visit the sick, and help him at his bed-side with counsel and art, is favour; but it is physick of grace, not of nature, that the physician should be the sick man, the pained, the groaning and dying patient, and ly down in his bed, and make his life and blood a medicine to cure our diseases and wounds. In a law-challenge, the believer is so freed from eternal wrath, that if Satan and conscience say, Thou art a sinner, and under the curse of the law; he can say, It is true, I am a sinner, but I was hanged on a tree and died, and was made a curse in my head and law-surety Christ, and his payment and suffering is my payment and suffering.

Use 4. Sin is a sad debt; the law is a severe craver. 1. It is pastime to a fool to sin: it is no pastime nor sport to Christ to satisfy for sin. 2. There is as much justice and vengeance in the gospel, as in the law; the gospel-suffering for our sin, was as salt and sour to Christ, as the law-vengeance would have been to us: the Lord never minded that any should bear sin either by acting or suffering, gratis, and at an easy rate. 3. Will ye not read bloody justice pursuing sin on the blue stripes and scarlet wounds, on innocent Jesus's back and sides, his head and hands and feet? Will ye, young men, Eccles. 11:9 laugh and sin, and must Christ weep, and shout and cry for pain, when he suffers for sin? sinners, ye have merry days in your lusts: O but it was a doleful and wearisome time to Christ to pay for sin! the drunkard sings and drinks; when Christ answers his bill, he sighs. Solomon, Eccles. 2 in the days of his vanity, sought to give himself to wine, v. 3 to lay hold on folly; v. 10 and whatever his eyes desired, be with-held not from them, he kept no joy from his heart. But Christ had a sad night in the garden; O but he had a heavy soul, when, with tears and strong cries, he prayed; when justice squeezeth a sweat of blood out of Christ's body, and he looks like sorrow and sadness itself, dying, and bleeding, and crying, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Never mother's son, after this, make a sport of sin, or sin with good will and delight.

What death, [Gr. poio thanàto] what quality or kind of death, he was to die.

The quality and kind of Christ's death is most remarkable; for three characters were printed and engraven on the death of the cross which Christ died.

1. Pain. 2. Reproach and shame. 3. The curse of God and man.

The pain in Christ's death comes under a twofold consideration, 1. Naturally, 2. Legally: the nature of the death was painful, for death of itself is painful; no man pays that debt with ease, and nature smiling and sporting. Die who will, it will cost you of your flesh; when Asa dies, he cries, Ah, my feet! when David dies, he complains, O my cold body! the Shunamite's child, Ah, my pained head; Uzziah, Oh, my leprous skin! Do not pamper nor idolize your body; if wicked men have not one band or cord in their death, but steal down to the grave in a moment beside death's knowledge, yet they pay dear for it, Job 24:20. The worms shall feed sweetly on them; life is a great pearl. But there be three things besides, that made the death of Christ painful,

1. Violence. 2. Slowness of dying. 3. Many degrees of life taken from him.

Violence, it is to die of any disease or of pain. 1. But when five or six deaths do all start equally at one land-port, and at one race, and strive which of them shall dispatch the poor man soonest, the pain is the more. Ye know the complaint of our blessed Saviour, Psal 22:16. They pierced my hands and my feet; and John 19:34. One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. Here, by scripture, be five deaths, that invade a living man, death on every hand, and death on every leg, and death on his side, tho' this last came a little too late, the soldiers had no law to pierce his side; but to make sure work he should be dead, by a sort of chance to men, which yet sweetly was subservient to the decree of God and the prophecies; Christ was thus served. 2. Now, a violent death it must be, when strong and great nails did pierce the most nervous parts of his body, his hands and his feet; one iron-wedge thrust in at his left-pape, to pierce his heart, or to pierce through the temples of the head, would quickly have dispatched him. 2. As for the slowness of his death, four leisurely and slow violent deaths, to cause him bleed to death, were hard. The word saith, the blood is the life of the living creature; then look how long his blood was coming out, his life was dropping out as long. They say, the death of the cross will keep a man alive with his life in on the cross, above three or four hours, the man dying, and yet cannot die; these languishing deaths procuring a cruel favour, such as death's slow pace, and yet quick torment, are images of hell, where men seek death, but cannot find it, because death fleeth from them.

2. The lentness of death is much, when death is divided into four quarters; death at every hand, and at every foot, makes the pain the greater: when the weight and trunk of Christ's living body lifted up from the earth, hangeth upon four paining and tormenting pillars, the Lord's pierced hands and sees; as if death had delighted to hold Christ long at sea, and denied him the last sad service. 3. And Christ had been before dying a terrible death in the garden, when he had been seethed and boiled in a sweat of blood; and two circumstances evidence that the two thieves' death was nothing in slowness of torments comparable to Christ's death, 1. The sad and direful prefaces and preparatories to Christ's death; as he was in the right before in a soul-death in the garden, and in a sweat of blood, there trickled out of his body down upon the ground [Gr. hosei thrómboi háimatos] as it were drops, great hail-stones of blood frozen or hardened together, as Stephanus thinks, through extreme terror; he was so scourged against all law, and crowned with thorns. 2. And so was he weakned in body, as he was not able to bear his own cross; it was his own complaint, Psal. 22:17. I may tell all my bones. Whatever the story of passion say, how Christ could have been so lean in twenty and four hours; it is evident, he complains his strength was dried up like a potsherd, and that death was more painful to Christ than to these that died the same death; yea, Christ began to die the night before: he was then under violent death of soul and body above the hours that he was on the cross. When others are long tormented with pain, that pain is rather the fore-runner of death, than death; for death stays but a moment in doing that sad service in bringing the soul out: but death all this time twenty-four hours, was acting upon Christ, both the second death, the Lord's anger and curse being on him; and then bodily pain, with the curse of the law, all this time wrought upon him. Some say, gall and vinegar were given to men to be crucified, to make them less sensible of that extreme pain. And consider his death legally, may we not say, as Christ in bearing the pains of the second death did suffer that which all the elect should have sustained in their souls for ever, so Christ did bear many millions of bodily deaths? It may be a question, if Christ's suffering for Peter be Christ's suffering for David; for sure Peter's sins and David's sins together, are more than David's sins alone; and if on Christ the Lord laid the iniquity of us all, Isa. 53:6 it must be a greater punishment, than if the Lord had laid the iniquity of some few, one or two, upon Christ: say, that the elect were three millions of redeemed ones, as we cannot determine the number, sure this must be a sadder death, than if Christ had died but for ten men: it is true, it was an infinite pain in regard of the one infinite person that did bear our iniquities, yea, and so subjective it was an infinite love with which, in election and free redemption, Christ followed all the elect of God withal but terminative, as his love is bounded on sundry persons, Paul speaks of it as if there had been not one man loved but himself, Gal. 2:20. Christ loved me, and gave himself for me. Tho' the Lord Jesus passed in one bill, the election and redemption of all the family of the first-born, yet every soul has a white stone, and a new name, that no other elect man knows, but he himself; as every flower, every rose, every meadow, and several garden, has its several rays, beams and comfort, and vigor of heat from the sun, yet all these rays and beams, are but one in the sun's body; so, tho' Christ died but one death for all the elect, yet in the height of pain it was many deaths to him.

3. Again, consider how much of life Christ had, the removing of it by violence must be so much the more painful: life natural had in Christ a sweet and peaceable dwelling, the possession of life was with excellent delights, like a tree growing on the bank of a sweet river of oil, wine and honey; it was planted beside the glorious Godhead personally, and had sweet company, and that made it pleasant: the more beautiful, pleasant, and green the flower of Jesse was, the more violence and pain it was to hew down this delicious tree of life, and to cut him out of the land of the living; it had not been so much to cut down a thistle or a thorn-tree, or to take away the life of a common man, whose life is not privileged with grace, and the grace of a personal union with God; yea, the destroying of the life of an angel, could never have been such violence. And then 'tis considerable, that Christ was not suffered to go to the grave without blood, and that his skin and his winding-sheet were bespotted with blood. Christ paid not this sum quickly, as many die: 'tis true, there was more will and love infinitely in his blood, than violence and pain, every stream of blood flowing in a channel of love; and it is also sure, the soul and the Godhead were not separated, but the precious life of Christ was expelled, and that by a bloody death, out of a sweet paradise; and death was a rough, sad and thorny journey to Christ: weapons of iron on hands and feet came against the Lord, to fetch the soul out of the body.

2. Shame

The second character engraven on Christ's death, was shame and reproach; in which consider,

1. How shame could be on Christ dying. 2. What shame was on him. 3. How it stood with his honour as King.

1. Shame, is taken either fundamentally in the cause, or formally; sin, and sin acted by men against the law of God, is the only foundation of shame: when the people fell in idolatry, Exod. 32:25. Aaron made the people naked to their shame; so, when Tamar dissuades her brother from incest, 2 Sam. 13:12 she saith, And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools of Israel. Shame and sin are of one blood; for sinning is a shameful reproaching of the creature: and thus, Christ was no more capable of shame, nor of sin; for he had done no violence, neither was there any guile in his mouth. Christ-man came out of the womb clothed with a precious white robe of innocency and abundance of grace; he never contracted one black spot on that fair robe of the highest image of God, from the womb to the grave; and so there was no shame, but fundamentally glory in Christ all his life. But there is shame formally in sin; and that, 1. Which we call thinking of shame, or being ashamed actively: 2. In hearing of shams passively. In the former consideration; because sin it a shameful thing in itself, Jer. 11:13. Ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal: there is an internal blushing and shame rising from sin, when the sinner, if the conscience thro' a habit of sin be not turned brazen and hard, thinks ill of sin, and esteems itself base in doing ill; Rom. 6:21. What fruit had ye then of these things, whereof ye are now ashamed? Adam and Eve were not ashamed before they sinned: now, Christ-man had this ingenuity, which heathens called half a virtue, viz. Shamefastness, or a power to think ill of sin: Christ of himself (though he could not sin, as Adam had a power, before the fall, to pity and commiserate the sick and miserable, though there was no formal object for that power afore men sinned) could think ill of sin; Christ (I say) thought ill of sin, and esteemed the creature base in sinning. Heathens said, virtue was of a red blushing colour; and the scripture condemns the shamelesness of sinners, that are not abased themselves for sin, and cannot be ashamed: so the Lord burdens his people with this, Jer. 3:3. And thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed, Heb. to blush, Isa. 2:9. The shew of their countenance (that cannot blush at sin) doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Zeph. 3:5. But the unjust knoweth no shame. In this, Christ our Lord, (to come to the second point) being our surety, though he could not be ashamed of any sin he did himself, for that he never sinned, yet being made sin for us, he did bear the shame of our sin. And so Christ was not free of shame passively, as it is a punishment of sin; for it is a penal evil of the creature. Dan. 12:2. Many that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Ezek. 32:4. Elam and all her multitude are slain —— they have borne their shame, with them that go down to the pit. That which is penal in shame, the Lord Jesus did bear; he saith of himself, Isaiah. 50:6. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Heb. 12:2. He endured the cross, despising the shame. In these respects he did bear our shame; 1. That he being the Lord of glory, and thought it no robbery to be equal with the Father, he abased himself to come so low as to be a man, and the of men, a servant, Phil. 2:6, 7, 8; Matth. 20:28 and Isa. 49:7. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his holy One, to him whom man despiseth, Hebr. to one despised in soul, a contemned soul, abhorred by the nation, to a servant of lords. 2. All the tokens of reproach and shame were on his suffering: As, 1. In gestures, the putting a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed for a sceptre in his hand, to scorn his kingly power, saluting him with mocking and bowing the knee to him. 2. In words, saying, Hail King of the Jews: a scorning his prophetical dignity, in blind-folding him, and covering his face, and saying prophesy who is he that smote thee? And, to deride his priesthood, they put a robe on him; and when he is on the cross, and offering himself as our priest, in a sacrifice to God, all that passed by wagged their head, and shot out the lip, saying, He trusted in God, let God save him: then the spitting on his face, in the law was great shame, Deut. 25:9 the wife of the brother that would not build his brother's house, did spit on his face; so Job complains, Chap. 30:10 that the children of fools and base men abhorred him, and spared not to spit on his face. O but there is now much glory and beauty of glory on that face! 'Tis more glorious than the sun. 3. His death had a special note of shame, the death of a robber and an ill-doer; so it is called Christ's reproach, Heb. 13:13. Let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach, or bearing his cross, which was a reproachful thing; for it is a clear allusion to the manner of Christ's going out of the city of Jerusalem to mount Calvary bearing his own cross; it was a reproachful thing to see the Lord of glory bear shame on his back, and to behold Jesus going through the city, out of the ports of Jerusalem, with a shameful cross between his shoulders, and all the children and boys and base ones of the city wondering at him, and crying, Hue after him. O wo to Jerusalem, when they shut Christ out at their ports, and will him no longer; and wo to them that put that him, as to lay the reproachful and cursed cross on his back, and no man would bear it for him: and the suffering of Christ, Heb. 11:26 is called the reproach and the shame of Christ, Psal. 22:7. But I am a worm [Heb. velo-ish] no man of note, the reproach, manifest or published shame or reproach of Adam, of frail men, the contempt of the people, the disgrace or neglect of the people. Now third particular is, How could it consist with the glory of Christ as King, to be shamed? It is, I must confess, a strange expression, the Son of God shamed; yet 'tis expression, Heb. 12:2; Isai. 50:7. But such a shame as they could put on Christ, may well stand with the personal union.

For, 1. Shame, as arising from the ill conscience of sin, they could not put on Christ. Jer. 2:26. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed: they could not catch Christ in any sin; and so, though they shamed him, he was not shamed, nor could he hide his face for confusion.

2. Shame is a breaking of the hope and confidence of those who look for great things, 2 Chron. 32:21. The Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assria: so he returned with shame of face to his own land. And Isa. 30. Ye trust (saith the Lord) in the shadow of Egypt, ver.3.Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame. Ver. 5. They are all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be a help nor profit, but a shame and also a reproach: Now, thus the confidence that Christ had in God could not be broken; God could not fail Christ; his hope was ever green, before the sun: he said it, and it was true. Isa. 50:7. (Christ's faith and boldness in his Father was as hard as flint) For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face as a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

3. But it is clear, in pulling off his garments and scourging him, so they shamed him, as Jer. 13:26. Therefore will I discover thy skirts on thy face, that thy shame may appear: they brought Jesus bound, as if he had been a common thief, to Pilate, Mat. 26:2 and in regard of this Isaiah prophesied, 53:3. He was despised and rejected of men (the text will bear) Christ was no body —— and we hid as it were our faces from him; they put so much disgrace and shame on blessed Jesus, he was so basely handled, that we blushed and were ashamed to look upon him; all his friends thought shame of him. 1. But this was but the lying estimation of unbelieving men, who could not see his glory; but the repenting thief, when they render, him most shameful and abased by faith saw him a King who had the keys of paradise at his girdle, when he prayed, Lord, remember me when thou comest to thy kingdom: and he was most un-king like at that time; and he had as much shame on him, as he was able to bear; he was branded as the greatest thief of the three, dying a thief's death, going out at the ports of life, bleeding, pained, cursed, shamed, forsaken, despised, mocked; all his glory was now under the ashes, and covered with shame. The sun seemed to be ashamed to see the Creator of the sun in so painful and so shameful a condition, and therefore the sun runs away and hides itself, and is not able to behold the Lord of glory hanged on a tree; the rocks and mountains, the stones and fair temple, as if they would burst for sorrow, and cannot endure so base a condition as the Creator was in now. And, as if death and the graves were grieved, and male-content to serve the justice of God, for the sin of man, they will lodge their prisoners the dead no longer; but the graves are opened. 2. Shame is but an opinion, and men can bestow their opinion amiss, and so did the world on Christ; there was glory and fulness, yea, infinite glory in Christ, but they saw it not; few see the worth, fewer can weigh the weight of Christ's excellency. Men's glory is but [Gr. doxè] a mere opinion, and often but a lie: and it took nothing of real glory from Christ, whatever they esteemed him; say that the sense of a man would judge the sun no better than a two-penny candle, this takes nothing from the excellency of the sun. 2. The sun is the sun, when it hides its beams and rays of light and heat; Christ was the Lord of glory, when he drew in all his majesty, and caused the rays of glory and honour retire and hide themselves under all the shame, baseness and disgrace that men could lay upon him. A voluntary condescension of Christ was all here.

3. A curse

The third character engraven on Christ's death, is the curse of God; in which consider, 1. What a curse was on Christ dying. 2. How he was a curse, and the causes of it.

To curse, in both languages, is to pray evil, to devote to destruction either in word or deed. Now the curse that Christ was made, 1. Was the Lord's pronouncing him a curse: 2. The setting of him apart, as appointed for wrath and judgment: 3. The dishonour done to him, the nothinging or despising of Christ, was a part of his curse. Now in the curse of these three, we know, Deut. 21:23 the Lord pronounceth him accursed that hangeth on a tree: Paul, in Gal. 3:10, 12 applies it to Christ; it was a ceremonial curse, I grant, Deut. 21 but had a special relation to Christ, who was under a real and moral curse; for such a curse is upon the sinner for idolatry, and the highest breaches of the moral law, Deut. 27 as to set light by father and mother, to remove the neighbour's land-mark, and by fraud or rapine, to take his lands from him: such a curse was laid on Christ, an higher curse than to be hanged on a tree; to be hanged was a note of a temporal curse, but except the man died in sin, no mark of the eternal displeasure of God, but as typical and relative to Christ, for whose sake only this curse was put on the death of the cross: it was in equivalency an eternal vengeance, and that wrath which all the elect were for ever to suffer in hell; the apostle saith, Gal. 3:10, 11, 12, 13. Such a curse, as is due to these that abide not in all that is written in the law of God to do it, was upon Christ. Now, this was a real and moral curse; because, first, due to the Gentiles, who were not obliged to the law of ceremonies; and was, secondly, due to thousands that died not on the tree.

2. Christ was devoted and set apart, in the eternal counsel of God, for suffering the punishment of sin; when God first purposed (if there be order of first and second in the eternal decrees of God) the Lord devoted and set apart this Lamb, before the foundation of the world was laid, to be a bloody sacrifice for sin; he was separated from the flock to be killed, and for our sakes he devoted, vowed and sanctified himself for that work: Christ was of all mankind separated to be an atonement and an expiation for sin; he was dieted for the race, to run through death and hell; he was fitted to suffer; no man, so furnished to undergo the wrath of God, as he.

3. As to be accursed, comes under the third notion, to wit, to be dishonoured; so was Christ under a curse, Psal. 22:7. No man, Isa. 53:3. The last of men; the contempt and the refuse of men, Acts 4:11 the stone rejected by you builders (saith Peter) [Gr. ho lithos ho exouthenetheis] that nothinged stone, not so much esteemed as an arrant murderer Barabbas: and this death of the cross, now especially in the christian world, is become most base; as the burial of an ass, Jer. 22 was a sign of God's displeasure, so is hanging, nations having (not without God's providence) casten their consent together, that it should be the death of the poor and basest of men: so Peter, as if it had been only of men's chusing, Acts 5:30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree; and Acts 2:23 whom by wicked hands ye have crucified and slain. Hanging on a tree, is more than slaying: to kill a man, is all ye can do; but to put a man to a base death, that is cursed both of God and man, is far worse, 'tis more than the worst: and that a king lineally descended of kings, and of the blood royal, the kingly tribe of Judah, the man on earth that only by birth and law had title to the crown of Judea, should be put to so base a death, is the worse that wicked men or devils can do.

I may add yet a fourth consideration, Gen. 3:17. All the creatures are put under the curse of man's sins: Christ died such a death, as took the creatures off the curse; and Col. 1:20. Christ, having made peace through the blood of his cross, reconciled all things to himself, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven. 2. Now, how Christ could be a curse, is harder: there is a thing intrinsically and fundamentally cursed, and there is a thing extrinsically and effectively cursed; none but he that sinneth, is intrinsically and fundamentally cursed; for in this regard 'tis a personal evil. Christ was not intrinsically abominable, hateful, and an execrable thing to God.

Object. "But if Christ suffered all that we were to suffer for our sins, then as God must in justice abhor and hate with a hatred of abomination the sinner, and the sinner is such an one as God must let out his displeasure against him, so God must hate and abhor his person; therefore God's displeasure not only pursued Christ by way of punishment, that extrinsically he was cursed, but also the Lord in justice behoved to hate and abhor the person of the Son of God with the hatred of abomination, that he intrinsically should be a curse, as well as the sinner, in whose person he stands."

Answ. Christ the surety behoved to suffer all and every punishment due to the elect, either in the same kind and coin, as death, or in the equivalency and in as good: for there were some punishments that may be well changed the one in the other; as death natural, or by violence, was changed in the death of the cross: we have no ground to think, if Christ had never come to die for us, that the death of all mankind must have been the death of the cross: so God's hating and abominating the sinner, must be and was changed in God's forsaking of Christ, when he complained, My God, my God, &c. in regard this was all as penal and sad to Christ, as the other, to wit, to be abominated and hated in our persons as accused of God, not to say that it was not congruous to the condition of him who is the Son of the eternal God by nature, and by an unspeakable generation, to be in his person abominated and abhorred of God, as a man intrinsically cursed, as the sinner who sinneth in person is: and not to add also (which may be said) the kind of punishment; this, not this, is arbitrary to the law-giver: now, the apostle saith not Christ was cursed, but, Gal. 3:10. [Gr. genomenos huper hemôn katára] he was made a curse for us, extrinsically a curse, as 2 Cor. 5:21. God made him sin for us, that is, what was a penal in the curse and sin, and whatever was congruous and suitable to his holy person, that the Lord Jesus came under: sure, as Christ took on him our nature, so he changed persons and names with us legally; he was made the sinner, and the sinner made the son: there was reciprocation of imputation here; Christ was you legally and by law, and ye are sons in him. The law was a bloody bond, and our names and souls were inked with the blood of the eternal curse; but blot out (saith Christ) my brehrens' names out of the bloody bond, and write in my name, for blood and the curse of God; and there was a white gospel-bond drawn up, and the elect's names therein. Then the two writs run thus in the new covenant; Christ was made a curse, and liable to pay all our debts and law-penalties to the blood and death; and the poor sinner eternally blessed in Jesus Christ, even to perfect imputed righteousness and everlasting life. Christ changed your bleeding even to the second death, and made it blessings for evermore to new and everlasting life.

Use 1. If Christ died such a violent and painful death; then death, violent or natural, is not much up or down.

(1.) Sweet Jesus had it to his choice, he would choose the of deaths, to go to the grave in blood; Christ's winding-sheet was blooded; a good prince, a ransomer of the house of God, Josiah, died in blood: many of the worthiest that died in faith, died not in their beds, were (Heb. 11:35, 36, 37) tortured, had trial of bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword. The first witness in the christian church after the Lord's ascension, Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, was stoned to death, Psal. 79:2. The bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat to the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints to the beasts of the earth: many thousand martyrs have been burnt quick, extremely tormented with new-devised most exquisite torments, as to be roasted on a brander, to be devoured with lions and wild beasts.

2. Violence more or less is an accident of death, as it is the same hand folded in, or the singers stretched out; violent death is but a death on horse-back, and with wings, or a stroke with the fist, as the other death is a blow with the palms of the hand; natural death is death going on foot, and creeping with a slower pace; violent death unites all its forces at once, and takes the city by storm, and comes with sourer and blacker visage; death natural divides itself in many several bits of deaths; old age being a long spun-out death, and nature seems to render the city more willingly, and death comes with a whiter and milder visage; the one has a salter bite, and teeth of steel and iron; the other has softer fingers, and takes asunder the boards of the clay-tabernacle more leisurely, softly, tenderly and with less din, as not willing that death should appear death, but a sleep: the violent death is as when apples green and raw are plucked off the tree, or when flowers in the bud, and young, are plucked up by the roots; the other way of dying is, as when apples are ripened and are filled with well-boil'd summer-sap, and fall off the tree of their own accord in the eater's mouth; or when flowers wither on the stalk: some dying full of days, have, like banqueters, a surfeit of time; others are suddenly plucked away when they are green; but which of the ways you die, not to die in the Lord is terrible, ye may know ye shall die by the fields ye grow on while ye live. A believer on Christ, breathes in Christ, speaks, walks, prays, believes, eateth, drinketh, sickens, dies in Christ; Christ is the soil he is planted in, he groweth on the banks of the paradise of God; when he falleth, he cannot fall wrong. Some are trees growing on the banks of the river of fire and brimstone; when God hews down the tree, and death fells them, the tree can fall no otherwise than in hell. O how sweet to be in Christ, and to grow as a tree planted on the banks of the river of life! when such die, they fall in Christ's lap and in his bosom, be the death violent or natural; 'tis all one whether a strong gale and a rough storm shore the child of God on the new Jerusalem's dry land, or if a small calm blast even with rowing of oars bring the passenger to heaven, if once he be in that goodly land.

2. To die in faith, (The righteous has hope in his death) is the essential qualification to be most regarded, that is the all and sum of well-dying; make sure work of heaven, and let the way or manner, violent or natural, be as God will, 'tis amongst the indifferents of death; saints have died either way. To die in Christ, in the hope of the resurection, is the fair and good death. To die in sin, Job. 8:21 that is the ill death, and the black death.

3. To die ripened for eternity, is all and sum; 'tis said of some, they died full of days.

Object. How is a man full and ripe for death?

Answ. In these respects, 1. When the man is mortified to time, and is satisfied with days, he desires no more life, he lies at the water-side, near-by death, waiting for wind and tide, like a passenger who would fain be over the water; so dying Jacob, in the midst of his testament, Gen. 49:18. Lord, I have waited for thy salvation; Lord, when shall I have fair passage? Job saith, chap. 14:14. All the time I am on the sentinel, or the time of my warfare, I will wait till my last change come. So Paul saith, Phil. 1:23. Having a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is far better; the man desires not to stay here any longer.

2. He would go to sea, when all his land-business is ended, the courts are closed, and if the sun be low and near his setting, lo the way ends with the day; see the lodging hard at hand, 2 Tim. 4:7. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 8. Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness: sweet Jesus, ere he died, said, It is finished, all is done; he is on the scaffold, and nods on his executioner, Death, Friend, come do your office, I pray you see your task be ended.

3. The man seeth the crown; he is come to the stonewall or the hedge of paradise, and seeth the apples of life hanging on the tree, and hears the musick of heaven: Stephen, Acts 7:50. I saw heaven opened.

4. He goes not away pulled by the hair, but willingly, gladly, Heb. 11:8, 15. They desire a better country. Job 5:26. Like a shock of corn in his season: it would be the loss of the corn to be longer out of the barn; death shall not come while it be welcome. Job 7:3. As the hired servant panteth for the shadow, so he for death. All these sour were in Jesus Christ.

Had Christ so much pain in his death, that his death and the cross were all one, so as he had five deaths on him at once, four on his body, death on every hand, death on every foot, and a death on his soul, ten thousand millions of pounds weightier and sadder? Then let us correct all our errors and misjudgings touching the cross.

Error 1. We love to go to paradise through a paradise of roses, and a land-way to heaven, and a dry fair white death; we would have Christ and the cross changed, which saith, Whoever would follow Christ, let him take up his cross [Gr. kath' he méran] daily, and follow him, Luke 6:23.

2. We forget that heaven is fenced with a huge great wood of thorns; we must crowd through, though our skin be scratched even to blood and death. Life eternal is like a fair, pleasant, rich and glorious city in the midst of a waste wilderness; and there lies round about this city, at all the corners of it, a wood of briers and thorns, scorpions serpents and lions abounding in it, and the wood is ten thousand miles of bounds on all hands, of a journey of threescore years at some parts; there is no high road-way in the wood, no back entry about; wise professors seek a way about the cross; God has given wings to none to fly over the wood: or 'tis like a fair king's palace in an island of the sea; 'tis a most pleasant isle for all kind of delights, but there is no way to it by dry-land. Would ye have valley-ground, summer-meadows, fields and gardens of flowers and roses all your way? and how is it that the Lord will not give peace to his church? nay, but there is not a way to heaven on this side of the cross, or on that side of of the cross, but directly, straight through we must go; when the apostles went through the churches confirming the brethren, Acts. 14:22 they preached that the cross was gospel; and [Gr. dia pollôn thlipseon deî hemas] through the midst of affliction, or under flailing and threshing we must go; there is not a way about to shift the cross, but we must enter into the kingdom of God, this very way, and no other.

3. The blood was not dried off Christ's hands and feet, and his winding-sheet, till he was in the flower of the higher palace of his father's kingdom, and within the walls; and so his church must not think hard of it, if she go not a dry death to heaven.

Error 2. We tacitly condemn the wisdom of God in our murmuring under the cross; cannot Christ lead his people to heaven a better way than through the swords, spears and teeth of malignants? and must new armies of Irish murderers land on us again? These would be considered: 1. Paul encouraging the Thessalonians, saith, 2 Thess. 3:3. No man should be moved by these afflictions: why, for yourselves know we are appointed thereunto from eternity. The wise Lord did brew a cup of bloody sufferings for his church, and did mould and shape every saint's cross in length and breadth for him; our afflictions are not of yesterday's date and standing: before the Lord set up the world, as it now is, he had all the wheels, pins, wedges, works, and every material by him, in his eternal mind; all your tears, your blood, all the ounces and pounds of gall and wormwood ye now drink, they were an eternal design and plot of God's wise decree before the world was, they were the lot God did appoint for your back, they are no sourer, no heavier this day, than they were in the Lord's purpose before time; your grave, O saints, is no deeper than of old the Lord digged it, your wound no nearer the bone than mercy made it; your death is no blacker, no more thorny and devouring than Christ's soft hands framed it; ere God gave you flesh and skin and heat in your blood, Christ's doom and the church's doom of the black cross was written in heaven: so Christ smiles and drinks with this word, John 18:11. Shall I not drink the cup that my Father hath given me? 2. Rom. 8. Predestination is the first act of free-grace, and ver. 29 in that act a communion with Christ in his cross is passed; this we consider not: will ye not think good to set your shoulders and bones under the same burden that was on Christ's back? we fear the cross less at our heels and behind our back than when it is in our bosom. The Lord Jesus speaks of his suffering often afore-hand, and it is wisdom to make it less, by antidated patience and submission, before we suffer; it were good, would we give our thoughts, and lend some words to death, as Christ here doth ere it come: opinion, which is the pencil that draws the face, arms and legs of death and sufferings, might honey our gall; if a martyr judge a prison a palace, and his iron chains golden bracelets, sure his bonds are as good as liberty; if a saint count death Christ's master-usher to make way to him for heaven, then death cannot be a mill to grind the man's life to powder: faith can oil and sugar our worm-wood; and if Christ come with the cross, it has no strength; the believer has two skins on his face against the spittings of storm and hail-stones; Christ can make a saint sing in hell, as impatient unbelief could cause a man sigh and weep in heaven. 3. We forget that the church is the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, and that the owner of the farm must hire Satan and wicked men to be his vine-dressers and reapers; but the crop is the Lord's, not theirs; they are plowers, but they neither know the soil, nor the husbandman, Psal. 129:2.

Error 3. When we see we must suffer, we tacitly are offended that Christ will not give us the first vote in our own jury, and that he would not seek our own advice in this kind of cross, not this. Except to one man, David, God never referred the choice of a cross, but then grace made the choice. Sure Scotland would have chosen famine or pestilence, rather than the sword of a barbarous unnatural enemy; but it must not be referred to the wisdom of the sick, what should be his physick: we often say, any cross but this; especially if there be any letter of reproach on the cross, a shameful death or distraction of mind; but the Lord seeth nothing out of heaven or hell so good for you as that; that, and no other. 2. We would have the pound-weights of affliction weighed in our balance: oh this is too heavy; hence David's and Job's over complaining, Oh my calamity is heavier than the sand of the sea, Job 6:3 and, Am I a sea or a whale that thou settest a watch over me? Chapter 7:12. Should God deal with a man as with a fish or a beast? 3. We desire to be creators of such and such circumstances of our own grief: so we storm often at the circumstances, as at the very poison of the cross; as if God had, through forgetfulness, and a slip of wisdom, left that circumstance out of his decree, as the painter that draws the whole body exactly, but forgetteth to draw one of the five fingers; and in the mean while, that circumstance, which we wrestle most against in our thoughts, was specially intended of God: how often doth this fire our thoughts, and burn them up with fretting? Had I done this, I might have eschewed this heaviest and sadded calamity: had I gone to sea when the wind and sailors called me, but the fourth part of an hour sooner I had not been in dry land, where I am now butchered to death, so, had I but spoken a word, I might have saved all this loss and labour; and not this man come in with an ill counsel and one unhappy word, many hundred thousands had not been killed in battle. And Martha, John 11:21 is upon this distemper, for she saith to Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died: she would say, it was an ill hap, Christ was unluckily in another place when my brother died; but the wise decree of God had carved these circumstances so, that Christ's absence was specially decreed in that affliction, v. 15. Jesus said plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there (to the intent that ye may believe,) &c. Look up in the affliction to the saddest and blackest circumstance in the cross: infinite wisdom was not sleeping, but from eternity, with understanding and counsel, the Lord decreed and framed that saddest circumstance, even that Shimei a subject should curse David his prince; and that he should charge him with blood against Saul, of which he was most free, and at that time, and no other time, when he was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom; but all the sad circumstances were moulded and framed on the wheels of the decree of him who deviseth all, shapes our woes, according to the counsel of his will. We would have our Lord to remove the gall, the wormwood, and the fire-edge out of our cross, and we lust for some more honey and sugar of consolation to be mixed with it. It were good if we could, by grace, desire three ills to be removed from our cross: 1. That of its nature it be not sinful, such as hardness of heart; we may in our election and choice, pray that it be not both a sinful plague of God on the soul, and a judgment to us: 2. We may pray, that the affliction may be circumstanced, and honeyed with the consolations of Christ, and with faith and patience, and a spiritual use of the affliction: 3. We may pray, it may not be a burden above our back, and such as we are not able to bear; and this we may as lawfully choose and pray, as say, Lord, lead us not into temptation.

Use 3. Was there shame and reproach on Christ's cross? Fy on all the glory of the world; let us not think, 1. Too much of this piece airy, windy, vain opinion of men's esteem, and their applause; 'tis but a short-living, hungry hosanna, when your name is carried through a spot or bit of this clay-stage, for a day or two; they'll wonder at your but nine nights. Christ's same spread abroad through all the country, and now he is shamed and a reproached man; now the whole people cry out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. The ground of man's glory is his goodliness or graciousness, his [Heb. Hesed] all his endowments and brave parts, and all this glory, Isa. 40:6 is as the flower of the field: his glory has a month, and lives the poor twelfth part of a year; and Herod is gone to the worms, and his silks rotten and gone; and Shebna is tossed like a ball in a large place, and must hear this, Isa. 22:18. Thou shalt die (in a strange land) and there thy chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy Lord's house. 'Tis an earthly thing, Phil. 3:19. Whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things. Hos. 4:7. I'll change their glory into shame; and when Ephraim glories in children, God sews wings to that glory, and it flies away, Hos. 9:11. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away as a bird. The ten tribes boasted of their strength and multitude, but the Lord saith, Isa. 17:4. The glory of Jacob shall be made thin. 2. God in a special manner sets himself in person against this glory; Isa. 23:9. The Lord of hosts has purposed to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. Isa. 10:12. I'll punish the glory of the high looks of the king of Assyria. Hab. 2:16. The Lord lays a right curse on Caldee's glory; The cup of the Lord's right-hand shall be turned into thee, and shameful spuing shall be on thy glory. 3. 'Tis the sweet fruit of Christ's death and abasement, that we learn to lay down our credit under the Lord's feet, Phil. 2. Let this same mind be in you, that was in Christ Jesus: O that must be a high and an aspiring mind! for he was the high and lofty One; no, he teaches all his to be abased, v. 6. Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God, v. 7 but he emptied himself; he was full of majesty and glory, but he made himself of no reputation, and an empty thing, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men—and humbled himself: ah! let never man go with high sails, nor count much of world's glory, after Jesus Christ: ah! our reputation and name is as tender to us as paper, as our skin; a scratch in it, or a rub, is a provocation cannot be expiated; as if we minded in the airy cloud of men's same, to fly up to heaven, and frothy same were as good to lay hold on Christ as fervent faith: breach of our privileges of state is more now than blasphemy against God.

Use. 4. Now, if Christ was made a curse for us, that we might be delivered from the curse, we are comforted in Christ's being made a curse for us, in regard of, 1. Extreme love. 2. Perfection of blessedness.

For this act of love, we are assured he that will be made the curse of God for us, will be any thing. Four great steps of love were here, every one of them greater than another: 1. To be a man. 2. To be a dying man. 3. To be as a sinning man. 4. To be a cursed man.

Consider these four as they grow out of the root of love. A spirit sinless and holy is a happy thing; the Son of God, being God, is a Spirit, and so in another condition than man, he was above bones and clay, and the motion of hot air going in and out at the nostrils; 'tis a sort of cumber to carry about a piece of dust of more than a hundred and fifty bits of clay, organs, five senses, two hands, two legs, head, tongue, lips, throat, shoulders, breast, back, so many fingers, toes, liths, joints, veins, muscles, then belly, stomach, heart, liver, bowels, and a number of cumbersome vessels; let them be a hundred and fifty fragments of warm, red and bloody clay, they require more than an hundred and fifty servants of clay, of meat, raiment, medicine, to serve them; and the more needy a creature is, the more miserable. A spirit is above all these, and needs not senses, nor servants to serve the senses and life; O but Christ was happy from eternity! And consider what a low loup of love as was this; The word made flesh, God manifested in the flesh, is the greatest mystery of love in the world: here God an infinite spirit made man, has need of two eyes of clay, two ears, two legs, two hands; he must come under the necessities of all these hundred and fifty organs. Can ye tell what secrets of love are here? God looks out at two clay-windows, the two eyes of a man; God walks with the two clay-legs of a man, He dwelt amongst us (saith John 1:14) he pitched his clay-tent with us, full of grace and glory; grace and glory dwelling in clay, is one of the deep wonders of the world.

But, 2. We would accept to be men; but if it were referred to our choice, we must die in pain, and be tumbled in a cold hole of clay in the earth, and see the sun no more, it may be, we would take it to our advisement, ere we choosed life: Christ knew on such terms, if he should be made a creature of clay, and if the high and lofty God should be clothed with such rags, a coat of clay, so far below his beauty, he must die; yet he would be a man, a dying man; and we know what sad and sour accidents were in his death.

But, 3. Ye will kill an honest-hearted and ingenuous innocent man, ere ye move him to take with a fault, when he has done no fault: Job was called an hypocrite by his friends, but he would never take with it, he would maintain his own righteousness, till he died; the martyrs, ere they would take sin on them by acting it, and deny Jesus Christ, they would rather choose the gallows, torture, the teeth of lions, burning quick, or any thing: but Christ Jesus takes it patiently to stand as the thief, the bloody man, the false man, and as all the wicked men of the world: he could not act sin; but he said, Father, make me the sinner; I never stole, but let my face be blacked with theft; I never shed innocent blood, but let the stain and blot of the murderer be upon me; I never lied, but let me be as a liar, and stand so before justice; and God made him sin, 2 Cor. 5:21. When a man willingly goeth to prison for a broken man, 'tis a real acknowledgment that he takes on him the broken man's debts; 'tis as good as if he had said, Crave me for him: a moral blot to be put on an honest, holy, harmless man is a high measure of self-denial and love; Christ said, Here am I, crave me, Lord.

But this is nothing, Christ was a man; 2. A dying man; 3. Made as a sinner, and as a wicked and unhonest man; but God blessed him, he was made a blessing of God, and that is comfort enough: no, it was not so; God made him a curse, an execrable thing; all the broad curses written in the book of the law, came on him. See Christ made clay, dying clay, as sinning clay, cursed clay: what would ye have more? Christ is as if his Father abhorred him, and would not give him one cast of his eye.

2. All perfection of blessedness comes to us by this, that Christ was made a curse for us, Gal. 3:14. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith: this is the true freedom from the law, to be freed from the curse thereof, in believing Christ was made a curse for you; according to that, Rom. 6:14. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace; which doctrine is clear, Rom. 7 where expressly we are said to be freed from the dominion of the law, as the wife is freed from the law of subjection to her husband, if the husband be dead: which is a comparison, and holdeth not in all, but only in so far as the two husbands, the law and Christ, stand in opposition the one to the other: now, the opposition is, that the law has dominion to justify the legal observers of it, and guide the wife to life eternal; but the conditions are hard, and now because of the flesh impossible. Christ again, the better husband, leadeth his bride to heaven in sweeter terms, by believing in him that justifieth the ungodly, who has satisfied for our breach of the law.

3. The law hath dominion over the wife that is in subjection to it, to condemn her, if she break to this spiritual husband, in thought, word, or deed: but the two husbands both agree in this, that both command holy walking; as the apostle excellently sheweth, 1 Cor. 9:20. To them that are under the law, I am as under the law, that I might gain them that are under law: Verse 21. To them that are without law, as without law (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ) that I might gain them that are without law: hence we teach, that the believer, married to the second and better husband Christ, is not freed from the rule and directing power of the law to lead us in the ways of sanctification and holiness; but we are freed from the dominion of the law, that it cannot justify us, nor condemn us, because in Christ we are justified by his imputed righteousness laid hold on by faith, and saved freely in him by his blood. Hence give me leave to vindicate our doctrine in this, from the wicked aspersions cast on it by Antinomians, especially by Mr. Towne.

Mr. Towne's assertion of grace against Doctor Taylor, Page 3.

"When 'tis said, We are not under the law, but under grace, Rom. 6 by the word (law) I understand the moral law or decalogue, with all its authority, dominion, offices and effects; and by grace is understood the gospel of Christ. If ye were (saith he) under the power and teaching of the law, 'tis true sin would then lord it over you, in that the law is the strength of sin, 1 Cor. 15. But ye are translated into another kingdom, where the enemy ye so fear, is spoiled of all its armour, and power where on it dependeth; and your king, you now live under, doth freely communicate abundant and effectual grace of justification and sanctification, so to fortify you, that ye shall be more than conquerors; therefore fear not, only be strong in the faith thereof"

Answ. 1. Not to mind Mr. Towne that elsewhere he meaneth by the law, that we are not under, not the moral law only, but the ceremonial also; if we be freed from all authority of the law, then hath the sixth command no authority from God to teach that murdering of our brother is a sin, that idolatry is contrary to the second command; then all acts of holiness and worship performed by the believer, must be will-service and will-worship: for if the law do not teach and direct us what is holy walking, what sin; the gospel, by the Antinomian way, doth not teach any such thing in the letter; then it is all unwritten will-walking, that a believer doth; this is licence, not holiness, we are called unto.

2. Then is it not the law's office to reveal sin to us? Paul saith contrary, Rom. 3:20. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. Rom. 7:7. I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Free a believer from all the offices of the law, then the believer, when he lies and whores, and murders, is not obliged to know or open his eyes, and see from the light of the law that these be sins; for Mr. Towne looseth him from all the offices of the law: Paul misjudged himself, when in his believing condition, he saith, Rom. 7:14, 15. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

3. From the law's teaching of believers, to infer that the law lordeth it over a believer, is a great fallacy.

4. If the enemy sin be spoiled of all power, even of indwelling and lusting against the Spirit, then the believer cannot fail against a law; then he may say, he has no sin, which John saith is a lie.

5. If Christ communicate abundant effectual grace of sanctification, then is sanctification perfect; but the scripture saith the contrary, In many things we offend all; and we are not perfect in this life, nor are we more than conquerors in every act of sanctification. Nor is that Paul's meaning, Rom. 8 that we are never foiled, and that lusts in some particular acts have not the better of us too often, but that finally, in the strength of Christ, the saints are so far forth more than conquerors, that nothing can work the apostasy and separation of the saints from the love of God in Christ.

Mr. Towne's assertion of grace, pag. 4, 5.

"Mark three grounds of mistakes: 1. That justification and sanctification are separable, if not in the person, yet in regard of time and word of ministration, as if the gospel revealed justification; the law were now become an effectual instrument of sanctification: 2. That to ease men of the law's yoke, is to suffer them to range after the course of the world, and their own fleshly lusts; not considering that the righteousness of faith unites them to Christ their Lord, Head and Governour, that they may be led by his free Spirit, and swayed by the sceptre of his kingdom: 3. That all zealous and strict conformity to the law of works, tho' but in the letter, is right sanctification."

Answ. 1. Not any of these are owned by Protestant divines; they are Mr. Towne's forged calumnies. To the first, I cannot see that sanctification is any thing at all by Antinomian grounds but meer justification; and that he is an Antinomian saint, that believeth Christ satisfied, and performed the law for him, but no letter of law or gospel layeth any obligation on him to walk in holiness. But the gospel only revealeth ingrafting of the branch in Christ the vine-tree and stock of life and the bringing forth fruits, by the faith of Christ, to be the only true sanctification; but if the apples be not of the right seed, and conform to the directing rule of all righteousness, the law of God, they are but wild grapes. We never made the law the effectual instrument of sanctification; a help it is, being preached with the gospel; but neither is the gospel of itself the effectual instrument of sanctification, except the Spirit of grace accompany it, nor the law of it self.

2. The second is a calumny also: but we would desire to know how Antinomians can free themselves of it; for the righteousness of faith doth not so unite believers to Christ as to their governour, so as Christ governeth them by the Spirit and the word, for the letter of the whole word, both law and gospel (say (a) they) holdeth forth nothing but a covenant of works; to search the scripture, (b) either law or gospel, is not a sure way of searching and finding of Christ; and Mr. Towne passeth in silence all guidance of the saints, by commandments of either law or gospel, and tells us of a leading by a free Spirit only. So that by Antinomians, we are no more under the gospel as a directing and commanding rule, than we are under the law. What hindereth then but Antinomian justification bids us live as we list? We think the gospel commandeth every duty and forbiddeth every sin, as the law doth, under damnation; what is sin to the one, is to the other. But the gospel forbiddeth nothing to a justified believer under the pain of damnation, more than to Jesus Christ. 2. A dead letter forbiddeth no sin, commandeth no duty; but the gospel of itself, without the Spirit, is a dead letter, as well as the law; the major is the Antinomian doctrine, the assumption is undeniable.

3. Pharisaical conformity to the law we disclaim; but if any could be strictly and perfectly conform to the law of works, as Christ was, we should think such a man perfectly sanctified; but, through the wickedness of the flesh, that is unpossible. I know not what Mr. Towne means by a conformity to the law, though but in the letter; if he means that the literal meaning and sense of the law requireth no spiritual, inward, and compleatly perfect obedience, he is no good doctor of the law; and if it be not such an obedience, it is not zealous and strict obedience. But it is ordinary to Antinomians now to term these whom the prelatical party of late called Puritans and strict Precisians, because they strove to walk closely with God, Pharisees and out-side professors, who think to be justified and saved by their own righteousness; so far are they at odds with sanctification. If, by conformity to the law in the letter, Mr. Towne means external obedience, without faith in Jesus Christ, or union with him; he knows Protestant divines acknowledge no sound sanctification, but that which is the natural issue and fruit of justification, and flows from faith which purifieth the heart; and such strict conformity to the law as floweth from saving faith, we hold to be true sanctification, though all enemies to holy walking cry out against it, such as mockers of all religion, the Prelatical and Antinomian party, who mock strict walking, and long prayer, and humble confession of sins, and smiting of conscience for sin.

Towne, page 5.

"Blind and sinister suspicion, and causeless fear, inclined doctor Taylor to this exposition, to say, our apostle looseth no christian from obedience and rule of the law, but he dares not trust a believer to walk without his keeper; as if he judged no otherwise of him than of a malefactor of Newgate, who would run away, rob, kill, play his former pranks, if the jailor or his man be not with him, when he is abroad."

Answ. 1. There is a twofold keeping in of sinners, one merely legal, such as that of wicked men, Psal. 32:9. Who are like the horse or mule, and have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle lest they come near unto you; the law hath not power over wicked men ever with terrors of hell and the curse of God, because often they be given up to a hard heart (and what cared Pharaoh, who was under the law, for this keeper?) and to a reprobate mind, and to any that commit sin with greediness, having the conscience burnt with a hot iron, and being past feeling, Rom. 1:28, 29; Eph. 4:17, 18, 19; 1 Tim. 4:2. The law is no keeper; they care no more for Mr. Towne's goal, than a lion doth for the crying of a shepherd; he will not abase himself for it: all the restraint that law lays on a natural man, is when the conscience is wakened, or some great plague is on Pharaoh, then he dare not keep the people captive. But Antinomians have a good opinion of slaves of Satan, who judge them to be civil and externally honest devils, and make limbs of hell of a good sweet calm nature, who stand naturally in awe of God's law; but, Rom. 3:9, 10, 11 among the whole tribe and race of mankind, Jews and Gentiles, see what they care for the Antinomian goaler, the law; they believe not one word of the law, saith ver. 11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh God, ver. 12. They are all gone out of the way (where is the keeper, now, and his sword, and spear?) they are altogether become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one, ver. 13. There throat is an open grave, with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips, &c. The law layeth not naturally a bridle on the outer man; but observe that the conscience be restrained and awed by the law, and under any natural remorse for sin committed or to be committed, is a sinful bondage that Christ must deliver us from. 1. Then, stupefaction and deadness of conscience not to care for the law of God, more than a prisoner who has broken goal, and now is in hedges and high-ways robbing and murdering, cares for his old keeper, is to Antinomians mortification, and a crucifying of old Adam. 2. Job's not daring to lift his arm against the fatherless, chap. 31 must be the power of old Adam in him; David's bones broken for his adultery and murder, must be the power of old lusts in him. 3. Then the less tenderness of conscience and fear for sin as sin, the more mortification of lust. 4. Grace as grace, stupifieth and deadneth conscience; so Antinomians must teach.

2. Men naturally do more good for the praise of men, and are more afraid to do ill, for the ax and the gibbet of the magistrate, than for any fear of hell or judgment of the law of God. Towne cannot speak of this keeper; there is a second restraint that the law mixt with the love of Christ layeth on the godly and believer, and he has need of this keeper; so Joseph saith Gen. 42:18. This do and live, for I fear God: there was a keeper over Job, that he durst not lift up his hand against the fatherless, chap. 31 why ver. 23. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure: And this keeper in the conscience, smites David's heart, when he renteth but the lap of Saul's garment, and keeps him that he dare not kill him. This was not legal bondage; for Christ commanded (Mat. 10:28, 29; Luke 12:5) us to fear him that can cast both soul body in hell. rather ere we deny him before men who can but kill the body; and, 1 Pet. 2:17; Col. 3:22; Acts 9:31; Acts 13:16 it is commanded to us. I grant, the object of this fear is not so much hell, as the offending of God, but it is commanded in the law of God: but Mr. Towne will have the believer so free, so perfect, as the law needeth not to teach and direct him in one step; he doth all without a keeper, or one letter of a command, by the free impulsion of a spirit separated from scripture: that is right down, a believer is neither under law nor gospel, but a spirit separated from the gospel and all letter of it, and from the law, guides him.

Towne, Pag. 5, 6.

"But I muse why you omit to show what it is to be under grace, which is the member opposite to being under the law. Paul treateth of sanctification, and yet maketh this contrariety of being under the law, and under grace: the law must be taken comprehensively, with all his offices and authority; and that the reason is firm, that sin shall not have dominion over him who liveth under the grace of the gospel, because it hath a sanctifying virtue and power in it to subdue sin."

Answ. Dr. Taylor did not omit to expound what it is to be under grace, if you had not omitted to read his words, he is clear to any unpartial reader: but let your exposition stand; sin shall have no dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, as teaching, directing, regulating believers in the way of righteousness, but under grace, that is, under the gospel, which giveth power to subdue sin, without any ruling, teaching or directing power of the law: but what is the power of subduing sin to Antinomians, I pray you? Not sanctification, as in words they say; but justification, that is a power to believe Christ by doing and suffering has fulfilled and obeyed the law for you, but ye are under no command to walk according to the rule of righteousness in the law; so that to be under the law, is just contrary to personal and real sanctification and walking in love and evangelick duties, even as to be under the law, and to be under grace, are opposed by the apostle: then, as we are obliged, not to be under the law, but under grace, so are we obliged to no personal sanctification or holy walking, but to objective and imputative sanctification only, that is, only to believe in Christ as made our righteousness and sanctification. Now, as we are not obliged to be inherently righteous, so are we not obliged to be inherently and personally sanctified and holy, for that is to be under the law, as the rule of righteousness: now we are freed from the law as our rule of righteousness, and from the law with all its offices and authority, saith Mr. Towne; and to remain under the law as a rule of righteousness, and to walk holily, as being obliged from the conscience of any command either of law or gospel, is legal bondage, from which Christ has set us free; as to be circumcised is a part of the law-yoke, so they teach; then to be inherently holy is unlawful to Antinomians.

Mr. Towne, Page 6.

"Yet I wish that I be not mistaken, for I never deny the law to be an eternal and inviolable rule of righteousness: but yet affirm, that 'tis the grace of the gospel which effectually and truly conformeth us thereunto."

Answ. 1. I wish Mr. Towne do mistake; for he that teacheth that believers are freed from the law, as a rule teaching and directing, and from the law with all its offices and authority; be denieth the law to believers to he an eternal and inviolable rule of righteousness, or then he must speak contradictions, to wit, that the believer is not under the law as a rule of righteousness; for so (saith Towne) he should not be under grace, which is contrary to the apostle, Rom. 6:14 and yet he is under the law as an eternal and inviolable rule of righteousness. For I ask, To whom is the law an eternal and inviolable rule of justice? to the believer or no? If to the believer, then he must be under it; but Antinomians say, that is Pharisaical and Popish; that is, to put Christ's freeman (saith Towne) under his old keeper the law, as if he were a malefactor. If the law be no eternal and inviolable rule of righteousness, why doth Mr. Towne say so.

2. That rule to the which the grace of the gospel doth conform us, that rule we must be under; but Mr. Towne saith, The grace of the gospel truly conformeth us to the eternal and inviolable rule of righteousness; ergo, &c.

3. An inviolable rule of justice cannot be violated and contraveened by these to whom it is a rule without sin, else 'tis not an inviolable rule: then, if believers cannot violate the law, and murder, and commit adultery, but they must sin by violating the rule; then, as believers are obliged not to murder, nor to commit adultery, so must they be under the inviolable rule of righteousness; contrary to which Antinomians teach. All that Mr. Towne can say against us in this argument, is a calumny, that we make the law, not the gospel, to give power to subdue sin; but the truth is, neither law nor gospel giveth grace, but the God of grace hath promised in the gospel, grace, and a new heart and a new spirit to the elect: and grace goeth not along with the gospel, as a favour of equal extension with the preached gospel; but millions hear the gospel, who remain void of grace, and have no right to any promise of grace. The law leaveth not off to be the rule of righteousness, though it cannot effectually make its disciples holy and conform to the rule; no more than the gospel should not be the law and rule of faith, because without the influence of the Spirit of grace it can make no disciples conform to Jesus Christ and his image; for, many elect, for a long time hear the gospel, and have no grace to obey, while the time of conversion come; and many are more blinded and hardned, that the gospel is preached to them; and it were better they had never heard nor known the way of truth.

Towne, page 6, 7.

'Rom. 7:6. The meaning is, Through faith is bred assured confidence, lively hope, pure love toward God, invocation of his name, without all wavering, or doubting or questioning his good-will, audience and acceptance, which could never be attained by all the zeal and conscience towards God, according to the law of works. —— And the knowledge of the glory of God, is given according to a covenant of meer, grace, without addition or mixture of works —— and the opposition is plain to be not so much between the gross hypocrite (who is only brought to outward subjection and correspondency to the law) as between him that in good earnest and in down-uprightness of heart, giveth over himself wholly to the law of God, Rom. 10:2 (as the wife to the husband and guide of her youth) to be ordered in all things, inwardly and outwardly, after the mind of God therein according to his legal conscience, which is never pacified with works; and the man who knoweth and worshippeth God alone, according to the gospel of grace.'

Answ. This is a close perverting of the word of truth. 1. The Antinomian. Faith may here be smelled, that by faith is bred assured confidence, without all wavering, fear or doubting, &c. Then, whoever once doubt or waver, are yet under the law of works; a doctrine of despair to broken reeds, who are not under the law, but married to a new husband Christ, and yet cry, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief: why fear ye, O ye of little faith? Is there not doubting here, and a broken faith, which Christ softly bindeth up.

2. The covenant of grace and gospel commandeth faith, and also good works as witnesses of our faith; but Towne will have good works, in any notion of an evangelick command, to stand at defiance with a covenant of mere grace, when grace is the fountain and cause to our walking in Christ, 2 Cor. 1:10. By the grace of God, we had our conversation in the world; in simplicity and godly sincerity. 1 Cor. 15:10 I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, that is in me. 'Tis true, holy walking by the grace of God, and Christ's righteousness, put together in justification, is a wicked mixture, which we detest.

3. The opposition, Rom. 7 is between any unconverted man under the law, be he hypocrite, or a civil devil, or be he any other man, on the one part; and a believer married to Christ, and dead to the law, on the other; for that which is common, not to gross hypocrites only, but to all natural men out of Christ, is ascribed to the man that is under the law, by the apostle; as, (1.) He is under the law's dominion and condemnation, v. 1. The law has power over him, as the living husband over the wife, v. 2. (3.) The poor man cannot look to Jesus, to another lover and husband; the law as a hard husband leads him, and cries, Obey perfectly, or be eternally damned. (4.) He is a man in the flesh, in whose members concupiscence and lust rageth; as a young vigorous mother bringeth forth children, lusts of the flesh to death, as married to hell the second death, v. 5. (5.) He serves God according to the oldness of the letter, that is, carnally, hypocritically, like an out-side of a rotten Pharisee, and not according to the newness of the Spirit, that is, in a spiritual manner.

Yet Mr. Towne extols him, 'As one that in good earnest and downrightness of heart, yieldeth and giveth over himself to the law of God (as the wife to the husband) to be instructed and ordered in all things, inwardly, and outwardly, after the mind of God.' But no unconverted man can be said so to do, except Antinomians be gross Pelagians. But, I think, Antinomians, with Mr. Crispe, think the person under the law in all this chapter to be the believer, personating or acting the person of a scrupulous believer, under a temptation of doubting: but clear it is, Paul speaks of a man under the law, in the flesh; and in opposition to him, of one under grace; of one married to the law, and of one married to Christ; in the first part of the chapter, of one in the flesh, and so unrenewed, v. 5. For when we were in the flesh, &c. and of that is dead to the law, married to Christ, and serves the Lord spiritually. And 'tis clear, that the apostle counteth it a part of deliverance from the law, and a fruit of our marriage to God, that, (v. 4) we bring forth fruits to God, and walk holily. (2.) That the motions of sins bring forth wicked works, as children to the second death, v. 5. (3.) That we serve the Lord (v. 6) in newness of Spirit, and walk in Christ.

Now, Mr. Towne, as setting himself to contradict Paul, saith, page 6. This is an addition and mixture of works and faith, and cannot stand with a covenant of mere grace.

Towne, p. 8.

'How can Christ redeem us from the law, being under the law for us, except believers be redeemed from the law, in that same very sense and extent that Christ was under it, as a Mediator? But was not Christ under the rule and obedience also, as well as under the reign to death, seeing he came to do the will of his Father, and fulfil all righteousness, Mat. 3:15.

Answ. 1. We cannot every way be said to be redeemed from the law, in that same sense that Christ was under it: for Christ was under the law of ceremonies, to free the Jews from observing that law; I hope we Gentiles are not that way freed from the law of ceremonies; for that law did never oblige the Gentiles, except the Gentiles had adjoined themselves, in some profession, to the then visible church.

2. If Christ was under the law as the rule, to free us from the law as the rule; then, Why did Christ command us to imitate him in doing his Father's will, and submitting to that same rule that he submitted to? as is clear, Mat. 11:29. Learn of me that am meek. John 15:10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. John 14:15. If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 13:15. For I have given you example, that ye should do as I have done unto you. Eph. 5:1, 2; Rev. 3:21; Heb. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:21, 22; John 15:23. But Antinomians (a) say, That these that be in Christ, are not under the law, or commands of the word (even of the letter of the gospel) as the rule of life; and that christians are not bound to conform themselves, in their life, to the directions of the word; contrary to Psal. 119:9; Isa. 8:20 and contrary to all the gospel-exhortations given in the New Testament by Christ and his apostles. And they say, (b) that the example of Christ's life (even in subjecting himself to the law as a rule of righteousness) is not a pattern, according to which we are to act and live: in a word they will have the Spirit separated from the word, and from the example of Christ, and all the cloud of witnesses to be no rule to us; to which I oppose that one precious word of the beloved disciple, 1 John 2:26. He that saith he abideth in him, ought so to walk, even as he hath walked. But observe, 1. All means that do not efficaciously bow the will to obedience to God, and convert the soul, are rejected by them, as not obliging the conscience; such as are the law, the letter of the gospel, all the promises, exhortations and precepts of the gospel, the example of the Lord, who commandeth us, 1 Pet. 1 to be holy as he is holy; the example of Christ, of all the prophets, apostles, martyrs and saints, because all these are some other thing than grace, and may prove ineffectual: hence,

1. The gospel, as contradistinguished from the law, is not the gospel written or preached; but the grace that resideth nowhere but in God, and in Jesus Christ, is the gospel; so say they, (c) 'The faith that justifieth us is in Jesus Christ, and never had any actual being out of Christ. 2. There is no habitual grace inherent in believers; all such must be a created thing, grace is an uncreated favour only in God:' for all that which is called habitual grace in us, is ineffectual to act graciously, and cannot produce supernatural acts, except the Holy Ghost act and move it; hence they say, (d) 'That the new creature or the man, (or the new heart, or new spirit, the circumcised, the opened heart, the law in the inward parts, the one heart, the renewed mind, the inner man, the law of the mind, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith) mentioned in the gospel, is not meant of grace, but of Christ; and therefore (e) we must not pray for gifts and graces, but only for Christ: and (f) so a man may have all graces and poverty of spirit, and yet want Christ.'

2. We are patients in justification, sanctification, believing in Christ; and we are blocks all the way to heaven; mind, will, affection, memory, love, desire, joy, fear, and all in us, act nothing in supernatural acts; there is not such a thing as grace in any of the saints, but grace is nothing but Christ without us, drawing us as blocks, as dead stones, in the way to heaven, having no activity but to sin, (g) even after we believe in Christ; and (h) Christ works in the regenerate as in dead men.

3. Omissions of duties commanded in the gospel are no sins; for none are, (i) 'To be exhorted to believe, but such whom we know to be the elect of God, or to have his Spirit in them effectually; and (k) a man may not be exhorted to any duty, because he hath no power to do it.' Then law, gospel, exhortations, commands, promises, threatnings, are to no purpose; these that want grace to obey, are not liable to obey, nor guilty, nor under wrath, because they believe not in the Son of God; and these that are under grace, are under obligation to no commands at all; and farewell all scripture from henceforth. Yea, Mr. Towne is frequent in this, We are not under the law, as our rule; Why? Because (saith he) it cannot effectually work obedience in us: but so all the word of God, the gospel without the Spirit, must be no rule of obedience at all, because the scripture, the gospel, and all the promises without the Spirit, are just alike and uneffectual to work us to obedience.

But not one word of Old or New Testament frees us from the law as our rule of righteousness; and all the scriptures that speak of our freedom from the law, do directly speak of our freedom from the curse and condemnation of it, because we cannot be justified thereby; as Gal. 3:10. For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them: this must be to do them in a legal way, 1. He must do them all, in thought, inclinations, motions of the heart, and all the strength of the soul, in all his actions, in all his words, and in a spiritual manner, as the law charges, otherwise he is cursed; then all mankind, both such as are in Christ or out of Christ, are cursed. Now, if the simple doing of the things of the law, as 'tis a rule of our life, did involve us in a curse; then to honour father and mother, which Paul certainly commandeth as a gospel-duty, Eph. 6:1, 2 and the loving of our brother, to which John, 1st epistle, chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 exhorteth us unto, should involve us in a curse; which is absurd.

2. He must continue to the end in doing all the law; if ever he fail, he is under a curse: now, thus it is clear, Paul saith we are freed in Christ from a necessity of justification by the works of the law; for Paul addeth in the next words, v. 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, is evident; for the just shall live by faith. If the living by faith did exclude works, and keeping of the law in any respect at all, as the keeping of the law is a witness of the life of faith; then to do the things of the law, as 'tis an eternal rule of righteousness, should also involve us in the curse, and argue that we seek to be justified by the law, and so that we are fallen from Christ; even as to be circumcised, doth involve a man to be a debtor to the whole law, and argueth a falling from Christ, and the grace of the gospel. For Antinomians contend, that we are the same way freed from the moral law, as it is a rule of righteousness, that we are freed from the ceremonial law; but we are freed, under the pain of a curse, and of falling from Christ and the grace of the gospel, from the literal observing of circumcision, Acts 15 and Gal. 5:1, 2, 3, 4 as the ceremonial law is a rule of righteousness. And if any should pretend the impulsion and leading the Spirit, not any letter of the law, and thereupon be circumcised, and should renounce the law of ceremonies, as a rule of righteous walking, as Antinomians profess, they obey father and mother, and love their brother, and abstain from idolatry, not because the law is their rule, or the letter of the law swayeth their conscience, but because the Spirit of Christ leadeth them; If (I say) any upon this spirit would be circumcised, and eat the passover, and sacrifice lambs and blood to God now; this spirit is no gospel-spirit, but the spirit of Satan leading such from Christ; if then we are not to obey the moral law, as a rule of life and righteousness, but are freed from it, the same way that we are freed from the ceremonial law; then to love God and our brethren, in any notion, should be sin; as to be circumcised, in any notion, is to fall from Christ, Acts 15; Gal. 5.

Mr. Towne has a strange evasion for this, pag. 138.

'The Spirit is free, why will ye controul and rule it by the law? Whereas the nature of the Spirit is freely to conform the heart and life to the outward rule of the law, without the help of the law, as a crooked thing is made straight according to the line and square, and not by them; and thus, while a believer serveth in newness of the spirit, the Spirit freely and cheerfully moving him, and inclining him to keep the law, which is merely passive, herein they do wickedly, who hence take liberty to sin.'

Answ. 1. To do the will of God, merely as commanded from the power of an outward commandment or precept in the word, is but legal, and brings forth but mixt obedience, or finer hypocrisy (saith (a) Saltmarsh) and Mr. Towne saith, That it is to controul the free Spirit, and to rule it by a law; and Famulists of New England (as the old Libertines) say, "All (b) verbal covenants, or covenants expressed in words, are covenants of works, and such as strike men off from Christ; and (c) the whole letter of the scripture holdeth forth a covenant of works; and (d) 'tis dangerous to close with Christ in a promise of the gospel, because the promise is an external created letter, and the Spirit is all." This is to make a battle and contrariety between the word of God and the gospel, as written or preached, and the Spirit; whereas, 1. That which the scripture saith, the Spirit of God saith: the command and gospel-promise is the sense and mind of the Holy Spirit; for that the scripture is quickened by the Spirit, 2 Tim. 3:16 and the word is the seed of God, and of the new birth, 1 Pet. 1:23 and mighty in operation, and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, Heb. 8:12. Nor is it possible that any can believe the report of the gospel, because it is the gospel report, but the arm of the Lord, and the power of God in the gospel, must be revealed to them, Isa. 53:1; John 12:37, 38, 39. For John saith, the not receiving the report of the gospel is judicial blindness, and unbelief. When Joseph dare not oppress his brethren, and Job dare not lift up his arm against the fatherless, because the sixth command saith, Thou shalt not murder; this is but finer hypocrisy in Joseph and Job, and a controuling of the free Spirit. Better believer David, Psal. 119:6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have a respect to all thy commandments. No doubt the Lord concurred freely with Adam in the act of obeying God in abstaining from the fruit of the forbidden tree; if therefore Adam should obey God, out of conscience to God's command (Eat not) he should either controul the free Lord in his working, which none in conscience can say; or then Adam must have been loosed from obedience to that command, If ye eat, ye shall die; as we are now loosed from the law and the second death, though we break the law, according to the Antinomian way. Yea, 'tis unconceivable how these that are under grace, do obey the gospel enjoining faith, because the Lord Jesus commanded them; but they must sin in so doing, because they controul the free Spirit of God, in not obeying for the free impulsion of the Spirit, but for the literal command of God; for sure, to controul the free Spirit, is sin; and to obey for the letter of the command, to Antinomians, is to controul the free Spirit. But 'tis blasphemy to say, that there is a contrariety between the letter of the Lord's command, either in law or gospel, and the free impulsion of the Spirit working in us by grace to will and do, and obey the command: for to obey the voice of the Lord in his prophets and apostles, and to obey the Lord himself, are all one in the word; but this is the error of old Anabaptists and Enthusiasts; to reject the word and all teaching by men and the word, and to lean to the only immediate inspirations and free motions of the Holy Ghost; and to do or obey, for any other teaching is the way of the legal and law-men, led by the letter, not by the Spirit. If any obey or do God's will, out of by-respects, or for fear of punishment or hope of reward, they do not God's will, nor obey they from the power of an outward command, nor do they controul the free Spirit, because the very letter and outward commandment enjoineth inward, spiritual sincere obedience, far from hypocrisy, and forbiddeth, in the sense of the letter of it, all servile respects, and service of God for hire. Antinomians believe, That the law, as the law, doth command men to obey for fear of hell, as a servant for beating obeyeth his master; or that it commandeth perfect obedience for hire of life eternal; I doubt not to say, this is not far from blasphemy; for the law is spiritual, and holy, and good, and most just: 'tis a clean and undefiled law, Psal. 119 and Rom. 7 is the express image of the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God Rom. 12:2. Then the law, as the law, can command no finer hypocrisy, no servile, no mercenary obedience for hire; for the law cannot command sin. 'Tis true, Luther saith, that the law compelleth men to obey God; but he speaketh of the accidental operation and fruit of the law, because of our sinful disposition, and of the condemning law, as it works on our corruption; the holy law commandeth no man to obey God wickedly.

2. The letter of the gospel carrieth to us, and holdeth forth free-grace, openeth the bowels and heart of Christ, calleth on the weary and loaden, to come to Christ: speaketh heaven, glory, and the promise in the womb of it: though it be but the foolishness of preaching of man, yet 'tis the power of God to salvation; and there is such a majesty, so much of heaven, in the womb and bowels of the word, that as I never read or heard the like of it, so I shall hate that religion that joins with Popery, to call it ink-divinity, and a letter, and a legal servile thing; so did the Libertines in Calvin's time.

3. All tendeth to this, that we despise prophesying, neglect the word, commands, promises, covenant of grace, and all these inferior means, and so praying, experience, conference, hearing, reading, sacraments, because without the Spirit these are lifeless and dead; for (saith Towne) the means are passive, shall be all so many restraints laid on the free Spirit of God. But so we should not fail nor traffick, we should not plow nor care; we should not watch the city, nor build houses, because all these are fruitless without the influence of a blessing from heaven. If their meaning be, that we are not to trust or rest on the means, the word, promises, covenant of grace, but to seek Christ himself in all these, 'tis good; but then to seek Christ in his own way, is not to controul his Spirit, as Mr. Towne fancieth.

Now, what Towne doth mean in saying, that the Spirit freely comformeth the heart and life to the outward rule of the law, without the help of the law, is hard to conjecture: for if the meaning be, that the Spirit needeth the help of the law to make us know our sins, to humble us, and chase us to him who is the end of the law; then surely the Spirit by the help of the law worketh these in us, as God maketh corns to grow by husbandry, rain, good soil, and by nature his hand-maid; no man can say God works here without the help of the law. If the meaning be, that the law of itself cannot convert a man to God, Antinomians father most falsely such a dream on us; nay, the gospel of itself cannot effectuate this without the Spirit: but if the Spirit conform us to the outward rule of the law, then must the law be yet a rule of our obedience: how are we then freed from the law as a rule of our obedience, if the Spirit led us back to this rule?

And Rom. 3; Rom. 7; Gal. 3 & 2 Cor. 3 where the apostle speaketh of our freedom from the law, he ever speaketh of our freedom from the law as it condemneth, as it worketh wrath, as it involveth us in a curse, as it can justify us, or give life; never as it doth regulate, direct, teach, and lead us in the way of righteousness.

Mr. Towne, Pag. 9.

"What freeth a believer from the curse, but because he is a new creature in Christ, and is made personally, perfectly and everlastingly righteous? And the principal debt is obedience, the failing wherein bindeth over to the curse and death."

Answ. That new creature is sanctification, not justification, 2 Cor. 5:17. If any man be in Christ, that is, if he be justified, he is a new creature, that is, he is sanctified; else, by the Antinomian gloss, the meaning must be (If any man be justified in Christ, he is justified in Christ) Paul speaketh not such nonsense.

2. It is true, we owe active obedience to the law as a debt, but that is the debt of absolutely perfect obedience; how shall it follow that Christ has loosed us from all debt of active obedience, because he has loosed us from all necessity of perfect active obedience under the pain of damnation? But the law, as in the hand of Jesus the Mediator, or the law as spiritualized and lustred with gospel-law and free-grace, and drawn down to a covenant of free-grace, requireth not exact perfect obedience under pain of losing salvation; yea, it requireth obedience as the poor man is able to give it, by the grace of God, that the man enter in the possession of life eternal; but that he may have ransom-right by merit and conquest to heaven, or to free justification in Christ, the law cannot crave either legal or evangelick obedience: this then is no more a good consequence, than to say, Christ has by his death freed us from death and suffering as they are cursed by the law, and satisfactory to justice, therefore Christ hath freed us from death and sufferings in any respect.

Yea, Paul showeth what law it is that we are freed from, Rom. 8:2. It is the law condemning and killing, called the law of sin and death; and he faith expresly Christ died for this end, ver. 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Hence I argue, these that ought to fulfil the righteousness of the law, by walking after the Spirit, and mortifying the deeds of the flesh, are not freed from the law as rule of righteousness, but are obliged, by virtue of command, to this rule: for Paul proveth that there is a commanding power enjoining righteous walking, above us, even when we are led by the Spirit; 1. Because we are obliged to mind the things of the Spirit, not of the flesh, ver. 5. 2. To be spiritually minded is life, as to be carnally minded is death eternal, ver. 6. 3. We are to be subject to the law; then we must be spiritually, not carnally minded: for the carnal mind cannot come under such subjection, ver. 7. 4. We are to please God in our walking; then we cannot walk in the flesh, ver. 8. 5. Because we are dead to in, v. 9, 10. We are not debtors, nor owe we to the flesh any service, v. 19. But sure, by a commandment, we owe service to Christ. Again, the apostle, Gal. 5 treating of that common place of Christian liberty, especially moveth the Antinomian doubt, and faith, ver. 13. Christian liberty is not licentiousness, nor an occasion to the flesh; and commandeth, that we serve one another in love, ver. 13. Now, here was a fit place, if Paul had been an Antinomian, to say, but ye are freed from the law as a rule of righteousness; and if I command you to love one another, I bring you back to bondage again, I clap you up in goal again, and deliver you to your old keeper: No, saith he; but, 1. This is liberty, to serve one another in love: and 'tis an evangelick fulfilling of the law; For all the law (saith he, ver. 14) is fulfilled in this one word, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and ver. 16. There is an express command, walk in the Spirit: and ver. 18. It might be said then, we may live as we list, we are free from all lords; 'tis true (saith the apostle, ver. 18) ye are not under the law to condemn you, but yet ye are not lawless, ye must be led by the Spirit. And ver. 19. Fly the works of the flesh, ver. 19 such as adultery, fornication, &c. Now, the law expressly forbiddeth the works of the flesh. And Rom. 7 the very Antinomian doctrine is obviated; for, ver. 6. But now we are delivered from the law. O then, might some say, then we are free-men: he answers, not so; we are delivered from the law, that we should serve God in a spiritual manner. But again, ver. 7. Paul proponeth the special objection of the carnal Libertine, If we be freed from the law, what shall we say then? Is the law sin? This doubt ariseth both from ver. 5 and ver. 6. Ver. 5 he said, The motions of sin that were by the law, did work in our members sinful motions; he infers then, It may appear to some that the law is a factor and agent for sin; Is the law sin? by way of solicitation, ver. 6. We are not under the law: then it would appear that the removed law is not a dispensation to sin, and so the law is sin; if we be freed from it, we may sin. Paul saith, The law is not so removed and dead, but there is a good and holy use of the law; it remaineth as a rule of righteousness, touching what we should fly, and what we should follow: thus the law is neither a factor for sin, nor a dispensation to sin; because it discovereth and forbiddeth sin; for (saith he) I had not known lust to be sin, but by the law: and this the Antinomian now moveth, we are freed from the law, being once justified; whatever we do, it is not against a law nor a rule, for we are under the law as a rule; and what we do, tho' to our sense and feeling it be adultery and a debt against the seventh command, yet truly in the sight of God, it is no more sin, than any thing Christ doth, is sin; we are as clean of it, ere we commit it, as Christ or the glorified spirits in heaven: and therefore the law gives us a dispensation to do these things, being justified, which the unjustified cannot do, but they must, in doing it, sin, because the unjustified man is under the law as a rule of justice, which we are not under; and so we have a dispensation and an antidated one to sin, beforehand; but because we are under no rule of righteousness, it is to us no sin. Take two servants, the master commandeth one of them, Eat all fruit of the garden; but I forbid you, the fellow-servant, under a pain, eat not of this tree in the east-end of the garden; to the other he giveth no such charge or command: the former servant, eating of the tree in the east, transgresseth not his master's command, because he is under no law forbidding; the other, eating of that same tree, is a transgressor, because he is under a forbidding command: so here, if the justified be not under the ten commandments as a rule of life, though they swerve from all the ten, yet they sin not; for Saltmarsh saith, Where there is no law, there is no sin.

Mr. Towne saith, "Although the Spirit bring forth in the saints the fruits of holiness according to the law, Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9. Yet without Christ we can do nothing, unless as the impor branch, we suck and derive life and sap from him, which is the spirit of faith. What if it be affirmed, even in true sanctification, the law of works is a mere passive thing, as the king's high-way, which a christian freely walketh in? You have not a face to deny it, Psal. 119:31."

Answ. If the Spirit of grace bring forth in the saints fruits of holiness according to the law, then is the law to the saints a rule of their walking, which the Antinomians deny: 'tis true, it may be, the law to the Holy Spirit in his person acting immediately in the saints, is passive, for the law cannot work on the Holy Spirit; but that the saints are mere patients and blocks in all their holy walking, is gross Libertinism, and maketh God the author of sin, as before is said: and this way also the saints are freed from the gospel, and the command of faith, and all the promises, no less than from the law; because neither law nor gospel can be a rule to the person of the Holy Ghost, in his immediate actions; the Spirit is free in his operations, and subjecteth both law and gospel to his gracious breathings, but is subject to none.

2. Mr. Towne and Antinomians would lay upon Protestant divines, that they teach the saints may walk in holiness without the grace of Christ, because they will have the saints under the law ruling and directing, and this law-ruling of itself giveth no grace to obey? But this is a calumnious consequence; the promises of the gospel in the letter giveth no grace to obey; the Spirit bloweth when and where he listeth, and giveth grace freely to the gospel preached: yet we teach not that any can believe and obey the gospel without the grace of Christ.

3. The law is so passive of itself to Christ, to Adam in the state of innocency, in this sense, that the law, as the law, commandeth obedience to both, but containeth not any legal promise of giving grace to obey to either Adam or Christ; as the gospel containeth a promise of bestowing grace to believe, in all the elect. Now, if this be the cause why the justified are freed from the law as a rule of righteousness, because there is no legal promise made to them by which they are enabled to keep the law; then was Christ Jesus and Adam in his innocency freed from the law as a rule of righteousness which is most absurd; for the law, as the law, commanded Christ to fulfil all righteousness, Mat. 3:15 but so did it Adam: but show a legal promise made to Christ, by the law, that he should have grace to obey the law; indeed the Lord promised him the Spirit above measure, but this was no law promise: so God created Adam according to his own image, with perfect concreated strength and power to keep the law; but the law, as the law, made no promise to Adam, that he should be kept in obedience. But if this be called action or activity in the law, to rule, guide, direct and command obedience as a rule, then the law is nowise passive; 'tis more than the king's high-way: no way crieth to the conscience of the traveller, this is the way; no king's way showeth the traveller his error, as the law in its directing, ruling and teaching power, breaketh in upon the conscience, and declareth to the justified man the way he should walk in, and convinceth him of his unrighteousness, and daily faults.

Towne, page 10.

"The law wrappeth every man in sin, for the least transgression; so that while a man remaineth a sinner, he necessarily abideth under this fearful curse."

Answ. Still Antinomians bewray their engine. If we say, even being justified we have no sin, we lie; and who can say, I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from sin, and there is not a just man on earth that sinneth not: 1 John 1:10; Prov. 20:9; Eccles. 7:20. Then there cannot be a man on earth, but he is under the curse of God. But Antinomians say, and that truly, that the justified persons are freed from the curse; then they have no sin, nay, they cannot sin, by their arguing, for they will have the curse essentially and unseparably to follow sin: which is most false: sin dwelleth in all the justified so long as they are here, but they are here delivered from the curse.

Our deliverance from misery and the bondage of the law is twofold, as our misery is twofold. 1. There is a guilt of sin, or our obligation to eternal wrath, and all the punishments of sin, according to the order of justice by the law of God; the other misery is the blot of internal guilt of sin, by which sin dwelleth in us by nature, as a king and lord-tyrant, awing us by the law of sin.

In regard of the former, Christ is our Saviour, merito by the merit of his death; in regard of the latter, Christ is our Saviour, efficacia, by giving us the Holy Ghost and faith to lay hold on righteousness in Christ, and grace to walk holily before him.

In regard of the former, we are freely and perfectly justified and pardoned at once from all sins, in our person and state; through the sense of this, and in regard of deliverance from temporal judgments and doubtings, and fears of eternal wrath, every day while we seek daily bread, we desire that our sins may be forgiven: nor is this prayer a temporary pattern that perished with Christ, as some perversely say; for Peter, after the Lord's ascension, saith to Simon Magus, Acts 8:22. Pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

In regard of the latter, we are sanctified by degrees, never perfectly in this life; the dominion of sin is removed in sanctification, as the damnation thereof in justification; only sin dwelleth in us, while we are here.

In regard of the former misery, faith in Christ is the only means and way to get out of our bondage and misery; in regard of the latter, repentance and the whole trace of our new obedience are the means to escape out of this misery. Nor do we make acts of sanctification compartners and joint causes or conditions in the work of justification; for this is from Christ alone, solely, immediately as by looking on the brazen serpent they, the stung Israelites were cured: nor doth weeping or acts of obedience move the Lord to wash, justify and pardon our sins, but repentance and new obedience are means tending to our escaping out of the latter bondage; as the rising of the sun is a way to the full noon-light day, tho' we can attain to no meridian nor full noon-day of sanctification while the body of sin keepeth lodging in us, in this life. But the law of works is not so enwrapt and entwined together (as Mr. Towne dreameth) that if a man lay hands on any, even the least link, he inevitably pulleth the whole chain on himself; as he that is circumcised, Gal. 5 made himself debtor to the whole law: for circumcision, not only in the matter of justification, but also of sanctification, is now unlawful. So to repent, and love the brethren, to obey our parents, as looking thereby for remission of sins, should be unlawful and a falling from Christ; but in the matter of sanctification, and of testifying our thankfulness to Christ for the work of our redemption, and as the way to the possession of the kingdom, they are not unlawful, but commanded as necessary duties, by which an entrance is ministred to us into the heavenly kingdom.

Yea, our holy walking, since it is no merit, but a fruit of grace, and a condition required in such as are saved, and have opportunity to honour Christ that way, taketh not away the freedom of grace; for where the scripture saith, We are saved by grace without works, as Tit. 3; Eph. 2. Salvation is spoken of there in regard of the title, right, jus or claim the saints have to heaven, excluding all merits of works; our obedience is not full, compleat and perfect; only they are counted so, and accepted in Christ, Phil. 4:18; Heb. 13:15, 16; Col. 3:17.

Mr. Towne answereth with other Antinomians; "The just and wise God, who accepteth every thing by due weight and measure, as it is found to be, he doth not, nay cannot account that which is but inchoate and partial for full and compleat obedience; nor can it stand with justice to accept any thing which is not first perfect, seeing that perfection and absoluteness is the ground of acceptance, both of our persons and performances; ye must make both the tree and the fruit perfectly good before God.

2. What God (saith he) hath manifested to be detestable and accursed, that he cannot accept: but he that manifested by scripture, that whatever is not absolutely perfect, is detestable and accursed, Gal. 3:10; Hab. 1:13; Rom. 1:18. The proposition is grounded on the immutableness of God's nature, who cannot deny himself, Jam. 1:17 and his exact justice, who will not suffer the loss of the least title of his righteousness, Mat. 5:18. God is no respecter of persons, his law inviolable, and can suffer no abatement."

Answ. God in justification accounts us righteous in Christ, and positively guiltless, as freed from obligation to eternal wrath, and clothed with Christ's righteousness; but he accounts not us non-sinners and free from indwelling sin, that should be an unjust account, for we are not so; but God accounteth our works perfect only negatively, that is, such they are before God, as he will not enter in judgment with us for them, but graciously pardoneth the sins of these works; but God doth not account these works positively worthy of life eternal, even in Christ, as he accounteth our persons, far less doth he judge them meritorious: hence there is a twofold acceptation; one of good-will to our persons in Christ, that is, that good-will of free election, by which he rendreth us accepted in his Beloved: there is another acceptance of complacency, according to which God is said to love and reward our good works, even to a cup of cold water, John 14:21, 23; Mat. 10:42; 2 Thes. 1:7; Heb. 6:10 and that of free grace, they are called perfect, as perfection is opposed to hypocritical; but not perfect simply, Phil. 3:12 but the acceptance of our works in Christ is an acceptance inferior to the acceptance of our persons in justification: hence God takes pleasure in those that fear him, because they fear him, not as tho' his love quoad effectum, in itself had a cause in the creature, or can wax or increase, or can admit of a change, but because he bestoweth the fruits of his love out of free-grace and a gracious promise to our sincere walking; and this is rather the fruit of his love, amor quoad effectum, than God's love itself. All this proceedeth from a gross mistake of the nature of justification.

I answer, 2. to that, "That which is inchoate, sinfully defective, and incompleat, that the righteous and unchangeable God cannot account perfect and compleat, or that which is sinfully defective, or that which is sinful, God cannot account not sinful:" It is true, it were an erroneous and unjust account; now the proposition is true, but the assumption most false: the good works of the regenerate and justified are sinful; but God's accounting of them perfect, putteth no contradiction them to account them not sinful: God accounts not David's adultery to be an act of chastity; this is the Papist's argument against the imputed righteousness of Christ, which Antinomians, being utterly ignorant of the nature of justification, bring against us. The other part of the distinction is, That which is sinful and defective in itself, and inherently, or really and physically, That God cannot account perfect; that is, God cannot account it and the doer, legally free from obligation to eternal wrath, for the satisfaction of another, the surety of sinners, who has paid and suffered for it: that is most false, and should destroy the Protestant justification. When we say, God accounteth the good works of believers good and perfect, so as the imperfection and sin of them is removed; we mean not, by removing of the sin of these works, the total annihilation of sin, in its essence, root and branch; it dwelleth in us in its compleat essence while we are here, Rom. 7:17, 23; Prov. 20:9; 1 John 1:8, 10 only the dominion by sanctification is abated, and the guilt and obligation to eternal wrath is removed in justification: and this argument may well be retorted; Whoever is a sinner, the righteous and immutable God, whose judgment is according to verity, and cannot suffer the loss of the least title of his righteousness, Mat. 5:18 cannot esteem him just and perfectly righteous: but all men, even the regenerate, are sinners. No answer, no distinction can be accommodated to this argument, which may not be applied to their argument; for God is no less just, righteous, immutable, true, no respecter of persons, and his law inviolable in his accounting of persons right and perfect, than in accounting of works righteous and perfect. Now, that the fruits and the tree are both good and simply perfect, and all the works of the justified perfect in Christ, is a point of new divinity, very contrary, first to scripture, which saith, James 3:2. In many things we offend all. 1 John 1:8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Verse 10. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Antinomians say, John speaking of a mixt multitude, is to be meant to speak of the unregenerate mixed with the justified.

Answ. 1. John takes in himself. 2. He speaketh of such as confess their sins and are pardoned, ver 9. (2.) of such as have an advocate in heaven, if they sin, chap. 2:1 and these are the justified and regenerate; and Prov. 20:9. Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? he speaks not there of a mixed multitude, but sendeth a law-defiance to all mankind, justified, or not justified; yea, Eccles. 7:20. There is not a just man on earth, that doth good, and sinneth not; these words are so wisely framed, that they exclude not the justified in Christ, who undoubtedly do good, but they do not so good (saith Solomon) but they sin; so Paul complaineth of sin dwelling in him, Rom. 7. (2.) Sin original after justification, to Antinomians must be no sin, as to Papists 'tis no sin after baptism: (3.) If our works be perfect in the sight of God, then we may be justified by our works; for Antinomians say, If Christ esteem our works perfect, he may account us righteous for them, and we may be said to be justified both by works and by grace, because 'tis free grace that the Lord accounts our works righteous. (4.) We constantly deny, that Christ by his death hath given to our works a power of meriting heaven; but if God in Christ, count them simply perfect, there is no reason to deny this, because our works are simply perfect by Antinomians' ways; this is more Pharisaical than Popish justification.

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Fourteen Communion Sermons by A. W. Pink, Copyright © 2018

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