degree of patience, entertain the least exhortations to practical godliness; because they pretend, that they are exempted from the obligation to perform any branch thereof, by their not being under the law. Nay, some of them have been so impudent, and daringly wicked, as to assert, that if they should commit murder, adultery, or any other crimes of the like nature, even this would be no bar in the way of their salvation; nor the most vile sins that can be committed, do them any hurt, or in the least affect their eternal state. I have, indeed, sometimes thought that this representation of Antinomianism was no other than a consequence, deduced from some absurd doctrines that have been maintained; or that so much of hell could never put on the mask or shew of religion in any degree; and that this character belonged to none but those who are open and professed Atheists. But though my lot has not been cast among persons of so vile a character, yet I have been informed, by those whose souls have been grieved with such conversation, that there are some in the world who thus set themselves against the law of God.

There are others, indeed, who are styled Antinomians, whose conversation is blameless, and are not therefore to be ranked with these men, or judged Antinomians in practice; who, nevertheless, do great disservice to the truth; and, it may be, give occasion to some to be licentious, by advancing unguarded expressions, which will admit of a double construction, without condescending to explain some bold positions, which they occasionally lay down.

Thus when they maintain eternal justification, without considering it as an immanent act in God, or as his secret determination, not to impute sin to those who are given to Christ; but ascribe that to it, which is only to be applied to justification, as it is the result of God's revealed will, in which respect it is said to be by faith: and when they encourage persons from hence, to conclude that their state is safe; and to maintain that it is the duty of every one to believe that he is thus justified; this has certainly a tendency to lead some out of the way of truth and holiness, whether they design it or no. And when others speak diminutively of good works as though they were in no sense necessary to salvation, because they are not the matter of our justification. This may give occasion to some to think that they may be saved without them.

And when others deny the law to be a rule of life, or assert that believers have nothing to do with it; though, it may be, they understand nothing else by it, but that it is not that rule, according to which God proceeds in justifying, or giving his people a right to eternal life; or, that a believer is not under the law, as a covenant of works; yet many would be ready to

think the words had a different meaning, and so be led out of the way thereby, how far soever this might be from their intention. And if a person seems studiously to avoid confessing of sin, or praying for forgiveness, some would be ready to judge of his sentiments by his practice; and certainly our denying this to be a duty in any sense, is not only contrary to scripture, but inconsistent with that humility and faith which are essential to practical godliness. Or when persons deny that self-examination is a duty; and speak of all marks and evidences of grace, though never so just and agreeable to the scripture-account thereof, as legal, or a low way, in order to a person's coming to the knowledge of himself; or suppose that they are unnecessary, as being inconsistent with the Spirit's testimony: This has a tendency to lead to presumption, which is a degree of licentiousness.

Moreover, when they assert that God is not angry with his people for their sins, nor, in any sense, punishes them for them, without distinguishing between fatherly chastisements, and the stroke of vindictive justice, or the external and sensible effects of that hatred which God cannot but exercise against sin, and his casting them out of a justified state: Such doctrines as these lead some persons to licentiousness, whatever be the secret meaning of those that advance them.

We have an instance of this, as the historian observes*, in Agricola, who was Luther's towns-man, and great admirer; who, as it is probable, did not thoroughly understand what he maintained concerning the subserviency of the law to the gospel, and its having no place in the justification of a sinner; or else, from some unguarded expressions, which he was sometimes apt to make use of; this friend of his took occasion to advance some Antinomian tenets, viz. that repentance ought not to be urged from the consideration of the breach of the law; and that the gospel ought to be preached to sinners before they are brought under conviction by the law; and that how scandalous and debauched soever persons be in their lives, yet, if they do but believe the promises of the gospel, they shall be justified. In this, Agricola was followed by a party of men; and accordingly Antinomianism is said to have taken its rise, in this part of the world, from that time. Luther, on the other hand, was forced to take a great deal of pains to rectify his mistakes; which, though it tended to his conviction, yet it did not put a stop to the spread of his errors, which he had before propagated.

As for those who were charged with Antinomianism in England, in the last century, such as Dr. Crisp, Eaton, Salt

* See Slied. Comment. de Stat. Relig. & Repub. Lib. xii.

marsh, Town, and others, whatever their design might be, and how much soever they were remote from the charge of Antinomianism in practice; though it be alleged in their vindication, by some, that the principal thing they had in view, was to bear their testimony against the prevailing doctrine of Arminianism, that was studiously propagated by some persons of great character and influence in the nation: Nevertheless, we cannot but conclude, that they had done more service to the cause of truth, had they been more cautious in explaining their sentiments, and saved those, who had favourable thoughts of them in other respects, the trouble of producing some expressions out of their writings, to convince the world that they did not hold those dangerous notions which were charged upon them: and it is too evident to be denied, that many have taken them in the worst sense; who have from hence been ready to charge the most important doctrines of the gospel, as leading to licentiousness, and this has made some more sparing in defending those truths which ought to have been insisted on, and explained, though in other words more intelligible and unexceptionable.

QUEST. XCVIII. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?

ANSW. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten commandments, which were delivered by the voice of God upon mount Sinai, and written by him in two tables of stone, and are recorded in the twentieth chapter of Exodus; the four first Commandments containing our duty to God, and the other six our duty to man.

AVING considered the moral law, as written on the heart of man at first, and the knowledge thereof, in some degree attainable by all who exercise their reasoning powers: We are in this, and some following answers, led to consider that epitome, or abstract thereof, that was given to the Israelites by the voice of God upon mount Sinai, which is contained in the Ten Commandments.

But since we are considering this instance of divine condescension to them, it may not be reckoned altogether foreign to our present design, for us to give some brief account of those other laws which God gave, together with the moral law; most of which were communicated from mount Sinai: And therefore we may observe, that together with the moral law, there were several forensic or judicial laws given by God for the government of the people of Israel, which more especially

respected their civil rights. And there were other laws which had a more immediate subserviency to their attaining the knowledge of those things which related to the way of salvation by the promised Messiah, which are more fully revealed in the gospel: And this is what we call the ceremonial law. Both these are to be considered before we come to speak concerning the moral law, as summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.

I. Concerning the judicial law. It cannot be supposed that so great a people, so much interested in the care of God, to whom he condescended to be their king, should be without a body of laws for their government: Accordingly there were some given them by him, which were founded in, and agreeable to the law of nature and nations; which all well-governed states observe unto this day, viz. that murder should be punished with death; theft with restitution, or some other punishment that may best tend to deter from it. Moreover, besides these, there were other judicial laws given to Israel, which had a more immediate tendency to promote their civil welfare, as a nation distinguished from all others in the world; which laws expired when their civil policy was extinct. And these

were,

1. Such as tended to prevent the alienation of inheritances from the respective families to which they were at first given. Accordingly God commanded, that if a man died without children, his brother should marry his widow to raise up seed to him, to inherit his estate and name, Deut. xxv. 5, 6. Matt. xxii. 24.

2. If an Israelite was waxen poor, and obliged to sell his land, for the payment of his debts; the purchaser was to admit any of his family to redeem it; or, if they could not, he was, nevertheless, to restore the land at the year of Jubilee, which was every fiftieth year, Levit. xxv. 11, 12, 13, 25, 26, 27.

3. If an Hebrew servant was sold for the payment of debts, which he could not otherwise discharge; his master was obliged to release him after six years service, Exod. xxi. 2. But if the servant chose to stay with his master longer than that time, out of the love he bore to him; then he was to have his ear bored, as a token that he should serve him, without being subject to the aforesaid laws, which made provision for his discharge after a certain number of years, ver. 5, 6.

4. The land was to lie untilled, and the vine-yards and oliveyards were to be free for every one to come and eat of the fruit thereof every seventh year; designed more especially for the relief of the poor, amongst them, who had no distinct inheritance of their own, chap. xxiii. 10.

5. They were prohibited from taking usury of an Israelite, though they might of a stranger. The reason of which law might be, either that they might exercise brotherly kindness and charity to one another, in which sense the law is in force to this day; especially when the poor borrow money to supply themselves with necessary food, in which case it is now unlawful to take usury. Or else it is to be considered, that the Israelites lived upon their farms or cattle, by which they seldom got more than what was a necessary provision for their families. And therefore the paying usury whenever they were necessitated to borrow money, would have procured their ruin in the end. Therefore they were not to take usury of an Israelite, but of a stranger they might; because they enriched themselves by merchandise, and were gainers in a way of trade, by what they borrowed.

6. All the males were to come up to Jerusalem, to appear before God, and perform public worship in the temple three times á viz. at the solemn festivals; the passover, penteyear, cost, and the feast of tabernacles, Deut. xvi. 16, 17.

7. Six cities of refuge were appointed for those to fly to, for protection, who killed any one by accident. Though a near kinsman, as an avenger of blood might kill the man-slayer before he came to one of these cities. The design of which law was to induce them to take care that none might lose their lives through inadvertency. And there was provision made in these cities for the man-slayer to dwell safely; whereby a just difference was put between such an one, and a wilful murderer, Numb. xxxv. 15, 26, 27. Thus concerning the judicial laws.

II. We now proceed to consider the ceremonial laws that were given them, the end whereof was to lead them into the knowledge of Christ, and the way of salvation by him, then to come, Heb. x. 1. Gal. iii. 24, 25. These may be considered under six heads, which we shall speak briefly to;

[1.] It was ordained, that all their males should be circumcised. This was designed to be a visible mark put on the church, whom God had set apart for himself, that hereby they might be distinguished from the world: But the principal design hereof was, that it might be a sign or seal of the blessings of the covenant of grace, in which God promised that he would be a God to them; and they were hereby to own themselves as his people, Gen. xvii. 7, 10.

[2.] There were various ways whereby persons were reckoned unclean, and ordinances appointed for their cleansing. They were rendered unclean, by eating those birds, beasts, fishes, and creeping things, which God had pronounced unclean, and not designed for food, Lev. xi. Moreover, they were polluted by touching the dead bodies of such unclean