Examination of Antinomianism, Introduction
The Introduction.
Iſaiah 53. 11.
By his knowledge ſhall my Righteous Servant juſtifie many; for he ſhall bear their iniquities.
A Farther Explication of what was ſaid v. 10. The pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand; in the hand of Christ ſhall the pleaſure of the Lord: Underſtand this touching the Bruiſing of the Serpents head, mentioned Gen. 3. 15. conſequently that Salvation of mankinde: This pleaſure of the Lord doth proſper in the hand of Chriſt; which is ſeen in this, That by his knowledge he ſhall juſtifie many. This is that fruit of the Travel of his Soul, in ſeeing whereof He, i. e. Chriſt (not God the Father, as ſome very fondly and fooliſhly do apply the Text) Chriſt, I ſay, ſhall be ſatisfied, i. e. ſhall account himſelf well ſatisfied for all his labor and pains beſtowed.
The Paſsion of Chriſt, and the Benefit thereof; theſe two are the ſubject matter of this Chapter: The Benefit thereof is partly to others, and partly to himſelf: To himſelf, that is ſet down ver. 12. To others in ſome verſes foregoing; The Deſcription whereof taketh its riſe from the middle of the 9. Verſe, Becauſe he had done no violence, &c. That word Becauſe is a trouble to Interpreters, how to depend the latter clauſe of that Verſe upon the former. Vatablus ſaw, and cuts the knot rather then unties it. I conceive we ſhall not wrong the Text, I am ſure not the Truth, if we joyn the former part of the verſe to the 8. and begin a new period in the word Becauſe, thus; v. 9. Becauſe he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth; yet it pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him [He hath put him to grief] 10. When thou ſhalt make his ſoul an offering for ſin; Or, When his ſoul ſhall make an offering for ſin, he ſhall ſee his Seed, &c. q. d. Inaſmuch as notwithſtanding he was altogether innocent, yet he did patiently ſubmit himſelf to bear whatſoever the Lord would lay upon him for the Expiation of mans ſin; that therefore upon his Death he ſhould receive full ſatisfaction both in reſpect of himſelf and thoſe perſons whoſe cauſe he had undertaken. Thus I, but let the learned judge.
In the words of ver. 11. we have a Propoſition, and its Confirmation: In the Propoſition, beſides the Agent who is by God here term'd, a Servant, a Righteous Servant, we have three things not to be ſo lightly paſſed over: 1. Act, in the word, Shall juſtifie: 2. Object, Many: 3. The Medium, By his knowledge. Of which ſomewhat more largely, and yet only in reference to what juſt hints the words may give to the Examination of ſome poſitions of the Antinomians; a Sect, and a ſort of men lately ſtart up, whom Satan doth make uſe of to be his Proctors of Prophaneneſs, and the Abbettors of Atheiſm and licentious Libertiniſm. But to the Text.
By his knowledge—The Medium ſtands firſt in the Text, and if you will, let us firſt begin with it. By his knowledg—And what is that? To make way for Anſwer, I lay down this, That the pronoun His muſt be paſsive, like that in Pſal. 90. 11. Thy fear, i. e. The fear of thee, to note the object not the ſubject, as there of Fear, ſo here of Knowledge; Scientia ſui, By the knowledge of him, as Pagnin, Vatablus and Tremelius. Farther we cannot go, till firſt we enquire what it is to juſtifie.
To juſtifie, in the Text of Scripture, doth ſometime ſignifie, To endeavor the juſtification of a ſinner, by acquainting him with the way and mean thereof, as Dan. 12. 3. Sometime To effect it, by acquitting the party accuſed from the Crime and Accuſation, which in this work of Juſtification is ſtill preſuppoſed: Whether of theſe two (other I let paſs, as not ſo applicable to this Text) whether of them, I ſay, is moſt proper to the Text, will appear by the Confirmation when we come unto it. Onwards we make uſe of it, to enquire farther into the Medium, what is meant by His knowledge; For anſwerable to theſe two, the word, His knowledge, may import; 1. Medium Revelationis, That Doctrine by which Chriſt doth reveal the way of Juſtification. 2. Medium Operationis, That Grace by which Chriſt doth fit man for the benefit of Juſtification.
As Medium Revelationis, ſo the Concluſion is, The Goſpel is that word of Truth that rightly enformeth us in the way and maner of Juſtification: The Goſpel, i. e. that part of holy Writ which teacheth us the knowledge of Chriſt, of his Perſon, of his Office, the Covenant of Grace, and the condition required: The Goſpel oppoſed to the Law, q. d. Not by the Law, but by the Goſpel and the Doctrine of Grace, ſhall Chriſt propound and acquaint mankinde with the way of gaining their Juſtification: Not by the Law; Ʋnderſt and this not in general, as comprehending the writings of the Old Teſtament; but in ſpecial, as importing the Law of Moſes; and this conſidered as the condition of that Covenant made with Iſrael; Not the Law of Moſes, but the Goſpel of Chriſt is the mean of Revelation; acquainting man with the way of obtaining his Juſtification. What then? Is this Law of Moſes all of it altogether aboliſhed? Is it of no uſe and ſervice to the Church of God, to Believers now in the Conſtitution of the Church of Chriſt? Some there be that would have it ſo, whoſe main endeavor is to caſt the Doctrine of it out of the Church, and the care thereof out of the Conſcience of the Chriſtian; neither the Precepts thereof alowed to binde men, nor the Motives thereof to draw men to the Duties of Holineſs: See their Arguments examined, Chap. 1. and 2.
As medium Operationis; and then the Concluſion will be, That Faith in Chriſt is the way and mean of Juſtification; Faith, I ſay, and not Works: Faith not unfitly termed the Knowledge of Chriſt, becauſe this alone is that which doth rightly know Chriſt, the fulneſs of his Merits and Graces: None but the Believer doth acknowledge Chriſt, nay none but he doth rightly, fully and perfectly know him. Faith is both the Daughter and the Mother of this Knowledge, the knowledge of Chriſt: The Daughter, for Faith cannot lodge in an ignorant Soul; The Mother, for it leadeth on to perfection of knowledge. This Faith is the mean; by it ſhall Chriſt work in the heart of the Believer, and diſpoſe it for Juſtification. Not by the works of mans Righteouſneſs, but by Faith in Chriſt is man juſtified: How ſo? Becauſe it is Medium Recipiens, as the hand or mouth of the Soul, to receive that Spiritual Food and Phyſick that doth feed and cure the Soul: It receiveth Chriſt and the communion of his Merits and Graces for the good of the Believer. The Righteouſneſs of Chriſt is not unfitly compared to Food and Phyſick, to a Garment and Plaiſter, which do no good but in the way of Application, if not applied, no good by them: Theſe are received by the hand or by the mouth, and this is the work of Faith; and by Faith we are ſaid to be juſtified, as by the hand the Body is fed and clothed, viz. Inſtrumentally. Upon this ground we conceive it, That in order of nature, juſtification cannot be conſidered as going before the habit, yea the act of Faith; but rather, that Faith hath the leading hand, and the precedency of Conſideration: St. Peter termeth Salvation the end of our Faith, 1 Pet. 1. 9. By this end meaneth he, only the conſequent benefit which followeth upon it, or rather the end intended and aimed at in believing: Doth not Saint Paul preſcribe it to the Jaylor as a mean to bring about the end? Believe and thou ſhalt be ſaved, Acts 16. 31. Doth he not ſhew the ground and reaſon of it, Gal. 2. 16. We knowing that a man is not juſtified but by Faith in Chriſt—even we have believed, q. d. we have applied our ſelves to the uſe of the means that we might obtain the end: If Faith be as a mean to the end, then is it not to be conſidered as following, but as foregoing the benefit of our Juſtification. Plauſible Arguments are aleaged to overthrow this Truth, but their weight and worth is more in ſhew then in ſubſtance; See them examined, Chap. 3.
In the Act expreſsing the benefit obtained by Faith, we may not paſs by the Tenſe of the Verb, but by occaſion of it (as Doctor Criſp upon the like occaſion, ſee his Sermons on Iſa. 53. 6.) enquire into the Time, when it is that this Act is done: The Tenſe of the Verb is future, He ſhall juſtifie—Future it was then, when the Prophet ſpake this; Whether future ſtill, is a Queſtion; Or if not, when it was to be tranſacted, whether all at once diſpatched: The farther explication whereof, ſee in Chap. 4.
The Object remaineth; This is in the word Many:
Not all, but only a number: There be who teach that All ſhall be ſaved; a point well pleaſing to fleſh and blood: If a man might live as he liſt, abuſe his Eye and Ear, his Hand and Tongue, yea his Hand and his Heart, his Body and Soul to the ſervice of Sin and Satan, and yet hope for Salvation by Chriſt: But this may not be, it is not All, but Many; All ſhall not be juſtified by Chriſt, nor ſaved by him. Not through any defect of the means; the Merit of Chriſt is ſufficient to ſave all: The Goſpel doth call and invite all; and no doubt but whoſoever believeth ſhall be ſaved: But it cometh to paſs through the ill-diſpoſition and negligence of man left to himſelf, who regardeth not to perform the condition required. By the Ordinance of God, in whoſe hand (as ſay our Divines) Chriſt hath left the diſpoſing of his Merit, it is appointed, That the Merit of Chriſt ſhall not be diſpenſed to mankinde, but under a condition; and without the performance of that condition it is not beſtowed upon any: Now mankinde left to themſelves are negligent and careleſs to look to that condition, and ſo through their own ill-deſerts are excluded from the benefit of Chriſts Death and Paſsion. So then, it is not All, but only Many.
Q. If not all, How then ſhall any one know whether his part and portion be in that Many, or not? Anſ. Surely (ſay we) by the work of Grace in the heart, by the Spirit of Sanctification, which doth always go along with the Spirit of Adoption, and the work of Juſtification. This hath paſſed for a Truth, without any oppoſition, till of late; The Antinomians cannot away with inherent Qualifications, No certainty can be gathered from the, ſay theſe men: Againſt whom, ſee the Ancient Truth maintained, and the New way convinced of inſufficiency, Chap. 5.
For he ſhall bear their iniquities.
This is the Confirmation of the Propoſition, He ſhall juſtifie, becauſe He ſhall bea—By bearing iniquities we underſtand, Suffering the puniſhment due to their ſin, as a Sacrifice to make an Atonement; to ſatisfie the Juſtice of God, and ſo to take away the ſin of man. Hence then we ſee that Juſtification is tranſacted by Chriſt, and he is ſaid to juſtifie many; Not by the way of Inſtruction, as ſay the Socinians, viz. Propounding the Doctrine of the Goſpel, and the Covenant of Grace, in which is contained the way and maner of Juſtification: In this ſenſe the Apoſtles (to ſay nothing of Moſes and the Prophets) might be ſaid to juſtifie many; inaſmuch as they had an eminent ſervice in publiſhing the Goſpel to the world; but doubtleſs Chriſt had no partners in the Juſtification of theſe many: So then, not by the Inſtruction is it, but by the way of Acquittance and Abſolution.
This is plain; but that is farther to be enquired, How cometh ſin to trouble and vex the conſcience, if it be taken away? Hath Chriſt born, yea born away (for ſo we underſtand the word bear; he doth not only ferre, but auferre, ſo bear them as to bear them away) Hath Chriſt born them away, and are they brought back again? Here again we muſt Conflict with theſe Antinomians; Old Truths do not pleaſe them, they have a New way for this alſo; the unſufficiency whereof, together with the right way of ſatisfying the Conſcience, and taking away the ſcruple of ſin, ſee fully explicated, Chap. 6.
According to this Method have I finiſhed my Meditations upon this Text of Scripture, choſen of purpoſe to examine the Truth or Falſhood of ſome Points of Antinomianiſm: An Enterpriſe, to which, I confeſs, I had bound my ſelf by Vow and Promiſe made to God in the day of ſome diſtreſs which had befaln me: To the performance of which Vow, I was engaged, by obtaining at the hand of God the gracious grant of my deſire, which with all thankfulneſs I do acknowledge, and by mine experience can witneſs, That an holy and religious Vow is a ready mean to obtain of God the gracious grant of our juſt deſires. Holy and Religious I account that which is framed according to the Rules of Religion: One ſpecial Rule of Religion is, That each Chriſtian in his place and calling do ſet himſelf, with the beſt of his abilities, to that work which the preſent times may ſhew to be moſt neceſſary for the advancement of Gods glory.
I in my place of the Miniſtery, what could I do rather, or more tending to this end, then to ſet my ſelf to oppoſe the preſent Errors which darken the Truth of God, and defile the Purity of our holy Profeſsion. This Error of Antinomianiſm I cheſe to deal in, becauſe I conceived it one of the moſt dangerous Doctrines that are broached in theſe days. Satan doth never more harm, then when he is transformed into an Angel of Light: Nor is any Error more dangerous, then that by which Chriſtian Liberty is uſed as an occaſion to the Fleſh, by which the care and conſcience of the Law, the Rule of Holineſs, is weakned and worn away; by which the Soul and Conſcience is ſteeled and ſtiffned againſt the ſenſe and remorſe of ſin and ſinfulneſs.
In this I have done what I could; If not with ſtrength enough to convince, or cleerneſs enough to perſwade, yet with a ſincere heart, and a deſire to do good, God is my witneſs: And I bleſs God, both for his Aſsiſtance enabling me to do what I have done, and alſo for thoſe bleſſed opportunities which his Providence hath afforded me to do mine endeavor in the courſe of my Miniſtery, to ſet forth the Truth of God, and to ſeek the glory of his Name.