countenance, and fuffering even fuch as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light p: yet are they never utterly deftitute of that feed of God, and life of faith, that love of Chrift and the brethren, that fincerity of heart and confcience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this affurance may in due be feared. I John i. 6. If we fay that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. v. 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all fin. IV. p Cant. v. 2. I fleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, faying, Open to me, my fifter, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew. and my locks with the drops of the night. v. 3. I have put off my coat, how fhall I put it on? I have wafhed my feet, how fhall I defile them? v. 6. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had withdrawn himfelf, and was gone: my foul failed when he spake; I fought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no anfwer. Pfal. li. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladnefs; that the bones which thou haft broken, may rejoice. v. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy falvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. v. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltinefs, O God, thou God of my falvation; and my tongue fhall fing aloud of thy righteoufnefs. Eph. iv. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are fealed unto the day of redemption. v. 31. Let all bitternefs, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-fpeaking be put away from you, with all malice. Pfal. lxxvii. 1. I cried unto God with my voice: even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. v, 2. In the day of my trouble I fought the Lord: my fore time ran in the night, and ceafed not: my foul refufed to be comforted, v. 3. I remembred God, and was troubled; I complained, and my fpirit was overwhelmed. Selah. v. 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am fo troubled, that I cannot fpeak. v. 5. I have confidered the days of old, the years of ancient times. v. 6. I call to remembrance my fong in the night: I commune with mine own heart, and my fpirit made diligent featch. v. 7. Will the Lord caft off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? v. 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? v. 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger fhut up his tender mercies? Selah. v. 1o. And I faid, This is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. Mat. xxvi. 69. Now Peter fat without in the palace; and a damfel came unto him, faying, Thou alfo waft with Jefus of Galilee. v. 7o. But he denied before them all, faying, I know not what thou fayeft. v. 71. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid faw him, and faid unto them that were there, This fellow was alfo with Jefus of Nazareth. v. 72. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Pfal. xxxi. 22. For I faid in my hafte, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardeft the voice of my fupplications, when I cried unto thee. (Pfal. lxxxviii. throughout.) Ifa. 1. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his fervant, that walketh in darknets, time be revived q, and by the which, in the mean time, they are fupported from utter défpair r. CHA P. XIX. Of the Law of God. GOD gave to Adam a law as a covenant of Works, by which he bound him and all his pofterity to perfonal, entire, exact and perpetual obedience; promifed life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it a. and hath no light?, let him truft in the name of the Lord, and ftay upon his God. q 1 John iii. 9. Whofoever is born of God, doth not commit fin: for his feed remaineth in him, and he cannot fin, because he is born of God. Luke xxii. 32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, ftrengthen thy brethren. Job xiii. 15. Though he flay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. Pfal. Ixxiii. 15. If I fay, I will fpeak thus: behold, I fhould offend against the generation of thy children. Pfal. li. 8, 12. (See letter p immediately before.) Ifa. 1. 10. (See letter p immediately foregoing.) r Mic. vii. 7. Therefore I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my falvation: my God will hear me. v. 8. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I fhall arife; when I fit in darkness, the Lord fhall be a light unto me. v. 9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have finned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and. I fhall behold his righteoufnefs. Jer. xxxii. 40. And I will make an everlafting covenant with them, That I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put II. This my fear in their hearts, that they fhall not depart from me. Ifa. liv. 7. Fora fmall moment have I forfaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather. thee, v. 8. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment; but with everlafting kindness will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer. v. 9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have fworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; fo have I fworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. v. 10. For the mountains fhall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither fhall the covenant of my peace be removed, faith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Pfal. xxii. 1. God, my God, why halt thou forfaken me? why art thou fo far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Pfal. lxxxviii. throughout.) My I. a Gen. i. 26. And God faid, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. v. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God cre ated he him: male and female created he them. With Gen. ii. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou II. This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteoufnefs; and, as fuch, was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten commandments, and written in two tables b; the four first commandments containing our duty towards God, and the other fix our duty to man c. III.-Be thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt furely die. Rom. ii. 14. For when the Gentiles who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, thefe having not the law, are a law unto themselves: v. 15. Who fhew the work of the law written in their hearts, their confcience alfo bearing witnefs; and their thoughts the mean while accufing, or elfe excufing one another. Rom. x. 5. For Mofes defcribeth the righteoufnefs which is of the law, that the man who doth thofe things, fhall live by them. Rom. v. 12. Wherefore, as by one man fin entered into the world, and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all have finned. v. 19. For as by one man's difobedience many were made finners: fo by the obedience of one hall many be made righteous. Gal. iii. 10. For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curfe: for it is written, Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, to do them. v. 12. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doth them, fhall live in them. Eccl. vii. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright: but they have fought out many inventions. Job xxviii. 28. And unto man he faid, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, is understanding. II. b James i. 25. But whofo looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man fhall be bleffed in his deed. James ii. 8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the fcripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf, ye do well. v. 10. For whofoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. v. II. For he that faid, Do not commit adultery; faid alfo, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a tranfgreffor of the law. v. 12. So fpeak ye, and fo do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. Rom. xiii. 8. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another, hath fulfilled the law. v. 9. For this, Thou fhalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not fteal, Thou fhalt not bear falfe witnefs, Thou fhalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy felf. Deut. v. 32. Ye fhall obferve to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: you fhall not turn afide to the right hand or to the left. Deut. x. 4. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments which the Lord fpake unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the affembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. Exod. xxxiv. 1. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon thefe tables the words that were in the firft tables which thou brakeft. c Mat. xxii. 37. Jefus faid unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. v. G 2 38. This III. Befide this law, commonly called Moral, God was pleafed to give to the people of Ifrael, as a church under age, cere monial laws, containing feveral typical ordinances, partly of wor fhip, prefiguring Chrift, his graces, actions, fufferings and bene fits d; and partly holding forth divers inftructions of moral duties e. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Teftament f. IV. To them alfo, as a body politick, he gave fundry judicial laws, which expired together with the ftate of that people, not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require g. V. The 38. This is the firft and great commandment. v. 39. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thy felf. v. 40. On thefe two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. III. d (Heb. ix. Chapter.) Heb. x. 1. For the law having a fhadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with thofe facrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. Gal. iv. 1. Now I fay that the heir as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a fervant, though he be lord of all: v. 2. V. But is under tutors and governors, until the time appointed of the Father. 3. Even fo we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. Col. ii. 17. Which are a fhadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. e 1 Cor. v. 7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened: for even Chrift our paffover is facrificed for us. 2 Cor. vi. 17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye feparate, faith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. Jude 23. And others fave with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating eren the garments spotted by the flesh. f Col. ii. 14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, that was a gainst us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his crofs. v. 16. Let no man there. fore judge you in meat or in drink, or in refpect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the fabbath days. v. 17. Which are a fhadow of things to come, but the body is of Chrift. Dan. ix. 27. And he fhall confirm the co venant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week, he shall caufe the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe; and for the overfpreading of abominations, he fhall make it defolate, even until the confummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the defolate. Eph. ii. 15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain, one new man, fo making peace; v. 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the crofs, having flain the enmity thereby. IV. g (Exod. xxi. Chapter. Exod, xxii. 1. to the 29. Verfe: See both in the Bible.) Gen. xlix. 10. The fceptre fhall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him fhall the gathering of the people be. With 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's fake, whether it be to the king, as fupreme; v. 14. Or unto governors, as V. The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified perfons as others, to the obedience thereof b; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but alfo in refpect of the authority of God the creator who gave it i. Neither doth Chrift in the gofpel any way diffolve, but much ftrengthen this obligation k. VI. Altho' true believers be not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby juftified or condemned /; yet is it of as unto them that are fent by him, for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. Mat. v. 17. Think not that I am come to deftroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. With v. 38. Ye have heard, that it hath been faid, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: v. 39. But I fay unto you, that ye refift not evil: but whofoever shall finite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other alfo. I Cor. ix. 8. Say I these things as a man? or faith not the law the fame alfo? v. 9. For it is written in the law of Mofes, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn: Doth God take care for oxen? v. 10. Or faith he it altogether for our fakes? for our fakes no doubt, this is written, that he that ploweth fhall plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope, fhould be partaker of his hope. V. h Rom. xiii. 8, 9. (See above in letter b.) v. 10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Eph. vi. 2. Honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promife. I John ji. 3. And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. v. 4. He that faith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. v. 7. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which ye had from great the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. v. 8. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: becaufe the darkness is paft, and the true light now fhineth. James ii. 10, 11. (See in letter b.) k Mat. v. 17. (See in letter g.) v. 18. For verily, I fay unto you, Till heaven and earth pafs, one jot or one tittle fhall in no wife pass from the law, till all be fulfilled, v. 19. Whofoever therefore fhall break one of thefe leaft commandments, and fhall teach men fo, he fhall be called the leaft in the kingdom of heaven: but whofoever fhall do, and teach them, the fame fhall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. James ii. 8. (See in letter b before.) Rom. iii. 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. VI. / Rom. vi. 14. For fin fhall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Gal. ii. 16. Knowing that a man is not juftified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jefus Chrift, even we have believed in Jefus Chrift; that we might be juftified by the faith of Chrift, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law fhall no flesh be juftified. Gal. iii. 13. Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us: for it is written, Curfed is every one that hangG 3 eth |