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not yet come.

He hath a feed of life, or else he could not work; but it is a doubt if this feed will take root; and in cafe it does, the heavenly plant of righteousness may be choaked by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the defire of other things, and by that means become unfruitful.

As many barbarous mothers destroy the fruit of their womb, either before or after it comes to the birth; fo many obftinate finners obftruct the growth of the fpiritual feed that bruifes the ferpent's head; and many flagrant apoftates, in whofe heart Chrift was once formed, crucify him afresh, and quench the fpirit of his grace: Hence the many mifcarriages and apoftacies, for which Elisha Coles is obliged to account thus. There are "monsters in spirituals, in whom there is 66 fomething begotten in their wills, by the common "ftrivings and enlightenings of the Spirit, which at"tains to a kind of formality, but proves in the end a "lump of dead flesh." Surely that great Calvinian divine was brought to a strait when he thus fathered formality and dead flesh upon the Holy Ghoft.

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VIII. I follow you: "therefore all talk of working for life, and in order to find favor with God, is "not less abfurd, than if you were to fuppofe, that a "man could at the fame moment be both condemned " and abfolved." What, Sir! may not a man be justly condemned, and yet gracioufly reprieved? Nay, may not the judge give him an opportunity to make the beft of his reprieve, in order to get a full pardon and a place at court? At Geneva we think that the abfurdity does not confist in afferting, but in denying it.— "Awake and afleep." What, Sir, is it an abfurdity to think that a man may be in the fame moment awake in one respect, and afleep in another? Does not St. Paul fay, let us awake out of fleep? But this is not all, even in Geneva people can be drowfy, that is, half awake and half asleep." Dead and alive." I hope you will not fix the charge of abfurdity upon Christ, for faying that a certain man was left HALF DEAD, and

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of courfe half alive; and for exhorting the people of Sardis who were dead, to ftrengthen the things that remained and were ready to die: nor yet upon St. Paul, for faying that the dead body of Abraham begat Ifaac, and for fpeaking of a woman who was dead while fhe lived.

IX. You go on and say, that "it is as abfurd to talk "of working for life, as to affert that we can be at the "fame time loved and hated of God." But you for get, Sir, that there are a thousand degrees of love and hatred; and that, in the fcripture language, loving lefs is called hating: Jacob have I loved, and Efau have I hated. Except a man hate his father, &c. he cannot be my difciple. Yea, and we can without abfurdity fay, that we love the fame perfon in one respect, and hate her in another. I may love a woman as a neighbour, and yet loath her if I confider her in the capacity of a wife. And what abfurdity is there in afferting, that while the day of grace lafts, God loves, and yet hates an impenitent finner? He loves him as his redeemed creature, yet hates him as his rebellious creature: or, in other terms, he loves him with a love of benevolence; but has no more love of complacence for him, than for the devil himfelf.

X. You proceed: "to talk of working for life is "not lefs abfurd, than if you were to suppose, that a "man can be at the fame moment one with Christ by "his fpirit dwelling in the heart, and yet not have "redemption, peace, and reconciliation by the blood. "of his crofs." Here is, if I mistake not, the lan-' guage of Babel.

1. You confound the various degrees of redemption. Are not thousands of fouls redeemed by the blood of Chrift's crofs, who are not yet redeemed by the power of his fpirit? May not every rebellious finner out of hell fay, God REDEEMETH my life from deftruction? Is it not a degree of redemption to be kept out of the enjoying the good things of this life, and called to fecure the bleffings of the next? Did not Cain, Efau, Pharaoh, Saul, and Judas, the five great reprobates,

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as fome account them, enjoy this degree of redemption for many years? Have not believers an higher degree of REDEMPTION, even the forgiveness of their fins? And do not they wait for the highest degree of it, even the REDEMPTION of their body, when the trump of God will found, and wake the dead? Rom. viii. 23.

2. As you confound all the degrees of redemption, fo you do all the degrees of the manifeftation of the Spirit. He vifits all, fo as to firive with and reprove them as he did mankind in the days of Noah: but this is no mark that their peace is made, and a firm reconciliation brought about; witness the deluge, which God fent upon those with whom his Spirit had particularly ftriven 120 years in the days of Noah-Again fome have the fpirit of bondage unto fear; but this, far from being a fign that they have full reconciliation, is a divine consciousness that they have it not. And others have had the spirit of adoption, and after having begun in him fo grieve or quench him as to end in the flefh. But in the Calvinian Babel these feriptural, experimental diftinctions are exploded as metaphyfical, if not dreadfully

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XI. You proceed: 66 you will not affert that a foul "who is quickened together with Chrift, and in "whom the fpirit of Jefus dwells by his gracious in"fluences can be in a state of enmity with God." Still the fame confounding of things which fhould be carefully diftinguifhed! May not a finner "be quickened" by the feed of life, and yet hold it in unrighteoufnefs? May not a backflider crucify Chrif afresh in the gracious influences of his fpirit ?" And are not fuch perfons "in a state of enmity with God ?" But if by a " foul quickened together "with Chrift and in whom the spirit of Jefus dwells," you mean a believer compleatly baptized with the Holy Ghoft and with fire, in whom he that once vifited as a monitor now fully refides as a comforter;

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you are right, the enmity ceafes,the carnal mind and body of fin are deftroyed, and God is all in all to that just man made perfect in love.

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XII. You add: "If a man is not in a state of en"mity, then he must be in a state of pardon and re"conciliation." What, Sir! Is there no medium between these extremes? There is, as furely as the morning dawn intervenes between midnight, and noon-day. If the king fays to fome rebels, Lay down your arms, furrender, kifs my fon, and you fhall be pardoned; the reconciliation on the king's part is undoubtedly begun. So far was God in Chrift reconciling the world unto himfelf. But can it be faid that the reconciliation is begun on the part of the rebels, who have not yet laid down any of their arms? Does not the reconciliation gradually take place as they gradually comply with the king's terms? If they are long in coming to kifs the king's fon, is not their full reconciliation fufpended till they have fulfilled that laft of the king's terms? And tho' the king made the overtures of the reconciliation, is there the least abfurdity in faving that they furrender, and kifs the fon, in order to find reconciliation? Nay is it either fense or truth to affert, that they are abfolutely to da nothing towards it?

XIII. What you say about the 13th article of our church is anfwered beforehand, Vind. page 58,But what follows deferves fome notice. "When

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ever God puts forth, his quickning power upon "a foul, it is in confequence, of his having already “taken that foul in covenant with himself, and hav"ing washed it white in the blood of the Lamb "flain." This is very true, if you speak of the covenant of grace, which God made with our first rent and reprefentative after, the fall; and of the wafhing of all mankind white in the blood of the Lamb from the guilt of original fin, fo far as to remit the eternal punishment of it. But you are dreadfully mistaken, if you understand it of the three, fuble

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quent degrees of juftification and falvation which do not take place but as we work them out with fear and trembling, as God works in us both to will and to do of his good pleafure.

XIV. In the next page you afk fome fcriptural questions, which I fhall fcripturally anfwer. "What did the expiring thief do?" Some hours before he died he obeyed this precept, To day if you will hear his voice harden not your heart; he confeffed his fin, and believed in Jesus. "What did Mary Magdalen do?" She forfook her lovers and followed Jefus into Simon's house. "What Lydia ?" She wORSHIPPED GOD, and reforted where prayer was wont to be made."What the Philippian jailor ?" He ceafed from attempting felf-murder, and falling at the apostle's feet, enquired what he must do to be faved.- What the ferpent-bitten Ifraelites ?" They looked at the brazen ferpent. What Paul himfelf?" For this caufe I obtained mercy, fays he, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief, Tim. i. 3. But this was not all, for, he continued praying three days and three nights; and when Ananias came to him, he tarried no longer, but arofe and washed away his fins, calling on the name of the Lord. "What did the Corinthians do?" They heard and believed, Act. viii. 8.- "And what the Ephefians?" They trufled in Chrift after that they heard the word of truth, Eph. i! 3.

XV. In the next paragraph (page 6, line 28.) you gravely propofe the very objection which Í have anfwered, Vind. page 58, without taking the leaft notice of my anfwer. And in the next page you advance one of Dr. Crifp's paradoxes. "Wherever God puts forth his power upon a foul (and he does fo whenever he vifits it with even a touch of preventing grace) pardon and reconciliation are already obtained by fuch an one. He fhall never come into condemnation.

Young penitents, beware! If you admit this te net. you will probably itay in the far country, vain. ly fancying you are in your Father's houfe, because

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