The True Nature of the Gospel, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Thoſe Texts of Scripture (which are urg'd by the Apologiſt, as expreſly giving the Name of a New Law to the Goſpel) recover'd to their right Senſe. His Teſtimonies out of the Fathers, and Proteſtant Writers, evinc'd to be uſeleſs to ſerve his Deſign.
I Shall now examine thoſe Texts alledg'd by my Dear Brother, wherein the Goſpel is call'd a Law; and the Citations produc'd by him, wherein the Fathers and Proteſtant Authors give to it the ſame Name. I ſhall do it but briefly, for I need not be large, ſince any Reader who hath, with any intention of Mind, perus'd my poor Writing, may reſolve them all at firſt ſight.
The firſt Text produc'd is, that known one in Rom. 3. 27. Where is boaſting then? It is excluded. By what Law? of Works? Nay, but by the Law of Faith. Without looking on the Context, we may be ſatisfied by what the Apoſtle ſaith in the ſame Verſe, that by the Law of Faith, he means no more than that Doctrine of Grace which declares a believing Sinner to be juſtified by the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, which by Faith he receiveth; for it is ſuch a Law of Faith that excludes all boaſting. Now then, if it commanded Faith, and promis'd Juſtification, on condition that this its Precept was obey'd, Boaſting would not be excluded, but rather a great Occaſion would be given to promote it: For why ſhould not a Man glory in his Faith, if it be an Act of Obedience to this new Law, which by the Statute of it makes his Juſtification to depend on this his Performance? He may then as well plead that he hath done what was requir'd; and ſo he may as well claim Life and Happineſs, on the Account of having done all that this new Law made neceſſary to Salvation; as Adam, if continuing in his Primitive State, might have form'd a Plea of his Right to Life, for having diſcharg'd all that Duty which the Law of Works commanded and propos'd, as the Condition of his being eternally Bleſſed. If he might have boaſted for having faithfully obſerv'd the Covenant of Works, the Believer too may aſſume ſome Glory to himſelf for having acted his Duty punctually to the Law of Faith; if the Conſtitution of this Law be ſuch, that it makes the promis'd Salvation dependant upon this his Obedience in believing. It will ſignify nothing to ſay, that the Law by which Adam was to have been juſtified, enjoin'd Works as the Terms of his being ſo; but that this new Law inſiſts only on two Acts of Obedience, Faith and Repentance, as all that it requires for our Juſtification: For theſe two are Works done by us, and ſo we might boaſt that we have done ſomething, tho not ariſing to that height of Duty incumbent on our firſt Father; by which, according to the Tenor of this new Law, we are juſtified. By the Oppoſition which the Apoſtle makes of the Law of Faith to a Law of Works, it is alſo manifeſt, that by the firſt he intends a pure Doctrine of Grace, and by the other a Law, commanding ſomething to be done: For if the Law of Faith requires any Works, and conſtituted them to be Conditions of our obtaining the Bleſſings; make theſe Works as few as you will, and call them by what Names you pleaſe, Faith and Repentance, yet this will reſult from it, that both are Laws of Works; only with this difference, that the one rigorouſly inſiſts on more Works than the other: which how this may conſiſt with that Oppoſition the Apoſtle forms between them, I cannot very well apprehend.
We muſt therefore by the Law of Faith underſtand, not a Law in the ſtrict and proper Senſe, preſcribing Works of any ſort as Conditions, but only the Doctrine of Faith, and of the Believer's Juſtification by Chriſt's Righteouſneſs which Faith receives. It is thus all the right Proteſtant Divines, who have commented on this Epiſtle, interpret the Apoſtle's meaning; tho the Popiſh Annotators wreſt it to the ſame Purpoſe for which it is brought in by my Reverend Brother, as I ſhall prove by many Inſtances.
It would be tedious to multiply Citations of the hundredth part of Proteſtant Expoſitors on this Epiſtle; Calvin and Beza may alone ſuffice.*Legis quidem nomen impropriè fidei tribuitur. Calvin. in Rom. 3. 27. pag. 49. part. 3. Tom. 5. Edit. Genev. 1617. The Name of Law indeed (ſays Calvin) is improperly attributed to Faith. †Per quam Legem? foreign; id eſt, Quâ Doctrinâ Beza in Rom. 3. 27.By what Law, that is, (ſays Beza) by what Doctrine.
The Popiſh Commentators indeed univerſally interpret this Rom. 3. 27. to deſign the Goſpel to be a new Gracious Law. ThusaAquinas Lect. 4. in Rom. 3 pag. 30. Antverp. 1620. Aquinas, and the CardinalbCajetan. in Rom. 3. 27. in Tom. 5. Comment. in Script. Lugd. 1639. Cajetan; cArias Montanus, in Rom. 3. 27. in ſuâ Elucidat. Epiſt. Apoſt. Edit. Plant. Antverp. 1588.Arias Montanus; dAmbroſ. Catharin. in Rom. 3. 27. 28. in ejus Comment. in Epiſt. Paul. pag. 38. Pariſ. 1566.Ambroſius Catharinus, Biſhop of Minori; eCornelius Muſſas, Comment. in Rom. 3. pag. 184, 185, 186. Venet. 1588.Cornelius Muſſus, Biſhop of Bitonto; the four Jeſuits, fBenedict. Juſtin. in Rom. 3. 27. in Tom. 1. Explant. in Epiſt. Paul. Lugd. 1612.Benedictus Juſtinianus, gCor. a Lapide, in Rom. 3. 27, 28.Cornelius a Lapide, hEſtius, in Rom. 3. 27.Eſtius, andiAdamus Contzen. Comment. in Rom. 3. 17. Quaeſt. 2. pag. 175, 176. Col. Agrip. 1629. Adamus Contzen. This laſt orders his Commentary on the Epiſtle to the Romans, in a way of Diſputation, to refute the Hereticks, as he calls all thoſe who believe the pure Truths of the Goſpel. One great Doctrine of theſe No-Hereticks is, that the Goſpel is no Law. This ſuppos'd Error the Jeſuit applies himſelf to confute; and in reſolving that Queſtion, What is the Law of Works? and what the Law of Faith? he firſt propounds Bellarmine's Deciſion of it; the Sum whereof is, that the Goſpel is a Law of Works too, but accompanied with Grace. But there is an Objection of Paraeus in the way, That if the Goſpel be a Law, as containing in it Precepts and Commands, then the Diſtinction which the Apoſtle makes between the Law of Faith, and Law of Works, cannot be preſerv'd; for both of them will agree in commanding Works, however different thoſe Works may be which they enjoin, and therefore they both of them muſt neceſſarily be Laws of Works; unleſs any one will be ſo accurate a Diſputant, as to deny a Law to be a Law, or Works to be Works. To remove this Objection, Contzen, (who being a Jeſuit, was very well skill'd in all the Arts of Shuffling as well as any Man, and knew the neceſſary Doubles and Turnings when he was hunted) like a Politician in Divinity, makes this evaſive Anſwer; That both Laws command, and yet the Law of Faith is not a Law of Works, though it commands Works; becauſe it hath the Aids of Grace, by which the Works are perform'd. Therefore the Law of Faith is a Law of Grace, the Law of Works is without Grace. This is ſtrange indeed; What! the Goſpel commands, and yet is not a Law of Works; that is, the Goſpel commands, without bidding us to do any thing; or to do, is not to work, but I know not what without a Name. Ay, but it is not a Law of Works, becauſe it contains in it Grace, as a ſupply of Succour to enable us to perform them. But this only proves the Works of their new Goſpel to be eaſier, not that they are none at all. The beſt which can be made of it amounts to no more than this, that their Goſpel is a gracious Law of Works, a Law whoſe Exactions are not ſo hard and cruel as thoſe of the Tyrannical Egyptians, to require Brick without Straw, a Law whoſe Commands are moderated, and its leſſer degrees of Duty accommodated to the weakneſs of our preſent State; and therefore it is not all Work, bu there is an Alloy of a great mixture of Grace. This ſeems to be fairly offer'd to compound the Buſineſs: but what if the Apoſtle refuſeth the Compoſition? And indeed, in my poor Judgment, (if a Man may know his Meaning by his Words) it will not be admitted by him; for he oppoſeth the Goſpel, or Law of Faith, to any Law of Works whatever, and however named gracious, or rendred attractive by any other amiable Titles.
But in the Cloſe of the Diſpute, this Jeſuit Contzen joyfully cries out, Victory; And what animated his Courage? Really it was only this, that he thought any more of his Learned Labours in this Affair were wholly ſuperſeded, by a great many of the Proteſtants owning the ſame Aſſertion (which he endeavoured to prove) of the Goſpel's being a new Law. But what are the Trophies of Conqueſt which he ſhews to this purpoſe? only Bertius the Arminian, who afterward turn'd Papiſt, and was advanc'd by the French King to be Profeſſor of Hiſtory at Paris *Rivet. in Cap. 15. Geneſ. Exercitat. 84. pag. 321. Tom. 1. oper. Roterod. 1651. Aleſſandro Zilioli, Hiſtor. Memorab. de noſtri Tempi, part. 2. lib. 2. pag. 46. Bologn. 1645..
I wiſh that my Reverend Brother had not offer'd that place in Gal. 6. 2. not only on the account of its perfect refuſal to ſerve his Deſign, but becauſe the Papiſts and Arminians preſs it to the ſame purpoſe, of proving from it the Goſpel to be a new Law, and Chriſt a new Law-giver, and I would not have him to be ſeen in ſuch Company; the entire words of the Verſe are theſe, Gal. 6. 2. Bear ye one anothers Burdens, and ſo fulfil the Law of Chriſt. There needs no more than to read them, to be ſatisfied that they ſignify nothing to the Intent for which they are introduc'd: For the Law of Chriſt doth not import the Goſpel, but (as all Commentators agree) only that particular Precept of the Moral Law urg'd by Chriſt, Joh. 13. 34. A new Commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye alſo love one another. And we may as well prove from hence, that there are Eleven Commandments, as that the Goſpel is a new Law. The Arminian Vorſtius, and the Jeſuit Eſtius, the better of the two, infer the ſame Error from this Gal. 6. 2. as my Learned Brother doth;aEx quibus omnibus etiam patet, Chriſtum non ſolum ut redemptorem hominibus datum eſſe; cui fidant, ut volunt Haeretici; ſed etiam ut Legiſlatorem cui obediant. Eſtius in Gal. 6. 2. From all it is manifeſt, (ſays Eſtius) that Chriſt is not only given to Men as a Redeemer, to whom they may truſt, (as the Hereticks will have it) but alſo as a Legiſlator, whom they may obey. bChriſtus non modo ſervator, rerum etiam Legiſlator agnoſcendus eſt, quippe cujus ſumma Lex eſt charitas, quam veluti novam Legem, novo modo nobis imperavit, novo que exemplo confirmavit. Verſtius in Gal. 6. 2. pag. 273. Comment. in Epiſt. Apoſt. Amſtelod. 1631.Chriſt is to be acknowledg'd, (ſays Vorſtius) not only as a Saviour, but alſo as a Law-giver, inaſmuch as his chiefeſt Law is Love, which as a new Law he hath commanded to us in a new manner, and hath confirm'd it by a new Example. This is that Vorſtius who denied the Omnipreſence of the Infinite God, and who advanc'd a wicked Opinion, not only to impriſon him in Heaven, but to bind the immenſe Divinity in Chains to his Throne there; and who aſſerted God to be mutable, and to change his Mind and Will as often as a fickle inconſtant MancVorſtius de Deo Diſp. 3. pag. 19. & Notae in Diſp. 3. pag. 215 ad 217. Steinfurt. 1610. Ibid. Diſp. 6. pag. 64. & Notae in Diſp. 6. pag. 365, 366. Et Apologet. Exeg. Cap. 11. pag. 46, 47, &c. Lugd. Bat. 1611..
The other place of Scripture, Iſa. 42. 4. cited by my Learned Brother, is no more effectual to prove his Aſſertion than any of the former: The whole Verſe is thus, Iſa. 42. 4. He ſhall not fail, nor be diſcouraged, till he have ſet Judgment in the Earth: and the Iſles ſhall wait for his Law. That by his Law is meant a Declaration of Free Grace, is apparent from the genuine Senſe of the Hebrew word, which in our Engliſh Bibles is tranſlated, [they ſhall wait for his Law] the Hebrew word foreign, ſignifies they ſhall hope, with earneſt Deſires expect it: And thus Piſcator, who had an unqueſtionable Skill in that Language, renders it. We may then by a neceſſary Conſequence conclude, that by Law here is meant, a publication of Free Grace by Chriſt, ſince the poor Sinners of the Gentiles could not deſire or hope for any other. But without any Criticiſms on the Hebrew Language, the foregoing Verſe of the Prophet Iſaiah, inſtructs us to a right underſtanding of the following, Iſa. 42. 3. A bruiſed Reed ſhall he not break; and the ſmoking Flax ſhall he not quench: he ſhall bring forth Judgment unto Truth. Now if Chriſt had brought in a new Law, with Precepts ſuperadded to the old One, this would have been to break the bruis'd Soul with repeated Strokes in greater ſtrength and fierceneſs.
There is another Scripture produc'd by my Learned Brother to be examin'd, which he urgeth to prove, That the Goſpel as a new Law promiſeth Bleſſings to the Performers of its Precepts, and threatens to puniſh all thoſe who neglect them; Luke 19. 27. But thoſe mine Enemies which would not that I ſhould reign over them, bring hither, and ſlay them before me. Now as I think, who am very willing to be better inform'd, our bleſſed Lord Jeſus aſſerts only his Right as Univerſal Monarch of the World; which we are ſo far from denying, that we heartily pray that his Kingdom may come in all the Shine of its Glory, as we are ſure it will at the determin'd Time.
Well, but to ſoften the harſh word Law, he adds the more allaying one of Grace. But this will not do the Buſineſs, for a Law preſcribing Works is no Covenant of Grace, if it be true what the Apoſtle ſays, Rom. 11. 6. And if by Grace, then is it no more of Works: otherwiſe Grace is no more Grace. But if it be of Works, then is it no more Grace: otherwiſe Work is no more Work. Therefore his no angry Brethren, are in no Paſſion to hear the Voice of the Law, if the old Moral One, as a continuing Rule to Believers, is meant; and they are very glad of the joyful Sound of Grace, they only gaze and admire at the ſtrange Prodigy of thoſe two unnaturally join'd together, to compound a Covenant of Grace.
And tho with the greateſt rejoicing we moſt thankfully accept God's new Covenant of Grace, yet we cannot own a new Law of his making, till we hear it more clearly proclaim'd by God himſelf.
I muſt confeſs I was a little ſurpriz'd at what I next read in my Reverend Brother's Learned Diſcourſe; The Law of Grace we ſpeak of, (ſays he) is both New and Old in different reſpects: It is New in reſpect of the Covenant of Works made with Adam in his State of Innocency aMr. Lorimer's Apology, Chap. 2. Sect. 1. pag. 22.. What! is it a new Law of a freſher Date, that the old One being uſeleſs, God ſaw it needful to promulgate another, lower'd to leſſer degrees of Duty, and ſo ſuted to the preſent Eſtate of Sinners? I am confident my Learned Brother will not aſſert this, tho it unhappily falls out that his Words ſeem to imply itbIbid. pag. 24..
There remains nothing more than to examine his Humane Authorities; which I will do, tho there is the greateſt uncertainty in the Citation of Authors to abet an Opinion, when Men only take care and labour to wrack and torture them to a forced Confeſſion of their own Senſe: For if the Words of the Holy Ghoſt himſelf, who deliver'd his Meaning moſt diſtinctly, and with the greateſt exactneſs, are yet wreſted and perverted to contrary Purpoſes, all Humane Writings are much more liable to be disfigur'd by wrong Interpretations.
I will yet conſider in order the ſeveral Authorities alledg'd; and firſt as to that of Juſtin Martyr. Any one who diſtinctly regards the Deſign of that Father's Writing, will ſee, that however he makes uſe of the word Law, by which to name the Goſpel, yet by Law he means no more, than a new Doctrine or Diſpenſation of Grace. For his Deſign is to prove, againſt a Jew who was a great Admirer of his own Law, and its auguſt Ceremonies and Worſhip, That all that ſolemn Pomp was excelled by the plain Evangelical Doctrine; that this new Diſcovery of the Bleſſings of Grace in the real and ſolid Subſtance, was infinitely preferable to all the old Repreſentations and Shadows of thoſe good Things: And therefore by this new Law, or this new Inſtruction of Grace coming, thoſe old Rudiments go off as uſeleſs to teach us any longer. The Goſpel as a new Doctrine of Grace appearing, the old Inſtitutions of Sacrifices and External Rites, civilly are to withdraw, to give place to a ſuperiour and better Inſtructor. To prove this is the Deſign of that Father's Dialogue againſt the Jew; and all that can be gather'd from his calling the Goſpel a New Law, is only this, that it is a fuller and clearer Revelation of the Grace of God in Chriſt, as is evident from what follows a little after thoſe Words cited by my Learned Brother, where Juſtin Martyr expreſſeth his Meaning about the Goſpel's being a New Law,cforeign. Juſt. Mart. Dial. cum Tryph. pag. 229. oper. Edit. Pariſ. 1636. that it is ſo as it is a new and clearer Diſpenſation of Grace: for having cited that Place in Iſa. 55. 3, 4. expreſſing the Nature of the Goſpel, and upbraiding the Jew for his Confidence in old Legal Performances, in Circumciſion, in eating unleavened Bread, in waſhing in the Laver of Water, in the Blood of Sheep and Goats, and the Aſhes of an Heifer; It is not by theſe, ſays he, that Sinners are purified, but by the Blood of Chriſt, and his Death; who died for that very Purpoſe, as Eſa himſelf hath ſpoketh it. And then he largely recites the ſix laſt Verſes of the 52d Chapter, and Chap. 53. entire, and the ſix firſt Verſes of the 54th Chapter of that Prophet; which contain the moſt clear and full Diſcovery of the Doctrine of Grace, as is in all the old Teſtament. So that all which the Father intends by the Name of a new Law given to the Goſpel, is, that it is a Doctrine of Grace newly revealed: And in this Senſe, I am very willing to call it ſo too.
But let us ſee if Cyprian gives his Vote for my Learned Brother. It is true, that he ſpeaks frequently in his 11th Epiſtle of the Law of the Goſpel; but it is certain, that as he wrote this Epiſtle to complain of, and to rectify the Relaxation of Diſcipline in the Churches, that thoſe who had fallen into great, and notorious Sins, were yet re-admitted into Communion before they had given any Teſtimony of their Repentance; ſo by the Law of the Goſpel he means only that due Diſcipline, which ought to be obſerved in all the Churches of ChriſtaGoulartii notae in Cyprian. Epiſt. 11. pag. 33. oper. Cyprian. Edit. Goulartii, Genev. 1593..
When Cyprian alſo ſpeaks of a new Law which was to be given, he writing againſt the Jews, and proving the Abolition of their Ceremonial Worſhip, means no more by the new Law than what Juſtin Martyr did; that is, a new Doctrine, and Inſtitution of Grace: And this the very words of Cyprian, cited by my Learned Brother, wherein he calls this new Law, Another Adminiſtration, and that by it the old intolerable Yoke of Ligal Obſervances was remov'd, do evidence.
The next Father, who is forc'd to come in to give witneſs to this new Law, is Auguſtine: But what he ſays will not at all ſerve the Cauſe. For in that his Diſcourſe of Grace and Free-will, his Deſign is to prove againſt the Pelagians, that Man by the beſt uſe of his natural Powers, cannot obey the Precepts of the Moral Law; but that the Grace of the Goſpel is abſolutely neceſſary to ſtrengthen a Chriſtian to that Obedience which be pays; tho imperfectly, to the old Law as the Rule of his Actions. And that great Light of his Age makes the Difference between the new and old Law to be this that the old Law conſiſted wholly in Precepts and Commands, and ſo was a killing Letter to the Sinner; but the Nature of the Goſpel is to promiſe, and give Grace:bCum dicitur diligamus invicem, Lex eſt; cum dicitur quia dilectio ex Deo eſt. Gratia eſt. Auguſtin. de Gratia & Libero arbitrio, cap. 18. fol. 284. pag. 2. Tom. 7. oper. Paris. 1571. When it is ſaid, (ſays he) 1 Joh. 4. 7. Let us love one another; this is Law: when it is ſaid, Becauſe Love is of God, this is Grace. He aſſerts that there are Precepts in the New Teſtament, and none ever had ſo little Underſtanding as to deny it; but theſe Precepts do not properly belong to the pure Nature of the Goſpel, but are only repeated and urg'd in it: but it is that Grace which promiſes Pardon to the Sinner, and that Grace which makes the Believer holy and obedient, that are the native Streams which are deriv'd from this Spring. And it is apparent from the Words of Auguſtine, cited by my Reverend Brother, that this Father makes the old Law to be a Doctrine of Works, and ſo a killing Letter without Grace; that is, without the Goſpel, which as a pure Doctrine of Grace, ſhews how the Law is ſatisfied by Chriſt, and how the Sinner and the Ungodly may be juſtified; and affords Supplies of Grace ſutable to all the various Needs of the Believer. The other Place cited out of Auguſtine, proves no more than that we are freed from the Condemnation of the Law by the Law of Faith, which how it is to be underſtood of the Doctrine of Faith, I have before ſhewn in reſouing Rom. 3. 27. from its perverted Meaning, Page 59. of this Diſcourſe.
Salvian's Teſtimony proves no more than that the Chriſtian Law, or the Doctrine of Grace, was diſhonour'd by ſome Mens abuſing it to Licentiouſneſs. Bradwardine I muſt confeſs ſpeaks plainly to my Reverend Brother's Purpoſe; but it is no wonder: for tho with incomparable Strength, and Cloſeneſs of Reaſon, he refuted the Pelagian Hereſies, yet he was a Papiſt, and conſequently firm to the Belief of the Roman Creed, the principal Article of which is Merit. He accordingly, tho utterly diſclaiming Works done by Nature, yet aſſerts Works done by Grace to be meritorious. To ſupport this Aſſertion, the Writers of the Church of Rome have taken care to lay down another as its main Foundation, that the Goſpel is a new Law; and therefore by obeying of the Precepts of it, which are made the Conditions, we deſervedly (as they aſſert) obtain, by virtue of God's Covenant ſtipulated with us on ſuch Terms, the promiſed Rewards. Bradwardine accordingly maintains the Goſpel to be a new Law, and that whoever ſhall keep this Chriſtian Law, ſhall receive eternal Glory. aMr. Lorimer's Apology, pag. 26.So that this Man's Authority in the preſent Caſe (however great and excellent he is in other Points) will not reflect any Glory on this Hypotheſis; but rather doth diſparage it, ſince it evinceth how near this Opinion of the Goſpel's being a new Law, approacheth to Popery, tho I cannot entertain a thought, that any of my Reverend Brethren do deſignedly make the leaſt advancing ſtep to it.
As to the Teſtimony of the Leyden Profeſſors, they only mean that the Goſpel in a large and improper Senſe may be term'd a Law, becauſe there are Precepts, Commands, and Threatnings in the Books of the New Teſtament. But thoſe worthy Profeſſors, when they treat of the Goſpel in its ſtrict Signification, they define it to be only a pure Word of Grace. For, ſays Polyander, who was one of them;aVox Evangelium ſpeciatim ſumpta, at que ad Chriſti exhibitionem reſtricta, primò Hiſtoriam denotat de Chriſto in carne manifeſtato, ut Marc. 12. ſecundò pro laetâ uſurpatur doctrinâ ac praedicatione de hominum peccatorum reconciliatione cum Deo per gratuitam peccatorum remiſſionem morte Chriſti expiatoriâ ipſis partam, quibuſlibet indefinitè oblatam, pauperibus ſpiritu at que Infantibus revelatam, credentibus vero ſingulatiter applicatam ad horum ſalutem, & miſericordiae Divinae cum Juſtitiâ conjunctae patefactionem, laudem ſempiternam. 1 Cor. 9. 14. 15. & ſeq. Synopſ. pur. Doctr. Diſp. 22. Theſ. 5, 6. pag. 267, 268. Ludg. Bat. 1625. Ibid. Theſ. 36, 37. pag. 272. The Goſpel ſpecially taken, and reſtrain'd to the Exhibition of Chriſt, firſt denotes the Hiſtory of Chriſt manifeſted in the Fleſh, Mark 12. Secondly, it is us'd for the joyful Doctrine and Preaching concerning the Reconciliation of Men who are Sinners, with God, by the free Remiſſion of their Sins obtain'd for them by the expiatory Death of Chriſt, indifinitely offer'd to any one, reveal'd to the Poor in Spirit, and Babes; but ſingularly apply'd to the Believers, for their Salvation, and for the Manifeſtation, and eternal Glory of the Divine Mercy in Conjunction with Juſtice: 1 Cor. 9. 14, 15. This is in the ſame Diſputation cited by my Brother. And a little after the ſame Learned Polyander renounceth the Opinion of the Schoolmen and Monks, aſſerting the Goſpel to be a new Law; and diſclaims the Arminian and Socinian Doctrines, which attribute to the Goſpel as a new Law, new Precepts that are proper and peculiar to it. Whether then theſe Reverend Profeſſors ever once thought the Goſpel, ſtrictly and properly taken, to be a Law, let any one judg.
It is eaſy alſo to judg, that Gomarus underſtands the Goſpel in its larger Acceptation, when he calls it a Law in the Place cited by my Reverend Brother; for when before in the ſame Diſputation he defines the Goſpel, (and then to be ſure he took it in its ſtrict and proper Senſe) he makes not the leaſt mention of a Law, nor of Commands of ThreatningsbGomar. Diſput. 15. Theſ. 25. pag. 52. Tom. 8. 3. oper. Amſtel. 1644.: As I have before given the Inſtance from his own words, Page 34. of this Diſcourſe.
It is weariſome to follow my Learned Brother through all his Citations, and particularly to conſider them; there is no need to do it largely: and tho what he tranſcribes out of Dr. Twiſs takes up almoſt three Pages, yet a ſhort Anſwer will take off this Teſtimony too, and ſhew that it is nothing to the Purpoſe. In a word, all that can be concluded from the Words of Dr. Twiſs is only this, that God hath appointed a ſet and ſtated Order in our Salvation, according to which he proceeds. As he is not a God of Confuſion, he ſaves us regularly, and beſtows his Bleſſings in a due Series; ſo that in a becoming Manner one may follow the other: And how the Goſpel is ſuch a regular Order and Harmony of Bleſſings, I have ſhewed before, Page 6. of this Diſcourſe.
And by this Way we may ſoberly and ſincerely deal with a poor dying Sinner (to whom my Reverend BrotheraApology, pag. 32, 33. next brings me) without encouraging his Preſumption in the general Notions which even wicked Men have of God's being merciful, and Chriſt's dying for Sinners; or throwing him into the Convulſions of Deſpair. If I ſhould tell him juſt dying, of a new Law which muſt be obey'd by him, before he can entertain any hopes; that this new Law requires Obedience from him, and till he hath done it, he muſt look for nothing but Condemnation from its ſevere Sentence: If I tell him that one Condition of this Law is that he reform the Courſe of a Life, of which he is come within a point of the Period; and that unleſs he live better he cannot be ſaved, when he hath but a few Moments longer to live: He would certainly look very ghaſtly upon me, and think that I made his Mittimus to Hell. But if I tell him, that the Bleſſings of the Covenant are inſeparable, and where God gives one, they are followed with all the other; That where God confers his Favour, he plants Grace too, and works Faith in the Heart of thoſe whom he hath decreed to ſave: That this Faith, if true, is accompanied with Love; and the natural Product of that is a ſincere Reſolution to pleaſe Chriſt, and obey him; and if he can lay his Hand on his Heart, and find theſe Bleſſings there, he may be aſſured of his Intereſt in the other, and that believing he is juſtified by the Obedience of Chriſt to the Law performed for him. This Declaration of the Goſpel to a ſtartled Sinner, who hath not one Minute longer to promiſe to his affrighted Spirit, may (God making it the Power of God unto Salvation) revive, and give new Life unto-him in the Agonies of Death. But to amaze him with a Diſcourſe of new Laws, and Commands, and Threatnings, would be to ſtab him to the Soul, and to murder him more cruelly than his Diſeaſe.