DIRECTION VI.

DIRECTION VI.

Those that endeavour to perform sincere obedience to all commands of Christ, as the condition whereby they are to procure for themselves a right and title to salvation, ar.d a good ground to trust on him for the same, do seek their salvation by the works of the law, and not by the faith of Christ, as he is revealed in tiie gospel: and. they shall never be able to perform sincere and true holy obedience by all such endeavours.

EXPLICATION.

For the understanding the terms of this direction, note here, that I take salvation as comprehending justification, as well as other saving benefits: and sincere obedience, as comprehending holy resolutions, as well as the fulfilling them. The most of men, that have any sense of religion, are prone to imagine, that the sure way to establish the practice of holiness and righteousness, is to make it the procuring condition of the favour of God, and all happiness. This may appear by the various false religions that have prevailed most in the world. In this way the heathens were brought to their best devotion and morality, by the knowledge of the judgment of God, that those that violate several $f the great duties to God and their neighbour, arc worthy of death; and by their consciences accusing or excusing them, according to the practice of them, Rom.

i. 32. and ii. 14, 15. Our consciences are inforr.id by the common light of natural reason, that it is just with God to require us to perform those duties, that we may avoid his wrath, and enjoy his favour. And we cannot find any better way than this to obtain happiness, or to stir up ourselves to duty, without divine revelation. Yet, because our own consciences testify that we often fail in the performance of these duties, we are inclined, by self-love, to persuade ourselves that our sincere endeavours to do the best we can, shall be sufficient to procure the favour of God, and pardon for all our failings. ’ -”

Thus we see that our persuasion of salvation, by the condition of sincere obedience, hath its original from our corrupt natural reason, and is part of the wisdom of this world. It is none of ” the wisdom of God in a mystery, that hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world to our glory:” it is none of those things of the Spirit of God which ” have not entered into the heart of man,” and which ” the natural man cannot receive ; for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned,” 1 Cor.

ii. 6, 7, 9, 14. It is none of the foolishness of preaching, whereby it pleased God ” to save them that believe,” 1 Cor. i. 21. Anil though we had a better way revealed to us in the gospel, for the enjoyment of the favour of God, and holiness itself, and all salvation, without any procuring condition of works, by the free gift of God’s grace through faith in Christ} yet it is very ‘difficult to persuade men out of a way they are naturally addicted to, and that hath forestalled and captivated their judgments, and is bred in their bone, and therefore cannot easily be gotten out of the flesh. Most of those that live under the hearing and profession of the gospel, are not brought to hate sin as sin, and to love godliness for itself, though they be convinced of the necessity of it to salvation; and therefore they cannot love it heartily. The only means they can take to bring themselves to a hypocritical practice in their old natural way, that they may avoid hell, and get heaven, by their works. And their own consciences witness, the zeal and love that they have for God and godh> ness, their self-denial, sorrow for sin, strictness of life, are in a manner forced and extorted from them by slavish fear and mercenary hope; so that they are afraid that if they should trust on Christ for salvation, by free grace without works, the fire of their zeal and devotion would be quickly extinguished, and they should grow careless in religion, and let loose the reigns to their lusts, and bring certain damnation upon themselves. This moveth them to account them the . only Boanergesses who preach little or none of the doctrine of free grace, but rather spend their pains in rebuking sin, and urging people to get Christ and his salvation by thejr works, and thundering hell and damnation against sinners.

It hath been farther observed, that some that have contended much for salvation by free grace, without any condition of works, have fallen into antinomian opinions, and licentious practices. The experience of these tilings hath much prevailed with some learned and zealous men of late amongst ourselves, to recede from the doctrine of justificationoffaith -without works% formerly professed unanimously, and strongly defended by the protestants against the papists, as a principal article of true religion. They have persuaded themselves, that such a way of justification is ineffectual

98 •the Gospel Mystery ,

yea, destructive to sanctification; and that the practice of sincere obedience cannot be established against antinomian dotages and prevailing lusts, except it be made the necessary condition of our justification, and so of our eternal salvation. Therefore they conclude, that God hath certainly made sincere obedience to be the condition of our salvation. And they have endeavoured to new-model the protestant doctrine, and to interpret the holy scriptures in a way agreeable and subservient to this their sure foundation of holiness.

Cut I hope to shew, that this their imagined sure foundation of holiness was never laid by the holy God.; but that it is rather an error in the foundation, pernicious to the true faith, and to holiness of life. J account it an error especially to be abhorred and detested, because we are so prone to be seduced bv it, and because it is an error whereby Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light, and a patron of holiness, hath greatly withstood the gospel in the apostle’s times, and stirred up men to persecute it, out of zeal for the law: and hath since prevailed to set up and maintain poperv, v hereby the mystery of iniquity wbrketh apace in these days, to corrupt the purity of the gospel r.mong protestants, and heal the deadly wound that was given 10 popery, by preaching the doctrine of justification by faith., without works.

One thing asserted in the Direction against this fundamental error is, that it is a way of salvation by the works of the lave, and not by the faith of Christ, as revealed in the gospel; though the maintainers of it would have us believe that it is the only way to the gospel, that so they may not doubt of its power and efficacy for our justification, sanctificaiion, ard our whole salvation. Their reasons are, because the law, as a covenant of works, requireth us to do all its commandments perfectly that we may live; whereas thev plead only for a milder condition of sincere doing, that we way live. And diev plead not for doing ekiiies, is obliged there unto by the authority of the law given

gj|r.; .•■ ’* \ ” - >:‘735E of God by Moses, but only in obedience to the commands of Christ in the gospel. Neither do they plead for salvation by sincere obedience without Christ, but only by Christ, and through his merit and righteousness. And they acknowledge, that both salvation itself, and sincere obedience are given to them freely by the grace of Christ; so that all is of grace. They acknowledge also, that their salvation is by faith, because sincere obedience is wrought in them by believing th« gospel, and is included in the nature of faith, whieh is the entire condition of our salvation: and some call it the resignating act of faith. But all these reasons are but a fallacious vizard upon a legal way of salvation, to make it look like pure gospel; as I shall evince by the following particulars.

1. All that seek salvation, by the sincere performance of goad works, as the procuring condition, are condemned by the apostle Paul, for seeking righteousness by the works of the laxv, and not by faith, Rom. ix. 32; and for seeking to he justified by the law, and falling from the grace of Christ, Gal.’ v. 4. This one assertion, if it can be proved, is enough to pluck off the fallacious vizard from the condition of sincere obedience, and to make men abhor it, as a damning legal doctrine, that bereaveth all its followers of all salvation by Christ. And the proof of it is not difficult to persons that warily consider a point of so great moment for their salvation. The Jews and judaizing christians, against whom the apostle chiefly disputed in his whole controversy, did not profess any hope of being justified by perfect obedience, according to the rigour of the law, but only by such obedience as they accounted to be sincere, and not hypocritical. And we have no-cause to doubt but that the judaizing Galatians had learned, by the gospel, to distinguish sincere obedience from hypocrisy.

The Jewish religion bound all that professed it, to acknowledge themselves to be sinners; as appeareth by their anniversary humiliation on the day of atone

ment, and several other rites of the law, and manyclear testimonies in the oracles of God, that were committed to them, Psal. cxliii. 2. Prov. x. 9. Eccl. vii. 20. Yet they know they were bound to turn to the Lord with all their hearts, in sincerity and uprightness, and that God would accept of sincere obedience; for which cause they might better put it for the condition of the law, than we can of the gospel, Psal. ii. 9, 10. Deut. vi. 5. xxx. 10. So that if the apostle had disputed against those that held only perfect obedience to be the condition of justification, he had contended with his own shadow. And they might as readily judge sincere obedience to be the condition of justification under the law, as we can judge it to be the condition under the gospel. Neither doth the apostle condemn them merely for accounting sincere obedience to the law, as given by Moses, to be the condition of their justification; but, more generally, for seeking salvation by their own works. And he allegeth aga nst them, that Abraham, who lived before the law of I loses, was not justified by any of his works, though he did perform sincere obedience; and that David, who lived under the law of Moses, was not justified by his works, though he performed sincere obedience, and was as much given to obey the law given by Moses, as we are to obey any commands of Christ in the gospel, Rom, iv. 2, 3, 5, 6. Neither doth he condemn them for seeking their salvation only by works, without respecting at all the grace and salvation that is by Christ; for the judai^ing Galatians were yet professors of the grace and salvation of Christ, though they thought obedience to the law a necessary condition for the partaking of it, as also many other judaizing believers did. And doubtless, they accounted themselves obliged thereunto, not only by the authority of Moses, but of Christ also, whom they owned as their Lord and Saviour. And we may be sure it was no damning error, to account Moses’s law obliging at that time ; for many thousands of the. Jews, that were fqund believers, held the ceremonies of Moses to be in force at that time; and Paul was tender towards them in it, Acts xxi. 20, 26. xv. 5. And other Jews sought justification^ not only by their sincere works, but also by trusting on the promise made to Abraham, “and on their priesthood and sacrifices, that were types of Christ. And the most legal Pharisees would thank God for their works, as proceeding from his grace, Luke xviii. 11. And they could as well acknowledge dieir salvation to be by faith, as the asserters of salvation, by sincere obedience, can in these days; for they accounted that their sincere obedience was wrought in them by believing the word of God, which contained gospel as well as legal doctrine in it; and therefore that it must be included in the nature of faith, if faith were taken for the condition of their salvation.

Let the asserters of the condition of sincere obedience learn from hence, that they are building again that judaism which the apostle Paul destroyed, whereby the Jews stumbled at Christ, Rom. ix. 32; and the Galatians were in danger of falling from Christ and grace, Gal. v. 2, 4; and let them beware of falling under that curse which he hath denounced, on this, vvery occasion, against any man, or angel, that shall preach any other gospel than that which he hath preached, Gal. i. 8, 9.

2. The difference between the law and gospel doth not at all consist in this, the one requireth perfect doing; the other, only sincere doing ; but in this, that the one requireth doing, the other not doing, but believing for life and salvation. Their terms are different,, not only in degree, but in their whole nature.

The apostle Paid opposeth the believing required-m the gospel, to all doing for life, as the condition proper to the law; Gal. iir. 12. “The law is not of faith; but the man that doth them, shall live in them.” Rom. iv.. 5. “To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for ri-‘hteeusness.” If we seek salvation bv ever ;o easy and mild a condition of works, we do thereby bring ourselves under the terms of the law, and become debtors to fulfil the whole law in perfection, though we intended to engage ourselves only to fulfil it in part, Gab v. 3; for the law is a complete declaration of the only terms whereby God will judge all that are not brought to despair of procuring salvation by any of their owa works, and to receive it as a gift freely given to them by the grace of God in Christ. So that all that seek salvation, right or wrong, knowingly or ignorantly, by any works, less or more, whether invented by their own superstition, or commanded by God in the Old or New Testament, shall at last stand or fall according to these terms.

3. Sincere obedience cannot be performed to all the commands of Christ in the gospel, except it be also performed to the moral laiv% as given by Moses, and as obliging us by that authority. Some asserters of the condition of salvation, by sincere obedience to the commands of Christ, would fain be free from the authority of the law of Moses, because that justifieth none, but thundereth out a curse against all those that seek salvation by the works of it, Gal. iii. 10, 11. But if they” were at all justified by sincere works, their respect to Moses’s authority would not hinder their success: for man}- that were good christians, accounted themselves bound to obey, not only the moral, but the ceremonial law; and if they had sought justification by any worksT they would have sought it by those, Acts xx. 20, 21. They knew not of any justification by sincere works, as commanded in the gospel; yet, if they hadjcrred in any thing absolutely necessary to salvation, the apostles would not have tolerated their weakness. And, .whether they will or no, they must seek their salvation by the works of the moral law, as given by Moses, or else they can never get it by sincere obedience to the commands of Christ. Christ never loved their new ‘condition so well, as to abolish the Mosaical authority of the moral law, for the establishing of it. He eame not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them, in the practice required by them; and hath ‘declared, that ” those that break one of the least of these commandments, and teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven, Mat. v. 17,19. He commanded us to ” do to men whatsoever we would they should do to us, because this is the law and the prophets: which is sufficient to prove, that he would have us to account thelaw authoritative to oblige us in this niat» ter. He requireth his disciples to observe and do whatsoever the Scribes and Pharisees bid them, because they ” sat in Moses’s seat,” Mat. xxiii. 2, 3.

And, to come to the point in hand, when Christ had occasion to answer the questions of those that were guilty of the same error, that I am now dealing with, in seeking salvation by their own works, he shewed them that they must obey the commands as they were already established by the Mosaical authority, in the scriptures of the Old Testament: “What is written in the law I how readest thou? This do, and thou shalt live,” Luke x. 26, 28. “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments ;” which are, ” thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit adultery,” &c.: ;-.V (ire-Jo like manner the apostles of Christ urged the performance of moral duties upon believers, by the author of the law given by Moses. The apostle Paul exeth to love one another, because “he that loveth one another, hath fulfilled the law,” Rom. xiii. 8; and J&.;f? honour our father and mother, which is the first command with promise,” Eph. vi. 2. The apostle John exhorteth to love others, as no new, but an old commandment. The apostle James exhorteth i’ to fulfil the royal law, according to the scriptures: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;” and to keep all the commandments of the law, one as well as another, ber cause he that said,” do not commit adultery ,” said also, . %cloi not kill,” Jam. ii. 8, 10, 11. Sound protestants

have accounted the denial of the moral law of Moses ■to be an antinomian error. And though our late prevaricators against antinomianism maintain not this error; yet they establish a worse error, justification by their sincere gospel works. I think the denomination of the antinominians arose from this error. The law of Moses had its authority at first from Christ; for Christ was the Lord God of Israel, that ordained the law by angels on mount Sinai, in the hand of Moses, a mediator lor the Israelites, who were then his only church, and with whom we believing Gentiles are now joined, as ” fellow members of one and the same body,” Eph. iii. 6. And though Christ hath since abrogated some of the commandments, then given by Moses, concerning figurative ceremonies and judicial proceedings, yet he hath not annulled the obligative authority of the. moral law, but hath left it in its full force, to oblige in moral duties, that still are to be practised; as, when some acts of any parliament are repealed, the authority of the same parliament remaineth inviolable in other acts that are hot repealed. -.■ .

I know they object, that the ten commands of the moral law, the ministration of death, written and engrjxven on stones, are also done awrty by Christ, 2 Con iii. 7. But this maketh altogether against their conditional covenant: for they are the ministration of death, and done away, not as they commanded perfect obedience, for even Christ himself commandeth us to be perfect, Mat. v. 48; but as they were conditions for pro-, curing life, and avoiding death, established by a promise of life to the doers, and a curse to the breakers of them, Gal. iii. 10, 12. The covenant made with Israel on mount Sinai, is abolished by Christ, the mediator of the new covenant, Heb. viii. 8, 9, 13. And the ten commandments bind us not as they were words of that covenant, Exod. xxxiv. 28. I mean, they bind us not as conditions of that covenant, except we seek to be justified by works: for the law, as a covenant, doth still stand in force enough to curse those that seek

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Sometimes they will call the righteousness of Christy

.their legal righteousness, that they make room for an evangelical righteousness of their own works, to be the immediate procuring cause of their justification by Christ; whereas the apostle Paul knew no evangelical righteousness but that of Christ, which he called ” the righteousness of faith without the law,” Rom. iii. 21, 22. and not ” of the law,” Phil. iii. 9. Thus they make void Christ’s salvation, while they pretend to own it, and Christ profiteth them nothing. Christ is become of none effect to them, while they would be “justified by the law,” G al. v. 2,4. If we would be saved by Christ, we must own ourselves dead, lost sinners, that can have no righteousness for justification but his ; no life or ability to do good, until God bring us into union and fellowship with him. ”. … ‘.

2d. They do act also contrary to salvation by grace, according to the true meaning of the gospeU For we are not saved by grace, as the supreme cause of salvation, by the intervention of works, given and accepted

-by grace, as the procuring cause; in which sense we might be saved by grace, though by a covenant of

.works; as a servant that hath monies given him by his master, to purchase an annuity of his master at a low rate, may profess that he had an annuity given him

, freely, and yet that he hath purchased it, and may claim it as a due debt. But we are saved by grace, as the immediate and complete, cause of our whole salvRtion, excluding procurement of our salvation by the condition of works, and claiming it by any law as a due debt;

‘Hie scripture teacheth us, that” there is a perfect opposition, and utter irreconcilableness, between salvation by grace and works: “If by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace: but, if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work,” Rom. xi. 6. So also, there is an opposition between a reward reckoned of grace and of debt, Jlom. iv. 4; between a promise of happiness by the law, and by grace, Rom. iv. 13,16’. Ciod is so jealous of the glory of his free grace, that he will not save us by any works, though of his own working in us,” lest any man should boast,” I£ph. ii. 9. He knowetli when he healeth men by physic, or maintah;cth them by the labour of their hands, they are prone to attribute the glory, rather to the means they use^ than to his sole bounty and goodness.

3d. They do also act contrary to the way of salvation by faith: for, as I have shewn t Jready, the faith which is required for our salvation in the gospel, is to be understood in a sense contrary to doing good w orks, as a condition to procure our salvation, and so the true difference between terms of the law and the gospel may Lie maintained. Believing is opposed to all ivcrking for salvation, and the law of works to the law of faith, iiom. iv. 5. iii. 27. Kph. ii. 8, 9. Therefore, we must not here consider faith as a work of righteousness, as comprehending- any works of righteousness performed or lone, as a condition to procure a right and title to Christ, as the band whereby we work, to earn him as our bread and drink, as our wages : but only as the hand whereby we receive Christ, as freely given to us, or as ;he mouth whereby we eat and drink him; as hath been proved. God giveth a sufficient right to receive Christ ;.ud his salvation, by the free gospel-offer and invitation; so that he leaveth nothing for faith to do, but to lay hold of him as a free gift, that the glory of our sal-vation may- not be ascribed at all to our faith or rvorks, but only to this free grace of God in Christ: ” It is of faith, that it may be by grace,” Rom. iv. 16.

5. Christ, or his apostles, never taught a gospel that requireth such a condition of works lor salvation as they plead for. The texts of scripture which they usually allege for this purpose, are cither contrary to it, or widely distant from it; as they might learn from many protestant interpreters, if the\r affection to a popish tenet had not blinded them. I shall instance tefly only in a few of these texts, whereby you may light to judge of the true meaning of the rest. That obedience of faith, mentioned by the apostle Paul, as the great design of gospel preaching, Rpm. i. 5. is as contrary to their condition of sincere obedience for salvation, as the law of faith is to the law of works, Rom. iii. 23. It is an obedience that consisted! in ” believing the report of the gospel;” as the apostle explaineth himself, Rom. x. 16. “They have not all obeyed the gospel; for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?;’ Faith is to be imputed for righteousness, not because it is a ivork oi righteousness itself, but because we do by it renounce all confidence in any righteous works whatsoever, and trust on him that justifieth the ungodly; as is clear by that very text which they usually pervert for their purpose, Rom. iv. S. They grossly pervert those words of Paul, Rom. ii. 6, 7. “Who will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who, by patient continuance in welldoing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life:” Where they will have Paul to be declaring the terms of the gospel, when he is evidently declaring the terms of the law, to prove that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, and that no flesh can be justified by the works of the law, as appeareth by the tenor of his following discourse, Rom. iii. 9, 10. They join e vidently with the papists, against the concurrent judgment of the best protestant divines, m the interpretation of that text, James ii. 24. “Ye see then, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Where they will have James to deliver the doctrine of justification in more proper expressions than the apostle Paul, who teacheth justification by faith without works; though Paul treateth on this doctrine as his principal subject, and James doth only speak of it occasionally, as a motive to the practice of good works i whereby we may easily judge which of their expressions are to be taken for the most proper.

Protestants have shewed sufficiently, that Jame* speaketh not of a true saving faith, but of such a dead faith as devils have j not of justification in a proper sense, but of the declaration and manifestation of it byits fruits. Besides he speaks of justification by works, as commanded in the law given by Moses; as appearcth by his citing the commandments of the law, ver. 8, 11. which our contrivers of the new divinity would have nothing to do with in their model of the doctrine of justification.

Another text alleged by them, is, Rev. xxii. 14. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” But the Wreck word, which is here translated right, is translatedpower or privilege, John i. 12. It signifieth here, a rightful possession of the fruit of the tree of life, and not a mere title to it. So this text proveth no more than what the protestants generally acknowledge, that good works are the way wherein we are to walk to the enjoyments and possession of the glory of Christ; though a title to Christ, and his glorious salvation, be freely given us without any procuring condition of works. They account also, that when the happiness of heaven is called a reivard, it must needs imply a procuring condition of works, as, Rev. xxii. 12. Mat. v. 12. But though it be called a reward, because it is given after the doing of good works, and because it recompenseth good works, better than any wages on earth can recompense the labourer: yet it is a reward of grace, not of debt, Rom. iv. 4; it is no proper wages, but a free gift: Rom. vi. 24; ” For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Another thing asserted in the Direction is, that those that endeavour to perform this sincere obedience, as a ‘condition to procure a right and title to Christ and his salvation, shall never be able to perform sincerely any true obedience by all such endeavours. Though they labour earnestly, and pray fervently, fast frequently, and oblige themselves to holiness by many vows, and press themselves to the practice of it, by the most fort cible motives, taken from the infinite power, justice, and knowledge of God, the equity and goodness of his commands, the salvation of Christ, everlasting misery, or any other motive, improved by the most affectionate meditation ; yet they shall never attain to the end which they aim at in such an erroneous way. They may restrain their corruptions, and bring themselves to many hypocritical slavish performances, whereby they may be esteemed among men, as eminent saints; but they shall not be able to mortify one corruption, or to perform one duty in such a holy manner as God approveth. Yet here I censure only an error, not the life of the persons that maintain it. I have heard that some preach legally, and pray evangelically. I doubt not but the frame of their hearts and lives is rather according to their prayers than their sermons. Though Peter complied with judaism, in an outward act of profession, yet he lived himself like a christian, Gal. ii. 11^ 14. I affirm only, that no godly person did or could attain to this godliness in this erroneous way. And what a lamentable disappointment this to those that have attempted to alter the protestant doctrine, and to pervert and confound’ law and gospel, and have bred much contention in the church, that they might secure the practice of sincere obedience against antinomian errors, by making it the procuring condition of their salvation ; when, after all this ado, the remedy is found to be as bad as the disease, equally unserviceable and destructive to that great end for which they designed it; and that it hath an antinomian effect and operation, contrary to the power of godliness!

Much more might be said for the confutation of this novel doctrine; but, if this one thing be well proved, it may be sufficient to make the zealous contrivers of it to be ashamed of their craft, and angry with themselves, and sorry, that the)’ have taken so much pains, and so stretched their wits, to maintain such an unprofitable, unsanctifying opinion. It will be sufficient for the proof of it, if I bb.Kw, that the practice of true holi

ness cannot possibly be attained unto, by seeking to be saved by the works of the law; because I have already proved, that this doctrine of salvation, by sincere obe- dience, is according to the terms of the law, and not of the gospel. And hereby those also may see their error, that ascribe justification only to the gospel, and sancti- fication to the law. Yet, because those asserters of the condition of sincere obedience will hardly be persuaded by what hath been said, that it is the way of the law of works; I shall, for their more full conviction, suffi- ciendy manifest, that it is of no other nature and opera- tion, than any other doctrine that is proper to the law, and hath no better fruit; as I proceed to prove, by the following arguments, that holiness cannot be attained by seeking it by the law of works, that so it may ap- pear not worthy to be called gospel doctrine- - 1. The way of salvation by the works of the law, is contrary and destructive to those necessary means of a holy practice, that have been laid down in the foregoing directions, and manifestly proved out of the holy scrip- tures. I have made it appear, that a hearty propensity to a holy practice cannot be attained without some good persuasion’of our reconciliation with God by jus- tification, and of our everlasting happiness, and of suf- ficient strength both to will and to perform our duty; and that these and all other endowments necessary to the same end, are to be had only in Christ, by union and fellowship with him; and that Christ himself, and all his fulness, is united to us by faith ; which is not a condition to procure a right and title to Christ, but an instrument whereby we receive him actually in our hearts, by trusting on him for all salvation freely pro- mised to us in the gospel.

All these means of a holy practice, are things wherein our spiritual life and happiness doth consist; so that, if we have them, everlasting life is begun in us already; and because they are the necessary means of a holy practice, therefore the beginning of everlasting life in Us must not be placed after such a, practice, as the fruit

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and consequence of it; but must go before it, as the cause before the effect. Now, the terms of the law are directly contrary to this method. They place the practice of holiness before life, and to make it to be the means and procuring cause of life; as Moses described! them, Rom. x. 5. “The man that doth these things, shall live by them.” By these terms, you are first to do the holy”duties commanded, before you have any interest in the l;fe promised, or any right to lay hold of it, as yours, by faith. And you must practise holiness without the fore-mentioned means, or else you can never attain them. Thus the true means are turned out of their office; and instead of being causes, they are made to be ejfects and fruits of a holy practice. And it will be in vain ever to expect such effects and fruits ; for holiness itself, with all its effects, must needs be destroyed, when its necessary causes are done awa}» Therefore, the apostle Paul testifieth, that the way of salvation by the works of the law maketh faith void, and the promise of none effect; and frustrated! the grace of God, as if Christ died in vain; and maketh Christ to be of no profit, and of none effect to us, as those that are fallen from grace, Rom. iv. 14. Gal. 21. and v. 2, 4.

Let us now examine the modern doctrine of salva* tion, by the condition of sincere obedience to all the commands of Christ, and we shall quickly find it to be a cbip of the same block with the former legal way of salvation, in “the same manner destructive to the means of holiness itself. ‘It requireth of us the performance of sincere and complete obedience, before we have the means necessary to .produce it, by making it antecedent to our justification,‘and persuasion of eternal happiness, and Our actual enjoyment of union and fellowship with Christ, and of that new nature which is to be had only in him by faith. It destroyeth the nature of thatf saving faith whereby we actually receive and enjoy Christ and all his benefits, and knocketh off our hands from laying hold of Christ and his salvation, by telling us still, as Christ told the legal worker, after all his labour,’ that yet we lack something, Mark x. 21 ; that it is presumption to take him as our own, until we have performed the condition for our right and title to him; which is another kind of saving faith, otherwise called sincere obedience. By this devised conditional faith, Satan keepeth many poor souls at bay, poring upon their own hearts for many years together, to find whether they have performed the condition, and whether they have as yet any right to Christ for their salvation, not daring to venture to take him as their own. It is a strong partition-wall, that will certainly hinder the soul from coming to Christ, until it be thrown down, by the knowledge of salvation by grace,, without any procuring condition of works. And though it be accounted but as the payment of a pepper-corn for a great estate? yet it is enough to break the ablest man in the world, because it debarreth him from laying hold of the only effectual means of holiness, whereby that pepper-com may be obtained. v

.( “2. Those that seek salvation by the works of the law,, do therein act according to their natural state. They live and walk according to the flesh, or old man; notaccording to the new state, by Christ living in them. I doubt not but several of them that live under the light of the gospel, are partakers- of a new state in Christ, and do walk holily in it; but the best in this world have in them flesh as well as spirit, and may act according to either state in some measure; and in this matter they do act only according to their carnal natural state. When the believing Galatians were seduced to a legal way of salvation, the apostle Paul chargeth it upon them as their folly, that, having began in the Spirit, they would now be ” made perfect in the flesh,” Gal. iii. 3And he resembleth those that desire to be under the law, to Abraham’s son, born of Hagar, the bond woman,, to shew, that such do walk as those that ” are bora, after the flesh, not after the Spirit,” Gal. iv. 19, 23„ 26V The law was first given to Adam in his pure na?lural state, to prescribe terms for his continuance in the happiness which he then enjoyed. And ever since that time, the flesh, or natural man, is married to the law, and the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth, that is, until he be dead to his fleshly state by the body of Christ, and ” married to him” that is “rgised from the dead,” Rom. vii. 1, 4. We are not at all under the law as a covenant of works, according to our new state in Christ; as the apostle testifieth, Rom. vi. 14. “Ye are not under the law, but under grace :” and Gal. v. 18. “If ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” From hence, we may firmly conclude, that none can possibly attain to true godliness by acting according to legal terms; because I have fully proved already, that it is impossible to be godly while we are in the flesh, or in a natural state; and that, as far as we act according to it, we can do nothing but sin. The law is so weak through the flesh, that it cannot bring us to fulfil its own righteousness, Uom. viii. 3, 4. It is married to a cross piece of flesh, that is enmity to it, and can never be subject to it, Rorfi. viii. 8. It sueth the natural man for an old debt of obedience, that he is utterly unable to pay since the fall: and the success accordingly ; it gets nothing. Neither do those take a better course, that would bring them-selves to holiness, by making sincere obedience to Christ’s commands, the condition of their salvation. TheiFwaT’Ts the sr.rir? for substance with that of the Galatians before mentioned, who would be made perfect in the flesh, not by perfect obedience, but sincere; as hath been shewed before. Their endeavours to procure an interest in Christ, by their sincere obedience, do testily against themselves, that they do not act as people that are in Christ, but rather as people that judge themselves to be without an interest in Christ, and to be yet to seek for it. And sincere obedience is as impossible to be attained unto, as perfect obedience, if we act according to our dead natural state.

3. As the law bereaveth of all strengthening means that are to be had by faith in Christ,.and undcth us without strength in our natural state; so of itself, it aftordeth us no strength to fulfil its own commands: “If there had been a law given that could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law,” Gal. iii. 21. It doth not so much as promise life, until we have performed the obedience required by it. r The man that doth these things shall live by thern,” Rom. x. 5. It is well called a ” voice of words,” Heb. xii. 19; because its high and big words are not accompanied with an enlivening power. And the doctrine of life and salvation by sincere obedience is no better natured, or more bountiful to us; for it exacteth of us the performance of the condition, before it alloweth us any life or salvation by Christ. Can any man rationally expect strength to obey sincerely, by following a doctrine that doth not so much as promise it? The true gospel is of a more benign nature; for it promiseth, that ” God will pour out his spirit upon all flesh,” Acts ii. 17; “and will put his laws into our minds, and write them in our hearts,” Il”b. viii. 10; ” and will cause us to walk in his statutes, that we shall keep his judgments, and do them,” iizek. xxxvi. 27. This word of God’s grace, that requireth not holiness of us 2S a condition, but promiseth it to us as a free gift, must needs be the only doctrine,” that is able to build us up, and to give us an inheritance among them that are sanctified,” Acts xx. 32. Seeing it pleaseth God to bring us to holiness by believing a doctrine, we may reasonably expect that God should work upon us suitably to the nature of the doctrine which we believe j that he should give by a giving doctrine, and exact by an exacting doctrine.

4. The way of procuring life and happiness, by the condition of perfect or sincere works, is not a rational ■method, for the recovery of fallen man; though it were good for the preserving of life before the fall: for, it prescribelh the immediate practice of holiness to recover a man dead in sin; as if one should say to the sick of the palsy, arise and walk, and then thou shalt be whole and able to walk. We sometimes say jestingly to a child that is fallen on the ground, come hither, and” I will help thee up : but if we should say so to one that is cast on his bed by a dead palsy, we should be guilty of mocking and cruelly insulting the afflicted. Those that are humbled and made sensible of their original sin, and natural deadness, know that they must first live by the Spirit, before they can act holily, Gal. v. 25. They will inquire, ” How shall we have strength to perform the duty required?” If you answer, that they must trust in God and Christ to help them; they may readily reply, they have no sure ground to trust on God or Christ, for any saving grace, according to this doctrine, before they have performed this condition, at least in a sincere resolution of obedience, and that they are as unable to bring their hearts to such a resolution, as a dead man is to raise himself out of the grave. Take another instance. The method of the doctrine of works is, you must love God first, and then, on that condition, he will love you again; whereas, on the contrary, u we love God, because he first loved us,”* 1 John iv. 16. And if God suspend his love to us upon* any condition, our love to him will not be absolute, butsuspended upon the same condition, and no way con»trary to an actual hating of him.

5. The law is so far from healing our sinful corruption, that it proveth rather an occasion of sinful motions and actings, in those that seek salvation by the works of it. This cometh to pass by reason of the power of our natural corruption; which is stirred up and rageth the more, when the holy and just law of God is set in opposition against it; so that the fault is not in the lawT but in our own hearts. Those that find not this by their own experience, should believe the apostle Paul,, who teacheth it plainly, and that from his own experience, Rom. vii. 5, 14. He affirmeth, that there are motions of sin by the law, in a fleshly state: Thou shale. not covet, wrought in him all manner of concupiscence, deceived him, slew him, became exceeding sinful; and that without the law, he was alive, and sin died ; hut, when the commandment came, sin revived, and he died, lie sheweth the cause of this irreconcilable enmity and contrariety between his sinful nature and the law: The lenv is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. Take notice here, from the reason given by the apostle, that the doctrine of salvation, by sincere obedience, will have the same event. Corrupt nature is contrary to sincere obedience, as well as perfect; and, if we make it the condition of our salvation, sin will take the same occasion by it, to become exceeding sinful in its motions and actings.

The success of legal doctrine upon the natural rftan, is according to the proverb, “reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee,” Prov. rx. 8. Rebuking a madman, is the way to enrage him; and such is the natural man in spiritual things, since he fell out of his right mind by the sin of Adam. We find, by manifold experience, that though men be generally addicted to the principle of salvation by works, yet multitudes of them hate all strict preachei T and professors of true holiness, because they are a torment to their consciences. They endeavour to shelter themselves in ignorance of the law: accounting, that the less they know, the less they shall answer for; and therefore they would not have right things prophesied unto them, Isaiah xxx. 10. And they have prevailed generally in the world, to darken the natural knowledge of moral duties, in such a degree, that there is a necessity of learning them by divine revelation out of the scriptures. AVe may find how prone legal writers are to corrupt the sense of the law, that they may leave starting holes for their corruptions, by the corrupt glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees, from which Christ did vindicate it, as we see, Matthew fifth. And, as far as I have observed, none more endeavour to discover the purity and perfection of the

law, than those that seek holiness and salvation, with

out any legal condition, by the mere~free grace of God in Christ. The doctrine of salvation, by sincere obedience, is but a mincing the perfection required in the law: and yet how is this doctrine minced again and again, until it is become so small, that the substance of all true obedience is lost? A willingness^to be saved according to Christ’s terms, or a consent that Christ should be our Lord, or a resolution to obey his commandments (which is little more than ignorant- men trust on, when they say, they hope God will save them because they have a good meaning, though they live in the neglect of all religion) without any further practice of holiness, shall pass with many for enough of sincere obedience, both to enter them into a state of salvation, and to continue them in it; so that they shall never be accounted breakers of the gospel covenant, while so much can be pretended. The most that is made necessary for salvation, shall be only to endeavour to do what we can to obey Christ’s commands; though all that the most can do, is nothing that is truly good.

Those that have a little more zeal for their salvation by wor’rs, are prone to spend it in superstitious observances, because they suit better with their carnal nature, than the spiritual commands of God and Christ. I doubt not but this hath been one occasion of the prevailing of heathenish, Jewish and popish superstitions in the world. We find, by experience, how popery fell in several nations of late years, when the great pillar of it, the doctrine of justification by works, was overthrown by the protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone. If these legal zealots be forced, by strong conviction, to endeavour the practice of spiritual duties, for quieting their guilty consciences, they may possibly be brought to strive and labour earnestly, and even to macerate their bodies with fasting, that they may kill their lusts; but still their lusts are living, and strong as ever they were; and do shew forth their enmity against the law of God, by inward fretting, repining, and grudging at it, as a grievous task-master, the mastery and dominion of sin, is, ” not to be under the law, but under grace,” Rom. vi. 14.

6. The way of salvation by works was blasted by the curse denounced against the “first Adam’s sin; so that now it cannot work life in us, or holiness, but only death; for the law, which requireth both sincere and perfect obedience to God’in all things, was made known to Adam at his first creation, as the means of the continuing the happy life that was then bestowed upon him; and it would have been effectual for this end, if he had not transgressed in the forbidden fruit. But, when he had once brought himself and his posterity under the terrible sentence, “thoU shalt surely die,” Gen. ii. 17 ; all that knowledge of Clod, or his law, that before wrought for continuance of life, was turned by that cursed sentence the contrary way, to work for his death, even for the death of the soul in sin, as well as for the death of his body; and therefore it quickly moved him to hide himself from God as an enemy. It was, as if God should say, ” all the light and knowledge that thou hast, shall not be able to continue thy life, or restore it; but it shall rather tend to thy death.” Therefore, while we continue in our natural state, under the first Adam’s guikand curse, the knowledge of the law, yea, and all such knowledge of God and his attributes, as natural men attain to, must needs be, in like manner, accursed to us. And seeing man did not use his natural knowledge and wisdom alike, God is resolved to revenge the abuse of it, by giving us salvation in a way contrary to it, that seemeth foolishness to the natural • man; and wholly to abolish the way of living by any of our works, or by any wisdom or knowledge that the natural man can attain unto. “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? for, after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew nor. God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe,” 1 Cor. i. 19, 20, 21. Hence we

may conclude, that no truth, known by the light of nature, can be an effectual principle, or motive, to work holiness in us; and gospel principles and motives are but abused, when they are applied to a legal way of salvation.

7. The end which God aimed at in giving the law to Moses, was not, that any should ever attain to holiness or salvation, by the condition of perfect or sincere obedience to it; though, if there had been any such way of salvation at that time, it must have consisted in the performance of that law, which was then given to the church, to be a rule of life, as well as a covenant. There was another covenant made before that time with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a covenant of grace, promising all blessings freely through Christ, the promised seed. And the covenant of the law was added, that they might see their sinfulness, and subjection to death and wrath, and the impossibility of attaining to life or holiness by their works, and be forced to trust on the free promise only for all their salvation, and that sin might be restrained by the spirit of bondage, until the coming of that promised seed, Jesus Christ, and the more plentiful pouring out of the sanctifying Spirit, by him. This the apostle sheweth largely, Gal. iii. 15—24. Rom. v. 20, 21. and x. 3, 4. ‘None of the Israelites under the Old Testament were,ever saved by the Sinai covenant; neither did any of them ever attain to holiness by the terms of it. Some of them did, indeed, perform the commandments of it sincerely, though imperfectly: but those were first justified, and made partakers of life and holiness, by virtue of that better covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which’ was the same, in substance, with the new covenant, or testament, established by the blood of Christ. Had it not been for that better covenant, the Sinai covenant would have proved to them an occasion of no happiness, but only of sin, despair and destruction. Of itself it was only a killing letter, the ministration of death and condemnation; and therefore it is now abolished, 2 Cor. iii. Q—11.

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We have great cause to praise God, for delivering his church, by the blood of Christ, from this yoke of bondage; and we have cause to abhor the device of those that would lay upon us now a more grievous and terrible yoke, by turning our new covenant into a covenant of sincere works, and leaving us no such better covenant, as the Israelites had under their yoke, to relieve us in our extremity.