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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>AN EXERCITATION Concerning the NATURE OF FORGIVENESSE of SIN.</P>
<P>Very nece&s;&s;ary (as the Author hum|bly conceiveth) to a right information, and well grounded deci&s;ion of <HI>&s;undry Contro|ver&s;al Points in Divinity</HI> now depending.</P>
<P>Directly intended as an Antidote for preventing the danger of <HI>Antinomian Doctrine.</HI></P>
<P>And con&s;equently &s;ub&s;ervient for promoting the <HI>true faith of Chri&s;t and fear of God, in a godly, righteous, and &s;ober life.</HI></P>
<P><HI>By</HI> THOMAS HOTCHKIS, <HI>Master of Arts of C.C.C.C.</HI> And Mini&s;ter of Gods Word at <HI>Stanton</HI> by <HI>Highworth</HI> in the County of <HI>Wilts.</HI></P>
<P>To which is prefixed Mr. <HI>Richard Baxters</HI> Preface.</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>T.M.</HI> for <HI>Tho. Underhill</HI> at the Anchor, and <HI>Math. Keinton</HI> at the Fountain in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church Yard. 1655.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<P>VENERABILI VIRO, NEC NON PATRONO SUO IN CHRISTO, <GAP DESC="foreign"> ROBERTO HIPPISLEIO <HI>Armig.</HI></P>
<P>Ob Amorem, qui &s;edecem ab hinc (plus minus) annis inter nos coaluit, &amp; ci|tra ullam reconciliationem hacte|nus obtinuit, conjunctiorem.</P>
<P>Chartaceum hoc, qualecunque, munu&s;|culum non ingrati erga ip&s;ummet animi, propen&s;ique <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>(Quod foelix fau&s;tumque &s;it)</P>
<P>EXERCITATIONEM de Nobili&s;|&s;imo, juxta &amp; (immane quan|tum!) amabili &s;ubjecto, <HI>Ut Put&agrave;</HI> DE REMISSIONIS PECCATORUM QUIDDITATE, &s;eu NATURA, <HI>D.D.D. THOMAS HOTCHKIS.</HI></P>
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<P>HOTCHKIS on Forgivene&s;s of Sin.</P>
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<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><P>Gracious is the Lord and righteous, yea our God is merciful.</P>
<BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 116.5.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q><P>Brethren, if any of you erre from the truth, and one con|vert him, let him know, that he which converteth a &s;inner from the errour of his way, &s;hall &s;ave a &s;oul from death, and &s;hall hide a multitude of &s;ins.</P>
<BIBL><HI>James 5.19, 20.</HI></BIBL></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>Amicus Lutherus, Ami|cus Calvinus, &s;ed ma|gis Amicus Chri&s;tus veritas, &amp; veritas Chri|&s;ti, Gloria Dei, &amp; &s;a|lus populi.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>CHRISTIAN READER,</HEAD>
<P>_THe Reverend Author of this en&s;uing Trea|ti&s;e, hath it &s;eemes, &s;uch humble thoughts of him&s;elfe, and the&s;e his Labours, that unle&s;&s;e &s;ome o|ther doe lead them forth into the publick light, they mu&s;t be con|demned to unprofitable ob&s;curity. I apprehend my &s;elfe the mo&s;t unfit of any for &s;uch an office, were it but becau&s;e I found, it had plea&s;ed him to make &s;uch mention of my name, as I may not approve of; and well knowing that wee might hear a <HI>Mulus Mulum &s;ca|bit;</HI> from the partie that will un|doubtedly be offended at his Di&s;|cour&s;e. But when it plea&s;ed him|&s;elf
<PB REF="5">to remit his Exercitation into my hands, with a ful and final Re&s;o|lution, that by me it &s;hould live or die (on what rea&s;on I little know,) I dur&s;t not &s;tand on &s;uch per&s;onal punctillio's, nor be guilty of &s;uch cruelty as to &s;tifle &s;uch a birth, for the avoiding of the toothed cen|&s;ures of tho&s;e men, who are impla|cable to them that bow not to their Judgments; and who&s;e good words can never be won with Innocen|cy, but onely with a compliance with the Intere&s;t of their Party, and a li&s;ting our &s;elves and march|ing under the Colours of their Di|vi&s;ion, and Conduct of their ad|mired Leaders, again&s;t the Veri|ty of Chri&s;t, and the unity and Purity of his Church. I know it is none of the Authors expectati|on, that I &s;hould ju&s;tifie every word in his writings: I dare not doe &s;o by my own: nor will hee do it him&s;elf. Nor is it an applau|ding Commendation that he de|&s;ires, but an Impartiall cen&s;ure, and what intimations may be mo&s;t profitable to the Reader. I under|&s;tand
<PB REF="5">hee hath not been ra&s;h in fixing on the Conclu&s;ions in this booke; but hath tendered it to &s;everal Learned, Judicious Divines, e&s;teemed Orthodox, for their per|u&s;all and Cen&s;ure: and where &s;ome of them have advi&s;ed to the alteration of &s;ome phra&s;es, hee hath conde&s;cended very much to their de&s;ires.</P>
<P>Though he be my Countrey man, I have no further acquain|tance with the Authour, then an houre or two's conference, and the peru&s;all of his papers, and the good report of others doe afford me: by which I judge him a grave, pious, &s;ober Divine, not &s;o quick and &s;harp, as deliberately Judici|ous and &s;olid, not made &s;o much for words as Matter, nor to plea&s;e mens eares with &s;moothne&s;&s;e and eloquence, as to informe their Judgements by a plaine di&s;covery of practicall Truths. I perceive he liveth not far from the place where Dr. <HI>Cri&s;pe</HI> did exerci&s;e his Mini&s;try; and &s;o having more to doe with the <HI>Antinomians,</HI> either
<PB REF="6">for their recovery, or the Defence of the Truth again&s;t them, then in mo&s;t other parts our Mini&s;ters have; and more need to fortifie the people again&s;t the infection of their errors; it turned much of the &s;treame of his &s;tudies and la|bours this way. God hath made the &s;everall errours that have ri&s;en in mo&s;t ages, an occa&s;ion of the clearing and advantaging his truth; and one errour a meanes of the de&s;truction of another. The Pa|pi&s;ts errors in the point of Ju&s;ti|fication by the Merit of works, and other &s;uch like &s;elfe a&s;cribing conceits, did occa&s;ion from <HI>Luther, Melancthon,</HI> and other leading Re|formers of tho&s;e times, a more ample di&s;covery of the freene&s;&s;e of Gods grace, and a fuller vin|dication of the &s;ufficiency of the blood of Chri&s;t, then el&s;e the Church had been like to have &s;o &s;oone enjoyed. When the contra|ry errour was &s;owne by <HI>I&s;lebius</HI> and his <HI>Antinomians,</HI> and too much watered by <HI>Illiricus</HI> and his <HI>Lu|therans,</HI> and growne to maturity
<PB REF="6">in the former Libertines and late <HI>Antinomians</HI> here with our &s;elves; God made this an occa&s;ion to a|waken his Mini&s;ters to maintaine more vigorou&s;ly the u&s;e of the Law, the nece&s;&s;ity of Faith, Re|pentance and Obedience, and more clearely to open the nature of the Covenants, &amp; the Rea&s;on of Duty, then formerly had been done; yet were the writings but few &amp; brief that have been publi&s;hed again&s;t this kinde of men, (except onely tho&s;e between the <HI>Majori&s;ts</HI> and the <HI>Flaccians,</HI> who were &s;ome|what learned men) becau&s;e the opinions of the&s;e Libertines were &s;o carnall and gro&s;&s;e, and their lives ordinarily &s;o &s;candalous, and the ends of many of them &s;o fear|ful, that through Gods mercy, it was but very few that were &s;educed by them; and both they and their rea&s;onings did &s;eeme &s;o contemp|tible, that learned men thought it needle&s;&s;e to trouble them&s;elves with them: e&s;pecially having a learned, and &s;ubtile kinde of ad|ver&s;ary on the other &s;ide, (the Pa|pi&s;t
<PB REF="7">and <HI>Arminian</HI>) that found them worke. The turbulency and &s;candalou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;ome of them in <HI>London,</HI> fir&s;t drew forth Dr. <HI>Taylors Regula Vitae:</HI> But lately they were headed by many pub|lick preachers; <HI>Eaton, Town, Randall, Simp&s;on, Saltmar&s;h,</HI> but the man that mo&s;t credited and &s;trengthned their party was Dr. <HI>Cri&s;pe:</HI> The&s;e have occa&s;ioned tho&s;e profitable labours of Mr. <HI>Gataker,</HI> Ma&s;ter <HI>Burges,</HI> Mr. <HI>Rutherford</HI> again&s;t them, &s;econded by Mr. <HI>Bedford,</HI> Mr. <HI>Geree,</HI> and o|thers: And Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> hath happi|ly now drawn forth again&s;t them that Judicious man Mr. <HI>Benjamin Woodbridge.</HI> And this Exercitation doth next take its place in this Army that is engaged again&s;t the Libertines: which though it be yet the la&s;t, and one of the lea&s;t in my Judgment, is not the lea&s;t u&s;efull. Divers weighty Truths are here a&s;&s;erted and cleared, which too many have overlook't: the objections of the Adver&s;ary are &s;olidly an&s;wered. The onely
<PB REF="7">or chiefe thing that is like to be offen&s;ive to &s;ome of the Orthodox, is the Authors too free declaring his di&s;&s;ent about certaine Propo&s;itions from many of his brethren, and that by name. Had he beene as well acquainted with mens impatiencie of contradiction, as I am; I be|lieve he would have declined this way. That none of the brethren excepted again&s;t, have rea&s;on to &s;uppo&s;e me to be intere&s;&s;ed again&s;t them, or to &s;ub&s;cribe to &s;uch ex|ceptions may appeare in that it hath plea&s;ed the Author to put me al&s;o in the number.</P>
<P><HI>In Chap.</HI> 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Con&s;.</HI> 16. where hee labours to &s;hew the in|&s;ufficiencie (though not the fal&s;ehood) of my di&s;covery, how Pardon is a tran&s;cient act (but indeede it was another kind of pardon that I &s;pake of, and of which I was to re&s;olve that que|&s;tion) I have oft declared, that there is little rea&s;on we &s;hould take it &s;o ill, to be que&s;tioned of imperfection, or charged with a m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;take in lower controvertable
<PB REF="8">points, e&s;pecially when its more about words and method, then the matter it &s;elfe. But mo&s;t dete&s;ta|ble is the practice of tho&s;e men that under pretence of being Or|thodoxe, and enemies to errour, are carried &s;o violently in the &s;tream of their party, that they are not able with any patience to hear or read a line that accu&s;eth that party of mi&s;take, or that differeth from them, though but in method or terms: and though it be with the greate&s;t humility, &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive|ne&s;&s;e and hatred of di&s;&s;en&s;ions; yea though it be directly for peace, by reconciling the differences of &s;everal parties, that by their divi|&s;ions have long troubled the Church. The&s;e men look not far beyond the borders of their owne party, but live among them, as if they were all the Church, or the world; (Like the fellow, that ha|ving never gone out of the City he was born in, imagined that the wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ld was all inclo&s;ed in tho&s;e walls) they think, he that doth but keepe the unity and peace of
<PB REF="8">their party, doth keepe the unity and peace of the Church. Be it but one &s;chi&s;matical congregation of Separati&s;ts, Anabapti&s;ts, or An|tinomians, who them&s;elves have divided from almo&s;t all the Chur|ches of Chri&s;t on earth, yet they &s;eeme to affect a unity in their own &s;eparated body, and wil condemne a man for di&s;turbing the peace of their Church. So is it with ma|ny of the greater parties, called <HI>Lutherans, Calvini&s;ts,</HI> &amp;c. But none &s;o horridly guilty of this, as the <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> who wil needs have it to be all one to be of the <HI>Roman Church</HI> and of the Catholick; and to differ from the <HI>Roman,</HI> as to differ from the Catholick. Shall we imitate them in this, and make a Popery of our owne, whil&s;t we contend again&s;t theirs? Yet alas, how common is it with us? Who can deny it? The <HI>Lutherans</HI> are more perver&s;ely guilty of it, then wee. Yet I mu&s;t &s;peak to tho&s;e that are within hearing of mee, If a true Catholick Chri&s;tian that under&s;tandeth the unity of the
<PB REF="9">Church, and abhorreth the name of parties, and de&s;ireth their recon|ciliation for a recovery of unity, do but take on him to &s;hew any party that they have run into &s;ome extreme, in &s;ome le&s;&s;er points; and how that mi&s;take hath occa&s;i|oned divi&s;ion, and &s;till alienates the other party, and that the re|ver&s;ing of that errour would tend to a reconcilement; How furi|ou&s;ly do a &s;ort of factious (though godly and Learned) men ri&s;e up again&s;t him, and charge him with innovation, with bringing new light, and breaking the peace of the Church, as if he were the &s;chi&s;|matick, and had a mind to head a Party, who&s;e mind is to endeavour that there might be no parties, but a unity? as if all the kernell of the Church were within our nut&s;hell: as if all were new, that is new to the eares of that &s;ociety: And as if he did charge the whole Church with errour, or thought him&s;elfe wi&s;er then the whole Church, or did di&s;turbe the peace of the whole Church, who doth but &s;uppo&s;e
<PB REF="9">one party to have &s;ome mi&s;takes, and &s;eeke to cure them. As if in a &s;eparated congregation of Ana|bapti&s;ts or Antinomians, they &s;hould charge me with innovation, and thinking my &s;elf wi&s;er then all the Church, becau&s;e I &s;ay that infants mu&s;t be baptized, or that elect infidels are not in Chri&s;t, nor pardoned, nor ab&s;olved from the guilt of &s;in: were not this ridici|lous vanity? yet can the&s;e &s;ame men that &s;eem &s;o zealous for unity and peace, and the credit of di|vines, not only be well contented, that we be zealous again&s;t all o|thers but their party, but al&s;o doe applaud that man as Orthodox, that will clamour and raile again&s;t them, and cry them downe as he|reticall, or mo&s;t furiou&s;ly cen&s;ure them to be none of the Church, or &s;o de&s;perately corrupted, that there mu&s;t be no talke of reconlia|tion; and he that flies furthe&s;t from their opinions, (as if there were no extreme on the other hand) doth be&s;t e&s;cape the cen|&s;ures of this &s;ort of men, when re|concilers
<PB REF="10">are &s;til &s;u&s;pected as guilty complyers. And thus godly and zealous men, while they are too confident of the judgment of them|&s;elves, and their party, are made the great enemies of truth, and the unity of the Church; and lay tho&s;e grounds which would make the wounds of the Church uncurable. And though they are di&s;abled from laying violent hands on di&s;|&s;enters, yet by their keene and fu|rious cen&s;ures of all that &s;tep out of the road of their party, they have brought things to that pa&s;&s;e, that &s;tudents lie under a &s;trong temp|tation, to &s;tudy no further, then to know what is the opinion which is mo&s;t in credit, and which their leaders hold, and to take heed of knowing any more then others in the lea&s;t point; and to &s;hun all things that tend to a reconciling of the Churches; yea, and to make &s;ome raving on&s;et on others, if they mean to be glorious among their own.</P>
<P>They &s;ay, If this &s;hould keepe out &s;ome truthes, yet withall it
<PB REF="10">will keep out here&s;ies, whil&s;t all innovations are kept in &s;uch di&s;|grace. But I doubt, it rather oc|ca&s;ioneth here&s;ies, &s;eeing it is the property of hereticks to affect &s;in|gularity, and to make it their glo|ry among their own party, to be vilified by others. For my part, I believe one Catholick Church, and the Communion of Saints: and when I preach to one congre|gation, I remember how &s;mal a part of the Church they are. And when I write of the opinions of any one party, I remember how many there be of another mind. But the&s;e men object, that the number of the erroneous is not to be re|garded; &s;eeing it is our party only that is in the right, and hath the Scripture on their &s;ide, their do|ctrine and unity is to be defended, and the re&s;t, if they wil have unity, mu&s;t come over unto them. To which I an&s;wer, that I doe confi|dently believe, that no one party on earth is &s;o &s;ound in Doctrine, and way of wor&s;hip, as tho&s;e cal|led <HI>Calvini&s;ts.</HI> But to think that
<PB REF="11">any one party is infallible, or hath &s;o ingro&s;t the truth, that others may not in &s;ome points be righter then they, or that they may not be guilty of running too farre in a|ny one point, either by the pow|er of prejudice, or heat of oppo&s;i|tion, or &s;ome other di&s;advantage, temptation, or imperfection; this is &s;uch arrogancy as mode&s;t Chri|&s;tians &s;hould not be guilty of; Much le&s;&s;e &s;hould they be unwilling to heare and try whether it be &s;o or not. Undoubtedly there are ma|ny differences that &s;eeme real and momentous through mi&s;-informa|tions and prejudice, which indeed are but in words or methods, or of inferiour nature. And abundance of good might be done by drawing differences into a narrower com|pa&s;&s;e, and di&s;covering the true point of di&s;agreement, and cutting off all the &s;uperfluous contentions; were it not that by zealous, cen&s;o|rious faction, and by men that know not what Spirit they are of, the world is &s;wayed by reproaches and prejudice, and the matter
<PB REF="11">brought to that pa&s;&s;e, that none can &s;et their hand to &s;o ble&s;&s;ed a work, til they fir&s;t re&s;olve to &s;ub|ject them&s;elves to the &s;corne and &s;landers even of Divines, and to ca&s;t overboard their intere&s;t and reputation even with zealous, god|ly men. And how few are they even among tho&s;e that can con|temn the cen&s;ures of the openly profane, that are able to deny them&s;elves &s;o far, as to conquer in this a&s;&s;ault? We look on the ignorant vulgar as fooles, and therfore pride it &s;elfe can &s;pare their applau&s;es. But when wee take &s;uch pious per&s;ons, and Lear|ned Divines to be men of valuable judgments, that are able indeede to honour or di&s;honour us: How hardly will a proud heart lie down to be trod upon? Think not that I injuriou&s;ly di&s;honour the pious, or the Church guides, in &s;uppo|&s;ing any or many of them to be &s;uch, and become &s;uch in&s;truments to hinder the work of Chri&s;t, and to further the cau&s;e and kingdom of the divel; were they perfect
<PB REF="12">Saints, it would not be &s;o: But he that ob&s;erveth not the &s;ad imper|fections of the be&s;t of Saints, and how farre they make them &s;ervice|able to the enemie, and that all men, even the be&s;t are vanity and lyars, and that the Churches grea|te&s;t danger is from it &s;elfe, more then from all enemies without; yea, and that every one is the greate&s;t enemy to him&s;elfe; he knoweth not him&s;elf, he hath &s;ure beene a &s;leepe, at lea&s;t the&s;e 12 years, and not &s;een the di&s;coveries that our late tryals have made; and he hath more of the Popi&s;h opinion of per|fection then is &s;afe. To be igno|rant after our convincing experi|ences, is to be mad. Well may the be&s;t of Divines &s;ay to them that call them Rabbie, and &s;ee wholly with their eyes, and bow down to their under&s;tandings, as the Angel &s;aid to John, <HI>Rev</HI> 22.9. &s;ee thou doe it not, for I am thy fellow &s;ervant, and of thy bre|thren, and of them which keepe the &s;ayings of this book. Which I &s;peak not to dimini&s;h the ju&s;t e&s;ti|mation
<PB REF="12">and authority of the Mini|&s;try, which I am blamed by &s;ome for maintaining, to be &s;o great; and which God of late hath vindi|cated, by delivering their mo&s;t raging enemies (Quakers and &s;uch like) to be plainly po&s;&s;e&s;t or ruled by the divel; nor yet do I lay the&s;e accu&s;ations upon all; &s;eeing by the great mercy of God, we have ma|ny of eminent moderation and &s;o|briety; and I ob&s;erve among the be&s;t, that within this year or two their zeale for the Churches unity is very much increa&s;ed, for which I heartily ble&s;&s;e the Lord. But the number of &s;uch is too &s;mal, and of the &s;elfe conceited and conten|tions &s;o con&s;iderable, as cannot be hid.</P>
<P>For my owne part, when I re|member, that it is but about the &s;ixth part of the world, that are Chri&s;tians, (all the re&s;t being Pa|gans, Infidels, and Mahometans) and of that &s;ixth part, how few the Prote&s;tants are, in compari&s;on of the Papi&s;ts, the Greeks, the A|ba&s;&s;ines and the re&s;t, and of the
<PB REF="13">Prote&s;tants, how many countries are Lutherans, be&s;ides all others; I confe&s;&s;e; I have no great zeale to confine the Church to the party that I be&s;t like, nor to &s;hut Chri&s;t out of all other Societies, and coope him up to the congregations of tho&s;e few that &s;ay to all the re&s;t of the Church, Stand by, wee are more holy then you. In a word, and a plaine word, I am loth to make Chri&s;t only the head of the <HI>Calvini&s;ts,</HI> in &s;tead of being the head of Chri&s;tians and Catholicks, and loth he &s;hould cea&s;e to be the head of the body, and become on|ly the head of any party or faction; and therefore I would contribute the utmo&s;t of my endeavours to reconcile the differing members of that body. If I have digre&s;&s;ed unprofitably, I crave pardon, and returne to the &s;ubject of this Exer|citation.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e the Reverend Authour &s;eems to mee in &s;ome few pa&s;&s;ages to have expre&s;t his mind &s;omewhat ob&s;curely, or in terms lyable to mi&s;-con&s;tru|ction;
<PB REF="13">I &s;hall adventure upon a pre&s;umption of his con&s;ent, to give the Reader a key for the under|&s;tanding of them, and to tell him my thoughts of &s;ome of them in particular (leaving the re&s;t to his judgment.) As to the nature of par|don of &s;in) from which all the con&s;ectaries of this Treati&s;e are drawn,) I conceive there are three di&s;tinct &s;pecies of it, ari&s;ing from the three parts of Gods regiment of mankind. 1. As God is Legi&s;|lator, he doth conferre on all be|lievers a right to impunity, or di&s;|&s;olve the obligation to puni&s;hment; in regard of the Law of works, he doth this as he is about that law, by relaxing it. In regard of the Law of grace, he doth it as the free Legi&s;lator thereof. And it is this law it &s;elf or promi&s;e that is his in|&s;trument of doing it, and the act of that Law, which is his pardoning act; it is conditional to all, before faith. It is actual pardon to tho&s;e only that believe. I conceive this pardon is the main ob&s;ervable Act, that Scriptures and Divines
<PB REF="14">do commonly treat of: And that it is the &s;ame in &s;ub&s;tance with ju|&s;tification con&s;titutive, though &s;ome re&s;pective difference is im|ported in the terms.</P>
<P N="2">2. As God is judge of the world according to his lawes, &s;o he hath a &s;entential remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne, or ju&s;tification. But there is this difference between the&s;e two terms: Remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in doth more proper|ly &s;ignifie the legal or donative remi&s;&s;ion, and le&s;&s;e properly the judicial &s;entence, it being in &s;trict|e&s;t &s;en&s;e the Prerogative of a Ruler as he is above all law, to pardon the faults again&s;t the Law; and not of a Judge, who as &s;uch, mu&s;t be re|gulated by law: yet the word <HI>Par|don</HI> may be applied to the &s;entence too. But contrarily ju&s;tification &s;ignifieth very fitly both acts, legal and judiciall; but more fully and &s;trictly, the <HI>&s;entence,</HI> then the <HI>grant;</HI> And therefore <HI>ju&s;tificatio juris, &amp; ju&s;tificatio judicis,</HI> is a mo&s;t nece&s;|&s;ary, currant di&s;tinction: but <HI>ju&s;ti|ficatio judicis</HI> is the more proper phra&s;e. But <HI>remi&s;&s;io juris et judicis</HI>
<PB REF="14">is tolerable, but the later mem|ber &s;omewhat le&s;s proper.</P>
<P N="3">3. As God is the executioner of his laws, either in this life, before the final &s;entence (for &s;ome mens &s;ins goe before to judgment, and &s;ome follow after) or in the life to come, &s;o it belongeth to him actu|ally to puni&s;h or to remit puni&s;h|ment; and thus his pardon is, not to puni&s;h: yet not &s;imply not to puni&s;h, but not to puni&s;h one that de&s;erved it. This I call, for di&s;tin|ction &s;ake, executive pardon Now I conceive, that the word <HI>Ju&s;tifica|tion,</HI> hath principall re&s;pect to the obligation and &s;entence, and le&s;&s;e to the puni&s;hment. But the word <HI>Remi&s;&s;ion</HI> more empha|tically connoteth the puni&s;h|ment, then the Obligation di&s;&s;ol|ved; and yet the Obligation more then the &s;entence. It &s;eems to me that this Reverend Author doth &s;ometime looke only at the exe|cutive Remi&s;&s;ion in his Con&s;e|ctaries; &s;ometime at the Legall Remi&s;&s;ion; and &s;ometime hee joyneth them together as one. And
<PB REF="15">it mu&s;t be confe&s;t, that this la&s;t is the full end and perfection of both the former, and the former are both but meanes to this. There|fore doth God give us pardon, and judge us pardoned, that we may e&s;cape the Penalty and live. The Reverend Author calls this the ultimate Terme, and the di&s;&s;ol|ving of the Obligation the neere&s;t: which may admit of a double &s;en&s;e: Either as this &s;pecies of executive pardon is the end of the fore&s;aid &s;pecies of pardon: or as Impunity enters the Definition of the Donative or Legall &s;ort of Pardon: and &s;o it is not con&s;ider|ed <HI>in e&s;&s;e exi&s;tenti,</HI> as in executive pardon it is; but as future and <HI>in e&s;&s;e volito.</HI> And &s;o as Guilt (or Obligation to puni&s;hment, which is all one) is the neere&s;t terme, &s;pe|cifying this &s;ort of pardon; &s;o Im|punity is the remote terme, &s;eeing the Obligation di&s;&s;olved is an Ob|ligation to Puni&s;hment. Reader, here's nothing but whats obvious, and beyond que&s;tion for the truth; and if thou have but the skill to
<PB REF="15">u&s;e the Key of this di&s;tinction of Remi&s;&s;ion, and apply it to &s;ome dubious pa&s;&s;ages in the Exercita|tion, it will prevent thy mi&s;un|der&s;tanding, and I &s;uppo&s;e, thy wronging of the Author, and thy cau&s;ele&s;&s;e offence. <HI>Chap.</HI> 4. <HI>p.</HI> 10. where he &s;aith that Guilt is taken &s;ometime for the puni&s;hment it &s;elfe, I confe&s;&s;e I have not ob|&s;erved &s;o much; nor yet doe. So <HI>Chap.</HI> 5. <HI>p.</HI> 12. Nor do I &s;uppo&s;e that the <HI>Reatus redundans in per&s;onam</HI> containes puni&s;hment it &s;elfe, but onely connotes it as the Terme of the Obligation. Therefore when <HI>Chap.</HI> 4. <HI>p.</HI> 10. he &s;aith, pardon is not a freeing us from the &s;imple Guilt and Defect, I &s;hould, to avoid mi&s;-under&s;tanding, have left out the word <HI>guilt,</HI> and &s;aid only it is the freeing us from the de&s;ert, be|cau&s;e I have not ob&s;erved it u&s;uall to make guilt to be the &s;ame with de&s;ert. Though I confe&s;&s;e he may be called,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Guilty of de&s;erving pu|ni&s;hment,</HI> that hath de&s;erved it. As he is</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Guilty of puni&s;hment,</HI> that is obliged to it; and he is</ITEM>
<PB REF="16">
<ITEM>3. <HI>guilty of the fault &s;imply</HI> con&s;idered, who did indeed commit it.</ITEM>
</LIST> Di|&s;tingui&s;h of the&s;e three wel, and you will al&s;o be the better able to under&s;tand &s;ome dubious appli|cation of the <HI>Reatus &s;implicis, et re|atus culpae,</HI> which you after here meete with. As to <HI>c.</HI> 18. <HI>n.</HI> 4. p. 33. I conceive that it is not the tenour of the Go&s;pel, but the law of nature that obligeth believers to puni&s;hment for a gro&s;&s;e &s;inne; and &s;o it doth for the &s;malle&s;t; that this obligation is a making him guilty of death in general, but not of the lo&s;&s;e of former Pardon in <HI>&s;pecie:</HI> And that as Pardon is a Benefit of the new Convenant, which the old knew not: &s;o the lo&s;s of pardon, is a penalty threat|ned by the new Covenant pro|perly. Though I &s;uppo&s;e God &s;uffers none to fall under that pe|nalty that were actually pardoned, as to the eternal Puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>When <HI>Ch.</HI> 23. <HI>Con&s;.</HI> 17. he de|denyeth Ju&s;tification to be a change meerely Relative, his Rea&s;on is, be|cau&s;e it is the &s;ame with Re|mi&s;&s;ion
<PB REF="16">and Remi&s;sion is a real change, <HI>viz.</HI> not puni&s;hing. <HI>Ergo, &amp;c.</HI> But note,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 That he explains him&s;elfe to &s;peake only of Execu|tive Remi&s;&s;ion, which is nothing to the other two &s;orts.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. I thinke executive Remi&s;sion is not u&s;ually called Ju&s;tification. And therefore I &s;hall &s;till &s;ay, that Ju&s;tification is but a Relative change.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>So <HI>Ch.</HI> 25. <HI>Con&s;.</HI> 19. where there is mention of Guilt in heaven, I con|ceive the word can meane no more then that the Saints did de&s;erve Gods wrath: and whether that be a proper &s;en&s;e of the word <HI>Guilt,</HI> or u&s;uall, I mu&s;t leave to wi&s;er Lawyers then my &s;elfe.</P>
<P>I doe not take the&s;e or any the like ob&s;curityes or inprefections to be a &s;ufficient rea&s;on to quarrel with the labors of this Reverend man, much le&s;&s;e to deprive the Church of the benefit of them. Nay I hope it is no &s;mall gaine that many will receive by it: (&s;o far am I from damning, exploding, or contemning every thing that hath &s;omewhat di&s;agreeable to my o|pinion
<PB REF="17">Doubtle&s;&s;e it mu&s;t needs be very u&s;eful to ordinary Chri|&s;tians to &s;ee the nature of pardon more plainly, and to &s;ee &s;uch cleare Rea&s;ons for a Nece&s;&s;ity of our dayly praying for pardon, yea for pardon of the &s;ame &s;ins that were before pardoned; and to &s;ee Providential, Ca&s;tigatory Puni&s;h|ments &s;o wel reconciled with the fulne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction for the &s;ame &s;ins; and to &s;ee &s;uch full Evidence for a nece&s;&s;ity of holy fear &amp; working out our &s;avaltion, yet without a&s;cribing any merit unto man; to &s;ee the Rea&s;on of the nece&s;&s;ity that the promi&s;e of our continued and final Ju&s;tifi|cation &s;hould be on the condition of our per&s;everance, and &s;o that continued and final Ju&s;tification be but conditionall; and this not onely con&s;i&s;tent with the certaine per&s;everance of the Saints, but al&s;o the ordinate ra|tional meanes of their per&s;eve|rance; to &s;ee the imperfection of that Remi&s;&s;ion and Ju&s;tification which we have in this life, beyond
<PB REF="17">all rea&s;onable exception manife|&s;ted; with many the like points, I conceive will have much influ|ence on mens affections and pra|ctices, and free them from &s;ome mi&s;takes that doe no whit befriend their Graces, nor a Godly life. But I mu&s;t from experience advi&s;e the Reverend Author to expect the offence of &s;ome, the bitter cen&s;ures of others, and perhaps to be &s;corn|ed and &s;narled at, if not be worried by &s;ome of the fautours of the Li|bertine &s;ect, or &s;ome that make a trade of voluminous Di&s;putation; if they finde him not in their rode, they may &s;eeke him by a Digre&s;&s;i|on: and &s;uch men are never out of their way. If I may advi&s;e him, un|le&s;s they convince him of &s;ome mi|&s;take to be revoked, he &s;hould hear them as if he heard them not, and never thinke of wording it with them, but &s;uffer them to ea&s;e them&s;elves without Contradiction, and leave the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of his La|bours to God. The Lord pitty his poore, divided, imperfect Church, and acquaint the Guides with the
<PB REF="18">Nece&s;&s;ity of its Unity, and tho&s;e Principles which have a tendency to the healing of our breaches, and powre out more adundance of the Spirit of Illumination, Con|cord and purity, that with one (and that a Pure and Charitable) Mind and Mouth, we may Glorifie God. <HI>Amen.</HI> Thus daily Prayeth</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>A weake and &s;inful Labou|rer in Chri&s;ts harve&s;t.</HI> RICH. BAXTER.</SIGNED>
<DATE>May 27. 1654.</DATE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="18">
<HEAD>Of forgivene&s;&s;e of Sin.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 JOHN 1.9.</HI></BIBL>
<P>If we confe&s;&s;e our &s;innes, He is faithfull and ju&s;t to forgive us our &s;innes, and to clean&s;e us from all un|righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. I.</HI> An Introduction to the whole.</HEAD>
<P>_IN the&s;e words we have the Great My&s;tery of Godline&s;&s;e <HI>[Mer|cy and truth met to|gether, Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Peace ki&s;&s;ing each other.]</HI> We have in it the pith and marrow, the &s;umme and &s;ub&s;tance of the ble&s;&s;ed Go&s;pel of Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>Gods manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h;</HI> the &s;everall parts whereof having
<PB N="2" REF="19">gone through Sermon-wi&s;e in the ordinary cour&s;e of my Mini&s;try, I &s;hall onely transferre from thence into the&s;e &s;heets of paper what I have delivered in that way [with the addition of &s;undry particulars, which &s;ince that time have come into my thoughts] concerning the Nature of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne; and this I intend to doe [<GAP DESC="foreign">] in a direct, but copious an&s;wer to the following Que&s;tion, or Que&s;tions.</P>
<P>What is Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in? Or,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Que&s;t.</NOTE> what is it for God to forgive us our &s;ins?</P>
<P>In order to the re&s;olution of this very materiall Que&s;tion, and from the right re&s;olution where|of much light (as I thinke) will be let into &s;undry controver&s;all points now depending in Divini|ty, if I &s;hould [by way of proeme, or premi&s;all] tell the Reader, that in &s;in there are &s;everall things con|&s;iderable (<HI>e. g.</HI> Matter, Forme, Guilt, Blot, or Staine) as &s;ome among the Shoolemen and our moderne Divines have done, I
<PB N="3" REF="19">&s;hould thereby in likelihood ra|ther amu&s;e the Reader, then ex|pedite the matter. Waving there|fore that cour&s;e, I &s;hall goe a more plaine way to work, and &s;uch as is more &s;uitable both to the capacity of the undertaker, as al&s;o of every ordinary Reader, as followeth.</P>
<P>That we may not labour <HI>(i. e.)</HI> deceive, or bee deceived in that kinde of fallacy, which Logici|ans &s;tyle <HI>Fallaciam</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uppo&s;ing that to be &s;ingle, which indeed is complicate; I meane, &s;up|po&s;ing that to be one Que&s;tion, which indeed is two, take this <HI>Prae|cognitum, viz.</HI> That it is one thing to enquire, that is evermore meant by Forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne in the language of Scripture, and another thing to enquire, what is thereby meant in this text of the Evangeli&s;t and the Apo&s;tle S^t. <HI>John:</HI> the&s;e being indeed two &s;uch Que|&s;tons, as will not admit of one and the &s;elfe &s;ame an&s;were, as will be made (I thinke) mo&s;t evident|ly apparent in the procedure of
<PB N="4" REF="20">this pre&s;ent Exercitation, or un|dertaking.</P>
<P>Now in order to the joynt re|&s;olution of both the &s;aid Que&s;ti|ons propo&s;ed, I &s;hall in the fir&s;t place &s;et downe much of that va|riety of phra&s;e whereby forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;in is notified; &s;et forth, or expre&s;&s;ed in the writings both of the Old and New Te&s;tament: which &s;aid expre&s;&s;ions I will &s;ort into Negative and Affirmative; and would have &s;et them downe in their &s;everall columes one over a|gain&s;t another, that we might <GAP DESC="foreign"> take view of them both together: but the narrow|ne&s;&s;e of the &s;everall pages will not permit Take them therefore as they follow, beginning with the Affirmative in the fir&s;t place.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="5" REF="20">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. II.</HI> The various phra&s;es whereby Gods forgiving &s;inne, and his not forgiving &s;inne are intima|ted and expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture, which &s;aid phra&s;es of both kindes are &s;orted into Negative and Af|firmative.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The Affirmative phra&s;es, where|by forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is held forth in Scripture, are &s;uch as the&s;e,</HI> viz.</P>
<P><HI>GOds covering of &s;inne,</HI> P&s;al 85.2. <HI>Thou ha&s;t forgiven the ini|quity of thy people, thou ha&s;t cover|ed all their &s;inne. His blotting them out and hiding his face from them,</HI> P&s;al. 51.9. <HI>Hide thy face from my &s;innes and blot out all mine
<PB N="6" REF="21">offences.</HI> His purging them away, P&s;al. 79.9. <HI>Purge away our &s;innes for thy Names &s;ake.</HI> And P&s;al. 65.3. <HI>As for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, thou wilt purge them away.</HI> So P&s;. 51.7. <HI>Purge me with hy&s;op</HI> (i. e.) <HI>Wa&s;h me from the guilt of &s;inne with the blood of the Me&s;&s;ias, which blood of his was tipifyed by the blood of the Pa&s;chal Lamb;</HI> which, according to the command of God in the Leviticall Law, was to be &s;prinkled upon the people with a bunch of hy&s;ope; whence it is, that the blood of Chri&s;t <HI>is &s;tyled the blood of &s;prinkling,</HI> Heb. 12.24. His ca&s;ting them behinde his back, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 38.17. <HI>Thou &s;halt ca&s;t all my &s;innes behinde thy backe,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>He|zekiah.</HI> His putting away our &s;ins, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12, 13. <HI>The Lord hath put away thy &s;in,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>Nathan</HI> to <HI>David.</HI> His taking away our &s;ins, 2 Sam. 24.10. <HI>Take away the in|iquity of thy &s;ervant,</HI> &s;ayes David; in which forme of words the Church is taught to pray to God for pardon, Ho&s;. 14.2. <HI>Take with you words, and turne to the Lord: &s;ay
<PB N="7" REF="21">unto him, Take away all iniquity.</HI> His <HI>&s;ubduing</HI> &s;inne and ca&s;ting it into the depths of the Sea, Mic. 7.19. <HI>He will &s;ubdue our iniquities, and thou wilt ca&s;t all their &s;innes in|to the depths of the Sea.</HI> His heal|ing our &s;inne, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14.4. <HI>I will heale their back&s;lidings, I will love them freely;</HI> which words are a direct an&s;wer, and as in <HI>Terminis terminantibus,</HI> unto the Churches petition formed in ver. 2. <HI>Take away all iniquity and receive us gra|ciou&s;ly.</HI> So Jer. 3.22. <HI>Returne you back&s;liding children, and I will heale your back&s;liding.</HI> His healing (as the &s;in, &s;o) the &s;inner <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.5. <HI>by his &s;tripes we were healed.</HI> And Joh. 12.40. <HI>Le&s;t they &s;hould be converted and I &s;hould heale them,</HI> (i. e.) <HI>forgive and &s;ave them.</HI> His wa&s;hing and clean&s;ing us from &s;in, P&s;al. 51.2. <HI>Wa&s;h me throughly from mine iniquity, and clean&s;e me from my &s;inne.</HI> Thus doth the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> both u&s;e and interpret the &s;aid phra&s;e of clean&s;ing from &s;in, <HI>ch.</HI> 33.8. <HI>And I will clean&s;e them from all their iniquity, whereby they
<PB N="8" REF="22">have &s;inned again&s;t mee, and I will pardon all their iniquities, where|by they have &s;inned, and whereby they have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed again&s;t mee.</HI> So al&s;o in the N. T. 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 1.7. <HI>The blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t his &s;on clean&s;|eth us from all &s;in;</HI> and in this &s;en&s;e I &s;hould under&s;tand the phra&s;e in the text [and to clean&s;e us from all unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e] <HI>viz.</HI> as im|porting one and the &s;elfe &s;ame thing with Forgivene&s;&s;e: for al|beit Sanctification doth frequent|ly goe under the name of clean&s;|ing (as in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.9 and <HI>Jam.</HI> 4&punc; 8.) and albeit remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in and &s;anctification do alwayes goe together in the &s;ame &s;ubject, in which regards we may warrant|tably interpret the phra&s;e to bee meant of Sanctification in this text; neverthele&s;&s;e I &s;hould choo&s;e to interpret it rather to be all one with forgivene&s;&s;e, not onely be|cau&s;e forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in doth oft goe under that name, and becau&s;e it is ordinary in Scripture to ex|pre&s;&s;e one thing by two words, or phra&s;es; but more e&s;pecially
<PB N="9" REF="22">becau&s;e our clean&s;ing from unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;s is in the text promi&s;ed as a merit, not commanded as a du|ty. Now I take it for a Rule, which will generally hold true, That where clean&s;ing from &s;in is enjoyned as a duty,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exceptio non tollit, &s;ed firmat regulam.</NOTE> we are there|by to under&s;tand Sanctification, or holine&s;&s;e of life; but where it is promi&s;ed as a mercy, there wee are to under&s;tand it by Ju&s;tificati|on, or forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in. But as for this, let every one abound in his owne &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>I proceed. Gods forgiving us our &s;innes is &s;tyled his pa&s;|&s;ing by our &s;innes, <HI>Mich.</HI> 7.18. [Who is a God like unto thee, who pardone&s;t iniquity and pa&s;&s;e&s;t by the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion?] His removing our &s;innes from us, P&s;al. 103.12. <HI>As farre as the Ea&s;t is from the We&s;t, &s;o farre hath he removed our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions from us.</HI> His being mercifull to our &s;ins, Heb. 8.12. <HI>I will be mercifull to your unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> And (as to the &s;in, &s;o) to the &s;inner, Luke 18.13. <HI>Lord be mercifull to me a &s;inner.</HI> P&s;al. 51.1.</P>
<PB N="10" REF="23">
<Q><HI>Have mercy upon me, O Lord, have mercy upon me.</HI></Q>
<P>The Negative phra&s;es whereby Forgivene&s;s of &s;in is held forth in Scripture, are &s;uch as the&s;e; <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>Gods not imputing &s;in, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 32.2. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no iniquity.</HI> In this form or phra&s;e doth <HI>Shimei,</HI> having plaid the part of a notori|ous Delinquent again&s;t <HI>David</HI> his Liege Lord, pray for the pardon of his offence, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 19.19. <HI>Let not my Lord impute iniquity unto me.</HI> His not remembring our &s;ins. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 25.7. <HI>Remember not the &s;ins of my youth, nor my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions,</HI> &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t. The like phra&s;e did <HI>Shimei</HI> u&s;e in the ca&s;e, and to the purpo&s;e afore&s;aid, &s;aying, <HI>Neither do thou remember that which thy &s;ervant did perver&s;ly, the day that my Lord the King went out of Jeru&s;alem.</HI> His not remembring our &s;ins again&s;t us: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 79.8. <HI>O remember not again&s;t us former ini|quities.</HI> This phra&s;e doth &s;ome|what explicate the former, Gods
<PB N="11" REF="23">not remembring of our &s;ins, not being his &s;imple forgetting them, or &s;imply his not remembring them; but his not remembring them; <HI>Quoad hoc,</HI> or, <HI>again&s;t us.</HI> His not mentioning our &s;ins unto us: <HI>Ezek.</HI> 18.22. His not laying our &s;ins to our charge: 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.16. Where Saint <HI>Paul</HI> praying God to pardon the &s;in of tho&s;e that did de&s;ert him under his tryal of per|&s;ecution, &s;aith, <HI>I pray God it may not be laid to their charge.</HI> So Saint <HI>Stephen</HI> prayeth for his per&s;ecu|ters, &s;aying, <HI>Lord lay not this &s;in to their charge,</HI> Act. 7.60. That prayer being in full &s;en&s;e all one with that of our Saviour for tho&s;e that did murder him by a Law, &s;aying, <HI>Father, forgive them.</HI> Only let it be noted concerning the two la&s;t places, <HI>viz.</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.16. and <HI>Acts</HI> 7.60. that albeit the phra&s;e in the Tran&s;lation be all one (both being rendred, <HI>A not laying &s;in to the charge of the &s;inner;</HI>) never|thele&s;s the phra&s;es in the Original are divers, the former being [<GAP DESC="foreign">,] which doth pro|perly
<PB N="12" REF="24">&s;ignifie to be <HI>reckoned,</HI> or <HI>imputed,</HI> and is &s;o rendred, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.22. Where <HI>Abrahams</HI> faith is &s;aid, <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>To be imputed to him for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e;</HI> and in the latter place the phra&s;e being [<GAP DESC="foreign">,] which word doth properly &s;igni|fie, to <HI>&s;tabli&s;h</HI> or to <HI>fa&s;ten; q. d. Fa&s;ten not this &s;in upon their backs,</HI> or, <HI>upon their &s;core.</HI> God not en|tering into judgment with us: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 143.2. <HI>Enter not into judg|ment with thy &s;ervant, O Lord.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall in the next place &s;et down &s;uch phra&s;es as doe hold forth the non-forgivene&s;s of &s;in, or Gods not forgiving us our &s;inns (be|cau&s;e contraries doe help to illu|&s;trate each other;) which &s;aid Phra&s;es I &s;hall &s;ort likewi&s;e into Negative and Affirmative, and wil &s;et them down in the &s;ame order as I have done the former.</P>
<P><HI>Affirmative phra&s;es, which doe hold forth Gods not forgiveing us
<PB N="13" REF="24">our &s;ins are &s;uch as the&s;e, viz.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Gods remembring our &s;ins,</HI> Ho&s;. 9.9. <HI>He will remember their iniquity</HI> Jer. 44.21. <HI>The iniquities of your fa|thers, did not the Lord remember them, and came they not into his mind? His &s;etting of our &s;ins continually before him.</HI> P&s;. 109 14.15. <HI>Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred with the Lord, Let them be before the Lord continually. Gods vi&s;iting &s;in, or for &s;in.</HI> Ho&s;. 9.9. <HI>He wil re|member their iniquity. He will vi&s;it their &s;ins</HI> Jer. 9.9. <HI>Shall I not vi&s;it for the&s;e things? His covering with anger and per&s;ecuting the &s;inner,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">That co|vering whereby pardon of &s;in is ex|pre&s;&s;ed be|ing a cove|ring with love.</NOTE> Lam. 3.42, 43. <HI>we have rebelled, thou ha&s;t not pardoned, thou ha&s;t covered with anger, and per&s;ecuted us.</HI> Gods retaining &s;in: <HI>John</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">0 33. <HI>Who&s;oever &s;ins ye remit, they are remitted, and who&s;oevers &s;ins ye re|tain, they are retained.</HI> The &s;in|ners bearing his iniquity, which is a phra&s;e frequently u&s;ed in Scrip|ture, e&s;pecially by the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> and by him al&s;o explain|ed to be the &s;inners bearing the puni&s;hment of his iniquity, <HI>Ezek.</HI>
<PB N="14" REF="25">14.10. <HI>And they &s;hall bear the puni&s;hment of their iniquity.</HI></P>
<P>With many other the like pa&s;&s;a|ges, or expre&s;&s;ions of both &s;orts (as well negative as affirmative) which I &s;uppo&s;e may be found in Scripture; concerning both Gods forgiving and his not forgiving &s;in.</P>
<P>Negative phra&s;es, which doe hold forth God not forgiving us our &s;ins, are &s;uch as the&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>Gods not covering, his not blot|ting out, his not purging away &s;in. <HI>Neh.</HI> 4.5. <HI>Cover not their in|iquity, and let not their &s;in bee blot|ted out from before thee.</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 3.14. <HI>The iniquity of Elies hou&s;e &s;hall not bee purged with &s;acrifice nor offering for ever.</HI> Gods not holding guiltle&s;&s;e, in the the third Com|mandement, <HI>Exod.</HI> 20.7. and 1 <HI>King.</HI> 2.9. where <HI>David</HI> admo|ni&s;hing <HI>Solomon</HI> not to pardon <HI>Shimei,</HI> bids him <HI>not to hold him guiltle&s;&s;e.</HI> Gods not cleering, or Acquitting the &s;inner, Exo. 34.7. <HI>Hee will by no meanes cleare the
<PB N="15" REF="25">guilty.</HI> Nah. 1.3. <HI>He will not at all acquit the wicked.</HI> His not forget|ting &s;in. Amos 8.7. <HI>The Lord hath &s;worn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will never forget any of their works.</HI> His not accepting the &s;inner: <HI>Jer.</HI> 14.10. <HI>The Lord doth not accept them, he will now re|member their iniquity, and vi&s;it their &s;ins.</HI> Sutable to the phra&s;e of Gods not accepting the &s;inner is that phra&s;e in the New Te&s;tament of Gods not knowing the &s;inner, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25 12. the direct contrary be|ing Gods receiving the &s;inner gra|ciou&s;ly, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14.2. <HI>Take away all iniquity and receive us graciou&s;ly.</HI> Gods not turning away the puni&s;h|ment of the &s;inner; a phra&s;e fre|quently u&s;ed in the fir&s;t Chapter of <HI>Amos,</HI> where God threatens &s;uch and &s;uch per&s;ons and Places that becau&s;e their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions were iterated and multiplied, <HI>He would not turne away their puni&s;h|ment.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="16" REF="26">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. III</HI> Rea&s;ons and Grounds for the &s;aid variety of phra&s;e, or various expre&s;&s;ions, together with rules for a right under&s;tand|ing and due interpretation of them.</HEAD>
<P>COncerning the &s;aid various expre&s;&s;ions of the pardon of &s;in, let two things be ob&s;erved or con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. The ground or rea&s;on of them, which &s;aid ground or rea&s;on &s;eems to be taken from that va|riety of phra&s;e, whereby &s;in, and the fruits or i&s;&s;ues of &s;in are &s;et forth and &s;ignified in Scripture: for according to the various names or titles given to &s;in, and the effects thereof, &s;uch are the various names or expre&s;&s;ions of Gods pardon or not pardon of &s;in. For example, As &s;in is &s;tiled
<PB N="17" REF="26"><HI>filthine&s;s</HI> or <HI>uncleanne&s;s</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1. <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.19. So the pardon of &s;in is &s;tiled, <HI>wa&s;hing, clean&s;ing, covering, purging away.</HI> As &s;in is the &s;ouls &s;ickne&s;s or di&s;ea&s;e (in which &s;en&s;e &s;ome Expo&s;itors do under&s;tand that in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.3. <HI>Who forgiveth all thy &s;ins, and healeth all thy di|&s;ea&s;es.</HI>) Or as &s;in doth wound the &s;inner, &s;o pardon is &s;tiled <HI>Healing.</HI> As &s;in maketh us guil|ty, &s;o the pardon of &s;in is &s;tiled, Gods not imputing it, his not lay|ing it to our charge; and his not pardoning us, is &s;aid to be his not cleering us, or holding us guiltle&s;s. As &s;in makes us wretched and mi|&s;erable; &s;o pardon of &s;in is &s;tiled Gods being merciful to the &s;in or &s;inner. As &s;in is &s;tiled a Debt, ma|king us lyable to God in &s;uch &s;ort as Debtors to their Creditors, &s;o Gods pardoning mercy is &s;aid to be his blotting out our &s;ins, &amp; ca&s;ting them into the depths of the &s;ea. And in this &s;ort <HI>(allu&s;iv&egrave;)</HI> the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e in the Text, which is now before us, &s;eemes to be (the expre&s;s word being <GAP DESC="foreign">, a word mo&s;t fre|quently
<PB N="18" REF="27">u&s;ed by other of the E|vangeli&s;ts and Apo&s;tles) which word doth &s;ignify to di&s;mi&s;s, leave, let alone, ab&s;olve, &s;end away, re|lea&s;e, or &s;et at liberty (<HI>Mat.</HI> 4.20 and 18.27.) being twice u&s;ed in one ver&s;e, <HI>Luke</HI> 4.18. though it be rendred in different Engli&s;h words; <HI>viz. Deliverance,</HI> and <HI>&s;etting at liberty.</HI> It &s;eems to be a Metaphor taken from tho&s;e who are loo&s;ened from their bonds, or delivered out of pri&s;on, into which they were ca&s;t for their Debts, or mi&s;demeanors. To proceed, As the &s;inner by committing &s;in doth (as it were) arm his &s;in again&s;t him&s;elf; or as &s;in hath a power accrewing to it, (as I may &s;o &s;ay) to do us mi&s;|chief by vertue of the Law's commi|nation (for which cau&s;e the Law is &s;aid to be the <HI>&s;trength of &s;in,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.56.) &s;o Gods pardoning &s;in is &s;aid to be his &s;ubduing our &s;in, or giving victory to the &s;inner over his &s;in, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15 57. <HI>Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> As &s;in makes us obnoxious to Gods
<PB N="19" REF="27">hatred and abhorring; &s;o Gods pardoning the &s;inner is &s;aid to be Gods gracious receiving the &s;in|ner, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14.2. <HI>Take away all ini|quity, and receive us graciou&s;ly.</HI> And contrarily, Gods not pardo|ning us, is &s;aid to be his not ac|cepting us.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let it be ob&s;erved and con&s;i|dered, that the mo&s;t of the &s;aid various expre&s;&s;ions are allu&s;ive Tran&s;lations, or metaphorical; being &s;poken of God after the manner of men, in them <HI>Deus hu|manum dicit,</HI> God doth conde&s;cend to our capacity, he doth <GAP DESC="foreign"> (to u&s;e the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.6.) he doth in a figure transfer the &s;aid things and expre&s;sions from us to him&s;elf, whereby to a&s;si&s;t us in our weakne&s;s; <HI>e. g.</HI> it being u|&s;ual with men when they do for|give to forget; God therefore forgiving &s;in is &s;aid not to remem|ber it; and it being u&s;ual with men, when they threaten to be revenged to &s;ay to their adver|&s;ary, Well, I'll be &s;ure to remem|ber
<PB N="20" REF="28">you, I'll never forget this in|jury and affront &s;o long as I live: Gods not pardoning therefore is &s;aid to be Gods not forgetting &s;in, or his remembring &s;in</P>
<P>Again, Men when they do forgive being moved with inward pity and compa&s;sion, as was the father of the Prodigal upon the &s;ight of his re|lenting Son: Gods forgiving us therefore, is &s;aid to be his having compa&s;sion on us, <HI>Mic.</HI> 7 19. Gods compa&s;&s;ion <HI>Quoad terminum,</HI> or <HI>terminativ&egrave;,</HI> is the &s;elf &s;ame with forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, but being con|&s;idered <HI>connotativ&egrave;,</HI> it doth far|ther intimate the ri&s;e of pardon, or the inward moving cau&s;e, toge|ther with the external occa&s;ion therof, <HI>viz.</HI> Mans mi&s;ery and Gods free love and mercy, Gods compa&s;sion being <HI>verbum con-&s;ig|nificans.</HI></P>
<P>This latter particular being du|ly ob&s;erved and con&s;idered, it will appear, how wary and cautious we &s;hould be in the Interpretati|ons of the &s;aid Metaphorical phra|&s;es, and how needful it is therein
<PB N="21" REF="28">to ob&s;erve the Apo&s;tles rule in a|nother ca&s;e; <HI>viz.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.3. We mu&s;t be|ware how we do in our concepti|ons about the &s;aid phra&s;es, <HI>&s;upra &s;entire,</HI> that we do not under&s;tand more in them then is fit, or in rea|&s;on po&s;&s;ible to be under&s;tood; we mu&s;t be careful not to &s;en&s;e them above their &s;cope and intendment, but ever to interpret them in a mode&s;t, moderate, and &s;ober &s;en&s;e: that the words may be the words of truth (as indeed they are) the &s;en&s;e mu&s;t be the &s;en&s;e of &s;ober|ne&s;&s;e. For want of ob&s;erving of due caution in the &s;ober con&s;tru|ction of the &s;aid phra&s;es, it may (in a &s;ort) be &s;aid unto many a one, as to him in the Poet,</P>
<Q><L>Quem recitas mens e&s;t, O Fiden|tine, libellus,</L>
<L>Sed mal&egrave; dum recitas, incipit e&s;&s;e tuns.</L></Q>
<P>Thus may the Lord &s;ay unto ma|ny among&s;t us, who do mi&s;con|&s;true
<PB N="22" REF="29">&s;uch metaphorical phra&s;es (as Gods ca&s;ting &s;in behind his back, his blotting it out, his not remembring it) &s;tretching them beyond their due &s;cope and in|tendment, and (as it were) ga|thering that in and from them, which God never &s;trawed; <HI>viz.</HI> The words as uttered by me are my words, and true Scripture, but as over-&s;en&s;ed and mi&s;under&s;tood by you, they are your own, and no part of any Scripture of mine.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t. What Rules are to be ob|&s;erved, for the &s;afer, better and right under&s;tanding of the fore&s;aid Meta|phorical phra&s;es?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The&s;e three.</P>
<P N="1">1. The like rule, which is given us for the &s;en&s;ing of Parables and &s;imilitudes, is here to be ob&s;erved; &amp; that is, to ob&s;erve their true &s;cope and intendment; and not <GAP DESC="foreign"> (as is the Apo&s;tles word 2 <HI>Cor</HI> 10.14.) not to wretch and tenter them beyond that &s;cantling, or to &s;tretch them beyond the mea&s;ure of their &s;aid &s;cope and intendment.
<PB N="23" REF="29">Its a common &s;aying, <HI>Similitudo non currit quatuor;</HI> and as the lear|ned <HI>Stegman</HI> doth learnedly ex|pre&s;&s;e it, <HI>Parabolae nihil probant ra|tione circumferentiae, &s;ed tantum ra|tione centri;</HI> the like may be &s;aid concerning the fore&s;aid expre&s;&s;i|ons, If we re&s;pect them in their circumference, &amp; in &s;uch a latitude of &s;en&s;e as they &s;ound to our ears, they prove nothing, the &s;en&s;e of them being to be confined to their center, <HI>(i.e.)</HI> their bare &s;cope and drift; that look how really a man forgives an offence when he hath forgotten it, &s;o really doth God forgive.</P>
<P N="2">2. We are here to interpret, as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> el&s;ewhere directs us to prophe&s;ie; <HI>viz.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.6. according to the Analogy of faith, and &s;o as that the &s;aid phra&s;es may hold proportion and corre&s;pondency with other Scriptures. This in|deed is a general rule to be ob&s;er|ved in the expounding of any place of Scripture; and it is in the pre&s;ent bu&s;ine&s;&s;e e&s;pecially to be made
<PB N="24" REF="30">u&s;e of, <HI>viz.</HI> to compare Scripture with Scripture, and to make the &s;en&s;e of one Scripture coherent with another, and to pre&s;erve the harmony of the whole; that &s;o, all Scripture being <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>brea|thed by God</HI> (as the word &s;ignifies 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16.) we may not make God to utter hot and cold with the &s;ame breath; I mean, to &s;peak contradictions, or to be contradi|ctious to him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="3">3 We are to calculate (as I may &s;o &s;ay) our &s;en&s;e and con&s;tructions of the &s;aid phra&s;es according to the meridian of the Divine Nature: I mean, we are to con&s;true them in no other &s;en&s;e, then the E&s;&s;ence Nature, and Properties of the Godhead or Deity will permit. It is an old and good rule given by one of the Greek Fathers (<HI>Theodo|ret,</HI> as I remember) that tho&s;e things which are &s;poken of God, <GAP DESC="foreign">, are to be under&s;tood <GAP DESC="foreign">; Tho&s;e things which are &s;poken of God after the man|ner of men, are to be under&s;tood in a &s;en&s;e becoming God, conde|cent
<PB N="25" REF="30">of, or to his divine properties and excellencies.</P>
<P>The&s;e rules are the rather to be ob&s;erved, becau&s;e of their con&s;e|quence. I mean the momentous con&s;equence of ob&s;erving or not ob&s;erving them: For as the careful heeding of them, is a &s;pecial pre&s;er|vative that our Table become not a &s;nare to us; I mean, That our conceptions of God and the things of God be not occa&s;ionally perver|ted by tho&s;e very expre&s;&s;ions which were intended of God as means to help and a&s;&s;i&s;t our under|&s;tandings touching him and them; &s;o the not-ob&s;erving of them is one main cau&s;e, as I am per&s;waded, of much errour in tho&s;e of the <HI>An|tinomian</HI> party, who do hold, in a &s;en&s;e mo&s;t intolerable and bla&s;phe|mous, that God &s;ees no &s;in in Be|lievers who&s;e &s;ins are pardoned; and that he doth not in any &s;ort remember them: of which I &s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;peak more par|ticularly and largely afterwards.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="26" REF="31">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IV.</HI> What forgivene&s;s of &s;in is not, laid down in four negative Propo&s;itions.</HEAD>
<P>HAving intimated (as <HI>Chap.</HI> 1. in the way of Proeme, or Preface) that &s;acred phra&s;eology or varity of phra&s;e, whereby for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;in (together with its contrary, <HI>viz.</HI> non-forgivene&s;s) is expre&s;&s;ed in the &s;acred Scriptures both of the Old and N. Te&s;tament.</P>
<P>I will in the next place &s;et down what is (as to me &s;eemeth) the true re&s;olution of the matter in que&s;tion, and this I will endeavor to do, <GAP DESC="foreign">, decla|ring,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Negatively,</HI> What the pardon of &s;in is not.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Affirmatively:</HI> What it is, according to the true &s;cope, pur|port,
<PB N="27" REF="31">or intent of the afore&s;aid va|rious expre&s;&s;ions.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>For the former then, bee it known.</P>
<P N="1">1. Gods pardoning a &s;in, or &s;in|ner, is not his freeing the &s;inner from the very fact of &s;in. Not &s;o: for this is impo&s;&s;ible <HI>ex natura rei;</HI> it is (I &s;ay) a thing &s;imply impo&s;&s;i|ble, implying a palpable contra|diction. What is once done, can never be undone, or rendred not done. That which is once pa&s;t, can|not by the power of God be made or rendred not pa&s;t; in &s;o &s;aying, I would be under&s;tood in <HI>&s;en&s;u com|po&s;itiva:</HI> for although what&s;oe|ver is done or pa&s;t, might by the power of God have been preven|ted; and in &s;uch a divided &s;en&s;e might never have been done, or come to pa&s;&s;e; yet being once done and pa&s;t, it cannot be un|done, recalled, or rendred not come to pa&s;&s;e it being a flat con|tradiction, that a thing &s;hould be done, and not done, pa&s;t and not pa&s;t, come to pa&s;&s;e, and not come to pa&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB N="28" REF="32">
<P N="2">2. It is not Gods freeing a &s;inner from the fault of &s;in; <HI>i.e.</HI> the faul|tine&s;&s;e and &s;infulne&s;&s;e of &s;in: It is not <HI>Peccata non peccata facere,</HI> or <HI>Peccata pro non peccatis habere</HI> (ta|king the phra&s;e according to its &s;imple and ab&s;olute import, and not with a <HI>qua&s;i</HI> or <HI>tanquam,</HI> which doth much qualifie and alter the &s;en&s;e of the expre&s;&s;ion). I &s;ay, Pardon of &s;in is not &s;o to be taken, for this al&s;o is impo&s;&s;ible, <HI>ex natu|ra rei,</HI> and doth <HI>implicare,</HI> involve a contradiction; <HI>viz.</HI> That a fact &s;hould be faulty and not faul|ty, a &s;in and not a &s;in: for take away &s;infulne&s;&s;e from a fact, and it doth no longer remain &s;inful. It is therefore to be ob&s;erved, That a &s;in pardoned is as well a &s;in, yea, as much a &s;in; <HI>i.e.</HI> every whit as &s;inful as ever it was before the pardon of it. When a Prince or State doth pardon a Delinquent, or Malefactor, they do not, yea they cannot thereby make them of Delinquents no Delinquents, or of Malefactors no Malefactors. To clear one (<HI>e. g.</HI> an accu&s;ed
<PB N="29" REF="32">per&s;on) from the fact or faultine&s;s of the fact wherewith he is char|ged, is one thing; and to pardon a per&s;on &s;o accu&s;ed, is another. God by doing the latter, doth not do, and therefore cannot be &s;aid to do the former. When a &s;inner therefore is pardoned, we mu&s;t not conceive that he is thereby made innocent again.</P>
<P N="3">3. Gods pardoning a &s;in or &s;in|ner, is not his freeing them from the &s;imple guilt and de&s;ert; I mean, their guiltine&s;s and de&s;er|ving of puni&s;hment. I u&s;e the&s;e latter words to explain the former; For though the word, <HI>Reatus,</HI> or Guilt, be a word much in u&s;e both in Authours and in our Sermons, yet is it <GAP DESC="foreign">, ambiguous and of doubtful con&s;truction, being &s;ometimes taken for the de&s;erving of puni&s;hment, and &s;ometimes for the puni&s;hment it &s;elf de&s;erved, and &s;ometimes for both. Yea, in &s;uch various &s;en&s;es I take the word to be u&s;ed in the Text, at lea&s;t in the Tran&s;lation of &s;undry Scriptures. For example, <HI>Num.</HI>
<PB N="30" REF="33">35.27. Where it being laid down as a Law, <HI>That if the Revenger of blood finding the man-&s;layer without the borders of the city of Refuge, &s;hall there kill the &s;layer, he &s;hall not be guilty of blood;</HI> that is, as I conceive, he doth not de&s;erve or incur the de&s;ert of puni&s;hment, neither &s;hall he &s;uffer for it. <HI>Deut.</HI> 21.9. Where God commanding that the City-Inhabitants next to any place where an unknowne murder was committed, being commanded to offer a certain pe|culiar Sacrifice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 30.10. <HI>Le&s;t he cur&s;e thee, and thou be found guil|ty: i.e.</HI> Le&s;t thou &s;in, &amp; &s;uffer de|&s;ervedly; otherwi&s;e the cur&s;e cau&s;ele&s;&s;e &s;hall not come, and is not there|fore to be feared.</NOTE> God doth there promi&s;e, that <HI>they &s;hall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among them;</HI> that is, (as I con|ceive) the puni&s;hment which the &s;hedding of that innocent blood did de&s;erve. <HI>Levit.</HI> 5.5. where it being declared in what &s;pecial ca&s;es a &s;oul &s;hould be guilty, I conceive, that by guilt there is meant, as &s;in it &s;elf, &s;o the de&s;er|ving of puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>However I may be mi&s;taken in the exact &s;en&s;e of the forena|med Scriptures, (about which I
<PB N="31" REF="33">li&s;t not to contend with any men of a contrary mind) yet &s;ure I am that the word <HI>Guilt</HI> as commonly u&s;ed, is &s;ometimes taken for the bare de|&s;erving of puni&s;hment, and &s;ome|times for the puni&s;hment it &s;elf de|&s;erved, which two the Schoolmen do u&s;ually di&s;tingui&s;h, the for|mer being by them &s;tiled <HI>Reatus Simplex,</HI> &s;imple guilt, and the latter<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Yet not as exclu|ding, but as includ|ing the &s;in|ners obli|gation to puni&s;h|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters"> of which more di&s;tinctly I &s;hall &s;peak by and by. Concerning Guilt taken in the&s;e two &s;en&s;es; (<HI>viz.</HI> for the de&s;erving of puni&s;hment and for puni&s;hment it &s;elf de&s;erved) let the Reader ob&s;erve, That when we commonly &s;ay, That the guilt of our &s;ins was imputed unto Chri&s;t, that &s;aying mu&s;t be under&s;tood, as guilt is taken in the latter &s;en&s;e, but not in the for|mer; <HI>viz.</HI> for the puni&s;hment, which we for our &s;ins (and not he upon any &s;uch account) did de&s;erve.</NOTE> <HI>Reatus redundans in per&s;o|nam,</HI> guilt running over from the &s;in upon the &s;inner. Now I &s;ay That Gods pardoning a &s;in or &s;in|ner is not his freeing it, or the &s;inner from the &s;imple gu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">lt, bare de&s;ert, or de&s;erving of puni&s;h|ment.</P>
<P>For, 1. As was &s;aid concern|ing the foregoing particulars, &s;o
<PB N="32" REF="34">it may be &s;aid concerning this; <HI>viz.</HI> That it doth <HI>implicare,</HI> im|port a contradiction; namely, That a &s;in &s;hould be an offence again&s;t Gods Law, threatning puni&s;h|ment, and yet &s;hould not de&s;erve the puni&s;hment threatned by that Law. As &s;infulne&s;&s;e, &s;o guilti|ne&s;&s;e of puni&s;hment is impo&s;&s;ible, <HI>ex natura rei,</HI> to be &s;eparated from any &s;in or &s;inner; I mean, the &s;ay|ing in a compound &s;en&s;e; <HI>e. g.</HI> Though it was po&s;&s;ible to the power of God to have prevented a &s;inner from becoming a &s;inner, and &s;o from becoming guilty of, or de&s;erving puni&s;hment; yet it is impo&s;&s;ible, that he &s;hould be made in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e not &s;inful, as not to have incurred the de&s;ert of puni&s;h|ment; and as in it &s;elf con&s;idered, not &s;till to de&s;erve puni&s;hment. I &s;ay, in it &s;elf con&s;idered: for (as I &s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;peak by and by) we are to di&s;tingui&s;h be|twixt puni&s;hment as de&s;erved by &s;in, or by the &s;inner in him&s;elf, or by it &s;elf con&s;idered; and betwixt duene&s;&s;e of puni&s;hment to the
<PB N="33" REF="34">&s;in or &s;inner, as con&s;idered with reference unto &s;atisfaction made for it.</P>
<P N="2">2. In the pardoning of a &s;in or &s;inner, it is no way nece&s;&s;ary for the benefit or behoof of a &s;inner, that God &s;hould free the &s;aid &s;in|ner (were &s;uch a freedom in its own nature not impo&s;&s;ible) from the &s;imple guilt or de&s;erving of puni&s;hment: for &s;uch a &s;inner may be altogether freed from &s;uffering his de&s;erved puni&s;hment, though he be never freed from de&s;erving the &s;uffering of that puni&s;hment. Yea, a &s;inner may in &s;uch &s;ort, and as much be freed from &s;uffering the puni&s;hment, which he hath by his fins de&s;erved, as if he had ne|ver committed any &s;in whereby to have de&s;erved &s;uch puni&s;hment; as is, and will be manife&s;ted in the experience of the glorified Saints, who notwith&s;tanding their &s;in and de&s;ert of &s;in, are or &s;hall be <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Equal to the Angels,</HI> who by &s;in did never incur the guilt or de|&s;ert of &s;uffering. And therefore touching &s;uch a freedom or free|ing
<PB N="34" REF="35">the &s;inner from the de&s;erving of &s;uffering, (he or his &s;in being in them&s;elves con&s;idered) I &s;ay, <HI>Cui bono?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> We are carefully to di|&s;tingui&s;h (as was before intima|ted) betwixt the &s;imple demerit of &s;in, or a &s;inner de&s;erving of pu|ni&s;hment by his &s;in, as con&s;idered barely in him&s;elf, or in his &s;in; and betwixt duene&s;&s;e of puni&s;h|ment to the per&s;on of the &s;inner, as con&s;idered with re&s;pect to his inte|re&s;t in the &s;atisfaction which Chri&s;t hath made for the pardon of &s;in: for notwith&s;tanding the demerit of &s;in, or a &s;inners de&s;erving of puni&s;hment be never taken away, yet upon &s;ome extrin&s;ecal account or con&s;ideration (&s;uch as is the &s;atisfaction made by the Redeem|er) duene&s;&s;e of puni&s;hment or ob|ligation to &s;uffer puni&s;hment, may be taken away from the &s;inner, as &s;hall by and by be declared, when I come to &s;hew Affirmatively wherein the pardon of &s;in doth con&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">4 For God to pardon a &s;in or
<PB N="35" REF="35">&s;inner, is not for God (to &s;peak &s;imply and ab&s;olutely) not to &s;ee or behold the &s;in, or not to &s;ee and behold the per&s;on as a &s;inner, or for God to take no notice or knowledg at all of a &s;in, or of a per&s;on as a &s;inner: for this like|wi&s;e is impo&s;&s;ible. For albeit the pardon of &s;in be expre&s;&s;ed by his covering it, blotting it out, hiding his face from it, ca&s;ting it behind his back, (the meaning of which phra&s;es &s;hall in due place be inter|preted) neverthele&s;s we may not con&s;true &s;uch expre&s;&s;ions concer|ning a bare, &s;imple, and infinitive knowledge or &s;ight in God. For what&s;oever hath been, or is, in &s;uch &s;ort as it is or hath been, the eye of the All &s;eeing God doth, and cannot but behold or take know|leng of it, <HI>Prov.</HI> 15 3. And what I &s;ay concerning Gods not &s;eeing the &s;ame; I &s;ay, and in a like &s;en&s;e, concerning Gods not re|membring &s;in; <HI>viz.</HI> That the par|don of &s;in doth not con&s;i&s;t &s;imply in Gods not remembring it, as if (to &s;peak &s;imply and ab&s;olutely)
<PB N="36" REF="36">God had utterly forgotten it, this al&s;o being a thing impo&s;&s;ible, as to the nature of Almighty God, who as he hath had from all eternity the knowledg of what&s;oever will be, &s;o he will have unto all eternity the knowledg of what&s;oever hath bin, there being with God, or as to his eternity, neither <HI>prius</HI> nor <HI>po|&s;terius,</HI> and con&s;equently there be|ing no difference betwixt Gods knowledge, fore-knowledge and remembrance, &s;aving in order to the object only, but not to any act of Gods: &s;o that as his know|ledg and fore-knowledg is not op|po&s;ed to po&s;t-&s;cience, &s;o his re|membrance of things is not oppo|&s;ed to his former knowledg; but as his fore-knowledge doth &s;igni|fie only a futurity of the object, &s;o his remembrance &s;ignifies the ob|ject to be pa&s;t or as pa&s;t; &s;o that as Gods fore-knowledg is, a know|ing that &s;uch a thing will be, which is not (not a knowing that &s;uch a thing is which is not) &s;o Gods re|membrance is a knowing, that &s;uch a thing was, which albe|it
<PB N="37" REF="36">being pa&s;t, it now is not: ne|verthele&s;&s;e it is no more po&s;&s;ible for God not to remember, or not for ever to know that once it was, then it was po&s;&s;ible for God not to know that it would be before it was, or that once it was when actu|ally it was. Gods knowledge, fore|knowledg and remembrance, are al of them knowledge <HI>in prae&s;enti,</HI> though not <HI>de prae&s;enti;</HI> his fore-knowledg being a knowledg <HI>de fu|turo,</HI> and his remembrance <HI>de prae|terito.</HI> So that to take away the remembrance of any thing from God is to deal with him (<GAP DESC="foreign">, to u&s;e the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.18. if po&s;&s;ible as much as lies in us) even as the <HI>Phi|li&s;tims</HI> dealt with <HI>Sam&s;on, viz.</HI> to put out the eyes of God; <HI>i. e.</HI> the eye of his knowledg, and to be|reave him of his Omni&s;cience.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="38" REF="37">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. V.</HI> What forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne is, laid downe in two Affirmative propo&s;itions, together with the ex|plication of them.</HEAD>
<P N="2">2. AS for the &s;econd part of my intended an&s;wer, I an|&s;wer Affirmatively, <HI>viz.</HI> That Gods pardoning a &s;inner is, his taking off the finners obligation to puni&s;hment, and con&s;equently in due time the puni&s;hment it &s;elf; I have thus defined forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in as taking my ayme from that which is contrary to it, <HI>viz.</HI> Guilt as guilt is taken not in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as in which I afore &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In the&s;e two con|&s;i&s;ts that <HI>Reatus</HI> which Schoole|men call <HI>Reatus re|dundans in per&s;onam, viz.</HI> In a &s;inners obligation to puni&s;hment; and in his actual &s;uffering of that puni&s;hment to which he was obliged: having therefore afore &s;aid, that <HI>Reatus re|dundans in per&s;onam,</HI> is with the Schoolemen a Sinners &s;uffering his de&s;erved puni&s;hment, I would be under&s;tood not as excluding, but as including a &s;inners per&s;onall obligation to the &s;uffering of &s;uch puni&s;hment. And here let me offer this to the ob&s;ervation of the Reader, <HI>viz.</HI> That as in &s;ome re&s;pect the &s;inner is &s;aid to make him&s;elf guilty, (<HI>viz.</HI> in re&s;pect of &s;imple guilt or the bare de&s;erving of puni&s;hment;) &s;o in re&s;pect of guilt redun|dant, or the actuall &s;uffering of the puni&s;hment it &s;elfe de&s;erved, God is &s;aid to make him guilty, for which &s;ee <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 5.10. where Gods making the wicked guilty, is interpreted to be his de&s;troying the &s;inner.</NOTE> that it is impo&s;&s;ible to be taken away; but as it may bee taken, and as it is u&s;ually taken in a &s;econd &s;en&s;e, 1. for Obligation, to puni&s;hment, in which &s;en&s;e many doe define Guilt, &s;aying, <HI>Reatus e&s;t obligatio ad poenam.</HI></P>
<PB N="39" REF="37">
<P N="2">2. For the puni&s;hment it &s;elfe inflicted, to which wee were ob|liged, in both which &s;en&s;es it is ta|ken in Scripture, and particular|ly in that Speech of <HI>Abimelech</HI> to <HI>I&s;aac, Gen.</HI> 26.10. <HI>What is this that thou ha&s;t done unto us? One of the people might lightly have lain. With thy wife, and thou &s;hould&s;t have brought Guiltine&s;&s;e upon us (i.e.)</HI> We might thereby have made our &s;elvs liable or obnoxious to &s;uffering, and accordingly might actually have &s;uffered. Thence it is, that I define pardon of &s;inne as con|&s;i&s;ting in the&s;e two things oppo|&s;ite thereunto, and wherin our full liberation, or remi&s;&s;ion doth (as I
<PB N="40" REF="38">thinke, con&s;i&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The taking away, or di&s;&s;olving the obligati|on of the &s;inner to puni&s;hment, which I take to be the <HI>terminus preximus,</HI> or <HI>immediatus</HI> of par|don.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The denying or taking away, or the not inflicting of pu|ni&s;hment it &s;elf, which I take to be the <HI>terminus remotus</HI> thereof;</ITEM>
</LIST> I doubt not but we may find in &s;eve|ral Authours, as well ancient as moderne, &s;everal definitions or de|&s;criptions of Forgivene&s;&s;e, and &s;ome of them more at large ex|pre&s;&s;ing not only the quiddity or nature of the thing it &s;elf; but al|&s;o the Authour, grounds, cau&s;es, effects, ends, con&s;equents, antece|dents of it (all or mo&s;t of which this text in 1 <HI>John</HI> 1.9. doth mi|ni&s;ter ju&s;t occa&s;ion to touch and dilate upon:) but it is beyond my pre&s;ent purpo&s;e to meddle with them, my bare intent by the&s;e pre&s;ents, being to di&s;cover and to demon&s;trate only, <HI>ip&s;am rei quid|ditatem,</HI> the bare form or na|ked e&s;&s;ence of the thing; what be the <HI>Partes con&s;titutivae,</HI> what
<PB N="41" REF="38">tho&s;e things are, which do make up forgivene&s;s of &s;in; or wherein the thing it &s;elfe or nature of it doth con&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>I remember the definition which Dr. <HI>Twi&s;&s;e</HI> gives of it, <HI>lib.</HI> 1. <HI>p.</HI> 272. <HI>Vind. Grat.</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Remi&s;&s;io pec|catorum, &s;i quidditatem inspicias, nihil aliud e&s;t quam aut punitionis negatio, aut volitionis puniendi ne|gatio:</HI> Pardon of &s;in in its pre|ci&s;e nature is nothing el&s;e but ei|ther Gods not puni&s;hing, or not willing to puni&s;h. Had the lear|ned Doctor by Gods not willing to puni&s;h, meant God di&s;abling the Lawes obliging us to puni&s;hment, or his taking away our obligation to puni&s;hment, I had gone into his opinion, <HI>Manibus, pedibus</HI> (as the &s;aying is;) I had fully, even to a tittle con&s;ented with him: but he meaning therby another thing, I cannot (but with due re&s;pect o|therwi&s;e to the Learning and Piety of an Author &s;o renowned) pro|fe&s;&s;edly di&s;&s;ent from him: For, by Gods not willing to puni&s;h a &s;inner (for example, the faithful;
<PB N="42" REF="39">for of tho&s;e he &s;peaks in the place forecited) he meanes, Gods ele|cting them to &s;alvation, in oppo|&s;ition to unbelievers, whom he did from all eternity de&s;igne to pu|ni&s;hment.</P>
<P>To the refuting of this opinion I &s;hall take occa&s;ion to &s;peake more at large hereafter. In the meane time, had the Doctor &s;aid only this, That <HI>Remi&s;&s;io e&s;t ni|hil aliud quam puniendi nega|tio,</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. He had &s;aid the &s;elf-&s;ame thing, and given the &s;elf-&s;ame de|&s;cription of forgivene&s;s of &s;in as <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> and <HI>An&s;elme</HI> (tho&s;e two famous men in their generations, the one in the li&s;t of Fathers, the other of School-men) did of old, as <HI>Zanchy</HI> upon this Text doth in|forme me; they &s;aying, <HI>Remitte|re, nihil aliud e&s;t quam non punire:</HI> To forgive is nothing el&s;e then to not puni&s;h.</P>
<P N="2">2. I had yeilded my full con&s;ent unto that &s;aying as a truth, or a true de&s;cription.</P>
<P N="3">3. The &s;aying being under&s;tood
<PB N="43" REF="39">or interpreted, as it ought to be, <HI>viz.</HI> not as excluding, but as in|cluding, and pre&s;uppo&s;ing the ta|king away the obligation to pu|ni&s;hment, I &s;hould have yeilded my a&s;&s;ent unto it as a full truth, or as a full de&s;cription of pardon; the taking off a &s;inners obligation to puni&s;hment being the <HI>terminus proximus,</HI> and Gods not puni&s;h|ing being the <HI>terminus remotus</HI> of pardon; of pardon (I mean) as a|ctively taken; for in the&s;e two termes, or things, doth con&s;i&s;t the very nature or quiddity of pardon, as it is taken in a pa&s;&s;ive &s;en&s;e, which &s;aid pardon as pa&s;&s;ively ta|ken is the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the &s;tate of the Que&s;tion, or the very thing upon which <HI>Gardo prae&s;entis contro|ver&s;iae vertitur:</HI> and in this &s;en&s;e I would be under&s;tood, when&s;oever I &s;hall in the progre&s;&s;e of this Di|&s;cour&s;e a&s;&s;ert pardon of &s;in to be nothing el&s;e but Gods not puni&s;h|ing; <HI>viz.</HI> As pardon is taken in a pa&s;&s;ive &s;en&s;e; and as Gods not puni&s;hing doth pre&s;uppo&s;e or im|ply
<PB N="44" REF="40">Gods taking off the obligation to puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>And let the afore&s;aid de&s;cripti|on &s;erve as a direct and full an|&s;wer to the fir&s;t Que&s;tion pro|pounded; <HI>viz. What is meant by forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in evermore in the language of Scripture?</HI> And for proof of the truth of the &s;aid de&s;cription; as a direct and full an&s;wer to the fore&s;aid Que&s;tion, I need not, as I pre&s;ume, to &s;ay much more then hath been alrea|dy &s;aid concerning that, which in Scripture is made the direct oppo|&s;ite to pardon; <HI>viz</HI> guilt (Gods not pardoning a &s;inner, being &s;aid to be Gods holding the &s;inner guilty, or not guiltle&s;&s;e.) Nei|ther need I to in&s;tance in any par|ticular Scriptures for the proving of it: it being &s;ufficient to &s;ay, That look in what place of Scrip|ture &s;oever God doth promi&s;e pardon to the &s;inner, or the &s;in|ner doth beg pardon of God, &s;til there is meant in the &s;en&s;e both of God and man, Gods not puni&s;h|ing the &s;in or &s;inner, either Gods
<PB N="45" REF="40">forbearing, or his &s;urcea&s;ing to pu|ni&s;h, in the &s;en&s;e as was afore&s;aid. The like al&s;o I &s;ay concerning all &s;uch places of Scripture, wherein God doth declare him&s;elfe to have pardoned any &s;in, or &s;in|ner.</P>
<P>I &s;hall only adde two or three particulars as in the way of Cau|tion, and for the right un|der&s;tanding of the &s;aid de&s;crip|tion.</P>
<P N="1">1. When I &s;ay that pardon of &s;in doth con&s;i&s;t <HI>in di&s;&s;olutione ob|ligationis ad poenam,</HI> in di&s;&s;olving the obligation to puni&s;hment, I mu&s;t not nece&s;&s;arily be under&s;tood of all manner of puni&s;hment, and <HI>de prae&s;enti,</HI> for the in&s;tant, pre&s;ent time; but either <HI>de prae&s;enti,</HI> or <HI>de future,</HI> either for the pre&s;ent or for the future: for albeit God pardoning the &s;inner doth di&s;&s;olve the obligation to puni&s;hment, and doth thereby confer upon the &s;in|ner <HI>Jus ad liberationem,</HI> a right to impunity; neverthele&s;&s;e this right to freedome from puni&s;h|ment may be for pre&s;ent only from
<PB N="46" REF="41">a part of puni&s;hment, and &s;o not a plenary freedome; but not from all puni&s;hment &s;ave only <HI>de futu|re,</HI> for the future, as I &s;hall have oc|ca&s;ion afterwards to demon&s;trate.</P>
<P N="2">2. When I &s;ay, That pardon of &s;in doth con&s;i&s;t in a di&s;&s;olution of the obligation to puni&s;hment, I mu&s;t not be under&s;tood nece&s;&s;a|rily, and alwayes concerning an ab&s;olute, but either an ab&s;o|lute or conditional di&s;&s;olution. For I take remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in in this life to con&s;i&s;t only in a conditio|nal di&s;&s;olution of the obligation; I mean, full remi&s;&s;ion, or remi&s;|&s;ion as to all manner of puni&s;h|ment; the condition hereof being our per&s;everance in the faith and fear of God: for as a &s;inner is not actually remitted and di&s;charged or di&s;obliged from puni&s;hment but upon the condition of his faith, repentance, &amp;c &s;o neither is this di&s;charge or di&s;obligation conti|nued, but upon the condition of per&s;everance. Though a Belie|ver be actually di&s;obliged from puni&s;hment immediately upon his
<PB N="47" REF="41">believing, and though the full and final pardon of &s;uch a one, be ne|ver &s;o certain in re&s;pect of the e|ternal purpo&s;e of God, and in re|&s;pect of the purcha&s;e of Chri&s;t, (God having purpo&s;ed and Chri&s;t having purcha&s;ed for them grace, to per&s;evere) yet is it but conditi|onal in the Covenant of Grace, or promi&s;e of the word. This &s;eems to mee apparent by the de&s;crip|tion of that per&s;on to whom God doth promi&s;e fully and finally to pardon: for which &s;ee <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.17. <HI>To him that overcometh will I give a white &s;tone:</HI> in which Scripture, ob&s;erve two things:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What is meant by the thing there promi&s;ed under the name of a <HI>white &s;tone? viz.</HI> Ab&s;olution or pardon, the &s;igne being put for the thing &s;ig|nified: the Apo&s;tle alluding in that expre&s;&s;ion to the cu&s;tome of the <HI>Romanes,</HI> with whom a white &s;tone was a &s;igne of ab&s;olution, as a black &s;tone of condemnation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. To whom this ab&s;olution is promi&s;ed; <HI>viz.</HI> To him who doth overcome, or per&s;evere.</ITEM>
</LIST> It is a
<PB N="48" REF="42">vain thing to except, that per&s;eve|rance is only a qualification in a per|&s;on, or the qualification of a per&s;on to whom pardon &s;hall be continu|ed, or who &s;hall fully and finally be pardoned: for, what&s;oever is &s;uch a qualification, hath the na|ture of a condition, without which the mercy &s;hall not be continued, and perfectly enjoyed. It appears likewi&s;e by the expre&s;&s;e promi&s;es and threatnings of the Word; for which &s;ee, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.14. <HI>For we are made partakers of Chri&s;t, if we hold fa&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.12. <HI>If we &s;uffer for him, we &s;hall reign with him: if we deny him, he al&s;o will deny us.</HI> Ezek 18.24. <HI>But when the righteous tur|neth away from his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and committeth iniquity, and doth according to all the abominations that a wicked man doth, &s;hall he live? All his Righteou&s;ne&s;s that he hath done &s;hall not be mentioned, in his tre&s;pa&s;s that he hath tre&s;pa&s;&s;ed, and in his &s;in that he hath &s;inned, in them &s;hall he dye.</HI> Although the common &s;aying of our Divines be (as I believe) a true &s;aying, <HI>[Pec|cata
<PB N="49" REF="42">non redeunt,]</HI> yet I do not believe it to be true otherwi&s;e then upon &s;uppo&s;ition; <HI>viz.</HI> of a Be|lievers per&s;everance in Faith and Obedience: otherwi&s;e to what purpo&s;e is that admonition, 2 <HI>Joh</HI> 8. <HI>Look to your &s;elves, that we lo&s;e not the things which we have wrought?</HI> And that admonition to the like purpo&s;e, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3.11. <HI>Hold fa&s;t that which thou ha&s;t, that no man take thy crown?</HI> And other|wi&s;e, why &s;hould God threaten to deal with Apo&s;tates, as with that wicked &s;ervant, who&s;e doom we find recorded, <HI>Matth.</HI> 18.32. <HI>O thou wicked &s;ervant, I forgave thee all that debt, becau&s;e thou de&s;ined&s;t me, &s;hould&s;t not thou al&s;o have had pity on thy fellow &s;ervant as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth,</HI> &amp;c. I know what &s;ome do here except, &s;aying. That the &s;cope onely of a Parable is Argumentative; and the &s;cope of that Parable is not to &s;hew, That a &s;inner may forfeit the benefit of his former pardon by relap&s;ing into, and per&s;i&s;ting in new &s;ins; but only to manife&s;t,
<PB N="50" REF="43">That forgivene&s;s of others, is a nece&s;&s;ary qualification to be for|given of God, or a nece&s;&s;ary con|dition without which God will not forgive us. Unto which I an&s;wer, That look as forgivene&s;s of others is a condition without which God doth not at the fir&s;t vouch&s;afe actual forgivene&s;s to a|ny per&s;on, &s;o the continuance of that forgivene&s;s on mans part, is a condition of the continuance of forgivene&s;s on Gods part, or a condition without which God will not forgive him at the la&s;t. I do willingly believe, That God u&s;eth the&s;e and the like condition|al comminations, as a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">And <HI>er|go,</HI> I think tho&s;e do de|&s;erve to be blamed, who are &s;o zealous for the doctrin of the Saints per|&s;everance, as they wil not patient|ly &s;uffer even tho&s;e who do hold the &s;aid Do|ctrine of Per&s;eve|rance, to u&s;e all &s;uch means as God hath appointed to be u&s;ed, and which God doth &s;anctifie for that end, a|mong which I doubt not, but this is one; <HI>viz.</HI> To in|form the Saints, that their &s;ins are not ab&s;olutely par|doned in this life, but conditionally, or upon the con|dition of their per&s;everance; and that therefore they are to fear hell and damnation no le&s;&s;e then others, unle&s;&s;e they hold that fa&s;t which they have: (of which &s;aid fear I &s;hall &s;peak more at large in <HI>Chap.</HI> 26.) whereupon I cannot but profe&s;&s;e my opinion, how (I think) that the fore&s;aid per&s;ons are &s;o affected in their zeal, that they do much di&s;&s;ervice both to God and his Saints, as taking a direct way to confute the Doctrine of the Saints per&s;eve|rance, and to overthrow that in practice which they do labour to uphold in Doctrine; I mean, they do take the ready way to cau&s;e the Saints to Apo&s;tatize.</NOTE> &s;anctified meanes for the per&s;everance of the Saints in the faith and fear of God: and therefore it is in no &s;ort agreeable unto my intent to urge tho&s;e and the like Scriptures to prove the Apo&s;tacy of the Saints; but only thereby to prove, That the continuance of our par|don in this life is but upon the condition of our per&s;everance, in which re&s;pect it is not ab&s;olutely, but
<PB N="51" REF="43">conditionally in this life enjoy|ed.</P>
<P N="3">3. There being &s;everal &s;orts and degrees of puni&s;hment; <HI>viz</HI> Puni&s;hments in this world, and puni&s;hments in the world to come; look how far forth, or in what &s;en&s;e God doth forbear to puni&s;h, &s;o far forth, or in that &s;en&s;e, or with re&s;pect to that kind or de|gree of puni&s;hment, but no fur|ther to be under&s;tood, God in
<PB N="52" REF="44">Scripture is &s;aid to pardon. Let this be ob&s;erved the rather, be|cau&s;e it will (as I verily think) &s;erve as a clue or key to unlock and lead us through divers intri|cacyes and ambiguities of phra&s;e, where the pardon of &s;in is mentio|ned in Scripture, which &s;aid ambi|guities I &s;hall in the following Chapters, as in their due place &s;pecifie.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="53" REF="44">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VI.</HI> The various &s;en&s;es or &s;ignifica|tions wherein forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is taken in Scripture, it being taken in four &s;everal &s;en&s;es, but mo&s;t commonly and &s;ignally in one &s;en&s;e; and what &s;en&s;e that is, decla|red.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. GODS forbearing, or cea&s;ing to puni&s;h &s;in|ners with temporal puni&s;hments, is &s;tiled his pardoning them, <HI>Num.</HI> 14.19. <HI>Pardon I be&s;eech thee</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es) the iniquity of this people according to the greatne&s;s of thy mercy, as thou ha&s;t forgiven this people from Egypt even till now.</HI> What was Gods forgivene&s;&s;e of the people from <HI>Egypt</HI> until then, but Gods &s;paring of them in re|gard of temporal judgments, either
<PB N="54" REF="45">not at all inflicting them, or af|ter a &s;hort time removing them? So <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 85.1, 2, 3. where Gods forgiving the iniquity of his people is interpreted to be Gods taking away all his wrath, and turning him&s;elfe from the fiercene&s;s of his anger. And con|trarily Gods puni&s;hing &s;inners with temporal puni&s;hments, is &s;tiled, his not pardoning them, <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.42, 43. <HI>We have tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ed and rebelled, thou ha&s;t not par|doned: Thou ha&s;t covered with anger and per&s;ecuted us, thou hast &s;laine, thou ha&s;t not pitied,</HI> There Gods not pardoning them is inter|preted to be his plaguing them with temporal judgments.</P>
<P N="2">2 Though God doth not wholly forbear to puni&s;h, or wholly take off the temporal puni&s;hment of &s;inners, yet if he doth puni&s;h with lenity or moderation, or make &s;ome commutation of the puni&s;h|ment (to u&s;e the term of the Civil Law) this &s;aid moderating or commuting is &s;aid to be Gods par|doning: And no wonder; for it
<PB N="55" REF="45">is truly and really pardon; <HI>viz.</HI> in its kind, <HI>Quomodo libet, taliter qualiter,</HI> in a diminutive &s;en&s;e, or with re&s;pect to puni&s;hment in part and in &s;ome degree. Thus <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 78.38. Gods being full of compa&s;|on, and forgiving their iniquities, is expounded by that which fol|lowes; <HI>He de&s;troyed them not, and did not &s;tir up all his wrath.</HI> See al|&s;o for proof of this, <HI>Numb.</HI> 14.20, 21, 22, 23. compared with <HI>ver.</HI> 12. by the due con&s;ideration of which place of Scripture it will appear, That Gods not in&s;tant or &s;udden di&s;-inheriting, or de&s;troying the whole body of the people as one man, and their whole race (accor|ding to the tenour of the threat|ning, <HI>ver.</HI> 12) is &s;tiled his pardo|ning them, <HI>ver.</HI> 20, notwith&s;tan|ding that God did otherwi&s;e, and in part puni&s;h very many of them for their &s;in of murmuring; <HI>viz.</HI> &s;o far forth as to debar all tho&s;e from ever enjoying the Land of Promi&s;e who had &s;een his miracles in the hou&s;e of bondage, <HI>Caleb</HI> and <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> excepted. Thus Gods &s;pa|ring
<PB N="56" REF="46"><HI>Davids</HI> life, and not taking him away by &s;udden death (ma|king as it were a commutation of the childs life in &s;tead of the life of the parent) is &s;tiled by <HI>Nathan,</HI> Gods putting away or pardoning his &s;in, albeit God did in the mean time &s;undry wayes, even to his dy|ing day, puni&s;h him for tho&s;e &s;ins; which albeit they might well bee &s;aid to have been put away, in re&s;pect of &s;udden death not in|flicted; yet were they not &s;o put away in re&s;pect of certain other puni&s;hments which he &s;uffered. Yet in this &s;aying I would not be &s;o under&s;tood, as if I did confine the meaning of the Prophets ab&s;olu|tion in tho&s;e words, <HI>[Thou &s;halt not dye]</HI> to a temporal death, for that in&s;tant time: for as a &s;udden tem|poral death was not the only, or the greate&s;t evil doubtle&s;&s;e, which <HI>David then feared, (rebus &s;ic &s;tan|tibus)</HI> &s;o I am per&s;waded, that free|dom from &s;uch an evil was not the only, or chiefe&s;t good, which God therein and thereby did pro|mi&s;e.</P>
<PB N="57" REF="46">
<P N="3">3. Gods &s;u&s;pending his judge|ments, and reprieving &s;inners (as I may &s;o &s;ay) or his delaying to pu|ni&s;h them for the pre&s;ent time, whether with &s;udden death, or with &s;ome other notorious, dreadful, exemplary judgment, is &s;tiled his pardoning them: and no wonder, for it is truly &s;o; <HI>viz. pro tempore,</HI> in a diminutive &s;en&s;e: and &s;o long as it is to la&s;t according to the pur|po&s;e of God. This I take in part to be the meaning of <HI>Numb.</HI> 14.20 where God &s;aith, <HI>he had pardoned them; viz.</HI> pardoned them for that time, as appears in that he doth in the next words threaten, that he would take a time to puni&s;h them; and that in &s;uch &s;ort as whereby to make his power and his ju&s;tice the more glorious through|out the world. In this &s;en&s;e el&s;e|where God is &s;aid to pardon tho&s;e &s;inners (the &s;elf &s;ame Nation as afore was in&s;tanced in) at one time, on whom he took vengeance at a|nother (as appears by comparing <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 99.8 with <HI>Exod.</HI> 32.34) yea whom he doth threaten with cer|tain
<PB N="58" REF="47">vengeance at that very time, when it is &s;aid, <HI>That he repented of the evil which he thought to do unto them,</HI> (that phra&s;e, <HI>Gods repenting of the evil,</HI> importing the &s;elf-&s;ame thing with remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, as I &s;hal demon&s;trate in due place) <HI>Exod.</HI> 32.34. with <HI>v.</HI> 14.</P>
<P>The&s;e three kinds of pardon, or Gods pardoning a &s;inner any of tho&s;e three &s;aid wayes, I may &s;tile (<HI>docendi grati&acirc;,</HI> and for di&s;tincti|ons &s;ake, from pardons in the &s;en&s;e immediately following) pardon <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign">, im|proper, or improperly &s;o called, they being but pardon of the half blood (<GAP DESC="foreign">) in that they are not produced of the &s;elf &s;ame &s;eed; <HI>i.e.</HI> of the &s;elf &s;ame electing and redeeming love of God in Chri&s;t, as doth the true heir; I mean that kind of pardon which I am in the next and la&s;t place now to &s;et down.</P>
<P N="4">4. Gods taking away from a &s;inner the obligation unto, and his forbearing to puni&s;h &s;inners with eternal damnation, is &s;tiled
<PB N="59" REF="47">his pardoning &s;inners, or forgi|ving them their &s;ins. This kind of puni&s;hment is variou&s;ly &s;tiled in Scripture; <HI>e. g.</HI> That wrath to come, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1.10. Damnation &s;imply, <HI>John</HI> 5.29. Eternal dam|nation, <HI>Mark</HI> 3.29. The damna|tion of hell, <HI>Matth.</HI> 23.33. The damnation of the divel, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.6. The time when it &s;hall be &s;uffered is &s;aid to be the world to come; and as for the place where, it is &s;aid to be <HI>Hell,</HI> or the <HI>lake which burneth with fire and brim&s;tone.</HI> Rev 21 8.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marc 5.29.</NOTE> Now becau&s;e this la&s;t kind of puni&s;hment is the wor&s;t of all and chief of puni&s;hments that are threatned to &s;in and &s;inners (it be|ing the puni&s;hment not only of the body, but al&s;o of the &s;oul, and that bothe ea&s;ele&s;&s;e, endle&s;&s;e, and remedile&s;&s;e) therefore is the par|don of &s;in with re&s;pect to freedom from this kind of puni&s;hment, more e&s;pecially and principal|ly &s;tiled pardon, or pardon <GAP DESC="foreign">, or <GAP DESC="foreign">, for as this la&s;t puni&s;hment is the king of puni&s;hments (to allude unto that expre&s;&s;ion of <HI>Job, chap.</HI>
<PB N="60" REF="48">18.14. &s;o this kind of pardon may be &s;tiled the king of pardons. And in this &s;en&s;e (chiefly I mean, but not exclu&s;ively) the word is taken in the tenour of the New Cove|nant, recited, <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.34. <HI>Heb.</HI> 8.12. where God promi&s;eth to <HI>forgive our inquities, and remember our &s;ins no more.</HI> And &s;o likewi&s;e mo&s;t commonly in the wrirings both of the Old and New Te&s;ta|ment, <HI>pa&s;&s;im.</HI> And in this &s;en&s;e (chiefly, I mean, but not exclu|&s;ively) it is to be taken in the pre|&s;ent Text.</P>
<P>And that may &s;erve for a direct and po&s;itive an&s;wer to the &s;econd Que&s;tion; <HI>viz. What is meant by forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, in the pre&s;ent Text, or texture of the Apo&s;tle Saint</HI> John? Only let it be re|membred, that I have in&s;erted this parenthe&s;is as emphatically to be ob&s;erved, [chiefly I mean, but not exclu&s;ively] for I do not think that that promi&s;e of forgivene&s;&s;e is altogether exclu&s;ive of, or doth altogether<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">And therefore (to &s;peak my &s;en&s;e more fully) I may &s;ay of pardon in this la&s;t &s;en&s;e, That it is Gods taking away from a &s;inner the obligation to all kinds of puni&s;hments, proceeding from his pure Ju&s;tice, his de|livering &s;inners from all &s;uch puni&s;hments, more e&s;pe|cially from the damnation of hell, it being the chiefe&s;t of puni&s;hments, which God in Ju&s;tice doth threaten to &s;inners.</NOTE> exclude all manner of mercy unto, or all kind of free|dome
<PB N="61" REF="48">of the &s;inner from temporal puni&s;hment in this life: and that upon the following Grounds or Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e, albeit the pardon of &s;in is not nece&s;&s;arily to be under|&s;tood as con&s;i&s;ting in the di&s;obli|gation of a &s;inner from &s;uffering of all manner of puni&s;hment, <HI>de prae&s;enti,</HI> but either <HI>de prae&s;enti,</HI> or <HI>de futuro</HI> (as was afore&s;aid;) ne|verthele&s;&s;e, God may be, and &s;ometimes is plea&s;ed of his &s;upera|bundant grace to vouch&s;afe unto a penitent &s;inner at once, as a di&s;|charge or di&s;obligation from eter|nal puni&s;hment; &s;o likewi&s;e actu|al freedome from &s;uch temporal &s;ufferings as his &s;in had brought upon him, according to the te|nour of that promi&s;e, <HI>James</HI> 5.15 Wherein the Apo&s;tle promi&s;eth,
<PB N="62" REF="49">That the prayer of Faith, &s;hould at once prove an effectual mean, whereby the &s;ins of the &s;ick party &s;hould be forgiven, and his body al&s;o cured of, or re&s;tored from his &s;ickne&s;&s;e. How many of Gods &s;er|vants have rea&s;on to call upon their &s;ouls to ble&s;&s;e God, who at once, or at the &s;elf &s;ame time hath forgiven their &s;ins, and healed their di&s;ea&s;es, as in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.3. and for that rea&s;on to call not on|ly upon their &s;ouls, but al&s;o up|on their bodies and bones to prai&s;e God; as in <HI>P&s;.</HI> 35.10.</P>
<P N="2">2. Though God doth not al|wayes do &s;o, but taking off the ob|ligation of the &s;inner from &s;uffe|ring the torments of hell hereaf|ter, doth cha&s;tize or puni&s;h him with a kind of hell here, (as <HI>Da|vid</HI> and others even to their dying day have been puni&s;hed) neverthe|le&s;&s;e &s;uch temporal puni&s;hments, or cha&s;ti&s;ements, are ever|more,</P>
<P N="1">1. Moderated from that de|gree, which otherwi&s;e would have been, as appears by 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.13.
<PB N="63" REF="49"><HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 27.8. <HI>Jer.</HI> 10.24. and 47.28. Which &s;aid moderation of puni&s;h|ment may in a &s;en&s;e be called par|don, as was afore&s;aid; <HI>viz. Ali|quou&s;que,</HI> and in &s;ome degree.</P>
<P N="2">2. Sweetned with the influences of comfort from God, his holy Word and Spirit; God informing them in his Word, that his end in puni&s;hing them is upon the maine their non-condemnation, accor|ding to that in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.32. and that no &s;uffering what&s;oever in this life &s;hall &s;eparate them from the love of God in Chri&s;t, ju&s;tify|ing them from their &s;ins; accor|ding to that triumphant challenge of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.35. <HI>Who &s;hall &s;eparate u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> from the love in Chri&s;t? Shall, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 Sanctified by Gods grace, and turned to good, according as is witne&s;&s;ed abundantly in the Scriptures, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 27.9. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28. <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.11. And as in the&s;e and the like re&s;pects, the temporal puni&s;hments of all penitent and believing &s;inners do differ from the temporal puni&s;hment of Repro|bates,
<PB N="64" REF="50">who &s;hall be damned for their &s;ins; even &s;o for the &s;ame re|&s;pects or rea&s;ons, or <HI>Eatenus</HI> &s;uch penitent &s;inners may be &s;aid to be pardoned as to, or in regard of temporal puni&s;hments.</P>
<P>Thus have I &s;et down, wherein (according to my pre&s;ent thoughts and according to truth, as I hope,) the nature of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in doth not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Though all pardon be of God, in which re&s;pect <HI>Re|mi&s;&s;io Juris</HI> is <HI>Remi&s;&s;io Judicis,</HI> neverthe|le&s;&s;e that doth not hinder, but that pardon may be di&s;tingui|&s;hed into <HI>Juris &amp; Judicis,</HI> be|cau&s;e this latter is pardon in <HI>&s;en&s;u famo|fiori,</HI> in a more nota|ble and &s;ig|nal &s;en&s;e; Even as in Logick though <HI>Omnis ma|teria</HI> be <HI>im|manens,</HI> yet may <HI>mate|ria</HI> be di|&s;tingui&s;h|ed into <HI>im|manens</HI> and <HI>tran&s;ciens.</HI> Now par|don of &s;in, as it con|&s;i&s;ts in ta|king off the obligation to puni&s;h|ment being by the power of Gods word or Law; and as it con&s;i&s;ts in taking off the puni&s;hment it &s;elf, it being by the Word of his power, I think therefore that this latter may be &s;tiled <HI>Remi&s;&s;io judicis,</HI> it being effected by the hand of God, as the other by the Word or Law of God.</NOTE> and wherein it doth con&s;i&s;t, it con&s;i&s;ting (as was a|fore&s;aid) in the&s;e two things,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. In a &s;inners di&s;charge from the obli|gation of the Law to puni&s;hment.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. In his actual impunity or im|munity from puni&s;hment: in Gods not binding him by his Law to pu|ni&s;hment, and in Gods not actu|ally inflicting puni&s;hment upon him.</ITEM>
</LIST> The former of the&s;e I may call <HI>Remi&s;&s;io Juris,</HI> pardon in Law Title, or in the &s;en&s;e or title of Law; the latter I may &s;tile <HI>Re|mi&s;&s;io Judicis,</HI> the pardon of the Judge: for albeit that Remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in which we &s;hall receive at the day of Judgment and not afore, be commonly &s;tiled by Divines (as I
<PB N="65" REF="50">think) <HI>Remi&s;&s;io judicis,</HI> in way of contradi&s;tinction from the Remi&s;|&s;ion which we have in this life, and which they &s;tile <HI>Remi&s;&s;io legis</HI> or <HI>Juris;</HI> neverthele&s;&s;e, &s;eeing tho&s;e two do alike differ, as do Right or Title to a thing, and the actual po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the thing it &s;elf, and &s;eeing it is the hand or power of God that mu&s;t put us into the a|ctual po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, or that mu&s;t give us the actual enjoyment of that which according to his will reveal+ed in his Law, Word, or Promi&s;e we have Title or Right unto; the&s;e things (I &s;ay) con&s;idered, I think I may not unfitly di&s;tingui&s;h the &s;aid part of pardon by the name of <HI>Remi&s;&s;io juris &amp; judicis.</HI></P>
<P>The premi&s;es con&s;idered (as well what hath been &s;poken in the Ne|gative, as in the Affirmative part
<PB N="66" REF="51">of my An&s;wer to the &s;aid Que&s;ti|ons) I &s;hall from thence make the&s;e following Deductions or Conclu&s;ions, as nece&s;&s;arily re|&s;ulting from them, whether as jointly or as &s;everally con&s;ide|red.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VII.</HI> That a Reprobate may be &s;aid in &s;ome &s;en&s;e, even in a Scrip|ture &s;en&s;e to be pardoned, and how?</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECTARY I.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. THere is a &s;en&s;e of Scrip|ture with re&s;pect where|unto tho&s;e who &s;hall be damned may be &s;aid, yea in Scripture are &s;aid to be pardoned; <HI>viz.</HI> with re|&s;pect to &s;ome kind or degree of temporal puni&s;hment, either whol|ly forborn and taken off, or el&s;e &s;u&s;pended and delayed for a time.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="67" REF="51">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. VIII.</HI> That a &s;inner, notwith&s;tanding his pardon (upon the main) may and oft times doth &s;uffer temporal puni&s;hments for his &s;ins, together with an An|&s;wer to &s;everal Objections, wherein the di&s;tinction be|twixt cha&s;ti&s;ements and pu|ni&s;hments is examined, and how far forth allowable, decla|red; wherein al&s;o the true dif|ferences betwixt the &s;ufferings of the Godly and the wicked are a&s;&s;erted and proved, and the fal&s;e ones, (commonly a&s;|&s;igned) are rejected and re|futed. That the Saints may and oft-times do in this life &s;uffer for their &s;ins, Chri&s;ts &s;a|tisfaction notwith&s;tanding, proved and cleered. In what
<PB N="68" REF="52">&s;en&s;e God doth, and in what &s;en&s;e he doth not remember the &s;ins of Believers, laid downe in &s;undry Propo&s;itions, Affir|mative and Negative; where|in likewi&s;e is declared, what difference there is betwixt Gods remembring the &s;ins of the Godly and of the wicked, as al&s;o betwixt his remem|bring the &s;ins of Believers un|der the Old Te&s;tament, and the &s;ins of Believers under the New Te&s;tament.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. II.</HEAD>
<P N="2">2. A Sinner may be &s;aid to be pardoned; <HI>viz.</HI> up|on the main, and with re&s;pect to e|verla&s;ting puni&s;hment in hell, from the &s;uffering whereof he may be for the pre&s;ent altogether di&s;obli|ged, though he be not di&s;charged from &s;uffering of all or all man|ner of puni&s;hments temporal and <HI>de prae&s;enti,</HI> which notwith&s;tanding
<PB N="69" REF="52">his pardon upon the maine, he may &s;uffer in &s;ome mea&s;ure, yea, in a very great mea&s;ure, and that to his dying day, yea, and in a &s;ort after his death, &s;o farre as a man being dead is &s;aid to &s;uffer in his po&s;terity (he being a parent) or in his &s;ubjects (he being a Prince) as the &s;ad experience of many of the Saints recorded in Scripture, doth witne&s;&s;e beyond exception, &s;pecially of <HI>David, Solomon,</HI> and <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh.</HI> 2 <HI>Sam,</HI> 12, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14. 1 <HI>King.</HI> 3.13, 14. &amp; <HI>ch.</HI> 11.11. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 24.3. And in that re|&s;pect the &s;ins of the Saints, though pardoned upon the maine, may be &s;aid not to be pardoned, <HI>viz.</HI> as to tho&s;e temporal puni&s;hments which they did &s;uffer; and in this re&s;pect it is expre&s;ly &s;aid concer|ning the &s;ins of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh,</HI> (howe|ver pardoned upon the maine, and as to eternal puni&s;hment, as is ge|nerally and upon good ground conceived) that he would not pardon them, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 24.3, 4. Sure|ly at the command of the Lord, came this upon <HI>Judah,</HI> to remove
<PB N="70" REF="53">them out of his &s;ight, for the &s;ins of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh,</HI> according to all that he did. And al&s;o for the in|nocent blood that he &s;hed, which the Lord would not pardon.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> The &s;ufferings of the Saints are not puni&s;hmens, but cha&s;ti&s;ements? and cha&s;ti&s;ements are not puni&s;hments, properly &s;o called?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. What difference &s;oe|ver there is between puni&s;hments properly and improperly &s;o called, It &s;eems clear to me, that Scrip|ture doth not di&s;tingui&s;h the &s;uf|ferings of the Saints, and of the wicked, by the name of cha&s;ti&s;e|ments and puni&s;hments, their names being of promi&s;cuous u&s;e in Scripture. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. The &s;ufferings of the Saints are frequently called puni&s;hments, and the righteous God in his Word is &s;aid as well to puni&s;h the godly as the wicked with &s;ome kind of puni&s;hments, for which &s;ee <HI>Amos</HI> 3.2. <HI>You have I knowne above all the nations of the earth, therefore will I puni&s;h you for all you</HI> <GAP DESC="missing">
<PB N="71" REF="53"><HI>iniquities. Ezra</HI> 9.13. <HI>Thou ha&s;t puni&s;hed us le&s;&s;e then our iniquities do de&s;erve, Lam.</HI> 3.39.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Tho&s;e Scriptures are &s;poken of the whole Church, in which were wicked as well as god|ly?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> God is &s;aid not to leave the remnant of the godly in the Church altogether unpuni&s;hed, <HI>Jer.</HI> 46. <HI>la&s;t.</HI> and 30.11. and what is that but in part, or in &s;ome mea&s;ure to puni&s;h them, as appears by com|paring the forecited Scriptures with <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 27.8. and <HI>Jerem.</HI> 10.24.</P>
<P N="2">2. How often are the puni&s;h|ments of the wicked &s;tiled cha&s;ti&s;e|ments? See <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 94.10. <HI>Hee that cha&s;ti&s;eth the Heathens, &s;hall not hee correct?</HI> The puni&s;hments which were inflicted upon <HI>Pha|raoh,</HI> and the plagues of Egypt are called cha&s;ti&s;ements. <HI>Deut.</HI> 11.2, 3. <HI>I &s;peak not with your chil|dren that have not knowne and &s;eene the cha&s;ti&s;ement of the Lord your God, his greatne&s;&s;e, his mighty hand, and his &s;tretched
<PB N="72" REF="54">out arme, and his miracles, and his acts which he did in the mid&s;t of E|gypt.</HI> See al&s;o <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7.12. and 10.10. <HI>Jer.</HI> 30.14. Specially &s;ee <HI>Lev.</HI> 26.28. where the la&s;t puni&s;hment of all which God threatens for their final ob&s;tinacy, as &s;even times greater then all the former, is &s;ti|led by the name of cha&s;ti&s;ement. And the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t which were puni&s;hments in a very pro|per &s;en&s;e, are called cha&s;ti&s;ements, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 53.5. The cha&s;ti&s;ement of our peace, <HI>i.e.</HI> the puni&s;hment of our &s;ins in order to our reconciliation was upon him. So that it doth not appeare that there are any &s;uch di&s;tinct words in the Scriptures of the old Te&s;tament (the one &s;igni|fying or being rendred cha&s;ti&s;e|ments, the other puni&s;hments) whereby to expre&s;&s;e the diffe|rent &s;ufferings of the godly and the wicked, nor can it be made appeare (for ought I know) that there are any &s;uch words in the New Te&s;tament, as doth in this &s;ort difference them. For albeit <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> doth di&s;tingui&s;h
<PB N="73" REF="54">betwixt &s;uch &s;ufferings as are in|flicted for the &s;ake of the &s;ufferer, and &s;uch as are inflicted for the &s;ake of the puni&s;her, calling the&s;e by the names <GAP DESC="foreign"> the former by the name <GAP DESC="foreign">: neverthele&s;&s;e I am mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that the &s;ufferings of the godly and the wicked, are not by the&s;e names di&s;tingui&s;hed in the New Te&s;ta|ment; for I finde therein, that the everla&s;ting puni&s;hment of the wicked in hell, are expre&s;&s;ed be the word <GAP DESC="foreign"> for proof where|of, &s;ee <HI>Matth&punc;</HI> 25 la&s;t, and 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9. where te^h words tran&s;lated puni&s;hment, and to be puni&s;hed, are <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>If any one &s;hall ask me whether I do blame our Divines for their u&s;uall di&s;tingui&s;hing the &s;ufferings of the godly and the wicked by the names of cha&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;h|ments.</P>
<P>I An&s;wer, albeit I think it our duty as neere as we can, to &s;peake Scripture &s;en&s;e in Scripture words; neverthele&s;&s;e, le&s;t I might &s;eeme captious, I would not condemne
<PB N="74" REF="55">tho&s;e who have differenced them by the afore&s;aid words; yet with the&s;e Salvoes and Provi&s;oes: 1. Pro|vided that they impo&s;e not upon me or others, a nece&s;&s;ity of di&s;tin|gui&s;hing them by tho&s;e names, as names di&s;tinct, or of di&s;tinct u&s;e and &s;ignification in Scripture.</P>
<P N="2">2. Provided that as I leave them to their libertie, &s;o they leave me to my libertie, and not blame me, who &s;hall chu&s;e rather to keep clo&s;e to the language, as wel as the &s;en&s;e of Scripture in this matter, and to di&s;tingui&s;h rather betwixt puni&s;hments and puni&s;hments, then betwixt cha&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;h|ments.</P>
<P N="3">3. Provided, that under the fore&s;aid names, they vary not from the &s;en&s;e of Scripture, making &s;uch differences betweene the &s;uf|ferings of the godly, and the wick|ed, as Scripture doth not make, or will not warrant; which la&s;t pro|vi&s;o is the rather con&s;iderable; becau&s;e there are &s;ome, I meane, not only Antinomians, but others al&s;o, who in their explication of
<PB N="75" REF="55">the differences betwixt cha|&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;hments, doe difference them in &s;uch &s;ort, as the Word of God wil not (for ought I know) allow. <HI>E.g.</HI> Undertaking to define, or &s;tate the differences betwixt puni&s;hments properly and improperly &s;o called (which latter they &s;tile cha&s;ti&s;ements) they tell us, that cha&s;ti&s;ements are inflicted <HI>&agrave; Deo Patre,</HI> not <HI>Judice,</HI> by God not as a Judge, but as a Father. Whereas I think, that the &s;uffe|rings of the godly, are inflicted by God both as a Father and as a Judge al&s;o, for why otherwi&s;e are &s;uch &s;ufferings &s;tiled judgments? or why el&s;e &s;hould the Saints in &s;o &s;uffering, be &s;aid (as indeed they are) to be judged of the Lord. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. <HI>ult. I&s;a.</HI> 26.8. In &s;tead therefore of &s;aying that the &s;ufferings of the Saints are infli|cted by God, <HI>Tanquam patre, non judice,</HI> I &s;hould choo&s;e to &s;ay ra|ther, <HI>Tanquam judice patrizante,</HI> they being paternall judgments, or fatherly puni&s;hments.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whereas &s;ome &s;ay that the
<PB N="76" REF="56">puni&s;hments of the wicked are for &s;in, but the cha&s;ti&s;ements of the godly are from &s;in; I find no &s;uch difference warranted in the word, the contrary thereunto being plainly therein a&s;&s;erted, <HI>viz.</HI> that God doth puni&s;h the godly, for, or becau&s;e of their &s;ins. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 24.3. Surely at the command of the Lord, came this upon <HI>Judah,</HI> for the &s;ins of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh,</HI> and al&s;o for the innocent blood which he &s;hed, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.14. <HI>Howbeit, be|cau&s;e by this thy deede, thou ha&s;t gi|ven occa&s;ion to the enemies of the Lord to bla&s;pheme, the child al&s;o that is borne unto thee &s;hall &s;urely die.</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.30. <HI>For this cau&s;e many are &s;ickly among you, and many &s;leep. Rev.</HI> 2.4. <HI>I have &s;omewhat to &s;ay unto thee, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t left thy fir&s;t love.</HI> Yea I adde, that the temporal puni&s;hments of the wic|ked are not only for, but al&s;o in &s;ome &s;en&s;e from &s;in, in that the u&s;e which they ought to make of them is their repentance and amend|ment, unto which God doth as by lively voice cal them; for otherwi&s;e
<PB N="77" REF="56">we cannot well conceive how the ob&s;tinacy and impenitency of men &s;hould be aggravated by Gods judgments. Thence that expre&s;|&s;ion <HI>Mic,</HI> 7.9. <HI>Hear the red:</HI> yea, one &s;pecial intent or end of Gods inflicting judgment on &s;ome wick|ed men is, that all the wicked may take warning, or that they may heare and feare, and do no more &s;o wickedly. <HI>Deut</HI> 17 23. thence did the heathen re&s;emble Gods judgments to thunder and light|ning, the end thereof being thus, <HI>viz. &V;t poena ad paucos, terror ad amnes perveniat.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Whereas &s;ome di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt cha&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;h|ments, &s;aying, that the&s;e do pro|ceed from the wrath and ju&s;tice of God, but tho&s;&ecirc; only from his love: I &s;ee no warrant for &s;uch a diffe|rence, &s;eeing Scripture doth plainly tell us, that the &s;ufferings of the Saints are inflicted by an angry God, and by vertue of the ju&s;tword and threatning of God. For what rea&s;on el&s;e were there for the Saints under &s;ufferings to acknowledge
<PB N="78" REF="57">the di&s;plea&s;ure and ju&s;tice of God, as frequently we find they did, and according as it was (no doubt) their duty to doe. See <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.13, 14. <HI>Dan.</HI> 9.12, 13. <HI>Neh.</HI> 9.33. And why el&s;e is the wrath of God &s;aid to be kindled again&s;t his owne people, and in &s;pecial again&s;t <HI>Aa|ron</HI> the Saint of the Lord? <HI>Deut.</HI> 9.26. in &s;tead therfore of &s;aying that the &s;ufferings of the wicked are inflicted by Gods wrath and ju|&s;tice, but of the godly by his love; I &s;hould choo&s;e to &s;ay, that the &s;ufferings of the wicked (compara|tively with the &s;uffrings of the god|ly) do proceed from pure wrath &amp; ju&s;tice; but the &s;ufferings of the godly from wrath and ju&s;tice mix|ed with fatherly love and mercy: I &s;ay (comparatively with the &s;uffe|rings of the godly) the &s;ufferings of the wicked doe proceede from pure wrath and ju&s;tice; for if wee compare the &s;ufferings of the wicked here, with their &s;ufferings in hel, I &s;uppo&s;e, that we cannot &s;ay, that their &s;ufferings here doe &s;o purely proceed from Gods ju|&s;tice, or from his pure ju&s;tice
<PB N="79" REF="57">in &s;uch &s;ort, as doe their &s;ufferings in hell; and that for the rea&s;on a|fore&s;aid, viz. becau&s;e their repen|tance and amendment is one gra|cious and direct end of their &s;uffe|rings, of many of their &s;ufferings, at lea&s;t in this life. And becau&s;e what I have here delivered, is ob|jected again&s;t by the Antinomi|ans: I &s;hall endeavour to cleere and vindicate the &s;ame from their exceptions and objections, as fol|loweth.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> Chri&s;t hath fully &s;atisfied Gods ju&s;tice, and how then can the &s;ufferings of the Saints proceed from his ju&s;tice, or for &s;in?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The &s;ufferings of the Saints and Chri&s;ts perfect &s;atisfaction for &s;in, are not incompo&s;&s;ible, but may very wel &s;tand together; the coexi&s;tance whereof, that it may the better appeare, the following an&s;wers are (to me) con&s;iderable, and as I hope, wil prove as to my &s;elf, &s;o to others, &s;atisfactory.</P>
<P N="1">1. Notwith&s;tanding the &s;uffe|rings of the Saints are from Gods ju&s;tice, yet are they not for the
<PB N="80" REF="58">&s;atisfaction of his ju&s;tice in any &s;uch &s;en&s;e as Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings were. Had the &s;ufferings of the Saints been inflicted by God, and endu|red by them, for the &s;atisfaction of divine ju&s;tice in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e, the objection had been of con&s;idera|ble force, not otherwi&s;e. Now I &s;ay, the &s;ufferings of the Saints are not either inflicted by God, or endured by the Saints, to &s;atis|fie Gods ju&s;tice in any &s;uch &s;en&s;e, as wherein Scripture affirmes Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings to be alone &s;a|tisfactory, <HI>i. e.</HI> the &s;ufferings of the Saints are no part of that <GAP DESC="foreign">, or price, whereby a pro|pitiation and attonement is made for &s;in and &s;inners. And let it be noted, that herein we differ from the Papi&s;ts, who do make the &s;ufferings of the Saints in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e &s;atisfactory to Gods ju|&s;tice, as whereby they derogate from the all-&s;ufficient &s;atisfaction of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. The procurement of this pri|viledge, <HI>viz.</HI> that the Saints &s;hould not at all &s;uffer for their &s;ins
<PB N="81" REF="58">in this world, was not a thing in|tended in or by the &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t; &s;o that in calling into que|&s;tion how farre forth, or unto what intents and pre&s;ent effects, the &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t was in|tended by God and actually to a|vaile. I &s;ay, in calling this into que&s;tion, we cannot rea&s;onably be thought to impeach the perfe|ction of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction. And let it be ob&s;erved, that I &s;peake concerning the effects and fruits of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction according to the intention of him&s;elf and of his Father. For albeit there be never &s;o much intrin&s;ecal worth or va|lue imaginable in the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, (I exclude not his active obedience from all ingrediency in|to his merits) I conceive, not|with&s;tanding, that his &s;ufferings did not &s;atisfie by a natural ne|ce&s;&s;ity, but by rea&s;on of the vo|luntary compact, and agreement betwixt God and him, and con&s;e|quently that he &s;atisfied for no o|ther intents and purpo&s;es, then were agreed upon betwixt them.</P>
<PB N="82" REF="59">
<P><HI>Q.</HI> What did Chri&s;t by his &s;atis|faction (according to compact betwixt him and his father) pro|cure and purcha&s;e for, or in behalf of the Saints?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. Negatively, not an actual pre&s;ent immunity from all manner of &s;uffering for their &s;ins, or that they &s;hould be &s;o farre priviledged as not at all, or in no &s;ort to be puni&s;hed for their &s;ins in this life; neither did Chri&s;t make or undertake to make &s;atis|faction, neither did God the Fa|ther accept of his making or un|dertaking to make &s;atisfaction for any &s;uch intent and pur|po&s;e.</P>
<P N="2">2. Affirmatively, The Lord Chri&s;t by his &s;atisfaction did pro|cure for the Saints a di&s;charge and deliverance, (<HI>viz.</HI> at, in, or upon their believing, or when they be|come believers) from wrath to come, at the great day of judge|ment. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.10. This he did procure as the direct end and fruit of his &s;atisfaction, and con&s;equent|ly, or as a &s;econd end he did pro|cure
<PB N="83" REF="59">for them a right unto, and in due time an actuall enjoyment of an inheritance eternall in the kingdome of heaven; God the Father being &s;o over and above (as I may &s;o &s;ay) wel plea&s;ed with his Sons &s;atisfaction, as by rea&s;on thereof, not only to deliver the Saints from that wrath to come; the de&s;ert whereof by &s;in they had incurred; but moreover to grant unto them an immortall crowne and inheritance within the king|dome of glory, which for degree, is commonly thought to be a grea|ter felicity then <HI>Adam,</HI> if he had &s;tood, &s;hould have attained un|to.</P>
<P N="2">2. Chri&s;t by his &s;atisfaction did procure for them the &s;weetning, moderating and &s;anctifying of all their &s;ufferings in this life, and the delivering of them from all tho&s;e cur&s;ed effects, which the &s;aid &s;uf|ferings are of them&s;elves apt to worke and occa&s;ion, and which act|ually they doe work or occa&s;ion in the wicked; the&s;e evil and cur&s;ed effects of &s;ufferings being that
<PB N="84" REF="60">from which Chri&s;t in the dayes of his fle&s;h, did pray to the Father to keepe the di&s;ciples; but not alto|gether from &s;uffering it &s;elfe, no more then he prayed to God to take them out of the world, <HI>Iohn</HI> 17.15. Briefly as Chri&s;t was a vo|luntary &s;urety, and his Fathers free gift, &s;o was his &s;atisfaction (however mo&s;t perfect, yet) a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In &s;ay|ing that Chri&s;ts &s;a|tisfaction, being con|&s;idered ab|&s;tractly, was a re|fu&s;able &s;a|tisfaction, I meane, only this, viz. that it was free|ly and vo|luntarily accepted by God the Father</NOTE> refu&s;eable &s;atisfation, if it be in it &s;elfe, or in its ab&s;tracted nature &s;imply con&s;idered; and therfore as it was in Chri&s;ts owne choice, whether or no to have made &s;atis|faction, and in the Fathers choice whether or no to have accepted it (for God the Father might have cho&s;en whether or no to have &s;ent his Son, and the Son might have cho&s;en whether or no to have come into the world, and to have taken our fle&s;h) &s;o may they chu&s;e how farre forth, or unto what intents and purpo&s;es this &s;atisfa|ction &s;hall be paid and accepted; which &s;aid intents, effects and pur|po&s;es are, and are not, as is afore|&s;aid, in the Negative and Affirma|tive part of my an&s;wer to the fore|going Que&s;tion.</P>
<PB N="85" REF="60">
<P N="3">3. I an&s;wer to the objection in the third place, that Gods being &s;atisfied with Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings, may be under&s;tood two waies,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. In re&s;pect of the &s;urety and the value of his payment as being the full value of what his ju&s;tice required, and more then which he required not at his hands.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. In re&s;pect of the Debtour, the &s;inner, and the effecting of his compleat and univer&s;al freedome: and in this latter re&s;pect, God was not upon, by, or with Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction or payment, &s;o well plea&s;ed or &s;atisfied, as immediate|ly thereupon to grant unto the &s;inner a compleat, actual, and u|niver&s;al freedom from all manner of &s;uffering for &s;in; the denying or not granting of which &s;aid pre|&s;ent, immediate and univer&s;all freedome, doth ari&s;e not from any imperfection in Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction, which imperfection is to be made up by the &s;ufferings of the Saints, but from the mutuall compact betwixt the Father, and the Son, to have it otherwi&s;e to be, as is afore&s;aid.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<PB N="86" REF="61">
<P N="4">4. Or in an&s;wer to the Objecti|on, I may di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt the &s;atisfactory price, which Chri&s;t did pay for our redemption from all &s;uffering for our &s;innes, and betwixt our enjoyment of the fruits and benefits of that &s;atisfa|ctory price, or &s;aisfaction. The for|mer, <HI>viz</HI> the price paid by Chri&s;t, was mo&s;t perfect; but our enjoy|ment of the benefits fruits, or effects thereof, is not perfect pre&s;ently, and at once, we enjoying the be|nefits thereof <HI>pedetentim,</HI> piece|meale, &s;ome at one time, &s;ome at another; &s;ome in this world, and &s;ome of them in the world to come. And I &s;hall therefore add that the inflicting of temporall puni&s;hments upon the Saints for their &s;ins, or Gods not vouch&s;afe|ing &s;uch a priviledge to the Saints as in no &s;ort to &s;uffer for their &s;ins in this world; this I &s;ay, is no more again&s;t the perfection of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction, or Chri&s;ts perfect &s;atisfaction again&s;t it, then is Gods not perfect &s;anctifying his people in this world; he &s;uf|fering
<PB N="87" REF="61">the remainders of corrupti|on to abide and worke in their na|tures &s;o long as they live in this mortal body.</P>
<P>When&s;oever the Antinomians &s;hall prove, that God is obliged by the perfection of Chri&s;ts &s;atis|faction in no &s;ort to puni&s;h the Saints for their &s;ins in this world; they will prove that God is alike obliged, perfectly to &s;anctifie, and immediately to glorifie the Saints at the fir&s;t moment of their belie|ving and converting; &s;eeing the &s;anctification and glorification of the Saints is as well a fruit, effect, and benefit of Chri&s;ts perfect &s;a|tisfaction as is their ju&s;tification, or their freedome from any tem|porall puni&s;hment.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> When God doth pardon a &s;inner, he is &s;aid to remember his &s;ins no more, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.17. And how then is it true, that God may, or doth puni&s;h the Saints, or in|flict any &s;uffering upon the Saints for their &s;ins?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I have already declared in what &s;en&s;e this expre&s;&s;ion (Gods
<PB N="88" REF="62">not remembring the &s;ins of his people) cannot be under&s;tood; but becau&s;e this is &s;o u&s;uall an o|bjection with the Antinomians, and in their conceit a kind of in|vincible <HI>Goliah;</HI> or as they mean, unan&s;werable Argument;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I call the forgetful|ne&s;&s;e of injuries an imper|fection in men. For albeit as generally con&s;idered it be a ver|tue, and &s;o no imper|fection, yet as con|&s;idered phy&s;ically, it may be &s;tiled an imperfe|ction; for &s;uch is all manner of forget|fulne&s;&s;e in a phy&s;icall con&s;idera|tion.</NOTE> I will therefore make a more large an|&s;wer thereunto, as followeth.</P>
<P>We are to know, that the phra&s;e is tran&s;latitious or Metaphorical, wherin God is repre&s;ented under a humane imperfection; which &s;aid phra&s;e doth import, or hold forth &s;ome &s;uch act or acts of grace in God towards tho&s;e that have of|fended him, as do carry a re&s;em|blance, proportion, or &s;imilitude with tho&s;e acts of favour in men, expre&s;&s;ed towards tho&s;e who have offended them, and who&s;e offen|ces they are &s;aid not to remember. Now that the &s;imilitude and re|&s;emblance may not be &s;tretched beyond the bounds of rea&s;on, re|ligion, and Scripture, I will &s;et down,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Affirmatively, how far forth God may be &s;aid to remem|ber the &s;ins of the Godly.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Ne|gatively,
<PB N="89" REF="62">how far forth, or in wha &s;en&s;e he doth not remember them.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>For the former. 1. God doth &s;o farre remember the &s;ins of his people, as to be di&s;plea&s;ed with them, and to be incen&s;ed again&s;t them. 2 <HI>Sam</HI> 11.27. <HI>Davids</HI> &s;in in the matter of <HI>&V;riah,</HI> is there &s;aid to <HI>di&s;plea&s;e</HI> God. <HI>Dent.</HI> 9 20. God is there &s;aid to have been <HI>very angry</HI> with <HI>Aaron</HI> to have de&s;troyed him.</P>
<P N="2">2. So farre as to checke and reprove them for their &s;ins, where|by he would have them take &s;pe|cial notice that he doth remember them; and the&s;e reproofes God doth convey &s;ometimes in a mo&s;t cutting and convincing way: for proof hereof, &s;ee <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.4. where the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us</HI> is reproved for her declining. And 2 <HI>Sam,</HI> 12.1. Where <HI>David</HI> is &s;harply tax|ed about the matter of <HI>&V;riah.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. So farre as to threaten them with &s;uffering for their &s;ins, and that, 1. Conditionally, except they repent, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.5. <HI>Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy fir&s;t works, or el&s;e
<PB N="90" REF="63">I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy Candle&s;tick.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Ab&s;olutely, notwith&s;tan|ding they have, or &s;hall repent. 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12, 13, 14. where <HI>David</HI> is threatned with the death of his child (if any one &s;hal &s;ay it is a pre|diction (to &s;peak properly) rather then a commination, it will make nothing again&s;t the intent and pur|po&s;e for which I alledge it) not|with&s;tanding his profe&s;&s;ed repen|tance, and the Prophets ab&s;oluti|on of him (as to the maine of par|don) in the name of God, related in the foregoing ver&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. God doth &s;o farre remem|ber the &s;inns of his people, as actu|ally to inflict puni&s;hment upon them for the &s;ame, and that both while they live, and when they are dead.</P>
<P N="1">1. While they live, and that variou&s;ly, <HI>viz.</HI> not only by with|holding and withdrawing tho&s;e mercies and favours from them, which otherwi&s;e would have been be&s;towed and continued, but al&s;o by inflicting &s;uch evils upon them
<PB N="91" REF="63">which otherwi&s;e he would not have inflicted, as doth evidently appear, and as <HI>David</HI> him&s;elfe did know to his &s;mart and co&s;t. 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.8, 9, 10.</P>
<P N="2">2. When they are dead, <HI>viz.</HI> in their po&s;terity, &s;ucce&s;&s;ors and Subjects, they being Parents Prin|ces, or Soveraignes, as appeares undeniably, in the in&s;tances of <HI>Eli, Solomon,</HI> and <HI>Mana&s;&s;es,</HI> for which &s;ee 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 3.13, 14. 1 <HI>King.</HI> 11.33 and 2, 24, 3, 4. Thus doth God &s;o farre remember the &s;ins of his people, as to &s;mite them for the &s;ame not only with the rod of re|proofe, but al&s;o with the reproof of his rod; it being the duty of Gods people under extraordinary &s;ufferings to take notice that God doth thereby remember; or take knowledge of their &s;ins, as did the widow of <HI>Zareptah&punc;</HI> by occa&s;ion of the unexpected death of her Sonne, &s;aying to the Prophet, <HI>O thou man of God, art thou come to call my &s;in into remembrance, and tr &s;lay my Sonne,</HI> 1 <HI>King.</HI> 17.18. And if their &s;ins do not pre&s;ently
<PB N="92" REF="64">appear, its their duty to &s;earch for them, and to pray to God to di&s;co|ver them unto us according to the example of <HI>Job, chap.</HI> 10.3. <HI>&amp;</HI> 13.23. Where he prayes to God to &s;hew him wherefore he contended with him: and according to the patterne of the Church, <HI>Lam.</HI> 3.40. Exciting one another to &s;earch and try their waies.</P>
<P N="5">5. If, as there be degrees of grace on earth, &s;o there be de|grees of glory in heaven (as is commonly and very probably conceived.) I &s;ee not, but that it may be affirmed, that God doth &s;o farre remember the &s;innes of his people, particularly their back|&s;lidings and declinings in grace, af|ter their conver&s;ion, as to deny unto them &s;uch an eminent degree of glory in heaven, which other|wi&s;e had they been more circum|&s;pect and zealous, they might have obtained, or had attained unto, they in meane time lo|&s;ing of the fulne&s;&s;e of the reward; to which purpo&s;e, that of the A|po&s;tle may not unfitly be under|&s;tood
<PB N="93" REF="64">2 <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. <HI>Look to your &s;elves that we lo&s;e not the things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.</HI> But I will not &s;ay, that this is proper|ly to be called puni&s;hment.</P>
<P N="2">2. In the next place I am to &s;hew Negatively, or in what &s;en&s;e God doth not remember the &s;ins of his people: and for that end be it knowne,</P>
<P N="1">1. God doth not in &s;uch fort re|member the &s;ins of his people, as he doth remember the &s;ins of the wic|ked, whom he doth not pardon, <HI>E.g</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. God doth not &s;o remember the &s;ins of his people, as to puni&s;h them, with, or in &s;uch pure ju|&s;tice, as hee doth puni&s;h the &s;ins of the wicked; but with, or in ju&s;tice, tempered with fatherly love.</P>
<P N="2">2. He doth not puni&s;h them with revenge meerly judicial, or purely vindictive. I &s;ay, revenge meer|ly judicial, or purely vindictive; and let it be ob&s;erved,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What I doe acknowledge.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. What I doe deny.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<PB N="94" REF="65">
<P N="1">1. I grant and acknowledge, that the puni&s;hments which God doth inflict upon his people, are in a &s;ort vindictive, they proced|ing from Gods ju&s;tice, and being inflicted for &s;in, (as was afore&s;aid) and one end of the inflicting ther|of, being to make the Saints to &s;mart; and for that cau&s;e I deny not, but that &s;uch puni&s;hment which God doth inflict upon the Saints for their &s;ins, may be called and are called &s;ometimes in Scrip|ture <HI>vengeance,</HI> and for which cau&s;e I doe fully a&s;&s;ent unto Mr. <HI>Ain&s;worth</HI>'s Expo&s;ition of that in <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 99.8. <HI>Thou wa&s;t a God that forgave&s;t them, though thou tooke&s;t vengance on their inventions.</HI> Where that pious and Learned Textman doth interpret by vengeance, not only the puni&s;hment that in pro|ces of time, was inflicted upon the body of the rebellious people; but al&s;o what was inflicted upon <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> for their mi&s;carriages, he comparing that of the P&s;almi&s;t, not onely with <HI>Num.</HI> 14.20, 21, 23. <HI>Exod.</HI> 32.14, 34, 35. but more|over
<PB N="95" REF="65">with <HI>Num.</HI> 20.12. <HI>Deut.</HI> 3&punc;23, 24, 25. in which latter places the puni&s;hment which God did inflict upon <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> for their &s;ins is recorded. And here let it be ob&s;erved, that whereas &s;ome do di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt&punc; cha&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;hments (meaning ther|by the &s;ufferings of the godly and the wicked) &s;aying, that cha&s;ti&s;e|ments are not vindictive. I can|not a&s;&s;ent thereunto for the rea|&s;ons afore&s;aid, and which I for|got to in&s;ert in its proper place, where I &s;pake concerning the dif|ference betwixt cha&s;ti&s;ements and puni&s;hments.</P>
<P N="2">2. I deny, that the puni&s;hments of the Saints are revenge meerly judicially or purely vindictive as are the puni&s;hments of the wicked: and the rea&s;on is evident, becau&s;e they proceed not from pure ju&s;tice; and againe, albeit Gods end in inflicting them be to make them &s;mart for their &s;ins; neverthele&s;&s;e this end of Gods ju&s;tice is but in &s;ubordination unto other effectual ends of his mercy or in &s;ubordina|tion
<PB N="96" REF="66">to other gracious ends, which God will actually effect thereby; mercy therein rejoycing (as I may &s;o &s;ay) again&s;t judge|ment. Herein the revenge, which God taketh upon a penitent &s;in|ner, is like to that revenge which a penitent &s;inner doth &s;ometimes take upon him&s;elfe, which is not purely vindictive, but in part; it being upon the maine medi|cinal and preventive, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.11.</P>
<P>Briefly, what&s;oever differences have beene, or can be truly a&s;&s;ign|ed betwixt the temporal puni&s;h|ments of the godly, and the wick|ed, &s;o farre or in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e I doe a&s;&s;ert, that God doth not remember the &s;ins of his people.</P>
<P N="2">2. God doth not &s;o farre re|member the &s;ins of his people as to damne them, or to puni&s;h them in hell for the &s;ame, as hee will the wicked for their &s;ins.</P>
<P N="2">2. God doth not in &s;uch &s;ort remember the &s;ins of his people now in times of the New Te&s;ta|ment,
<PB N="97" REF="66">as he did remember the &s;ins of his people in times of the Old Te&s;tament.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> How &s;o? and not &s;o?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Wheras in times of the Old Te&s;tament God did daily remember the &s;ins of his people, as being minded thereof by their fre|quent and daily &s;acrifices, (even as he was minded of his covenant with <HI>Noah,</HI> in the behalfe of all fle&s;h, by the &s;ight of the rainbow, <HI>Gen.</HI> 9.12, 13, 14, 15.) and whereas God was put in mind of their &s;ins by the propitiatory &s;acrifice of Chri&s;t upon the cro&s;&s;e, hee doth<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">viz. Heb. 10.17</NOTE> there &s;ignifie unto them, that he would not remember their &s;ins a|ny more; <HI>i.e.</HI> By the Levitical &s;acri|fices, (for Chri&s;ts death, the anti|type or &s;ub&s;tance of tho&s;e &s;acrifi|ces being come and accompli&s;hed, the types or &s;hadowes mu&s;t now vani&s;h or give place) not yet by the death of Chri&s;t; for it was not nece&s;&s;ary, that Chri&s;t &s;hould die often; or more then once, he having by him&s;elf once offered, for ever perfected tho&s;e that are &s;an|ctified;
<PB N="98" REF="67">and this being one &s;pecial di|fference betwixt Je&s;us Chri&s;t a Prie&s;t after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edec,</HI> and tho&s;e Prie&s;ts which were after <HI>A|arons</HI> order, the&s;e being to offer daily &s;acrifices as memorials of &s;in, but he being to offer but one, and that one but once. And this I take to be the true meaning of the Apo&s;tle in that of Hebrewes, <HI>ch.</HI> 10.17, 18. as wil (I pre&s;ume) ap|peare unto any intelligent reader, who will impartially and without prejudice peru&s;e the text and con|text, in which re&s;pect I might have &s;pared my large an&s;wer, in &s;hewing how farre forth God doth and doth not remember the &s;ins of his people; albeit as to other pur|po&s;es and re&s;pects, the reader, I think, hath no cau&s;e to judge my paines and labour therein to be a|mi&s;&s;e and needle&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>And I &s;hall adde as a third con|&s;ectary and in the next place, how and with what caution it behoveth us to interpret this phra&s;e (God not remembring our &s;innes) to|gether with other phra&s;es of the
<PB N="99" REF="67">like &s;traine or kind recorded in Scripture.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. IX.</HI> Caution given as touching the interpretation of &s;uch Meta|phoricall phra&s;es, whereby forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne is ex|pre&s;&s;ed, that we con&s;true them warily, and in a &s;ober &s;en&s;e.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. III.</HEAD>
<P N="3">3. IT follows, that in all &s;uch me|taphorical phra&s;es whereby the pardon of &s;in is expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture, (<HI>E. g.</HI> Gods not &s;ee|ing &s;in, his not remembring it, his covering it, blotting it out, hi|ding his face from it, ca&s;ting it behind his back, and the like) we mu&s;t be wary and circum&s;pect in their con&s;truction, under&s;tan|ding
<PB N="100" REF="68">them in a mode&s;t, moderate, and &s;ober &s;en&s;e, and not &s;tretch|ing them (hower they &s;ound) be|yond the due limits of their inten|ded meaning, &s;o as to think &s;ober|ly of God, of our &s;elves and &s;ins. I have already given certain rules or directives as touching the right interpretation of &s;uch phra&s;es, and &s;hall need therefore in this place to &s;ay the le&s;&s;e. Onely I &s;hall adde what followes, as a rea&s;on or motive to double our caution and circum&s;pection in the inter|pretation of the &s;aid phra&s;es, by &s;aying, That &s;hould we regard the bare &s;ounds of &s;uch phra&s;es, or the phra&s;es them&s;elves barely as they &s;ound, without a due &s;earch into their true &s;cope and &s;en&s;e (which is apparently the fault of the Antinomians,) we may (be&s;ides other mon&s;trous and intolerable inferences) as well conclude from other Scriptures, where &s;ome of the like phra&s;es are u&s;ed, that God doth pardon all the &s;ins of every wicked man, without any excepti|on of &s;ins, or &s;inners, as of any
<PB N="101" REF="68">of the godly, &s;eeing it is expre&s;ly &s;aid, that God is a God of purer eyes then to behold evil, or to looke upon iniquity, what|&s;oever, or in whom&s;oever the i|niquity and evil is, <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.13. The meaning then of the forecited me|taporicall phra&s;es, which do hold forth the pardon of &s;in, is this (not to &s;tand upon the &s;chool-di&s;tin|ction concerning Gods &s;eeing, as it is taken <HI>in &s;en&s;u &s;implici, or modo mer&egrave; intuitivo, &amp; in &s;en&s;u connota|tivo,</HI> or <HI>connotant&egrave;,</HI> which to this purpo&s;e is both con&s;iderable and &s;atisfactory) <HI>viz.</HI> That &s;uch &s;inners, who&s;e &s;ins God is &s;aid not to &s;ee, or remember, but to blot out, cover and ca&s;t behind his back, &s;hall be no more damned for their &s;ins, then if &s;o be God did not behold them, or had forgot them. Or that &s;uch &s;inners &s;hal as undoubt|edly be &s;aved from ther &s;innes, as from the greate&s;t wrath to come at the day of judgment, as if God had forgot them, or as if their &s;ins were covered and blotted utterly out of his &s;ight.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="102" REF="69">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. X.</HI> In what &s;en&s;e, or how farre forth as true and fal&s;e, tho&s;e common &s;ayings of our Di|vines <HI>[Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tol|litur poena, &amp; ju&s;tificatio tollit omnia poenalia]</HI> may or are to be construed and in|terpreted, and in what &s;en&s;e to be rejected.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. IV.</HEAD>
<P N="4">4. IT followes in what &s;en&s;e, or how far forth as true, and not true; to under&s;tand tho&s;e com|mon &s;ayings of our Prote&s;tant Di|vines; as well Calvini&s;ts as Luthe|rans; [<HI>Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poe|na.</HI> And <HI>Ju&s;tificatio tollit omnia poenalia.</HI>]</P>
<PB N="103" REF="69">
<P N="1">1. It is mo&s;t true, that &s;eeing pardon of &s;inne, is the taking off of the obligation to puni&s;hment, and con&s;equently puni&s;hment it &s;elf, &s;o farre forth, as <HI>tollitur culpa, tollitur etiam poena; i.e.</HI> &s;o far forth as &s;inne is pardoned, &s;o far forth the puni&s;hment of &s;in is taken a|way.</P>
<P N="2">2. As <HI>Poena</HI> is taken in a like &s;en&s;e with pardon, <HI>viz.</HI> for puni&s;h|ment, <GAP DESC="foreign">, or in a &s;ignal &s;en&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> for everla&s;ting puni&s;h|ment, as oppo&s;ite to life eternal, or for puni&s;hment meerly and purely &s;uch as are the puni&s;hments of the wicked; &s;o it is mo&s;t true, <HI>Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poena.</HI> And in the other &s;en&s;e, that other <GAP DESC="foreign"> is true al&s;o, <HI>Ju&s;tificatio tol|lit omnia poenalia;</HI> the word <HI>poena|lia</HI> being taken in the &s;en&s;e imme|diately afore&s;aid.</P>
<P N="3">3. In &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as the Apo|&s;tle a&s;&s;erts, whom God hath ju|&s;tified, them al&s;o hath he glorified, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.30. i.e. He hath alreadie glorified them in part, and he will at la&s;t and in due time, glorifie
<PB N="104" REF="70">them fully; and in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e we commonly &s;ay, <HI>Po&s;it&acirc; ju&s;tificatione, ponitur etiam glorificatio.</HI> I &s;ay, in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e the fore&s;aid &s;ayings [<HI>Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poena, &amp; ju&s;tificatio tollit omnia poenalia)</HI> are mo&s;t unque&s;tionably true; <HI>i.e.</HI> A per&s;on ju&s;tified or pardoned &s;hall in due time (<HI>citius, &s;erius,</HI> &s;ooner or latter, at one time or o|ther) be delivered from all things penal, or from all puni&s;hment due to his &s;ins.</P>
<P N="2">2. If in the fore&s;aid &s;ayings we take <HI>ju&s;tificatio</HI> for our ju&s;tificati|on immediately upon, or at our fir&s;t believing and conver&s;ion; and if we take <HI>Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc;</HI> in the like &s;ort or &s;en&s;e, then the &s;aid &s;ayings will not con&s;i&s;t with the truth of Scripture (as hath beene made at large to appeare) but with the afore&s;aid re&s;tricti|ons.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Tho&s;e &s;ayings of our Divines are alledged by them in the controver&s;ie betwixt us and the Papi&s;ts, about humane &s;atis|faction for &s;inne by &s;uffering, and
<PB N="105" REF="70">are a&s;&s;erted by our &s;aid Divines commonly in the &s;en&s;e afore&s;aid, which I doe oppo&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. If in this, or in a|ny other particular I do recede from what is commonly taught by our Divines, I do it with much unwillingne&s;&s;e, and not without cleare evidence of Scripture (as I think) enforcing me thereunto, and mu&s;t therefore in &s;uch ca&s;es crave leave <HI>(&s;alv&acirc; modesti&acirc;, et vericund&acirc; fronte)</HI> to appeale from their &s;en&s;e and writings to the &s;en&s;e and writings of the in&s;pired Pro|phets and Apo&s;tles, &s;ubmitting the premi&s;es to the cen&s;ure of the unprejudicate, and impartial judg|ment of the Churches, according to the Scriptures.</P>
<P N="2">2. Though I doe not acknow|ledge the common &s;ayings <HI>(Sub|lat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poena, &amp; Ju&s;ti|ficatio tollit omnia poenalia)</HI> to be true in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e, as many of our Divines have a&s;&s;erted in oppo&s;iti|to the Papi&s;ts; neverthele&s;&s;e, I am far, very farre from concurring with the Papi&s;ts in their doctrine
<PB N="106" REF="71">about mans &s;atisfaction to Gods ju&s;tice, by his owne per&s;onal &s;uffe|rings, whether voluntary or invo|luntary, &amp; I think, that the &s;aid Po|pi&s;h doctrin about humane &s;atisfa|ctions might very &s;ufficiently be impugned and expugned by other mediums and Arguments, then by tho&s;e common &s;ayings, <HI>Ju&s;tifica|tio tollit omnia paenalia, &amp; &s;ublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poena.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. It is a thing not to be won|dred at, that in controver&s;al di|vinity, a greater errour be im|pugned with a le&s;&s;e, and one extreme with another &s;ome|times.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="107" REF="71">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XI.</HI> That there is no &s;uch thing as <HI>Remi&s;&s;io culpae,</HI> [remi&s;sion of the fault] in way of di|stinction from <HI>Remi&s;&s;io poe|nae</HI> [remi&s;sion of the puni&s;h|ment] the&s;e two being one, and the &s;elfe &s;ame thing. The four following Chapters do declare, that forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is a dividual, and not an individual action, as is commonly &s;uppo&s;ed.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. V.</HEAD>
<P N="5">5 IT followes from hence, that there is no &s;uch thing as <HI>Remi&s;&s;io culpa,</HI> in way of di|&s;tinction from <HI>Remi&s;&s;io poenae.</HI> I &s;ay <GAP DESC="missing">
<PB N="108" REF="72">cheri&s;h no &s;uch thing as remi&s;&s;i|on of the fault as di&s;tinct from he remi&s;&s;ion of the puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>I adde this con&s;ectary, not only in oppo&s;ition to the Papi&s;ts, who do a&s;&s;ert, and u&s;e this di&s;tinction, whereby to &s;upport their Apocri|phal doctrine of humane &s;atisfacti|on for &s;in [for the remi&s;&s;ion not of the fault, &s;ay they, but of the puni&s;hment] and con&s;equently to overturne that foundation upon which they build their &s;aid doctrine of humane &s;atisfactions; but al&s;o in the way of humble di&s;&s;ent from di|vers of our Prote&s;tant Divines, who do in their writings generally (both Latine and Engli&s;h Authors, &s;uch as I have read) I &s;ay, they do gene|rally upon occa&s;ion a&s;&s;ert, that Chri&s;t by his death hath aboli&s;hed or taken away &s;in, both in the guilt, and in the fault, that both the guilt and faultine&s;&s;e of &s;in is pardoned by God unto the regenerate. I need not &s;ay any thing for the detecting the unwarrantablene&s;s of this a&s;&s;er|tion, more then what already hath beene &s;aid in tho&s;e &s;everall both
<PB N="109" REF="72">Negative and Affirmative particu|lars, where we have heard it &s;et down, wherin the forgivene&s;s of &s;in doth, and wherein it doth not con|&s;i&s;t; and in &s;pecial, that it doth not con&s;i&s;t in taking away the fault of &s;in, or &s;in in the faultine&s;s therof. It is true, the fault is remitted: but how or in what &s;en&s;e? <HI>viz.</HI> in re&s;pect of the puni&s;hment it &s;elf, and obli|gation to puni&s;hment, not other|wi&s;e. And as for that guilt, which is called <HI>Reatus culpae,</HI> guilt of fault, this we have heard is not taken away by remi&s;&s;ion; but only that guilt which is called <HI>Reatus poenae,</HI> guilt of puni&s;hment. The School|men of old, have much perplexed them&s;elves about the&s;e que&s;tions, what manner of act it is in God, whereby he doth remit &s;in. And &s;eeing the act of &s;in is tran&s;ient, what is it that is forgiven? Here they An&s;wer, that &s;in though <HI>praeteriit phy&s;ic&egrave;,</HI> yet <HI>manet moraliter;</HI> though &s;inne be pa&s;t and gone in a phy&s;i|call, yet it remaines in a morall &s;en&s;e; and though it be pa&s;t in re&s;pect of the &s;inful action, yet it
<PB N="110" REF="73">remaines in re&s;pect of its &s;ad ef|fects, which &s;ad effects are done away, or taken away by pardon. But what the&s;e effects are, which by pardon are taken away, they have as touching that, been much divided in their opinion, making a great &s;tirre about <HI>Macula,</HI> the &s;pot or &s;taine of &s;inne, in the explica|ting whereof (as the Learned <HI>Wot|ton</HI> relates) they have occupied them&s;elves for the &s;pace of five hundred years, without any agree|ment or &s;atisfaction, as not able to declare what it is. But the truth is (as I think) and as hath been before laid down) that the &s;ad effects of &s;inne, which remaining after the &s;inful actions are taken a|way by a pardon, are the obliga|tion of the &s;inner to puni&s;hment, and puni&s;hment it &s;elfe; the for|mer being &s;tiled by &s;ome of the Schoolmen, <HI>Relatio rationis, &s;cili|cit, ordinatio ad poenam.</HI> The pre|mi&s;es con&s;idered, It appears, that there is no &s;uch thing as the remi&s;|&s;ion of the fault in contradi&s;tincti|on to the remi&s;&s;ion of the puni&s;h|ment,
<PB N="111" REF="73">&amp; that the &s;aid di&s;tinction is a di&s;tinction without a difference.</P>
<P>As an introduction to the Con&s;ectaries next following, I think meet to give the Reader to under&s;tand, that it is a que&s;tion much debated among what kind of actions remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in is to be placed or accounted, whether a|mong tho&s;e actions which are cals called immanent, or el&s;e among &s;uch as are &s;tiled tran&s;ient. And againe, &s;ince actions tran&s;ient are &s;ubdivided into actions &s;tiled divi|dual, and individual; it is que|&s;tioned, whether forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne (if a tran&s;ient action) be to be reckoned a dividual, or an individual action. Now as in <HI>chap.</HI> 22 <HI>Con&s;ect.</HI> 16. I &s;hall un|dertake to manife&s;t it to be a tran|&s;ient action, &s;o by the four chap|ters and con&s;ectaries next follow|ing, it will be manife&s;ted to be a dividual action, <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;uch an action as hath its progre&s;&s;e <HI>[per partes]</HI> by degrees, and is not compleated at the &s;elfe &s;ame in&s;tant; contrary to what is commonly received, it
<PB N="112" REF="74">being generally a&s;&s;erted as a diffe|rence betwixt Sanctification and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, that that is a dividual, but this an individual action. Now a tran&s;ient acti|on being the &s;ame with the effect produced; and that which is pro|duced by remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne, <HI>viz.</HI> the taking off of the obligation to puni&s;hment, and puni&s;hment it &s;elf, being produced or taken off as it is laid on. <HI>viz. per partes,</HI> by degrees <HI>viz.</HI> as new &s;ins are committed; it &s;eems to me evidently apparent, that remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in is not an indi|vidual, but a dividual action, and as wil appeare by the Con&s;ectaries next following.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="113" REF="74">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XII.</HI> That the distinction of the par|don of &s;inne, into totall, or partiall; perfect or imper|fect, is a ju&s;tifiable di&s;tincti|on.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. VI.</HEAD>
<P N="6">6. IT followes, that we may &s;afely di&s;tingui&s;h the par|don of &s;inne, (how har&s;h and un|&s;avorie &s;oever the di&s;tinction may &s;eeme in the &s;ound thereof) into totall and partial, perfect and im|perfect, into <HI>Remi&s;&s;ionem magis,</HI> or <HI>minus plenariam;</HI> for pardon of &s;inne being the taking off of the obligation to puni&s;hment, and con&s;equently puni&s;hment it &s;elfe, a man is no farther pardoned <HI>exe|cutiv&egrave;</HI>
<PB N="114" REF="75">and plenarily, then his pu|ni&s;hment is taken off, which being &s;ometimes more, and &s;ometimes le&s;&s;e taken off; we mu&s;t needes &s;ay, that pardon is &s;omtimes more and &s;ometimes le&s;&s;e perfect.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIII.</HI> That one and the &s;ame &s;inne may be more or le&s;&s;e pardoned.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. VII.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. IT followes that one and the &s;ame &s;inne may be more or le&s;&s;e pardoned, becau&s;e it may be more or le&s;&s;e puni&s;hed. And the contrary a&s;&s;ertion there|of though it be the a&s;&s;ertion of our Divines,<NOTE PLACE="marg">See his book of ju&s;tif. p. <HI>21.</HI> &amp; <HI>19.</HI> &amp; <HI>143</HI> &amp; <HI>261.</HI></NOTE> as I think generally, and in particular of that very lear|ned and pious Divine, Mr. <HI>An|thony Burges</HI> [a man for &s;ound
<PB N="115" REF="75">judgment and School learning much renowned) I &s;ay the contra|ry a&s;&s;ertion, <HI>viz.</HI> that one and the &s;ame &s;inne cannot be more or le&s;&s;e pardoned, I cannot a&s;&s;ent unto; but mu&s;t needs by vertue of the premi&s;es profe&s;&s;e (yet humbly) my di&s;&s;ent from.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIIII.</HI> That no &s;inner is fully pardoned in this life, nor yet afore the day of judgment.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. VIII.</HEAD>
<P N="8">8&punc; IT followes, that howe|ver a believer is pardoned in this lsfe, yet he is not fully pardoned til the day of judgment; becau&s;e he is not till that day of refre&s;hing, freed from all the &s;ad effects and puni&s;hments of &s;in, <HI>viz.</HI>
<PB N="116" REF="76">death and the grave of corruption.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The pre|mi&s;es con|&s;idered, do al&s;o give us to &s;ee a rea&s;on of that &s;aying of Chri&s;t, <HI>Mat.</HI> 12 32 And more|over plain|ly and ea|&s;ily to in|terpret the &s;en&s;e of it, he &s;aying, that the &s;in again&s;t the H. Gho&s;t &s;hall not be forgi|ven nei|ther in this world, nor in the world to come.</NOTE> And for that cau&s;e the day of judg|ment may as wel be &s;tiled the day of Remi&s;&s;ion or Ab&s;olution, as the day of Redemption, as it is &s;tiled <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4.30. And for the &s;ame cau&s;e doth Saint <HI>Peter</HI> a&s;&s;ert, our &s;ins to be blotted out (in a &s;ignal &s;en&s;e, <HI>viz</HI> fully and compleatly) at, and not before that Great and good day of the Lord, <HI>Act.</HI> 3.19. there being certain remainders of grace to be brought unto the Saints at, and not before the revelation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for which till that time they are to wait and hope, according to the coun&s;el of the &s;ame Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.13. And in this &s;en&s;e, Saint <HI>Paul</HI> prayes to God, that good <HI>One&s;iphorus,</HI> with his compa&s;&s;ionate hou&s;hold may find mercy with the Lord, <HI>at that day,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.16, 17, 18.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="117" REF="76">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XV.</HI> The difference betwixt remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;inne and Sanctifica|tion, commonly a&s;signed (that being &s;aid to be perfect in this life, this imperfect) re|jected and refuted.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. IX.</HEAD>
<P N="9">9. IT followes, that the dif|ference commonly &s;aid to be betwixt the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, and our &s;anctification (that the one is perfect in this life, the other is imperfect) is a plain mi|&s;take, and in very deed not a ju|&s;tifiable, but a pardonable &s;aying, I mean an errour that &s;tands in need of pardon, and not of pardon only, but al&s;o of amendment. And (be&s;ides
<PB N="118" REF="77">the premi&s;es) for a farther dete|cting and rectifying this mi&s;take, let it be con&s;idered, that the &s;elfe &s;ame rea&s;on, which proves the imperfection of our &s;anctificati|on in this life, wil al&s;o prove the imperfection of our remi&s;&s;ion: for the rea&s;on demon&s;trating the <GAP DESC="foreign">, that our &s;anctification is here imperfect, is (be&s;ides the te&s;timony of Scripture) the experimental &s;en&s;e of that <HI>Fomes peccati,</HI> that <HI>Peccatum peccans,</HI> or relicks of &s;in, which doe &s;till remaine in our natures; which &s;aid &s;inne in being both &s;inne and puni&s;hment (for which cau&s;e it may well be &s;tiled, in a peculiar &s;en&s;e, <HI>peccatum pu|niens,</HI> as well as <HI>peccans;</HI>) it being I &s;ay, both a &s;in and the puni&s;h|ment of &s;in, it mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity and infallibly follow from thence (as I humbly conceive) that a &s;inners remi&s;&s;ion, or relea&s;e from &s;inne, is imperfect al&s;o. And if any one &s;hall except, &s;aying, that a &s;inner even in this life hath right to perfect remi&s;&s;ion; I an|&s;wer, looke what right a &s;inner
<PB N="119" REF="77">hath in this life, to perfect re|mi&s;&s;ion, the &s;ame right he hath to glorification, and to &s;ancti|fication with the Saints made perfect; &s;o that in this re&s;pect there is no difference. Briefly then, If wee mu&s;t believe either Scripture, or our owne experi|ence, wee mu&s;t acknowledge, that our remi&s;&s;ion is in this life as well imperfect, as is our &s;anctifica|tion.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="120" REF="78">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVI.</HI> That remi&s;sion of &s;inne doth imply &s;omewhat po&s;itive, as well as privative, and for that rea&s;on, that it differs not from Ju&s;tification, as hath beene by &s;ome &s;uppo&s;ed.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. X.</HEAD>
<P N="10">10. IT followes, that &s;eeing Gods pardoning &s;inne is his not puni&s;hing it; unto which I adde (and that which all do ac|knowledge, <HI>nemine contradicente</HI>) that &s;eeing puni&s;hments are ei|ther privative or po&s;itive (if I may be allowed the latter expre&s;&s;i|on, notwith&s;tanding the common &s;aying, <HI>Omne malum e&s;t formaliter quid privativum</HI>) but my meaning is, &s;eeing puni&s;hments are either
<PB N="121" REF="78"><HI>damni,</HI> or <HI>&s;en&s;us,</HI> of lo&s;&s;e, or &s;en&s;e; it wil, I &s;ay, follow from thence, that the pardon of &s;inne is not only <HI>Ablativa mali,</HI> but al&s;o <HI>Collativa boni,</HI> (as the Schoole|men expre&s;&s;e it;) or, that the par|don of &s;inne is not only a priva|tive, but al&s;o a po&s;itive ble&s;&s;ing, and benefit, <HI>i. e.</HI> it doth in the preci&s;e nature thereof, import not only a freedome from the puni&s;h|ment of &s;en&s;e, or from the bare &s;uffering of paine and torment, but it importeth al&s;o a re&s;toring of the &s;inner to the po&s;itive enjoyment of &s;uch comforts, or to the en|joyment of &s;uch po&s;itive comforts, and to &s;uch a &s;tate of love, friend|&s;hip, and favour with God, as by his &s;ins were lo&s;t and forfeited. I &s;peake this in humble di&s;&s;ent from tho&s;e who do for this cau&s;e make ju&s;tification to be more then for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, in that as they &s;ay, ju&s;tification doth connote, or connotate a &s;tate of favour, that the &s;ubject, or &s;inner is put into; whereas I &s;ee not, how we can acknowledge any &s;tate of favour,
<PB N="122" REF="79">which ju&s;tification puts a &s;inner in|to, which remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in doth not likewi&s;e inve&s;t him with, or put him into, as I &s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;ay againe, and &s;hall prove more at large in my progre&s;&s;e up|on this &s;ubject in hand. Only note, that which is here &s;aid concerning pardon of &s;in, is to be under&s;tood not concerning any of tho&s;e three &s;orts of pardon, (which for di&s;tin|ction &s;ake, I &s;tiled of the halfe blood, tho&s;e al&s;o being <GAP DESC="foreign">, nothing to the text in hand) but of that kind of pardon, which is by the Apo&s;tle promi&s;ed in my pre&s;ent text, <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;o called.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="123" REF="79">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVII.</HI> That one and the &s;ame &s;inne may be &s;aid, and that in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, to be par|doned, and not pardoned; to be imputed, and not imputed to a &s;inner.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XI:</HEAD>
<P N="11">11. IT will follow, that one and the &s;ame &s;inne may be &s;aid, and that in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, to be pardoned, and not pardoned; to be imputed, and not imputed to a &s;inner; for as much as God in &s;ome kind or degree may puni&s;h the &s;inner for a &s;in, and yet not in another; or for as much as God may impute the &s;inne to the &s;inner for &s;ome intents and purpo&s;es, <HI>E. g.</HI> for &s;ome kind
<PB N="124" REF="80">and degree of puni&s;hment, at lea&s;t for &s;ometime, and yet not for others, or alwaies. Thus, or in this &s;en&s;e God, though hee did pardon the &s;ins of <HI>Mana&s;&s;es,</HI> yet is &s;aid not to have pardoned them. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 24.4. <HI>At the com|mandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his &s;ight, for the &s;innes of Mana&s;|&s;eh, according to all that he did, and for the innocent blood that hee &s;hed, which the Lord would not par|don.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="125" REF="80">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XVIII.</HI> The nece&s;&s;ity for believers them|&s;elves to pray daily for par|don (according to the tenour of the fifth Petition in the Lords Prayer) a&s;&s;erted and evinced, as well by Argu|ment as An&s;wer to an Objecti|on; it being withall more at large, and di&s;tinctly decla|red, what are the particular things which a believer (ac|cording to the tenour of that Petition) is to pray for.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XII.</HEAD>
<P N="12">12. A Ready an&s;wer fol|lowes from hence, to be made unto tho&s;e who &s;hall de|mand
<PB N="126" REF="81">a rea&s;on of believers, why they do pray to God, and dare not otherwi&s;e choo&s;e then daily pray to the Lord God, according to the tenour of the fifth Peti|tion in the Lords prayer, &s;aying, <HI>Forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es.</HI> For &s;ee|ing that the pardon of &s;in doth not con&s;i&s;t <HI>in indivi&s;ibile,</HI> or <HI>in puncto mathematico,</HI> or <HI>&s;icut pun|ctum in mathe&s;i;</HI> yea, &s;eeing there is a great latitude in it, and that we are every day capable of re|ceiving more and more of the par|don of our &s;innes; <HI>i.e.</HI> deliverance from the &s;ad i&s;&s;ues, effects, and puni&s;hments of our &s;ins; yea, &s;eeing that we &s;hal not receive the plenary forgivene&s;s of our &s;ins til our dying day, yea, til our re&s;urrection day; we may therfore, yea we mu&s;t and ought therefore daily to pray unto the Lord for the pardon of our &s;ins. Now becau&s;e the <HI>Antinomians</HI> do &s;o dangerou&s;ly erre in &s;lighting, yea, decrying this Petition as vaine and needle&s;&s;e, to be ince&s;|&s;antly made by believers, I &s;hall offer the following particulars un|to
<PB N="127" REF="81">con&s;ideration, in order to the converting of all &s;uch from the errour of their way in that behalf. Be it then con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. That in that Petition we pray, that in the great day of judgment we may find mercy with God (which I &s;tiled pardon of &s;inne in a &s;ignal &s;en&s;e) according to the tenour of the Apo&s;tles prayer for <HI>One&s;iphorus,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.18. Saint <HI>Paul</HI> doubtle&s;&s;e did looke upon <HI>One&s;iphorus</HI> as a Saint, as a true believer, yet did not he think that <HI>One&s;iphorus</HI> &s;tood in no neede of &s;uch a prayer, otherwi&s;e he would have ab&s;tained from making &s;uch a reque&s;t to God in his behalfe, as a taking of Gods holy Name in vaine. And I doubt not, but that <HI>One&s;iphorus</HI> was very glad and thankful to the Apo&s;tle for this his prayer; though it &s;eemes that the <HI>Antinomians</HI> of our times would have conned the Apo&s;tle, or any other, little, or rather no thankes at all for making &s;uch a prayer in their behalfe.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> Believers have already
<PB N="128" REF="82">the pardon of their &s;innes, and God in Chri&s;t is &s;aid to have al|ready forgiven them their tre&s;pa&s;|&s;es. <HI>Col.</HI> 1.14. and 2.13. <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 4. <HI>la&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. That is &s;aid in Scrip|ture to be already done, and &s;po|ken of therefore in the preterper|fect ten&s;e, which &s;hall certainly and infallibly be done in due time; <HI>E. g. Rom.</HI> 8.30. <HI>Whom hee ju&s;tified, them al&s;o he glorified, i. e.</HI> he will glorifie. Thus God is &s;aid to have given that grace to the elect, before the world began, which at that time hee did onely purpo&s;e infallibly to give in due time. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.9.</P>
<P N="2">2. I have already proved that the Saints in this life are forgiven but in part, and not fully. In &s;uch a &s;en&s;e therefore as believers are &s;aid to be already &s;aved (<HI>Eph.</HI> 2.5.8. <HI>By grace ye are &s;aved.</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.2. by which al&s;o <HI>ye are &s;aved.</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.9. <HI>Who hath &s;aved us</HI>) In &s;uch a &s;en&s;e are the Saints &s;aid to be already pardoned, and for the &s;ame rea&s;ons, or upon the like grounds.</P>
<PB N="129" REF="82">
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e in part they are al|ready &s;aved and pardoned; par|don and &s;alvation is already begun in and upon them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e of that right which they have unto perfect and ful re|mi&s;&s;ion and &s;alvation in the king|dome of heaven, or at the day of judgment; notwith&s;tanding the certainty of which their pre&s;ent right, they are not only to pray, but al&s;o by all due means, to labor for the future actual and full po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of remi&s;&s;ion and &s;alvation. So &s;oone as God hath made a pro|mi&s;e of any ble&s;&s;ing, whether tem|poral or &s;piritual to a believer, a believer (I conceive) hath right unto it; (in which &s;en&s;e we com|monly expound that of the Apo|&s;tle, <HI>all things are yours,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. la&s;t) but what of that? is not a believer therefore to pray for the actuall enjoyment of what God hath promi&s;ed? Yea, is he not the rather to pray for it for that very rea&s;on, even as <HI>David</HI> did in a like ca&s;e? 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7.27. God ha|ving made a promi&s;e to <HI>David,</HI>
<PB N="130" REF="83">what he would doe for him and his hou&s;e, ob&s;erve <HI>Davids</HI> words ver. 27. <HI>For thou O Lord of ho&s;ts, God of I&s;rael, ha&s;t revealed to thy &s;ervant, &s;aying, I will build thee an hou&s;e; Therefore</HI> (mark <HI>there|fore) hath thy &s;ervant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.</HI> And the rather is this con&s;iderable, becau&s;e wee cannot regularly ex|pect that Gods promi&s;es &s;hall be accompli&s;hed; and con&s;equently, that wee &s;hall ever actually enjoy what we have a pre&s;ent right unto by vertue of Gods promi&s;es, unle&s;s wee doe continue in&s;tant in pray|er for the accompli&s;hment of the &s;ame, prayer being one of Gods appointed waies or means for the accompli&s;hment of his &s;aid promi|&s;es, as appears by the Scriptures <HI>pa&s;&s;im;</HI> particularly by that in <HI>E|zek.</HI> 36.37. having made a pro|mi&s;e concerning the Churches re|&s;tauration in the foregoing ver&s;es, the Prophet addes to prevent &s;e|curity. <HI>ver.</HI> 37. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of by the hou&s;e of I&s;rael to doe it for
<PB N="131" REF="83">them.</HI> See al&s;o <HI>Jer.</HI> 29.11, 12, 13. Though God did tell them what he had a mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured purpo&s;e to doe for them, <HI>ver.</HI> 10.11. <HI>(After &s;eventy years be accompli&s;hed at Ba|bylon, I will vi&s;it you, and per|forme my good word towards you, in cau&s;ing you to returne to this place: for I know the thoughts that I think towards you &s;aith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an unexpected end.)</HI> Yet he doth intimate unto them, that the actu|all performance of this promi&s;e &s;hould depend upon their prayers, as the condition on their parts; (yet through his grace freely gi|ven) to be performed. For read <HI>ver.</HI> 12.13. <HI>Then &s;hall ye call upon mee, and yee &s;hall goe and pray unto mee, and I will hearken unto you; and yee &s;hall &s;eeke mee and find mee, when ye &s;hall &s;earch for mee with all your heart.</HI> This the Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> under&s;tood very well (though the <HI>Antinomians</HI> of the&s;e times, through the ju&s;t judg|ment of God doe &s;eeme &s;o blin|ded, as not to under&s;tand things
<PB N="132" REF="84">of this nature) as appears by his practice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I have heard it as a tradition that petty Malefa|ctors a|mong&s;t us condemn|ed to bee burnt in the hand, were to &s;uffer the hot iron til they pray|ed with a loud voice, <HI>God &s;ave the King.</HI> And do not the Antino|mians de|&s;erve to ly under the afflicting hand of God till &s;uch time as they pray with the P&s;al|mi&s;t &s;ay|ing, <HI>Look up on my af|fliction and my pain, &amp; forgive all my &s;innes? P&s;al.</HI> 25.18.</NOTE> together with the ground, ri&s;e, and rea&s;on of it, recorded, <HI>Dan.</HI> 9. <HI>beg.</HI> Becau&s;e hee did know gods a&s;&s;ured purpo&s;e by his promi&s;e, therefore he &s;et his face to the Lord God to &s;eek by prayer and &s;upplication; yea with fa&s;ting, &s;ackcloth and a&s;hes. To &s;eek God by prayer and fa&s;ting for the averting of what God hath threatned, &s;eems &s;trange to none; but to &s;eek God by fa&s;ting and prayer, for that which God hath promi&s;ed infallibly to believers, doth &s;eeme &s;o &s;trange to <HI>Antino|nians,</HI> as that they account it a thing needle&s;&s;e and ridiculous. May God be plea&s;ed of his great|mercy to enlighten and reduce them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Be it con&s;idered, that in the &s;aid fifth Petition of the Lords prayer, we pray for forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne, not only as to be enjoy|ed after death, but al&s;o in this life, <HI>i.e.</HI> that pre&s;ent judgments which our &s;innes might de&s;ervedly bring upon us may be prevented,
<PB N="133" REF="84">&s;u&s;pended, moderated, or if in|flicted, may be &s;hortned, &s;weet|ned, removed, &s;anctified, and tur|ned to our benefit: for in the&s;e things (as hath been already de|mon&s;trated) doth con&s;i&s;t partly the forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne. Now what intelligent Chri&s;tian is there, who will not acknowledge, that they have need of &s;uch things as the&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> the preventing, mo|derating, removing, &s;anctifying of temporall judgements and affli|ctions?</P>
<P N="3">3. Be it con&s;idered, That as the Saints doe &s;inne daily more or le&s;&s;e; &s;o their new &s;inns do bring a new obligation to puni&s;hment (or el&s;e they could not be accoun|ted &s;inners, neither could they be pardoned, as needing no pardon) which &s;aid obligation they have need &s;hould be taken off by a particular pardon, be&s;ides their fir&s;t general pardon (for that any &s;inne is pardoned afore it be com|mitted, I &s;hal at large di&s;prove in another Con&s;ectary;) for which &s;aid particular pardon a believer
<PB N="134" REF="85">is according to his neede to pray to God, hee having no a&s;&s;urance from God to obtaine either it, or ought el&s;e without prayer; &s;uch cau&s;e have wee to give the like coun&s;el to the be&s;t among the god|ly, as <HI>Simon Peter</HI> did to <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Repent, and pray to God, that thy daily &s;innes may be forgiven thee.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Be it con&s;idered (which I think will generally be acknow|ledged) that the &s;innes of belie|vers after conver&s;ion, &s;pecially their more gro&s;&s;e, fal&s;e, and e|minent back&s;lidings, doe &s;ubject them meritoriou&s;ly, to the con|demnation of the law, and to the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">El&s;e why doth God threaten them upon their back &s;liding with the forfeiture of their former par+don? <HI>Ezek.</HI> 18.24. <HI>Matth.</HI> 6, 15. <HI>&amp;</HI> 18. <HI>lat.</HI> See Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> of ju&s;tificati|on. <HI>p.</HI> 242, 243.</NOTE> forfeiture of that right which they had to the pardon of former &s;ins by vertue of the Covenant; and that the&s;e new &s;innes do not <HI>de facto</HI> condemne a believer, is to be a&s;cribed to the Lord Chri&s;t, by who&s;e blood wee have an entrance into the Covenant of grace, and a &s;tanding, or continuance in it by his interce&s;&s;ion. <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.2. with <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.24. <HI>&amp;</HI> 7.24. by which
<PB N="135" REF="85">interce&s;&s;ion the Covenant of for|givene&s;&s;e, or the promi&s;e of par|don is continued to be the belie|vers di&s;charge again&s;t all new &s;ins, and the remembrance of old.</P>
<P>Now have not believers need to pray to God that he would not take that advantage of their for|feiture of former pardon, as ju&s;tly hee might doe? Yea, is it not nece&s;&s;ary that they &s;hould &s;o doe, as ever they doe expect that hee &s;hould not take the advantage of the &s;aid forfeiture? For con&s;ider, that as Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth intercede in heaven for the continuance of remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne in the behalfe of the Saints, &s;o hee doth intercede, and actually procure for them all &s;uch grace or graces, as without which their pardon &s;hall not be continued; thence is he &s;aid to be exalted by God, not only to give to I&s;rael remi&s;&s;ion, but al&s;o repen|tance, not the former without the latter; yea, fir&s;t repentance for &s;in, and then remi&s;&s;ion of it. <HI>Act.</HI> 5.31 Now what ground hath any belie|ver to hope for the continuance of
<PB N="136" REF="86">his pardon, except he &s;hal pray for it; as Chri&s;t doth continue in hea|ven, &s;o he &s;hall continue &s;o long as he is on earth to make inter|ce&s;&s;ion for it. I have been the lar|ger in this particular, not only for the reducing of the <HI>Antinomians</HI> in this point, and for the infor|mation of certaine others, who do think that <HI>a&s;&s;urance</HI> of par|don is the maine thing prayed for by believers in that Petition; but moreover, that every man under|&s;tanding what he is to pray for, and hath need to pray for in that be|half, may be induced not only the more frequently, but al&s;o the more feelingly and fervently to pray to the Lord for the &s;ame.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="137" REF="86">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XIX.</HI> An an&s;wer to the three following questions. <HI>1.</HI> Doth God al|waies pardon a &s;inner instant|ly upon the confe&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes? <HI>2.</HI> In what &s;en&s;e, or how farre forth doth a &s;in|ner receive a pre&s;ent pardon, immediately upon the confe&s;|&s;ion of his &s;innes? <HI>3.</HI> Whe|ther a truly penitent and be|lieving &s;inner having once confe&s;&s;ed a &s;inne, is at any time thereafter to confe&s;&s;e it in order to forgivene&s;&s;e? The affirmative to which la&s;t question, is a&s;&s;erted and pro|ved. Certaine particulars added as Cautions for the preventing of mistakes, and
<PB N="138" REF="87">for the better under&s;tanding of the Authours true &s;en&s;e and meaning.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XIII.</HEAD>
<P N="13">13. THE premi&s;es being duly con&s;idered, will a&s;&s;i&s;t and guide us in a right re&s;o|lution of the following que&s;ti|ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Doth God alwaies pardon a &s;inner in&s;tantly upon the confe&s;&s;i|on of his &s;innes? Or, when &s;hall the pre&s;ent promi&s;es of the text be made good to the &s;inner that confe&s;&s;eth his &s;ins?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Not fully for the pre&s;ent time, or as &s;oone as confe&s;&s;ion is made, nor fully &s;o long as he lives in this world, but <GAP DESC="foreign">, (as is the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.6.) in due &s;ea&s;on, and in Gods good tme. Be&s;ides the rea&s;ons foreci|tied in evidence thereof, I &s;hall &s;ubjoine the&s;e two con&s;iderati|ons.</P>
<PB N="139" REF="87">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Remi&s;sion of &s;inne being a grace or benefit purcha&s;ed by the blood of Chri&s;t, as our adop|tion and regeneration are, why &s;hould it be thought more &s;trange that we are not fully made parta|kers of remi&s;sion afore the day of judgment, then of adoption and regeneration? And yet the truth is here, and &s;o it mu&s;t bee there al&s;o acknowledged, that al|beit we are adopted and regenera|ted &s;o &s;oone as we are believers, neverthele&s;&s;e the time of our A|doption and regeneration is not in &s;ome &s;en&s;e afore the day of judgment, becau&s;e afore that time they &s;hall not be compleated in &s;oul and body, nor the benefits of them as to the whole man fully enjoyed, as appeares <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.23. <HI>Matth.</HI> 19.26.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The reinve&s;tment, or re&s;taura|tion of a &s;inner into the love and favour of God, being (as was a|fore&s;aid) the po&s;itive part of par|don, who will &s;ay to the contrary, but that a &s;inner may grow in the love and favour of God, and that
<PB N="140" REF="88">the Saints now triumphant in hea|ven, are more in Gods favour, or do enjoy more of his love and fa|vour then they were, or did be|ing &s;inners militant here on earth? Yea Chri&s;t him&s;elf, though no &s;in|ner, is &s;aid to grow in the favour of God. <HI>Luke</HI> 2.52.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>Quest.</HI> 2. How farre forth, or in what &s;en&s;e may it be &s;aid, that a &s;inner doth receive a pre&s;ent par|don immediately upon the con|fe&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Though this que&s;tion be a different que&s;tion from the for|mer, and hath more difficulty in it; neverthele&s;&s;e a due con&s;idera|tion of the premi&s;es touching the quiddity, or true nature of forgive|ne&s;s of &s;inne, will enable us to make an unerring an&s;wer (as I &s;up|po&s;e) thereunto, and unto the &s;aid que&s;tion: Therefore I reply, That a &s;inner in, or upon the con|fe&s;sion of his &s;innes, doth in&s;tantly enjoy the pardon of his &s;ins three wayes, or in a threefold &s;en&s;e, or for as much as doth amount to the&s;e three things.</P>
<PB N="141" REF="88">
<P N="1">1. The &s;inner is immediately di&s;charged, delivered, or di&s;obli|ged from that <HI>Wrath to come</HI> (as is the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.10.) or from being actually bound over to eternal damnation; or, the condemning power of &s;in is taken away, or (in the phra&s;e of the Prophet <HI>Micah, chap.</HI> 7.19.) &s;ub|dued. As &s;in hath a commanding power over the &s;inner, en&s;laving him to its &s;ervice, &s;o likewi&s;e it hath a condemning power upon the &s;in|ner, which power is immediately taken away, &s;o &s;oon as &s;in is (in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, way, or man|ner) confe&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Having mentioned the&s;e two powers of &s;in, let me crave leave to interpo&s;e this one thing (<GAP DESC="foreign">, and by the by;) <HI>viz,</HI> That when we read in the writings of Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> or in any other Scrip|ture concerning the reign and do|minion of &s;in, we mu&s;t have a &s;pe|cial regard to the Context, if we will rightly interpret the true meaning of the Holy Gho&s;t, con|cerning which of the&s;e two pow|ers
<PB N="142" REF="89">of &s;in he &s;peaketh: for I am half minded, that &s;ome Texts of Scrip|ture are commonly interpreted one way, when upon a more through con&s;ideration wee &s;hall find rea&s;on rather to inter|pret them another, e&s;pecially that in <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. <HI>[Sin &s;hall not have dominion over you,]</HI> which is com|monly interpreted concerning the co~manding power of &s;in, &amp; I think is intended by the Apo&s;tle concer|ning the damning power thereof, that power or &s;trength which hee el&s;ewhere &s;aith, &s;in hath by the Law, <HI>i. e.</HI> the commination of the Law, by vertue whereof &s;in doth damn or condemn the &s;inner, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.56. and for victory over which &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d damning power or &s;trength of &s;in, the Apo&s;tle doth ble&s;&s;e God in the following ver&s;e, &s;aying, <HI>But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ough our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Sure I am of the&s;e three things,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That when God doth par|don &s;in, hee is &s;aid to &s;ubdue it <HI>Mic.</HI> 7.19.</ITEM>
<PB N="143" REF="89">
<ITEM>2. That &s;in hath never got a full conque&s;t, or its <HI>full</HI> victory over the &s;inner, or that &s;in doth never reign in its full power and &s;trength over the &s;inner till it hath brought the &s;inner into the pit of Hell, or hath actually damned him, or (in the Apo&s;tles phra&s;e <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.28.) doth reigne unto death.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. That Gods not &s;uffering &s;in in re&s;pect of its damning power to reign over the Saints, is a very fit proper and prevalent Argument, to per&s;wade them not to &s;uffer &s;in in re&s;pect of its commanding pow|er to reign over them. Freedom from both the&s;e powers of &s;in, or from &s;in with re&s;pect to both the&s;e powers (it being &s;tiled with re&s;pect to its commanding power over us, the Law of &s;in; and with re&s;pect to its damning power over us, the Law of Death) the Apo&s;tle doth mention in one place, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.2. <HI>The Law of the Spirit of life in Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> (<HI>i.e.</HI> the living or quickning Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t) <HI>hath made me free from the law of &s;in and</HI>
<PB N="144" REF="90"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Tho&s;e who by the Law of Death do here un|der&s;tand the Law of Works, do not vary, as I &s;up|po&s;e, from the inter|pretation which I have here given, &s;ee|ing that &s;in hath its condemn|ing power from, or by vertue of the Law of Works.</NOTE> <HI>deah; i. e.</HI> from &s;in, which doth as a Law command &amp; condemn This la&s;t particular being con&s;idered, doth make me boldly, yet humbly, to offer this as a rule; <HI>viz.</HI> That when God doth exhort us, not to &s;uffer &s;in to have dominion over us, then and there we are to un|der&s;tand the commanding power of &s;in; but when he promi&s;eth on his part, that &s;in &s;hall not have dominion over us, then and there we are to under&s;tand the condem|ning power of &s;in, the former be+ing mans duty, is fit matter for a command; the latter being Gods mercy is fit matter for a Promi&s;e. Yet let me add the&s;e two things in the way of Caution.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. I do acknowledge, that the u&s;ual interpretation of <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. which I do for the Rea&s;ons afore|&s;aid di&s;&s;ent from, is a mi&s;-inter|pretation (if indeed &s;uch) of no dangerous con&s;equence, becau&s;e the&s;e two powers of &s;in, like <HI>Hy|pocrates</HI> his twins, do decay and flouri&s;h, do live and dye and re|vive together; I mean, if, or when|&s;oever
<PB N="145" REF="90">the one doth revive, the o|ther doth revive al&s;o. Now in &s;uch ca&s;es I think it my duty, how|ever to offer what &s;trength of rea|&s;on or Scripture I have for my owne &s;en&s;e and apprehen&s;ion; ne|verthele&s;&s;e not much or &s;tifly to contend with any man of a con|trary mind, but rather in the &s;pi|rit of meekne&s;&s;e to &s;uffer every man to abound in his owne &s;en&s;e, according to the analogy or pro|portion of faith; from which tho&s;e do not vary, who do under&s;tand grace to performe duty, and the &s;ucce&s;&s;eful exerci&s;e of it to be pro|mi&s;ed al&s;o.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Albeit in my Expo&s;ition of <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. I &s;eeme to have taken off the edge of one weapon, or rather to have endeavoured the wre&s;ting of one weapon out of the hands of our Divines in their con|te&s;t with the Arminians about the Apo&s;tacy of the Saints, neverthe|le&s;&s;e I have done no prejudice (as I think) to the Doctrine of Per|&s;everance, as commonly taught and received by our Divines: for I
<PB N="146" REF="91">deny not, but that there is as much promi&s;ed in other Scriptures, as doth amount unto, or accord with that u&s;ual Interpretation of <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. which I do profe&s;&s;edly di&s;|&s;ent from.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>But to returne:<NOTE PLACE="marg">See Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> of <HI>Ju&s;tificati|on p.</HI> 137.</NOTE> As &s;oon as &s;in is committed, there doth accrue unto God a moral right or power as a Judge to inflict eternal pu|ni&s;hment upon the &s;inner, and &s;o there is a legal obligation of the &s;inner to &s;uch a puni&s;hment (with re&s;pect to which &s;aid bond, or ob|ligation a &s;inner not pardoned is &s;aid (as I conceive) by <HI>Solomon,</HI> to be held in the cords of his &s;ins, <HI>Prov.</HI> 5.22.) and when this bond or obligation is di&s;&s;olved or ta|ken off, God is &s;aid to forgive &s;in, or to unty, loo&s;e, or remit the &s;in|ner. Now &s;uch an obligation (I &s;ay) is immediately di&s;&s;olved, or taken off upon a &s;inners confe&s;&s;ion of his &s;ins, God thereupon blot|ting out his &s;ins, or not remem|bring his &s;ins any more; <HI>i. e.</HI> not willing the obligation of the &s;in|ner (for &s;in &s;o confe&s;&s;ed) to eternal
<PB N="147" REF="91">wrath. This is, as I may &s;o &s;ay, the pith and marrow, the heart and &s;pirit of forgivene&s;s pre&s;ently enjoyed; <HI>viz.</HI> Gods pre&s;ent ta|king away the actual ordination of the &s;in, or obligation of the &s;inner to everla&s;ting condemnati|on, &s;o that the &s;inner may lift up his head thereupon, and &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1. <HI>Now there|fore there is no condemnation for me.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;inner is immediately up|on his confe&s;&s;ion re&s;tored into grace and favour with the Lord, the lo&s;s or<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Here note, That look what favour of God a &s;in|ner by his &s;in hath forfeited, &s;uch is the favour in|to which, upon his penitent confe&s;&s;ion hee is re|&s;tored; <HI>e. g.</HI> we all having forfeited in <HI>Adam</HI> the favour of children, wee are re&s;tored into the favour of children, or adopted. And having by new &s;ins incurred Gods fatherly di&s;|plea&s;ure, we are upon our confe&s;&s;ion re&s;tored into his fatherly favour, as oppo&s;ite to the &s;aid di&s;|plea&s;ure.</NOTE> forfeiture whereof being one part of the puni&s;hment of &s;in. This branch of pardon is called, Gods graciou&s;ly receiving of the &s;inner, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14.2. The truth hereof I &s;hall hereafter demon|&s;trate, when I come to &s;et downe &s;uch things, as I do judg in Scrip|ture
<PB N="148" REF="92">phra&s;e to bee equivalent to forgivene&s;&s;e; in the mean time only let it be ob&s;erved, That when&s;oever God pardons the &s;in, he is reconciled to the &s;inner, and Chri&s;ts expiating, or being a pro|pitiation for &s;in, is all one, as for Chri&s;t to make reconciliation for &s;in, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.17. with 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 2. <HI>beg.</HI> It is therefore to be noted, that <HI>Da|vid</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. much in&s;i&s;ting up|on, and being in&s;tant for the par|don of his &s;ins, both original and actual, e&s;pecially his &s;in of murder and adultery, as he doth expre&s;&s;e his mind and meaning in various phra&s;es, &s;o in this phra&s;e among others; <HI>viz.</HI> That <HI>God would not ca&s;t him away from his face. i.e.</HI> his love and favour, <HI>ver.</HI> 11. I &s;ay, his favour; for as by the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In this &s;en&s;e the face of G. is &s;ome|time &s;tiled <HI>the back of God, Jer.</HI> 18.17.</NOTE> face of God, is &s;ometimes meant the wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure of God, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 34.16. (and this face of God <HI>Da|vid</HI> prayes again&s;t, &s;aying, <HI>Hide thy face from my &s;ins,</HI> ver. 9.) &s;o by Gods face is &s;ometimes meant his favour (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 80.3, <HI>la&s;t. Cau&s;e thy face to &s;hine,</HI> &amp;c.) &s;o it is to be
<PB N="149" REF="92">taken in the forecited Text; <HI>ver.</HI> 11, it being the &s;elf &s;ame word in the Original as is u&s;ed <HI>ver.</HI> 9. al|though it bee differently rendred by our Tran&s;lators; <HI>E. G.</HI> in <HI>ver.</HI> 9. <HI>Face,</HI> in <HI>ver.</HI> 11. <HI>Pre&s;ence.</HI> Though Gods di&s;like then of the &s;in be never taken away (in which re&s;pect that of <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.13. will be everla&s;ting true, That <HI>God is a God of purer eyes then to behold evil</HI>) yet his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gods fa|vour or disfavour, not &s;igni|fying Gods E&s;&s;ence, but his Di&s;pen&s;a|tions, may be &s;aid to be altered without a|ny change in God.</NOTE> disfavour of, or towards the &s;inner, is immediately upon confe&s;&s;ion altered or taken off, &s;o far forth, as that of an enemy he becomes to God, as, or in the re|lation of a friend; or as of a friend under a cloud of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure, he becomes a friend re&s;tored into former favor.</P>
<P N="3">3. The <GAP DESC="foreign">, (as I may &s;o &s;ay) the &s;ting or &s;trength of &s;in is pre&s;ently taken away; <HI>i. e.</HI> the cur&s;e of the cur&s;e, or the evil of all evils, that do remain as infli|cted, or to be inflicted upon the &s;inner, are &s;o altered from their native import, vergency or ten|dency, as that they are, or &s;hall
<PB N="150" REF="93">be through Gods ble&s;&s;ing and fa|vour towards the &s;inner turned to good, &s;o that the &s;inner may im|mediately triumph upon them all (even as Chri&s;t upon the Cro&s;&s;e is &s;aid to triumph over all enemies, <HI>Col.</HI> 2.14, 15.) and defie them for the wor&s;t that they can do unto him, &s;aying in good &s;ort, as in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.55, 56. <HI>O l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e, cro&s;&s;e, pain, torment, Where is thy &s;ting and victory?</HI> This &s;poiling (as I may &s;o &s;ay) and di&s;abling of &s;in, thus far forth is one other part of the pardon, which (as I think) is pre|&s;ently enjoyed by the &s;inner, unto whom God doth promi&s;e forgive|ne&s;s in the Text.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. 3. <HI>Whether is a truly pe|nitent and believing &s;inner, ha|ving once confe&s;&s;ed a &s;in, at any time thereafter to confe&s;&s;e it in order to forgivene&s;&s;e?</HI></P>
<P>This is a Que&s;tion of &s;o much the more moment above the for|mer, by how much</P>
<P N="1">1. It is not a meere notional or &s;peculative, but a practical ca&s;e, and that of very frequent u&s;e.</P>
<PB N="151" REF="93">
<P N="2">2. Of Univer&s;al concern|ment.</P>
<P N="3">3. In re&s;pect of the&s;e woful, &s;in|ful, and mo&s;t unhappy times (wherein the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t is &s;o notoriou&s;ly turned into la&s;civi|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, even by many of tho&s;e who are high pretenders to Go|&s;pel light, and have with two ma|ny the chief, if not only name of Go&s;pel Preachers) mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary and &s;ea&s;onable: In the&s;e times (I &s;ay) wherein many do hold that a &s;in once acknowledged is never afterwards to be confe&s;&s;ed in or|der to forgivene&s;&s;e. The Author of the Book &s;tiled, <HI>Religio Medici,</HI> (written as is commonly &s;uppo&s;ed by Dr. <HI>Browne;</HI> a Traveller, and a man of great Learning and Rea|ding, as appears by his <HI>P&s;eudodo|xia Edidemica</HI>) doth &s;o far ac|quaint us with his Devotion and Ori&s;ons, as to tell us, that <HI>having once confe&s;&s;ed a &s;in, he doth not from thenceforward make any particular confe&s;&s;ion thereof in his Prayers to God.</HI> And I doubt that <HI>Religio Medici</HI> is at this day in this point
<PB N="152" REF="94">too much <HI>Religio Wallici,</HI> and may become in time <HI>Religio Populi,</HI> my meaning is (I doubt) that this Do|ctrine, [That &s;in once confe&s;&s;ed, is no more to be confe&s;&s;ed.] is one of tho&s;e &s;weet and Go&s;pel-Truthes (as it is named) which is now in di&s;per&s;ing in South and North <HI>Wales,</HI> by &s;ome of tho&s;e I|tineraries in tho&s;e parts. The rea&s;on of my jealou&s;ie herein is, not only becau&s;e I know an anci|ent and an eminent profe&s;&s;or of Religion lately entangled in their Errors, to have come from thence to di&s;per&s;e that as a precious truth in <HI>England;</HI> but al&s;o becau&s;e &s;e|veral of the Licentiate Preachers them&s;elves are fam'd to be infect|ed with Antinomian Principles, which do directly lead unto &s;uch irreligious cour&s;es and neglect of Duty, as I have (I &s;uppo&s;e) made more at large to appear in my Ex|amen of Dr. <HI>Cri&s;p</HI> his book, &s;tiled, <HI>His Third Volume of Sermons,</HI> and which I wrote about&punc; &s;ix years ago, but have not yet publi|&s;hed.</P>
<PB N="153" REF="94">
<P>To the Que&s;tion therefore I an&s;wer, That a penitent and truly believing &s;inner, having confe&s;&s;ed his &s;ins once, is notwith&s;tanding, in order to forgivene&s;&s;e, to con|fe&s;&s;e them upon occa&s;ion againe and again, according to the ex|ample of <HI>David</HI> and other of the Saints and Servants of God in Scripture, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 25.7, 18. and 51.9. And me thinks (be&s;ides other Rea&s;ons, <HI>e.g.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Then &s;hould no Chri&s;tian ever mention Original &s;in in his confe&s;&s;ion to God, ha|ving once in his life acknowledg|ed it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. If we may infer from the Text in hand, that &s;in is but once to be confe&s;&s;ed, becau&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>If we confe&s;&s;e our &s;ins, God is faithful and ju&s;t to for|give us;</HI> why may we not by a like rea&s;on conclude, That wee are but once in our lives to pray to God, becau&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Who&s;oever &s;hall call on the name of the Lord &s;hall bee &s;aved?</HI> Rom. 10.13.)</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Be&s;ides, I &s;ay, the&s;e and other rea&s;ons (me thinks) the true know,
<PB N="154" REF="95">ledge of the nature of forgivene&s;s of &s;in (as was afore declared; it be|ing a thing not here perfect, but in perfecting more and more till out dying; yea, till our ri&s;ing day) is a very &s;ufficient and &s;ati&s;|factory ground and rea&s;on for the &s;ame. Seeing wee are more and more capable of receiving, or capable of receiv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ng more and more of the forgivene&s;s of our &s;ins, why &s;hould we not in order there|unto, <HI>viz.</HI> the degrees of par|don, make confe&s;&s;ion of them a|gain and again?</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, Although it be grant|ed (as was afore acknowledged and a&s;&s;erted) That as &s;oon as e|ver a penitent &s;inner hath confe&s;|&s;ed his &s;ins, he is immediately par|doned, &s;o far forth as that his ob|ligation to damnation is taken a|way; yet who can, or dare &s;ay, that this di&s;-obligation &s;hall be continued to &s;uch a &s;inner as &s;hall never afterwards, &s;o much as once in his life (God prolonging his life) confe&s;&s;e tho&s;e &s;ins againe? Sure I am, that the promi&s;e of
<PB N="155" REF="95">Salvation is made only to tho&s;e who do patiently continue in well doing; <HI>i. e.</HI> in all the wayes of doing well, among which I take this to be one, <HI>viz.</HI> frequent Pray|er and frequent confe&s;&s;ion. And &s;o the continuance of our par|don and Ju&s;tification, is yet but conditional in the Covenant, though certaine in Decree.</P>
<P>As well for the confirmation, as explanation of what hath beene &s;aid in the Con&s;ectaries immedi|ately foregoing, wherein was a&s;|&s;erted, that new &s;innes doe bring a new obligation to puni&s;hment, which obligation mu&s;t be taken off by a new pardon; Be it fur|ther con&s;idered,</P>
<P N="1">1. The &s;innes of a godly man, as well as the &s;innes of a wicked man; or &s;innes committed after conver&s;ion, as well as &s;ins commit|ted before conver&s;ion, are mor|tal in their owne nature, and doe de&s;erve puni&s;hment, even the pu|ni&s;hment of hell and damnation. What law it is, by vertue wher|of, the &s;innes of believers do de|&s;erve
<PB N="156" REF="96">damnation, is not &s;o unani|mou&s;ly by Divines agreed upon; it being a que&s;tion agitated a|mong&s;t them, whether the old law, or covenant of works, be only relaxed, or whether it be not abrogated to all mankind. For my owne part, I can &s;carce di&s;|cerne any real difference in this controver&s;ie, one choo&s;ing to &s;tile that an Abrogation, which a|nother thinks fitte&s;t (with a preci&s;e re&s;pect to the rule of the civil law) to call a Relaxation; and it being my opinion, that the controver&s;ie is rather verball, then real, I hope therefore, that I may without the offence, and with the good leave of either partie expre&s;&s;e my &s;en&s;e in the &s;ame to be this, <HI>viz.</HI> I humbly conceive, that whereas in the old law or covenant of works, all manner of &s;inne was threatned with death, as unavoid|able <HI>ex parte legis,</HI> that law as threatning death in &s;uch &s;ort, and upon &s;uch terms, and as command|ing perfect, univer&s;al obedience, as the only condition of life, is taken
<PB N="157" REF="96">away; &s;o that mankind is not un|der that law or covenant, as in the &s;en&s;e afore&s;aid; in &s;tead whereof, wee all are <HI>Sub lege remediante,</HI> under a new law, or covenant of the Lord Redeemer: in which law there are threatnings of two &s;orts, <HI>viz.</HI> Conditional and perempto|ry; in the former, all manner of &s;inne being threatned with damna|tion; in the latter only final im|penitencie and unbeliefe. But it is not material to my pre&s;ent pur|po&s;e, to determine ought in that que&s;tion, it being &s;ufficient for mee only to &s;ay, that all Prote&s;tant Divines do unanimou&s;ly accord in this, <HI>viz.</HI> 1. That all &s;in is in its owne nature mortal, and de|&s;erves damnation, by vertue of the threatning of one law or another, either the new, or el&s;e the old (threatning in that re&s;pect, or &s;o farre forth) being in force, or con|tinuing.</P>
<P N="2">2. All &s;inne de&s;erving damna|tion by vertue of divine commina|tion, it will follow thereupon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, that the &s;inner upon the commi&s;|&s;ion
<PB N="158" REF="97">of &s;inne, is actually obliged to &s;uffer accordingly: for why, or whence is &s;inne &s;aid to be mortal, but from that &s;trength which it hath from, or by the vertue of the lawes commination to oblige the &s;inner to damnation?</P>
<P N="3">3. As a con&s;equent hereof it followes, that a &s;inner hath neede of pardon for every &s;inne, that &s;o the penalty of the law may not be executed according to the obli|gation.</P>
<P N="4">4. In order to the procuring of the &s;aid pardon or di&s;-obligation, and to the diverting of damnation threatned; it is nece&s;&s;ary, that the godly &s;hould u&s;e &s;uch meanes from time to time as God hath in his word commanded them to u&s;e; <HI>i. e.</HI> that they &s;hould confe&s;s their &s;innes, pray for the pardon of them, flie for refuge by faith to the blood of Chri&s;t dai|ly.</P>
<P N="5">5. Immediately upon a &s;inners taking &s;uch a cour&s;e, or u&s;ing &s;uch meanes as God hath appoin|ted him to take and u&s;e for pardon,
<PB N="159" REF="97">the law is di&s;abled, and the &s;inner is di&s;obliged from damnation, be|cau&s;e its threatning is only condi|tional, <HI>viz.</HI> in ca&s;e of non-repen|ting and faith, which conditions being performed, the new law, or covenant can no longer hold the &s;inner guilty.</P>
<P N="6">6. This di&s;obligation of the &s;inner is that particular and new pardon, of which, as was a&s;&s;erted, a godly man hath need, in re&s;pect of his new and particular &s;innes. I am not ignorant that &s;ome Di|vines doe not u&s;e in this ca&s;e, the expre&s;&s;ion (new and particular pardon) but (a renewed applicati|on of pardon.) But becau&s;e this ex|pre&s;&s;ion is to my &s;eeming very ob|&s;cure, (they not explicating what they doe intend by the &s;aid renew|ed application of pardon, whether they meane &s;ome renewed act of the &s;inner, or el&s;e &s;ome renewed act of God; and becau&s;e I know no fitne&s;&s;e in the phra&s;e in what &s;en&s;e &s;oever it be taken) for if any one alledge the former &s;en&s;e I an&s;wer, That pardon of &s;in (a|ctively
<PB N="160" REF="98">taken, is not our act, but Gods. Be&s;ides, A &s;inners renew|ed application of pardon to him|&s;elfe, is his renewed act or a|cting of faith (which act of faith I &s;hould chu&s;e to expre&s;&s;e, by a &s;inners renewed application of him&s;elf to Chri&s;t, or the Promi&s;es of Chri&s;t for pardon, and not by the &s;inners renewed application of pardon to him&s;elfe.) If any &s;hall alledge the latter &s;en&s;e; I an&s;wer, That Gods application of pardon is pardon; or, Gods renewed application of pardon is neither more nor le&s;&s;e but plainly this, <HI>viz.</HI> Gods be&s;towing a new pardon, or (in the phra&s;e of the Prophet <HI>I|&s;aiah, chap.</HI> 55.7.) his <HI>multiplying to pardon,</HI> or his pardoning again and again.) The&s;e things (I &s;ay) con&s;idered, I have thought meet to forbear the u&s;e of that expre&s;|&s;ion [A renewed application of pardon.] and in &s;tead thereof to &s;ay, [New pardons.]</P>
<P>I am not ignorant likewi&s;e, that &s;ome Divines in &s;tead of &s;ay|ing, [There is an actual obligati|on
<PB N="161" REF="98">of the &s;inner by, or immediate|ly upon the commi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, to damnation;] they &s;ometimes &s;ay [There is an aptitude in all &s;in to damn the &s;inner;] which phra&s;e as being more mollifying, it was once in my thoughts to have u&s;ed, and accordingly to have expre&s;&s;ed Gods particular and new pardons, by his hindring or ob&s;tructing the fore&s;aid aptitude of &s;uch particu|lar and new &s;ins, from taking ef|fect in the actual obligation of a &s;inner to damnation. But upon a due con&s;ideration of this expre&s;|&s;ion, I found (as I thought, and &s;till do think) ju&s;t cau&s;e to wave and decline the u&s;e of it; that expre&s;&s;ion being as much as to &s;ay, I &s;hould have fallen out, if I had not been reconciled; or, I &s;hould have been wounded, if I had not been healed; or, I had been bound and tyed, if I had not been loo&s;ed and untyed; or, a &s;inner &s;hould have been o|bliged to &s;uffer, if he had not been pardoned. The&s;e two la&s;t phra|&s;es (I confe&s;&s;e) in a &s;en&s;e are true, and for that purpo&s;e may be u&s;ed;
<PB N="162" REF="99"><HI>viz.</HI> I had been <HI>&s;till</HI> bound, and tyed, if I had not been lo&s;ed and untyed; or, A &s;inner &s;hould have been <HI>&s;till</HI> obliged to &s;uffer, if he had not been pardoned; im|porting, that time was, when the &s;inner or per&s;on now loo&s;ed, unti|ed and pardoned, was actually tied, bound, and obliged to &s;uffer: Neverthele&s;&s;e, without the &s;uppo|&s;al of a &s;inners precedaneous actu|al obligation to &s;uffer, the fore&s;aid expre&s;&s;ions are intolerable; be|cau&s;e pardon doth not prevent the &s;inners obligation to &s;uffer, no more then healing doth prevent wounding or loo&s;ing doth prevent binding, but alwayes followes af|ter it in order of Nature at lea&s;t, if not in time, as the remedy there|of. The premi&s;es being duly weighed, I can perceive no ju&s;t cau&s;e why any per&s;on, under what pretence &s;oever, &s;hould bee offended for my a&s;&s;erting, as is before a&s;&s;erted; <HI>viz.</HI> That new &s;ins do bring a new ob|ligation to puni&s;hment, which obligation mu&s;t bee di&s;&s;olved,
<PB N="163" REF="99">or taken off by a new par|don.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="20" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XX.</HI> That all &s;ins, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, or to come, are not at once actu|ally pardoned. That no &s;in is from eternity actually pardo|ned. An Objection an&s;wer|ed That no &s;in is actually par|doned, till the &s;inner be in a capacity of receiving or enjoy|ing it. What tho&s;e things are which do put a &s;inner into a capacity of actual pardon, declared in their particulars; together with Rea&s;ons for the remarkablene&s;&s;e of the &s;ame. An Objection an&s;wered; with a vindicating of that a&s;&s;erti|on in <HI>Rom. 4.17.</HI> wherein God is &s;aid, to <HI>call the things that are not, as though
<PB N="164" REF="100">they were,</HI> from Antinomi|an purpo&s;es.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XIII.</HEAD>
<P N="13">13. IT followes, That all &s;ins pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, are not forgiven at once. Had the Authours and Abettors of the contrary Opinion; (<HI>viz.</HI> That all &s;ins, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent and to come, are at once actually remit|ted, and that from eternity) ei|ther rightly knowne or duly con|&s;idered the nature of forgivene&s;s of &s;in, what it is, and wherein it doth con&s;i&s;t, then doubtle&s;s they would not have owned an opini|on &s;o ab&s;urd and irrational: for they who do under&s;tand that for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;in doth con&s;i&s;t in Gods taking off the obligation to puni&s;hment, and puni&s;hment it &s;elf, and yet will affirm, That all &s;ins pa&s;t, pre&s;ent and to come are at once remitted; mu&s;t con&s;equent|ly affirm, That a man may be di&s;|obliged afore he is obliged, loo&s;ed,
<PB N="165" REF="100">afore bound; &s;et at liberty, afore captivated or impri&s;oned; and that puni&s;hment is taken off afore it be inflicted and laid on. then which to affirme or imply, what is more incon&s;i&s;tent with &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on? Neverthele&s;&s;e, becau&s;e there hath beene &s;ome very Lear|ned and Pious men, who have ad|hered to this opinion, that all &s;ins pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come are forgiven at once, and that from e|ternity. I &s;hal for the more &s;atisfa|ction &s;ubjoin certain propo&s;itions, partly in the way of conce&s;&s;ion, and pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tly in the way of exception.</P>
<P>As to the former, I grant that at what time God did will or purpo&s;e to pardon any one &s;inne, yea any one elect &s;inner he did at that in&s;tant time will, or purpo&s;e to pardon all and every &s;in all and every &s;inner, and this hee did will and purpo&s;e from all eternity: for Gods will or purpo&s;e being his e&s;|&s;ence, it cannot therefore be &s;aid, that hee did ever begin to will or purpo&s;e any thing.</P>
<P N="2">2. When Chri&s;t Je&s;us did pur|cha&s;e
<PB N="166" REF="101">the pardon of any one &s;in, or &s;inner, he did purcha&s;e the par|don of all and every &s;in and &s;inner; and this was actually done when he died upon the cro&s;&s;e, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. 12, 14. Albeit in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as <HI>A|braham</HI> is &s;aid to have offered up <HI>I&s;aac, Heb.</HI> 11.17. <HI>viz.</HI> in re|gard of his purpo&s;e, readine&s;&s;e, and re&s;olution to offer him; in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e it may be &s;aid that Chri&s;t did long before offer him&s;elfe, hee being willing thereunto and re&s;ol|ved thereupon, which &s;aid willing|ne&s;&s;e and re&s;olution in him was to &s;uch intents and effects accepted with God, as if he had actually accompli&s;hed his &s;aid will and re|&s;olution. Whence that common &s;aying, Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings were effectuall afore they were effect|ed.</P>
<P N="3">3. When God did promi&s;e par|don to any one &s;inne or &s;inner, he did promi&s;e the pardon of all &s;ins<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I mean, of all &s;ins that &s;hall be pardo|ned, for there are &s;ome &s;ins that ne|ver &s;hal be pardoned, as final impeniten+cy, or the final non|performance of the conditions of the Go&s;pel, and the &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t; and unto the&s;e &s;ins God doth not promi&s;e any pardon upon any terms.</NOTE> and &s;inners, and that upon the
<PB N="167" REF="101">&s;elfe &s;ame terms, <HI>viz.</HI> of repen|ting, believing, converting from &s;in. That Go&s;pel promi&s;e [<HI>I will be your God,</HI> or who&s;oever be|lieveth in Chri&s;t &s;hall receive re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes] doth at once hold forth the pardon of all &s;inne; which &s;aid promi&s;e it &s;elfe may in a &s;en&s;e be &s;tiled a &s;inners pardon, even as the in&s;trument or writing under the Kings hand and Seale is called the Kings pardon: which &s;aid promi&s;e al&s;o may be &s;tiled a complete and full pardon, for as much as it wants nothing to make it in its kind a perfect and legall di&s;charge from all &s;ins; the pardon of all &s;ins as well as of any one &s;in being therein promi&s;ed to &s;inners, &s;o that what per&s;on &s;oever hath a right by faith unto the &s;aid Go&s;|pel grant, or promi&s;e of pardon, hath right to the pardon of all his &s;ins in the&s;e three re&s;pects. <HI>viz.</HI> In re&s;pect of Gods purpo&s;e, of Chri&s;ts purcha&s;e, and of the Go&s;pel-promi&s;e: We may be &s;aid to have the pardon of all our &s;ins at once, <HI>i e.</HI> wee have all at once
<PB N="168" REF="102">in Gods purpo&s;e, in Chri&s;ts pur|cha&s;e, and in the Go&s;pel pro|mi&s;e; or they are all at once, I meane, the pardon of them purpo&s;ed by God, purcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t, and promi&s;ed in the Go&s;|pel.</P>
<P N="2">2. In the way of exception, I &s;hall lay downe this in the fir&s;t place, and as in general, <HI>viz.</HI> It will not follow from any, or all the &s;aid propo&s;itions, whether &s;e|verally or jointly taken, that all &s;ins and &s;inners are actually pardo|ned at once; no more then it will follow, that becau&s;e a Father did purpo&s;e an inheritance for his child afore it was borne; or pur|cha&s;e for his child an inheritance as &s;oone as it was borne, or pro|mi&s;e the &s;aid inheritance as &s;oone as it could &s;peak and under&s;tand, that the child did therefore at, or from the time of the &s;aid purpo&s;e, purcha&s;e, or promi&s;e actually en|joy, or was made actual po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;our of the &s;aid inheritance. And becau&s;e it is a very common and foule errour; yea, a mother-er|rour
<PB N="169" REF="102">(as I may &s;o &s;ay) in the An|tinomians, not to di&s;tingui&s;h be|twixt the decree, or will of God, and the execution thereof, or be|twixt Gods purpo&s;es &amp; his perfor|mances. Be it therfore con&s;idered,</P>
<P N="1">1. That albeit this propo&s;ition [God did not will or decree any thing in time] be a true propo&s;ition, referring [in time] to his wil or de|cree; neverthele&s;s the contrary pro|po&s;ition [God did wil or decree e|very thing in time] is true, [refer|ring in time] to the being, or actual exi&s;tence of the thing.</P>
<P N="2">2. As God did from eternity will or purpo&s;e the beginning of the thing; <HI>e. g.</HI> the creation of the world (though he never did begin to will it, having will'd it from ternity) &s;o he al&s;o from eternity did will or purpo&s;e the cea&s;ing of things, <HI>e. g.</HI> the di&s;&s;o|lution of the world; both the&s;e God did will at once. Will it therefore follow, that the world was created and di&s;&s;olved from e|ternity, and both created and di&s;|&s;olved at once?</P>
<PB N="170" REF="103">
<P N="3">3. God did purpo&s;e from e|ternity to &s;anctify and glorifie his Elect, yea at what time he did will their birth, he did will their new birth; at what time he did pur|po&s;e to give them life on earth, he did purpo&s;e to give them life in Heaven: Wil it therefore follow, That the Elect are &s;anctified and glorified actually from eternity, or borne againe &s;o &s;oone as borne, or glorified &s;o &s;oone as &s;anctified?</P>
<P>Obj. <HI>Things are otherwi&s;e to God then they are to us, and therefore what is not from eternity in re&s;pect of us, may be from eternity in re&s;pect of God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w</HI> In re&s;pect of actual exi|&s;tence, things are to God no o|therwi&s;e then they are to us; <HI>i. e.</HI> God doth not &s;ee or know any thing actually to be or exi&s;t, afore it actually is, or doth exi&s;t: how|ever it be true, that he doth fore|know in the&s;e things what we do not, and cannot; <HI>viz.</HI> That a thing &s;hall be, or &s;hall exi&s;t be|fore it actually is, or doth ex|i&s;t.</P>
<PB N="171" REF="103">
<P N="2">2. As it is the power of God which makes a thing po&s;&s;ible, and the plea&s;ure or will of God, that makes a thing future; &s;o it is the application of his power by his will and plea&s;ure to the production of this or that, which doth make it actually to be, or doth make it of po&s;&s;ible and future, to become actually exi&s;tent.</P>
<P N="3">3. Till there be an application of Gods power by his plea&s;ure to the producing of a thing, that thing hath no actual co-exi&s;tence with the eternity of God, neither is it in God otherwi&s;e then <HI>Obje|ctiv&egrave;,</HI> or <HI>per modum Objecti</HI> (as the Schools u&s;e to &s;peak) that is, it is in the power and purpo&s;e of God to do it. See <HI>Barlowes</HI> ele|gant and judicious Exercitation concerning Gods eternity, as al&s;o other metaphy&s;ical Authors con|cerning this Que&s;tion, <HI>An res in|&s;int aeternitati per proprias exi|&s;tentias; per quas cum &s;unt, tem|pori coexi&s;tunt, an Objectiv&egrave; &s;o|lum?</HI></P>
<P>I de&s;ire the Reader, that the
<PB N="172" REF="104">&s;everal an&s;wers to the fore&s;aid Ob|jection may the rather bee well weighed and remembred, becau&s;e they &s;erve to make void and null one &s;pecial Argument of the An|tinomians, whereby they would prove actual Ju&s;tification before faith: (this being the &s;cope of a late Book written by Mr. <HI>Willi|am Eyre</HI> of <HI>Salisbury,</HI> again&s;t Mr. <HI>Benjamin Woodbridg</HI> of <HI>Newbery;</HI> it being, as it now appears, Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> his lot to have among many o|thers, the &s;on and &s;ucce&s;&s;our of his learned School-ma&s;ter Mr. <HI>John Woodbridg</HI> (my worthy Predece&s;|&s;our) his declared Adver&s;aries in that and in &s;ome other points, as depending on it, or it on them:) to make void (I &s;ay) an Argu|ment for the &s;aid purpo&s;e taken out of <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.17. it being there a&s;&s;erted, <HI>That God doth call the things which be not, as though they were,</HI> therefore (&s;ay they) though we are not, yet we are &s;aid to be ju&s;tified in the &s;ight of God, as if we were. But be it knowne, that the import or rea&s;on of that Scrip|ture-&s;aying
<PB N="173" REF="104">is not becau&s;e things are <HI>in actu entitative,</HI> that things do exi&s;t or have an exi&s;tence as to God, or before God, though they have no exi&s;tence in them&s;elves, or as to us; but becau&s;e God doth fore&s;ee that things will be, or will exi&s;t, before they are or do exi&s;t, which no humane eye can fore&s;ee; (for which cau&s;e he is &s;aid to <HI>Fore&s;ee the Ju&s;tification of the Heathen through faith,</HI> Gal. 3.8. The Scripture fore&s;eeing; <HI>i. e.</HI> the Holy Gho&s;t the Authour of the Scripture fore&s;eeing (as <HI>Pi&s;cator</HI> interprets the place) that God would ju&s;tifie the heathen through faith) as al&s;o, becau&s;e God can do tho&s;e things by his power, which we cannot do, yea, which (I do not &s;ay, <HI>in</HI> nature, but) as <HI>to</HI> nature are impo&s;&s;ible to be done; and that he can do the&s;e things at any time, when&s;oever he &s;hall by his will and plea&s;ure apply his Om|nipotent power for the effecting thereof, as was manife&s;ted in the ca&s;e of <HI>Sarah</HI> there &s;pecified. Ha|ving &s;aid, That God doth fore&s;ee
<PB N="174" REF="105">tho&s;e things which we do not, and that he is &s;aid for that cau&s;e, to <HI>call the things that are not, as though they were.</HI> I &s;hall exempli|fie that &s;aying in one in&s;tance; <HI>e. g.</HI> The only wi&s;e God did fore&s;ee the di&s;&s;olution of the late Parlia|ment, even afore the convention of it, albeit as it &s;eems Mr <HI>Wil|liam Eyre</HI> did not fore&s;ee it a few dayes before it was di&s;&s;olved; for if he had fore&s;een, that that Parlia|ment would have been &s;o &s;oone di&s;&s;olved upon account of its be|ing no longer profitable for the Commonwealth, doubtle&s;&s;e hee would not have told them (as to their faces) in his Epi&s;tle Dedica|tory unto them, That they were in his judgment, the fitte&s;t of any company of men on earth, to um|pire and judg in the points contro|verted betwixt him and Mr. <HI>Wood|bridg.</HI> Had Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> in very deed delivered the truth of his judgment and the judgment of truth in that &s;uffrage &s;uper-&s;uperlative, I mu&s;t have &s;aid, That it had been a thou|&s;and pities that the &s;aid company
<PB N="175" REF="105">of men, though di&s;&s;olved as to a Parliament of the Commonwealth (both name and thing;) yet had not been continued under &s;ome new name; <HI>e. g. Apollinis tripos; Conce&s;&s;us Apo&s;tolicus, Aarons Bre&s;t|plate, &V;rim and Thummim, Eng|lands Oracle, The Church Vertual,</HI> or the like <HI>Notio &s;ecunda;</HI> as un|to whom all di&s;&s;enting per&s;ons and parties, both in our own, and in all the Nations throughout the world might have had recour&s;e for re&s;olution in the great things and truthes of God. But &s;eeing that it was concluded by them&s;elves, that their company &s;o con&s;tituted, was no longer profitable to the Commonwealth, I believe that Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> is now convicted, that their longer &s;itting was not like to be profitable for the Church; whereupon I &s;hall conclude, that it was for want of fore&s;ight, that Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> did &s;o far luxuriate in their high prai&s;es, as to &s;ay, That of any company of men on earth, they were the fitte&s;t to umpire in &s;uch Theological Di&s;putes as
<PB N="176" REF="106">are betwixt him and his old School fellow Mr. <HI>Benjamin Wood|bridg.</HI></P>
<P>Let the &s;econd Negative Propo|&s;ition be this; <HI>viz. No &s;in is a|ctually pardoned, till a per&s;on bee made capable of it, or put into a ca|pacity of receiving or enjoying it.</HI> This Propo&s;ition carries its owne evidence in the body or bowels of it: for nothing is before it can be. I &s;hall therefore immediately ap|ply my &s;elf to the re&s;olution of the following Que&s;tion.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>When is a per&s;on capable of receiving the actual pardon of his &s;ins?</HI> Or, <HI>When are the Elect ca|pable of receiving, or actually en|joying that pardon which was &s;o long &s;ince purpo&s;ed, purcha&s;ed, promi&s;ed to and for them?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. When they need it.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>When do they need it?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> When they are, or do become &s;inners, have committed &s;in, or are guilty of &s;in. Till &s;in be pa&s;t, pardon is to come. To pardon &s;in before it is commit|ted
<PB N="177" REF="106">is to pardon &s;in that is no &s;in, it is to pardon that which is not, which is a contradiction, and a meere impo&s;&s;ibility: for where there is no guilt, there can be no pardon. As a man is not capable of an Almes, till he be mi&s;erable and indigent; &s;o nor of pardon, till he be peccant: Or as a man is not capable of a cure by Phy&s;ick and Chyrurgery till he be &s;ick and wounded; &s;o nor of pardon, till he be &s;ick of &s;in, and wounded by it. The&s;e &s;imilitudes are the rather apt, becau&s;e Gods pardoning &s;in is &s;aid to be <HI>his taking compa&s;|&s;ion on us,</HI> (<HI>Mic.</HI> 7.19. <HI>Luke</HI> 18. 13. <HI>God compa&s;&s;ionate me a &s;inner,</HI> &s;aith the Publican:) and his <HI>healing us, I&s;ai.</HI> 53.5. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14.4. This is a remote capacity. The next par|ticular doth declare and &s;et forth the &s;inners proximous, or immedi|ate capacity of pardon.</P>
<P N="2">2. Then are the Elect capable of actual pardon, when they are in Gods way fit or fitted for it.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>When is that?</HI></P>
<PB N="178" REF="107">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> When they &s;ee their &s;ins (I &s;peak of per&s;ons adult, or of ripe age) confe&s;&s;e them, repent for them, believe in Chri&s;t. See <HI>Act.</HI> 10.43. <HI>To him give all the Prophets witne&s;&s;e, that who&s;oever beleeveth in him &s;hall receive remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;ins.</HI> Luke 24.47. <HI>And that repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in &s;hould be preached in his name among all Nations.</HI> Acts 5.31. <HI>Him hath God exalted, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to I&s;rael and re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in,</HI> (ob&s;erve, Repen|tance is given fir&s;t, and then re|mi&s;&s;ion.) As the ground is not capable of receiving the &s;eed of the Husbandman till it be plowed, &s;o nor are the Elect capable of re|ceiving the precious &s;eed of par|don, till the fallow ground of their hearts be plowed up by Re|pentance (to &s;peak in the meta|phor of the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> chap. 4.4.) In this &s;en&s;e that &s;aying of the Evangeli&s;t is mo&s;t true, accor|ding as by &s;ome it is interpreted; <HI>John</HI> 1.16. <HI>Of his fulne&s;&s;e we re|ceive, and grace for grace; i. e.</HI> by
<PB N="179" REF="107">rea&s;on of one grace we receive ano|ther (even as the God of all grace doth give one grace in order to a|nother) <HI>e g.</HI> for, or by rea&s;on of the grace of faith, repentance and conver&s;ion (all which were merited by Chri&s;t) God gives us the grace of Remi&s;&s;ion, according to that Proverbial &s;aying among the Jewes, and in this ca&s;e applia|ble, <HI>Habenti dabitur.</HI> As God doth by Grace adapt, or make us fit and meet for glory, (Col. 1.12 <HI>Giving thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet for the inheri|tance among the Saints in light,</HI>) So by one grace God doth make us meet for receiving of another. And as the Wedding Garment did fit and make meet the Gue&s;ts for the Wedding Sup|per; &s;o doth Faith, Repen|tance and new obedience (be|ing as the Wedding Garment) fit, or make meet the &s;inner for partaking in the pardon of his &s;ins, which is as the Wedding Supper.</P>
<PB N="180" REF="108">
<P>This particular is the rather to be ob&s;erved, becau&s;e it is u&s;eful, as otherwi&s;e, &s;o &s;pecially for the&s;e two purpo&s;es.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. To prevent and redre&s;&s;e the pre&s;umption of impenitent and ungodly &s;inners, who are apt to expect to reap where they have not &s;owed, <HI>and to gather where they have not &s;trawed.</HI> I mean, who do u&s;ually expect an harve&s;t of comfort in the pardon of their &s;ins, and to reape in mercy, when they have not &s;owen to them&s;elves one &s;eed (the lea&s;t mu&s;tard &s;eed) of grace, or one graine of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e (to &s;peak in the phra&s;e of the prophet, <HI>Ho&s;. ch.</HI> 10.12)</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It is u&s;eful, whereby to ob|viate or an&s;wer the common obje|ction of the Antinomians, wherby they would involve us as guilty of impeaching the freedom of Gods grace in the pardon of our &s;ins, becau&s;e we affirme with the Scrip|tures, that pardon of &s;inne can|not actually be enjoyed without the performance of &s;uch and &s;uch
<PB N="181" REF="108">conditions, the performance of which &s;aid conditions is notwith|&s;tanding of, and cannot be without Gods free grace given to us, and enabling us for that end and pur|po&s;e. I &s;hall clo&s;e this particular with the words of that very Lear|ned and godly man, Mr. <HI>Anthony Burges,</HI> in his book of ju&s;tification, <HI>p.</HI> 18. There goe more cau&s;es to the pardon of &s;in be&s;ides the me|ritorious cau&s;e; faith the in&s;tru|mental cau&s;e, which is as nece&s;&s;a|ry in its kind for this great benefit as the meritorious cau&s;e is in its kind; that though Chri&s;t hath born &s;uch a mans &s;ins, yet they are not pardoned till he doe believe; for as the grace of God (which is the efficient cau&s;e of pardon) doth not make a &s;inne compleatly forgiven without the meritorious cau&s;e, &s;o neither doth the meritorious with|out the in&s;trumental, but there is a nece&s;&s;ity of the pre&s;ence and the cooperation of all the&s;e.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> Though I have not expre&s;ly made mention of the merits of Chri&s;t through his bloud
<PB N="182" REF="109">&s;hed in order to a &s;inners being made capable of pardon. Never|thele&s;&s;e,</P>
<P N="1">1. I doe acknowledg, and let it be knowne, that the interventi|on of his merits are nece&s;&s;ary to the &s;aid &s;inners capability of par|don. Whether his merits be &s;o ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary hereunto, as that God could not have pardoned a &s;inner without it, although that be a que&s;tion, in the re&s;olution whereof, Learned and Godly men doe differ, (Mr. <HI>Owen</HI> the Learned Deane of Chri&s;ts Church hath in an elaborate tractate lately put forth, endeavoured to prove the &s;aid ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction) neverthele&s;&s;e it is without all que&s;tion, that <HI>(rebus &s;ic &s;tantibus, &amp;c.)</HI> according as things are now &s;et and fixed by God, and according to his will revealed in his Word; no &s;inner can be pardoned without the interventi|on of Chri&s;ts merits and &s;atisfacti|on.</P>
<P N="2">2. In mentioning faith as that which puts the &s;inner into a capa|city
<PB N="183" REF="109">of pardon, I have included the merits of Chri&s;ts blood&s;hed, his blood being the object of faith, or that which faith doth lay hold and re&s;t upon; according to that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.24, 25. <HI>Be|ing ju&s;tified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whom God hath &s;et forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes that are pa&s;t through the forbearance of God.</HI> Where let the Antino|mian ob&s;erve two things.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Remi&s;&s;ion is of &s;ins pa&s;t, [mark <HI>pa&s;t.</HI>]</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Though ju&s;tification and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in be not otherwi&s;e then through Chri&s;ts bloud; yea, through faith in his bloud; never|thele&s;&s;e it is a grace, a free-grace.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> If all &s;ins, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, are not at once par|doned, then Chri&s;t is not a perfect &s;atisfier, or hath not perfectly &s;a|tisfied for our &s;ins?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This objection is a very
<PB N="184" REF="110">weak one, and for the weakne&s;&s;e thereof, I may well &s;tile it a wo|mans objection: and I &s;hall the ra|ther &s;o &s;tile it, becau&s;e it was in very deed, the objection which a certaine woman in the&s;e parts (much perverted, as it &s;eems, by Antinomian principles, and fre|quenting as I have heard, the tea|chings of &s;uch teachers as are &s;ent abroad by the Church of <HI>Abbing|don</HI>) objected in my hearing again&s;t the truth here a&s;&s;erted by mee, <HI>viz</HI> that all &s;ins, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent and to come, are not pardoned at once; and albeit the &s;aid Si&s;ter did expre&s;&s;e as much confidence in her opinion to the contrary, as if &s;o be &s;hee had beene in&s;pired with a &s;pirit infallible, and did receive &s;o little &s;atisfaction by my an&s;wers, as that &s;he did plainly tell me to my face, that my an&s;wers did make it apparent unto her, that I was a per&s;on not as yet ju&s;tified; I &s;hall neverthele&s;&s;e &s;et downe in this place the &s;elf &s;ame an&s;wers, and no other an&s;wer then what
<PB N="185" REF="110">I made unto her objection as now followes.</P>
<P N="1">1. I told her that &s;hee might by a like rea&s;on infer, that Chri&s;t Je&s;us is not a perfect Red emer, &s;eeing the Saints are not in this life perfectly redeemed from their &s;ins, but mu&s;t waite for the ac|compli&s;hment thereof till the day of judgement, which for that cau&s;e is &s;tiled the day of Redemp|tion.</P>
<P N="2">2. I asked her whether &s;hee would a&s;&s;ert her &s;elfe to be a Saint already in heaven, actually &s;ing|ing <HI>Halelujah;</HI> Shee an&s;wered no. Whereupon I told her, that the glorification of believers, is the fruit or benefit of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfa|ction; and I had therefore as good rea&s;on upon this account to make the &s;ame objection again&s;t her, <HI>viz</HI> that then Chri&s;t was not a perfect &s;atisfier.</P>
<P N="3">3 Finally I told her, that &s;hee is carefully to di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt the price which Chri&s;t paid for &s;a|tisfaction, or for our remi&s;&s;ion,
<PB N="186" REF="111">ran&s;om or redemption, and betwixt the fruits, effects and benefits which the Saints do enjoy therby; The former I told her was a price mo&s;t perfect, but the latter are not all at once in perfection be|&s;towed upon us, but by degrees, and in Gods due time and way, &s;ome now, &s;ome then, &s;ome in this life, &s;ome at death, and &s;ome not afore the day of judgement.</P>
<P>The&s;e an&s;wers I then thought, and &s;til do think &s;atisfactory, but I doe find, that the confidence of a woman po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with Antinomian principles, is in&s;uperable The Lord in his great mercy pity tho&s;e who are under &s;trong delu&s;ions, belie|ving in lies, and put &s;ome re&s;traint upon &s;uch teachers as are purpo&s;ely &s;ent forth under pretence of pro|pagating the Go&s;pel, to adulterate and corrupt it, and to make mer|chandize of the &s;ouls of the &s;imple, whom with good words and fair &s;peeches, they do mo&s;t pitifully and impiou&s;ly beguile.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="21" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="187" REF="111">
<HEAD>CHAP. XXI. <HI>Caution given as touching a right under&s;tanding of the two following Propo&s;itions; laid down by that very lear|ned and pious Divine, Mr.</HI> Anthony Burges, <HI>in his Sermons concerning Ju&s;tifi|cation; viz.</HI> 1. No wic|ked man ever hath any &s;in forgiven him. p. 22. 2. It is one thing for God to for|give, and another thing for God not to demand and exact puni&s;hments. <HI>p.</HI> 143.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XIV.</HEAD>
<P N="14">14. IT followes, which might have been more fitly
<PB N="188" REF="112">in&s;erted as the &s;econd Con&s;ectary) how far forth, or in what &s;en&s;e to under&s;tand tho&s;e two Propo&s;iti|ons of <HI>My. Burges,</HI> in his Book of Ju&s;tification.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>No wicked man ever hath any &s;in forgiven him.</HI> p 22.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>It is one thing for God to for|give, and another thing not to ex|act and demand puni&s;hment.</HI> p. 143.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>I have already proved, That God is &s;aid &s;ometimes to forgive the &s;ins of wicked men; as al&s;o, That Gods puni&s;hing is &s;aid to be his not forgiving, and his for|giving his not puni&s;hing; &s;o that the &s;aid Propo&s;itions, being ta|ken in their latitude as they &s;ound, cannot ageee with the truth of Scripture: which that they may do, it is nece&s;&s;ary that we under|&s;tand and re&s;train them unto that kind of forgivene&s;&s;e, which doth re&s;pect the di&s;obliging or di&s;|charge of a &s;inner from eternal damnation; for which re&s;pect, and indeed for the prevention of much mi&s;take in this Subject, I
<PB N="189" REF="112">&s;hould think it expedient for any one who undertaketh to write more at large concerning the na|ture of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, to &s;et downe almo&s;t in the fir&s;t place, this di&s;tinction; <HI>viz.</HI> There is a twofold forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in plain|ly expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture; the one peculiar to the Saints, which for that cau&s;e may well be &s;tiled The remi&s;&s;ion of Gods Elect, as for a like cau&s;e faith is &s;tiled by the Apo&s;tle, <HI>the faith of Gods E|lect,</HI> as <HI>Tit.</HI> 1.1. The other com|mon to the Reprobate with the E|lect. Now I &s;ay, the &s;aid Propo|&s;itions are to be re&s;trained to the former, and are not to be exten|ded to the latter kind of forgive|ne&s;&s;e. For my owne part, I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, That Mr. <HI>Anth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ny Bur|ges</HI> is a <HI>Gamaliel</HI> &s;o h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">h in my e|&s;teem, as that I do judg my &s;elfe unworthy to &s;it at his feet, or to bear his Books, and for that cau&s;e I am &s;o unwilling in ought to ex|pre&s;&s;e my di&s;&s;ent from him, as ra|ther then contradict &s;o worthy an Author, I &s;hould &s;tudy to the ut|termo&s;t
<PB N="190" REF="113">of rea&s;on, how to inter|pret all his &s;ayings and a&s;&s;ertions in a true &s;en&s;e; and for that cau&s;e it was once in my mind to have in|terpreted the meaning of that Propo&s;ition of his (<HI>p.</HI> 21. <HI>When a &s;in is forgiven, it is totally and perfectly forgiven.</HI>) rather then to have de|clared my di&s;&s;ent from it. I &s;ay, it was in my mind to have interpre|ted that Propo&s;ition, as barely in|tending a &s;inners di&s;charge, or di&s;|obligation from eternal damnati|on, which I doubt not, was the meaning of that worthy Author, even as he &s;eems to explicate him|&s;elf, &s;aying, <HI>p.</HI> 49. <HI>God pardeneth &s;in and removeth the guilt of it to|tally and perfectly, &s;o that a &s;in can|not be more pardoned then it is, it is as ab&s;olutely forgiven as can be de|&s;ired, it can be no better pardoned, then if we were in heaven.</HI> But upon con&s;ideration I found a ne|ce&s;&s;ity to declare my di&s;&s;ent from him in that Propo&s;ition, together with its explanations: for the &s;ins of the Elect are not in this life par|doned at all<NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">Though the &s;ins of the Elect are actual|ly pardon|ed in this life, yet not ab&s;olutely as to the continu|ance of their par|don, the continu|ancewher|of is not ab&s;olutely promi&s;ed, but upon condition of their Per&s;eve|rance.</NOTE> ab&s;olutely (as to di&s;|charge
<PB N="191" REF="113">from eternal damnation) and therefore I &s;ee no ju&s;t rea&s;on, why any one &s;hould &s;ay with Mr. <HI>Burges, That they are pardoned as ab&s;olutely as can be de&s;ired:</HI> and if ab&s;olute and conditional do vary the degrees of perfection (as for ought I know they do) I &s;ee no warrant to &s;ay, <HI>That when God pardons a &s;in, he doth it perfectly:</HI> Its true, God doth it perfectly, &s;o far as upon grounds of rea&s;on and Religion the Saints can expect or de&s;ire to have it done in this life; <HI>viz.</HI> conditionally upon their per&s;everance in Grace: yet not &s;o perfectly, becau&s;e not &s;o ab&s;o|lutely, as when they come to hea|ven. And I have thought it my part the rather to profe&s;&s;e my di&s;|&s;ent in this particular, becau&s;e &s;uch a Po&s;ition as this, <HI>[The Saints here are as perfectly and ab&s;olutely par|doned as can be de&s;ired,]</HI> doth give ground and countenance to tho&s;e unwarrantable comforts which the Antinomians, having &s;pun out of their own fancies, do frequently tender to their Di&s;ciples, &s;aying
<PB N="192" REF="114">unto them in the&s;e words, or to this effect, Make not the lea&s;t doubt of your Salvation, you &s;hal as ab&s;olutely go to Heaven as if you were already in heaven, your &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely pardoned as the &s;ins of the Saints, that do now reign with Chri&s;t in glory: of which &s;aid Apocryphal and un|warrantable way of comforting the Saints, I &s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;peak &s;omewhat more here|after in a peculiar Con&s;ecta|ry.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="22" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXII.</HI> That forgivene&s;s of &s;in is a Tran&s;ient, and not an Imma|nent Act in God, proved and cleared. Several De&s;cripti|ons of Actions Immanent and Tran&s;ient &s;et downe. <HI>Mr. Bax|ter</HI> vindicated in a pa&s;&s;age about this di&s;tinction, where|in
<PB N="193" REF="114"><HI>Mr. Kendal,</HI> hath (as the Author thinks) cau&s;ele&s;ly ex|cepted again&s;t him. Tran&s;i|ent Actions are of two &s;orts, and unto what &s;ort of tran&s;i|ent Actions forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;inne is to bee re&s;er|red.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XV.</HEAD>
<P N="15">15. IT followes, That forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;in is not an im|manent action in God, but a tran|&s;ient action. I &s;hal the rather en|deavour to prove and to clear this inference, for the following Rea|&s;ons,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Becau&s;e &s;ome of our eminent Divines, not minding to di&s;tin|gui&s;h here (as they u&s;e to do in o|ther things) betwixt Gods pur|po&s;e to pardon, and his actual par|don of a &s;inner, have erroneou&s;|ly a&s;&s;erted, That forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is an immanent action in God.</ITEM>
<PB N="194" REF="115">
<ITEM>2. Becau&s;e the afore&s;aid erro|neous A&s;&s;ertion is of very ill influ|ence and con&s;equence, it being (as Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> hath well ob&s;er|ved, and warnes us therefore of it) one of the maine props and pillars of Antinomian|i&s;me.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Becau&s;e Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> &s;ayes in his Aphori&s;mes of Ju&s;tification, <HI>p.</HI> 174. <HI>That albeit he is of opinion with others, That forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is a tran&s;ient action; neverthele&s;&s;e,</HI> (as he &s;aith) <HI>he had never the hap|pine&s;&s;e to &s;ee that point cleared by any.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Albeit Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> him&s;elfe hath endeavoured to clear it, and it is not my purpo&s;e to contradict him in ought that he hath &s;aid in that behalf; neverthele&s;&s;e I think it expedient, that there &s;hould more be added for clearing the point: for Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> defining remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in to be a di&s;&s;olving or taking a|way the obligation to puni&s;hment (not at all mentioning the effectu|al taking away of puni&s;hment it &s;elf, but leaving that, as I &s;up|po&s;e
<PB N="195" REF="115">his intent, to be under&s;tood) hath endeavoured to demon&s;trate the tran&s;iency of the act of for|givene&s;&s;e, barely with re&s;pect to the taking away of the &s;aid obliga|tion to puni&s;hment. Becau&s;e hee &s;peaks of Ju&s;tification or Remi&s;|&s;ion in Law &s;en&s;e, and not in ex|ecution, as being another di&s;tinct &s;ort or part of pardon. As his en|deavour therefore hath been in that particular, &s;o I &s;hall endea|vour to cleer the tran&s;iency of the act of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in as it re|&s;pects the taking away the puni&s;h|ment it &s;elf, which I &s;hall de&s;ire to do with &s;uch mode&s;ty and &s;obrie|ty, as finding great cau&s;e to ap|prove what Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> about this very Point doth &s;peak in his en|trance thereupon, &s;aying, <HI>We are in meer darkne&s;&s;e, and not able to comprehend how God is &s;aid to act or work.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Now for the better cleering of the point in hand, I &s;hall &s;et down in the fir&s;t place, what an imma|nent and tran&s;ient action is, and what is the difference betwixt
<PB N="196" REF="116">them; and to that end it will bee expedient to have recour&s;e unto what Phylo&s;ophical Authors in their metaphy&s;ical Divinity have &s;aid in the &s;ame; and in &s;pecial I &s;hall &s;et downe the De&s;criptions which the acute and learned <HI>Schei|bler</HI> gives of them, <HI>Met. lib.</HI> 2. <HI>p.</HI> 233, 234, 235. <HI>Actio immanens dicitur ab immanendo, quod &s;cilicet in agente maneat, quod tamen intel|ligendum e&s;t non po&s;itive, &s;ed nega|tive; nempe, Actio immanens qua talis e&s;t, e&s;t in agente hoc &s;en&s;u, quia non tran&s;it ad patiens; in ip&s;o autem agente non e&s;t per modum adjuncti, &s;eu per po&s;itivam inhaerentiam in ip|&s;o, &s;ed &s;impliciter ad ip&s;um compa|ratur ut ad cau&s;am.</HI></P>
<P>This Explication is the rather to be minded, becau&s;e in this &s;en&s;e only can wee attribute an imma|nent action to God; <HI>viz. Nega|tiv&egrave;, non Po&s;itiv&egrave;,</HI> becau&s;e God, or the Divine E&s;&s;ence is not capa|ble, as of other compo&s;itions, &s;o of this, <HI>viz.</HI> of Subject and Acci|dent; &s;uch compo&s;itions being a, again&s;t the ab&s;olute &s;implicity of
<PB N="197" REF="116">the divine nature; for which cau&s;e I think <HI>Mr. Baxter</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">And the rather be|cau&s;e [to &s;peak pre|ci&s;ely] <HI>A|ctiones non habent mo|dum e&s;&s;en|di In, &s;ed modum e&s;|&s;endi Ab.</HI></NOTE> did very wel, (having &s;aid, that tho&s;e who &s;peake of immanent acts in God by [immanent in God] mu&s;t needs meane Negatively, not Po&s;i|tively) to adde this as the rea&s;on thereof, &s;aying, for acts have not the re&s;pect of an adjunct to its &s;ubject, but of an effect to its cau&s;e. Where (by the way) let me crave leave to give notice to the Reader, that I cannot but wonder at <HI>Mr. Kendals</HI> ha&s;te and over&s;ight, &s;o much to mi&s;take <HI>Mr. Baxter,</HI> as to charge him for rendring that as a rea&s;on of one thing, which hee plainly renders as a rea&s;on of ano|ther. For Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> having gi|ven it in as a rea&s;on why immanent acts cannot be a&s;cribed unto God po&s;itively, but negatively: [for acts have not the re&s;pect of an ad|junct to its &s;ubject, but of an ef|fect to its cau&s;e.) Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> doth argue again&s;t him, as if hee had rendred that as a rea&s;on of his following conjecture, that hee thinks it beyond our under&s;tanding
<PB N="198" REF="117">to know certainly, that all Gods immanent acts are eternal.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>E.g.</HI> Whereas <HI>Mr. Kendal</HI> excepts a|gain&s;t <HI>Mr. Baxter,</HI> &s;aying that acts have the re&s;pect not of an effect to its cau&s;e, but of a cau&s;e to its effects. <HI>Mr. Kendal</HI> might have done well to have more ful|ly remem|bred (for hee being an excel|lent Philo|&s;opher as well as a Divine, doth know it very wel) be difference betwixt <HI>cau&s;e cau&s;alitas, &amp; cau&s;atum,</HI> actions being [to &s;peake preci&s;ely] <HI>cau&s;alitates;</HI> which cau&s;alities, as they do re|&s;pect the effect wrought, have the name and re&s;pect of cau&s;es, but as they do re&s;pect the Agent, they have the re&s;pect and name of effect; herein the common &s;aying in Logick being verified, <HI>unaeademque respote&s;t ad di|ver&s;a referri argumenta.</HI></NOTE> More I think might ju&s;tly be &s;poken to vindicate Mr. <HI>Baxter,</HI> again&s;t what Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> hath with &s;uch acrimony of &s;tile written a gain&s;t him: but as they &s;aid concerning the blind man, &s;o may I well &s;ay in this place concerning one eagle|eyed, Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> is of age, let him &s;peake for him&s;elfe. For my owne part, though I look upon Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> as worthy of much ho|nour, not only as a very Godly and Learned Divine, but as one al&s;o who hath de&s;erved very well of the Churches of God for his great and worthy pains again&s;t <HI>Mr. John Goodwin;</HI> neverthele&s;&s;e I cannot but &s;ay of him as he &s;aid of <HI>Mr. Baxter, viz. Mr. Kendal</HI> having told him that hee did ill con&s;ult his owne honour in oppo|&s;ing
<PB N="199" REF="117">in &s;ome points, tho&s;e two famous Divines <HI>Dr. Twi&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Mr. Pemble</HI>) that <HI>Mr. Kendal</HI> hath ill con&s;ulted his owne honor by writing in &s;uch a &s;ort again&s;t <HI>Mr. Baxter</HI> in that &s;heet of paper as he hath done; &s;o much cau&s;e have the be&s;t among us to pray to God to take away the iniquity of our holy things, and to praydaily, <HI>Forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI> known and unknown.</P>
<P>I &s;hall adde no more but this, That having read <HI>Mr. Kendals</HI> booke, as I cannot but &s;ay, that in dealing with <HI>Mr. John, Good|win, Mi&s;cuit, utile, dulci;</HI> &s;o I cannot &s;ay, that in dealing with <HI>Mr. Baxter, Omne tulit punctum.</HI></P>
<P>Craving excu&s;e for this digre&s;|&s;ion, I &s;hall now returne. As for a tran&s;ient action, it is commonly &s;aid to be &s;uch as doth <HI>tran&s;ire in &s;ubjectum externum, &s;eu extraneam materiem,</HI> or is terminated in &s;ome &s;ubject from without. But withal wee mu&s;t know, that this is a de&s;cription of a tran&s;ient acti|on not in general, or in its ge|neral nature, but of tran&s;ient a|ctions
<PB N="200" REF="118">of one &s;ort or kind, there being another kind of tran&s;ient a|ctions, and &s;o &s;tiled, becau&s;e they do <HI>referre ad terminum, &s;eu eum producere, qui &s;it extra cau&s;am a|gentem;</HI> in which re&s;pect creation is ju&s;tly accounted a tran&s;ient acti|on: for although it doth not <HI>tran&s;ire in praejacentem materiem (quia actio creantis antevertit omne &s;ubjectum, quia illa e&s;t ex nihilo)</HI> yet is it &s;uch an action of God, by which God produceth &s;omething, not in, but without him&s;elf. Thus have I &s;et downe what an imma|nent, and what a tran&s;ient action is, and the difference betwixt them out of the afore&s;aid Author [the one being terminated within the &s;ubject, and working no reall change out of it, as doth the o|ther:] unto which, though nothing more &s;eemes needful to be added, [the &s;aid Author being among metaphy&s;ical Writers in my &s;lender judgment <HI>ver&egrave;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">] ne|verthele&s;&s;e be cau&s;e there is a con|tent and plea&s;ure afforded by va|riety, I &s;hall therefore &s;et downe
<PB N="201" REF="118">another de&s;cription out of <HI>Ludovi|cus Ca&s;taneus</HI> in his di&s;tinctions, as followeth, <HI>Actio immanens dicitur, quae manet in eodem &s;uppo&s;ito, et in eadem potenti&acirc; &agrave; qua elicitur, ut eligere, velle: Tran&s;iens e&s;t, quae non recipitur in potenti&acirc;, &agrave; qu&acirc; pro|ducitur, &s;ive tran&s;eat in diver&s;um &s;uppo&s;itum [ut illuminatio dima|nans &agrave; &s;ole in aerem] &s;ive in di&s;tin|ctam potentiam, aut partem ejusdem &s;uppo&s;iti [ut calefactio, qua manus manum calefacit.]</HI> The&s;e two acti|ons in God may very fitly be re|&s;embled unto tho&s;e two kind of a|ctions in men, which the Philo&s;o|phers u&s;e to &s;tile <HI>Elicite,</HI> and <HI>Im|perate;</HI> the former being <HI>Actus voluntatis, qui producitur imme|diat&egrave; ab ip&s;a voluntate et manet in ea; ut velle diligere Deum, velle re|dere debitum, et ejusmodi. Impe|ratus e&s;t ille, qui producitur ab a|lia potentia tanquam &agrave; principio pro|ximo, et immediato, &s;ed voluntate illam potentiam movente ad exerci|tium; ut quando voluntas movet intellectum ad intelligendum, vel cum movet appetitum ad actum
<PB N="202" REF="119">temperantiae, aut fortitudinis, et &s;ic de aliis.</HI> By the premi&s;es I &s;up|po&s;e, it will in &s;ome good &s;ort ap|peare what actions of God are immanent, and what are tran&s;ient; in &s;pecial it will appeare, that a|mong Gods immanent or elicite a|ctio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s are his knowledge, voliti|on, bare will, decrees purpo&s;es; and of this &s;ort is Gods decree, will, or purpo&s;e to pardon the finnes of his elect; but of the lat|ter &s;ort, <HI>viz.</HI> ran&s;ient, impe|rate, tran&s;itive, or effective acti|ons (called by Philo&s;ophers <HI>Actio|nes actae</HI>) are. Gods <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eal perfor|mances and executions of what he hath from all eternity for known, will'd, decreed, or purpo&s;ed; the former kind of actions depending upon, or having reference unto the &s;ole plea&s;ure of God; but the latter referring unto, or depending upon the executive power of God: tran&s;ient actions being not effe|cted but by the application of Gods power, made by his wil and plea&s;ure; whereby to worke, or effect the thing which God did
<PB N="203" REF="119">will or purpo&s;e: And that for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;in is of this latter &s;ort of actions (<GAP DESC="foreign">) doth &s;eem to me &s;ufficiently appa|rent by &s;everal rea&s;ons; <HI>e.g.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Becau&s;e <HI>datur externum &s;ub|jectum in quod tran&s;it,</HI> which &s;aid &s;ubject is the penitent, believing, and converting &s;inner.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Becau&s;e in the &s;aid Sub|ject God doth <HI>producere aliquid extra e&s;&s;e; viz.</HI> God doth actu|ally remove tho&s;e evils, or pu|ni&s;hments, which were inflicted upon the &s;inner, working in, or upon the &s;inner a real change from what he was before. And when I &s;ay a real change, it comes into my mind to annex hereunto as a &s;ixteenth Inference or Con|&s;ectary, <HI>viz.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="23" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="204" REF="120">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIII.</HI> That remi&s;sion of &s;in, (<HI>quoad terminum remotum,</HI> or as in execution) is a real, yea, Phy&s;icall change,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What is &s;aid in this Con&s;ecta|ry, I mean concern|ing remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;in in executi|on, &amp; not of remi&s;|&s;ion, as barely di&s;|obliging to puni&s;h|ment, w^c^h in the clo&s;e of this con&s;ectary I do ac|knowledge to be but a change of our relati|on.</NOTE> and not a change purely Relative, as is commonly &s;uppo&s;ed.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XVI.</HEAD>
<P N="16">16. THat the difference be|twixt Sanctification and Ju&s;tification is not (as hath been commonly &s;aid,) That that doth work a real change in a &s;in|ner, but this a change barely and purely Relative: for both of them, <HI>viz.</HI> Gods &s;anctifying, and Gods ju&s;tifying or pardoning a &s;inner; (I &s;ay, or Gods pardoning a &s;in|ner; for Ju&s;tification and Remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;in are all one, as I &s;hal de|mon&s;trate
<PB N="205" REF="120">in the &s;equel of this Ex|ercitation;) do work in or upon the &s;inner a real change: and as to the reality therefore of a change there &s;eems to me to bee no diffe|rence at all; and yet there being &s;undry kinds of real changes, or all real changes being not of the &s;ame kind, this to my &s;eeming is the difference betwixt them; <HI>viz.</HI> That Gods &s;anctifying a &s;inner, doth work a real change in the &s;in|ner, from Corruption to Grace, from the evil of &s;in, to the good of holine&s;&s;e; which for that cau&s;e may not unfitly be &s;tiled a real, moral, or holy change; and Gods ju&s;tifying or pardoning a &s;inner, doth work in him, or upon him, a real change from the evil of mi|&s;ery or puni&s;hment, to the good of happine&s;&s;e; and which for that rea&s;on, <HI>&amp; docendi grati&acirc;,</HI> I may &s;tile a real, phy&s;ical, or political, or happy change: but why this change &s;hould be &s;tiled purely re|lative, and be denied to be real, in way of contradiction to that of Sanctification, I for my part am
<PB N="206" REF="121">not as yet convinced, this change being &s;uch in reality and in very deed, as is wrought in or upon a poor naked and wounded man, when of poor he is made rich, and of wounded is made whole. Thus really, as to mee &s;eemeth, doth Gods ju&s;tifying or pardoning a &s;inner, alter or change the &s;inner from what he was afore, as well in per&s;on as in relation; the &s;ub|jects of this change as really diffe|ring from tho&s;e who are not ju&s;tifi|ed and pardoned, as doth a child of wrath and mercy, or as doth a Saint in glory from a Reprobate in hell. Solid and judicious Mr. <HI>Blake,</HI> in his <HI>Vindiciae Foe&agrave;eris,</HI> in his undertaking to prove Ju&s;tifi|cation to be not an Immanent, but a tran&s;ient act in God, doth &s;eem to vary from what hath been commonly taught by our Divines, in acknowledging that the Effect which Ju&s;tification doth work, as terminated in a &s;inner, is a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The like al&s;o doth Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> acknow|ledg in his Book of <HI>Ju&s;tif. p.</HI> 169.</NOTE> real Ef|fect: for otherwi&s;e I &s;ee no cau&s;e why he &s;hould parallel Gods grace in ju&s;tifying a &s;inner, to the grace
<PB N="207" REF="121">or favour which <HI>Pharaoh</HI> did ex|pre&s;&s;e towards <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> in bringing him out of Pri&s;on, &s;aying, <HI>That act of</HI> Pharaoh <HI>had as real an effect upon</HI> Jo&s;eph, <HI>and was terminated in him in his advancement out of Pri&s;on, for rule in</HI> Egypt, <HI>as though a Phy&s;ician in ca&s;e of &s;ickne&s;&s;e had wrought a cure upon him.</HI> For my own part, I cannot but think, that look what real change is wrought in a poor pri&s;oner by his delive|rance out of pri&s;on, or in a wound|ed man by his cure, &s;uch a real change is wrought in or upon a &s;inner by Gods ju&s;tifying and par|doning him; Gods remitting &s;in|ners being re&s;embled to, or being &s;et forth by <HI>healing the broken hearted, delivering Captives, and &s;etting at liberty them that are brui|&s;ed.</HI> And yet notwith&s;tanding the &s;aid compari&s;on to illu&s;trate that change which Ju&s;tification doth work in a &s;inner, Mr. <HI>Blake</HI> (and in that particular I am not &s;atisfied) doth expre&s;ly deny, That Ju&s;tification doth work any phy|&s;ical change in man; and in that
<PB N="208" REF="122">&s;aying I cannot but profe&s;&s;e my di&s;&s;ent from him. The rea&s;on why our Divines have commonly denyed, that Ju&s;tification or re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in doth work any real change, or any change upon the &s;inner more then relative, I hum|bly conceive to be this; <HI>viz.</HI> Be|cau&s;e they do generally look upon remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in to be onely a di&s;|obligation of the &s;inner from pu|ni&s;hment; <HI>i. e.</HI> from being bound to &s;uffer that puni&s;hment, which otherwi&s;e would have been &s;ooner or later inflicted: but &s;eeing re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in is as wel Gods taking away of puni&s;hment already infli|cted upon the &s;inner, as Gods di&s;|charge of the &s;inner from being obliged to &s;uffer that puni&s;hment, which otherwi&s;e according to de|&s;ert, hee would have inflicted at one time or other; as in this re|&s;pect the change is relative, &s;o in that re&s;pect it is unque&s;tionably real.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="24" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="209" REF="122">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIV.</HI> The De&s;cription of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, given by that very lear|ned and godly Divine, Dr. <HI>Twi&s;&s;e</HI> (which is by &s;ome high|ly commended as mo&s;t accu|rate) examined and refuted; and the evil con&s;equences of the &s;ame detected; together with the Authors Apology for his taking upon him in ought to expre&s;&s;e his di&s;&s;ent from men of &s;uch prime worth, (Stars of the first Magni|tud) as confe&s;&s;edly that Doctor was.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XVII.</HEAD>
<P N="17">17. IT followes, That that De&s;cription of D. <HI>Twi&s;&s;e</HI>
<PB N="210" REF="123">undertaking to acquaint us with the nature or quiddity of Remi&s;&s;i|on of &s;in, is not <HI>&V;&s;quequaque quadrant,</HI> &amp; con&s;i&s;tent with truth, he &s;aying, That remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in is nothing el&s;e but either Gods de|nying to puni&s;h, or el&s;e his will not to puni&s;h: His words are, <HI>Remi&s;&s;io peccatorum, &s;i quidditatem in&s;picias, nihil aliud e&s;t, quam aut punitionis negatio, aut volitionis pu|niendi negatio.</HI> Lib. 2. pag. 273. It is the latter part of the Doctors de&s;cription which I do di&s;&s;ent from, and &s;hall endeavour to ex|pugne.</P>
<P>In my entrance hereupon, I &s;hal &s;u&s;pect that &s;ome will cen&s;ure my attemps herein (as al&s;o what I &s;hall in an intended &s;upplement to this Di&s;cour&s;e attempt in one point a|gain&s;t Mr. <HI>Pemble</HI>) as an act of in&s;olency and un&s;ufferable pre|&s;umption; objecting again&s;t mee with &s;uch reproach, as Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> doth again&s;t Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> for a like attempt again&s;t the &s;elfe &s;ame renowned Authour, &s;ay|ing,
<PB N="211" REF="123">
<Q><L>&mdash; <HI>Sic dama Leonem</HI></L>
<L><HI>In&s;equitur, audetque viro con|curere virgo.</HI></L></Q></P>
<P>Surely Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> hath &s;aid, <HI>Satis pro imperio, &amp; &s;atis pro oppre|brio,</HI> whereby to deter any &s;uch as I am from contradicting ought in the &s;aid worthy Authours, he ha|ving concluded his Digre&s;&s;ion a|gain&s;t Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> with this <HI>Sar|ca&s;me,</HI>
<Q><L>&mdash; Ne tu divinam Iliada tentes,</L>
<L><HI>Sed long&egrave; &s;equere, &amp; ve&s;tigia &s;emper adora.</HI></L></Q></P>
<P>But my Apology is, 1. As I do much magnifie the &s;aid Authours, (Dr. <HI>Twi&s;&s;e</HI> and Mr. <HI>Pemble,</HI> wor|thily accounted among the mo&s;t pious and learned Divines that our Engli&s;h Nation hath brought forth) &s;o I &s;hould abhor my &s;elfe as in du&s;t and a&s;hes, &s;hould my con&s;cience in the lea&s;t accu&s;e me of any willingne&s;&s;e to detract from them, or of &s;eeking to magnifie
<PB N="212" REF="124">my &s;elf in oppo&s;ing them; unto who&s;e inferiours by very many de|grees I mu&s;t ever confe&s;&s;e my &s;elfe inferior not a little.</P>
<P N="2">2 An endeavour (as in the fear of God with mode&s;ty and humili|ty) to di&s;cover errour in whom&s;o|ever, and to vindicate the truth (&s;pecially &s;uch Truthes and Errors which are of momentous con&s;e|quence) will be (I doubt not) acceptable to God, however it &s;hould prove ungrateful to &s;ome men.</P>
<P N="3">3. By how much any man is more eminently pious and lear|ned who hath vented and la|boured in the &s;upport of an Er|rour, by &s;o much the more taking and &s;preading is the Error like to prove.</P>
<P N="4">4. I am verily per&s;waded, that were the fore&s;aid Authors (<GAP DESC="foreign">) now living upon earth, they would upon all due occa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ion, declare them&s;elves to be men after <HI>Davids</HI> heart in this particular (e|ven as <HI>David</HI> was a man after Gods owne heart in the general;)
<PB N="213" REF="124"><HI>viz.</HI> accounting it their happi|ne&s;&s;e to &s;ee that as an errour, which they look'd upon as a truth, and a kindne&s;&s;e from any one, who un|der God &s;hould prove the in&s;tru|ment of &s;uch a di&s;covery.</P>
<P N="5">5. If I my &s;elf, when fir&s;t a Stu|dent in controver&s;al divinity, be|ing le&s;&s;e able to di&s;tingui&s;h be|twixt things that differ, have been ready to &s;wallow all things as true which I have read in the fore&s;aid Authours; is it not my duty being now converted, to &s;trengthen my brethren?</P>
<P>Now for the purpo&s;e in hand, <HI>viz.</HI> for di&s;covery, that Gods <HI>Negatio volitionis puniendi,</HI> is no part of the pardon of &s;in, be it con|&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. That the pardon of &s;in, both the whole and every part thereof, is [<HI>in toto</HI> and in <HI>&s;olido,</HI> as wee u&s;e to &s;ay] to be a&s;cribed to the me|rits, blood-&s;hed, or &s;atisfaction of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as the meritorious and pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">curing cau&s;e thereof, as is abundantly te&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">fied in Scripture, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1 7. <HI>Col</HI> 1.14.
<PB N="214" REF="125">But Gods <HI>Negatio volitionis puni|endi</HI> is not to be a&s;cribed to Chri&s;ts blood &s;hed or &s;atisfaction as the procuring or meritorious cau&s;e thereof. For Gods <HI>Negatio volitionis puniendi</HI> is all one with his <HI>velle non punire,</HI> as the Doctor doth immedi|ately expre&s;&s;e him&s;elfe afterwards; and Gods <HI>velle non punire</HI> is all one with his <HI>velle mi&s;ereri,</HI> which &s;aid <HI>velle non punire,</HI> or <HI>velle mi&s;ereri,</HI> are precedent, and not con&s;equent to the con&s;ideratation of Chri&s;ts blood-&s;hed and Satisfaction: For Chri&s;t by his &s;atisfaction or blood &s;hed, did procure and purcha&s;e for &s;inners (as our Divines in an|&s;wer to tho&s;e Arguments which the <HI>Socinians</HI> doe object again&s;t Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction u&s;ually ac|knowledge) not Gods <HI>mi&s;ereri velle,</HI> but his <HI>mi&s;ereri po&s;&s;e.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In &s;ay|ing &s;o I do not ex|clude but include the particular fruits of Gods mer|cy, as pur|cha&s;ed by the blood of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> Briefly, Gods <HI>velle non punire,</HI> is all one ex|actly in &s;en&s;e and &s;ub&s;tance with his election, or electing love; which albeit it is in Chri&s;t, yet it is not for Chri&s;t, <HI>i. e.</HI> not for Chri&s;t as the procurer or purcha&s;er therof, as the Doctor him&s;elfe in a large di&s;pute
<PB N="215" REF="125">doth prove, <HI>lib.</HI> 1. <HI>p.</HI> 151. there being &s;carce any one of our refor|med Divines, except <HI>Rolloc,</HI> who &s;ayes the contrary.</P>
<P N="2">2. Gods will not to puni&s;h, is all one as his purpo&s;e not to puni&s;h. Now, albeit this will or purpo&s;e (being all one with election) is the ri&s;e or fountain of pardon, yet is it not pardon it &s;elf, or any part or parcel of it, but differs as much from it, as a gift doth from the free love and good will of him, who did be&s;tow it, or did de&s;igne the be&s;towing of it. Briefly, Gods willing not to puni&s;h, is nothing el&s;e but Gods purpo&s;e to par|don. Now Gods purpo&s;e to par|don is one thing, and pardon it &s;elfe is another, as hath beene a|fore proved.</P>
<P N="3">3. Gods not willing to puni&s;h is (as the Doctor him&s;elfe doth rightly acknowledge in the follow|ing columne) an immanent act in God, and from eternitity, and no con&s;equent of faith (hee might have added likewi&s;e, no con&s;e|quent of Chri&s;ts merits and &s;atis|faction
<PB N="216" REF="126">as was afore&s;aid.) But re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in is not an immanent act in God, nor from eternity (as was before proved) [for albeit God doth from eternity will the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, yet he doth not will the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins from eternity;] and it is moreover (as &s;hal hereafter in due place be proved) a con&s;equent of our faith: <HI>Ergo,</HI> Gods not willing to puni&s;h &s;in, is no part of (however a thing nece&s;&s;arily pre&s;uppo&s;ed unto) the pardon of &s;in, <GAP DESC="foreign">. I have thought it my duty to give notice of, and to animadvert upon this <GAP DESC="foreign">, or over&s;ight in the Do|ctor, becau&s;e (as to me &s;eemeth) it was the cau&s;e of certaine other errours in him tending to the weakning of his owne authority, and to the &s;trengthening of the hands of the <HI>Antinomian</HI> party; (that I may not adde al&s;o) to the hardning of his Arminian adver|&s;aries. <HI>E. g.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. Hee makes the &s;en&s;e only of pardon, and not pardon it &s;elf to be the effect, or con&s;equent of
<PB N="217" REF="126">faith, or that which doth termi|nate our believing, <HI>lib.</HI> 2. <HI>p.</HI> 273. making faith to be nece&s;&s;ary only in this re&s;pect, <HI>viz. &V;t gratia, ac mi&s;ericordia divin&agrave; in peccatis prop|ter Chri&s;tum remittendis nobis in|note&s;cat,</HI> that divine grace and mercy in forgiving our &s;innes for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, may be manife&s;ted or made knowne unto us, <HI>lib.</HI> 2. <HI>p.</HI> 276, 277.</P>
<P N="2">2. Yea, though the Doctor doth frequently acknowledge, that Chri&s;t hath impetrated, purcha&s;ed, or procured for the elect remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne; Neverthele&s;&s;e how the merits of Chri&s;t &s;hould be nece&s;&s;a|ry for more then the effecting the &s;ight, &s;en&s;e, or knowledge of the &s;aid pardon according to the Do|ctors owne principles, I for my part, do not conceive; and let the Reader judge by the following e|vidence. <HI>E. g.</HI> 1. The Doctor doth deny that Chri&s;t did purcha&s;e for believers Gods <HI>velle remittere,</HI> or his will to pardon them, <HI>lib.</HI> 2. <HI>p.</HI> 273. And &s;o far I believe him to be in the right.</P>
<PB N="218" REF="127">
<P N="2">2. Hee doth deny that Chri&s;t did purcha&s;e for believers, Gods <HI>mi&s;ereri po&s;&s;e,</HI> or a power in God to pardon them <HI>[ju&s;titi&acirc; non ob|&s;tante]</HI> his ju&s;tice notwith&s;tan|ding, and this he doth endeavour indu&s;triou&s;ly to prove, not only again&s;t <HI>Arminius,</HI> but al&s;o again&s;t <HI>Pi&s;cator and Lubbertus,</HI> who did &s;trenuou&s;ly a&s;&s;ert the contrary, <HI>lib.</HI> 1. <HI>p.</HI> 278. But in that particu|lar, I cannot but di&s;&s;ent from him; <HI>Amyraldus</HI> being &s;o farre offended both with him and <HI>Ru|therford</HI> (as I remember) in that behalfe, as to think him&s;elf ex|cu&s;able in a le&s;&s;er regard of their authority in that important point of <HI>&V;niver&s;al redemption;</HI> I mean, as under&s;tood in the middle &s;en&s;e with <HI>Davenant, Camero,</HI> and o|thers.</P>
<P>Now if Chri&s;t did purcha&s;e nei|ther wil nor power in God to par|don (as &s;aith the Doctor) how can wee rationally conclude that Chri&s;t did purcha&s;e any more then the &s;en&s;e and manife&s;tation of par|don?<NOTE PLACE="marg">I de&s;ire that what I have here written in the way of refutation of Doctor <HI>Twi&s;&s;e</HI> his De|&s;cription of forgive|ne&s;&s;e of &s;in and in my demon|&s;trating the evil con&s;e|quences thereof, may the rather be wel weigh|ed and du|ly con&s;ide|red, be|cau&s;e Mr. <HI>Will. Eyre</HI> in his late Book a|gain&s;t Mr. <HI>Woodbridg</HI> doth high|ly applaud the &s;aid de|&s;cription given by the Doctor as a de|&s;cription mo&s;t accu|rate; it be|ing (as I think I have made apparent) no other|wi&s;e accu|rate then in this &s;en&s;e; <HI>viz</HI> as accu|rately &s;er|viceable for Mr. <HI>Eyre</HI> his purpo&s;e whereby to uphold his unju|&s;tifiable o|pinion of a mans being a|ctually ju|&s;tified with out or be|fore faith.</NOTE> This indeed is a conclu&s;ion;
<PB N="219" REF="127">which as it doth follow (for ought I know) from the Doctors pre|mi&s;es, &s;o al&s;o from the Antino|mians Principles, which &s;ome of them being &s;en&s;ible of, have cho|&s;en rather then to leave their o|pinion, to &s;wallow down the ini|quity and ab&s;urdity thereof, and to a&s;&s;ert, That Chri&s;t did not purcha&s;e or procure any love from God for man: but onely publi&s;hed and declared, That he was from eternity beloved and pardoned. A Doctrine fitter for a <HI>Tho. Collier</HI> and a <HI>Paul Hob&s;on,</HI> then for any well grounded Di|vine to own; and by how much we do dete&s;t &s;uch a Doctrine, by &s;o much it concernes us to beware how we take in tho&s;e Principles, or lay and owne tho&s;e grounds, that will nece&s;&s;arily (but unawares) lead us to it.</P>
<P N="3">3 The Doctor holds, That re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, and the acceptati|on of our per&s;ons with God, do only note certain internal and im|manent Actions in God, which never had any beginning with
<PB N="220" REF="128">God. <HI>Lib.</HI> 3. <HI>pag.</HI> 434.</P>
<P N="4">4. He a&s;&s;erts, That the Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t was ours a|fore faith, that faith doth not in|tere&s;&s;e us in it, or give us any new right unto Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which we had not before, but on|ly the &s;ight, &s;en&s;e, and agnition of the &s;ame. Yea, whereas the learned <HI>Lubbert</HI> again&s;t <HI>Vor&s;tius,</HI> had &s;aid mo&s;t Orthodoxly, <HI>Quod &s;atisfactio Chri&s;ti non e&s;t mea, aut tua, priu&s;quam ego aut tu eam ve|r&acirc; &s;ide receperimus;</HI> The Doctor doth go about to &s;poil that &s;aying of his, by affixing to it his owne heterodox &s;en&s;e. <HI>Lib,</HI> 2. <HI>p</HI> 277. It is a very &s;trange thing, that &s;uch a learned Philo&s;opher and School|man as Doctor <HI>Twi&s;&s;e,</HI> (famous for that throughout all Prote&s;tant Churches) &s;hould not di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt Gods de&s;igning his Sons Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for us, or to bee ours, and that by Faith, or by means of faith, or upon the con|ditions of faith; and betwixt Gods actually making it ours, or actu|ally be&s;towing it upon us, or inve|&s;ting
<PB N="221" REF="128">us into it upon our belie|ving.</P>
<P>And whereas hee &s;ayes, That Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is ours, <HI>Quatenus ex intentione Dei Patris, &amp; Chri&s;ti pro nobis prae&s;tita,</HI> as it was performed on our behalf by vertue of the intention of God and Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That hints no more but this; <HI>viz.</HI> That God and Chri&s;t did de&s;ign or purpo&s;e it for us.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 From thence the Doctor him&s;elfe might have concluded a|gain&s;t him&s;elfe; <HI>viz.</HI> That Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is not actually made ours afore we believe; for what is intended for mee is not mine, before it be actually confer|red upon mee; and this actual conferring of Chri&s;ts Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e upon us, is not (as &s;aith the Scripture) before we be|lieve.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="5">5 He &s;ayes, <HI>(ibidem,</HI> and to the &s;ame purpo&s;e as before) that the merits of Chri&s;t are not applied to us by faith before
<PB N="222" REF="129">God, but only <HI>[apud con&s;cientias no&s;tras,]</HI> in our own con&s;ciences, and that Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e is &s;aid to be imputed unto us by faith, only, becau&s;e by faith <HI>[imputari digno&s;citur,]</HI> it is known to us to be imputed.</P>
<P N="6">6. As he doth oppo&s;e <HI>Armini|us</HI> in his &s;en&s;e of the di&s;tinction betwixt Redemption and Remi&s;|&s;ion of &s;in, as impetrated, and as applyed, &s;o the Doctor errs on the other hand in his owne &s;en&s;e, or &s;en&s;ing of that di&s;tinction, ma|king the application thereof by faith unto us, <HI>[Non ut &s;int, &s;ed ut &s;entiantur, percipiantur, agno&s;can|tur;]</HI> not that they may be ours indeed, and actually; but that they may appear, be felt, known, and acknowledged as ours; <HI>Lib.</HI> 2. <HI>pag.</HI> 277. and <HI>Lib.</HI> 3. <HI>pag.</HI> 434.</P>
<P>Here againe it &s;eemes very &s;trange, That &s;o accute and pro|found a man as the Doctor was, &s;hould forget to di&s;tingui&s;h be|twixt Remi&s;&s;ion and Redemption, as purcha&s;ed or procured for us,
<PB N="223" REF="129">and as actually conferred or be|&s;towed upon us.</P>
<P>The fore&s;aid particulars, as I conceive them to bee mi&s;takes in the Doctor, and of an ill a&s;pect and influence, &s;o I am per&s;waded, they were all, or the mo&s;t of them occa&s;ioned from his Errour about the nature of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, making it (at lea&s;t in part) to be Gods <HI>nolle punire,</HI> or <HI>velle non punire,</HI> Gods not willing to pu|ni&s;h.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="25" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXV.</HI> That a Believer, his pardon not|with&s;tanding, is in his con|fe&s;sion of &s;in to put him&s;elf under the cur&s;e of the Law; Why and how declared. That a &s;inner after pardon, is a &s;in|ner, and that God doth look upon him as a &s;inner, albeit he
<PB N="224" REF="130">doth not deal with him, or pu|ni&s;h him as &s;uch.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XVIII.</HEAD>
<P N="18">18. IT followes, That a Be|liever, notwith&s;tanding his pardon, is &s;till to put him&s;elfe in his confe&s;&s;ion of &s;in, undre the cur&s;e of the Law, as guilty there|of; <HI>i. e.</HI> to acknowledge him&s;elfe guilty of hell it &s;elfe, and eternal damnation, to pre&s;ent him&s;elfe before God with &s;uch a degree and depth of humble devotion, as did <HI>Ezra</HI> in the name of the whole Church, &s;aying to this purpo&s;e, <HI>O Lord the righteous God, I am here before thee in my tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, I can|not &s;tand before thee becau&s;e of my &s;ins.</HI> In &s;uch &s;ort, and with &s;uch acknowledgments of their guilti|ne&s;&s;e the be&s;t among&s;t Gods &s;er|vants and Prophets were wont to make their humble addre&s;&s;es to, and before God. See <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 130.3. <HI>If thou Lord &s;hould&s;t mark iniquities, O Lord, who &s;hall &s;tand?</HI>
<PB N="225" REF="130">and P&s;al. 143. beg. <HI>Enter not into judgment with thy &s;ervant, O Lord, for in thy &s;ight &s;hall no man living be ju&s;tified.</HI> Job 9.2, 3. <HI>How &s;hall man be ju&s;t with God? If hee will contend with him, he cannot an&s;wer him one of a thou&s;and.</HI> Dan. 9.7, 8 <HI>Daniel</HI> him&s;elf doth there acknow|ledg, <HI>That confu&s;ion of face doth belong unto him; i. e.</HI> was de&s;erved by him, or did belong unto him, in his own pure and proper de&s;er|ving. So that every &s;inner, whe|ther pardoned, or not pardoned, &s;o long as he lives on earth, is to confe&s;&s;e to God his de&s;ert or guil|tine&s;&s;e to puni&s;hment; yea, could it be proved, that the Saints in heaven do confe&s;&s;e their former &s;ins to God, I would not doubt to affirm, That even they in hea|ven, together with their &s;ins, do al&s;o confe&s;&s;e the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">As that guilt W^c^h is taken off from the &s;inner by a pardon is commonly &s;tiled <HI>Rea|tus poenae;</HI> &s;o that guilt which is never taken off, and of which alone I &s;peak, and would be under&s;tood to &s;peak in this Con&s;ectary, is commonly &s;tiled, <HI>Reatus culpae,</HI> of which &s;ee <HI>Mr. Burges</HI> in his S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">rmons of Ju|&s;tification, <HI>p.</HI> 134. And I think it not ami&s;&s;e to give the Reader to unde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tand, how &s;everal Writers do in &s;everal expre&s;&s;ions declare the difference betwixt <HI>Rea|tus culpae</HI> and <HI>Reatus poenae; e. g.</HI> The former is &s;tiled by &s;ome, <HI>Meritum poenae;</HI> and the latter, <HI>Obligatio ad luendam poenam;</HI> by others the former is &s;tiled, Duene&s;&s;e of puni&s;hment to our &s;ins; the latter, Due|ne&s;&s;e of puni&s;hment to our per&s;ons; which latter is it alone which remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in doth free us from, becau&s;e what is due to our &s;ins is inflicted upon the per&s;on of another; viz. Je&s;us Chri&s;t. By others, the former is &s;tiled Guilt potential, and the latter, Guilt actual.</NOTE> guilt or merit of them, the inward, innate dignity, or de&s;ert of them, or their guilti|ne&s;&s;e of Gods wrath by rea&s;on of them; this kind of guilt being as in&s;eparable from &s;in as heat is from fire.</P>
<PB N="226" REF="131">
<P>I think this inference the rather to be ob&s;erved, not only becau&s;e it is practical, and of frequent u&s;e, but al&s;o becau&s;e of that new mode or model of praying taken up by too too many in the&s;e times, infe|cted with Antinomian leaven, who do &s;o neglect the confe&s;&s;ion of their &s;ins, and the guilt thereof, together with &s;upplication to the Lord for the pardon of them, as if the&s;e were no parts of prayer for a believer, or as if they were anti|quated, and like an old Almanack,
<PB N="227" REF="131">u&s;ele&s;&s;e and out of date. Or if they do make the &s;aid confe&s;&s;ions and &s;upplications, they do but juggle and di&s;&s;emble, &s;aying, (if they be rea&s;oned with) That pray|ing with others, or as the voice of others, it is the &s;in and guilt of the wicked and unbelievers which they confe&s;&s;e, and of which they pray for pardon; but not of their own and of the godly, of the par|don whereof they are already a&s;|&s;ured; faith it &s;elf being in their &s;en&s;e, and according to their A|pocryphal Go&s;pel, nothing el&s;e but a firm beliefe or per&s;wa&s;ion, that all their &s;ins pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, were remitted at once, and that from eternity. The not under&s;tanding the true nature of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, as well where|in it doth not con&s;i&s;t, as wherein it doth con&s;i&s;t (as hath been o|pened and a&s;&s;erted in the Premi&s;es) is a main rea&s;on (as I humbly con|ceive) of the pride and profane|ne&s;&s;e of that &s;ort of people, both in this particular and &s;undry other wayes.</P>
<PB N="228" REF="132">
<P>What I have &s;aid as the ground of this Inference, I would have the Reader to know, That it doth fully agree with what Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> &s;aith in his book of Ju&s;tification, <HI>p.</HI> 29. <HI>Now when &s;in is forgiven, the &s;en&s;e is</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>not that hee is made innocent again, for that can never be helped; but that it mu&s;t be affirmed, &s;uch a one hath &s;inned; this cannot be repaired again.</HI> And therefore if any Reader is not able to reconcile what Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> hath there &s;aid, with what hee &s;aith, <HI>p.</HI> 142. <HI>When God doth pardon &s;in, he takes it away &s;o, as that the par|ty acquitted is no more looked upon as a &s;inner;</HI> All the expre&s;&s;ions a|bout pardon amount to thus much, Even as when one accu&s;ed of theft and murder in the Commonwealth, and is legally acquitted by the Judg, he is no more reputed a Thief or Murderer: Therefore it is a calumny of the Papi&s;ts, as if we held, That a man is a &s;inner after God hath pardoned him. If any one, I &s;ay, cannot reconcile the&s;e &s;ayings with the former, I
<PB N="229" REF="132">would advi&s;e him (if I might be &s;o bold with my betters, to ob&s;erve well what he &s;aith in the former place, and to let that pa&s;&s;e what he &s;aith in the latter pa&s;&s;age. For my owne part, as I mu&s;t profe&s;&s;e my in&s;ufficiency to reconcile Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> to him&s;elfe in the &s;aid pa&s;|&s;ages, and withal my ignorance, that I know no &s;uch calumny of the Papi&s;ts again&s;t us; &s;o (had I known it) I would not have &s;ought by an an&s;wer to have wiped it off; for I am per&s;waded with Mr. <HI>Bur|ges</HI> in <HI>p.</HI> 19. <HI>That a man after God hath pardoned him, is not made inno|cent again;</HI> and if he be not inno|cent again, he is (to my thinking) a &s;inner &s;till, and as we are, &s;o doth God look upon us, for his uner|ring eye &s;ees all things as they are, and not otherwi&s;e; and as for all the expre&s;&s;ions of Scripture about the pardon of &s;in, they do (being rightly under&s;tood and interpre|ted) amount to this; <HI>viz.</HI> That albeit a &s;inner being pardoned, is not thereby made innocent, but is &s;till guilty, and a &s;inner; and al|beit
<PB N="230" REF="133">God doth look upon &s;uch a one as a &s;inner, and as guilty; <HI>viz</HI> in the &s;en&s;e afore&s;aid, neverthele&s;s God of his &s;uperabounding grace and mercy, in and for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, doth not deal with &s;uch a one ac|cording to his &s;in and guilt, or me|rit. To this &s;en&s;e, and no more, do I take that of the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> to amount, which is one of the highe&s;t expre&s;&s;ions touching the pardon of &s;in that we read of in the Scripture, <HI>chap.</HI> 50.20. <HI>In tho&s;e dayes and at that time, &s;aith the Lord, The iniquity of I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;ought for, and there &s;hall be none; and the &s;ins of Judah, and they &s;hall not be found; for I will pardon them.</HI> This expre&s;&s;ion, I &s;ay, is Tanta|mount (as I think) but this, That God will in his great mercy &s;o deal with his Church&punc; as if &s;he had been innocent, or as if &s;he had not tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>The whole of this inference is grounded on what was afore&s;aid concerning the nature of for|givene&s;&s;e of &s;in, wherein it doth not con&s;i&s;t; <HI>viz.</HI> Not in ma|king
<PB N="231" REF="133">a &s;inner to be no &s;inner, or a a guilty per&s;on not guilty, as in the &s;en&s;e afore&s;aid.</P>
<P>The next Inference will bee grounded upon what was &s;aid con|cerning the obligation of a &s;inner to hell and damnation, being ta|ken off not ab&s;olutely in this life, but conditionally; <HI>viz.</HI> upon con|dition of their per&s;everance in the faith.</P>
<P>But in the clo&s;e of this Con&s;e|ctary, let me informe the Reader, how that &s;ince I wrote this Exer|citation, I have read Mr. <HI>Wottons</HI> learned Book, <HI>De Reconciliatione,</HI> as al&s;o Mr. <HI>Pembles</HI> book of <HI>Ju&s;tifi|cation,</HI> in both which I find the truth of that which Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> doth &s;ay, and of which I was ig|norant before; <HI>viz</HI> That the Papi&s;ts do charge us for a&s;&s;erting, That a &s;inner after pardon doth remain a &s;inner. And I find, that Mr. <HI>Pemble</HI> doth endeavour to wipe off that imputation, by &s;aying <HI>That &s;in is pardoned both in the guilt and in the fault:</HI> In which an&s;wer of his I am very much di&s;&s;atisfied,
<PB N="232" REF="134">having afore proved, That the re|mi&s;&s;ion of the fault, is the remi&s;|&s;ion of the very puni&s;hment; or that the remi&s;&s;ion of the pun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h|ment is wholly and &s;olely that wherein the remi&s;&s;ion of the fault doth con&s;i&s;t; the remi&s;&s;ion of the fault and puni&s;hment not being two things di&s;tinct, but exactly one and the &s;ame: &s;o that where|&s;oever wee read in Gods Word concerning the remi&s;&s;ion of our faults, or &s;ins, we are to under&s;tand thereby, the remi&s;sion of the pu|ni&s;hment due to our &s;aid faults or &s;ins.</P>
<P>The phra&s;e, <HI>[To be looked upon as a &s;inner,]</HI> is indeed an ambi|guous phra&s;e, implying (accor|ding to the u&s;ual di&s;tinction of Gods &s;ight, or &s;ight in God it be|ing taken either <HI>in &s;en&s;u &s;implici,</HI> or <HI>in &s;en&s;u connotativo</HI>) either Gods bare or meer intuitive &s;ight, and beholding us as &s;inners; or el&s;e his dealing with us as &s;inners: in which latter &s;en&s;e it is mo&s;t true, That God doth not look upon a &s;inner pardoned as a &s;inner (for
<PB N="233" REF="134">then he &s;hould look upon him as not pardoned; &s;ince Gods pardon is his not dealing with a &s;inner as a &s;inner; <HI>i. e.</HI> according to his de&s;ert by &s;in;) and for this rea&s;on I do allow, and not quarrel with the fore&s;aid expre&s;sion, it being al&s;o an expre&s;&s;ion very neer to Scrip|ture: but in the former re&s;pect God doth look upon him as a &s;in|ner, for otherwi&s;e he &s;hould not look upon him as pardoned, it be|ing impo&s;&s;ible, <HI>ex natur&acirc; rei</HI> ei|ther for God or man in this &s;en&s;e to look upon any per&s;on as pardo|ned, and not as a &s;inner; for &s;till where there is pardon there mu&s;t be<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Sin is the <HI>res &s;ub&s;tra|cta</HI> to par|don.</NOTE> &s;in, el&s;e a per&s;on were not in a capacity of pardon.</P>
<P>Now as I am not &s;atisfied with Mr. <HI>Pembles,</HI> &s;o neither with Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> his an&s;wer to the fore&s;aid imputation of the Papi&s;ts, the one &s;aying, <HI>That both the fault or guilt is taken away by pardon;</HI> and the other granting, that wee hold, <HI>That a &s;inner is not a &s;inner after God hath pardoned him;</HI> which I for my part cannot &s;ee rea&s;on to
<PB N="234" REF="135">grant, becau&s;e (as hath been be|fore proved) the effect of pardon is not to make a &s;inner no &s;inner, but not to deal with him as a &s;in|ner, or in the phra&s;e of the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103.10. <HI>Not to deal with him after his &s;ins, or to reward him ac|cording to his iniquities.</HI> I doubt that &s;ome will &s;harply cen&s;ure, and almo&s;t be imbittered again&s;t me for thus &s;canning the words of &s;uch mo&s;t learned and godly men, (with whom, 'tis true, I am not worthy to be named the &s;ame day) and will prophecy concerning me, That I &s;hall be &s;ure to have the &s;ame mea&s;ure from others, in having all my words and &s;enten|ces &s;cann'd to purpo&s;e; but my own heart witne&s;&s;ing to me, That I do ble&s;&s;e and magnifie the name of God for tho&s;e men and their excellent Labours, from whom in &s;ome things I do expre&s;&s;e my di&s;|&s;ent, and that I do endeavour, <HI>expi&s;cari veritatem,</HI> to find out the truth with all due re&s;pect, and in another &s;en&s;e, without any re|&s;pect to per&s;ons; I am hopeful,
<PB N="235" REF="135">that the mo&s;t of my reverend and learned brethren in the Mini&s;try will not hold me guilty, e&s;pecially when I &s;hall profe&s;&s;e before the world (even as I now do by the&s;e pre&s;ents;) <HI>viz.</HI> That if there bee any man who &s;hall evidence that to be currant and ju&s;tifiable, wher|in I do declare my di&s;&s;ent or di&s;|&s;atisfaction, I &s;hall not in any mea&s;ure (by the grace of God) be offended at the di&s;covery of Truth, though thereby, and therewithal my owne weakne&s;&s;e of judgement bee di&s;covered al|&s;o.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="26" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVI.</HI> That a Believer during his war|fare on earth, is to fear Hell and damnation; why, and how proved and manife&s;ted; as al&s;o cleered in the way of an|&s;wer to &s;everal Objections,
<PB N="236" REF="136">notwith&s;tanding the Doctrine of Per&s;everance of the Saints be acknowledged; in an&s;wer to which objections, the con|&s;i&s;tency and co-operation of the love of God, and the fear of God is proved. What man|ner of fear it is that love doth expel, and what manner of fear it is that love doth retain declared: Notwith&s;tanding, that Believers are re&s;trained by the love of God, yet that God doth u&s;e &s;everal other means whereby to con&s;traine; <HI>i. e.</HI> effectually to induce them, proved: and what tho&s;e &s;everal means are, &s;pecified more at large. The con&s;i|&s;tency and co-operation of faith and fear, maintained and proved. That filial and &s;lavi&s;h fear do not d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ffer in their object matter, or in the thing feared, but in the man|ner
<PB N="237" REF="136">of fearing, a&s;&s;erted, and how, proved and cleered by a due interpretation of that Scripture in <HI>Luke 1.74.</HI> The difference betwixt fear as it is the fruit of the &s;pirit of bon|dage, and as a fruit of the Spirit of Adoption, opened and a&s;&s;erted.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XIX.</HEAD>
<P N="19">19. IT follows, That a per&s;on ju&s;tified and pardoned,<NOTE PLACE="marg">As a wick|ed man is to hope for heaven &s;uppo&s;i|tively; <HI>i.e.</HI> if he turne from &s;in, and return to God; &s;o a godly man is to fear hell &s;uppo&s;i|tively; <HI>i.e</HI> if he turne from God, and return to fin.</NOTE> be|lieversthem&s;elvs, &s;o long as they are militant here on earth, are to fear Hell and damnation; namely up|on &s;uppo&s;ition of their Apo&s;tacy and back&s;liding, or unle&s;&s;e they do continue in the doctrine and practice of the faith.</P>
<P>Albeit this inference bee very cleer from the Premi&s;es, and of un|avoidable nece&s;sity, neverthele&s;&s;e I &s;hall be very punctual and co|pious, as well in the proving of it by other Scriptures, as in an|&s;wering
<PB N="238" REF="137">&s;uch Objections as may, or are u&s;ually made again&s;t it by the Antinomians; and this I &s;hall the rather do for the following Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e it is a Truth under much prejudice, and again&s;t which many mi&s;-informed people, e&s;pe|cially the Antinomians, do con|ceive &s;uch indignation of heart, as that upon the hearing thereof from the mouth of any Mini&s;ter, they are ready almo&s;t to rend their cloathes, as the Jewes were wont to do upon the hearing of bla&s;|phemy, crying out again&s;t us, and &s;aying, Away with &s;uch legal Preachers from the Church, it is not fit that they &s;hould live upon the maintenance, or bear the name of Go&s;pel-Mini|&s;ters.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is a truth of concernment, the greater, by how much the contrary Doctrine is of con&s;e|quenc. (as I think) exceeding dan|gerous: for I cannot ea&s;ily think any opinion more dangerous for a Chri&s;tian to entertain then
<PB N="239" REF="137">this; <HI>viz.</HI> That he is to live alto|gether without the fear of hell, as being in no po&s;&s;ible danger there|of. I read of &s;ome in the&s;e times (particularly of one <HI>Coppin,</HI> who preaching frequently in the&s;e parts, as in &s;everal other Countyes in the Land, hath gathered of the profane &s;ort of people &s;undry Di|&s;ciples after him) who do hold, that there is<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">This appears by &s;everal Pamphlets in print under the name of <HI>Rich. Cop|pin.</HI></NOTE> no Re&s;urrection, no day of Judgment, no Salvation, no Damnation, no Heaven, nor Hel, but what is in this life. Next to the belief of this, [That there is no hell after death,] I hold this opinion or belief to be mo&s;t dan|gerous; <HI>viz.</HI> That a Chri&s;tian, af|ter he is once a true Believer, is in no danger at all of hell, and is not therefore in any &s;ort to entertaine the fear of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. As the danger is very great, &s;o it is very common; for we &s;ee in experience, how ordinary it is with the Antinomians to ca&s;t off all fear, and that which &s;hould cau&s;e fear; <HI>viz.</HI> the threatnings of God in Scripture, as not at all,
<PB N="240" REF="138">or in any &s;en&s;e concerning them. As it is the profe&s;&s;ion of &s;ome in the&s;e times to live above all Ordi|nances and all Scripture, even e|very part of Gods Word, &s;o it is the profe&s;&s;ion of the Antinomians, though not to live above all Ordi|nances and all Scriptures, yet to live above all the thereatnings of Scripture, and above all the cur&s;es and comminations of the Word of God, in &s;o much that as God laid it to the charge of his <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of old, that he had written unto them the <HI>great things of his Law, but they accounted them as a &s;trange thing,</HI> Ho&s;. 8.12. So may it bee &s;aid of the Antinomians, with re|&s;pect to the comminations of the Word, God hath written unto them the grand threatnings of his Law, and they look upon them as &s;trange things; as things &s;trange to them, becau&s;e in no &s;ort (as they think) concerning them, or writ|ten as intended for them, but only for the wicked, who are actually under the cur&s;e. This their pra|ctice is &s;o much the more dange|rous,
<PB N="241" REF="138">becau&s;e as to live above one part [the threatnings] of the Word is, a ready way to live above another part [the Precepts] of the Word; &s;o many of tho&s;e Argu|ments whereby they plead to de|fend their practice in ca&s;ting off the threatnings of Scripture as u&s;ele&s;&s;e to them, will by their di|rect con&s;equence lead them to ca&s;t off both Precepts and Promi&s;es as u&s;ele&s;s al&s;o.</P>
<P>Now for the proof the Point, let th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> following particulars be con&s;i|dered.</P>
<P N="1">1. That God doth no le&s;&s;e threaten the godly them&s;elves with hell and damnation, if they fall away from their goodne&s;&s;e, then hee doth the wicked if they continue in their wickedne&s;&s;e. See for this<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">My in|tent in quoting tho&s;e Scrip|tures is not as that of the Re|mon&s;trants to prove the Apo&s;tacy of the Saints; but to prove that God doth threaren them, that if they do as others do, they &s;hall &s;o &s;uffer as others &s;uffer; which they are to be|lieve, or to make account of, and acordingly to fear.</NOTE> <HI>Ezek.</HI> 18.24. 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 28.9. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.13. <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.38, 39. <HI>Matth.</HI> 6.15. Not to tran&s;cribe
<PB N="242" REF="139">the fore cited places at length, we do perceive plainly therein, that in ca&s;e the godly do fall from their righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, do for&s;ake God, do live after the fle&s;h, do draw back, do not forgive one another their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, God will not par|don them, will have no plea&s;ure in them, wil ca&s;t them off for ever. Yea, I am per&s;waded, that upon &s;earch of Scripture it will be found that the mo&s;t terrible threatnings of all other are directed to the Saints, and the mo&s;t fearful things that are threatned to any are threatned to them, in ca&s;e of their not per&s;evering in the faith. For which &s;ee <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.4, 5, 6. and 10.26 27. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.20, 21.</P>
<P N="2">2 Con&s;ider to what end God doth &s;o threaten them, or direct the &s;aid threatnings to them. And to a Que&s;tion of that nature pro|pounded, I an&s;wer,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. To be|get the faith.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The fear of them.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. To beget in the Saints a be|lief of the &s;aid Threatnings, or that they might believe them: for
<PB N="243" REF="139">God is to bee believed in all his &s;ayings, of what nature &s;oever they be, or whatever the contents there of are, the truth of God being a|like in all his &s;ayings. It is no le&s;s the duty of the godly to believe God in what he threatens to them, then of the wicked to believe God in what he threatens to them; ac|cording to the pattern of the men of <HI>Nineveh,</HI> of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>That in what was threatned by Jo|nah they believed God.</HI> Jonah 3.5. And according to the pattern of <HI>Noah,</HI> who believed Gods threat|ning the world with a univer&s;al deluge, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.7.</P>
<P>Briefly, As the I&s;raelites were to hear the cur&s;es of the Law de|nounced upon Mount <HI>Ebal,</HI> as wel as the ble&s;&s;ings thereof pronoun|ced upon Mount <HI>Gerizim,</HI> and were to &s;ay <HI>Amen</HI> to the former as well as to the latter, &s;o the godly are to affix their <HI>Amen,</HI> or to put their Seal of Faith unto the Threat|nings as well as to the Promi&s;es of the Word, when&s;oever they read or hear them; yea, they are as
<PB N="244" REF="140">well to read and hear the Threat|nings as the Promi&s;es of Scripture with an applicative faith; <HI>i.e</HI> look in what &s;ort, or &s;en&s;e, in what ca&s;es, or upon what &s;uppo|&s;itions God doth denounce his threatnings again&s;t them, in &s;uch ca&s;es, or upon &s;uch &s;uppo&s;itions they are to apply the cur&s;es and threatnings of God to their owne &s;ouls, no le&s;&s;e then in other re&s;pects or upon other &s;uppo&s;itions they are to apply the Promi&s;es of the Word; all Scripture (Threatnings as well as Promi&s;es) being written for the learning of the godly. And accordingly we find that the Saints have applyed the cur&s;es and com|minations of the Word to them|&s;elves. <HI>Heb.</HI> 2 3. <HI>How &s;hall we e|&s;cape</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Paul</HI>) <HI>if we neg|lect &s;o great Salvation?</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.16. <HI>Wo is me</HI> (&s;aith the &s;ame A|po&s;tle) <HI>if I preach not the Go&s;pel.</HI> 2 John 8. <HI>Look to your &s;elves, that we lo&s;e not the things which we have wrought.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 To beget fear in them. As the immediate end of Gods Pro|mi&s;es
<PB N="245" REF="140">is to beget hope, &s;o the im|mediate end of his Threatnings is to beget fear; the &s;ubject of the one (good things) being the pro|per object of Hope; and the &s;ub|ject of the other (evil things) be|ing he proper object of Feare. This fear is commanded the Saints in &s;undry Scriptures, <HI>Heb:</HI> 12.28, 29. <HI>Let us have grace to &s;erve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear</HI> Andle&s;t any man &s;hould think, that it is not the property of a god|ly man (who is de&s;igned for heaven, or to receive a Kingdom that can|not be&s;haken) to fear Hel, as if &s;uch afear could not be a godly fear; ob|&s;erve therefore the Apo&s;tles rea|&s;on, <HI>For our God is a con&s;uming fire.</HI> It is a Threatning taken out of the Old Te&s;tament, which the Apo&s;tle, a Go&s;pel Mini&s;ter, did not &s;cruple to apply to New Te&s;ta|ment Believers <HI>Deut.</HI> 4.24. See al&s;o <HI>Heb.</HI> 4 1. <HI>Let us therefore fear le&s;t a Promi&s;e being left us of enter|ing into his re&s;t, any of you &s;hould &s;eem to come &s;ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">t of it: q.d.</HI> As in every Threatning there is vertual|ly
<PB N="246" REF="141">a Promi&s;e (for he that expre&s;|&s;eth, <HI>Who&s;oever believeth not &s;hall be damned;</HI> doth imply in the way of Promi&s;e, <HI>He that believeth &s;hall be &s;aved;</HI>) &s;o in every Promi&s;e there is vertually a Threatning (he that promi&s;eth, <HI>Who&s;oever endures to the end &s;hall be &s;aved,</HI> doth im|plicitely threaten, <HI>That tho&s;e who do not endure to the end &s;hall be dam|ned.</HI>) Let us therefore feare, left &s;uch a &s;aid Promi&s;e (vertually con|taining a Threatning) being left unto us, any of us &s;hould fall &s;hort of it. See al&s;o <HI>Luke</HI> 12.4, 5. where Chri&s;t doth command his Di&s;ciples to fear God becau&s;e of Hell; I &s;ay, becau&s;e of Hell: for that de&s;cription [<HI>Who,</HI> or <HI>which, Which after he hath killed</HI>] is ra|tiocinative, or cau&s;al; <HI>i.e.</HI> it im|ports the rea&s;on or motive of that coun&s;el which Chri&s;t gives his Di|&s;ciples of &s;earing God, to bee his power of ca&s;ting into hell, toge|ther with his plea&s;ure &s;o to do in ca&s;e they &s;hould fear man and not him. The Relative Particle <HI>which,</HI> is not in the Orginal, the Apo&s;tle
<PB N="247" REF="141">expre&s;&s;ing him&s;elf in a Particle of the Pre&s;ent Ten&s;e <HI>[Fear him, ha|ving power.]</HI> Now I think it a good Ob&s;ervation of him that tels us, &s;aying, It is a known proprie|ty of the Greek tongue to import the Rea&s;ons or Grounds of things by their Particles, as in 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5.17.</P>
<P>I &s;hall in the next place apply my &s;elf to make an&s;wer to &s;uch Ob|jections as may be, or u&s;ually are made again&s;t this Truth; <HI>e.g.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 1. <HI>What good Believers do, or what evils they do avoid, they do them, and avoid them out of a prin|ciple of life and love, and not out of fear?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Let it be fir&s;t rightly un|der&s;tood what the meaning of the word <HI>[Life]</HI> is, and what it is to do a thing out of a principle of life; for which purpo&s;e bee it known, That all of us being by nature dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, we are not able to do any good of our &s;elves, no more then a dead man is able to perform the actions of a living man. God mu&s;t quick|en
<PB N="248" REF="142">us by his Holy Spirit, and re|generate us by his grace, before we can do any thing that is good in a &s;piritual and acceptable man|ner as to Salvation; &s;o that to do a thing out of a principle of life, is to do it as one being quickned, re|newed, and regenerated by the &s;anctifying Spirit of God.</P>
<P>Now this being the meaning of that phra&s;e, I an&s;wer, That by the &s;ame rea&s;on that a beliver is &s;aid to do the good hee doth out of a principle of life and love, he may be &s;aid to do it out of a prin|ciple of life and fear: for</P>
<P N="1">1. The love of God, and the fear of God, are not things op|po&s;ite, but con&s;i&s;tent with the &s;ame &s;ubject.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is as well the command of God to a Believer, and con&s;e|quently the duty of a believer to fear God, as to love him; yea, to fear the threatnings of God, as <HI>Jo&s;iah</HI> d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 34.19&punc; 21. I doubt not, but this fear was one part of, or one ingredient into that tenderne&s;s of heart for which that
<PB N="249" REF="142">gracious King is commended, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 34 27.</P>
<P N="3">3. The fear of God is as well a fruit of Chri&s;ts holy Spirit as is the love of God; for the <HI>fruit of the Spirit is in all goodne&s;&s;e,</HI> Eph. 5.11. which Spirit is therefore &s;ti|led, <HI>the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, I&s;at.</HI> 11.2.</P>
<P N="4">4. The fear of God is as well a qualification of that &s;ervice which we owe and do to God, as is the love of God. P&s;al. 2.11. <HI>Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoyce with trembling.</HI> Hebr. 12.28 <HI>Let us have grace to &s;erve God accepta|bly with reverence and godly fear.</HI></P>
<P>Obj. 2. <HI>Believers are to fear God and his goodne&s;s,</HI> Ho&s;. 3.5. (The chil|dren of I&s;rael &s;hal fear the Lord and his goodne&s;s.) <HI>They are to fear God and his Commandments,</HI> Ezra 10.3. (Let us make a Covenant ac|cording to the coun&s;el of my Lord, and of tho&s;e that tremble at the Commandments of our God) <HI>and therefore they are not to fear God and his threatnings, wreth, our&s;e.</HI></P>
<PB N="250" REF="143">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The things which are con&s;i&s;tent are therefore not to be oppo&s;ed, but compo&s;ed; and what God hath joyned in his Word, we are to keep together, and by no means to put a&s;under. Be it known therefore, that as God is <GAP DESC="foreign">; as God (I &s;ay) is <HI>Maximus,</HI> as well as <HI>Optimus,</HI> The great, righteous, and terrible Lord God, <HI>Dan.</HI> 9.4. <HI>Nehem</HI> 9.32 as well as a good and gracious Fa|ther; &s;o is he to be dreaded in re|gard of his power, wrath, judge|ments, as well as to be feared or loved in regard of his goodne&s;s, pity, kindne&s;&s;e: Yea, one &s;pecial rea&s;on why a Saint doth tremble, and is to tremble at the command|ments of God, is becau&s;e of the wrath, power, and ju&s;tice of God, (they being the Commandments of that Law-giver, who alone is able to &s;ave and to de&s;troy, <HI>James</HI> 4.12. and they being Command|ments not without a Sanction; <HI>i.e.</HI> comminations of terror annexed to them, which God in Ju&s;tice is obli|ged to execute.)</P>
<PB N="251" REF="143">
<P>And that it is the duty of belie|vers not only to fear God, becau&s;e of his goodne&s;s, but moreover becau&s;e of his wrath, and the cur&s;e, may be undoubtedly pro|ved.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e they are upon this ground commanded, or for this rea&s;on in&s;tigated, and urged to feare him, as was before &s;aid out of <HI>Luke</HI> 12.4, 5. <HI>Hebr.</HI> 12.28, 29.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e God doth no le&s;&s;e threaten them then he doth any others with wrath and judgment, in ca&s;e of their Apo&s;tacy, as was before proved; the end of the &s;aid threatnings being to beget fear in the Saints, God thereby intima|ting not onely what is in his power to do, but moreover what is his plea&s;ure actually to do in the &s;aid ca&s;es, or upon the &s;aid &s;uppo&s;itions of their A|po&s;ta&s;ie.</P>
<P N="3">3. Becau&s;e the Saints, who have in this &s;ort &s;tood in awe of God, are commended in Scripture, and their examples recorded for our i|mitation.
<PB N="252" REF="144">See the example of <HI>Da|vid</HI> and <HI>Job,</HI> P&s;al. 119.120. <HI>My fle&s;h trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments.</HI> Job 31&punc; 23 <HI>For de&s;truction from the Lord was a terror to me. Job</HI> was a man mo&s;t eminently pious (as appears by the te&s;timony of God him&s;elf, both in that book and el&s;e|where, <HI>Ezek</HI> 14 14.) yet one thing which re&s;trained him from evil, was the terror of de&s;truction from the Lord. See al&s;o 2 <HI>Cor</HI> 5.11 <HI>Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, wee per&s;wade men.</HI></P>
<P>Obj. 3 <HI>Perfect love ca&s;teth out fear, becau&s;e feare hath tor|ment</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. There is no Chri&s;tians love here &s;o perfect as utterly and altogether to ca&s;t out fear, for &s;o long as we are in the fle&s;h we &s;hall not be free from fear: though at the day of Judgement love being perfected, will ca&s;t out all fear, as &s;aith the Apo&s;tle there.</P>
<P N="2">2. By fear the e is meant only a tormenting fear, or fear &s;o far forth as it hath torment in it, as is evi|dent
<PB N="253" REF="144">by the Apo&s;tles explication of him&s;elf. Now though the fear of hell, as that which a man is a|ctually obliged to &s;uffer, <HI>[rebus &s;ic &s;tantibus,]</HI> be indeed a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Of this fear &s;ee <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.15. There bee tho&s;e who do under|&s;tand, that torment|ing feare which per|fect love is &s;aid to ca&s;t out, to bee that carnal fear of men, and dangers, by means of which, we do as <HI>Peter</HI> did, chu&s;e rather to deny Chr&s;t, and &s;in again&s;t God, rather then expre&s;&s;e our love by &s;uffering for him. And this Intepr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tation is not improbable, as will appear by comparing that in 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.18. with 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.7.</NOTE> tormenting thing, yet what torment is there to a Believer, being actually di&s;|charged or di&s;obliged from the cur&s;e, neverthele&s;&s;e to fear it in ca&s;e of his Apo&s;ta&s;ie? Was Saint <HI>Paul</HI> tormented with fear when he &s;aid, <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape if wee neglect &s;o great &s;alvation?</HI> or when he &s;aid, <HI>I keep under my body, and bring it into &s;ubjection, le&s;t that by a|ny means when I have preached to o|thers, I my &s;elf &s;hould be a ca&s;t away or a Reprobate?</HI> Or was Saint <HI>Pe|ter</HI> tormented with fear, or was it his intent to torture the Saints with fear, by telling them, <HI>That God will without re&s;pect of per&s;ons judge righteou&s;ly?</HI> and that the <HI>latter end of Apo&s;tates will bee wor&s;e then the beginning?</HI> They on|ly
<PB N="254" REF="145">will account this torment, who do judg it a torment to be curbed from their &s;ins, or re&s;trained from following of their lu&s;ts: of which torment, &s;ee <HI>Rev.</HI> 11.10.</P>
<P N="3">3. True love will, till the fle&s;h be ca&s;t out, pre&s;erve this fear for its a&s;&s;i&s;tant and fellow helper, two being better then one, according to that Proverb of <HI>Solomon. Eccl.</HI> 4.9. Sure I am, that the love of God is never otherwi&s;e then in conjunction with true love to our &s;elves: and as &s;ure I am, that if a|ny one &s;hould under pretence of perfecting his love to God, endea|vour to ca&s;t off all fear of his judg|ments in ca&s;e of Apo&s;ta&s;ie, hee &s;hould therein ca&s;t off the true love of him&s;elf, as taking therein a ready way to prove the de&s;troy|er of him&s;elf, neglecting one way or means which God hath appoin|ted him for the pre&s;erving of him|&s;elf. I think it well &s;aid by him, who&s;oever he be that &s;aid it, <HI>The fle&s;h would &s;oon make Love a wanton and intice her unto Folly, did not Fear help to di&s;&s;olve the inchant|ments,
<PB N="255" REF="145">and protect her Cha&s;tity.</HI> A Chri&s;tian that would be &s;afe in|deed, mu&s;t put on the whole Ar|mour of God (not &s;ome pieces on|ly) among which I doubt not to &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 32.40. Heb. 12.28, 29</NOTE> is the fear of damnation, as well as the hope of Salvati|on.</P>
<P>Object. 4. <HI>The love of God, and not the fear or cur&s;e of God, doth con&s;train a Believer to do his duty.</HI> 2 Cor. 5.14. <HI>The love of God con|&s;traineth us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Here again I an&s;wer, as before; <HI>viz.</HI> That we are not to oppo&s;e things compatible and con&s;i&s;tent, &s;uch as are the love of God, and the feare of divine wrath, in oppo&s;ing whereof the Antinomians do u&s;ually erre, as tho&s;e who do endeavour to &s;et di&s;cord betwixt brethren.</P>
<P>Know then, That as a Believer is con&s;trained by the love of God, &s;o moreover by the wrath of God is he con&s;trained; <HI>i.e.</HI> &s;trongly, powerfully, and effectually indu|ced to do his duty; and for proof hereof we need go no further &s;ave
<PB N="256" REF="146">to look back upon what the Apo|&s;tle &s;aith in the ver&s;e next &s;ave two precedent, <HI>Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we per&s;wade men.</HI> It being the very &s;cope of the A|po&s;tle both in that ver&s;e and in the foregoing ver&s;e to declare with what Arguments, among others, he was moved, or impelled unto faithfulne&s;&s;e in di&s;charge of his Mini&s;try and Apo&s;tle&s;hip (which the fal&s;e Apo&s;tles in the Church of <HI>Corinth</HI> did traduce;) <HI>viz.</HI> the con&s;ideration of the reward of life and death, heaven and hel, at the great day of Judgment.</P>
<P N="2">2. By the &s;ame rea&s;on that the Antinomians &s;ay, that threatnings are need-nots, and u&s;ele&s;&s;e to be|lievers, [<HI>Becau&s;e</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>the love of Chri&s;t con&s;traineth them to du|ty;</HI>] Why may they not infer, That Precepts, Promi&s;es, Exhor|tations, their owne vowes and Covenants, are need nots and u&s;e|le&s;&s;e al&s;o? So dangerous a thing it &s;eems to me for any one to pro|fe&s;&s;e to live above any piece or part of Gods Word: for as un|faithfulne&s;s
<PB N="257" REF="146">in a lsttle is the direct way unto faithfulne&s;s in much; &s;o the ca&s;ting off of one Ordinance, or one part of the Scripture, is the ready way to ca&s;t off all Scripture and all Ordinances.</P>
<P N="3">3 The very truth is this; The only wi&s;e God (who knowes our frame, both our natural and our &s;piritual frame; <HI>i.e.</HI> how that we con&s;i&s;t of bodies and &s;oul, of fle&s;h and &s;pirit) did &s;ee it needful in his manifold wi&s;dome to u&s;e manifold and multiforme meanes and Argu|ments (for which the Saints, who know the &s;trength of their cor|ruptions from within, and the va|riety of &s;trong temptations from without, cannot but be thankful,) whereby to keep believers in the &s;tate of grace and in acour&s;e of life becoming the Go&s;pel, that &s;o they may not mi&s;s the end of their faith; <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls.</P>
<P>And here I &s;hall think it not in|expedient, but behooful rather, to enumerate and &s;pecifie &s;everal of tho&s;e means; <HI>e.g.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1 Exhortations and commands
<PB N="258" REF="147">to &s;tand fa&s;t, to continue and per|&s;evere. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.13. <HI>Watch ye, &s;tand fa&s;t in the faith.</HI> 1 Cor. 15.58. <HI>Be yee &s;tedfa&s;t, unmoveable. Acts</HI> 13.43. and 14.22. 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 2.13, 14, 15.</P>
<P N="2">2. Admonitions of &s;everall &s;orts.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 Admonitions with re&s;pect to the end; <HI>viz.</HI> Apo&s;ta&s;ie, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.17. <HI>Yee therefore Beloved, &s;eeing yee know the&s;e things before, beware, le&s;t ye al&s;o being led away with the errour of the wicked fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e.</HI> 1 Cor. 10.12. <HI>Let him that thinketh he &s;tandeth take heed le&s;t he fall.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Admonitions with re&s;pect to the means leading to Apo&s;ta&s;ie, or to the avoiding of all &s;uch things as will endanger their per&s;eve|rance; <HI>e.g.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1 The avoiding all occa&s;ions of &s;in, and more e&s;pecially the com|pany of the wicked, and of all Se|ducers; for which read the fol|lowing Scriptures, with the like; <HI>Prov.</HI> 23.31. and 1.15 and 4.14. <HI>Deut.</HI> 7.3, 4, 25. <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.4. <HI>Rom.</HI>
<PB N="259" REF="147">16.17. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.3, 4, 5. 1 <HI>John</HI> 4. <HI>beg.</HI> and 1.2, 26. Yea, God hath told us before hand, that unle&s;&s;e we are careful to &s;hun the meanes of Apo&s;ta&s;ie, we &s;hall not per&s;e|vere but back&s;lide, <HI>Deut.</HI> 7.3, 4. <HI>Neither &s;halt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou &s;halt not give unto his &s;on, nor his daugh|ter &s;halt thou take unto thy &s;on; for they will turne away thy &s;on from following me.</HI> To this purpo&s;e is that proverbial &s;aying among the Jewes con&s;iderable, <HI>A little leven leveneth the whole lump,</HI> 1 Cor. 5.6 <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.9.</P>
<P N="2">2. As the direct way to Apo|&s;ta&s;ie, the Saints are admoni&s;hed of pride, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.20. <HI>Be not high minded, but fear.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 A third means which God u&s;eth towards the per&s;everance of the Saints is the promi&s;e of reward unto all tho&s;e who are faithful to the end&punc; See for this purpo&s;e, <HI>Revel.</HI> 2.10. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.58. <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.7, 8. where, to tho&s;e who are faithful to death, who are &s;tedfa&s;t unmoveable, abounding in well-doing,
<PB N="260" REF="148">who by patient continu|ance in well doing, &s;eek for glory, honour and immortality, there is promi&s;ed a crown of life, and that life eternal.</P>
<P N="4">4 Threatnings of hell and damnation, in ca&s;e they fall off, Prov. 14.14. <HI>The back&s;lider in heart &s;hall be filled with his owne wayes,</HI> 2 Pet. 2.20, 21. <HI>If after they have e&s;caped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Chri&s;t Je&s;us, they are again entangled therein, and over|come; the latter end is wor&s;e with them then the beginning: For it had been better for them not to have knowne the way of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, then.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="5">5 God commands them to oblige them&s;elves by Oathes, Vowes, and frequent renewing of their Covenant with him. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 76.11. <HI>Vow unto the Lord, and pay:</HI> The making and keeping of our Vowes, is confe&s;&s;edly a moral du|ty, and perpetually obliging by vertue of the third Command|ment. To this purpo&s;e God re|quires
<PB N="261" REF="148">us frequently to receive the Lords Supper, as that Ordinance, whereby the Covenant betwixt God and us is &s;ealed.</P>
<P N="6">6. In order to pre&s;erve the Saints from Apo&s;ta&s;ie God doth propound and &s;et before them Ex|amples, and that of both &s;orts, as well &s;uch as they are to fly, as &s;uch as they are to fol|low.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Examples for their imita|tion, as of Chri&s;t him&s;elfe; and o|ther of the Saints that have gone before us, and held out to the end both in doing and &s;uffering of Gods will, which we are expre&s;ly call'd on to imitate. <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.12. <HI>Be ye followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the Pro|mi&s;es.</HI> Heb. 12.1, 2. <HI>Being compa&s;|&s;ed about with &s;uch a cloud of wit|ne&s;&s;es, let us lay a&s;ide every weight, and the &s;in that doth &s;o ea&s;ily be&s;et us, and let us run with patience the race that is &s;et before us, looking unto Je|&s;us the Authour and Fini&s;her of our faith, who for, &amp;c.</HI> Hebr. 13.7. <HI>Remember them who have the rule o|ver
<PB N="262" REF="149">you, who have &s;poken unto you the Word of God, who&s;e faith fol|low, con&s;idering the end of their con|ver&s;ations.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Examples for their admo|nition, among which we have the examples both of particular per|&s;ons, as al&s;o of whole Townes, Ci|ties, and Nations. Thus doth Saint <HI>Paul</HI> admoni&s;h <HI>Timothy</HI> of Apo&s;ta&s;ie by the example of <HI>Hy|meneus</HI> and <HI>Alexander,</HI> 1 Tim. 1.18, 19. <HI>Holding faith and a good con&s;cience, which &s;ome having put away concerning faith, have made &s;hipwrack, of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander.</HI> Thus likewi&s;e doth he warne every one that pro|fe&s;&s;eth Chri&s;t, by the example of the Apo&s;ta&s;ie of <HI>Hymeneus</HI> and <HI>Philetus,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Let him that na|meth the name of Chri&s;t depart from iniquity,</HI> 2 Tim. 2.18, 19. Thus are the <HI>Corinthians</HI> admoni&s;hed, by the Apo&s;ta&s;ie and infidelity of the I&s;raelites in the wilderne&s;s, who&s;e example, (as he tells them) <HI>were written for their admonition,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.11, 12. By the like ex|ample
<PB N="263" REF="149">he doth al&s;o admoni&s;h the believing Hebrewes, <HI>ch.</HI> 4. <HI>beg.</HI> And by the fall of the whole nati|on of the Jews, Saint <HI>Paul</HI> doth ad|moni&s;h the believing <HI>Romans,</HI> con|cluding the relation with this ad|monition, <HI>Well, becau&s;e of unbelief they were broken off, and thou &s;tan|de&s;t by Faith: Be not high minded, but fear,</HI> Rom 11.20. Yea, the example of the Apo&s;tate Angels is &s;et before the faithful as a war|ning and admonition, whereby to avoid their &s;inne, and to e|&s;cape their puni&s;hment, <HI>Jude begin.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="7">7 In order to the per&s;everance of the Saints, God doth inflict &s;ometimes very grievous judge|ments.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Upon the wicked, comman|ding the Saints to take warning thereby, that they may hear, and fear, and learne not to &s;in pre&s;ump|tuou&s;ly; <HI>Deut.</HI> 17.13. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.11, 12. This u&s;e did <HI>Nehemiah</HI> per&s;wade the Jewes to make of Gods judgments upon their prede|ce&s;&s;ors, <HI>chap.</HI> 13.18. <HI>Did not our
<PB N="264" REF="150">fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and up|on this City? yet ye bring more wrath upon I&s;rael by profaneing the Sabbath.</HI> The contrary &s;in is laid to the charge of <HI>Judah,</HI> who would not take warning by the &s;ore hand of God upon her Si&s;ter <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> Jer. 3.8. <HI>And I &s;aw, when for all the cau&s;es whereby back&s;liding I&s;rael committed Adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous &s;i&s;ter Judah feared not, but went and plaid the harlot al&s;o.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Upon them&s;elves. This means, <HI>viz.</HI> the rod of correction God doth u&s;e &s;ometimes, whereby to keep the Saints from running the &s;ame exce&s;&s;e of ryot with the wic|ked; by this means, as it were by thornes hedging up the way of &s;in (as is the Prophets phra&s;e, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2 6) but more e&s;pecially to reduce them from their wandrings when they have gone a&s;tray, 1 <HI>Cor</HI> 11.32. I have &s;ome where read or heard of a &s;imilitude very apt for this purpo&s;e, of one re&s;embling
<PB N="265" REF="150">us to Tops, that by meanes of whipping are got up when they are down, and being up are kept going.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="8">8. One maine end of Church Di&s;cipline, of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical cen|&s;ure, as of publick Authoritative ad|monition and excommunication, is, that Believers may &s;tand in aw, and per&s;evere in holine&s;&s;e, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5.20. <HI>Them that &s;in rebuke openly, that others al&s;o may fear.</HI></P>
<P>The Premi&s;es con&s;idered, it ap|pears evidently, that Believers are and are to be con&s;trained, not on|ly by love, but al&s;o by fear, and by the rod of God, <HI>if by any means</HI> (<GAP DESC="foreign">, as is the Apo&s;tles word, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.11.) <HI>they may attain the Re|&s;urrection of the dead, and the &s;al|vation of their &s;ouls.</HI> And &s;urely did not &s;ome men in the&s;e times go a|bout to make them&s;elves wi&s;er then God Almighty, they would rather ble&s;&s;e and magnifie, yea, admire and adore both the wi&s;|dome and goodne&s;&s;e of God (be|coming all things to all men, and to every part of man, both the
<PB N="266" REF="151">old man and the new) in that va|riety of meanes which he u&s;eth for the pre&s;ervation of believers in the &s;tate of grace: I &s;ay, they would rather &s;o do then cry out upon Gods Mini&s;ters as legal Teachers for mixing Threatnings with Pro|mi&s;es, and thereby endeavouring to pre&s;erve the Saints as wel in the fear of the wrath of God, and the cur&s;e, as in the love of God and his goodne&s;s.</P>
<P>Obj. 5. <HI>Believers are pre&s;erved through their faith unto &s;alvation,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.5.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Though Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aies, <HI>That they are pre&s;erved through faith unto &s;alvation,</HI> yet he &s;aith not through faith only, and to in|terpret him exclu&s;ively there is no ground: and here I &s;ay once a|gain as before; <HI>viz:</HI> Tho&s;e gra|ces and vertues which God hath joyned together, wee mu&s;t not make oppo&s;ite one to another, or &s;ever one from another. Though faith and fear are diver&s;e, yet are they not adver&s;e and repug|nant.</P>
<PB N="267" REF="151">
<P>More di&s;tinctly then I an&s;wer,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 That as the Saints are pre&s;er|ved to &s;alvation through their faith, &s;o likewi&s;e through their feare, <HI>Jerem.</HI> 32.40. <HI>I will put my Feare into their hearts, that they &s;hall never depart from me.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. He that rightly under&s;tands him&s;elf in &s;aying, That Believers are pre&s;erved through faith, wil un|der&s;tand how that he doth by ne|ce&s;&s;ary con&s;equence in &s;o &s;aying, imply, That they are pre&s;erved through their fear: for what is the object of faith? is not the whole Word of God? Though I &s;hould grant, That in &s;ome peculiar &s;en&s;e the Promi&s;e is the object of Faith, (in which re&s;pect Saint <HI>Paul</HI> calls the Promi&s;e, <HI>the Word of faith, Rom.</HI> 10.8.) yet who can deny, that the whole Word of God is <HI>Fides objectiva,</HI> or the object of Faith? and con&s;equently, who can deny that Believers are to ex|erci&s;e faith, as well in the threat|nings as in the promi&s;es of the Word? and the &s;cope of God in his threatnings being to beget
<PB N="268" REF="152">faith and fear, as well as in his Promi&s;es to beget faith and hope in his people; who can deny, That Believers are kept to Salvation, as well through faith and fear of the Threatnings of God in his holy Word, as through faith and hope in his promi&s;es.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Con&s;ider, that as the wick|ed have been reclaimed to their duty by faith and fear of Gods threatnings (for which &s;ee the ex|ample of the <HI>Ninevites,</HI> of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>That they believed God, and proclaimed a Fa&s;t,</HI> Jonah 3.5. So the godly have been by the like meanes contained, or retained in their duty, as was made appear by &s;everal in&s;tances before reci|ted, unto which I &s;hall add the example of <HI>Noah,</HI> of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>That he by faith, moved with fear, prepared an Ark for the pre|&s;erving of him&s;elfe and his hou&s;hold,</HI> Heb. 11.7. Ob&s;erve thence as to the purpo&s;e in hand, the&s;e two things:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The conjunction,</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The co|operation of faith and fear.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. Ob&s;erve, That faith in God
<PB N="269" REF="152">as touching his Promi&s;es, and the fear of God as touching his threa|nings, may very well &s;tand to|gether.</P>
<P N="2">2. As Saint <HI>James</HI> &s;aid concer|ning faith and works, (<HI>Chap.</HI> 2.22. <HI>See&s;t thou how faith wrought with his works,</HI>) &s;o I may here &s;ay, concerning faith and fear, See&s;t thou how faith and fear did co|operate to <HI>Noahs</HI> obedience and pre&s;ervation?</P>
<P N="4">4. Be it con&s;idered, that as every Threatning doth imply a Promi&s;e, &s;o every Promi&s;e doth imply a Threatning, as is manife&s;t by that remarkable Scripture <HI>Heb.</HI> 4. <HI>beg.</HI> where the Apo&s;tle in the forgoing Chapter having &s;poken of an expre&s;&s;e threatning [of not <HI>entering into Gods Re&s;t.</HI>] he admo|ni&s;heth them by way of Inference, &s;aying, <HI>Let us therefore fear, le&s;t a Promi&s;e being left us of enter|ing into his Re&s;t, any of you &s;hould &s;eem to come &s;hort of it.</HI> And as the con&s;equence hereof, be it co&s;i|dered in the next place</P>
<P N="5">5 That it is the duty of Gods
<PB N="270" REF="153">Church and people to exerci&s;e not only faith and hope,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1. compared with 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.17, 18.</NOTE> but moreo|ver to exerci&s;e faith and fear even in, or by occa&s;ion of the Promi&s;es of God, con&s;idering that as every Threatning doth imply a Promi&s;e, &s;o every Promi&s;e doth imply a Threatning; &s;o that the word, which is formally a Promi&s;e, is al&s;o implyedly, and vertually a Threatning, and <HI>Vice ver&s;&acirc;,</HI> the Word which is formally a Threat|ning, is implyedly or vertually a Promi&s;e. The ground hereof is this, becau&s;e Gods Promi&s;es and Gods threatnings have alwayes conditions, if not expre&s;&s;ed, at lea&s;t implyed. This <HI>Noah</HI> did ve|ry well under&s;tand, and therefore God having made him a Promi&s;e to pre&s;erve him from the Deluge by means of an Ark, which hee commanded him for that end to prepare, <HI>Noah</HI> is therefore &s;aid by faith, as moved through fear, to have prepared it.</P>
<P>The main cau&s;e which hinders the Antinomians from the &s;ight and acknowledgment of the con&s;i|&s;tency
<PB N="271" REF="153">and co-operation of faith and fear is (as I conceive) becau&s;e they do imagine ju&s;tifying faith to be nothing el&s;e but a per&s;wa&s;ion or a firm belief that Chri&s;t wil unque|&s;tionably &s;ave them, and they are therefore apt to interpret all Scrip|tures, wherein any thing is a&s;cribed unto faith, or &s;aid to be done through faith, or by meanes of &s;aith, unto faith in their &s;aid &s;en&s;e, which is a very gro&s;&s;e error in it &s;elf, and a cau&s;e of much more.</P>
<P>Object. 6. <HI>Believers know that they cannot fall away from grace, be|cau&s;e God hath promi&s;ed as will their per&s;everance in grace, as their crown|ing with glory?</HI> Joh. 13 1. Luke 22 32.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> God who promi&s;eth the end, doth not promi&s;e it to be at|tained ab&s;olutely, or <HI>Quocunque modo;</HI> but with expre&s;&s;e, or at lea&s;t with an implicite reference to the u&s;e of the means; <HI>e. g</HI> God who promi&s;ed to add fifteen yeers to the life of <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> did pro|mi&s;e the &s;ame with reference unto
<PB N="272" REF="154"><HI>Hezekiahs</HI> making u&s;e of all the due means of con&s;erving life, whe|ther by food, phy&s;ick, or other waies, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 20.6, 7.</P>
<P N="2">2 As God who promi&s;eth &s;al|vation (the ultimate end) to the Elect, doth promi&s;e to give them per&s;everance in the faith to that end; even &s;o God, who hath promi&s;ed per&s;everance (the &s;ub|ordinate and &s;ub&s;ervient end) unto the Saints, hath promi&s;ed to give them grace to be diligent in the u&s;e of all &s;uch meanes which he hath appointed as helping and conducing to their per&s;everance: <HI>e. g.</HI> God who hath decreed and pro|mi&s;ed that Believers &s;hal never to|tally and finally depart from him, hath withal decreed and promi&s;ed, that he will put as well his fear as his faith unto them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Note.</NOTE> together with all other graces needful for that purpo&s;e, <HI>Jer.</HI> 32.40.</P>
<P N="3">3. Among other means which God in his Word hath appointed for the per&s;everance of Believers, this is one (as hath been already plentifully proved;) <HI>viz.</HI> The
<PB N="273" REF="154">&s;etting before them the cur&s;e of the Law, even hell it &s;elf as the de&s;ert and certain reward of Apo|&s;ta&s;ie and all Apo&s;tates, which &s;aid danger, who&s;oever &s;hall be fearle&s;s and regardle&s;&s;e of, as &s;uch a per|&s;on doth take a ready cour&s;e to ruine him&s;elf by incurring the dan|ger, &s;o by his &s;aid fearle&s;&s;ene&s;&s;e and regardle&s;ne&s;s he doth give ju&s;t occa&s;ion for him&s;elf and for all o|thers to doubt or que&s;tion, whether he be for pre&s;ent in the number of Gods Elect, to whom the &s;aid Promi&s;es of per&s;everance are made and of whom therefore they &s;hall be verified.</P>
<P N="4">4. Notwith&s;tanding God doth promi&s;e to pre&s;erve Believers in the &s;tate of Grace, he doth never|thele&s;&s;e &s;et before them the dan|ger of Apo&s;ta&s;ie, whereby to cau&s;e them to work out their own &s;alva|tion with fear and trembling. For proof whereof I &s;hall quote &s;everal very remarkable Scriptures. See <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.6 with <HI>ch.</HI> 2.12, 13. notwith|&s;tanding the Apo&s;tle had expre&s;&s;ed his confidence both concerning
<PB N="274" REF="155">their pre&s;ent, and al&s;o their future and final e&s;tate, that the &s;ame God, who had begun a good work, would fini&s;h it untill the day of Chri&s;t; he doth neverthele&s;&s;e ex|hort them, <HI>to work out their owne &s;alvation with fear and trembling.</HI> See <HI>Rev.</HI> 3.10. where albeit God doth promi&s;e to the Church of <HI>Philiadelphia,</HI> that he will infalli|bly pre&s;erve her in the hour of temptation, he doth notwith&s;tan|ding admoni&s;h her of the danger of Apo&s;ta&s;ie, and exhort her to per&s;everance, le&s;t her crowne be taken from her. See the Epi&s;tle of S^t <HI>Jude,</HI> where he doth expre&s;&s;y tell us to what manner of per&s;ons he writes; <HI>viz. To them that are &s;anctified and pre&s;erved in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> ver. 1. yet the &s;aid pre&s;erva|tion notwith&s;tanding, he tels them, that it was needful both for him and them to u&s;e the means of their pre&s;ervation; <HI>ver.</HI> 3. [<HI>Belo|ved</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>when I gave all dili|gence to write unto you of the com|mon &s;alvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort
<PB N="275" REF="155">you,</HI>] and ob&s;erve what means he u&s;eth for that end; <HI>e. g.</HI> He ex|horts them <HI>earne&s;tly to contend for the faith;</HI> he &s;ets before them in &s;undry examples, e&s;pecially that of the Reprobate Angels, the danger of Apo&s;ta&s;ie, that &s;o in them, as in a Looking-gla&s;&s;e, they may behold the fearful end of all Apo&s;tates; and notwith&s;tanding their pre&s;ervation in, or by Chri&s;t, (as &s;ome render the word,) yet doth he exhort them, <HI>to pre&s;erve them&s;elves,</HI> ver. 20, 21. namely, as by a careful heeding, and dili|gent u&s;ing of all the means, which in that Epi&s;tle of his he had pre|&s;cribed to them, &s;o in e&s;pecial, by <HI>con&s;tant prayer to God, and edifying one another,</HI> The word rendred. <HI>Pre|&s;erved,</HI> in <HI>ver.</HI> 1. is <GAP DESC="foreign">, which as Criticks do ob&s;erve, doth properly &s;ignifie to be mo&s;t &s;olici|tou&s;ly kept as under lock and key, as by watch and Ward, as pri&s;on|ers u&s;e to be kept (&s;ee the &s;ame word u&s;ed <HI>Acts</HI> 4.3. and 5.18. and 24.23. and 25.4.) and yet he u|&s;eth the &s;elf &s;ame word in his ex|hortations
<PB N="276" REF="156">unto them, <HI>ver.</HI> 21. <GAP DESC="foreign">, keep your &s;elves as with Watch and Ward; it being the &s;ame word which Saint <HI>John</HI> al&s;o u&s;eth, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5 18. where he tels us, that every one who is born of God doth in &s;uch &s;ort pre&s;erve him&s;elf. See al&s;o 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.8. with 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.13. and 1.6, 9, 10, 11. notwith&s;tanding the Apo&s;tle had told them in the former place, <HI>That the Lord Je&s;us would confirme them to the end, that they might bee blamele&s;&s;e in the day of our Lord.</HI> He doth (I &s;ay) notwith&s;tanding exhort them to &s;tand fa&s;t, and threaten them with the lo&s;&s;e of their inheritance in heaven in their pur&s;uits of any unrighteous way. See al&s;o 2 <HI>John</HI> 2.8. In the &s;econd Ver&s;e Saint <HI>John</HI> tells the Elect Lady and her children, that the Truth which did dwell in them, &s;hould abide with them for ever, &amp; yet doth he admoni&s;h them, &s;aying, <HI>v.</HI> 8. <HI>Look to your &s;elves, that we lo&s;e not the things which we have wrought</HI></P>
<P N="5">5 If becau&s;e God hath promi|&s;ed to Believers, that they &s;hall
<PB N="277" REF="156">per&s;evere in his grace and love, they therefore are to live above all fear of the cur&s;e, and the threatnings of the Word, why are they not by a like rea&s;on to live a|bove all Scriptures, and all Ordi|nances, above all exhortations to per&s;evere, and above all &s;uch ad|monitions again&s;t Apo&s;ta&s;ie which S. <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elf doth give unto &s;uch who were truly &s;anctified, and had received a like precious faith with him&s;elf, &s;aying, (2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.17, 18.) <HI>Ye therefore, Beloved, &s;eeing ye know the&s;e things</HI> (and what tho&s;e things were, among others, &s;ee 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. <HI>beg. and latt. viz.</HI> the fearful end and doom of all Apo|&s;tates) <HI>beware le&s;t ye al&s;o being led away with the errour of the wicked, fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e: But grow in Grace.</HI> &mdash; There be many things which Saint <HI>Peter</HI> writes to the Saints in that Epi&s;tle, for which the Antinomians would charge us (&s;hould we &s;ay the &s;ame things to the Saints) as legal Prea|chers; but I doubt not, but that Saint <HI>Peter</HI> him&s;elf having been a
<PB N="278" REF="157">back&s;lider, having received that <HI>Item</HI> from Chri&s;t, <HI>[Thou being converted &s;trengthen thy brethren,]</HI> was mindful of that very coun&s;el of Chri&s;t given to him, by writing in &s;uch &s;ort as he doth in his Epi|&s;tles, in order to the &s;trengthen|ing and per&s;everance of his bre|thren the believing Jewes, and to their effectual pre&s;ervation from Apo&s;ta&s;ie by what temptations &s;oever.</P>
<P>The great Error of the Antino|mians in things of this nature is, That they &s;eparate the meanes from the end; Chri&s;t from duty, and duty from Chri&s;t, the Spirit from the Word, and the Word from the Spirit.</P>
<P>Obj. 7. <HI>One end of the Redempti|on of Believers from the cur&s;e of the Law, and from all enemies, is, that they &s;hould &s;erve God without fear, as is plainly and</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>a&s;&s;erted.</HI> Luke 1.74.</P>
<P>In untying the knot of this Ob|jection, I &s;hall decline two An|&s;wers,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 I will not di&s;pute or argue,
<PB N="279" REF="157">whether the Greek Adverb, [<GAP DESC="foreign">] being the fir&s;t word in the ver&s;e, ought to be referred to the word <HI>[Serve,]</HI> or to the word, <HI>[Delivered.] Theophylact</HI> joyning it with the Particle [<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>De|liverd,</HI>] and interpreting it <GAP DESC="foreign">; i.e. <HI>Sine ullo no&s;tro pe|riculo; Chri&s;tus enim</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>quie&s;centibus nobis crucifixus e&s;t.</HI> I will &s;peak nothing to argue the probability of the &s;aid reference, and interpretation (Chri&s;t ha|ving delivered or redeemed us without any fear or danger on our parts &s;u&s;tained) but I &s;hall take the words according as they &s;tand in our owne Tran&s;lation, and as they are commonly interpreted by our moderne Di|vines.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. I will decline the u&s;ual di|&s;tinction of fear into filial and &s;er|vile. Yet this I will do,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Not becau&s;e I do di&s;aprove the &s;aid di|&s;tinction;</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Nor becau&s;e I think it not applicable or u&s;eful in the pre&s;ent ca&s;e, and for my pre&s;ent purpo&s;e; but becau&s;e I am well a&s;|&s;ured,
<PB N="280" REF="158">that the difference betwixt the&s;e two &s;orts of fears, is much mi&s;taken by very many: for, whereas it is commonly thought and taught, that filial and &s;ervile fear do differ in their material ob|ject, or have different objects; the object of filial fear being God in the notion of a loving Father, or God and his goodne&s;&s;e and no otherwi&s;e: and the object of &s;er|vile fear being (as they &s;ay) God as a Judge, or God and his ven|geance.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>I mu&s;t crave leave in this place, to give in my opinion to the con|trary, and to a&s;&s;ert, That the&s;e two fears do differ, not in the ob|ject matter, or thing feared, but in the manner of fearing; for the material object even of godly and filial fear, is God <HI>[a con&s;uming fire,]</HI> or the eternal vengeance of God, as well as of &s;ervile fear; as is to me pa&s;t all doubt or contra|diction mo&s;t evident by tho&s;e two Scriptures before cited, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.28, 29. and <HI>Luke</HI> 12.4, 5. A god|ly man, or a child of God, as wel as
<PB N="281" REF="158">a wicked man, or an enemy of God, is to fear hel and damnation, as was before plainly and plentifully pro|ved; and therefore hell and dam|nation mu&s;t needs be the object, as well of filial as of &s;ervile fear. One main difference betwixt the&s;e two fears, I do therefore conceive to be in the manner how tho&s;e dreadful objects are feared, they being in a different manner feared by a &s;on and by a &s;lave, by a godly, and by a wicked man.</P>
<P>The An&s;wer then which I will give to that place of Scripture, &s;hall be by di&s;tingui&s;hing concer|ning a twofold fear, I mean two|fold in re&s;pect of the manner of fearing, as followeth. A man may fear hell and damnation two wayes:</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. As that which he is actually for pre&s;ent obliged to &s;uffer, or as that which he knowes will be|tide him <HI>[rebus &s;ic &s;tantibus,]</HI> in his pre&s;ent &s;tate and condition, or in tho&s;e wayes wherein hitherunto he hath walked, and &s;till doth walk in.</ITEM>
<PB N="282" REF="159">
<ITEM>2 A man may fear hell and damnation, as that from the &s;uffer|ing whereof, albeit for the pre&s;ent he be di&s;charged, as being in the &s;tate of grace, which neverthele&s;&s;e he may and &s;hall &s;uffer, if he abide not in his pre&s;ent &s;tate of Grace, or continue not in that way of holi|ne&s;&s;e wherein he is going. The former kind of fear I may not un|fitly &s;tile a po&s;itive fear, and the latter &s;uppo&s;itive; the one be|ing ab&s;olutely exerci&s;ed, or exer|ted, the other conditionally. The former indeed is that kind of fear which we commonly call <HI>&s;er|vile,</HI> and it is the fruit or effect of the &s;pirit of bondage &s;poken of by Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> as that which the &s;ons of God are delivered from, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.15. and <HI>Heb.</HI> 2 14, 15. None but the &s;laves of Satan and the Divels bondmen are in &s;uch &s;ort to fear hell and damnation. The mean|ing then of that in <HI>Luke</HI> 1.79. is, That Chri&s;t hath delivered us from this po&s;itive fear of evil, or the fearing of evil in this po&s;itive man|ner, it being the &s;cope of <HI>Zachary</HI>
<PB N="283" REF="159">in that his Song, to intimate, that Chri&s;t is indeed <HI>an Horn of &s;alva|tion,</HI> ver. 69. <HI>i. e.</HI> a &s;trong and mighty Saviour, (horn being fre|quently put for &s;trength and effe|ctual defence, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.2.) and con&s;equently, that the redeemed ones of Chri&s;t, whom he hath re|deemed from the &s;ervice of &s;in to the &s;ervice of him&s;elfe, need not in his &s;ervice, or &s;o long as they do continue in ways of his &s;ervice, to fear any enemy what&s;oever. What <HI>Beza</HI> notes upon the place is note-worthy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Batach, <HI>or</HI> Betach, <HI>&s;ig|nifying,</HI> Spem &amp; &s;ecuritatem &amp; cum La|med adver|bia&s;cit, &s;ig|nificans tu|t&ograve;, &s;ecur&egrave;, confidenter. <HI>P&s;al. 4.9. Gen, 34.25. See</HI> S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">bindler.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign"> (&s;aith he) is the &s;ame with the Hebrew, <HI>[Ta|betach]</HI> u&s;ed <HI>Lev</HI> 25.18. and 26 5 which is there rendred, <HI>in &s;afety;</HI> or with the Greek <GAP DESC="foreign">, u&s;ed <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3.12 and there ren|dred, <HI>With confidence;</HI> &s;o that to &s;erve God without fear, is no more then with faith, boldne&s;s, or confidence to build upon the Pow|er, Promi&s;e, Goodne&s;&s;e, Truth, Faithfulne&s;&s;e, and the like Attri|butes of God for &s;afety and de|fence from all enemies what&s;oe|ver, &s;o long as we keep to, or con|tinue
<PB N="284" REF="160">in the wayes of his &s;ervice, God having &s;aid, <HI>Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?</HI> 1 Pet. 3.13. This I &s;ay, is that fear, our deliverance from which is the &s;cope, or one part of our redemption by Je&s;us Chri&s;t; but Chri&s;t did not intend to deliver his Saints in this life from the latter kind of fear, they being &s;o long as they live on earth to fear hell and damnation upon &s;uppo&s;ition of their not continu|ing in his &s;ervice, as was afore &s;aid and proved. As Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ayes to the believing <HI>Romans,</HI> with re|&s;pect to the power, wrath, and vengeance of Gods Vicegerent, [the Magi&s;trate,] &s;o may I &s;ay, unto the be&s;t among the Saints on earth with re&s;pect to the power, wrath, and vengeance of God him|&s;elfe, Wilt thou not be afraid? do that which is good, [for in &s;o doing thou ha&s;t cau&s;e to &s;erve God, <GAP DESC="foreign">, boldly and without fear;] but, If thou do&s;t evil, bee afraid, <HI>Rom.</HI> 13.3, 4.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Briefly, Albeit Believers &s;erving
<PB N="285" REF="160">God, or in their &s;ervice of God, they are to &s;erve him without fear, yet they are to fear, if they do not &s;erve him, or not per&s;i&s;t in his &s;ervice.</P>
<P>Object 8. <HI>Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage to fear again; but ye have received the Spirit of A|doption, whereby we cry, Abba, Fa|ther,</HI> Rom. 8.15.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I have already &s;aid, that the fear of hell as that which a man is actually obliged to &s;uffer, upon the con&s;ideration of his pre|&s;ent e&s;tate and condition, is the effect of the &s;pirit of bondage, and that indeed which &s;ubjects a man unto bondage. But as for that fear of hell, which is only up|on &s;uppo&s;ition of a Saints Apo|&s;ta&s;ie;</P>
<P N="1">1. It is in no &s;ort contrary unto, but it is altogether con&s;i&s;tent with the &s;pirit of Adoption. For
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The adopted children of God are commanded in &s;uch &s;ort to fear hell, as was before pro|ved.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. This kind of fear poth not in
<PB N="286" REF="161">any &s;ort hinder the Saints from crying, <HI>Abba, Father.</HI> The whole family of the Saints on earth, not|with&s;tanding this their fear, can cal God their Father no le&s;&s;e then the family of the Saints in heaven.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="2">2<NOTE PLACE="marg">This is more e&s;pe|cially to be ob&s;erved for the &s;a|tisfaction and right informati|on of tho&s;e who be|cau&s;e they are exerci|&s;ed with doubts and fears, and do want a&s;&s;urance of their &s;al|vation, are apt to con|clude from thence (but un|warranta|bly) that they have not the Spi|rit of A|doption.</NOTE> 2. This fear is not only con&s;i|&s;tent with the Spirit of Adoption. but it is moreover from the Spirit of Adoption; for the Spirit of God (which is in them the Spirit of Adoption) doth dictate to them, and doth dictate in them this very fear. And when I &s;ay, that this fear is not only with the Spirit, but al&s;o from the Spirit of Adoption; I would have it the rather to be ob&s;erved for this rea|&s;on; <HI>viz.</HI> Becau&s;e there may be, and &s;ometimes actually there is a fear <HI>[with]</HI> the Spirit of Adopti|on, that is not <HI>[from]</HI> the &s;aid Spirit of Adoption. <HI>E.G.</HI> Gods Adopted ones for want of A&s;&s;u|rance, and through a mi&s;-appre|hen&s;ion of their &s;tate and conditi|on to God ward, may po&s;&s;ibly, and oft-times do actually fear hell and damnation even with that
<PB N="287" REF="161">kind of fear which we commonly &s;tile legal or &s;lavi&s;h; <HI>i.e.</HI> they fear hell as that which they think they are actually obliged to &s;uffer, but this fear in them is not from the Spirit of Adoption, by vertue of which they &s;hould ca&s;t off, or ca&s;t away that fear, it being for the &s;laves of Satan, and not for the &s;ons and daughters of the living God to fear hell in &s;uch &s;ort.</P>
<P>Having been &s;o large in pro|ving and cleering this Confecta|ry, I &s;hall be briefer in the next.</P>
<P>I &s;hall conclude this Confectary with the &s;aying of <HI>Bernard,</HI> as I have &s;een him quoted, who wri|ting to one, whom he thought not to be &s;ufficiently &s;olicitous about the Judgments of God, in &s;teed of wi&s;hing him (according to the u|&s;ual form of &s;alutation) <HI>Salutem plurimam,</HI> much health; &s;aid, <HI>Ti|morem plurimum,</HI> much fear; So &s;hall I wi&s;h to all the Saints and &s;ervants of God, not only much joy, but al&s;o (as in the &s;en&s;e be|fore explicated,) much fear.</P>
<P>And if any one &s;hall object a|gain&s;t
<PB N="288" REF="162">me, That I do not (as be|comes a Go&s;pel Mini&s;ter) endea|vour to help forward the joy of the Saints, I have the&s;e two things to an&s;wer,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. I do conceive, That the great work of a Mini&s;ter, and the grand bent of his preaching, and that which he &s;hould chiefly and directly have an eye upon in all his preaching, ought to be the fu|ture and eternal &s;afety of people, rather then their pre&s;ent ravi&s;h|ments and comforts in the way.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. What&s;oever I have written in this, or in any other part of this Exercitation, doth mo&s;t directly tend unto, and make for the &s;afe|ty of the Saints; and if for their &s;afety, then con&s;equently and ne|ce&s;&s;arily for their comfort, both in this world and in the world to come. Yea, I am per&s;waded that no Doctrine is indeed, and in a Scripture &s;en&s;e comfortable Do|ctrine, but that which doth of its own nature mini&s;ter to the &s;afety of the Saints, and to their pre&s;er|vation in the &s;tate of grace. And
<PB N="289" REF="162">if I be not herein mi&s;taken, I would to God that people would make u&s;e of that &s;aying, whereby to judg what manner of Preachers are the mo&s;t comfortable Preach|ers, and what Doctrines are the mo&s;t comfortable Doctrines.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="27" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVII.</HI> That a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel hath no warrant &s;o to ab&s;olve a Believer, as in the name of God to tell him, That his &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely pardoned, and that he is as ab&s;olutely &s;ure of heaven, as if he were alrea|dy in heaven.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XX.</HEAD>
<P N="20">20. IT followes. That a Mi|ni&s;ter hath no warrant to tell a Believer, how that he may
<PB N="290" REF="163">a&s;&s;ure him&s;elf for his comfort, that his &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely pardoned, and that he &s;hall as ab&s;olutely be &s;aved, as if he were already in the bo&s;om of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and actually tran&s;lated with <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Elias,</HI> The obligation of a &s;inner, as to eternal condemnation being taken off, not ab&s;olutely but conditio|nally, for what is to come, or as to the actual enjoyment of what mercy is to come: for what di&s;mi&s;&s;ion &s;oever God doth vouch|&s;afe to a &s;inner in this life, we mu&s;t &s;uppo&s;e the &s;inner to be di&s;mi&s;&s;ed of God no otherwi&s;e then with &s;uch an <HI>Item,</HI> or admonition which Chri&s;t giveth to the re&s;tored Crip|ple, <HI>Sin no more, le&s;t</HI> (the &s;ame thing, or) <HI>a wor&s;e thing come unto thee,</HI> John 5.14.</P>
<P>My meaning in this Confectary is plainly this, (as I have before ex|pre&s;&s;ed it, and which I de&s;ire to be remembred) <HI>viz.</HI> That though the obligation of a &s;inner to eter|nal condemnation be actually ta|ken off &s;o &s;oon as he is converted, neverthele&s;&s;e the continuance of
<PB N="291" REF="163">that mercy is not ab&s;olute, but con|ditional, God not having inten|ded, and Chri&s;t not having inten|ded, and Chri&s;t not having pur|cha&s;ed full and final pardon for a|ny &s;inner, (I mean) that any &s;in|ner &s;hould enjoy the full and fi|nal pardon of his &s;ins, otherwi&s;e then upon the condition of his per|&s;everance, (as was afore &s;aid.) This Confectary is of nece&s;&s;ity. (I &s;up|po&s;e) unavoidable.</P>
<P>In <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 30.1. The Prophet de|nounceth a woe to tho&s;e, [Who take coun&s;el but not of him, and that cover with a covering, but not of his Spirit.] I may truly &s;ay of the Antinomian Preachers, that they do mini&s;ter con&s;olation but not of God, and they do comfort their Di&s;ciples with comforts, but not of Gods Spirit the Comfor|ter. Such is this comfort where|by they do &s;eek to comfort their heare<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s in telling them, That their &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely forgiven as if they were in heaven. I do le&s;&s;e wonder, that the Antinomian Preachers are accounted by the ig|norant and profane multitude the
<PB N="292" REF="164">only comfortable Preachers: for well I wot their error here is two|fold:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. They comfort tho&s;e to whom comfort doth not belong; our commi&s;&s;ion being limited (in the application of comfort) only to the broken hearted, which they not ob&s;erving, do &s;peak peace to the wicked oft times.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 That they tender to Belie|vers their own dreames, and the ful&s;om, lu&s;cious conceptions of their own fancies, in &s;teed of the &s;avoury, whol&s;ome con&s;olations of Scripture. But as <HI>Elijah</HI> &s;aid to the Me&s;&s;engers of <HI>Ahaziah,</HI> 2 <HI>Kin.</HI> 1.3. <HI>Is it not becau&s;e there is not a God in I&s;rael, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the God of Ekron?</HI> So may I &s;ay unto this &s;ort of Com|forters, Is it not becau&s;e ye think that the comforts of Scripture are not &s;ufficient, that ye frame and feigne comforts of your own devi|&s;ing? Or is it not becau&s;e your mouthes and the mouthes of your Di&s;ciples being out of ta&s;te, the comforts of Scripture do not reli&s;h
<PB N="293" REF="164">but are &s;o un&s;avoury, that they will not down with you? For my own part, I know no more war|rant for a Mini&s;ter to create Com|forts, then he hath to create Com|mands, it being as much again&s;t the &s;ufficiency and perfection of Scrip|ture to attempt the one as the o|ther; and as our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour did therefore admoni&s;h his Di&s;ci|ples to <HI>beware of the leaven of the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, [they teach|ing for Doctrines the Commandments of men;]</HI> &s;o have I rea&s;on to ad|moni&s;h Chri&s;tians to take heed of the leaven (in &s;pecial of this lea|ven) of Antinomian Preachers, (they preaching for Go&s;pel, con&s;o|lations of their own framing.)</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>This admonition is the rather needful,</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e, albeit it be very tooth&s;om, yet it is not therefore the more whol&s;ome. There bee &s;weet poy&s;ons, as well as bitter.</P>
<P N="2">2 By how much it is more &s;weet by &s;o much it is like with the more eagerne&s;&s;e to be &s;wallowed. The
<PB N="294" REF="165">mouthes of people do water after &s;uch delicacies &amp; their ears do itch to hear &s;uch Go&s;pel, they loving to hear rather what is &s;mooth, then what is right, what will plea&s;e rather then what will profit, what is &s;weet rather then what is &s;ound; according the humour of the peo|ple of old, as is recorded by the Prophets <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> and <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> I|&s;al. 30.9.10. <HI>This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the Law of the Lord; which &s;ay to the Seers, See not, and to the Prophets, Prophe&s;ie not unto us right things, &s;peak unto us &s;mooth things, prophecy deceits.</HI> So wee preach comforts to people, though they be deceitful comforts, they regard not; though we cozen people, yet &s;o we comfort them, they care not. <HI>Jer.</HI> 5. <HI>lat. The Prophets prophecy fal&s;ely, and the Prie&s;ts bear rule by their means, and my people love to have it &s;o; and what will ye do in the end thereof?</HI> This Que&s;tion, [<HI>What will ye do in the end thereof?</HI>] is in this ca&s;e not to be omitted; for con&s;ider in
<PB N="295" REF="165">the next place the danger of com|forting Believers by telling them, That their &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely pardoned as if they were in hea|ven. The danger hereof will ap|pear, by what I &s;hall next offer unto con&s;ideration, as a rea|&s;on of the fore&s;aid Admoniti|on.</P>
<P N="3">3 Con&s;ider the tendency of this comfort. For my own part, as I look upon the whole body of An|tinomiani&s;me as a Doctrine of &s;e|curity &s;o I look upon this particu|lar branch as that which tends di|rectly to make a Chri&s;tian to ne|glect his watch, to lay downe his weapons, and to ca&s;t off his Ar|mour. It is &s;uch Mu&s;ick as tends to lull a Chri&s;tian a&s;leep in the Di|vels lap, and it is Gods great mercy if he awake out of that his dream of being in heaven, before he &s;ees him&s;elf ab&s;olutely to bee in Hell.</P>
<P>I would have &s;aid more to this particular, but that Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> in his Book &s;tiled, <HI>[Directions for getting and keeping Spiritual Peace
<PB N="296" REF="166">and Comfort]</HI> hath &s;poken direct|ly and amply thereunto in his eighteenth and twentieth Dire|ction, which I &s;hall here tran|&s;cribe;</P>
<P><HI>Know, that God hath not com|manded you to believe that you do believe; nor that you are ju&s;tified, or &s;hall be &s;aved (but only conditi|onally) and therefore your A&s;&s;urance is not a certainty properly of Di|vine faith.</HI> Pag. 189. Direction 18.</P>
<P><HI>Never expect &s;o much A&s;&s;urance on earth as &s;hall &s;et you above all</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">If there be no po&s;|&s;ible dan|ger, what need of &s;uch ad|monitions caveats, &amp; cautions, as in <HI>Eph.</HI> 6.11. 2 <HI>Joh.</HI> 8. 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.17. Ca|veats need not, but where dan|ger is in &s;ome re|&s;pects at lea&s;t po&s;&s;i|ble.</NOTE> <HI>po&s;&s;ibility of the lo&s;&s;e of heaven, and above all apprehen&s;ions of real danger.</HI> Pag. 211. Directi|on 20.</P>
<P>I &s;hall conclude this Con&s;e|ctary with that Item which <HI>Ahab</HI> gave to <HI>Benhadad,</HI> when &s;welling in his confidence, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 20.11. <HI>Let not him that girdeth on his harne&s;&s;e, boa&s;t him&s;elf, as he that putteth it off.</HI> Let not any Saint militant here on earth, that girdeth on his harne&s;&s;e for the &s;piritual warfare, boa&s;t him&s;elf as if he were as ab&s;o|lutely
<PB N="297" REF="166">&s;ure of heaven as the Saints now triumphant, who have put it off.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="28" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXVIII.</HI> That the repentance, which the Go&s;pel requires, is not only re|pentance <HI>[from]</HI> the pardon of our &s;ins, as the Antinomians affirm, but <HI>[for]</HI> the pardon of them, proved and evinced by &s;everal Arguments. Seve|ral Objections of the Antino|mians an&s;wered; wherein it is punctually declared, In what &s;en&s;e Evangelical Re|pentance may be &s;aid to be <HI>[from]</HI> pardon of &s;in, and in what &s;en&s;e <HI>[for]</HI> the pardon of it. It is di&s;putable whether Gods glory and our own &s;alva|tion are to be looked at as two
<PB N="298" REF="167">ends, or only as one, the former being a nece&s;&s;ary re&s;ult of the latter. An Objection an&s;wered, That it is a &s;ingular favour of God, and a favour in &s;ome &s;en&s;e peculiar to the times of the New Te&s;tament, that God hath &s;o cleerly revealed unto us our eternal &s;alvation, as the great end, not excluding, but in|cluding his glory) of mans working, or of all Chri&s;tian duty. That good works may be &s;tiled the way to &s;alvation. That the difference betwixt the Covenant of Work and of Grace lyes not in this, that <HI>Adam</HI> was to work <HI>for</HI> life, and we not <HI>for,</HI> but only <HI>from</HI> life. Our own good works, duties graces or holine&s;&s;e, how far forth, or in what &s;en&s;e to be di&s;claimed, and not tru&s;ted unto for &s;alvation, as al&s;o in what &s;en&s;e, or how farre
<PB N="299" REF="167">forth they may be tru&s;ted un|to, or re&s;ted in for &s;alvation, declared more at large. A Caution annexed to prevent mi&s;take. That there are two kinds of pre&s;umption, both which are di&s;tinctly to be made knowne unto people by the Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and care|fully to be avoided by all, as dangerous rocks in the &s;teering of our cour&s;e towards the ha|ven of eternal happine&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<HEAD>CONSECT. XXII</HEAD>
<P N="22">22. IT followes, That the re|pentance which the Go|&s;pel requireth is not only repen|tance <HI>[from]</HI> the pardon of our &s;ins, but <HI>[for]</HI> the pardon of them. Pardon of &s;in being the taking away from the &s;inner ob|ligation to puni&s;hment, and pu|ni&s;hment it &s;elf, and the&s;e being not taken away till a &s;inner hath
<PB N="300" REF="168">repented of his &s;ins (as is evident by the Scriptures, otherwi&s;e an impenitent per&s;on had as much right to heaven, and were as much in the &s;tate of &s;alvation as the pe|nitent;) it doth unavoidably from thence follow, That that repen|pentance which the Go&s;pel requi|reth as &s;aving repentance, or re|pentance nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, (I mean, our fir&s;t repentance, or re|pentance at our fir&s;t conver&s;ion) is <HI>for,</HI> and not <HI>from</HI> the pardon of our &s;ins.</P>
<P>I am willing to take occa&s;ion to &s;peak &s;omewhat more at large for the confirmation and cleering of this inference, and for the con|futation of the contrary, becau&s;e it is one branch of the Antino|mian Doctrine in the&s;e times, That all repentance which is not <HI>from</HI> the pardon of &s;in; <HI>i. e.</HI> the &s;en&s;e and belief of pardon, is but Legal and not Evangelical repen|tance; and that to teach people to repent <HI>for</HI> the pardon of their &s;ins, is to di&s;honour and to de|throne Chri&s;t, to make a Chri&s;t of
<PB N="301" REF="168">our repentance. Now for the confutation of this new Anti-Go|&s;pel Doctrine, and for a Chri&s;ti|ans confirmation in the good and old Doctrine of Chri&s;t, the Pro|phets and Apo&s;tles, I will endea|vour to demon&s;trate, touching the &s;aid Doctrine of the Antinomi|ans, the&s;e two things,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That it is directly and a|bundantly again&s;t the truth of the Go&s;pel.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Again&s;t the comfort of the Go&s;pel.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>For the demon&s;tration of the former, let the following particu|lars be con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. We do very &s;eldome, I think, never at all read in the Word of God, that any of Gods Prophets, Chri&s;t Je&s;us or his Apo&s;tles, did pre&s;&s;e any per&s;on or people to repent from the pardon of their &s;ins. Its true indeed, that &s;inners are frequently exhorted to repent, from the con&s;ideration of Gods mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, in his readi|ne&s;&s;e to pardon them; <HI>i.e.</HI> to par|don them in &s;uch wayes, or upon
<PB N="302" REF="169">&s;uch termes, as in and upon which God is purpo&s;ed to di&s;pen&s;e par|don; <HI>i.e.</HI> to pardon them if they do repent, <HI>Joel</HI> 2.12, 13, 14. but where &s;hall we read in all the Book of God, that &s;inners are urged and exhorted to repent from the belief, &s;en&s;e, or con&s;ideration of Gods grace and goodne&s;&s;e in this, That he hath already pardoned tho&s;e &s;ins, for which they are called upon to repent?</P>
<P N="2">2 Suppo&s;e that &s;ome in&s;tance could be produced out of Scrip|ture of &s;ome &s;inner or &s;inners, that have been informed from God, and told before hand, that their &s;ins were pardoned, and were thereupon exhorted to repent: I would an&s;wer, That &s;uch an in|&s;tance or in&s;tances will not prove, that it is a Chri&s;tians duty to re|pent <HI>from</HI> and not <HI>for</HI> the pardon of his &s;ins: for it is the manner of of the Holy Gho&s;t in Scripture &s;ometimes to pronounce or make promi&s;e of the end, and then to direct and exhort unto the u&s;e of meanes <HI>for</HI> the accompli&s;hing of
<PB N="303" REF="169">that end, and without the u&s;e whereof it &s;hall not be accom|pli&s;hed; <HI>e. g.</HI> God doth fir&s;t tell <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> that he &s;hal recover of his di&s;ea&s;e, and that he would add to his life fifteen years, and there|upon God directs him what means to u&s;e for his recovery; <HI>viz.</HI> A bunch of figs applyed to his byle. Becau&s;e God had told <HI>Hezekiah</HI> before hand that he would adde fifteen years to his life, &s;hall wee therefore conclude, That <HI>Hezeki|ah</HI> did apply the bunch of figs, and did ever after that time eat and drink <HI>from</HI> life, and not <HI>for</HI> life?</P>
<P N="3">3. To &s;ay, That a &s;inner mu&s;t repent <HI>from</HI> the pardon of his &s;ins, and not <HI>for</HI> the pardon of them, if he will repent Evangelically, is to make a &s;inners pardon to go be|fore his repentance; whereas the Scripture informes us, that par|don of &s;in doth follow repentance, and not go before it, as reward fol|lowes the Service, or as the be|&s;towing of a promi&s;ed reward doth follow the performance of the
<PB N="304" REF="170">condition of the Promi&s;e, <HI>Acts</HI> 2 38. <HI>Repent and be baptized for the remi&s;&s;ion of your &s;ins.</HI> Acts 5.31. <HI>Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give Repentance to I&s;rael and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in.</HI> I&s;ai. 55 7, 8. <HI>Let the wicked for&s;ake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him returne unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and unto our God, for he will,</HI> (not hee hath) <HI>abundantly pardon.</HI> 2 Chron. 7.13, 14. <HI>If my people that are called by my name &s;hall humble them&s;elves and pray, and &s;eek my face, and turne from their evil wayes, then will I hear from heaven my dwelling place, and will forgive their &s;ins.</HI> Where do we read, that Chri&s;t his Prophets and Apo|&s;tles did ever preach to any &s;inner or &s;inners that their &s;ins were actu|ally pardoned, till they had actu|ally repented? Yea, what war|rant hath a Mini&s;ter of the Go|&s;pel &s;o much as to propound or promi&s;e unto any per&s;on or peo|ple the Pardon of their &s;ins, but upon precedent repentance for
<PB N="305" REF="170">&s;in? See <HI>Luke</HI> 4.18. and 24.47. Well I wot, That the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel are to publi&s;h to all the world, That the Me&s;&s;ias is come in the fle&s;h, hath &s;atisfied Gods Ju&s;tice, made an attone|ment or propitiation for the &s;ins of the whole world; <HI>i. e.</HI> that Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath done what&s;oever did belong for him to do on earth (as a Surety) to the &s;atisfying of Gods Ju&s;tice, the pardon and re|conciliation of &s;inners: But I wot withal, That albeit the &s;atisfa|ction of Gods Ju&s;tice and the pur|cha&s;e of pardon doth wholely and &s;olely depend upon the doings and &s;ufferings of Chri&s;ts as the merito|rious cau&s;e thereof; &s;o our enjoy|ment of a part or benefit in the &s;aid purcha&s;e and &s;atisfaction doth depend upon the doing or perfor|ming of all &s;uch Go&s;pel Duties which Chri&s;t hath appointed or commanded, as the condition without which we are to have no &s;aving comfort and benefit by him; the performance of which &s;aid du|ties, is neverthele&s;&s;e through the
<PB N="306" REF="171">help of Gods free grace purcha|&s;ed by Chri&s;t, and a fruit of his Redemption.</P>
<P N="4">4 As wee have no precept in Gods Word, bidding us to repent <HI>from</HI> the pardon of &s;in, &s;o we have frequent precepts commanding us to repent <HI>for</HI> pardon, or that we may be pardoned, or le&s;t wee &s;hould mi&s;&s;e of pardon. See <HI>Acts</HI> 2.38. <HI>Repent,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>into the remi&s;&s;ion of your &s;ins.</HI> Acts 3.19. <HI>Repent</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>into the bloting out of your &s;ins.</HI> Amos 5.14. <HI>Seek good and not evil, that ye may live.</HI> So that to preach, that That repentance which is for, and not purely from the pardon of our &s;ins, is not evangelical repen|tance, is directly and clearly to pervert the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t in its Doctrine of repentance.</P>
<P N="5">5. It is far more agreeable un|to Scripture and to right rea&s;on to &s;ay, That we are to <HI>rejoyce</HI> from the pardon of our &s;ins, then to &s;ay We are to <HI>repent</HI> from the pardon of them.</P>
<P N="1">1. That it is more agreeable to
<PB N="307" REF="171">Scripture to &s;ay the former then the latter, may appear (be&s;ides by what hath been already &s;aid) by that in <HI>Match</HI> 9.2. <HI>Son, be of good cheer, t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y &s;ins are forgiven thee.</HI> And by that in <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 40. <HI>beg. Com|fort ye, comfort ye my people, &s;aith your God, &s;peak ye comfortably to Je|ru&s;alem, and cry unto her, That he iniquity is pardoned.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 It is more agreeable to rea&s;on: for the pardon of &s;in is the object of Joy, not of &s;orrow. As &s;in it &s;elf is the proper object matter, or material object of &s;orrow, &s;o the pardon of it is the material ob|ject of joy; thence that of the Angel to the Shepherds, <HI>Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which &s;hall be to all people: for un|to you is born this day a Saviour,</HI> Luke 2.10, 11.</P>
<P N="3">3. Yea thirdly, agreeable here|unto is the experience of the Saints: for as &s;ome do weep for &s;orrow, that their &s;ins may be par|doned; &s;o others do weep for joy that to their owne &s;en&s;e they are pardoned; neither ought this
<PB N="308" REF="172">to &s;eeme &s;trange, there<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Such it &s;eemes were the tears of her in <HI>Luke</HI> 7.38. Chri&s;t &s;aying of her, not &s;he grieved much, (though that doubt-le&s;&s;e was true) but <HI>&s;he loved much.</HI></NOTE> being tears of love and rejoycing, as well as of mourning.</P>
<P>The&s;e things con&s;idered, let a|ny one judge whether tho&s;e who tell people, That to repent e|vangelically is to repent <HI>from,</HI> not <HI>for</HI> the pardon of &s;in, do not tell them in effect, That to weep for &s;in in a Go&s;pel way, is to weep for joy, but not for grief? and con&s;equently whether they do not overturn Go&s;pel Repentance, <HI>&s;ur|&s;um vor&s;um,</HI> top&s;ie-turvy (as we u&s;e to &s;ay?) For whereas the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t tells us, that evangelical re|pentance is <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>to &s;orrow after a godly manner,</HI> or <HI>a &s;orrow after God,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.9, 10. Con&s;ider and judg whether the&s;e new Go&s;pel Preachers do not ra|ther make it a joy after God, or a rejoycing after a godly manner, or godly joy, rather then godly &s;orrow</P>
<P N="5">5 Were Evangelical repentance only <HI>from,</HI> and not <HI>for</HI> the pardon of &s;in, then &s;hould our Saviour Chri&s;t in rendring the rea&s;on of the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e of &s;uch mourners;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.4.</NOTE>
<PB N="309" REF="172">have &s;aid, not as he did, <HI>For they &s;hall Be comforted,</HI> but <HI>For they Are comforted;</HI> there being no great|er comfort then the &s;en&s;e or a&s;&s;u|rance of pardon.</P>
<P N="6">6. Let it (for a further con|futation of the &s;aid Doctrine) be con&s;idered, what are tho&s;e grounds Ends, Rea&s;ons, or Motives, for, or upon which &s;inners are invited, or exhorted in Scripture to re|pent. <HI>E.g.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1 Becau&s;e we have offended and di&s;honoured God by tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ing his command. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.4. <HI>Again&s;t thee, thee only have I finned,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e as by our &s;ins wee have di&s;honoured God, &s;o by our repentance we do glorifie God, or give glory to him: e&s;pecially if our repentance be made publick as our &s;in. <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 7.19. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 13.16. <HI>Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cau&s;e dark|ne&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 Becau&s;e God is very gracious and merciful, ready to pardon all tho&s;e who do repent, <HI>Joel</HI> 2.12, 13,
<PB N="310" REF="173">14. <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 57.7, 8. 2 <HI>Chro.</HI> 30.9. <HI>E|zek.</HI> 18. <HI>lat.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Becau&s;e as God promi&s;eth pardon to the penitent, &s;o hee threatneth utter and inevitable ruine to the impenitent, <HI>Luk.</HI> 13. 3, 5. <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.5.</P>
<P N="5">5. Becau&s;e Chri&s;t is a Saviour given of God, All &s;ufficient, and mo&s;t able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t all &s;inners what&s;oever, yea, and is exalted of God to give repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in to the mo&s;t hainous &s;inners, <HI>Acts</HI> 5.31.</P>
<P N="6">6. Becau&s;e of that injury and irreparable mi&s;chiefe which wee have done, and &s;hall do again&s;t our &s;elves and our owne &s;ouls by continuing in our &s;ins, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14. <HI>beg.</HI> and 13.9. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 18. <HI>la&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e and the like Arguments, or Grounds of Repentance, wee do frequently read of in the Word of God; which I do alledg, not to prove, that the &s;en&s;e of the free mercy of God in pardoning a Believers former &s;ins &s;hould not induce him the more to repent of
<PB N="311" REF="173">his pre&s;ent &s;ins (for in that &s;en&s;e I do acknowledg, that a Believer is to repent, and doth repent <HI>from</HI> the pardon of &s;in; yet &s;o <HI>from</HI> the pardon of former &s;ins, or &s;ins long &s;ince pardoned, as &s;till <HI>for</HI> the pardon of his other &s;ins:) but the afore&s;aid Rea&s;ons are alledg|ed by me to prove, That a &s;inner is to repent <HI>for</HI> the pardon of his &s;ins, and that repentance <HI>for</HI> pardon is true, genuine, Scripture-Go&s;pel-Repentance; <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;uch as Chri&s;t, his Prophets and Apo|&s;tles do enjoyne both for &s;ub|&s;tance and circum&s;tance, as a &s;a|ving grace.</P>
<P N="2">2 As the &s;aid Doctrine is a|gain&s;t the Truth, &s;o is it al&s;o a|gain&s;t the Comfort of the Go&s;pel; and let it bee con&s;idered what a mo&s;t uncomfortable Doctrine it is to tell &s;inners, that Go&s;pel-Re|pentance is <HI>from</HI> and not <HI>for</HI> par|don; for, will it not follow from thence, That no &s;inner did ever truly, &s;avingly, and Evangelically repent, but &s;uch only who have the &s;en&s;e or a&s;&s;urance of pardon
<PB N="312" REF="174">in their owne &s;ouls? then which Doctrine we cannot lightly preach any more di&s;mal, dark, and di&s;|comfortable. Is the preaching of this Doctrine the way to com|fort tho&s;e who mourne in <HI>Sion,</HI> and the preaching of glad tydings to the meek? Is this to pour oyl and wine, or is it not rather to pour gall and vinegar into woun|ded con&s;ciences? And is it not &s;trange then, that tho&s;e who do preach &s;uch anti-Go&s;pel Doctrine, &s;o oppo&s;ite both to the Truth and comfort of the Go&s;pel, &s;hould pretend to &s;uch zeal for Chri&s;t and his Go&s;pel, and to &s;uch art in com|forting a Chri&s;tian? May not we truly &s;ay concerning the&s;e mens zeal of the Go&s;pel, as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid of his Country men their zeal of the Law; <HI>viz.</HI> That it is not according to knowledg?</P>
<P>The main ground of the Anti|nomians Errour in &s;aying, That Go&s;pel repentance is <HI>from,</HI> and not <HI>for</HI> pardon, is (as I conceive) be|cau&s;e they hold, That &s;in is actu|ally pardoned before it be repen|ted
<PB N="313" REF="174">of; and ob&s;erving therefore how one error (like the links of a chain) doth draw on another, we &s;hould be the more watchful a|gain&s;t every errour, and pray to the Father of lights to give us un|der&s;tanding in all things.</P>
<P>I &s;hall in the next place endea|vour to an&s;wer the u&s;ual Objecti|ons which are made by the Anti|nomians again&s;t their adver&s;aries, who hold, That a Believer is to work not <HI>for</HI> pardon, <HI>for</HI> life, <HI>for</HI> redemption, and <HI>for</HI> &s;alvation, but <HI>from</HI> them. Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> hath in|deed in &s;everal of his writings &s;aid &s;o much already about this Point, as that I &s;hall not much need to &s;ay any thing more. For my own part, I am &s;ingularly glad that Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> hath admoni&s;hed Chri&s;ti|ans to beware of the Book &s;tiled, <HI>The Marrow of Modern Divinity,</HI> that doth harp &s;o much upon that &s;tring, not <HI>for,</HI> but <HI>from.</HI> The &s;aid Book was about &s;ix or &s;even yeers ago commended unto me by a very hone&s;t and well meaning Chri&s;tian, which having &s;ought
<PB N="314" REF="175">after, and throughly read, I could not but wonder (and not without &s;ome little but ju&s;t, indignation) that three &s;uch mo&s;t excellent and famous Divines, as Mr. <HI>C.</HI> Mr <HI>B.</HI> and Mr. <HI>S.</HI> &s;hould by their &s;eve|ral Epi&s;tles commend &s;uch an In|terimy&s;tical and Ca&s;&s;andrian piece as that Book may in its kind (I think) de&s;ervedly be called; and I did thereupon make &s;ome Ani|madver&s;ions upon it long &s;ince, and in &s;pecial concerning this par|ticular Point [<HI>From</HI> and not <HI>For;</HI>] For well I wot, that albeit we are to endeavour, as much as may be, the peace of Gods Churches (and I doubt not but goodne&s;&s;e and &s;weetne&s;&s;e of nature and zeal for peace did &s;o far prevail with tho&s;e three forementioned Worthies as to procure &s;uch Te&s;timonials from them) neverthele&s;&s;e we are not to a&s;&s;ert gro&s;&s;e Errours (however we may, and its fit we &s;hould &s;ome|times, conceal &s;ome Truths) for peace &s;ake.</P>
<P>I &s;hall here therefore in&s;ert what I have long &s;ince written, and up|on
<PB N="315" REF="175">occa&s;ion al&s;o preached about this Point, as followeth.</P>
<P>There is much ignorance and errour in oppo&s;ing the&s;e two, [<HI>From</HI> and <HI>For &s;alvation</HI>] as things incompatible and incon&s;i|&s;tent; whereas, like brethren they may very well dwel together in u|nity. Know then, That Believers may and ought to do good duties, both <HI>from</HI> and <HI>for</HI> &s;alvation; <HI>e.g.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. From Salvation as purpo&s;ed and appointed by God for them.</P>
<P N="2">2. From &s;alvation as purcha&s;ed and procured by Chri&s;t in their behalf.</P>
<P N="3">3. From &s;alvation as promi&s;ed to them in the Word, and in the wayes of well doing. Thence is it frequent with the Holy Gho&s;t in Scripture, to urge Believers unto con&s;tancy in obedience, with Ar|guments taken from the con&s;ide|ration of the &s;aid Purpo&s;e, Pur|cha&s;e, and Promi&s;es; for which &s;ee <HI>Heb.</HI> 12 28.2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1. and 1.6, 20. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5 8, 9.</P>
<PB N="316" REF="176">
<P N="2">2. As a Believer is to work <HI>from</HI> &s;alvation purpo&s;ed, procured promi&s;ed (I add al&s;o, As a wick|ed man is to repent <HI>from</HI> &s;alvation by God in Chri&s;t, appointed for him, and promi&s;ed to him upon termes of believing, repenting, converting, and upon tho&s;e terms made over to him in the Go&s;pel grant) &s;o are we all, one with a|nother to work, to begin, and to hold on in the wayes of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e <HI>for</HI> &s;alvation, actually and fully in Gods due time to be en|joyed.</P>
<P>And that every man may and ought in this &s;ort or &s;en&s;e work <HI>for</HI> his &s;alvation, may bee proved by the following Argu|ments.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. We are expre&s;ly comman|ded, <HI>To work out our &s;alvation,</HI> Phil. 2.12. So <HI>to run that we may obtain,</HI> 1 Cor. 9.24. <HI>To do that which is right and good in the &s;ight of the Lord, that it may be well with us,</HI> Deut. 6.18. <HI>To wa&s;h our hearts from wickedne&s;s, that we may be &s;a|ved,</HI> Jer. 4 14.</ITEM>
<PB N="317" REF="176">
<ITEM>2. God promi&s;eth to give e|ternal life to tho&s;e, and tho&s;e on|ly who by <HI>patient continuance in well-doing &s;eek for it,</HI> Rom. 2.7. So that unle&s;&s;e we work <HI>for</HI> our &s;al|vation, we can never be &s;aved, as having no promi&s;e of &s;alvation made of God unto us; &s;o truly hath Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> &s;aid, <HI>That &s;hould the A&s;&s;erters of the &s;aid Doctrine, &s;o commended in the</HI> Marrow of Mo|dern Divinity, <HI>put in practi&s;e their own Doctrine, they could not be &s;a|ved.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. What rea&s;on had Saint <HI>Paul</HI> to a&s;&s;ert, that a Chri&s;tians patient &s;uffering of the Cro&s;&s;e doth work glory <HI>for</HI> him, if a Chri&s;tian may not therein, and in all his wayes of well doing, work for it? 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.17, 18.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Con&s;ider the examples of the Saints, who did the will of God for the obtaining of this end. <HI>We run, &s;trive, are temperate in all things,</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.25.) <HI>to obtain an incorruptible Crown.</HI> Heb. 11.35. <HI>Not accep|ting deliverance, that they might
<PB N="318" REF="177">obtain a better Re&s;urrection.</HI> Phil. 3.14. <HI>I pre&s;&s;e towards the mark,</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,) <HI>for the price of the high Calling of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> and what him&s;elf did in this, he calls upon all, the mo&s;t perfect not excepted, to imitate, &s;aying, <HI>ver.</HI> 15. <HI>Let as many as be perfect be thus minded;</HI> and v. 17. <HI>Brethren be followers to|gether of me.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. Salvation is one great end, as of our believing, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.9. &s;o al&s;o of our working; <HI>i. e.</HI> of all the acts of new obedience, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. 22. <HI>Being made free from &s;in, and become &s;ervants to God, ye have your fruit unto holine&s;&s;e, and the end e|verla&s;ting life.</HI> Thence is &s;alva|tion &s;tiled, the <HI>Fruit of our doings, I&s;ai.</HI> 3.10. and <HI>the reward or recom|pence of our labors,</HI> 2 John 8. Luke 14.14. Yea, as glory is &s;tiled, <HI>Grace</HI> 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.13. &s;o is &s;alvation, (the reward of our works) &s;tiled by the name of <HI>Works,</HI> Rev. 14.13. <HI>Their works &s;hall follow them;</HI> i. e. <HI>Merces operum,</HI> the reward of their works &s;hall follow them.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<PB N="319" REF="177">
<P>How ab&s;urd and irrational then is it for any one to &s;ay, That a Chri&s;tian is not to repent <HI>for</HI> par|don, or to work <HI>for</HI> &s;alvation? it is as if a man &s;hould &s;ay, We mu&s;t not u&s;e means for the end.</P>
<P>Yea, why may I not &s;ay, That &s;al|vation (I mean our own, and the &s;alvation of others) is the maine and utmo&s;t end of a Chri&s;tians working, for as much as the glory of God doth therein con&s;i&s;t to the height or uttermo&s;t? and there|fore it &s;eems vain for any one to except, &s;aying, Gods glory is the utmo&s;t end: for the utmo&s;t of Gods glory <HI>[quoad hoc,]</HI> is in our &s;alvation. Yea, &s;o in&s;epara|ble is Gods glory from our glory, as that God is not glorified to the uttermo&s;t by our glorifying him on earth, but by his glorifying us in heaven. 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1.10. <HI>When he &s;hall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.</HI> When our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour did pray to his Fa|ther, &s;aying, <HI>Father, glorifie thy Son, that thy Son al&s;o [may] glorifie
<PB N="320" REF="188">thee;</HI> making his Fathers glory the end of his owne; what is the meaning of Chri&s;t in that prayer, but that God would &s;trengthen and enable him to go through his approaching &s;ufferings for the e|fectual accompli&s;hing of that great end for which they were de|&s;igned? <HI>viz.</HI> the bringing of ma|ny &s;ons unto glory, according to the expre&s;&s;ion of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.11. and according to the &s;upplication of our Saviour, &s;ay|ing, <HI>viz, Father, I will that tho&s;e whom thou ha&s;t given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory:</HI> and according to his a&s;&s;ertion, <HI>ver.</HI> 19. <HI>For their &s;akes I &s;anctifie my &s;elf.</HI> I add, it &s;eems to me to be a thing impo&s;&s;ible, for any one (truly, and in a Scripture &s;en&s;e) to aim at his own &s;alvation, and not to aim at Gods glory. I &s;ay, truly and in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, for in a true moral or Scripture &s;en&s;e, he only can be &s;aid to aim, (yea, to de&s;ire) his own &s;alvati|on, that takes the way, or doth the things which lead and tend to
<PB N="321" REF="188">his &s;alvation. Now &s;ince &s;alvati|on is that wherein Gods glory doth mo&s;t eminently con&s;i&s;t, how is it po&s;&s;ible to aim at the one, and not the other? We are indeed commanded to make Gods glory the end of all our actions, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.31. but if any one &s;hall &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Be&s;ides, Albeit Gods glo|ry and our &s;alvation be not one thing, yet may they perhaps be one end:</HI> Res quoad entitates &s;uas diver|&s;ae po&s;&s;unt e&s;&s;e in ra|tione cau|&s;andi una cau&s;a, five po&s;&s;unt ex|ercere fina|lem cau&s;a|litatem ex|citando &s;ui de&s;iderium per modum unius. <HI>See</HI> Scheibl. Top. p. <HI>191.</HI></NOTE> We are commanded to make Gods glory the end of our &s;alvation, I &s;hall reply to &s;uch a one, <HI>Profer tabulas,</HI> &s;hew mee any Scripture where that command is written. For my owne part, till a Scrip|ture record be produced for that purpo&s;e, I &s;hall think &s;uch a com|mand to be &s;uperfluous: for if it be not &s;aid, that Gods glory and our &s;alvation are one and the &s;elfe &s;ame thing, neverthele&s;&s;e it mu&s;t (I think) be &s;aid, That Gods glo|ry doth i&s;&s;ue and flow from our Salvation (will we, nill we) <HI>per modum re&s;ultantiae,</HI> by re&s;ult una|voidable.</P>
<P>The end of my dilating thus upon this particular, is not peremp|torily to conclude, That Gods glory and our &s;alvation are to bee
<PB N="322" REF="179">looked at as one end (for whether they ought to be looked at as one end, or as two ends in &s;ubordi|nation, this to that, it is not to my purpo&s;e, neither &s;hall I con|tend with any one who &s;hall affirm either way) but to &s;hew the ex|ceeding weakne&s;s and unrea&s;ona|blene&s;&s;e of the Antinomians, who under the pretence of exalting God and Chri&s;t in their glory, do forbid us to make our own &s;alva|tion the end of our working. I have heard of &s;ome profe&s;&s;ors of Religion, who are accounted knowing and gifted Chri&s;tians, at lea&s;t who are &s;uch in their own ac|count, who though they will ac|knowledge, that a Chri&s;tian may eye his owne &s;alvation, or have an eye to it or upon it, yet will &s;tifly deny, that he may aim at it, or labor for it. But I would that &s;uch wi&s;e ones would &s;eriou&s;ly per|u&s;e that place of Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.18. <HI>[While we look not at the things which are &s;een, but at the things which are not &s;een.]</HI> and that withal they would peru&s;e the Original, or
<PB N="323" REF="179">at lea&s;t &s;uffer them&s;elvs to be infor|med touching the word in the O|riginal, which is tran&s;lated, <HI>While we look at,</HI> the Greek word being [<GAP DESC="foreign">] which doth &s;ignifie, to look on a thing with &s;uch an eye, as an Archer doth upon the white at which he aimes and &s;hoots; &s;o that the Apo&s;tle doub|ted not to &s;ay, that he did make the things not &s;een, <HI>viz.</HI> the e|ternal weight of glory, &s;poken of in the ver&s;e foregoing, (this be|ing &s;uch indeed as <HI>eye hath not &s;een, nor ear heard,</HI> 1 Cor. 2.9. 1 Joh. 3.2.) I &s;ay, The Apo&s;tle did not doubt to aver, that he with other faithful Chri&s;tians did make the&s;e things his &s;cope and aime. And they who &s;ay, that we may eye Heaven, but not aim at it, or la|bour for it, do &s;peak as wi&s;ely, as if they had &s;aid, An Archer may eye the white, or have an eye upon it, but he is not to aim at it, or la|bour to hit it.</P>
<P>Obj. <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us hath purcha&s;ed &s;alvation and remi&s;&s;ion for us, and why then &s;hould we repent and work for them?</HI></P>
<PB N="324" REF="180">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. This Objection hath in effect been an&s;wered already; <HI>viz.</HI> What&s;oever Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed we are not to enjoy, but in Chri&s;ts way and upon his termes, which is and are, that we give all dili|gence in the path of piety, to ob|tain the &s;ame, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.9. Chri&s;t is not the Authour of Salvation unto any but &s;uch as do obey him.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is no outward ble&s;&s;ing and comfort (be it meat, drink, and cloathing) but is purcha&s;ed for the Elect by Chri&s;t, as well as is their &s;alvation. If Chri&s;ts pur|cha&s;e therefore is a &s;ufficient Ar|gument, why we &s;hould not work <HI>for</HI> &s;alvation, and repent <HI>for</HI> par|don, by a like rea&s;on we are nei|ther to work, yea, nor &s;o much as to pray <HI>for</HI> daily bread. The truth is, the Antinomians have as good rea&s;on to forbid us to pray for daily bread, for health and &s;trength, for food and rayment, and to command us to pray <HI>from</HI> daily bread, from health &amp; &s;trength, from
<PB N="325" REF="180">food and rayment, as they have to forbid us to repent and work for the remi&s;&s;ion of our &s;ins, and for the &s;alvation of our &s;ouls, and to command us to work from them.</P>
<P N="3">3 By the &s;ame rea&s;on, that the Antinomians forbid a Chri&s;tian to repent for pardon, and to work for &s;alvation, they may forbid him likewi&s;e to pray for remi&s;&s;i|on, and to pray for &s;alvation; for is not prayer a work, yea, a prime part of a Chri&s;tians con&s;tant work &s;o long as hee is on earth? And if there be any colour of ac|cu&s;ing tho&s;e as Merit-mongers who a&s;&s;ert, That wee mu&s;t work for &s;alvation; there is a like co|lour for the &s;ame accu&s;ation a|gain&s;t tho&s;e, who &s;hall a&s;&s;ert, That we mu&s;t pray for &s;alvation, which I doubt not is the duty of all tho&s;e who &s;hall come to &s;alva|tion.</P>
<P>Some Antinomians &s;ay, We are not to propound any end at all in doing duty, meaning not ba&s;e and carnal ends, but the highe&s;t and
<PB N="326" REF="181">noble&s;t ends; which Doctrine, though intended by them to make us perfect Saints, or to rai&s;e us to the highe&s;t pitch of Saints, doth lay us almo&s;t level with Bea&s;ts, as denuding us of rea&s;on: for take a|way the end, which every rea&s;on|able creature, as rea&s;onable, pro|pounds in his actions, and we do <HI>eatenus,</HI> or therein level him with a bea&s;t; for bruit bea&s;ts do act or move <HI>ad finem,</HI> though not <HI>in finem,</HI> as is the Philo&s;ophical expre&s;&s;ion; <HI>i. e.</HI> they move and work to &s;ome end, albeit not un|der the notion or &s;pecification of an end, <HI>Ad finem eventum, lic&egrave;t non ad finem intentum.</HI></P>
<P>The Premi&s;es con&s;idered, I hope it will appear pa&s;t all doubt, that a Chri&s;tian may, and ought to work for his &s;alvation. Yea, I think it to be a &s;pecial favour for which we who live in times of the New Te&s;tament are to be very thankful to the Lord, that he hath therein &s;o cleerly revealed our own &s;alva|tion to be that high and great end (not excluding, but therein inclu|ding
<PB N="327" REF="181">the glory of his great Name, as therein mo&s;t eminently con&s;i&s;t|ing, as was afore &s;aid) for which we ought to act and work. And that the mercy and favour of God therein towards us may the better appear, let it bee con&s;idered at what an uncertainty, not only the Heathen, but many of the Di&s;ci|ple of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> were, and in what by|wayes they have erred for want of more full and cleere revelation in that Point, which through the great mercy of God we Chri&s;tians do now enjoy.</P>
<P>The Heathen knowing thus much by the light of Nature, that &s;ome end was to be propo&s;ed unto man in all vertuous actions, they did therefore much beat their brains, and bu&s;ie them&s;elvs to find out what that end mu&s;t be; in the determination whereof it fell out with them, as in mo&s;t of their o|ther great inque&s;ts, &s;ome thought one thing, and &s;ome another, &s;carce any among them being con|&s;tant to them&s;elves, or &s;o fixing in ought, as not to fluctuate Some
<PB N="328" REF="182">of them did conceive, that the maine end of their acting &s;hould be the hope of another life after this. This indeed was a&s;&s;erted by many of their Poets and Philo&s;o|phers; yet not without &s;ome he&s;i|tancy even in the chiefe&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> with a <HI>Forta&s;&s;e,</HI> and a <HI>Non nimium affir|maverim.</HI> I have &s;een <HI>Tully,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. 64.</HI> Et forta&s;&s;e quem puta|mus peri&s;&s;e praemi&s;&s;us e&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Seneca,</HI> and <HI>Socrates</HI> quoted as he&s;itating herein, <HI>Plato</HI> him&s;elfe bringing in his Ma&s;ter <HI>Socrates;</HI> &s;aying thus before his death, <HI>Hoc &s;cio, &s;pem mihi e&s;&s;e venturum me ad viros bonos, quod tamen non nimi|um affirmaverim.</HI> And when the heathen &s;ought Arguments for the confirmation of their hopes herein they found little to fix them in a certitude and a&s;&s;urance of &s;uch a life to come; much of what they alledged holding no better for men then for bea&s;ts. Whence it was that &s;ome of them devi&s;ed a tran&s;migration of &s;ouls, from men into bea&s;ts, and from bea&s;ts into men. And this opinion of theirs being built upon no certain evi|dences, others were inclined to a&s;|&s;ert,
<PB N="329" REF="182">That vertue is reward to it &s;elf, and that we mu&s;t labour to be vertuous, and to do vertuou&s;ly, only for Vertues &s;ake; a wi&s;e man being &s;ufficiently happy (as they &s;aid) when he is tormented in the Bull of <HI>Phalaris.</HI> But others were much un&s;atisfied in this Opinion, as irrational and ab&s;urd, they ta|king it for granted, That where dangers, torments and death are, there felicity, e&s;pecially in the highe&s;t, cannot con&s;i&s;t, unle&s;&s;e men &s;hould content them&s;elves with a &s;ound of empty words with|out any reality. Some of them did therefore place their &s;upreme good and utmo&s;t end in the en|joyment of &s;en&s;ual plea&s;ures after this life, which divers of their Po|ets meant by their fan&s;ie of the <HI>E|li&s;ian</HI> fields; and this is the opini|on of the Mahometans at this day. But this opinion was rejected by many of the wi&s;e&s;t and mo&s;t vertu|ous among the Heathens, they thinking that this opinion did de|grade men into the rank of bruit Creatures, and concluding, ra|ther
<PB N="330" REF="183">that man was born and fit|ted of the Gods for higher things. Thuswe may perceive at what an uncertainty the Heathen were in this point.</P>
<P>Now for the Writings of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> there were &s;ome among the Jewes, profe&s;&s;ors of the Moi&s;aick Law, <HI>viz.</HI> the Sadduces, who held, That there was no &s;uch thing as eternal life, or everla&s;ting &s;alvation pro|mi&s;ed, or held forth by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in his Writings (which alone the Sadduces do receive for Scripture) nor in any of the Writings of the Old Te&s;tament, as the <HI>Socinians</HI> at this day do a&s;&s;ert, though I think, that if there were no other Scripture to confute them in this, that one place in <HI>Joh.</HI> 5.39. were &s;ufficient, where Chri&s;t bids the Jewes, &s;earch the Scriptures, &s;ay|ing, <HI>For in them ye think to have life eternal.</HI> However I &s;ay, the Sadduces did not expect any &s;uch thing as eternal life in the Wri|tings of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> (being therein veiled under Types and Shadowes rather then cleerly revealed) re|nouncing
<PB N="331" REF="183">therefore all hope of good things to come as the end of doing good, they did [<HI>cum gen|tibus,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">,] jump with &s;ome of the Heathen in their fore|&s;aid Opinion; <HI>viz.</HI> That Vertue it &s;elf is the end of Vertue, and that we mu&s;t do vertuou&s;ly for no other end then for Vertues &s;ake. To this purpo&s;e I am a&s;&s;ured, that I have &s;omewhere read in the Wri|tings of <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> concerning the Sect of the Sadduces, though I cannot pre&s;ently direct to the par|ticular place.</P>
<P>The&s;e things being con&s;ider|ed, &s;hould (me thinks) move us Chri&s;tians unto thankfulne&s;&s;e, that God hath not left us in the dark about this matter, as he did the Jewes, e&s;pecially the Heathen, but hath given us as with open face to behold our eternal &s;alvati|on, as the great end of faith and a good life; &s;o that wee may &s;ay thereupon with the ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.26. We therefore run, not as uncertainly (as did the Sadduces, and as did the Heathen;) <HI>So fight
<PB N="332" REF="184">we, not as one that beateth the air;</HI> but <HI>we run, to obtain a Crown in|corruptible.</HI> And the con&s;iderati|on hereof &s;hould al&s;o cau&s;e us to &s;top our ears again&s;t the in&s;inua|tion of tho&s;e among&s;t us who have &s;ugge&s;ted to us, That to love Je&s;us Chri&s;t for the benefits (<HI>e. g.</HI> free|dome from hell, and eternal life,) which we expect by, from, and through him, is but a whori&s;h love, like that of a di&s;hone&s;t wo|man, who loves her harlot for the Rings, Bracelets and Jewels that he be&s;tows upon her; which is in ef|fect to &s;ugge&s;t, That to love Je&s;us Chri&s;t as our Saviour and Redeem|er is not conjugal, but adulterous love. How far &s;uch &s;ugge&s;tions are from Scripture warrant, whi|ther they tend, and where they are like to end, I leave to the con&s;ide|ration of the wi&s;e.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Are good works the way of, or to &s;alvation?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> What&s;oever the Mar|row of Moderne Divinity &s;ayes to the contrary, Scripture will war|rant us to &s;ay, That albeit good
<PB N="333" REF="184">works are not the way to &s;alvation, in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as Chri&s;t is the way, yet they are the way thither, they being &s;tiled the way of peace, and the path of life, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 5.9, 8. <HI>Prov.</HI> 3.17. and 5.6. and we being commanded to walk in them, <HI>E|phe&s;.</HI> 2.10 A man cannot walk, but where there is a way either of his making or finding. And if good works bee not the way to &s;alvation, then are they the way to damnation, &s;eeing all wayes do lead either to God or the Divel, to heaven or hel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Becau&s;e Chri&s;t Je&s;us is in &s;ome &s;en&s;e our only Sa|viour, did Saint <HI>Paul</HI> therefore bla&s;pheme or wrong Chri&s;t by &s;ay|ing to <HI>Timothy,</HI> that in <HI>looking to him&s;elf and his Doctrine, he &s;hould both &s;ave him&s;elfe and tho&s;e that heard him?</HI> And why then be|cau&s;e Chri&s;t is in &s;ome &s;en&s;e the only way to &s;alvation, &s;hould we be accu&s;ed as bla&s;pheming or wronging Chri&s;t in &s;aying, (yet with the Scriptures) That good Works or good Duties are the way to &s;alvation.</P>
<PB N="334" REF="185">
<P>Obj. <HI>Is not this the difference be|twixt the Covenant of Works and of Grace, that</HI> Adam <HI>under the for|mer was to work for life, and Belie|vers under the latter are to work from life.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As the Covenant of Works and of Grace do differ in many things, &s;o they do accord in &s;ome, and particularly in this thing, <HI>viz.</HI> That as <HI>Adam</HI> was to act for life, &s;o are we al&s;o, as hath been al|ready proved.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Where then is the difference betwixt the Covenant of Works and of Grace?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The differences betwixt them is a point (as I think) of ve|ry great concernment, well wor|thy much to be &s;tudied, and fre|quantly to be preached by us Mi|ni&s;ters; neverthele&s;&s;e I &s;hall not go about at this time to enume|rate all the differences betwixt them, but &s;hall content my &s;elf to name only this one, as being &s;uf|ficient for my pre&s;ent purpo&s;e; <HI>viz</HI> The conditions which God re|quires of man in both the&s;e Cove|nants
<PB N="335" REF="185">are very different; the con|dition of the Covenant of Works being perfection of obedience, or the perfect fulfilling of the whole Law; but the condition of the Covenant of Grace, is Faith in Chri&s;t, Repentance and Sincerity of Obedience. Now as <HI>Adam</HI> was to do or perform the former con|dition, or the condition of the former Covenant for life, &s;o are we to perform the latter condition, or the condition of the latter Cove|nant for life al&s;o. Should we go a|bout to &s;et up the perfect fulfilling of the whole Law, as the conditi|on of &s;alvation, and in &s;uch &s;ort work for &s;alvation, this indeed were legal working, and to work as Legali&s;ts: or &s;hould we expect &s;alvation as merited wages for our work, this were to work legally; but to labour by his &s;trength to perform the conditions of the Co|venant of Grace (to believe, re|pent, to return unto, and to keep with God in the duties of New Obedience) that &s;o we may live, and to expect from Gods free
<PB N="336" REF="186">grace and mercy, that in &s;o doing we &s;hall live, this is to work as a Chri&s;tian, and as becomes the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But is it not the ready way to make people tru&s;t unto, or to re&s;t in their own good works or duties to tell them, that they may do them for &s;alvation?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. I &s;hall in the next place an&s;wer this Que&s;tion with two or three other Que&s;ti|ons.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 Is it not the ready way to make people to ca&s;t off the doing of all good duties and good works, to tell them, that they may not, ought not, need not to do them for &s;alvation?</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 Is not the danger as common and great this way as that? Or, is it not as dangerous to think to go to heaven without the doing of good, as by re&s;ting on the good we do? Is it not as ordinary for people to peri&s;h for barren|ne&s;s, as for bringing forth fruit to them&s;elves?</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 Whether is it not fitter for a
<PB N="337" REF="186">Mini&s;ter to in&s;truct people, how far forth they may, and how far forth they may not tru&s;t in, and re&s;t upon their own Duties, Gra|ces, works, or holine&s;&s;e for &s;al|vation, then to tell them, that they ought not to do any good duty for &s;alvation? As this lat|ter is a thing unlawful, &s;o the for|mer is a thing, I am well a&s;&s;ured, not only lawful, but al&s;o expedi|ent and nece&s;&s;ary: in order therefore thereunto, bee it knowne.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. In general, That we are not to tru&s;t unto, or re&s;t upon our own good Works, Duties or Gra|ces for &s;alvation in any &s;uch &s;ort as Chri&s;t alone and his Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e is to be tru&s;ted unto, or re&s;ted upon.</P>
<P N="2">2. More particularly bee it known;</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That we may not tru&s;t unto, or re&s;t in them as our legal Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;uch as for which the Law of Works will pronounce us righteous, or as any part of our legal Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e in
<PB N="338" REF="187">conjunction with Chri&s;ts.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Con&s;equently hereupon we may not re&s;t in them as things that are ab&s;olutely perfect and exactly commen&s;urate or an&s;werable to the rigour of the Law.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Not as things by which Gods Ju&s;tice is &s;atisfied, his wrath paci|fied, or by which we make him an amends for breach of the fir&s;t Co|venant.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Con&s;equently hereupon, not as things whereby in any &s;trict or proper &s;en&s;e we do merit &s;alvation we having indeed no works for|mally ours, which do make the reward to be of debt, and not of Grace. In the&s;e re&s;pects we are to di&s;claim all our own Works Du|ties, Graces, Holine&s;s, and to tru&s;t unto, or re&s;t upon Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e wholely and &s;olely.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="2">2 But in the &s;econd place be it knowne,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 In general, That becau&s;e Chri&s;t alone is to be re&s;ted upon for &s;al|vation in the fore&s;aid re&s;pects, we have no more rea&s;on to conclude
<PB N="339" REF="187">from thence, that we may, can, or ought in no &s;en&s;e to re&s;t in our own good works or duties for &s;al|vation, then we can conclude, that becau&s;e Chri&s;t alone doth &s;ave us, therefore it may not, can not, ought not to be &s;aid in any &s;en&s;e, that we do &s;ave our &s;elves; which notwith&s;tanding is the fre|quent language of Scripture.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 More particularly be it known,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That we may re&s;t in, or tru&s;t unto our own good Works, Du|ties and Holine&s;&s;e for &s;alvation, in &s;ubordination to the free grace and mercy of God in Chri&s;t Je&s;us accepting them, and pardoning the &s;infulne&s;s of them.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2 We may re&s;t on them, as things which do a&s;&s;ure us of our title unto, or actual intere&s;t in the &s;atisfaction and Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, there being a per&s;onal or evangelical righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e ne|ce&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, as well as a legal righteou&s;ne&s;s; <HI>i. e.</HI> it being not &s;ufficient for our actual enjoy|ment of &s;alvation, that Chri&s;t was
<PB N="340" REF="188">righteous, or did fulfil all righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the Law, unle&s;s we in our own per&s;ons do labour to bee righteous as he was righteous, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.9, 10. <HI>Know ye not, that the un|righteous &s;hall not inherit the king|dom <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">f God? be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor&mdash;</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3 We may re&s;t in them as the wayes wherein, or (which is to the &s;ame purpo&s;e as was &s;aid in the par|ticular foregoing) as the conditi|ons without which Chri&s;t Je&s;us will not &s;ave us: for <HI>without ho|line&s;&s;e no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord, Heb.</HI> 12 14. neither is Chri&s;t the Authour of &s;alvation (actually en|joyed,) unto any other then &s;uch as do obey him, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.9. 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.16. Neither is the re&s;ting upon our own holine&s;&s;e in the&s;e &s;en&s;es any whit again&s;t the glory of Chri&s;t, this being in effect and in deed neither more nor le&s;&s;e but this, <HI>viz.</HI> To re&s;t upon Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t alone for &s;alvation in Chri&s;ts own way; <HI>i e.</HI> the way of holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;s. I do
<PB N="341" REF="188">not mean, perfect holine&s;&s;e and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e according to the Covenant of Works, but &s;uch as is expected and required from us as nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, accor|ding to the tenour of the Cove|nant of Grace. I doubt not but the mo&s;t &s;elf denying &s;ervants of Chri&s;t did in this &s;ort re&s;t upon their own holine&s;&s;e for &s;alvation, in &s;pecial <HI>Hezekiah</HI> praying to the Lord, That he would remember how he had walked before him with a perfect heart, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 20. <HI>beg.</HI> and <HI>Nehemiah</HI> praying to the like purpo&s;e with &s;ubordination to the mercy of God pardoning his defects, <HI>chap.</HI> 13.22. and <HI>David</HI> praying and &s;aying, <HI>Lord &s;ave me, for I am holy,</HI> P&s;al 86.2. and Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aying, <HI>I have fought a good fight, I have fini&s;hed my cour&s;e, I have kept the faith, hence forward is laid up for me a Crawn of Righteou&s;|ne&s;s,</HI> 2 Tim. 4.7 8. To re&s;t upon our own holine&s;&s;e for &s;alvation in the &s;en&s;e immediately afore&s;aid, is no more then for a man who doth u&s;e the creatures moderately,
<PB N="342" REF="189">(as meat, drink, &s;leep, recreation,) in or upon the u&s;e of them, to de|pend on God (the only Authour and Pre&s;erver of life) for health and &s;trength. May not we depend on bread as bread, and upon the Phy&s;ician as the Phy&s;ician, for health and &s;trength; <HI>i. e.</HI> as the means appointed of God for the re&s;toring and continuing of health &amp; &s;trength, &s;o as with a dependance &s;ubordinate to God? Or, do we make an Idol of Gods Creatures, as of bread and the Phy&s;ician, by making them &s;uch as God hath made them; <HI>viz.</HI> Means under him to accompli&s;h their end, and in &s;uch &s;ort making u&s;e of them, and depending upon them? What colour of rea&s;on then is there to &s;ay, That by depending upon our own works and holine&s;s for &s;alva|tion in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as afore&s;aid, we do idolize and make a Chri&s;t of them?</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>Caution.</HI> Only let not the for|mer &s;imilitudes be wre&s;ted beyond their &s;cope and my intent, which is not to a&s;&s;ert or evince that our
<PB N="343" REF="189">good works are phy&s;ical cau&s;es of eternal life as meat, &amp; drink are of our natural life: but only to in|timate, that they are meanes of their kind, in the u&s;e whereof, or that they are wayes of Gods or|daining, wherein we walking, God will &s;ave us, and not otherwi&s;e, or in other wayes. I &s;ay, no o|therwi&s;e, for we have no more warrant to tru&s;t unto Chri&s;t as our Mediator and Advocate for the life of our &s;oules, without the u&s;e of all &s;piritual means of his ap|pointment in order thereunto, then we have to tru&s;t unto God as Creator and Pre&s;erver for the life of our bodies, without u&s;ing the means appointed for that end. Be it therefore knowne and well con|&s;idered, That there is no tru&s;ting to Chri&s;t for &s;alvation, but in Chri&s;ts own way, which is not the way of profanene&s;&s;e, (<HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.3, 4.5, 6. <HI>Gal.</HI> 5.19, 20.) but the way of holine&s;&s;e; <HI>i.e.</HI> of a godly, righ|teous and &s;ober life, <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.11, 12, 13. To re&s;t upon Chri&s;t for &s;alvation, otherwi&s;e then in Chri&s;ts
<PB N="344" REF="190">owne way, is to pre&s;ume, not to believe: it is, I &s;ay, to pre&s;ume, and that in &s;uch &s;ort, as if a man &s;hould re&s;olve never to eat and drink, or as if a man &s;hould re&s;olve to take poi&s;on, a knife or halter, to &s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">b or &s;trangle him&s;elf, and yet &s;hould tru&s;t unto God, and re&s;t upon the power, providence and mercy of God for the pre&s;erving and pro|longing of his life.</P>
<P>There is a double kind of pre|&s;umption, which as rocks upon which we &s;hall undoubtedly &s;plit our &s;elvs, we are carefully to avoid in the &s;teering of our cour&s;e to|wards the haven of eternal happi|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. Pre&s;uming upon, tru&s;ting unto, and re&s;ting in our own good works, duties, graces and holine&s;s without Chri&s;t. This was that rock upon which the Phari&s;aical Jewes did da&s;h them&s;elves and peri&s;h, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.3 [They being ignorant of Gods righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and going a|bout to e&s;tabli&s;h their own righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e have not &s;ubmitted them&s;elves to the Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="345" REF="190">of God.] Such kinde of zeal for good works is not ac|cording to the knowledge of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P N="2">2. Pre&s;uming upon, tru&s;ting un|to, and re&s;ting on Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for &s;alvation with|out any per&s;onal righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and holine&s;s in our &s;elves, which latter is the common and mo&s;t damning pre&s;umption of the igno|rant and profane multitude, who though they allow them&s;elves in known wickedne&s;&s;es, yet will re&s;t upon Chri&s;t for &s;alvation, as is e|vident to be &s;een in &s;ad experience; this being no new thing, but a common thing of old for wicked men in their wickedne&s;s to leane and to &s;tay them&s;elves upon the Lord, as appears by <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 48.2. <HI>They did call them&s;elves of the holy City, and &s;tay them&s;elves upon the God of I&s;rael, albeit they did per&s;i&s;t in their ob&s;tinacy, their neck being as an iron &s;inew, and their brow as bra&s;&s;e.</HI> ver. 4. See al&s;o <HI>Micah</HI> 3.11 <HI>The Heads thereof judg for reward, and the Prie&s;ts thereof teach for hire,
<PB N="346" REF="191">and the Prophets thereof divine for money, yet will they lean upon the Lord, and &s;ay, Is not the Lord among us? none evil &s;hall come unto us.</HI> And that it &s;hall be thus with very ma|ny in the Church to the worlds end, doth &s;eem to be a thing as it were foretold by our Saviour, &s;aying, Matth. 7.22, 23. <HI>Many will &s;ay to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have not we prophe&s;ied in thy name, and in thy name ca&s;t out divels? Have not we eat and drunk in thy pre&s;ence? And then I will profe&s;&s;e unto you, I never knew you, depart from me all ye that work iniquity.</HI> The &s;in of tho&s;e Profe&s;&s;ors was not (as &s;ome &s;uppo&s;e, alledging that Scripture as a warning whereby to drive people from re&s;ting in their du|ties) that they did make a Chri&s;t of their duties, and did re&s;t upon them for &s;alvation; but their &s;in, (as is evident by the an&s;wer which Chri&s;t gives to them) was this, <HI>viz.</HI> That they tru&s;ted to Chri&s;t, and expected that Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;ave them (they making an exter|nal profe&s;&s;ion of his name,) in
<PB N="347" REF="191">their profane cour&s;e of life: for could tho&s;e formal Profe&s;&s;ors have &s;aid to Chri&s;t as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> did, <HI>I have fought a good fight, I have fini&s;hed my cour&s;e, I have kept the faith;</HI> or could they &s;ay with that faithful &s;ervant, <HI>Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds;</HI> or with <HI>Hezekiah, I have walked before thee with a perfect heart.</HI> Chri&s;t would not have &s;aid to them, De|part from me, ye Scribes and Pha|ri&s;ees, ye Merit-mongers, that ex|pect &s;alvation from your own righteou&s;ne&s;s, and not from mine; but he would have &s;aid to them, <HI>Euge, hone &s;erve, Well done good and faithful &s;ervants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord.</HI> But as <HI>David</HI> did tru&s;t God for his bodily &s;afety, in &s;uch &s;ort &s;hould we tru&s;t in God for our &s;ouls &s;afety and &s;alvation, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 44.6. <HI>I will not tru&s;t to my bow, neither &s;hall my own &s;word &s;ave me,</HI> &s;ayes he. And yet for all that <HI>David</HI> did not tru&s;t in God that God would &s;ave him without his bow, or without his &s;word; for if &s;o, he would never have ble&s;&s;ed
<PB N="348" REF="192">God for teaching his hands to war and his fingers to fight, and for girding him with &s;trength, in &s;o much a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> that a bow of &s;teel was bro|ken by his armes. Even &s;o let a Chri&s;tian &s;ay, I will not tru&s;t to my own Duties, Works, Graces, Holine&s;&s;e, neither &s;hall my owne inherent righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ave me, and yet I will not tru&s;t to be &s;aved without them.</P>
<P>If what I have &s;o largely &s;poken in this place be thought by any to be in&s;ufficient, whereby to prevent or wipe off from me the &s;aid impu|tation of making good works to be phy&s;ical cau&s;es of &s;alvation, I &s;hal wi&s;h &s;uch a one to con&s;ider, That as the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> doth &s;tile a Saints eternal reward, <HI>the fruit of his do|ings,</HI> and his enjoyment of that reward, <HI>his eating the fruit of tho&s;e his doings, chap.</HI> 3.10. So the ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle Saint <HI>Paul</HI> (that great Preacher of free grace, and Exal|ter of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;s) doth re&s;emble good works to &s;eed &s;own, and &s;alvation to the crop or har|ve&s;t. <HI>Gal</HI> 6.8. <HI>He that &s;oweth to
<PB N="349" REF="192">the Spirit, &s;hall of the Spirit reap life everla&s;ting;</HI> by &s;owing to the Spirit, meaning, as he interprets him&s;elf, <HI>ver.</HI> 9. well doing, or do|ing that which is good; this &s;eed, and that crop being in the phra&s;e of the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e and Mercy, <HI>chap.</HI> 10.12. <HI>Sow to your &s;elvs in righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> (which <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;tileth, <HI>Sowing righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> Prov. 11.18.) <HI>reap in mercy.</HI> So that if I &s;hal be thought blame|worthy for the fore&s;aid compari|&s;ons as if I made good works to be phy&s;ical cau&s;es of &s;alvation, the fore&s;aid Prophets and Apo&s;tles will be alike lyable to the &s;ame cen&s;ures, the thought of which ought to be far from us. I have been the larger in this Con&s;ectary, becau&s;e I judg it to be of weight and con&s;equence more then ordi|nary.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="29" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="350" REF="193">
<HEAD><HI>CHAP. XXIX.</HI> The Conclu&s;ion.</HEAD>
<P>THE next Work which I de|&s;igne to my &s;elf as a &s;econd part of this Tractate concerning the Nature of Forgivene&s;s of Sin, is to find out and &s;et down tho&s;e &s;everal phra&s;es both in the Old and New Te&s;tament which I take to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;ynonimous, commen&s;urate, or equivalent with forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, and to deduce from thence &s;undry Con&s;ectaries according to the method ob&s;erved in this part.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e I am willing to make trial what acceptance this fir&s;t part of my labour will find, before I publi&s;h a &s;econd; and becau&s;e it may perhaps be long ere my lei|&s;ure
<PB N="351" REF="193">from my weekly paines in preaching will permit me fully to accompli&s;h what I intend as a &s;upplement hereof; I will there|fore &s;uffix unto this fir&s;t Part that which otherwi&s;e I had re&s;erved for the clo&s;e of my whole labour of this kind; <HI>viz.</HI> The following Con|&s;olatory Apology. or Apologetical con&s;olation, &s;aying:</P>
<P>If in this pre&s;ent undertaking, to di&s;cover the true and full nature of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, I have in ought <HI>[Humanum pa&s;&s;us,]</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>For</HI> Homo &s;um, &amp; hu|mani nihil &agrave; me alie|num puto.</NOTE> com|mitted any &s;in of Error, and need|ing forgivene&s;&s;e, my comfort is, that (as my heart tels me, and I hope, that how deceitful &s;oever, yet therein it doth not much de|ceive me) I am, and by the grace of God I ever &s;hall be ready at a|ny time upon the di&s;covery there|of, plainly to confe&s;&s;e it; and I am wel a&s;&s;ured from the Text in hand, That in &s;o doing God is not only very gracious and merciful, but ju&s;t and faithful likewi&s;e to forgive it. And as for the pardon of man,
<PB N="352" REF="194">e&s;pecially of my fellow &s;ervants and brethren in the Mini&s;tryl what &s;hall I &s;ay? Shall I &s;ay, that I de|&s;pi&s;e it, and care not much for it? God forbid, let &s;uch a &s;pirit of pride and di&s;dain be far and far from me, and not from me only, but from all tho&s;e who profe&s;&s;e them&s;elves to be di&s;ciples unto that Lord, who hath given both a Precept and a Pattern of Humility unto all his &s;ervants, in&s;tructing them hereunto both <HI>Voce &amp; Vi|t&acirc;,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.</HI> I am therefore re&s;olved by the helping grace of God, not to &s;tick to crave pardon of man as well as of God, according as my need of it, and ne|ce&s;&s;ity of asking it &s;hall be made appear unto me; and in &s;o doing I do not at all doubt, but that I &s;hall obtain it, according to that Hemi|&s;tick, &mdash;<HI>Veniam petimu&s;que da|mu&s;que vici&s;&s;im.</HI> Even &s;o, O thou Pre&s;erver of men, for Chri&s;t Je&s;us his &s;ake; <HI>Forgive us our tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as wee forgive them
<PB N="353" REF="194">that tre&s;pa&s;s again&s;t us.</HI> Amen, A|men.</P>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Luke 2.14.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Glory to God in the Highe&s;t, on earth peace, good will towards men.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="195">
<PB REF="195">
<HEAD>The CONTENTS of the &s;e|veral CHAPTERS.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 1.</HI> AN Introdu|ction to the whole <HI>p. 1</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 2.</HI> The various phra&s;es whereby Gods forgiving &s;in, and his not forgiving &s;in are intimated and expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture; which &s;aid phra|&s;es of both kinds are &s;orted into Negative and Affirmative. <HI>p. 5</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 3.</HI> Rea&s;ons and Grounds for the &s;aid variety of phra&s;e, or various expre&s;sions, toge|ther with rules for a right un|der&s;tanding and due interpre|tation of them. <HI>p. 16</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="196">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 4.</HI> What forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is not, laid down in four Negative Propo&s;itions <HI>p 26</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 5</HI> What forgivene&s;s of is, laid down in two Affirma|tive Propo&s;itions, together with the Explication of them. <HI>p. 38</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 6</HI> The various &s;en&s;es or &s;ignifications, wherein for|givene&s;s of &s;in is taken in Scripture, it being taken in four &s;everal &s;en&s;es, but mo&s;t commonly and &s;ignally in one &s;en&s;e, and what &s;en&s;e that is, declared. <HI>p. 53</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 7.</HI> That a Reprobate is &s;aid in &s;ome &s;en&s;e, even in a Scripture &s;en&s;e to be pardoned, and how. <HI>p. 66</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 8</HI> That a &s;inner, notwith|&s;tanding his pardon (upon the main) may, and oft-times doth &s;uffer temporal puni&s;hments for his &s;ins, together with an
<PB REF="196">An&s;wer to &s;everal Objections, wherein the di&s;tinction be|twixt cha&s;ti&s;ements and pu|ni&s;hments is examined, &amp; how far forth allowable, declared; wherin al&s;o the true differences betwixt the &s;ufferings of the godly and the wicked are a&s;&s;er|ted and proved; and the fal&s;e ones, (commonly a&s;&s;igned) are rejected and refuted. That the Saints may, and oft-times do in this life &s;uffer for their &s;ins, Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction not|with&s;tanding, proved and cleered. In what &s;en&s;e God doth, and in what &s;en&s;e hee doth not remember the &s;ins of Believers, laid down in &s;un|dry Propo&s;itions, Affirmative &amp; Negative; wherein likewi&s;e is declared what difference there is betwixt Gods remem|bring the &s;ins of the godly, and
<PB REF="197">of the wicked, as al&s;o betwixt his remembring the &s;ins if Be|lievers under the Old Te&s;ta|ment, and the &s;ins of Believers under the New Te&s;tament. <HI>p. 67</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 9</HI> Caution given as touch|ing the interpretation of &s;uch metaphorical phra&s;es whereby forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is expre&s;&s;ed, that we con&s;true them warily and in a &s;ober &s;en&s;e. <HI>p. 99</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 10</HI> In what &s;en&s;e, or how far forth, as true and fal&s;e, tho&s;e common &s;ayings of our Divines, <HI>[Sublat&acirc; culp&acirc; tollitur poena; &amp; ju&s;tifica|tio tollit omnia poenalia;]</HI> may, or are to be con&s;trued, and interpreted, and in what &s;en&s;e to be rejected. <HI>p. 102</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 11.</HI> That there is no &s;uch thing as <HI>Remi&s;sio culpae</HI> [re|mi&s;&s;ion of the fault,] in way of di&s;tinction from <HI>Remi&s;sio
<PB REF="197">poenae</HI> [remi&s;&s;ion of the pu|ni&s;hment;] the&s;e two being one and the &s;elf &s;ame thing. The four following Chapters do declare, That forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is a dividual, and not an individual action, as is com|monly &s;uppo&s;ed. <HI>p. 107</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 12.</HI> That the di&s;tinction of the pardon of &s;in into total or partial, perfect or imperfect is a ju&s;tifiable di&s;tinction. <HI>p. 113</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 13.</HI> That one and the &s;ame &s;in may be more or le&s;&s;e pardo|ned <HI>p. 114</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 14.</HI> That no &s;inner is fully pardoned in this life, nor yet a|fore the day of Judgement. <HI>p. 115</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 15.</HI> The difference be|twixt remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in and &s;an|ctification, commonly a&s;&s;igned, (that being &s;aid to be perfect in this life, this imperfect) reje|cted and refuted. <HI>p. 117</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="198">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 16.</HI> That remi&s;sion of &s;in doth imply &s;omewhat po&s;itive as well as privative, and for that rea&s;on that it differs not from Ju&s;tification, as hath been by &s;ome &s;uppo&s;ed. <HI>p. 120</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 17.</HI> That one and the &s;ame &s;in may be &s;aid, and that in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, to be pardoned and not pardoned, to be im|puted, and not imputed to a &s;inner <HI>123</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 18.</HI> The nece&s;sity for be|lievers them&s;elves to pray daily for pardon (according to the tenour of the fifth Petition in the Lords Prayer) a&s;&s;erted and evinced, as well by Argu|ment as an&s;wer to an Obje|ction; it being withal more at large and di&s;tinctly declared, what are the particular things which a Believer (according
<PB REF="198">to the tenor of that Petition) is to pray for <HI>125</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 19.</HI> An an&s;wer to the three following Que&s;tions,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> Doth God alwayes pardon a &s;inner in&s;tantly upon the confe&s;sion of his &s;ins?</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> In what &s;en&s;e, or how far forth doth a &s;inner receive a pre&s;ent pardon immediately upon the confe&s;sion of his &s;ins?</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> Whe|ther a truly penitent and be|lieving &s;inner, having once confe&s;&s;ed a &s;inne, is at any time thereafter to confe&s;&s;e it in or|der to forgivene&s;s? The Af|firmative to which la&s;t Que|&s;tion is a&s;&s;erted and proved. Certain particulars added as Cautions for the preventing of mi&s;takes, and for the bet|ter under&s;tanding of the Au|thors true &s;en&s;e and meaning.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<HI>p. 137</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="199">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 20.</HI> That all &s;ins, pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, are not at once actually pardoned. That no &s;in is from eternity actually pardoned. An Objection an|&s;wered. That no &s;in is actual|ly pardoned, till the &s;inner be in a capacity of receiving or enjoying it. What tho&s;e things are which do put a &s;inner into a capacity of actual pardon, de|clared in their particulars, to|gether with Rea&s;ons for the re|markablene&s;&s;e of the &s;ame. An Obiection an&s;wered. With a vindicating of that A&s;&s;ertion in <HI>Rom. 4.17.</HI> [wherein God is &s;aid to <HI>call the things that are not, as though they were]</HI> from Antinomian purpo&s;es. <HI>p. 163</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 21.</HI> Caution given as touching a right under&s;tand|ing of the two following Pro|po&s;itions, laid down by that
<PB REF="199">very learned &amp; pious Divine, Mr. <HI>Anthony Burges,</HI> in his Sermons concerning Ju&s;tifica|tion, viz.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1. No wicked man ever hath any &s;in forgiven him.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2. It is onething for God to forgive, and ano|ther thing for God not to demand and exact puni&s;h|ments.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST><HI>p. 187</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 22.</HI> That forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in is a Tran&s;ient, not Imma|nent act in God, proved&punc; and cleared. Several de&s;criptions of actions Immanent and Tran&s;ient &s;et down. Mr. <HI>Baxter</HI> vindicated in a pa&s;&s;age about this di&s;tinction, wherein Mr. <HI>Kendal</HI> hath (as the Author thinks) cau&s;ele&s;ly excepted a|gain&s;t him. Tran&s;ient Acti|ons are of two &s;orts, and unto what &s;ort of tran&s;ient Actions forgivene&s;s of &s;in is to be re|ferred. <HI>p. 192</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="200">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 23.</HI> That remi&s;sion of &s;in, [<HI>Quoad terminum remotum</HI> or as in execution;] is a real, yea, phy&s;ical change, and not a change purely relative, as is commonly &s;uppo&s;ed. <HI>p 204</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 24.</HI> The de&s;cription of forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;in, given by that very learned and godly Divine Dr. <HI>Twi&s;&s;e,</HI> (which is by &s;ome highly commended as mo&s;t accurate) examined and refuted, and the evil con|&s;equences of the &s;ame detected, together with the Authors A|pology for his taking upon him in ought to expre&s;&s;e his di&s;&s;ent from men of &s;uch prime worth (Stars of the fir&s;t Magnitude) as confe&s;&s;edly that Doctor was. <HI>p. 209</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 25.</HI> That a Believer, his pardon notwith&s;tanding, is in
<PB REF="200">his confe&s;sion of &s;in to put him&s;elf under the cur&s;e of the Law; why, and how declared. That a &s;inner after pardon, is a &s;inner, and that God doth look upon him as a &s;inner, al|beit he doth not deal with him or puni&s;h him as &s;uch. <HI>p. 223</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 26.</HI> That a Believer du|ring his warfare on earth is to fear hell and damnation why, and how, proved and manife&s;t|ed, as al&s;o cleared in the way of an&s;wer to &s;everal Objections, notwith&s;tanding the Doctrine of Per&s;everance of the Saints be acknowledged; in an&s;wer to which Objections, the con|&s;i&s;tency and co-operation of the love of God, and the fear of God is proved. What man|ner of fear it is that love doth expel, and what manner of fear it is that love doth retain,
<PB REF="201">declared: Notwith&s;tanding, that Believers are re&s;trained by the love of God, yet that God doth u&s;e &s;everal other means whereby to con&s;traine; <HI>i. e.</HI> effectually to induce them, proved: and what tho&s;e &s;everal means are, &s;pecified more at large. The con&s;i|&s;tency and co-operation of faith and fear, maintained and proved. That filial and &s;lavi&s;h fear do not differ in their object matter, or in the thing feared, but in the man|ner of fearing, a&s;&s;erted, and how, proved and cleered by a due interpretation of that Scripture in <HI>Luke 1.74.</HI> The difference betwixt fear as it is the fruit of the &s;pirit of bon|dage, and as a fruit of the Spirit of Adoption, opened and a&s;&s;erted. <HI>p. 235</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="201">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 27</HI> That a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel hath no warrant &s;o to ab&s;olve a Believer, as in the name of God to tell him, That his &s;ins are as ab&s;olutely pardo|ned, and that he is as ab&s;olute|ly &s;ure of heaven, as if he were already in heaven. <HI>p. 289</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 28.</HI> That the repen|tance, which the Go&s;pel requires, is not only repen|tance <HI>[from]</HI> the pardon of our &s;ins, as the Antinomians affirm, but <HI>[for]</HI> the pardon of them, proved and evinced by &s;everal Arguments. Seve|ral Objections of the Antino|mians an&s;wered; wherein it is punctually declared, In what &s;en&s;e Evangelical Re|pentance may be &s;aid to be <HI>[from]</HI> pardon of &s;in, and in
<PB REF="202">what &s;en&s;e <HI>[for]</HI> the pardon of it. It is di&s;putable whether Gods glory and our own &s;alva|tion are to be looked at as two ends, or only as one; the former being a nece&s;&s;ary re&s;ult of the latter. An Objection an&s;wered, That it is a &s;ingular favour of God, and a favour in &s;ome &s;en&s;e peculiar to the times of the New Te&s;tament, that God hath &s;o cleerly revealed unto us our eternal &s;alvation, (as the great end, not excluding, but in|cluding his glory) of mans working, or of all, Chri&s;tian duty. That good works may be &s;tiled the way to &s;alvation. That the difference betwixt the Covenant of Works and of Grace lyes not in this, that <HI>Adam</HI> was to work <HI>for</HI> life, and we not <HI>for,</HI> but only <HI>from</HI> life. Our own good works, duties, graces or holine&s;&s;e, how
<PB REF="202">far forth, or in what &s;en&s;e to be di&s;claimed, and not tru&s;ted unto for &s;alvation; as al&s;o in what &s;en&s;e, or how farre forth they may be tru&s;ted un|to, or re&s;ted in for &s;alvation, declared more at large. A Caution annexed to prevent mi&s;take. That there are two kinds of pre&s;umption, both which are di&s;tinctly to be made knowne unto people by the Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and care|fully to be avoided by all, as dangerous rocks in the &s;teering of our cour&s;e towards the ha|ven of eternal happine&s;&s;e. <HI>p. 297</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. 29</HI> The Conclu&s;ion. <HI>p. 350</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="203">
<P>In the Epi&s;tle. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"></HI> above, <HI>p.</HI> 23 <HI>l.</HI> 19. <HI>r.</HI> direct</P>
<P>Book. Pag, 1. line 18. <HI>r.</HI> God. p. 9. l. 3 <HI>r.</HI> mercy. l 29. <HI>r.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. p 11 <HI>r</HI> Gods. p 17 <HI>r</HI> Gods. p 17 <HI>r</HI> &s;ort allu&s;ive. p 19 l 12 <HI>r.</HI> tran&s;latitious. p 35 l 16 <HI>r</HI> in|tuitive. l 24 <HI>for</HI> &s;ame, <HI>r</HI> &s;in. p 38 l 21 <HI>for</HI> &s;econd, <HI>r.</HI> double. p 58 l 18 <HI>r</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. p 73 l 13 <HI>for</HI> are <HI>r</HI> is. and <HI>for</HI> be <HI>r</HI> by. l 16 <HI>r</HI> the. p 77 l 14 <HI>r</HI> this. p 79 l 17 <HI>r</HI> or be for &s;in. p 88 <HI>marg</HI> l 9 <HI>r</HI> morally. p 95 l 20 <HI>r</HI> judici|al. p 101 l 24 <HI>for</HI> as <HI>r</HI> or. l 25 <HI>r</HI> great. p 103 l 19 <HI>for</HI> the other <HI>r</HI> this. p 108 l 1 <HI>for</HI> cheri&s;h <HI>r</HI> there is, l 3 <HI>for</HI> he <HI>r</HI> the. p 117 l 15 <HI>blot out</HI> [in] p i 42 l 11 <HI>for</HI> and <HI>r</HI> but. p 144 l 4 <HI>r</HI> bold. p 151 l 22 <HI>r Epidemica.</HI> p 157 l 23 <HI>blot out</HI> [threatning] p 203 l 3 <HI>r</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> l 12 for <HI>e&s;&s;e</HI> r <HI>&s;e.</HI> p 205 l 28 <HI>r</HI> contradi&s;tinction. p 216 l 4 <HI>r</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. p 229 l 4 <HI>blot out</HI> [that] p 233 l 24 <HI>for</HI> or <HI>r</HI> and, and <HI>marg</HI> l 2 r <HI>&s;ub&s;trata.</HI> p 248 l 19 <HI>for</HI> with <HI>r</HI> in. p 250 <HI>r</HI> will execute. p 257 l 2 <HI>r</HI> unfaithfulne&s;s. p 272 l 22 <HI>r</HI> into. p 278 l 24 <HI>r</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. p 279 l 6 <HI>r</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. p 285 l 29 <HI>r</HI> doth. p 294 l 8 <HI>r</HI> according to. p 336 l 10 <HI>for</HI> next <HI>r</HI> fir&s;t.</P>
<PB REF="203">
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
