A Discourse of the Two Covenants, Book 1 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. How and why men naturally deſire to be under the Law?
Galat. 4. 21, Tell me you that deſire to be under the Law, do you not hear the Law?
SECT. I. How men naturally deſire to be under the Law.
§. 1. THis Text tells us how men are naturally affected with the Covenant under which they ſtand; They ſtill deſire to be under it: foreign here ſignifies (1) ye that covet earneſtly, or vehemently deſire; ſo the word is uſed, Mat. 12.38. & 16.24. Mar. 10.35. & 12.38. (2) Ye that demand or make it your petition, ſo Mat. 15.28. & 20.21. (3) Ye that ſtudy, contrive, labour with all your might, ſo Mat. 16, 25. Mar. 8.10, 43, 44. Luk. 23.20. (4) Ye that conſent to this as beſt, determine, as Mat. 13.28. Joh. 9.54. Mat. 17.4. (5) Ye that delight or take pleaſure, Mat. 9.13. & 12.7. Heb. 10.5, 8. It follows to be under the Law. The Apoſtle Paul ſpeaks of being under the Law in divers ſenſes: (1) There is a being under the Law for juſtification and life,Gal. 4.4, 5. that is, under the Law as a Covenant: Chriſt was made under the Law to redeem us that were under the Law. (2) There is a being under the Law for condemnation,Gal. 3.10. Rom. 6.14. As many as are under the works of the Law are under the curſe. (3) There is a being under the Law for irritation, that is, ſtirring up a mans corruption; Sin taking occaſion by the Commandment became exceeding ſinful. Gal. 5.8.(4) There is a being under the Law by compulſion, If you are led by the ſpirit you are not under the Law: that is, the Law as only inforcing and compelling; as an unregenerate man is, as a ſlave, and having the ſpirit of a ſervant, not of a ſon, who does all he does from an inward principle and diſpoſition ſuitable to the Law, in whatever it does command.
But it will appear that being under the Law in all theſe ſenſes are grounded on being under it as a Covenant, as we ſhall ſee hereafter; and that he that is freed from it as a Covenant, is not under the Law in any of theſe reſpects; but by vertue of the ſecond Covenant is delivered from it. Only here I think Pareus and others ſay, that to be under the law and deſire ſo to be, is the ſame with Gal. 3.10. They that are of the works of the Law: that is, that ſeek righteouſneſs and life by the works of the Law; and this is properly to be under the Law as a Covenant of Works, which was the natural ſin of the Jews, and with which error and hereſie they endeavoured to overſpread all the Gentile Churches, going about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs; and therefore typified by Hagar, which the Apoſtle makes Jeruſalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children: but Jeruſalem above, the Chriſtian Church, is Sarah that did receive the Doctrine of the Goſpel without any mixture of their own righteouſneſs, but did truſt perfectly in the Grace that was revealed to them by Jeſus Chriſt.1 Tim. 10.3. So here to be under the Law is to ſeek to be juſtified by the works of the Moral or Ceremonial Law, as being works of righteouſneſs that we have done. For though the whole Ceremonial Law were Goſpel under a veil, yet they not being able to look to the end of it, as the Apoſtle ſays, they did perform it as works of righteouſneſs,2 Cor. 3. in which they did expect juſtification, and life for their obedience to them, and performance of them, without looking into the things ſhadowed in thoſe types. Now the Apoſtle ſays not only, that men were thus under the Law, but ſo they did deſire to be. Therefore looking upon theſe as being a patern of all mankind, and in whom the diſpoſitions of all men may be read, I do hence obſerve:
Doct. That to be under the Law as a Covenant of works is unto every natural man a very deſirable condition. He is not only born under the firſt Covenant, but under that Covenant he does deſire to continue. In the handling of it I ſhall firſt prove it, and give the grounds of it, and anſwer ſome Objections that may ariſe in the hearts of men againſt it, and then make the application of it.
There is in the fall of man, a double miſery come upon him. (1) His being under Adams Covenant. (2) His bearing Adams image. And in this ſtate all men by nature deſire to live and die. And that men do ſtill deſire to bear the image of the Earthly Adam is plain, becauſe they reſiſt the image of God in Chriſt, that bleſſed image, that by the holy Spirit is offered to them in the Goſpel. And we find how much they do hug the image of old Adam in themſelves. Now though their deſire to be under his Covenant be the foundation of all their miſery, yet men apprehend it not ſo much. The offer of the ſecond Covenant they hate, and reject the Covenant of Chriſt as much as they deſpiſe his Image, yet they perceive it not: Therefore to prove it we muſt take the moſt convincing courſe we can.
Firſt, this was the evil that God ſaw Adam's nature to be prone to, and therefore he not only caſt him out of Paradiſe, as a juſt reward of his apoſtacy, but alſo in a particular manner forbad him the uſe of the tree of life, Gen. 3.22.Gen. 3.22. God having made for our firſt Parents coats of skins, now he ſaith, Behold the man is become like one of us: it is an Ironical exclamation, wherein God derides the falſhood of Satan, and the folly of man: This is the Godſhip that Satan promis'd, en Divinitatem promiſſam! Behold the promiſed Divinity! And the knowledge of good and evil was nothing but a miſerable and ſhameful nakedneſs, which before man knew not. And now here follows exilii decretum, & ratio decreti; the decree is, Gods will to caſt man out of Paradice; and the ground of it is, leſt he put forth his hand and take of the tree of Life. But why muſt not man after the fall taſte of the tree of Life, ſeeing before the fall it was not forbidden? It is anſwered, Non in eſſe, ſed in intentione futurum erat peccatum, not in the action but in the intention, it was to be reputed ſin. And Interpreters give this as a reaſon, that thereby God might take away occaſion of ſinning from him; and God doth not only aim at keeping us from ſin by his Word. but by his Rod alſo. And they obſerve that there was by the fall a double corrupt diſpoſition in Adam's heart, which the eating of this tree would have drawn forth: (1) Looking upon it as a Creature which he might conceive to have a vertue in it to preſerve life; he might put forth his hand, which notes a voluntary act, and ſo he might conceive, though God hath threatned death, yet here is a tree that can preſerve life, and of this I will eat and live. And ſo he might have ſin'd wilfully, and out of contempt of the threatning of God, by deifying a Creature, and ſetting it in his place, and giving it Gods power; and ſo the life that was denied him by God, he might think to make up in the Creature as men commonly do. (2) Looking upon it Sacramentally as it was a Creature and a ſeal of the Covenant which he had broken, and in flying unto the ſeal of this Covenant, he might ſtill ſeek righteouſneſs and life thereby; if not in a natural way as a Creature, yet in a ſpiritual way as a Sacrament. And he might think the ſame Covenant remained, of which he did ſtill enjoy the ſeal; therefore to ſhew that there was no way to attain life by that Covenant broken, God ſhuts him out from the ſeal of it; alſo becauſe he had appointed a way to life for man by Chriſt, a far more glorious tree of life, who is therefore ſaid to be in the middle of the Paradiſe of God. And this is a more glorious way for God, becauſe in it his juſtice ſhall be ſeen, and ſatisfaction given, and a ſafer way for man alſo; wherefore ſeeing that to the firſt tree of life he had ſtill acceſs, and the Lord perceiving in man this diſpoſition to depend on it, he not only forbids it, but placeth an Angel with a ſword drawn to keep him from it, that he might have no hopes of life in this way, either by it as a Creature, or by it as a Sacrament.
Afterwards Cain was a ſon begotten in the image of his father; he offered Sacrifices, but it was not in faith, or with an expectation to be accepted in the promiſed ſeed,Heb. 11.4. and yet he expected to be accepted; and when he ſaw he was not, his pride was turned into rage, and great diſcontent, Gen. 4.5. and his countenance fell. But upon what ground did Cain expect acceptance? it was for the work done only, and therefore all unregenerate men that come to God in a legal way, Luther calls, Cainiſtas Deo offerentes non perſonam, ſed opus perſonae, Cainiſts offering to God not the perſon, but the work of the perſon. Which ſhewed plainly, that he expected to have been accepted and rewarded for his work done alone, according to the tenure of the firſt Covenant, without a Mediator; and therefore God ſpeaks to him according to the rules of his own Covenant, (as Divines commonly obſerve) If thou doſt well thou ſhalt be accepted. This being the great difference between the two Covenants, in the firſt Covenant the perſon is accepted for the works, but in the ſecond the works are accepted for the perſons ſake. And when the Lord took the people of Iſrael unto himſelf as a peculiar people of all the Nations of the Earth, and entered into a Covenant with them; though God did not intend to ſet up this Law alone as a rule by which any man ſince the fall ſhould attain righteouſneſs and life, but as a Covenant of Grace with Evangelical offers of Grace to bring them to Chriſt, and therefore gave it in the hand of a Mediator; yet the Lord kept it in the form of a Covenant of Works, that it might be the more effectual to drive men to Chriſt, and ſo ſerve Gods ends. But they ſtuck to the Law as a Covenant of Works, even the generality of that people, and did ſeek righteouſneſs and life by the obedience of it; and it grew even the common ſenſe of the Nation, as we ſee it in the young man, Mat. 19.16. What ſhall I do to inherit Eternal life? Eternal life he thought muſt be got in a way of doing; and it was the error which prevailed amongſt the Phariſees, the moſt learned amongſt the Jews. Phil. 3.6, 7.Paul counted his former legal righteouſneſs gain to him, pro merito, that which ſhould bring him in a great revenue of glory at laſt. And it is recorded by the Apoſtle as the great ſin of their Nation,Rom. 10.4. to go about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs, and not ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God; not to look upon Chriſt as the end of the Law for righteouſneſs unto every one that believes.
And when the partition-wall was broken down, and God had lifted up Chriſt as an Enſign to the Nations, the Law went forth of Zion, and the waters iſſued out of the Sanctuary, theſe were the firſt tares which the envious man did ſow, to put men upon ſetting up the Law as a Covenant, and to ſeek life upon impoſſible conditions, as by their perfect fulfilling of it; and therefore they muſt do as the Phariſees did, when they could not come up to the Law, they muſt by their own interpretations as well as their traditions, bring the Law down to them, and enervate the Law. And therefore the Apoſtle takes much pains to confute it, and to perſwade us againſt ſeeking righteouſneſs and life by the works of the Law; Rom. 3.4. Gal. 2.3, 4.and Satan being beaten out of this, then his next deſign is to ſeek to join both Covenants together, and perſwade men, to ſeek righteouſneſs and life by fulfilling the Law and believing in Chriſt alſo. And ſo partly by our own obedience we ſhall be juſtified and accepted, and wherein we come ſhort, Chriſts righteouſneſs comes in to make it up. We read in Act. 15.5. that there were ſome of the ſect of the Phariſees that did believe, and had received Chriſt as Mediator, and acknowledged him, that yet ſaid, It was needful and they ought in duty to be circumciſed, and to keep the Law of Moſes. Which Doctrine afterward the Apoſtles and the Church of Jeruſalem diſavow, as a thing they had no warrant for to preach. So in Act. 21.20. there were many thouſands that believed, and yet were leavened with this error; they were all jealous of the Law, which made the Apoſtle ſpeak ſo excluſively as he does, Rom. 3.28. Therefore we conclude, that a man is juſtified by faith, without the works of the Law.
And ſince the Primitive times, we ſee what Doctrine has been found out by the Papiſts, that good works do juſtifie a man in the ſight of God, and Chriſt has merited this; that opera renatorum, good works after converſion, ſhall be the matter of their righteouſneſs, and Chriſt will ſupply what is wanting. And hence it's taught, That they may fulfill the Law, nay, do more than the Law requires in works of Supererogation, &c. And others turn Faith into a work, and ſay, That it's faith that's accepted of God as the matter of our righteouſneſs, inſtead of the righteouſneſs of the Moral law, and not the righteouſneſs of Chriſt made ours by imputation. And he that ſhall obſerve what confidence men do place in their works, how they labour for life, and reſt in the duty done, and expect acceptance for it; and how they boaſt themſelves of their own performances, and how far moſt men are after a duty from a humble looking up to Chriſt for acceptance of it, as if they had done nothing, (for a man ſhould indeed work as if he expected to be accepted for his works, and yet reſt as perfectly in Chriſt for acceptation as if he had done nothing) he ſhall ſee that it is a diſpoſition that is deeply rooted in men to expect juſtification by their works.
§. 2. But here it may be men will wonder that time ſhould be ſpent amongſt us in beating men out of this being under the firſt Covenant, and getting life upon impoſſible terms, to undertake perfectly to keep the Law, and to ſeek juſtification by works, ſeeing we are neither Jews nor Papiſts: We know we cannot fulfill the Law, but that there is iniquity in our holy things, and we are ſo far from reſting in our duties, that we acknowledge our righteouſneſs is as filthy rags; that if God ſhould look upon them as they are, he muſt needs abhor them and us for them: and therefore ſurely there are none amongſt us that do ſo; all this labour might be ſpared, for we are ſo far from deſiring it, that we diſclaim it and abhor it. But I anſwer to this, Anſwer. that a man ought to read in other mens practices his own inclination; this was a deſire in Adam, 1 Cor. 15.49.and in his Poſterity, who do all bear the image of the earthly; for as face anſwers to face in the water, ſo ſin is alike in all men: and that man perfectly likes an example of ſinning in others that does not reflect upon himſelf, and ſee that there are ſeeds of it in him, that doth not read his own nature in another mans life.
2. If there be the ſeeds of it in thy own heart, then though it never ſhould break forth into act, yet there is juſt cauſe that God ſhould loath thee for it, as we do Toads though they hurt us not. And indeed the main part of our enmity againſt God, and Gods againſt us, lies in the contrariety of our nature to him;Col. 1.21. we are naturally enemies to God in our minds; and this is the top of all a godly mans humiliation, this is but a part of all that evil treaſure that is within,Pſal. 51.7. and there is more in the Ware-houſe than in the Shop. And that Chriſtian is never kindly humbled for any ſin if his humiliation ends in the ſin it ſelf, and aſcend not to the fountain that is within him, that raging ſea that always is caſting out mire, &c. We know that in the Saints there is no luſt perfectly mortified in this life,Rom. 6.6. for ſin dies a crucified death, and therefore though in a Saint it be ſtill upon the Croſs, and dying daily, yet it ſhall never be perfectly deſtroyed till this corruptible ſhall put on incorruption.
The Saints have the ſeeds of this ſin, of truſting in themſelves, in them alſo, and this luſt will not lye idle in them, the fleſh will luſt againſt the ſpirit;Gal. 5.17. and it ſhews how prone the nature of man is to it, and the actings of it, becauſe it has ſhewed it ſelf ſo in all ages. And therefore one being asked why Pelagianiſm did ſpring up in all ages? anſwered, Becauſe there were Pelagianae fibrae in the hearts of all men: So if this be asked you, Why this luſt of carnal confidence always breaks forth into ſinful acts? &c. you may alſo anſwer, There are fibrae of it in the heart of all men. Therefore if God have kept this luſt from acting in thee ſo much as it has done in others, O be thankful for ſo great a mercy; but be careful that thou ſay not, that it is not in thee, becauſe God has reſtrained the luſt from acting, for then it may be juſt with God to give a man over to the power of it, and he ſhall ſee by experience that it's a mercy to have it reſtrained, ſeeing he cannot be wholly freed from it in this life. It's a great evil when God preſerves men from ſin, for them to think there is no ſuch danger in it. Take heed leſt God let out ſuch a luſt upon thee, that will make thee a mourner all thy days: and remember how preſumptuous Peter was againſt his denial of Chriſt, yet how ſoon he was guilty of it. And how apt are Chriſtians, for not prizing a preſervation from groſs ſins, to walk fearleſly, and then God often leaves them to the power of luſt, and ſhews them the mercy of his former reſtraint. Indeed all luſts in the heart of man do not act alike; ſome luſts do work directly, and preſs men to ſin, as that of Whoredom and Drunkenneſs, a man has diſtinct thoughts about them; but there are ſome that do work indirectly and in a ſecret way, to guide men in their practiſe, and yet never come into diſtinct thoughts, but work as principles that lye low, and a man acts in the power of them, and yet obſerve them not; as in a Watch, every one may obſerve the wheels that move, but every one does not obſerve the ſpring from whence their motion proceeds; as a Scholar that ſpeaks and writes Latin, he does not think of the rules of Grammar every ſentence he ſpeaks, and yet thoſe rules have an influence into every word, and his whole diſcourſe is framed after thoſe rules; ſo there are ſome ſins, as Atheiſm, &c. a man it may be never ſays in actual thoughts that there is no God, and yet this principle ſways with a man, and is at the bottom of every ſin. And ſo it is with this ſin, it may not come into actual thoughts that there is Eternal life to be had by our works, and we will exclude the righteouſneſs of Chriſt; and yet it may have a very great influence upon the man in his whole courſe, as being a fundamental and mother-ſin.
(1) So far as any man does deſire to eſtabliſh his own righteouſneſs, ſo far he deſires to be under a Covenant of Works for juſtification and life; but this is the diſpoſition of every man by nature, therefore every man by nature deſires to be under the firſt Covenant ſtill: this was the great fruit of it amongſt the Jews, Rom. 10.3. and the words are very ſignificant, Going about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs: i. e. ſeeking or ſtudying for it, as ſtudents uſe to do. It ſignifies to labour for a thing with a mans utmoſt endeavour, even with all his might, as Mat. 6.32. After theſe things do the Gentiles ſeek: and it anſwers to the word foreign, Rom. 9.31.Rom. 9.31. They followed after the law of righteouſneſs, but they attained it not. The law of righteouſneſs is the righteouſneſs of the Law, that is, juſtification by it; for the righteouſneſs of the Law to be fulfilled in them by their own perſonal obedience, not by faith, but by works, this they followed after with all their might. And the word foreign, Imbecillitatem propriae juſtitiae denotat, denotes the imbecillity of their own righteouſneſs, that it could not ſtand alone, but they muſt ſet it up and ſupport it, and make it ſtand by their own opinion and preſumptions.
Now you ſee this all along, how men expect acceptation with God for their ſervices, Iſa. 58.1, Wherefore have we faſted, and thou regardeſt not? Men do think to be heard for their much ſpeaking, and ſtand upon their juſtification, I faſt twice in the week, and pay tythe of all that I poſſeſs, ſays the Phariſee. The Apoſtle, Rom. 9.31. ſays, They followed after the righteouſneſs of the Law, by their own performance of the works of the Law. And to this end, becauſe they could not riſe up to the ſpirituality of the Law, they did therefore bring down the Law, by their interpretation, unto their own obedience, and all was to make their own righteouſneſs available for juſtification. Therefore Paul ſaith, Concerning the righteouſneſs of the Law blameleſs, Phil. 3. The young man ſays, All theſe have I kept from my youth. Therefore the Papiſts teach, That men may perfectly fulfill the Law,Bellar. de Juſtific. l. 2. c. 2, & 3. and do alſo ſome works of Supererogation over and above the Law: that the formal cauſe of Juſtification is inherent righteouſneſs, though Chriſts righteouſneſs is the meritorious cauſe, Chriſt having merited that our righteouſneſs may juſtifie, &c. And though not works by nature, yet by Grace; even Faith it ſelf, as a work, is that which God accepts, being performed by us inſtead of all the righteouſneſs required in the Moral Law. Theſe and many more are the ways by which men ſeek to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs in matter of Juſtification.
(2) As for Salvation alſo: All men would be working and doing ſomething for Heaven Good Maſter, what ſhall I do to inherit eternal life? What ſhall we do to work the works of God? Joh. 6.They were all upon a way of doing; they did expect a reward for all. They had a high eſteem of their own ſervices, and therefore they did boaſt themſelves, and glory in them; it's the law of ſaith only excludes boaſting.Rom. 3.27. The Creature being ſinful is lifted up by works, proud of a little, God knows. And therefore Jehu ſays, Come ſee my zeal for the Lord of hoſts: and there is nothing in the world that the pride of man will appear more in, than in righteouſneſs; for pride is an overweening apprehenſion of a mans own excellency; and the higher the excellency, the greater the pride, Rom. 7.9. I was alive (ſays Paul) without the Law: alive in performances, and alive in preſumptions; he thought he had done much for God, and therefore his zeal did riſe to a madneſs in perſecuting of the Church. It's a hard matter for a man to be a painful Preacher, a zealous profeſſor, a faithful Stateſman, or a man that has laid out himſelf for the publick any way, but his heart will ſwell with privy pride therein; yea, even though he do profeſs to deſpiſe, and to diſeſteem the praiſe of men.
§. 3. But now more particularly; ſo far as any man does not ſubmit unto the righteouſneſs and the grace of the ſecond Covenant, ſo far he manifeſts his deſire to be ſtill under the firſt Covenant, but all men by nature refuſe to ſubmit to the righteouſneſs and the offers of the ſecond Covenant: and therefore they deſire to continue under the firſt.
The Scripture ſpeaks of mens actions and diſpoſitions many times interpretatively; not as they are in the intention of the ſinner, but as they are in truth, and in the interpretation of God.Prov. 8. ult. Men are ſaid to love death; all thoſe that hate wiſdom and deſpiſe Chriſt, and live without him, love death. Now men will all ſay that they do hate death; but yet in Gods interpretation, they hating the only way and means to life, they do all of them love death. So we read in Ezech. 8.5. They did theſe abominations that I might go far from my ſanctuary. It was not their intention in ſo doing actually and formaliter, but interpretative it was, becauſe they had ſet up an image of jealouſie in the Sanctuary, which would provoke God to remove; and yet if they had been asked they would all have ſaid, they would by no means have the glory of the Lord to remove. So men do not actually deſire to be under the firſt Covenant; but yet ſo long as they reject the offers and the grace of the ſecond, ſo long in, Gods interpretation they do deſire to be under the Law ſtill; and their rejection of the better Covenant offered, argues they like and love that under which they are; and reject the righteouſneſs of God, which is the ſame which is called the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, and the righteouſneſs of faith, as the Apoſtle ſays,Phil. 3.9. Not having my own righteouſneſs, which is of the law, but the righteouſneſs which is of God by faith. And it's called the righteouſneſs of God, partly becauſe it is found out by God, and by God only imputed, and therefore is only an act of free grace, whereby God will make a ſinner righteous before him, Rom. 1.17. and partly becauſe Chriſt offered himſelf by the eternal ſpirit without ſpot to God, which is his own Divine nature; and ſo unto all the actions and the ſufferings of his Humanity, the Godhead gave an efficacy and an excellency even from his perſon, they being all the actions and ſufferings of him that was both God and Man. And unto this righteouſneſs, men through the pride and unbelief of their ſpirits, and contrariety to the Goſpel, will not ſubmit, They have not ſubjected themſelves unto the righteouſneſs of God.
1. All a man's ſins do ſtand out, and will not ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God; for whoever imbraces the offer of the ſecond Covenant, and the grace thereof, muſt take Chriſt for Sanctification,1 Cor. 1. as well as for Juſtification; for he is made both, and he came with water and blood to anſwer thoſe ways of legal purification, and ſo he muſt come into every ſoul; but above all ſins, a mans darling, his right hand and his right eye, muſt be parted with; and therefore Chriſt ſays,Joh. 5.44. How can you believe, that ſeek honour one of another? The power of any luſt in the ſoul, will keep it from believing and accepting of the grace and mercy that's offered in the ſecond Covenant. And ſo through the power and dominion of ſin, men cannot ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God. And how miſerably is many a man held in captivity this way! we all ſee they are by the ſnares of darkneſs led captive by Satan at his will.
2. All the gifts and abilities that are in a man, are againſt it; for faith is the higheſt ſelfdenial,2 Cor. 8.2. and gifts do puff up, and therefore not many wiſe are called. The wiſdom of this world is enmity againſt God: and all their parts and learning, their wiſdom, whether it be natural or acquired, doth make them but the ſtronger enemies, and ſet them the farther off from Chriſt;Hab. 2.4. now this ſtands in the moſt direct oppoſition to faith: for that ſoul that is lifted up, his heart is not upright in him. In troubleſome times to have a mans heart born up by a fleſhly prop,Rom. 4. is directly oppoſed to the work of faith; and therefore we find Abraham denied his reaſon, and ſhut his eyes againſt it, when he came to believe: foreign, &c. he did not judge of it this way and that way, he did not diſpute it, but reſted in his word alone. And therefore the Apoſtle asks,1 Cor. 1.20. where is the wiſe man, the ſcribe, and the diſputer of this world? The more wiſdom men have, and the greater improvement of reaſon, the greater diſputants men are, the farther off uſually from faith, and the greater enemies thereunto.
3. All a mans own righteouſneſs, either what a man has done before his converſion, as Paul, or what he can do after his converſion, may be ſo abuſed and relied upon as to derogate from the righteouſneſs of God; for when men are convinced of their ſins, and ſee that there is ſomething wanting to their Salvation, then they think they will do ſomething more; as the young man in the Goſpel, What ſhall I do to inherit eternal life? he had a confidence in what he had done, and fearing leſt that might fall ſhort there was ſomething more that he was willing for to do. When men are once convinced of their ſins they cannot look upon any thing that they have done that will ſatisfie; and their good deeds will not weigh down their bad: but then they ſay, Mic. 6.6. Wherewith ſhall I come before the Lord and bow my ſelf before the high God? will he be pleaſed with thouſands of Rams? &c. As if their after-obedience ſhould make amends for their former ſins. And ſo under Popery at this day many do faſt and macerate their bodies, watch and pray, and chaſtiſe themſelves by ſcourging, and going Pilgrimage; give away all their Goods to the poor, and betake themſelves unto a voluntary Poverty, ſhut themſelves up in a Monaſtery and Hermitage, and ſeclude themſelves from all the comforts of this life; yea, even Princes and Emperours lay down their Kingdoms, and caſt away their Crowns, and betake themſelves unto a private life; and all upon this ground, that theſe ſhall be opera ſatisfactoria, ſatisfactory works, Luth. in Gal. 5.and ſo expiatory for their former ſins. And hence it is, that men convinced of their ſins labour as for life to ſatisfie God, and to quiet their Conſciences. And when men have wrought hard all their days with ſuch expectations as theſe, they are hardly brought off to come to Chriſt as ſtript naked of all, and to acknowledge that all their righteouſneſs is an abomination. And theſe are the mountains that are to be caſt down, the high imaginations and preſumptuous thoughts of themſelves, before they can come to Chriſt; and the caſting down of theſe is a preparing the way for the Lord.
4. When mens Conſciences are awakened and ſin revived by an almighty work of the Law, and the ſecond Covenant offered to them, then they ſay the news is too good to be true, there is no mercy for them whatever God intends to others; ſurely he can never think thoughts of peace to them; he will never take ſuch toads and ſerpents as they are into his boſom to have communion with him; and they ſay there is no hope. While men are in peace, and ſin lies ſleeping at the door, ſo long a mans ſelf-love and ſelf-flattery makes it eaſie to preſume; and he ſays, It's a ſmall matter to believe, for God is merciful, and Chriſt died for ſinners. And if there be but a few men that ſhall be ſaved, yet he doubts not but he ſhall be one of that number. But when once God diſcovers his ſin and awakens his Conſcience, then the man ſays, Though the greateſt part of mankind ſhould be ſaved, and if there were but one man in the world that ſhould be condemned, ſurely he ſhould be the man. If a man had come to Judas after his Conſcience was awakened on the ſight of his ſin, before he hanged himſelf, and told him, be not diſcouraged though thou haſt committed a great ſin, Chriſt is the Saviour of the world, and it is but believing in him and this ſin ſhall be pardoned, and thy ſoul ſaved: He would have anſwered you as Spira did, when they did exhort him to believe, That they were as good bid him to fulfill the whole Law, and bid him lay hold upon a ſtar in the firmament. For a man to ſee ſin to be an infinite evil, and God to be a provoked God ready to take vengeance, and Hell open, and himſelf ready to drop into everlaſting deſtruction, and yet now for him to caſt himſelf into the arms of everlaſting mercy, and relie for his eternal happineſs on the favour of an almighty and a ſin-revenging God, and ſay, If I periſh I periſh, I will reſt upon him, and truſt to his mercy, whether he ſave me or damn me: For a man by an excluſive act to ſhut out all other hopes and ways, and confine his thoughts to free Grace alone, and to leave himſelf at the mercy of God,Pſal. 10.14. and at his foot-ſtool to be willing to be at his diſpoſe, it's that which the unbelief and deſpair of a mans heart upon the apprehenſion of the guilt of ſin, will never be brought unto, without an act of Almighty power, Epheſ. 1.19. Therefore we read in Luk. 3.5. to make way for Chriſt there be vallies to be filled as well as mountains to be levelled and laid low. Before men are humbled they are mountains, too high to ſubmit to this righteouſneſs; and being humbled, they become vallies, and are too low to riſe up and to imbrace the Grace that is offered by the Prince of the ſecond Covenant. Now ſo far as a man does not ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God, ſo far he deſires to ſtand under the firſt Covenant ſtill.
§. 4. In a man under the Covenant of Works there are two things: (1) An anſwerable ſpirit: (2) Suitable fruits. And if a man deſire both theſe, then we may conclude he deſires to be under this Covenant.
1. They that under the Covenant of Works have an anſwerable ſpirit, a ſpirit that does always accompany this Covenant, Rom. 8.15. We have not received the ſpirit of bondage again to fear, &c. Now this was the natural fruit of this Covenant;Gal. 4.24. for it has only gendered to bondage ſince the fall: unto Adam in innocency it was a Covenant not of bondage, but of freedom: but being broken all that come under it are children of the bond-woman, and the ſpirit that does accompany it is a ſpirit of bondage. For there is a twofold ſpirit that is anſwerable unto the twofold Covenant, and with the change of a mans Covenant, there follows a change of a mans ſpirit, and never till then; now this ſpirit is a ſpirit of fear to witneſs guilt, a fear of Gods preſence and a fear of Gods judgments;Amos 1.10. Heb. 2.15. Iſa. 33.5. Fearfulneſs has ſurprized the hypocrite; and as Cain ſays, Gen. 4.14. Every one that meets me will kill me. Now when men are acted by this ſpirit from day to day they are full of guilt and fear; and all this does not awaken them to ſeek out for a remedy, and to cry out unto Chriſt from day to day for a ſpirit of adoption, the ſpirit of a child; in Gods account they are well pleaſed with it, and they deſire it. As a man that walks in the ways of ſin, and is acted by the ſpirit of the world, and groans not under it, but is willingly led captive by Satan at his will, he deſires to be acted by that ſpirit; ſo a man that walks under bondage from day to day, and ſees not his miſery, deſires to be led by the ſpirit of bondage, which is the ſpirit of the firſt Covenant.
2. This ſpirit has ſuitable fruits. As the ſpirit of Adoption is a ſpirit of love and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoſt; ſo it's with men alſo that are acted by a ſpirit of bondage, that ſpirit has its fruits alſo, and they are commonly ſuch as theſe three.
(1) They that are under this Covenant do place their Religion in outward performances. There was a righteouſneſs that the Phariſees had, under which they reſted, and that was making clean the outſide of the cup and platter, as a whited wall, as a painted ſepulchre; and their Conſciences are ſatisfied with it, as it was in Paul, before the commandment came and ſin revived, he was as concerning the righteouſneſs of the Law blameleſs.
(2) They do all their ſervices without a Mediator, they do not bring their ſacrifice to the Prieſt the Lord Chriſt; and they do not bring their Incenſe to be mixed with his odours, but they come in their own names, and offer ſervices unto God immediately without a Prieſt: and though they may talk of Chriſt, yet they come not to him for acceptance, and to have the iniquity of their holy things taken away; but if the duty be done they expect it ſhall be accepted.
(3) They do all with a legal ſpirit, performing it as a task, and are glad it is over. It is by the ſecond Covenant that the yoke of Chriſt is eaſie; it is otherwiſe ſuch a yoke that man cannot bear, Rom. 7.6. Men ſerve not in the newneſs of the ſpirit, but in the oldneſs of the letter: To ſerve in the newneſs of the ſpirit, is to ſerve ſpiritu novo & ſpontaneo, with a new free ſpirit; and therefore in the oldneſs of the letter, that is in a ſlaviſh and a ſervile manner; when a man only looks at the duty commanded without, as a task, as an act of obedience, but not as an act of faith, Heb. 8. It is the ſecond Covenant that writes the Law in the heart, and makes the duties ſweet and pleaſant unto a man, by putting into a man an inward principle of love anſwerable unto the things that are required; putting into a man an inward diſpoſition anſwerable to the Law, that a man delights in the Law according to the inward man; and men living in the ſtrength of a legal ſpirit, contenting and pleaſing themſelves therein, this is a plain argument, that they are acted by the ſpirit of the firſt Covenant, and bring forth the fruits thereof, and their contentedneſs under it, ſhews that they deſire and love ſo to be.
SECT. II. The Cauſes why men deſire to be under the Law.
§. 1. BUt how can this be, that men knowing themſelves ſinners, and under the curſe of the Law; and that unto juſtification by the Law, a perfect obedience is required, which it is no more poſſible for them to yield than it is to ſtay the Sun in its courſe, or remove the Earth out of its place; and therefore the life promiſed therein is unto man fallen, upon an impoſſible condition, becauſe all the imaginations of his heart are evil, and only evil continually, and in his life there dwells no good thing, and therefore it is ſaid to gender to bondage, and all that are under it are bondmen. The caſe ſtanding thus, How comes it to paſs that there ſhould be in the heart of man a continual deſire to be under this Covenant ſtill? The grounds of it are taken from a threefold principle that is in the heart of man: A principle (1) of Ignorance: (2) Of Enmity: (3) Of Pride.
1. From a principle of Ignorance; and that (1) of the Law, and the nature of the firſt Covenant, and mens condition under it. (2) Of the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, and the Glory of the ſecond Covenant.
1. Ignorance of the Law, and mens ſtate under that Covenant. (1) Men are naturally ignorant of Gods intent in giving the Law, and therefore look upon it as a Covenant by which they ſhould attain righteouſneſs and life, Mat. 19.20. Chriſt anſwers the young man according to his own principles, Good Maſter, (ſaith he) what ſhall I do to inherit eternal life? Chriſt replys, Keep the Commandments. For he looked upon it as a way of obedience in which he ſhould attain Salvation. And ſo all men would work for life, and that is given as the reaſon why the Galatians were ſo greatly bewitched by falſe teachers, and drawn away from the truth of the Goſpel to join ſomething of the Law with Chriſt in the matter of Juſtification, becauſe they did not know, wherefore the Law was given, Gal. 3.19, 20. They ſeeing a Covenant made with Abraham, and a promiſe of free grace and of righteouſneſs, and life without works, an inheritance by promiſe; and 430 years after a Law given requiring works, and promiſing life upon perfect obedience thereof, they did not know how to conceive, but that either God did repent of and revoke his former Covenant, or elſe they muſt be both joined together in the matter of Juſtification and life: now to anſwer this the Apoſtle acquaints them with the end why God did give the Law, it was not to ſet it up as a Covenant alone, that any man ſhould attain righteouſneſs and life thereby; for unto man a ſinner it is impoſſible and inexorable, it can neither be obeyed nor endured: but he ſaith, foreign, it was not given as a Covenant, by which men ſhould attain life, as it was to Adam in the ſtate of innocency: as if God did intend any man ſhould be ſaved thereby, neither was it publiſhed to make void the Covenant of Grace, but it was added, not by way of oppoſition but ſubordination, that it might be as Hagar to Sarah; a handmaid to further the ends of the Goſpel, and to advance the grace of it, that it might be as the avenger of blood to the City of refuge, and make men look for the Law in the Ark Chriſt, (Who is the end of the law for juſtification,) and that it might be the perfect rule of the obedience of the Goſpel. This men being ignorant of they look upon the Law as a Covenant of works, and all that they do in obedience thereunto is to gain righteouſneſs and life.
(2) Men are naturally ignorant of the ſpiritual meaning of the Law, Rom. 7.9. I was alive without the law once. Here the Apoſtle ſpeaks of a double ſtate in which he was: [1] In times paſt in the ſtate of unregeneracy, without the Law; not in the letter, for he was bred up at the feet of Gamaliel, and one that knew the Scripture from a child; but without the Law in the ſpiritual ſence of it, in its glory, power, latitude, ſpirituality, and holineſs; which are the wonders of the Law that men by nature have not eyes to ſee, which David prays for, Pſal. 119.18. and which unto men by nature are accounted ſtrange things. [2] But there is another ſtate, and that is when the Lord was merciful to Paul in his Converſion; The commandment came, i. e. in a lively, vigorous and ſpiritual manner, having a ſpirit of life accompanying it; whereas before it was but a dead letter, and it brought in ſuch a light as did diſcover the ſecret thoughts and intents of his heart, and laid the whole inward man open, even the inward parts of the ſoul. And whereas before he was alive in performances, able (as he conceived) to perform all the righteouſneſs of the Law without blemiſh, and therefore full of ſelf-juſtification, and conceits of his own righteouſneſs, and high expectations of Salvation. Now ſin revived, that is, in the guilt of it in his Conſcience; and he begins to ſee his own miſery and ſinfulneſs, and loſt condition, which before he thought was very good. Now he ſaw all his own righteouſneſs which before he ſo highly eſteemed, and ſo much ſet by, to be nothing but droſs and dung. And natural Conſcience looks upon obedience to the Law as conſiſting only in the outward act, and if that be performed, Conſcience is ſatisfied; if men pray and hear, they are not ſolicitous for the acceptance of their perſons before their ſervices can be accepted; nor for the light manner of performance, and the curing of their inward man towards God therein; which doth plainly ſhew, that though they underſtand the Law in the letter, and ſtick to it therein, yet they are not acquainted with the ſpirituality of the Law.
3. Men are ignorant of their miſerable condition under the Law, Gal. 3.10. as many as are under the Law are under the curſe, Gal. 4.21, You that deſire to be under the law do you not hear the law? that is, hear it you do, but you underſtand it not,Si Deo obtuliſſet putamen nucis in fide, opus bonum etiamſi adeó parvum, adeò vile ut culmum tollere; ſi verò deſit fiducia opus bonum non eſt, etiamſi omnes mortuos ſuſcitet & homo ſeſe comburendum permittat. Luth. neither conſider that being ſons of the bond-woman you are bond-men: for your Covenant being broken genders unto bondage; and there is a ſpirit of bondage that will follow upon this ſtate of bondage, and as bond-men you ſhall not abide in the houſe; for you have no part or ſhare in the inheritance; becauſe the inheritance is not by the law but of promiſe. Men under this Covenant ſtand before God in their own names, they bear their own ſins, and muſt be juſtified by their own righteouſneſs; for this Covenant admits no Mediator, there is none to repreſent their perſons, or bear their ſins, or pay their debt, or endure their curſe, but all muſt needs be done in their own perſons; if they do any duty, they expect it ſhould be accepted of God, for the goodneſs of it, and it is rejected of God for the failings of it, becauſe whatever is born of the fleſh is fleſh, and in their Covenant God requires perfect obedience, and will accept none other; and yet there is not the meaneſt ſervice of the Saints under the ſecond Covenant performed in faith, but it is accepted, if they offer but a cup of cold water. Now men perform duties becauſe they are commanded, and they think that they have done good ſervice, and look that they ſhall be accepted and rewarded, but never conſider that if their perſons be not accepted their ſervices cannot be; but that their beſt ſervices are ſins in Gods account, and rejected; and that all the promiſes of pardon and grace, repentance and acceptance upon repentance, all theſe belong not unto them; for their Covenant admits no ſuch thing. Some may ſee the defilement of their nature and their miſery, becauſe of the image which they bear, but very few are apprehenſive of their miſery by reaſon of the Covenant of bondage under which they ſtand.
(4) Men know not how to diſtinguiſh between the doing of duties, and the right manner and method of doing them; for all men are ready to look upon them as duties required by God, and if ſo he will accept them becauſe he has required them. And therefore when Luther did bid men not only take heed of their ſins, but of their duties, for theſe might deſtroy them as well as the other; and called them baſe and beggarly elements, and dung and droſs, preſently they ſaid he ſpoke againſt good works. Now here men diſtinguiſh not of the doing, and of the method in doing; for the duties of the Law muſt be performed by the graces of the Goſpel, and in the way of the Goſpel; and therefore we ſay that believing muſt go before any other of the great works of God e're a ſoul can be accepted:Luther de bonis operibus primi precepti. and therefore Luther gives this rule, Whatſoever a mans conſcience and faith toward God is, ſuch are his works, which flow from the ſame principle; but where there is nothing of faith the edge is wanting to good works, and the whole life erroneous, and all goodneſs as nothing. I ſay that good works are accepted, if faith, which gives a man an intereſt in Chriſt, and a change of a mans Covenant, goes before. We ſhould bring naked Chriſt and a naked ſoul ſtript of all things elſe together: we would have you take Chriſt for your husband, and duties for the ſervants of Chriſt. While faith is to deal with Chriſt in the buſineſs of Juſtification, and acceptative works ſhould be ſhut out, and there ſponſus cum ſponſa, faith and Chriſt alone; but if faith walk abroad in the world works muſt ſtand at the door and follow as the handmaid, and the neceſſary conſequents of faith. Now men hearing that duties are commanded by God, they are apt to conceive that they muſt be done, and being done ſhall be accepted though it be not according to the method of the Goſpel; and that when we ſpeak againſt reſting in them as duties of the firſt Covenant, we ſpeak againſt good works, whereas we would have them performed but by a man whoſe perſon is accepted, his Covenant changed, and that by the principles of the Goſpel, the faith of Chriſt in his heart, and alſo unto the ends of the Goſpel.
2. They are ignorant of the righteouſneſs of Chriſt: as the Apoſtle ſays, Rom. 10.3. They were ignorant of the righteouſneſs of God, therefore they went about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs. By the righteouſneſs of God, is here meant the righteouſneſs of Chriſt as Mediator which he has wrought for us, and to be imputed unto us; a righteouſneſs which God has prepared, a righteouſneſs which God imputeth, and a righteouſneſs unto which the Godhead did give efficacy and excellency, though it be not the eſſential and infinite righteouſneſs of God; for if a Creature ſhould be righteous thereby, then it muſt be God.
(1) They ſee not the excellency of this righteouſneſs; that it perfectly anſwers the Law, and that by reaſon of the Union with the Godhead, and by this means it far exceeds the righteouſneſs of the Angels, and is far more glorious than ever we could have had if Adam had ſtood: that we ſhould be made the righteouſneſs of God in him, and that the matter of our righteouſneſs ſhould be the great things performed by him, ſuffered by him, imputed unto us, and we thereupon reputed by an act of ſoveraignty, righteous before God; this men do not ſee, and therefore they admire the righteouſneſs of a Creature ſo much, as Paul did his own righteouſneſs by the Law; but when he had but a glimpſe diſcovered to him of the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, he does abhor his own righteouſneſs for ever, Phil. 3.9, 10. That I may be found in him not having mine own righteouſneſs, but the righteouſneſs which is of God by faith. There is the glory of the Lord to be ſeen in the glaſs of the Goſpel, 2 Cor. 3.18. which is by a ſpirit of revelation in the knowledge of him,Epheſ. 1.17. which till a man does ſee, his heart will never be inflamed with admiration of the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, and with an inſtinct after union with him; when God did let but a glimpſe of this into Luther, and he did but conſider, Rom. 1.17. That the righteouſneſs of God is revealed from faith to faith, Oh how he admired it, and was raviſhed with it! having never underſtood that Scripture before. The Prophet Iſaiah did wonder that all men did not believe in him and that ſo few were converted, when he ſaw his Glory, but the reaſon was they ſaw it not.
(2) Men are ignorant of the neceſſity of Chriſts righteouſneſs: for they come unto God in their own name, and as Prieſts they offer up their own ſacrifice; they make a difference between themſelves and others, Luk. 18.11. I thank thee I am not as other men are. But Chriſt came not to call the righteous but ſinners to repentance; all are ſick, all are ſinners, but yet they are not ſo in their own apprehenſion, and therefore they ſee no ſuch neceſſity of Chriſt; wherefore men come to God, and never conſider this, Can two walk together except they are agreed? what fellowſhip can light have with darkneſs, righteouſneſs with unrighteouſneſs? and what fellowſhip can ſin have with holineſs? Nay ſtubble and thorns with devouring fire, and everlaſting burnings? My perſon wants a Mediator, it is burdened with infinite guilt; my Nature wants a Mediator, it is overſpread with univerſal defilement; my Sins want a Mediator, for they are without number, and without meaſure ſinful; my ſervices want a Mediator, for they are full of iniquity, even my holy things; and therefore men can be content to live without the righteouſneſs of Chriſt.
3. Men are ignorant of the glorious ſtate and condition of that ſoul that ſtands before God in the righteouſneſs of God, and who at the laſt day ſhall not be found in his own righteouſneſs. When the Apoſtle Paul ſaw it, he counted all things droſs and dung for it: and I doubt not but if the glorious Angels in Heaven had it revealed unto them, that it was the mind of God after they had ſtood ſo many thouſand years, that they ſhould abandon all their own righteouſneſs, and now lay hold upon a higher and more glorious righteouſneſs in his Son, they would ſpeedily do it, and caſt away all the ſervices that ever they have done, as preferring this righteouſneſs far above their own, and their condition therein above what it can be by their own righteouſneſs. For the righteouſneſs of an Angel, is but the righteouſneſs of a Creature; but the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, though it be only the righteouſneſs wrought in his humane nature in obedience to the Law, yet it is that unto which the Godhead gave efficacy. The righteouſneſs of the Angels hath in it a poſſibility of being loſt: they are not by nature impeccable, though they are by grace; God does charge them not with actual folly indeed,Job 4.18. yet with poſſible folly: but Chriſt as Mediator is impeccable; (unleſs we can ſuppoſe God to ſin) the union between the natures being perſonal, & actus eſt ſuppoſitorum, acts are of perſons: and therefore unleſs a poſſibility of ſinning ſhould befall the Godhead, the perſon cannot ſin: and ſo it is righteouſneſs in an unchangable head, which could never be in the Angels, neither was it in Adam in the ſtate of innocency. And therefore bleſſed is the man whoſe unrighteouſneſs is forgiven. Now by the imputation of this righteouſneſs without works, he is put into a far more glorious condition than ever he ſhould have been by the firſt Covenant, if he had never ſinned. Believers having now a more glorious name, not only the ſervants of God, and the ſons of God, as the Angels are called; but the brethren of Chriſt, and the members of his fleſh and bone: a higher ſonſhip, not only ſons by creation, but by a myſtical union, having a part in the ſonſhip of Chriſt, he gives them the priviledge to be called ſons of God; a higher inheritance, made co-heirs with Chriſt, for it is ſaid, Enter into your Maſters joy.
§. 2. The ſecond cauſe why men deſire to be under the Law, is a principle of enmity, Rom. 1.21. They will not glorifie him as God. All the luſts of mens hearts are ungodly luſts, Jude v. 18. oppoſition to God and to his glory, and any thing that exalts God, and makes for his glory; it is ground enough why the heart of man ſhould be ſet in oppoſition thereunto. In the ſecond Covenant God is glorified in a far higher way than in the firſt; for there are higher manifeſtations of God in the ſecond Covenant. Now glory is but the reflection of an excellency, and therefore the more glorious the manifeſtation, the more glorious muſt the reflection be. God did manifeſt himſelf indeed in the firſt Covenant gloriouſly, and yet God has ſet forth a larger ſyſteme of himſelf in the ſecond, and put the Angels to ſtudy that, by beholding the marvelous glory of God in the face of Jeſus Chriſt; therefore the Saints now glorifie God in a higher way than under the firſt Covenant.
(1) He had before manifeſted his wiſdom in giving the Creatures a being, and had raiſed out of nothing a glorious fabrick, every thing in its order, and made Man after his own Image; but when Man had loſt himſelf, and blotted out that Image, he brought himſelf under the curſe; now there is great wiſdom in repairing: for if man ſhall be ſaved, then God muſt be ſatisfied; now to take away ſin, and let the ſinner live; to ſend the ſin to Hell, and the ſinner to Heaven; to find out ſuch a ſurety of infinite merit anſwerable unto ſins demerit, and to work many miracles at once by a perſonal union of the ſecond perſon with a created nature; that the Incomprehenſibe ſhould be comprehended, Eternity brought within the bounds of time; he that bears up all things ſhould himſelf be born; and the ancient of days become a child, and that ever the tongue of man ſhould ſay ſuch a word as God manifeſted in the fleſh, it is ſuch an act of wiſdom as was never manifeſted before.
(2) Juſtice. He had ſhewed juſtice in the firſt Covenant by threatning a curſe upon the breach of it; and he had executed juſtice upon the Angels that fell, by caſting them to Hell immediately without hope of mercy; but when the Son ſhall take ſin upon him, but by imputation, as his ſervant, and by his own appointment, now he will not ſpare a Son, though he put up ſtrong crys; but being made ſin he muſt be made a curſe; and that he that in all our afflictions is afflicted, that God ſhould delight to bruiſe him, it is ſuch a manifeſtation of juſtice, as was never heard of under the firſt Covenant.
(3) Power. In making a World he had declared power, but this was but power over the Creature; but now here is power over himſelf to anſwer the pleas and the juſt demands of his own Attributes, Let the power of my Lord be great, pardon them, &c. Numb. 14.17.
(4) Love. To give our firſt Parents a being, and ſo glorious a Covenant, and all the Creatures for their uſe, to have dominion over them all, was great love from God; but here is a higher act of love, to give ſinners a Son: ſo God loved the world, that he did not ſpare his only begotten Son.
(5) Soveraignty. To have authority and abſolute power over the Creatures, that God had manifeſted in the Creation, &c. but here is an authority over the Son of God, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God,Iſa. 42 1. yet he becomes the fathers ſervant, and was commanded by him in all things. In the ſecond Covenant Juſtification is the higheſt act of Soveraignty, to count things that are not, as if they were; to account Chriſt a ſinner, and make him ſin; and to count the ſinner righteous by the righteouſneſs of another, &c. And hence we may ſafely conclude, that under the ſecond Covenant we honour God more by a way of believing, than ever we could have done under the firſt Covenant by a way of doing, becauſe the glory that we give him therein, is a reflection of a higher manifeſtative glory than ever was ſhewed forth under the firſt Covenant. And yet there is a principle of enmity in man againſt all theſe Divine Attributes of God, which makes men deſire to be under the Law.
§. 3. There is alſo in man a principle of pride. Man will not ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God,Rom. 10.3. which is the higheſt exaltation of the Creature. There is ſo much pride in the heart of man, that it will not ſtoop to it, looks upon it as a ſubmiſſion below him. We read how full men are of ſelf-juſtification:Luk. 10.29. & 16.15. they have a ſpiders houſe, Job. 8.15. and upon that they lean; made up of outward duties, and common graces. So they in Matthew plead at the laſt day, Lord, we have propheſied in thy name, &c. but whoſoever builds his hopes of Heaven upon any thing in himſelf, any thing beſides Chriſt, builds upon the ſand. And this they do, becauſe it is their own, and the beſt thing they have, the higheſt excellency in the man. It is not ſo hard to deny a mans ſelf in riches and honours, and learning, and any inward abilities that commend a man but to men; no man thinks that for his learning he ſhall be the more accepted of God; but we think righteouſneſs commends us unto God, and therefore men have a higher eſteem thereof, and greater hope grounded upon it, than upon any excellency that is in them beſides. And therefore ſurely for a man to come to Chriſt and deny himſelf in that, and give up all to him, and to be willing to ſuffer the loſs of all things, that be may win Chriſt, Phil. 3.8. To ſell all to buy the pearl, and to do it with joy; as Nazianzen did ſet no higher a price upon his Athenian Learning than this, That he had ſomething of worth to part with for Chriſt, and eſteemed it nothing in compariſon of Chriſt; herein is the higheſt act of ſelf-denial: and that's the reaſon that of all men, civil men, and thoſe that have but a form of godlineſs, are with the greateſt difficulty converted, and Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of God before them, becauſe they have ſomething of worth to lay down, which their hearts are hardly brought unto. And to ſee how corrupt nature through the policy of the Devil, holds up the pride of it in this particular, that if it were poſſible it might make the blood of Chriſt of none effect, and therefore they will not truſt perfectly in the Grace revealed by Jeſus Chriſt; whence we ſee the ſeveral opinions of their own righteouſneſs in this particular, and how they have minced it; but yet ſtill ſo as they hold ſomething of ſelf; and the great exception that men have to keep them off from Chriſt, is the ſame that the Roman Senate had when Tyberius did propound Chriſt to be head of the Capitol amongſt their Gods, and that with an offer of his own ſuffrage, they all were againſt it, upon this ground, becauſe he will be God alone: See it in all thoſe Popiſh Tenents, which (as Mr. Perkins has well obſerved) is a Religion directly founded upon corrupt nature. And (1) they ſay, that ſome ſins are not mortal, nor deſerve damnation in the ſtrictneſs of Divine Juſtice. (2) That the inclination of the heart to ſin, and all motions to ſin without conſent, are no ſins. (3) If they do ſin, they can of themſelves ſatisfie God; Original ſin is done away in Baptiſm, leſſer ſins by prayers, and ſo many Pater-noſters. Greater ſins by Alms and Pilgrimages, Indulgences, &c. (4) That men can do ſomething to prepare themſelves to converſion, becauſe they are not wholly dead, but have a free-will in nature to that which is good. (5) Being prepared, they do merit grace at Gods hand. (6) Before converſion they do that which pleaſes God. (7) Our inherent righteouſneſs is the matter of Juſtificacation, &c.
SECT. III. The APPLICATION.
Ʋſe 1 §. 1. BUt if all men cleave to the firſt Covenant, and be content to be under it, and ſeek righteouſneſs and life thereby; if they do follow the Law for righteouſneſs, and ſubmit not to the righteouſneſs of God, and this be interpretatively and in Gods account a deſire to continue under the firſt Covenant ſtill, though it be not formally and directly ſo, then this clears the juſtice of God in two things, by way of Ʋſe and Application.
1. That the Lord doth unregenerate men no wrong if he leave them ſtill under the firſt Covenant, for he does but give them the deſire of their own hearts. All the Heathens therefore that ſit ſtill in darkneſs and in the ſhadow of death, that never heard of another righteouſneſs in which they might appear before God but their own, to whom the righteouſneſs of God under the Goſpel, even the righteouſneſs of the new Covenant, the righteouſneſs of God by faith, was never made known. The giving of the knowledge of this righteouſneſs and this new Covenant unto ſome, and hiding it from others was grounded on no precedent differences and diſpoſitions in the man either to whom it was revealed, or to whom it was denied; it was only the Myſtery hid in God, in his own Will and in his own Counſel. And the ſame good-will that was the cauſe of the revealing it to the one was the cauſe alſo of the hiding it from the other, Thou haſt hid theſe things from the wiſe and prudent, foreign. Epheſ. 3.9. Mat. 11.25.and revealed them unto babes. For the Lord leaves them under that Covenant under which they did deſire to be, and under that righteouſneſs by which they did deſire to eſtabliſh themſelves, and to be juſtified; and did not reveal unto them the ſecond Covenant, which they had an inward diſpoſition to deſpiſe, and the righteouſneſs thereof, unto which by nature they could not ſubmit. Therefore it is riches of compaſſion that he has revealed it unto any, but it is exceeding juſt that he has hid it from any. And for thoſe that live under the Goſpel, and have the tenure of the ſecond Covenant made known to them, and the glory of the righteouſneſs thereof diſcovered, and yet accept it not, ſubmit not thereunto, it will be enough to clear the juſtice of God at the laſt day, that they are left under the firſt Covenant, under which they did deſire to be: and therefore as it is juſtice with God to leave a man under Adam's image, and under the power and dominion of their own luſts, to give them unto the power of their own hearts luſts, and ſuffer them to walk in their own counſels, and to ſay, Ephraim is joined to Idols let him alone, and he that is filthy let him be filthy ſtill; ſo it is juſt with God alſo to leave men under Adam's Covenant, and to ſeek righteouſneſs and life thereby; and ſo not attaining to the law of righteouſneſs they periſh under the curſe thereof for ever.
2. He ſhall do no man wrong if in the general Judgment he do proceed againſt men according to the rules of the Covenant of Works, for he will ſurely deal with men according to the tenure of the Covenant under which they ſtand; and every man is under that Covenant which he deſires to be.
(1) If they have all their ſins laid upon their own ſcore, and give account for every vain thought in the heart, and every vain word in the mouth, every ſinful purpoſe of the heart, (for he will bring every work to judgment with every ſecret thing,) and not a drop of the blood of Chriſt ſhall go to waſh away the leaſt of their ſins and tranſgreſſions therein; they muſt bear their own ſins and their own ſhame, and it is juſt with God, for their Covenant admits of no Mediator.
(2) When God ſhall reject thy beſt ſervices for the failings that are in them, and look upon thy righteouſneſs as a filthy rag, abhor thy prayers for the noiſome ſavours that be in them, and they be turned into ſin, becauſe thy perſon is not accepted, thy Covenant is not changed, the Lord will tell thee thy Covenant requires perfect obedience, and if thou doſt well thou ſhalt be accepted, if thou doſt evil ſin lies at thy door, and all thy ſervices are but as if a man did bleſs an Idol and offer ſwines fleſh, and as if a man did cut off a dogs neck; for thou art not in a ſtate of acceptation, thou art not found in his beloved Son in whom alone he is well pleaſed.
(3) When thou ſhalt have none to intercede for thee,Joh. 17.9. and to plead thy cauſe before the Lord, he prays for no ſuch; I pray not for the world: as ſoon as thou ſhalt peep out of the Earth in the day of the Reſurrection, and lift up thy trayterous head out of the grave, thy Conſcience ſhall condemn thee, thy heart ſhall fail thee, and he alſo that is greater than thy Conſcience: Then ſhall the King ſay, I was hungry and you gave me no meat, &c. and then thou ſhalt look for Chriſt to plead thy cauſe, but thy Covenant admits no Advocate, thou muſt plead for thy ſelf, which becauſe a man cannot do, having nothing to ſay, he ſhall be ſpeechleſs for ever.
(4) Then thou wilt repent and ſay, I have perverted righteouſneſs and it has not profited me, for there ſhall be ſorrow enough, perfect ſorrow in Hell, even weeping and wailing, and gnaſhing of teeth; but God can accept no repentance, thy Covenant as it gives no repentance,Revel. 2.21. ſo it promiſes no repentance, no acceptance, and the time of repentance is paſt, there is but a time of it.
(5) Thou wilt expect Chriſt as a skreen to ſtand between thee and the fathers wrath,Gal. 3.13. for under the ſecond Covenant he was made a curſe for us; but thy Covenant admits no ſurety, the ſoul that ſins ſhall die, there is no ranſome paid for thee: for being under this Covenant, either the Law muſt be obeyed, but that it is not, for thou art a ſinner; or elſe it muſt be abrogated, but that it is not, for not an Iota of the Law ſhall paſs; or it muſt be mitigated, but that it is not, for it is inflexible; the Law is holy and juſt, and good, and remains the ſame that is was to Adam in the ſtate of Innocency, the curſe muſt be executed, the penalty inflicted, even indignation and wrath upon every ſoul that does evil, &c.
(6) When you ſhall look to have your ſervices rewarded (as mens Religious duties are the great actions of their lives) and therefore men have the greateſt hopes grounded upon them,Phil. 3.7. it was in Paul's account gain to him, and he did expect a reward anſwerable: now when the Lord ſhall reject them, and ſay that the inheritance is not by the Law, ſince the Law became weak through the fleſh, but the inheritance is by promiſe, and all comes by the ſecond Covenant; this can be no wrong to any unregenerate man when God leaves him under that Covenant, and deals with him according to the terms of that Covenant under which he deſires to be. In a word, if God hate their perſons and impute their ſins, reject their ſervices, deſpiſe their image, curſe their bleſſings, give them neither grace reſtraining nor renewing, if he leave them to wreſtle under temptations by their own might, and to reſiſt ſin in their own ſtrength, and be defiled; and as they offer to God unſanctified ſervices, ſo God gives them unſanctified rewards, and as their ſervices are ſeemingly ſervices but really ſins, ſo Gods bleſſings be ſeeming bleſſings but really curſes: When they ſhall come and plead with God at the laſt day, they ſhall be made ſpeechleſs in this, for God ſhall let them ſee that in all his dealings with them he has proceeded with them in all things according to the terms of the Covenant under which they ſtand.
Ʋſe 2 §. 2. We may by this ſee what a miſerable ſtate a ſtate of ſin is, and wherein the great danger and miſery of it lies; it makes a man perfectly miſerable in all things, but it makes him alſo inſenſible of this miſery, and makes it a deſirable condition unto him, which he is ſtill willing and content to be in: And here obſerve theſe three things.
1. See here the compleat raign and dominion of ſin, which it has over men who are yet in their ſins, in a ſtate of ſin, which conſiſts in two things. (1) In power and authority to command. (2) In a ready and willing ſubjection thereunto, Rom. 6.19. when men do yield themſelves ſervants to ſin: as it is in reſpect of acts of ſin, men pleaſe themſelves in them, and they cannot forſake them, they are the joy of their lives, their ſweet morſels which they hide under their tongues, and they keep them and will not forſake them; ſo alſo in reſpect of a ſtate of ſin, which they are in under their Covenant, as the ſervant that would not go free.Exod. 21.5. Now when it is ſo that men are content with the bondage of the firſt Covenant, and the ſecond Adam is offered to them, and they will not be delivered; this ſhews that they are perfectly under the bondage of ſin, that not only they are with pleaſure held under the acts of ſin, and caſt fire-brands, and ſay am I not in ſport; but they are held under a ſtate of ſin alſo, and will not accept deliverance, will not go free:
2. See here alſo the folly of ſin and the ſinner, even the higheſt rank of men, civil men and formal profeſſors, temporary believers, that have oyl in their lamps and go forth to meet the Bridegroom, and yet the Holy Ghoſt ſays they are fooliſh Virgins, becauſe men do not judge of the danger of their eſtates by reaſon of their Covenant, but go on as the Ox to the ſlaughter; yea they cleave unto this Covenant, and ſee not the miſery that they are in under it: and though the great work of the Spirit of God is to convince a man of his eſtate of ſin in this, that he is under the firſt Covenant and out of Chriſt, Joh. 16.8. yet men go on and will not ſee it, and yet walk with a great deal of confidence in hope of an everlaſting reward.
3. See here how Satan blinds the eyes of them that believe not, and how the Lord gives them up to blindneſs in judgment that live under the Goſpel: they have the offers of the ſecond Covenant made known to them, they are under the Law, and they do hear the Law, that they are by nature bond-men, and can from this mother expect no inheritance, but as bond-men to be caſt out of the houſe for ever, and yet they cleave unto this; and the more the glory of the ſecond Covenant is offered unto them, the more violently they do oppoſe it, becauſe it would ſpoil them of their own righteouſneſs, and ſubject them unto the righteouſneſs of God. Thus we ſee it in the whole people of the Jews, but eminently in the Phariſees; this Covenant they had choſen unto themſelves, and they did deſire to be under the Law, and they thought themſelves very much enriched with the righteouſneſs of the Law; ſo that Chriſt preaching the ſecond Covenant unto them, and the grace thereof, their deſire to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs did raiſe up the malice and rage of their ſpirits unto ſuch a height, that they broke forth into the unpardonable ſin, even the great tranſgreſſion: and there is the ſame deviliſh principle in us all, if the Lord reſtrain us not, that in oppoſition to the grace of the Goſpel we ſhould oppoſe it even to the unpardonable ſin.
Ʋſe 3 §. 3. It is an Exhortation to ſeveral Duties, but ſpecially three.
1. Labour for a work of humiliation for this ſin, and to be rightly convinced of it; for ſurely the nature of man is deeply leavened with it. There is a double conviction of ſin: (1) Rational, when a mans reaſon is overcome by the Word, that a man cannot deny nor diſpute againſt the truth of it, and yet his heart is not affected with it.Joh. 16.8. (2) There is a ſpiritual Conviction when the Lord comes in with an irreſiſtible light, and diſcovers the ſin, and cauſeth the heart to own it and ſtoop to it, and be affected with it with ſhame and ſorrow; and this is that conviction of the ſoul that does lead unto converſion, whereas the other many times doth and may lead unto condemnation. And this ſin will be ſet upon the ſoul with theſe Conſiderations.
(1) It is a ſin againſt the Goſpel, and the foundation of all the grace thereof: now this is an aggravation: If the word ſpoken by Angels were ſtedfaſt, &c. Heb. 2.2, 3.How ſhall we eſcape if we neglect ſo great ſalvation? If it be ſo dangerous to break the firſt Covenant, what is it to deſpiſe the grace and offers of a ſecond!
(2) It doth reject the grace of God the Father, who had the firſt hand in the ſecond Covenant; for he might have dealt with us as he dealt with the loſt Angels, he did not catch after them when falling.Heb. 2.16. Now for the Lord to give you a ſecond offer of grace when he let the Angels go, and you to deſpiſe this grace, and whereas God had multitude of thoughts concerning this Covenant, and the grace thereof, for you to make all theſe thoughts of God of none effect, by deſiring to eſtabliſh the firſt, and by rejecting the Grace of the ſecond Covenant, is a great tranſgreſſion.
(3) Hereby a man is very injurious to the Lord Jeſus Chriſt,Joh. 4.10. who is the greateſt gift of God; and the main of the excellency of this gift lies in this, that he is given as a ſecond Adam, as a Mediator of the Covenant, the ſurety of the Covenant, Heb. 7.22.Iſa. 42.6. Heb. 8.6: the Angel of the Covenant, Mal. 3.6. by whoſe blood the Covenant is ſealed and confirmed, and therefore called the blood of the Covenant; now to deſpiſe all this is to trample under foot the greateſt and the higheſt honour of the Son of God: for a man to bear old Adam's image ſtill, ſhews that he prefers the Image of the firſt before that of the ſecond Adam; ſo for a man to ſtand under Adam's Covenant ſtill, ſhews that he deſpiſes the Grace of the ſecond Covenant in compariſon of the Glory of the firſt.
(4) It is a ſin againſt the Covenant it ſelf, and all the Promiſes thereof; this Covenant God has highly honoured with a more glorious head, and the righteouſneſs of it is a more glorious righteouſneſs, the promiſes of it better promiſes, and the ſtability of it far beyond that of the firſt Covenant; for it is an ordered and an everlaſting Covenant, a Covenant confirmed by an Oath: now for a man to bring down that Covenant that God has exalted, and in a mans heart and practice, and ways, for him to exalt the firſt Covenant above it, is the greateſt injury thereunto that can be.
(5) It is a ſin againſt all the happineſs and hopes of the godly; for all their comfort comes in from this Covenant, as they look upon all their curſes to proceed from the firſt Covenant, 2 Sam. 23.5. Though my houſe be not ſo with God, ſays David, yet God has made with me an everlaſting Covenant, ordered in all things and ſure, and this is all my hope. Now it is a great evil that men ſhould not be affected with that ſin which is againſt the generation of Gods children, againſt the hope of Iſrael. A man ſhould be deeply humbled and bewail this contrariety of ſpirit that is in him to the way of the Goſpel, and to the grace of the Goſpel. And apply the righteouſneſs of Chriſt for the pardon of this ſin alſo; for as his blood was ſhed for them that ſhed it, ſo there is grace in the ſecond Covenant for them that have deſpiſed it, and have to their utmoſt exalted the firſt Covenant above it; and there is in the grace of God pardon to be found for them that reject or endeavour to fruſtrate the grace of it; For if righteouſneſs be by the Law, Chriſt is dead in vain, Gal. 2. ult.
2. Whereever the Covenant of Grace is preached, be jealous and watch over thy own heart, becauſe there is in thee a principle of contrariety unto it, and the grace offered therein: this hath been the manner of Gods people when they have been apprehenſive of evils in them, it has made them the more watchful againſt them. Job will not truſt his eyes without a Covenant, nor David his tongue without a bridle, becauſe they knew how ſuddenly corruption would break forth; and therefore the exhortation is, Keep thy heart above all keepings, &c. God has offered the righteouſneſs of his Son, that thou mighteſt be made the righteouſneſs of God in him, and he has given his Son as a Covenant to the Nations; that as by one man ſin and death reigned, ſo righteouſneſs and life ſhould reign by one Chriſt Jeſus: but thou haſt a principle of pride in thee, and thou doſt deſire to eſtabliſh thy own righteouſneſs, and thou wouldeſt not ſubmit to the righteouſneſs of God; he is offered, but thou wilt none of him. Whenſoever the ſecond Covenant is preacht take heed of this root of bitterneſs, that it do not riſe up and cauſe thee to reject Grace and forſake thy own mercy: truly whoſoever does read how quiet this luſt was in the Phariſees, and they went on as a river runs ſmoothly without a damm, and they wrought for life, and by their own obedience they did as with rattles ſtill their Conſciences; but as ſoon as Chriſt came and preacht the righteouſneſs and grace of the ſecond Covenant to them, how did this luſt riſe in them, even to the rejecting the Counſel and Grace of God againſt themſelves, and even riſing up unto the unpardonable ſin? and ſo the Papiſts before Luther found out the righteouſneſs of Faith by an imputed righteouſneſs, they were all quiet; but afterward this one man, odium & impetum totius orbis ſuſtinuit. And this is the Doctrine preached by the Angel that did fly in the middle of Heaven with the Everlaſting Goſpel,Rev. 19.7, 8. and declare then great Babylon begins to fall.
3. Be never ſatisfied till thou find in thy ſoul the contrary grace, and that is a deſire of being tranſlated, that thou maiſt be under the firſt Covenant no more; conſider there will come a day ſhortly, wherein God will judge the world in righteouſneſs, and he will judge every man according to the terms under which he ſtands. Now if thou be found under the firſt Covenant thou art found in thy own righteouſneſs; the Law genders to bondage, it works nothing but wrath, it ſpeaks nothing but curſe, and in this Court thou wilt ſurely be caſt; only under the ſecond Covenant there is a Chancery, a Court of mercy and grace, and there is yet a City of refuge to be found before thou beeſt dragged to the Lords Tribunal; go therefore and fly unto the Lords ſanctuary, go now and acknowledg thou haſt ſtood out long againſt that grace that muſt ſave thee if ever thou beeſt ſaved, and that thou haſt deſpiſed that Covenant under which if thou ſtand not thou art everlaſtingly undone; and tell the Lord, thou canſt as well caſt off Adam's image as tranſlate thy ſelf out of Adam's Covenant; tell the Lord who only has made the new Covenant, ſo he only can plant ſouls into it; for the father is the Husbandman, and he has undertaken to tranſplant ſouls out of the old ſtock and bring them into the bond of the Covenant.Ezek. 20.27. Therefore I beſeech you, Brethren, by the mercies of God, by the blood of the Covenant, by the coming of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, and our gathering together unto him, that you ſeek a Tranſlation, and content not your ſelves to ſtand under the firſt Covenant, and do this whilſt it is called to day, while the offers of the Covenant of Grace laſt, before the Portcullis be let down, the black Flag hung out, the talent of lead laid, the irrevocable decree of God gone forth to ſeal up the meaſure of your iniquity, and ſhut thee up under the Law and the curſe of it for ever. God will not have the Grace of the Covenant, nor his Son the Prince of the Covenant, nor the Blood of the Covenant, always deſpiſed and rejected by obdurate ſinners; it ſhall not always ſtand at the door as if the Lord needed entrance and admittance; and if once God take away this offer of the Grace of the ſecond Covenant, and diſmiſs thee unto the bar of the Law, thou art certainly condemned and curſed for ever: for not believing in Chriſt, does not only bring thee under wrath, but leave thee under it, thou rejecting the remedy which is the Grace of the Goſpel, and thou art then eternally undone; for then from the condemnation of the Law and the ſentence of it there is no appeal or redemption.