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God has laid up for them :" Page 52 !-We are heretics for preaching the law of Christ, the law of liberty! and they, who preach the law of sin, the law of bondage, are orthodox, and engross to themselves the glorious title of gospel-ministers !

2. How absurd it is to prop up the throne of indwelling sin in the heart of believers, that its tyrannical law may make them long for heaven! Did not Christ long for heaven without indwelling sin! Do not the holiest believers, who are most free from indwelling sin, long most for the beatific vision? And do we not see that fallen believers, who are most filled with indwelling sin, are most apt to be lovers of sin, and the world, more than lovers of God and heaven! Are they not the very people, who, unmindful of Lot's wife, stay in the plain: instead of escaping for their life, and fleeing to the celestial mount of God without ever looking behind them!

3. Is not indwelling sin a clog, rather than a spur to the heavenly racers! If sin is of such service to us, to make us run the career of holy longing after heavenly rest, why does the Apostle exhort us to lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us? If we want a spur to make us mend our pace; need we keep the spur, indwelling sin ? Is it not more likely to spur us to hell than to heaven? If we have thousands of sinless spurs, what need have we of keeping That to drive us to heaven, which drove Adam behind the trees of the garden; not to say, out of his native para

dise?

If you ask, What are the sinless spurs of believers? We reply, all the toils, infirmities, and pains of our weary, decaying, mortal bodies:-All the troubles, disappoint ments, and sorrows, which arise as naturally out of our present circumstances, as sparks do out of the fire :-A share of the dreadful temptations which harrased Christ in the wilderness and frequent taste of the bitter cup which made him sweat blood in the garden, and cry out on Calvary.-Hear one, to whom our opponents absurdly give the spur of indwelling sin, as if he had not spurring enough without it: "I fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh," Col. i. 24. And surely indwelling sin was never one of Christ's afflictions. Again, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall it be tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or

peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Once more: some "were tortured, not accepting deliverance, and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment.' They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were

slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheep skins, and goats skins, being desti tute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."

I grant that all true believers have not these thorns in the flesh, and feel not the spurs which made Elijah flee for his life before incensed Jezebel, and request that he might die ander the juniper-tree: but at the best of times, they have, or should have David's affliction, "My eyes run down with water because men keep not thy law:"— They have, or should have Jeremiah's grief, "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night, for the desolations of Jerusa lem, or for the slain of the Daughter of God's people!"-They have, or should have the sorrow of just Lot, who was "vexed from day to day with the filthy conversation of the wicked," among whom he dwelt. To suppose therefore, that in this vale of tears, trib ulation, and sin, we need keep the sting of indwelling sin, because we must strive against the sin which is in the world to the end, even unto blood, if we are called to se cure the crown of martyrdom ;-or because it "is the will of God, that through much tribulation we should enter the kingdom;" [page 46,] and because we should long for heaven to suppose, I say, that we must keep the sting, indwelling sin, on these accounts, is as absurd as to suppose, that all the keepers and nurses in Bedlam must be mad, and must continue to be plagued with personal lunacy, lest they should not strive against madness to the end lest they should not come out of great disturbances when they remove from their dreary habitation;-and lest, while they continue there, they should not see mad people enough to make them long for the conversation of reasonable persons.

Argument X. Page 52. Our author closes his shrewd plea for the Death-purgatory, by 66 If proposing a very material objection: any exclaim and say, These sentiments have a tendency to reconcile believers to sin; I must say,-The flesh might as soon be reconciled to the spirit, as the spirit to the flesh or sin to grace, as grace to sin. It is often said, That nature will be nature. And why may not this be applied to the divine nature,

of which believers are said to be parta kers?" Hence our author insinuates, that the divine nature of believers is "immutable;" and that, because to will is present with them, when they sin they still retain God's holiness, as "lions and tigers, however con fined or caressed, retain their ferocity and brutal appetites."

I am glad to see that this pious author has still the cause of holiness at heart, and de sires to stop up the Antinomian gap. I am

persuaded that he intends to do God service by pleading for the continuance of indwelling sin. If he asks for the reprieve of that robber and murderer, it is merely because Antinom ianis n has deceived him, as formerly pharisaism deceived the Jews who cried, Release unto us Barabbas. If he saw, that Christ in us must be crucified afresh, in case the robber in us is not put to death; I doubt not but he would be as sorry for his publica. tion, as the devout Jews were for their antichristian request, when they were pricked to the heart on the day of pentecost.

But alas! if a good intention excuses bad performances, it does not stop their mischief, The very desire which our author evidences to secure godliness, is so unfortunately expressed, that it gives her as fatal a blow as the tempter did, when he said to our first parents, Ye shall not surely die. For, when that gentleman intimates to fallen believers, Ye are possesed of the divine nature; and, be your works what they will, if-to will, be, "in some degree present," (page 54) ye are as much possessed of God's holy image, as a lion is possessed of a lion's fierce nature: What is this, but to preach the very gospel which the serpent preached in paradise; with this difference, that the serpent said, Ye shall not die: Ye shall be as gods: but the Imperfectionists say, Your salvation is finished; ye have already the immutable nature" of God: Ye ure already as gods?-Adam believed the tempter, and lost his holy nature. The Imperfectionists believe our author: Oh ! way none of them remain "immutable" in the sinful imperfection which he so earnestly contends for.

XI. A Ceaveat. Having said so much upon our author's mistakes, I should be in excusable if I did not drop a caution about the veil with which they are covered. His book goes into the world under the harmless title of "The Christian's peculiar Conflict:" Whereas it should be called, A Plea for the propriety and usefulness of the continuance of indwelling sin in all christians. This plain, artless title would have made true christians stand npon their guard'; but now they take up without suspicion the cup mixed by the author: and it is well if some have not already drank it to the dregs, without fear.

An illustration will give the reader an idea of the wisdom with which the title of this Essay is contrived I write a treatise full upon the advantage of a standing rebellion in the kingdom, and urge a variety of plausible arguments to show the great good that will arise from an inveterate opposition to the government. "If a spirit of rebellion ceases in any subject, the king's patience, mercy, love, and power, will not be so fully display. ed, nor will the loyalty of his good subjects be so well distinguished and proved :-Rebellion, and the burdens that attend it, will

make us long for peace :-Guilty, ungrateful rebels will love the king, and admire his mercy the more when they are forgiven after their manifold rebellions. And therefore [to, use the unguarded words of our Author, page 53,] it becomes us seriously to consider, how far this great end [of a spirit of rebellion continually dwelling in every Briton's breast] is understood, approved, and answered." I show my manuscript to a friend, who says Your Essay will alarm every wellwisher to the constitution of the realm. But I remove his objection by replying, I will not call it "An Essay on the propriety and usefulness of a spirit of rebellion constantly harboured in the breast of every one of his Majesty's subjects:"-but I will call it,"The Loyal Subject's peculiar Conflict, An Essay on 1 Sam. xii, 19." and this plausible title will modestly make way for my boldest arguments. Pleas for the continuance of rebellion and indwelling sin may properly enough be introduced by such a stratagem.

SECTION XV.

Mr. HILL objects that the doctrine of Christian Perfection is popish; and the Author shews, that it is truly evangelical, and stands inseparably connected with the cordial obedience required by the mediatorial laws of Moses and of Christ; insomuch that there is absolutely no medium between the doctrine of an evangelically-sinless perfection, and lawless Antinomianism.-This Section contains a recapitulation of the Scripture-proofs of the doctrine maintained in these sheets; and therefore the careful perusal of it is humbly recommended to the Reader.

Having taken my leave of the ingenious Author of The Christian's peculiar conflict, I return to Mr. Hill, who, by this time meets me with his Review in his hand, and with that theological sling casts at our doctrine a stone which has indeed frighted thousands of weak souls, but has never done any execution amongst the judicious. "Your doctrine," says he, is a Popish doctrine;" and he might have added with as much reason, that it is a Pelagian doctrine too; for bold as Pelagius and some Popes have been in coining new doctrines, they never came to such a pitch of boldness, as to say that they were the authors of the doctrine of evangelical obedience, and of those commandments which bind us to love God-our covenant-God, with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves; precious gospel-commandments these, upon which the doctrine of perfection securely

rests!

What Pope was ever silly enough to pretend that he wrote the book of Deuteronomy, where we find this sweet evangelical law, "Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt love the Lord. thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these

words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart"-[to do them, I suppose, and not to ridicule them under the names of perfection and popery ?] Deut. vi. 5, 6. Now by what argument will Mr. Hill prove that the Pope is the inventor of this blessed doctrine ?

Should that gentleman reply, "That when God gave his ancient people this gracious law of perfection, he did not give it with an intention that they should personally keep it as an evangelical law; but only with an intention to drive them to the promised Messiah, who was to keep it for them, and to give eternal indulgences to all the believers who break it ;" we demand a proof; and till Mr. Hill produces it, we show his mistake by the following arguments. 1. Although the Jewish dispensation revealed a gracious God," abundant in goodness, mercy, and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin" to returning sinners, who penitentially laid hold on his Jewish covenant; yet, if I remember right, it never promised to accept of an obedience performed by another. Hence it is, that God never commanded that Jewish females should be circumcised; but confined this ordinance to the males, who alone could personally obey it. We frequently read of vicarious sufferings in the Jewish gospel, but not of vicarious obedience, and vicarious love. For although the obedience of godly parents engaged God to bestow many blessings upon their children; yet the children were to obey for themselves, or to be cut off in the end. The Jews were undone by a conceit of the contrary doctrine, and by wild notions about the obedience of Abraham, and the holiness of the temple, which they fancied was imputed to them in the Calvinian way and a similar mistake, it is to be feared, undoes still, multitudes of christians, who fatally mistake the nature of christian obedience, absurdly put on robes of self-imputed righ teousness, and rashly bespatter the robes of personal, and evangelically perfect obedience, which God requires of every one of us.

2. The mistake I expose would never have been made by our opponents, if they had not used themselves to tear the evangelically-legal part of the Scriptures from the context, in order to give it a sense contrary to that of the sacred writers; it being certain that when you have torn a man's tongue out of his mouth, you may afterwards force it down his throat, and leave it there with the root against his teeth, and the tip towards his stomach. To show that the precept of perfect love, which I have quoted from Deut. vi. is treated in this manner, as often as our opponents insinuate, God did not intend, that Jewish believers should personally observe it as a term of final acceptance, but only that they should be driven thereby to the Media tor, who should perfectly love God for them:

To show, I say, the absurdity of this notion we need only do Moses the justice to hear him out. Let any unprejudiced person read the whole chapter, and he will, I am persuaded, side against the Calvinian imputation of a Jewish perfection to Jewish believers. Moses begins by saying, "Now these are the commandments-which the Lord your God [yours through an evangelical covenant] commanded to teach yon, that ye might do them," [and not that your Mediator might do them for you.] Deut. vi. 1. Two verses after, he adds, " Hear, O Israel, and observe, and de, [Not hear, () Israel, and another shall observe and do for thee,] that it may be well with thee." Then comes our capital doctrine and precept of perfect love, which, a few verses below, Moses continues to enforce thus: "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your [covenant] God.-You shall diligently keep the [evangelical] commands of the Lord your [covenant] God; and his [gospel] testimonies, which he has commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord thy God, that it may be well with thee. And when thy son asketh thee, saying, What do mean these statutes [of perfect love, &c.] Then thou shalt say, unto thy son, We were Pharoah's bondmen in Egypt and the Lord brought us out."-And, lest Antinomian hands should draw the golden nail of this perfect obedience for want of proper clenching; this precious chapter, which our Church has properly se lected for a Sunday lesson, ends with these words, which must raise a blush on the face or strike conviction into the breast, of all who trample under foot the robes of our own evangelical perfection; "And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, that he might preserve us alive :-and it shall be our righteousness [our gospel-perfection] if we observe to do all these commandments, before the Lord our [covenant] God, as he has commanded us," Dent. vi. 1,-25.

If our opponents say, that this is a transcript of Adam's anti-mediatorial law of paradisaical perfection; and not a copy of Moses's mediatorial law of Jewish perfection; or if they assert, that Moses calvinistically hints that the Jews were to keep this law by proxy, then they may say, that light is darkness. And if they grant that Moses was no antinomian shuffler, but really meant what he spoke and wrote, it unavoidably follows:

1. That God really required of every Jew an evangelical and personal perfection of love, according to the degree of light and power imparted under the Jewish dispensa. tion: 2. That this evangelical, Jewish perfection of love was attainable by every sin cere Jew; because whatever God requires of us in a covenant of grace, he graciously engages himself to help us to perform, if we believingly and obediently embrace his prom.

ised assistance.-And 3. That if an evangelical perfection of love was attainable under the Jewish gospel [for the gospel was preached to the Jews, as well as to us, although not so clearly, Heb. iv. 2.] it is absurd to deny, that the gospel of Christ requires less perfection, or makes less provision, that christians may attain what their dispensation calls them

to.

If Mr. Hill thinks that this inference is not just, I refer him to our Lord's declaration: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil :" first, by perfectly obeying myself the two great moral precepts of Moses and the Prophets; and next, by teaching and helping all my faithful disciples to do the same, Matt. v. 17. Should that gentleman object, to the latter part of this little comment, because it leaves no room for the Calvinian imputation of Christ's mediatorial perfection to fallen believers, who sleep in impenitency, under the guilt of adultery, covered by murder: we reply, that this part of our exposition, far from being forced, is highly agreeable to the text, when it is taken in connexion with the scope of our Lord's sermon, and with the context. For,

4. All Christ's sermons, and especially that upon the Mount, inculcate the doctrine of personal perfection, and not the doctrine of imputed perfection. 2. The very chapter out of which this text is taken, ends with these words," Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect. And Mr. Hill, prejudiced as he is against our doctrine, is too candid to assert, that our Lord meant," Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect: ""Now, he is perfect only by the Calvinian imputation of my righ teousness: it is merely by imputation that he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. And be sendeth only a calvinistically. imputed rain upon the just and upon the unjust. Be ye therefore perfect only by the imputation of my perfect righteousness."

Mr. Hill's mistake has not only no countenance from the distant part of the context, but it is flatly contrary to the words which immediately follow the controverted text. For verily I say unto you [that, far from being come to destroy the law and the prophets, that is, the spirituality and strictness of the moral part of the Jewish gospel] till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law [which pharisaic glosses have unnerved} till all be fulfilled. [And lest you should think, that I speak of your fulfilling this law by proxy and imputation, I add, Whosoever shall break one of these commandments, [which I am going to enforce upon you, as my own mediatorial law; though hitherto you have considered them only as Moses's mediatorial law] whosoever

I say, shall break one of these least commandments, and [by precept and example] teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: If he has any place among my people in my spiritual kingdom, it shall be only among my carnal babes, who are the least of my subjects.] But whosoever shall do and teach them, [the commandments whose spirituality I am going to assert] the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven, [he shall be an adult, perfect christian in the kingdom of my grace here; and he shall receive a proportionable crown of righteousness, in the kingdom of my glory hereafter.] Matt. v. 18, 19.

If I am not mistaken, it evidently follows from these plain words of Christ, 1. That he taught a personal perfection, and an evangelically-sinless perfection too.-2. That this perfection consists in not breaking, by wilful omission, the least of the commandments which our Lord rescued both from the false glosses of Antinomian pharisees, who rested on the imputed righteousness of Abraham, saying, "We have Abraham for our Father:" we are the children of Abraham: we are perfect in Abraham all our perfection is in Abraham: and from the no less false glosses of those absurdly-legal pharisees, who paid the tithe of anise, mint, and cummin with the greatest scrupulosity, whilst they secret. ly neglected mercy, truth, and the love of God.-And 3. That the perfection which Christ enforced upon his disciples was merely of the negative kind, but of the positive also; since it consisted both in doing and in teaching the least, as well as the greatest of God's commandments.

not

If you ask what are the greatest of these commandments, which Christ says his dis ciples must " do and teach," if they will be great, or perfect in his kingdom and dispensation, St. Matthew answers, "One of the pharisees, who was a Lawyer, asked him a question, saying, Master, Which is the great commandment in the law, [the name then given to the Jewish gospel which Moses preached:] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, [in nature and importance,] Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," Matt. xxii. 35. That is, Whatever Moses and the other prophets taught and promised, hangs on the nail of perfect love. All came from, all tended to perfect love under the Jewish dispensation: nor is my dispensation less holy and gracious. On the contrary, what the law could not do, in a manner sufficiently perfect for my dispensation [for Jewish perfection is not the highest perfection at which man may arrive on earth] God sending, me into the

world for the atonement and destruction of sin, has hereby abundantly condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the mediatorial law, which enjoins perfect love, might be abundantly fulfilled in the hearts of them that walk after the spirit of my gospel ;-a brighter gospel this, which transmits more direct and warmer beams from the Sun of Righteousness, and can raise the exquisitelydelicions fruit of perfect love to a greater perfection than the gospel which Moses preached. [Compare Rom. viii, 3, with Heb. iv. 2. See also an account of the superiority of Christ's gospel in the Scripture-Scales, Sect. VI.]

Agreeably to this doctrine of perfection, our Lord said to the rich, young man, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments;""If thou wilt be perfect,-follow me" in the way of my commandments ;"Love God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself:" for "bles ed are they that do his commandments, that they may enter through the gate into the city, and have right to the tree of life, which is in the street of that city, on either side of the pure river of the water of life."-This do and thou shalt live eternally in heaven. Bring forth fruit to perfection, according to the talents of grace and power which thou art entrusted with, and thou shalt inherit eternal life :thou shalt receive the reward of the inheritance thou shalt receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him, with the love which keepeth the commandmenis, and fulfilleth the royal law. Compare Matt. xix. 17. Luke x. 28. Rev. xxii. 2, 14. James i. 12. and Luke viii. 14.

On these, and the above-mentioned Scriptures, we rest the truth and importance of the doctrine of perfection. Jewish perfection principally stands or falls with Deut. vi. and Matt. xxii. and christian perfection, with Matt. v. and xix. to which you may add the joint testimony of St. Paul and St. James. The former, whom our opponents absurdly make the captain of their imperfection, says to the judaizing Galatians," Bear ye one another's burdens fa rare instance of perfect love!] and so fulfil the [mediatorial] law of Christ," Gal, vi, 2. Nor let Mr. Hill say, that the Apostle means, we should fulfil it by proxy; for St. Paul adds in the next verse but one," Let every man prove his own work, and then, [with respect to that work] he shall have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another for [with regard to personal, evangelical obedience] every inan shall bear his own burden :"- -a prover bial expression, which answers to this gospel-axiom, "Every man shall be judged according to his own works."

St. Paul urges the same evangelical and lawful doctrine upon the Romans. "Love, one another for he that loveth another,

:

hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery:-Thou shalt not covet ; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.— Love is the fulfilling of the law," Rom. xiii. 8, &c. And that St. Paul spake this of the mediatorial law of liberty and christian perfection, and not of the Christless law of inno cence and paradisaical perfection is evident from his calling it the law of Christ, that is, Our Redeemer's law, in opposition to our Creator's law, which was given without an atoning sacrifice and a mediating priest, and therefore made no allowance for infirmities, and admitted neither of repentance nor of renovated obedience. Besides, St. Paul was not such a novice, as not to know, that the Galatians and the Romans, who had all sinned, as he observes, Rom. iii. 23, could never be exhorted by any man in his senses, to fulfil the paradisaical law of innocence by now, loving one another. He therefore indubitably spake of the gracious law of our gentle Melchisedec ;-the law of him who said, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another-as I have loved you, that ye also love one another," John xiii. 34.-A precious commandment this, which our Lord calls new not because the Jewish Mediator had not given it to the Israelites, but because the christian Mediator enforced it by new motives, gave new, unparalleled instances of obedience to it, annexed new rewards to the keeping of it, and required it to be fulfilled with a new perfection; and that Christians shall be eternally saved or damned according to their keeping or breaking this mediatorial law of christian perfection, this law of Christ, this royal law of Jesus the King of the Jews, we prove by Matthew xviii, 35. vii. 26. xxv. 45, and Luke vi. 46, &c.

If Mr. Hill's prejudices are not removed by what St. Paul says in Rom. xiii. concerning our fulfilling the gospel-law of perfection; we intreat him to ponder the glorious testimony which the Apostle, in Roin. ii. bears to this Jaw which he does not scruple to call his gospel. With regard to this gracious rule of judgment, says he, "There is no respect of persons with God. For a many as have sinned without a [mediator's written] law, shall also perish without a [mediator's written] law and as many as have sinned in [or under a mediator's written] law, shall be judged by the [mediator's written] law. For not the hearers of the [mediator's] law, are just before God, but the doers of the [mediator's] law shall be justified. [Nor are the heathens totally destitute of this law :] for when the Gentiles, which have not the [mediator's written] law, do by nature, [by natural conscience, which is the echo of the mediator's voice, and the reflection of the

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