Survey of the Spiritual Antichrist, Part 2 · Chapter 51
CHAP. LI. Antinomians ignorant of Jewish Law-service, and of Gospel-obedience.
ANtinomians speake evill of that they know not. Saltmarsh saith, Saltmarsh Free gracc, 168, 169.All Gospel-ordinances are onelyonly wayes and meanes for God, to reveale his love and grace by the Spirit of adoption, not any wayes or meanes of ours, for getting some love from God, which Christ himselfe hath not gotten for us. So there is not now (saith he) Gospel-teaching and obeying, but men now runne in a Legall straine, and would worke God downe into his old and former way of revealing himselfe. as under the Law, when he seemed to be onelyonly in the way to reconciliation and peace, rather then pacified, and thus in prayer and fasting, and other acts of obedience, they deale with God, as under the Old Testament, not considering the glorious love revealed in Christ crucified.
We cannot but complaine to God of these men, who slander our Doctrine, and cease not to pervert the right wayes of God. For if Saltmarsh meane, that we thinke by fasting, praying, and acts of Evangelick Sanctification, Neither the Iewes under the Law, nor we under the Gospel, could ever buy the free love or grace of Christ.to buy the love of God to our selves, that is, the free favour and love of God, that is, onelyonly grace objectively, in God, not in us; or yet grace inherent; We professe before the Lord, and his Angels, that that is an other Gospel, and though an Angel, and Paul teach it, let him be accursed. 2. Let him answer us, if any Protestant Divine, or if hee himselfe beleeveth his owne penne, doth any other but lye, when it scribles that the Law-straine and Divinity of the Jewes vnderunder the Law, did worke God down to such an old way, as for fasting, and praying, and other acts of obedience, they got some love from God, which Christ himselfe had not gotten for them? Fasting and praying was never since God had a Church on earth, a hire, a bribe to free grace, n…ither Jew, nor Gentile could by doing; nay, not Adam before his fall, nor the Elect Angels, could ever buy, prize, or morgage the free love of God. 3. Wee conceive the love of God to bee the sole cause, fountaine, well-head and adaequate reason, why the Lord chuseth some to glory, rather then bRom 9.11, 12, 1…, 4, …5, 16, 7.others, why the Lord sent his Sonne Christ to die, even because cIob. ….…6. 1 Ioh. 4.9.God extremely and freely loved the lost world; and therefore fasting, and praying, was never the cause of Gods chusing and electing love, either to Jew or Gentile, either under the Old or New Testament; except they say, there was another way of election to glory in the Old Testament, and another way in the New; and that the love of God was at a dearer rate under the Old, nor New; it was then for hire, and for works, but wee had not in Esaiahs daies, wine and milke without money and price; the Market was dearer then, it is at a lower rate now. But I perceive, Antinomians miserably mistaken,The error of the Jewes a farre other thing then their state and Pedagogie, though in confounding the error of the Jewes, and the state of the Jewish Church. Paul Rom. 4. saith right down, Abraham and David payed not a farthing more for justification, and freely imputed righteousnesse, then we doe; and it was the error and sin of men, not the state of the Church in its non-age, under Tutors, nor the dispensation of God, that dRom. 9.31, 32. Rom. 4.1, 2, 3.4.The Jews followed after the law of righteousnesse, Antinomians confound then▪but obtained not the Law of righteousnsse. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law: for they stumbled at the stumbling stone. Yea, being ignorant (then it was their pride and error, not their state of non-age) of Gods righteousnesse, and going about to establish their owne eRom 10.13.righteousnesse, have not submitted themselves to the righteousnesse of God. It was never lawfull for the Jewes to dreame they could get, or earne Gods free love, and undeserved grace, by fasting and praying, and other acts of obedience; no more then it was lawfull for them to stumble at, and breake their necke upon Christ, the stone laid on Sion, it was never lawfull for them to goe about to establish their owne righteousnesse, and not to submit to the righteousnesse of God; this was their sinne. But sure it was not their sinne to bee under Tutors, and the Pedagogie of the Law, for that was Gods holy and innocent dispensation, as the Scripture fG…l. 3.…4.25.….8.19, 20, 21 22. Gal. 4.1▪ 2▪ 3, 4, ….saith. And it was not any Legall justification by works; But it was, (1) in that they were kept 1. under shaddowes, elements of the world, Ceremonies representing forth Christ to come, and (2) God kept them under a greater terror, because of Law-transgressions; and (3) a sparer measure and dyet of grace, then wee have. But 1. it was never lawfull for them or us to seeke justification by works, and by fasting and prayer. 2. The Lord cryed out against Merit, and placing all godlinesse in their new gEsai. 1.11, 12, 13, 1…, 15, 16, 17. …. 4….…3, 24.25. l. r. 7 21, 22, 23, 24. M…. 6.7, 8. Es…. 66.1.Moones, and in saying, We have fasted, and thou hZach 7. vers. 5 6. Esa. 8. ve…s. 3.4, 5.seest it not; So there was no Legall straine in getting the love of God by fasting, praying, &c. To the Jewes, more then to us. 3. It was never a Legall straine, nor a way approved of God under the Old Testament, that they should serve God for hire, which the Devill acknowledgeth to be iIob. 1.9. cap. 2.4 5.hypocrisie; and that they should kH…. 7.…4.pray, or rather howle, like hungry dogs, for corne and wine, or follow Christ▪ lIoh 6.…6, 27.for loaves. 4. Nor was the obeying of God, for feare of the curses of the Law, and plagues, rather then out of love to God, as a Father, a way of the Old Testament-worship, approved of God, as Towne mTowne osse…. Grace, pa. 120. Honey combe, pag. 15.imagineth, it being a sinne; for their duty it was, to feare him as a Father, no lesse then ours, to nEs…. 64.8. Esa. …3.16. Deut. 32.18. Ma…ach. 1.6.rejoyce in trembling, to feare his goodnesse, oPsal. 2.11.his mercy; pHo…. ….5. Ier. 33.9.to esteeme God rather then his gifts, their reward, their qPsal. 130.4.portion, their soules rGenes. 15.1love; so were they to love and sPsal. 16.5, 6.worship him as a Husband, to admire and praise him as God, and for his essentiall perfection, beauty, lovelinesse; and all mercenary love and service for feare of punishment, not out of love, and for hire and tPsal. 73.25.rewards, was damnable, then as now. Now what was Gods active dispensation in severe punishing of them, for an irreverent looke into the uPsal. 45.10, 11. Cant. ….16. Cant. 1.7. C…nt. 3.1, 2, 3, 4. Cant. 5.6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1….Arke, and his hiring them xPsal. 78.34, 35, 36.with a good and fertile land, and many y1 Sam. 6.19.20. Deut. 28.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Esa. 1.19.temporall blessings to serve him, was another thing, and can never prove it was lawfull for them to serve God for hire, and in a mercenary way, and that it is a Legall and Old Testament way of serving God, now under the New Testament to beleeve a1 Tim 4.….that godlinesse hath the promises of this life, and of that which is to come, and that now under the new Testament: yea, we may looke to the 1 C…r 9.24 25. We strive for an incorruptible crown Heb. …0.34. Ye have in h…aven a better and enduring substance Heb. 11.1….26.bRev. 2….3, 4 Phil. 1 …3.reward of life eternall, as a motive to blow wind in our sayles, in our journey to heaven, though not as the formall object of our desires, in serving God; for we are onelyonly, and ever now and then, to serve God for himselfe, not for hire. 2. If wee speake comparatively, a created Crowne of incorruptible glory is to be laboured for, rather then trifles and feathers of corruptible clay, and that both to us, and to these under the Old Testament.
4. How Prayer revealeth the love of God, I know not, Saltmarsh, by the next may expound it. Christ saith, his Father giver the Holy Ghost to those that pray and seek him, and cLuk. 18 6.7he avengeth the bloud of his Saints, and dMat…. 7.7.he giveth whatever eIoh. 14.13.we aske the Father in his name. We pray, Lord increase our faith, is this nothing, but, Lord, reveale the Holy Ghost to us, which wee had before? And are these prayers, that God should give us no new thing, but reveale what we had before? So then we desire God would reveale the glory of his justice on the enemies of the Church, which he had wrought before, and reveale the gift of illumination, growth of Faith, victory against temptations, dayly bread, destruction of Satans kingdome, the propagating of the Gospel, deliverance from warre, the pestilence, insight in the mystery of the Gospel, the Spirit of revelation, &c. All which things we had before, but prayer, hearing, preaching, Sacraments, reveale them onelyonly. This is no Gospel-divinity.
5. Nor was God in a way of reconciliation and peace with the Jewes under the Old Testament, rather then pacified; except Antinomians say, God saw sinne in Jaakob, under the old Testament, Numb. 23.21. He blotted not out their sinnes as a thicke cloud, Esai. 43.25. and cast not their iniquities in the depth of the Sea, Mich. 7.19, 20. Nor blessed them with pardon, Psal. 32.1, 2. but kept an after reckoning of wrath, as a non-pardoning, as an unpacifyed God toward them, which belyeth the Holy Ghost, in the Old Testament, almost in every page.
6. Nor is it true that Christ getteth us the love of God, he purchaseth to us all the fruites of Gods free love, such as Redemption, pardon, imputed righteousnesse, effectuall calling, justification, repentance, faith, perseverance, glory. But we all maintaine against Papists, that Christ given as Mediator, Christ dying for us, is the fruit of Gods free love, and of our election to grace and glory; but not the cause, or a meane getting to us Gods love. Learned Twist, and protestant Divines, (to whom Saltmarsh, though he undertakes to write of free grace, is but a yesterday novice) prove against Papists, Dominicans, Iesuits, that Christ Mediator his bloud is not the Meritorious cause, of the free and eternall love of God to man. 1. Because nothing in time is, or can be, the cause of that which is eternall; Christ is given in time, and dyeth in time, as our surety; he is an eternall Mediator dying in Gods decree, but that cannot make him the cause begetting Gods love to us. 2. Gods free love and his grace is the cause, why hee giveth his Sonne to dye for us, Joh. 3.16. 1 Joh. 4.9. then Christ dying cannot bee the cause of Gods love. 3. The free love of God should not be free, if it had a meritorious cause.