Full text of "The harmony of the divine attributes in the contrivance and accomplishment of man's redemption;"

THE 



HARMONY 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES, 



CONTRIVANCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT 



MAN'S REDEMPTION. 



BY WILLIAM BATES. D. D. 



AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 

BY A. ALEXANDER, D. D 



PUBLISHI-J) BY JONA'iH.'.N LKAVl'lT, 182 BROADWAY. 

SiJostcn: 

CROCKER & BRFAV.STER, 47 WARIUNGTON-ST. 
Stereo yj-td by J;.i;ies Conner. 



Entered according to the net of Conijross, in the year 1831, by JONATHAN 
LEAVllT, in th<' Clerk's otflce of the^District Court of the United States, for 



the Soutlierii District of New-York. 



r\OA Li^Vr 



w^^m^ 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. I. — nLe Introduction. — Ashort view of man's iiriraitive state. His confoiTnity to God ; natural . 
moral, and in hnppiness and dominion over the creatures. The moral resemblance, as it refers to all 
llie faculties. The happiness of man, with resfiect to his sensitive and spiritual nature. Of ail sublu- 
nary creatures he is only capable of a law. What tlie law of nature contains. God entered into a 
covenant with man. The reasons of that dispensation. The terras of the covenant were becoming 
God and man. The special clause in the covenant concerning the tj-ee of knowledge of good and e.il. 
The reasons of the prohibition. -.---..--.-.-.---.--.-.. 13 

CHAP. II. — The Fall of Man — Man's natural state was mutable. The devil, moved by hatred and 

envy, attempts to seduce him. The temptation iraa aaimblc to muii'a coiii|.oim'JeU nntuic. The 

■woman being deceived, persuade.s her husband. 1. Tlie quality of the first sin ; many were combined in 
it. II. It was perfectly voluntary. Man had power to stand. The devil could only allure, not com- 
pel him. His understanding and will the causes of his fall. III. The punishment was of the same 
date with his sin. He forfeited his righteousness and felicity. The loss of original righteousness, as it 
signifies the purity and liberty of the soul. The torment of conscience tJiat was consequent to sin. A 
whole army of evils enters with it uito the world \X 

CHAP. lir. — TTie Corruption of Human Nature.— 1. All mankind in involved in Adam's guilt, and is 
under the penal consequences that follow upon it. Adam, the natural and moral principle of mankind. 
An hereditary corruption is transmitted to all tliat are propagated from him. The account the 
scripture gives of the conveyance of it. It is an innate habit. It is universal. Corrupt nature con- 
tains the seeds of all sins, though Lhey do not shoot for;h together. It is voluntary and culpable. 
II. The permission of the fall is suitable to the wisdom, huliness, and goodness of God. The imputa- 
tion of Adam's sin to his posterity is consistent with God's justice- ...........36 

CHAP. IV. — The Moral Impote7ire of Man.—TUe impossibility of man's i-ecovery by his natural 
power. I. Man cannot regain his primitive holiness. The understanding and will the superior facul- 
ties ai-e depraved. The mind is ignorant and insensible of our corruption. The will is more depraved 
than the mind ; it embraces only sensual good ; carnal objects are wounding to the conscience, and 
nnsatisfying to the afi'ections; yet the will eagerly piu-sues them. The moral impotence, that ariseth 
from a per\-erse disposition of the will, is culpable. Neither the beauty nor the reward of holiness 
can prevail upon the unrenewed will. II. Guilty man cannot recover the favour of God. He is 
unable to make satisfaction to justice. He is incapable of real repentance, which might qualify him 
for pardon. - 45 

CHAP. v. — The Wisdom of Godin Redemption. — Of the divine wisdom in the contrivance of man's 
redemption. Understanding agents propound an end, and choose means for the obtaining of it. 
I. The end of God is of the highest consequence, his own glory and man's recovery. Tlie ditficultjr .jf 
accomplishing it. II. The means are proportion.ible. The divine wisdom glorified in taking 
occasion from the sin and fall of man to bring glory to God, and to raise man to a more excellent slate. 
It appears in ordaining such a Mediator, as was fit to reconcile God to man, and man to God. It is 
discovered in the designation of the second person to bo our SSaviour ; and making the remedy to have 
a proportion to the cause of our ruin. It is visible in the manner whereby our redemption is accom- 
plished ; and in the ordaining of such contemptible means to produce such glorious eftecis ; and laying 
the design of the gospel, so as to provide for the comfort and promote tlie holiness of man. - - 61 

CHAP. VI.— Practical Inferences. — I. A superlative degree of praise and thankfulness due to God for 
the revelation of the gos|)eI. It is not discovered by the creation ; it is above the reach of natural 
reason; the heatlien world is entirely ignorant of it. It is pure grace that distinguishes one nation 
from another, in sending the gospel. 11. Evangelical knowledge deserves our most serious study. 
The gospel exceeds all contemplative and practical sciences ; contemplative, in the greatness of its 
object, and the certainty of its principle ; practical, iu the excellency of its end, and the efficacy of 
the means. -- 82 

CHAP. Vn. — TVic Causes and Unreasonableness of Unbelief. — The simple speculation of tlie gospel 
not sufiicient without a real belief, and cordial acceptance. I. The reasons why the Jews and 
Gentiles conspired in the contempt of it. II. How just it is to resign up the understanding to revela- 
tion. God knows his own nature and will, and cannot deceive us. We must believe the things that 
are clearly revealed, though we do not understand the manner of their existence ; although they are 
attended with seeming contradictions. No article of faith is really repugnant to reason. We must 
distinguish between things incomprehensible and inconceivable, between corrupt and right reason. 
How reason is subservient to faith. Humility and holiness mialify for the belief of the gospel-mysteries. 
A naked belief of supernatutal truths is unprofitable for salvation. An effectual assent that prevails 
upon the will and renders the whole man obsequious, is due to the quality of the gospel-revelation. 95 

CHAP. VIIT — T^.e Freeness of the Divine Mercy in Redemption.— The mercy of God is repre.sented 
with peculiar advantages above the other atu-ibutes. Ii is eminently glorified in our redemption, in 
reapect of its freeness and greatr.eas. The freeness of it amplified from the consideration, I. of the 
original, and, II. of the object of it. God is perfectly happy ui himself, and needs not the creature 



2 CONTEXTS. 

to preserve or heighten his felicity. Tlie glorious reward conferred upon our Saviour doth not pr^ 
fadice the freeness of hit love to man. Thei o was no tie upon God to save man. The object of mercy 
u man in his lapsed stale, it is illustrated by the consideration of what he is in hiniseif. No motive* 
of love are in hira ; he ia a rebel impotent and obstinate. The freeness of mercy set forth by comparing 
him Willi the fallen angels who are left in jierfcct irremediable misery. Their first state, full, and 
punishment. The reasons why the wisdom of Gou made no provisions for their recovery. - - - lOT 

CHAP. IX.— The Greatness of the Divine Mercy in Redemption. — The gi-eatness of redeeming love 
discovered by considering, I. The evils from which we are freed— the sei-vilude of sin, ttie tyranny of 
Satan, the bondage of the law, the empire of death. The meastue of love is projiortionable to tiie de- 
grres of our misery. No possible remedy for us in nature. Our deliveiance is complete. U The 
divine love is magnified in the means by which our redemption is accomplished ; they are the incar- 
nation and Euflenngs of the Son of God. Love is manifested in the incarnation, upon account of the 
essential condition of the nature assumed, and its servile state : Christ took our nature after it had 
lost iu innoceney. The most evident pi-oof of God's love is in ilie suflerings of Christ. The descrip- 
tion of them with respect to his soul and body. Tlie suflerings of his .^oul set forth from the causes of 
his grief, the disposition of Christ, and the design of God in amicting him. The sorrows of his forsu- 
ken Elate : all comforting influences were suspended, but without prejudice to the personal union, or 
the perfection of his grace, or the love of his Father towards him. 'iTie death of the cross conside.-ed, 
■witli resjiecl to the ignominy and torment that concurred in it. The love of tlie Father and of Chriut 
amplified upon the account of his enduring it. ..................117 

CHAP. X— Divine Merey is Magnified in the Exrellency of the State to which Man is advanced. 
He is enriched with higher prerogatives, under a belter covenant, entitled to a more glorious reward 
tlian Adam at first enjoyed. The human nature is personally united to the Son of God. iielicvers 
are spirilually united to Christ. The gospel is a better covenant than tliat of the law. It admits of 
repentance and reconciliation after sin. It accepts of sincerity instead of perfeclion. It affords »;i- 
pi-rnatiiril assisiance to believers, whereby Ihey shall be victorious over all opposition in their way to 
bcavPM. 'l"lic UillV-iiMice lieiween ihe grace ol the Creator and thai or ilie Hodeemer. The stability of 
tlie New-Covenant is built on the love of God which is unchangeable, and the operations of his spinl 
that are effectual. The mutability and weakness of the human will, and the strength of lemplatious, 
■hall not frustrate the mercit'id design of God in regard of his elect. The glorious reward of the ^ot- 
pel exceeds the primitive felicity of Adatn, in the place of it, the highest heaven. Adam's life wan 
attended with iimoceiil infirmities, from which the glorified life is entirely exempt. The felicity of 
heaven exceeds the first, in tlie manner, degrees, and continuance of the fruition. 135 

CHAP. XI. — Practical Inferences — [. Redeeming love deserves our highest admiration and humble tic- 
knowledgments. The Uluslraiion of it by several coiisideralions. God is infinitely amiable in himself, 
yet his love is transient to the creature. It is admirable in creating and iireserving man, more in re- 
deeming him, and lliat by Uie death of his Son. II. The discovery of God's love in our redemption 
is the strongest persuasive to reiienlance. The law is inefliictnal to produce real repentance. The 
common buncfits of jirovidence are insufficient to cause faith and repentance in the guilty creature. 
The clear discovery of pardoning mercy in the gospel only can remove our fears, and induce us to re- 
turn to God. III. The transcendent love of God should kindle in us a reciprocal love to him. His 
•excellences and ordinary bounty to mankind cannot prevail upon us to love him : his love to us iu 
Christ only conquers our hatred. Our love to him must be sincere and superlative. IV. The despi- 
sing of saving mercy is tlie highest provocation : it makes the condemnation of men most luat, cer- 
tain, and heavy. 148 

CHAP. XII. — The Justice of God iti Redemption — Divine justice ooncm-s with mercy in tlie work 
of our redemption. I. The reasons why we are redeemed by the satisfaction of justice are specified • 
to declare t jod's haired of shi, to vindicate the honour of tlie law, to prevent Ihc secure coinmis.sion 
of sill. These ends are obtained in the death of Christ. II. The renfity of the satisfaction made to 
divine Justice considered. The requisites in order to it. The appouitmeiit of God, v;ho in this traii»- 
actjon is 10 be considered not as a judge, that is minister of the law, but as governor. His right of 
jurisdiction to relax the law as to the execution of it. His will dtclarivl to accept of the compensii. 
ti on made. The consent of our Redeemer was necessary. He must be jicrfecily holy. He must be 
God aud man. 160 

CHAP. XIU.— The Justice of God in Redemption.— Divine Justice is declared and glorified in the 
death of Christ. The threefold account tlie scripture gives cf it, as a punishment inflicled for sin, ai 
a price to redeem us from hell, as a sacrifice to reconcile us to God. Man was capitally guilty i 
Christ, with the allowance of God, inloriioses as his .^surety. His deaih w.is inflicted on him uy tlie 
viiprome Judge ; the impulsive caiiKe of it wa.s sin. His suflirings were equivalent to tlie senieiice of 
the law ; the effect of them is our fix^dom. An answer to die ofiiection, tnat it is a violation of Jus- 
lice to transfer the pnni.<:lunciil from the guilty to the innocent. The death of Christ is the price thai 
redeems from hell. This singnlar effect of his death distinguishes it fnun the death of thr inartyrs. 
An answer to the objections — how could God receive Jiis price, since he gtive his Son to that death 
wliicli redeems us ? and how our Redeeuiner, suppoHing him Ciod, can make satisfaction to himself 7 
The death of Christ repi-esented as a sacrifice. The expiatory sacrifices under the law w-^re »ll!lstitv^ 
ted in Oie place of guilty men. The effects of them answerable to their tlu-eefold respect to God. sin 
Hiid men ; the atonement of an?er, the expi..tion of sin, and freedom iVdin piinishnient. All si lis of 
placatory sacrifices are referred to Christ, and the effects of iheni in a .^ul>^une and pKiffrt manner. 
No prejudice to the freeness and greatness of God's love, that Cliiist by his de.ith reconciled him to 
men. -.-...---..... 171 

CfUP. XIV.— TAe Juatice of God in RcdpmpHon.—\\\. The completeness of Chri-t's s.iti.-fectiim 
proved I'rom the cause!" and iHVcisof it. The causes are the <|iiality of his iierson and degrees of Ilia 
surt'erin^.s. The etlccts are his rcstirreetion. a.-een~iiiii. iiuere.fs^ion nt God's right hand, and h s 
exercising the supreme power in heaven and eaiili. The exoclleiii bciieritR which God reconciled 
bestows on men, are the effects and evi lenee* of his complete fatisfaclion. Tla-y are pardon of sin, 
grace, and glory. That repentance and faith are required in order lo the partaking of the bencfiu 
purchased by Christ's death, doth not U'sseii the merit of his Mifl'rrings; tliat afHictions and death aie 
in-licted on believers dolh not derogate from their all-suflioiency 187 

CHAP. "Xy.—Priirtl-nl Infereucey.—\. In the de.ith of Christ there is the cle.uvst discovery of Iha 
evil of i.in. II. Tlie strictness of divine juflice is most vi.-iibic in it. III. 'I'lic c.iiisii\r.<iii.n of ih- vikU 
of Christ's death t.-iU-.'s oft' (he scivudal uf the cross, and chaiigci the oMence into K.ilui'..'.vlian. lY Tlie 



CONTENTS. a 

•alisfaction of iuslice by Christ's sufferings afforrls the strongest assurance that God is ready to pardon 
sinners. V. The absohite necessiiy of complyiii? with the terms of the gospel for justiticatjon. There 
are but two ways of appearing before the supreme Judge ; either in innocence, or by the righteous- 
ness of Christ. The causes why men reject Christ are. a legal temper that is natural to them, and the 
predominant Jove of sio. The unavoidable miseiy of all that will not submit to our Saviour. - "206 

CHAP. 'KYI.— The Holiness of God in Redemption.—Oi all the divine perfections, holiness is 
peculiarly admirable- The honour of it is secured in our redemption. I. In the hitter sufferings of 
Christ, God declared himself unappeasable to sin, tho'igh appeasable to sinners. 11. The privileges 
purchased by Christ, ai-e conveyed upon terms honourable to holiness. Pardon of sin, adoption, the 
inheritance of glory, are annexed to special qualificaljons in those who receive tliem. III. The 
Redeemer is made a quickening principle to inspire us with new life. In order to our sanctification, 
he hatli given us the most perfect nile of holiness, he exhibited a complete pattern of it, he purchased 
and conveys the Spirit of holiness to us, he presents the strongest motives to persuade ns to be holy. 
The perfect laws of Christ are considered, as they enjoin an absolute separation from all evil, and 
command the practice of all substantial goodness. Some particular precepts, which the gospel 
especially enforces, with the reasons of them, are considered. ---. ....... 218 

CHAP. "X-YU.— The Perfection of ihe Laws of Christ— The perfection of Christ's laws appears by 
comparin" them with the precepts of Moses. The temple service was managed with pomp suitable to 
the disposition of the Jews, and the dispensation of the law ; the Christian service is pure and spiritu- 
al ; the Levitical ceremonies and ornaments are excluded from it, not only as unnecessary, but in- 
consistent with its spirituality. The obligation to the rituals of Moses is abolished, to introduce real 
righteousness. The indulgences of polygamy and divorce is taken away by Christ, and marriage 
restoi-ed to its primitive purity. He cleared the law from the darkening glosses of the Pharisees, and 
enforced it by new obligations. The law of Christ exceeds the rules which the highest masters of 
morality in the school of nature ever prescribed. Philosophy is defective as to piety, and in several 
things contrary to it. Philosophers delivered unworthy conceptions of God. Philosophy doth not 
enjom the love of God, which is the first and great command ot the natural law. Philosophers lay 
down the servile maxim, to comply with the common idolatry. They arrogated to themselves the 
praise of their virtue and happiness. Philosophy doth not propound the glory of God for the supreme 
end of all human actions. Philosophy is defective as to the duties respecting ourselves and others. It 
allows the first sinful motions of the lower appetites. The Stoics renounce the passions. Philosophy 
insufficient to form the soul to patience and content under afflictions, and to support in the hour of 
death. A reflection upon some immo-al maxims of the several sects ot philosophers SW 

CHAP. "iCyin.— The Example of Christ and the Gift of the Holy Spirit.— Ex!imp]es have a special 
efficacy above precepts to form us to holiness. The example of Christ is most proper to that end, be- 
ing absolutely perfect, and accommodated to our present state. Some virtues are nece.'ssary to our 
condition as creatures, or to our condition in the world, of which the Deity is incapable ; and these 
eminently appear in the life of Chrjst ; they are humility, obedience, and love in suffering for us. 
His life contains all our duties, or motives to perform them. Jesus Christ purchased the Spirit of ho- 
liness by his sufferings, and confers it since his exaltation- The sanctifying Spirit is the concomitant 
of evangelical mercy. The supernatural declarations of the law on mount Sinai, and the natural 
discovery of the divine goodness in the works of creation and providence, were not accompanied 
with the renewing etficacy of the Spirit. The lower operations of tlie Spirit were only in the hea- 
thens. The philosophical change differs from the spiritual and divine. Socrates and Seneca consi- 
dered. Our Saviour presents the strongest inducements to pet-suade us to be holy. They are proper 
to work upon fear, hope, and love. The greatness of those objects, and their tnith, are clearly 
manifest iu the gospel. ' 2S 

CHAP. XIX. — Practical Inferences — I. The completeness of our recovery by Jesus Christ; he frees 
us from tlie poweras well as guilt of sin. Sin is the disease and wound of the soul ; the mere pardon of 
it cannot make -.is happy- Sanctification equals, if not excels, justification ; it qualifies us for the en- 
joyment of God. II. Saving grace doth not encourage the practice of sin. The promises of pardon 
and heaven are conditional. To abuse the mercy of the gospel is dishonourable to God and pernicious 
to man. III. The excellency of the Christian religion discovered from its design and effect. The 
desigri is to purge men from sin, and conform them to God's holiness according to their crxpacity ; this 
give.s it the moel visible pre-eminence above other religions. The admiral-le effect of the gospel in 
the primitive Christians. An earnest exhortation to live according to the purity of the gospel, and the 
great obligations our Saviour hath laid on us. 276 

CHAP. XX.— 77ie Power of God in Redemption.— The divine power is admirahly glorified in the 
creation of the world, in respect of the greatness of the effect and the manner of its production. It is 
»» evident in our redemption. The princip;tl effects of it are considered. I. The incarnation of the 
Son of God is a work fully responsible to omnipotence. 11. Our Redeemer's su|jei-nalural concep- 
tion by the Holy Ghost. III. The divine power was eminently declared in the miracles Jesus Christ 
wrought in the course of his ministry. His miracles were the evidence of his celestial calling ; they 
were necessary for the conviction of the world : tJieir nature consiilered. IV. The divine power was 
glorified in making the death of Christ victorious over all our spiritual enemies. V. The resurrec- 
tion of Christ the effect of glorious power. The reasons of it from the quality of his pei-son, and the 
nature of his office, that he might dispense the blessings he had purchased for believers. His resur- 
rection is the foundation of faith. It hath a threefold reference, to his person as the Son of God, to 
his deatii as an all-sufficient sacrifice, to his promise of raising believers at the last-day. ... 883 

CHAP. XXI.— TA-; Power of God in Pedemption.—Vl. The divine power was glorified in the con- 
Tersion of the world to Christianity. Notwithstanding the imaginary infirmity i i Christ crucified, 
yet to the called he was the power of God. The numerous and great difficulties that obstructed the 
receiving of the gospel. What the state of the worid was at the first preaching it. Ignorance was 
universal, idolatry and the depravation of manners, were the consequences of it. Idolatry was 
fortified by custom, anliquny, and external pomp. The depravation of manners was extreme. The 
prmcipal account of it from their disbelieving a future state, and their attributing to their eods those pas- 
sions and vices that were pleasing to the flesh. The aversion of the vulgar heathens was strengthened 
by tJiose in veneration among them. The philosophers, priests, and princes, vehemently opposed the 
gospel; an account of their enmity against iu The consideration of the means by which the gospel 
was conveyed, discovers that omnipotency alone made it successful. The persons employed were a 
Jew fishermen, without authority and power to force men to obedience, and without art or eloquence 
to msinuale the belief of their doctrine. The great, sudden, and lasting change in the world, by tlw 



preaching of the gospel, is a certain argument of the divine power that animated those weak appear- 
ances. Idolatry was abolished. A miraculous cliauge followed in the lives of men. Christians gave 
a divorce to all the sinful delights of sense ; and embraced, for the honour of Christ, those things 
that nature most abhors. A short view of the suflerings and courage of the martyrs : Their pa- 
tience was inspired from heaven. Christianity was victorious over all opposition. Vll. The divine 
power will be gloriously munit'ested in the complete salvation of the chiu-ch at the last day. Our 
Saviour sIklII ilien finish his mediatoiy office. Death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. The 
bodies of ilie saints shall be raised and conformed to the glorious body of Christ ii99 

CHAP. XXn — Practical Inference — The extraordinaiy working of the divine power is a convincing 
proof of the verily of the Christian religion. The iniernal excellences of it are clear marks of its 
divinity, to the purified mind. The external operations of God's power were requisite to convince 
men in tlicir corrupt iiate, that the doctrine of the gospel came from God. The miraculous owning 
of Christ by the whole divinity from heaven. The resurrection of Christ the most important article 
of the gospel, and the demonstration of all the rest. How valuable the testimony of the apostles is 
concerning it; that it was impossible they should dpceive or be deceived. The quality of the wit- 
nesses con.-!ideri-,l. There cannot be the least reasonable suspicion of them. It is utterly incredible, 
that any liimian, temporal respects moved them to feign the resurrection of Christ. The nature of the 
testimony considered. It was of a matter of fact, ana verified to all their senses. The uniformity of 
it assures us thvre wa.s no corruption in the witnesses, ami that it was no illusion. They sealed the 
truth of it with their blood. The miracles the apostles did in the name of Christ, a strong demonstra- 
tion that he was raised to a glorious lii'e. That power was continued in the church for a time. The 
conclusion, how reaKonnble it is to give an entire assent lo the truth of Christianity. It is desperate 
infidelity not to believe it : and the Highest madness to pretend to believe it, and to live in disobedience 
toil. 322 

CHAP. XXTII.— 77i(! Tn/th of God in Redemptio!}.—The honour of God's truth, with respect to the 
legal thrc' • . _ ; .-.served in the death of Christ. The divine truth, with respect to the promises 
and tyi"^ ■ ■ < '■■■■ the law, was justified in his coming and the accomplishment of our re- 
demption iiK- special prcdiclioiiR considered, thai respect the time of his coming. The 
particul.ir ■ . n..- . ■ - that represent the Messiah, are verified in Jesus Christ. The consequences 
of the Mi's^Mii s •. iiiiiy. lorciold by the prophets, are all come lo pass. II. The types of the law are 
complete in Chiist. A juarlicular consideration of the manner, the rock, and the' brazen serpent, aa 
they; referred m him. The paschul lamb considered. A simrt parallel between Melchi7.edec anJ 
Christ. Thf divinity of the gosj'el proved, by comparing ihe ancient fijfures wilh the present truth, 
and predictions with the events. The happiness of Christians above the Jews, in ihc clear revelation 
of our Saviour to them. Frnm the accomplishment of jiropliecies concerning the first coming of 
Christ, oar faith should be confirmed in the promise of his second. 333 



PREFACE. 



The work of redemption affords to intelligent beings the 
brightest exhibition of the divine attributes, which, probably, 
has ever been given in the universe. And although fallen 
men only are the objects of this stupendous work, yet, indi- 
rectly, it may be of immense benefit to other species of intel- 
ligent creatures, by manifesting to them the character of 
God more illustriously than it can be viewed any where 
else. This eternal, self-existent, and incomprehensible Be- 
ing, cannot be known by any creature farther than he is 
pleased to reveal himself; and we can conceive of no method 
by which a discovery can be made of the divine perfections, 
but by their exercise in the production of some work, which 
may become the object of contemplation to rational creatures. 
All direct and intuitive knowledge of the divine essence, is 
evidently beyond their capacity. They are not able to pene- 
trate the minds of each other, with this species of know- 
ledge. " For what man knoweth the things of a man, save 
the spirit of man which is in him ?" God only is able to 
search the hearts and know all the secret thoughts of his 
creatures, which to all others must remain an inscrutable 
depth, unless they are pleased to make some revelation by 
external acts or signs of what is within them- Solomon, in 
his dedicatory prayer, sa3^s, " For thou, even thou only 
knowest the hearts of all the children of men." Much less 
can creatures look into the divine essence ; or know any 
thing of the attributes of God, except so far as he is pleased 
to make himself known. "Even so the things of God 
knoweth no man but the Spirit of God." There can be, 
therefore, no stronger evidence that the Son and Spirit are 
partakers of the divine nature, than the plain, unequivocal 
testimony, that they both possess this knowledge, which is 
constantly declared to be peculiar to God. The former says, 
" As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father ;" 



IV PREFACE. 

and again, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father; 
neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he 
to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." And of the latter, 
it is written, " The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
things of God." But, as was said, creatures however exalted, 
can only know God by the external manifestations which he 
makes of himself; and we have reason to believe, that the 
end of all the works and dispensations of Jehovah is, the 
revelation of his character. Although possessed of an infi- 
nite sufficiency of all goodness and happiness in himself, it 
accords with the perfection of his nature to communicate of 
his infinite fulness, and thus to manifest his glory. Hence 
the creation of intelligent beings, who might be capable of 
contemplating his perfections, and rendering to him a tribute 
of praise; and hence, a rich variety of works in which the 
attributes of God may be seen. And there can be no doubt, 
that this Being of infinite benevolence, has connected the 
felicity of his creatures with the manifestation of his own 
glory. Goodness, as well as wisdom and power, is legibly 
inscribed on all his works. Now, as far as the knowledge 
of God is concerned, it makes no difference, whether we 
ourselves, or others, are the objects of any particular work. 
We can behold the divine attributes, as manifested in the 
creation, preservation, and government of other beings, as 
clearly as when they are exercised towards ourselves: and 
other intelligent creatures may contemplate the love, the wis- 
dom, the justice, and the truth of God, as displayed in the re- 
demption of man, with as much advantage, as if they them- 
selves were the objects of this stupendous plan. That the in- 
habitants of other worlds take a lively interest in the works 
of God on our globe, is evident from what the Almighty said 
to Job, out of the whirlwind, "Where wast thou when I laid 
the foundations of the earth?" — "when the morning stars 
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." If 
these celestial beings were so delighted and animated with 
the contemplation of the work of creation, can we suppose 
that they are indifferent to the more glorious exhibition of 
the divine attributes in redemption? Although they need 



PREFACE. V 

no redemption themselves, yet they can as fully discover the 
character of God, as exhibited in this work, as if they them- 
selves were the objects of it. And that they do in fact feel 
a lively interest in this extraordinary transaction, is proved 
by the whole evangelical history. When the Divine Re- 
deemer was about to make his appearance upon earth, the 
communication of the joyful tidings was not considered as 
unworthy of the noblest of these exalted spirits. An angel 
appeared to Zacharias, the father of the harbinger of our 
Lord, and announced his birth. And Gabriel himself was 
commissioned to inform the virgin Mary, that she should be 
the mother of the promised Messiah. When the Saviour 
was born, an angel, surrounded with the glory of God, came 
down and announced the event to the shepherds of Bethle- 
hem ; and, immediately, he was joined with a great multi- 
tude of the heavenly host, who united in singing an anthem 
worthy of the occasion ; " Glory to God in the highest, 

AND ON EARTH PEACE, AND GOOD WILL TOWARDS MEN." And 

that the holy angels are intensely exercised in the study of 
this interesting subject, we learn from the apostle Peter, who, 
speaking of the prophetic declarations concerning "the suf- 
ferings of Christ," says, " which things the Angels desire 
TO LOOK INTO." The mode of expression in the original is 
much more emphatical than in our translation. Etg S emOviidv- 
aiv ayycXoL napaKvxpai, which may bc thus paraphrased, "Into 
which sufferings of Christ, the angels pry with the most 
fixed and profound attention." The literal meaning of the 
verb here used is, " to stoop down," as if to survey with the 
deepest attention ; and this manner of expression was proba- 
bly borrowed from the attitude of the golden cherubim on the 
mercy-seat; for their faces were so placed, as to look in- 
wards and downwards, on the propitiatory, {['Xarnpiov.) These 
cherubim are thought, by most commentators, to be emble- 
matical of the angels; and as the blood of the great annual 
atonement for the sins of the priests and all the people, w^as 
sprinkled on this propitiatory; so their faces turned doM^n- 
wards to this object, may represent the very idea which the 
apostle Peter intended to express, in the words cited above; 
A* 



VI PREFACE. 

namely, that the angels are absorbed in the contemplation of 
the work of redemption. There is also a testimony, in the 
writings of Paul, from which we learn, that the manifesta- 
tion of the wisdom of God to the exalted spirits of heaven, 
was one great end aimed at by the interesting transactions 
which stand connected with the Christian church. It is this, 
" To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers, 
in heavenly places, might be known by the church, the 
manifold wisdom of God." And this, perhaps, is the very 
best answer to the infidel objection to redemption by the 
Son of God, derived from the magnitude of creation. This 
world, it is true, is but a speck in the universe, but it is 
large enough to furnish a theatre for a most glorious exhibi- 
tion of the divine attributes. And the knowledge of the 
stupendous work wrought here, will not be confined to our 
race, but is made known to other intelligent beings, whose 
elevation in moral dignity, and whose happiness, will be ad- 
vanced by every increase of knowledge, and by every new 
manifestation of the glorious character of God. It is not, 
therefore, an unreasonable supposition, that the exaltation, 
glory, and happiness of the whole intelligent creation, will 
be greatly enhanced by the exhibition of the divine perfec- 
tions, in the redemption of man. Moral grandeur does not 
depend on the magnitude of the theatre on which the work 
is exhibited. But tliis whole objection, however plausibly it 
may strike the mind at first view, is a mere prejudice, with- 
out the least foundation in reason; for, the very same thing 
might be objected to a world, many millions of times larger 
than ours. All magnitude is merely comparative. Supposing 
that the great end of God in redemption, was the manifesta- 
tion of his own perfections, no conceivable advantage could 
accrue from having a larger world for this exhibition. The 
planet Jupiter, is said to be a thousand times larger than our 
earth; but, can any body suppose that the glory of God in 
redemption would have been greater, if that had been the 
theatre of the work? This globe maybe invisible to the in- 
habitants of distant planets; but, this might be the fact in 
regard to a globe of any size r for the visibility of objects de- 



PREFACE. VII 

pends on their distance, and the kind of organs with which 
they are viewed. It might, with just as much reason, be al- 
leged, that this world was too large, as that it is too diminu- 
tive; for there is an infinitude below us, as there is above us. 
This is an objection precisely similar to the one against 
creation, because it did not occur sooner. But it may be 
asked, why should this earth be selected for such a wonder- 
ful display of the divine attributes. This is a question, 
which, like thousands of others, we cannot answer, simply 
on the ground of our ignorance. It might as reasonably be 
asked why such a world as this was ever created; why it oc- 
cupies a middle place and not one of the extremes in our 
system; or v/hy it should form a part of the solar system, 
rather than a position in some distant part of the universe. 
It might be inquired, why such a being as man was created 
and placed upon earth ; and why he should have a frame so 
curiously and wonderfully wrought; and why he should 
have been made a compound being, consisting of matter and 
mind. But all such questions are foolish and vain. Our 
knowledge is very much limited to facts ; the reason why 
they are as they are, we must generally leave to be exami- 
ned by beings of a higher order of intellect ; or to a time 
when our minds shall be so invigorated and enlarged, that 
we shall be able to comprehend what is now involved in ob- 
scurity. 

It is alleged, that the work of redemption is too strange 
and wonderful to be credible, by a rational mind : but what 
is there in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, which 
is not wonderful ? Take the minutest atom which floats in 
the sun-beam, and analyze it. Compute the number of its 
parts. Tell all its relations and aflinities; and endeavour to 
comprehend its essence. Take the humblest vegetable which 
grows out of the earth, and describe its structure, its won- 
derful organization, and the admirable apparatus by which 
it is rendered capable of selecting from millions of particles, 
those which are adapted to its own growth, development, 
and fructification. — Or, to rise still higher in the scale of 
being, dissect any one of the various tribes of animals, con- 



VUl PRtrACE. 

sider its organization, its senses, its instincts, its means of sub- 
sistence and defence, and the extraordinary laws of its pro- 
pagation; all which are peculiar in each distinct species j and 
then tell me, is there any one thing in the universe, which, 
when attentively examined, has not enough of the marvel- 
lous connected with its mode of existence, to confound the 
reason of the greatest philosopher? If we adopt the princi- 
ple of rejecting any thing merely because it is wonderful, 
we must at once descend into the regions of Pyrrhonism, 
and become universal skeptics; or we must plunge still 
deeper, into the yawning abyss of atheism; for what can be 
more wonderful than the existence of an eternal, omnipresent 
God? But even atheism can furnish no refuge for those 
who are determined to believe nothing which is wonderful. 
The only recommendation which atheism has is, that it 
leaves the region of wonders for that of gross absurdities, 
and reason-revolting contradictions. " The fool hath said 
IN HIS HEART, THERE IS NO GoD." Thc ouly safc coui'sc for 
man to pursue i«, modestly, soberly, and diligently to exer- 
cise his rational faculties; and cautiously and firmly to rely 
on the evidences of truth which may be presented; not pre- 
tending in any case to determine whether a proposition is 
true or false, by an abstract contemplation of its apparent 
reasonableness, but judging of every thing by the evidence 
which attends it : unless in those cases, where there is a 
manifest absurdity or contradiction in the terms of a propo- 
sition, for such propositions can be established by no kind 
of proof; neither are they ever attended with the evidence 
of truth. 

It is freely conceded, then, that the work of redemption is 
wonderful ; and if it were not, it would have no analogy to 
the other works of God. It is a thing of surpassing won- 
der, that God should send his only begotten and well belov- 
ed Son, to die an ignominious death for vile rebels; but 
there is a grandeur in this marvellous transaction that indi- 
cates, that this is no "cunningly devised fable," but the won- 
derful device of a Being, every thing connected with whose 
existence fills the reflecting mind with astonishment. The 



PREFACE. IX 

more wonderful then, the stronger the marks of its divine 
origin; — the more like its wonderful Author. 

We have already spoken of the interest which the celes- 
tial inhabitants have taken in the great events connected 
with redemption, which have-taken place upon earth; but, 
may we not suppose, that in heaven, this marvellous work 
is the theme of their thoughts and their praises? This does 
not rest on mere conjecture; for, in the Revelation of John, 
the veil which conceals this HOLY OF HOLIES, has, in 
some measure, been drawn aside; and a distant and emble- 
matical view of the interior of the upper temple has been 
afforded. Among the most conspicuous objects beheld in 
this high and holy place, even in the midst of the throne and 
of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, 
"stood a lamb as it HAn BEEN SLAIN." That redeemed 
saints in heaven should claim a relation to this slaughtered 
Lamb, we were prepared to expect; for those white robes, 
in which they shine so brightly, among the heavenly hosts, 
were washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb: and 
we are not surprised that they should unite in a never-ceas- 
ing song of praise, "unto him that loved us and washed us 
from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and 
priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and domi- 
nion, for ever and ever, amen." But, perhaps, %ve should 
not have been so ready to suppose, that the other inhabi- 
tants of heaven, who have no part in the son of David, as 
needing no redemption, should form a part of the general 
chorus, to sound forth the praises of Immanuel; — of "Him 
who was dead and is alive again, and liveth for evermore." 
But, so it is, "And I beheld," says John, "and I heard the 
voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living 
creatures, and the elders, and the number of them was ten 
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 
saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was 
SLAIN, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honour, and glory, and blessing; and every creature 
which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, 
aiid such U.S are in the sea, and all tha,t are in them, heard I 



X PREFACE. 

saying, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto 
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the LAMB, for 
ever and ever." 

So great is the honour paid to the Redeemer, in heaven, 
and so much is his praise the occupation of all those who 
surround the eternal throne, that no one who does not love 
the Lord Jesus Christ above all persons and things, is fit to 
enter the New Jerusalem, or to participate in the exercises 
of the place. All the dishonour which has been heaped up- 
on hirn, is confined to this world. Here, indeed, he was 
despised and rejected of men — wounded, bruised, scourged, 
spitted on, mocked, and crucified. And here, he is still cru- 
cified afresh, and put to an open shame, by many who deny 
his divine mission, or the reality and cfllcacy of his atoning 
sacrifice. But, in heaven, no dishonour reaches this divine 
person: no unworthy thought ever enters any mind in that 
high and holy place. One such thought would hurl from 
his exalted seat the noblest of the creatures of God — like Lu- 
cifer, son of the morning, he would sink to rise no more. 
But there is no danger that one of the heavenly hosts will 
ever be guilty of such an offence. They are all confirmed 
in a state of holiness and felicity; and none more so, than 
those who were redeemed from among men. All are emu- 
lous to love and serve the Redeemer with all their powers. 
The angels received a commandment to worship him, when 
he appeared among men, in obscurity and humility; and, 
now, when he occupies the highest seat of majesty, at the 
right hand of God, they will not refuse to do him honour. 
He has now received, as Mediator, "a name which is above 
every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things 
under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that 
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The 
heavenly city, which the apostle beheld in vision, and the 
walls of which were of jasper and pure gold, and the founda- 
tions twelve different precious stones, and the gates twelve 
pearls, and whose streets were pure gold, as it were trans- 
parent glass, is represented, as having no temple in it; and 



PREFACE. XI 

why? "For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the 
temple of it." And as having neither sim nor moon, " For 
the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof." And the indelible record of that glorious city, 
v/hich contains the names of all the living, is the " Lamb's 
BOOK OF Life." 

There may be, for anght we know, glorious exhibitions of 
God's character in other worlds, of an entirely different na- 
ture from any with which we are now acquainted; and as 
the inhabitants of other worlds are permitted to enjoy the 
advantage of contemplating the glorious works of God, of 
which our globe has been the theatre ; so we may, hereafter, 
be privileged with the opportunity of learning much respect- 
ing the glory of the divine attributes, from exhibitions of 
which other creatures are the object. It would be a low 
and unreasonable conception of the Eternal God, to suppose, 
that his whole character is already revealed. In him there 
is an infinite variety and plenitude of divine perfections; 
of many of wliich, probably, no creature has yet formed any 
idea, and for the contemplation of which, man in his present 
state of existence, has no faculties. In the future progress 
of our being, new capacities may be developed, for which we 
have now no occasion ; and we may, hereafter, possess 
means of knowledge, as remote from all our present concep- 
tions, as is the faculty of vision from the ideas of one born 
blind; or the higher demonstrations of mathematics, from 
the thoughts of a mere child. At present, we are entirely 
ignorant of the specific nature of the powers of superior in- 
telligences. We judge of their mental operations by a refer- 
ence to the laws which govern the human mind ; but this 
may be no more than a mere approximation to the truth; 
and yet it is the only way in which we can form any con- 
ception of them, whatever. We have reason to think, from 
what we read in the Bible, that those species of intelligent 
creatures which occupy a higher place than man in the 
scale of being, know a great deal more of us than we do of 
them ; and w^hile we are able to manifest no acts of kind- 
ness towards them, nor to be of service to them, in any way; 



they are much occupied in assisting and guarding us. " Are 
they not all," says the apostle Paul, speaking of the angels, 
"ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who 
shall be heirs of salvation?" "For he shall give his angels 
charge over thee," says the Psalmist, "to keep thee in all 
thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou 
dash thy feet against a stone." " The angel of the Lord en- 
campcth round tliem that fear him, and delivereth them." 

There is no repson to apprehend any danger of forming 
conceptions too exalted of the Redeemer, and the work of 
redemption: but there is much reason to believe that the 
damning sin of the world, is, the neglecting, or making light 
of this wonderful exhibition of divine love. On this account, 
whole regions, once illumined with the light of the gospel, 
and planted with Christian churches, have been abandoned 
to darkness and desolation. "This is the condemnation that 
light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather 
than light, because their deeds are evil." The greatest love 
when slighted and provoked, is converted into the most tre- 
mendous wrath ; and accordingly, no wrath is spoken of as 
more terrible, than "the wrath of the Lamb." 

In the work of creation, the power, wisdom, and goodness 
of the Creator, are gloriously displayed. "He hath," says 
Jeremiah, "made the eartli by his power, he hath established 
the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens 
by his discretion." "The heavens," saith David, "declare 
the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy- 
work, day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
teacheth knowledge." And Paul testifies, "That the invisi- 
ble things of him from the creation of the w^orld are clearly 
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even 
his eternal power and godhead." So also in the work of re- 
demption, God has gloriously manifested his holiness, wis- 
dom, power, and love. The direct end of this work, how- 
ever, was the manifestation of the grace of God; or, as Paul 
expresses it, "To the praise of the glory of his grace." 
Among all the wonderful things which belong to the charac- 
ter of Jehovah, there is nothing more marvellous or myste- 



PREFACE. XIU 

rious, than his love to vile, miserable sinners. When crea- 
tures exercise love, there must be something amiable appre- 
hended in the object, which is suited to call forth this affec- 
tion: but in the love of God, it is not so. "But God com- 
mendeth his love to us in that while we were yet sinners 
Christ died for us." If, unworthy and miserable as we were, 
we had first loved him, the thing would not be so entirely 
unaccountable; but there was nothing of this, "Not that we 
loved God, but that he loved us." " We love him because he 
first loved us." It was while we were " enemies," that he 
so loved us, as to send his only begotten and well-beloved 
Son to die for us. 

And the intensity of the love of God, is as incomprehen- 
sible as its origin. To illustrate this subject, every analogy 
is inadequate, and every comparison fails. "God so loved 
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." " He spared 
not his own Son, but gave him up for us all." " Herein is 
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent 
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." The degree of 
love must be measured by the value of the sacrifice which 
it is willing to make for the benefit of its object; and accord- 
ing to this scale, it is absolutely infinite. God gave his own 
Son, and Christ gave himself; not only to become a man, 
but to die on a cross. The fruits or effects of this love cor- 
respond with the intensity of its degree. It bestows on its 
objects the highest and most permanent good of which they 
are capable. The full value of the blessings purchased by 
this love can only be appreciated in eternity: tJiey are far 
above what it hath entered into the mind of any one to con- 
ceive. There is a kingdom which is immoveable; a crown 
of righteousness and life; an inheritance "incorruptible, un- 
defiled, and that fadeth not a\vay;" and a participation in 
the throne of the King of kings. There is a glory which 
shall be revealed to the sons of God, compared with which, 
all earthly glory is fading and worthless; — Even, "an ex- 
ceeding AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY," NoW it is by the 

plan of redemption that this marvellous, mysterious love is 
displayed. Here then, from the gospel, the brightest rays 

B 



XIV PREFACE. 

of divinity radiate. This is the most luminous point of all 
the revelations which God has made of his character. GOD 
IS LOVE. Paul, therefore, prays, that the Ephesian Chris- 
tians, "might be able with all saints to comprehend the 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the 
love of Christ which passeth knowledge." Many have at- 
tempted to render this wonderful love less incomprehensible, 
by the supposition, that God foresaw something good in 
those whom he chose for himself; but this explanation is 
diametrically repugnant to the uniform declarations of the 
word of God, which constantly ascribe all the blessings 
which are bestowed on sinners to the free, sovereign grace 

of God " TO THE GOOD PLEASURE OF HIS WILL" " EVCU SO, 

Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." This method of 
explaining the subject may indeed remove the mystery 
which hangs over it, but it obscures the rich grace of the 
gospel. Let us then acquiesce in the plain and repeated tes- 
timonies of the word of God, and leave him to explain his 
own mysteries hereafter. 

At first view, there might seem to be some danger that 
such an exhibition of love to sinners, as is given in the gos- 
pel, would have a tendency to obscure the justice and holi- 
ness of the divine character; and that the promulgation of 
such a doctrine would have the effect of relaxing the obliga- 
tions to obedience, and encouraging men to sin tbat grace 
might abound. And, indeed, from the first publication of 
the doctrine of free grace and pardon for the chief of sinners, 
this objection has been made; but there is no foundation for 
it in the nature of the case, nor in the facts which have a 
bearing on it. God has so wisely contrived the plan of re- 
demption, that the holiness and justice of God are more illus- 
triously displayed in the cross, than they could have been in 
all the glorious rewards of obedience in heaven, and in all 
the tremendous punishments of the wicked in hell. The 
love of Christ has boen made to flow to sinners, through such 
a channel as furnishes the most convincing evidence of the 
infinite purity of God. Here justice also receives an illus- 
trious display by the sufferings of tlie Son of God, in the 



PREFACE. XV 

room of the guilty. The cross on which the Saviour died 
is, perhaps, surrounded with brighter rays of glory than any 
point in the universe. Here we see the love of God written, 
as it were, in characters of blood; and here also, we behold 
the evil of sin and God's hatred of it, in a light w^hich casts 
all other exhibitions of it into shade. It is not wonderful, 
therefore, that Paul should with such emphasis exclaim, 
" God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the 
Lord Jesus Christ;" and that he should solemnly determine, 
in the exercise of his ministry, "to know nothing but Jesus 
Christ and him crucified." And experience teaches, that 
nothing possesses such power to destroy the love of sin, as 
believing views of a crucified Saviour. That, which the 
thunders of Sinai and the flames of Tophet fail to accom- 
plish, is marvellously effected by looking to Jesus lifted upon 
the cross. The wisdom of the contrivance of this mystery 
of redemption is manifest in this, that the same view which 
assures us of pardon and eternal life, transforms the soul in- 
to the likeness of God's holiness. At the moment when 
Jesus says to any one, " Son, thy sins are forgiven thee," at 
the same moment he says, " go, and sin no more." And 
while these views of the cross are entertained, we cannot 
willingly and deliberately go on in the practice of sin. The 
doctrines of grace are, therefore, "doctrines according to god- 
liness;" — "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth 
himself as he is pure." Christ came not to be the minister 
of sin, or to purchase for any a license to transgress; but 
" He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all 
iniquity, and purify unto himself a pecuhar people, zealous 
of good works." 

In this glorious method of saving sinners, apparent con- 
tradictions are reconciled ; and attributes, the harmonious ex- 
ercise of which seemed incompatible, are made sweetly to 
agree. God is just, and justice requires that sin should be 
punished according to its demerit: but God is also merciful 
and gracious, and has determined to save a multitude of sin- 
ners from deserved punishment. But these ideas are repug- 
nant to each other. How can sin be punished according to 



XVI PREFACE. 

its desert, and yet the guilty creature rescued from merited 
punishment? Or, in the language of Scripture, how can 
God be just and justify the ungodly? The gospel solves this 
problem; and the solution is found in the cross — when 
Christ dies in the sinner's stead, and bears our sins in his 
own body on the tree. Here, "Mercy and truth are met to- 
gether, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." 

The volume, now presented to the public, as the first of a 
series, to be enlitledj the library of religious knowledge, 
is a work of uncommon excellence. It has long since re- 
ceived the general approbation of the pious and judicious. 
And although a century and a half have elapsed since it was 
written, the st3de is not antiquated; so that, except in a few 
words, it has not been found necessary to make the least al- 
teration, to accommodate it to our times. Indeed, there is a 
majesty, beauty, and sweetness in the writings of Dr. Bates, 
which has seldom been equalled. He was greatly admired 
for his eloquence in his own day; and although his style is 
more diffuse than accords \vith the canons of modern criti- 
cism ; yet it is so rich and free, and forcible, that it will be 
read with delight by all who are capable of appreciating its 
excellence. 

It would be difiicult to mention any single work in which 
the glorious plan of man's redemption is more fully and 
clearly ex]iil)ited, than in Dr. Bates' Harmony op the Di- 
vine Attributes. The writer recollects with pleasure and 
gratitude, that when he was first led to attend with interest 
to theological subjects, this work fell into his hands, and was 
read with profit and delight; and now, after the lapse of 
forty years, he has again perused it with unmingled appro- 
bation ; and he can scarcely conceive of any better method 
of exhibiting the doctrines of the gospel, than that which is 
here pursued. 

It is no small recommendation of this work, that it will be 
found well adapted to Christians of all evangelical denomi- 
nations. The controversial spirit is excluded, and the pre- 
cious truths of the Bible are presented in a manner which 



PREFACE. XVll 

will command the approbation of all who possess a truly- 
spiritual taste. Many doctrines, it is true, are here brought 
forward, which have often occasioned keen and acrimonious 
controversy ; but in the hands of our author they have no 
other than a peaceful and practical bearing. 

This volume will be printed from an edition recently 
published in London, by an evangelical minister of the es- 
tablished church. Upon a comparison with earlier editions 
it is found, that no alteration has been made, except in the 
orthography of a few words, and in the omission of some 
numerical divisions. Latin citations from the classics, which 
in the old editions were placed at the bottom of the page, 
are also omitted. In other respects, the work is unaltered. 

It is a matter of sincere congratulation to the friends of 
truth, that the taste for the works of such men as Owen, and 
Baxter, and Flavel, and Howe, and Charnock, and Bates, is 
reviving; and that the writings of these eminent men have 
been of late given to the pubhc, in a commodious form. At 
first view, that dispensation of Providence by which 2000 
pious ministers were ejected from their charges, seems to 
have been a disastrous event for the church ; but when we 
consider how many excellent works of piety were composed 
by these men, in consequence of their leisure, which they 
have left as a legacy to all future generations, we are incli- 
ned to think, that many of them have been far more useful 
by their writings, than if they had been ever so laboriously 
and successfully employed in preaching the gospel during 
their whole lives. For any one man could only have exhibit- 
ed the truth to as many people as could hear his sermons; 
but by means of the press, the same book can be so multi- 
plied, as to be read at the same time in the four quarters of 
the world, and by a hundred times more persons than could 
have been benefitted by the ministry of the author while 
living. The power wiiich the press is capable of exerting is 
still a subject but imperfectly understood. Those men who 
will produce the most extensive and permanent effects on 
society, are not they who are most conspicuous in the active 
scenes of life; but they who come into contact with the 
B2 



XVlll PREFACE. 

greatest number of persons by their writings. At present 
there is no richer talent conferred on any man than the 
ability to compose useful works for the instruction of the 
people; especially on the subject of religion. It may indeed 
be alleged, that books on all subjects are already too nume- 
rous; but in regard to works of real excellence, this is 
scarcely possible. Of bad books — of empty unprofitable 
books, no doubt we have a superabundance — the whole of 
these are a nuisance — but as they exist, and are in circula- 
tion, the evil can only be counteracted by writings of a dif- 
ferent tendency. Studious literary men are often reproach- 
ed for their inactivity, because they do not appear much in 
the bustling scenes of public life; but, if they are engaged 
in preparing works for the benefit of mankind, they are far 
more useful than those who make the most noise. Indeed, 
such is the importance of enlisting able pens in the defence 
and elucidation of truth, that when a man is found capable 
of writing in an attractive and forcible manner, he ought to 
be retained for this work alone; and — freed from all care and 
distraction — he should be encouraged to devote himself en- 
tirely to the business of composition. One writer of the 
highest order may actually do more for the benefit of the 
world than a score of preachers, however excellent their 
talents. It would, therefore, be an object exceedingly wor- 
thy of attention, to form an association for the support and 
encouragement of authors. By such an institution, men 
who are now living in obscurity would be called out, and 
others who are occupied with a multitude of concerns, might 
be relieved from the pressure of other duties, and have lei- 
sure afforded them to prepare books and tracts, the influence 
of which might extend to distant countries and future gene- 
rations. 

But much may be effected by means of the press, with- 
out the composition of any new works, by republishing 
and putting into extensive circulation, the productions of 
eminent men which are out of print, or confined, at present, 
to a narrow circle. In this view of the subject, the occupa- 
tion of a bookseller appears to be one of almost unrivalled 



PREFACE. XIX 

importance. I do not know of any situation in life, in which 
a man has it in his power to do more good — or evil. And 
it is gratifying to find, that there are men in this calling, 
who are disposed to exert their influence on the side of truth 
and piety; and who are not only willing to engage in enter- 
prises where the prospect of gain is flattering, but to run 
the risk of making sacrifices and incurring losses, where the 
prospect of doing good is favourable. 

That our readers may have an opportunity of contempla- 
ting the character of the author of this work, a biographical 
sketch, extracted from Middleton's Evangelical Biography, 
is here annexed. 

"This very excellent scholar and divine was born in 1625; 
and, after a suitable school-education, was sent to Cambridge, 
where he was admitted of Emanuel College, from which he 
removed to King's in 1644. He commenced bachelor of 
arts in 1647, and, applying himself to the study of divinity, 
became a distinguished preacher among the presbyterians. 
In course of time, he was appointed vicar of St. Dun«tan's 
in the West, London; and joined with several other divines 
in preaching a morning exercise at Cripplegate church. At 
this exercise Dr. Tillotson preached, in 1661, the first ser- 
mon which was ever printed by him. Upon the restoration 
of King Charles II. Mr. Bates was made one of his majesty's 
chaplains; and in the November following, Avas admitted to 
the degree of doctor in divinity in the university of Cam- 
bridge, by royal mandate. 

"About the same time, he was off'ered the deanery of Litch- 
field and Coventry, which he refused : and it is said that he 
might afterwards have been raised to any bishopric in the 
kingdom, if he would have conformed to the established 
church. Dr. Bates was one of the commissioners at the Sa- 
voy conference in 1660, for reviewing the public liturgy. 
He was likewise chosen on the part of the presby terian minis- 
ters, together with Dr. Jacomb and Mr. Baxter, to manage 
the dispute with Dr. Pearson, afterwards bishop of Chester, 
Dr. Gunning, afterwards bishop of Ely, and Dr. Sparrow, 



XX PREFACE. 

afterwards bishop of Ely. In 1665, he took the oath re- 
quired of the nonconformists. It was to this purpose j — that 
'it was not lawful, upon any pretence whatever, to take 
arms against the king; and that they abhorred the traitorous 
position of taking arms, by his authority, against his person, 
or against those that are commissioned by him, in pursu- 
ance of such commission; and that they would not at any 
time endeavour any alteration in the government, either in 
church or in state.' Tliose who refused this oath were to 
be restrained from coming, except upon the road, within five 
miles of any city or corporation, or any place which sent 
burgesses to parliament, or where they had been ministers, 
or had preached since the act of oblivion. The act which 
imposed this oath, openly accused the nonconformist minis- 
ters of seditious doctrines and practices. Hereupon some of 
them studied how to take the oath lawfully; and Dr. Bates 
consulted the lord keeper Bridgman, who promised to be 
present at the next sessions, and openly to declare from the 
bench, that by 'endeavour to change the government in 
church,' was meant only 'unlawful endeavour;' which satis- 
fying him, he thereby satisfied others, and accordingly twenty 
of them came in at the sessions and took the oath. Dr. 
Bates wrote a letter hereupon to Mr. Baxter, representing 
the case, and the reasons upon which the ministers acted; 
but Mr. Baxter, who gives us this account, tells us, that the 
arguments used in the letter seemed to him not sutficient to 
enervate the force of the objections against their taking the 
oath. When a treaty was proposed by Sir Orlando Bridg- 
man, lord keeper of the great seal, and countenanced by the 
lord chief baron Hale, for a comprehension of such of the 
dissenters as could be brought into the communion of the 
church, and for a toleration of the rest, Dr. Bates was one of 
the divines who, on the presbyterian side, were engaged in 
drawing up a scheme of the alterations and concessions de- 
sired by that party. He was concerned likewise in another 
fruitless attempt of the same kind, which was made in 1674. 
" Dr. Bates bore a most excellent character. Baxter styles 
him a learned, judicious, and moderate divine. Howe, for- 



PREFACE. XXI 

merly fellow of Magdalen College in Oxford, in his funeral 
sermon for him, has given his character at large. He re- 
presents him as a man of the most graceful appearance and 
deportment; of strong natural abilities and extensive learn- 
ing; of an admirable memory; a great collector and de- 
vourer of books; of the most agreeable and useful conversa- 
tion; and remarkable for a peculiar spirit of moderation and 
zeal for union among Christians. Dr. Tillotson had such an 
opinion of his learning and temper, that it became the ground 
of a friendship between them, which continued to the death 
of that prelate. Dr. Bates used his interest with the arch- 
bishop, in procuring a pardon for Dr. Nathaniel Crew, bishop 
of Durham, who, for his conduct in the ecclesiastical com- 
mission, had been excepted out of the act of indemnity which 
passed in 1690. 

" When the dissenters presented their address to King Wil- 
liam and Queen Mar}^, on their accession to the throne, the 
two speeches to their majesties were delivered by Dr. Bates. 
The doctor was much respected by king William, and queen 
Mary often employed herself in her closet with his writings. 
His residence, during the latter part of his life, was at Hack- 
ney, where he preached to a respectable society of protestant 
dissenters; and at that place he died, in 1699, in the seven- 
ty-fourth year of his age. 

'•Thus much for his history. As to his character, it was, 
through grace, of the most exemplary kind. He had great 
natural talents, and great acquired abilities; and it was his 
happiness to employ the whole in the service of God and his 
people. His endowments were much beyond the common 
rate. His apprehension was quick and clear ; his reasoning 
faculty acute and ready, so as to manage an argument to 
great advantage; his judgment was penetrating and solid; 
his wit never light or vain, though facetious and pleasant, 
by the help of a vigorous and lively imagination, always 
obedient to reason. His memory was admirable, and was 
never observed to fail ; nor was it impaired to the last. H^ 
could repeat, verbatim, speeches which he had made on par- 
tjrular occasions, though he had not penne-d a word of thein* 



XXll PREFACE. 

and he constantly delivered his sermons from memory, 
which, he sometimes said, he continued to do when he grew 
in years, partly to teach some who were younger, to preach 
without notes. He was generally reputed one of the best 
orators of the age. His voice was charming; his language 
always neat and fine, but unaffected, free, and plain. Hence 
he was called ' the silver-tongued Dr. Bates' by his contem- 
poraries. His method in all his discourses might be exposed 
to the severest critics. His style was polite, yet easy, and 
to himself the most natural. His frequent and apt simili- 
tudes and allusions (the produce of a vivid fancy, regulated 
by judgment and sanctified by grace) greatly served his pious 
purpose, to illustrate the truth he designed to recommend, 
and give it the greatest advantage for entering the mind 
with light and pleasure, so as at once to instruct and delight 
the hearer. That fine way of expressing himself, which 
some were disposed to censure, was become habitual to him, 
and he pleased others by it much more than himself; for he 
commended Baxter for the noble negligence of his style, and 
says that 'his great mind could not stoop to the affected elo- 
quence of words.' 'Very excellent men,' says Howe, speak- 
ing upon this point, 'excel in different ways: the most radi- 
ant stones may differ in colour, where they do not in value.' 
His learning was a vast treasure, and his knowledge of books 
so great, that one who was as great a pillar and as bright 
an ornament of the church of England as ever it had, was 
known to say, that were he to collect a library, he would as 
soon consult Dr. Bates as any one he knew. 'I never knew 
any one,' says Ho\ve, 'more frequent or affectionate in the 
admiration of divine grace, upon all occasions, than he was, 
as none had a deeper sense of the impotence and pravity of 
human nature. Into what transports of admiration of the 
love of God have I seen him break forth, when some things 
not immediately lelating to practical godliness had taken up 
great part of our time! How easy a step did he make of it 
from earth to heaven! With what high flights of thought 
and affection was he wont to speak of the heavenly state ! 
even like a man much more akin to the other world than 



PREFACE. XXlll 

this. Let those who often visited him say, whether he did 
not usually send them away with somewhat that tended to 
better their spirits, and quicken them in their way heaven- 
wards.' 

"His works are, I. A Discourse on the Existence of God; 
the Immortality of the Soul; and the Divinity of the Chris- 
tian Religion. II. The Harmony of the Divine Attributes. 
HI. The great Duty of Resignation. IV. The Danger of 
Prosperity. V. Sermons on Forgiveness of Sins. VI. The 
Sure Trial of Uprightness. VII. The Four last Things, viz. 
Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell: in which his book, 
called The Final Happiness of Man, is included. VIII. Of 
Spiritual Perfection. IX. Eleven Sermons on several Occa- 
sions. X. A Sermon on the Death of Queen Mary. XI. On 
the Death of Dr. Manton. XII. On the Death of Dr. Jacom»b. 
XIII. On the Death of Mr. Baxter. XIV. On the Death of 
Mr. David Clarkson. XV. On the Death of Mr. Benjamin 
Ashurst. XVI. On Divine Meditation. XVII. On the Fear 
of God, &c. XVIII. The Lives of several Eminent Persons, 
in Latin; besides a posthumous piece containing some Ser- 
mons on the Everlasting Rest of the Saints." 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



The subject of the ensuing discourses is of that inestima- 
ble excellency and importance, that it deserves our deepest 
reflections and care to consider and apply it: it is the great 
mystery of godliness, the design of eternal wisdom, the 
chiefest of all God's works, that contains the glorious won- 
ders of his merty and power, wherein he renders himself 
most worthy of our supreme veneration and affection. Our 
most raised thoughts are infinitely beneath its dignity. 
Though the light of the gospel hath clearly revealed so 
much of it, as is requisite to be known in our earthly state, 
yet the sublimer parts are still secret, and reserved for a full 
discovery, by the brightness of our Saviour's appearance. 
Now if the excellency of things excites our spirits to be at- 
tentive in searching into their nature, this divine object 
should awaken all our powers and arrest our minds, in the 
serious, steady contemplation of it, being alone capable to 
satisfy their immortal appetite. 

The importance of it is correspondent to its excellency; 
for it is no less than the recovery of us from extreme and 
eternal misery, and the restoring of us to the enjoyment of 
the blessed God ; a felicity without comparison or end. If 
we have any regard to salvation, (and who would be so un- 
happy as to neglect it for unconcerning, frivolous vanity?) 
it will be delightful to know the means by which we may 
obtain it, and to employ the flying moments of our short 
time in those things that are profitable for our last end, that 
we may not lose temporal and eternal life together. 

Many of the ancient and modern divines have written of 
this noble argument, from Avhom I have received benefit in 
the following composure; but none, as I know, hath consi- 
dered all the parts together, and presented them in one view. 
There still remains a rich abundance for the perpetual exer- 



cise of our spirits. The eternal word alone was able to 
perfect all things by once speaking. Human words are but 
an echo that answers the voice of God, and cannot fully ex- 
press its power, nor pass so immediately through the sense 
to the heart, but they must be repeated'. Should these dis- 
courses be effectual to inflame us with the most ardent love 
to our Saviour, who ransomed us with the invaluable price 
of his own blood, and to persuade us to live for heaven, the 
purchase of that sacred treasure; I shall for ever acknow- 
ledge the divine grace, and obtain my utmost aim. 



THE HARMONY 

OP 

THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE PRIMITIVE STATE OF MAN. 



The felicity which the Lord Jesus procured for believers, 
includes a perfect freedom from sin, and all afflictive evils, 
the just consequences of it ; and the fruition of righteous- 
ness, peace and joy, wherein the kingdom of God consists. 
In this the evangelical covenant excels the natural. The 
law supposes a man upright, and the happiness it promises 
to exact obedience, is called life ; it rewards innocence 
with immortality ; but the blessedness of the gospel is styled 
salvation, which signifies the rescuing of lapsed man from 
a state of misery, and the investing of him with unperishing 
glory. 

In order to the discovering of the excellency of this bene- 
fit, and the endearing obligations laid on us by our Redeemer, 
it is necessary to take a view of that dreadful and desperate 
calamity which seized upon mankind 5 the wretchedness of 
our captivity illustrates the glory of our redemption. And 
since the misery of man was not the original condition of 
his nature, but the effect of his guilty choice, it is necessary 
to make some reflection upon his first state, as he came out 
of the pure hands of God ; that comparing our present mi- 
sery with our lost happiness, we may revive in our breasts 
the aflfections of sorrow, shame, and indignation against our- 
selves : and considering that the heavenly Adam hath pur- 
chased for us a title to a better inheritance than was forfeited 
by the earthly one, we may, with the more affectionate 
gratitude, extol the favour and power of our Redeemer. 

God who is the living foundation of all perfections, spent 
eternity in the contemplation of his own excellencies, before 
any creature was made. In the moment appointed by his 
wisdom, he gave the first being to the world. Three distinct 



14 THE HARMONY OF 

orders of natures he formed, the one purely spiritual, the 
other purely material, and between both one mixed, M^hich 
unites the extremes in itself. This is man, the abridgment 
of the universe, allied to the angels in his soul, and to mate- 
rial things in his body, and capable of the happiness of both ; 
by his internal faculties enjoying the felicity of the intellect- 
ual, and by his external tasting the pleasures of the sensitive 
world. Man's greatest excellency was a perfect conformity 
to the divine pattern. " God created man in his own like- 
ness, in the image of God created he him." This includes 
the natural similitude of God in the substance of the soul, 
as it is an intelligent, free, spiritual, and immortal being ; 
this is assigned to be the reason of the law, that " 'whoso 
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for 
for in the image of God made he man," Gen. ix. 6 ; — a moral 
resemblance in its qualities and perfections ; that happiness 
and dignity of man's state, which was the consequent of and 
accession to his holiness. 

The natural resemblance I shall not insist on. For the 
distinct illustration of the other, we must consider God in 
a threefold respect — in respect of his absolute holiness, un- 
spotted purity, infinite goodness, incorruptible justice, and 
whatever we conceive under the notion of moral perfections ; 
with respect to his complete blessedness, tlie result of his 
infinite excellencies ; as he is perfectly exempt from all evils 
which might allay and lessen his felicity, and enjoy those 
pleasures which are wortliy of his pure nature and glorious 
state ; — in regard of his supreme dominion, which extends 
itself to all things in heaven and earth. Novv- in the partici- 
pation of these the image of God did principally consist. 
The holiness of man was the copy of the divine purity ; liis 
happiness a representation of the divine felicity; and his 
dominion over the lower world the resemblance of God's 
sovereignty. I will take a particularl survey of them. 

I. Man was conformed to God in holinc ss. This appears 
by the expressions of the apostle concerning the sanctifica- 
tion of corrupt man, which he sets forth by the renewing of 
him in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, after the image 
of their Creator. The renovation of things is the restoring of 
them to their primitive state, and is more or less perfect, by 
its proportion to or distance from the original. Holiness and 
righteousness are the comprehensive sum of the moral law, 
which not only represents the will, but the nature o( God in 



THE DIVIIsE ATTRIBUTES. 15 

his supreme excellency ; and in conformity to it the divine 
likeness eminently appeared, Adam was created with the 
perfections of grace. The progress of the most excellent 
saints is incomparably short of his beginning ; by this we 
may, in part, conjecture at the beauty of holiness in him, 
of which one faint ray appearing in renewed persons is so 
amiable. The primitive beauty is expressed in scripture by 
rectitude ; " God mxade man upright." There was an uni- 
versal, entire rectitude in his faculties, disposing them for 
their proper operations. This will more fully appear by con- 
sidering the distinct powers of the soul, in their regular 
constitutions. 

1. The understanding was enriched with knowledge. 
Nature was unveiled to Adam ; he entered into its sanc- 
tuary, and discovered its mysterious operations. When the 
creatures came to pay their homage to him, " whatsoever he 
called them, that was the name thereof," Gen. ii. 19. And 
their names expressed their natures. His knowledge reached 
through the whole compass of the creation, from the sun, 
the glorious vessel of light, to the glow-worm that shines in 
the hedge. And this knowledge was not acquired by study, 
it was not the fruit of anxious inquiry, but as the illumination 
of the air is in an instant by the light of the morning, so his 
understanding was enlightened by a pure beam from the 
Father of lights. 

Besides, he had such a knowledge of the Deity, as was 
sufficient for his duty and felicity. His mind did not stick 
in the material part of things, but ascended by the several 
ranks of beings to the universal cause. He discovered the 
glory of the divine essence and attributes by their wonderful 
effects. 

(1.) Almighty power. When he first opened his eyes, the 
stupendous fabric of heaven and earth presented itself to his 
view, and in it the most express and clear characters of that 
glorious power which produced it. For what could over- 
come the infinite distance between not being and being, but 
infinite power ? As there is no proportion between not being 
and being, so the cause which unites those terms, must be 
without limits. Now the divine world alone, which calls the 
things that are not, as if they were, caused the world to 
rise from the abyss of empty nothing. At God's command 
the heavens and all their host were created. And this led 
him to consider the immensity of the divine essence ; for 



16 THE HARMONY OF . 

infinite power is incompatible wuth a finite essence, and by 
the consideration of the immensity he might ascend to the 
eternity of God. To be eternal without beginning, and infi- 
nite without bounds, infer one another, and necessarily exist 
in the same subject ; for it is impossible that any thing which 
is formed by another and hath a beginning, should not be 
limited in its nature by the cause that produced it. There- 
fore the apostle declares, Rom. i. 20. that " the eternal power" 
of God is set forth in the creation of the world ; joining with 
the discovery of his power, that of his eternity. 

(2.) Admirable wisdom appeared to man in the creation ; 
for by considering the variety and union, the order and effi- 
cacy, the beauty and stability of the world, he clearly dis- 
cerned that wisdom which so regularly disposed all. It is 
thus that wisdom speaks, Prov. viii. 27 — 29 : " When he 
prepared the heavens, I was there : when he set a compass 
upon the face of the depth ; when he established the clouds 
above ; when he strengthened the fountains of the deep ; 
when he gave the sea his decree, that the waters should not 
pass his commandment ; when he appoinied the foundations 
of the earth ; then I was with him," contriving all in the best 
manner for ornament and use. The knowledge of this filled 
his soul with wonder and delight. The Psalmist breaks forth 
with astonishment, as one in the midst of innumerable mira- 
cles ; " O Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom 
hast thou made them all," Psalm civ. 24. And if he disco- 
vered such wonderful and divine wisdom in the works of 
God, when the vigour of the human understanding was so 
much impaired by the fall ; how much more did Adam, who 
perfectly understood universal nature, the offices of its parts, 
the harmony of the whole, and all the just laws of union 
by which God hath joined together such a multitude of beings 
so distant and disagreeing, and how the public peace is pre- 
served by their private enmity ? This discovery caused him 
to acknowledge, that " great is the Lord, and of great power ; 
his understanding is infinite." 

(3.) Infinite goodness shined forth in the creation. This 
is the leading attribute that called forth the rest to work. 
As there was no matter, so no motive to induce God to make 
the world, but what arose from his goodness ; for he is an 
all sufficient being, perfectly blessed in himself. His majesty 
is not increased by the adoration of angels, nor his greatness 
by the obedience of nature 3 neither was he less happy or 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 17 

content in that eternal duration before the existence of any 
creature, than he is since. His original fehcity is equally 
incapable of accession, as of diminution. It is evident there- 
fore, that only free and unexcited goodness moved him to 
create all things, that he might impart being and happiness 
to the creature, not enrich his own. 

And as by contemplating the other works of God, so 
especially by reflecting upon himself, Adam had a clear sight 
of the divine attributes which concurred in his creation. 
Whether he considered his lowest part, the body, it was 
formed of the earth, the most artificial and beautiful piece of 
the visible world. The contrivance of its parts was with 
that proportion and exactness, as most conduced to comeli- 
ness and service. Its stature was erect and raised, becoming 
the lord of the creatures, and an observer of the heavens. 
A divine beauty and majesty was shed upon it. And this 
was no vanishing ray, soon eclipsed by a disease, and extin- 
guished by death, but shined in the countenance without any 
declination. The tongue was man's peculiar glory, being 
the interpreter of the mind, and capable to signify all the 
affections of the soul. In short, the body was so framed, 
as to make a visible discovery of the prerogatives of his crea- 
tion. And when he reflected upon his soul that animated 
his dust, its excellent endowments wherein it is comparable 
to the angels, its capacity of enjoying God himself for ever, 
he had an internal and most clear testimony of the glorious 
perfections of his Creator ; for man who alone admires the 
works of God, is the most admirable of all. 

2. The image of God was resplendent in man's conscience, 
the seat of practical knowledge, and treasury of moral prin- 
ciples. The directive faculty was sincere and uncorrupt, 
not infected with any disguising tincture : it was clear from 
all prejudices which might render it an incompetent judge of 
good and evil. It instructed man in all the parts of his rela- 
tive obligations to God and the creatures. It was not fettered 
and confined, fearfully restraining from what is lawful ; nor 
licentious and indulgent in what is forbidden. Briefly, con- 
science in Adam upright, was a subordinate God, that gave 
laws and exacted obedience to that glorious being who is its 
superior. 

3. There was a divine impression on the will. Spiritual 
reason kept the throne, and the inferior faculties observed an 
easy and regular subordination to its dictates. The affections 

2* 



18 THE HARMONY OP 

were exercised with proportion to the quality of their objects. 
Reason was their inviolable rule. Love, the most noble and 
master affection, which gives being and goodness to all the 
rest, even to hatred itself; (for so much we hate an object, 
as it hinders our enjoyment of the good we love) — this pre- 
cious incense was offered up to the excellent and supreme 
Being, who was the author of his life. Adam fully obeyed 
the first and great command, of loving the Lord with all his 
heart, soul, and strength. His love to other things was regu- 
lated by his love to God. There was a perfect accord be- 
tween flesh and spirit in him. They both joined in the 
service of God, and were naturally moved to their happiness. 
As the two eyes consent in their motion, so reason and sense 
agreed for the same end. In short, the image of God in 
Adam, was a living, powerful principle, and had the same 
relation to the soul which the soul hath to the body, to ani- 
mate and order all its faculties in their offices and opera- 
tions, according to the will of his Creator. 

IL The image of God consisted, though in an inferior de- 
gree, in the happy state of man. Herein he resembled that 
infinitely blessed Being. 

This happiness had relation to the two natures which enter 
into man's composition : 

1. To the animal and sensitive ; and this consisted in two 
things : — in the excellent disposition of his organs ; — in the 
enjoyment of convenient objects. 

(1.) In the excellent disposition of the organs. His body 
was formed immediately by God, and so not liable to those 
defects which proceed from the weakness of second causes. 
No blemish or disease, Avhich are the effects and footsteps of 
sin, were to be found in him. His health was not a frail, 
inconstant disposition, easily ruinedby the jarring elements, 
but firm and stable. The humours were in a just tempera- 
ment, to prevent any distemper which might tend to the 
dissolution of that excellent frame. Briefly, all the senses 
were quick and lively, able to perform with facility, vigour, 
and delight, their operations. 

(2.) There were convenient objects t^ entertain his sen- 
sitive faculties. He enjoyed nature in its original purity, 
crowned with the benediction of God, before it was blasted 
with the curse. The world was all harmony and beauty, 
becoming the goodness of the Creator ; and not, as it is since 
the fall, disordered and deformed in many parts, the effect 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 19 

of his justice. Theearth was liberal to Adam of all its trea- 
sures, the heavens of their light and sweetest influences. He 
was seated in Eden, a place of so great beauty and delight, 
that it represented the celestial paradise which is refreshed 
with rivers of pleasure. And as the ultimate end of the 
creatures was to raise his mind, and inflame his heart with 
the love of his great Benefactor ; so their first and natural use 
was the satisfaction of the senses, from whence the felicity of 
the animal life did proceed. 

3. His supreme happiness consisted in the exercise of his 
most noble faculties on their proper objects. This will ap- 
pear by considering, that as the spiritual faculties have objects 
which infinitely excel those of the sensitive ; so their capa- 
city is more enlarged, their union with objects is more inti- 
mate, and their perception is with more quickness and 
vivacity ; and thereby are the greatest instruments of plea- 
sure to the rational being. Now the highest faculties in man 
are the understanding and will ; and their happiness consists 
in union with God by knowledge and love. 

(1.) In the knowledge of God. As the desire of knowledge 
is the most natural to the human soul, so the obtaining of it 
produces the most noble and the sweetest pleasure. And 
proportionably to the degrees of excellency ihat are in ob- 
jects, so much of rational perfection and satisfaction accrues 
to the mind by the knowledge of them. The discovery of 
the works of God greatly affected man, yet the excellencies 
scattered among them are but an imperfect and mutable 
shadow of God's infinite and unchangeable perfections. How 
much more delightful was it to his pure understanding, 
tracing the footsteps and impressions of God in natural 
things, to ascend to him who is the glorious original of all 
perfections ! And though his finite understanding could not 
comprehend the divine excellencies, yet his knowledge was 
answerable to the degrees of revelation wherein God was 
manifested. He saw the admirable beauty of the Creator 
through the transparent veil of the creatures. And from 
hence there arose in the soul a pleasure pure, solid, and 
satisfying ; a pleasure divine, for God takes infinite content- 
ment in the contemplation of himself. 

(2.) The happiness of man consisted in the love of God. 
It was not the naked speculation of the Deity that made him 
happy, but such a knowledge as ravished his affections ; for 
happiness results from the fruitions of all the faculties. It 



20 THE HARMONY OF 

is true, that by the mediation of the understanding the other 
faculties have access to an object ;, the will and affections can- 
not be inclined to any thing, but by virtue of an act of the 
mind which propounds it as worthy of them : it follows, 
therefore, that when by the discovery of the transcendent 
excellencies in God the soul is excited to love and to delight 
in him as its supreme good, it is then really and perfectly 
happy. Now as Adam had a perfect knowledge of God, so 
the height of his love was answerable to his knowledge, and 
the completeness of his enjoyment was according to his love. 
All the divine excellencies were amiable to him. The ma- 
jesty, purity, justice, and power of God, which are the terror 
of guilty creatures, secured his happiness whilst he continu- 
ed in his obedience. His conscience was clear and calm ; 
no unquiet fears discomposed its tranquillity ; it was the seat 
of innocence and peace. Briefly, his love to God was perfect, 
without any allay of tormenting fear ; and delight, its inse- 
parable attendant, was pure, without the least mixture of 
sorrow. 

III. There was in man's dominion and power over the 
creatures a shining part of God's image. He was appointed 
God's lieutenant in the world, and adorned with a flower of 
his crown. God gave him the solemn investiture of this dig- 
nity, when he brought tlie creatures to receive their names 
from him, which was a mark of their homage, and a token 
of his supreme empire to command them by their names, 
Psalm viii. 5, 6. As this dominion was established by the 
order of God, so it was exercised by the mediation of the 
body. In his face and words there was something so power- 
ful, as commanded all the hosts of the lower world. And 
as their subjection was most easy, without constraint or resist- 
ance, so it was most equal, without violence and oppression. 

Thus holy and blessed was Adam in his primitive state. 
And that he might continue so, he was obliged for ever to 
obey the will of God, who bestowed upon him life and hap- 
piness. By the first neglect of his duty he would most justly 
and inevitably incur the loss of both. This will appear by 
considering the design of God in the creation. 

God did not make the world and man for the mere ex- 
ercise of his power, and so left them ; but as the production 
of all things was from his goodness, so their resolution and 
tendency are for his glory. He is as universally the final, 
as the efficient cause of all creatures ; for that which recpivrs 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 21 

its being from another, cannot be an end to itself; for the 
provision of the end in the mind of the Creator sets him a 
work, and is antecedent to the being of the creature. Tliere- 
fore the wise man tells us, Prov. xvi. 4, that " God made all 
things for himself;" and the apostle, Rom. xi. 36, that " of 
him, and through him are all things ; to whom be glory for 
ever." The lower rank of creatures objectively glorify God, 
as there is a visible demonstration of his excellent attributes 
in them : man only is qualified to know and love the Crea- 
tor. As the benefit of all redounds to him, it is his duty to 
pay the tribute for all. By his mouth the world makes its 
acknowledgment to God. He is the interpreter of the silent 
and uninterrupted praises, which the full choir of heaven and 
earth renders to him. " All thy works shall praise thee, O 
Lord," from the most noble to the least worthy, " and thy 
saints shall bless thee," Psalm cxlv. 10. Thankfulness is the 
homage due from understanding creatures. 

And from hence it follows, that man only was in a state 
of moral dependance, and capable of a law. For a law being 
the declaration of the superiors will, requiring obedience and 
threatening punishment on the failure thereof, there must be 
a principle of reason and choice in that nature that is go- 
verned by it, to discover the authority that enjoins it — to 
discern the matter of the law — to determine itself out of judg- 
ment and election to obedience, as most excellent in itself 
and advantageous to the performer. 

Now all inferior creatures are moved by the secret force 
of natural inclinations ; they are insensible of moral engage- 
ments, and are not wrought on in an illuminative way by 
the foresight of rewards and punishments : but man who is 
a reasonable creature, owes " a reasonable service." And it 
is impossible that man should be exempt from a law ; for as 
the notion of a God, that is, of a first supreme Being, excludes 
all possibility of obligation to another, " Who hath first given 
to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again ?" Rom. 
xi. 35 ; and of subjection to a law ; for supremacy and sub- 
jection are incompatible ; so the quality of a creature includes 
the relation of dependance and natural subjection to the will 
of God. This is most evident from that common principle 
which governs the intelligent creation : it is a moral maxim 
to which the reasonable nature necessarily assents, that the 
dispensing of benefits acquires to the giver a right to com- 
mand, and lays on the receiver an obligation to obey ; and 



22 THE HAR.MONY OF 

these rights and duties arc measured by the nature of tlie 
benefits as their just rule. This is visible in that dominion 
whicli is amongst men. 

If we ascend to the first springs of liuman laws, we shall 
find the original right of power to arise either from genera- 
tion in nature, or preservation in war, or some public good 
accruing to the society by the prudent care of the governor. 
Now the being and blessedness of the creature are the great- 
est and most valuable benefits that can be received : and in 
the bestowing of them is laid the most real foundation of 
power and authority. Upon this account man, who derives 
his life and felicity from God, is under a natural and strong 
obligation to comply witli his will. From this right of crea- 
tion Ciod asserts his universal dominion : " I have made the 
cartii, and created man upon it; I, even my hands have 
stretclied out the heavens, and all their host have I com- 
manded," Isa. xlv. 12. And the Psalmist tells us, Psalm c. 3. 
" Know ye that the Lord he Is God ; it is he that hath made 
us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep 
of his pasture." Mis jurisdiction is grounded on his propri- 
ety in man ; and that arises from his giving being to him. 
" Remember, O [srael, for thou art my servant, I have formed 
thee," Isa. xliv. 21. From hence lie hath a supreme right to 
impose any law, for the performance of which man had an 
original power. Universal obedience is the just consequent 
of our obligations to the divine goodness. 

Suppose that man were not tlie work of God's hands, yet 
the infinite excellency of his nature gives him a l)etter title 
to command us, than man hath upon the account of his rea- 
son to govern those creatures tliat are inferior to him. Or 
suppose that God had not created the matter of which the 
body is composed, but only inspired it with a living soul, yet 
his right over us iiad been unquestionable. The civil law 
determines, that when an artificer works on rich materials, 
and the engraving be not of extraordinary value, that the 
whole belongs to him who is the owner of the materials ; but 
if the matter be mean and the workmanship excellent, in 
which the price wholly lies; as if a painter sliould draw an 
admirable picture on a piece of canvass, the picture of right 
belongs to him that drew it : Instit. Justin. So if, according 
to the error of some philosophers, (Plato,) the matter of which 
the world was made had been eternal, yet God having infu- 
sed a reasonable soul into a piece of clay, which is the prin- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 23 

ciple of its life, and gives it a transcendant value above all 
other beings which were made of the same element, it is 
most just he should have a property in him and dominion 
over him. 

The law of nature, to which man was subject upon his 
creation, contains those moral principles concerning good and 
evil, which have an essential equity in them, and are the 
measures of his duty to God, to himself, and to his fellow 
creatures. This was publish. cd by the voice of reason, and 
is " holy, just, and good ;" — holy, as it enjoins those things 
wherein there is a confo^nity to those attributes and actions 
of God, which are the pattern of our imitation : so the gen- 
eral rule is, " be ye holy," as God is holy, " in all manner of 
conversation," 1 Pet. i. 15 : and this is most honourable to 
the human nature. — It is just, that is exactly agreeable to the 
frame of man's faculties, and most suitable to his condition 
in the world. — And good, that is beneficial to the observer of 
it ; " in keeping of it, there is great reward," Psalm xix. 1 1. 
And the obligation to it is eternal ; it being the unchange- 
able will of God, grounded on the natural and unvariable rela- 
tions between God and man, and between man and the creatures. 

Besides the particular directions of the law of nature, this 
general principle was planted in the reasonable soul, to obey 
God in any instance wherein he did prescribe his pleasure. 

Moreover God was pleased to enter into a covenant with 
Adam, and with all his posterity naturally descending from 
him. And this was the effect — of admirable goodness ; for 
by his supremacy over man, he might have signified his will 
merely by the way of empire, and required obedience ; but 
he was pleased to condescend so far as to deal with man in 
a sweeter manner, as with a creature capable of his love, and 
to work upon him by rewards and punishments, congru- 
ously to the reasonable nature. — Of wisdom, to secure man's 
obedience ; for the covenant being a mutual engagement be- 
tween God and man, as it gave him infallible assurance of 
the reward to strengthen his faith, so it was the surest bond 
to preserA-e his fidelity. It is true, the precept alone binds 
by virtue of the authority that imposes it, but the consent of 
the creature increases the obligation ; it twists the cords of 
the laAv, and binds more strongly to obedience. Thus Adam 
was God's servant, as by the condition of his nature, so by 
his choice, accepting the covenant, from which he could not 
recede without the guilt and infamy of the worst perfidiousness. 



24 THE HARMONY OF 

The terms of the covenant were becoming the parties con- 
cerned, God and man ; it established an inseparable connex- 
ion between duty and felicity. This appears by the sanction, 
Gen. ii. 17; *' In the day that thou eatest" of the forbidden 
fruit, " thou shalt surely die :" in that particular species of 
sin the whole genus is included; according to the apostle's 
exposition, Gal. iii. 10 ; " Cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things which are written in the book of the law to 
do them. The threatening of death was expressed, it being 
more difficult to be conceived ; the promise of life upon his 
obedience was implied, and easily tuggested itself to the ra- 
tional mind. These were the most proper and powerful 
motives to excite his reason and affect his will ; for death 
primarily signifies the dissolution of the vital union between 
the soul and body, and consequently all the preparatory dis- 
positions thereunto, diseases, pains, and all the affections of 
mortality which terminate in death as their centre. This 
is the extremest of temporal evils, wliich innocent nature 
shrunk from, it being a deprivation of that excellent state 
which man enjoyed. But principally it signified the separa- 
tion of the soul from God's reviving presence, who is the only 
fountain of felicity. Thus the law is interpreted by the Law- 
giver, " the soul that sinneth, it shall die," Ezek. xviii. 4. 
Briefly, death in the threatening is compreliensive of all kinds 
and degrees of evils, from the least pain to the completeness 
of damnation. Now it is an inviolable principle deeply set 
in the human nature, to preserve its being and blessedness; 
so that nothmg could be a more powerful restraint from sin, 
than the fear of death, which is destructive to both. 

This constitution of the covenant was founded not only in 
the will of God, but in the nature of things themselves ; and 
this appears by considering, — that holiness is more excellent 
in itself and separately considered, than the reward that at- 
tends it. It is the peculiar glory of the divine nature; "God 
is glorious in holiness." And as he prefers the infinite puri- 
ty of his nature before the immortal felicity of his state ; so 
he values in the reasonable creature the virtues by which 
they represent his holiness, more than their perfect content- 
ment by which they are like him in blessedness. Now God 
is the most just esteemer of things, his judgment is the infal- 
lible measure of their real worth ; it is therefore according to 
natural order, that the happiness of man should depend upon 
his integrity, and the reward be the fruit of his obedience 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 25 

And though it is impossible that a mere creature, in what 
state soever, should obtain any thing from God by any other 
title but his voluntary promise, the effect of his goodness, yet 
it was such goodness as God was invited to exercise by the 
consideration of man's obedience. And as the neglect of his 
duty had discharged the obligation on God's part, so the per- 
formance gave him a claim by right of the promise to 
everlasting life. — As the first part of the alliance was most 
reasonable, so was the second, that death should be the wages 
of sin. It is not conceivable that God should continue his 
favour to man, if he turned rebel against him ; for this were 
to disarm the law, and expose the authority of the Lawgiver 
to contempt, and would reflect upon the wisdom of God. 
Besides, if the reasonable creature violates the law, it neces- 
sarily contracts an obligation to punishment. So that if the 
sinner who deserves death, should enjoy life, without satis- 
faction for the offence, or repentance to qualify him for par- 
don, (both which were without the compass of the first co- 
venant) this would infringe the unchangeable rights of jus- 
tice, and disparage the divine purity. 

In the first covenant there was a special clause, Avhich re- 
spected man as the inhabitant of paradise, that he should 
" not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil" upon 
pain of death. And this prohibition was upon the most wise 
and just reasons: — to declare God's sovereign right in all 
things. In the quality of Creator he is supreme Lord. Man 
enjoyed nothing but by a derived title from his bounty and 
allowance, and with an obligation to render to him the ho- 
mage of all. As princes, Avhen they give estates to their 
subjects, still retain the royalty, and receive a small rent, 
which, though inconsiderable in its value, is an acknowledg- 
ment of dependence upon them ; so when God placed Adam 
in paradise, he received this mark of his sovereignty, that in 
the free use of all other things, man should abstain from the 
forbidden tree. — To make trial of man's obedience in a mat- 
ter very congruous to discover it. If the prohibition had 
been grounded on any moral internal evil in the nature of 
the thing itself, there had not been so clear a testimony of 
God's dominion, nor of Adam's subjection to it. But when 
that which in itself was indifferent, became unlawful merely 
by the will of God, and when the command had no other 
excellency but to make his authority more sacred, this was 
a confining of man's liberty, and to abstain was pure obdience. 

C 



26 THE HARMONY OF 

Besides, the restraint was from that which was very grate- 
ful, and alluring to both the parts of man's compounded na- 
ture. The sensitive appetite is strongly excited by the lust 
of the eye; and this fruit being beautiful to the sight, the 
forbearance was an excellent exercise of virtue in keeping 
the lower appetite in obedience. Again ; the desire of know- 
ledge is extremely quick and earnest, and, in appearance, 
most worthy of the rational nature. "Nullus animo suavior 
cibus," Lactant. It is the most high and luscious food of the 
soul. Now the tree of knowledge was forbidden ; so that 
the observance of the law was the most eminent, in keep- 
ing the intellectual appetite in mediocrity. In short, God re- 
quired obedience as a sacrifice ; for the prohibition being in 
a matter of natural pleasure, and a curb to curiosity, which 
is the lust and concupiscence of the mind after things con- 
cealed; by a reverend regard to it, man presented his soul 
and body to God as a living sacrifice, which was his reason- 
able service, Rom. xii. 1. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE FALL OF MAN. 

Man was created perfectly holy, but in a natural, there- 
fore mutable state. He was invested with power to prevent 
his falling, yet under a possibility of it. He was complete 
in his own order, but receptive of sinful impressions. An 
invincible perseverance in holiness belongs to a supernatural 
state ; it is the privilege of grace, and exceeds the design of 
the first creation. 

The rebellious spirits, who by a furious ambition had raised 
a war in heaven and Avere fallen from their obedience and 
glory, designed to corrupt man and to make him a compa- 
nion with them in their revolt. The most subtle among them 
sets about this work, urged by two strong passions, hatred 
and envy. — By hatred ; For being under a final and irrevo- 
cable doom, he looked on God as an irreconcilable enemy; 
and not being able to injure his essence, he struck at his 
image; as the fury of some beasts discharges itself upon the 
picture of a man. He singled out Adam as the mark of his 
malice, and by seducing him from his duty, he might defeat 
God's design, whicli was to be honoured by man's free obe- 
dience; and to obscure his glory as if he had made man in 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 27 

vain. — He was solicited by envy, the first native of hell ; for 
having lost the favour of God, and being cast out of heaven, 
the region of joy and blessedness, the sight of Adam's feli- 
city exasperated his grief. That man, who by the condition 
of his nature was below him, should be prince of the world, 
whilst he was a prisoner under those chains which restrained 
and tormented him, the power and wrath of God, this made 
his state more intolerable. His torment was incapable of allay, 
but by rendering man as miserable as himself. And as hatred 
excited his envy, so envy inflamed his hatred, and both join- 
ed in mischief. And thus pushed on, his subtilty being equal 
to his malice, he contrives a temptation, which might be most 
taking and dangerous to man in his raised and happy state. 
He tempts him with art, by propounding the lure of know- 
ledge and pleasure, to inveigle the spiritual and sensitive ap- 
petites at once. And that he might the better succeed, he 
addresses the woman, the weakest and most liable to seduc- 
tion. He hides himself in the body of a serpent, which be- 
fore sin was not terrible unto her; and by this instrument 
insinuates his temptation. He first allures with the hopes of 
impunity, "Ye shall not die;" then he promised a universal 
knowledge of good and evil. By these pretences he ruined 
innocence itself; for the woman, deceived by those specious 
allectives, swallowed the poison of the serpent, and having 
tasted death, she persuaded her husband, by the same mo- 
tives, to despise the law of their Creator. Thus sin entered, 
and brought confusion into the world ; for the moral har- 
mony of the world consisting in the just subordination of 
the several ranks of beings to one another, and of all to God ; 
when man who was placed next to God, broke the union, 
his fall brought a desperate disorder into God's government. 

And though the matter of the offence seems small, yet the 
disobedience was infinitely great ; it being the transgression 
of that command, which was given to be the instance and 
real proof of man's subjection to God. " Totam legem vio- 
lavit in illo legalis obedientiae praeceptio," Tertul. The honour 
and majesty of the whole law was violated in the breach of 
that symbolical precept. It was a direct and formal rebel- 
lion, a public renunciation of obedience, a universal apostacy 
from God, and a change of the last end, that distinguished 
the habit of original righteousness. 

1. Many sins were combined in that single act. 

1. Infidelity. This was the first step to ruin. It appears 



28 THE HARIMONY OF 

by the order of the temptation. It was first said by the devil, 
"Ye shall not die," to weaken their faith; then, "Ye shall 
be like gods," to flatter their ambition. The fear of death 
would have controlled the efllcacy of all his arguments; till 
that restraint was broke, he could fasten nothing upon them. 
This account the apostle gives of the fall, 1 Tim. ii. 14; 
" The woman being deceived, was in the transgression." As 
obedience is the effect of faith, so is disobedience of infideli- 
ty; and as ftiith comes by hearing the word of God, so in- 
fidelity by listening to the words of the devil. From the de- 
ception of the mind proceeded the depravation of the will, 
the intemperance of the appetite, and the defection of the 
whole man. Thus as the natural, so the spiritual death made 
its first entrance by the eye. And this infidelity is extreme- 
ly aggravated, as it implies an accusation of God both of 
envy and falsehood. — Of envy; as if he had denied them the 
perfections becoming the hmnan nature, and they might as- 
cend to a higher orb than that wherein they were placed, by 
eating the forbidden fruit. And what greater disparagement 
could there be of the divine goodness, than to suspect the 
Deity of such a low and base passion, which is the special 
character of the angels of darkness? — It was equally inju- 
rious to the honour of God's trutli: for it is not easy to con- 
ceive, that Adam, who was so lately the effect of God's om- 
nipotence, should presently distrust it as unable to inflict the 
punishment threatened; but his assent was weakened as to 
the truth of the threatening; ho did not believe the danger 
to be so great or certain upon his disobedience; and " he that 
believeth not God liatli made him a liar;" an impiety not to 
be thouglit on without horror. And that which heightens 
the affront, is, that when he disturbed the fountain of truth, 
he gave credit to the father of lies; as appears by his com- 
pliance, the real evidence of his faith. Now what viler con- 
tumely could be offered to llie Creator? 

2. Prodigious pride. He Avas scarce out of the state of 
nothing, no sooner created, but he aspired to be as God. Not 
content witli his image, he affected an equality, to be like him 
in his inimitable attributes. He would rob God of his eter- 
nity, to live without end; of his sovereignty, to command 
without dependance; of his wisdom, to know all things with- 
out reserve. The promise of the tempter that they should 
not die, encouraged him to believe that he should enjoy an 
immortality not depending on God's will, but absolute; 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 29 

which is proper to God alone. Infinite insolence, and worthy 
of the most fiery indignation! That man, the son of the 
earth, forgetful of his original, should usurp the preroga- 
tives which are essential to the Deity, and set up himself a 
real idol, was a strain of that arrogancy which corrupted 
the angels. 

3. Horrid ingratitude. He was appointed heir apparent 
of all things; yet undervaluing his present portion, he en- 
tertains a project of improving his happiness. The excel- 
lent state newly conferred upon him, was a strong obligation 
to pay so small an acknowledgment to his Lord. The use 
of all the garden was allowed to him, a tree only excepted. 
Now in the midst of such variety and plenty, to be inflamed 
with the intemperate appetite of the forbidden fruit, and to 
break a command so equal and easy, what was it but despi- 
sing the rich goodness of his great Benefactor? Besides, 
man was endued with a diviner spirit than the inferior order 
of creatures: reason and liberty were the special privileges 
of his nature; and to abuse them to rebellion, renders him, 
as more unreasonable, so more disingenuous than the crea- 
tures below him, who inflexibly obey the will of God. 

4. The visible contempt of God's majesty, with a slighting 
of his justice; for the prohibition was so express and terri- 
ble, that till he had cast off" all respects to the Lawgiver, it 
was not possible he should venture to disobey him. The sin 
of Adam is therefore called by the apostle " disobedience," 
Rom. V. 19; as eminently such; it being the first and high- 
est instance of it, and virtually a breach of all the laws at once 
in that contempt of the Lawgiver. It was the profanation 
of paradise itself, the place of God's special presence : there 
he fell, and trampled on God's command before his face. 
What just cause of astonishment is it, that a reasonable crea- 
ture should bid open defiance to the Author of its life ! that 
a little breathing dust should contemn its Creator ! that a man 
should prefer servile compliance to the will of the tempter, 
before free subjection to his Father and Sovereign! To de- 
pose God, and place the devil in his throne, was double trea- 
son, and provoked his infinite jealousy. 

5. Unaccountable and amazing folly. "What a despicable 
acquisition tempted him out of happiness! If there had 
been any possible comparison between them, the choice had 
been more excusable. But that the pleasures of taste and 
curiosity should outvie the favour of God which is better 

3 



30 THE HARMONY OF 

than life; that the most pernicious evil, gilded with the thm 
appearance of good, should be preferred before the substan- 
tial and supreme good, is the reproach of his reason, and 
makes the choice so criminal. And what less than volun- 
tary madness could incline him to desire that, which he ought 
infinitely to have feared, that is, the knowledge of evil? for 
nothing could destroy his happiness but the experience of 
evil. What a wilful distraction could induce him to believe, 
that by defacing God's image, he should become more like 
him? Thus "man being in honour," but without under- 
standing, became "like the beasts that perish," Psalm xlix. 12. 

6. A bloody cruelty to himself and all his posterity. When 
God had made him a depositary, in a matter of infinite mo- 
ment, that is, of his own luippiness and all mankind's, this 
should have been a powerful motive to have kept him vigi- 
lant: but giving a ready car to the tempter, he betrayed his 
trust, and at once breaks both the tables of the law, and be- 
comes guilty of the highest impiety and cruelty. He was a 
murderer before he was a parent ; he disinherited all his 
children before they were born, and made them slaves before 
they knew the price of liberty. 

II. And that which increases the malignity of this sin, and 
adds an infinite emphasis to it, is, that it was perfectly volun- 
tary ; his will was the sole cause of his fall. And this is evi- 
dent by considering ; 

1. That Adam innocent had a sufficient povvcr to perse- 
vere in his holy state. There was no substraction of any 
grace which was requisite to his standing ; he left God be- 
fore he was forsaken by him. Much less was there any in- 
teruRl impulsion from God. It is inconsistent with the divine 
purity to incline the creature to sin. As " God cannot be 
tempted with evil, neither tcmpteth he any man." It is in- 
jurious to his wisdom, to think that God would spoil that 
work which he had composed with so much design and coun- 
sel ; and it is dishonourable to his goodness. He loved his 
creature, and love is an inclination to do good ; it was im- 
possible therefore for God to induce man to sin, or to with- 
draw that power whicli was necessary to resist the tempta- 
tion, when the consequence must be his inevitable ruin. 

2. The devil did only allure, he could not ravish his con- 
sent. Though his malice is infinite, yet his power is so re- 
strained, that he cannot fasten an immediate, much less an 
irresistible impression on the will: he therefore made use of 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 31 

an external object to invite him. Now objects have no con- 
straining force ; they are but partial agents, and derive all 
their efficacy from the faculties to which they are agreeable. 
And although, since sin hath disordered the flesh, there is dif- 
ficulty in resisting those objects which pleasantly insinuate 
themselves ; yet such a universal rectitude was in Adam, and 
so entire a subjection in the sensual appetite to the superior 
power of reason, that he might have obtained an easy con- 
quest. A resolute negative had made him victorious ; by a 
strong denial he had baffled that proud spirit : as the hea- 
venly Adam, when he who is rich in promises onlj^, offered 
to him the monarchy of the world with all its glory, disdain- 
ed the oflfer, and cast off Satan with contempt. The true 
rock was unmoved, and broke all the proud waves that dash- 
ed against it. 

3. It will fully appear that the disobedience was volun- 
tary, by considering what denominates an action to be so. 
The two springs of human actions are the understanding and 
will ; and as there is no particular good but may have the 
appearance of some difiicult, unpleasant quality annexed, 
upon which account the will may reject it; so any particu- 
lar evil may be so disguised by the false lustre of good- 
ness, as to incline the will to receive it. This is clearly ve- 
rified in Adam's fall; for a specious object was conveyed 
through the unguarded sense to his fancy, and from that to 
his understanding, which, by a vicious carelessness, neglect- 
ing to consider the danger, or judging that the excellency of 
the end did out-weigh the evil of the means, commended it 
to the will, and that resolved to embrace it. It is evident, 
therefore, that the action which resulted from the direction 
of the mind and the choice of the will, was absolutely free. 

Besides, as the regret that is mixed with an action, is a 
certain character that the person is under constraint : so the 
delight that attends it, is a clear evidence that he is free. 
When the appetite is drawn by the lure of pleasure, the 
more violent, the more voluntary is its motion. Now the re- 
presentations of the forbidden fruit were under the notion of 
pleasure. The woman saw the " fruit was good for food," 
that is, pleasurable to the palate, and '"pleasant to the eyes, 
and to be desired to make one wise," that is, to increase 
knowledge, which is the pleasure of the mind ; and these al- 
lectives draw her into the snare. Adam with complacency 
received the temptation, and by the enticement of Satan, 



32 ^ THE HARMONY OF 

committed adultery with the creature, from whence the cur- 
sed race of sin and miseries proceed. 

Suppose the devil had so disguised the temptation, that 
notwithstanding all circumspection and care, Adam could not 
have discovered its evil; his invincible ignorance had ren- 
dered the action involuntary : but Adam was conscious of his 
own action ; there was light in his mind to discern the evil, 
and strength in his will to decline it. For the manner of the 
defection, whether it was from affected ignorance, or secure 
neglect, or transport of passion, it doth not excuse : the ac- 
tion itself was of that moment, and the supreme Lawgiver so 
worthy of reverence, that it should have awakened all the 
powers of his soul to beware of that which was rebellion 
against God and ruin to himself. 

Or suppose he had been tried by torments, whose extremi- 
ty and continuance had vehemently oppressed his nature ; 
this had only lessened the guilt, the action had still been 
voluntary ; for no external force can compel the will to choose 
any thing but under the notion of comparative goodness. 
Now to choose sin rather than pain, and to prefer case be- 
fore obedience, is highly dishonourable to God, whose glory 
ought to be infinitely more valuable to us than life and all its 
endearments, Job xxxvi. 21. And though sharp pains, by 
discomposing the body, make the soul unfit for its highest 
and noblest operations, so that it cannot perform the acts of 
virtue with delight and freedom ; yet then it may abstain 
from evil. But this was not Adam's case: the devil had no 
power over him (as over Job, who felt the extremity of his 
rage, and yet came off more than conqueror) to disturb his 
felicity; he prevailed by a simple suasion. Briefly, though 
Adam had strength sufficient to repel all the powers of dark- 
ness, yet he was vanquished by the assault of a single temp- 
tation. Now, that man, so richly furnished with all the per- 
fections of the mind, and the excellent virtues of which ori- 
ginal righteousness was composed ; that endued with know- 
ledge to foresee the incomparable evils that would redound to 
himself and be universal to his posterity by his disobedience; 
that being so well tempered in his constitution, that all his 
appetites were subject to reason ; that notwithstanding these 
preservatives, he should be deceived by the false persuasions 
of an erring mind and overcome by carnal concupiscence, as 
the evil effects of it will not cease to the end of the world, 
fio neither will the just wonder how it was possible to hap- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 33 

pen : these are the circuinstances which derive a crimson- 
guilt to his rebellious sin, and render it above measure sinful. 

III. This will more fully appear in the dreadful effects 
that ensued. By his obedience he lost original righteous- 
ness, and made a deadly forfeiture of felicity. 

1. He lost the original righteousness; for that so depend- 
ed on the human faculties, that the actual violation of the 
law was presently attended with the privation of it. Be- 
sides the nature of his sin contained an entire forsaking of 
God as envious of his happiness, and a conversion to the 
creature as the supreme good. And whatever is desired as 
the last end perfective of man, virtually includes all subor- 
dinate ends, and regulates all means for obtaining it. So that, 
that being changed, a universal change of moral qualities in 
Adam necessarily followed. Instead of the rectitude and ex- 
cellent holiness of the soul, succeeded a permanent vicious- 
ness and corruption. 

Now holiness may be considered in the notion of purity 
and beauty or of dominion and liberty, in opposition to which 
sin is represented in scripture by foul deformity and servi- 
tude. 

(1.) His soul degenerated from its purity ; the faculties re- 
mained, but the moral perfections were lost, wherein the 
brightness of God's image was most conspicuous. The holy 
wisdom of his mind, the divine love that sanctified his will, 
the spiritual power to obey God, were totally quenched. How 
is man disfigured by his fall ! How is he transformed, in an 
instant, from the image of God into the image of the devil ! 
He is defiled v/ith the filthiness of flesh and spirit; he is 
ashamed at the sight of his own nakedness that reproached 
him for his crime; but the most shameful was that of the 
soul : the one might be covered with leaves, the other no- 
thing could conceal. To see a face of exquisite beauty de- 
voured by a cancer, how doth it move compassion ! but were 
the natural eye heightened, to that clearness and perspicaci- 
ty, so as to discover the deformity which sin hath brought 
upon the soul, how would it strike us with grief, horror, and 
aversion ! 



(2.) He was deprived of his dominion and liberty. The 
underskanding was so wounded by the violence of the fall, 
that not only its light is much impaired, but its power is so 
awakened as to the lower faculties, that those which, accord- 
ing to the order of nature, should obey, have cast off its just 



34 THE HARMONY OF 

authority and usurp the government. The Avill then lost its 
true freedom, whereby it was enlarged to the extent and am- 
plitude of the divine will in loving whatsoever was pleasing 
to God, and is contracted to mean and base objects. What 
a furious disorder is in the affections ! The restraint of rea- 
son to check their violent course, provokes them to swell 
higher and to be more impetuous; and the more they are 
gratified, the more insolent and outrageous they grow. The 
senses, whose office is to be the intelligencers of the soul, to 
make discovery and to give a naked report without disturb- 
ing the higher faculties, they sometimes mistake disguised 
enemies for friends ; and sometimes by a false alarm move 
the lower appetites, and fill the soul with disorder and con- 
fusion, so that the voice of reason cannot be heard. By the 
irritation of grief, the insinuation of pleasure, or some per- 
turbation, the soul is captivated and wounded through the 
senses. In short, M'hen man turned rebel to God, he became 
a slave to all the creatures. By their primitive institution 
they were appointed to be subservient to the glory of God 
and the use of man, to be motives of love and obedience to 
the Creator; but sin hath corrnpted and changed them into 
so many instruments of vice, they are " made subject to vani- 
ty." And man is so far sunk into the dregs of servitude, 
that he is subject to them ; for by forsaking God, the su- 
preme object of love, with as much injustice as folly, and 
choosing the creature in his stead, he becomes a servant to 
the meanest thing upon which he places an inordinate affec- 
tion. Briefly, man, who by his creation was the Son of God, 
is made a slave to Satan that damned spirit and most cursed 
creature. Deplorable degradation, and Morthy of the deep- 
est shame and sorrow ! 

2. Man lost his felicity. Besides the trouble that sin hath 
in its own nature, which I have touched on before, there is a 
consequent guilt and torment attending it. Adam whilst obe- 
dient enjoyed peace with God, a sweet serenity of mind, a 
divine calm in the conscience, and full satisfaction in him- 
self; but after his sin he trembled at God's voice, and was 
tormented at his presence. " I heard thy voice, and was 
afraid," saith guilty Adam. He looked on God as angry and 
armed against him, ready to execute the severe sentence. 
Conscience began an early hell within him : paradise with 
all its pleasures could not secure him from that sting in his 
breast, and that sharpened by the hand of God. What con- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 85 

fusion of thoughts, what a combat of passions was he in ! 
When the temptation which deceived him, vanished, and his 
spirit recovered out of the surprise, and took a clear view of 
his guilt in its true horror, what indignation did it kindle in 
his breast ! How did shame, sorrow, revenge, despair, those 
secret executioners, torment his spirit! The intelligent 
nature, his peculiar excellency above the brutes, armed 
misery against him, and put a keener edge to it — by his re- 
flecting upon the foolish exchange he made of God himself 
for the fruit of a tree ; that so slender a temptation should 
cheat him of his blessedness: his present misery is aggra- 
vated by the sad comparison of it with his primitive felicity: 
nothing remains of his first innocence, but the vexatious re- 
gret of having lost it — by the foresight of the death he de- 
served : the conscience of his crimes racked his soul with the 
certain and fearful expectation of judgment. 

Besides the inward torment of his mind, he was exposed 
to all miseries from without. Sin having made a breach into 
the world, the whole army of evils entered with it; the curse 
extends itself to the whole creation; for the world being 
made for man, the plaoe of his residence, in his punishment 
it hath felt the effects of God's displeasure. The whole course 
of nature is set on fire. Whereas a general peace and ami- 
cable correspondence was established between heaven and 
earth, whilst all were united in subjection to the Creator; sin, 
that broke the first union between God and man, hath ruin- 
ed the second. As in a state when one part of the subjects 
fall from their obedience, the rest which are constant in their 
duty, break with the rebels, and make war upon them till 
they return to their allegiance : so universal nature was arm- 
ed against rebellious man, and had destroyed him without the 
merciful interposition of God. 

The angels with flaming swords expelled him from para- 
dise. The beasts, who were all innocent whilst man remain- 
ed innocent, espouse God's interest, and are ready to revenge 
tlie quarrel of their Creator. The insensible creation, which 
at first was altogether beneficial to man, is become hurtful. 
The heavens sometimes are hardened as brass in a long and 
obstinate serenity; sometimes are dissolved in a deluge of 
rain : the earth is barren, and unfaithful to the sower, " it 
bringeth forth thorns and thistles" instead of bread. In short, 
man is an enemy to man. When there were but two bro- 
thers to divide the world, the one stained his hands in the 



36 THE HARMONY OF 

blood of the other ; and since the progency of Adam is in- 
creased into vast societies, all the disasters of the world, as 
famine, pestilence, deluges, the fury of beasts, have not been 
so destructive of mankind, as the sole malignity of man 
against those that partake of the human nature. 

To conclude ; who can make a list of the evils to which 
the body is liable by the disagreeing elements that compose 
it? The fatal seeds of corruption are bred in itself. It is a 
prey to all diseases, from the torturing stone to the dying 
consumption. It feels the strokes of death a thousand times 
before it can die once. At last life is swallowed up of death. 
And if death were a deliverance from miseries, it would les- 
sen its terror, but it is the consummation of all. The first 
death transmits to the second. As the body dies by the soul's 
forsaking it, so the soul, by separation from God, its true life, 
dies to its well-being and happiness for ever. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 

1. The rebellion of the first man against the great Crea- 
tor was a sin of universal efficacy, that derives a guilt and 
stain to mankind in all ages of the world. The account the 
scripture gives of it, is grounded on the relation which all 
men have to Adam, as their natural and moral principle. — 
Their natural. God created one man in the beginning from 
whom all others derive their being : and that the unity might 
be the more entire, he formed of him that aid which was ne- 
cessary for the communicating kind to the world. " lie made 
of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face 
of the earth." Acts xvii. 26. And as the whole race of 
mankind was virtually in Adam's loins, so it was presumed 
to give virtual consent to what he did. When he broke, all 
suffered shipwreck, that were contained in him as their na- 
tural original. The angels were created immediately and 
distinctly, without dependance upon one another as to their 
original; therefore when a great number revolted from God, 
the rest were not complicated in their sin and ruin. But 
when the universal progenitor of men sinned, there was a 
conspiracy of all the sons of Adam in that rebellion, and not 
one subject ^eft in his obedience. — He was the moral princi- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 37 - 

pie of mankind. In the first treaty between God and man, 
Adam was considered as a single person, but as " caput gen- 
tus," and he contracted for all his descendants by ordinary 
generation. His person was the fountain of theirs, and his 
will the representative of theirs. From hence his vast pro- 
geny became a party in the covenant, and had a title to the 
benefits contained in it upon his obedience, and was liable to 
the curse upon his violation of it. Upon this ground the 
apostle institutes a parallel between Adam and Christ, that 
" as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so 
by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous," 
Rom. v. 19. As Christ, in his death on the cross, did not 
suffer as a private person, but as a surety and sponsor repre- 
senting the whole church, according to the testimony of 
scripture, " If one died for all, then were all dead ;" so the 
first Adam, who was " the figure of him that was to come," 
in his disobedience was esteemed a public person represent- 
ing the whole race of mankind; and by a just law it was 
not restrained to himself, but is the sin of the common na- 
ture. Adam broke the first link in the chain whereby man- 
kind was united to God, and all the other parts which depend- 
ed upon it are necessarily separated from him. From hence 
the scripture saith, ihat by nature we are " the children of 
wrath," Eph. ii. 3; that is, liable to punishment, and that 
hath relation to guilt. 

And of this we have convincing experience in the com- 
mon evils which afflict mankind before the commission of 
any actual sin. The cries of infants who are only eloquent 
to grief, but dumb to all things else, discover that miseries 
attend them. The tears which are bom with their eyes, sig- 
nify that they are come into a state of sorrow. How many 
troops of deadly diseases are ready to seize on them imme- 
diately after their entrance into the world, which are the ap- 
parent effects of God's displeasure, and therefore argue man 
to be guilty of some great crime from his birth ! The igno- 
rance of this made the heathens accuse nature, and blas- 
pheme God under that mask, as less kind and indulgent to 
man than to the creatures below him. They are not under 
so hard a law of coming into the world. They are present- 
ly instructed to swim, to fly, to run for their preservation. 
They are clothed by nature, and their habits grow in propor- 
tion with their bodies, some with feathers, some with wool, 
others with scales, which are both habit and armour: but 

D 



38 THE HARMONY OF 

man, who alone is sensible of shame, is born naked, and 
though of a more delicate temper, is more exposed to inju- 
ries by distempered seasons, and utterly unable to repel or 
avoid the evils that encompass him. Now the account the 
scripture gives of original sin silences all these complaints. 
Man is a transgressor from the womb ; and how can he ex- 
pect a favourable reception into the empire of an offended 
God? Briefly; sometimes death enters into the retirements 
of nature, and changes the womb into a grave ; which proves, 
that as soon as we partake of the human nature, we are 
guilty of the sin that is common to it ; " for the wages of sin is 
death," Rom. vi, 23. Adam, in his innocent state had the 
privilege of immortality, but by him "sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men" 
as a just sentence upon the guilty, "for that all have sinned," 
V. 12. 

An hereditary corruption is transmitted to all that natu- 
rally descend from him. If Adam liad continued in his obe- 
dience, the spiritual as well as the natural life had been con- 
veyed to his children ; but for his rebellion he lost his pri- 
mitive rectitude, and contracted a universal corruption; 
which he derives to all his posterity. And as in a disease 
there is a defect of health, and a distemper of the humours 
that affect the body; so in the depravation of nature, there 
is not the mere want of holiness, but a strong proclivity to 
sin. This privation of original righteousness, considered as 
a sin, is naturally from Adam, the principle of lapsed and 
corrupt nature : but, as a punishment, it is meritoriously 
from him, and falls under the ordination of divine justice. 
Man cast it away, and God righteously refuses to restore it. 

It is a solicitous impertinency to inquire nicely about the 
manner of conveying tliis universal corruption; for the bare 
knowledge of it is ineffectual to the cure. And what greater 
folly than to make our own evils the object of simple specu- 
lation ? I shall consider only that general account of it, which 
is set down in the scripture. 

It is the universal and unchangeable law of nature, that 
every thing should produce its like, not only in regard of the 
same nature that is propagated from one individual to ano- 
ther without a change of tlie species, but in respect of the 
qualities with which thai nature is evidently affected. This 
is visible in the several kinds of creatures in the world; they 
all preserve the nature of the principle from whence they 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 39 

are derived, and retain the vein of their original, the quality 
of their extraction. Thus our Saviour tells us, Mat. vii. 18, 
that the fruit partakes of the rottenness of the tree ; and what- 
ever " is born of the flesh, is flesh," John iii. 6. The title of 
flesh doth not signify the material part of our humanity, but 
the corruption of sin with which the whole nature is mfect- 
ed. This is evident by the description the apostle gives of it, 
that the flesh "is not subject to the law of God;" and that 
which aggravates the evil is, that it cannot be, Rom. viii. 7. 
Sinful corruption is expressed by this title, partly in regard 
it is transmitted by the way of carnal propagation; "Behold, 
I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive 
me," Psalm, li. 5 ; and partly in regard it is exercised by the 
carnal members. This corruption is a poison so subtle, that 
it pierces into all the powers of the soul ; so contagious, that 
it infects all the actions; so obstinate, that only omnipotent 
grace can heal it. More particularly ; 

1. It is an innate habit, not merely acquired by imitation. 
The root of bitterness is planted in the human nature, and 
produces its fruits in the various seasons of life. No age is 
free from its working; every imagination of the thoughts of 
man's heart is only evil, and continually evil. Gen. vi. 5. We 
see this verified in children, when the most early acts of their 
reason and the first instances of their apprehension are in sin. 
If we ascend higher and consider man in his infant state, the 
vicious inclinations which appear in the cradle, the violent 
motions of anger which disturb sucklings, their endeavours 
to exercise a weak revenge on those that displease them, con- 
vince us that the corruption is natural, and proceeds from an 
infected original. 

2. As it is natural, so universal. " Who can bring a clean 
thing out of an unclean?" Job xiv. 4; that is, how can a 
righteous person be born of a sinner ? The answer is peremp- 
tory, "Not one." The fountain was poisoned in Adam, and 
all the streams partake of the infection. All that are derived 
from him in a natural way, and have a relation to him as their 
common father, are sharers in this depravation. What differ- 
ence soever there is in their climates, colours, and external 
conditions of life, yet the blood from whence they spring, 
taints them all. 

3. Corrupt nature is pregnant Avith the seeds of all sin, 
though they do not shoot forth together : and for this several 
accounts may be given. Though all sins agree in their cause 



40 THE HARMONY OF 

and end, yet some are contrary in their exercise. — The hu- 
man spirit is not capable of many passions in their height at 
the same time ; and it is the art of our spiritual enemies to 
suit their temptations to the capacity of man. As the same 
produces different effects in different bodies, according to those 
various humours which are predominant in them ; so the same 
corruption of nature works variously according to the differ- 
ent tempers of men. For though the conception of sin de- 
pends immediately upon the soul, yet to the bringing of it 
forth, the concurrence of the external faculties is requisite. 
Thus a voluptuary who is restrained from the gross acts of 
sensuality by a disease or age, may be as vicious in his de- 
sires, as another who follows the pernicious swing of his 
his appetite, having a vigorous constitution. Briefly; the 
variety of circumstances by which the inward corruption is 
excited and drawn forth, makes a great difference as to the 
open and visible acts of it. Thus an ambitious person who 
uses clemency to accomplish his design, would exercise cru- 
elty if it were necessary to his end. It is true, some are 
really more temperate, and exempted from the tyranny of the 
flesh than others ; Cicero was more virtuous than Catiline, 
and Socrates than Aristophanes : but these are privileged 
persons, in whom the efficacy of divine providence either by 
forming them in the womb, or in their education, or by con- 
ducting them in their maturer age, hath corrected the malig- 
nity of nature. " All have sinned, and come short of the glory 
of God's image," Rom. iii. 23. And that sin breaks forth so 
outrageously in some as in others, the restraint i§ from a 
higher principle than common and corrupt nature. 

4. This corruption though natural, is yet voluntary and 
culpable. 

(1.) In some respects it is voluntary ; — in its principle and 
cause, the will of Adam that originally was ours. All habits 
receive their character from those acts by which they are 
produced ; and as the disobedience of Adam was voluntary, 
so is the depravation that sprung from it. — It is inherent in 
the will. If Adam had derived a leprosy to all men, it were 
an involuntary evil, because the diseases of the body are for- 
eign to the soul ; but when the corruption invades the inter- 
nal faculties, it is denominated from the subject wherein it is 
seated. — It is voluntary in its effects, the numberless actual 
sins proceeding from it: and if the acts that freely flow from 
this corruption are voluntary, the principle must be of the 
same nature. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 41 

(2.) It is culpable. The formality of sin consists in its 
opposition to the law, according to the definition of the apos- 
tle, " sin is a transgression of the law." Now the law requires 
an entire rectitude in all the faculties. It condemns corrupt 
inclinations, the originals as well as the acts of sin. Besides, 
concupiscence was not inherent in the human nature in its 
creation, but was contracted by the fall. The soul is stripped 
of its native righteousness and holiness, and invested with 
contrary qualities. There is as great a difference between 
the corruption of the soul in its degenerate state, and its 
primitive purity, as between the loathsomeness of a carcass, 
and the beauty of a living body. Sad change, and to be la- 
mented with tears of confusion ! 

II. That the sin of Adam should be so fatal to all his pos- 
terity, is the most difficult part in the whole order of divine 
providence. Nothing more offends carnal reason, which 
forms many specious objections against it. I will briefly 
consider them. 

1. " Since God saw that Adam would not resist the tempt- 
ation, and that upon his fall the whole race of mankind 
which he supported as the foundation, would sink into ruin, 
why did he not confirm him against it ? Was it not within 
his power, and more suitable to his wisdom, holiness, and 
goodness ?" To this I answer ; 

(1.) The divine power could have preserved man in his 
integrity, either by laying a restraint on the apostate angels, 
that they should never have made an attempt upon him ; or 
by keeping the understanding waking and vigilant to discover 
the danger of the temptation, and by fortifying the will,and 
rendering it impenetrable to the fiery darts of Satan, without 
any prejudice to its freedom ; for that doth not consist in an 
absolute indifference, but in a judicious and deliberate choice ; 
so that when the soul is not led by a blind instinct, nor 
forced by a foreign power, but embraces what it knows and 
approves, it then enjoys the most true liberty. Thus, in the 
glorified spirits above, by the full and constant light of the 
mind, the will is indeclinably fixed upon its supreme good, 
and this is its crown and perfection. 

(2.) It was most suitable to the divine wisdom, to leave 
man to stand or fall by his own choice ; to discover the ne- 
cessary dependance of all second causes upon the first. No 
creature is absolutely impeccable, but the most perfect is liable 
to imperfection. He that is essentially, is only unchangeably 
d2 



42 THE HARMONY OF 

good. Infinite goodness alone excludes all possibility of re- 
ceiving corruption. The fall of angels and man convinces 
us, that there is one sole Being immutably pure and holy, 
on M'hom all depend, and without whose influence they can- 
not be, or must be eternally miserable. It was very fit that 
Adam should be first in a state of trial, before he was con- 
firmed in his happiness. The reason of it is clear ; he was 
left to his own judgment and election, that obedience might 
be his choice, and in the performance of it he might acquire a 
title to the reward. A determining virtue over him had 
crossed the end of his creation, which was to glorify God in 
such a free manner. Therefore in paradise there were amia- 
ble objects to allure the lower faculties, before they were 
disordered by him. The forbidden fruit had beauty to invite 
the eye, and sweetness to delight the palate. And if upon 
the competition of the sensual with the intellectual good, he 
had rejected the one and chosen the other, he had been raised 
to an unchangeable state ; his innocence had been crowned 
with perseverance 5 as the angels who continued in their duty 
when the rest revolted, are finally established in their integ- 
rity and felicity. And the apostle gives us an account of this 
order, when he tells us, that was first which was natural, 
then that which is spiritual and .supernatural, 1 Cor. xv. 46. 
Man M'as created in a state of perfection, but it was natural, 
therefore mutable ; the confirming of him immediately had 
been grace, which belongs to a more excellent dispensation. 
Now to bring man from not being to a supernatural state, 
of nature, was not so congruous to the divine wisdom. 

(3.) The permission of the fall doth not reflect on the 
divine purity ; for man was made upright ; he had no inward 
corruption to betray him ; there was antidote enough in his 
nature to expel the strongest temptation. God was not bound 
to hinder the commission of sin. It is a true maxim, that " in 
debitis causa deficiens efficit moraliter ;" but God is not only 
free from subjection to a law, as having no superior, but was 
under no voluntary obligation by promise to prevent the fall. 
Neither doth that first act of sin reflect on God's unspotted 
providence which suffered it, as if sin were in any degree 
allowed by him. The holy law which God gave to direct 
man, the terrible threatening annexed to warn him, declare 
his irreconcilable hatred against sin. He permits innumera- 
ble sins every day, yet he is as jealous of the honour of his 
holiness now, as in the beginning. It is the worst impiety 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 43 

for the sinner to think God like himself, Psalm 1. 2 1 ; as if he 
took complacency in sin, because he is silent for a time, and 
suffers the commission of it. In the next state he will fully 
vindicate his glory, and convince the whole world of his eternal 
aversion to sin, by inflicting on sinners the most dreadful and 
durable torments. 

(4.) The goodness of God is not disparaged by permitting 
the fall : this appears by considering that God bestowed on 
man an excellent being, and a happiness that might satisfy his 
nature, considered as human or holy. But he perverted the 
favours of God to his dishonour ; and this doth not lessen the 
goodness that gave them. It is unreasonable to judge of the 
value of a benefit by the ungrateful abuse of the receiver, and 
not from its own nature. It is a chosen misery that is come 
upon man, and not to be imputed to any defect of the di- 
vine goodness. God is infinitely good, notwithstanding the 
entrance of sin and misery into the world. We must distin- 
guish between natural and voluntary agents. Natural agents 
have no power to suspend their acts, but are entirely deter- 
mined, and their operations are "ad extremum virium," to the 
utmost of their efficacy. If there were infinite degrees of 
heat, there would be no cold, it being overcome by the force 
of its contrary. But God is a wise and free agent ; and as 
he is infinite in goodness, so the exercise of it is voluntary, 
and only so far as he pleases. God is an omnipotent good, 
and it is his peculiar glory to bring good out of evil, that by 
the opposition and lustre of contraries, his goodness might 
be the more conspicuous. To speak strictly, sin is the only 
evil in the world ; for all the rest which appear so to our 
fancies and appetites, are either absolutely good, or upon tlie 
supposal of sin, viz. either for the reformation of sinners, or 
for the ruin of the obstinate. Now the evil of sin God per- 
mitted as a fit occasion for the more glorious discovery of his 
attributes, in sending his Son into the world to repair his 
image which was defaced, and to raise man from an earthly 
to celestial happiness. I shall conclude with the excellent 
answer of St. Austin to the adversary of the law and prophets : 
" Quibus autem videtur sic hominem fieri debuisse ut peccare 
nollet, non eis displiceat sic esse factum, ut non peccare pos- 
set, si nollet. Nunquid enim si melior esset qui non posset 
peccare, ideo no benefactus est qui posset et non peccare ? 
An, vero usque adeo desipiendum" est, ut homo videat melius 
aliquid fieri debuisse, et hoc Deum vidisse non putet ? Aut 



44 THE HARMONY OF 

putet vidisse et credat facere noluisse 7 Aut voluisse quidem 
et minime potuisse ? Avertat hoc Deus a cordiiis piorum." 
The substance of which is this, that it is an impious folly to 
imagine that God was either defectivein wisdom, not to know 
what was the best state for man in his creation ; or defective 
in goodness, that knowing it, he would not confer it upon 
him ; or defective in power, that willing, he was unable to 
make him better. 

2. There is another objection vehemently urged, that " the 
imputation of Adam's sin to all his posterity who were not exist- 
ent at that time, and did not give their personal consent to 
the treaty between God and him, is inconsistent with justice." 
To this I answer; 

(1.) The terms of the first covenant are such, that the com- 
mon reason of mankind cannot justly refuse; for suppose all 
the progeny of Adam had appeared with him before their Crea- 
tor, and tliis had been propounded, that God would make an 
agreement with their common father on their behalf, that if 
he continued in his obedience, they should enjoy a happy 
immortality ; if he declined from it, they should be deprived 
of blessedness; what shadow of exception can be formed 
against this proposal I For God who is the master of his own 
favours, and gives them upon what terms he pleases, might 
upon their refusal have justly annihilated them. The com- 
mand was equal, and his obedience for all was as easy, as 
that of every particular person for himelf. Besides ; Adam 
was as much concerned to observe the conditions of the cove- 
nant, for securing his own interest, as theirs ; and after a 
short time of trial they should be confirmed in their blessed- 
ness. By all which it is apparent how reasonable the con- 
ditions of the original agreement between God and man are. 

(2.) God hath a power over our wills superior to that we 
ourselves have. If God offers a covenant to the creature, the 
terms being equal, it becomes a law, and consent is due as an 
act of obedience. And if a community may appoint one of 
their number to be their representative, to transact affairs of 
the greatest moment, and according to his management, the 
benefit or damage shall accrue to them, because he is reck- 
oned to perform the wills of them all ; may not God, who hath 
a supreme dominion over us, constitute Adam the represent- 
ative of mankind, and unite the consent of all in his general 
will, so that as he fulfilled or neglected his duty, they should 
be happy or miserable ? This consideration alone, that the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 45 

first covenant was ordered by God, may perfectly satisfy all 
inquiries ; as Salvian having confessed his ignorance in the 
reasons of some dispositions of providence, silences all objec- 
tions with this ; " Nihil in hac re opus est aliquid audire ; 
satis sit pro universis rationibus, Auctor Deus." Neither is 
this a mere extrinsic argument, as authority usually is, be- 
cause there is an intrinsic reason of this authority, the abso- 
lute rectitude and justice of God's nature, who is "righteous 
in all his ways, and holy in all his works," Psalm cxlv. 17. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MORAL IMPOTENCE OF MAN. 

When Adam was expelled from paradise, the entrance was 
guarded by a flaming sword, to signify that all hopes of re- 
turn by the way of nature are cut off for ever. He lost hjs 
right, and could not recover it by power. The chiefest orna- 
ments of paradise are the image and favour of God, of which 
he is justly deprived, and there is no possibility for him to 
regain them. What can he expect from his own reason, that 
betrayed him to ruin ? If it did not support him when he 
stood, how can it raise him when he is fallen ? If there were 
a power in lapsed man to restore himself, it would exceed 
the original power he had to will and obey ; it being infinitely 
more difficult for a dead man to rise, than for a living man 
to put forth vital actions. 

For the clearer opening of this point concerning man's 
absolute disability to recover his primitive state, I will dis- 
tinctly consider it with respect to the image and favour of 
God, upon which his blessedness depends. 

I. He cannot recover his primitive holiness. This will 
appear by considering, that whatsoever is corrupted in its 
noble parts, can never restore itself; the power of an external 
agent is requisite for the recovering of its integrity. This is 
verified by innumerable instances in things artificial and nat- 
ural. If a clock be disordered by a fall, the workman must 
mend it, before it can be useful. If wine that is rich and gen- 
erous, decline by the loss of spirits, it can never be revived 
without a new supply. In the human body, where is a more 
noble form and more power to redress any evil that may 



46 THE HARMONY OF 

happen to the parts, if a gangrene seize on any member, 
nothing can resist its course but the application of outward 
means ; it cannot be cured by the internal principles of its 
constitution. And proportionably in moral agents, when the 
faculties which are the principles of action are corrupted, it 
is impossible, without the virtue of a divine cause, they should 
ever be restored to their original rectitude. As the image 
of God was at first imprinted on the human nature by crea- 
tion, so the renewed image is WTought in him by the same 
creating power, Ephes. iv. 24. This will be more evident, by 
considering that inward and deep depravation of the under- 
standing and will, the two superior faculties which com- 
mand the rest. 

1. The understanding hath lost the right apprehension of 
things. As sin began in the darkness of the mind, so one of 
its worst effects is the increasing of that darkness which can 
only be dispelled by a supernatural light. Now what the eye 
is to the body, that the mind is for directing the will, and 
conducting the life ; and if the light that is in us be darkness, 
how great is that darkness !" How irregular and dangerous 
must our motions be ! Not only the lower part of the soul is 
under a dreadful disorder ; but the " spirit of the mind," the 
divinest part, is depraved with ignorance and error. The light 
of reason is not pure ; but as the sun, when with its beams 
it sends down pestilential influences, corrupts the air in the 
enlightening of it, so the carnal mind corrupts the whole man, 
by representing good as evil, and evil as good. The wisdom 
of the flesh is enmity against God ; and the apostle describes 
the state of the Gentile world, that their understandings were 
darkened, " being alienated from the life of God, through the 
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their 
heart," Ephes. iv. 18. The corruption of their manners pro- 
ceeded from their minds ; for all virtues are directed by rea- 
son in their exercise, so that if the understanding be darkened, 
all virtuous operations cease. 

Besides, corrupt man being without light and life, can nei- 
ther discern nor feel his misery. The carnal mind is insen- 
sible of its infirmity, ignorant of its ignorance, and suffiers 
under the incurable extremes of being blind, and imagining 
that it is very clear-sighted. More particularly, the reasons 
why the carnal mind hath not a due sense of sinful corrup- 
tion, are — because it is natural, and cleaves to the principles 
of our being from the birth and conception; and natural 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBCTES. 47 

things do not affect us. It is confirmed by custom, which is 
a second nature, and hath a strange power to stupify con- 
science, and render it insensible; as the historian observed 
concerning the Roman soldiers, that by constant use their 
arms were no more a burthen to them than their natural mem- 
bers. In the transition from the infant state to the age of 
discerning, man is incapable of observing his native corrup- 
tion ; since at first he acts evily, and is in constant conversa- 
tion with sinners, who bring vice into his acquaintance ; and, 
by making it familiar, lessen the horror and aversion from it. 
Besides, those corrupt and numerous examples wherewith he 
is encompassed, call forth his sinful inclinations, which as they 
are heightened by repeated acts and become more strong and 
obstinate, so are less sensible to him. 

And by this we may understand how irrecoverable man is 
by his own reason. The first step to our cure is begun in the 
knowledge of our disease, and this discovery is made by the 
understanding, when it is seeing and vigilant, not when it is 
blind. A disease in the body is perceived by the mind ; but 
when the soul is the affected part, and the rectitude of reason 
is lost, there is no principle remaining to give notice of it. 
And as that disease is most dangerous which strikes at the 
life and is without pain, for pain is not the chief evil, but 
supposes it, it is the spur of nature urging us to seek for cure- 
so the corruption of the imderstanding is very fatal to man ; 
for although he labours under many pernicious lusts, which, 
in the issue will prove deadly, yet he is insensible of them, 
and from thence follows a carelessness and contempt of the 
means for his recovery, 

2. The corruption of the will is more incurable than that of 
the mind ; for it is full not only of impotence, but contrariety 
to what is spiritually good. There are some weak strictures 
of truth in lapsed man, but they die in the brain, and are pow- 
erless and ineffectual as the will, which rushes into the em- 
braces of worldly objects. This the universal experience of 
mankind, since the fall, doth evidently prove, and the account 
of it is in the following considerations. 

There is a strong inclination in man to happiness. This 
desire is born and brought up with him, and is common to all 
who partake of the reasonable nature. From the prince to 
the poorest wretch, from the most knowing to the meanest 
in understanding, every one desires to be happy ; as the great 



48 THE HARMONY OP 

flames and the little sparks of fire, all naturally ascend to their 
sphere. 

The constituting of any thing to be our happiness, is the 
first and universal maxim, from whence all moral conse- 
quences are derived. It is the rule of our desires, and the 
end of our actions. As in natural things, the principles of 
their production operate according to their quality, so, in 
moral things, the end is as powerful to form the soul for its 
operations in order to it. Therefore as all desire to be happy, 
so they apply themselves to those means which appear to be 
convenient for the obtaining of happiness. 

Every one frames a happiness according to his temper. 
The apprehensions of it are answerable to the dispositions of 
the person ; for felicity is the pleasure which arises from the 
harmonious agreement between the object and the appetite. 
Nqw man by his original and contracted corruption is alto- 
gether carnal ; he inherits the serpent's curse to creep on 
the earth ; he cleaves to defiling and debasing objects, and is 
qualified only for sensual satisfactions. The soul is incarna- 
ted, and it shapes a happiness to itself, in the enjoyment of 
those things which are delicious to the senses. The shadow 
of felicity is pursued with equal ardour, as that which is real 
and substantial. The supreme part of man, the understand- 
ing, is employed to serve tlie lower faculties ; reason is used 
to make him more ingenious and luxurious in sensuality: so 
much more brutish than the brutes is he become, when be- 
sides that part which is so by its natural condition, the most 
noble part is made so by unnatural choice and corruption. 
From hence the apostle gives a universal character of men 
in their corrupt state, that they are " foolish, disobedient, 
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures." Tit. iii. 3. 
This pursuit of sensual pleasure is the service of a slave, who 
hath no other law of his life but the will of his master. The 
servitude is diverse, but all are slaves ; the chains are not the 
same, some are more glittering, but not less weighty; and 
every one is deprived of true liberty. But the bondage is so 
pleasing, that corrupted man prefers it before spiritual and 
real freedom. Sensual lusts blind the understanding, and 
bind the \v\\l so, that he is unable, because unwilling, to res- 
cue himself. He is deluded with the false appearance of 
liberty, and imagines that to live according to rule is a slavish 
confinement ; as if the horse were free, because his rider 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 49 

allows him a full career in a pleasant road, when the bridle 
is in his mouth, and he is under his imperious check at plea- 
sure .' or a galley-slave were free, because the vessel wherein 
he rows with so much toil, roams over the vast ocean. And 
whereas there are two considerations which are proper to 
convince man that the full and unconfined enjoyment of 
worldly things cannot make him happy, because they are 
wounding to the conscience and unsatisfying to the affections, 
yet these are ineffectual to take him off from an eager pur- 
suit of them ; I will particularly consider this, to show how 
unable man, in his lapsed condition, is to disentangle himself 
from miserable vanities, and consequently to recover his lost 
holiness. 

(1.) Sensual pleasures are wounding to the conscience. 
There is a secret acknowledgment in every man's breast of a 
superior power, to whom he must give an account ; and 
though conscience be much impaired in its integrity, yet 
sometimes it recoils upon the sinner by the foulness of his 
actions, and its testimony brings such terror, as makes sin 
very unpleasant. The poet tells us, that of all the torments 
of hell, the most cruel, and that which exceeds the rest, is 
" Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem." And how 
can the sinner delight freely in that which vexes and frets 
the most vital and tender part ? He cannot enjoy his charm- 
ing lusts without guilt, nor embrace them without the reluc- 
tancy of a contradicting principle within him. As the fear 
of poison will embitter the sweetest cup, so the purest plea- 
sures are alloyed with afflicting apprehensions of the future, 
and the presage of judgment to come. 

Now man, in his sensual state, tries always to disarm con- 
science, that he may please the lower appetites without re- 
gret. I will instance in the principal. He uses many pleas 
and pretexts to justify or extenuate the evil, and, if possible, 
to justify carnality and conscience too. Self-love, which is 
the eloquent advocate of sense, puts a varnish upon sin, to 
take off from its horrid appearance: and endeavours not 
only to colour the object, but to corrupt the eye by a disguis- 
ing tincture, that the sight of things may not be according 
to truth, but the desire. Thus the heathens allowed intem- 
perance, uncleanness, and other infamous vices, as innocent 
gratifications of nature. Now if the principles in man are poi- 
soned, so that evil is esteemed good, he then lives in the quiet 
practice of sin without reflection or remorse j there is no 

E 



50 THE HARMONY OF 

stmg remaining to awaken him out of security. But if 
he cannot so far bribe conscience, as to make it silent, or fa- 
vourable to that which delights the sense, if he cannot 
escape its internal condemnation, the next method is by a 
strong diversion to lessen the trouble. When the carnal 
mind sees nothing within but what torments, and finds an in- 
tolerable pain in conversing with itself, it runs abroad, and 
uses all the arts of oblivion to lose the remembrance of its 
true state ; as Cain, to drown the voice of conscience, fell 
to building cities, and Saul, to dispel his melancholy, called 
for music. The business and pleasures of this life are dan- 
gerous amusements to divert the soul, by the representation 
of what is profitable or unpleasant, from considering the 
moral qualities of good and evil. Thus conscience, like an 
intermitting pulse, ceases for awhile. Miserable consolation, 
which doth not remove, but conceal the evil till it be past re- 
medy ! But if conscience, notwithstanding all these evasions, 
still pursues a sinner, and, at times, something disturbs his 
reason and his rest, yet he will not part with carnal plea- 
sures; for being acquainted with those things only that af- 
fect the senses, and having no relish for that happiness which 
is sublime and supernatural, if he part^^vith them, he is de- 
prived of all delight, which is to him a state more intolera- 
ble than that wherein tliere is a mixture of delight and tor- 
ment. From hence it appears that tlie interposition of con- 
science, thougli with a flaming sv.ord, between man carnal, 
and his beloved objects, is not eflectual to restrain him. 

(2.) All worldly things are unsati.sfying to tlie affections. 
There are three considerations which depreciate and lessen 
the value of any good — the sliortness of its duration — if it 
brings only a slight pleasure — if that pleasure is attended 
with torments : all which are contrary to the essential pro- 
perties of the supreme good, which is perpetual and sincere, 
without the least mixture of evil, and produces ^e highest 
delight to the soul. Now all these concur to vilify worldly 
things. They are short in their duration. Not only the voice 
of heaven, but of the earth declares this, that "all flesh is 
grass, and the glory of it as the flower of the grass," Isa. xl. 
6, 7 ; 1 Pet. i. 24, 25. Life, the foundation of all temporal 
enjoyments, is but a span: the longest liver can measure in 
a thought the space of time between his infant state and the 
present hour ; how long soever, it seems as short to him as 
the twinkling of an eye. And all the glory of the flesh, as 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 51 

titles, treasures, delights, are as the flower of the grass, which 
is the most tender amongst vegetables, and so weak a sub- 
sistence, that a little breath of wind, the hand of an infant, 
the teeth of a worm can destroy it. The pleasures of sin, 
under which secular greatness and wealth are comprehend- 
ed, are but " for a season," Heb. xi. 25. They are so short- 
lived, that they expire in the birth, and die whilst they are 
tasted. — Again ; they bring only a slight pleasure, being dis- 
proportionable to the desires of the soul. They are con- 
fined to the senses, wherein the beasts are more accurate than 
man, but cannot reach to the upper and more comprehen- 
sive faculties. Nay, they cannot satisfy the greedy senses, 
much less quiet the spiritual and immortal appetite. What 
the poet speaks with astonishment of Alexander's insatiable 
ambition, "^stuat infelix angusto limite mundi," that the 
whole world seemed to him as a narrow prison, wherein he 
was miserable, and, as it were, suffocated, is true of every 
one. If the world was seated in the heart of man, it can no 
more satisfy it, than the picture of a feast can fill the sto- 
mach. — Besides, vexation is added to the vanity of worldly 
things ; and that either because the vehement delights of sense 
corrupt the temperament of the body, in which the vital com- 
plexion consists, and expose it to those sharp diseases, that 
it may be said without an hyperbole, that a thousand pleasures 
are not equal to one hour's pain that attends them; or, be- 
cause of the inward torture of the mind, arising from the 
sense of guilt and folly, which is the anticipation of hell it- 
self, the beginning of eternal sorrows. 

Now these things are not obscure articles of faith, nor ab- 
stracted doctrines, to be considered only by refined reason, 
but are manifest and clear as the light, and verified by con- 
tinual experience : it is therefore strange to amazement, that 
man should search after happiness in these things, where he 
knows it is not to be found, and court real infelicity under a 
deceitful appearance, when the fallacy is transparent. Who, 
from a principle of reason, would choose for his happiness a 
real good, which after a little time he should be deprived of 
for ever? or a slight good for ever, as the sight of a picture, 
or the hearing of music ? Yet thus unreasonable is man in 
his corrupt state, whose soul is truly immortal and capable 
of infinite blessedness, yet he chooses those delights which 
are neither satisfying nor lasting. 

And because the human understanding from time to time 



52 THE HARMONY OF 

is convinced of the vanity of all sublunary things, therefore 
to lessen the vexation which arises from disappointment, and 
that the appetite may not be taken oiT from ihem, corrupted 
man tries, by variety of objects, to preserve uniformit)^ in de- 
light. The most pleasing, if confined to them, grow nau- 
seous and insipid; after the expiring of a few moments, 
there remains nothing but satiety and sickly resentments ; 
and then changes are the remedies, to take off the weariness 
of one pleasure by anotlier. The human soul is under a per- 
petual instability of restless desires; it despises what it en- 
joys, and values what is new, as if novelty and goodness 
were the same in all temporal things. And as the birds re- 
main in the air by constant motion, without which they 
would quickly fall to the earth as other heavy bodies, there 
being nothing solid to support them ; so the spirit of man, by 
many unquiet agitations and continual changes, subsists for 
a time, till at last it falls into discontent and despair, the 
centre of corrupt nature. 

When present things are unsatisfactory, he entertains 
himself with hope; for that being terminated on a future 
object, which is of a double nature, the mind attends to 
those arguments which produce a pleasant belief to find that, 
in several objects, which it cannot in any single one, and to 
make up in number, what is wanting in measure; whereas 
the present is manifest, and takes away all liberty of think- 
ing. Upon this ground sensual pleasure is more expectation 
than fruition; for hope by a marvellous enchantment, not 
only makes that which is future present, but, representing in 
one view that which cannot be enjoyed but in' the intervals 
of time, it unites all the successive parts in one point, so that 
what is divided and lessened in the fruition, which is always 
gradual, is offered at once and entire. Thus man carnal, de- 
ceived by the imperfect light of fancy and the false glass of 
hope, chooses a fictitious felicity. " Man walketh in a vain 
show," Psalm xxxix. 6. His original error hath produced 
this in its own image. And although the complacency he 
takes in sensual objects is like the joy of a distracted person, 
the issue of folly and illusion, and experience discovers the 
deceit that is in them, as smelling to an artificial rose unde- 
ceives the eye ; yet he will embrace his error. Man is in a 
voluntary dream, which represents to him the world as his 
happiness, and when he is awakened, he dreams again, 
choosing to be deceived with delight, rather than to discover 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 53 

the truth without it. This is set forth by the prophet, " Thou 
art wearied in the greatness of thy way, yet saidst thou not, 
There is no hope," Isa. Ivii, 10; that is. Thou art tired in the 
chase of satisfaction from one thing to another, yet thou 
wouldst not give over, but still pursuest those shadows which 
can never be brought nearer to thee. And the true reason 
of it is, that in the human nature, there is an intense and 
continual desire of pleasure, without which life itself hath 
no satisfaction ; for life consisting in the operations of the 
soul, either the external of the senses or the internal of the 
mind, it is sweetened by those delights whi(|jp. are suitable to 
them ; so that if all pleasant operations cease, without pos- 
sibility of returning, death is more desirable than life. And 
in the corrupt state there is so strict an alliance between the 
llesh and spirit, that there is but one appetite between them, 
and that is of the flesh. All the designs and endeavours of 
the carnal man are by fit means to obtain satisfaction to his 
senses ; as if the contentment of the flesh and the happiness 
of the soul were the same thing ; or as if the soul Avere to 
die with the body, and with both, all hopes and fears, all joys 
and sorrows were at an end. The flesh is now grown abso- 
lute, and hath acquired a perfect empire, and taken a full pos- 
session of all the faculties. For this reason the apostle tells 
us, " They that are in the flesh, cannot please God ;" and 
"The carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject, 
neither can it be," Rom. viii. 7, 8. It is ensnared in the cords 
of concupiscence, and cannot recover itself from its foolish 
bondage. But that does not lesson the guilt; Avhich will ap- 
pear by considering there is a twofold impotence. 

There is a natural impotence, which protects from the 
severity of justice. No man is bound to stop the sun in its 
course, or to remove mountains ; for the human nature was 
never endued with faculties to do those things. They are 
indubitably beyond our power. Now the law enjoins nothing 
but what man had in his creation an original power to per- 
form. 

There is a moral impotence, which arises from a perverse 
disposition of the will, and is joined with a delight in sin, and 
a strong aversion from the holy commands of God ; and the 
more deep and inveterate this is, the more worthy it is of 
punishment. Aristotle asserts, that those who contract in- 
vincible habits by custom, are inexcusable, though they can- 
not abstain from evil ; for since liberty consists in doing what 



54 THE HARMONY OF 

one wills, this impossibility doth not destroy liberty ; the 
depravation of the faculties does not hinder their voluntary 
operations. The understanding conceives, the will chooses, 
the appetite desires freely. A distracted person that kills, is 
not guilty of murder, and therefore secure from the sentence 
of the law; for his understanding being distempered by the 
disorder of the images in his fancy, it did not judge aright, so 
that the action is involuntary, and therefore not culpable. But 
there is a vast diiference between the causes of distraction, 
and those which induce a carnal man to sin. The first are 
seated in the distemper of the brain, over which the will hath 
no power ; whereas there should be a regular subjection of 
the lower appetite to the Avill, enlightened and directed by 
the mind. The will itself is corrupted and brought into cap- 
tivity by things pleasing to the lower faculties : it cannot dis- 
entangle itself, but its impotence lies in its obstinacy. This 
is the meaning of St. Peter, speaking concerning unclean per- 
sons, that " their eyes are full of adultery, and they cannot 
cease from sin." It is from their fault alone that they are 
without power. Therefore the scripture represents man to 
be daOcvhs and dfft0h<;, weak, but wicked. His disability to su- 
pernatural good arises from an inordinate affection to that 
which is sensual, so that it is so far from excusing, that it 
renders inexcusable, being voluntary and vicious. And in this 
the diseases of the body are difterent from those of the soul. 
In the first, the desire of healing is ineffectual, through want 
of knowledge or power to apply the sovereign remedies ; 
whereas in the second, the sincere desire of their cure is in- 
sutficient, for the diseases are corrupt desires. 

The natural man is wholly led by sense, by fancy, and the 
passions, and he esteems it his infelicity to be otherwise ; as 
the degcnerous slave, who was displeased with a jubilee, and 
refused liberty. Servitude is his sensuality. He is not only 
in love with the unworthy object, but with the vicious affec- 
tion, and abhors the cure of it. As one in the poet that was 
so delighted in his pleasant madness, that he was offended at 
his recovery ; 

-Cui sic extorta volnptas 



Et demptus per vim mentis gratissimus error." 

This is acknowledged by St. Austin in his confessions, 
where he describes the strife between conviction and 
corruption in his soul. He tells us in the conflict between 
reason and lust, that he had recourse to God, and his prayer 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 55 

was, " Da mihi continentiam, sed noli modo ;" he desired chas- 
tity, but not too soon ; he was afraid that God should hear his 
petition, it being more bitter than death to change his custom. 
This is the general sense, though not the general discourse 
of men. As the sick person desired his physician to remove 
his fever, but not his thirst, which made his drink very plea- 
sing to him ; so man, in his sensual state, would fain be freed 
from the estuations of conscience, but he cherishes those car- 
nal desires which gives a high taste to objects suitable to them. 

From hence it appears, that though in the corrupt nature 
there is no liberty of indifference to good and evil, yet there 
is a liberty of delight in evil ; and though the will in its natu- 
ral capacity may choose good, yet it is morally determined 
by its love to evil. In short, there is so much power not to 
sin as is sufficient to sin ; that is, that the forbidden action be 
free, and so become a sin. Which strange combination of 
liberty and necessity is excellently expressed by St. Bernard, 
that " the soul which fell by its own choice, cannot recover 
itself, is from the corruption of the will, which, overcome by 
the vicious love of the body, rejects the love of righteousness; 
so that, in a manner as strange as evil, the will being corrupt- 
ed with sin, makes a necessity to itself, yet so, the necessity 
being voluntary, doth not excuse the will ; nor the will, 
being pleasantly and powerfully allured, exclude necessity." 
The law therefore remains in its full force, and God is right- 
eous in commanding and condemning sinners. 

From all that hath been discoursed, it is evident how im- 
possible it is for corrupt man to recover his lost holiness j 
for there are only two motives to induce the reasonable crea- 
ture to seek after it — its beauty and loveliness — the reward 
that attends it. And both these arguments are ineffectual to 
work upon him. 

The beauty of holiness, which excels all other created 
perfections, it being a conformity to the most glorious attri- 
bute of the Deity, doth not allure him: for " Unusquisque ut 
affectus est, ita judicat ;" man understands according to his 
affections. The renewed mind only can see the essential and 
intimate beauty of holiness. Now in fallen man the clearness 
of the discerning power is lost. As the natural eye, till it is 
purged from vicious qualities, cannot look on things that are 
bright and sublime, and if it had been long in darkness, suf- 
fers by the most pleasing object, the light ; so the internal 
eye of the mind, that it may see the lively lustre of holiness, 



66 THE HARMONY OF 

must be cleansed from the filthiness of carnal affections, and 
having been so long tmder darkness, it must be strengthened, 
before it can sustain the brightness of things spiritual. Till 
it be prepared, it can see nothing amiable and desirable in the 
image of God. 

The reward of holiness hath no attractive power on the 
carnal will, because it is future and spiritual. — It is future, and 
therefore the conceptions of it are very dark and imperfect. 
The soul is sunk down into the senses, and they are short- 
sighted and cannot look beyond what is present to the next 
life. And as the images of things are weakened and confused 
proportionably to their distance, and make a fainter impres- 
sion upon the faculty ; so the representation of heaven and 
blessedness as a happiness to come hereafter, and therefore 
remote, doth but coldly affect the will. A present vanity, in 
the judgment of tlie carnal soul, outweighs the most glori- 
ous futurity. Till there be taken from before its eyes, in Ter- 
tullian's language, " the thick curtain of the visible world," it 
cannot discern the difference between them, nor value the 
reward for its excellency and duration. — It is spiritual, and 
there must be a divine disposition of the soul before it is ca- 
pable of it. The pure in heart only can see the pure God, 
Matt. V. 8. The felicity above is that which " eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of 
man to conceive," 1 Cor. ii. 9. Now the carnal man is af- 
fected only with gross and corporeal things. The certainty, 
immensity, and immortality of the heavenly reward, do not 
prevail witli him to seek after it. He hath no palate for 
spiritual pleasures ; it is vitiated by luscious vanities, and 
cannot relish rational joys. Till the temper of the soul be 
altered, the bread of angels is distasteful to it ; for the appe- 
tite is according to the disposition of the stomach, and when 
that is corrupted, it longs for things hurtful, and rejects whole- 
some food. If a carnal man were translated to heaven, 
where the love of God reigns, and where the brightest and 
sweetest discoveries of his glory appear, he would not find 
paradise in heaven itself; for delight arises not merely from 
the excellency of the object, but from the proportionableness 
of it to the faculty. Though God is an infinite good in him- 
self, yet if he is not conceived as the supreme good to man, 
he cannot make him happy. 

Suppose some slight convictions to be in the mind, that 
happiness consists in the enjoyment of God, yet this being 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 57 

offered upon the terms of quitting all sensual lusts, the carnal 
man esteems the condition impossible, and therefore is dis- 
couraged from using any endeavours to obtain it ; for to 
excite hope, it is not sufficient to propose a reward that is 
real and excellent, but that is attainable ; for although hope 
hath its tendency to a difficult good as its proper object, and 
the difficulty is so far from discouraging, that it quickens the 
soul and draws forth all the active powers, by rendering it 
greater in our esteem ; yet when the difficulty is excessive, 
and confines upon impossibilit}-, it dejects the soul and in- 
clines it to despair. Thus when the condition of obtaining 
some good is necessary, but insufferable, it takes off from all 
endeavours in order to it. 

To consider it in a temporal case, will make it more clear. 
As one that labours under a dropsy and is vexed with an in- 
tolerable and insatiable thirst, if a physician should assure 
him of cure upon condition he would abstain from drinking, 
he could not conceive any real hope of being healed, judg- 
ing it impossible to resist the importunity of his drought ; he 
therefore neglects the means, he drinks and dies ; thus the 
corrupt heart of man, that is under a perpetual thirst of car- 
nal pleasure, and is more inflamed by the satisfaction it re- 
ceives, judges it an insuperable condition to part with them 
for the acquiring of spiritual happiness: and this sensual and 
sottish despair causes a total neglect of the means. It is 
thus expressed by the Israelites; when God commanded 
them to return from the evil of their ways in order to their 
happiness, they said, " There is no hope, but we will walk 
after our own devices, and we Avill every one do the imagi- 
nation of his evil heart." Jer. xviii. 12. They were slaves 
to their domineering appetites, and resolved to make no trial 
about that they judged impossible. " Abstinere nequeo," Grot. 

Briefly; in fallen man there is something predominant, 
which he values above the favour and fruition of God, and 
that is the world : as in the parable where happiness is set 
forth under the familiar representation of a feast, those who 
were invited to it, excuse themselves by such reasons as clear- 
ly discover that some amiable lust charmed them so strong- 
ly, that in the competition it was preferred before heaven. 
One saith, " I have bought a piece of ground, and I must 
needs go and see it ;" and another, " I have bought five yoke 
of oxen, and I go to prove them ;" and a third, " I have mar- 
ried a wife, and therefore I cannot come," Luke xiv. 18. The 



58 THE HARMONY OF 

objects of their passions are different, but they all produce 
the same effect, the rejection of happiness. 

The sum of all is this, that as man fell from obedience, and 
lost the image of God, by seeking perfection and satisfaction, 
that is, happiness, in the creature; so he can never return to 
his obedience, acknowledge God as his supreme Lord, till 
he chooses him for his happiness. And this he can never 
entirely do, till he is born again, and hath anew principle of 
life that may change the complexion of the soul, and quali- 
fy it for those delights which are sublime and spiritual. 

II. Fallen man can never recover the favour of God ; and 
this is evident upon a double account — he is not able to make 
satisfaction to God's justice for the dishonour brought to him 
— he is incapable of real repentance, which might qualify 
him for pardon. 

1. He is unable to satisfy justice for his offence, either by 
exact obedience for the future, or by enduring the punish- 
ment that is due to sin. 

(1.) Supposing that man could perform exact obedience 
after his fall, yet that could not be satisfaction. It is essen- 
tial to satisfaction, that the action by which it is made be in 
the power of the person that satisfies. A servant, as a ser- 
vant, cannot make satisfaction for an injury done to his lord, 
for whatsoever service he performs was due before the offence, 
and is not properly a restitution, because it is not of his own. 
Now the complete obedience of the creature is due to God. 
He is the Lord of all our actions, and whatever man doeth 
is but the payment of the original debt. The law requires a 
perpetual reverence of the Lawgiver, and express obedience 
to his will in all things: so that it is impossible that the high- 
est respect to it afterwards, should compensate for the least 
violation of it. 

Besides, to make satisfaction for a fault, it is necessary the 
offender do some voluntary act, that may be as honourable 
to the person, and as much above what he was before obliged 
t9, as the contempt was dishonourable, and below that which 
was due. Unless God receive that which is as estimable in 
the nature of obedience, as the injury he received is in the 
nature of contempt, there can be no satisfaction. Now there 
is a greater dishonour brought to God by the commission of 
one sin, than there is honour by the perfect obedience of all 
the angels ; for, in their obedience, God is preferred by the 
creature before things infinitely beneath him, which is but a 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 59 

small honour ; but by one sin he is disvalued in the compa- 
rison, which is infinite contempt. 

(2.) Man cannot make satisfaction by suffering ; for the 
punishment must be equal to the offence, which derives its 
guilt from the dignity of the person offended, and the indig- 
nity of the offender. N'ow, God is the universal King ; his 
justice is infinite, which man hath injured, and his glory, 
which man hath obscured ; and man is finite. And what pro- 
portion is there between finite and infinite? How can a worth- 
less rebel that is hateful to God, expiate the offence of so ex- 
cellent a majesty? If he sacrifice himself, he can never ap- 
pease the divine displeasure ; for what doth he offer but a 
lump of rebellion and ingratitude? He can make no other 
satisfaction but that of the devils, which continues for ever, 
and is not completed. 

2. Fallen man, considered only in his own corrupt and 
miserable state, is incapable of real repentance, which is a ne- 
cessary condition to qualify him for pardon ; for whereas re- 
pentance includes an ingenuous sorrow for sin past and a sin- 
cere forsaking of it, he is utterly indisposed for both. 

(1.) He cannot be ingenuously sorrowful for his offence. 
It is true, when the circumstances are changed, that which 
was pleasing will cause trouble of spirit ; as when a male- 
factor suffers for his crimes, he reflects upon his actions with 
sorrow : but this hatli no moral worth in it ; for it is a forced 
act, proceeding from a violent principle, and is consistent 
with as great a love to sin as he had before, and is entirely 
terminated on himself. But that grief which is divine, and 
is accompanied with a change in heart and life, respects the 
stain more than the punishment of sin; and arises from love 
to God, who is disobeyed and dishonoured by it. Now, it is 
not conceivable, that the guilty creature can love God, whilst 
he looks on him as an irreconcilable enemy. Distrust of the 
favour of a person, which is a degree of fear, is attended 
with coldness of affection ; a strong fear, which still intimates 
an uncertainty in the event, inclines to hatred ; but when fear 
is turned into despair, it causeth direct hatred. An instance 
of this we have in the devils, who curse the fountain of blessed- 
ness. If the evil is past remedy, the sense of it is attended 
with rage, and transports of blasphemy against God himself. 
A despairing sinner begins in this life the gnashing of teeth 
against his Judge, and kindles the fire that shall torment him 
for ever. It is for this reason the scripture propounds the 



60 THE HARMONY OF 

goodness of God, as the most powerful persuasive to lead 
men to repentance, Rom. ii. 4. There can be no kindly re- 
jentings without filial affection, and that is always tempered 
with the expectation of favour. Without hope of pardon 
all other motives are ineffectual to melt the heart. 

Now the first covenant obliged man to obedience or pun- 
ishment : it required innocence, and did not accept of re- 
pentance. The final voice of law is, "Do," or "Die." Guil- 
ty man cannot look on God with comfort under the notion 
of a holy Creator, that delights to view his own resemblance 
in the innocent creature, nor of a compassionate father that 
spares an offending son; but apprehends him to be an inexo- 
rable judge, who hath right and power to avenge the disobe- 
dience. He can find no expedient for his deliverance, nor 
conceive how mercy can save him without the violation of 
justice, an attribute as essential to the divine nature as mer- 
cy. And what can induce liim to make an humble confes- 
sion of his fault, when he expects nothing but an irrevoca- 
ble doom? An instance of this we have in Adam, who be- 
ing under the conviction of his sin, and an apprehension that 
God would be severe, did not solicit for mercy, but endeavour- 
ed to transfer the guilt on God liimself. "The woman thou 
gavest me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat," Gen. iii. 
12; as if she had been designed for a snare, and not to bean 
aid in his innocent state. 

(2.) A sincere resolution to forsake sin is built on the 
hopes of mercy. Till the reasonable creature knows that hea- 
ven is open to repentance, to his second and better thoughts, 
he is irreclaimabh'. lie that never hopes to receive any good, 
will continue in doing evil. Despair of mercy causeth a de- 
spising of the law. The apostate angels, who are without 
the reserves of pardon, are confirmed in their rebellion: their 
guilt is mixed with fury; they persist in their war against 
God, though they know the issue will be deadly to them. 
And had there not been an early revelation of mercy to 
Adam, he had been incorrigibly wicked as the devils; for 
despair would have inflamed his hatred against God, which 
is of all the passions the most incurable. Those vicious af- 
fections that depend on the humours of the body, which are 
mutable, alter with them ; but hatred is seated in the supe- 
rior part of the soul, which is of a spiritual nature, and dia- 
bolical in obstinacy. 

In short; when the reasonable creature is guilty and vi- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 61 

cious, and knows that God is just and holy, and that he will 
be severe in revenging all disobedience, he hath no care nor 
desire to reform himself. He will not lay a restraint on his 
pleasing appetites, when he expects no recompense ; he 
esteems it lost labour to abstain ; and all his design is, to allay 
and sweeten the fear of future evils by present enjoyments. 
When he is scorched with the apprehensions of wrath to 
come, he plunges himself into sensual excesses for some re- 
lief. He resolves to make his best of sin for a time: accord- 
ing to the principle of the epicures, " Let us eat and drink 
while we may ; to-morrow we shall die." 

The sum of all is this, that an unrelenting and unreformed 
sinner is incapable of pardon ; for unless God should renounce 
his own nature and deny his deity, he cannot receive him to 
favour. And it is inconceivable how the rational creature 
once lapsed, should ever be encouraged to repentance without 
the expectation of mercy : and there being an inseparable 
alliance between the integrity and felicity of man by the terms 
of the first covenant, the one failing, he could not entertain 
the least degree of hope concerning the other. By all which 
it appears he is under an invincible necessity of sinning and 
suffering for ever ; his misery is complete and desperate. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE WISDOM OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

God by his infallible prescience, to which all things are 
eternally present, viewing the fall of Adam, and that all man- 
kind lay bleeding in him, out of deep compassion to his crea- 
ture, and that the devil might not be finally victorious over 
him, in his council decreed the recovery of man from his 
languishing and miserable state. The design and the means 
are most worthy of God, and in both his wisdom appears. 

This will be made visible, by considering that all under- 
standing agents first propound an end, and then choose the 
means for the obtaining of it. And the more perfect the under- 
standing is, the more excellent is the end it designs, and the 
more fit and convenient are the means it makes use of for 
acquiring it. Now when God, whose understanding is infi- 
nite, and, in comparison of whom, the most prudent and ad- 
vised are but as dark shadows, when he determines to work, 

F 



62 



THE HARMONY OF 



especially in a most glorious manner, the end and the means 
are equally admirable. 

I, The end is of the highest consequence. Were it some 
low inconsiderable thing, it were unworthy of one thought of 
God for the effecting of it. To be curious in contriving how 
to accomplish that which is of no importance, exposes to a 
just imputation of folly ; but when the most excellent good is 
the end, and the difficulties which hinder the obtaining of it 
are insuperable to a finite understanding, it then becomes the 
" only wise" God to discover the divinity of his wisdom, in 
making a way where he finds none. And such was the 
end of God in the work of our redemption. This was de- 
clared by the angels, who were sent ambassadors extraordi- 
nary to bring tidings of peace to the world ; they praised 
God, saying, " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good will towards men," Luke ii. 14. 

The supreme end is his own glory ; and, in order to it, the 
salvation of man hath the nature and respect of a medium ; 
the subordinate is the recovery of the world from its lapsed 
and wretched state. 

1. The supreme end is the glory of God. This signifies 
principally his internal and essential glory ; and that consists 
in the perfections of his nature, which can never be fully 
conceived by the angels, but overwhelm, by their excellent 
greatness, all created understandings. But the glory that re- 
sults from God's works is properly intended in the present 
argument, and implies, 

(1.) The manifestation whereby he is pleased to represent 
himself in the exercise of his attributes. As the divine na- 
ture is the primary and complete object of his love, so he 
takes delight in those actions wherein the image and bright- 
ness of his own virtues appear. Now, in all the works of God 
there is an evidence of his excellencies; but as some stars 
shine with a different glory, so there are some noble effects, 
wherein the divine attributes are so conspicuous, that, in 
comparison with them, the rest of God's works are but obscure 
expressions of his greatness. The principal are creation and 
redemption. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and 
the firmament sheweth iiis handy-work," Psalm xix. 1. And 
when God surveyed the whole creation, and saw that all 
which he had made was good, he ordained a sabbath, to sig- 
nify the content and satisfaction he had in the discovery of 
his eternal perfections therein. But his glory is most espe- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 63 

cially resplendent in the work of redemption, wherein more 
of the divine attributes are exercised than in the creation, and 
in a more glorious manner. It is here that wisdom, good- 
ness, justice, holiness, and power, are united in their highest 
degree and exaltation. Upon this account the apostle useth 
that expression, 1 Tim. i. 1 1, "the glorious gospel of the bless- 
ed God ;" it being the clearest revelation of his excellent at- 
tributes, the unspotted mirror wherein the great and wonder- 
ful effects of the Deity are set forth; n ixeyaUla rs QcS, 
Actsii. 11. 

(2.) The praise and thanksgiving that arise from the dis- 
covery of his perfections by reasonable creatures, who con- 
sider and acknowledge them; when there is a solemn vene- 
ration of his excellencies, and the most ardent affections to 
him for the communication of his goodness. Thus in God's 
account, whoso offers praise, glorifies him. Psalm 1. 23. An 
eminent example of this is set down in Job xxxviii, 7, when 
at the birth of the world, " the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And at its new 
birth, they descend and make his praise glorious in a trium- 
phant song. Psalm Ixvi. 2. It will be the eternal exercise of 
the saints in heaven, where they more fully understand the 
mystery of our redemption, and consider every circumstance 
that may add a lustre to it, to ascribe " blessing, and honour, 
and glory, and power, to him that sitteth on the throne, and 
unto the Lamb, for ever and ever," Rev. v. 13. 

2. The subordinate end is the restoring of man ; and this 
is inviolably joined with the other. It is expre;ssed by " peace 
on earth and good will towards men." Sin hath broken that 
sacred alliance which was between God and man, and expo- 
sed him to his just displeasure ; a misery inconceivable ! And 
what is more becoming God, who is the Father of mercies, 
than to glorify his dear attribute, ("God is love,") and that 
which in a peculiar manner characterizes his nature, by the 
salvation of the miserable ? What is more honourable to him, 
than by his almighty mercy to raise so many monuments 
from the dust, wherein his goodness may live and reign for 
ever? 

Now for the accomplishing of these excellent ends, the 
divine wisdom pitched upon those means which were most 
fit and congruous, which I shall distinctly consider. 

The misery of fallen man consisted in the corruption of his 
nature by sin, and the punishment that ensues ; and his hap- 



64 THE HARMONY OF 

piness is in restoring of him to his primitive holiness, and in 
reconciliation to God, and the full fruition of him. The way 
to effect this was beyond the compass of any finite under- 
standing. 

That God, who is rich in goodness, should be favourable 
to the angels who serve him in perfect purity, we may easi- 
ly conceive ; for though they do not merit his favour, yet 
they never provoked his anger ; and it is impossible but that 
he should love the image of his holiness wherever it shines. 
Or suppose an innocent creature in misery, the divine mercy 
would speedily excite his power to rescue it; for God is love 
to all his creatures, as such, till some extrinsical cause inter- 
venes, which God hates more than he loves the creature, and 
that is sin; which alone stops the effusion of goodness, and 
opens a wide passage for wrath to fall upon the guilty. But 
how to save the creature that is undone by its own choice, 
and is as sinful as miserable, will pose the wisdom of the 
world. Heaven itself seemed to be divided. Mercy inclined 
to save, but justice interposed for satisfaction. Mercy re- 
garded man with respect to his misery, and the pleas of it 
are, Shall the Almighty build to ruin? Shall the most ex- 
cellent creature in the lower world perish, the fault not 
being solely his? Shall the enemy triumph for ever, and 
raise his trophies from the works of the Most High? Shall 
the reasonable creature lose the fruition of God, and God the 
subjection and service of the creature, and all mankind be 
made in vain? Justice considered man as guilty of a trans- 
cendent crime, and it is its nature to render to every one 
what is due. Now " the wages of sin is death ;" and " shall 
not the Judge of all the world do right?" All the other at- 
tributes seemed to be attendants on justice. The wisdom of 
God enforced its plea, it being most indecent that sin which 
provokes the execution should procure the abrogation of the 
law ; this would encourage the commission of sin without 
fear. The majesty of God was concerned ; for it was not 
becoming his excellent greatness to treat with defiled dust, 
and to offer pardon to a presumptuous rebel immediately af- 
ter his offence, and before he made supplication to his Judge. 
The holiness of God did quicken his justice to execute the 
threatening; for "he is of purer eyes than to behold iniqui- 
ty." As goodness is the essential object of his will, which 
he loves unchangeably wherever it is, so is sin the eternal 
object of his hatred, and where it is found in the love of it, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 65 

it renders the subject odious to him. " He will not take the 
wicked by the hand," Job viii. 20, marginal reading. The 
law of contrariety forbids purity and pollution to mix toge- 
ther. And the veracity of God required the inflicting of the 
punishment ; for the law being a declaration of God's will, 
according to which he would dispense rewards and punish- 
ments, either it must be executed upon the offender, or if ex- 
traordinarily dispensed with, it must be upon such terms, as 
the honour of God's truth may be preserved. This seeming 
conflict was between the attributes. 

The sublimest spirits in heaven were at a loss how to un- 
ravel the difliculty, and to find out the miraculous way to re- 
concile infinite mercy with inflexible justice; how to satisfy 
the demands of the one, and the requests of the other. God was 
toovercomehimself before he restored man. In this exigence 
his mercy excited his wisdom to interpose as an arbiter, which, 
in the treasures of its incomprehensible light, found out an 
admirable expedient to save man without prejudice to his 
other perfections; this was by constituting a Mediator, both 
able and willing, between the guilty creature and himself; 
that by transferring the punishment on the surety, he might 
punish sin and pardon the sinner. 

And here the more severe and rigorous justice is, the more 
admirable is the mercy that saves. In the same stupendous 
sacrifice he declared his respect to justice and his delight in 
mercy. The two principal relations of our Redeemer are, 
the one of a gift from God to man, the other of an oblation 
for men to God. By the one, God satisfies his infinite love to 
man, and, by the other, satisfies his infinite justice for man. 
Neither is it unbecoming God to condescend in accepting the 
returning sinner, when a Mediator of infinite dignity inter- 
cedes for favour. The divine majesty is not lessened, when 
" God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself," 2 Cor. v. 
19. Neither is the sanctity of God disparaged by his clemen- 
cy to sinners, for the Redeemer is the principle and pattern 
of holiness to all that are saved. The same grace that in- 
clined God to send his Son to die for us, gives his Spirit to 
live in us, that we may be revived and renewed according to 
his image, and by conformity to God be prepared for com- 
munion with him. Here is a sweet concurrence of all the 
attributes ; " Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness 
and peace have kissed each other," Psalm Ixxxv. 10. Who 
can count up this heap of wonders ? Who can unfold all the 



66 THE HARMONY OF 

treasures of this mysterious love? The tongue of an angel 
cannot explicate it according to its dignity. It is the fairest 
copy of the divine wisdom, the consummation of all God's 
counsels, wherein all the attributes are displayed in their 
brightest lustre. It is here " the manifold wisdom of God ap- 
pears," Ephes, iii. 10. The angels of light bend themselves 
with extraordinary application of mind and ardent affections 
to study the rich and unsearchable variety that is in it, 1 Pet. 
i. 12; wapaKvxpai, an allusion to the posture of the cherubim 
looking into the ark. Only the same understanding com- 
prehends it, which contrived it. But as one views the ocean, 
though he cannot see its bounds or bottom, yet he sees so 
much as to know that, that vast collection of waters is far 
greater than what is within the compas of his short sight ; 
so though we cannot understand all the depths of that im- 
mense wisdom wliich ordered the way of our salvation, yet 
we may discover so much, as to know with the apostle, that 
it surpasses knowledge. He that is the brightness of his Fa- 
ther's glory and the light of the world, so illuminate our 
dark understandings, that we may conceive aright of this great 
mystery ! 

1. The first thing that offers itself to consideration, is, the 
compass of the divine wi.sdom, in taking occasion from the 
sin and fall of man to bring more glory to God, and to raise 
man to a more excellent state. Sin, in its own nature, hath 
no tendency to good; it is not an apt medium, it hath no 
proper efficacy to promote the glory of God : so far is it from 
a direct contributing to it, that, on the contrary, it is the most 
real dishonour to him. But as a black ground in a picture, 
which in itself only defiles, when placed by art, sets off the 
brighter colours and heightens their beauty; so the evil of 
sin, considered absolutely, obscures the glory of God, yet by 
the overruling disposition of his providence serves to illus- 
trate his name, and to make it more glorious in the esteem of 
reasonable creatures. Without the sin of man there had been 
no place for the most perfect exercise of his goodness. "O 
fcelix culpa quae tantum et talem meruit habere Redempto- 
rem." Happy fault, not in itself, but by the wiric and merci- 
ful counsel of God, to be repaired in a way so advantageous, 
that the salvation oi the earth is the wonder of heaven. The 
redemption of ma.j ravishes the angels. 

The glory of God is more visible in the recovery of lap- 
sed man, than if the law had been obeyed or executed. If 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 67 

Adam had persevered in his duty, the reward had been from 
grace, for owing himself to God, he could receive nothing but 
as a gift from his bounty; so that goodness only had then 
been exercised, and not in its highest and most obliging acts, 
which are to save the guilty and miserable ; for innocence is 
incapable of mercy. If the sentence had been inflicted, jus- 
tice had been honoured with a solemn sacrifice; but mercy, 
the sweet, tender, Lnd indulgent attribute, had never appear- 
ed. But now the wisdom of God is eminent in the accord 
of both these attributes. God is equally glorious, as equal- 
ly God, in preserving the authority of his law by an act of 
justice upon our Surety, as in the exercise of mercy by re- 
mitting the punishment to the offender. 

And it is no less honourable to God's wisdom to restore 
man with infinite advantage. It is a mystery in nature, that 
the corruption of one thing helps the generation of another; 
it is more mysterious in grace, that the fall of man should oc- 
casion his more noble restitution. Innocence was not his 
last end ; his supreme felicity transcends the first. The ho- 
liness of Adam was perfect, but mutable ; but holiness in the 
redeemed, though in a less degree, shall be victorious over all 
temptations; for they are joined to the heavenly Adam in a 
strict and inviolable union. And those graces are acted by 
them, for the exercise of M^hich there were no objects and 
occasions in innocence ; as compassion to the miserable, for- 
giveness of injuries, fortitude and patience; all which, as 
they are a most lively resemblance of the divine perfections, 
so an excellent ornament to the soul, and infinitely endear it 
to God, 1 Pet. iv. 14. And the happiness of our renewed 
state exceeds our primitive felicity. Whether we consider 
the nature of it, it is wholly spiritual ; or the place of it, hea- 
ven the sanctuary of life and immortality ; or the constitution 
of the body, v/hich shall be clothed with celestial qualities ; 
but this will be particularly discussed in its proper place. 

These are the effects of infinite wisdom, to the production 
of which sin affords no casualty, but hath merely an acciden- 
tal respect ; as the apostle interprets the words of David, 
" Against thee only have I sinned," " that thou mightest be 
justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou 
art judged," Rom. iii. 4 ; Psalm li. 4 ; which doth not respect 
the intention of David, but the event only. The greater his 
injustice was in the commission, the more clear would God's 
justice be in the condemnation of his sin. 



68 THE HARMONY OF 

2. The wisdom of God appeared in ordaining such a Me- 
diator who was qualified to reconcile God to man, and man 
to God. The first and most admirable article in the mystery 
of godliness, and the foundation of all the rest is, that " God 
was manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16. The middle must 
equally touch the extremes. A mediator must be capable of 
the sentiments and affections of both the parties he will re- 
concile. He must be a just esteemer of the rights and inju- 
ries of the one and the other, and have a common interest in 
both. The Son of God assuming the human nature, perfectly 
possesses these qualities; he hath zeal for God and compas- 
sion for man. He hath taken pledges of heaven and earth, 
the supreme nature in heaven and the most excellent on the 
earth, to make the hostility cease between them. He is Im- 
manuel by nature and office. And if no less than an inspired 
wisdom could devise how to frame the earthly tabernacle, 
(Exod. xxxvi.) wherein God dwelt in a shadow and typical 
manner, what wisdom was requisite to frame the human na- 
ture of Christ, wherein the Deity was really to dwell ! 

Now to discover more clearly the divine wisdom in uniting 
the two natures in Christ, to qualify him for his office, it is 
requisite to consider, that the office of Mediator hath three 
charges annexed to it ; the priestly, which respects God, the 
prophetical and kingly, which regard men. These have a 
respect to the evils Avhich oppress fallen man ; and they are 
guilt, ignorance, sin, and death. Man was capitally guilty 
of the breach of God's law, and under the tyranny of his 
lusts, and in the issue liable to death. The Redeemer is 
made to him wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
demption. These benefits are dispensed by him in his three- 
fold office. As a priest he expiates sin, as a prophet he in- 
structs the church, as a king he regulates the lives of his sub- 
jects, delivers them from their enemies, and makes them hap- 
py. Now the divine and human nature are requisite for the 
performance of all these for nothing is effectual to an end, 
but what is proportionable and commensurate thereunto ; and 
to proportion excesses, as well as defects, are opposite. This 
will appear by taking a distinct view of the several offices of 
our Mediator. 

(1.) The priestly office hath two parts — to make expiation 
for sin — and intercession for sinners. 

Now for making expiation for sin, there was a necessary 
concurrence of the two natures in our Redeemer. He must 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 69 

be man ; for the Deity was not capable of those submissions 
and sufferings which were requisite to expiate sin ; and he 
must be man, that the sinning nature might suffer, and there- 
by acquire a title to the satisfaction that is made. The me- 
ritorious imputation of Christ's sufferings to man, is grounded 
on the union between them, which is as well natural in his 
partaking of flesh and blood, as moral in the consent of their 
wills. As the apostle observes, Heb. ii. 1 1, that " he that 
sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one ;" so 
he that suffers, and they for whom he suffers, must have com- 
munion in the same nature. For this reason, God having 
resolved never to dispense mercy to the fallen angels, the 
Redeemer did not assume the angelical nature, but the seed 
of Abraham. 

And as the human nature Avas necessary to qualify him for 
sufferings, and to make them suitable, so the divine was to 
make them sufficient. The lower nature, considered in itself, 
could make no satisfaction. The dignity of the divine per- 
son makes a temporal punishment to be of an infinite value 
in God's account. Besides, the human nature had sunk un- 
der the weight of wrath, if the Deity had not been personally 
present to support it. Briefly ; to perform the first part of 
his office, he must suffer, yet be impassible ; die, yet be im- 
mortal ; and undergo the wrath of God, to deliver man 
from it. 

To make intercession for us, it was requisite that he should 
partake of both natures, that he might have credit with God, 
and compassion to man. The Son hath a prevailing interest 
in the Father, as he testifies, " I know thou hearest me al- 
w^ays," John xi. 42 ; a privilege which neither Abraham, Mo- 
ses, nor any other who were the most favoured saints, enjoy- 
ed. And, as man, he was fit for passion and compassion. 
The human nature is the proper subject of feeling pity, espe- 
cially when it hath felt misery. God is capable of love, not 
in strictness of compassion; for sympathy proceeds from an 
experimental sense of what one hath suffered ; and the sight 
of the . like affiiction in others, revives the affections which 
were felt in that state, and inclines to pity. The apostle of- 
fers this to believers as the ground of comfort, that he who 
took our nature, and felt our griefs, intercedes for us ; " For 
we have not an High-Priest which cannot be touched with 
the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted 
like as we are, yet without sin 3" that with an humble confi- 



70 THE HARMONY Of 

dence we may come to the " throne of grace," Heb. iv. 15. 
He hath drunk deepest of the cup of sorrows, that he may 
be an all-sufficient comforter to those that mourn. He hath 
such tender bowels, we may trust him to solicit our salvation. 
In short, it is the great support of our faith, that " we have 
access to the Father by the Son," and present all our requests 
by a Mediator so worthy and so dear to him ; and by one who 
left the joys of heaven, that by enduring affliction on earth, 
his heart might be made tunable to the hearts of the afflicted. 

(2.) For the discharge of the prophetical office, it was ne- 
cessary the Mediator should be God and man. 

He must be God, that he might deliver his counsels with 
more authority and efficacy than any mere creature could. 
He must be a teacher sent from heaven, that reveals to us 
the will of God concerning the way thither, and the certainty 
and excellency of that state. Now, Christ is the original of 
all wisdom ; it is not said, " The word of the Lord came to 
him," as to the prophets ; he is the fountain of all sacred 
knowledge. The Son came from the " bosom of the Father," 
the seat of his counsels and compassions, to reveal those se- 
crets which were concealed from the angels in that light 
which is inaccessible. And it is God alone who can teach 
the heart and convince the conscience, so as to produce a sa- 
ving belief of the heavenly doctrine, and a delight in the dis- 
covery, and a resolution to follow it wherever it directs. 

It was fit he should be man, that he might be familiarly 
conversant with us, and convey the counsels of God in such 
a way as man could receive. All saving truth comes from 
God, and it follows, by just consequence, that the nearer he 
is to us, the better we are likely to be instructed. 

Now there are two things M'hich render sinful man inca- 
pable of immediate converse with God — the infirmity of his 
nature, and the guilt that cleaves to him. — The infirmity of 
man's nature cannot endure the glory of God's appearance. 
When the law was delivered on Mount Sinai, the Israelites 
were under great terrors at the sights and prodigies which 
accompanied the divine presence, and they desired that God 
would speak to them no more in his majesty and greatness, 
lest they should die, Deut. v. 25. There is such a dispropor- 
tion between our meanness and his excellencies, that Daniel, 
though a favourite of heaven, yet his comeliness was turned 
into corruption at the sight of a vision, Dan. x. 17. And the 
beloved disciple fell down as dead at the appearance of Christ 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 71 

in his glory, Rev. i. 1 7. When the eye gazes on the sun, it 
is more tormented with the brightness, than pleased with the 
beauty of it; but when the beams are transmitted through a 
coloured medium, they are more temperate and sweetened 
to the sight. The eternal Word shining in his full glory, the 
more bright, the less visible is he to mortal eyes ; but the in- 
carnate Word is eclipsed and allayed by a " veil of flesh," 
and so made accessible to us. God, out of a tender respect 
to our frailty and fears, promised to raise up a prophet clothed 
in our nature, that we might comfortably and quietly receive 
his instructions, Deut. xviii. 15. Guilt makes us fearful of 
his presence. The approach of God awakens the conscience, 
which is his spy in our bosoms, and causes a dreadful appa- 
rition of sin in its view. When one beam of Christ's divinity 
broke forth in the miraculous draught of fishes, Peter cries 
out, " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," Luke 
V. 8. Holiness, armed with terror, strikes a sinner into con- 
sternation. Now when the mind is shaken with a storm of 
fear, it cannot calmly attend to the counsels of wisdom. But 
the Son of God appearing in our nature to expiate sin and 
appease divine justice, we are encouraged to draw near to 
him, and sit at his feet, to hear the " words of eternal life." 
Thus God complied with our necessity, that with a freer dis- 
pensation we might receive the counsels of our Saviour. 

(3.) He is qualified for the kingly office, by the union of 
tlie two natures in him. He must be God to conquer Satan, 
and convert the world. As eminent an act of power Avas ne- 
cessary to redeem, as to create ; for although the supreme 
Judge were to be satisfied by humble sufferings, yet Satan, 
who usurped the right of God (for man had no power to 
alienate himself) was to be subdued: having no just title, he 
was to be cast out by power. And no less than the divine 
power could accomplish our victorious rescue from him. In 
Lis love he pitied us, and " his holy arm got him the victory." 
Ke is the author of "eternal salvation," which no inferior 
agent could ever accomplish. It is God alone " can overcome 
death," and him that had "the power of death," and bring 
us safely to felicity. 

Besides, our king must be man, that by the excellency of 
his example, he might lead us in the way of life. The most 
rational method to reform the world, is, not only to enact 
laws to be the rule of virtuous actions, but for lawgivers to 
make virtue honourable and imitable by their own practice. 



72 THE HARMONY OF 

And to encourage us in the holy war against our enemies visible 
and invisible, it was congruous that the prince of our salvation 
should take the human nature, and submit to the inconve- 
niences of our warfaring state; as kings, when they design 
a glorious conquest, go forth in person, and willingly endure 
the hardships of a military conditon,to animate their armies. 
The apostle tells us, Heb. ii. 10. that it "became him, 
for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in 
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their 
salvation perfect through sufferings." God, the great de- 
signer of all things, foreseeing the sufferings to which the 
godly would be exposed in the world, ordained it as most 
convenient, tliat the author of their deliverance, should, by 
sufferings obtain the reward, that by his example, he might 
strengthen and deliver those that suffer to the end. Again; 
the Son of God entered into our family, and is not "asha- 
med to call us brethren," Ileb. ii. II. To make his sceptre 
amiable to us, he exerciseth his dominion with a natural and 
sensible touch of pit}'; he pardons our failings, and puts a 
value on our sincere though mean services, as an lionour 
done to him. Briefly: in him tliere is a combination of 
power and love ; the power of the Deity with the tender- 
ness and clemency of the human nature. 

He is the mighty God, and Prince of peace, Isa. ix. G. He 
is a king just and powerful against our enemies, but mild 
and gentle to his people, Zech. ix.O. He is willing to remove 
from us all the evils we cannot endure, our sins and sorrows; 
and able to convey to us all the blessings we are capable to 
enjoy. In all liis glory, he remembers that he is our Saviour. 
At the day of judgment, when he shall come with a train of 
mighty angels, he will be as tender of man, as when he suf- 
fered on the cross. 

And from hence we may discover the excellency of God's 
contrivance in uniting the divine and human nature in our 
Redeemer, that he might have ability and affection to quali- 
fy him for that great and blessed work. 

3. The divine wisdom appears in the designation of the 
person ; for God resolving to save man in a way that is 
honourable to his justice, it was expedient a person in the 
blessed Trinity should be put into a state of subjection, to 
endure the punishment due to sin, but it was not convenient 
the Father should; for he must then have been sent into the 
world, which is incongruous to the relations that are between 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 73 

those glorious persons ; for as they subsist in a certain order, 
so their operations are according to the manner of their sub- 
sistence. The Father is from himself, and the first motions 
in all things are ascribed to him; the Son is from the Fa- 
ther, and all his actions take their rise from him. " The Son 
can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do," 
John V. 19. The effecting of our redemption is referred to 
the Father's will as the supreme cause ; our Saviour, upon 
his entrance into the world to undertake that work, declares, 
" I come to do thy will, O God," Heb. x. 7. Upon this ac- 
count the apostle addresses his thanks to the Father as the 
first agent in our salvation, Col. i. 12; which is not to lessen 
the glory of the Son and Spirit, but to signify, that in the ac- 
complishment of it, their working follows their being. — It 
was not fit that the Father should be incarnate ; for he must 
then have sustained the part of a criminal, and appeared in 
that quality before the supreme Judge ; but this was not con- 
sonant to the order among the persons; for although they 
are of equal majesty, being one God, yet the Father is the 
first person, and to him belongs most congruously to be 
the guardian of the laws and rights of heaven, to exact satis- 
faction for offences, and to receive intercessions for the par- 
don of the penitent. 

Neither was it fit that the third person should undertake 
that work ; for besides the sacrifice of propitiation, it was 
necessary the divine power should be exerted, to enlighten 
the minds and incline the wills of men to receive the Re- 
deemer, that the benefits of his death might be applied to 
them. Now, the Redeemer is considered as the object, and 
the Holy Spirit as the disposer of the faculty to receive it ; 
and in the natural order of things, the object must exist 
before the operation of the faculty upon it. There must 
be light before the eye can see. So in the disposition of 
the causes of our salvation, the Redeemer must be ordain- 
ed and salvation purchased, before the divine power is put 
forth to enable the soul to receive it; and accordingly it is 
the office of the Spirit, who is the power of God, Luke i. 35, 
and by whom the Father and the Son execute all things, to 
render effectual the redemption procured by the Son. 

Briefly ; the mission of the persons is according to their 
principle. The Father sends the Son to require salvation for 
us, John iii. 17; the Son sends the Spirit to apply it, John 
xvi. 7. Thus there is no disturbing of their sacred order. 

G 



74 THE HARMONY OF 

More particularly; in appointing the Son to assume the 
hinnan nature, and to restore lapsed man, the wisdom of God 
is evident ; for by that, 

(1.) The properties of the sacred persons are preserved 
entire: the same title is appropiated to both natures in our 
Mediator. His state on earth corresponds with his state in 
heaven. He is the only Son from eternity, and the first born 
in time: and the honour due to the eternal and divine, and 
to the temporal but supernatural sonship, is attributed to him. 

(2.) To unite tlie glorious titles of Creator and Redeemer 
in the same person. The Father made the world by the Son, 
Heb. i. 2. By this title he had an original propriety in man, 
which could not be extinguished. Though we had forfeited 
our right in him, he did not lose his right in us. Our con- 
tract with Satan could not nullify it. Now it was consonant 
that the Son should be employed to recover his own, that 
the Creator in the beginning should be the Redeemer in the 
fulness of time. 

(3.) Who could more fitly restore us to favour and 
the right of children, than the only begotten and only be- 
loved Son, who is the singular and everlasting object of his 
Father's delight? Our relation to God is an imitation and 
expression of Christ's. He is a son by nature, a servant by 
condescension ; we are servants by nature, and sons by grace 
and favour. Our adoption into the line of heaven is by the 
purchase of his blood. Tlie eternal Son "took flesh," and 
was "' made under the law, that we might receive the adop- 
tion of sons," Gal. iv. 5 ; Rom. viii. 29. Who was more fit 
to repair the image of God in man, and beautify his nature 
that was defiled with sin, than the Son who is " the express 
image" of his Father's person, and brightness and beauty it- 
self? Who can better communicate the divine counsels to 
us, than the eternal World ? 

4. The wisdom of God appears in making the remedy to 
have a proportion to the cause of our ruin ; that as we fell 
in Adam, our representative, so we are raised by Christ, the 
head of our recovery, 1 Cor. xv. 22. The apostle makes the 
comparison between the first and second Adam ; " There- 
fore as by the ot^ence of one, judgment came upon all men 
to condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one, the 
free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For 
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so 
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous," 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 75 

Rom. V. 18, 19. They are considered as causes of contrary- 
effects. The effects are sin and righteousness, condemnation 
and justification. As the disobedience of the first Adam is 
meritoriously imputed to all his natural posterity, and brings 
death upon all ; so the righteousness of the second is meri- 
toriously imputed to all his spiritual progeny, to obtain 
life for them. The carnal Adam, having lost original right- 
eousness, derives a corrupt nature to all that descend from 
him ; and the spiritual, having by his obedience purchased 
divine grace for us, (that being the price without which so 
rich a treasure as holiness could not be obtained,) conveys a 
vital efficacy to renew his people. The same spirit of holi- 
ness which anointed our Redeemer, does quicken all his race, 
that as they have borne the image of the earthly, they may 
bear the image of the heavenly Adam, 1 Cor. xv. 49. 

5. The divine wisdom is visible in the manner whereby 
our redemption is accomplished ; that is, by the humiliation 
of the Son of God. By this he did counterwork the sin of 
angels and man. Pride is the poison of every sin, for in 
every one the creature prefers his pleasure, and sets up his 
will, above God's ; but it was the special sin of Adam. The 
devil would have levelled heaven by an unpardonable usur- 
pation ; he said, " I will be like the Most High :" and man 
infected with his breath, " You shall be like God," became 
sick of the same disease. Now Christ, that by the quality 
of the remedy he might cure our disease in its source and 
cause, applied to our pride an unspeakable humility. 

Man was guilty of the highest robbery in affecting to be 
equal with God ; and the eternal Son, who was " in the form 
of God," and equal to him in majesty and authority without 
sacrilege or usurpation, emptied himself by assuming the 
human nature in its servile state, Phil. ii. 6. " The Word 
was made flesh ;" the meanest part is specified, to signify the 
greatness of his abasement. There is such an infinite dis- 
tance between God and flesh, that the condescension is as ad- 
mirable as the contrivance. So great was the malignity of 
our pride, for the cure of which such a profound humility 
was requisite. By this he destroyed the first work of the 
devil, 1 John iii. 8. 

6. The wisdom of God appears in ordaining such con- 
temptible, and, in appearance, opposite means, to accomplish 
such glorious effects. The way is as wonderful as the work. 
That Christ by dying on the cross, a reputed malefactor, 



76 THE HARMONY OF 

should be made our eternal righteousness ; that descending 
to the grave, he should bring up the lost world to life and 
immortality, is so incredible to our narrow understandings, 
that he saves us and astonishes us at once. And in nothing 
is it more visible, that the thoughts of God are far above our 
thoughts, and his ways above our ways, as heaven is above 
the earth, Isa. iv. 8. It is a secret in physic to compound 
the most noble remedies of things destructive to nature, and 
thereby make one death victorious over another ; but that 
eternal life should spring from death, glory from ignominy, 
blessedness from a curse, is so repugnant to human sense, that 
to render tlie belief of it easy, it was foretold by many pro- 
phecies, that when it came to pass, it might be looked on as 
the effect of God's eternal counsel. Tlie apostle tells us, that 
Christ crucified was " to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to 
the Gentiles foolishness," 1 Cor. i. 23. The grand sophies 
of the world esteemed it absurd and unreasonable to believe, 
that he who was exposed to sufferings, could save others : but 
those who arc called, discover that the doctrine of salvation, 
by the cross of Christ, which the world counted folly, is the 
great " wisdom of God," and most convenient for his end. 

A double reason is given of this method. 

(1.) Because the heathen world did not find and own God 
in the way of nature. " For after that, in the wisdom of 
God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by 
the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe," 1 
Cor. i. 21. The frame of the world is called the wisdom of 
God ; the name of the cause is given to the effect in regard 
the divine wisdom is so clearly discovered there, as if it had 
taken a visible form, and presented itself to the view of men. 
But those who professed themselves wise, did not acknow- 
ledge the Creator ; for some conceited the world to be eter- 
nal, others that it was the product of chance, and became 
guilty of the most absolute contradiction to reason ; for who 
can believe that one who is blind from his birth, and by con- 
sequence perfectly ignorant of all colours and of the art of 
painting, should take a bundle of pencils into his hand, and 
dipping them in colours mixed and corrupted, paint a great 
battle with that perfection in the design, propriety in the co- 
lours, distinction in the habits and countenances, as if it were 
not represented, but present to the spectators ? WTio ever 
saw a temple, or palace, or any regular building, spring from 
the stony bowels of a mountain ? Yet some famous philo- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 77 

Sophers " became thus vain in their imaginations," fancying 
that the world proceeded from the casual concourse of atoms: 
and the rest of them neglected to know God so far as they 
might, and to honour him so far as they knew, Rom. i. 21. 
They debased the Deity by unworthy conceptions of his na- 
ture, and by performing such acts of worship, as were not 
fit for a rational spirit to offer, nor for the pure majesty of 
heaven to receive. Besides they ascribed his name, attri- 
butes, and honour to creatures. Not only the lights of hea- 
ven, and the secret powers which they supposed did govern 
them ; not only kings, and great men who were, by their au 
thority, raised above others, but the most despicable things in 
nature, beasts and birds, were the objects of their adoration. 
" They changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into an 
image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four- 
footed beasts, and creeping things ;" a sin so foul, that it be- 
trayed them to brutish blindness, and to the most infamous 
lusts natural and unnatural, Rom. i. 23. Now since the most 
clear and open discovery of God's wisdom was ineffectual to 
reclaim the world, he was pleased to change his method. 
They neglected him appearing in his majesty, and he now 
comes clothed with infirmities. And since by natural light 
they would not see God the Creator, he is imperceptible to 
the light of nature as Redeemer : the discovery of him de- 
pends on revelation. The wisdom of God in making the 
world is evident to every ej^e, but the gospel is " wisdom in 
a mystery," 1 Cor. ii. 7. The Deity was conspicuous in the 
creation, but concealed under a veil of flesh when he wrought 
our redemption. He was more easily discovered when invi- 
sible, than when visible. He created the world by power, 
but restored it by sufferings. 

(2.) That the honour of all might solely redound to him. 
" God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound 
the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the 
things which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
things which are despised, hath God chosen ; yea. and things 
which are not, to bring to nought things that are ; that no 
flesh should glory in his presence," 1 Cor. i. 27, 29. Thus 
Moses, the redeemer of Israel, was an infant exposed to the 
mercy of the waters, drawn forth from an ark of bulrushes, 
and not employed whilst he lived in the splendour of the 
court, but when banished as a criminal, and deprived of all 
power. And our Redeemer took not on him the nature of 



78 THE HARMONY OF 

angels equal to Satan in power, but took part of flesh and 
blood, the more signally to triumph over that proud spirit in 
the human nature which was inferior to his, and had been 
vanquished by him in paradise : therefore he did not imme- 
diately exercise omnipotent power to destroy him, but ma- 
naged our weakness and infirmity to foil the roaring lion. 
He did not enter into the combat in the glory of his Deity, 
but disguised under the human nature which was subject to 
mortality. And thus the devil is overcome in the same man- 
ner as he first got the victory ; for as the whole race of man 
was captivated by him in Adam the representative, so belie- 
vers are victorious over him as the tempter and tormentor, 
by the conquest that Christ their representative obtained in 
the wilderness and on the cross. And as our ruin was ef- 
fected by the subtilty of Satan, so our recovery is Avrought 
by the wisdom of God, who " taketh the wise in their own 
craftiness," 1 Cor. iii. 19. The devil excited Judas by ava- 
rice, the Jews by malice, and Pilate from reason of stale to 
accomplish the death of Christ ; and he then seemed to be 
victorious. Now what was more honourable to the Prince 
of our salvation, than the turning of the enemy's point upon 
his own breast, and by dying, to overcome him that had the 
power of death ? Heb. ii. 14. This was signified in the first 
promise of the gospel, where the salvation of man is inclosed 
in the curse of the serpent, that is the devil clothed with that 
figure ; " It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 
heel," Gen. iii. 15 ; that is, the Son of God sliould, by suffer- 
ing in our flesh, overcome the enemy of mankind and rescue 
innumerable captives from his tyranny: here the events are 
most contrary to the probability of their cause. And what is 
more worthy, of God, than to obtain his ends in such a manner, 
as the glory of all may be " in solidum," ascribed to him ? 

7. The divine wisdom appears in laying the design of the 
gospel in such a manner, as to provide for the comfort and 
promote the holiness of man. 

(1.) This is God's signature upon all heavenly doctrines, 
which distinguishes tliem from carnal inventions — they have 
a direct tendency to promote his glory and the real benefit 
of the rational creature. Thus the way of salvation by Je- 
sus Christ, is most fit as to reconcile God to man by secur- 
ing his honour, so to reconcile man to God by encouraging 
his hope. Till this be eflfected, he can never be happy in com- 
munion with God; for that is nothing else but the reciprocal 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 



79 



exercise of love between God and the soul. Now nothing 
can represent God as amiable to a guilty creature, but his 
inclination to pardon. Whilst there are apprehensions of in- 
exorable severity, there will be hard thoughts burning in the 
breast against God : till the soul is released from terrors, it 
can never truly love him. To extinguish our hatred, he must 
conquer our fears, and this he hath done by giving us the 
most undoubted and convincing evidence of his affections — 
by contracting the most intimate alliance with mankind. In 
this God is not only lovely, but love, 1 John iv. 8, 9 ; and 
his love is not only visible to our understandings, but to our 
senses. The divine nature in Christ is joined to the human in 
a union that is not typical or temporary, but real and perma- 
nent. " The Word was made flesh," John i. 14. and " in him 
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9. 
Now as love is an affection of union, so the strictest union is 
an evidence of the greatest love. The Son of God " took the 
seed of Abraham," the original element of our nature, that 
our interest in him might be more clear and certain, Heb. 
ii. 16. He stooped from the height of his glory to our low 
embraces, that we might with more confidence lay hold on 
his mercy. — By providing complete satisfaction to offended 
justice. The guilty, convinced creature is restless and inqui- 
sitive after a way to escape " the wrath to come;" for being 
under the apprehension that God is an incensed judge, it is 
very sensible of the greatness and nearness of the danger, 
there being nothing between it and eternal torments but a thin 
veil of flesh. Now an abundant satisfaction is made, that 
most effectually expiates and abolishes the guilt of sin. That 
is a temporary act, but of infinite evil, being committed 
against an infinite object; the death of Christ was a tempo- 
rary passion, but of infinite value, in respect of the subject: 
the honour of the law is fully repaired, so that God is justly 
merciful, and dispenses pardon to the glory of his righteous- 
ness. He hath set forth liis Son " to be a propitiation through 
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, that he might 
be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," 
Rom. iii. 25, 26. And what stronger security can be given, 
that God is ready to pardon man, upon his accepting the 
terms of the gospel, than the giving of his Son to be our 
atonement? If the stream swell so high as to overflow the 
banks, will it stop in a descending valley? Hath he, with so 
dear an expense, satisfied his justice, and will he deny his 



80 THE HARMONY OF 

mercy lo relenting and returning sinners? This argument 
is powerful enough to overcome the most obstinate infidelity. 
— By the unspeakable gift of his Son, he assures our hopes 
of heaven, which is a reward so great and glorious, that our 
guilty hearts are apt to suspect we shall never enjoy it. We 
are secure of his faithfulness, having his infallible promise; 
and of his goodness, having such a pledge in our hands ; as 
the apostle argues, Rom. viii. 32 ; " He that spared not his 
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not 
with him also freely give us all things?" Will he give us 
the tree of life, and not permit us to eat of its fruit ? Is it 
conceivable, that having laid the foundation of our happiness 
in the death of his Son, an act to which his tender affection 
seemed so repugnant, that he will not perform the rest, which 
he can do by the mere signification of his will ? It is an ex- 
cellent encouragement St. Austin propounds from hence; 
"Securus esto accepturum le vitam ipsius, qui pignus habes 
mortis ipsius," &c. Be assured thou shalt partake of his life, 
who hast the pledge of it in his death. He hath performed 
more than he promised. It is more incredible that the Eter- 
nal should die, than that a mortal creature should live for ever. 

In short; since no mortal eye can discover the heavenly 
glory to convince us of the reality of the invisible state, and 
to support our departmg souls in their passage througli the 
dark and terrible valley, our Saviour rose from the grave, as- 
cended in our nature to heaven, and is the model of our hap- 
piness : he is at the right hand of God to dispense life and 
immortality to all tliat believe on him. And what can be 
more comfortable to us, than tlie assurance of that blessed- 
ness, which, as it eclipses all the glory of the world, so i* 
makes death itself desirable in order to the enjoyment of it ? 

(2.) As the comfort, so the holiness of man is most pro- 
moted in this way of our redemption. Suppose we had been 
recovered upon easier terms, the evil of sin would have been 
lessened in our esteem, and the mercy that saves us, had 
not appeared so great. We are apt to judge of the danger 
of a disease from the difficulty of its cure; hunger is repu- 
ted a small trouble, (although if it be not satisfied it will 
prove deadly) because a small price will procure what may 
remove it. He that falls into a pit and is drawn forth by an 
easy pull of the hand, doth not think himself greatly obliged 
to the person that helped him, though if he had remained 
there, he must have perished. But when the Son of God 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 81 

had suffered for us more than ever one friend suffered for 
another, or a father for a son, or than the strength and pa- 
tience of an angel can endure ; who would not be struck with 
horror at the thought of that poison which required such a 
dreadful cure? And the benefit we receive in so costly a 
way, is justly magnified by us. Now what is more apt to in- 
flame our love to God, than the admirable expression of his 
love to us, in that with the most precious blood he ransomed 
us from hell? How did it endear obedience, that God had 
sacrificed his Son to keep us from acts of hostility? So that 
the grace of the gospel is so far from indulging sin, that it 
gives the most deadly wound to it : especially when the tenor 
of the new covenant is, that the condemned creature, in or- 
der to receive pardon and the benefits that are purchased, 
must receive the Benefactor, with the most entire consent, 
for his Prince and Saviour. The law of faith requires us to 
submit to the sceptre, as well as to depend upon his sacrifice. 
The gospel is a- conditional act of oblivion, that none may 
venture to sin upon confidence of pardon. 

And since the occasion of the fall was from a conceit, that 
man could better his estate by complying with the tempter, 
and obtain a more desirable happiness in the creature than 
in the favour of God; his recovery is by revealing to him 
wherein true blessedness consists, and giving him an assu- 
rance that he may obtain it; for man will never subject him- 
self to God as his highest Lord, till he looks on him as his 
last end and sovereign good. Now the gospel offers to us 
the most effectual means to convince man of the folly of his 
choice in making the creature his happiness : for the Son of 
God, who M-as heir of all things, during his continuance in 
the ^vorld, was in the perpetual exercise of self-denial. He 
lived a despised life and died an ignominious death, to dis- 
cover to us, that as the miseries of this life cannot make us 
truly miserable, so the prosperities of it cannot make us tru- 
ly happy. Besides, how is it possible that the wretched en- 
joyment of this world should be the blessedness for which 
he spent his sweat, his tears, his blood? The rich price he 
laid down doth most powerfully convince us, that our fe- 
licity is infinitely more valuable than all earthly things, 
and can be no less than the fruition of God himself. Thus 
the divine wisdom hath so ordered the way of our salvation, 
that as mercy and justice in God, so holiness and comfort 
may be perfectly united in the reasonable creature. 



82 THE HARMONY OP 

CHAPTER VI. 

PRACTICAL INFERENCES. 

1. What a superlative degree of praise and thankfulness 
is due to God, for revealing his eternal and compassionate 
counsel in order to our salvation ! 

The fall of man was so wounding and deadly, that only 
an infinite understanding could find out the means for his 
recovery. And if that mercy which moved the Lord to or- 
dain the remedy, had not discovered it, a thick cloud of de- 
spair had covered mankind, heing for ever unahle to conceive 
the way of our redemption. It is a mystery which " eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of 
man to conceive," I Cor. ii. 9. All human knowledge is ac- 
quired by two sorts of faculties ; the external and internal. 
Of the first, sight and hearing are the most spiritual, and 
convey the knowledge of the most worthy objects; they 
are the senses of discipline ; the other three are immersed 
in matter, and are incapable to make such clear discoveries. 
Besides those impressions that are made upon the senses, we 
may form some ideas in the imagination ; upon which the mind 
reflecting may argue and discourse : thus far only the light 
and vigour of the understanding can go; so that the apostle 
declares, that tlie whole plot of the gospel was without the 
compass of our most searching faculties. 

This will be evident by considering, 

1. There was no discovery of it in the creation. The voice 
of the heavens instructs us concerning the being of God, but 
not in the secrets of his will. The economy of man's re- 
demption is the merciful design of God, which hath no con- 
nexion with the existence of the creatures, but depends only 
upon his good pleasure. It is as impossible to read the di- 
vine decrees in the volume of the world, as for the eye to 
discover a sound, wliich hath neither figure, colour, nor visi- 
ble motion. Besides the glorious nature of God in three per- 
sons, which is the foundation of this mysterious mercy, is 
not made known by tlie visible frame of the universe. It is 
true, in all external works the three persons are equally con- 
cerned: being of one essence, they are of one efficacy; and 
the essential perfections of the Deity, as they concur, so they 
are evident in the production of all things. The first motive 
is goodness; that which orders and directs, is wisdom; that 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 83 

which executes, is power, Rom. i. 20. And the several ranks 
of creatures, according to their state, reflect an honour on 
their Author. Things endued with life, declare him to be 
the fountain of life, and intellectual creatures represent him 
to be the Father of lights. But the personal being, as per- 
sonal, operating nothing out of the divine nature, there is no 
resemblance in the world that expresses the distinction, pro- 
priety, and singularity of the persons, so as to discover them 
to the human understanding. Those deeper mysteries of the 
Deity are made known only by the word of God. 

2. It is above the strain and reach of natural reason to at- 
tain the knowledge of it. There are seminal sparks of the law 
in* the heart of man, Rom. ii. 15; some common principles 
of piety, justice, and charity, without which the world would 
soon disband and fall into confusion ; but there is not the 
least presumption or conjecture of the contrivance of the 
gospel. Though misery sharpens the mind and makes it 
more ingenious to find out ways of deliverance, yet here rea- 
son was utterly at a loss. How could it ever enter into the 
thoughts of the Israelites, that by erecting a brazen serpent 
upon a pole and looking towards it, the wounds made by the 
fiery serpents should be healed ? And how should guilty man 
find out a way to satisfy infinite justice by the suflferings of 
a Mediator, and to heal the wounded spirit by believing on 
hinv? The most inquiring reason could never have thouglit 
of the wonders of the incarnation, that a virgin should con- 
ceive, and a God be born ; or of the death of the Prince of 
life, and ihe resurrection, and ascension of the Lord of glory. 

We may see how impossible it is for the natural under- 
standing to discover the mystery of redemption, when those 
that had the highest reputation for wisdom were ignorant of 
the creation. The philosophers were divided in nothing 
more, than in their account of the world's original. Some 
imagined it to proceed from water, others from fire; some 
from order, others from confusion ; some to be from 
eternity, others in time. If the soul's eye be so weaken- 
ed as not to see that eternal power which is so apparent in 
its eftects, much less could it pierce into the will and free de- 
terminations of God, of which there is not the least intima- 
tion or shadow in the things that are made. This wisdom 
comes from above, and " was hidden from ages and genera- 
tions," Col. i. 26. It is called the "mystery of Christ," Ephes. 
iii. 4; he is the object and revealer of it: — the "mystery of 



84 THE HARMONY OP 

the faith," the discovery of which was by pure revelation, 
1 Tim, iii. 9 ; — the " mystery of his will," an inviolable se- 
cret, till he was pleased to make it known, Ephes. i. 9. Were 
the human understanding as clear as it is corrupt, yet it can- 
not, by the strength of discourse, arrive at the knowledge of 
it. Supernatural revelation was necessary to discover it to 
the angels. The thoughts of men are a secret, into which 
the Creator alone had right to enter, 2 Chron. vi. 30, it be- 
ing his prerogative to search the heart j the angels conjec- 
ture only, from the dispositions of men, from outward cir- 
cumstances, from the images in the fancy, and from material 
impressions on the blood and spirits, what are the thoughts 
of the heart : and much less can they discover the counsel 
of God himself. The apostle tells us, to principalities and 
powers in heavenly places, by the church, the manifold wis- 
dom of God is made known, Ephes. iii. 10. By the first 
coming of Christ and the conversion of the world, the 
depths of the divine wisdom were opened, and there re- 
mains much undiscovered, which his second coming shall 
gloriously make known. Before the first, they understood not 
the foundation ; till tlie second, not the perfection of our re- 
covery. Briefly; the Spirit that searches the mysterious 
counsel of God, is the alone intelligencer of heaven, that re- 
veals them to the world, 1 Cor. ii. 10. And the more to in- 
cite us with sincere and humble thankfulness to acknowledge 
this invaluable mercy, it will be useful to reflect on the state 
of the heathen world, who are entirely ignorant of this mys- 
tery. 

The apostle describes the case of the Gentiles in such 
terms as argue it to be extremely dangerous, if not despe- 
rate ; their understanding was darkened, being alienated from 
the life of God, tliroiigh tlie ignorance that is in them ;" they 
were "without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Is- 
rael, strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope," 
Ephes. ii. 12; iv. 18. They had no sense of their misery, 
no expectation, nor desire of mercy. Not only the barbarous 
and savage, but the polished and civilized nations are called 
aOcoi, being without the knowledge of the true God and of a 
Saviour. Philosophy never made one believer. And as the 
want of a sovereign remedy exposes a man that hath a mor- 
tal disease to certain ruin, so the single ignorance of the gos- 
pel leaves men in a state of perdition. It is true, where the 
faculties are not capable, or the object is not revealed, God 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 85 

doth not impute the want of knowledge as a crime ; but sal- 
vation is obtained only by the covenant of grace, which is 
founded in the satisfaction of the Redeemer ; and it is by the 
knowledge of him that he justifies many, Isa. liii. 11. God 
would have all men saved by coming " to the knowledge of 
the truth ;" that is, the doctrine of the gospel, so called in re- 
spect to its excellency, being the most profitable that ever 
was revealed, 1 Tim. ii. 4. The infants of believers are saved 
by special privilege, for the merits of Christ, without any ap- 
prehension of him ; but others who are come to the use of 
reason, are made partakers of blessedness by the knowledge 
of God in Christ; "This is life eternal, that they might know 
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent," John xvii. 3. The sun quickens some creatures by its 
vital influences, which are buried in the caves of the earth 
and never see the light, but the Sun of righteousness illumi- 
nates all whom he saves. What degree of knowledge is ne- 
cessary of the dignity of his person and the efficacy of his 
mediation, I cannot determine; but that the heathens who 
are absolutely strangers to the holy means of our recovery, 
and do not believe on God reconciled in the Son of his love, 
should partake of saving mercy ; I do not see any thing in 
the gospel which is the revelation of God's will concerning 
our salvation, upon which to build a rational hope. Indeed 
if any heathen Avere seriously penitent, God is so merciful, 
that he would rather despatch an angel from heaven, saying, 
" Deliver him from going down into the pit, I have found a 
ransom ;" or by some extraordinary way instruct him in the 
necessary knowledge of our Saviour, than suffer him to perish. 
But repentance as well as forgiveness, is purchased and dis- 
pensed by our Saviour alone ; and that any receive this bene- 
fit, who are entirely ignorant of the Benefactor, we cannot 
tell. Now this should raise our esteem of the discriminating 
favour of God to us. 

What a flood of errors and miseries covered the earth, 
when " the grace of God that bringeth salvation" first ap- 
peared ? The deluge was universal, and so was the destruc- 
tion. Those that were most renowned for wisdom, the phi- 
losophers of Greece and the orators of Rome, were swallow- 
ed up, onl}'- the church of Christ is triumphant over the mer- 
ciless v/aters. W^^en Noah, from the top of tlie mountain, 
saw the sad remains of that dreadful inundation, what a live- 
ly sense of joy possessed his breast ! As misery is heighten- 

H 



186 THE HARMONY OF 

ed, SO happiness is set off by comparison : not that there is 
any regular content to see the destruction of others, but the 
sense of our own preservation from a common ruin, raises 
our joy to its highest elevation. The first work of Noah, 
after his deliverance, was to build an altar, on which to offer 
the sacrifices of thanksgiving to his preserver. We should 
imitate his example. 

How many nations, unknown to our world, remain in the 
darkness and shadow of death, now " the day-spring from 
on high hath visited us !" This special favour calls for spe- 
cial thankfulness. Were there any qualities in us to incline 
God to prefer us before others, it would lessen our esteem of 
the benefit. But this distinguishing mercy is one of those 
free acts of God, for which there is no reason in the objects 
on which they are exercised. St. Austin calls it " Profun- 
dum crucis." As the lowest part of the cross is under ground, 
unseen, but the upper part is exposed to sight ; so the effects 
of the divine predestination, tlic fruits of the cross, are visi- 
ble, but the reasons are not within our view. When " God 
divided the world," and chose Israel for his heritage to re- 
ceive the promise of the Messiah, and left the rest in thick 
and disconsolate darkness, there was no apparent cause of 
this inequality ; for they all sprang from the same corrupt 
root, and e(jually deserved a final rejection. There was no 
singular good in them, nor transcendent evil in others. The 
unaccountable pleasure of God was the sole motive of the 
different dispensation. Our Saviour breaks forth in an ec- 
stasy of joy, " I thank thee, O Fatlier, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that thou hast hid these things from (lie wise and pru- 
dent, and hast revealed them unto babes : even .so. Father, 
for so it seemed good in thy sight," Luke x. 21. It is the 
prerogative of God to reveal the secrets of the kingdom to 
whom he pleases. Mat. xiii. 11. It is an act of pure grace, 
putting a difference between one nation and another, with 
the same liberty, as in the creation of the same indigested 
matter he formed the earth, the dregs of the universe, and 
the sun and stars the ornaments of the heavens, and the 
glory of the visible world. How can we reflect on our spi- 
ritual obligations to divine grace without a rapture of soul? 
The corruption of nature was universal ; our ignorance as 
perverse, and our manners as profane, as of other nations, and 
we had been condemned to an eternal night, if the light of 
life had not graciously sliined upon us. This should warm 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 87 

our hearts in affectionate acknowledgments to God, who hath 
" made known to us the riches of the glory of this mystery, 
among the Gentiles," Col. i. 26, 27 ; and with that revelation 
the concomitant power of the Spirit, to translate us " from 
the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son." 
If the publication of the law by the ministry of angels to the 
Israelites were such a privilege, that it is reckoned their pe- 
culiar treasure ; " he hath showed his statutes unto Israel ; he 
hath not dealt so with any nation," Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20 ; 
what is the revelation of the gospel by the Son of God him- 
self? For although the law is obscured and defaced since 
the fall, yet there are some ingrafted notions of it in the hu- 
man nature ; but there is not the least suspicion of the gos- 
pel. The law discovers our^misery, but the gospel alone 
shows the way to be delivered from it. If an advantage so 
great and so precious doth not touch our hearts ; and in pos- 
sessing it with joy, if we are not sensible of the engagement 
the Father of mercies hath laid upon us, we shall be the un- 
gratefullest wretches in the world. 

II. This incomprehensible mystery is worthy of our most 
serious thoughts and study, that we may arrive to a fuller 
knowledge of it. And to incite us, it will be fit to consider 
those excellencies, which wall render it most desirable. 

Knowledge is a quality so eminent, that it truly ennobles 
one spirit above another. As reason is the singular orna- 
ment of the human nature, whereby it excels the brutes ; so 
in proportion, knowledge, which is the perfection of the un- 
derstanding, raises those who are possessors of it above others 
that want it. The testimony of Solomon confirms this, 
" Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light ex- 
celleth darkness," Eccles. ii. 13. And according to the na- 
ture and quality of knowledge, such is the advantage it brings 
to us. Now the doctrine of the gospel excels the most noble 
sciences, as well contemplative as practical. 

It excels the contemplative in the sublimity of the object 
and in the certainty of its principle. 

(1.) In the sublimity and greatness of the object ; and this 
is no less than the highest design of the eternal wisdom, the 
most glorious work of the great God. In the creation his 
footsteps appear, in our redemption his image ; in the law 
his justice and holiness, but in the gospel all his perfections 
shine forth in their brightest lustre. The bare theory of this 
enriches the mind, and the contemplation of it aflfects the 



88 THE HARMONY OP 

soul that is conversant about it, with the highest admiration, 
and most sincere and lasting delight. 

It affects the soul with the highest admiration. The 
strongest spirits cannot comprehend its just greatness : the 
understanding sinks under the weight of glory. The apos- 
tle who had seen the light of heaven, and had such know- 
ledge as never any man had before, yet, upon considering 
one part of the divine wisdom, breaks forth in astonishment, 
" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and know- 
ledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his 
ways past finding out I" Rom. xi. 33. It is fit when we have 
spent the strength of our minds in the consideration of this 
excelling object, and are at the end of our subtilty, to supply 
the defects of our understandings with admiration ; as the 
psalmist expresses himself, " Lord, how wonderful are thy 
thoughts to US-ward !" The angels adore this glorious mys- 
tery with an humble reverence, 1 Pet. i. 12. The admira- 
tion that is caused by it, is a principal delight of the mind. 
It is true, the wonder that proceedeth from ignorance, when 
the cause of some visible effect is not known, is the imper- 
fection and torment of the spirit ; but that which arises from 
the knowledge of those things which are most above our con- 
ception and our hope, is the highest advancement of our 
minds, and brings the greatest satisfaction to the soul. Now 
the contrivance of our redemption, was infinitely above the 
flight of reason and our expectation. When the Lord turned 
the captivity of Sion, they were as in a dream, Psalm cxxvi. 
1. The way of accomplishing it was so incredible, that it 
seemed rather the picture of fancy, than a real deliverance. 
And there is far greater reason that the rescuing of us from 
the powers of hell, and the restoring of us to liberty and 
glory by Christ, should raise our wonder. The gospel is 
called a " marvellous light," upon the account of the objects 
it discovers, 1 Pet. ii. 9. But such a perverse judgment there 
is in men, that they neglect those things which deserve the 
highest admiration, and spend their wonder on meaner 
things. Art is more admired than nature; a counterfeit eye 
of crystal, which hath neither sight nor motion, than the 
living eye, the sun of the little world, that directs the whole 
man. And the effects of nature are more admired, than the 
sublime and supernatural works of grace ; yet these infinite- 
ly exceed the other. The world is the work of God's hand, 
but the gospel is his plot, and the chiefest of all his ways. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 89 

What a combination of wonders is there in the great myste- 
ry of godliness ! That he who fills heaven and earth, should 
be confined to the virgin's womb ; that life should die, and 
being dead revive ! that mercy should triumph without any 
disparagement to justice ! These are miracles that transcend 
all that is done in nature. And this appears by the judg- 
ment of God himself, who best knows the excellency of his 
own works ; for whereas upon finishing the first creation, he 
ordained the seventh day, that reasonable creatures might 
more solemnly ascribe to him the glory of his attributes, 
which are visible in the things that are made ; he hath upon 
the completing of our redemption by the raising of Christ 
from the dead, made the first day sacred for his service and 
praise, there being the clearest illustration of his perfections 
in that blessed work. God is more pleased in the contem- 
plation of the new world, than of the old. The latter by its 
extraordinary magnificence hath lessened the dignity of the 
former, as the greater light obscures the less. Therefore the 
sabbath is changed into the Lord's day. And what a just 
reproach is it to man that he should be unobservant and un- 
affected with this glorious mercy, wherein he may always 
find new cause of admiration ! " O Lord, how great are thy 
works ! and thy thoughts are very deep ! A brutish man 
knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand this," Psalm 
xcii. 5, G. The admiring of any other thing in comparison 
of this mystery, is the effect of inconsideration or infidelity. 
It produces the most sincere and lasting pleasure. As the 
taste is to meat, to allure us to feed for the support of our 
bodies ; that is delight to knowledge, to excite the mind to 
seek after it. But its vast capacity can never be satisfied 
with the knowledge of inferior things. The pleasure is more 
in the acquisition, than in the possession of it ; for the mind 
is diverted in the search, but having attained to that know- 
ledge which cannot fill the rational appetite, it is disgusted 
with the fruits of its travail, and seeks some other object to 
relieve its languor. From hence it is, that variety is the 
spring of delight, and pleasure is the product of novelty. 
We find that the pleasure of the first taste, in learning some- 
thing new, is always most sensible. The most elegant com- 
positions and excellent discourses, which ravished at the first 
reading, yet repeated often, are nauseous and irksome. The 
exercise of the mind on an object fully known, is unprofita- 
ble, and therefore tedious ; whereas by turning the thoughts 



90 THE HARMONY OF 

on something else, it may acquire new knowledge. But the 
apostle tells us that the mystery of our redemption contains 
all the " treasures of wisdom and knowledge," to signify 
their excellence and abundance : the " unsearchable riches" 
of grace are laid up in it. There is infinite variety, and per- 
petual matter for the inquiry of the most excellent under- 
standing. No created reason is able to reach its height, or 
sound its depths. By the continual study, and increase in 
the knowledge of it, the mind enjoys a persevering pleasure, 
that far exceeds the short vehemence of sensual delights. 

(2.) It excels other sciences in the certainty of its princi- 
ple, which is divine revelation. Human sciences are built 
upon uncertain maxims, which being admitted with precipi- 
tation and not confirmed by sufficient experiments, the mind 
is satisfied with appearances, instead of real certainty. And 
from hence it is, that upon severe inquiry into matters of 
fact, those doctrines which were received in one age are dis- 
covered to be false in another. Modern philosophy discards 
the ancient ; but tlie doctrine of salvation is the " word of 
truth," that came from heaven, and bears the character and 
marks of its divine descent. It is confirmed by the " demon- 
stration of the Spirit and of power." It is always the same, 
unchangeable as God the author, and Christ the object of it, 
who is the same " yesterday, to day, nad for ever." And 
the knowledge which the sincere and enlightened mind hath 
of it is not uncertain opinion, but a clear, solid, and firm ap- 
prehension. It is a contemplation of the glory of God with 
open face, 2 Cor. iii. 18. This appears by the effects it pro- 
duces in those that have received tlie true tincture of it in 
their souls ; they despise all things which carnal men ad- 
mire, in comparison of this inestimable treasure. 

2. The doctrine of the gospel exceeds all practical sciences 
in the excellency of its end, and the efficacy of the means to 
obtain it. 

The end of it is the supreme happiness of man ; the re- 
storing of him to the innocence and excellency of his first 
state. And the means are appointed by infinite wisdom, so 
that the most insuperable obstacles are removed and these 
are the justice of God that condemns the guilty, and that 
strong and obstinate aversion which is in corrupted man from 
true felicity. Here is a Mediator revealed, who is " able to 
save to the uttermost ;" who hath quenched the wrath of 
God by the blood of his divine sacrifice ; who hath expiated 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 91 

sin by the value of his death, and purifies the soul by the 
virtue of his life, that it may consent to its own salvation. 
No less than a divine power could perform this work. From 
thence the superlative excellency of evangelical knowledge 
doth arise ; all other knowledge is unprofitable without it, 
and that alone can make us perfectly blessed ; " This is life 
eternal, to know thee, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent," 
John xvii. 3. 

I will briefly consider how ineffectual all other knowledge 
is, whether natural, political, or moral, to recover us from 
our misery. 

The most exact insight into natural things leaves the mind 
blind and poor, ignorant of happiness and the way to it. So- 
lomon, who had an extraordinary measure of natural know- 
ledge and was able to set a just price upon it, tells us, that 
the increase of knowledge was attended with proportionable 
degrees of sorrow, Eccles. i. 18 ; for the more a man knows, 
the more he discerns the insufllciency of that knowledge to 
supply his defects and satisfy his desires : he w^as therefore 
weary of his wisdom, as well as of his folly. The devils 
know more than the profoundest philosophers ; yet their 
knowledge doth not alleviate their torments. It is not only 
insufficient to prevent misery, but will more expose it by en- 
larging the faculties, and making them more capable of tor- 
ment. It is the observation of St. Ambrose, that when God 
discovered the creation of the world to Moses, he did not in- 
form him of the greatness of the heavens, the number of the 
stars, their aspects and influences ; whether they derive their 
light from the sun, or have it inherent in their own bodies ; 
from whence eclipses are caused ; how the rainbow is paint- 
ed ; how the winds fly in the air ; or the causes of the ebb- 
ing and flowing of the sea : but so much as might be a foun- 
dation of faith and obedience, and left the rest, " quasi mar- 
cescentis sapientiae vanitates," as the vanities of perishing 
wisdom. The most knowing philosopher, though encom- 
passed with these sparks, yet if ignorant of the Redeemer, 
shall lie down in sorrow for ever. 

And as natural, so political knowledge, in order to the go- 
verning of kingdoms and states, hath no power to confer 
happiness upon man. It concerns not his main interest ; it 
is terminated within the compass of this short life, and pro- 
vides not for death and eternity. The wisdom of the world 
is folly in a disguise, a specious ignorance, which, although 



92 THE HARMONY OP 

it may secure the temporal state, yet it leaves us naked and 
exposed to spiritual enemies " who war against the soul." 

And all the moral knoM^edge which is treasured up in the 
books of the heathens, is insufficient to restore man to his 
original integrity and felicity. Reason sees that man is ig- 
norant and guilty, mortal and miserable ; that he is trans- 
ported with vain passions, and tormented with accusations 
of conscience ; but it could not redress these evils. Corrupt 
nature is like an imperfect building that lies in rubbish, the 
imperfection is visible, but not the way liow to finish it ; for 
through the ignorance of the first design, every one follows 
his own fancy ; whereas when the architect comes to finish 
his own project, it appears regular and beautiful. Thus the 
various dircctioijs of philosophers to recover fallen man out 
of his ruins, and to raise him to his first state, were vain. 
Some glimmerings they had, that the happiness of the rea- 
sonable nature consisted in its imion M'ith God ; but in order 
to this, they propounded such means as were not only inef- 
fectual, but opposite. Such is the pride and folly of carnal 
wisdom, that to bring God and man together, it advances man 
and depresses God. The Stoics ascribed to their wise man 
those prerogatives whereby he equalled their supreme god. 
They made him the architect of his virtue and felicity, and 
to vie with Jupiter himself, to be one of his peers. Others 
reduced the gock to live like men, and men like beasts, by 
placing happiness in sensual pleasures. Thus, instead of 
curing, they fomented the hereditary and principal diseases 
of mankind, pride and concupiscence, which at first caused 
the separation of man from God, and infinitely increase the 
distance between tliem ; for what sins are more contrary to 
the majesty and purity of God than pride, which robs him 
of his honour ; and carnal lust, which turns a man into a 
beast ? Besides, all their inventions to expiate sin, to appease 
the Deity and make him favourable, to calm the conscience, 
were frivolous and unprofitable. And their most generous 
principles and accurate precepts were short of that purity 
and perfection wlierewilh moral duties are performed to God 
and men. Brietly ; they wasted their candle in vain, in 
searching for the way to true happiness. 

But God who created man for the enjoyment of himself, 
hath happily accomplished his eternal decree, by the work 
of our redemption, wherein his own glory is most visible. 
And the gospel which reveals this to us, humbles whom it 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 93 

justifies, and comforts those that were condemned; it abases 
more than the law, but without despair ; and advances more 
than nature could, but Avithout presumption. The Mediator 
takes away the guilt of our old sins, and our inclination to 
new sins. We are not only restored, but exalted, made " heirs 
of God, joint-heirs with Christ," Rom. viii. 17. For these 
reasons the apostle sets so high a value upon the heavenly 
doctrine, that reveals a Saviour to the undone world. He 
desires to " know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him cruci- 
fied," 1 Cor. ii. 2. He despiseth all pharisaical and philosophi- 
cal learning " in comparison of the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ Jesus," Phil. iii. 8. Other knowledge swells the 
mind, and increases the esteem of ourselves ; this gives us a sin- 
cere view of our state. It discovers our misery in its causes, and 
the almighty mercy that saves us. Other knowledge en- 
lightens the understanding without changing the heart, but 
this inspires us with the love of God, with hatred of sin, and 
makes us truly better. In seeking after other knowledge, 
the mind is perplexed by endless inquiries; here it is at rest, 
as the wavering needle is fixed when turned to its beloved 
star. Ignorance of other things may be without any real 
damage to us, for we may be directed by the skilful how to 
preserve life and estate ; but this knowledge is absolutely ne- 
cessary to justify, sanctify, and save us. All other know- 
ledge is useless at the hour of death ; then the richest stock 
of learning is lost, the vessel being split wherein the treasure 
was laid ; but this pearl of inestimable price is both the orna- 
ment of our prosperity, and the support of our adversity. A 
little ray of this is infinitely more desirable, than the light 
of all human sciences in their lustre and perfection. 

And what an amazing folly is it, that men who are possessed 
with an earnest passion of knowing, should waste their time 
and strength in searching after things, the knowledge of 
which cannot remove the evils that oppress them, and be 
careless of the saving knowledge of the gospel ! Were there 
no other reason to diminish the esteem of earthly knowledge, 
but the difllculty of its acquisition, that error often surprises 
those who are searching after truth, this might check our in- 
temperate pursuit of it. Sin hath not only shortened our under- 
standings, but our lives, so that we cannot arrive to the per- 
fect discovery of inferior objects. But suppose that one, by 
his vast mind, should comprehend all created things, from 
the centre of the earth to the circumference of the heavens, 



94 THE HARMONY OF 

and were not savingly enlightened in the mystery of our re- 
demption, with all his knowledge he would be a prey to Sa- 
tan, and increase the triumphs of hell. The historian Pliny 
upbraids the Roman luxury, that with so much cost and ha- 
zard they should send to foreign parts for trees that were 
beautiful but barren, and produced a shadow only without 
fruit. With greater reason we may wonder, that men should, 
with the expense of their precious hours, purchase barren 
curiosities, which are unprofitable to their last end. How 
can a condemned criminal, who is in suspense between life 
and death, attend to study the secrets of nature and art, when 
all his thoughts arc taken up how to prevent the execution 
of the sentence? And it is no less than a prodigy of mad- 
ness, that men who have but a short and uncertain space al- 
lowed them to escape the wrath to come, should rack their 
brains in studying things impertinent to salvation, and ne- 
glect the knowledge of a Redeemer. Especially when there 
is so clear a revelation of him : the righteousness of faith 
doth not command us to ascend to the heavens, or descend 
into the deep to make a discovery of it; but the word is nigh 
us, that discovers the certain way to a happy immortality, 
Rom. X. 6, 7. Seneca, a philosopher and a courtier, valued 
his being in the world only upon t^is account, that he might 
contemplate the starry heaven. He saw only the visible beau- 
ty of the firmament, but was ignorant of the glory within it, 
and of the way that leads to it ; yet, to our shame, he speaks 
that the sight of it made him despise the earth, and without 
the contemplation of the celestial bodies, he esteemed his 
continuance in the world not the life of a man, but the toil 
of a beast. " Quid erat cur in numero viventium me positum 
esse gauderem? an ut cibos et potum percolarem? ut hoc 
corpus casurum, ac fl,uidum, periturumque nisi subinde im- 
pleatur, farcirem? et viverem fegri minister? ut morti time- 
rem cui onmes nascimur? Detrahe hoc inaestimabile bonum; 
non est vita tanti ut sudem, ut aestuem. O quam contempta 
res est homo nisi supra humana se erexerit !" But what tran- 
sports had he been in, if he had been acquainted with the 
contrivance of our redemption, the admirable order of its 
parts, and the beauty that results from the composition of the 
whole? But we that with open face may in ihe glass of the 
gospel behold the glory of the Lord, turn away our eyes 
from it to vanity. Here the complaint is more just, " Ad sa- 
pientiam quis accedit? quis dignam judicat, nisi quam in tran- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 95 

situ noverit ?" We content ourselves with slight and tran- 
sient glances, but do not seriously and fixedly consider this 
blessed design of God, upon which the beginning of our hap- 
piness in this, and the perfection of it in the next life, is 
built. Let us provoke ourselves by the example of the an- 
gels who are not concerned in this redemption as man is ; 
for they continued in their fidelity to their Creator, and were 
always happy in his favour, and where there is no alienation 
between parties, reconcilement is unnecessary; yet they are 
students with us in the same book, and unite all their powers 
in the contemplation of this mystery: they are represented 
stooping to pry into these secrets, to signify their delight in 
what they know, and their desire to advance in the know- 
ledge of them, 1 Pet. i. 12. With what intention then should 
we study the gospel, who are the subject and end of it ! 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CAUSES AND UNREASONABLENESS OF UNBELIEF. 

The simple speculation of this glorious mystery will be 
of no profit without a real belief of it, and a cordial accept- 
ance of salvation upon the terms which the divine wisdom 
prescribes. The gospel requires the obedience of the under- 
standing, and of the will; unless it obtains a full possession 
of the soul, there is no saving efficacy derived from it. And 
such is the sublimity and purity of the object, that till rea- 
son is sanctified and subdued, it cannot sincerely entertain it. 
I will therefore distinctly consider the opposition which car- 
nal reason hath made against it ; and show how just it is 
that the human understanding should, with reverence, yield 
up itself to the word of God, that reveals this great mystery 
to us. 

1 . The apostle tells us,that Jews and Gentiles conspired in the 
contempt of the gospel, 1 Cor. i. 22. Reason cannot hear with- 
out great astonishment, for the appearing contradiction be- 
tween the terms, that God should be made man, and the Eternal 
die. The Jews esteemed it an intolerable blasphemy, and with- 
out any process of law were ready to stone the Lord Jesus, that, 
being a man, he should make himself equal with God, John 
X. 33. And they upbraided him in his sufferings that he could 



96 THE HARMONY OF 

not save himself; 
come down from the cross, and we will believe him," Mat. 
xxvii. 42. The Gentiles despised the gospel as an absurd, 
ill-contrived fable, 1 Cor. i. 23 ; for what in appearance is 
more unbecoming God and injurious to his perfections, than 
to take the frail garment of flesh, to be torn and trampled 
on V Their natural knowledge of the Deity inclined them 
to think the incarnation impossible. There, is no resemblance 
of it in the whole compass of nature ; for natural union sup- 
poses the parts incomplete, and capable of perfection by their 
joining together ; but that a being infinitely perfect should 
assume by personal union a nature inferior to itself, the hea- 
thens looked on it as a fable, forged according to the model 
of the fictions concerning Danae and Antiope ; Orig. cont. 
Ols. And the doctrine of our Saviour's death on the cross 
they rejected, as an impiety contumelious to God ; they judg- 
ed it inconsistent with the majesty and happiness of the Dei- 
ty, to ascribe to him that which is the punishment of the 
most guilty and miserable. In the account of carnal reason, 
they thought more worthily of God by denying that of him, 
which is due only to the worst of men. Celsus, who, with 
as much snbtility as malice, urges all that with any appear- 
ance could be objected against our Saviour, principally insists 
on his poverty and sufferings, the meanness and misery of his 
condition in the world. " It was fit," says he, " that the 
Son of God should appear as the sun, which renders itself 
conspicuous by its own liglit ; but the gospel having declared 
the Word to be the Son of God, relates, that he was a man 
of sorrows, one that had no power to defend himself, and 
was deserted by his Father and followers, scourged with rods, 
and shamefully executed." He could not reconcile so many 
things that seemed utterly incompatible, as sovereignty and 
servitude, innocence and punishment, the lowest of human 
miseries, death, with the highest of divine honours, adora- 
tion. Briefly ; notliing was more contrary to flesh and blood, 
than to believe that person to be the Redeemer of the 
world, who did not rescue himself from his enemies; and 
to expect immortality from him that was overcome by death. 

Now the causes of this infidelity are, 

1. The darkness of the mind, which is so corrupted by 
original pravity, that it cannot behold heavenly mysteries in 
their proper light, so as to acquiesce in the truth of them. 
" The natural man receivcth not the things of the Spirit of 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 97 

God; for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
The apostle takes notice of the disaffection of the heart, and 
the incapacity of the mind, not prepared and illustrated by 
grace, to embrace and discern spiritual things in their verity 
and beauty. There is a great disproportion between the na- 
tural understanding, though elevated and enlarged by secular 
learning, and supernatural truth ; for though the rational soul 
is a spirit, as it is distinguished from corporeal beings, yet 
till it is purged from error and vicious affections, it can ne 
ver discover the divinity of things spiritual, so as to embrace 
them with certainty and delight. As there must be a spirit 
of revelation to unveil the object, so of wisdom to enlighten 
the eye, that it may be prepared for the reception of it. As 
heaven is seen only by its own light, so Christ is by his own 
Spirit. Divine objects, and faith that discerns them, are of 
the same original and of the same quality. The natural un- 
derstanding, as the effects declare, is like the funeral lamps, 
which, by the ancients, were put into sepulchres to guard the 
ashes of their dead friends, which shine so long as they are 
kept close, a thick moist vapour feeding them and repairing 
what was consumed: but, in opening the sepulchres and ex- 
posing them to the free air, they presently faint and expire. 
Thus natural reason, whilst conversant in things below and 
watching with the dead, that is, in the phrase of the ancients, 
studying the books of men who have left the world, disco- 
vers something, although it is rather twilight than clear ; but 
when it is brought from the narrow sphere of things sensi- 
ble, to contemplate the immensity of things spiritual and su- 
pernatural, its light declines and is turned into darkness. 

2. The pride of the human understanding, which disdains 
to stoop to those great and heavenly mysteries. It is ob- 
servable, that those who most excelled in natural wisdom, 
were the greatest despisers of evangelical truths. The proud 
wits of the world chose rather to be masters of their own, 
than scholars to another. They made reason their supreme 
rule, and philosophy their highest principle, and would not 
believe what they could not comprehend. They represent- 
ed Christians under scornful titles, as captives of a blind be- 
lief, and derided their faith as the effect of folly; and reject- 
ed revelation, the only means to convey the knowledge of 
divine mysteries to them. They presumed by the light and 
strength of their own reason and virtue to acquire felicity, 

I 



98 THE HARMONY OF 

and slighted the doctrine that came from heaven to discover 
a clear way thither, and divine grace that was necessary to 
assist them. Therefore the apostle, by way of upbraid ing^ 
inquires, " Where is the wise ? Wliere is the scribe ? Where 
is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God made foolish 
the wisdom of this world ?" As those who are really poor 
and would appear rich in the pomp of their habits and at- 
tendants, are made poor by that expense ; so the philosophers 
who were destitute of true wisdom, and would appear wise 
in making reason the judge of divine revelation and the last 
resolution of all tilings, by that false affectation of wisdom, 
became more foolish: by all their disputes against the appa- 
rent absurdities of the Christian religion, they were brought 
into a more learned darkness. 

3. Tlie prejudice which arose from sensual lusts hindered 
the belief of the gospel. As the carnal understanding re- 
bels against the sublimity of its doctrine, so the carnal appe- 
tite against the purity of its precepts. And according to the 
dispositions of men from whence they act, such light they 
desire to direct them in acting. The gospel is a mystery of 
godliness, and tliose who arc under the love of sin, cherish 
an affected ignorance, lest the light should enflame conscience 
by representing to them the deadly guilt that cleaves to sin, 
and thereby make it uneasy. This account of our Saviour 
gives of the infidelity of tlie world, that "men loved dark- 
ness rather than light, because their deeds are evil," John iii, 
19. And that this was the real cause, wliatever was pre- 
tended, is clear, in that the gentiles who opposed Christ, 
adored those impure deities whose infamous lusts were ac- 
knowledged by them. And with what colour then could they 
reject our Redeemer because crucified ? As if vice were not 
more incompatible with the Deity, than sufferings. 

Now, though reason, enslaved by prejudice and corrupted 
by passion, despised the gospel, yet when it is enlightened by 
faith, it discovers such a wise economy in it, that, were it 
not true, it would transcend the most noble created mind to 
invent it. It is so much above our most excellent thoughts, 
that no human understanding would ever attempt to feign it, 
with confidence of persuading the world into a belief of it. 
How is it possible that it should be contrived by natural rea- 
son, since no man can believe it sincerely when it is reveal- 
ed without a supernatural faith? 

H. To r.onfirm our belief of these great and saving mys- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 99 

teries, I will show how just it is that the understanding 
should resign itself to divine revelation which hath made 
them known. 

In order to this, we must consider, 

First, There are some doctrines in the gospel, which the 
understanding could not discover ; but when they are re- 
vealed, it hath a clear apprehension of them upon a rational 
account, and sees the characters of truth visibly stamped on 
their forehead ; as the doctrine of satisfaction to divine jus- 
tice, that pardon might be dispensed to repenting sinners ; 
for our natural conception of God includes his infinite puri- 
ty and justice ; and when the design of the gospel is made 
known, whereby he hath provided abundantly for the honour 
of those attributes, so that he doth the greatest good without 
encouraging the least evil, reason acquiesces and acknow- 
ledges, ' This I sought, but could not find.' Now although 
the primary obhgation to believe such doctrines ariseth from 
revelation, yet being ratified by reason, they are embraced 
with more clearness by the mind. 

Secondly, There are some doctrines which, as reason by 
its light could not discover, so when they are made known, 
it cannot comprehend ; but they are by a clear necessary 
connexion joined with the other that reason approves ; as 
the mystery of the Trinity and the incarnation of the Son of 
God, which are the foundations of the whole work of our 
redemption. Tlie nature of God is repugnant to plurality, 
there can be but one essence ; and the nature of satisfaction 
requires a distinction of persons; for he that suffers as guilty, 
must be distinguished from the person of the judge that ex- 
acts satisfaction, and no mere creature is able, by his obe- 
dient sufferings, to repair the honour of God ; so that a divine 
person assuming the nature of man, was alone capable to 
make that satisfaction which the gospel propounds, and rea- 
son consents to. Now, according to the distinction of capa- 
cities in the Trinity, the Father required an honourable re- 
paration for the breach of the divine law, and the Son bore 
the punishment in the sufferings of the human nature, that 
is peculiarly his own. Besides, it is clear that the doctrine 
of the Trinity, that is, of three glorious relations in the god- 
head, and of the incarnation, are most firmly connected with 
all the parts of the Christian rehgion, left in the writings of 
the apostles, which, as they were confirmed by miracles, the 
divine signatures of their certainty, so they contain such au- 



100 THE HARMONY OF 

thentic marks of their divinity, that right reason cannot re- 
ject them. 

Thirdly, Whereas there are three principles by which we 
apprehend things, sense, reason, and faith, these lights have 
their different objects that must not be confounded. Sense 
is confined to things material ; reason considers things ab- 
stracted from matter ; faith regards the mysteries revealed 
from heaven : and these must not transgress their order. 
Sense is an incompetent judge of things about which reason 
only is conversant ; it can only make a report of those ob- 
jects, which, by their natural characters, are exposed to it. 
And reason can discourse only of things within its sphere ; 
supernatural things, which derive from revelation, and are 
purely the objects of faith, are not within its territories and 
jurisdiction. Those superlative mysteries exceed all our 
intellectual abilities. 

It is true, the understanding is a rational faculty, and 
every act of it is really, or in appearance, grounded on 
reason ; but there is a wide difference between proving a 
doctrine by reason and giving a reason why we believe the 
truth of it. For instance ; we cannot prove the Trinity by 
natural reason, and the subtilty of the schoolmen who affect 
to give some reason of all things, is here more prejudicial 
than advantageous to the truth : for he that pretends to main- 
lain a point by reason and is unsuccessful, doth^weaken the 
credit which tlie authority of revelation gives : and it is con- 
siderable, that the scripture in delivering supernatural truths, 
produces God's authority as their only proof, without using 
any other way of arguing. Ihit although we cannot demon- 
strate these mysteries by reason, yet we may give a rational 
account why we believe them. Is it not the highest reason 
to believe the discovery that God hath made of himself and 
his decrees ? For he perfectly knows his own nature and 
will ; and it is impossible he should deceive us. This natu- 
ral principal is the foundation of fiiith. When God speaks 
it becomes man to hear with silence and submission. His 
naked word is as certain as a demonstration. 

And is it not most reasonable to believe, that the Deity 
cannot be fully understood by us ? The sun may more easily 
be included in a spark of fire, than the infinite perfections of 
God be comprehended by a finite mind. The angels who 
dwell so near the fountain of light, cover their faces in a 
holy confusion, not being able to comprehend him : how 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 101 

much less can man in this earthly state, distant from God, 
and oppressed with a burden of flesh ? 

Now from hence it follows, 

I. That ignorance of the manner how divine mysteries ex- 
ist is no sufficient plea for infidelity, when the scripture re- 
veals that they are; for reason that is limited and restrained, 
cannot frame a conception that is commensurate to the es- 
sence and power of God. 

This will appear more clearly by considering the myste- 
rious excellencies of the divine nature, the certainty of which 
we believe, but the manner we cannot understand ; as, that 
his essence and attributes are the same, without the least 
shadow of composition ; yet his wisdom and power are, to 
our apprehensions, distinct, and his mercy and justice in 
some manner opposite ; — that his essence is entire in all 
places, yet terminated in any ; — that he is above the heavens 
and beneath the earth, yet hatli no relation of high or low, 
distant or near ; — that he penetrates all substances, but is 
mixed with none ; — that he understands, yet receives no ideas 
within himself; — that he wills, yet hath no motion that car- 
ries him out of himself; that in him time hath no succes- 
sion, that which is past is not gone, and that which is future 
is not to come ; — that he loves without passion, is angry 
without disturbance, repents without change. These per- 
fections are above the capacity of reason fully to understand, 
yet essential to the Deity. Here we must exalt faith, and 
abase reason. Thus in the mystery of the incarnation, that 
two such distant natures should compose one person, without 
the confusion of properties, reason cannot reach unto, but it 
is clearly revealed in the word : here therefore we must obey, 
not inquire. 

The obedience of faith is, to embrace an obscure truth 
with a firm assent, upon the account of divine testimony. 
If reason will not assent to the revelation till it understands 
the manner how divine things are, it doth not obey it at all. 
The understanding then sincerely submits, when it is in- 
clined by those motives which demonstrate that such a be- 
lief is due to the authority of the revealer, and to the quali- 
ty of the object. To believe only in proportion to our nar- 
row conceptions, is to disparage the divine truth and debase 
the divine power. We cannot know what God can do ; he 
is omnipotent, though we are not omniscient; it is just we 
should humble our ignorance to his wisdom, and that every 



102 THE HARMONY OP 

lofty imagination and "high thing that exalteth itself against 
the knowledge of God, should be cast down," and every 
thought captivated to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. x. 5. 
It is our wisdom to receive the great mysteries of the gos- 
pel in their simplicity ; for in attempting to give an exact 
and curious explication of them, the understanding, as in a 
hedge of thorns, the more it strives, the more it is wounded 
and entangled. God's ways are far above ours, and his 
thoughts above ours, as heaven is above the earth. To re- 
ject that we cannot comprehend, is not only to sin against 
faith, but against reason, which acknowledges itself finite, 
and unable to "find out the Almighty to perfection," Job 
xi. 7. 

2. We are obliged to believe those mysteries that are 
plainly delivered in scripture, notwithstanding those seem- 
ing contradictions wherewith they may be charged. In 
the objects of sense, the contrariety of appearances doth 
not lessen the certainty of things. The stars, to our sight, 
seem but glittering sparks, yet they are immense bodies. 
And it is one thing to be assured of a truth, another to an- 
swer all the ditficulties that encounter it : a mean under- 
standing is capable of the first ; the second is so difficult, 
that in clear things the profoundcst philosophers may not be 
able to untie all the intricate and knotty objections which 
may be urged against them. It is sufficient the belief of su- 
pernatural mysteries is built on the veracity and power of 
God ; this makes them prudently credible ; this resolves all 
doubts, and produces such a stability of spirit as nothing can 
shake. A sincere believer is assured that all opposition against 
revealed truths is fallacious, though he cannot discover the 
fallacy. 

Now the transcendent mysteries of the Christian religion, 
the trinity of persons in the divine nature, the incarnation 
of the Son of God, are clearly set down in the scripture. 
And although subtle and obstinate opponents have used ma- 
ny guilty arts to dispirit and enr-rvate those texts by an in- 
ferior sense, and have racked them with violence to make 
them speak according to their prejudices, yet all is vain, the 
evidence of truth is victorious. A heathen who considers 
not the gospel as a divine revelation but merely as a doc- 
trine delivered in writing, and judges of its sense by natural 
light, will acknowledge, that those things are delivered in it. 
And notwithstanding those who usurp a sovereign authority 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 103 

to themselves to judge of divine mysteries according to their 
own apprehensions, deny them as mere contradictions, yet 
they can never conclude them impossible ; for no certain ar- 
gument can be alleged against the being of a thing, without 
a clear knowledge of its nature : now although we may un- 
derstand the nature of man, M'e do not the nature of God, 
the economy of the persons, and his power to unite himself 
to a nature below him. 

It is true, no article of faith is really repugnant to reason ; 
for God is the author of natural as well as of supernatural 
light, and he cannot contradict himself: they are emanations 
from him, and though different, yet not destructive of each 
other. But we must distinguish between those things that^ 
are above reason and incomprehensible, and things that are 
against reason and utterly inconceivable. Some things are 
above reason, in regard of their transcendent excellency or 
distance from us. The divine essence, the eternal decrees, 
the hypostatical union, are such high and glorious objects, 
that it is an impossible enterprise to comprehend them : the 
intellectual eye is dazzled with their overpowering light : we 
can have but an imperfect knowledge of them. And there 
is no just cause of wonder that supernatural revelation should 
speak incomprehensible things of God ; for he is a singular 
and admirable Being, infinitely above the ordinary course of 
nature. The maxims of philosophy are not to be extended 
to him. We must adore what we cannot fully understand. 
But those things are against reason and utterly inconceivable, 
that involve a contradiction, and have a natural repugnancy 
to our understandings, which cannot conceive any thing that 
is formally impossible: and there is no such doctrine in the 
Christian religion. 

We must distinguish betv/een reason corrupted, and right 
reason. Since the fall, the clearness of the human under- 
standing is lost, and the light that remains is eclipsed by the 
interposition of sensual lusts. The carnal mind cannot out 
of ignorance, and will not from pride and other inahgnant 
habits, receive things spiritual. And from hence arise many 
suspicions and doubts concerning supernatural verities, the 
shadov/s of darkened reason and of dying faith. If any di- 
vine mystery seems incredible, it is from the corruption of 
our reason, not from reason itself; from its darkness, not its 
light. And as reason is obliged to correct the errors of sense, 
when it is deceived either by some vicious quality in the or- 



104 THE HARMONY OF 

gan, or by the distance of the object, or by the falseness of 
the medium that corrupts the image in conveying it; so it is 
the office of faith to reform the judgment of reason, when, 
either from its own weakness, or the height of things spiri- 
tual, it is mistaken about them. For this end supernatural 
revelation was given, not to extinguish reason, but to redress 
it, and enrich it with the discovery of heavenly things. 

Faith is called wisdom and knowledge: it doth not quench 
the vigour of the faculty wherein it is seated, but elevates it, 
and gives it a spiritual perception of those things that are 
most distant from its commerce. It doth not lead us through 
a mist to the inheritance of tlie saints in light. Faith is a ra- 
tional light ; for — it arises from the consideration of those 
arguments which convince the mind, that the scripture is a di- 
vine revelation. "I know," saith the apostle, "whom I have 
believed," 2 Tim. i. 12; and we are commanded always to 
be ready to give an account of the hope that is in us, 1 Pe- 
ter iii. 15. Those that owe their Christianity merely to the 
felicity of their birth, without a sight of that transcendent 
excellency in our religion which evidences that it came from 
heaven, are not true believers. He that absolves an innocent 
person for favour, without considering sufficient proofs offer- 
ed, though his sentence is just, is an unjust judge ; and the 
eye that is clouded with a suffusion, so that all things appear 
yellow to it, when it judges things to be yellow that are so, 
yet is erroneous, because its judgment proceeds not from the 
quality of the object, but from the jaundice that discolours 
the organs: so those who believe the doctrine of the gospel 
upon the account of its civil establishment in their country, 
are not right believers, because they assent to the word of 
truth upon a false principle. It is not judgment, but chance, 
that inclines them to embrace it. The Turks, upon the same 
reason, are zealous votaries of Mahomet, as they are disci- 
ples of Christ. — Faith makes use of reason to consider what 
doctrines are revealed in the scripture, and to deduce those 
consequences which have a clear connexion with supernatu- 
ral principles. Thus reason is an excellent instrument to dis- 
tinguish those things which are of a divine original, from 
what is spurious and counterfeit ; for sometimes that is pre- 
tended to be a mystery of religion, which is only the fruit 
of fancy ; and that is defended by the sacred respect of faith 
that reason ought not to violate, which is but a groundless 
imagination ; so that we remain in an error, by the sole ap- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES, 105 

prehension of falling into one, as those that die for fear of 
death. The Bereans are commended for their searching the 
scriptures, whether the doctrines they heard were consenta- 
neous to them, Acts xvii. 11. But it is a necessary duty, 
that reason, how stiff soever, should fully comply with God, 
where it appears resonable that He hath spoken. 

Briefly ; the richest ornament of the creature is humility, 
and the most excellent effect of it is the sense of the weak- 
ness of our understanding. This is the temper of soul that 
prepares it for faith — partly as it puts us on a serious consi- 
deration of those things which are revealed to us in the word : 
infidelity proceeds from the want of consideration, and no- 
thing hinders that so much as pride : — partly as it stops all 
curious inquiries into those things which are unsearchable : — 
and, principally, as it entitles to the promise, God will instruct 
and give grace to the humble, 1 Pet. v. 5. The knowledge 
of heaven, as well as the kingdom of heaven, is the inherit- 
ance of the poor in spirit. A greater progress is made in the 
knowledge and belief of these mysteries by humble prayer, 
than by the most anxious study ; as at court, an hour of fa- 
vour is worth a year's attendance. Man cannot acquire so 
much as God can give. 

And as humility, so holiness prepares the soul for the re- 
ceiving of supernatural truths. The understanding is clari- 
fied by the purification of the heart. It is not the difiiculty 
and obscurity of things revealed, that is the real cause of in- 
fidelity, since men believe other things upon far less evidence ; 
but it is the prejudice of the lower faculties that hinders them. 
When all affections to sin are mortified, the soul is in the best 
disposition to receive divine revelation. He that doth the 
will of God, shall know whether the doctrine of the gospel 
came from heaven, John vii. 17. 

The Spirit of God is the alone instructor of the spirit of 
man in these mysteries, so as to produce a saving belief of 
them. That knowledge is more clear and satisfying, that we 
have by his teaching, than by our own learning. The ra- 
tional mind may discern the literal sense of the propositions 
in the gospel, and may yield a naked assent to the truth of 
them ; but without supernatural irradiation by the Spirit of 
life, there can be no transforming and saving knowledge and 
belief of them. And as the vast expansion of air that is 
about us, doth not preserve life, but that part which we 
breathe in ; so it is not the compass of our knowledge and 

H 



106 THE HARMONY OF 

belief, though it were equal to the whole revealed will of 
God, that is vital to the soul, but that which is practised by 
us. The apostle saith, though he had the understanding of 
all mysteries, and all knowledge, and all faith ; yet if it were 
not joined with love, the principal of obedience, it were un- 
profitable, 1 Cor. xiii. 2. There is the same difference be- 
tween the speculative knowledge of these mysteries and that 
which is affectionate and operative, as between the wearing 
of pearls for ornament, and the taking of them as a cordial 
to revive the fainting spirits. In short ; such a belief is re- 
quired, as prevails upon the will, and draws the affections, 
and renders the whole man obsequious to the gospel ; for 
such a faith alone is answerable to the quality of the revela- 
tion. The gospel is not a mere narrative, but a promise. 
Christ is not represented only as an innocent person dying, 
but as the Son of God dying to deliver men from sin and the 
effects of it. The fallen angels may understand and believe 
it without any affections, being unconcerned in it ; to them 
it is a naked history ; but to men it is a promise, and cannot 
be rightly conceived without the most ardent affections. 
" This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," 1 
Tim. i. 15. 

It is essentially as good, as true ; its sweetness and profit 
are equal to its certainty : so that it commends itself to all 
our faculties. Thero are severe and sad truths which are 
attended with fearful expectation, and the mind is averse 
from receiving them ; as the law, which, like lightning, ter- 
rifies the soul with its amazing brightness: and there are 
pleasant alhisions which have no solid foundation : and as 
truth doth not delight the mind unless united to goodness, 
such as is suitable to its palate, so goodness doth not affect 
the will unless it be real. Now the doctrine of the gospel 
is as certain as the law, and infinitely more comfortable than 
all the inventions of men. It is in the knowledge of it alone, 
that the sensible and considering soul enjoys perfect satis- 
faction and the most composed rest. It is evident, that the 
understanding doth not behold these truths in their proper 
light, when the will doth not embrace them ; for the rational 
appetite follows the last judgment of the mind. "WTien the 
apostle had a powerful conviction of " the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ," this made him so earnest to gain an 
interest in him, Phil. iii. 8. For this reason, those who are 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 107 

only Christians in title, " having a form of godliness, and 
denying the power of it," are, in scripture language, styled 
infidels ; it being impossible that those who truly and heart- 
ily believe this great mystery of godliness, should remain 
ungodly. It is a strong and effectual assent that descends 
from the brain to the heart and life, that denominates us 
true believers ; so that when the death of Christ is propound- 
ed as the cause of' our reconciliation with God, the wonder 
of the mystery doth not make it incredible, when, as the 
reason of the mortification of our lusts, the pleasures of sin 
do not disguise its horror. When salvation is offered upon 
our accepting of Christ for our Prince and Saviour, the soul 
is ravished with its beauty, and chooses it for an everlasting 
portion. 

To conclude ; the doctrine of the gospel clearly discovers 
its divine original. It is so reasonable in itself and profita- 
ble to us, so sublime and elevated above man, yet hath such 
an admirable agreement with natural truths ; it is so perfect- 
ly corresponding in all its parts, that without affected obsti- 
nacy no man can reject it. And if after the open revelation 
of it we are so stupid and wicked, as not to see its superla- 
tive excellency, and not to receive it with the faith, love, and 
obedience which are due to it, what contempt is this of that 
infinite wisdom which contrived the astonishing way of our 
salvation ! what a reproach to the divine understanding, as 
if it had been employed from eternity about a matter of no 
moment, and that deserves not our serious consideration and 
acceptance ! The neglect of it will justly bring a more se- 
vere punishment than the hell of the uninstructed heathens, 
who are strangers to supernatural mysteries. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE FREENESS OF THE DIVINE MERCY IN REDEMPTION. 

Though all the divine attributes are equal as they are in 
God, (for one infinite cannot exceed another) yet in their 
exercise and effects, they shine with a different glory. And 
mercy is represented in scripture with peculiar advantages 
above the rest. It is God's natural offspring ; he is styled 
" the Father of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3. It is liis dear attri- 



108 THE HARMONY OF 

bute, that which he places next to himself ; he is proc aim- 
ed, " The Lord God merciful and gracious," Exod. xxxiv. 6. 
It is his delight, mercy pleases him, Mic. vii. 18. It is his 
treasure, "he is rich in mercy," Ephes. ii. 4. It is his tri- 
umphant attribute, and the special matter of his glory ; mercy 
rejoices over judgment, Jam. ii. 13. Now in the perlorm- 
ance of our redemption, mercy is the predominant attribute, 
that sets all the rest a working. The acts of his wisdom, 
justice, and power, were in order to the illustration of his 
mercy. And if we duly consider that glorious work, we 
shall find in it all the ingredients of the most sovereign mer- 
cy. In discoursing of it, I shall principally consider two 
things, wherein this attribute is eminenlly glorified, the free- 
ness and the greatness of it. 

The freencss of this mercy will appear by considering the 
original and object of it. 

1. The original is God: and the notion of a Deity in- 
cludes infinite perfections, so that it necessarily follows that 
he hath no need of the creature's service to preserve or 
heighten his felicity. " If thou be righteous, what givest 
thou him ? or wliat receiveth he of thine hand ?" Job xxxv. 7. 
From eternity he was without external honour, yet in that 
infinite duration he was perfectly joyful and happy. He is 
the fountain of his own blessedness, tlie theatre of his own 
glory, the glass of his own beauty. One drop increases the 
ocean, but to God a million of worlds can add nothing. 
Every thing hath so much of goodness as it derives from 
him. As there was no gain to him bj- the creation, so there 
can be no loss by the annihilation of all things. The world 
proceeded from his wisdom as the idea and exemplar, and 
from his power as the efficient cause ; and it so proceeds 
from him, as to remain more perfectly in him. And as the 
possession of all things, and the obedience of angels and 
men, is of no advantage to God, so the opposition of impeni- 
tent rebels cannot lessen his blessedness. " If thou sinnest, 
what doest thou against him '? or, if thy transgressions be 
multiplied, what doest thou unto him ?" Job xxxv. 6. The 
sun suffers no loss of his light by the darkness of the night 
or an eclipse, but the world loses its day : if intelligent be- 
ings do not esteem God for his greatness, and love him for 
his goodness, it is no injury to him, but their own infelicity. 
Were it for his interest, he could by one act of power con- 
quer the obstinacy of his fiercest enemies. If he require 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 109 

subjection from his creatures, it is not that he may be happy, 
but liberal, that his goodness may take its rise to reward 
them. Now this is the special commendation of divine love, 
it doth not arise out of indigency as created love, but out of 
fulness and redundancy. Our Saviour tells us there is 
" none good but God ;" not only in respect of the perfection 
of that attribute, as it is in God in a transcendent manner; 
but as to the effects of his goodness, which are merely for 
the benefit of the receiver. He only is rich in mercy, to 
whom nothing is wanting or profitable. The most liberal 
monarch doth not always give, for he stands in need of his 
subjects. And where there is an expectation of service for 
the support of the giver, it is traffic and no gift. Human 
affection is begotten, and nourished by something without ; 
but the love of God is from within : the misery of the crea- 
ture is the occasion, but the cause of it is from himself. 
And how free was that love, that caused the infinitely blessed 
God to do so much for our recovery, as if his felicity were 
imperfect without ours ! 

It doth not prejudice the freeness of redeeming mercy, 
that Christ's personal, glory was the reward of his sufferings. 
It is true, that our Redeemer for " the joy that was set be- 
fore him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set 
down at the right hand of the throne of God," Heb. xii. 2 ; 
but he was not first drawn to the undertaking of that hard 
service by the interest of the reward : for if we consider him 
in his divine nature, he was the second person in the Trinity, 
equal to the first ; he possessed all the supreme excellencies 
of the Deity : and by assuming our nature, the only gain he 
purchased to himself was to be capable of loss for the ac- 
complishing of our salvation. Such was " the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our 
sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might 
be rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9. And although his human soul was 
encouraged by the glorious recompence the Father pro- 
mised, to make him King and Judge of the world, yet his 
love to man was not kindled from that consideration, neither 
is it lessened by his obtaining of it ; for immediately upon 
the union of the human nature to the Eternal Son, the high- 
est honour was due to him. When the first-begotten was 
brought into the world, it was said, " Let all the angels of 
God worship him," Heb. i. 6. The sovereign power in 
heaven and earth was his inheritance, annexed to the dignity 



110 THE HARMONY OF 

of his primogeniture. " The name above every name" was 
a preferment due to his person. He voluntarily renounced 
his right for a time, and appeared in the " form of a servant" 
upon our account, that by humbling himself he might ac- 
complish our salvation. He entered into glory after a 
course of sufferings, because the economy of our redemp- 
tion so required ; but his original title to it was by the per- 
sonal union. To illustrate this by a lower instance : the 
mother of Moses was called to be his nurse by Pharaoh's 
daughter, with the promise of a reward, as if she had no re- 
lation to him. Now the pure love of a mother, not the gain 
of a nurse, was the motive that inclined her to nourish him 
with her milk. Thus the love of Christ was the primary ac- 
tive cause that made him liberal to us of his blood ; neither 
did the just expectation of the reward take off from it. 

The sum is this — ihe essence of love consists in desiring 
the good of another without respect to ourselves: and love 
is so much the more free, as the benefit we give to another is 
less profitable or more damageable to us. Now among men 
it is impossible that to a virtuous benefactor there should not 
redound a double benefit, from tlie cternAl reward which God 
hath promised, and from the internal beauty of an honest 
action, which, the philosopher aflirms, doth exceed any loss 
that can befal us ; for if one dies for his friend, yet he loves 
himself most, for he would not choose to be less virtuous 
than his friend, and by dying for him he excels him in vir- 
tue, which is more valuable than life itself. But to the Son 
of God no such advantage could accrue ; for being infinitely 
holy and happy in his es.sence, there can be no addition to 
his felicity or virtues by any external emanation from him. 
His love was for our profit, not his own. 

The freeness of God's mercy is evident by considering 
there was no tie upon him to dispense it. Grace, strictly 
taken, differs from love ; for that may be a debt, and with- 
out injustice not denied. There are inviolable obligations 
on children to love their parents ; and duty lessens desert : 
the performance of it doth not so much deserve praise, as the 
neglect merits censure and reproof. But the love of God to 
man is a pure, free, and liberal affection, no way due. " The 
grace of God, and the gift by grace, hath abounded unto 
many," Rom. v. 15. The creation was an effusion of good- 
ness, much more redemption. " Thou art worthy, O Lord, 
to receive glory and honour, and power ; for thou hast 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. Ill 

created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were 
created," Rev. iv. 11. It is grace that gave being to the an- 
gels, with all the prerogatives that adorned their natures. 
It is grace that confirmed them in their original integrity, 
for God owes them nothing and they are nothing to him. 
It was grace that placed Adam in paradise, and made him 
as a visible god in the lower world. And if grace alone dis- 
pensed benefits to innocent creatures, much more to those 
who are obnoxious to justice : the first was free, but this is 
merciful. And this leads to the second consideration, which 
exalts redeeming love. 

II. The object of it is man in his lapsed state. In this 
respect it excels the goodness that created him at the begin- 
ning. In the creation as there was no object to invite, so 
nothing repugnant to man's being and happiness. The dust 
of the earth did not merit such an excellent condition as it 
received from the pure bounty of God, but there was no 
moral unworthiness. But the grace of the gospel hath a 
different object, the wretched and unworthy; and it produces 
different operations, it is healing and medicinal, ransoming 
and delivering, and hath a peculiar character among the di- 
vine attributes. It is goodness that crowns the angels, but 
it is mercy, the sanctuary of the guilty and refuge of the 
miserable, that saves man. The scripture hath consecrated 
the name of grace in a special manner, to signify the most 
excellent and admirable favour of God in recovering us from 
our justly deserved misery. We are "justified freely by his 
grace," Rom. iii. 24 ; — " By grace we are saved," Eph. ii. 
5 ; — " Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," John i. 17; — 
it is "the grace of God that bringeth salvation," Tit. ii. 11. 

And this is gloriously manifested towards man in that, 1, 
considered in himself, he is altogether unworthy of it ; 2, as 
compared with the fallen angels who are left under perfect, 
irremediable misery. 

1. Man, considered in himself, is unworthy of the favour 
of God. 

The usual motives of love are — the goodness of things or 
persons. This is the proper allective of the rational appetite : 
there is such a ravishing beauty in it, that it powerfully calls 
forth affection. \\Tien there is a union of amiable qualities 
in a person, every one finds an attractive. A conformity in 
disposition hath a mighty force to beget love. Resemblance 
is the common principle of union in nature : social plants 



112 THE HARMONY OF 

thrive best when near together: sensitive creatures associate 
with those of their kind. And love, which is an affectionate 
union and voluntary band, proceeds from a similitude of wills 
and inclinations. The harmony of tempers is the strongest 
and sweetest tie of friendship. — Love is an innocent and pow- 
erful charm to produce love : it is of universal virtue, and 
known by all the world. None are of such an unnatural 
hardness, but they are softened and receive impression from 
it. Now there are none of these inducements to incline God 
to love man. 

(1.) He was utterly destitute of moral goodness. As the 
exact temperament of the body, so the order and beauty of 
the soul, was spoiled by sin. Nothing remained but deform- 
ity and defilements. The love of God makes us amiable, but 
did not find us so. Redemption is a free favour, not excited 
by the worth of him that receives it, but the grace of liim 
that dispenses it ; " God commendeth his love toward us, 
that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," Rom. v. 
8. Our goodness was not the motive of his love, but his love 
the original of our goodness. 

(2.) There is a fixed contrariety in the corrupted nature 
of man to the holy nature and will of God, for whicli he is 
not only unworthy of his love, but worthy of his wrath. 
We are opposite to him in our minds, affections, and actions: 
a strong antipathy is seated in all our faculties. How un- 
qualified were we for his love ! There is infinite holiness in 
him, whereby he is eternally opposite to all sin, yet he ex- 
pressed infinite love to sinners in saving them from misery. 

(3.) There was not the least spark of love in man to God. 
Notwithstanding his infinite beauty and bounty to us, yet we 
renewed acts of hostility against him every day, Rom. v. 10. 
And it was the worst kind of hostility, arising from the ha- 
tred of God, Rom. i. 30 ; and that for his holiness, his most 
amiable perfection. Yet then in his love he pitied us. The 
same favour bestowed on an enemy, is morally more valua- 
ble than given to a friend ; for it is love that puts a price on 
benefits : and the more undeserved they are, the more they 
are endeared by the affection that gives them. " Herein is 
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent 
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins," 1 John iv. 10. 
We were rebels against God and at enmity with the Prince 
of life, yet then he gave himself for us. 

(4.) It will further appear that our salvation comes from 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 113 

pure favour, if we consider man not only as a rebellious en- 
emy to God, but impotent and obstinate, without power to 
resist justice and without affection to desire mercy. Some- 
times the interest of a prince may induce him to spare the 
guilty ; he may be compelled to pardon, whom he cannot 
punish. The multitude is the greatest potentate. The sons 
of Zeruiah were too strong for David ; and then it is not 
pity, but pohcy to suspend the judgment, 2 Sam. iii. 39. 
But our condition is described by the apostle, that when we 
were sinners and " without strength," then Christ died for 
us, Rom. V. 6. Man is a despicable creature, so weak that 
he trembles at the appearance of a worm, and yet so wicked 
that he lifts up his head against heaven. How unable is he 
to encounter with offended omnipotence ! How easily can 
God destroy him, when by his sole word he made him ! If 
he unclasps his hand that supports all things, they will pre- 
sently relapse into their first confusion. The whole world 
of sinners was shut up, utterly unable to repel or avoid his 
displeasure ; and what amazing love is it to spare rebels that 
were under his feet ! " If a man find his enemy, will he let 
him go well away?" 1 Sam. xxiv. 19: But God, when we 
were all at his mercy, spared and saved us. 

Besides, rebels sometimes solicit the favour of their prince 
by their acknowledgments, their tears and supplications, the 
testimonies of their repentance ; but man persisted in his 
fierce enmity, and had the weapons of defiance in his hands 
against his Creator ; he trampled on his laws, and despised 
his Deity ; yet then the Lord of hosts became the God of 
peace. 

In short ; there was nothing to call forth the divine com- 
passion but our misery : the breach began on man's part, 
but reconciliation on God's. Mercy opened his melting eye, 
and prevented not only our desert, but our expectation and 
desires. The design was laid from eternity. God foresaw 
our sin and our misery, and appointed a Saviour " before 
the foundation of the world," 1 Pet. i. 20. It was the most 
early and pure love to provide a ransom for us before we 
had a being ; therefore we could not be deserving, or desi- 
rous of it ; and after we were made, we deserved nothing 
but damnation. 

2. The grace of God eminently appears in man's recovery, 
by comparing his state with that of the fallen angels who 
are left under misery. This is a special circumstance that 



114 THE HARMONY OF ' 

magnifies the favour ; and to make it more sensible to us, it 
will be convenient briefly to consider the first state of the 
angels, their fall, and their punishment. 

God, in creating the world, formed two natures capable 
of his image and favour, to glorify and enjoy him, angels 
and men ; and placed them in tlie principal parts of the uni- 
verse, heaven and earth. The angels were the eldest off"- 
spring of his love, the purest productions of that supreme 
light : man in his best state was inferior to them. Psalm viii. 
5. A great number of them kept not their first state of in- 
tegrity and felicity. Their sin is intimated in scripture ; 
" Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into 
the condemnation of the devil," 1 Tim. iii. 6 ; that is, lest he 
become; guilty of that sin which brought a .seA'ere sentence 
on the devil. Tiie prince of darkness was blinded with the 
lustre of his own excellencies, and attempted upon the rega- 
lia of heaven, afTocting an independent state. He disavowed 
his Benefactor, enriched with his benefits: and, in the same 
moment, he with his companions in rebellion was banished 
from heaven. " God spared not the angels that sinned, but 
cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of 
darkness to be reserved unto judgment," 2 Pet. ii. 4. Mercy 
did not interpose to avert or suspend their judgment, but im- 
mediately they were expelled from the divine presence. A 
solemn triumph in heaven followed : "A voice came out of 
the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants. And 
I heard as it were the voice of jnighty thunderings, saying, 
Hallelujah, for t!ie Lord God omnipotent reigneth." They 
are now the most eminent examples of revenging wrath. 
Their present misery is insupportable, and they expect worse. 
When our Saviour cast some of them out of the possessed 
persons, they cried out, " Art thou come to torment us before 
the time ?" •' Miserrimum est timere cum speres nihil ;" it 
is the height of misery to have nothing to hope, and some- 
thing to fear. Their guilt is attended with despair. They 
are in " everlasting chains ;" he that " carries the keys of 
hell and death" will never open their prison. If the sentence 
did admit a revocation after a million of years, their torment 
would be nothing in comparison of what it is; for the longest 
measure of time bears no proportion to eternity, and hope 
would allay the sense of the present sufferings with the pro- 
spect of future ease : but their judgment is irreversible ; they 
are under the " blackness of darkness for ever." There is 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 115 

not the least glimpse of hope to allay their sorrows, no star- 
light to sweeten the horrors of their eternal night. They are 
" servi poenae," that can never be redeemed. It were a kind 
of pardon to them to be capable of death ; but God will never 
be so far reconciled, as to annihilate them. His anger shall 
be accomplished, and his fury rest upon them, Ezek. iii. 5. 
Immortality, the privilege of their nature, infinitely increases 
their torment ; for when the understanding, by a strong and 
active apprehension, hath a terrible and unbounded prospect 
of the continuance of their sufferings, that what is intolerable 
must be eternal, this inexpressibly exasperates their misery : 
there wants a word beyond death to set it forth. 

This is the condition of the sinning angels, and God might 
have dealt in as strict justice with rebellious man. It is true, 
there are many reasons may be assigned why the wisdom of 
God made no provision for their recovery. 

(1.) It was most recent that the first breach of the divine 
law should be punished, to secure obedience for the future. 
Prudent lawgivers are severe against the first transgressors, 
the leaders in disobedience. lie that first presumed to break 
the sabbath, was by God's command put to death ; and So- 
lomon the king of peace, punished the first attempt upon his 
royalty with death, though in the person of his brother. 

(2.) The malignity of their sin was in the highest degree; 
for such was the clearness of the angelical understanding, 
that there was nothing of ignorance and deceit to lessen ihe 
voluntariness of their sin. It was no mistake, but malice. 
They fell in the light of heaven, and rendered themselves 
incapable of mercy : as under the law, those who sinned 
" with a high hand," that is, not out of ignorance or imbeci- 
lity to please their passions, but knov/ingly and proudly de- 
spised the command, iheir presumption was inexpiable ; no 
sacrifice was appointed for it. And the gospel, though the 
declaration of mercy, yet excepts those who sin the great 
transgression against the Holy Ghost. Now of such a nature 
was the sin of the rebellious angels, it being a contemptuous 
violation of God's majesty, and therefore unpardonable. Be- 
sides, they are wholly spiritual beings, without any alloy of 
flesh, and so fell to the utmost in evil, there being nothing 
to suspend the entireness of their will ; whereas the human 
spirit is more slow by its union with the body. And that 
which extremely aggravates their sin is, that it was commit- 
ted in the state of perfect happiness ; they despised the full 



1 16 THE HAR3I0NY OF 

fruition of God. It was therefore congruous to the divine 
wisdom, that their final sentence should depend upon their 
first election : whereas man's rebellion, though inconceiva- 
bly great, was against a lower light and less grace dispensed 
to him. 

(3.) They sinned without a tempter, and were not in the 
same capacity with man to be restored by a Saviour. The 
devil is an original proprietor in sin, it is of his own, John 
viii. 44. Man was beguiled by the serpent's subtilty. As he 
fell by another's malice, so ho is recovered by another's merit. 

(4.) The angelical nature was not entirely lost. Myriads 
of blessed spirits still continue in the place of their innocency 
and glory, and for ever ascribe to the great Creator that in- 
communicable honour which is due to him, and perfectly do 
his commandments. But all mankind was lost in Adam, and 
no religion was left in the lower world. 

Now although in these and other respects it was most con- 
sistent with the wisdom and justice of God, to conclude them 
under an irrevocable doom, yet the principal cause that in- 
clined him to save man, was mere and perfect grace. 
The law made no distinction, but awarded the same punish- 
ment : mercy alone made tlie difference ; and the rea- 
son of that is in himself. Millions of them fell sacrifices to 
justice, and guilty man was spared. It is not for the excel- 
lency of our nature, for man in his creation was lower than 
the angels ; nor upon the account of service, for they having 
more eminent endowments of wisdom and power, might 
have brought greater honour to God ; nor for our innocence, 
for though not equally, yet we had highly o.Tended him; but 
it must be resolved " into that love which passeth knowledge." 
It was the unac'Countal)le pleasure of God that preferred 
babes before the wiser and prudent, and herein grace is most 
glorious. He in no wise took the nature of angels, though 
immortal spirits ; he did not put forth his hand to help them, 
and break the force of their fall ; he did nothing for their re- 
lief, they are under unallayed wrath: but he took "the seed 
of Abraham," and plants a new colony of those who sprung 
from the earth, in tlie heavenly country, to fill up the vacant 
places of those apostate spirits. This is just matter of our 
highest admiration, why the milder attribute is exercised to- 
wards man, and the severer on them ! WTiy the vessels of 
clay are chosen, and the vessels of gold neglected ! How can 
we reflect upon it without the warmest affections to our Ee- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. i 17 

deemer ? We shall never fully understand the riches of dis- 
tinguishing grace, till our Saviour shall be the Judge, and 
receive us into the kingdom of joy and glory, and condemn 
them to an eternal separation from his presence. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GREATNESS OF THE DIVINE MERCY IN REDEMPTION. 

The next circumstance to be considered in the divine mer- 
cy is the degree of it; and this is described by the apostle 
in all the dimensions which can signify its greatness. He 
prays for the Ephesians, that they " may be able to compre- 
hend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and 
depth, and height of the love of Christ which passeth know- 
ledge," Ephes. iii. 18. No language is sufficient to ex- 
press it : if our hearts were as large as the sand on the sea- 
shore, yet they were loo strait to comprehend it. But al- 
though we cannot arrive at the perfect knowledge of this ex- 
cellent love, yet it is our duty to study it with the greatest 
application of mind ; for our happiness depends upon it ; 
and so far we may understand it, as to inflame our hearts 
with a superlative affection to God. And the full discovery, 
which here we desire and search after, in the future state 
shall be obtained by the p>resence and light of our Redeemer. 

Now the greatness of the divine love in our redemption 
appears by reflecting on, 

I. The mighty evils from which we are freed ; 

n. The means by which our redemption is accomplished ; 

HI. The excellent state to which we are advanced by our 
Redeemer. 

I. If we reflect upon the horror of our natural state, it 
will exceedingly heighten the mercy that delivered us. This 
I have in part opened before, therefore I will be the shorter 
in describing it. Man by his rebellion had forfeited God's 
favour, and the honour and happiness he enjoyed in paradise. 
And as there is no middle state between sovereignty and 
misery, he that falls from the throne stops not till he comes 
to the bottom ; so when man fell from God and the dignity 
of his innocent state, he became extremely miserable. He is 
under the servitude of sin,, the tyranny of Satan, the bon- 
dage of the law, and the empire of death. 



118 THE HARMONY OF 

1. Man is a captive to sin. He is fallen from the hand of 
his counsel, under the power of his passions. Love, hatred, 
ambition, envy, fear, sorrow, and all the other stinging affec- 
tions (of which is true what Solinus speaks of the several 
kinds of serpents in Africa, " Quantus nominum, tantus mor- 
tium Humerus") exercise a tyranny over him. And if "no 
man can serve two masters," as our Saviour tells us, how 
wretched is the slavery of man, whose passions are so oppo- 
site, that in obeying one, he cannot escape the lash of many 
imperious masters! He is possessed with a legion of im- 
pure lusts. And as the demoniac in the gospel was some- 
times cast into the fire and sometimes into the water ; so he 
is hurried by the fury of contrary passions. 

This servitude to sin is in all respects complete ; for those 
who serve, are either born servants, or bought with a price, 
or made captives by force; and sin hath all these kinds of 
title to man. 

He is conceived and born in sin, Psalm li. 5 : — he is " sold 
under sin," Rom. vii. 14 ; — and sells himself to do evil, Isa. 
xxviii. 15. As that which is soldpasseth into the possession 
of the buyer, so the sinner exchanging himself for the plea- 
sures of sin, is under its power. Original sin took posses- 
sion of our nature, and actual sin of our lives. He is the 
servant of corruption by yielding to it : " for of whom a 
man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage," 
1 Pet. ii. 19. 

The condition of the most wretched bondslave is more 
sweet and less servile than that of a sinner ; for the severest 
tyranny is exercised only upon the body, the soul remains 
free in the midst of chains: slaves are called ffoijiara, bodies, 
Rev. xviii. 13 : but the power of sin oppresses the soul, the 
most noble part, and defaces the bright character of the 
Deity that was stamped upon its visage. The worst slavery 
is terminated with this present life. In the grave " the pri- 
soners rest together; they hear not the voice of the op- 
pressor. The small and the great are there ; and the ser- 
vant is free from his master," Job iii. 18, 19. But there is 
no exemption from this servitude by death, it extends itself 
to eternity. 

2. Man since his fall is under the tyranny of Satan, who 
is called " the god of this world," and is more absolute than 
all temporal princes, his dominion being over the will. He 
overcame man in paradise, and by the right of war rules 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 1 19 

over him. The soul is kept in his bondage by subtile chains, 
of which the spiritual nature is capable. The understanding 
is captivated by ignorance and errors ; the will, by inordinate 
and dangerous lusts ; the memory, by the images of sinful 
pleasures, those mortal visions which enchant the soul and 
make it not desirous of liberty. Never did cruel pirate so 
incompassionately urge his slaves to ply their oars in char- 
ging or flying from an enemy, as Satan incites those who 
are his captives to do his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26. And can there 
be a more afflicting calamity, than to be the slave of one's 
enemy, especially if base and cruel ? This is the condition 
of man ; he is a captive to the devil, who was a liar and a 
murderer from the beginning. He is under the rage of that 
bloody tyrant, whose ambition was to render man as miser- 
able as himself; who in triumph upbraids him for his folly, 
and adds derision to his cruelty. 

3. Fallen man is under the curse and terror of the law ; 
for being guilty, he is justly exposed to the punishment 
threatened against transgressors, without the allowance of 
repentance to obtain pardon. And conscience, which is the 
echo of the law in his bosom, repeats the dreadful sentence. 
This is an accuser which none can silence, a judge that none 
can decline : and from hence it is that men all their life are 
" subject to bondage," being obnoxious to the wratli of God, 
which the awakened conscience fearfully sets before them. 

This complicated servitude of a sinner the scripture repre- 
sents under a great variety of similitudes, that the defects of 
one may be supplied by another. Every sinner is a servant, 
John viii. 34. Now a servant by flight may recover his li- 
berty ; but the sinner is a captive in chains, 2 Tim. ii. 26. 
A captive may be freed by laying down a ransom ; but the 
sinner is deeply in debt. Every debtor is not miserable by 
his own fault ; it may be his infelicity, not his crime, that 
he is poor ; but the sinner is guilty of the highest offences. 
A guilty person may enjoy his health ; but the sinner is sick 
of a deadly disease, an incurable wound, Isa. i. 6. He that 
is sick and wounded may send for the physician in order to 
his recovery ; but the sinner is in a deep sleep, 2 Tim. ii. 26. 
The apostle sets forth the conversion of a sinner by the word 
dvavf}<;>siv, which signifies an awakening out of sleep, caused 
by the fumes of wine or strong liquor ; which is an excellent 
resemblance of the sinner's state, wherein the spiritual senses 
are bound up, and the passions, as thick and malignant va- 



120 THE HARMONY OP 

pours, cloud the mind, that it cannot reflect upion his mise- 
ries. He that is asleep may awake ; but the sinner is in a 
state of death, which implies not only a cessation from all 
vital actions, but an absolute disability to perform them. 
The understanding is disabled for any spiritual perception, 
the will for any holy inclinations, the whole man is disabled 
for the sense of his wretched state. This is the spiritual 
death which justly exposes the sinner to death temporal and 
eternal. 

4. Every man as descending from Adam, is born a sacri- 
fice to death. His condition in this world is so wretched 
and unworthy the original excellency of his nature, that it 
deserves not the name of life. It is a continual exercise of 
sinful actions dishonourable to God and damning to himself; 
and after the succession of a few years in the defilements of 
sin and the accidents of this frail state, in doing and suffer- 
ing evil, man comes to his fatal period, and falls into the 
bottomless pit, the place of pollutions and horrors, of sin and 
torments. It is there that the wrath of God abides on him ; 
and " who knowetli tlie power of his wrath 7 According to 
his fear, so is his wrath," Psalm xc. 12. Fear is an un- 
bounded passion, and can extend itself to the apprehension 
of such torments, as no finite power can inflict: but the 
wrath of God exceeds the most jealous fears of the guilty 
conscience. It proceeds from infinite justice, and is execu- 
ted by almighty power, and contains eminently all kinds of 
evils. A lake of burning brimstone, and whatever is most 
dreadful to sense, is but an imperfect allusion to represent it. 

And how great is that love which pitied and rescued us 
from sin and hell ! This saving mercy is set out for its ten- 
derness and vehemence by the commotion of the bowels, at 
the sight of one in misery, Luke i. 78, especially the work- 
ing of the mother, Avhen any evil befals her children : such 
an inward deep resentment of our distress was in the Father 
of mercies. When we were in our blood, he said unto us, 
Live, Ezek. xvi. 6. 

And that which farther discovers the eminent degree of 
his love is this — he miglit have been unconcerned with our 
distress, and left us under despair of deliverance. There is 
a compassion which arises from self-love, when the sight of 
another's misery surprises us, and affects in such a manner 
as to disturb our repose and embitter our joy, by considering 
our liableness to the same troubles ; and from hence we are 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 121 

inclined to help them. And there is a compassion that pro- 
ceeds from pure love to the miserable, when the person that 
expresses it, is above all the assaults of evil, and incapable 
of all affections that might lessen his infelicity, and yet ap- 
plies himself to relieve the afflicted ; and such was God's to- 
wards man. 

If it had been a tolerable evil under which we were fallen, 
the mercy that recovered us, had been less ; for beneiits are 
valued by the necessity of the receiver. But man was dis- 
inherited of paradise, an heir of hell, his misery was incon- 
ceivably great. Now the measure of God's love is propor- 
tionable to the misery from whence we were redeemed. If 
there had been any possible remedy for us in nature, our en- 
gagements had not been so great : but only he that created 
us by his power, could restore us by his love. 

Briefly ; it magnifies the divine compassion, that our de- 
liverance is full and entire. It had been admirable favour to 
have mitigated our misery, but we have a perfect redemption, 
sweetened by the remembrance of those dreadful evils that 
oppressed us. As the three Hebrew martyrs came unhurt 
out of the fiery furnace ; the hair of their heads was not sin- 
ged, nor their coats changed, nor the smell of the fire passed 
on them, Dan. iii. 27 ; so the saints above have no marks of 
sin and misery remaining upon them, not the " least spot or 
wrinkle" to blast their beauty, nor the least trouble to dimi- 
nish their blessedness ; but for ever possess the fulness of joy 
and glory, a pure and triumphant felicity. 

II. The greatness of the divine love towards fallen man 
appears in the means by which our redemption is accom- 
plished ; and those are the incarnation and suflTerings of the 
Son of God. 

1. The incarnation manifests his love upon a double ac- 
count — in regard of the essential condition of the nature he 
assumed — its servile state and meanness. 

(1.) The essential condition of the human nature assumed 
by our Redeemer, discovers his transcendent love to us ; for 
what proportion is there between God and man ? Infinite 
and finite are not terms that admit comparison, as greater 
and less ; but are distant, as all and nothing. The Avhole 
world before him is but " the drop of a bucket," that hath 
scarce weight to fall ; and " the small dust of the balance," 
that is not of such moment as to turn the scales ; it is " as 
nothing," and " counted less than nothing, and vanity," Isa. 
11 



122 THE HARMONY OF 

xl. 15, 17. The Deity in its own nature includes indepen- 
dence and sovereignty. To be a creature implies dependance 
and subjection. The angelical nature is infinitely inferior to 
the divine, and man is lower than the angels; yet "the Word 
was made flesh." 

Add to this, he was not made as Adam in the perfection 
of his nature and beginning the first step of his life in the 
full exercise of reason and dominion over the creatures, but 
he came into the world by the way of a natural birth and 
dependance upon a mortal creature. The eternal wisdom o{ 
the Father stooped to a state of infancy, which is most distant 
from that of wisdom, wherein though the life, yet the light of 
the reasonable soul is not visible ; and the mighty God, to a 
condition of indigence and infirmity. The Lord of nature 
submitted to the laws of it. Admirable love, wherein God 
seemed to forget his own greatness and the meanness of the 
creature ! This is more endeared to us by considering, 

(2.) The servile state of the nature he assumed. An ac- 
count of this we liave in t!ie words of the apostle, Phil. ii. 
5 — 8 ; " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus : who being in the form of God ;" that is, enjoying the 
divine nature with ail its glory, eternally and invariably; as 
to be in the form of a king, signifies not only to be a king, 
but to have all the conspicuous marks of royalty, the crown, 
sceptre, throne, tlie guards and state of a king. Thus our 
Saviour possessed that glory tlnit is truly divine, before he 
took our nature, Jolin xvii. 5. The angels adored him in 
heaven, and by him princes reigned on the earth. It is ad- 
ded, " he thought it not robbery to be ccjumI with God," that 
is, being the essential image of the Fatlicr, lie liad a rightful 
possession of all his perfectious ; yet " he made himself of 
no reputation, and took upon him the form oj a servant, and 
was made in the likeness of men :" this is a lower degree of 
condescension, than assuming the naked human nature. A 
servant is not simply a man, there being many men of higher 
quality, but a man in a low state. Now he tliat was in the 
form of God, lessened himself into the form of a servant; 
that is, lie took the human nature without honour, attended 
with its infirmities ; so that by the visible condition of his 
life, he was judged to be an ordinary person, and not that 
under that meanness the Lord of angels had been concealed. 

This will more distinctly be understood, if we consider the 
lowness of his extraction, the poverty of his birth, and the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 123 

tenoiir of his life whilst he conversed with men. WTiat na- 
tion was more despicable in the esteem of the world than the 
Jews ? They are called by Tacitus, ' Vilissima pars servien- 
tiim.' Yet of their stock Christ disdained not to descend. 
And among the Jews, none were more vilified than the Ga- 
lileans ; and in Galilee, Nazareth was a contemptible village ; 
and in Nazareth, the family of Joseph was very obscure, and 
to him our Saviour was nearly allied. His reputed father 
was a carpenter, and his mother a virgin, that offered two 
pigeons for her purification. He first breathed in a stable, 
and was covered with poor swaddling clothes, who was mas- 
ter of heaven and earth, and adorns all creatures Avith their 
glory. But love made him, who is heir of all things, re- 
nounce the privilege of his supernatural sonship. Incon- 
ceivable condescension ! Therefore an angel was despatched 
from heaven, who appeared with a surprising miraculous 
light, the visible character of his dignity, to prevent the scan- 
dal which might arise from the meanness of his condition, 
and to assure the shepherds that the babe which lay in the 
manger, was the Redeemer of the world. The course of his 
life was a preface and preparative for the death of the cross. 
He had a just right to all that glory, which a created nature 
personally united to the Deity could receive. An eminent 
instance of it there was in his transfiguration, when glory 
descended from heaven to encompass him ; that which was 
so short should have been continual, but he presently returned 
to the lowness of his former condition. " The fulness of the 
God-head dwelt in him bodily," j^et in his humble state he 
was voluntarily deprived of those admirable effects which 
should proceed from that union. Strange separation between 
the Deity and the glory that results from it ! God is light, 
and the Son is " the brightness of his Father's glory," yet in 
his pilgrimage upon the earth he was always under a cloud. 
Astonishing miracle, transcending all those in the compass 
of nature ! yet the power of love effected it. He was made 
not only " lower than the angels," but less than all men, join- 
ing (O amazing abasement !) the majesty of God, with the 
meanness of a worm, Heb. ii. Psalm xxii. The " high and 
lofty One," whom the prophet saw " exalted on a high 
throne," and all the powers of heaven in a posture of reve- 
rence about him, " was despised and rejected of men ;" they 
turned their eyes from him, not for the lustre of his counte- 
nance, but for shame, Isa. vi. liii. 



124 THE HARMONY OF 

If the Lord had assumed our nature in its most honourable 
condition, and appeared in its beauty, the condescension were 
infinite ; for although men are distinguished among them- 
selves by titles of honour, yet as two glow worms that shine 
with an unequal brightness in the night, are equally obscured 
by the light of the sun ; so all men, those that are advanced 
to the most eminent degree, as well as the most abject and 
wretched, are in the same distance from God: but he emp- 
tied himself of all his glory. " He grew up as a tender plant, 
and as a root out of a dry ground ; there was no form or 
comeliness in him," Isa. liii. 2. From his birth to the time 
of his preaching, he lived so privately, as to be known only 
under the quality of the carpenter's son. There was a con- 
tinual repression of that inconceivable glory that was due to 
him the first moment of his appearing among men. In short, 
his despised condition was an abasement not only of his di- 
vinity, but his humanity. And how conspicuous was his 
love in this darkening condescension ! " Ye know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for 
your sakes he became poor," 2 Cor. vjii. 9. He did not as- 
sume that which was due to the excellency of his nature, 
but what was convenient for our redemption, which was to 
be accomplished by sufferings. 

Where can be found an example of such love ? Some 
have favourable inclinations to help the distressed, and will 
express so much compassion as is consistent with their state 
and quality ; but if, in order to the relieving of tlie misera- 
ble, one must submit to what is shameful, who hath an affec- 
tion so strong and vehement, as to purchase his brother's re- 
demption at the loss of his own honour ? Yet the Son of God 
descended from his throne, and put on our vile mortality ; 
he parted with his glory, tliat he might be qualified to part 
with his life for our salvation. How doth this exalt his com- 
passion to us I 

(3.) Add further, he took our nature after it had lost its 
primitive innocency. The natural distance between God 
and the creature is infinite ; the moral between God and the 
sinful creature, if possible, is more than infinite ; yet the 
mercy of our Redeemer overcame this distance. "What an 
ecstasy of love transported the Son of God so far as to es- 
pouse our nature after it was depraved and dishonoured with 
sin? He was essential innocence and purity, yet he came 
" in the likeness of sinful flesh," which to outward view was 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 125 

not diiferent from what was really sinful. He was the holy 
Lawgiver, yet he submitted to that law which made him ap- 
pear under the character and disreputation of a sinner. He 
paid the bloody tribute of the children of wrath, being cir- 
cumcised as guilty of Adam's sin ; and he was baptized as 
guilty of his own. 

2. The most evident and sensible proof of the greatness 
of God's love to mankind, is in the sufferings of our Re- 
deemer to obtain our pardon. He is called in scripture, " a 
man of sorrows :" the title signifies their number and quality. 
His whole life was a continual passion. He suifered the 
contradiction of sinners, who by their malicious calumnies 
obscured the lustre of his miracles and most innocent ac- 
tions ; he endured the temptations of Satan in the desert ; 
he was often in danger of his life. But all these were no- 
thing in comparison of his last sufferings. It is therefore 
said, that at the bare apprehension of them, he " began to be 
sorrowful," as if he had never felt any grief till then. His 
former afflictions were like scattered drops of rain : but as 
in the deluge all the fountains beneath, and all the windows 
of heaven above were opened ; so in our Saviour's last suf- 
ferings, the anger of God, the cruelty of men, the fury of 
devils broke out together against him. And that the degrees 
of his love may be measured by those of his sufferings, it 
will be fit to consider them with respect of his soul and his 
body. The gospel delivers to us the relation of both. 

Upon his entrance into the garden, he complains, " My 
soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." There were 
present only Peter, James, and John, his happy favourites, 
who assured him of their fidelity ; there was no visible ene- 
my to afflict him ; yet his soul v/as environed with sor'-ows. 
It is easy to conceive the injuries he suffered from the rage 
of men, for they were terminated upon his body ; but how 
to understand his inward sufferings, the wounds of his spirit, 
the cross to which his soul was nailed, is very difficult : yet 
these were inexpressibly greater, as the visible effects declare. 
The anguish of his soul so affected his body, that his " sweat 
was, as it were, great drops of blood," the miraculous evi- 
dence of liis agony. The terror was so dreadful, that the 
assistance of an angel could not calm it. And if we consider 
the causes of his grief, the dispositions of Christ, and the de- 
sign of God in afflicting him, it will further appear that no 
sorrow was ever like his. The causes were, 
11* 



126 THE HARMONY OF 

(1.) The evil of sin, which inconceivably exceeds all 
other ; for the just measure of an evil is taken from the good 
to which it is opposite, and of which it deprives us. Now 
sin is formally opposite to the holy nature and will of God, 
and meritoriously deprives us of his blessed presence for 
ever. Therefore God being the supreme good, sin is the 
supreme evil. And grief being the resentment of an evil, 
that which is proportioned to the evil of sin must be infinite. 
Now the Lord Christ alone had perfect light to discover sin 
in its true horror, and perfect zeal to hate it according to its 
nature : for who can understand the excellency of good and 
the malignity of evil, but the author of the one and the judge 
of the other? Who can fully conceive the guilt of rebellion 
against God, but the Son of God, who alone is able to com- 
prehend his own majesty ? On this account the grief of our 
Redeemer exceeded all the sorrows of repenting sinners from 
the beginning of the world ; for our knowledge is so imper- 
fect and our zeal so remiss, that our grief for sin is much 
beneath what it is worthy of ; but sin was as hateful to Christ 
as it is in itself, and his sorrow was equal to its evil. 

(2.) The death he was to suffer, attended with all the 
curses of the law and the terrible marks of God's indigna- 
tion. From hence it is said, " he began to be sore amazed 
and to be very heavy." It is wonderful that the Son of God, 
who had perfect patience and the strength of the Deity to 
support him, who knew that his passion would soon pass 
away, and that the issue would be his own glorious resurrec- 
tion and the recovery of lapsed man, that he should be sha- 
ken with fear and oppressed with sorrow at the first ap- 
proaches of it. How many of the martyrs have, with an 
undisturbed courage, embraced a more cruel death ! But to 
them it was disarmed ; whereas our Saviour encountered it 
with all its formidable pomp, witli its darts and poison. 

(3.) The wrath of God was inflamed against him ; for al- 
though he was perfectly innocent, and more distant from sin 
than heaven is from the earth, yet by the ordination of God, 
and his own consent being made our sponsor, the iniquity of 
us all was laid upon him. He suffered as deeply as if he 
had been guilty. Vindictive justice was inexorable to his 
prayers and tears. Although he renewed his request with 
the greatest ardency ; as it is said by the evangelist, that 
" being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly ;" yet God 
would not spare him. The Father of mercies saw his Son 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 127 

humbled in his presence, prostrate on the earth, yet deals 
with him in extreme severity. He was " stricken, smitten 
of God, and afflicted." And who is able to conceive the 
weight of God's hand, Avhen he punishes sin according to its 
desert ? Who can understand the degrees of those sufferings, 
when God exacts satisfaction from one that was obliged and 
able to make it ? How piercing were those sorrows whereby 
divine justice, infinitely incensed, was to be appeased ! Who 
knows the consequence of those words, " My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me ?" It is impossible to compre- 
hend or represent that great and terrible mystery. But thus 
much we may understand, that holiness and glory being es- 
sential to the Deity, they are communicated to the reasona- 
ble nature when united to it ; but with this difference, that 
holiness necessarily results from union with God, for sin 
being infinitely repugnant to his nature, makes a separation 
between him and the creature ; but glory and joy are dis- 
pensed in a free and arbitrary manner. This dereliction of 
our Saviour must be understood with respect to the second, 
not the first communication. In the extremity of his tor- 
ments all his affections were innocent and regular, being 
raised to that degree only, which the vehemency of the ob- 
ject required. He expressed no murmur against God, nor 
anger against his enemies. His faith, love, humility, patience 
were then in their exaltation. But that glorious and un- 
speakable joy which in the course of his life the Deity con- 
veyed to him, was then withdrawn. An impetuous torrent 
of pure, unmixed sorrows broke into his holy soul ; he felt 
no refreshing emanations ; so that having lost the sense of 
present joy, there remained in his soul only the hope of fu- 
ture joy. And in that sad moment his mind was so intent 
upon his sufferings, that he seems to have been diverted from 
the actual consideration of the glory that attended the issue 
of them. 

Briefly; all comforting influences were suspended, but 
without prejudice to the personal union, or the perfection of 
his grace, or the love of his Father toward him. His soul 
was liable to sorrows, as his body to death ; for the Deity is 
the principle of life as well as of joy, and as the body of 
Christ was three days in the state of death and the hyposta- 
tical union remained entire ; so his soul was left for a time 
under the fearful impressions of wrath, yet was not separa- 
ted from the Godhead. And although he endured whatever 



128 THE HARMONY OF 

was necessary for the expiation of sin, yet ail vicious evils, 
as blasphemy, hatred of God, and any other which are not 
inflicted by the Judge, but in strictness are accidental to the 
punishment, and proceed from the weakness or wickedness 
of the patient, he was not in the least guilty of. Besides, 
when his Father appeared an enemy against him, at that 
time he was infinitely pleased in his obedience. But with 
these exceptions our blessed Lord suffered whatever was due 
to us. 

The sorrows of his forsaken state were inexpressibly great ; 
for according to the degree and sense we have of happiness, 
such in proportion is our grief for the loss of it. Now Christ 
had the fullest enjoyment and the highest valuation of God's 
favour. His enjoyment was raised above what the most 
glorious spirits are capable of: all his faculties were pure 
and vigorous, never blunted with sin, and intimately united 
to the Deity. How cutting then was it to his soul, to be 
suspended from the perfect vision of God ! To be divorced 
as it were from himself, and to lose that paradise he always 
had within him ! If all the angels of light were at once de- 
prived of tbeir glory, the loss were not equal to this dreadful 
eclipse of the Sun of Righteousness ; as if all the stars were 
extinguished, the darkness would not be so terrible, as if the 
sun, the fountain of light, were put out. Whatever his suf- 
ferings were in kind, yet in degree tliey were answerable to 
the full and just desert of sin, and surpassed the power of the 
human or angelical nature to endure. In short, his sorrows 
were equalled only by that love which procured them. 

And as the sufferings inflicted by the hand of God, so the 
evils he endured from men, declare the infiniteness of our 
Redeemer's love to us. For the farther discovery of it, it is 
necessary to reflect upon his death, which is .set down by the 
apostle as the lowest degree of his humiliation, in which the 
succession of all bis bodily sufferings is included, it being the 
complement of all. And if we consider the quality of it, the 
goodness of our Redeemer will be more visible in his volun- 
tary submission to it. Two circumstances make the kind of 
death which is to be suffered, very terrible to us, ignominy 
and torment ; and they eminently concur in the death of the 
cross. 

The greatest ignominy attended it, and that in the account 
of God and men. As honour is " in honorante," and depends 
upon the esteem of others, so infamy consists in the judgment 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 129 

of Others. Now in the account of the Avorld, every death 
inflicted for a crime is attended with disgrace ; but that re- 
ceives its degrees from the manner of it. To be executed 
privately is a favour, but to be made a spectacle to the mul- 
titude increases the dishonour of one that suffers. When 
death is speedily inflicted, the sense of shame is presently 
passed ; but to be exposed to public view for many hours, as 
a malefactor, whilst the beholders detest the crime and abhor 
the punishment, is a heavy aggravation of it. Beheading, 
which is suddenly despatched by a sword or military instru- 
ment, and therefore more honourable, was a privilege ; but 
to hang on the cross was the most conspicuous mark of the 
public justice and displeasure ; a special infamy was conco- 
mitant with it. Among the Jews, hanging on a tree was 
branded with the curse ; therefore God commanded that the 
bodies of those who were hanged on a tree should be taken 
down in the evening, that the land might not be defiled with 
a curse, Deut. xxi. 23. And the judgment of other nations 
was answerable ; for it was inflicted only on the most infa- 
mous offenders, as fugitives, slaves, thieves, and traitors; such 
whom the lowness of their quality or the height of their 
crimes rendered unworthy of any respect. Hence it is that 
Cicero, to aggravate the cruelty of Verres in crucifying a 
Roman citizen, calls it "a nameless wickedness:" no elo- 
quence could express the indignity. " Facinus est vincire 
Romanum civem ; scelus est verberare ; prope parricidium 
necarc, quid dicam in crucem tollere ? Verbo quidem satis 
digno tam nefaria res appellari nullo modo potest." 

The pain of that death was extreme. The hands and feet, 
those parts wherein the complexion of the nerves meet and 
are of an exquisite sense, were nailed. Crucified persons 
suffered a slow death, but quick torments; they felt them- . 
selves die ; therefore in pity the soldiers broke their legs to 
put a period to their misery. And to complete their punish- 
ment, they were judged unworthy to enjoy the privilege of 
the grave, to repose in the bosom of the earth our common 
mother, the last consolation of the dead, but were exposed 
as a prey to birds and beasts. 

Now the Son of God endured no gentler nor nobler death 
than that of the cross. His pure and gracious hands, which 
were never stretched out but to do good, were pierced; and 
those feet which bore the Redeemer of the world, and for 
which the waters had a reverence, were nailed. His body, 



130 THE HAU.MONY OF 

the precious workmanship of the Holy Ghost, the temple of 
the Deity, was destroyed. He that is the glory of heaven, 
Avas made the scorn of the earth : the King of kings was 
crucified between two thieves in Jerusalem, at their sacred 
feasts, in the face of the world. His naked body was ex- 
posed on the cross for three hours, covered only with a vail 
of darkness. This was such a stupendous submission of the 
Son of God, that his death astonished the universe in ano- 
ther manner than his birth and life, his resurrection and as- 
cension. Universal nature relented at his last sufferings. 
The sun was struck with horror, and withdrew its light; it 
did not appear crowned witli beams, when the Creator w^as 
with thorns. The earth trembled, the rocks rent; the most 
insensible creatures sympathized with him: and it is in this 
we have the most visible instance of divine love to us. 

The scriptures distinctly represent the love of God in 
giving his Son, and the love of Christ in giving himself to 
die for man, and both require our deepest consideration. 

The Father expressed such an excess of love, that our 
Saviour himself speaks of it with admiration: "God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life," John iii. 16. If Abraham's resolution to offer 
his Son, was in the judgment of God a convincing evidence 
of his affection, Gen. xxii. 12, how much more is the actual 
sacrificing of Christ the strongest proof of God's love to us? 
for God had a higher title to Isaac than Abraham had : the 
Father of spirits hath a nearer claim, than the fathers of the 
flesh. Abraham's readiness to offer up his son was obedience 
to a command, not his own choice ; it was rather an act of 
justice than love, by whicli he rendered to God what was 
his own : but God "spared not his ov/n Son" in whom he 
had an eternal right ; and he was not only free from obliga- 
tion, but not sued to {"or our salvation in that wonderful way. 
P'or what human or angelical understanding could have con- 
ceived such a thought, that the Son of God should die for 
our redemption? The most charitable spirits in heaven had 
not a glimmering inclination towards this admirable way of 
saving us : it had been an impious blasphemy to have desired 
it; so that Christ is the most absolute gift of God to us. Be- 
sides the love of Abraham is to be measured by the reasons 
that might excite it ; for according to the amiablencss of the 
object, so much greater is the love that gives it. Many en- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 131 

dearing circumstances made Isaac the joy of his father: he 
was an only son, miraculously obtained, after many prayers 
and long expectation of his parents, when natural vigour was 
spent, and all hopes dead of having a surviving heir; he was 
in the spring of his youth, and the root of all the promises, 
that in him a progeny as numerous as the stars, and that the 
Messiah infinitely more worthy than all the rest, should come; 
yet at the best he was an imperfect, mortal creature, so that but 
a moderate affection was regularly due to him. Whereas our 
Redeemer was not a mere man or an angel, but God's only 
begotten Son, which title signifies his unity with him in his 
state and perfections; and according to the excellency of his 
nature, such is his Father's love to him. St. John represents 
to us that " God is love;" not charitable and loving, that is 
too weak an expression, but love itself. The divine nature 
is infinite essential love, in which other perfections are in- 
cluded. And he produces the strongest and most convincing 
testimony of it, '" In this was manifested the love of God to- 
ward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into 
the world, that we might live through him," John iv. 9. The 
love of God in all temporal blessings, is but faint in compa- 
rison with the love that is expressed in our Redeemer. As 
much as the Creator exceeds the creature, the gift of Christ 
is above the gift of the whole world. " Herein is love," saith 
the apostle, that is the clearest and the highest expression of 
it can be, " God sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins." 
The wisdom and power of God did not act to the utmost of 
their efficacy in the creation, he could frame a more glorious 
world ; but the love of God in our strange salvation by 
Christ, cannot in a higher degree be expressed. As the apos- 
tle, to set forth how sacred and inviolable God's promise is, 
saith that " because he could swear by no greater, he sware 
by himself;" so when he would give the most excellent tes- 
timony of his favour to mankind, he gave his eternal Son, 
the heir of his love and blessedness. The giving of heaven 
itself, with all its joys and glory, is not so perfect and full a 
demonstration of the love of God, as the giving of his Son 
to die for us. 

It is an endearing circumstance of this love, that it M-arm- 
ed the heart of God from eternity, and was never interrupt- 
ed in that vast duration. Great benefits that come from a 
sudden flush of affection, are not so highly estimable, as 
when disDcnsed with judgment and counsel ; because they 



132 THE HARMONY OP - 

do not argue in the giver such a true valuation and fixed love 
of the persons that receives them. The spring-tide may be 
followed by as low an ebb ; the benefactor may repent of his 
favours as spent in vain ; but our salvation by Christ is the 
product of God's eternal thoughts, the fruit of love that ever 
remains. He was delivered " by the determinate counsel and 
foreknowledge of God," to suffer for us. Acts ii. 23. Before 
the world began, we were before the eyes, nay, in the heart 
of God. 

And yet the continuance of this love through infinite ages 
past, is less than the degree of it. According to the rule of 
common esteem, a greater love was expressed to wretched 
man, than to Christ himself; for we expend things less valu- 
able for those that are more precious ; so that God in giving 
him to die for us, declared that our salvation was more dear 
to him than the life of his only Son. When no meaner ran- 
som than the blood royal of heaven could purchase our re- 
demption, God delighted in the expense of that sacred trea- 
sure for us; " It pleased the Lord to bruise him." Though 
the death of Christ absolutely considered was the highest 
provocation of God's displeasure and brought the greatest 
guilt upon the Jews, for which " wrath came upon them to 
the uttermost," yet in respect of the end, namely, the salva- 
tion of men, it was the most grateful offering to him, " a sa- 
crifice of a sweet smelling savour." God repented that he 
made man, but never that he redeemed him. 

And as the love of the Father, so the love of Christ ap- 
pears in a superlative manner in dying for us. " Greater love 
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his 
friends," John xv. 13. There is no kind of love that exceeds 
the affection which is expressed in dying for another ; but 
there are divers degrees of it, and the highest is to die for 
our enemies. The apostle saith, Rom. v. 7, " Peradventure 
for a good man some would even dare to die :" it is possible, 
gratitude may prevail upon one who is under strong obliga- 
tions, to die for his benefactor : or some may, from a gene- 
rous principle, be willing with the loss of their lives to pre- 
serve one who is a general and public good. But this is a 
rare and almost incredible thing. It is recorded as a miracu- 
lous instance of the power of love, that the two Sicihan phi- 
losophers, Damon and Pythias, each had courage to die for 
his friend ; for one of them being condemned to die by the 
tyrant, and desiring to give the last farewell to his family, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 133 

his friend entered into prison as his surety to die for him, if 
he did not return at the appointed time ; and lie came to the 
amazement of all, that expected the issue of such a hazardous 
caution. Yet in this example there seems to be in the second, 
such a confidence of the fidelity of the first, that he was as- 
sured he should not die in beino- a pledge for him ; and in the 
first it was not mere friendship or sense of the obligation, but 
the regard of his own honour that made him rescue his 
friend from death. And if love were the sole motive, yet the 
highest expression of it was to part with a short life, which 
in a little time must have been resigned by the order of nature. 
But the love of our Saviour was so pure and great, there can 
be no resemblance, much less any parallel of it ; for he "vv^as 
perfectly holy, and so the privilege of immortality was due 
to him ; and his life was infinitely more precious than the 
lives of angels and men ; yet he laid it down, and submitted 
to a cursed death, and to that which was infinitely more bit- 
ter, the wrath of God : and all this for sinful men, who were 
under the just and heavy displeasure of the Almighty. He 
loved us, and gave himself for us. Gal. ii. 20. If he had only 
interposed as an advocate to speak for us, or only had acted 
for our recovery, his love had been admirable; but he suffered 
for us. He is not only our mediator, but Redeemer; not only 
Redeemer, but ransom. 

It was excellent goodness in David, when he saw the de- 
struction of his people, to offer himself and family as a sa- 
crifice to avert the wrath of God from them ; but his pride 
was the cause of the judgment, whereas our Redeemer was 
perfectly innocent, 2 Sam. xxiv. 17. David interceded for 
his subjects, Christ for his enemies. He received the arrows 
of the Almighty into his breast to shelter us. " He hath 
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ; he was wounded 
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes 
we are healed," Isa. liii. 4, 5, Among the Romans the des- 
potic power was so terrible, that if a slave had attempted 
upon the life of his master, all the rest had been crucified 
with the guilty person ; but our gracious master died for his 
slaves who had conspired against him. He shed his blood 
for those who spilt his. 

And the readiness of our Lord to save us, though by the 
sharpest sufferings, magnifies his love. When the richest 
sacrifices under the law were insufliicient to take away sin, 

12 



134 THE HARMONY OF 

and no lower price than the blood of God could obtain our 
pardon, upon his entering into the world to execute that 
wonderful commission which cost him his life, with what 
ardour of affection did he undertake it ! " Lo, I come to do 
thy will, O God." Heb. x. 5 — 7. When Peter, from carnal 
affection looking with a more tender eye on his master's life 
than our redemption, deprecated his sufferings, " Master, 
spare thyself ;" he who was incarnate goodness, and never 
quenched the smoking flax, expresses the same indignation 
against him, " Get thee behind me, Satan," as he did former- 
ly against the devil tempting him to worship him, Matt. xvi. 
23. He esteemed him the worst adversary that would di- 
vert him from his sufferings : he longed for the baptism of 
his blood. And when death was in his view, with all the 
circumstances of terror, and the supreme Judge stood before 
him ready to inflict the just punishment of sin ; though the 
apprehension of it was so dreadful that he could scarcely live 
under it, yet he resolved to accomplish his work. Our sal- 
vation was amiable to him in his agony. This is specially 
observed by the evangelist, that Jesus having loved his own, 
he loved them unto the end, John xiii. 1. When the sol- 
diers came to seize upon him, though by one word he could 
have commanded legions of angels for his rescue, yet he 
yielded up himself to their cruelty. It was not any defect 
of power, but the strength of his love that made him to suf- 
fer. He was willing to be crucified, that we might be glori- 
fied ; our redeniption was sweeter to him than death was bit- 
ter, by which it was to be obtained. It was excellently said 
by Pherecides, that God transformed himself into love when 
he made the world : but with greater reason it is said by 
the apostle, " God is love," when he redeemed it. It was 
love that by a miraculous condescension took our nature, 
accomplishing the desire of the mystical spouse, " Let him 
kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." It was love, that 
stooped to the form of a servant, and led a poor despised 
life here below. It was love, that endured a death, neither 
easy nor honourable, but most unworthy of the glory of the 
divine and the innocency of the human nature. Love chose 
to die on the cross, that we might live in heaven, rather than 
to enjoy that blessedness and leave mankind in misery. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 135 

CHAPTER X. 

THE GREATNESS OF THE DIVINE MERCY IN REDEMPTION. 

III. The third consideration which, makes the love of God 
so admirable to lapsed man, is, the excellency of that state 
to which he is advanced by the Redeemer. To be only ex- 
empted from death is a great favour. The grace of a prince 
is eminent in releasing a condemned person from the punish- 
ment of the law : this is sufficient for the mercy of man, 
but not for the love of God. He pardons and prefers the 
guilty : he rescues us from hell, and raises us to glory ; he 
bestows eternity upon those who were unworthy of life. 

The excellency of our condition under the gospel will be 
set off by comparing it with that of innocent man in para- 
dise. It is true, he was then in a state of holiness and ho- 
nour, and in perfect possession of that blessedness which 
was suitable to his nature ; yet in many respects our last 
state transcends our first, and redeeming love exceeds cre- 
ating. 

If man had been only restored to his forfeited rights, to 
the enjoyment of the same happiness which was lost, his 
first state were most desirable ; and it had been greater good- 
ness to have preserved him innocent,^han to recover him 
from ruin : as he that preserves his friend from falling into 
the hands of the enemy, by interposing between him and 
danger in the midst of the combat, delivers him in a more 
noble manner, than by paying a ransom for him after many 
days spent in wofnl captivity : and that physician is more 
excellent in his art, who prevents diseases, and keeps the bo- 
dy in health and vigour, than another that expels them by 
sharp remedies. But the grace of the gospel hath so much 
mended our condition, that if it were offered to our choice, 
to enjoy either the innocent state of Adam or the renewed 
by Christ, it were folly like that of our first parents, to pre- 
fer the former before the latter. The jubilee of the law re- 
stored to the same inheritance, but the jubilee of the gospel 
gives us the investiture of that which is transcendently bet- 
ter than what we at first possessed. Since " the day-spring 
from on high hath visited us" in tender mercy, we are en- 
riched with higher prerogatives, and are under a better co- 



136 THE HARMONY OF 

venant, and entitled to a more glorious reward, than was due 
to man by the law of his creation. 

1. The human nature is raised to a higher degree of ho- 
nour, than if man had continued in his innocent state ; 

(1.) By its intimate union with the Son of God. He as- 
sumed it as the fit instrument of our redemption, and pre- 
ferred it before the angelical, which surpassed man's in his 
primitive state. The fulness of the Godhead dwells in our 
Redeemer bodily, Col. ii. 9. From hence it is, that the an- 
gels descended to pay him homage at his birth, and attend- 
ed his majesty in his disguise. The Son of man hath those 
titles which are above the dignity of any mere creature ; 
he is King of the church, and Judge of the world ; he exer- 
cises divine power, and receives divine praise. Briefly ; the 
human nature in our Redeemer is an associate with the di- 
vine ; and being made a little lower than the angels for a 
time, is now '• advanced far above all principality and power," 
Ephes. i. 21. 

(2.) In all those who are partakers of grace and glory by 
the Lord Jesus. Adam was the Son of God by creation, but 
to be joined to Christ as our head by a union so intimate, 
that he lives in us and counts himself incomplete without us, 
and by that union to be adopted into the line of heaven, and 
thereby to have an interest in the " exceeding great and pre- 
cious promises" of the gospel ; to be " constituted heirs of 
God, and co-heirs with Christ," are such discoveries of the 
dignity of our supernatural state, that the lowest believer is 
advanced ab6ve Adam in all his honour. Nay, the angels, 
though superior to man in the excellency of their nature, 
yet are accidentally lower by the honour of our alliance: 
their King is our Brother. And this relative dignity, which 
seems to pclipse their glory, might excite their envy ; but 
such an ingenuous goodness dwells in those pure and bless- 
ed spirits, that they rejoice in our restoration and advance- 
ment. 

To this I shall add, that as the Son of God hath a special re- 
lation to man, so the most tender affections for him. To il- 
lustrate this by a sensible instance: angels and men arc two 
different nations in language and customs, but under the same 
empire ; and if a prince that commands two nations should 
employ one for the safety and prosperity of the other, it 
were an argument of special favour. Now the angels are 
'sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salva- 



/ 

THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 137 

tion," Heb. i. 14. Besides, in two other things the peculiar 
affection of the prince would be most evident to the nation 
— if he put on their habit, and attire himself according to 
their fashion — if he fixed his residence among them. Now 
the Son of God was clothed with our flesh, and "found in 
fashion as a man," and for ever appears in it in heaven ; and 
will at the last day invest our bodies with glory like to his 
own. He now dwells in us by his Spirit, and when our war- 
fare is accomplished, he shall in a special manner be present 
with us in the eternal mansions. As God incarnate he con- 
versed with men on earth, and as such he will converse with 
them in heaven. There he reigns as the first-born in the midst 
of many brethren. 

Now all these prerogatives are the fruits of our redemp- 
tion. And how great is that mercy which hath raised man- 
kind more glorious out of its ruins ! The apostle breaks out 
with a heavenly astonishment, "Behold, what manner of love 
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called 
the sons of God !" that we who are strangers and enemies, 
children of wrath by nature, should be dignified with the 
honourable and amiable title of his sons! 1 John iii. 1. It 
was a rare and most merciful condescension in Pharoah's 
daughter, to rescue an innocent and forsaken infant from 
perishing by the waters, and adopt him to be her son; but 
how much greater kindness was it for God to save guilty and 
WTctched man from eternal flames, and to take him into his 
family! The ambition of the prodigal rose no higher than to 
be a servant; what an inestimable favour is it to make us 
children ! When God would express the most dear and pecu- 
liar affection to Solomon, he saith, "I will be his Father, and 
he shall be my son," 2 Sam. vii. 14; this was the highest 
honour he could promise ; and all believers are dignified with 
it. It is the same relation, that Christ hath. When he was 
going to heaven, he comforted his disciples with these words, 
" I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and 
your God." There is indeed a diversity in the foundation of 
it. Christ is a Son by nature, we are by mere favour ; he is 
by generation, we are by adoption. Briefly; Jesus Christ hath 
made us " kings and priests unto God and his Father :" these 
are the highest offices upon earth, and were attended with 
the most conspicuous honour; and the Holy Spirit cho.se 
these bright images, to convey a clearer notice of the glory 
to which our Redeemer hath raised us. Not only all the 
12* 



138 THE HARMONY OF 

crowns and sceptres in the perishing world are infinitely be- 
neath this dignity, but the honour of our innocent state was 
not equal to it. 

2. The gospel is a better covenant than that which was es- 
tablished with man in his creation ; and the excellency of it 
will appear, by considering, 

(1.) It is more beneficial, in that it admits repentance and 
reconciliation after sin, and accepts of sincerity instead of 
perfection. The apostle magnifies the office of Christ ; " By 
how much he is the Mediator of a better covenant, Avhich 
was established upon better promises," Heb. viii. 6. The 
comparison here is between tiie ministry of the gospel, and 
the Mosaical economy ; and the excellency of the gospel is 
specified, in respect of those infinitely better promises that 
are in it. The ceremonial law appointed sacrifices for sins 
of ignorance and error, and to obtain legal impunity ; but 
the gospel upon the account of Christ's all-suflicient sacri- 
fice, offers full pardon for all sins that are repented of and 
forsaken. Now with greater reason the covenant of grace 
is to be preferred before the covenant of works ; for the 
law considered num as holy, and endued with perfection of 
grace equal to whatsoever was commanded : it was the mea- 
sure of his ability as well as duty, and required exact obe- 
dience, or threatened extreme misery. The least breach of 
it is fatal : a single offence as certainly exposes to the curse, 
as if the whole were violated : and in our lapsed state we 
are utterly disabled to comply with its purity and perfection. 
But the gospel contains the promises of mercy, and is in the 
" hands of a Mediator."' The tenour of it is, that repentance 
and remission of sins be- preached in the name of Christ, 
Acts ii. 33. And "if we would judge ourselves, we should 
not be judged," 1 Cor. xi. 31. It is not, if we are innocent, 
for then none can be exempt from condemnation ; but if the 
convinced sinner erect a tribunal in conscience, and strip sin 
of its disguise, to view its native deformity ; if he pronounce 
the sentence of the lav.' against himself, and glorify the jus- 
tice of God wliich he cannot satisfy, and forsake the sins 
which are the causes of his sorrow; he is qualified for par- 
doning mercy. 

Besides, the gospel doth not only apply pardon to us for all 
forsaken sins, but provides a remedy for those infirmities to 
which the best are incident. Whilst we are in this mortal 
state, we are exposed to temptations from without, and have 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 139 

'(Corruptions within that often betray us : now to support our 
drooping spirit, our Redeemer sits in heaven to plead for us, 
and perpetually renews the pardon that was once purchased, 
to every contrite spirit, for those unavoidable frailties which 
cleave to us here. The promise of grace is not made void by 
the sudden surprises of passions. '' If any man sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," 1 
John ii. 1. The rigour of the law is mollified by his mediation 
with "the Father" — a title of love and tenderness. God 
deals not with the severity of a judge, but he spareth us " as 
a man spareth his own son that serveth him," Mai. iii. 17. 

And as he pardons us upon our repentance, so he accepts 
our hearty, though mean services. Now the legal, that is, 
unsinning and complete obedience cannot be performed ; the 
evangelical, that is, the sincere, though imperfect, is gracious- 
ly received. God doth not require the duties of a man by 
the measures of an angel. Unfeigned endeavours to please 
him, unreserved respect to all his commands, single and ho- 
ly aims at his glory, are rewarded. Briefly : although the 
law is continued as a rule of living, yet not as the covenant 
of life. And what an admirable exaltation of mercy is there 
in this new treaty of God with sinners ? It is true, the first 
covenant was "holy, just, and good," but it made no abate- 
ments of favour, and it is now " weak through the flesh ;" 
that is, the carnal corrupt nature is so strong and impetuous, 
that the restraints of the law are ineflfectual to stop its de- 
sires, and therefore cannot bring man to that life that is pro- 
mised, by the performance of the condition required. But 
the gospel provides an indulgence for relenting and return- 
ing sinners. This is the language of God in that covenant, 
" I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins 
and their iniquities will I remember no more," Heb. viii. 12. 

(2.) The excellency of the evangelical covenant above the 
legal, is, in that supernatural assistance which is conveyed 
by it to believers, whereby they shall certainly be victorious 
over all opposition in their way to heaven. It is true, Adam 
was endued with perfect holiness and freedom, but he might 
entangle himself in the snares of sin and death. The grace 
of the Creator given to him was always present, but it de- 
pended on the natural use of his faculties, without the in- 
terposing of any extraordinary operation of God's Spirit. 
The principle of holiness was in himself, and it was subject- 
ed to his will: he had a power to obey if he would, but not 



140 THE HARMONY OF 

a power that actually determined his will, for then he had 
persevered. But the grace of the Redeemer that flows from 
Christ as our quickening head, and is conveyed to all his 
members, inclines the will so powerfully that it is made sub- 
ject to it. " God worketh in you both to will and to do of 
his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. The use of our faculties and 
the exercise of grace depend on the good pleasure of God 
who is unchangeable, and the operations of the Spirit, which 
are prevailing and effectual. And upon these two, the sta- 
bility of the new covenant is founded. 

First ; it is founded on the love of God, who is as un- 
changeable in his will, as in his nature. This love is the 
cause of election, from whence there can be no separation. 
This gives Christ to believers, and believers to him. "Thine 
they were," saith our Saviour, "and thou gavest them me," 
John xvii. 6 ; which words signify, not the common title God 
hath to all by creation, for men thus universally considered 
compose the world, and our Saviour distinguishes those that 
are given him from the world, John xvii. 9 ; but that special 
right God hath in them by election. And all these are given 
by the Father to Christ in their effectual calling, which is 
expressed by his drawing them to the Son, and are commit- 
ted to his care, to lead Ihem through a course of obedience 
to glory. For them Christ prays absolutely as Mediator, 
" Father, I will that those also whom thou hast given me, be 
with me where I am, that tliey may behold my glory," John 
xvii. 24. And he is always heard in his requests. 

It is from hence that the apostle challenges all creatures 
in heaven and earth, with that full and strong persuasion, 
that nothing could separate between believers and their hap- 
piness ; " For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature 
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in 
Christ Jesus our Lord," Rom. viii. 38. His assurance is not 
built on the special prerogatives he had as an apostle, not on 
his rapture to paradise, nor revelations, nor the apparition of 
angels, for of these he makes no mention ; but on that which 
is common to all believers, the love of God declared in the 
word, and " shed abroad in their hearts." And it is obser- 
vable that the apostle having spoken in his own person, 
changes the number, " I am persuaded that nothing shall 
separate us," to associate with himself in the partaking of 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 141 

that blessed privilege, all true believers who have an interest 
"in the same love of God, the same promises of salvation, and 
had felt the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the certain proof 
of their election. For how is it possible that God should 
retract his merciful purpose to save his people ? He that 
chose them from eternity before they could know him, and 
from pure love (there being nothing in the creature to induce 
him) gave his Son to suffer death for them, will he stop 
there, without bestowing that grace which may render it ef- 
fectual ? WTiat can change his affection ? He that prevent- 
ed them in his mercy, when they Wjere in their pollutions, 
will he leave them after his image is engraven upon them 1 
He that loved them so as to unite them to Christ when they 
were strangers, will he hate them Avhen they are his mem- 
bers ? No ; his loving-kindness is everlasting, and the cove- 
nant that is built on it, is more firm than the pillars of hea- 
ven and the foundations of the earth. This supported David 
in his dying hours, that " God had made with him an ever- 
lasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for that was 
all his salvation," 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 

Secondly ; the new covenant is secured by the efficacy of 
divine and supernatural grace. " This is the covenant that 
I will make with the house of Israel, saith the Lord ; I will 
put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts, 
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a peo- 
ple," Heb. viii. 10. The elect are enabled to perform the 
conditions of the gospel, to which eternal life is promised. 
Our Redeemer blesses us in turning us from our iniquities, 
Acts iii. 26. And although the instability of the human spi- 
rit, by reason of remaining corruptions and those various 
temptations to which we are liable, may excite our fear lest 
we should fall short of the- high prize of our calling, yet the 
grace of the gospel secures true believers against both. 

Whilst we are in the present state, our corruptions are not 
perfectly healed, but there are some remains, which, like a 
gangrene, threatens to seize on the vital parts, wherein the 
spiritual life is seated. But the divine nature which is con- 
veyed to all that are spiritually descended from Christ, is 
active and powerful to resist all carnal desires, and will pre- 
vail in the end ; for if sin in its full vigour could not control 
the efficacy of converting grace, how can the relics of it, after 
grace hath taken possession, be strong enough to spoil it of 
its conquest ? There is a greater distance from death to life. 



142 THE HARMONY OF 

than from life to action. That omnipotent grace thtit visited 
us in the grave and restored life to the dead, can much more 
perpetuate it in the living. That which was so powerful as 
to pluck the heart of stone out of the breast, can preserve the 
heart of flesh. It is true, the grace that is given to believers, 
in its own nature is a perishing quality, as that which was 
bestowed on Adam. Not only the slight superficial tincture 
in hypocrites will wear off, but that deep impression of sanc- 
tifying grace in true believers, if it be not renewed, would 
soon be defaced. But God hath promised to put his Spirit 
into their hearts, and to cause them to walk in his statutes, 
and they shall keep his commandments, Ezek. xxxvi. 27. 
He is a living, reigning principle in them, to which all their 
faculties are subordinate. The Spirit infused grace at first, 
an^l enlivens it daily : he confirms their faith, inflames their 
love, encourages their obedience, and refreshes in their minds 
the ideas of that glory which is invisible and future. In 
short, his influence cherishes the blessed beginnings of the 
spiritual life; so that sincere grace, though weak in its de- 
gree, yet is in a state of progress till it come to perfection. 
The waters of the Spirit have a cleansing virtue upon belie- 
vers, till every spot be taken away, and their purified souls 
ascend to heaven. 

The grace of the Spirit shall make true Christians finally 
victorious over temptations to which they may be exposed. 
And these are various. Some are pleasant and insinuating, 
others are sharp and furious, and are managed by the devil, 
our subtle and industrious enemy, to undermine, or by open 
battery, to overthrow us. And how difficult is it for the soul, 
whilst united to flesh, to resist the charms of what is amia- 
ble, or to endure the assaults of what is terrible to sense ! 
But the renewed Christian hath no reason to be aff'righted 
with disquieting fears that any sinful temptation may come, 
which, notwithstanding his watchfulness, may overcome him 
irrecoverably ; for — temptations are external, and have no 
power over our spirits but what we^ive them. A voluntary 
resistance secures the victory to us. And the apostle tells 
us, " greater is he that is" in believers, " than he that is in 
the world," 1 John iv. 4. God is stronger, not only in him- 
self, but as working in us, by the vigorous assistance of his 
grace to confirm us, than the devil, assisted with all the de- 
lights and terrors of the world, and taking advantage of that 
remaining concupiscence which is not entirely extinguished, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 143 

is to corrupt and destroy us. — All temptations, in their de- 
grees and continuance, are ordered by God's providence. 
He is the president of the combat : none enter into the lists 
but by his call. In all ages the promise shall be verified, 
" God will not suffer" his people " to be tempted above that 
they are able," 1 Cor. x. 13. They shall come off " more 
than conquerors," through Christ that loved ihem, Rom. viii. 
37. And as St, Austin observes, " More powerful grace is 
nr;cessary to fortify Christians in the midst of all opposition, 
than Adam at first received." This is visible in the glorious 
issue of the martyrs, " who loved not their lives unto the 
death ;" for Adam, when no person threatened him, nay, 
against the. prohibition of God, abusing his liberty, did not 
abide in his happiness, when it was most easy for him to 
avoid sin ; but the martyrs remained firm in the faith, not 
only under terrors, but torments. And which is more admi- 
rable, in that Adam saw the happiness present, which he 
should forfeit by his disobedience, and the martyrs believed 
only the future glory they were to receh'e. This proceeded 
only from God who was st) merciful, as to make them faith- 
ful. Driefiy ; unless there is a power above the divine, the 
elect are secured from final apostacy. Our Saviour tells us, 
that his Father " is greater than all, and none is able to pluck 
tb.em out of his hand." His invariable will and almighty 
power prevent their perisliing. Indeed, if it were only by 
the strength of natural reason or courage, that we are to 
overcome lemptations, some might be so violent as to make 
the strongest to faint and fall away: but if the divine power 
be the principle that .supports us, it will make the weakest 
victorious ; for the grace of God makes us strong, and is not 
made weak by us. 

From hence we may fully discover the advantage we have 
by the gospel, above the terms of the natural covenant. Re- 
storing mercy hath bettered our condition : we have lost the 
integrity of the first, and got the perfection of the second 
Adam : our salvation is put into a stronger and safer hand. 
'• I give," saith our Redeemer, "unto my sheep eternal life, 
and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them 
out of my hand," John x. 28. That is an inviolable sanctu- 
ary, from whence no believer can be taken. Christ is our 
friend, not only to the altar, but nov/ in the throne. Our 
reconciliation is ascribed to his death ; our conservation to 
his life, Rom. v. 10. He that was created in a state of nature 



144 THE HARMONY OP 

could sin and die ; but he that is born of God cannot sin unto 
death, 1 John iii. 9. The new birth is unto eternal life. In 
short ; as the mercy of God is glorified in the whole work 
of our salvation, so especially in the first and last grace it 
confers upon us, in vocation that prevents us, and perseve- 
rance that crowns us ; according to the double change made 
in our state, translating us from darkness to light, and from 
the imperfect light of grace, to the full light of glory. 

I have more particularly discoursed of this advantage by 
the new covenant, in regard that the glory of God and the 
comfort of true Christians are so much concerned in it ; for 
if grace and free will are put in joint commission, so that 
the efficacy of it depends on the mutability of the will, which 
may receive or reject it, the consequence is visible, that 
(whicli is impious to suppose) the Son of God might have 
died in vain ; for that which is not effectual without a con- 
tingent condition, must needs be as uncertain as the condi- 
tion on which it depends ; so that although the wisdom of 
God so admirably formed the design of our salvation, and 
there is such a connexion in his counsels, yet all may be de- 
feated by the mutability of man's desires. And the most 
sincere Christians would be always terrified with perplexing 
jealousies, that notwithstaiiding their most serious resolu- 
tions to continue in their duty, yet one day they may perish 
by their apostacy. But the gospel assures us, that God will 
not reverse his own eternal decrees ; and that the Redeem- 
er " shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied ;" 
and that believers are "kept by the power of God through 
faith unto salvation." 

3. There is an excellent manifestation of divine love in 
the glorious reward that is promised to believers, which far 
exceeds the primitive felicity of man. 

Adam \yas under the covenant of nature, that promised a 
reward suitable to his obedience and state. The manner of 
declaring that covenant was natural — external, by tlie disco- 
very of God's attributes in his works, from which it was 
easy for man to collect his dut}'' and his reward — internal, 
by his natural fiicultics. By the light of reason he under- 
stood that so long as he continued in his original innocence, 
the Creator, who from pure goodness gave him his being 
and all the happiness which was concomitant with it, would 
certainly preserve him in the perpetual enjoyment of them. 
But there was no promise of heaven annexed to that cove- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 145 

nant, without which Adam could attain no knowledge, nor 
conceive any hopes of it. If there had been a necessary- 
connexion between his perfect obedience and the life of glo- 
ry, it would have been revealed to him, to allure his will ; 
for there can be no desire of an unknown good. And where- 
as, in the covenant, God principally and primarily regards 
the promise, and but secondarily the threatening, (the exer- 
cise of goodness being more pleasing to him than of aven- 
ging justice) it is said, that God expressly threatened death, 
but he made no promise of heaven : by which it is evident 
it did not belong to that covenant : for it was easier for man 
to understand the quality of the punishment that attended 
sin, than to conceive of celestial happiness of which he was 
incapable in his animal state. It is true, God might have 
bestowed heaven as an absolute gift upon man, after a course 
of obedience ; but it was not due by the condition of the 
first covenant. A natural work can give no title to a super- 
natural reward. Man's perseverance in his duty, according 
to the original treaty, had been attended with immortal hap- 
piness upon the earth ; but the " blessed hope," is promised 
in the gospel only, and unspeakably transcends the felicity 
of nature in its consummate state. 

This reward is answerable to the invaluable treasure which 
was laid down for it. The blood of the Son of God, as it 
is a ransom to redeem us from misery, so it is a price to pur- 
chase glory for believers. It is called the " blood of the new 
testament," Matt. xxvi. 28, because it conveys a title to the 
heavenly inheritance. Our impunity is the effect of his sa- 
tisfaction ; our positive happiness, of his redundant merit. 
God was so well pleased with his perfect obedience, which 
infinitely surpasses that of any mere creature, that he pro- 
mised to confer upon those who believe in him, all the glo- 
rious qualities becoming the sons of God, and to make them 
associates with him in his eternal kingdom. The complete 
happiness of the redeemed is the Redeemer's recompense, in 
which he is fully satisfied for all his sufferings. 

Now the transcendent excellency of this above the first 
state of man, will more distinctly appear by considering, 

(1.) The place where it is enjoyed; and that is the hea- 
ven of heavens. Adam was put into the terrestrial para- 
dise, a place suitable to his natural being, and abounding 
with all pleasing objects ; but they were such as creatures 
of a lower kind enjoyed with him. But heaven is the ele- 



146 THE HARMONY OF 

ment of angels, their native seat, who are the most noble 
part of the creation. It is the true palace of God, entirely- 
separated from the impurities and imperfections, the altera- 
tions and changes, of the lower world ; where he reigns in 
eternal peace. It is the temple of the divine majesty, where 
his excellent glory is revealed in the most conspicuous man- 
ner. It is " the habitation of his holiness, the place where 
his honour dwelleth." It is the sacred mansion of light, 
and joy, and glory. Paradise with all its pleasures was but 
a shadow of it. 

(2.) The life of Adam was attended with innocent infir- 
mities ; for the body being composed of the same principles 
with other sensitive creatures, was in a perpetual flux, and 
liable to hunger, and tliirst, and weariness, and was to be re- 
paired by food and sleep. Adam was made a '•' living soul ;" 
therefore subject to those inclinations and necessities which 
are purely animal. And though, whilst innocent, no disease 
could seize on him, yet he was capable of liurtful impres- 
sions. Immortality was not the essential property of man 
as compounded of soul and body, but conditional upon his 
obedience, and consequent to his eating tlie fruit of the tree 
of life. Gen. iii. 22 ; therefore man, after his sin, was expel- 
led from paradise, that he might not cat of it and live for 
ever. By which it appears that eternal life in that happy- 
state was not from the temperament of the body, but to be 
preserved by the divine power in the use of means. From 
hence it follows that Adam in his natural slate was not ca- 
pable of the vision of God. Heaven is too pure an air for 
him to have lived in. The glory of it is inconsistent with 
a tempered body : " Flesh and blood cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God," I Cor. xv. 50 ; the faculties would be con- 
founded with its overcoming brightness. Till the sensitive 
powers are refined and exalfc-d to that degree that they be- 
come spiritual, they cannot converse with glorified objects. 
Now the bodies of the saints shall be invested with celestial 
qualities. The natural shall be changed into a spiritual bo- 
dy, and be preserved, as the angels, by the sole virtue of the 
quickening Spirit. The life above shall flourish in its full 
vigour, without any other support tlian the divine power 
that first created it. As the body shall be spiritual, so truly 
immortal, and free from all corruptive change ; as the sun, 
which for so many ages hath sliined with an equal brightness 
to the world, and hath a durable fulness of light in it. In 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 147 

this respect the " children of the resurrection, are equal to 
the angels," who being pure spirits, do not marry to perpe- 
tuate their kind, for they never die, Luke xx. 36. And the 
glorified body shall be clothed with a more divine beauty in 
the resurrection, than Adam had in the creation. The glory 
of the second temple shall excel that of the first. In short; 
the first " man was of the earth, earthly," and could derive 
but an earthly condition to his descendants ; but the Lord 
Christ is from heaven, and is the principle of a heavenly and 
glorious life to all that are united to him. 

(3.) The felicity of heaven exceeds the first, in the man- 
ner and degrees of the fruition, and the continuance of it. 

The vision of God in heaven is immediate. Adam was a 
spectator of God's works, and his understanding being full 
of light, he clearly discovered the divine attributes in their 
effects. The strokes of the Creator's hand are engraven in 
all the parts of the universe. The heavens and earth, and 
all things in them, are evident testimonies of the excellency 
of their Author. The " invisible things of God from the 
creation of the world are clearly seen," Rom. i. 20. And the 
knowledge that shined in his soul, produced a transcendent 
esteem of the Deity, in whom wisdom and power are united 
in their supreme degree, and a superlative love and. delight 
in him for his goodness. Yet his sight of God was but 
" through a glass," an eclipsing medium ; for inferior beings 
are so imperfect, that they can give but a weak resemblance 
of his infinite perfections. But the sight of God in heaven, 
is called the " seeing of him as he is," and signifies the most 
clear and complete knowledge which the rational soul, when 
purified and raised to its most perfect state, can receive, and 
outshines all the discoveries of God in the lower world. 
Adam had a visible copy of his invisible beauty, but the saints 
in heaven see the glorious original. He saw God in the re- 
flection of the creature, but the saints are under the direct 
beams of glory, and " see him face to face." All the attri- 
butes appear in their full and brightest lustre to them : wis- 
dom, love, holiness, power, are manifested in their exaltation, 
And the glorified soul, to qualify it for converse with God in 
this intimate manner, hath a more excellent constitution than 
was given to it in the creation. A new edge is put upon the 
faculties, whereby they are fitted for those objects which are 
peculiar to heaven. The intellectual eye is fortified for the 
immediate intuition of God. Adam in paradise was absent 



148 THE HARMONY OF 

from the Lord, in comparison of the saints who encompass 
his throne and are in the presence of his glory. 

Besides, it is the peculiar excellency of the heavenly life, 
that the saints every moment enjoy it without any alloy, in 
the highest degree of its perfection. The life of Adam was 
always in a circle of low and mean functions of the animal 
nature, which being common to him and beasts, the acts of 
it are not strictly human : but the spiritual life in heaven is 
entirely freed from those servile necessities, and is spent in 
the eternal performance of the most noble actions of which 
the intelligent nature is capable. The saints do always con- 
template, admire, love, enjoy, and praise their everlasting 
benefactor. God is to them " all in all." 

In short ; that which prefers the glory of heaven infinitely 
before the first state of man, is the continuance of it for ever ; 
it is an unwithering and neverfading glory. Adam was liable 
to temptations and capable of change ; he fell in the garden 
of Eden, and was sentenced to die. But heaven is the sanc- 
tuary of life and immortality ; it is inaccessible to any evil. 
The serpent that corrupted paradise with its poison, cannot 
enter there. As there is no seed of corruption within, so no 
cause of it without. Our Redeemer offered himself by the 
eternal Spirit, and purchased an eternal inheritance for his 
people. Their felicity is full and perpetual, without increase, 
for in the first moment it is perfect, and shall continue with- 
out declination. The day of judgment is called the " last 
day ;" for days, and weeks, and months, and years, the revo- 
lutions which now measure time, shall then be swallowed up 
in an unchangeable eternity. The saints shall be for ever 
with the Lord, 1 Thes. iv. 17. And in all these respects, the 
glory of the redeemed as far exceeds the felicity of man in 
the creation, as heaven, the bright seat of it, is above the 
fading beauty of the terrestrial paradise. 



CHAPTER XL 

PRACTICAL INFERENCES, 



1. This redeeming love deserves our highest admiration 
and most humble acknowledgments. 

If we consider God aright, it may raise our wonder, that 
he is pleased to bestow kindness upon any created being ; 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 149 

for in him is all that is excellent and amiable ; and it is essen- 
tial to the Deity to have perfect knowledge of himself and 
perfect love to himself. His love being proportioned to his 
excellencies, the act is infinite, as the object : and the per- 
fections of the divine natm-e being equal to his love, it is a 
just cause of admiration that it is not confined to himself, but 
is transient, and goes forth to the creature. When David 
looked up to the heavens, and saw the majesty of God writ- 
ten in characters of light, he admires that love which first 
" made man a little lower than the angels, and crowned him 
with glory and honour," and that providential care which is 
mindful of him, and visits him every moment. Psalm viii. 
Such an inconceivable distance there is between God and 
man, that it is wonderful God will spend a thought upon us. 
"Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? or 
the son of man, that thou makest account of him? Man is 
like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away," 
Psalm cxliv. 3, 4. His being in this world hath nothing firm 
or solid ; it is like a shadow that depends upon a cause that 
is in perpetual motion, the light of the sun, and is always 
changing, till it vanishes in the darkness of the night. But 
if we consider man in the quality of a sinner, and what God 
hath wrought for his recovery, we are overcome with amaze- 
ment. All temporal favours are but foils to this miraculous 
mercy, and unspeakably below the least instance of it. With- 
out it all the privileges we enjoy above inferior creatures in 
this life, will prove aggravations of our future misery. God 
saw us in our degenerate state, destroyed by ourselves ; and 
yet (O goodness truly divine !) he lov^dusso far, as to make 
the way for our recovery. High mountains were to be levelled, 
and great depths to be filled up, before we could arrive at 
blessedness : all this hath been done by mighty love. God 
laid the curse of the guilty upon the innocent, and exposed his 
beloved Son to the sword of his justice, to turn the blow from 
us. What astonishing goodness is it, that God, who is the 
author and end of all things, should become the means of our 
salvation, and by the lowest abasement ? What is so worthy 
of admiration, as that the Eternal should become mortal? 
that being in the form of God, he should take on him the 
form of a servant ? that the Judge of the world should be 
condemned by the guilty? that he should leave his throne in 
heaven to be nailed to the cross? that the Prince of life should 
taste of death ? These are the great wonders which the Lord 
13* 



150 THE HARMONY OP 

of love hath performed, and all for sinful, miserable, and un- 
worthy man, who deserved not the least drop of that sweat 
and blood he spent for him ; and without any advantage to 
himself, for what content can be added to his felicity by a 
cursed creature ? Infinite love, that is as admirable as saving! 
" Love that passeth knowledge," and is as much above our 
comprehension as desert! In natural things, admiration is 
the effect of ignorance, but here it is increased by knowledge : 
for the more we understand the excellent greatness of God, 
and the vileness of man, the more we shall be instructed to 
admire the glorious wonder of saving mercy. A deliberate 
admiration springing from our most deep thoughts, is partof 
the tribute and adoration we owe to God, who so strangely 
saved us " from the wrath to come." 

And the most humble acknowledgments are due for it. 
When David told Mephibosheth, that he should "eat bread 
with him at his table continually ;" he bowed himself, and 
said, " What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon 
such a dead dog as I am ?" 2 Sam. ix. 8. a speech full of 
gratitude and humility; yet he was of a royal extraction, 
though at that time in a low condition. With a far greater 
sense of our unworthiness, we should reflect upon that conde- 
scending love, that provides the "bread of God" for the food 
of our souls, witliout which we had perished for want. 
David in that divine thanksgiving recorded in the scripture, 
reflects upon his own meanness, and from that magnifies the 
favour of God towards him. " Who am I, O Lord God ? and 
what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And 
this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, but thou 
hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to 
come : and is this the manner of man, O Lord God ?" 2 Sam, 
vii. 18. If such humble and thankful acknowledgments 
were due for the sceptre of Israel, what is for the crown of 
heaven ; and that procured for us by the sufferings of the 
Son of God 7 Briefly ; goodness is the foundation of glory, 
therefore the most solemn and affectionate praise is to be ren- 
dered for transcendant goodness. The consent of heaven 
and earth, is, in ascribing " blessing, and honour, and glory, 
and power, unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the 
Lamb for ever." Rev. v. 13. 

II. The love of God discovered in our redemption is the 
most powerful persuasive to repentance. 



THE DIVINE ATTniBUTEa. 151 

For the discovery of this we must consider, that real re- 
pentance is the consequent of faith, and always in proportion 
to it ; therefore the law, which represents to us the divine 
purity and justice without any allay of mercy, can never 
work true repentance in a sinner. When conscience is un- 
der the strong conviction of guilt and of God's justice as 
implacable, it causes a dreadful flight from him, and a wretch- 
ed neglect of means. Despair hardens. The brightest dis- 
coveries of God in nature are not warm enough to melt the 
frozen heart into the current of repentance. It is true, the 
visible frame of the world, and the continual benefits of pro- 
vidence, instruct men in those prime truths, the being and 
bounty of God to those that serve him ; and invite them to 
their duty. " God never left himself without a witness" in 
any any age : his goodness is designed " to lead men to re- 
pentance." And the apostle aggravates the obstinacy of men, 
that rendered that method entirely fruitless. But the decla- 
ration of God's goodness in the gospel is infinitely more 
clear and powerful, than the silent revelation by the works 
of creation and providence ; for although the patience and 
general goodness of God offered some intimations that he is 
placable, yet not a sufficient support for a guilty and jealous 
creature to rely on. The natural notion of God's justice is 
so deeply rooted in the human soul, that till he. is pleased to 
proclaim an act of grace and pardon, on the conditions of 
faith and repentance, it is hardly possible that convinced sinners 
should apprehend him otherwise than an enemy ; and that 
all the common benefits they enjoy, are but provisions allow- 
ed in the interval between the sentence pronounced by the 
law and the execution of it at death. Therefore God, to 
overcome our fears and to melt us into a compliance, hath 
given in the scripture the highest assurance of his willing- 
ness to receive all relenting and returning sinners. He in- 
terposes the most solemn oath to remove our suspicions. 
"As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way 
and live," Ezek. xxxiii. 11. And, " Have I any pleasure at 
all that the wicked should die ? saith the Lord God : and 
not that he should return from his ways, and live," Ezek. 
xviii. 23. The majesty and ardency of the expressions tes- 
tify the truth and vehemency of his desire, so far as the ex- 
cellency of his nature is capable, to move our affections. 
And the reason of it is clear ; for the conversion of a sinner 



152 THE HARMONY OF 

implies a thorough cliange in the will and affections from siii 
to grace, and that is infinitely pleasing to God's holiness ; 
and the giving of life to the converted is most suitable to 
his mercy. The angels, who are infinitely inferior to him 
in goodness, rejoice in the repentance and salvation of men : 
much more doth God. There is an eminent difference be- 
tween his inclinations to exercise mercy and justice. He 
uses expressions of regret when he is constrained to punish, 
" O tliat my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had 
walked in my ways !" Psalm Ixxxi. 13. And " How shall I 
give tliee up, Ephraim ? How shall I deliver thee, Israel ? 
Mine heart is turned within me," Hos. xi. 8 ; as a merciful 
Judge, that pities the man, when he condemns the malefac- 
tor. But he dispenses acts of grace with pleasure. He 
pardons iniquity and passes by transgressions, " because he 
delightolh in mercy," Mic. vii. 18. It is true, when sinners 
are finally obdurate, God is pleased in their ruin, for the ho- 
nour of his justice, yet it is not in such manner as in their 
conversion and life ; he doth not invite sinners to transgress, 
that he may condemn them ; he is not pleased when they 
give occasion for the exercise of his anger. And, above all, 
we have the clearest and surest discovery of pardoning mer- 
cy in the death of Christ; for what stronger evidence can 
there be of God's readiness to pardon, than sending his Son 
into tlie world to be a sacrifice for sin, that mercy, without 
prejudice to his other perfections, might upon our repent- 
ance forgive us ? And what more rational argument is there, 
and more congruous to tlie breast of a man, to work in him 
a serious grief and hearty detestation of sin, not only as a 
cursed thing, but as it is contrary to the divine will, than the 
belief that God, in whose power alone it is to pardon sin- 
ners, is most desirous to pardon them, if they will return to 
obedience? The prodigal in his extreme distress resolved to 
go to his Father with penitential acknowledgments and sub- 
mission : and, to use the words of a devout writer, his guilty 
conscience as desperate, asked him, "Qua spe ?" "With 
what hope ?" He replied to himself, " Ilia qua pater est. 
Ego perdidi quod erat filii ; ille quod patris est non amisit." 
"Though I have neglected the duty and lost the confidence 
of a Son, he hath not lost the compassion of a Father." 
That parable represents man in his degenerate, forlorn state, 
and that the divine goodness is the motive that prevails upon 
htm to return to his duty. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBDTES. 153 

III. The transcendent love that God hath expressed in 
our redemption by Christ, should kindle in us a reciprocal 
affection to him ; for what is more natural than that one 
flame should produce another? "We love him, because he 
first loved us," 1 John iv. 19. The original of our love to 
God is from the evidence of his to us ; this alone can strong- 
ly and sweetly draw the heart to him. It is true, the divine 
excellencies, as they deserve a superlative esteem, so the 
highest affection ; but the bare contemplation of them is in- 
effectual to fire the heart with a zealous love to God ; for 
man hath a diabolical seed in his corrupt nature ; he is in- 
clined not only to sensuality, which is an implicit hatred of 
God, (for an eager appetite to those things which God for- 
bids, and a fixed aversion to what he commands, are the na- 
tural effects of hatred,) but to malignity and direct hatred 
against God. He is an enemy in his mind through wicked 
works. Col. i. 21 ; and this enmity ariseth from the conside- 
ration of God's justice and the effects of it. Man cannot sin 
and be happy ; therefore he wishes there were no God to 
whom he must be accountable. He is no more wrought on 
by the divine perfections and beauties to love the Deity, than 
a guilty person who resolvedly goes on to break the laws, 
can be persuaded to love the judge, for his excellent know- 
ledge and his inflexible integrity, who will certainly condemn 
him. 

Besides, the great and abundant blessings, which God, as 
Creator and Preserver, bestows upon all, cannot prevail up- 
on guilty creatures to love him. Indeed the goodness that 
raised us from a state of nothing, is unspeakably great, and 
lays an eternal obligation upon us. The whole stock of our 
affections is due to him for conferring upon us the human 
nature, that is common to kings and the meanest beggar. 
All the riches and dignity of the greatest prince, whereby 
he exceeds the poorest wretch, compared to this benefit which 
they both share in, have no more proportion than a farthing 
to an immense treasure. The innumerable expressions of 
God's love to us every day should infinitely endear him to 
us ; for who is so inhuman as not to love his parents, or his 
friend who defended him from his deadly enemies, or reliev- 
ed him in his poverty, especially if the vein of his bounty is 
not dried up, but always diffuses itself in new favours? If 
we love the memory of that emperor, who, reflecting upon 
one day that passed 'svithout his bestowing some benefit, with 



154 THE HARMONY OF 

grief said, " Diem perdidi," " I have lost a day ;" now much 
more should we love God, who every moment bestows innu- 
merable blessings upon his creatures ! But sinful man hath 
contracted such an unnatural hardness, that he receives no 
impressions from the renewed mercies of God. He violates 
the principles of nature, and reason ; for how unnatural is 
it not to love our benefactor, when the dull ox and the stupid 
ass serve those that feed them ! and how unreasonable when 
the publicans return love for love ! 

Now there is nothing that can perfectly overcome our ha- 
tred, but the consideration of that love which hath freed us 
from eternal misery ; for the guilty creature will be always 
suspicious, that notwithstanding the ordinary benefits of pro- 
vidence, God is an enemy to it ; and till man is convinced, 
that in loving God, he most truly loves himself, he will ne- 
ver sincerely affect him. This was one great design of God 
in the way, as well as in the work of our redemption, to gain 
our hearts entirely to himself. He saves us in the most en- 
dearing and obliging manner. As David's affection declared 
itself, " I will not serve the Lord with that which doth cost 
me nothing ;" so God would not save man with that which 
cost him nothing ; but with the dearest price he hath pur- 
chased a title to our love. " God was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto himself," as well as through Christ reconci- 
ling himself to the world. He hath propounded such argu- 
ments for our love, so powerful and sublime, that Adam in 
innocence was unacquainted with. He sent down his own 
bowels to testify his affection to us. And that should be the 
greatest endearment of our love, which was the greatest evi- 
dence of his. 

And if we consider the person of our Redeemer, what 
more wortliy object of our affection than Christ ? and Christ 
enduring the most terrible things, and at last dying with all 
the circumstances of dishonour and pain, for love to man ? 
If he had no attractive excellencies, yet his cruel sufferings 
for us should mai<:e him infinitely precious and dear to our 
souls. If by solemn regards we contemplate him in the 
garden, amazed at the first approaches of that cup mixed 
with all the ingredients of divine displeasure, sweating like 
drops of blood under a weight of unspeakable sorrow, and 
without the least relief of man whose sins he then bore ; 
what kind of marble are our hearts, if they do not tenderly 
relent at this doleful spectacle ? Can we stand by him pros- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 155 

trate on the earth, and " offering up prayers and supplica- 
tions with strong cryings and tears," (the effects of the travail 
of his soul,) without the most passionate sensibility? Can 
we see him contemned by impure worms, abused in his sa- 
cred offices, spitefully represented as a mock king, buffeted 
and flouted as a mock prophet, his sacred face defiled with 
loathsome spittle, his back torn with sharp scourges ; and all 
endured with a victorious patience ; can we behold this with 
an unconcerned eye ? without the mournings of holy love ? 
Can we accompany him in the dolorous way, and see him 
fainting and sinking under his heavy cross, and not feel his 
sufferings ? Can we ascend to mount Calvary, and look on 
him hanging on the infamous tree in the midst of thieves, 
suffering the utmost fury of malicious enemies, and not be 
crucified with him ? Can we hear the astonishing complaint 
of his deserted soul to the Judge of all the world doing ex- 
treme right on him as our Surety, and not be overcome with 
grief and love ? Shall not the warm streams sadly running 
from his wounded head, and hands, and feet, melt our con- 
gealed affections ? His pierced side discovers his heart, the 
vital fountain opened to wash away our guilt, and shall our 
hearts be untouched ? His bloody, undeserved death, the 
precious ransom of our souls, makes him our life, and shall 
it not render him full of loveliness to our inflamed thoughts ? 
He is more amiable on the cross than in the throne ; for there 
we see the clearest testimony and the most glorious triumph 
of his love. There he endured tlie anger of heaven, and the 
scorn of the earth. There we might see joy saddened, faith 
fearing, salvation suffering, and life dying. Blessed Re- 
deemer, what couldst thou have done or suffered more, to 
quicken our dead powers andenflameour cold hearts toward 
thee ? How can we remember the bleeding dying love with- 
out an ecstacy of affection 1 If we are not more insensible 
than the rocks, it is impossible but we must be touched and 
softened by it. 

Suppose an angel by special delegation had been enabled 
to have trod Satan under our feet, our obligations to him had 
been inexpressible, and our love might have been intercepted 
from ascending to our Creator ; for salvation is a greater be- 
nefit, than mere giving to us our natural being ; as the pri- 
vation of felicity with the actual misery that is joined with 
it, is infinitely worse than the negation of being. Our Lord 
pronounced concerning Judas. " It had been good for that 



156 THE HARMONY OF 

man if he had not been born." Redeeming goodness exceeds 
creating. Now the Son of God, to procure our highest love, 
alone wrought salvation for us. 

And what admirable goodness is it, that puts a value upon 
our affection, and accepts such a small return ! Our most 
intent and ardent love bears no more proportion to his, than 
a spark to the element of fire. Besides, his love to us was 
pure, and without any benefit to himself; but ours to him is 
profitable to our souls, for their eternal advantage. Yet with 
this he is fully satisfied; when we love him in the quality of 
a Saviour, we give him the glory of that he designs most to 
be glorified in, that is, of his mercy to the miserable. For 
this reason he instituted the sacrament of the supper, the 
contrivance of his love, to refresh the memory of his death, 
and quicken our fainting love to him. 

Now the love that our Saviour requires must be, 

1. Sincere and unfeigned. This declares itself by a care 
to please him in all things. " If a man love me," saith our 
Saviour, "he will keep my commandments." Obedience is 
the most natural and necessary product of love ; for love is 
the spring of action, and employs all the faculties in the ser- 
vice of the person loved. The apostle expresses the force of 
it by an emphatical Mord, ffwt'x^'' 2 Cor. v. 16; "The love 
of Christ constraineth us ;" it signifies to have one bound 
and so much under power, that he cannot move without 
leave ; as the inspired prophets were carried by the Spirit, 
and acted entirely by his motions. Such an absolute empire 
had the love of Christ over him, ruling all the inclinations of 
his heart and actions of his life. Acts xviii. 5. It is this alone 
that makes obedience cheerful, and constant ; for love is 
seated in the will, and the obedience that proceeds from it, 
is out of choice and purely voluntary. No commandment is 
grievous that is performed from love, 1 John v. 3. And it 
makes obedience constant. That which is forced from the 
impression of fear, is unsteadfast ; but what is mixed with 
delight, is lasting. 

2. Our love to Christ must be supreme, exceeding that 
which is given to all inferior objects. The most elevated 
and entire affection is due to him who saves us from torments 
that are extreme and eternal, and bestows upon us an inhe- 
ritance immortal and undefiled. By the offering of himself 
to divine justice he has obliged us to present our bodies a 
living sacrifice to God, which is our reasonable service ; life 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 157 

itself and all the endearments of it, relations, estates are to 
be disvalued, when set in comparison with him. Nay if, by 
an impossible supposition, they could be separated, our Sa- 
viour should be more dear to us than salvation ; for he de- 
clared greater love in giving himself for our ransom, than in 
giving heaven to be our reward. When we love him in the 
highest degree we are capable of, we have reason to mourn 
for the imperfection of it. In short ; a superlative love, as 
it is due to our Redeemer, so it only is accepted by him. He 
that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than 
him, is not worthy of him. And he tells us in other places 
that we must hate them, to show that our love to him should 
so far exceed the affection that is due to those relations, that 
on all occasions where they divide from Christ, we should 
demean ourselves as if we had for them an indifference only, 
and even an aversion. Indeed, the preferring of any thing 
before him who is altogether desirable in himself and infi- 
nitely deserves our love, is brutishly to undervalue him, and 
in effect not to love him ; for in a temptation, where Christ 
and the beloved object are set in competition, as a greater 
weight turns the scales, so the stronger affection will cause 
a person to renounce Christ for the possession of what he 
loves better. It is the love of Christ reigning in the heart, 
that is the only principle of perseverance. 

IV. What a high provocation is it to despise redeeming 
mercy, and to defeat that infinite goodness which hath been 
at such expence for our recovery ! 

The Son of God hath emptied all the treasures of his love, 
to purchase deliverance for guilty and wretched captives ; 
lie hath past through so many pains and thorns to come and 
offer it to them ; he solicits them to receive pardon and 
liberty, upon the conditions of acceptance and amendment, 
which are absolutely necessary to qualify them for felicity : 
now if they slight the benefit and renounce their redemption, 
if they sell themselves again under the servitude of sin and 
gratify the devil with a new conquest over them, what a 
bloody cruelty is this to their own souls, and a vile indignity 
to the Lord of glory ! And are there any servile spirits so 
charmed with their misery, and so in love with their chains, 
who will stoop under their cruel captivity, to be reserved for 
eternal punishment ? Who can believe it ? But, alas, ex- 
amples are numerous and ordinary. The most, by a folly as 
prodigious as their ingratitude, prefer their sins before their 

14 



158 THE HARMONY OF 

Saviour, and love that which is the only just object (K hatred, 
and hate him who is the most worthy object of love. It is 
a most astonishing consideration, that love should persuade 
Christ to die for men, and that they should trample upon his 
blood, and choose rather to die by themselves, than to live 
by him ! that God should be so easy to forgive, and man so 
hard to be forgiven ! This is a sin of that transccndeni height, 
that all the abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah are not 
equal to it. This exasperates mercy, tliat dear and tender 
attribute, the only advocate in God's bosom for us. This 
makes the Judge irreconcilable. The rejecting of life upon 
the gracious terms of the gospel, makes the condemnation Of 
men most just, certain, and heavy. 

1. Most just: for when Christ hatli performed what was 
necessary for tlie expiation of sin, nnd hath opened the throne 
of grace, which was before sliut against us, and by this God 
hath declared how willing he is to save sinners ; if they are 
wilful to be damned, and frustrate the blessed methods of 
grace, it is most equal they should inherit their own choice: 
" they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life." Con- 
science will justify the severest doom against them. 

2. It makes their condemnation certain and final. The 
sentence of the law is reversible by an appeal to a higher 
court ; but that of the gospel against the refusers of juercy 
will remain in its full force for ever. "He that believeth not, 
is condemned already," John iii. 18. It is some consolation 
to a malefactor, that the sentence is not pronounced against 
him; but an unbeliever hath no respite. The gospel assures 
the sincere believer, that " he shall not enter into condem- 
nation," to prevent his fears of an after sentence ; but it de- 
nounces a present doom against those who reject it. " The 
wrath of God abideth on them." Obstinate infidelity sets 
beyond all possibility of pardon ; there is no sacrifice for 
that sin. Salvation itself cannot save the impenitent infidel ; 
for he excludes the only means whereby mercy is conveyed. 
How desperate then is the case of such a sinner. To what 
sanctuary will he fly ? All the other attributes condemn him ; 
holiness excites justice, and justice awakens j)Ower for his 
destruction; and if mercy interpose not l)etween him and 
ruin, he must perish irrecoverably. Whoever loveth not the 
Lord Christ, is " anathema maranatha ;" he is under an irrevo- 
cable curse, which the Redeemer will confirm at his coming. 

3. "Wilful neglect of redeeming mercy aggravates tlie sen- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 159 

tence, and brings an extraordinary damnation upon sinners. 
Besides the doom of the law which continues in its vigour 
against transgressors, the gospel adds a more heavy one 
against the impenitent, " because he believeth not in the 
name of the only begotten Son of God," John iii. 18. Infi- 
delity is an outrage, not to a man or an angel, but to the 
eternal Son ; for the redemption of souls is reckoned as a 
part of his reward ; " He shall see of the travail of his soul 
and be satisfied," Isa. liii. 11. Those therefore who spurn 
at salvation, deny him the honour of his sufferings ; and are 
guilty of the defiance of his love, of the contempt of his cle- 
mency, of the provocation of the most sensible and severe 
attribute when it is incensed. This is to strike him at the 
heart, and to kick against his bowels. This increases the 
anguish of his sufferings, and imbitters the c.-.p of his pas- 
sion. This renews his sorrows, and makes his wounds bleed 
afresh. Dreadful impiety, that exceeds the guilt of the Jews; 
They once killed him, being in his humble, inglorious state, 
but this is a daily crucifying him now glorified. Ungrateful 
wretches, that refuse to bring glory to their Redeemer, and 
blessedncs::! to themselves ! that choose rather that the ac- 
cuser should triumph in their misery, than their Saviour re- 
joice in their felicity ! This is the great condemnation, that 
Christ came into the world to save men from death, and they 
refuse the pardon, John iii. 19. It is an aggravation of sin 
above what the devils are capable of, for pardon was never 
offered to those rebellious spirits. In short ; so deadly a ma- 
lignity there is in it, that it poisons the gospel itself, and turns 
the sweetest mercy into the sorest judgment. The Sun of 
righteousness, who is a reviving life to the penitent believer, 
is " a consuming fire" to the obdurate. How much more to- 
lerable had been the condition of such sinners, if saving grace 
had never appeared unto men, or they had never heard of it I 
for the degrees of wrath shall be in proportion to the riches 
of neglected goodness. The refusing of life from Christ, 
makes us guilty of his death. And when he shall come in 
his glory and be visible to all that pierced him, what ven- 
geance will be the portion of those who despised the majes- 
ty of his person, the mystery of his compassions and suf- 
ferings! Those that lived and died in the darkness of hea- 
thenism, shall have a cooler climate in hell than those who 
neglect the great salvatjon. 



160 THE HARMONY OF 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

The Deity in itself is simple and pure, without mixture or 
variety : the scripture ascribes attributes to God for our 
clearer understanding. And those as essential in him are 
simply one : they are distinguished only with respect to the 
divers objects on which they are terminated, and the different 
effects that proceed from them. 

The two great attributes which are exercised towards rea- 
sonable creatures in their lapsed state, are mercy and justice. 
These admirably concur in the work of our redemption. 
Although God spared guilty man for the honour of his mer- 
cy, yet he " spared not his own Son," who became a surety 
for the offender, but delivered him up to a cruel death for 
the glory of his justice. 

For the clearer understanding of this, three things are to 
be considered : 

I. The reasons why we are redeemed by the satisfaction 
of justice ; 

II. The reality of the satisfaction made by our Redeemer ; 

III. The completeness and perfection of it. 

1. Concerning the first, there are three different opinions 
among those who acknowledge the reality of satisfaction. 

The first opinion is that it is not possible that sin should 
be pardoned without satisfaction ; for justice being a natural 
and necessary excellency in God, hath an unchangeable re- 
spect to the qualities which are in the creatures ; that as the 
divine goodness is nece?.sarily exercised towards a creature 
perfectly holy, so justice is in punishing the guilty, unless a 
satisfaction intervene. And if it be not possible, considering 
the perfection of the Deity, that holiness should be unre- 
warded, far less can it be, that sin should be unpunished ; 
since the exercise of justice, upon which punishment de- 
pends, is more necessary than that of goodness, which is the 
cause of remuneration ; for the rewards which bounty dis- 
penses, are pure favour, whereas the punishment which jus- 
tice inflicts, are due. In short; since justice is a perfection, it 
is in God in a supreme degree, and being infinite, it is infleX- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 161 

ible. This opinion is asserted by several divines of eminent 
learning. 

The second opinion is, that God by his absolute dominion 
and prerogative, might have released the sinner from punish- 
ment without any satisfaction : for as by his sovereignty he 
transferred the punishment from the guilty to the innocent, 
so he might have forgiven sin, if no Redeemer had inter- 
posed. From hence it follows, that the death of Christ for the 
expiation of sin, was necessary only with respect to the di- 
vine decree. 

The third opinion is, that considering God in this transac- 
tion, as qualified with the office of supreme Judge and Go- 
vernor of the world, who hath given just laws to direct his 
creatures in their obedience, and to be the rule of his pro- 
ceedings with them as to rewards and punishments, he hath 
so far restrained the exercise of his power, that upon the 
breach of the law. either it must be executed upon the sin- 
ner, orif extraordinarily dispensed with, it must be upon such 
terms as may secure the ends of government ; and those are 
his own honour, and public order, and the benefit of those 
that are governed. And upon these accounts it was requi- 
site, supposing the merciful design of God to pardon sin, that 
his righteousness should be declared in the sufferings of 
Christ. I will distinctly open this. 

In the law the sovereignty and holiness of God eminently 
appear : and there are two things in all sins which expose the 
offender justly to punishment ;-a contempt of God's sovereign- 
ty, and in that I'espect there is a kind of equality between 
them. He that offends in one point, is guilty of all, they 
being ratified by the same authority. Jam. ii. 10. And from 
hence it is, that guilt is the natural passion of sin, that always 
adheres to it ; for as God has a judicial power to inflict pun- 
ishment upon the disobedient by virtue of his sovereignty, so 
the desert of punishment arises from the despising of it in the 
violation of his commands. In every sin there is a contra- 
riety to God's holiness. And in this the natural turpitude of 
sin consists, which is receptive of degrees. From hence 
arises God's hatred of sin, which is as essential as his love 
to himself: the infinite purity and rectitude of his nature, in- 
fers the most perfect abhorrence of whatever is opposite to it. 
" The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, but the wicked 
his soul hateth," Psalm xi. 5, 7. 

Now the justice of God is founded in his sovereignty and 
14* 



162 THE HARMONY OF 

in his holiness ; and the reason why it is exercised against 
sin, is not an arbitrary constitution, but his holy nature, to 
which sin is repugnant. 

These things being premised, it follows, that God in the 
relation of a governor, is protector of those sacred laws which 
are to direct the reasonable creature. And as it was most 
reasonable, that in the first giving of the law, he should lay 
the strongest restraint upon man for preventing sin by the 
threatening of death, the greatest evil in itself and in the es- 
timation of mankind, so it is most congruous to reason, when 
the command was broken by man's rebellion, that either the 
penalty should be inflicted on his person, according to the 
immediate intent of the law, or satisfaction equivalent to the 
offence sliould be made ; that the majesty and purity of God 
might appear in his justice, and there might be a visible dis- 
covery of the value he puts on obedience. 

The life of the law depends upon the execution of it : for 
impunity occasions a contempt of justice, and by extenuat- 
ing sin in the account of men, encourages to the free com- 
mission of it. If pardon be easily obtained, sin will be easily 
committed. Crimes unpunished seem authorised. The first 
temptation was prevalent by this persuasion, that no punish- 
ment would follow. Besides, if upon the bold violation of 
the law no punishment were inflicted, not only the glory of 
God's holiness would be obscured, as if he did not love right- 
eousness and hate sin, but suffered the contempt of the one 
and the commission of the other, without control ; but it 
would reflect either upon his wisdom, as if he had not upon 
just reason established an alliance between the offence and 
the penalty, or upon his power, as if he were not able to vindi- 
cate the rights of heaven. And after his giving a law, and decla- 
ring that, according to the tenor of it, he would dispense re- 
wards and punishments, if sin were unrevenged, it would les- 
sen the sacrednessof his truth in the esteem of men; so that 
the law and Law-giver would be exposed to contempt. By 
all which it appears, that the honour of God was infinitely 
concerned in his requiring satisfaction for the breach of his 
laws. 

Temporal magistrates are bound to execute wise and equal 
laws, for the preservation of public order and civil societies. 
It is true, there are some cases wherein the lawgiver may be 
forced to dispense with the law, as when the sparing of an 
offender is more advantage to the state than his punishment : 



THE DIVINE ATTRinUTES. 163 

besides, there is a superior tribunal to which great offenders 
are obnoxious, and good magistrates, when through weakness 
they are fain to spare the guilty, refer them to God's judg- 
ment. But it is otherwise in the divine government ; for 
God is infinitely free from any necessity of compliance. 
There is no exigency of government that requires that any 
offenders should escape his severity. Neither is there any 
justice above his, which might exact satisfaction of them. 
Besides, the majesty of his laws is more sacred than of those 
which preserve earthly states, and ought to be more invio- 
lable. 

The sum is this — to declare God's hatred of sin, which is 
essential to his nature ; to preserve the honour of the law, 
which otherwise would be securely despised and lose its 
effect ; to prevent sin, by keeping up in men a holy fear to 
offend God, an eternal respect in the rational creature to him ; 
it was most fit that the presumptuous breach of God's com- 
mand should not be unpunished. Now when the Son of God 
was made a sacrifice for sin, and by a bloody death made ex- 
piation of it, the world is convinced how infinitely hateful sin 
is to him, the dignity of the law is maintained, and sin is 
most effectually discouraged. There is the same terror, 
though not the same rigour, as if all mankind had been finally 
condemned. Thus it appears, how becoming God it was, to 
accomplish our salvation in such a manner, that justice and 
mercy are revealed in their most noble and eminent effects 
and operations. 

II. The reality of the satisfaction made to divine justice 
is next to be proved. This is the centre, and heart of the 
Christian religion, from whence all vital and comforting in- 
fluences are derived : and for the opening of it, I will first 
consider the requisites in order to it : which are, 

1. The appointment of God, whose power and will are to 
be considered in this transaction. 

(1.) His power; for it is an act of supremacy to admit, 
that the suffering of another should be effectual to redeem 
the offender. God doth not in this affair sustain tije person 
of a judge, who is the minister of the law, and cannot free 
the guilty by transferring the punishment on another ; but is 
to be considered as governor, who may by pure jurisdiction 
dispense with the execution of the law, upon those conside- 
rations which fully answer the ends of government. 

The law is not executed according to the letter of it, for 



164 THE HARMONY OF 

then no sinner can be saved ; but repenting believers are 
free from condemnation. Nor is it abrogated, for then no 
obligation remains as to the duty or penalty of it ; but men 
are still bound to obey it, and impenitent infidels are still un- 
der the curse : " the wrath of God abideth on them." But 
it is relaxed as to the punishment, by the merciful condescen- 
sion of the Lawgiver. 

Some laws are not, in their own nature, capable of relax- 
ation, because there is included moral iniquity in the relax- 
ation ; as the commands to love God and obey conscience, 
can never lose their binding force. It is a universal rule 
that suffers no exception, God cannot deny himself ; therefore 
he can never allow sin, that directly opposes the perfections 
of his nature. Besides, some laws cannot be relaxed, " ex 
hypothesi," upon the account of the divine decree which 
makes them irrevocable ; as that all who die in their impeni- 
tency, shall be damned. Now there was no express sign an- 
nexed to the sanction of the original law, to intimate, that it 
should be unalterable as to the letter of it. The threatening 
declared the desert of sin in the offender, and the right of 
punishing in the superior ; but it is so to be understood, as 
not to frustrate the power of the Lawgiver to relax the pun- 
ishment upon wise and just reasons. 

The law did neilhcr propound nor exclude this expedient : 
for judging without passion against the sinner, it is satisfied 
with the punishment of the crime ; for it is not the evil of the 
offender that is primarily designed by tlie law, but the pre- 
servation of public order, for the honour of the La\vgiver and 
the benefit of those that are subjects : so that the relaxing of 
the punishment, as to the person of the sinner, by compen- 
sation, fully answers the intent of tlie law. 

(2.) As by the right of jurisdiction God might relax the 
law and appoint a Mediator to interpose by way of ransom, 
so he hath declared his will to accept of him. The law in 
strictness obliged tlie sipuiiig person to suffer, so that he 
might have refused any.o.tlier satisfaction; therefore the 
whole work of our redemption is referred to his will as the 
primary cause. Our Saviourwas sent into the world by the 
order of God, John iii. 17. He was sealed, that is, author- 
ized for that great work by commission from him, John vi. 27. 
He was called to his office, by the voice of his Father from 
heaven, " this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," 
Mat. iii. 17. "God anointed him with the Holy Ghost and 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 165 

with power," Acts x. 38 ; which signifies, as the enduing of 
him with the graces of the Spirit, so the investing of him in 
the dignity of Mediator, as kings, priests, and prophets were : 
and both were necessary ; for his graces without his office 
are unprofitable to us, and his office without his capacity, of 
no advantage. In short : the apostle observes this as the 
peculiar excellency of the new covenant and the foundation 
of our hopes, that the Mediator was constituted by a solemn 
oath : " The Lord swore, and will not repent, Thou art a 
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec," Heb. vii. 21. 

2. The consent of our Redeemer was necessary, that he 
might by sufferings satisfy for us ; for being the " Lord from 
heaven," there was no superior authority to command, or 
power to compel him. It is true, having become our Sure- 
ty, it was necessary he should be accountable to the law ; 
but the first undertaking was most free. When one hath en- 
tered into bonds to pay the debt of an insolvent person, he 
must give satisfaction ; but it is an act of liberty and choice 
to make himself liable. Our Saviour tells us, " It behoved 
Christ to suffer;" he doth not say that the Son of God should 
suffer, but Christ. This title signifies the same person in 
substance, but not in the same respect and consideration. 
Christ is the second person clothed with our nature. There 
was no necessity that obliged God to appoint his Son, or the 
Son to accept the office of Mediator ; but when the eternal 
Son had undertaken that charge, and was made Christ, that 
is, assumed our nature in order to redeen: us, it was neces- 
sary that he should suffer. 

Besides, his consent was necessary upon another account ; 
for the satisfaction doth not arise merely from the dignity of 
his person, but from the law of substitution, whereby he put 
himself in our stead, and voluntarily obliged himself to suf- 
fer the punishment due to us. The efficacy of his death is 
by virtue of the contract between the Father and him, of 
which there could be no cause but pure mercy, and his vo- 
luntary condescension. 

Now the scripture declares the willingness of Christ, par- 
ticularly at his entrance into the world and at his death. 
Upon his coming into the world, he begins his life by the in- 
ternal oblation of himself to his Father, Heb. x. 5, 7. " Sa- 
crifice and offering thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast 
thou opened ;" that is, he entirely resigned himself to be 
God's servant ; " burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou 



166 THE HARMONY OF 

not required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the vokime of 
the book it is written of me : I delight to do thy will, O my 
God ; yea, thy law is within my heart," Psalm xl. 6 — 8. 
He saw the divine decree, and embraced itj the Jaw was in 
his heart, and fully possessed all his thoughts and affections, 
and had a commanding influence upon his life. — And his 
willingness was fully expressed by him, when he approach- 
ed his last sufferings ; for although he declined death as 
man, having natural and innocent desires of 'self-preserva- 
tion, yet as Mediator he readily submitted to it j " Not my 
will, but thine be done," was his voice in the garden. And 
this argued the completeness and fixedness of his will, that 
notwithstanding his aversion to death absolutely considered, 
yet with an unabated election he still chose it as the means 
of our salvation. No involuntary constraint did force him 
to that submission : but the sole causes of it were his free 
compliance with his Father's will, and his tender compas- 
sion towards men. He saith, " I have power to lay down my 
life, and I have power to take it again : this commandment 
have I received of my Fatlier," John x. 18. In his death, 
obedience and sacrifice were united. The typical sacrifices 
were led to the altar, but the Lamb of God presented him- 
self: it is said, " he gave himself for us," Gal. i. 4 ; to sig- 
nify his willingness in dying, Tit. ii. 14. Now the freeness 
of our Redeemer in dying for us qualified his sufferings to 
be meritorious. Tlie apostle tells us, Rom. v. 19, that " by 
the obedience of .ne many are made righteous ;" that is, by 
his voluntary sufferings we are justified ; for without his con- 
sent his death could not have the respect of a punishment 
for our sins. No man can be compelled to pay another's 
debt, unless he make himself surety for it. 

Briefly : tlie appointment of God and the undertaking of 
Christ, to redeem us from the curse of the law by his suffer- 
ing it, are the foundation of the new testament. 

3. He that interposed as Mediator, must be perfectly ho- 
ly ; otherwise he had been liable to justice for his own sin; 
and guilty blood is impure and corrupt, apter to stain by its 
effusion and sprinkling, than to purge away sin. The apos- 
tle joins these two as inseparable ; " He was manifested to 
take away our sin, and in him is no sin," 1 John iii. 5. The 
priesthood under the law was imperfect, as for other reasons, 
so for the sins of the priests ; Aaron, the first and chief of 
the Levitical order, was guilty of gross idolatry, so that re- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 167 

conciliation could not be obtained by their ministry ; for how 
can one captive ransom another, or sin expiate sin ? But onr 
Mediator was absolutely innocent, without the least tincture 
of sin original or actual. He was conceived in a miraculous 
manner, infinitely distant from all the impurities of the earth. 
That Vv^hich is produced in an ordinary way, receives its pro- 
priety from second causes, and contracts the defilement that 
cleaves to the whole species. Whatever is born " of blood" 
and " of the will of the flesh," that is formed of the substance 
of the flesh and by the sensual appetite, is defiled : but though 
he was formed of the substance of the virgin, yet it was by 
virtue of a heavenly principle according to the words of the 
angel to her. ^' The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and 
the power of the highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore 
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be 
called the Son of God," Lulce i. 35. He came in the appear- 
ance only " of sinful flesh ;" as the brazen serpent had the 
figure, and not the poison, of the fiery serpent. He was 
without actual sin. He foiled the tempter in all his arts and 
methods wherewith he tried him. He resisted the lust of 
the flesh, by refusing to make the stones bread to assuage 
his hunger; and the lust of the eyes in despising the king- 
doms of the world with all their treasures ; and the pride of 
life, when he would not throw himself down, that by the in- 
terposing of angels for his rescue, there might be a visible 
proof that he was the Son of God. The accuser himself 
confessed him to be the " Holy One of God ;" he found no 
corruption within him, and could draw nothing out of him. 
Judas that betrayed him, and Pilate that condemned him, ac- 
knowledged his innocence. He perfectly fulfilled the law, 
and did always what pleased his Father. In the midst of 
his sufferings, no irregular motion disturbed his soul, but he 
always expressed the highest reverence to God and unspeak- 
able charity to men. He was compared, for his passion and 
his patience, to a lamb, that quietly dies at the foot of the 
altar. 

Besides, v/e may consider in our Mediator not only a per- 
fect freedom from sin, but an impossibility that he should be 
touched by it. The angelical nature was liable to folly ; but 
the human nature, by its intimate and unchangeable union 
with the divine, is established above all possibility of falling. 
The Deity is hohness itself and, by its personal presence, is 
a greater preservative from sin, than either the vision of God 



168 THE HARMONY OF 

in heaven, or the most permanent habit of grace. Our Saviour 
tells us, " the Son can do nothing of himself," but according 
to the pattern the Father sets him, John v. 19, 

Now the perfect holiness of our Redeemer hath a special 
efficacy in making his death to be the expiation of sin, as the 
scripture frequently declares ; " For such an High Priest be- 
came us, Vv'ho is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin- 
ners," Heb. vii. 26. And he that knew no sin, was made sin 
for us, " that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
him," 2 Cor. v. 21. " We are redeemed not with corruptible 
things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of 
Christ, a as of lamb without blemish, and without spot," 1 Pet. 
i. 18. And, " By his knowledge shall my righteous servant 
justify many," Isa. liii. 11. 

4. It was requisite the Mediator should be God and 
man. 

He must assume the nature of man, that he might be put 
in his stead in order to make satisfaction for him. He was 
to be our representative, therefore such a conjunction between 
us must be, that God might esteem all his people to suffer in 
him. By the law of Israel the right of redemption belonged 
to him that was next in blood. Now Christ took the seed 
of Abraham, the original element of our nature, that having 
a right of propriety in us as God, he might have a right of 
propinquity as man. He was allied to all men, as men, 
that his sufferings might be universally beneficial. 

And he must be God. It is not in his innocency only or 
deputation, but the dignity of his person that qualifies him 
to be an all-sufficient sacrifice for sin, so that God may dis- 
pense pardon in a way that is honourable to justice ; for 
justice requires a proportion between the punishment and 
the crime ; and that receives i«s quality from the dignity 
of the person offended. Now since the majesty of God is 
infinite against whom sin is committed, the guilt of it can 
never bo expiated but by an infinite satisfaction. There is 
no name under heaven nor in heaven, that could save us, 
but the Son of God, who, being equal to him in greatness, 
became man. 

If there had been such compassion in the angels as to 
have inclined them to interpose between justice and us, 
the}'- had not been qualified for that work ; not only upon 
the account of their different nature, so that by substitution 
they could not satisfy for us ; nor that being immaterial 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 169 

substances, they are exempted from the dominion of death, 
which was the punishment denounced against the sinner, 
and to which his surety must be subjected ; but principally 
that being finite creatures, they are incapable to atone an 
incensed God. Who among all their glorious orders durst 
appear before so consuming a fire ? Who could have been 
an altar whereon to sanctify a sacrifice to divine justice ? — 
No mere creature how worthy soever could propitiate the 
supreme majesty when justly provoked. Our Redeemer was 
to be the Lord of angels. The apostle tells us, that it 
" pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell :" 
this respects not his original nature, but his office ; and the 
reason of it is, to reconcile by the blood of the cross, things 
in heaven and in the earth, Col. i. 19. From the greatness 
of the work we may infer the quality of the means, and 
from the quality of the means, the nature of the person that 
is to perform it. Peace with God, who was provoked by 
our rebellion, could only be made by an infinite sacrifice. — 
Now in Christ the Deity itself, not its influences and the ful- 
ness of it, not any particular perfection only, dwelt really 
and substantially. God was present in the ark in a shadow, 
and representation ; he is present in nature by his sustaining 
power, and his saints by special favour, and the eminent ef- 
fects, the graces and comforts, that proceed from it ; but he 
is present in Christ in a singular and transcendent manner. 
The humanity is related to the Word, not only as a creature 
to the author of its being, for in this regard it hath an equal 
respect to all the persons, but by a peculiar conjunction ; for 
it is actuated by the same subsistence, as the divine essence 
is in the Son, but with this difference, the one is voluntary, 
the other necessary ; the one is espoused by love, the other 
received by nature. 

Now from this intimate union, there is a communication 
of the special qualities of both natures to the person of 
Christ : man is exalted to be the Son of God, and the Word 
abased to be the Son of man ; as by reason of the vital 
union between the soul and body, the essential parts of man, 
it is truly said that he is rational in respect of his soul, and 
mortal in respect of his body. 

This union derives an infinite merit to the obedience of 
Christ ; for the human nature having its complement from 
the divine person, it is not the nature simply considered, but 
the person, that is the fountain of actions. To illustrate 

15 



170 THE HARMONY OP 

this by an instance: the civil law determines that a tree 
transplanted from one soil to another, and taking root there, 
belongs to the owner of that ground, in regard that recei- 
ving nourishment from a new earth, it becomes as it were 
another tree, though there be the same individual root, the 
same body and the same soul of vegetation as before. Thus 
the human nature taken from the common mass of mankind, 
and transplanted by personal union into the divine, is to be 
reckoned as entirely belonging to the divine, and the actions 
proceeding from it are not merely human, but are raised 
above their natural worth, and become meritorious. One 
hour of Christ's life glorified God more than an c\'erlasting 
duration spent by angels and men in the praises of him ; 
for the most perfect creatures are limited and finite, and 
their services cannot fully correspond with the majesty of 
God ; but when the word was made flesh, and entered into a 
new state of subjection, he glorified God in a divine manner 
and most worthy of him. " He that comclh from above, is 
above all," John iii. ol. The all-sufliciency of his satis- 
faction arises from hence — he that "was in the form of 
God, and thought ii not robbery to be equal with God ;" that 
is, in the truth of the divine nature was equal with the Fa- 
ther, and without sacrilege or usurpation ])0ssessed divine 
honour; he became obedient to the death of the cross. The 
Lord of glory was crucified. We are jAirchased by the 
blood of God, Acts xx. 28. " The blood of Jesus Christ 
his Son cleanseth us from all sin," I John i. 7. The divine 
nature gives it an infinite and everlasting efficacy. 

And it is observable, that the Socinians, the declared ene- 
mies of his eternity, consentaneously to tli(;ir first impious 
error, deny his satisfaction ; for if Jesus Christ were but a 
titular God, his sufferings, how deep soever, had been insuf- 
ficient to expiate our offence ; in his death he had been only 
a martyr, not a mediator ; for no satisfaction can be made 
to divine justice, but by suffering that which is equivalent to 
the guilt of sin, which as it is inconceivably great, such must 
the satisfaction be. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 171 

eHAPTER XIII. 

THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

Having premised these things, I shall now prove that the 
divine justice is really declared and glorified in the obedient 
sufferings of Christ. 

For the opening of this point, it is necessary to consider 
the account the scripture gives of his death ; which is three- 
fold — it is represented under the relation of a punishment 
inflicted on him for sin, and the effect of it is satisfaction to 
the law — as a price to redeem us from hell — under the no- 
tion of a sacrifice to reconcile God to sinners. 

1. As a punishment inflicted on him for sin. This will 
appear by considering that man by his rebellion against God 
was capitally guilty: he stood sentenced by the law to 
death. Christ, with the allowance of the supreme Judge, 
interposed as our Surety, and that in relation was made liable 
to punishment. Sins are by resemblance called debts. As 
a debt obliges the debtor to payment, so sin doth the sinner 
to punishment. And as the creditor hath a right to exact 
the payment from the debtor, so God hath a right to inflict 
punishment on the guilty; but with this difference — 
the creditor by the mere signification of his will may dis- 
charge the debtor, for he hath an absolute power over his es- 
tate ; whereas public justice is concerned in the punishment 
of the guilty. This is evident by many instances ; for it is 
not sufficient that a criminal satisfy his adversary, unless the 
prince, who is the guardian of the laws, give him pardon. — 
The interest of a private person who hath received an inju- 
ry, is so distinct from that of the state, that sometimes the 
injured party solicits the pardon of the offender without 
success : which shows, that it is not principally to satisfy 
the particular person, that the crime is punished, but to sa- 
tisfy the law, and prevent future disorders. 

Now our debt was not pecuniary, but penal: and as in 
civil cases, where one becomes surety for another, he is obli- 
ged to pay the debt, for in the estimate of the law they are 
but one person ; so the Lord Jesus Christ entering into this 
relation, he sustained the persons of sinners, and became ju- 



172 THE HARMONY OF 

dicially one with them, and according to the order of jus- 
tice, was liable to their punishment. The displeasure of 
God was primarily and directly against the sinner, but the 
effects of it fell upon Christ, who undertook for him. The 
apostle tells us, that " when the fulness of time was come, 
God sent forth his Son, made under the law, to redeem them 
that were under the law," Gal. iv. 4, 5. He took our nature 
and condition : he was made under the law moral and cere- 
monial. The directive part of the moral law he fulfilled by 
the innocency of liis life ; the penalty he satisfied as our 
Surety, being under an obligation to save us. And he ap- 
peared as a sinner in his subjection to the law of Moses. — 
That "hand-writing was against us;" he therefore entered 
into the bond that we had forfeited. In his circumcision he 
signed it with those drops of blood, which were an earnest 
of his shedding the rest on the cross ; for whosoever Avas 
circumcised, became a debtor to the whole law. Gal. v. 3. 
And we may observe, it is said, that as Moses lifted up the 
brazen serpent, so the law, of wiiich Moses was a type and 
minister, lifted up the Messiah on the crot:s. 

The scripture is very clear and express in .setting down the 
part that God had in the sufTorings of Christ as supreme 
Judge, the impulsive cause that moved him, their proportion 
to the punishment of the law, and the effect of them for our 
deliverance. He was "delivered by the determinate counsel 
and foreknowledge of God," Acts ii. 23. All the various and 
vicious actions of men were overruled by his providence; 
the falseness of Judas, the fearfulncss of Pilate, and the ma- 
lice of the Jews were subservient to God's eternal design. 
And as he wills not the death of a sinner, much less of his 
Son, but for most weighty reasons, these are declared by the 
prophet; "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have 
turned every one to his own way ;" our errors were different, 
but the issue was the same, that is, eternal death: "and the 
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" that is, the 
punishment of our iniquities, Isa. liii. 6. His sufferings had 
such a respect to sin, as included the imputation of it. It 
was an act of sovereignty in God to appoint Christ as man 
to be our Surety, but an act of justice to inflict the punish- 
ment, when Christ had undertaken for us. It is said, " he 
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." The ex- 
pressions are comprehensive of all the miseries of his life, 
especially his last sufferings. The Hebrew words signify 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 1/3 

such a taking away, as is by laying upon one who bears it 
from us. And thus it is interpreted by St. Peter; "Who his 
own self bare our sins in his OAvn body on the tree," 1 Pet. 
iii. 24. This necessarily implies the derivation of our guilt 
to him, and the consequent of it, the transferring of our 
punishment. Those words are full and pregnant to the same 
purpose; "He was wonnded for our transgressions, he was 
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace Mas 
upon him,, and with his stripes we are healed," Isa. liii. 5; 
where the meritorious cause of his sufferings is set down, as 
appears by the connexion of the words wiih the former. 
The Jews thought " him stricken, smitten of God, and af- 
flicted;" that is, justly punished for blasphemy and usurping 
divine honour. In opposition to this conceit, it is added, "but 
he was wounded for our transgressions." This the apostle 
expressly telleih us, when he declares that " Christ died for 
our sins." 

This will appear more fully, by considering what the de- 
sert of sin is. By our rebellion we made the forfeiture of 
soul and body to divine justice : death, both the first and the 
second, was the sentence of the law. Now the sufferings of 
Christ were answerable to his punishment. The death which 
the law threatened for sin, was to be accompanied with dis- 
honour and pain. And he suffered the death of the cross, in 
which the equal extremities of ignominy and torment were 
joined. A special curse was annexed to it, not only in re- 
spect, of the judgment of men, before whom a crucified per- 
son was made a spectacle of public vengeance for his crimes, 
but in respect of God's declaration concerning it. The Jews 
were commanded, that none should hang on a tree longer 
than the evening, lest the holy land should be profaned by 
that which was an express mark, of God's curse. Now the 
legal curse was a typical signification of the real, that should 
be suffered by our Redeemer. Besides, his death was attend- 
ed with exquisite pains : he suffered variety of torments by 
the scourges, the thorns, the nails that pierced his hands and 
feet, the least vital, but most sensible parts. He refused the 
wine mixed with myrrh, that was given to stupify the sen- 
ses; for the design of his passion required, that he should 
have the quickest sense of his sufferings, which were the 
punishment of sin. And his inward sorrows were equiva- 
lent to the pains of loss and sense that are due to sinners. 
It is true, there are circumstances in the sufferings of the 
- 15* 



174 THE HARMONY OF 

damned, as blasphemy, rage, impotent fierceness of mind, 
which are not appointed by the law, but are accidental, arising 
from the perverseness of their spirits ; for the punishment of 
the law is a physical evil, but these are moral; and that 
punishment is inflicted by the Judge, but these are only from 
the guilty sufferers: now to these he was not possibly liable. 
Besides, the death that the sinner ought to suffer is eternal, 
attended with despair and intolerable anguish of conscience. 
Now our Redeemer having no real guilt, was not liable to the 
worm of conscience, and his temporary sufferings were equi- 
valent to the eternal upon the account of his divine person; 
so that he was not capable of despair. But he endured the 
unknown terrors of the second death, so far as was consistent 
with the perfection of his nature. The anguish of his soul 
was not merely from sympathy with liis body, but imme- 
diately from divine displeasure. " It pleased the Lord to 
bruise him;" this principally respects the impressions of 
wrath made upon his inward man. Had the cup he feared 
been only death, with the bitter ingredients of dishonour and 
pain, many have drunk it with more appearing resolution. 
The martyrs have endured more cruel torments without com- 
plaint; nay, in their sharpest conflicts have expressed a tri- 
umphant joy. Whereas our Bedeemer was under all the in- 
nocent degrees of fear and sorrow at the approach of his suf- 
ferings. From whence Avas the difference ? Had Christ less 
courage ? He was the fountain of their fortitude. The dif- 
ference was not in tiie disposition of the patients, but in the 
nature of the sufltring. He endured that which is infinitely 
more terrible than all outward torments. The light of joy 
that always sliined in his soul, a sweet image of heaven, was 
then totally eclipsed. God, the fountain of compassion, re- 
strained himself; his Fatlier appeared a severe inexorable 
Judge, and dealt witli him not as his Son, but our Surety. 
Under all the cruelties exercised by men, the Lamb of God 
opened not his moutli ; but when the " Father of mercies 
and the God of all consolation" forsook him, then he broke 
forth into a mournful complaint. 

Now by this account of Christ's suflTerings from scripture, 
it is evident, they were truly penal; for they were inflicted 
for sin by the supreme judge, and vrere equivalent to the sen- 
tence of the law. And the benefit we receive upon their ac- 
count, proves that they are a satisfaction to divine justice, 
for we are exempted from punishment by his submission to 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 175 

it. He freed us " from the curse of the law, being made a 
curse for us," Gal. iii. 13. "The chastisement of our peace 
was upon him," by whose " stripes we are healed," Isa. liii. 
5. So that his death being the meritorious cause of freeing 
the guilty, is properly satisfaction. 

Before I proceed to the second consideration of Christ's 
death, I will briefly answer the objection of the Socinians, 
viz. that it is a violation of justice to transfer the punishment 
from one to another ; so that the righteous God could not 
punish his innocent Son for our sins. 

Now to show the invalidity of this pretence, we must con- 
sider, — that justice is not an irregular appetite for vengeance, 
arising from hatred that cannot be satisfied but with the de- 
struction of the guilty. It preserves right with pure affec- 
tions, and is content when the injury is repaired, from whom- 
soever satisfaction comes. — Though an innocent person can- 
not suffer as innocent without injustice, yet he may volunta- 
rily contract an obligation, which will expose him to deserved 
sufferings. The wisdom and justice of all nations agree in 
punishing one for another's fault, where consent is preceding, 
as in the case of hostages. And although it is essential to 
the nature of punishment to be inflicted for sin, yet not on 
the person of the sinner ; for " in conspectu fori," the sinner 
and surety are one. — That exchange is not allowed in crimi- 
nal causes where the guilty ought to suffer in person, is not 
from any injustice in the nature of the thing, for then it 
would not be allowed in civil ; but there are special reasons 
why an innocent person is not ordinarily admitted to suffer 
for an offender. No man hath absolute power over his own 
life. It is a " depositum" consigned to him for a time, and 
must be preserved till God, or the public good, calls for it. 
The public too would suffer prejudice by the loss of a good 
subject. Therefore the rule of the law is just, " Non auditur 
perire volens." The desire of one that devotes himself to 
ruin, is not to be heard. And the guilty person who is spared 
might grow worse by impunity, and cause great disorders by 
his evil example. But these considerations are of no force 
in the case of our Saviour; for he had full power to dispose 
of his life ; " I have power to lay it down, and I have power 
to take it again : this commandment have I received of my 
Father," John x. 18. He declares his power as God, that 
his life entirely depended on his will, to preserve it or part 
with it; and his subjection as Mediator to the order of his 



176 THE HARMONY Or 

Father. Our Saviour too could not finally perish. It was not 
possible he should be held under the power of death, Acts 
ii. 24. Otherwise it had been against the laws of reason, 
that the precious should for ever suffer for the vile. Better 
ten thousand worlds had been lost, than that the Holy One 
of God should perish. He saved us through his sufferings, 
though as by fire ; and had a glorious reward in the issue. 
There is also an infinite good redounds from his suffering : 
for sinners are exempted from death, and the preservation of 
tlie giiilty is for the glory of God's government; for those 
wlio are redeemed by his death, are renewed by his Spirit. He 
covers their sins, tliat he may cure tliem. He is made right- 
eousness and sanctification to his people, 1 Cor. i. 30. The 
serious belief that Christ by dying hath rescued us from hell, 
produces a superhitive love to him; an ingenuous and grate- 
ful fear lest we should offend him ; an ambition to please him 
in all things; briefly, universal obedience to his will, as its 
most natural and necessary effect. So that in laying the 
punishment on Christ, under wliich raankiiul must have sunk 
forever, there is nothing against justir(\ 

2. The death of Christ is the price wliich redeems us 
from our wofiil captivity. Mankind was fallen under the 
dominion of Satan and death, and could not obtain freedom 
by escape, or mere power; for by the order of divine justice 
we were detained prisoners: .so that till God, the supreme 
Judge, is satisfied, there can be no discharge. Now the 
Lord Christ bath {jrocured our deliverance by his death, ac- 
cording to the testimony of the apostle; " We have redemp- 
tion through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Col. i. 
14. His blood is congruously called a "price," because in 
consideration of il our freedom is purchased. He is our 
Redeemer by ransom ; "he gave himself a ransom for all ;" 
and that signifies the price paid for the freeing of a captive, 
1 Tim. ii. 0. The word used by the gpostle, nvri'KvTpov, hath 
a special emphasis ; it signifies an exchange of conditions 
with us, the redeeming of us from death by dying for us ; as 
the dvTt'ifyvKot, who devoted themselves to death, for the rescu- 
ing of others. Our Saviour told his disciples, that the Son 
of man came " to give his life a ransom for many ;" \vTpov 
dvri TToWow, Matt. XX. 28. 'AvTi signifies a commutation or ex- 
change, v/ith respect of things or persons. Thus we are 
commanded to render to none " evil for evil :" and, " If a 
eon ask of his father a fish, will he for a fish give him a ser- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 177 

pent?" dvTi ixOoos o^iv, Luke xi. 11. When it is used in re- 
spect of persons, it imputes a substitution in another's place. 
Archelaus reigned " in the room of his father Herod ;" dvri 
•Hpw<5ov, Matt. ii. 22. Peter paid tribute " for Christ," that 
is, representing him. The effect therefore of our Saviour's 
words, that " he gave his life a ransom for many" is evident- 
ly this, that he died in their stead, and his life as a price in- 
tervened to obtain their redemption. It is for this reason the 
glorified saints sung a hymn of praise to the divine Lamb, 
saying, " Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast re- 
deemed us to God by thy blood," Rev. v. 9. 

The singular and blessed effect of Christ's death, distin- 
guishes it from the death of the most excellent martyrs. If 
he had died only for the confirmation of the gospel, or to 
exhibit to us a pattern of suffering graces, what were there 
peculiar and extraordinary in his death ? How can it be said 
that he alone was crucified for us ? For the martyrs sealed 
the truth with their blood, and left admirable examples of 
love to God, of zeal for his glory, of patience under torments, 
and of compassion to their persecutors : yet it were intole- 
rable blasphemy to say that they redeemed us by their death. 
And it is observable, when the death of Christ is propounded 
in scripture as a pattern of patience, it is with a special cir- 
cumstance that distinguishes it from all others. " Christ 
suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow 
his steps : who his own self bare our sins in his own body 
on the tree ; by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter ii. 
21, 24. The truth is, if the sole end of Christ's death were 
to induce men to believe his promises and to imitate his 
graces, there had been no such necessity of it ; for the mira- 
cles he did, had been suflicient to confirm the gospel, yet re- 
mission of sins is never attributed to them ; and the miseries 
he suffered during the course of his life, had been sutRcient 
to instruct us how to behave ourselves under indignities and 
persecutions : and at the last he might have given as full a 
testimony to the truth of his doctrine by his descent from the 
cross, as by dying for us. But no lower price than his blood 
could make compensation to the law, and satisfaction to God ; 
and to deny this, is to rob him of the glory of his death, and 
to destroy all our comfort. 

It is objected by those who nulUfy the mystery of the 
cross of the Lord Jesus ; how could God receive this price, 
since he gave up his Son to that death which redeems us ? 



178 THE HARMONY OF 

And how can our Redeemer, supposing him God, make satis- 
faction to himself? To this I answer, 

(1.) The infinite goodness of God in giving our Redeem- 
er, doth not divest him of the ofRcc of supreme Judge, nor 
prejudice his examining of the cause according to his sove- 
reign jurisdiction, and his receiving a ransom to preserve the 
rights of justice inviolable. There is an eminent instance of 
this in Zaleucus, the prince of the Locrians, who passed a 
law that adulterers should lose both their eyes ; and when 
his son was convicted of tliat crime, the people who respect- 
ed him for his excellent virtues, out of pity to him, inter- 
ceded for the offender. Zaleucus, (vid. /Elian Var. Histor. 
1. 13. c. 24.) in a conflict between zeal for justice and affec- 
tion to his son, took but one eye from him, and parted with 
one of his own to satisfy the law: and thus he paid and re- 
ceived the punishment ; he paid it as a father, and received 
it as the conservator of public justice. Thus when guilty 
mankind in its poverty could not pay the forfeiture to the 
law, God, the Father of mercies, was pleased to give it from 
the treasures of his love ; that is, the Mood of his Son for our 
ransom. And this he receives from the hand of Christ of- 
fered upon the cross, as the supreme Judge, and declares it 
fully valuable, and the rights of justice to be truly performed. 

(2.) It is not inconsistent with reason, that the Son of 
God, clothed with our nature, should by his death make sa- 
tisfaction to the Deity, and therefore to himself. In the ac- 
cording of two parties, a person that belongs to one of them, 
may interpose for reconciliation, provided that he divests his 
own interest, and leaves it with the party from whom he 
comes. Thus when the senate of Rome and the people were 
in dissention, one of the senators, Menenius Agrippa, trusted 
his own concernment with the council of Mliich he was a 
member, and mediated between the parties to reconcile them, 
Liv. lib. 2. Thus when the Father and the Son, both pos- 
sessed of the imperial power, have been offended by rebellious 
subjects, it is not inconvenient that the Son interpose as a 
Mediator, to restore them to the favour of the Prince. And 
by this he reconciles them to himself, and procures them 
pardon of an offence by whicli his own majesty was violated. 
This he doth as Mediator, not as a party concerned. Now 
this is a fit illustration of the great work of our redemption, 
so far as human things can represent divine ; for all the per- 
sons of the glorious Trinity were equally provoked by our 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 179 

sin ; and to obtain our pardon, the Son with the consent of 
the Father, deposits his interest into his hands, and as a Me- 
diator intervenes between us and him, who in this transaction 
is the depositary of the rights of heaven ; and having per- 
formed what justice required, he reconciled the world to God, 
that is, to the Father, himself, and the eternal Spirit. In 
this cause his person is the same, but his quality is different : 
he made satisfaction as mediator, and received it as God. It 
is in this sense that the apostle saith, 1 John ii. 2. " We 
have an Advocate Avith the Father, Jesus Christ the right- 
eous ;" not to exclude the other persons, but in regard the 
Father as the first person is the protector of justice, our Me- 
diator in appeasing him appeases the other also. 

3. The death of Christ is represented under the notion of 
a sacrifice offered up to God. 

For the more understanding of this, we must consider that 
sacrifices were of two kinds. 

Some were eucharistical ; tliey are called peace-offerings, 
by which the sacrificer acknowledged the bounty of God and 
his own un worthiness, and rendered praise for a favour re- 
ceived, and desired the divine blessing. 

Others were expiatory ; the sin offerings for the averting 
of God's Avrath. The institution of these was upon a double 
reason — that man is a sinner, and therefore obnoxious to the 
just indignation and extreme displeasure of the holy and 
righteous God — that God was to be propitiated, that he might 
pardon them. These truths are engraven in the natural 
consciences of men, as appears by the pretended expiations 
of sin among the heathens ; but are more clearly revealed in 
the scripture. Under the lav/, without the " shedding of blood, 
there was no remission ;" to signify, that God would not for- 
give sin without the atonement of justice, whicli required the 
death of the offender, but it being tempered with mercy, ac- 
cepted a sacrifice in his stead. And that there was a substi- 
tion of the beast in the place of the guilty offender, appears 
by the law concerning sacrifices. — None were instituted for 
capital offences, as murder, idolatry, adultery, because the 
sinner himself was to be cut off; but for other sins, which 
although in strictness they deserved death, yet God, who was 
the King of Israel, was pleased to remit the forfeiture, and to 
accept the life of the sacrifice for the life of the sinner. — 
The guilty person was to offer a clean beast of his own ; to 
signify the surrogation of it in his stead • for in the relation 



180 THE HARMONY OF 

of a possessor he had a dominion over it, to apply it to that 
use. The priest, or the person that offered, was to lay his 
hands on the head of the sacrifice, thereby consecrating it to 
God, and devoting it in liis stead to bear the punishment. For 
this reason it was called a sin, and a curse. — The confession 
of sin by the people or the priest, as in the day of atonement, 
signified that the guilt of all met on the sacrifice for expiation. 
— The blood was to be shed, wherein the vital spirits are, an 
express representation of what the sinner deserved, and that 
it was accepted for his life. — Lastly ; the deprecating of God's 
anger was joined with the sacrifice ; as when a man was slain 
and the murderer was not found, the ciders of the city next 
to the dead body, were to kill an heifer in a valley, and pray 
that innocent blood might not be laid to their charge; other- 
wise tlie land could not be cleansed from the guilt of blood, 
but by the blood of the murderer. 

The effects of tliese sacrifices declare their nature ; and 
they are answerable to their threefold respect, to God, to sin, 
to man — to God, that his anger might be appeased ; to sin, 
that the fault miglit be expiated ; to man, that the guilty per- 
son might obtain pardon, and freedom from punishment. 
Thus when a sacrifice was duly offered, it is said to be " of 
a sweet savour unto the Lord," and to atone him. Lev. i. 17; 
and the remission of sins, with the release of the sinner, follow- 
ed. " The priest shall expiate it," that is, declaratively, " and 
it shall be forgiven him." 

Now there was a double guilt contracted by those that 
were under the iMosaical dispensation. 

(1.) Typical, from the breach of ceremonial constitution, 
which liad no relation to morality. Such were natural pol- 
lutions, accidental diseases, the touching of a dead body, 
which were esteemed vicious according to the law, and the 
defiled were excluded from sacred and civil society. Now 
these impurities, considered in themselves, deserved no pun- 
ishment; for involuntary and inevitable infirmities, and cor- 
poreal things which do not affect the inward man, are the 
marks of our abject and weak state, but are not themselves 
sinful. Therefore ceremonial guilt was expiated by a cere- 
monial offering ; for it is according to the nature of things, 
that obligations should be dissolved by the same means by 
which they are contracted. As therefore those pollutions 
were penal merely by the positive will of God, so (the exer- 
cise of his supreme right being tempered with wisdom and 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 181 

equity) he ordained that the guilt should be abolished by a 
sacrifice, and that they should be fully restored to their for- 
mer privileges. Thus the apostle tells us, that the blood of 
those sacrifices " sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh ;" 
that is, it communicated a legal purity to the offerers, and 
consequently a right to approach the holy place. Now the 
reason of these institutions was that the legal impurity might, 
represent the true defilements of sin, and the expiatory sac- 
rifices prefigure that great and admirable oblation which 
should purge away all sin. 

(2.) A real guilt, which respects the conscience, and was 
contracted from the breach of the moral law, and subjected 
the offender to death temporal and eternal. This could not 
be purged away by those sacrifices ; for how is it possible the 
blood of a beast should cleanse the soul of a man, or content 
the justice of an offended God 7 Nay, on the contrary, they 
revived the guilt of sin, and reinforced the rigour of the law, 
and were a public profession of the misery of men : for this 
reason the law is called " the minister of death." As the 
moral contained a declaration of our guilt and God's right to 
punish, so all the parts of the ceremonial were either argu- 
ments and convictions of sin, or images of the punishment 
due for them. But as they had a relation to Christ who was 
their complement, so they signified the expiation of moral 
guilt by his sacrifice, and freed the sinner from that temporal 
death to which he was liable ; as the representative of our 
freedom from eternal death by the blood of the cross. 

This will appear more clearly by considering — that all 
kinds of placatory sacrifices are referred to Christ in the new 
testament — that all their eflfects are attributed to him in a 
sublimer and most perfect manner. He is called a Lamb in 
the notion of a sacrifice ; " The Lamb slain from the founda- 
tion of the world," Rev. xiii. 8. A lamb was used in the ex- 
piation of moral and legal impurities, Lev. v. 6 ; xiv. 12. He 
is called " our passover that we sacrificed for us," 1 Cor. v. 7. 
The paschal lamb in its first institution had an expiatory effi- 
cacy ; for God, by looking on that blood, averted the destruc- 
tion from the Israelites, which seized on the Egyptians, Exod. 
xii. 13. This was the reason of the prohibition, that none 
should go out of the house till the morning, lest they should 
be struck by the destroying angel. Not but that the angel 
could distinguish the Israelites from the Egyptians abroad, 
but it was typical, to shew their security was in being under 
16 



182 THE HARMONY OF 

the guard of the lamb's blood, wliich was shed to spare theirs. 
Thus the apostle Peter tells us, that we are redeemed by the 
blood of the pure and perfect Lamb, 1 Pet. i. 19. And he 
was represented by the red heifer, whose ashes were the chief 
ingredient in the water of purification ; " For if the blood of 
bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the 
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much 
more shall tlie blood of Christ purge your conscience?" Heb. 
ix. 13, 14, Especially the anniversary sacrifice which was 
the abridgment and recapitulation of all the rest, had an 
eminent respect to Christ. The whole epistle to the Hebrews 
is tinctured with this divine doctrine. 

Tiie effects of Christ's death are infinitely more excellent 
than those that proceeded from tlie Levitical sacrifices. The 
law had " a shadow of good things to come," Heb. x. 1 ; but 
the real virtue and efi^icacy is found only in Christ, 

The averting of God's wrath is ascribed to his death ; ac- 
cording to the words of tlic apostle, " Whom Cod has set 
fortli to be a i)ropitiation tlirough faith in his blood, to declare 
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
through the forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at this 
time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justi- 
fier of liim which believeth in Jesus," Rom. iii. 25, 26; "a 
propitiation," 'i\a>rTopinv, the title of the mercy-seat, partly in 
regard it covered tlie tables of the law which were broken by 
us, to signify that by him pardon is procured for us; and 
principally because God was rendered propitious by the 
sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice on it, and exhibited 
himself there, as on a throne of grace, favourable to his peo- 
ple. For this reason he gives tlie name of the figure to 
Christ; for he alone iinswers the charge of the law and inter- 
poses between justice and our guilt, and by his own blood hath 
reconciled God to us. Now the design of God in this ap- 
pointment was to "declare his righteousness;" that is, that 
glorious attribute that inclines him to punish sinners; for in 
the legal propitiations, although the guilt of man was publicly 
declared in the death of the sacrifices, yet the justice of God 
did not fully appear, since he accepted the life of a beast in 
compensation for the life of a man ; but in the death of 
Christ he hath given tlie most clear demonstration of h4s jus 
tice, a sufficient example of his hatred to sin, condemning and 
punishing it in tlie person of his beloved Son ; that the whole 
world may acknowledge it was not from any inadvertency 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 183 

but merely by the dispensation of his wisdom and goodness 
that he forebore so long. And by the death of Christ he hath 
declared that glorious mystery which no created understand- 
ing could ever have conceived, that he is inflexibly just and 
will not suffer sin to pass unpunished, and that he justifies 
those who are guilty in themselves, if by a purifying faith 
they receive Christ for pardon. The same apostle tells us, 
that Christ "hath given himself for us an offering and a sa- 
crifice to God for a sweet smelling savour ;" Uooffipopav Kai dimtav, 
an allusion to the peace-offering and sin-offering ; for the truth 
of both is in the death of Christ, which appeases God, and 
obtains the blessings that depend on his favour ; Eph. v. 2. 
He is qualified as a priest, whose office it was to present to 
God an offering for appeasing his anger ; he gave himself ; 
the oblation that is added to his death, gives the complete 
formality of a sacrifice to it ; for it is the priest who gives 
being to the sacrifice : and the effect of it is, to be a sweet 
smelling savour to God, that is to conciliate his favour to us. 
The same phrase is applied to the sin off'ering under the law. 
We may observe that upon this account, our reconciliation 
to God is attributed to the death of Christ in distinction from 
his glorified life ; " For if, \vhen we were enemies, we were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being 
reconciled, we shall be saved by this life," Rom. v. 10. And the 
same apostle tells us, that " God was in Christ reconciling the 
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; 
we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God," 2 
Cor. v. 19, 20. A double reconciliation is mentioned, that 
of God to men, and of men to God ; the first is the ground 
of the apostle's exhortation, the latter the eff"ect of it. The 
first was obtained by the death of Christ, who by imputation 
had our guilt transferred upon him, and consequently our pun- 
ishment; and in consideration of it, God who is just and 
holy, is willing to pardon penitent believers ; the latter is by 
the powerful working of the Spirit, who assures men that are 
guilty and therefore suspicious and fearful of God's anger, 
that he is most willing to pardon them upon their^ repentance, 
since he hath in such an admirable manner found out the 
means to satisfy his justice. 

The true expiation of sin is the effect of Christ's death. 
He is called " the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin 
of the world," John i. 29. Now sin may be taken away in 
two manners ; — by removing its guilt, and exempting the 



184 THE HARMONY OF 

person that committed it from death ; and when this is ef- 
fected by enduring the punishment that was due to sin, it is 
properly expiation ; — by heaUng the corrupt inclinations of 
the heart, from whence actual sins proceed. It is true, our 
Redeemer takes away sin in both these respects ; he delivers 
from the damnation and dominion of it ; for he is made of 
God our righteousness and sanctification. But the first 
sense only is convenient here ; for it is evident that the 
Lamb took away sin, that is, the guilt of it, by dying instead 
of the sinner, and had no effect for the destroying of the 
malignant habits of sin in the person who offered it. And 
it is more apparent, that this divine Lamb hath taken av/ay 
the guilt of our sins, in that " he bare ihem in his own body 
on the tree ;" for the native force of the word aipeiv signifies, 
not only to take away, but to carry and bear, which, applied 
to sin, is nothing else but to suffer the penalty of it. And 
it is to be observed, when cleansing, purifying, and washing 
are attributed to the blood of Christ, they have an imme- 
diate respect to the guilt of sin, and declare its efl^icacy to 
take off the obligation to punishment. Thus it is said that 
his " blood cleanseth from all sin," 1 Jolm i. 7 ; and that it 
" purgeth the conscience from dead works," Heb. ix. 14; 
and that wc are washed from our sins in his blood. Rev. i. 5. 
The frequent sprinklings and purifications with water un- 
der the law, prefigured our cleansing from the defilements 
of sin by the grace of the Spirit ; but the shedding of the 
blood of sacrifices was to purge away sins so far as they 
were made liable to a curse. 

Our exemption from punishment, and our restoration to 
communion with God in grace and glory, are the fruits of 
his expiating sin. For this reason the blood of the Mediator 
"speakeih better things than that of Abel ;" for that cried 
for revenge against the murderer, but his procures remission 
to believers. And as the just desert of sin is separation 
from the presence of God who is the fountain of felicity, so 
when the guilt is taken away, the person is received into 
God's favour and fellowship. A representation of this is set 
down in the 24th of Exodus, M'here we have described the 
manner of dedicating the covenant between God and Israel 
by bloody sacrifices. After Moses had finished the offering, 
and sprinkled the blood on the altar and the people, the el- 
ders of Israel, who were forbid to approach near to the 
Lord, were then invited to come into his presence, and in to- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 185 

ken of reconciliation, feasted before him. Thus the eternal 
covenant is established by the blood of the Mediator, and all 
the benefits it contains, as remission of sins, freedom to 
draw near to the throne of grace, and the enjoyment of 
God in glory, are the fruits of his reconciling sacrifice. 

The sum of all is this, that as under the law God was 
not appeased without shedding of blood, nor sin expiated 
without suflfering the punishment, nor the sinner pardoned 
without the substitution of a sacrifice ; so all these are emi- 
nently accomplished in the death of Christ. He reconciled 
God to us by his most precious blood, and expiated sin by 
enduring the curse, and hath procured our pardon by being 
" made sin for us." So that it is most evident, that the 
proper and direct end of the death of Christ was, that God 
might exercise his mercy to the guilty sinner in a way that 
is honourable to his justice. 

It is objected, that if God from infinite mercy gave his 
Son to us, then antecedently to the coming of Christ, he 
had the highest love for mankind, and consequently there 
was no need that Christ by his death should satisfy justice 
to reconcile him to us. But a clear answer may be given to 
this by considering — that anger and love are consistent at 
the same time, and may in several respects be terminated on 
the same subject. A father presents a double affection to- 
wards a rebellious son ; he loves him as his son, is angry 
with him as disobedient. Thus in our lapsed state, God had 
compassion on us as his creatures, and was angry with us as 
sinners. As the injured party he laid aside his anger, but as 
the preserver of justice he required satisfaction. — We must 
distinguish between a love of good will and compassion, and 
a love of complacency. The first is that which moved God 
to ordain the means, that without prejudice to his other 
perfections, he might confer pardon and all spiritual bene- 
fits upon us ; the other is tliat whereby he delights in us, 
being reconciled to him and renewed according to his 
image. The first supposes him placable ; the latter, that he 
is appeased. There is a visible instance of this in the case 
of Job's friends. The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 
" My anger is kindled against thee and against thy two 
friends ; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is 
right, as my servant Job hath :" here is a declaration of 
God's anger, yet with the mixture of love ; for it follows, 
" Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven 

16* 



186 THE HARMONY OP 

rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves 
a burnt-offering ; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for 
him will I accept." Job xlii. 7, 8. He loved them when 
he directed the way that they might be restored to his fa- 
vour ; yet he was not reconciled, for then there had been 
no need of sacrifices to atone his anger. 

It is further objected, that supposing the satisfaction of 
Christ to justice, both the freeness and greatness of God's 
love in pardoning sinners will be much lessened. But it 
will appear that the divine mercy is not prejudiced in either 
of those respects. 

The freeness of God's love is not diminished ; for that is 
the original mover in our salvation, and hath no cause above 
it to excite or draw it forth, but arises merely from his own 
will. This love is so absolute, that it hath no respect to tlic 
sufferings of Christ as Mediator; for "God so loved the 
world, that he gave his Son" to die for u«: and that which 
is the effect and testimony of his love, cannot be the impul- 
sive cause of it. This first love of God to man is commend- 
ed to us in Christ, who is the medium to bring it honourably 
about. Grace, in scripture, is never opposed to Christ's 
merits, but to ours. If we had made satisfaction, justice it- 
self had absolved us ; for the law having two parts, the 
command of our duty whicli consists in a moral good, and 
the sanction of the punishment that is a physical evil, to do 
or to suffer is necessary, not both : or if we had provided a 
surety, such as the judge could not reject, we had been infi- 
nitely obliged to him, but not to the favour of the Judge. — 
But it is otherwise here. God sent the Reconciler when we 
were enemies, and the pardon that is dispensed to us upon 
the account of his sufferings, is the effect of mere mercy. — 
We are "justified freely by liis grace, through the redemp- 
tion that is in Jesus Christ," Rom. iii. 24. It is pure love 
that appointed and accepted, that imputes and applies, his 
righteousness to us. 

And as the freeness, so tlie riches of liis mercy, is not 
lessened by the satisfaction Christ made for us. It is true we 
have a pattern of God's justice, never to be paralleled, in 
the death of Christ: but to the severity of justice towards 
his only beloved Son, his clemency towards us guilty rebels 
is fully commensurate; for he pardons us without the ex- 
pense of one drop of our blood, though the soul of Christ 
was poured forth as an offering for sin. Nay, hereby the di- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES, 187 

vine clemency is more commended, than by an absolute for- 
giveness of sin without respect to satisfaction ; for the honour 
of God being concerned in the punishment of sin, that man 
might not continue under a sad obhgation to it, he was pleas- 
ed, by the astonishing wonder of his Son's death, to vindi- 
cate his glory, that repenting believers may be justified before 
him. Thus in an admirable manner he satisfies justice and ex- 
alts mercy; and this could have been no other way effected; 
for if he had by mere sovereignty dissolved our guilt, and by 
his Spirit renewed his image in us, his love had eminently ap- 
peared, but his justice had not been glorified. But in our re- 
demption they are both infinitely magnified : his love could 
give no more than the life of his Son, and justice required no 
less; for death being the "wages of sin," there could be no 
satisfaction without the death of our Redeemer. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE JUSTICE OF GOD IN REDExMPTlON. 

III. The next thing to be considered, is the completeness 
of the satisfaction that Christ hath made, by which it will 
appear that God's justice as well as mercy is fully glorified 
in his sufferings. For the proof of this I will consider the 
causes from whence the completeness of his satisfaction 
arises, and the effects that proceed from it, which are con- 
vincing evidences that God is fully appeased. 

1. The causes of his complete satisfaction are two. 

(1.) The quality of his person derives an infinite value to 
his obedient suff'erings. Our Surety was equally God, and 
as truly infinite in his perfections, as the Father who was 
provoked by our sins ; therefore he was able to make satis- 
faction for them. He is the Son of God, not merely in virtue 
of his office or the special favour of God, for on such ac- 
count that title is communicated to others ; but his only Son 
by nature. The sole pre-eminence in gifts and dignity would 
give him the title of " the first born," but not deprive them 
of the quality of brethren. 

Now the wisdom and justice of all nations agree, that 
punishments receive their estimate from the quality of the 
persons that suffer. The poet observes, " Pluris enim deeii, 



188 THE HARMONY OF 

qiiam qui servantiir ab illis," Juvenal ; that the death of a 
virtuous person is more precious tlian of legions. Of what 
inestimable value then is the death of Christ, and how wor- 
thy a ransom for lost mankind ! For although the Deity is 
impassible, yet he that was a divine person suffered. A king 
suffers more than a private person, although the strokes di- 
rectly inflicted on his body cannot immediately reach his 
honour. And it is specially to be observed, that the efficacy 
of Christ's blood is ascribed to his divine nature : this the 
apostle declares; "In whom we have redemption through his 
blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of tlie 
invisible God;" not an artificial image which imperfectly re- 
presents the original, as a ])icture that sets forth the colour 
and figure of a man, but not his life and nature; but the es- 
sential and exact imago of his Fatlier, that expresses all his 
glorious perfections in their immensity and eternity, Col. i. 
14. This is testified expressly in Heb. i. 3 ; the Son of God, 
" the brightness of liis glory and the express image of his 
person, when lie had by himself purged our sins, sat down 
on the right hand of the majesty on high." From hence 
arises the infinite difference between the sacrifices of the law 
and Christ's in the value and virtue. This with admirable 
emphasis is set down in Ileb. ix. 13, 14; "For if the blood 
of bulls and of goals, and tlic ashes of an heifer sprinkling 
the unclean, sanctifieth to the ])urifying of the flesh; how 
much more shall tlie blood of ('hrist, who through the eternal 
spirit offered himself without spot to (Jod, purge your con- 
sciences from dead works to serve the living God ?" Wherein 
the apostle makes a double hypothesis, — tliat the legal sacri- 
fices were ineffectual to purify from real guilt — that by their 
typical cleansing, they signified the washing away of moral 
guilt by the blood of Christ. 

Their insufllciency to expiate sin, appears, if we consider 
the subject. Sin is to be expiated in the same nature wherein 
it was committed. Now the beasts are of an inferior rank, 
and have no communion with man in his nature. Or if we 
consider the object, God was provoked by sin, and he is a 
spirit, and net to be appeased by gross material things. His 
wisdom requires that a rational sacrifice should expiate the 
guilt of a rational creature: and justice is not satisfied with- 
out a proportion between the guilt and the punishment. This 
weakness and insufficiency of the legal sacrifices to expiate 
sin, is evident from their variety and repetition : for if full 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 189 

remission had been obtained, "the worshippers once purged, 
should have had no more conscience of sin," Heb. x. 2. It 
was the sense of guilt, and the fear of condemnation, that 
required the renewing of the sacrifice. Now under the law, 
the ministry of the priests never came to a period or perfec- 
tion. The millions of sacrifices in all ages from the erecting 
of the tabernacle to the coming of Christ, had not virtue to 
expiate one sin. They were only shadows which could give 
no refreshment to the inflamed conscience, but as they de- 
pended on Christ, the body and substance of them. But the 
Son of God, who " offered himself up by the eternal Spirit 
to the Father," is a sacrifice not only intelligent and reason- 
able, but incomparably more precious than the most noble 
creatures in earth or in heaven itself. He was priest and 
sacrifice in respect of both his natures j his entire person was 
the offerer and offering : therefore the apostle from the excel- 
lency of his sacrifice, infers the unity of its oblation, and from 
thence concludes its efficacy. Christ, not " by the blood of 
bulls and goats, but by his own blood, entered in once into 
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us," 
Heb. ix. 12; and, "By one off'ering he hath perfected for- 
ever them that are sanctified," Heb. x. 14. Upon this ac- 
count God promised in the new covenant, that " their sins 
and iniquities" he would " remember no more," having re- 
ceived complete satisfaction by the sufferings of his Son, it is 
now said, that " once in the end of the world hath he appear- 
ed, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is 
appointed unto all men once to die, but after this judgment; 
so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto 
them that look for him, shall he appear the second time with- 
out sin," Heb. ix. 26 — 28. As there is no other natural death 
to suffer between death and judgment, so there is no other 
propitiatory sacrifice between his all-suflicient death on the 
cross and the last coming of our Redeemer. 

There is one consideration I shall add, to show the great 
difference between legal sacrifices and the death of Christ, as 
to its saving virtue. The law absolutely forbids the eating 
of blood, and the people's tasting of the sin-offerings, to sig- 
nify the imperfection of those .sacrifices: for since they were 
consumed in their consecration to God's justice, and nothing 
was left for the nourishment of the oflferers, it was a sign 
they could not appease God. The oflferers had communion 
with them when they brought them to the altar, and in a 



190 THE HARiMONY OF 

manner derived their guilt to them, but they had no virtue 
by them in coming from it. The sinner conveyed death to 
the sacrifice, but did not receive Hfc from it. But Christ, 
the Lamb of God, was not swallowed up in his offering to 
divine justice. It is his peculiar glory that he hath com- 
pletely made satisfaction. We may feed upon the flesh of 
this precious victim, and drink his blood. As he entered into 
communion of death with us, so we are partakers of life by 
him. 

(2.) The completeness of his satisfaction is grounded on 
the degrees of his sufferings. There was no defect in the 
payment he made. We owed a debt of blood to the law, and 
his life was offered up as a sacrifice ; otherwise the law had 
remained in its full vigour, and justice had been unsatisfied. 
That a divine person hath suffered our punishment, is pro- 
perly the reason of our redemption ; as it is not the quality 
of the surety that releases the debtor from prison, but the 
payment which he makes in his name. The blood of Christ 
shed, poured forth from his veins, and offered up to God, in 
that precise consideration, ratifies the new testament. Matt, 
xxvi. 28. 

The sum is — our Saviour by his death suffered the male- 
diction of the law, and his divine nature gave a full value to 
his sufferings, so that the satisfaction proceeding from them 
was not merely " ex pacto," <is brass money is current by 
composition, but "ex merito," as pure gold hath an intrinsic 
worth ; and God who was infinitely provoked, is infinitely 
pleased. 

. 2. The effects and evidences of his complete satisfaction 
are, 

(1.) Mis resurrection from the grave; for if we consider 
the Lord Christ in the quality of our Surety, he satisfied the 
law in his death ; and having made complete payment of 
our debt, he received acquittance in his resurrection. His 
death appeased God, his resurrection assures men. As he 
rose himself, so in one concurrent action God is said to raise 
him, Rom. vi. 4. He was released from the grave, as from 
prison, by public sentence ; which is an indubitable argu- 
ment of the validity and acceptance of the payment made 
by him in our name : for being under such bonds as the jus- 
tice and power of God, he could never have loosed the pains 
of death, if his sufferings had not been fully satisfactory, and 
received by him for our discharge. And it is observable, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 191 

that the raising of Christ is ascribed to God as reconciled; 
"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead 
the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the 
everlasting covenant," Heb. xiii. 20. The divine power was 
not put forth till God was pacified. Justice incensed, expo- 
sed him to death ; and justice appeased, freed him from the 
dead. And his resurrection is attributed to his blood, that 
being the full price of his and our liberty. In short ; when 
inflexible justice ceases to punish, there is the strongest proof 
it is satisfied. 

(2.) His ascent into heaven, and intercession for us, prove 
the completeness and all-sufficiency of his sacrifice. If he 
had been excluded from the divine presence, there had been 
just cause to suspect that anger had been still remaining in 
God's breast'; but his admission into heaven is an infallible 
testimony that God is reconciled. This our Saviour pro- 
duces as the argument by which the Holy Ghost will over- 
come the guilty fears of men, " He shall convince the world 
of righteousness, because I go to my Father," John xvi. 10. 
Christ in his suffering was numbered among transgressors ; 
he died as a guilty person, not only in respect of the calum- 
nies of men, but the curse of the law, and the wrath of God, 
which then appeared inexorable against sin ; but having over- 
come death, and broken through the weight of the law, and 
retired to his Father, he made apparent the innocency of his 
righteous person, and that a complete righteousness is acqui- 
red by his sufTerings, sufficient to justify all that shall truly 
accept of it. 

This will be more evident, by considering his entry into 
heaven as the true High-Priest, who carried the blood of the^ 
new covenant into the celestial sanctuary. 

For opening this, we are to consider there are two parts 
of the priestly office — to offer sacrifice — to make intercession 
for the people by virtue of the sacrifice. This was perform- 
ed by the high-priest in the feast of atonement, which was 
celebrated in the month Tisri, Lev. xvi. 14, 15. The obla- 
tion of the sacrifices was without, at the altar : the interces- 
sion was niade in the holy of holies, into which none might 
enter but the high-priest once a year. And first he must 
expiate his own sins and the sins of the people by sacrifices, 
before he could remove the veil, and enter into that sacred 
and venerable place, where no sinner had right to appear. 
Then he was to present the precious incense, and the blood 



192 THE HARMONY OP 

of the sacrifices, to render God favourable to them. Now 
these were shadows of what Christ was to perform. The 
holy of holies was the type of the third heaven, in its situa- 
tion, quality and furniture. It was the most secret part of 
the tabernacle, separated by a double veil, by that which was 
between it and the first sanctuary, and by another that dis- 
tinguished the first from the outward court. Thus the hea- 
ven of heavens is the most distant part of the universe, and 
separated from the lower world, by the starry heaven, and 
by the airy region which reaches down to the earth. Be- 
sides, the most holy part of the tabernacle was inaccessible 
to sinners ; as heaven is styled by the apostle the place of 
inaccessible light. And it was the tlirone of God where he 
reigned ; according to the language of the Psalmist, he dwelt 
"between the cherubims," Psalm Ixxx. 1. The figures of 
the cherubim represented the myriads of holy angels that 
adore the incomprehensible Deity, and are always ready to 
execute his commands. The tables of the law were a sym- 
bol of that infinite wisdom and holiness which ordained them : 
and the higli-priest's entering with the blood of the sacrifice, 
and carrying with iiim all the " tribes of Israel" upon his 
breast, signified that .Jesus Christ, the true High-Priest, after 
he had really expiated sin by his divine sacrifice in the lower 
world, sliould enter into tiie eternal sanctuary with his own 
blood, and introduce, with him, all his people. Of this there 
was a marvellous sign given ; for in the same moment that 
Christ expired, the veil of the temple that separated the ora- 
cle from the first part, was rent from the top to the bottom, 
to signify that the true High-Priest had authority and right 
to enter into heaven itself. And the special end of his as- 
cending is expressed by the apostle, " For Christ is not en- 
tered into the holy places made with hands, which are the 
figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, nov/ to appear in 
the presence of God for us," Ilcb. ix. 24. As the high-priest 
might not enter into that sacred and terrible place, nor could 
propitiate God without sprinkling the blood of the slain sa- 
crifice ; so our Redeemer first performed what was necessary 
for the expiation of sin, and then passed tiirough the visible 
heavens, and ascended before the throne of God to appear 
as our Advocate. He made an oblation of himself on the 
earth before he could make intercession for us in lieaven, 
which is the consummation of his priestly ofiice. The first 
was a proper sacrifice, the secoi.O is a commemoration of it j 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 193 

therefore he is said to appear before his Father by sacrifice, 
Heb. ix. 23—26. 

Besides what hath been discoursed of the order and de- 
pendance of these parts of his priestly office, which proves 
that he had accomplished the expiation of sin before he was 
admitted into heaven to intercede for us, there are two other 
considerations which manifest the completeness of his satis- 
faction.' — The manner of it. He doth not appear in the form 
of a suppliant upon his knees before the throne, offering up 
tears and strong cries as in the day of his flesh, but he sits 
at God's right hand making intercession for us. He solicits 
our salvation, not as a pure favour to him, but as the price of 
his sufferings, and as due to his infinite merit. His blood in 
the same manner pleads for our pardon, as the blood of right- 
eous Abel called for vengeance against the murderer ; not 
by an articulate voice, but by suing to justice for a full re- 
compense of it. In short ; his intercession is the continual 
representation of his most worthy passion. — The omnipotent 
efficacy of his intercession proves that God is fully satisfied. 
He frees us from the greatest evils, and obtains for us the 
greatest good, in quality of Mediator. " If any man sin, we 
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right- 
eous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for 
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world," 1 John 
ii. 1, 2. He disarms the anger of God, and hinders the ef- 
fects of his indignation against repenting sinners. Now the 
prevalency of his mediation is grounded on the perfection of 
his sacrifice. The blessedness of heaven is conferred on be- 
lievers according to his will ; " Father, I will that these also, 
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they 
may behold my glory," John xvii. 24. His request is ef- 
fectual, not only because he is God's Son and in highest fa- 
vour with him, but for his meritorious sufferings. 

It is for this reason that the office of Mediator is incom- 
municable to any creature. " There is one God, and one 
Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Avho 
gave himself a ransom for all," I Tim. ii. 5. The apostle 
makes a parallel between the unity of the Mediator and of 
the Deity, which is most sacred and inviolable. For the 
right of intercession, as it is an authoritative act, is founded 
in redemption ; they cannot be divided. And we may ob- 
serve, by the v/ay, how the popish doctrine that erects as 
many advocates, as angels, or saints, or whoever are canon- 

17 



194 THE HARMONY OF 

ized, is guilty of impiety and folly : — of impiety, in taking 
the sovereign crown from the head of Christ to adorn others 
with it, as if they had more credit with God or compassion 
for men ; — and of folly, in expecting benefits by their inter- 
cession, who have no satisfactory merit to purchase them. 
The numerous advocates that are conceived by superstitious 
persons in their fancies, are like the counterfeit suns, that are 
drawn in the clouds by reflection as in a glass, which al- 
though they shine with a considerable brightness, yet they 
are suns in appearance only, and derive no quickening influ- 
ences to the earth. The blessed spirits above, who enjoy a 
dependant liglit from the Sun of rigliteousness, yet convey 
no benefits to men by meritorious interceding for them. We 
obtain grace and glory only upon the requests of our Re- 
deemer. Briefly, the acts of his priesthood respect the attri- 
butes, which in a special manner are to be glorified in our 
salvation. By his death he made satisfaction to justice, by 
his intercession he solicits mercy for us ; and they both join 
together with the same readiness and warmth to dispense the 
benefits which he purchased for his people. 

(3.) The completeness of his satisfaction is fully proved 
by the glorious issue of his sufferings. 'J'liis will be most 
evident by considering the connexion and dcpcndance which 
his glory hath upon his humiliation: and that is twofold. — 
A dependance of order. His abasement and suff'erings were 
to precede his majesty and power; as in nature things pass 
from a lower state to perfection. This order was necessary: 
for being originally " in the form of God," it was impossi- 
ble he should be advanced, if he did not voluntarily descend 
from his glory, that so lie might be capable of exaltation. 
He was first made " a little lower than the angels," and af- 
ter raised above them. — A dependance of eflicacy. Glory 
is the reward of his suffering. This is expressly declared 
by the apostle; Christ "humbled himself, and i)ecame obe- 
dient unto death, even tlie death of the cross, wherefore 
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him % name 
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow ;" the mark of that homage that all crea- 
tures pay to him, Phil. ii. 8, 9. This exaltation is corres- 
pondent to the degrees of his abasement. His body was 
restored to life and immortality, and ascenrJed on a bright 
cloud. God's chariot being attended with angels, and the 
everlasting gates opened to receive the king of glory, he is 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 195 

set down '■ on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty 
in the heavens ;" Heb. viii. 1 ; this signifies that divine dig- 
nity to which he is advanced, next to his Father ; for God 
being an infinite spirit, hath neither right nor left hand in 
strict sense. Our Redeemer's honour is the same, and his 
empire of the same extent with his Father's. Thus the 
apostle interprets the words of the Psalmist, Psalm ex. 1 : 
that the Messiah should sit at the right hand of God, till he 
made his enemies his footstool, by reigning ; " for he must 
reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet," 1 Cor. 
XV. 25. And St. Peter tells us, " that the Father hath made 
him Lord and Christ :" that is, by a sovereign trust hath 
committed to him the government of the church and the 
world 5 not divesting himself of his essential dominion, but 
exercising it by Christ. The height of this dignity is em- 
phatically set forth by the apostle, Eph. i. 21 ; the Father 
hath seated him " at his own right hand in the heavenly 
places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and 
dominion," (which thles signify the several degrees of glo- 
ry among the angels,) " and every name that is named not 
only in tliis world, but also, in that which is to come :" 
that is, hath given him a transcendent and incommunicable 
glory, the use of names being to signify the quality of per- 
sons. In short ; he is made the head of the church and 
judge of the -world : angels and men shall stand before the 
tribunal, and receive their eternal decision from him. 

Now in the economy of our Mediator, his humiliation 
was the cause of his exaltation upon a double account ; — 
as the death of Christ was an expression of such humility, 
such admirable obedience to God, such divine love to men, 
that it was perfectly pleasing to his Father, and his power 
being equal to his love, he infinitely rewarded it 5 — the 
death of Christ was for satisfaction to justice, and when he 
had done that work he was to enter into rest. It behoved 
Christ to suffer, and "to enter into his glory," Luke xxiv. 
26. It is true, divine honour was due to him upon another 
title, as the Son of God ; but the receiving of it ^vas defer- 
red by dispensation for a time. First he must redeem us, 
and then reign. The scripture is very clear in referring his 
actual possession of glory, as the just consequent to his 
complete expiation of sin ; " When he had by himself 
purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Ma- 
jesty fin high," Heb. i. 3. " After he had offered one sacri- 



196 THE HARMONY OF 

fice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God," 
Heb. X. 12. 

And not only the will of the Father, but the nature of 
the thing itself required this way of proceeding : for Jesus 
Christ by voluntary susception, undertaking to satisfy the 
law for us, as he was obliged to suffer what was necessary, 
in order to our redemption, so it w^as reasonable, after jus- 
tice was satisfied, that the human nature should be freed 
from its infirmities, and the glory of his divine be so con- 
spicuous, that every tongue should confess that Jesus, who 
was despised on earth, is supreme Lord. The apostle sums 
up all together, in that triumpliant challenge, Rom. viii. 33, 
34 ; " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? 
It is God that justifieth : who is he that condemneth ? It is 
Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again ; who is 
even at the right hand of God, who also maketh interces- 
sion for us." 

(4.) The excellent benefits which God reconciled, be- 
stows upon us, arc the effects and evidences of the complete- 
ness of Christ's satisfaction ; and th("so are pardon of sin, 
grace, and glory. The apostle tells us, that " the law made 
nothing perfect :" all its sacrifices and ceremonies could not 
expiate the guilt, nor cleanse the stain of sin, nor open hea- 
ven for us ; which thr-^e are requisite to our perfection. — 
But "Christ, by one offering, hath perfected forever, them 
that are sanctified," Heb. x. 14. By him we obtain full 
justification, renovation and communion with God : there- 
fore, his sacrifice, the meritorious cause of procuring them, 
must be perfect. 

First; our justification is the effect of his death, for the 
obligation of the law is made void by it. God forgives our 
trespasses, " blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 
that was against us ; and took it out of the way, nailing it 
to his cross," Col. ii. 14. The terms arc used, that are pro- 
per to the cancelling of a civil bond. The killing letter of 
the law IS abolished by the blood of the cross ; the nails and 
the spear have rent it in pieces, to signify that its con- 
demning power is taken away. 

Now the infinite virtue of his death in taking away the 
guilt of sin will more fully appear, if we consider, that it 
hath procured pardon for sins committed in all ages of the 
world. Without the intervention of a sacrifice, God would 
not pardon, and the most costly that were offered up by 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 



197 



sinners, were of no value to make compensation to justice ; 
but the blood of Christ was the only propitiation for sins 
committed before his coming. The apostle tells us, he was 
not obliged to " offer himself often, as the high-priest en- 
tered into the holy place every year with the blood of 
others, but now once in the end of the world hath he appear- 
ed to put away sin by the sacjifice of himself," Heb. ix. 
25, 26. The direct sense of the words is, that the virtue 
of his sacrifice extended itself to all times ; for otherwise 
in regard men have ahvays needed propitiation, he must 
have suffered often since the creation of the world. And if 
it be asked, how his death had a saving influence before he 
actually suffered, the answer is clear — we must consider the 
death of Christ, not as a natural, but moral cause ; it is not 
as a medicine that heals, but as a ransom that frees a cap- 
tive. Natural causes operate nothing before their real ex- 
istence; but it is not necessary that moral causes should 
have an actual being ; it is sufficient that they shall be, and 
that the person wjih whom they are effectual, accept the 
promise ; as a captive is released upon assurance given that 
he will send his ransom, though it is not actually deposited. 
Thus the death of Christ was available to purchase pardon 
for believers before his coming ; for he iirterposed as their 
Surety, and God, to whom all things are present, knew the 
accomplishment of it in the appointed time. He is there- 
fore called the " Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world," not only in respect of God's decree, but his effica- 
cy. The salvation we derive from him, was ever in him. 
He appeared under the empire of Augustus, and died under 
Tiberius, but he was a Redeemer in all ages, otherwise the 
comparison were not just, that as by Adam all die, so by 
Christ all are made alive, 1 Cor. xv. 12. 

It is true, under the Old Testament they had not a clear 
knowledge of him, yet they enjoyed the benefit of his un- 
valued sufferings ; for the medium by which the benefits our 
Redeemer purchased are conveyed to men, is not the exact 
knowledge of what he did and suffered, but sincere faith in 
the promise of God. Now the divine revelation being the 
rule and measure of our faith, such a degree v/as sufficient 
to salvation, as answered the general discovery of grace. 
Believers depended upon God's goodness to pardon them in 
such a way as was honourable to his justice. They had 
some general knowledge that the Messiah should come, and 
17* 



198 THE HARMONY OF 

bring salvation. Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Clirist; 
Moses valued the afflictions of Christ, more than the trea- 
sures of Egypt ; and believers in general are described to be 
" waiters for the consolation of Israel." In short, the Jewish 
and Christian church are essentially one ; they differ no more 
than the morning and evening star, M^hich is the same, but is 
diversely called from its appearance before the sun-rising or 
after its setting : so our faith respects a Saviour that is past, 
theirs respected him as to come. 

Besides, the saving virtue of his death as it reaches to all 
former, so to all succeeding ages. " He is the same, yester- 
day, to-day, and for ever," not only in respect of his person, 
but his office. The virtue of the legal sacrifices expired with 
the offering ; upon a new sin they were repeated. Their 
imperfection is argued from their repetition. But the pre- 
cious oblation of Christ hath an everlasting efficacy to obtain 
full pardon for believers. His blood is as powerful to propi- 
tiate God, as if it were this day shed upon the cross. He is 
able to save to perpetuity all that shall address to God by 
him ; since he ever lives to make intercession. The pardon 
that he once purchased, shall ever be applied to contrite be- 
lievers. The covenant that was sealed with his blood is 
eternal, and the mercies contained in it. 

The perfection of his sacrifice is evident by its expiating 
universally the guilt of all transgressions. It is true, sins in 
their own nature are different ; some have a crimson guilt 
attending them, and accordingly conscience should be affect- 
ed ; but the grace of the gospel makes no difference. The 
apostle tells us, that " the blood of Christ cleanseth from all 
sin ;" whatever the kinds, degrees, and circumstances are. 
As the deluge overflowed the highest mountains, as well as 
the least hills, so pardoning mercy covers sins of the first 
magnitude, as well as the smallest. Under the law, one sa- 
crifice could expiate but one offence, though but against a 
carnal commandment ; but this one washes away the guilt of 
all sins against the moral law. And in that dispensation no 
sacrifices were instituted for idolatry, adultery, murder, and 
other crimes, which were certainly punished with death ; but 
under the gospel, sins, of what quality soever, if repented of, 
are pardoned. The apostle having reckoned up idolaters, 
adulterers, and many other notorious sinners that shall not 
inherit the kingdom of heaven, tells the Corinthians, that 
such were some of them ; but they were sanctified, and jus- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 199 

tified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Cor. vi. 11. 
It is true, those who sin against the Holy Ghost, are ex- 
cepted from pardon ; but the reason is, because the death of 
Christ was not appointed for the expiation of it ; and there 
being no sacrifice, there is no satisfaction, and consequently 
no pardon, Heb. x. 26. The wisdom and justice of God re- 
quires this severity against them ; for if " he that despised 
Moses' law died without mercy, of how much sorer punish- 
ment shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under 
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the cove- 
nant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath 
done despite to the Spirit of grace ?" Heb. x. 28, 29 ; that 
is, they renounce their Redeemer as if he were not the Son 
of God, and virtually consent to the cruel sentence passed 
against him, as if he had blasphemed when he declared him- 
self to be so ; and thereby out-sin his sufferings. How rea- 
sonable is it they should be for ever deprived of the benefits, 
who obstinately reject the means that purchased them ! 

Secondly ; the death of Christ hath procured grace for 
men. We made a forfeiture of our original holiness, and 
were righteously deprived of it : and till divine justice was 
appeased, all influences of grace were suspended. Now the 
death of Christ opened heaven, and brought down the Spirit, 
who is the principle of renovation in us. The world lay in 
wickedness, as a carcass in the grave, insensible of its horror 
and corruption, 1 John v. 19. The holy Spirit hath inspired 
it with a new life, and by a marvellous change hath caused 
purity to succeed pollution. 

Thirdly ; the receiving of believers into heaven is a con- 
vincing proof of the all-sufliciency of his sacrifice ; for jus- 
tice will not permit that glory and immortality, which are 
the privileges of the righteous, should be given to guilty and 
defiled creatures. Therefore our Saviour's first and greatest 
work was to remove the bar that excluded us from the place 
of felicity. It is more difficult to justify a sinner, than to 
glorify a saint. The goodness of God inclines him to be- 
stow happiness on those who are not obnoxious to the law ; 
but his justice was to be atoned by sufferings. Now what 
stronger argument can there be, that God is infinitely pleased 
with what his Son hath done and suffered for his people, than 
the taking of them into his presence to see his glory ? The 
apostle sets down this order in the work of our redemption, 
that Christ "being made perfect" by sufferings; that is, 



200 THE HARMONY OF THE 

having consummated that part of his office which respected 
the expiation of sin ; " he became the author of eternal sal- 
vation unto all them that obey him," Heb. v. 9. 

To sum up all, it is observable, that the scripture attributes 
to the death of Christ, not only satisfaction, whereby we are 
redeemed from punishment ; but such a redundant merit, as 
purchases for us adoption, and all the glorious prerogatives 
of the children of God. Upon these accounts his blood hath 
a double efficacy ; as the blood of the covenant, it procured 
our peace, Heb. xiii. 20 ; as the blood of the testament, Luke 
xxii. 20, it conveys to us a title to heaven itself; according 
to that of St. Paul, " We have boldness to enter into the 
holiest by his blood," Heb. x. 19. 

I will remove two slender prejudices against the doctrine. 

1. Tiuit repentance and faith are required in order to the 
partaking of the precious benefits which Christ hath pur- 
chased, doth not lessen the merit of his death, and the com- 
pleteness of the satisfaction made to God by it. For we 
must consider, there is a great difference between the pay- 
ment of that which the law requires by the debtor, and the 
payment of that which was not in the original obligation by 
anotlier in his stead. Upon the payment of the first, actual 
freedom immediately follows. If a debtor pays the sum he 
owes, or a criminal endures the punishment of the law, they 
are actually discharged, and never liable to be sued or suflfer 
again ; but when the sum that the law requires is not paid, 
but somctlung else, by anotlier, the release of the guilty is 
suspended upon those conditions, which he that freely makes 
satisfaction, and the governor who by favour accepts it, arc 
pleased to appoint. Now it is thui^ in the transaction of our 
redemption. Christ laid doMTi his life for us, and this was 
not the very tiling in strict sense that the law required ; for, 
according to the threatening, the soul that sins shall die 5 the 
delinquent in his own person was to suffer the penalty ; and 
there was no necessity, natural or moral, that obliged God to 
admit of his sati'sfaction for our discharge, but in rigour of 
justice he might refuse it. If the law had expressed that the 
sinner or his surety should suflTer, there had been no need of 
a " better covenant." But in this the grace of God so illus- 
triously appears, that by his appointment the punishment of 
the guilty was transferred to the innocent, who voluntarily 
undertook for them. In this respect God truly pardons sin, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 201 

though he received entire satisfaction, for he might in right 
have refused it. 

Now these things being supposed, although the blood of 
Christ was a price so precious that it can be valued by God 
only that received it, and might worthily have redeemed a 
thousand worlds, yet the effects of it are to be dispensed ac- 
cording to the eternal covenant between the Father and the 
Son ; and the tenor of it is revealed in the gospel, viz. that 
repentance and faith are the conditions, upon which the ob- 
taining of pardon of sin, and all the blessings which are the 
consequence of it, depend 5 thus Christ, who makes satisfac- 
tion, and God that accepts it, declare. The commission of 
the apostles from his own mouth, was, to preach " repentance 
and remission of sins in his name to all nations," Luke xxiv. 
47 ; and he was exalted by God " to be a Prince and Saviour, 
for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins,"' 
Acts V. 31. 

The establishing of this order is not a mere positive com- 
mand, wherein the will of the Lawgiver is the sole ground 
of our duty; but there is a special congruity and leason in 
the nature of the thing itself; for Christ hath satisfied justice, 
that God may exercise pardoning mercy in such a manner as 
is suitable to his other perfections. Now it is contrary to his 
wisdom to dispense the precious benefits of his Son's blood to 
impenitent unbelievers ; to give such rich pearls and so dearly 
bou';ht, to swine that will trample them under their feet ; to 
bestow salvation on those who despise the Saviour. It is 
contrary to his holiness to forgive those who will securely 
abuse his favour, as if his pardon were a privilege and licence 
to sin against him. Nay, final impenitency is unpardonable 
to mercy itself; for the objects of justiq^ and mercy cannot 
be the same. Now an impenitent siimer is necessarily under 
the avenging justice of God. It is no disparagement to his 
omnipotency that he cannot save such ; for although God 
can do whatsoever he will, ye he can will nothing but what 
is agreeable to his nature. Not that there is any law above 
God that obliges him to act, but he is a law to himself. And 
the more excellent his perfections are, the less he can con- 
tradict them. As it is no reflection upon his power that he 
cannot die, neither is it that he can do nothing unbecoming 
his perfections. On the contrary, it implies weakness to be 
liable to any such act. Thus supposing the creature holy, 
it is impossible but he should love it ; not that he owes any 



202 THE HARMONY OF 

thing to the creature, but in regard he is infinitely good : and 
if impenitent and obstinate in sin, he cannot but hate and 
punish it ; not that he is accountable for his actions, but be- 
cause he is infinitely just. And from hence it appears, that 
the requiring of repentance and faith in order to the actual 
partaking of the blessings our Redeemer purchased, doth not 
diminish the value of his satisfaction, they being not the causes 
of pardon, but necessary qualifications in the subject that 
receives it. 

2. It doth not lessen the completeness of his satisfaction, 
that believers are liable to afflictions and death ; for these are 
continued, according to the agreement between God and our 
Redeemer, for other ends than satisfaction to justice, which 
was fully accomplished by him. This will appear by seve- 
ral considerations. — Some afflictions have not the nature of 
a punishment, but are intended only for the exercise of tlieir 
graces ; " that the trial of their faith, patience, and hope, be- 
ing much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though 
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise," 1 Peter i. 7. 
Now these afflictions are the occasion of their joy, and in 
order to their glory. Of this kind are all the sufferings that 
Christians endure for the promotion of the gospel. Thus the 
apostles esteemed themselves dignified in suffering what was 
contumelious and reproachful for the name of Christ, Acts 
V. 41. And 8t. Paul interprets it as a special favour, that 
God called forth the Philippians to the combat: " To you it 
is given in the belialf of Christ to suffer," Phil. i. 29: not 
only the graces of faith and fortitude, but the affliction was 
given. So believers are declared happy, when they are 
" partakers of Christ's sufferings: for the spirit of glory 
resteth on them," 1 Peter iv. 14. Now it is evident that af- 
flictions of this nature are no punishments; for since it is es- 
sential to punishment to be inflicted for a fault, and every 
fault hath a turpitude in it, it necessarily follows, that punish- 
ment, which is the brand of a crime, must be always attended 
with infamy, and the sufferer under shame. But Christians 
are honourable b)'^ their sufferings for God, as they conform 
them to the " image of his Son," who was consecrated by 
sufferings. Afflictions are sent sometimes not with respect 
to a sin committed, but to prevent the commission of it : and 
this distinguish'r^s them from punishments ; for the law deters 
from evil, not by inflicting, but threatening the penalty. 
But in the divine discipline there is another reason ; God af- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 203 

flicts to restrain from sin : as St. Paul had " a thorn in the 
flesh" to prevent pride, 2 Cor. xii. 7. Those evils that are 
inflicted on believers for. sin, do not diminish the power and 
value of Christ's passion ; for we must distinguish between 
punishments which are merely castigatory for the good of 
the off'ender, and those which are purely vindictive for the 
just satisfaction of the law. Now believers are liable to the 
first, but are freed from the other ; for Christ " hath redeem- 
ed them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for 
them." 

The Popish doctrine of satisfaction to oifended justice by 
our suffering temporal evils, is attended with many pernicious 
consequences. — It robs the cross of Christ of one part of its 
glory ; as if something were left us to make up in the de- 
grees and virtue of his sufferings. — It reflects on God's jus- 
tice, as if he exacted two diff"erent satisfactions for sin ; the 
one from Christ, our Surety, the other from the sinner. — It 
disparages his mercy, in making him to punish whom he 
pardons, and to inflict a penalty after the sin is remitted. — It 
is dangerous to man, by feeding a false presumption in him; 
as if by the merit of his sufferings, he could expiate sin, and 
obtain part of that salvation which we entirely owe to the 
death of our Redeemer. 

The diff'erence between chastisements, and purely vindic- 
tive punishments, appears in three things : 

In the causes from whence they proceed. The severest 
sufferings of the godly are not the effects of the divine ven- 
geance. It is true, they are evidences of God's displeasure 
against them for sin, but not of hatred ; for being reconciled 
to them in Christ, he bears an unchangeable aff"ection to 
them, and love cannot hate, though it may be angry. The 
motive that excites God to correct them, is love : according 
to that testimony of the apostle, " Whom the Lord loveth he 
chasteneth," Ileb. xii. 6. As sometimes out of his severest 
displeasure he forbears to strike, and condemns obstinate sin- 
ners to prosperity here, so from the tenderest mercy he af- 
flicts his own. But purely vindictive judgments proceed 
from mere wrath. 

They diffler in their measures. The evils that believers 
suffer are always proportioned to their strength. They are 
not the sudden eruptions of anger, but deliberate dispensa- 
tions. David deprecates God's judgment as it is opposed to 
favour : " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord," 



204 THE HARMONY OF 

Psalm cxliii. 2 ; and Jeremiah desires God's judgment as it 
is opposed to fury : " O Lord, correct me, but with thy judg- 
ment, not in thine anger," Jer. x. 24: It is the gracious pro- 
mise of God to David, 2 Sam. vii. 14, with respect to Solo- 
mon : " If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the 
rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men ;" 
that is, chastise him moderately ; for in the style of the 
scripture, as things are magnified by the epithet " divine" or 
" of God," as " the cedars of God," that is, very tall ; and 
Nineveh is called the city of God, that is, very great : so, to 
signify things that are in a mediocrity, the scripture uses the 
epithet " human" or " of men." And according to the rule 
of opposition, the rod of God is an extraordinary affliction 
which destroys the sinner; it is such a punishment as a man 
can neither inflict nor endure : but the rod of men is a mode- 
rate correction, that doth not exceed the strength of the 
patient. But every purely vindictive punishment which the 
law pronounces, is in proportion to the nature of the crime, 
not the strength of the criminal. 

They are distinguislied by the intention and end of God 
in inflicting them. — In chastisements God primarily designs 
the profit of his people, that they may be " partakers of his 
holiness," Heb. xii. 10. When they are secure and carnal, 
he awakens conscience by the sharp voice of tlie rod, to re- 
flect upon sin, to make them observant for the future, to 
render their afiections more indifferent to the world, and 
stronger towards heaven. The apostle expresses the nature 
of chastisements, " When we are judged, we are chastened" 
or instructed " by the Lord," 1 Cor. xi. 32 : tliey are more 
lively lessons than those which are by the word alone, and 
make a deeper impression upon the heart. David acknow- 
ledges, " Before I was afflicted, I went astray : but now I 
have kept thy word," Psalm cxix. 67. Corrupt nature 
makes God's favours pernicious, but his grace makes our 
punishments profitable. Briefly, they are not satisfactions 
for what is passed, but admonitions for the time to come. 
But purely vindictive judgments are not inflicted for the re- 
formation of an off'ender, but to preserve the honour of the 
sovereign, and public order, and to make compensation for 
the breach of the law. If any advantage accrue to the of- 
fender, it is accidental, and beside the intention of the judge. 
The end of chastisements upon believers is to prevent their 
final destruction : " When we are judged, we are chastened 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 205 

of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world," 
1 Cor. xi. 32. And this sweetens and allays all their suf- 
ferings ; as the Psalmist declares, " Let the righteous smite 
me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it 
shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head," 
'Psalm cxli. 5. But the vindictive punishment of a male- 
factor is not to prevent his condemnation ; for death is 
sometimes the sentence. In this respect the temporal evils 
that befall the wicked and the godly, though materially the 
same, yet legally differ ; for to the wicked they are so many 
earnests of the complete payment they shall make to justice 
in another world, the beginning of eternal sorrows ; but to 
the godly they are in order to their salvation. They are as 
the Red Sea, through which the Israelites passed to the land 
of promise, but the Egyptians were drowned in it. Briefly, 
their sufferings differ as much in their issue, as the kingdoms 
of heaven and hell. 

That death remains to believers, doth not lessen the per- 
fection of Christ's satisfaction. It is true, considered abso- 
lutely, it is the revenge of the law for sin, and the greatest 
temporal evil; so that it may seem strange, that those who 
are redeemed by an all-sufhcient ransom, should pay this tri- 
bute to the king of terrors: but the nature of it is changed. 
It is a curse to the wicked inflicted for satisfaction to justice, 
but a privilege to believers : as God appointing the rainbow 
to be the sign of his covenant, that he would drown the world no 
more, ordained the same waters to be the token of his mer- 
cy, which were the instrument of his justice. " Blessed are 
the dead that die in the Lord," Rev. xiv. 13. And the 
Psalmist tells us, that "precious in the sight of the Lord is 
the death of his saints," Psalm xvi. 15. Christ hath taken 
away what is truly destructive in it. It is continued for their 
advantage. Corruption hath so depraved the sensitive appe- 
tite, that during our natural state we are not entirely freed 
from it : but death, that destroys the natural frame of the 
body, puts an end to sin. And in this respect there is a great 
difference between the death of Christ and of believers; the 
end of his was to remove the guilt of sin, of theirs to ex- 
tinguish the relics of it. It is a delivery from temporal evils, 
and an entrance into glory. Death and despair seize on the 
wicked at once, " but the righteous hath hope in his death." 
The grave shall give up his spoils at the last. It retains the 
body for a time, not to destroy, but purifv it. Our Saviour 
18 



206 THE HARMONY OF 

tells US, that " whosoever believeth on him shall not see death 
for he will raise him up at the last day." He that dies a 
man, shall revive an angel, clothed with light and immor- 
tality. 

I will conclude this argument with the words of St. Austin, 
Lib. 13. de Civ. Dei, c. 4; "Ablato criminis nexu, relicta est 
mors. Nunc vero majore et mirabiliore gratia Salvatoris in 
usum justitiae peccati poena est conversa ; tum enim dictum 
est homini ; 'Morieris si peccaveris;' nunc dictum est mar- 
tyri ; ' Morere ne pecces.' Et sic per ineffabilem Dei miseri- 
cordiam et ipsa poena vitiorum transit in arma virtutis, et fit 
justi meritum etiam supplicium peccatoris." Although the 
guilt of sin is removed, yet death remains; but by the ad- 
mirable grace of the Redeemer, the punishment of sin is 
made an advantage to holiness. The law threatened man 
with death if he sinned ; the gospel commands a martyr to 
die that he may not sin. And thus by the unspeakable mercy 
of God, the punishment of vice becomes the security of 
virtue ; and that which was revenge upon the sinner, gives 
to the righteous a title to a glorious reward. 



CHAPTER XV. 



PRACTICAL INFERENCES. 



I. From hence we may discover more clearly the evil of 
sin, which no sacrifice could expiate but the blood of the Son 
of God. It is true, the internal malignity of sin, abstracted 
from its dreadful effects, is most worthy of our hatred; for 
it is in its own nature direct enmity against God, and ob- 
scures the glory of all his attributes. It is the violation of 
his majesty, who is the universal Sovereign of heaven and 
earth; a contrariety to his holiness, which shines forth in his 
law ; a despising of his goodness, the attractive to obedience; 
the contempt of his omniscience, which sees every sin when 
it is committed : tlie slighting of his terrible justice and power, 
as if the sinner could secure himself from his indignation ; 
a denial of his trulli, as if the threatening were a vain terror 
to scare men from sin. And all this done voluntarily, to 
please an irregular, corrupt appetite, by a despicable creature, 
who absolutely depends upon God for his being and happi- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 207 

These considerations seriously pondered, are most proper 
to discover the extremity of its evil; but sensible demonstra- 
tions are most powerful to convince and affect us : and those 
are taken from the fearful punishments that are inflicted for 
sin. Now the torments of hell, which are the just and full 
recompense of sin, are not sensible till they are inevitable ; 
and temporal judgments cannot fully declare the infinite dis- 
pleasure of God against the wilful contempt of his authority. 
But in the sufferings of Christ it is expressed to the utmost. 
If justice itself had rent the heavens, and come down in the 
most visible terror to revenge the rebellions of men, it could 
never have made stronger impressions upon us than the death 
of Christ duly considered. The destruction of the world 
by water, the miraculous burning of Sodom and Gomorrah 
by showers of fire, and all the other most terrible judgments, 
do not afford such a sensible instruction of the evil of sin. 
If we regard the dignity of his person and the depth of his 
sufferings, he is an unparalleled example of God's indignation 
for the breach of his holy law; for he that was the Son 
of God and the Lord of Glory, was made a man of sorrows. 
He endured derision, scourgings, stripes, and at last a cruel 
and cursed death. The Holy of Holies M-as crucified between 
two thieves. By how much the life of Christ was more pre- 
cious than the lives of all men, so much in his death doth the 
wrath of God appear more fully against sin, than it would in 
the destruction of the whole world of sinners. And his 
spiritual sufferings infinitely exceeded all his corporeal. The 
impressions of wrath that were inflicted by God's immediate 
hand upon his soul, forced from him those strong cries, that 
moved all the powers of heaven and earth with compassion. 
If the curtain were drawn aside, and we could look into the 
chambers of death, where sinners lie down in sorrow for- 
ever, and hear the woful expressions and deep complaints of 
the damned, with what horror and distraction they speak of 
their torments, we could not have a fuller testimony of God's 
infinite displeasure against sin, than in the anguish and ago- 
nies of our Redeemer; for whatever his sufferings were in 
kind, yet in their degree and measure they were equally ter- 
rible with those that condemned sinners endure. Now, how 
is it possible that rational agents should freely, in the open 
light for perishing vanities, dare to commit sin ? Can they 
avoid or endure the wrath of an incensed God ? If God 
spared not his Son when he came in the similitude of sinful 



208 THE HARMONY OF 

flesh, how shall sinners who are deeply and universally de- 
filed, escape? Can they fortify themselves against the 
supreme Judge? Can they encounter with the fury of the 
Almighty, the apprehensions of which made the soul of 
Christ heavy unto death ? Have they patience to bear that 
for ever, which was to Christ, who had the strength of the 
Deity to support him, intolerable for a few hours ? If it were 
so with the green tree, what will become of the dry when 
exposed to the fiery trial ? If he that was holy and inno- 
cent suffered so dreadfully, what must they expect, who add 
impenitency to their guilt, and live in the bold commission 
of sin, without reflection and remorse ? What prodigious 
madness is it to drink iniquity like water, as a harmless thing, 
when it is a poison so deadly that the least drop of it brings 
certain ruin ? What desperate folly, to have slight appre- 
hensions of that which is attended with the first and second 
death ? Nothing but unreasonable infidelity and inconsidcration 
can make men venturous to provoke the "living God," who 
is infinitely sensible of their sins, and who both can and will 
most terribly punish them for ever. 

II. The strictness of divine justice appears, that required 
satisfaction equivalent to the desert of sin. 

The natural notion of the Deity, as the governor of the 
world, instructed the heathens, that the transgression of his 
laws was worthy of death, Rom. i. 32. This proves that the 
obligation to punishment doth not arise from the mere will 
of God, which is only discovered by revelation ; but is found- 
ed in the nature of things, and by its own light is manifested 
to reasonable creatures. From hence they inferred, that it 
was not becoming the divine nature, as qualified with the 
relation of supreme Ruler, to pardon sin without satisfac- 
tion. This appears by the sacrifices and ceremonies, the re- 
ligions and expiations which were performed by the most ig- 
norant nations. And although they infinitely abused them- 
selves in the conceit they had of their pretended eflicacy and 
virtue, yet the universal consent of mankind in the belief that 
satisfaction was necessary, declares it to be true. This, as 
other natural doctrines, is more fully revealed by scripture. 
Under the law " without shedding of blood there was no re- 
mission :" not that common blood could make satisfaction for 
sin, but God commanded there should be a visible mark of 
its necessity in the worship ofiTered to him, and a prefiguration 
that it should be accomplished by a sacrifice eternally cflica- 
cious. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 209 

And the economy of our salvation clearly proves, that to 
preserve the honour of God's government, it was most fit sin 
should be punished, that sinners might be pardoned ; for no- 
thing was more repugnant to the will of God absolutely con- 
sidered, than the death of his beloved Son ; and the natural 
will of Christ was averse from it. . What then moved that 
infinite wisdom, which wills nothing but what is perfectly 
reasonable, to ordain that event? Why should it take so 
great a circuit, if the way was so short, that by pure favour, 
without satisfaction, sin might have been pardoned? Our Sa- 
viour declares the necessity of his suffering death, supposing 
the merciful will of his Father to save us, when he saith, that 
"as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish." It is true, since God had foretold 
and prefigured his death by the oracles and actions under the 
law, it necessarily came to pass ; but to consider things ex- 
actly, the unchangeable truth of types and prophecies is not 
the primitive, and main reason of the necessity of things, but 
only a sign of the certainty of the event. In strictness, things 
do not arrive because of their prediction, but are foretold be- 
cause they shall arrive, ft is apparent there was a divine de- 
cree before the prophecies ; and that in the light of God's 
infinite knowledge things are, before they were foretold. So 
it is not said, a man must be of a ruddy complexion, because 
his picture is so ; but on the contrary because he is ruddy, his 
picture must be so. That Christ by dying on the cross 
should redeem man, was the reason that the serpent of brass 
was erected on a pole to heal the Israelites, and not on the 
contrary. Briefly, the apostle supposes this necessity of sa- 
tisfaction is an evident principle, when he proves wilful apos- 
tates to be incapable of salvation, " because there remaineth 
no more sacrifice for sin ;" for the consequence were of no 
force, if sin might be pardoned without sacrifice, that is, 
without satisfaction. 

III. This account of Christ's death takes oflT the scandal of 
the cross, and changes the offence into admiration. 

It was foretold af Christ, " that he should be a stone of 
stumbling, and a rock of offence j" not a jusX cause, but an 
occasion of offence to thecorrupt hearts of men; and princi- 
pally for his sufferings. The Jews were pleased with the 
titles of honour given to the Messiah, that he should be a 
king powerful and glorious; but that poverty, disgrace, and 

18* 



210 THE HARMONY OF 

the suffering of death should be his character, they could not 
endure : therefore they endeavoured to pervert the sense of 
the prophets. His disciples who attended him in his mean 
state, expected those sad appearances would terminate in visi- 
ble glory and greatness ; but when they saw him arrested by 
his enemies, condemned and crucified, this was so opposite 
to their expectation, that they fainted under the disappoint- 
ment ; and when Christ was preached to the Gentile world, 
they rejected him with scorn. His death seemed so contra- 
ry to the dignity of his person and design of his office, that 
they could not relish the doctrine of the gospel. They judged 
it absurd to expect life from one that was subjected to death, 
and blessedness from him that was made a curse. To those 
who look upon the death of Christ with the eyes of carnal 
wisdom and according to the laws of corrupt reason, it ap- 
pears folly and weakness, and most unworthy of God ; but 
if we consider it in its principles and ends, all these prejudices 
vanish, and we clearly discover it to be tlie most noble and 
eminent effect of the wisdom, power, goodness, and justice 
of God. Accordingly the apostle tells the Jews, "Him being 
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
slain," Acts ii. 23. The instruments were deeply guilty in 
shedding that immaculate blood, yet we must not terminate 
our tlioughts on them, but ascend to the supreme Disposer, 
by whose wise and holy decree that event came to pass. To 
the eye of sense it was a spectacle of horror, that a perfect 
innocent sliould be cruelly tormented ; but to the eye of faith, 
under that sad and ignominious appearance, there was a di- 
vine mystery, able to raise our wonder and ravish our affec- 
tions ; for he that was nailed to the cross, was really the Son 
of God and the Saviour of men ; his death with all the penal 
circumstances of dishonour and pain, is the only expiation of 
sin, and satisfaction to justice. He, by offering up his blood, 
appeased the wrath of God, quenched the flaming sword that 
made paradise inaccessible to us ; he took away sin, the true 
dishonour of our natures, and purchased for us the graces of 
the Spirit, the richest ornaments of the reasonable creature. 
The doctrine of the cross is the only foundation of the gos- 
pel, that unites all its parts and supports the whole building. 
It is the cause of our righteousness and peace, of our redemp- 
tion and reconciliation. How blessed an exchange have the 
merits of his sufferings made with those of our sins! Life 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 211 

instead of death, glory for shame, and happiness for misery. 
For this reason the apostle with vehemence declares that to be 
the sole ground of his boasting and triumph, which others es- 
teemed a cause of blushing ; " God forbid that I should glory, 
save in the cross of Jesus Christ," Gal. vi. 14. He rejects with 
extreme detestation the mention of any other thing, as the 
cause of his happiness and matter of his glory. The cross 
was a tree of death to Christ, and of life to us. The supreme 
wisdom is justified of its cliildren. 

IV. The satisfaction of divine justice by the sufferings of 
Christ, affords the strongest assurance to man, who is a guilty 
and suspicious creature, that God is most ready to pardon sin. 

There is in the natural conscience, when opened by a 
piercing conviction of sin, such a quick sense of guilt and 
God's justice, that it can never have an entire confidence in 
his mercy till justice be atoned. From hence the convinced 
sinner is restlessly inquisitive how to find out the way of re- 
conciliation with a righteous God. Thus he is represented 
inquiring by the prophet, " Wherewith shall I come before 
the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? Shall I 
come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year 
old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or 
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first 
born for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin 
of my soul ?" Mic. vi. 6, 7. The scripture tells us, that some 
consumed their children to render their idols favourable to 
them. But all these means were ineffectual ; their most 
costly sacrifices were only food for the fire. Nay, instead of 
expiating their old, they committed new sins ; and were so 
far from appeasing, that they inflamed the wrath of God by 
their cruel oblations. But in the gospel there is the most 
rational and easy way propounded for the satisfaction of 
God and the justification of man. " The righteousness of 
faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart, Wlio shall 
ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from 
above:) or who shall descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring 
up Christ again from the dead :) but if thou shalt confess 
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 
saved," Rom. x. 6, 7, 9. The apostle sets forth the anxiety 
of an awakened sinner ; he is at a loss to find out a way to 
escape judgment ; for things that are on the surface of the 
earth, or floating on the waters, are within our view, and may 
be obtained ; but those which are above our understanding 



212 THE HARMONY OF 

to discover, or power to obtain, are proverbially said to be in 
the heavens above or in the deeps. And it is applied here 
to the different ways of justification, by the law and by the 
gospel. The law propounds life upon an impossible condi- 
tion, but the gospel clearly reveals- to us, that Christ hath 
performed what is necessary for our justification, and that 
by a lively and practical faith we shall have an interest in it. 
The Lord Jesus being ascended, hath given us a convincing 
proof that the propitiation for our sins is perfect ; for other- 
wise he had not been received into God's sanctuary. There- 
fore to be under perplexities how we may be justified, is to 
deny the value of his righteousness and the truth of his as- 
cension. And "say not, -Who shall descend into the deep," 
to bear the torments of hell and expiate sin? This is to deny 
the virtue of his death, whereby he appeased God, and re- 
deemed us from the wrath to come. In the law the con- 
demning righteousness of God is made visible ; in the gospel, 
his justifying righteousness is revealed, " from faith to faith." 
And this is an infallible proof of its divine descent ; for whereas 
all other religions either stupify conscience and harden it in 
carnal security, or terrify it by continual alarms of vengeance, 
the gospel alone hath discovered how God may show mercy 
to repenting sinners without injury to his justice. The hea- 
thens robbed one attribute to enrich another. Either they 
conceived God to be indulgent to their sins and easy to par- 
don, to the prejudice- of hi?! justice ; or cruel and revengeful, 
to the dishonour of his goodness : but Christians are instruct- 
ed how these are wonderfully reconciled and magnified in 
our redemption. From hence there is a divine calm in the 
conscience, and that "peace which passeth understanding." 
The soul is not only freed from the fear of God's anger, but 
hath a lively hope of his favour and love. This is expressed 
by the apostle, when he reckons among the privileges of be- 
lievers, that they "are come to God the Judge of all, and to 
Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
sprinkling that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel," 
Heb. xii. 23. The apprehension of God as the Judge of the 
world, strikes the guilty with fear and terror; but as he is 
sweetened by the Mediator, we may approach to him with 
confidence ; for what sins are there which so entire a satis- 
faction doth no expiate ? What torments can they deserve, 
which his wounds and stripes have not removed ? God is 
just, as well as merciful, in justifying those who believe in 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 213 

Jesus. It is not the quality of sins, but of sinners, that ex- 
cepts them from pardon. Christ is the " golden altar in 
heaven" for penitent believers to fly to, from whence God 
will never pluck any one to destroy him. 

V. From hence we may learn how absolute a necessity 
there is for our coming to Christ for justification. 

There are but two ways of appearing before the righteous 
and supreme Judge, — in innocence and sinless obedience, or 
by the righteousness of Christ. The one is by the law, the 
other by grace. And these two can never be compounded ; 
for he that pleads innocence, in that disclaims favour ; and 
he that sues for favour, acknowledges guilt. 

1. Now the first cannot be performed by us ; for entire 
obedience to the law supposes the integrity of our natures, 
there being a moral impossibility that the faculties once cor- 
rupted should act regularly ; but man is stained with original 
sin from his conception. And the form of the law runs uni- 
versally ; " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things which are written in the book of the law to do them," 
Gal. iii. 10. In these scales, one evil work preponderates a 
thousand good. If a man were guilty but of one single er- 
ror, his entire obedience afterwards could not save him ; for 
that being always due to the law, the payment of it cannot 
discount for the former debt. So that we cannot in any de- 
gree be justified by the law ; for there is no middle between 
transgressing and not transgressing it. He that breaks one 
article in a covenant, cuts off his claim to any benefit by it. 

Briefly, the law justifies only the perfect, and condemns 
without distinction all that are guihy ; so that to pretend 
justification by the works of it, is as unreasonable, as for a 
man to produce in court tlie bond which obliges him to his 
creditor, in testimony that he owes him nothing. Whoever 
presumes to appear before God's judgment-seat in his own 
righteousness shall be covered with confusion. 

2. By the righteousness of Christ. This alone absolves 
from the guilt of sin, saves from hell, and can endure the 
trial of God's tribunal. This the apostle prized as his inva- 
luable treasure, in comparison of which all other things are 
but dross and dung ; " That I may win Christ and be found 
in him, not having mine ovvm righteousness, which is of the 
law, but that vvhich is through the faith of Christ, the right- 
eousness which is of God by faith," Phil. iii. 9. That which 
he ordained and rewarded in the person of our Redeemer, 



214 ^ THE HARMONY OT 

he cannot but accept. Now this righteousness is meritori- 
ously imputed only to believers ; for depending solely upon 
the will of God as to its being and effects, it cannot possibly 
be reckoned to any for their benefit and advantage, but in 
that way which he hath appointed. The Lord Christ, who 
made satisfaction, tells us, that the benefit of it is communi- 
cated only through our believing ; " God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
on him, should not perish," John iii. 16. As all sins are 
mortal in respect of their guilt, but death is not actually in- 
flicted for them upon account of the grace of the new cove- 
nant ; so all sins are venial in respect of the satisfaction 
made by Christ, but they are not actually pardoned, till the 
performing of the condition to which pardon is annexed. 
Faith transfers the guilt from the sinner to the sacrifice. 
And this is not an act restrained to the understanding, but 
principally respects the will, by which we accept or refuse 
salvation. The nature of it is best expressed by the scrip- 
ture phrase, " the receiving of Christ," which respects the 
terms upon which God offers him in the gospel, to be our 
Prince and Saviour. The state of favoui begins upon our 
consent to the new covenant. And how reasonable is the 
condition it requires ! How impossible is it to be otherwise ! 
God is reconcileable by the death of Christ, so that he may 
exercise mercy without injury to his justice and holiness: 
he is willing and desirous to be upon terms of amity with 
men, but cannot be actually reconciled till they accept of 
them; for reconcilement is between two. Though God upon, 
the account of Chirst is made placable to the human nature, 
which he is not to the angelical in its lapsed slate, and hath 
condescended so far as to offier conditions of peace to men, 
yet they are not reconciled at once. That Christ may be- 
come an effectual Mediator, there must be the consent of both 
parties. As God hath declared his by laying the punishment 
of our sins on Christ, so man gives his, by submitting to the 
law of faith. And the great end of preaching the gospel is, 
to overcome the obstinacy of men, and reconcile them to God 
and their happiness : " We are ambassadors for Christ ; we 
pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God ;" with 
this difference — Christ furnished the means, they only bring 
the message of reconciliaiion, 2 Cor. v, 20. 

Now men are with difficulty wrought on to comply with 
the conditions of pardon by Christ. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 215 

(1.) Upon the account of a legal temper that universally 
inclines them to seek for justification by their own works. 
This is most suitable to the law and light of nature ; for the 
tenor of the first covenant was, Do and live. So that the 
way of gospel justification, as it is supernatural in its disco- 
very, so in its contrariety to man's principles. Besides, as 
pride at first aspired to make man as God, i^o it tempts him 
to usurp the honour of Christ, to be his own Saviour. He is 
unwilling to stoop, that he may drink of the waters of life. 
Till the heart by the weight of its guilt is broken in pieces, 
and loses its former fashion and figure, it will not humbly 
comply with the offer of salvation for the merits of another. 
And it is very remarkable, that upon the first opening of the 
gospel, no evangelical doctrine was more disrelished by the 
Jews, than justification by imputed righteousness. The apos- 
tle gives this account of their opposition, that " being igno- 
rant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish 
their own righteousness, they submitted not themselves to 
the righteousness of God," Rom. x. 3. They were prepos- 
sessed with this principle, that life was to be obtained by 
their works, because the express condition of the law was 
so ; and mistaking the end of its institution by Moses, they 
set the law against the promises ; for since the fall, the law 
was given, not absolutely to be a covenant of life, but with 
a design to prepare men for the gospel, that upon the sight 
of their guilt and the curse, they might have recourse to the 
Redeemer, and by faith embrace that satisfaction he hath 
made for them. " Christ is the end of the law for righteous- 
ness to every one that believeth," Rom. x. 4. From the ex- 
ample of the Jews we may see how men are naturally affect- 
ed. And it is worthy of observation, that the reformation 
of religion took its rise by the same controversy with the 
papists, by which the gospel was first introduced into the 
world ; for, besides innumerable abuses crept into the church, 
the people were persuaded, that by purchasing indulgences 
they should be saved from the wrath of God. And when 
this darkness covered the face of the earth, the zeal of the 
first reformers broke forth ; who, to undeceive the world, 
clearly demonstrated from the scriptures, that justification is 
obtained alone by a lively and purifying faith in the blood 
of Christ — a strong proof that the same gospel which was 
first revealed by the apostles, was received by those excel- 



216 THE HARMONY OF 

lent men ; and the same church which was first built by the 
apostles, was raised out of its ruins by them. 

Now the gospel, to eradicate this disposition, \vhich is so 
natural and strong in fallen man, is in nothing more clear 
and express, than in declaring, that " by the deeds of the 
law there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight." The 
apostle asserts without distinction, that by the works of the 
law justification cannot be obtained, whether they proceed 
from the power of nature, or the grace of the Spirit ; for 
he argues against the merit of works to justification, not 
against the principle from wlience they proceed, Rom. iii. — 
And where he most aflfectionately declares his esteem of 
Christ and his righteousness, as the sole meritorious cause 
of his justification, he expressly rejects " his own righteous- 
ness which is of the law," Phil. iii. 9. By his own right- 
eousness he comprehends all the works of tlie renewed, as 
well as natural state ; for they are performed by man, and 
are acts of obedience to the law, whicli commands perfect 
love to God. These are slight, Avithering leaves, that cannot 
hide our nakedness, and conceal our shame, when we appear 
before God in judgment. Not Init that good works are most 
pleasing to him, but not for this end, to expiate sin. We 
must distinguisli between their substance, and the quality 
that error giveth them. The opinion of merit changes their 
nature, and turns gold into dross. And if our real riglit- 
eousness, how exact soever, cannot absolve us from the least 
guilt, much less can the performance of some external ac- 
tions, though specious in appearance, yet not commanded 
by God, and that have no moral value. All the disciplines 
and severities wliereby men think to make satisfaction to 
the law, are like a crown of straw, that dishonours the 
head instead of adorning it. But that rigliteousness which 
was acquired by the obedience and meritorious sufferings 
of Christ, and is embraced by faith, is all-suflicient for our 
justification. This is as pure as innocence, to all the efl'ects 
of pardon and reconciliation ; this alone secures us from 
the charge of the law and tiie challenge of justice. Being 
clothed with this, we may enter into heaven, and converse 
with the pure society of angels, without blushing. The 
saints who now reign in glory, were not men who lived 
in the perfection of holiness here below ; but repenting, 
believing sinners, who are washed white in the blood of 
the Lamb. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 217 

(2.) The most universal hinderance of men's complying 
with the conditions of pardon by Christ, is, the predomi- 
nant love of some lust. Although men would entertain 
him as a Saviour to redeem them from hell, yet they reject 
him as- their Lord. Those in the parable, who said, " We 
will not have this man to reign over us," expressed the in- 
ward sense and silent thoughts of all carnal men. Many 
would depend on his sacrifice, yet will not submit to his 
sceptre ; they would have Christ to pacify their consciences, 
and the world to please their affections. Thus they divide 
between the bfRces of Christ, his priestly and his regal. — 
They would have Christ to die for them, but not to live in 
them. They divide the acts of the same office ; they lean 
on his cross to support them from falling into hell, but cru- 
cify not one lust on it. They are desirous he should recon- 
cile them to God by his sacrifice, but not to bless them, in 
turning them away from their iniquities. Acts iii. 26. And 
thus in effect they absolutely refuse him, and render his 
death unavailable ; for the receiving of Christ as Mediator 
in all his offices, is the condition indispensably requisite to 
partake of the benefits of his sufferings. The resigning up 
of ourselves to him as our Prince, is as necessary an act of 
justifying faith, as the apprehending of the crucified Sa- 
viour. So that in every real Christian, faith is the princi- 
ple of obedience and peace, and is as inseparable from holi- 
ness, as from salvation. 

To conclude this argument : from hence we may see, how 
desperate the state is of impenitent unbelievers. They are 
cut off from any claim to the benefits of Christ's death. — 
The law of faith, like that of the Medes and Persians, is un- 
alterable ; " He that believeth not the Son, shall not see 
life," Christ died not to expiate final infidelity. This is the 
moral sin, that actually damns. It charges all their guilt 
upon sinners ; it renders the sufferings of Christ fruitless 
and ineffectual to them ; for it is not the preparation of a so- 
vereign remedy that cures the disease, but the applying of 
it. As our sins were imputed to him, upon the account of 
his union v/ith us in nature and his consent to be our Sure- 
ty ; so his righteousness is meritoriously imputed to us, upon 
our union with him by a lively faith. The man that looked 
on the rainbow, when he was ready to be drowned, what re- 
lief was it to him, that God had promised not to drown the 
world, when he must perish in the waters? So though 

19 



218 THE HARMONY OF 

Christ hath purchased pardon for repenting behevers, and a 
rainbow encompasses the throne of God, the sign of recon- 
ciliation, what advantage is this to the unbehever, who dies 
in his sins and drops into the lake of fire ? It is not from 
any defect of mercy in God or righteousness in Christ, but 
for the obstinate refusal of it, that men certainly perish. — 
This enhances their guilt and misery. All the rich expense 
of grace for their redemption shall be charged upon them. 
The blood of Christ shall not be imputed for their ransom, 
but for their deeper damnation : and instead of speaking 
better things than the blood of Abel, shall call louder for ven- 
geance against them, than that innocent blood which reach- 
ed heaven witli its voice against the murderer. Briefly, 
whom so precious a sacrifice doth not redeem, they are re- 
served entire victims, whole burnt-offerings to divine justice. 
Every impenitent unbeliever shall be "salted with fire," 
Mark ix. 49. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

Of all the perfections of tlie Dcily, none is more worthy 
of his nature, and so peculiarly admirable, as his infinite pu- 
rity. It is the most shining attribute that derives a lustre 
to all the rest; he is "glorious in holiness," Exod. xv. 11. 
Wisdom degenerates into craft, power into tyranny, mercy 
loses its nature, without holiness. He swears by it as his 
supreme excellency ; " Once have I sworn by my holiness, 
that I will not lie unto David," Psahn Ixxxix. 35. It is the 
most venerable attribute, in the praise whereof the harmony 
of heaven agrees. The angels and saints above are repre- 
sented, expressing their ecstacy and ravislimcnt at the beau- 
ty of holiness; " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the 
whole earth is full of his glory," Isa. vi. 3. This only he 
loves and values in the creature, being the impression of his 
most divine and amiable perfection. Inferior creatures have 
a resemblance of otlier divine attributes : the winds and 
thunder set forth God's power, the firmness of the rocks 
and the incorruptibility of the heavens are an obscure repre- 
sentation of his unchangeableness ; but holiness, that is the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 219 

most orient pearl in the crown of heaven, shines only in the 
reasonable creature. Upon this account man only is said to 
be formed after his image. And in men there are some ap- 
pearances of the Deity, that do not entitle to his special 
love. -In princes there is a shadow of his sovereignty, yet 
they may be the objects of his displeasure ; but a likeness 
to God in holiness attracts his eye and heart, and infinitely 
endears the creature to him. 

Now this attribute is in a special manner provoked by 
man's sin, and we are restored to the favour and friendship 
of God, in such a manner as may preserve the honour of it 
entire and inviolable. 

This will fully appear, by considering what our Redeemer 
suffered for the purchasing of our pardon ; and the terms 
upon which the precious benefits of his death are conveyed 
to us; and what he hath done to restore our lost holiness, 
that we may be qualified for the enjoyment of God. 

I. God's infinite purity is declared in his justice, in that 
he would not pardon sin, but upon such terms as might ful- 
ly demonstrate how odious it was to him. What inflamed 
the wrath of God against his beloved Son, whom by a voice 
from heaven he declared to be the object of his delight? 
What made him inexorable to his prayers and tears, when 
he solicited the divine power and love, the attributes that re- 
lieve the miserable, crying, "Abba, Father, all things are pos- 
sible to thee ; let this cup pass from me ?" What made him 
suspend all comforting influences, and by a dreadful deser- 
tion afflict him when he was environed with sorrows ? It is 
sin only that caused this fierce displeasure, not inherent, (for 
the Messiah "was cut off, but not for himself,") but imputed 
by his voluntary undertaking for us. " God so loved the 
world," and so hated sin, that he gave his Son to purchase 
our pardon by sufferings. When his compassions to man 
were at the highest, yet then his antipathy against sin was 
so strong, that no less a sacrifice could reconcile him to us. 
Thus God declared himself to be unappeasable to sin, though 
not to sinners. 

» II. The privileges that are purchased by our Redeemer's 
sufferings, are dispensed upon those terms which are honour- 
able to God's holiness. I will instance in three great benefits 
of the evangelical covenant — the pardon of sin, adoption into 
God's family, and the inheritance of glory ; all which are 



220 THE HARMONY OF 

conditional, and annexed to special qualifications in the per- 
sons who have a title to them. 

1. The death of Christ is beneficial to pardon and life, to 
those only who repent and believe. The holy God will by 
no means spare the guilty, that is, declare the guilty inno- 
cent, or forgive an incapable subject. All the promises of 
grace and mercy are with respect to repentance from dead 
works, and to a lively faith. The Son of God is made a Prince 
and a Saviour, "to give repentance and remission of sins." 
And the apostle tells us, that " being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." The 
first includes a cordial grief for sins passed, and sincere ef- 
fectual resolutions to forsake them ; and hath a necessary 
conjunction with pardon, as by virtue of the divine command, 
so from a condccency and fitness with respect to God, the 
giver of pardon, and to the quality of the blessing itself. 
The other qualification is faith, to which justification is in a 
special manner attributed ; not in respect of efficiency or 
merit, for the mercy of God upon the account of Christ's 
satisfaction is the sole cause of our pardon; but as a moral 
instrument, that is the condition upon which God absolves 
man from his guilt. And this grace of faith, as it respects 
entire Christ in all his offices, so it contains the seed and first 
life of evangelical obedience. It crucifies our lusts, over- 
comes the world, works by love, as well as justifies the per- 
son by relying on the merits of Christ for salvation. 

2. Adoption into God's family, the purchase of Christ's 
meritorious sufferings, who redeemed us from the servitude 
of sin and death, is conferred upon us in regeneration ; for 
this prerogative consists not merely in an extrinsic relation 
to God and a title to tlie eternal inheritance, bui in our par- 
ticipation of the divine nature, whereby we are the living 
images of God's holiness. Civil adoption gives the title, but 
not the reality of a son; but the divine is efficacious, and 
changes us into the real likeness of our heavenly Father. 
W(^ cannot enter into this state of favour, but upon our 
cleansing from all impurity; "Be ye separate" from the pol- 
lutions of the profane world, "and I will receive you, and 
will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- 
ters, saith the Lord Almighty," 2 Cor. vi. 17. These are the 
indispensable terms upon which we are received into that 
honourable alliance. None can enjoy the privilege, but those 
that yield the obedience of children. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 221 

8. Holiness is the condition on which our future blessed- 
ness depends. Electing mercy doth not produce our glori- 
fication immediately, but begins in our vocation and justifi- 
cation, which are the intermediate links in the chain of salva- 
tion ; as natural causes work on a distant object, by passing 
through the medium. God first gives grace, then glory. The 
everlasting covenant that is sealed by the blood of Christ, 
establishes the connexion between them; " Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God," Mat. v. 8. The exclu- 
sion of all others is peremptory and universal; "Without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord," Heb. xii. 14. The right- 
eousness of the kingdom is the only way of entering into it. 
A few good actions scattered in our lives are not available, 
but a course of obedience brings to happiness. Those " who 
by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and 
honour, and immortality," shall inherit " eternal life," Rom. 
ii. 7. This is not a mere positive appointment, but ground- 
ed on the unchangeable respect of things. There is a ra- 
tional convenience between holiness and happiness, according 
to the wisdom and goodness of God ; and it is expressed in 
scripture by the natural relation of the seed to the harvest, 
both as to the quality and measure ; " Whatsoever a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap," Gal. vi. 7. We must be like 
God in purity, before we can be in felicity. Indeed, it would 
be a disparagement to God's holiness, and pollute heaven it- 
self, to receive unsanctified persons, as impure as those in hell. 
It is equally impossible for the creature to be happy without 
the favour of the holy God, and for God to communicate his 
favour to the sinful creature. Briefly, according to the law 
of faith, no wicked person hath any right to the satisfaction 
Christ made, nor to the inheritance he purchased for be- 
lievers. 

III. Man in his corrupt state is deprived of spiritual life, 
so that till revived by special grace, he can neither obey nor 
enjoy God. Now the Redeemer is made a quickening prin- 
ciple to inspire us with new life. 

In order to our sanctification he hath done four things — 
he hath given us the most perfect laws as the rule of holiness 
— he exhibited the most complete pattern of holiness in his 
life upon the earth — he purchased and conveys the Spirit of 
holiness, to renew, and to enable us for the performance of 
our duties — he hath presented the strongest inducements and 
motives to persuade us to be holy. 



222 THE HARMONY OF 

1. He hath given to men the most perfect laws as the rule 
of holiness. The principal parts of the holy life, are, ceas- 
ing from evil and doing well, Isa. i. 16, 17. Now the com- 
■ mands of Christ refer to the purifying of us from sin, and 
the adorning of us with all the graces for the discharge of our 
universal duty. 

They enjoin a real and absolute separation " from all filthi- 
ness of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. vii. 1. The outward 
and inward man must be cleansed, not only from pollutions 
of a deeper dye, but from all carnality and hypocrisy. " The 
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all 
!nen, teaching us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts," 
all those irregular and impetuous desires which are raised 
by worldly objects, honours, riches, and pleasures, and reign 
in worldly men ; pride, covetousness, and voluptuousness. 
Tit. ii. 11, 12. The gospel is most clear, full, and vehement, 
for the true and inward mortification of the whole body of 
corruption, of every particular darling sin. It commands us 
to pluck out the right eye, and to cut off the right hand, that is, 
to part with every grateful and gainful lust. It obliges us to 
"crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts," Gal. v. 24. 
The laws of men regard external actions as prejudicial to 
societies; but of thoughts and resolutions that break not 
forth into act, there can be no human accusation and judg- 
ment ; they are exempted from the jurisdiction of the magis- 
trate. But the law of Clirist reforms the powers of the soul, 
and all the most secret and inward motions that depend upon 
them. It forbids the first irregular impressions of the carnal 
appetite. We must hate sin in all its degrees, strangle it in 
the birth, destroy it in the conception. We are enjoined to 
fly the appearances and accesses of evil: whatever is of a 
suspicious nature and not fully consistent with the purity of 
the gospel, and whatever invites to sin and exposes us to the 
power of it, becomes vicious, and must be avoided. That 
glorious purity, that shall adorn the church when our Re- 
deemer presents it "without spot or wrinkle, or any such 
thing," every Christian must aspire to in this life. In short, 
the gospel commands us "to be holy as God is holy," who 
is infinitely distant from the least conceivable pollution, 
1 Pet. i. 15. 

The precepts of Christ contain all solid, substantial good- 
ness, that is essentially necessary in order to our supreme 
happiness, and prepares us for the life of heaven. In his 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 223 

sermon on the mount, he commends to us humility, meekness, 
and mercy, peaceableness and patience, and doing good for 
evil ; which are so many beams of God's image, the reflec- 
tions of his goodness upon intelligent creatures. And that 
comprehensive precept of the apostle describes the duties of 
all Christians : " Whatsoever things are true," Phil. iv. 8 ; 
truth is the principal character of our profession, and is to 
be expressed in our words and actions : " whatsoever things 
are honest" or venerable ; that is, answer the dignity of our 
high calling, and agree with the gravity and comeliness of 
the Christian profession : " whatsoever things are just," ac- 
cording to divine and human laws : " whatsoever things are 
pure ;" we must preserve the heart, the hand, the tongue, 
the eye, from impurity; " whatsoever things are lovely and 
of good report ;" some graces are amiable and attractive ia 
the view of men, as easiness to pardon, a readiness to oblige, 
compassion to the afflicted, liberality to the necessitous, 
sweetness of conversation without gall and bitterness ; these 
are of universal esteem with mankind, and soften the most 
savage tempers : " if there be any virtue, and if there be any 
praise, think on these things." And St. Peter excites be- 
lievers to join to their faith by which the gospel of Christ is 
embraced, intellectual and moral virtues, without which it is 
but a vain picture of Christianity : " Add to your faith, 
virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, tem- 
perance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, god- 
liness ; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness ; and to brother- 
ly-kindness, charity," 2 Pet. i. 5. He enforces the command ; 
Give all diligence that these things abound in you, and " ye 
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of 
Christ." Now these graces purify and perfect, refine and 
raise the human nature, and without a command their good- 
ness is a strong obligation. 

I will take a more distinct view of the precepts of Christ 
as they are set down in that excellent abridgment of them by 
the apostle : " The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 
appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and 
godly, in this present world," 2 Tit. xi. 12. 

Here is a distribution of our duties with respect to their 
several objects, ourselves, others, and God. The first are re- 
gulated by temperance, the second by justice, the third by 



224 



THE HARMONY OF 



godliness. And from the accomplishment of these is formed 
that holiness without which no man shall see God. 

In respect to ourselves, we must live soberly. Temper- 
ance governs the sensual appetites and affections by sanctified 
reason. The gospel allows the sober and chaste use of plea- 
sures, but absolutely and severely forbids all excess in those 
that are lawful, and commands abstinence from all that are 
unlawful, that stain and vilify the soul, and alienate it from 
converse with God, and to mortify its taste to spiritual de- 
lights. By sensual complacency man first lost his innocence 
and happiness, and till the flesh is subdued to the spirit, he 
can never recover them. " The carnal mind is enmity 
against God," Rom. viii. 7. " Fleshly lusts war against the 
soul," 1 Peter ii. 11; therefore we are urged with the most 
aflfeclionate earnestness, to abstain from them, by withdraw- 
ing their incentives, and crucifying our corrupt inclinations. 
In short, the law of Christ obliges us so to deal with the 
body, as an enemy that is disposed to revolt against the spi- 
rit, by watching over all our senses, lest they should betray 
us to temptations ; so to preserve it, as a thing consecrated 
to God, from all impurity that will render it unworthy the 
honour of being the temple of the Holy Ghost. 

We are commanded to live righteously, in our relation to 
others. Justice is the supreme virtue of human life, that 
renders to every one what is due. The gospel gives rules 
for men in every state and place, to do what reason requires. 
As no condition is excluded from its bles.sedness, so every one 
is obliged by its precepts. Subjects are commanded to obey 
all the lawful commands of authority, and not to resist, and 
that upon the strongest motives, " not only for wrath, but 
also for conscience .sake," Rom. xiii. 5. They must obey 
man for God's sake, but never disobey God for man's sake. 
And princes are obliged to be an encouragement to good 
works, and " a terror to the evil," Rom. xiii. 3 ; that those 
who are under them " may lead a quiet and peaceable life, 
in all godliness and honesty," 1 Tim. ii. 2. It enjoins all 
the respective duties of husbands and wives, parents and 
children, masters and servants ; and that in all contracts and 
commerce none " defraud his brother :" accordingly, in the 
esteem of Christians, he is more religious who is more righte- 
ous than others. Briefly, Christian righteousness is not to 
be measured by the rigour of the laws, but by that rule of 
universal equity delivered by our Saviour ; " Whatsoever ye 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 225 

would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," 
Matt. vii. 12. 

We are instructed by the lavv^ of Christ to live godly. This 
part of our duty respects our apprehensions, affections, and 
demeanour to God, which must be suitable to his glorious 
perfections. The gospel hath revealed them clearly to us, 
viz. .the unity, simplicity, eternity, and purity of the divine 
nature, that it subsists in three persons, the Father, Son, and 
Spirit ; and his wisdom, power, and goodness, in the work of 
our redemption. It requires that we pay the special honour 
that is due to God, in the esteem and veneration of our 
minds, in the subjection of our wills, in the assent of our af- 
fections to him as their proper object ; that we have an entire 
faith in his word, a firm hope in his promises, a holy jealousy 
for his honour, a religious care in his service ; and that we 
express our reverence, love, and dependance on him in our 
prayers and praises ; that our worship of him be in such a 
manner as becomes God who receives it, and man that pre- 
sents it. God is a pure spirit, and man is a reasonable crea- 
ture ; therefore he " must worship him in spirit and truth." 
And since man in his fallen state cannot approach the holy 
and just God without a Mediator, he is directed by the gos- 
pel to address himself to the throne of grace, in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can reconcile our persons, 
and render our services acceptable Avith his Father. 

Besides the immediate service of the Deity, godliness in- 
cludes the propension and tendency of the soul to him in the 
whole conversation ; and it contains three things ; — that our 
obedience proceeds from love to God as its vital principle. 
This must warm and animate the external action. This 
alone makes obedience as delightful to us as pleasing to God. 
He shows mercy to those who love him, and keep his com- 
mandments, Exod. XX. 6. " Faith worketh by love," and in- 
clines the soul to obey with the same affection that God en- 
joins the precept. — That all our conversation be regulated by 
his will as the rule. He is our Father and Sovereign, and 
the respect to his law gives to every action the formality of 
obedience. We must choose our duty, becouse he commands 
it. " Whatsoever ye do in v/ord or deed, do all in the name 
of the Lord Jesus ;" that is, for his command and by his as- 
sistance. Col. iii. 17. — That the glory of God be the supreme 
end of all our actions. This qualification must adhere, not 
only to necessary duties, but to our natural and civil actions. 



226 THE HAR3I0NY OF 

Our light must so " shine before men, that they may see our 
good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven," 
Matt. V, 16. "Whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we 
do," all must be done, in a regular and due proportion, " to 
the glory of God," 1 Cor. x. 31. A general designation of 
this is absolutely requisite, 1 Peter iv. 1 1 5 and the renewing 
of our intentions actually in matters of moment ; for he being 
the sole author of our hves and happiness, we cannot, without 
extreme ingratitude and disobedience, neglect to "glorify him 
in our bodies and spirits which are his." This religious ten- 
dency of tlie soul to God, as the supreme Lord and our ut- 
most end, sanctifies our actions, and gives an excellency to 
them above what is inherent in their own nature. Thus 
moral duties towards men, when they are directed to God, be- 
come divine, Heb. xiii. 16. Acts of charity are so many 
sacred oblations to the Deity. Men are but the altars upon 
which we lay our presents : God receives them, as if imme- 
diately offered to his majesty, and consumed to his honour. 
Such was the charity of the Philippians towards the relief of 
the apostle, which he calls " an odour of a sweet smell, a 
sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God," Phil. iv. 18. The 
same bounty was an act of compassion to man, and devotion 
to God. This changes the nature of the meanest and most 
troublesome things. What was more vile and harsh than 
the employment of a slave ? Yet a respect to God makes it 
a religious service, that is, the most noble and voluntary of 
all human actions ; for the believer addressing his service to 
Christ, and the infidel only to his master, he doth cheerfully 
what the other doth by constraint, and " adorns the gospel of 
God our Saviour," as truly as if he were in a higher condi- 
tion, Ephes. vi. 5. 

All virtues are of the same descent and family, though in 
respect of the matter about which they are conversant and 
their exercise, they are different. Some are heroical, some 
are liumble ; and the lowest being conducted by love to God 
in the meanest oflices, shall have an eternal reward. In 
short, piety is the principle and chief ingredient of right- 
eousness and charity to men ; for since God is the author of 
our common nature and the relations whereby we are united 
one to another, it is necessary that a regard to him should 
be the first, and have an influence upon all other duties. 

I shall farther consider some particular precepts, which 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 227 

the gospel doth especially enforce upon us, and the reasons 
of them. 

( 1 . ) That concerning humility, the peculiar grace of Chris- 
tians, so becoming our state as creatures and sinners ; the 
parent and nurse of other graces ; that preserves us in the 
light of faith and the heat of love ; that procures modesty in 
prosperity and patience in adversity, that is the root of gra- 
titude and obedience, and is so lovely in God's eyes, that he 
giveth his grace to the humble. This our Saviour makes a 
necessary qualification in all those who shall enter into his 
kingdom ; " Except ye be converted and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," 
Matt, xviii. 3. As by humility he purchased our salvation, 
so by that grace we possess it. And since pride arises out 
of ignorance, the gospel, to cause in us a just and lowly 
sense of our unworihiness, discovers the nakedness and mi- 
sery of the human nature, divested of its primitive righteous- 
ness. It reveals the transmission of original sin, from the 
first man to all his posterity, wherewith they are infected 
and debased ; a mystery so far from our knowledge, that the 
participation of it seems impossible, and unjust to carnal rea- 
son. We are " dead in sins and trespasses," without any 
spiritual strength to perform our duty. The gospel ascribes 
all that is good in man to the free and powerful grace of 
God : he " worketh in us to will and to do of his good plea- 
sure," Phil. ii. 13. He gives grace to some, because he is 
good ; denies it to others, because he is just ; but doth injury 
to none, because all being guilty, he owes it to none. Grace 
in its being and activity entirely depends upon him. As the 
drowsy sap is drawn forth into flourishing and fruitfulness 
by the approaches of the sun ; so habitual grace is drawn 
forth into act by the presence and influences of the Sun of 
righteousness. " Without me," our Saviour tells his disci- 
ples, " ye can do nothing," John xv. 5. " I have laboured 
more abundantly than they all," saith the apostle, " yet not 
I, but the grace of God in me," 1 Cor. xv. 10. The opera- 
tions of grace are ours, but the power that enables us is from 
God. Our preservation from evil, and perseverance in good, 
is a most free unmerited favour, the effect of his renewed 
grace in the course of our lives. Without his special assist- 
ance, we should every hour forsake him, and provoke him to 
forsake us. As the iron cannot ascend or hang in the air 
longer than the virtue of the loadstone draws it, so our af- 



228 THE HARMONY OP 

fections cannot ascend to those glorious things that are above, 
without the continually attracting power of grace. It is by 
humble prayer, wherein we acknowledge our wants and un- 
worthiness, and declare our dependance upon the divine 
mercy and power, that we obtain grace. 

Now from these reasons the gospel commands humility in 
our demeanour towards God and men. And if we seriously 
consider them, how can any crevice be opened in the heart 
for the least breath of pride to enter ? How can a poor dis- 
eased wretch, that hath neither money, nor can by any in- 
dustry procure nourishment or physic for his deadly diseases, 
and receives from a merciful person not only food, but sove- 
reign medicines brought from another world (for such is the 
divine grace sent to us from heaven) without his desert or 
possibility of retribution, be proud towards his benefactor ? 
How can he that lives only upon alms, boast that he is rich? 
How can a creature be proud of the gifts of God, which it 
cannot possess without humility, and without acknowledging 
that they are derived from mercy ? If we had continued in 
our integrity, tlie praise of all had been entirely due to God ; 
for our faculties and the excellent dispositions that fitted them 
for action, were bestowed upon us freely by him, and de- 
pended upon his grace in their exercise. But there is now 
greater reason to attribute the glory of all om* goodness solely 
to him ; for he revives our dead souls by the power of the 
Spirit, of the sanctifying Spirit, without which we are " to 
every good work reprobate." Since all our spiritual abilities 
are graces, the more we have received, the more we are obli- 
ged ; and therefore should be more humble and thankful to 
the Author of tlicm. And in comparing ourselves with 
others, the gospel forbids all proud reflections that we are 
dignified above them; " For, who maketh thee to differ from 
another ? And what hast tliou that thou didst not receive? 
Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou 
hadst not received it?" 1 Cor. iv. 7. If God discern one 
from another by special gift, the man hath nothing of his 
own that makes him excellent. Although inherent graces 
command a respect from others to the person in whom they 
shine, yet he that possesses them, ought rather to consider 
himself in those qualities that are natural, and make him like 
the worst, than in those that are divine, proceeding from the 
sole favour of God, and that exalt him above them. 

Add farther, that God hath ordained in the gospel repent- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 229 

ance and faith, which are humbling graces, to be the condi- 
tions of our obtaining pardon. By repentance we acknow- 
ledge that if we are condemned, it is just severity ; and if 
we are saved, it is rich mercy. And faith absolutely ex- 
cludes boasting ; for it supposes the creature guilty, and re- 
ceives pardon from the sovereign grace of God upon the 
account of our crucified Redeemer. The benefit, and the 
manner of our receiving it, was typified in the miraculous 
cure of the Israelites by looking up to the brazen serpent : 
for the act of seeing is performed by receiving the images 
derived from objects ; it is rather a passion than an action ; 
that it might appear that the healing virtue was merely from 
the power of God, and the honour of it entirely his. In 
short, God had respect to the lowliness of this grace, in ap- 
pointing it to be the qualification of a justified person ; for 
the most firm reliance on God's mercy, is always joined with 
the strongest renouncing of our own merits. Briefly, to ex- 
cite humility in us, the gospel tells us, that the glorious re- 
ward is from rich bounty and liberality ; " The gift of God 
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 23. 
As the election of us to glory, so the actual possession of it 
proceeds from pure favour. There is no more proportion 
between all our services, and that high and eternal felicity, 
than between running a few steps, and obtaining an imperial 
crown. Indeed not only heaven, but all the graces that are 
necessary to purify and prepare us for it, we receive from 
undeserved mercy ; so that God crowns in us not our proper 
works, but his own proper gifts. 

(2.) The gospel strictly commands self-denial, when the 
honour of God and religion is concerned. Jesus tells his 
disciples, " If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," Matt. xvi. 24. 
Life, and all the comforts of it, estates, honours, relations, 
pleasures, must be put under our feet, to take the first step 
with our Redeemer. This is absolutely necessary to the 
bcinff of a Christian. In the preparation of his mind and 
the resolution of his will, he must live a martyr ; and when- 
soever his duty requires, he must break all the " retinacula 
vita3," the voluntary bands that fasten us to the world, and 
die a martyr, rather than suflTer a divorce to be made between 
his heart and Christ. Whatsoever is most esteemed and 
loved in the world, must be parted with as a snare, if it 
tempts us from obedience ; or offered up as a sacrifice, when 
20 



230 THE HARMONY OF 

the glory of God calls for it. And this command that ap- 
pears so hard to sense, is most just and reasonable ; for God 
hath by so many titles a right to us, that we ought to make 
an entire dedication of ourselves and our most valuable inte- 
rests to him. Our Redeemer infinitely denied himself to 
save us, and it is most just we should in gratitude deny our- 
selves to serve him. Besides, an infinite advantage redounds 
to us ; for our Saviour assures us, that " whosoever will save 
his life," when it is inconsistent with the performance of his 
duty, " shall lose it ; and whosoever will lose his life for his 
sake, shall find it," Matt. xvi. 25. Now what is more pru- 
dent, than of two evils that are propounded, to choose the 
least ; that is, temporal death, rather than eternal ? and of 
two goods that are offered to our choice, to prefer the greater, 
a life in heaven before that on the earth ? especially if we 
consider, that we must shortly yield the present life to the 
infirmities of nature ; and it is the richest trallic to exchange 
that wliich is frail and mortal, for that which remains in its 
perfection for ever. 

(3.) The gospel enjoins univer.sal love among men. This 
is "that fire which Christ came to kindle upon the earth." 
It is the abridgment of all Christian perfection, the fulfilling 
of the divine law; for all the particular precepts are in sub- 
stance, love, Kom. xiii. 8, 9. He that loves his neighbour, 
will have a tender regard to his life, lionour, and estate, 
which is the sum of the .second table. The extent of our 
love must be to all that partake of the same common nature. 
The universal consanguinity between men, should make u.s 
regard tlieni as our allies. Every man that wants our help, 
is our neighbour. " Do good unto all men," is the command 
of the apostle. Gal. vi. 10. For the quality of our love, it 
must be unfeigned, without dissimulation, 1 Pet. i. 22. The 
image of it in words, without real effects, provokes the divine 
displeasure ; for as all falsehood is odious to tlie God of trutli, 
so especially the counterfeiting of charil}^, that is the impres- 
sion of his Spirit and the seal of his kingdom. A sincere 
pure affection that rejoices at the good and resents the evils 
of others as our own, and expresses itself in all real oiKces, 
not for our private respects, but their benefit, is required of 
us. And as to the degree of our love, we arc commanded 
" above all things to have fervent charity among ourselves," 
1 Pet. iv. 8. This principally respects Christians, who are 
united by so many sacred and amiable bands, as being formed 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 231 

of the same eternal seed, children of the same heavenly- 
Father, and joint-heirs of the same glorious inheritance. 
Christian charity hath a more noble principle than the affec- 
tions of nature, for it proceeds from the love of God shed 
abroad in believers, to make them of one heart and one soul : 
and a more divine pattern, the example of Christ, who hath 
by his sufferings restored us to the favour of God, that we 
should love one another as he hath loved us. This duty is 
most strictly enjoined, for witliout love angelical eloquence 
is but an empty noise, and all other virtues have but a false 
lustre ; prophecy, faith, knowledge, miracles, the highest out- 
ward acts of charity or self-denial, the giving of our estates 
to the poor, or bodies to martyrdom, are neither pleasing to 
God, nor profitable to him that does them, 1 Cor. xiii. 

Besides, that special branch of love, the forgiving of inju- 
ries, is the peculiar law of our Saviour ; for the whole world 
consents to the returning of evil for evil. The vicious love 
of ourselves makes us very sensible ; and according to our 
perverse judgments, to revenge an injury seems as just as to 
requite a benefit. From hence revenge is the most rebellious 
and obstinate passion. An offence remains as a thorn in the 
mind, that inflames and torments it, till it is appeased by a 
vindication. It is more difficult to overcome the Spirit, than 
to gain a battle. We are apt to revolve in our thoughts in- 
juries that have been done to us, and after a long distance 
of time the memory represents them as fresh as at the first. 
Now the gospel commands a hearty and entire forgiveness 
of injuries, though repeated never so often, to " seventy times 
seven ;" and allows not the least liberty of private revenges. 
We must not only quench the fire of anger, but kindle the 
fire of love towards our greatest enemies. " I say unto you, 
love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully 
use you and persecute you," Matt. v. 44. This is urged 
from the consideration of God's forgiving us, who being in- 
finitely provoked, yet pardons innumerable faults to us, 
moved only by his mercy, Col. iii. 13. And how reasona- 
ble is it that we should at his command remit a few faults 
to our brethren ? To extinguish the strong inclination that 
is in corrupt nature to revenge, our Saviour hath suspended 
the promise of pardon to us upon our pardoning others ; 
"■ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Fa- 
ther will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their 



ii32 THE HARMO.W OF THE 

trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses," 
Matt. vi. 14. He that is cruel to another cannot expect 
mercy, but in every prayer to God, indicts himself, and vir- 
tually pronounces his own condemnation. 

(4.) The gospel enjoins contentmrtit in every state, which 
is our great duty and felicity, mainly influential upon our 
whole life to prevent both sin and misery. " Be content 
with such things as ye have, for he hath said, I will never 
leave thee, nor forsake thee,'* Heb. xiii. 5. It forbids all 
murmurings against providence, which is the seed of rebel- 
lion, and all anxious thoughts concerning things future , 
" Take no thought for the morrow," Matt. vi. 34. — We 
should not anticipate evils by our apprehensions and fears, 
they come fast enough ; nor retain their afllicting memory 
to imbilter our lives, they stay long enough ; " Sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof" Our corrupt desires are 
vast and restless as the sea, and when contradicted, they be- 
tray us to discontent and disobedience. The gospel there- 
fore retrenches all inordinate affections, and vehemently con- 
demns covetousness, as a vice not to be named among saints 
but with abhorrence. It discovers to us most clearly, that 
temporal things are not the materials of our happiness ; for 
the Son of God voluntarily denied himself the enjoyment of 
them. And as the higliest stars are so much distant from 
an eclipse, as they are above the shadow of the earth ; so the 
soul that in its esteem and desire is above the world, its 
brightness and joy cannot be darkened or eclipsed by any 
accidents there. The gospel forbids all vain sorrows, as well 
as vain pleasures ; and distinguishes real godliness from an 
appearance, by contentment as its inseparable character ; 
" Godliness with contentment is great gain," 1 Tim. vi. 6. 
When we are in the saddest circumstances, our Saviour com- 
mands us to "possess our souls in patience;" to preserve a 
calm constitution of spirit, which no storms from without 
can discompose. For this end he assures us that nothing 
comes to pass without the knowledge and efficiency, or at 
least, permission of God ; that the hairs of our head are 
numbered, and not one falls to the earth without his licence. 
Now the serious belief of a wise, just, and powerful provi- 
dence, that governs all things, hath a mighty efficacy to 
maintain a constant tranquillity and equal temper in the 
soul amidst tlie confusions of the world. God " worketh all 
things according to the counsel of his own will :" and if we 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 233 

could discover the immediate reasons of every providence, 
we cannot have more satisfaction than from this general 
principle, that is applicable to all as light to every colour, 
that what God doth is always best. This resolves ail the 
doubts of the most entangled minds, and rectifies our false 
judgments. From hence a believer hath as true content in 
complying with God's will, as if God had complied with his, 
and is reconciled to every condition. Besides, the gospel 
assures us, that " all things work together for good to them 
that love God ;" for their spiritual good at present, by weak- 
ening their corruptions ; for affliction is a kind of manage, 
by which the sensual part is exercised and made pliable to 
the motions of the Spirit : and by increasing their graces, the 
invaluable treasures of heaven. If the dearest objects of our 
affections, the most worthy of our love and grief, are taken 
away, it is for this reason, that God may have our love him- 
self in its most intense and inflamed degree. And afflictions 
are in order to their everlasting good. Now the certain ex- 
pectation of a blessed issue out of all troubles, is to the heart 
of a Christian as putting a rudder to a ship, which without 
it is exposed to the fury of the winds and in continual dan- 
gers, but by its guidance makes use of every wind to convey 
it to its port. Hope produces not only acquiescence, but joy, 
in the sharpest tribulations, Rom. xii. 12. For every true 
Christian being ordained to a glorious and supernatural bless- 
edness hereafter, all things that befall him here below as 
means, are regulated and transformed into the nature of the 
end to w^hich they carry him. Accordingly the apostle as- 
sures us, that " our light affliction which is but for a moment, 
M'orketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. To consider this life as the passage 
to another that is as durable as eternity, and as blessed as 
the enjoyment of God can make it, that the present miseries 
have a final respect to future happiness, will change our 
opinion about them, and render them not only tolerable, but 
so far amiable as they are instrumental and preparatory for 
it. If the bloody, as well as the milky way, leads to God's 
throne, a Christian willingly walks in it. In short, a lively 
liope accompanies a Christian to his last expiring breath, till 
it is consummated in celestial fruition ; so that death itself, 
the universal terror of mankind, is made desirable as an en- 
trance into immortality, and the first day of our triumph. 
Thus I have considered some particular precepts of Christ, 
20* 



234 THE HARMONY OF 

which are of the greatest use for the government of our 
hearts and lives, and the reasons upon which they are 
grounded to make them effectuah Now to discover more 
fully the completeness of the evangelical rule, I will consi- 
der it with respect to the law of Moses and the philosophy 
of the heathens. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE PERFECTION OF THE LAWS OF CHRIST. 

The perfection of the laws of Christ will further appear, 
by comparing them with the precepts of Moses, and with 
the rules which the liighest masters of morality in the 
school of nature have prescribed for the directing of our 
lives. 

(1.) The gospel exceeds the Mosaical institution, 
First ; in ordaining a service that is pure, spiritual, and 
divine, consisting in the contemplation, love, and praise of 
God, such as holy angels perform above. The temple-ser- 
vice was managed with pomp and external magnificence, 
suitable to the disposition of that people and the dispensa- 
tion of tlie law. The church was then in its infcint-state, 
as St. Paul expresses it, and that age is more wrought on 
by sense than reason ; for such is the subordination of our 
faculties, that the vegetative act, then the sensitive, then the 
rational, as the organs appointed for their use, acquire per- 
fection. The knowledge of the Jews was obscure and im- 
perfect, and the external part of their religion was ordered 
in such a manner, that the senses were much affected. — 
Their lights, perfumes, music, and sacrifices, were the proper 
entertainment of their external faculties. Besides, being en- 
compassed with nations whose service to their idols was full 
of ceremonies, to render the temptation ineffectual and take 
off from the efficacy of those allurements which might se- 
duce them to the imitation of idolatry, God ordained his 
service to be performed with great splendour. Add further, 
the dispensation of the law was typical and mysterious, re- 
presenting, by visible material objects and their power to 
ravish the senses, spiritual things and their efficacy to work 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 235 

upon the soul. But our Redeemer hath rent the veil, and 
brought forth heavenly things into a full day and the clear- 
est evidence. Wliereas Moses was very exact in describing 
the numerous ceremonies of the Jewish religion, the quality 
of their sacrifices, the place, the persons by whom they 
must be prepared and presented to the Lord ; we are now 
•commanded to draw near to God " with clean hands and 
pure hearts," and that " men pray every where, lifting up 
holy hands, without wrath and doubting," 1 Tim. ii. 8. — 
Every place is a temple, and every Christian a priest, to of- 
fer up spiritual incense to God. The most of the Levitical 
ceremonies and ornaments are excluded from the Christian 
service, not only as unnecessary but inconsistent with its 
spiritualness ; as paint, they corrupt the native beauty of 
religion. The apostle tells us, that human eloquence was 
not used in the first preaching of the gospel, lest it should 
render the truth of it uncertain, and rob the cross of Christ 
of its glory in converting the world ; for there miglit be 
some pretence to imagine, that it was not the supernatural 
virtue of the doctrine and the efficacy of its reasons, but 
the artifice of orators that overcame the spirits of men. So, 
if the service of the gospel were made so pompous, the 
worshippers would be inclined to believe, that the external 
part was the most principal, and to content themselves in 
that without the aims and affections of the soul, which are 
the life of all our services. Besides, upon another account, 
outward pomp in religion is apter to quench than inflame 
devotion ; for we are so compounded of flesh and spirit, 
that when the corporeal faculties are vehemently affected 
with their objects, it is very hard for the spiritual to act with 
equal vigour ; there being such commerce between the fan- 
cy and the outward senses, that they are never exercised in 
the reception of their objects, but the imagination is drawn 
that way, and cannot present to the mind distinctly and with 
the calmness that is requisite, those things on which our 
thoughts should be fixed. But when those diverting objects 
are removed, the soul directly ascends to God, and looks on 
him as the searcher and judge of the heart, and worships 
him proportionably to his perfections. That this was the 
design of Christ, appears particularly in the institution of 
the sacraments, which he ordained in a merciful condescen- 
sion to our present state ; for there is a natural desire in us 
to have pledges of things promised ; therefore he was plea- 



236 THE HARMONY OF 

sed to add to the declaration of his will in the gospel, the 
sacraments, as confirming seals of his love, by which the 
application of his benefits is more special, and the represent- 
ation more lively, than that which is merely by the word. 
But they are few in number, only baptism and the Lord's 
supper, simple in their nature and easy in their signification, 
most fit to relieve our infirmities and to raise our souls to 
heavenly things. Briefly, the service of the gospel is an- 
swerable to the excellent light of knowledge shed abroad 
in the hearts of Christians. 

Secondly ; our Redeemer hath abolished all obligation to 
the other rituals of Moses, to introduce that real righteous- 
ness which was signified by them. The " carnal command- 
ments" given to the Jews, are called " statutes that were not 
good," Ezek. xx. 25 ; either in respect of their matter, not 
being perfective of the human nature ; or their eflfect, for 
they brought death to the disobedient, not life to the obe- 
dient ; tlie most strict observation of them did not make the 
performers either better or happy. But Christians are " dead 
to these elements," that is, perfectly freed from subjection 
to them. "The kingdom of God" consists "not in meat or 
drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in tlie Holy 
Ghost ; for he that in these things scrveth Christ, is accept- 
able to God, and approved of men," Rom. xiv. 17, 18. We 
are commanded " to purge out the old leaven of malice and 
wickedness," that sours and swells the mind, and " to keep 
the feast" with the " unleavened bread of sincerity and 
truth." We are obliged to preserve ourselves undefiled from 
the moral imperfections, the vices and passions, which were 
represented by the natural qualities of those creatures which 
were forbidden to the Jews, and to purify the heart, instead 
of the frequent washings under the law. But the gospel 
frees us from the intolerable yoke of the legal abstinences, 
observations, and disciplines, the amusements of low and 
servile spirits, wlicrewith they would compensate their de- 
fects in real liolincss, and exchange the .substance of religion 
for the shadow and colours of it. For this reason the apos- 
tle is severe against those who would join the fringes of 
Moses to the robe of Christ. 

Thirdly ; the indulgence of polygamy and divorce that 
was granted to the Jews, is taken away by Christ, and mar- 
riage restored to the purity of its first institution. The per- 
mission of these was by a political law. and tlie effect wfus 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 237 

temporal impunity : for God is to be considered not only in 
the relation of a Creator and universal Governor, that gave 
laws to regulate conscience, but in a special relation lo 
the Jews as their King by covenant. Besides his general 
right and dominion, he had a peculiar sovereignty over them. 
And as in a civil state a prudent governor permits a less evil 
for the prevention of a greater, without an approbation of it ; 
so God was pleased in his wisdom to tolerate those things, in 
condescension to their carnal and perverse humours, " for the 
hardness of their hearts," lest worse inconvenience should 
follow. Matt. xix. 8. But our Saviour reduces marriage to 
the sanctity of its original, when man was formed according 
to the image of God's holiness. " He which made them at 
the beginning made them male and female : for this cause 
shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife, 
and they twain shall be one flesh. What therefore God hath 
joined together, let not man put asunder," Matt. xix. 4 — 6. 
From the unity of the person, that one male was made and 
one female, it follows that the superinducing of another into 
the marriage-bed is against the first institution. And the 
union that is between them, not being civil only in a consent 
of wills, but natural by the joining of two bodies, something 
natural must intervene to dissolve it, viz. the adultery of one 
party. Excepting that case, our Saviour severely forbids 
putting the wife away and marrying another, as a violation 
of conjugal honour. 

Fourthly; our Redeemer hath improved the obligations of 
the moral law, by a clearer discovery of the purity and ex- 
tent of its precepts, and by a peculiar and powerful enforce- 
ment. In his sermon on the mount, he clears it from the 
darkening glosses of the Pharisees, who observed the letter 
of the law, but not the design of the Lawgiver. He declares 
that not only the gross act, but all things of the same alli- 
ance are forbidden ; not only murder, but rash anger and 
vilifying words which wound the reputation ; not only actual 
pollution, but the impurity of the eye, and the staining of the 
soul with unclean thoughts, are all comprised in the prohibi- 
tion. He informs them that every man in calamity is their 
neighbour, and to be relieved ; and commands them to love 
their deadliest enemies. Briefly, he tells the multitude, that 
" unless their righteousness exceed the righteousness of the 
Scribes and Pharisees," that is, the utmost that they thought 
themselves obliged to, " they should not enter into the king- 



238 THE HARMONY OF 

dom of heaven." Besides, our Saviour hath superadded special 
enforcements to his precepts. The arguments to persuade 
Christians to be universally holy, from Christ's redeeming- 
them for that great end, were not known either in the econo- 
my of nature or the law ; for before our lapsed state, there 
was no need of a Redeemer, and he was not revealed during 
the legal dispensation : his death was only shadowed forth 
in types, and foretold in such a manner as was obscure to 
the Jews. The gospel argues new reasons to increase our 
aversion from sin, which neither Adam nor Moses were ac- 
quainted with. So the apostle dehorts Christians from un- 
cleanness, because their bodies are " members of Christ," and 
" temples of the Holy Ghost," and therefore sliould be invio- 
lably consecrated to purity. If the utensils of the temple 
were so sacred, that the employing of them to a common use 
was revenged in a miraculous manner ; how much sorer pun- 
ishment shall be inflicted on those wlio defile themselves, after 
they are" sanctified by the blood of the covenant," Heb. x. 19. 
The gospel also recommends to us love to one another, in 
imitation of that admirable love which Christ expressed to 
us, and commands the highest obedience even unto death 
when God requires it, in conformity to our Redeemer's suf- 
ferings. These and many other motives are derived from a 
pure vein of Christianity, and exalt the moral law to a higher 
pitch, as to its obligations upon men, than in its first delivery 
by Moses. 

(2.) The laws of Christ exceed the rules which the best 
masters of morality in the school of nature have prescribed 
for the government of our lives. It is true there are remain- 
ing principles of the moral law in the heart of man ; some 
warm sparks are still left, which the philosophers laboured 
to enliven and cherish. Many excellent precepts of morality 
they delivered, either to calm the affections and lay the storms 
in our breasts, whereby most men are guilty and miserable, 
or to regulate the civil conversation with others. And since 
the coming of Christ, Promotheus-like, they brought their 
dead torches to the sun, and stole some light from the scrip- 
tures. Yet upon searching, we shall easily discover, that 
notwithstanding all their boasts to purge the soul from defile- 
ments contracted by union with the body, and to restore it 
to its primitive perfection, "they became vain in their 
thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened." Although 
the vulgar heathens thought them to be guides in the safe 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 239 

way, yet they were companions with them in their wander- 
ings ; and truth instructs us, that " when the Wind leads the 
bhnd, both fall into the ditch." 

I will briefly show that their morals are defective and 
mixed with false rules: only premising three things; that I 
shall not insist on their ignorance of our Redeemer, and their 
infidelity in respect of those evangelical mysteries that are 
discovered only by revelation, for that precisely considered, 
doth not make them guilty before God ; but only take notice 
of their defects in natural religion, and moral duties, to which 
" the law written in the heart" obliges all mankind : that vir- 
tue is not to be confounded with vice, although it is not as- 
sisted by special grace. Those who performed acts of civil 
justice, and kindness, and honour, Avere not so guilty as those 
who violated all the laws of nature and reason. Their heroic 
actions were praiseworthy among men, and God gave them 
a temporal reward ; although not being enlivened by faith, 
and purified by love to God and a holy intention for his glory, 
they were dead works, unprofitable as to salvation. Their 
highest rule, viz. to live according to nature, is imperfect 
and insufficient: for although nature in its original purity 
furnished us v/ith perfect instructions, yet in its corrupt state 
it is not so enlightened and regular, as to direct us in our 
universal duty. It is as possible to find all the rules of ar- 
chitecture in the ruins of a building, as to find in the remain- 
ing principles of the natural law, full and sufficient directions 
for the whole duty of man, either as to the performing of 
good, or avoiding evil. " The mind is darkened" and defiled 
with error, that indisposes it for its office. 

I will now proceed to show how insufficient philosophy is 
to direct us in our duty to God, ourselves, and others. 

In respect of piety, which is the chiefest duty of the rea- 
sonable creature, philosophy is very defective, nay, in many 
things contrary to it : 

First ; by delivering unworthy notions and conceptions of 
the Deity. Not only the vulgar heathens " changed the truth 
of God into a lie," when they measured his incomprehensible 
perfections by the narrow compass of their imaginations, or 
when looking on him through the appearing disorders of the 
world, they thought him unjust and cruel ; as the most beau- 
tiful face seems deformed and monstrous in a disturbed stream : 
but the most renowned philosophers dishonoured him by their 
base apprehensions : for the true notion of God signifies a 



240 THE HARMONY OF 

being infinite, independent, the universal Creator, who pre- 
serves heaven and earth ; the absolute director of all events ; 
that his providence takes notice of all actions ; that he is a 
liberal rewarder of those that seek him, and a just revenger 
of those that violate his laws : now all this Avas contradicted 
by tliem. Some asserted the world to be eternal ; others that 
matter was ; and in that denied him to be the first cause of all 
things. Some limited his being, confining him to one of the 
poles of heaven ; others extended it only to the amplitude of 
the world. The Epicureans totally denied his governing 
providence, and made him an idle spectator of things below. 
They asserted tliat God was contented with liis own majesty 
and glory ; that whatever was without him, was neither in his 
thoughts nor care ; as if to be employed in ordering the va- 
rious accidents of the world, were incompatible with his 
blessedness, and he needed their impiety to relieve him. 
Thus by confining his power who is infinite, they denied him 
in confessing him. Others allowed him to regard the great 
aflfiiirs of kingdoms and nations, to manage crowns and scep- 
tres; but to stoop so low as to regard particular things, they 
judged as unbecoming the divine nature, as for the sun to de- 
scend from heaven to light a candle for a servant in the dark.. 
They took the sceptre out of God's hand, and set up a fool- 
ish and blind power to dispose of all mutable things. Seneca 
himself represents fortune as not discerning the worthy from 
the unworthy, and scattering its gifts without respect to vir- 
tue. Some made him a servant to nature, that he necessa- 
rily turned the spheres : others subjected him to an invinci- 
ble destiny, that he could not do what he desired. Thus the 
wisest of the heathens dishonoured the Deity by their false 
imaginations, and instead of representing him with his pro- 
per attributes, drew a picture of themselves. Besides, their 
impious fancies had a pernicious influence upon the lives of 
men, especially the denial of his providence ; for that took 
away the strongest restraint of corrupt nature, the fear of 
future judgment ; for human laws do not punish secret crimes 
that are innumerable, nor all open, as tliose of persons in 
power, which are most hurtful; therefore they are a weak 
instrument to preserve innocence and virtue. Only the re- 
spect of God to whom every heart is manifest, every action 
a testimony, and every great person a subject, is of equal 
force to give check to sin in all, in the darkness of the night 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 241 

and the light of the day, in the works of the hand and the 
thoughts of the heart. 

Secondly ; Philosophy is very defective as to piety, in not 
enjoining the love of God. The first and great command in 
the law of nature (the order of the precepts being according 
to their dignity) is this, " Thou shalt love the Lord with all 
thy heart, soul, and strength." It is most reasonable that 
our love should first ascend to him, and in its full vigour ; 
for our obligations to him are infinite, and all inferior objects 
are incomparably beneath him. Yet philosophers speak 
little or nothing of this, which is the principal part of natural 
religion. Aristotle, who was so clear-sighted in other things, 
when he discourses of God, is obscure not only affectedly to 
conceal his ignorance, as the fish which troubles the water for 
fear of being catched ; but it is on the occasion of speculative 
sciences, as in his physics, when he considers him as the first 
cause of all the motions in the world ; or in his metaphysics, 
as the supreme Being, " the knowledge of whom," he saith, 
" is most noble in itself, but of no use to men." And in his 
morals, where he had reason to consider the Deity as an ob- 
ject most worthy of our love, respect, and obedience, in an 
infinite degree, he totally omits such a representation of him, 
although the love of God is that alone Avhich gives price to 
all moral virtues. And from hence it is that philosophy is so 
defective as to rules for the preparing of men for an intimate 
and delightful communion with God, which is the effect of 
holy and perfect love, and the supreme happiness of the rea- 
sonable nature. If in the Platonic philosophy there are some 
things directing to it, yet they are but frigidly expressed, and 
so obscurely, that like inscriptions in ancient medals or mar- 
bles which are defaced, they are hardly legible. This is the 
singular character of the gospel, that distinguishes it from all 
human institutions — it represents the infinite amiableness of 
God and his goodness to us, to excite our affections to him in 
a superlative manner : it commands us to " follow him as 
dear children," and presses us to seek for those dispositions 
which may qualify us for the enjoyment of him in a way of 
friendship and love. 

Thirdly ; the best philosophers laid down this servile and 
pernicious maxim, that a wise man should always conform to 
the religion of his country. Socrates, who acknowledged 
one supreme God, yet, according to the counsel of the oracle 
that directed all to sacrifice according to the law of the city, 

21 



242 



THE HARMONY OF 



advised his friends to comply with the common idolatry, 
without any difference in the outward worship of him and 
creatures ; and those who did otherwise, he branded as su- 
perstitious and vain. And his practice was accordingly ; 
for he frequented the temples, assisted at the sacrifices, which 
he declares before his judges to purge himself from the crime 
of which he was accused. Seneca, speaking of the heathen 
worship, acknowledges it was unreasonable, and only the 
multitude of fools rendered it excusable ; yet he would have 
a philosopher to conform to those customs, in obedience to 
the law, not as pleasing to the gods. Thus they made reli- 
gion a dependance on the state. They performed the rites 
of heathenish superstition, that were either filthy, fantastical, 
or cruel, such as the devil, the master of those ceremonies, 
ordained. They became less than men by worshipping the 
most vile and despicable creatures, and sunk themselves, by 
the most execrable idolatry, beneath the powers of darkness 
to whom they offered sacrifice. Now this philosophical 
principle is the most palpable violation of the law of nature ; 
for that instructs us that God is the only object of religion, 
and that we are to obey him without exception from any in- 
ferior power. Here it was conscience to disobey tlie law, and 
a most worthy cause wherein they should have manifested 
that generous contempt of death they so much boasted of. 
But they detained the truth in unrighteousness, and although 
" they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but changed 
the glory of the uncorruptible God, into an image made like 
to corruptible man, and to birds, and beasts, and creeping 
things ;" a sin of so provoking a nature, that God gave them 
up to the vilest lusts, carnal impurity being a just punish- 
ment of spiritual, Rom. i. 21, 24. 

Fourthly ; they arrogated to themselves the sole praise of 
their virtues and happiness. This impiety is most visible in 
the writings of the stoics, the Pharisees in philosophy. They 
were so far from depending on God for light and grace in the 
conduct of their lives, and from praying him to make them 
virtuous, that they opposed nothing with n)ore pride and 
contempt. They thought that wisdom would lose its value 
and lustre, that nothing were in it worthy of admiration, if 
it came from above, and depended upon the grace of another. 
They acknowledged that the natural life, that riches, honours, 
and other inferior things, common to the worst, were the 
gifts of God ; but asserted that wisdom and virtue, the special 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 243 

perfections of the human nature, were the effects of their own 
industry. Impious folly, to believe that we owe the greatest 
benefits to ourselves, and the lesser only to God ! Thus they 
robbed him of the honour of his most precious gifts. So 
strongly did the poison of the old serpent, breathed forth in 
those words, " Ye shall be as God," that infected the first 
man, still work in his posterity. Were they angels in per- 
fection, yet the proud reflecting on their excellencies would 
instantly turn them into devils. And as they boasted of 
virtue, so of happiness, as entirely depending upon them- 
selves. They ascribe to their wise-man an absolute empire 
over all things ; they raise him above the clouds, whatever 
may disquiet or disorder ; they exempt him from all passions, 
and make him ever equal to himself; that he is never sur- 
prised with accidents ; that it is not in the power of pains or 
troubles to draw a sigh or tear from him ; that he despises 
all that the v/orld can give or take, and is contented with 
pure and naked virtue : in short, they put the crown upon 
his head, by attributing all to the power of his own spirit. 
Thus they contradicted the rights of heaven. Their impiety 
was so bold, that they put no difference between God and 
their wise-person, but this, that God was an immortal wise- 
person, and a wise man was a mortal God. Nay, that he had 
this advantage, (since it is great art to comprise many things 
in a little space,) to enjoy as much happiness in an age, as 
Jupiter in his eternity. And, which is the highest excess of 
pride and blasphemy, they preferred the wretched imperfect 
virtue and happiness of their wise-man, before the infinite 
and unchangeable purity and felicity of God himself ; " For 
God," they said, " is wise and happy by the privilege of his 
nature ; whereas a philosopher is so by the discourse of rea- 
son and the choice of his will, notwithstanding the resistance 
of his passions, and the difficulties he encounters in the 
world." Thus to raise themselves above the throne of God, 
since the rebellious angels, none have ever attempted besides 
the Stoics. It is no wonder that they were the most early 
opposers of the gospel ; for how could they acknowledge 
God in his state of abasement and humility, who exalted 
their virtuous man above him in his majest)'- and glory? 
Yet this is the sect that was most renowned among the 
heathens. 

Fifthly ; philosophy is very defective in not propounding 
the glory of God as the end to which all our actions should 



244 THE HARMONY OF 

finally refer. This should have the first and chief place in 
that practical science; for every action receiving its specifi- 
cation and value from the end, that M'hich is supreme and 
common to all actions, mnst be fixed before Ave come to the 
particular and subordinate ; and thai is the glory of God. 
Now the design of philosophers in their precepts, was either, 
to use virtue as the means to obtain reputation and honour 
in the world. This was evident in their books and actions. 
They were sick of self-love, and did many things to satisfy 
the eye. They led their lives as in a scene, where one per- 
son is within, and another is represented without, by an arti- 
ficial imitation of what is true. They were swelled with 
presumption, having little merit and a great deal of vanity. 
Now this respect to the opinion of others corrupts the inten- 
tion, and vitiates the action. It is not sincere virtue, but a 
superficial appearance that is regarded; for it is sufficient to 
that purpose to seem to be virtuous without being so. As a 
proud person would rather wear counterfeit pearls, that are 
esteemed right, than right which are esteemed counterfeit; 
so one that is vain-glorious prefers the reputation of being 
virtuous, before real virtue. From hence we may discover 
that many of their most specious actions were disguised sins; 
their virtues were as false as their deities. Upon this ac- 
count St. Austin, Lib. 4. cont. Jul. c. 3. condemns the heroi- 
cal actions of the Romans as vicious ; " Virtute civili, non 
vera, sed veri simili, humanac gloria; scrvierunt." Pride had 
a principal part in them. — Or, the end of philosophy was to 
prevent the mischiefs which licentiousness and disorders 
might bring upon men from without, or to preserve inward 
peace, by suppressing the turbulent passions arising from 
lust or rage, that discompose the mind. This was the pre- 
tended design of Epicurus, to whom virtue was amiable only 
as the instrument of pleasure. — Or, the height of philosophy 
was to propound the beauty of virtue, and its charming as- 
pect, as the most worthy motive to draw the afft'Ctions. Now 
supposing that some of the heathens, (although very few,) 
by discovering the internal beauty of virtue, had a love to it, 
and performed some tilings without any private respect, but 
for the rectitude of the action and the inward satisfaction 
that springs from it, yet they were still defective; for virtue 
is but a ray of the Deity, and our duty is not complete, un- 
less it be referred to his glory, who is the principle and pat- 
tern of it. In short, the great Creator made man for himself, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 245 

and it is most just that as his favour is our sovereign happi- 
ness, so his glory should be our supreme end, without which 
nothing is regular and truly beautiful. 

By these several instances it appears how insufficient phi- 
losophy is to direct us in our principal duty, that respects 
God. 

Philosophy was defective also in its directions about moral 
duties that respect ourselves or others. 

Philosophers were not sensible of the first inclinations to 
sin. They allow the disorder of the sensitive appetite as in- 
nocent, till it passes to the supreme part of the soul, and in- 
duces it to deliberate or resolve upon moral actions; for they 
were ignorant of that original and intimate pollution that 
cleaves to the human nature; and because our faculties are 
natural, they thought the first motions to forbidden objects, 
that are universal in the best as well as worst, to be natural 
desires, not the irregularities of lust. Accordingly all their 
precepts reach no farther than the counsels of the heart ; 
but the desires and motions of the lower faculties, though 
very culpable, are left by them indifferent. So that it is 
evident that many defilements and stains are in their purga- 
tive virtues. 

The Stoics not being able to reconcile the passions with 
reason, wholly renounced them. Their philosophy is like 
the river in Thrace, 

-"Quod potum saxea reddit 



Viscera, quod tactis inducit marmora rebus." Ovid. 

For by a fiction of fancy they turn their virtuous person 
into a statue, that feels neither the inclinations of love nor 
the aversions of hatred; that is not touched with joy or 
sorrow ; that is exempt from fears and hopes. The tender 
and melting affections of nature towards the misery of others, 
they entirely extinguish as unbecoming perfect virtue. They 
attribute wisdom to none, but whom they rob of humanity. 
Now, as it is the ordinary effect of folly to run into one ex- 
treme by avoiding another, so it is most visibly here; for the 
affections are not like poisonous plants to be eradicated, but 
as wild, to be cultivated. They were at first set in the fresh 
soil of man's nature by the hand of God ; and the scripture 
describes the divine perfections, and the actions proceeding 
from them, by terms borrowed from human affections, which 
proves them to be innocent in their own nature. Plutarch 
observes when Lycurgus commanded to cut up all the vines 

21* ^ 



246 THE HARMONY OF 

in Sparta to prevent drunkenness, he should rather have made 
fountains by them to allay the heat of the wines, and make 
them beneficial: so true wisdom prescribes how to moderate 
and temper the affections, not to destroy them. It is true, 
they are now sinfully inclined, yet being removed from car- 
nal to spiritual objects, they are excellently serviceable. As 
reason is to guide the affections, so they are to excite reason, 
whose operations would be languid without them. The na- 
tures that are purely spiritual, as the angels, have an under- 
standing so clear, as suddenly to discover in objects their 
qualities and to feel their efiicacy ; but man is compounded of 
two natures, and the matter of his body obscures the light of 
his mind, that he cannot make such a full discovery of good 
or evil at the first view, as may be requisite to quicken his 
pursuit of the one and flight from the other. Now, the affec- 
tions awaken the vigour of the mind to make an earnest ap- 
plication to its object. They are as the winds, which although 
sometimes tempestuous, yet are necessary to convey the ship 
to the port. So that it is contumelious to the Creator, and 
injurious to the human nature, to take them away as abso- 
lutely vicious. The Lord Jesus, who was pure and perfect, 
expressed all human affections according to the quality of the 
objects presented to him ; and his law requires us not to 
mortify, but to purify, consecrate, and employ them for spi- 
ritual and honourable uses. 

Philo.sophy is incfffctual by all its rules to form tlie soul 
to true patience and contentment under sufferings. Now, con- 
sidering the vanity and greatness of the changes and calami- 
ties to which tlie jyesent life is obnoxious, there is no virtue 
more necessary. And if we look into the M'orld before Chris- 
tianity had reformed the thoughts and language of men, v.^e 
shall discover their miserable errors upon tlie account of the 
.seeming confusion in human affairs, the unequal distribution 
of temporal goods and evils here below. If the heathens saw 
injustice triumph over innocence, and crimes worthy of the 
severest punishment crowned with prosperity; if a young 
man died, wlio in their esteem deserved to live for ever, and 
a vicious person lived an age, who was unworthy to be born: 
they complained that tlie Morld was not governed according 
to righteousness, but rash fortune or blind fate ruled all. As 
the Pharisee in the gospel, seeing the woman that had been 
a notorious sinner so kindly received by Christ, said within 
himself, "If this man were a prophet he would know M-ho it 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 247 

is that touches him ;" so they concluded, if there were a pro- 
vidence that did see and take care of sublunary things, that 
did not only permit but dispose of all affairs, it would make 
a visible distinction between the virtuous and the wicked. 

It is true, God did not leave the Gentiles without " a wit- 
ness of himself;" for sometimes the reasons of his provi- 
dence, in the great changes of the world, were so conspicu- 
ous, that they might discover an eye in the sceptre, that his 
government was managed with infinite wisdom. Other pro- 
vidences were veiled and mysterious ; but the sight of those 
that were clear, should have induced them to believe the jus- 
tice and wisdom of those they could not comprehend; as So- 
crates having read a book of Heraclitus, a great philosopher 
but studiously obscure, and his judgment being demanded 
concerning it, said, that what he understood was very rational, 
and he thought what he did not understand was so. But they 
did not wisely consider things. The present sense of trou- 
bles tempted them, either to deny providence or accuse it. 
Every day some unhappy wretch or other reproached their 
gods for the disasters he suffered. Now the end of philosophy 
was to redress these evils, to make an afllicted to be a con- 
tented state. The philosophers speak much of the power 
of their precepts to establish the soul in the instability of 
worldly things, to put it into an impregnable fortress by its 
situation above the most terrible accidents. They boasted 
in a poetical bravery, of their victories over fortune, that 
they despised its flatery in a calm, and its fury in a storm, 
and in every place erect trophies to virtue triumphing over it. 
These are great words and sound high, but are empty of sub- 
stance and reality. Upon trial we shall find that all their ar- 
mour, though polished and shining, yet is not of proof against 
sharp affliction^. 

The arguments they used for comfort are taken from ne- 
cessity ; that we are born to sufferings ; the laws of humani- 
ty, which are unchangeable, subject us to them. But this 
consideration is not only ineffectual to cause true content- 
ment, but produces the contrary effect ; as the strength of 
Egypt is described to be like a reed that will pierce the 
hand instead of supporting it. Thus Solon, extremely la- 
menting the death of his son, and being asked why he shed 
so many barren tears that could not make his son spring out 
of the dust, replied, " For this reason I weep, because my 
wpeping can do me no good." Our desires after freedom 



248 THE HARMONY OF 

from miseries are inviolable ; so that every evil, the more 
fatal and inevitable it is, the more it afflicts us. If there be 
no way of escape, the spirit is overcome by impatience or 
despair. — From reflection upon the miseries that befall others. 
But this kind of consolation is vicious in its cause, proceed- 
ing from secret envy and uncliaritableness. There is little 
difference between him that regards another's misery to les- 
sen his own, and those who take pleasure in others' afflic- 
tions. And it administers no real comfort ; if a thousand 
drink of the waters of Marah, they are not less bitter. — 
Others sought for ease under sufferings, by remembering 
the pleasures that were formerly enjoyed. But this inflames 
rather than allays the distemper ; for as things are more 
clearly known, so more scnsiblj' felt by comparison. He 
that is tormented with the gout, cannot relieve his misery, 
by remembering the pleasant wine he drank before his fit. — 
The Stoics' universal cure of afflictions was, to change their 
opinion of them, and esteem them not real evils. Thus 
Possidonius, so much commended by Tully, who for many 
years was under torturing diseases, and survived a continual 
death, being visited by Pompey at Rhodes, entertained him 
with a philosophical discourse ; and when his pains were 
most acute, he smd, " Nihil agis dolor, quanquam sis moles- 
tus ; nunquam te esse confitebor malum." " In vain dost 
thou assault me, pain; though thou art troublesome, thou 
shall never force me to confess thou art evil." But the fol- 
ly of this boasting is visible ; for though he might appear 
with a cheerful countenance in the paroxysm of his disease 
to commend his philosophy, like a mountebank that swal- 
lows poison to put off his drugs, yet the reality of his grief 
was evident ; his sense was overcome, though his tongue re- 
mained a Stoic. If words could charm the senses not to 
feel pain, or compose the mind not to resent afflictions, it 
were a relief to give mollifying titles to them ; but since it 
is not fancy that makes them stinging, but their contrariety 
to nature, it is no relief to represent them otherwise than 
they are. All those subtle notions vanish, when sensible 
impressions confute them. — Others composed themselves by 
considering the benefit of patience. Discontent puts an 
edge on troubles ; to kick against the pricks, exasperates the 
pain ; to be restless and turmoiling, increases the fever. But 
this is not properly a consolation ; for although a calm and 
quiet submission prevents those new degrees of trouble, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 249 

whicli by fretting and vexing we bring upon ourselves, yet 
it doth not remove the evil, which may be very afflicting and 
grievous in its own nature -, so that without other considera- 
tions to support the mind, it will sink under it. 

And as these, so many other arguments they used to for- 
tify the spirit against sufferings, are like a hedge which at a 
distance seems to be a safe retreat from gun-shot, but those 
who retire to it, find it a weak defence. This appears by 
the carriage of the best instructed heathens in their calami- 
ties ; professing themselves to be wise in their speculations, 
they became fools in practice, and were confounded with all 
their philosophy, when they should have made use of it. — 
Some killed themselves from the apprehension of sufferings : 
their death was not the effect of courage, but of cowardice, 
the remedy of their fear. Others, impatient of disappoint- 
ment in their great designs, refused to live. I will instance 
in two of the most eminent among them, Caio and Brutus. 
They were botli philosophers of the manly sect ; and vir- 
tues never appeared Avith a brighter lustre among the hea- 
thens, than when joined with a stoical resolution. And 
they were not imperfect proficients, but masters in philoso- 
phy. Seneca employs all the ornaments of his eloquence 
to make Cato's eulogy: he represents him as the consum- 
mate exemplar of wisdom, as one that realized the sublime 
idea of virtue described in their writings. And Brutus was 
esteemed equal to Cato. Yet these, with all the power of 
their philosophy, were not able to bear the shock of adver- 
sity. Like raw fencers, one thrust put them into such dis- 
order, that they forgot all their instructions in the place of 
trial ; for being unsuccessful in their endeavours to restore 
Rome to its liberty, overcome with discontent and despair, 
they laid violent hands upon themselves. Cato being pre- 
vented in his first attempt, afterwards tore open his wounds 
with fierceness and rage; and Brutus, ready to plunge the 
sword into his breast, complained that virtue was but a vain 
name. So insufficient are the best precepts of mere natural 
reason to relieve us in distress. As torrents that are dried 
up in the heat of summer when there is the most need of 
them, so all comforts fail in extremity, that are not derived 
from the fountain of life. 

I will only add how ineffectual philosophy is to support 
us in a dying hour. The fear of death is a passion so strong, 
that by it men are kept in bondage all their days. It is an 



250 THE HARMONY OF 

enemy that threatens none whom it doth not strike, and 
there is none but it threatens. Certainly that spectre which 
Caesar had not courage to look in the face, is very affright- 
ing. Alexander himself, that so often despised it in the field, 
when passion that transported him cast a veil over his eyes ; 
yet when he was struck with a mortal disease in Babylon, 
and had death in his view, his palace was filled with priests 
and diviners, and no superstition was so sottish, but he used 
it to preserve himself. And although the philosophers 
seemed to contemn death, yet the great preparations they 
made to encounter it, argue a secret fear in their breasts. 

Many discourses, reasonings, and arguments are employ- 
ed to sweeten that cruel necessity, but they are all ineffect- 
ual: — that is the condition of our nature; to be a man and 
immortal, are inconsistent. But this consolation afflicts to 
extremity. If there were any means to escape, the soul 
might take courage. He is doubly miserable, whose misery 
is without remedy. — That it puts a period to all temporal 
evils. But as this is of no force with those who are pros- 
perous, and never felt those miseries wliich make life intole- 
rable, so it cannot rationally relieve any that have not good 
hopes of felicity after death. The heal hens discovered not 
the sling of death, as it is the wages of sin, and consigns 
the guilty to eternal death ; so that they build upon a false 
foundation, as if it were the cure of all evils. — They encou- 
raged themselves from their ignorance of the consequences 
of death, whether it only changed their place, or extinguish- 
ed their persons. Socrates, who died with a seeming indif- 
ference, gave this account of it, that he did not know whe- 
ther death was good or evil. But this is not fortitude, but 
folly : as Aristotle observes, that readiness to encounter dan- 
gers arising from ignorance, is not true valour, but a brutish 
boldness. What madness is it then for one that enters upon 
an eternal state, not knowing whether it shall be happy or 
miserable, to be unaffected with that dreadful uncertainty? 

But now the gospel furnishes us with real remedies against 
all the evils of our present state. It is the true paradise 
wherein the tree of life is planted, whose " leaves are for 
the healing of the nations." We are assured that God dis- 
poses all things, with the wisdom and love of a father ; and 
that his providence is most admirable and worthy of praise 
in those things wherein they who are only led by sense, 
doubt whether it be at all ; for as it is the first point of pru- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 251 

dence to keep off evils, so the second and more excellent is, 
to make them beneficial. Christians " are more than con- 
querors through Christ that loves them." They are always 
in an ascending state ; and believing, rejoice with an un- 
speakable and glorified joy. Death itself is not only dis- 
armed, but made subservient to their everlasting good. — 
Briefly, christian patience endures all things as well as cha- 
rity, because it expects a blessed issue. It draws from 
present miseries the assurance of future happiness. A be- 
liever while he possesses nothing but the cross, sees by faith 
the crown of the eternal kingdom hanging over his head ; 
and the " lively hope" of it makes him not only patient, 
but thankful and joyful. This sweetens the loss of all 
temporal goods, and the presence of all temporal evils. — 
St. Paul in his chains was infinitely more contented than 
Caesar or Seneca, than all the princes and philosophers in 
the world. 

I will conclude this argument by a short reflection on the 
immoral maxims of several sects of philosophers. The Cy- 
nics assert that all natural actions may be done in the face 
of the sun; that it is worthy of a philosopher to do those 
things in the presence of all, which v/ould make impudence 
itself to blush — a maxim contrary to ail the rules of decency, 
and corruptive of good manners ; for as the despising of vir- 
tue produces the slight/ng of reputation, so the contempt of 
reputation causes the neglect of virtue. Yet the Stoics with 
all their gravity were not far from this advice. Besides, 
among other unreasonable paradoxes, they assert all sins are 
equal ; that the killing a bird is of the same guilt with mur- 
dering a parent — a principle that breaks the restraints of fear 
and shame, and opens a passage to all licentiousness. They 
commended self-murder in several cases ; which unnatural 
fury is culpable in many respects, of rebelling against God, 
injustice to others, and cruelty to one's self. Zeno, the 
founder of the sect, practised his own doctrine ; for falling 
to the ground, he interpreted it to be a summons to appear 
in another world, and strangled himself. Aristotle allows 
the appetite of revenging injuries to be as natural as the in- 
clination to gratitude, judging according to the common rule, 
that one contrary is the measure of another. Nay, he con- 
demns the pulting up with an injury as degeneroiis and ser- 
vile. He makes indignation at the prosperity of unworthj' 
men, a virtue ; and to prove it, tells us the Grecians attri- 



252 THE HARMONY OF 

buted it to their gods, as a passion becoming tlie excellency 
of their natures. But if we consider, the Supreme Disposer 
of all things may do what he pleases witli his own, that he 
is infinitely wise, and in the next world will dispense eternal 
recompenses, there is not the least cause of irritation for that 
seeming disorder. He also allows pride to be a noble tem- 
per that proceeds from a sublime spirit. He represents his 
hero by this among other characters, that he is displeased 
with those who mention to him the benefits he hath received, 
which make him inferior to those that gave them ; as if hu- 
mility and gratitude were qualities contrary to magnanimity. 
He condemns envy as a vice that would bring down others 
to our meanness, but commends emulation which urges to 
ascend to the height of them that are above us. But this is 
no real virtue, for, it doth not excite us by the worth of mo- 
ral good, but from the vain desire of equality or pre-eminence. 
And Plato himself, though styled divine, yet delivers many 
things that are destructive of moral honesty. He dissolves 
the most sacred band of human society, ordaining in his 
commonwealth a community of wives. He allows an honest 
man to lie on some occasions ; whereas the rule is eternal, 
We must not do evil, that jrood may come thereby. In 
short, a considering eye will discover many spots, as well as 
beauties, in tlieir most admired institutions. They commend 
those things as virtues which are vices, and leave out those 
virtues whicli are necessary for the perfection of our nature ; 
and the virtues they commend, are defective in those quali- 
ties tliat are requisite to make them sincere. If philosophy 
were incarnate, and had expressed the purity and efficacy of 
all iis precepts in real actions, yet it had aljiindantly fallen 
short of that supernatural, angelical, divine holiness, which 
the gospel requires. Till the wisdom of God removed his 
chair from heaven to earth to instruct the world, not only the 
depravation of the lower faculties, but the darkness of the 
human understanding, hindered men from performing their 
universal duty. The gospel alone brings light to the mind, 
peace to the conscience, purity to the affections, and recti- 
tude to the life. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 253 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST, AND THE GIFT OF THE HOLY 
SPIRIT. 

2. The second means by which our Redeemer restores us 
to holiness, is by exhibiting a complete pattern of it in his 
life upon earth. 

For the discovery how influential this is upon us, we must 
consider, that of all the most noble works, the principal cause 
is an exact pattern in the mind of the agent which he endea- 
vours to imitate ; and examples are of the same nature. He 
that desires to excel in painting or sculpture, must view the 
most accomplished pieces of those arts. Thus in morality, 
the consideration of eminent actions performed by others, is 
of admirable efficacy to raise us to perfection. 

That examples have a peculiar power above the naked 
precept, to dispose us to the practice of holiness, appears by 
considering, — that they most clearly express to us the nature 
of our duties in their subjects and sensible effects. General 
precepts form abstract ideas of virtue, but in examples vir- 
tues are made visible in all their circumstances. — Precepts 
instruct us what things are our duty, but examples assure us 
that they are possible. They resemble a clear stream wherein 
we may not only discover our spots, but wash them off. 
When we see men like ourselves, who are united to frail 
flesh and in the same condition with us, to command their 
passions, to overcome the most glorious and glittering tempt- 
ations, we are encouraged in our spiritual warfare. — Exam- 
ples, by a secret and lively incentive, urge us to imitation. 
The Romans kept in their houses the pictures of their pro- 
genitors, to heighten their spirits, and provoke them to follow 
the precedents set before them. We are touched in another 
manner more by the visible practice of saints, which re- 
proaches our defects and obliges us to the same care and 
zeal, than by laws though holy and good. 

Now the example of Christ is most proper to form us to 
holiness, it being absolutely perfect, and accommodated to 
our present state. 

(1.) It is absolutely perfect. There is no example of a 
mere man, that is to be followed without limitation. " Be 
22 



254 THE HARMONY OF 

ye followers of me, as I am of Christ," saith the great apos- 
tle. Nay, if the excellencies of all good men were united 
into one, yet we might not securely follow him in all things 3 
for his remaining defects might be so disguised by the vir- 
tues to which they are joined, that we should err in our imi- 
tation. But the life of Christ was as the purest gold, with- 
out any alloy or baser metal. His conversation was a living 
law. He did " no sin, neither was any guile found in his 
mouth." He was " holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from 
sinners," Heb. vii. 26. He united the efficacy of example 
with the direction of precepts ; his actions always answered 
his words. Christianity, the purest institution in the world, 
is only a conformity to his pattern. Tlie universal command 
of the gospel, that comprises all our duties, is, " to walk as 
Christ walked." 

(2.) His example is most accommodated to our present 
state. There must be some proportion between the model, 
and the copy that is to be drawn by it. Now the divine na- 
ture is the supreme rule of moral perfections. We are com- 
manded to be holy, "as God is holy." But such is the ob- 
scurity of our minds, and the weakness of our natures, that 
the pattern was too high and glorious to be expressed by us. 
We had not strength to ascend to him, but he had goodness 
to descend to us ; and in this present state to set before us a 
pattern more fitted to our capacity. Although light is the 
proper object of sight, yet the radiancy and immense light of 
the sun in tlie meridian is invisible to our sight ; we more 
easily discover the reflection of it in some opacous body; so 
the divine attributes are sweetened in the Son of God incar- 
nate, and being united with the graces proper for the human 
nature, are more perceptible to our minds and more imitable 
by us. This was one great design of his coming into the 
world, to set before us in doing and suffering, not a mere 
spectacle for our wonder, but a copy to be transcribed in our 
hearts and lives. He therefore chose such a tenor of life as 
every one might imitate. His supreme virtue expressed it- 
self in such a temperate course of actions, that as Abimelech 
said to his followers, Judges ix. 48, " What ye have seen me 
do, make haste and do as I have done ;" so our true Abime- 
lech, our Father and Sovereign, calls upon us to imitate him. 
Tlie first effect of predestination is to conform u;^: to the im- 
age of the Son, who " was for this end made the first born 
among many brethren." He assumed the human nature, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 255 

that he might partake of the divine, not only by his merit, 
but example. 

This will appear more fully by considering, there are some 
virtues necessary to our condition as creatures, or with re- 
spect to our state of trial here below, which the Deity is not 
capable of; and those most eminently appear in the life of 
Christ. I will instance in three, which are the elements of 
Christian perfection — his humility in despising all the honour 
of the world, his obedience in sacrificing his will entirely to 
God's, and his charity in procuring the salvation of men by 
his sufferings : and in all these he denied to his human na- 
ture the privilege due to it by its union with the eternal Word. 

Humihty, in strictness, hath no place in God. He requires 
the tribute of glory from all his creatures. And the Son of 
God had a right to divine honour upon his first appearance 
here below. Yet he was born in a stable, and made subject 
to our common imperfections. Although he was ordained 
to convert the world by his doctrine and miracles, yet for 
the tenth part of his time he lived concealed and silent, be- 
ing subject to his mother and reputed father, in the servile 
work of a carpenter. And after his solemn investiture into 
his office by a voice from heaven, yet he was despised and 
contemned. He refused to be a king, and stooped so low as 
to wash his disciples feet. All this he did to instruct us to be 
"meek and lowly," to correct our pride, the most intimate 
and radicated corruption of nature, Mat. xi. 29. For as 
those diseases are most incurable, which draw nourishment 
from that food w^hich is taken for the support of life ; so 
pride, that turns virtuous actions which are the matter of 
praise into its nourishment, is most difficultly overcome. But 
the example of the Son of God, in whom there is a union 
of all divine and human perfections, debasing himself to the 
form of a servant, is sufficient, if duly considered, to naake 
us walk humbly. 

Obedience is a virtue that becomes an inferior, either a 
servant or subject, who is justly under the power of others, 
and must be complying with their will ; so that it is very dis- 
tant from God, who hath none superior to him in dominion 
or wisdom, but his will is the rule of goodness to his own 
and others' actions. Now the Son of God became man, and 
was universally obedient to the law of his Father. And 
his obedience had all the ingi-edients that mjght commend it 
to our imitation. The value of obedience arises upon three 



256 THE HARMONY OF 

accounts: — the dignity of the person that obeys; it is more 
meritorious in an honourable than in a mean person : — from 
the difficulty of the command, it being no great victory over 
the appetite in obedience, " ubi diligitur quod debetur," where 
the instance is agreeable to our affections : — from the entire- 
ness of the will in obeying ; for to perform a commanded ac- 
tion against our consent, is only to be subject in the meaner 
part of man, the body, and to resist in the superior, which is 
the mind. Now, in all these respects the obedience of Christ 
was perfect. In the dignity of the person obeying, it ex- 
ceeded the obedience of all the angels, as much as the divine 
person exceeded all created. The difficulty of the command 
is greater than ever was put upon servant or subject; "he 
was obedient to the death of the cross," that is, death with 
dishonour and torment, the evils that are most contrary to 
the human nature and appetite. And the completeness of 
his will in obeying, is most evident ; for if Christ had desired 
deliverance from his persecutors, he had certainly obtained 
it. He tells his disciples, that upon his request his Father 
would send twelve legions of angels for his rescue. But he 
resigned the whole power of his will to his Father's; "Not 
my will, but thine be done," was his voice at his private pas- 
sion in the garden. He submitted the act and exercise of his 
will ; "Not what I will, but what thou wilt," he saith in ano- 
ther evangelist. He yielded not only the faculty and exer- 
cise of his will to do what God enjoined, but in that manner 
which was pleasing to him ; " Not as I will, but as thou wilt," 
he expresses in the words of a third. Now, what is there in 
heaven or earth that can move our wills to entire obedience, 
if this marvellous pattern doth not affect us? "Let the same 
mind be in you that was in Christ," saith the apostle. How 
glorious is it to do what he did. and what a reproach to decline 
what he suffered, who had the holiness of God to give excel- 
lency to the action, and the infirmity of man to endure the 
sharpness of the passion! 

Love to mankind is expressed by our Saviour in a peculiar 
manner; for although God is infinitely good to us, yet he 
doth not prefer the happiness of man before his own blessed- 
ness. The salvation of the whole world were not to be pur- 
chased with the least diminution of the divine felicity. But 
the Son of God suffered the extremest evil to procure the 
most sovereign good for us, who were in rebellion against 
his laws and empire. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 257 

Briefly, the life of Christ contains all our duties towards 
God and man expressed in the most perfect manner, or mo- 
tives to perform them. We may clearly see in his deport- 
ment, innocent wisdom, prudent simplicity, compassionate 
zeal, perfect patience, the courage of faith, the joy of hope, 
the tenderness and care of love, incomparable meekness, 
modesty, humility, and purity. He spent the night in com- 
munion with God, and the day in charity to men. He per- 
fectly hated sin, and, equally loved souls. The nearest and 
readiest way to perfection is a serious regard to his precedent-, 
for the causes of all sin are either the desire of what he de- 
spised, or the fear of what he suifered. He voluntarily de- 
prived himself of riches, honours, pleasures, to render them 
contemptible: and endured outrages of all sorts, the "con- 
tradiction of sinners," and the sharpest sufferings, to make 
them tolerable. He ascended Mount Calvary to his cross, be- 
fore he ascended from mount Olivet to his throne : he was 
naked before he was clothed with a robe of light, and crown- 
ed with thorns before with glory. And thus he powerfully 
teaches us to follow his steps, " who suffered for us." If a 
physician of great esteem, in a disease, takes a bitter potion, 
it would persuade those who are in the same danger to use 
the same remedy. Since the Son of God, to purchase our 
happiness, denied himself the enjoyment of worldly delights 
and endured the worst of temporal evils, nothing can be more 
effectual to convince us, that the pleasures of the world are 
not considerable as to our last end, and that present afflictions 
are so far from being inconsistent with our supreme blessed- 
ness, that they prepare us for it. 

In short, his excellent example not only enlightens our 
minds to discover our duty, but enables and excites us to per- 
form it. As the eye in beholding visible objects receives their 
image, so by contemplating the graces that are conspicuous 
in our Redeemer, we derive a similitude from them, "We 
all," saith the apostle, " with open face beholding as in a 
glass the glory of the Lord," that is, by viewing in the gos- 
pel the life of Christ which was glorious in holiness, " are 
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by 
the Spirit of the Lord ;" that is, gradually fashioned in grace 
according to his likeness, 2 Cor. iii. 18. 

And what can more powerfully move and persuade us to 
holiness, than to consider the precedent that Christ hath set 
before us? for how honourable is it to be like the Son of God! 
22* 



258 THE HARMONY OF 

\ 

By conformity to Christ we partake of the divine perfections. 
The King of heaven will acknowledge us for his children, 
when we bear the resemblance of our elder brother. Besides 
the motive of honour, love doth strongly incline to follow 
holiness in imitation of our Redeemer. This is one difference 
between knowledge and love — the understanding draws the 
object to itself, and transforms it into its own likeness ; thus 
material objects have an immaterial existence in the mind 
when it contemplates them : but love goes forth to the object 
loved ; the soul is more where it loves than where it lives j 
that is, there is more of its intellectual presence, its thoughts 
and desires ; and it always effects a resemblance to it. Thus 
love humbled God, and made him like to us in nature ; and 
love exalts man, by making him like to God in holiness, for 
it excites us to imitate and express in our actions the virtues 
of him "who hath called us to his kingdom and glory." 

3. In order to the restoring of holiness to lapsed man, the 
Lord Christ purchased and conveys the Spirit to them. 

A state of sin includes a total privation of holiness, and an ac- 
tive contrariety against it. The sinner is dead as to the spiritual 
life, and as unable to revive himself, as a carcase is to break 
the gales of death and return to the light of the world ; but 
he lives to the sensual life, and expresses a constant opposi- 
tion to the law of God. He is without strength as to his 
duty, not able to conceive one holy thought, or to excite a 
sincere and ardent desire towards divine things; but hath 
strong inclinations of will and great power for that which is 
evil. Now to restore life to the dead soul, and to conquer the 
living enmity tliat is in it against holiness, no less than the 
divine power was requisite. And the effecting of this is pe- 
culiarly attributed to the Spirit. Our Saviour tells Nicode- 
mus, " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God," John iii. 5. And the 
apostle saith, that "according to his mercy he saves us, by 
the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost," Tit. iii. 5. As in the creation, where all the persons 
concurred, it was the motion of the Spirit that conveyed the 
life of nature ; .so in the renovation of the world, where they 
all co-operate, it is the powerful working of the Spirit that 
produces the life of grace. He visits us in tlie grave, and in- 
spires the breath and flame of heaven to animate and warm 
our dead hearts. It was requisite not only that the Word 
should take flesh, but that flesh should receive the Spirit 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 259 

to quicken and enable it to perform the acts of divine life. It 
is for this reason the third person is frequently styled in 
scripture " the Holy Spirit." That title hath not an im- 
mediate respect to his nature, but to the operations which 
are assigned to him in the admirable economy of our redemp- 
tion. It is not upon the account of his essential and eternal 
purity, which is common to all the persons, but in regard of 
his office to infuse holiness into the depraved soul, and renew 
the divine image, that he is so called. 

Now Jesus Christ purchased the Spirit by his humiliation 
and sufferings, and conveys him to us in his exaltation and 
glory. 

(1.) He purchased the Spirit by his sufferings; for since 
man fell from his original innocence, he is justly deprived 
of special grace, that is necessary to heal and recover him. 
And till by a perfect sacrifice divine justice was appeased, 
(that had shut the treasure of heaven,) and the forfeiture 
taken off, he could not obtain the eternal riches. God must 
be reconciled before he will bestow the Holy Spirit, a gift so 
great and so precious, the earnest of his peculiar love and 
special favour to us. Therefore our Saviour tells his disci- 
ples, who were extremely afflicted for his departure from 
them, that it was expedient he should go away, for otherwise 
the Spirit would not come, whose office was to convince and 
convert the world, John xvi. 7. The departure of Christ im- 
plied his death and ascension, both which were requisite in 
order to the sending of him. If the blood of Christ had not 
been shed on the cross, the Spirit had not been poured forth 
from heaven. The effusion of the one was the cause of the 
effusion of the other. The rock that refreshed the Israelites 
in the desert, did not pour forth its miraculous waters, till it 
was struck by the rod of Moses, to instruct us, that Christ, 
our spiritual rock, must be struck with the curse of the law, 
the mystical rod of Moses, to communicate the waters of life 
to us, that is, the Spirit, who is represented in scripture un- 
der that element. 

(2.) Our Redeemer conferred the Spirit after his glorious 
exaltation. " When he ascended up on high, he led captivity 
captive, and gave gifts unto men," Ephes. iv. 8. After his 
triumph over principalities and powers, he dispensed his 
bounty in this rich donative ; for the Holy Spirit was first 
given to Christ, as the reward of his excellent obedience in 
dyingj that was infinitely pleasing to God, to be communica- 



260 THE HARMONY OF 

ted from him to men. And he received the spirit in the 
quality of Mediator upon his entrance into heaven. The 
psahuist declares this prophetically : " Thou hast ascended 
on high ; thou hast led captivity captive ; thou hast received 
gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God 
might dwell among them," Psalm Ixviii. 18. He acquired a 
right to those treasures by dying, but he takes possession of 
them after liis ascension. Now he is crowned, he holds forth 
the sceptre of his royalty. Therefore it is said, that when 
Christ was upon the earth, " the Holy Ghost was not given, 
because that Jesus was not yet glorified," John vii. 39. 

If it be objected, that believers before the ascension of 
Christ were partakers of the Spirit, the answer is clear ; — it 
was upon Christ's interposing in the beginning as Mediator, 
and witli respect to his future death and ascension, that the 
Spirit was given to them. — The degrees of communicating 
the Spirit before and after the ascension of Christ, are very 
different. Whetlier we consider " the gifts of the Spirit," 
those extraordinary abilities with which the apostles were en- 
dued, or the " fruits of the Spirit," the sanctifying graces that 
are bestowed on believers, the measure of them far exceeds 
whatever was conveyed before. The Spirit descended as in 
a dew upon the Jewish nation, but it is now poured forth in 
showers " upon all flesh." Now, in the style of scripture, 
things arc said to be, when apparently and eminently they 
discover their being ; so that comparatively to the power and 
virtue of the Spirit discovered in the cliurch since the glorifi- 
cation of Christ, he was not given before. All the former 
manifestations are obscured by the excess and excellency of 
the latter. 

And not only the decree of God, which is sufllcient to con- 
nect those things that have no natural dependncce, but there 
are special reasons for the order of this dispensation ; for the 
great end of the Spirit's coming was to reveal fully to the 
world the way of salvation, to discover the unsearchable 
riches of grace, to assure men of happiness after this life, that 
they might be reduced from a state of rebellion to obedience, 
and their affections be refined and purified from all earthli- 
ness, and made angelical and heavenly. Now the principal 
demonstrations wliichheused to persuade men of these things, 
are the death and resurrection of Christ, without which these 
mysteries had been under a cloud. That the instruction 
therefore of the Spirit might be clear and effectual, it was ne- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 261 

cessary Christ should suffer and enter into heaven, and ac- 
complish those things he was to teach. 

And from hence we may observe, that the sanctifying 
grace of the Spirit is the inseparable concomitant of the 
evangelical mercy. The gospel and the Spirit are the wings 
by which the Sun of righteousness brings healing and life to 
the world, Mai. iv. 2. The supernatural declaration of jus- 
tice in the law from Mount Sinai, was not accompanied with 
the efficacy of grace ; therefore, it is called " the ministration 
of death," 2 Cor. iii. 7. It conveyed no spiritual strength as 
delivered by the hands of Moses, considering him precisely 
in the quality of the legal Mediator, but threatened a curse to 
the breakers of it. All the promises of mercy scattered in 
the books of Moses belong to the covenant of grace. The 
gospel is called the " law of the Spirit of life," and " the 
ministration of the Spirit ;" that is, the Spirit of holiness and 
comfort, from whom true and eternal life proceeds, is com- 
municated solely by it. The natural discovery of the divine 
goodness in the works of creation and providence, is without 
the renewing power of the Spirit. There is a correspon- 
dence between the external revelation of mercy, and the in- 
ternal grace of the Spirit in their original: as the one is su- 
pernatural, so is the other. 

Not that but the heathens had some fainter beams of the 
Sun of righteousness, for he enlightens " every man that 
Cometh into the world ;" and some lower operations of the 
Spirit, whereby they were reduced from intemperance, in- 
continency, and other gross vices, to the practice of several 
virtues that respect the civil life. And of this we have an 
eminent instance recorded by Diogenes Laertius; that Pole- 
mo half-drunk, crowned with roses, and in the dress of a har- 
lot rather than that of a man, coming into the school of the 
severe Zenocrates, hearing him discourse of temperance, was 
so perfectly changed, as by a charm, that casting away the 
garland from his head and the lascivious ornaments that were 
about him, and, which was more considerable, his vicious 
habits from his soul, he that entered a reveller, came forth a 
philosopher, so corrected and composed in his manners, that 
he was called the Doric tone, which of all others was the 
jnost solemn and majestical in the music of those times. Now, 
this alteration was wrought by the force of natural reason, 
which prevailed on him to renounce those sensual and base 
lusts that were inconsistent with the honour and peace of 



262 THE HARMONY OP 

a man in this present life ; but still he was exceedingly dis- 
tant from the purity of a true saint, who partakes " of the 
divine nature," and is inclined in all his motions to God. 
" All the precepts of morality," to use the similitude of Plu- 
tarch, " are like strong perfumes that sometimes revive those 
that are in a swoon by the falling-sickness, but never heal 
them :" so they may recover those that are debauched, from 
the outward practice of those ignoble vices which violate 
natural conscience, but they cannot rectify and cure the cor- 
rupt nature. The highest philosophical change was only 
from those vices which were scandalous in the view of men, 
but consisted with those which were, though more subtle, 
yet not less sinful, and discernible by the pure eye of God. 
It was from one kind of sin to another, from sensual to spi- 
ritual, that " Satan cast out Satan," or from higher to lower 
degrees of sin ; but not from sin to holiness. And although 
the same good works, as to the external substance, were per- 
formed by the heathens as by Christians, yet they vastly 
differ in their principle and end. A brute performs all the 
acts of sense that a man doth, but it is merely from the 
sensitive soul, that is of a lower order than that which ani- 
mates a man : so in the heathen, it was only the human spi- 
rit excited by secular and private interests, self-love, servile 
fear, tliat performed moral actions. But the Holy Spirit 
(who infuses grace, that is, as ii were, a second soul, to ele- 
vate that which before quickened the body) is the true prin- 
ciple of Christian virtues. This sanctifying Spirit, who trans- 
forms us into the divine nature, and makes an entire and 
thorough change in the heart and conversation, they did not 
receive in the way of nature. Of this we have a convincing 
proof in the example of the best masters of morality, who 
by their discourses or writings, raised it to the point of its 
perfection. Socrates, the father of philosophy, to whom 
this honour is ascribed among the Grecians, that he first 
made wisdom descend from heaven to earth, because he left 
the study of astronomy in which the philosophers before 
him were most conversant, and applied himself to that 
which is useful for the government of life and reformation 
of manners ; he that is propounded by the Gentiles as an un- 
paralleled pattern, as one that discovered to what degree of 
excellency virtue might raise the human spirit, yet was 
guilty of great immorality and impiety. Those who pre- 
tend to have known the retirements of his life, accused him 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 263 

of impure commerce with Alcibiades. He betrayed the 
chastity of his wife by giving her to his friend. Plato and 
Xenophon, his admirers, declare his compliance with the 
common idolatry, which is justly aggravated by St. Austin, 
being against the convictions of his conscience ; for although 
in private discourse with his friends he acknowledged but 
one God, and considered the sun and moon only as the 
works and instruments of the divine power, and in the rank 
of other creatures, yet in his apology before his judges, to 
prevent the fatal sentence, he charged his enemies to be 
guilty of impudent falsehood, who accused him that he did 
not believe the gods, since he believed, as all other men, that 
the sun and moon were gods. And during the time of his 
imprisonment, he never addressed one prayer to God for the 
pardon of his sins, for he had so high an opinion of his own 
virtues, that he was insensible of his vices ; and dying, he 
commanded a cock to be offered to ^Esculapius, that is, to the 
devil under the disguise of that famous physician. To So- 
crates I shall add Seneca. Never any, excepting the sacred 
writers, and those who are instructed by them, hath written 
more excellently. He describes virtue as if the living origi- 
nal were in his breast; but how dull a copy was drawn in 
his life ! There is as great a difference between the expres- 
sion of it by his pen and his actions, as between the lively 
picture of a face by a rare pencil, and the rude draught of it 
with a coal. What a villanous pgrt did he act in exciting 
Nero to murder his mother, and afterwards in writing an 
apology for it, employing the colours of his rhetoric to co- 
ver one of the foulest blols which hath appeared in the suc- 
cession of all ages ! His philosophy was not a powerful an- 
tidote against the contagion of the court, (Tacit, lib. 15.) 
What just excuse can there be of his cruelty to his wife, in 
cutting her veins that she might die with him, from a vain- 
glorious desire to eternize their reputation? And whereas 
among the whole chorus of virtues, he in a special manner 
exalts magnanimity in the contempt of earthly things, and 
determines that the necessities of nature are the just mea- 
sures of riches and delights and all other things which the 
irregular appetites of men pursue, so that one would think 
him an angel in flesh, conversing below to instruct the 
world how to be happy ; yet the historians of those times 
tax him for insatiable avarice, that in a little time by un- 
worthy arts he raked up an incredible sum of money. Sup- 



264 THE HARMONY OF 

posing it a calumny that he forged many wills to seize upon 
the estates belonging to others, what excuse can there be for 
his excessive usury, his forcing the Britons to borrow a 
million of sesterces, and calling for it in, so much to their 
prejudice, as was likely to have caused their rebelhon ? 
What for his sumptuous palaces, and gardens of pleasure, 
exceeding the luxury of Nero ; and all those possessed by a 
man who had no son to inherit, a philosopher, a Stoic, the 
great commender of blessed poverty 7 All the apology he 
makes, is, that a wise man, that is himself, " non amat divi- 
tias sed mavult, non in animum illas sed in domum inducit, 
non respicit possessas sed continet 5" agreeing with Aristip- 
pus, a philosophizing animal, who being reproved for his 
entanglement in brutish love with a famous harlot, replied, 
" I possess her, not she me." The only difference is in the 
matter of their affections ; the one was riches, the other 
pleasure. By these instances we may judge of the rest of 
the pliilosophcrs. Although a vein of gold appear in their 
writings, yet their lives were full of dross. The best of 
them are charged to have practised vice with those, to 
whom they commended the precepts of virtue. The foulest 
actions were approved by some, and the most excellent con- 
demned by otliers, that pretended to philosophical perfec- 
tion. Unnatural lust was allowed as indifferent by Zeno 
and Chrysippus : and the noblest love in giving life itself 
for the glory of God in martyrdom, is censured by Epicte- 
tus and Antoninus, as the effect of foolish and incurable me- 
lancholy in Christians, who were disgusted with the world 
and devoted themselves to death. 

The Spirit of holiness, who forms tlic powerful and last- 
ing habits of true virtue in the soul, that effectually inclines 
to the love of God, and, with an intention for his glory, to 
obey his will, as it was purchased by Jesus Christ, so is pe- 
culiar to the dispensation of the gospel that reveals him. — 
The doctrine of it is not delivered with so much pomp, but 
witli infinitely more efficacy than the most eloquent instruc- 
tions of pliilosophcrs. One plain sermon tliat represents 
Christ as crucified before our eyes to obtain pardon of sin 
for us, inflames the soul with a more ardent love to God and 
vehement hatred of sin, than all their elegant and sublime 
discourses. There is the same difference between their mo- 
rals and the evangelical institution, as between two nurses: 
the one is adorned and looks lovely to the eye, but wants 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 265 

milk to nourish the infant in her arms ; the other is not so 
amiable in appearance, but hath a living spring of milk to 
nourish her child. Philosophy hath the advantage of artifi- 
cial beauty, but cannot supply the nourishment that is ne- 
cessary to maintain the spiritual life ; but the gospel affords 
the sincere rational milk to the soul, that " it may grow 
thereby." It is therefore called the " word of life," a title 
that distinguishes it from the law, and all human institutions. 

4. Jesus Christ hath presented the strongest inducements 
and motives to persuade us to holiness. The way which he 
takes to save us, is not by a mere act of power to raise us 
above ourselves; but he deals with us conveniently to our 
frame, in making use of our affections to bring us to him- 
self. And whereas there are three affections that have a 
mighty power over the reasonable, and are the inward 
springs of human actions, viz. fear, hope, and love ; he hath 
propounded such objects to them, which, being duly consi- 
dered, are infinitely more efficacious than any thing that 
may divert us from our duty. The great temptations to sin 
are from the terrors or delights of sense, and to overcome 
these, he hath brought to our assistance " the powers of the 
world to come ;" that is, hath revealed the dreadful prepara- 
tions for the punishment of the wicked, and the glorious re- 
wards that attend the godly in their future state. 

Now, to discover the efficacy of these objects for persua- 
ding men to be holy, I will consider their greatness, as it is 
described in the gospel, and their truth and reality, of which 
our Saviour hath given us convincing evidence and assu- 
rance. 

(1.) To excite our fear, he threatens torments extreme 
and eternal. These are set forth by such representations, 
as may impress the quickest sense of them upon man ; for 
the imagination depends on sensible experience, and is 
strongly affected with those things that are terrible to our 
outward faculties. Now hell is described by " a worm" 
gnawing the most tender parts, that are most capable of 
pain, to signify the furious reflections of the guilty soul, the 
sting of the enraged conscience, the torment of those per- 
fect passions that continually vex the damned. And it is 
set forth by " fire and brimstone," that is most fierce to 
sense ; the serious consideration of which is enough to cause 
terror and amazement in all that are liable to it. And if the 
sole apprehension be intolerable, how much more will be 

23 



266 THE HARMONY OF 

the " dwelling with devouring fire, and everlasting burning I" 
It is called the " blackness of darkness," to signify the com- 
plete horror of that state. The fire hath force to burn only, 
not to give any light to mitigate the obscurity. It is called 
the " second death," in comparison of which that of the bo- 
dy is but the shadow of death. Nothing of life remains 
but the sense of misery, and that will be as strong for ever 
as at the first entrance into it. This infinitely increases the 
torment, that it shall never end. The suffering soul knows 
it shall be eternal, and as such it is felt and afflicts. The 
fire that devours, shall never say " It is enough ;" that sad 
night shall never have a morning; that horrible tempest ne- 
ver any calm. The damned have no breathing of rest in 
their extreme pains, no shadow of hope to refresh them in 
their intolerable heat, but are under torment " day and night, 
for ever and ever," Rev. xx. 10. 

Now what can be more powerful to restrain men from sin 
than the terrors of the Lord ? If the desires of carnal and 
momentary pleasures are impetuous and urgent, what can 
be more effectual to give check to them, than the considera- 
tion that tliey are attended with a painful eternity? that 
within a little while nothing will remain of the most plea- 
sant lusts but the worm and the fire? Thus one extreme is 
cured by another. Or, if the fear of men, who can inflict 
but outward evils and death on the body, at any time re- 
sists the performance of our duly, what is more proper to 
lessen the impression, than to remember how dreadful a 
thing it is to fall into the revenging "hands of the living 
God," who lives for ever, and can punish for ever? Thus 
our Saviour fortified his disciples against persecution. " I 
say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill 
the body, and after that have no more that they can do ; 
but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear : fear him 
which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ; 
yea, I say unto you, fear him," Luke xii. 4, 5. Eternal 
damnation is infinitely more fearful than temporal death. 
As the rod of Moses devoured the rods of the magicians, so 
the fear of hell overcomes the fear of death, and all the tor- 
ments which end with tliis life. 

I shall add farther, to show how fit an argument this is to 
work on mankind, that usually the fear of evil more deeply 
affects than the hope of good. When the imagination is 
violently struck with an object, it hath a mighty force to 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 267 

turn the mind and will itself 3 therefore laws are secured by 
punishments, not by rewards. Indeed the fear of hell at 
first disposes us for the love of heaven ; to escape the one, 
we fly to the other. As the virtue of the loadstone is in- 
creased by arming it Avith iron, which, although it hath no 
attractive power in itself, yet by conjunction it makes the 
other more forcible ; so the promise of heaven makes a 
stronger impression upon us, by the threatening of hell to 
all that despise it. Were it not for the torments of hell, 
(which are more easily conceived by us whilst we are clothed 
with flesh, than celestial joys, and therefore more strongly 
affect us,) heaven would be neglected, and be as empty of 
saints as it is full of glory. To awaken us out of the deep 
lethargy of sensual lusts, the most pleasant music is inef- 
fectual ; nothing less is requisite than cutting and scarifying. 

And not only those that begin and first enter in the ways 
of godliness, but those who are advanced in Christianity 
have need of this bridle ; for there are some temptations 
wherein the flesh assaults the spirit with that violence, that 
love itself is obliged to call in fear to its assistance, as being 
more proper to repress its inordinate motions. It is only in 
heaven that perfect love will consume all concupiscence, and 
cast out fear of judgment; but whilst we are encompassed 
with temptations, we must not think, under the pretext of a 
more raised spirituality, that the fear of hell is either unbe- 
coming or unnecessary. It is not unworthy a child of God 
to employ all the motives of the gospel. We are command- 
ed to " work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," 
Phil. ii. 12. 

But the opening of hell to our view is not sufficient alone 
to make us holy ; for the strongest terrors, although they 
restrain from the outward forbidden act, yet do not change 
the heart ; according to that of St. Austin, " Inaniter se vic- 
torem putat esse peccati, qui poenae timore non peccat ; quia 
etsi non impletur foris negotium malag cupiditatis, ipsa tamen 
cupiditas intus est hostis ;" that is, the fear of punishment 
can never make us truly victorious over sin, because although 
we do not actually accomplish the desires of the corrupt 
will, yet the corrupt will is still an enemy that lives within, 
and is destroyed only by the love of holiness, which allures 
us by the excellent reward that is promised to it. Besides, 
fear is a violent passion to which nature is repugnant, so 
that although its power is great, yet not constant. How 



268 THE HARMONY OF 

Strong soever the force is by which a stone is thrown up- 
wards, yet the impression is weakened by degrees, and over- 
come by the natural weight of the stone whereby it falls to 
the centre : so the human nature resists fear, and lessens its 
impetuousness so far, that frequently it returns to sensual 
lusts. Therefore that the law of the spirit may be perfect 
and stable, it must be confirmed by the hopes of heaven. 
As the natural, so the spiritual life must be nourished by 
grateful food ; it is not preserved with aloes or wormwood. 

(2.) For this reason our Saviour, to encourage and raise 
our hopes, offers to us a reward infinitely valuable ; for as 
God is infinite, such is the happiness he bestows on his fa- 
vourites. It is described to us in scripture under the most 
enamouring representations, as a state of peace and love, of 
joy and glory. 

The Prince of Peace reigns in the holy Jerusalem that is 
above, and preserves an everlasting serenity and calmness. 
The mutinous spirits that rebelled were presently chased 
from thence into this lower region, where they brought trou- 
ble and disorder. " He maketh poacs in his high places," 
Job- XXV. 2. The peace of heaven is like the crystal sea 
before the throne of the Lamb, which no unquiet agitation 
ever troubles or disturbs, Rev. iv. 6. 

An inviolable love unites all his subjects; no division or 
jealousy discomposes their concord. They enjoy without 
envy ; for infinite blessedness is not diminished by the num- 
ber of possessors. The inheritance in light is communica- 
ted to all. Although the angels arc distinguished by their 
several orders and ministrations, as seraphim and cherubim, 
thrones and powers, yet a chain of holy love binds all their 
affections together. And though the saints shine with dif- 
ferent degrees of glory, yet, as in a chorus of music the 
different voices make one entire harmony, so love that ever 
continues, unites their wills in a delightful harmonious 
agreement. The millions of celestial inhabitants compose 
but one society, love mixing in one mass of light and glory 
all their understandings and wills. 

And since all true joy and sweetness spring from love, it 
is impossible but they must feel unspeakable complacency in 
the reciprocal exercise of so holy and pure an affection. 
But their joy arises principally from the possession of God 
himself, by the clearest knowledge and purest love of his ex- 
cellencies ; they " see him as he is," 1 John iii. 2. Sight is 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 269 

the most spiritual and noble sense, that gives the most dis- 
tinct and evident discovery of its objects. The soul in its 
exalted state " sees the King in his beauty," all the perfec- 
tions of that infinitely glorious and blessed nature in their 
brightness and purity. And this sight causes the most ar- 
dent love, by which there is an intimate and vital union be- 
tween the soul and its happiness ; and from hence springs 
perfect delight ; " In thy presence is fulness of joy," Psalm 
xvi. 11. It expels all evil that would embitter and lessen 
our felicity. And this is an admirable privilege for the hu- 
man nature, that is so sensible of trouble. All complaints 
and cries, all sighings and sorrows, are for ever banished 
from heaven. If the light of the sun be so pleasant, that 
every morning revives the world, and renders it new to us 
who were buried in the darkness of the night, how infinite- 
ly pleasant will the light of glory be, that discovers the ab- 
solute and universal excellencies of the Deity, the beauty of 
his holiness, the perfection of his wisdom, the greatness of 
his power, and the riches of his mercy ! How inexpressibly 
great is the happiness that proceeds from the illumination 
of a purified soul, when such is the amiableness of God, 
that his infinite and eternal felicity arises from the fruition 
of himself! The joy of heaven is so full and satisfying, 
that a thousand years there are but as one day. Inferior 
earthly goods presently lose the flower of novelty, and lan- 
guish in our enjoyment of them ; variety is necessary to 
put an edge upon our appetites, and quicken our delights ; 
because they are imperfect, and fall short of our expectation ; 
but the object of our blessedness is infinitely great, and pro- 
duces the same pure and perfect joy forever. After the long- 
est fruition it never cloys or satiates, but is as fresh and 
new as at the first moment. 

And that which is the peculiar pleasure of the redeemed, 
is, that they shall be with Christ, and see his glory, John 
xvii. 24. AVhat a marvellous joy will fill our hearts, to see 
our blessed Saviour, who suffered so much for us on earth, to 
reign in heaven ! Here he was in his enemies' hands ; there 
he hath them under his feet. Here he was in the " form of 
a servant ;" there he appears in '• the form of God," adorned 
with all the marks of majesty. Here he was under the 
cloud of his Father's displeasure ; there he appears as the 
" brightness of his glory." Here he was ignominiously cru- 
cified; there he is crowned with immortal honour. Now 

23* 



270 THE HARMONY OF 

considering the ardent affections which the saints have to 
their Redeemer, the contemplation of him in this glorious 
state must infinitely ravish their hearts; especially if we 
consider that the exaltation of Christ is theirs. The mem- 
bers triumph when the head is crowned. His excellent glo- 
ry reflects a lustre upon them, and by the sight of it they are 
changed into his liiceness. If the imperfect and dim sight 
of his divine virtues in the gospel, hath a power to change 
believers into his " image from glory to glory," how much 
more the vision of his unveiled face ! Our graces here are 
but as the rude draught and first colours of the divine image, 
that shall then be in its perfection. " We know that when 
he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he 
is," 1 John iii. 2. The similitude between the saints above 
and Christ, is so exact, that if one should enter into the 
kingdom of heaven, and were not directed by the light of 
that place, he would be apt to think every glorified saint he 
meets to be more than a creature. St. John the beloved of 
Christ, and as clear-sighted as any of the apostles, mistook 
an angel for God ; and would have adored him, although he 
did not appear in his full glory. The kingdoms of the 
world, with all their splendour, are no more in comparison 
to it, than a dead spark to the sun in its brightness. The 
very bodies of the saints shall be raised from the grave, and 
beautified with eternal ornaments ; they shall be compa- 
nions with the angels, and conformed to the glorious body 
of Christ. 

Briefly, in the present state we are not capable of receiv- 
ing the full knowledge of heaven. What we understand 
is infinitely desirable, but the most glorious part is still un- 
discovered. The apostle tells us, " Eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the 
things which God hath prepared for them that love him," 
1 Cor. ii. 9. All that is beautiful or sweet here, is but a 
.shadow of that glory, a drop of that vast ocean of delights ; 
for all that is desirable in the creatures, and is dispersed 
among them, is united in God as the original in an infinite 
and indeficient manner, with all the prerogatives that the 
creatures have not. Celestial blessedness as much exceeds 
our most raised thoughts, as God is more glorious in him- 
self than in any representations made of him by the shadows 
of our earthly imaginations. There is a greater dispropor- 
tion between the condition of a saint on earth and in hea- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 271 

ven, than between the life of an infant in the womb, and of 
the same person when advanced to the throne, and attended 
with the nobihty of a nation. St. John declares, " Now are 
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we 
shall be," 1 John iii. 2. Who knows the full signification 
of " being heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ," of par- 
taking in that glorious reward which is given to him for his 
great services to the crown of heaven ? Who can tell the 
weight, the number, and measure of that blessedness ? " To 
him that overcometh," saith our Redeemer, " will I grant to 
sit down with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, 
and am set down with my Father in his throne," Rev. iii. 
21. We have reason to break forth in the language of the 
psalmist, " How great is thy goodness which thou hast laid 
up for them that fear thee !" and supply the defects of our 
understanding with a holy admiration, that is the only mea- 
sure of those things that are above our measure. Psalm 
xxxi. 19. 

Besides, the reward as in excellency it is divine, so in du- 
ration it is perpetual. Heaven is an inheritance as safe as 
great. Here we are subject to time, that carries us and all 
our goods down its swift stream ; but there eternity, that is 
fixed and unchangeable, embraces us in its bosom. We shall 
be secure and at rest, for no person shall take away our crown ; 
we "shall reign for ever and ever," Rev. xxii. 5. At God's 
" right hand are pleasures for evermore," that can never abate 
or end, Psalm xvi. 11. As his liberal hand bestows, so his 
powerful hand preserves our happiness. The blessed shall 
sing everlasting hymns of glory and songs of thanksgiving to 
the great Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, who hath pre- 
pared and purchased that felicity for them, and hath brought 
them to the secure possession of it. 

Now can there be a more powerful motive to obedience, 
than infinite and eternal blessedness ? What can pretend to 
our affections in competition with it ? Carnal pleasures gra- 
tify only our viler part, the body, in its vilest state ; but the 
joys of heaven are spiritual and sublime, and proportioned 
to our noblest and most capacious faculties. Earthly delights 
cannot satisfy our senses, but " the peace of God passeth un- 
derstanding." One hour's enjoyment of it is better than an 
eternity spent in the pleasures of sin. WTiat inexcusable 
madness is it to prefer painted trifles before that inestimable 
treasure ! Who can truly believe there is such an excellent 



272 THE HARMONY OF 

glory, but he must love it, and vigorously endeavour to ob- 
tain it ? Who would not go to the celestial, Canaan, though 
the way lies through a wilderness where no flower or fruit 
grows ? AJl temporal evils are not only to be endured, but 
cheerfully embraced in order to the possessing of it. The 
apostle tells us, " I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us," Rom. viii. 18. And he was the most 
fit person to make the comparison, having made trial of both 
states; for he was a man of sorrows, that had passed through 
afflictions of all kinds, and he was ravished up to paradise, 
where he heard those things that exceed all expressions of 
human words. Now after a serious estimate, he declares that 
the eternal weight of glory, infinitely outbalances the light 
and momentary troubles of this life, 2 Cor. iv. 17. 

Thus from what has been said concerning the greatness of 
the recompenses hereafter, we may understand how power- 
ful they are to deter men from sin, and to allure them to 
holiness. 

That these objects may be effectual, our Saviour hath 
clearly revealed them, and given us convincing evidence and 
assurance of their reality. The heathens had only some glim- 
merings and suspicions of a future state. They were under 
doubts concerning the nature of the soul, whether mortal or 
incorruptible, wavering between the assent and denial; and 
inclining to this or that part, as sense persuaded them to be- 
lieve themselves only as brutes, or reason to acknowledge 
themselves men. Socrates, before his judges, speaks as one 
that desired immortality; and in his last discourse to his 
friends, he endeavours to persuade them, but could not con- 
quer his own doubts nor assure himself. All his discourses 
end in conjectures and uncertain guesses. Besides, the hell 
which they fancied, was made up of such ridiculous and 
senseless terrors, that could affect children only, who were 
not arrived to the perfect use of reason. And their appre- 
hensions of happiness in the next life were so extravagant, 
that what the philosopher said in general of hope, that it is 
the dream of waking men, is more justly applicable to the 
hope of the heathens in respect of the future reward ; for as 
the illusions of a dream have many times a real subject, but 
environed with so many fantastic imaginations as spoil all the 
proportions of it, so their opinion had a foundation in truth, 
but was mixed with many errors inconsistent with perfect 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 273 

felicity; and as the pleasure of a dream is slight and vanish- 
ing, so their uncertain expectation of felicity did but lightly 
touch their spirits. Briefly, they had- no true knowledge, no 
firm belief of eternal blessedness in the vision of God, nor 
of the endless torments in hell; and wanting those great 
principles from whence the rules and power to live in a holy 
manner are derived, they fell short of that purity which is a 
necessary qualification to prepare men for heaven. They 
Avere in a confused labyrinth, without true light or guide, en- 
tangled with miserable errors; and stumbled every step whilst 
they sought after happiness. But the Lord Christ hath in- 
structed the world concerning those invisible, future recom- 
penses. He hath expressly threatened, whatever is to be 
feared by man as a rational or sensible creature, the ^vorm 
that never dies, and the fire that shall never be quenched, in 
case ef disobedience; and he hath promised whatever is to 
be hoped for, in case of obedience. " The wrath of God is 
revealed from heaven," in the gospel, "against all ungodliness, 
and uniighteousness of men;" and our Saviour hath brought 
"life and immortality to hght," Rom. i. 18; 2 Tim. i. 10. 
He hath declared the nature and quality of eternal life; that 
it consists in the most perfect acts of our raised and most 
receptive faculties upon the most excellent objects ; that it 
contains perfect holiness and pure felicity, being for ever dis- 
tant from the infirmities and defilements of our mortal state. 
He hath revealed as the quality, so the extent of it, relating 
to the body as well as the soul; whereas the philosophers of 
several sects, the Academics, Stoics, Epicureans, labouring 
with all the force of their understanding, formed a felicity 
according to their fancies, which was either wholly sensual, 
or else but for half of man; for of the resurrection, and 
consequently the immortality of the body, not the least no- 
tice for many ages ever arrived to them. Our Saviour, who 
alone had "the words of eternal life," hath promised a hap- 
piness that respects entire man : the soul and the body wiiich 
are his essential parts, shall be united and endued with all 
the glorious qualities becoming the sons of God. And of 
all this he hath given to the world the highest assurance, for 
he verified his doctrine by his own example, rising from the 
grave, and appearing to his apostles crowned with immortali- 
ty, and visibly ascending before them to heaven. Since there 
is no greater paradox to reason than the resurrection, Avhich 
seemed utterly incredible to men, and not to be the object of 



274 THE HARMONY OF 

a rational desire, God by raising him from the grave, hath 
given the most convincing argument that our Redeemer was 
sent from him, to acquaint the world with the future state. 
Thus the apostle speaks to the Athenians ; "The times of 
this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men 
every where to repent; because he hath appointed a day, in 
the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that 
man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assu- 
rance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead," 
Acts xvii. 30. Jesus Christ who was attested from heaven to be 
the Son of God by tliat great and powerful act, declared the 
recompenses that sliall attend men after death; therefore a 
full and perfect assent is due to his testimony. Hell, with 
all its dread and terror, is not a picture drawn by fancy to 
affright the world, but is revealed by him whose words shall 
remain when heaven and earth shall pass away. The hea- 
venly glories are not the visions of a contemplative person 
that have no existence, but are great realities promised by him, 
who, as he died to purchase, so he rose to witness the truth 
of them. And to bring these great things, that are separate 
and distant from this present state, nearer to us, he sometimes 
causes hell to rise up from beneath, and flash in the face of 
secure sinners, that they may break off their sins by repent- 
ance; and sometimes he opens heaven from above, the para- 
dise of true delights, and sends down " of the precious fruits 
of the sun, of the precious things of the lasting hills," tliat 
by tlie sight of their beauty and the taste of their sweetness, 
we may for ever abhor the pleasures of sin. By the frequent 
and sensible experience of the truth of the gospel in its 
threatcnings and promises, innumerable persons have been 
converted from sin to holiness, from earth to heaven, from 
vanity to eternity. 

Love is a prevalent affection, stronger than death ; and kind- 
ness is the greatest endearment of love. Now, the Lord Je- 
sus expressed such admirable love to us, that, being duly 
considered, it cannot but inspire us with love to him again, 
and with a grateful desire to please us in all things. He de- 
scended from heaven to earth, and delivered himself to a shame- 
ful death, "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works," 
Tit. ii. 14. And what argument is more powerful to cause 
in us a serious hatred of sin, than the consideration of what 
Christ hath suffered to free us from the punishment and power 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 275 

of it? If a man for liis crimes were condemned to the galleys, 
and a friend of his who had been extremely injured by him, 
should ransom him by a great sum ; when the guilty person 
is restored to liberty, will he not blush for shame at the me- 
mory of what he hath done ? but how much more if his 
friend would suffer for him the pains and infamy of his sla- 
very? If any spark of humanity remain in him, can he 
ever delight himself in those actions, which made such a 
benefit necessary to him ? Now, we " w^ere not redeemed 
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from our vain con- 
versation," the most sordid and deplorable captivity, " but 
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without ble- 
mish and without spot," 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. And is it possible 
for a Christian to live in those sins for which Christ died ? 
Will not love cause an humble fear lest he should frustrate 
the great design, and make void the most blessed effect of 
his terrible sufferings ? Why did he redeem us with so ex- 
cellent a price from our cruel bondage, but to restore us to 
his free service ? Why did he vindicate us from the power 
of the usurper to whom we were captives, but to make us 
subjects of our natural Prince ? Why did he purify us with 
his most precious blood from our deadly defilements, but that 
we might be entirely consecrated to his glory, and be fervent 
in good works ? What can work upon an ingenuous person 
more than sense of kindness 7 What can oblige more strong- 
ly to duty, than gratitude ? What more powerful attrac- 
tive to obedience, than love ? This pure love confirms the 
glorified saints for ever in hohness ; for they are not holy to 
obtain heaven, because they are possessed of it ; nor to pre- 
serve their blessedness, because they are past all hazard of 
losing it ; but from the most lively and permanent sense of 
their obligations, because they have obtained that incompa- 
rable felicity by a gift never to be reversed, and by a mercy 
transcendently great. And the same love to God that is in the 
saints above in the highest degree of perfection, and makes 
them for ever glorify him, Avill proportionably to our state 
in this life cause us to observe his commands with delight 
and constancy. A true Christian is moved by fear, more by 
hope, most by love. 



276 THE HARMCiNY OF 

CHAPTER XIX. 

PRACTICAL INFERENCES. 

From hence we may discover the perfection and complete- 
ness of the redemption that our Saviour purchased for us. 
He fully repairs what was ruined by the fall. He was called 
Jesus, because he should save his people from their sins, 
Matt. i. 21. He reconciles them to God, and redeems them 
from " their vain conversation." He " came by water and 
blood," to signify the accomplishment of what was repre- 
sented by the ceremonial purification, and the blood of the 
sacrifices ; satisfaction and sanctification are found in him. 
And this was not a needless compassion, but absolutely re- 
quisite in order to our felicity. Man, in his guilty corrupt 
state, may be compared to a condemned malefactor, infected 
with noisome and painful Avounds and diseases, and wanting 
the grace of the prince to pardon him, and sovereign reme- 
dies to heal him. Supposing tlie sentence were reversed, yet 
he cannot enjoy his life till he is restored to health. Thus 
the sinner is under the condemnation of the law, and under 
many spiritual, powerful distempers, that make him truly 
miserable. His irregular passions arc so many sorts of dis- 
eases, not only contrary to health, but to one another, that 
continually torment him. He feels all the effects of sickness. 
He is inflamed by his lusts and made restless, being without 
power to accomplish or to restrain them. All his faculties 
are disabled for the spiritual life, that is only worthy of his 
nature, and whose operations are mixed with sincere and 
lasting pleasure. Sin, as it is the disease, so it is the wound 
of the soul, and attended with all the evils of those that are 
most terrible. " The whole head is sick, and the whole heart 
faint ; from the sole of the foot to the head, there is no sound- 
ness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores," 
Isa. i. 5. Now our Redeemer, as he hath obtained a full re- 
mission of our sins, so he restores holiness to us, the true 
health and vigour of the soul. He hath made a plaster of 
his living flesh mixed with his tears and blood, those divine 
and powerful ingredients, to heal our wounds. By the Holy 
Spirit it is applied to us, that we may partake of its virtue 
and influence. His most precious sacrifice purifies the con- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 5J77 

science " from dead works," that we may serve the living 
God. Without this the bare exemption from punishment 
were not sufficient to make us happy ; for although the guilty 
conscience were secure from wrath to come, yet those fierce 
unruly passions, the generation of vipers that lodge in the 
breast of the sinner, would cause a real domestic hell. Till 
these are mortified, there can be no ease nor rest. Besides, 
sin is the true dishonour of man's nature, that degrades him 
from his excellency, and changes him into a beast or a devil ; 
so that to have a license to wallow in the mire, to live in the 
practice of sin that stains and vilifies him, were a miserable 
privilege. The scripture therefore represents the curing of 
our corrupt inclinations, and the cleansing of us from our 
pollutions, to be the eminent effect and blessed work of sa- 
ving mercy. Accordingly St. Peter tells the Jews, " God 
having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in 
turning away every one of you from his iniquities," Acts iii. 
26 ; that is, Christ in his glorified state gives the Spirit of 
holiness to work a sincere thorough change in men, from all 
presumptuous reigning sins, to universal holiness. Invalua- 
ble benefit, that equals if not excels our justification ! for as 
the evil of sin in its own nature is worse than the evil of 
.punishment, so the freeing of us from its dominion is a greater 
blessing than mere impunity. The Son of God for a time 
was made subject to our miseries, not to our sins. He di- 
vested himself of his glory, not of his holiness. And the 
apostle in the ecstasy of his affection desired to be made un- 
happy for the salvation of the Jews, not to be unholy. Be- 
sides, the end is more noble than the means : now Jesus 
Christ purchased our pardon, that we might be restored to 
our forfeited holiness. He ransomed us by his death, that 
he might bless us by his resurrection. He " gave himself 
for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and p^urify 
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Tit. 
ii. 14. Sanctification is the last end of all he did and suffer- 
ed for us. 

Holiness is the chiefest excellency of man, his highest ad- 
vantage above inferior beings. It is the supreme beauty of 
the soul, the resemblance of angels, the image of God him- 
self. In this the perfection of the reasonable nature truly 
consists, and glory naturally results from it. As a diamond, 
when its earthy and colourless parts are taken away, shines 
forth in its lustre ; so when the soul is freed from its impu- 
24 



278 THE HARMONY OF 

rities and all terrene affections, it will appear with a divine 
brightness. The church shall then be glorious, when cleansed 
from every spot, and made complete in holiness. To this I 
will only add, that without holiness we cannot see God ; that 
is, delightfully enjoy him. Suppose the law were dispensed 
with, that forbids any unclean person to enter into the " holy 
Jerusalem," the place cannot make him happy ; for happi- 
ness consists in the fruition of an object that is suitable and 
satisfying to our desires. The holy God cannot be our feli- 
city without our partaking of his nature. Imputed right- 
eousness frees us from hell, inlierent makes us fit for heaven. 
The sum is — Jesus Christ, that he might be a perfect Saviour, 
sanctifies all whom he justifies; for otherwise we could not 
be totally exempted from suflTering evil, nor capable of en- 
joying the supreme good ; we could not be happy here nor 
hereafter. 

II, From hence it appears, that saving grace gives no en- 
couragement to the practice of sin ; for the principal aim of 
our Redeemer's love in dying for us, was " to sanctify and 
cleanse us, by the washing of water and the word." And 
accordingly all the promises of pardon and salvation are con- 
ditional. Tlie holy mercy of the gospel offers forgiveness 
only to penitent believers that return from sin to obedience. 
We are commanded to " repent and be converted, that our 
sins may be blotted out," in the times of refreshment from 
the presence of the Lord, Acts iii. 19. And heaven is the 
reward of persevering obedience ; " To them who by patient 
continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and 
immortality, eternal life," Rom. ii. 7. There cannot be the 
least ground of a rational just hope in any person without 
holiness ; " Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth 
himself even as he is pure," 1 John iii. 3. By which it ap- 
pears, that the genuine and proper use we are to make of 
" the exceeding great and precious promises," is, " that by 
them we may be partakers of the divine nature," and escape 
" the pollution that is in the world through lust," 2 Pet. i. 4. 
Yet the corrupt hearts of men are so strongly inclined to their 
lusts, that they '* turn the grace of God into wantonness," 
and make an advantage of mercy to assist their security ; 
presuming to sin with less fear and more license, upon the 
account of the glorious revelation of it by our Redeemer. 
The most live as if they might be saved without being saints, 
and enjoy the paradise of the flesh here, and not be excluded 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 279 

from that of the spirit hereafter. But grace doth not in the 
least degree authorize and favour their lusts, nor relax the 
sinews of obedience ; it is perfectly innocent of their unna- 
tural abuse of it. The poison is not in the flower, but the 
spider. Therefore the apostle propounds it with indignation, 
" Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? God 
forbid," Rom. vi. 1, He uses this form of speech to express 
an extreme abhorrence of a thing that is either impious and 
dishonourable to God, or pernicious and destructive to men ; 
as when he puts the question, " Is God unrighteous who 
taketh vengeance ? God forbid," Rom. iii. 5, 6 ; and, " Is 
there unrighteousness with God? God forbid," Rom. ix. 14. 
He rejects the mention of it with infinite aversion. 

Indeed what greater disparagement can there be of the 
divine purity, than to indulge ourselves in sin upon confi- 
dence of an easy forgiveness, as if the Son of God had been 
consecrated by such terrible sufferings, to purchase and pre- 
pare a pardon for those who sin securely ? What an inex- 
pressible indignity is it to make a monstrous alliance between 
Christ and Belial ! 

And this abuse of grace is pernicious to men. If the an- 
tidote be turned into poison, and the remedy cherish the dis- 
ease, the case is desperate. The apostle tells us, those that 
do evil that good may come thereby, their damnation is just. 
Suppose a presuming sinner were assured, that after he had 
gratified his carnal vile desires, he should repent and be par- 
doned ; yet it were an unreasonable defect of self-love to do 
so. What Israelite was so fool-hardy as to provoke a fiery 
serpent to bite him, though he knew he should be healed by 
the brazen serpent ? But it is a degree beyond madness for 
a man to live in a course of sin upon the hopes of salvation, 
making the mercy of God to be his bondage, as if he could 
not be happy without them. An unrenewed sinner may be 
the object of God's compassion, but while he remains so, he 
is incapable of communion with him here, much more here- 
after. Under the law the lepers were excluded the camp of 
Israel, where the presence of God was in a special manner ; 
much more shall those who are covered with moral pollu- 
tions, be kept out from the habitation of his holiness. It is 
a mortal delusion for any to pretend that electing mercy will 
bring them to glory, or that the all-sufiicient sacrifice of Christ 
will atone God's displeasure towards them, although they in- 
dulge themselves in a course of sin. The book of life is se- 



280 THE HARMONY OF 

cret ; only " the Lamb," with whose blood the names of the 
elect are written there, " can open the seals of it ;" but the 
gospel that is a lower book of life, tells us the qualifications 
of those who are vessels of mercy ; they are by grace pre- 
pared for glory ; and that there can be no benefit by the death 
of Christ without conformity to his life. Those who abuse 
mercy now, shall have justice for ever. 

III. From hence we may discover the peculiar excellency 
of the Christian religion above all other institutions ; and 
that in respect of its design and effect. 

1. The whole design of the gospel is expressed in the 
words of Christ from heaven to Paul, when he sent him to 
the Gentiles, " to open their eyes, and to turn them from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God ; that 
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among 
them which are sanctified by faith" in Christ, Acts xxvi. 18. 
One great end of it is to take away all the filthiness and ma- 
lignity wherewith sin hath infected the world, and to cause 
in men a real conformity to God's holiness, according to their 
capacity. As the reward it promises is not an earthly hap- 
piness, such as we enjoy here, but celestial ; so the holiness 
It requires, is not an ordinary natural perfection, which men 
honour with the title of virtue, but an angelical divine quality 
that sanctifies us in the spirit, soul, and body ; that cleanses 
the thoughts and affections, and expresses itself in a course 
of universal obedience to God's will. Indeed there are other 
things that commend the gospel to any, that with judgment 
compare it with other religions ; as the height of its myste- 
ries, which are so sacred and venerable, that upon the disco- 
very they affect with reverence and admiration : whereas the 
religion of the Gentiles was built on follies and fables. Their 
most solemn mysteries, to which they were admitted after so 
long a circuit of ceremonies and great preparations, contain- 
ed nothing but a prodigious mixture of vanity and impiety, 
worthy to be concealed in everlasting darkness. Besides, the 
confirmation of the gospel by miracles doth authorize it 
above all human institutions. And the glorious eternal re 
w^ard of it infinitely exceeds whatever is propounded by 
them. But that which gives it the most visible pre-eminence, 
is, that it is " a doctrine which is according to godliness," 
1 Tim. vi. 3. The end is the character of its nature. The 
whole contexture and harmony of its doctrines, precepts, 
promises, threatenings, is for the exaltation of godliness. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 281 

The objects of faith revealed are not merely speculative, to 
be conceived and believed only as true, or to be gazed on in 
an ecstasy of wonder, but " are mysteries of godliness," that 
have a powerful influence upon practice. The design of God 
in the publication of them, is not only to enlighten the mind, 
but to warm the heart and purify the affections. God disco- 
vers his nature that we may imitate him, and his works that 
we may glorify him. All the precepts of the gospel are to 
embrace Christ by a lively faith ; to seek for righteousness 
and holiness in him ; to live godly, righteously, and soberly 
in this present world. When our Saviour was on the earth, 
the end of his sermons, as appears in the gospel, was to 
regulate the lives of men, to correct their vicious passions, 
rather than to exphcate the greatest mysteries. Other reli- 
gions oblige their disciples either to some external actions 
that have no moral worth in them, so that it is impossible 
for any one that is guided by reason to be taken with such 
vanities ; or they require things incommodious and burden- 
some. The priests of Baal cut themselves. And among 
the Chinese, though in great reputation for wisdom, their 
penitents expose themselves half naked to the injuries of the 
sharpest weather, with a double cruelty and pleasure of the 
devil, who makes them freeze here, and expects they should 
burn for ever hereafter. It is not the most strict observance 
of serious trifles, nor submitting to rigorous austerities, that 
ennobles human nature, and commends us to God. The 
most zealous performers of things indifferent, and that chas- 
tise themselves with a bloody discipline, labour for nothing, 
and may pass to hell through purgatory. But the religion 
of Christ reforms the understanding and will, and all the 
actions depending on them. It chases away error, and vice, 
and hatred, and sheds abroad light and love, purity and 
peace ; and forms on earth a lively representation of that 
pure society that is in heaven. The end of it is to render 
men like the angels in holiness, that they may be so in bless- 
edness. This will render it amiable to all that consider it 
without passion. And it is worthy of observation, that al- 
though many heathens and heretics have contradicted other 
parts of the Christian religion, yet none have dared openly 
.to condemn the moral part of it. 

2. The effect of the gospel hath been answerable to the 
design. One main difference between the old and the new 
law is, that the old gave the knowledge of rules without 
24* 



282 THE HARMONY OF 

power to observe them ; the new that is attended with the 
grace of Christ, enables us by a holy love to perform that 
which the other made men only to understand. Of this we 
have the most sensible evidence in the primitive church, 
that was produced by the first beams of the Sun of right- 
eousness, and had received the first fruits of the Spirit. 
"WTiat is more wonderful and worthy of God, than that per- 
fect love which made all the first believers to have one 
heart and one soul ? What greater contempt of the world 
can be imagined, than the voluntary parting with all their 
goods, in consecrating them to God for the relief of the poor ? 
And the churches of the Gentiles, while the blood of Christ 
was warm, and his actions fresh in the memories of men, 
were exemplary in holiness. They were "as stars shining 
in a perverse generation." There was such a brightness in 
their conversations, that it pierced through the daricness of 
paganism, and made a visible diflercnce between them and 
all others. Their words and actions were so full of zeal for 
the glory of God, of chastity, temperance, justice, charity, 
that the heathens from the holiness of their lives concluded 
the holiness of their law, and that the doctrine that produced 
such fruits could not be evil. The first light that discovered 
the truth of the Christian faith to many, was from the graces 
and virtues that appeared in the faithful. The purity of 
their lives, their courage in death, were as powerful to con- 
vert the world, as their sermons, disputatious, and miracles. 
And those who were under such strong prejudices that they 
would not examine the doctrine of the gospel, yet they could 
not but admire the integrity and innocency that was visible 
in the conversation of Christians. They esteemed their per- 
sons from the good qualities that were visible in them, when 
they hated the Christian name for the concealed evil they 
unreasonably suspected to be under it. This Tertullian ex- 
cellently represents in his apology: "The most part are so 
prejudiced against the name, and are possessed of such a 
blind hatred to it, that they make it a matter of reproach 
even to those whom they otherwise esteemed. ' Caius,' they 
say, ' is a good man ; he hath no fault, but that he is a 
Christian.' " Thus the excellent holiness of the professors 
of the gospel forced a veneration from their enemies. But 
we are fallen from heaven, and mixed with the dust. Our 
conversation hath nothing singular in holiness to distinguish 
us from the world. The same corrupt passions reign in 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 283 

professors of Christianity, as in those who are strangers 
from the sacred covenant. If we compare ourselves with 
the primitive church, we must confess our unworthiness lo 
be called their successors. Sixteen hundred years are run 
out since the Son of God came down to sanctify and save 
the world, which are so many degrees, whereby we are de- 
scended from the first perfection. We are more distant from 
them in holiness than in time. So universal and great is the 
corruption, that it is almost as difficult to revive the dying 
faith of Christians, and to reform their lives according to 
the purity of their profession, as the conversion of the world 
was from heathenism to Christianity. 

It is true, in every age there are some examples of the 
virtue of the gospel, that reflect an honour upon it. And 
this last age, which we may call the winter of the world, in 
which the holy spirit hath foretold, " that the love of many 
shall grow cold," by a marvellous antiperistasis, hath in- 
flamed the hearts of some excellent saints towards God and 
religion. But the great number of the wicked and the pro- 
gress of sin in their lives, there is no measure of tears suffi- 
cient to lament. 

It remains for me to press Christians to walk " as beco- 
meth the gospel of Christ, answerably to the holiness and 
purity of that divine institution, and to those great and strict 
obligations it lays upon us. The gospel requires an entire 
holiness in all our faculties, an equal respect to all our du- 
ties : we are commanded to cleanse ourselves from all pollu- 
tions of flesh and spirit, to be " holy in all manner of con- 
versation." We are enjoined to be " perfecting holiness in 
the fear of God ;" to be holy, " as he that hath called us is 
holy." A certain measure of faith, and love, and obedience, 
a mediocrity in virtue, we must not content ourselves with. 
It is not a counsel of perfection given to some Christians 
only of a peculiar order and elevation ; but the command of 
a law that without exception binds all. " Be ye perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," Matt. v. 
48. The gospel gives no dispensation to any person, nor in 
any duty. The doctrine that asserts there are some excellent 
works to which the lower sort of Christians is not obliged, 
is equally pernicious, both to those who do them by pre- 
sumption, as if they were not due, and were therefore meri- 
torious ; and to those who neglect them, by a blind security, 
as if they might be saved without striving to reach the high- 



284 THE HARMONY OF 

est degree of obedience. It is a weak pretence, that because 
the consummate measure of sanctification can be attained 
only in the next life, therefore Ave should not endeavour af- 
ter it here ; for by sincere and constant endeavours we make 
nearer approaches to it ; and according to the degrees of 
our progress such are those of our joy. As nature hath pre- 
scribed to all heavy bodies their going to the centre, and al- 
though none come to it, and many are at a great distance 
from it, yet the ordination of nature is not in vain; because 
by virtue of it every heavy body is always tending thither 
in motion or inclination : so although we cannot reach to 
complete holiness in this imperfect state, yet it is not in vain 
that the gospel prescribes it, and infuses into Christians those 
dispositions whereby they are gradually carried to the full 
accomplishment of it. Not to arrive to perfection is the 
weakness of the flesh, not to aspire after it is the fault of the 
spirit. 

To excite us, it will be of moment to consider the great 
obligations that the gospel lays upon Christians to be holy, 
1 John iii. 1. By that covenant the holy God is pleased to 
take them into the relation of his children. And as the na- 
ture of sanctification, so the motives of it are contained in 
that title ; for so near an alliance obliges them to a faithful 
observation of his commands, and to imitate him with the 
greatest care, that the vein of liis Spirit, and the marks of 
his blood may appear in all their actions. " Whosoever is 
born of God, doth not commit sin," I John iii. 9. The al- 
lowed practice of it is inconsistent with the quality of a .son 
of God ; it is contrary to the grace of his divine birth. Nay, 
the omission of good, as well as the commission of evil, is 
inconsistent with that relation. It is for this reason, that 
holiness is so mvich the character of a true Christian, that to 
be a Christian and a saint are the same thing in the writings 
of the apostles. The venerable title obliges him to a higher 
practice of virtue, than ever the pagans imagined. He is 
far behind them, if he do not surpass them ; and if he is sur- 
passed by them, he will be clothed with shame. Besides, 
our Redeemer who hath a right to us by so many titles, by 
his divine and human nature, by his life and death, by his 
glory and sufferings, as he strictly commands us to be holy, 
so he hath joined example to his authority, that we may walk 
as he walked, and be as he was in the world. St. Paul makes 
use of this consideration, to restrain the disciples of Christ 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 285 

from all sin, and to persuade them to universal holiness. 
After he had mentioned the disorders of the Gentiles, to de- 
ter the Ephesians from the like, he tells them, " But ye have 
not so learned Christ ;" that is, his rule and practice instruct- 
ed them otherwise. And when he commands the Romans 
to " walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunk- 
enness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and 
envying 5" he opposes to all these vices the pattern that 
Christ set before us : " But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ," 
Rom. xiii. 13, 14. The expression intimates the duty, that 
as the garment is commensurate to the body, so we are to 
imitate all the parts of his holy conversation. 

It is no wonder that the heathens gratified the inclinations 
of lust or rage, when their gods were represented acting in 
such a manner as to authorise their vices. " Semina pene 
omnium scelerum, a diis suis peccantium turba collegit," as 
Julius Firmicus justly reproaches them. There was no vil- 
lany how notorious soever, but had some deity for its pro- 
tector. They found in heaven a justification of all their 
crimes, and became vicious by imitation. For it is very 
congruous for men to follow those whom they esteem to be 
perfect, and to whom they think themselves accountable. 
If they attribute to their supreme God, the Judge of the 
world, vices as virtues, what virtues will there be to reward, 
or vices to punish, in men ? But for those that name the 
name of Christ to continue in iniquity, is the most unbeco- 
ming thing in the world ; for they live in the perfect contra- 
diction of their profession. An unholy Christian is a real 
apostate from Christ, that retracts by his wickedness the de- 
dication that was made of him in his baptism. Although he 
doth not abjure our Saviour in words, he denies him in his 
works. A proud person renounces his humility, the revenge- 
ful his mercy, the lukewarm his zeal, the unclean his purity, 
the covetous his bounty and compassion, the hypocrite his 
sincerity. And can there be any thing more indecent and 
absurd, than to pretend the relation and respect of disciples 
to such a holy Master, and yet by disobedience to deny him ? 
When the bloody spectacles of the gladiators were first 
brought to Athens, a wise man cried out to the masters of 
the prizes, that they should remove the statue and altar of 
mercy out of the city, there being such an incongruity be- 
tween the goddess they pretended to worship, and that cruel 
sacrifice of men for the sport of the people. It were more 



286 THE HARMONY OF 

suitable for those who are not afraid to violate the most holy- 
laws, and to contradict the pattern of Christ, to leave their 
profession, and to take some other more complying with 
their lusts. It is not the title of a Christian, that sanctifies 
those who' pollute and defame it. It is not wearing the 
livery of Christ, that can honour those who stain it by their 
filth iness : but it is an aggravation of their guilt. It is an 
inconceivable indignity to our Saviour, and revives the old 
calumnies of the heathens, as if the gospel were a sanctuary 
for criminals, when those that call him Lord, do not what 
he commands them. " I know," saith Christ, " the blasphe- 
my of them that say, they are Jews, and are not, but are the 
synagogue of Satan," Rev. ii. 9. Those that own the pro- 
fession of Christianity, and live in unchristian practices, are 
baptized pagans, and in effect revile our blessed Redeemer, 
as if he had proclaimed a licentious impunity for sinners. 
Such wretches may deceive themselves with a pretence they 
believe in Christ, and that visibly they declare their depen- 
dance on him ; but this pretence will be as unprofitable as it 
is vain : it is not the calling of him Lord, that will give them 
admission into the kingdom of heaven. Matt. vii. 21. The 
naked name of a Christian cannot protect them from the 
wrath of God. Tertullian smartly upbraids some in his 
time, who were careless of the dignity and purity of the 
Christian profession in their lives, imagining that they might 
reverence God in their hearts without regarding him in 
their actions ; that they might " salvo metu et fide peccare," 
sin without losing their fear of God and their faith. To re- 
fute this gross contradiction, he propounds it in a sensible 
example: "Hoc est, salva castitate matrimonium violare ; 
salva pietate parenti venenum temperare ;" this is the same 
thing as to violate the fidelity of marriage without the wound- 
ing of chastity, or to poison a parent without failing in the 
duty that is owing to them. And to express his indigna- 
tion, he tells them, " Sic ergo et ipsi salva venia in gehen- 
nam detruduntur, dum salvo metu peccant :" let them expect 
that God will cast them into hell, without prejudice to their 
pardon, as they pretend to sin without prejudice to the re- 
spect they bear him. 

To sum up all, Jesus Christ, as by his doctrine and life 
he clearly discovered our duty, so he offers to us the aid of 
his Spirit for our assistance, by which the commands of the 
gospel are not only possible but easy: and to enforce our 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 



287 



obligations, he hath threatened such vengeance to the rebel- 
lious, and promised such a reward to those that obey the 
gospel, that it is impossible we should not be deeply affected 
with them, if we seriously believe them : and he hath given 
such an evidence of their truth, that it is impossible we 
should not believe them, unless " the god of this world had 
blinded our minds." It is matter therefore of just astonish- 
ment, that Christians should not express the efficacy of the 
gospel in their actions. How can a reasonable creature be- 
lieve that eternal damnation shall be the punishment of sin, 
and yet live in the wilful practice of it ? The historian speak- 
ing of mushrooms that sometimes proved deadly to whole 
families, asks with wonder, " What pleasure could allure 
them to eat such doubtful meat?" yet they may be so cor- 
rected as to become innocent. But when it is certain that 
the pleasures of sin are mortal, can any one be tempted by 
those attractives to venture on that which will undoubtedly 
bring death to the soul ? Let sense itself be judge, and make 
the comparison between whatsoever the present life can af- 
ford for delight in sin, and what the future death will bring 
to torment it. Let the flesh see into Avhat torments all its de- 
lights shall be changed, and with what other fire than of im- 
pure lust it shall burn for ever. 

Besides, we are encouraged to our duty with the assurance 
of a happiness so excellent, that not only the enjoyment of it 
in the next world, but the just expectation of it here makes 
us truly blessed. If the reward were small or the promise 
uncertain, there might be some pretence for our not per- 
forming the conditions to obtain it ; but when the one is in- 
finitely great, and the other as true as the God of truth, 
what more powerful motive can be conceived to make us 
holy ? It is the apostle's chosen argument, that we should 
" walk worthy of him who hath called us to his kingdom 
and glory." The heathens were in a great measure stran- 
gers to the secrets of another world : they had but a shadow 
of probability ; we have the light of truth brought down 
from heaven by the Son of God, that reveals to us a blessed- 
ness that deserves our most ardent active affections. But if 
men are not wrought on by natural reason nor divine faith ; 
if neither the terrors of the Lord, nor the blessed hope can 
persuade them from sin to holiness, their condition is irre- 
coverable. In this the rules of natural and spiritual healing 
agree, Hippocrat. Sect. 7. Aphor. ult. Where neither corro- 



288 



THE HARMONY OF 



sive nor lenitives are successful, we must use the knife ; if 
cutting off is unprofitable, we must sear the part ; if the fire 
is ineffectual, the ulcer is incurable. If the threatening of 
hell-fire through unbelief and carelessness is not feared, and 
hath no efficacy to correct and change sinners, what remains 
but to make a presage of eternal death, that will unavoida- 
bly and speedily seize on them ? And if so clear a discove- 
ry of the heavenly glory doth not produce in men a living 
faith that works by love, and a lively hope that purifies the 
heart and conversation, what can be concluded, but that they 
are wholly sensual and senseless, and shall be for ever de- 
prived of that blessedness they now despise and neglect ? 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE POWER OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

The divine power is admiral)ly glorified in the creation of 
the world, not only in regard of the greatness of the effect, 
that comprehends the heavens and earth and all things in 
them, but in regard of the marvellous way of its production ; 
for he made the great universe without the concurrence of 
any material cause, from nothing. For this reason the rai- 
sing of this glorious fabric is produced as the distinctive 
character of the Deity from the troop of false gods. The 
Psalmist declares, " The Lord is to be feared above all gods; 
for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made 
the heavens," Psalm xcvi. 4, 5. And as he began the crea- 
tion by proceeding from nothing to real existence, so in 
forming the other parts, he drew them from infirm and indis- 
posed matter, as from a second nothing ; that all his creatures 
might bear the real testimonies of infinite power. Thus he 
commanded light to arise out of darkness, and sensible crea- 
tures from an insensible element. He created man, the 
accomplishment of all his works, from tlie lowest and gross- 
est element, the earth. 

Now allliough at the first view we might conceive that the 
visible world is the greatest miracle that ever God performed, 
yet upon serious reflection we shall discover, that the works 
of grace are as wonderful as the works of nature, and that 
the power of God is as evidently expressed in our redemp- 
tion, as in the creation. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 289 

For the fuller understanding of this, I will consider some 
of the principal effects of the divine power in order to our 
blessed recovery. 

I. The incarnation of the Son of God, in accomplishing 
whereof such power was exercised, as no limited understand- 
ing is able to comprehend. " The word was made flesh," 
John i. 14. This signifies the real union between the human 
nature and the divine in our Redeemer. Before his incarna- 
tion he appeared in a human form to the patriarchs, and in 
the flaming bush to Moses ; but it is never said with respect 
to those apparitions, that the word was made flame or man. 
But when he came into the world to save us, he assumed the 
complete nature of man into a hypostatical union with him- 
self. That admirable person possesses the titles, qualities, 
and natures of God and man. In that ineflable union, each 
of the natures preserves its proper form with all the neces- 
sary consequences proceeding from it. The human nature 
is joined to the eternal Word, but not changed into its 
divinity : it is not infinite and impassible. The Deity is 
united to flesh, but not transformed into its nature ; it is not 
finite and passible. Though there is a distinction, yet no 
separation ; there are two natures, but one sole Jesus. In 
the same subsistence the Creator and the creature are mira- 
culously allied. Now this is a work fully responsible to 
omnipotence, and expresses whatever it signifies by that title. 
The apostle mentions it with an attribute of excellency ; 
" Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness ; 
God was manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16. It is as 
sublime, as holy. In this the divine poAver appears in its 
magnificence, and in some respects more glorious than in 
the creation ; for there is incomparably a greater disparity 
between the majesty, greatness, and infiniteness of God, and 
the meanness of man, than between the whole world and 
nothing. The degrees of disparity between the world and 
nothing are not actually infinite, but between the most excel- 
lent creature and the glorious Creator, they are absolutely 
infinite. From hence it is, that that which in other things 
resolves our doubts, here increases the wonder, and in 
appearance makes it more incredible. " Ye do err," saith 
Christ to the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, "not 
knowing the power of God." But the more raised thoughts 
we have of his immense power, the more unhkely his con- 
junction Avith a nature so far beneath him will seem to be. 

25 



290 THE HARMONY OF 

II. The divine power was magnified in our Redeemer's 
supernatural conception. It was requisite his body should 
be miraculously formed of the substance of a woman by the 
operation of the Holy Ghost, not only in respect of its sin- 
gular dignity, and that he might be the pattern of our re- 
generation that is performed by the efficacy of the Spirit not 
of the flesh, but in respect of his office ; for undertaking to 
reconcile God by the expiation of our sin, he must be allied 
to us, and absolutely pure from the stain of sin. Heaven 
and earth concurred to form that divine man the King of 
both, the earth furnishing matter, and heaven the principle 
of his conception. Accordingly the angel told Mary, who 
questioned how she could be a mother not having known a 
man, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power 
of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also that 
holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the 
Son of God," Luke i. 35. This was foretold many ages as 
an admirable effect of God's power. When Judah was 
oppressed by two potent kings, and despaired of an escape, 
to raise their drooping spirits the prophet tells them, the 
Lord himself would give tlicm a sign of iheir future deliver- 
ance ; " Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and 
shall call his name Emmanuel," Isa. vii. 14. The argument 
is from the greater to the less ; for it is apparently more 
difficult that a virgin, without injury or blemish to her purity 
and integrity, should conceive and bring fortli Emmanuel, 
than the defeating of human forces how great soever. If 
God will accomplish that stupendous, unheard of wonder, 
much more would he rescue his people from the fury of their 
adversaries. 

HI. The divine power was eminently declared in the mira- 
cles our Saviour wrought during the time of his public minis- 
try to verify his divine mission, that he was the great prophet 
sent from God to instruct men in the way of life. 

In discoursing of this, I will briefly show, that miracles 
were a convincing proof of his celestial calling, and that the 
performance of them was necessary in order to the convic- 
tion of the world, and consider particularly those he wrought. 

A miracle is an extraordinary operation of God in nature, 
either in stopping its course, or in producing some effects that 
are above its laws and power; so that when he is pleased to 
work any, they are his seal to authorize the person and doc- 
trine to which they are annexed. By them faith is made 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 291 

visible; the unbeliever is convinced by his senses, the only- 
witnesses above reproach in his account. From hence Nico- 
demus addresses himself to Christ, " Rabbi, we know that thou 
art a teacher come from God ; for no man can do those mi- 
racles that thou doest, except God be with him ;" John iii. 2. 
That is, no inferior agent can perform them, without the spe- 
cial assistance of the divine power ; and it is not to be sup- 
posed that God will lend his omnipotency to the devil to 
work a real miracle, to confirm a falsity ; and thereby neces- 
sarily induce men into error in a matter of infinite mo- 
ment: for such is the doctrine of salvation that Christ 
preached. 

The working of miracles was necessary to convince the 
world that Jesus Christ was sent from God, whether we con- 
sider the Jews or the Gentiles. 

It was necessary to convince the Jews upon a double ac- 
count ; — because the performance of them was one of the 
characters of the promised Messiah. For this reason when 
two of John's disciples came to inquire whether he were the 
expected prophet, he returns his answer to the question ; " Go 
and show John those things which ye do hear and see, the blind 
receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have 
the gospel preached to them," Matt. xi. 4, 5. Thus he de- 
scribed his oflice, and verified the commission he had from 
God, by representing his miracles in the words of the pro- 
phecy, Isa. xxxv. 5 — 9. — Our Saviour came to alter the re- 
ligion of the Jews, that had been confirmed by many illus- 
trious miracles; therefore to assure them that he was author- 
ized from heaven, he wrought such and so many, that for their 
greatness, clearness, and number, exceeded all that were 
done before his coming. Our Saviour tells tlie Jews, " If I 
had not done among them the works which none other man 
did, they had not had sin:" that is, in rejecting him; for if 
he had exercised only a power like unto that of Moses and 
the prophets, in his miraculous actions, they had been obliged 
to have honoured him as one of their rank, but not to have 
attributed an incomparable dignity to him, John xv. 24. But 
he did those which neither Moses nor the prophets had per- 
formed; and in those that had been done, Christ excelled 
them in the manner of doing them. This the Jews could 
not contradict, and from hence, their infidelity was made 
culpable. 



292 THE HARMONY OF 

Miracles were necessary to convince the Gentiles; — for 
the gospel forbids the various religions among them, and 
commands all to worship God alone in Christ Jesus; so that 
without a sensible demonstration, that that was the way 
wherein he would be served, their prejudices had been in- 
vincible. The gospel propounds threatenings and promises 
that regard a future state, where no living eye can see their 
effects; so that without an extraordinary confirmation it was 
not likely that men should yield a firm assent to them. If it 
be said, our Saviour did his miracles only in Judea, where 
very few of the Gentiles saw his person or works ; I answer, 
his miracles were primarily designed for the conviction of the 
Jews, and, in. a secondary intention, to disarm infidelity 
among the Gentiles. Therefore the testimony of them was 
conveyed by tliose who were eye-witnesses and most worthy 
of credit, and who did many great wonders in the name of 
Christ, to verify the report of his famous miracles and de- 
clare his power and divinity. Of this more afterwards. 

Now I will briefly consider the miracles wrought by 
Christ, that were the certain signs of God's favouring him, 
and made his commission authentic. Before his coming, the 
hand of the synagogue was dried up, and impotent to pro- 
duce miracles. The Holy Spirit was withdrawn, and for the 
space of four hundred years, no prophet nor worker of won- 
ders appeared. John the Baptist, though the angel deputed 
to signify the corning of Christ, yet did no miracles. But 
our Saviour was invested with power from above, and per- 
formed many. 

Their quality and number is considerable. 

1. Tlieir quality. They were not mere signs, as the con- 
version of Moses' rod into a serpent; nor destructive and 
punishing, as the wonders in Egypt ; but advantageous and 
beneficial to men, the equal demonstrations of his mercy and 
power. 

He cured diseases that were absolutely desperate, without 
means, by his omnipotent will, as the son of the nobleman 
who was sick at Capernaum, when himself was at Cana in 
Galilee; or by such visible means, that the spectators might 
be fully convinced, that it was not the external application, 
but his sole virtue and divine power that produced the effect. 
Thus by anointing with clay and spittle the eyes of him that 
was born blind, who never had any natural possibility of 
seeing, he wrought an un aralleled cure : " Since the world 



THE DIVINE ATTKIBUTES. 293 

began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one 
that was born blind," John ix. 32. Therefore he that was 
healed, inferred from that, as a most pregnant proof, that our 
Saviour was from God. 

He raised the dead. This effect exceeds the power not only 
of men, but of the angels. It is true that one angel destroyed 
in a night a hundred four-score and five thousand of the 
Assyrian army ; but it is as true, that all the angels together 
cannot raise from the dead one man. It is wholly the work 
of the Lord of nature, who holds the keys of life and death 
in his hands. It is only his light can dispel the darkness, his 
voice can break the silence of the grave. And it is ob- 
servable, that our Saviour who sometimes concealed his mi- 
raculous works and forbad the publishing of them, yet per- 
formed this kind before many witnesses, that they might pub- 
lish and verify it, as being most conclusive of his mission 
from God. He raised to life the ruler's daughter, to the 
astonishment of all that were present to attend her fune- 
ral, Mark v. 42. The widow's son of Nain was carried 
without the gates of the city to his grave; Jesus stops the 
sad train, and restores life to the young man, and to his mo- 
ther something more dear than her life, Luke vii. 15. And 
the more signally to triumph over death, he pursued it to its 
fort, the obscurity of the grave. Lazarus was buried four 
days, his carcase was corrupted; Jesus calls him from the 
bottom of his tomb with that powerful voice that created the 
world; the dead answers, and comes forth to the amazement 
of all that saw the glory of God so clearly manifested, John 
xi. 44. The evangelist reports, that the people afterwards 
were as desirous to see Lazarus as Jesus. 

Add to these his casting out of devils. Before the fall, the 
unclean spirit was incorporated with the serpent, but now 
with man himself. He seizes on the external organs and in- 
ternal faculties, and rules him at his pleasure. In the time 
of Christ great numbers were possessed; for the devil per- 
ceiving the ruin of his kingdom approaching, would extend 
the limits of it here, and by the perfect possessing of sin- 
ners, begin their torments, which is one act of his princi- 
pality. The case of those persons was most compassionable ; 
for in that close fight the soul was disarmed of its defensive 
weapons, being hindered in a great measure of the free use 
of its faculties. Whereas in other temptations he works by 
outward objects at a distance, here he makes a violent assault 



294 THE HARMONY OF 

on both parts. It is the true anticipation of hell; for the 
possessed person is not exempted from suffering, the privi- 
lege of death ; nor enjoys the free power of doing, the ef- 
fect of life. Now the rejecting of this enemy was above 
the force of any human means ; no material applications 
had power over immaterial spirits. But our Saviour by a 
word commanded them forth of their garrisons: and the 
evangelists observe that the sight of it affected the people in 
an extraordinary manner above what his other miracles did. 
It is said, "They were all amazed, insomuch that they ques- 
tioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what 
new doctrine is this 7 For with authority commandeth he 
even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him," 3Iark i. 27 
— 29. His empire over evil spirits was more admired than 
over diseases, or death itself. Those who were insensible 
of his former miracles, received impression from this : "They 
were all amazed at the mighty power of God," confessing 
that " it was never so seen in Israel," Luke ix. 43 ; Matt. ix. 
33. And another time they said, " Is not this the Son of 
David?" that is, the Messiah, Mat. xii. 23. The pharisees, 
his obstinate enemies, were more troubled about this, than 
any other action ; and to elude the present conviction that he 
came from God, ascribed it to a secret compact with Beelze- 
bub; as if there were a collusion between the evil spirits; a 
lesser devil retired that the prince might reign. But so great 
was the evidence of the Spirit of God in tliat act of jurisdic- 
tion over the devils, that our Saviour charges them with un- 
pardonable guilt for their wilful denying of it. 

2. Their number. The number of his miracles was so 
great, that St. John saitli, if all were written, "the world 
could not contain the books." We may in part conjecture 
how numerous they were, by taking notice how many he 
performed in one day. He dined with Matthew at Caper- 
naum ; whilst he was there, Jairus intreats him to go to his 
daughter newly dead : as he went, the woman with the 
bloody issue touched the hem of his garment, and was heal- 
ed ; he raised the dead maid ; in his returning he healed two 
blind men, and immediately after cast out the devil from one 
that was dumb, Matt. ix. And in all these miraculous ope- 
rations the glory of God's power was clearly manifested. 

IV. The divine power admirably appeared in making the 
death of Christ victorious over all our spiritual enemies. 

Now to show what an eminent degree of Dower was ex- 



THE DIVI.N'E ATTRIBUTES. 295 

ercised in the effecting of this, we must consider, that after 
Satan was cast out of heaven for his rebellion, he set up a 
throne on the earth, and usurped an absolute empire over 
mankind. His power was great, and his malice was equal 
to his power. The apostle represents him with his black 
army, under the titles of " principalities and powers, the ru- 
lers of the darkness of this world, spiritual v/ickedness in 
high places," as in respect of the order among them, so in 
respect of the dominion they exercised in the world," Ephes. 
vi. 12. His principality hath two parts, — to tempt men 
powerfully to sin, and to execute the wrath of God upon 
them. He works effectually " in the children of disobedi- 
ence." He fires their lusts, and by the thick ascending 
smoke darkens their minds, and hurries them to do the 
vilest actions. "And he hath the power of death," to tor- 
ment sinners ; God justly permitting him to exercise his 
cruelty upon those who comply with his temptations. Now 
in the time of Christ, seeing many ravished out of his hands 
and translated into the kingdom of God, he grew jealous of 
his state, and by his instruments brought him to a cruel and 
shameful death. He then in appearance obtained a complete 
conquest, but in truth was absolutely overcome. And from 
hence the glorious power of Christ is most clearly manifest- 
ed. As he that will take the height of a mountain must de- 
scend to the lowest part of the valley, where fixing his in- 
strument, he may discover the distance from the foot to the 
top of it; so we must descend to the lowest degree of our 
Saviour's abasement, to understand the height of his exalta- 
tion. By death he overcame him "that had the power of 
death, that is, the devil," Ileh. ii. 14 ; for his cruel empire 
was founded in man's sin ; his greatness was built on our 
ruins. All the penal evils he brings on mankind are upon 
the account of our disobedience, and his mighty power in 
temptations is from our inward corruption : otherwise he 
might surround, but could not surprise us. Now the Lord 
Christ by his death hath taken away the guilt and power of 
sin ; the guilt, in enduring the curse of the law, and thereby 
satisfying eternal justice, which all the creatures in heaven 
and earth could not do ; and the power of it, by crucifying 
" our old man with him, that the body of sin might be de- 
stroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin," Rom. vi. 6. 
By the cross of Christ the world is crucified to us ; and we 
are crucified to the world, Gal. vi. 14. By it we are vindi- 



296 THE HARMONY OF 

cated from the power of Satan, " into the glorious liberty of 
the sons of God." For this reason our Saviour, a little be- 
fore his passion, said, " Now shall the prince of this world 
be cast out." By the cross he " spoiled principalities and 
powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over 
them in it," to their extreme confusion, in the view of heaven 
and earth. Col. ii. 15. Although the resurrection and ascen- 
sion of Christ are the proper acts of his triumph, yet his 
death is the sole cause and original of it. The nails and 
spear that pierced his body were his omnipotent arms, and 
the cross, the instrument of his sufferings, was the trophy of 
his victory. All our triumphant palms are gathered from 
that tree. It is there our Saviour bruised the head of the 
old serpent, and renewed his ancient victory over him. 

And from hence it was, that upon the first preaching of 
Christ crucified, oracles were struck dumb and put to eter- 
nal silence ; invisible powers were forced to do him visible 
honour. As the rising sun causes the night-birds to retire, 
so his name cliascd the rout of deities into darkness. They 
continue to be our enemies, but not our lords. Now where 
did the divine power ever appear more glorious than in our 
crucified Saviour ? He hath done greater things suffering 
as man than acting as God. The works of creation and 
providence are not equal to the effects of his death. In the 
creation a corruptible world was produced from nothing, 
which as it had no disposition, so no contrariety to receive 
the form the Creator gave it ; but the new world of grace 
that is immortal, was formed out of rebellious matter. The 
most eminent work of providence was the drowning of the 
Egyptians in the Red Sea ; but the spiritual Pharaoh and 
all liis hosts were drowned in his blood. In short, the cross 
hath opened heaven to us, and wrought a miraculous change 
on the earth. But this I shall more particularly consider 
under another head of discourse. 

V. The divine power was eminently magnified in Christ's 
resurrection from the grave. This was foretold concerning the 
Messiah, by the prophet David speaking in the type ; " My 
flesh shall rest in hope ; for thou wilt not leave my soul in 
hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption," 
Psalm xvi. 9, 10. As it was ordained by God's counsel, so 
it was executed by his power. This is decisive, that he is 
the Messiah. His other miracles were performed by the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 297 

prophets, but this was singular, and done only by the God 
of the prophets. 

The reasons of it prove, that it was equally necessary for 
his glory and our salvation. The quality of his person re- 
quired it ; for he was a heavenly man without guilt, there- 
fore immortal by the original constitution of his nature. 
Death, that is the wages of sin, had no power over him. He 
was subject to it, not by the law of his conception, but the 
dispensation of his love : not to satisfy nature, but purchase 
our salvation : therefore the eternal law that annexes im- 
mortality to innocence, would not suffer that he should re- 
main in the state of death. The nature of his office made 
it necessary. As the economy of our redemption required 
that he should descend from heaven, the seat of his glory, 
that by dying he might expiate our sins; so after his lying 
in the grave so long as to attest the reality of his death, it 
was necessary he should rise again in order to his dispensing 
the glorious benefits he had purchased. The apostle tells 
the Corinthians, " If Christ be not risen, then is our preach- 
ing in vain, and your faith is also in vain," 1 Cor. xv. 14-. 
For the faith of Christians hath a threefold reference ; — to the 
person of Christ, that he is the Son of God ; — to his death, 
that it is an all-sufficient sacrifice for sin 5 — to his promise, 
that he will raise believers at the last day. Now the resur- 
rection of Christ is the foundation of faith in respect of all 
these. 

1 . He was declared " to be the Son of God with power, 
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from 
the dead," Rom. i. 4. He was the Son of God from eternity 
as the Word, and from the first moment of his incarnation 
as God-man ; but the honour of this relation was much 
eclipsed in his poor life and ignominious death. And al- 
though his darkest night was enlightened with some disco- 
veries of his deity, yet they were transient and soon vanish- 
ed. But in his resurrection God did publicly own him in 
the face of the world ; therefore he is represented testifying 
from heaven, " Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten 
thee ;" according to the phrase of scripture, then things are 
said to be, Avhen they conspicuously appear. Acts xiii. 33. 
All the miraculous proofs by which God acknowledged him 
for his Son during his life, had been ineffectual without this. 
If he had remained in the grave, it had been reasonable to 
believe him an. ordinary person, and that his death had been 



298 THE HARMONY OF 

the punishment of his presumption ; but his resurrection was 
the most illustrious and convincing evidence, that he was 
what he declared himself to be ; for it is not conceivable 
that God should put forth an almighty power to raise him, 
and thereby authorize his usurpation, if by robbery he had 
assumed that glorious title. He is therefore said to be "jus- 
tified by the Spirit" which raised him, from all the accusa- 
tions of his enemies, who charged him with blasphemy for 
making himself equal with God. Upon the evidence of it, 
Thomas adored him as his Lord and God. 

2. His resurrection is the most pregnant proof of the all- 
sufficiency of his satisfaction. This was special in the death 
of Christ, that the curse of the law accompanied it, and 
seemed like an infinite weight to lie on his grave. But in 
rising again, llie value and virtue of his sufferings was fully 
declared. Therefore the apostle tells us, that " he was deli- 
vered for our offences, and raised again for our justification," 
Rom. iv, 2.5. Although his death was sufficient to merit our 
pardon, yet since believers alone actually partake of the 
benefit, and none could believe, if he had not risen from the 
grave, it is clear his death had been ineffectual without it. 

3. Our faith in his promises to give life and glory to his 
servants, is built on his resurrection ; for how could we be- 
lieve him to be the author of life, who remained under the 
power of death ? How could he quicken and glorify us, 
who finally perished ? If he had been confined to the grave, 
all our hopes had been buried with him. But his resurrec- 
tion is the cause, pattern, and argument of ours. He did 
not only raise his body from the grave, but his church with 
him. Now the efTecting of this is attributed to the divine 
power, with a note of eminency ; " Christ was raised by the 
glory of the Father," Rom. vi. 4 ; that is, by his power, 
which in that act was manifested in its full splendour ; for 
what is stronger than death, and more inexorable than the 
grave ? Omnipotency alone can break its gates, and loose 
its bands. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 299 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE POWER OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

VI. The divine power was glorified in the conversion of 
the world to Christianity. 

The apostle tells us, " that Christ crucified was to the 
Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness." 
The Jews expected the Messiah to deliver them from tem- 
poral servitude and establish a universal empire, either by 
the force of arms, or by the terror of signs and prodigies, 
as Moses did against the Egyptians : but w^hen instead of 
power, they saw nothing but weakness, and instead of a glo- 
rious triumph, a disgraceful punishment, they despised his 
person and rejected his doctrine. But notwithstanding this 
imaginary infirmity in Christ crucified, yet " to those that 
are called" according to the divine purpose, he was the most 
excellent " power of God ;" it being more glorious to subdue 
the world to the faith and obedience of a crucified person, 
than if he had appeared with all the powers of heaven, and 
princes of the earth as his attendants. For this reason the 
apostle declares, he was " not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ," it being " the power of God to salvation to every 
one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek," 
Rom. i. 16. And he prays for the Ephesians, that " the 
eyes of their understandings being enlightened, they might 
know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us- 
ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty 
power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from 
the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly 
places," Ephes. i. 18 — 20. He uses various and lofty ex- 
pressions, as if one had been insufficient to signify the extent 
and efficacy of that power wiiich produced the faith of Christ 
in the heathens. And if we duly consider things, it will ap- 
pear, that the terms of the apostle are not too strong and 
hyperbolical, but just and equal to the degree of power re- 
quisite for the accomplishment of that great work. 

For the understanding of this, I will consider three 
things ; 

1. The numerous and great difficulties that obstructed the 
receiving of the gospel. 



300 THE HARMONY OP 

2. The quality of the means by which it was conveyed 
and became successful. 

3. The eminent, sudden, universal, and lasting change 
made by it in the world. 

1. The numerous and great difficulties that obstructed the 
receiving of the gospel. This will appear by representing 
the state and disposition of the world at that time when it 
was first preached. 

(1.) Ignorance was universal ; a deep thick darkness co- 
vered the face of the earth. And the consequences of that 
gross palpable ignorance, were execrable idolatry, and the 
most notorious depravation of manners. 

First; execrable idolatry; for as in the night, spectres 
walk ; so in the times of ignorance, the prince of darkness 
made his progress in the earth. He reigned in the hearts of 
men and in the places of their devotion. The whole world 
was filled with idols of several forms and mysteries, some 
amiable, others terrible, according to the humour of super- 
stition. For many ages Satan had kept peaceable possession 
of his empire : for the ignorant world did not understand its 
misery, but willingly paid that honour to the cruel usurper, 
that was only due to the lawful Sovereign. 

They were confirmed in their idolatry by several things. — 
They were trained up in it from their infant state. Now the 
first persuasions of the mind though grossly false, and ill 
habits do strangely captivate, and are with difficulty remo- 
ved ; because the concurrence of those faculties is requisite, 
wliich are mider the power of error and vice. No tyrant is 
so exactly obeyed as custom, especially in things esteemed 
sacred ; for the conceit that the service is pleasing to the 
Deity, renders men incapable to believe any thing that con- 
tradicts it. It was as hard to make the Gentiles forsake the 
religion they received from their birth, and to lose the im- 
pressions made in their tender age, as to make the Africans 
change their skin and become fair, and the Europeans to 
turn black ; for the tincture which the religion practised in 
each country conveys to the souls of men, is as deep and 
lasting, as that which the sun impresses upon their bodies, 
according to the diversity of its aspects. — The pagan reli- 
gion was derived through a long succession from their pro- 
genitors. Antiquity brings I know not wliat respect to 
things, but it is specially venerable in matters of religion. 
Therefore the heathens accused the Christian religion of 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 301 

novelty, and urged nothing more plausibly than the argu- 
ment of immemorial prescription for their superstition. 
They would not consider whether it were just and reasona- 
ble, but with a blind deference yielded up themselves to the 
authority of the ancients. They resolved not to condemn 
their parents and friends, that had gone before them in the 
road of damnation, but chose to die in their idolatry. So 
hard is it to resist the current of the world, and to rescue 
ourselves from the bondage of popular errors. — The pomp 
of the pagan worship was very pleasing to the flesh. The 
magnificence of their temples adorned with the trophies of 
superstition, their mysterious ceremonies, their music, their 
processions, their images and altars, their sacrifices and pu- 
rifications, and the rest of the equipage of a carnal religion, 
drew their respects, and strongly affected their minds through 
their senses ; whereas the religion of the gospel is spiritual 
and serious, holy and pure, and hath nothing to move the 
carnal part. Now how difficult was it to overcome pagan- 
ism when fortified by antiquity, universality, and so agreea- 
ble to sense ! How hard was it to free men from the double 
tyranny of custom from without, and blind affections from 
within ! 

Secondly; the depravation of manners was such in the 
heathen world, that if the unclean spirits had been incarnate, 
and taken their residence among men, they could not have 
acted worse villanies. The whole earth was covered with 
abominations, as Egypt with the frogs that poisoned the 
whole climate. We may see a picture of their conversa- 
tion in the first to the Romans. And it could be no other- 
wise ; for as the apostle saith, " those who are drunk, are 
drunk in the night," so when the mind is darkened with 
ignorance and error, the affections are corrupted, and men 
give up themselves to the " unfruitful works of darkness." 
Unnatural crimes were committed even among the Grecians 
and Romans, with that liberty, as if no spark of common 
reason had remained in them. The most filthy lusts had 
lost the fear and shame that naturally attends them. They 
esteemed those things to be the means to obtain happiness, 
that were the causes of the contrary. They placed their 
sovereign good in extreme evil, that is, sinful pleasures. 
They were encouraged to "work all uncleanness with 
greediness," not only upon the account of present impunity, 
for their laws left almost all vices indifferent but what dis- 

26 



302 THE HARMONY OF 

turbed the tranquillity of the state ; and not only by the 
multitude of examples, so that vices by their commonness 
had lost their names, and were styled virtues ; nay, it was 
a crime to appear innocent among the guilty ; but princi- 
pally because they thought themselves secure as to a future 
state ; for either they wholly disbelieved it, and it is con- 
gruous that those who think to die like beasts, should live 
like beasts ; or else, by attributing to their deities those pas- 
sions and vices that so powerfully reigned in themselves, 
they were strongly persuaded no punishment would be in- 
flicted ; for how could the gods make them sacrifices to their 
justice, who were companions with them in their crimes? 
or revenge the imitation of their own actions ? This was to 
cast down tlie banks, and to let the torrent of corrupt na- 
ture break forth in all its fury ; as St. Austin observes of 
Homer, the father of poetical fictions, that representing the 
murders, thefts, and adulteries of their gods, he made those 
sins divine properties, and effectually commended them to 
the heathens ; " Quisquis ea fecisset, non homines perditos 
sed coelestes deos videhatur imitatus." And he gives an in- 
stance of this from a comedy of Terence, where a vicious 
young man is introduced, reporting how he animated him- 
self to satisfy his brutish lust, as having no less a deity than 
Jupiter for his master and model. In short, the theology of 
the Pagans inflamed them to the bold commission of every 
pleasant sin. The history of their gods was so interspersed 
with the most infamous impurities, that at the first reading, 
" verterunt pupillas virgiues in meretrices;" they lost the 
virginity of their eyes, then of their souls, and then of their 
bodies. Now the gospel is a holy discipline that forbids all 
excesses, that enjoins universal purity and chastity; so that 
when it was first preached to the heatiiens, they thouglit it 
impossible to be obeyed, unless men were angels without 
bodies, or statues without souLs. 

(2.) I shall add farther, that the aversion of the heathens 
from Christianity was much strengthened by those, who 
were in veneration among them and vehemently opposed it. 
And they were the philosophers greatly esteemed for wis- 
dom, their priests that had dominion over their consciences, 
and their princes that had power over their states and lives. 

First; philosophers vehemently opposed the receiving of 
the gospel. At the first view it may be just matter of won- 
der that they should be enemies to it whether we consider 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 303 

the object of faith or the rules of life laid down in it. The 
objects of faith were new and noble, of infinite beauty and 
profit, and most worthy of a rational contemplation to be 
exercised upon them. Now that the philosophers who were 
so diligent to improve their minds, who received with com- 
placency truths of a lower descent and of infinitely less im- 
portance, should reject evangelical truths, sublime in their 
nature, saving in their efficacy, and revealed from heaven, 
what account can be given of it? TertuUian reproaches 
them with reason, that the Christian faith was the only 
thing, which curiosity did not tempt them to search into ; 
" Hie solum curiositas humana torpescit." Besides, whereas 
the gospel is a plain and perfect institution for the govern- 
ment of life, wholly conversant about the souls of men, and 
assures a blessedness infinitely more excellent than was ever 
thought of by them, it might have been expected that those 
who in regard to morality seemed most to approach to it, 
and whose professed design was to search after happiness, 
should have readily entertained and used their best endea- 
vours to have drawn others to embrace it. But if we con- 
sider things aright, our wonder will vanish ; for their know- 
ledge and morality, which in themselves were preparatives, 
yet accidentally hindered their submission to the gospel, 
and caused the most potent prejudices against it j and that 
upon a double account, — of pride — of satisfaction in their 
own way. 

Pride was their universal disease. They had a liberal 
esteem of themselves as raised above the common rank of 
men, and were lovers of glory more than of wisdom. And 
because philosophy had instructed them in some truths, they 
believed its false as well as true dictates, and concluded all 
things impossible that did not concur with their old tenets : 
they admitted no higher principle than natural reason, and 
utterly rejected divine revelation ; which was as unreasona- 
ble as if one that never saw but the light of a candle, should 
contend that there was no other light in the world. Now 
a person that doth not believe divine revelation, is wholly 
unqualified to judge of supernatural mysteries ; for till the 
authority of the revealer is submitted to, he cannot truly 
consider their cause and their end. Besides, they looked on 
it as a reproach, that any secret should be revealed to others 
and not to them. It seemed to darken their glory, that any 
school should be more kno\ving than theirs. Therefore 



304 ^ THE HARMONY OF 

they chose to be instructers of error, rather than disciples 
to the truth. And farther, they thought their honour con- 
cerned to defend the principles they had once espoused. 
From hence arose the great contentions between themselves, 
accompanied with invectives and satires, bemg very jealous 
for their opinions, and passionate for the interest of their 
sects. Now the gospel was in some things contrary to all 
of them, so that being imperious and impatient of contradic- 
tion and touched in their tenderest part, no wonder they 
were so violent against it. They were unwilling to receive 
a doctrine that discovered their errors, and lessened their 
esteem. Our Saviour asks the Jews, " How can ye believe 
which receive honour one of another, and seek not the 
nonour that cometh from God only?" John v. 44. He pro- 
pounds it as an impossible thing. The gospel would strip 
them of all their pretended excellencies, and divest them of 
many vain conceptions adorned with so much art, and com- 
manded as its first article, they should humbly resign their 
understandings to divine revelation; this they looked on as 
a submission unworthy of their refiiir.l, strong spirits. 

They had satisfaction in their own imperfect virtues. 
Because they did some things to recover the human nature 
from its degenerate state, tliey were more confirmed in their 
infidelity than the grossest idolaters and the most vicious 
persons ; for the more probable arguments they had to ob- 
tain happiness in their own way, the more obstinately they 
refused any other. They thought there was no need of 
supernatural revelation to direct, nor of supernatural grace 
to assist them; but without the intercession of a Saviour 
and the power of the Holy Spirit, they had self-sufficiency 
to obtain perfection and felicity. Like fooli.sh chemists that 
have melted away a great part of their estates in vain, and 
little remaining to support their wretched lives, yet in ex- 
pectation of the great elixir, create in their fancies treasures 
of gold, to enrich themselves: So the philosophers who 
wasted their time and spirits in searching after happiness to 
little purpose, although the best of their principles and the 
height of their virtue were insufl^cient to support them un- 
der any pressing afllictions, yet they had vain hopes of ob- 
taining perfect tranquillity and content by them. Now the 
gospel commanding an entire renouncing of ourselves, to 
embrace the sole goodness and will of God, it was hard for 
those who were so full of pride and vanity to relish a doc- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 305 

trine so contrary to them. In truth, whatever the philoso- 
phers pretended concerning the incredibility that the Son of 
God should suffer death, yet it was not so much the cross to 
which Christ was nailed by his enemies that made them 
reject the gospel, as the other cross to which Jesus would 
fasten them, that is, the strict and holy discipline to which 
he commands them to submit ; a discipline that condemns 
their vain boasting of wisdom and virtue, that mortifies sen- 
sual pleasures which many of the philosophers indulged 
themselves in, notMathstanding all their discourses of the 
purgative and illuminative life. And that this was the real 
cause of their rejecting a crucified Saviour, is evident, for 
they knew that sufferings of the worst kind are not always 
infamous, but must be esteemed according to the quality of 
their causes and ends. Those who for public good generous- 
ly expose themselves to disgrace and misery, are honoured 
for their heroic courage as patriots of the noblest strain. 
And it is not unusual for persons of extraordinary wisdom 
and virtue to suffer in the world. Their presence and ex- 
ample upbraid tlie vicious, and wound their spirits, as a 
great light distempered and sore eyes. And some of them 
acknowledged the wisdom of providence in permitting this 
for an excellent end, that virtue tried in the fire might be 
more resplendent. Plato, an eminent philosopher, describes 
a man truly just, by this proof of his integrity, that he shall 
suffer the loss of estate and honour ; be scourged, racked, 
bound, and have his ej^es plucked out, and after the endu- 
ring of all miseries, at last be crucified. Socrates, so ad- 
mired by them, was so disguised by the malice of his ene- 
mies, that he was condemned to die by poison; yet this was 
so far from obscuring his reputation, that his suffering death 
was esteemed the most noble effect of his courage, and the 
most excellent proof of his virtue. Why then should they 
make a contrary judgment of our Redeemer's sufferings, 
whose innocence was perfect, and whose patience was so 
holy and divine, that in the midst of his torments he prayed 
for his murderers? No reason can be justly alledged, but 
some darling lust, spiritual or fleshly, which they were re- 
solved to cherish. The light that comes from above illumi- 
nates the humble and dazzles the proud. The presumption 
of their own knowledge, was the cause of their prodigious, 
stupidity. Simple ignorance is not so dangerous as error : 
a false light that deceives and leads to precipices is worse 
26* 



306 THE HARMON' Y OF 

than darkness. We find therefore that none were fiercer 
enemies to the gospel than the philosophers. 

The sacred story tells us, that when the apostle preached 
at Athens, that was as much the seat of superstition as of 
science, the Epicureans and Stoics, though most opposite in 
their principles, yet conspired to encounter him. They en- 
tertained him with scorn ; " What will this babbler say ?" 
and his success was but small there. He that fished with a 
net in other places, and brought great numbers to baptism, 
did there only with an angle, and caught but one or two 
souls. And in ihe progress of the gospel they persisted in 
their opposition. The most grave and virtuous among them 
censured the martyrs as fool-hardy in their generous suffer- 
ings for the name of Jesus Christ. Antoninus accused the 
Christians of obstinacy in their readiness to endure tor- 
ments. Arrianus represents their courage as proceeding 
from a customary contempt of death, which he opposes to 
judgment and reason. Crescens, the Cynic, was the perse- 
cutor of Justin Martyr. In all ages the gospel felt the sharp 
points of their malicious wits. They despised it as an ill- 
contrived fable, as the entertainment of small understand- 
ings ; and faitli, as the "presidium" of the weak and illite- 
rate, wlio were incapable of consideration. Now when 
those who were in highest reputation for their morality and 
learning, discountenanced Christianity, it was a strong argu- 
ment to move the vulgar heathens to judge of it as a mere 
delusion. In our Saviour's time it was urged as a sufllcient 
reason against the receiving of him as sent from God, be- 
cause none of the pharisees, the most learned and most 
likely to understand the prophecies concerning the Messiah, 
believed on him. John vii. 48. 

Secondly ; the heathen priests vehemently obstructed the 
reception of the gospel ; for their interest was specially con- 
cerned upon the account of their reputation and gain. With 
great art they had kept the people in ignorance for a long 
time. They persuaded them that their idolatrous ceremo- 
nies, sacrifices, and festivals made the gods favourable, and 
were the supreme causes of their prosperity ; and that ill 
success in war, public disasters, and great contagions were 
sent for the neglect of their service. From this fountain 
all superstition was derived. Now if the doctrine of Christ, 
that strictly forbids the worship of idols, were received, who 
would attend to their old lies ? who would purchase their 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 30T 

deceitful promises ? who would maintain them with prodi- 
gal donatives ? who would esteem them divine men ? They 
must lose their honour and support, and for their fables be 
the scorn of the multitude. It is no wonder then that their 
passions should be edged, and their endeavours furious in 
opposing the truth. And since the people had a reverend 
regard for their office, and a high opinion of their wisdom, 
authority, and sanctity, they readily joined with them in 
their opposition. 

Thirdly ; princes, who were adored by the people, thought 
themselves obliged to prevent the introduction of a new reli- 
gion, lest their empire should be in hazard, or the majesty 
and greatness of it lessened ; for religion being the true 
foundation of public peace, every change in it is suspected 
as dangerous, and likely to bring some eminent alteration in 
the state. St. Paul was accused for teaching customs which 
were not lawful for them to observe, being Romans, Acts 
xvi. 21. And in after-times Christians were condemned as 
seditious and mutinous, and their assemblies as riotous and 
unlawful. And it is observable, that there never was a less 
favourable constitution of time, than when the gospel was 
first preached ; for Tiberius was extremely cruel and ex- 
tremely jealous of all novelty that might disturb his repose. 
And Nero, the bloodiest tyrant that ever sat on the Roman 
throne, endeavoured to strangle Christianity in the cradle. 

Besides, the doctrine of Christ was not only new and 
strange, but severe ; for it gives no dispensation for persons 
of the highest rank from universal duty. It is the law of 
God, to whom all are equally subject and must be equally 
obedient. It gives rules without exception, to the court as 
well as the cottage ; to those clothed in purple, and those in 
sackcloth ; it condemns the greatest for delinquents and 
guilty of eternal death, if they do not abandon those plea- 
sures to which corrupt nature and many strong temptations 
violently incline them. Now the heathen princes who were 
prosperous and vicious, could not relish a doctrine that re- 
trenched their exorbitant desires, and strictly forbade their 
unconfined enjoyment of sensual delights, which they es- 
teemed the prerogatives annexed to their supreme dignity ; 
and the minds of subjects are tainted with dependance on 
the powerful. 

From what hath been discoursed, we may judge how 
great resistance the gospel met with in its first publication j 



308 THE HARMONY OF 

for all things that can make an enterprise impossible, were 
united together against it. Wisdom and power, the plea- 
sures of sin, and zeal for religion ; the understandings and 
wills of men were combined in opposition to its progress. 
The learned and ignorant, magistrates and people, men and 
devils joined to suppress it. Hell was in a commotion and 
the prince of darkness in arms, not to suffer the crowns of 
so many kingdoms to fall from his head, which for so many 
ages he had kept. He was enraged to lose the homage and 
service, especially of the more knowing nations, as the Gre- 
cians and Romans ; who, by how much the more capable of 
truth, witli so much the more art, to the dishonour of God, 
for a long time had been kept under his deceit. 

2. If we consider the means by which the gospel was 
conveyed, it will be more evident that omnipotence alone 
made it successful. When Christ came from heaven to 
convert the world, it had been according to the law of 
reason more suitable to his purpose to have been born at 
Rome, the seat of the empire, wherein the confluence of 
all nations met, than in an obscure corner. So when the 
apostles were first sent forth to propagate the gospel, human 
prudence would judge, that they should have been assisted 
either with authority and power, or with learning and elo- 
quence, to compel or persuade to a submission to it. But if 
there had been any proportion between the quality of the 
instruments and the effects produced, the gospel had been 
esteemed a doctrine purely human. The immediate agents 
had been entitled to all the honour by the suffrage of the 
senses, and their proper sufficiency would have obscured the 
virtue of Christ that wrought in them. Therefore God 
chose " the weak things of the world, to confound the 
mighty; and base tilings of the world, and things which 
are despised hath God chosen ; yea, and things which are 
"♦. to bring to nought things that are," that his glorious 
nower P^^y ^^ ^"'^y manifested, 1 Cor. i. 27, 28. Christ- 
ianity, like its author, sprang " as a root out of a dry ground," 
and grew into a f^iir a"d strong tree, not by human planting 
and waterinf^, but by the miraculous influences of heaven. 

^he persons emp'oyed were a few fishermen, with a pub- 
lican' and a tent- maker, without authority and power to force 
men to obedience, anu without the charms of eloquence to 
insinuate the belief of the doctrines they delivered.^ And 
with these disadvantages they could never have conceived a 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 308 

thought, much less had courage to attempt the great impos- 
sibihty of converting the whole world to Christ, and subject- 
ing the heads of princes, and the learned and wise, to the 
foot of a crucified person, without the divine assistance. 

(1.) They were without authority and power. Other re- 
ligions were established in several nations, by persons of the 
greatest eminency and credit among them ; that of the Per- 
sians by Zoroaster, that of the Egyptians by Hermes, that 
of the Grecians by Orpheus, that of the Romans by Numa, 
all kings, or of great reputation for their wisdom and virtue ; 
and they were received without contradiction ; for being 
correspondent to the corrupt inclinations of men, it was not 
strange that the princes had either capacity to invent them, 
or power to plant them. And in later times Mahomet open- 
ed a way for his religion by his sword, and advanced it by 
conquest. Now it is no wonder that a religion so pleasing 
to the lower appetites, that gives license to all corrupt affec- 
tions in the present life, and promises a sensual paradise 
suitable to beasts in the future, should be embraced by those 
who were subject to his arms. But the apostles were meanly 
born and educated, without credit and reputation, destitute 
of all human strength, and had only a crucified person for 
their leader. Christianity was exposed naked, in the day of 
its birth, without any shelter from secular powers. 

(2.) They had not the advantage of art and eloquence to 
commend their religion. There is a kind of charm in rhe- 
toric, that makes things appear otherwise than they are : 
the best cause it ruins, the worst it confirms. Truth, though 
in itself invincible, yet by it seems to be overcome, and error 
obtains a false triumph. We have a visible proof of this in 
the writings of Celsus, Symmachus, Cascilius, and others, for 
paganism against Christianity. What a vast difference is 
there between the lies and filthiness of the one, and the truth 
and sanctity of the other ! Yet with what admirable address 
did they manage that infamous subject ! Although it seemed 
incapable of any defence, yet they gave such colours to it, 
by the beauty of their expressions and their apparent reasons, 
that it seemed plausible ; and Christianity, notwithstanding 
its brightness and purity, was made odious to the people. 
But the apostles were most of them wholly unlearned. St. 
Paul himself acknowledges, that he was weak in presence, 
and " his speech was not with enticing words of man's wis- 
dom," 2 Cor. ii. 4. A crucified Christ was all their rhetoric. 



310 THE HARMONY OF 

Now these impotent, despicable persons were employed to 
subdue the world to the cross of Christ; and in that season, 
when the Roman empire was at its height, when the most 
rigorous severities were used against all innovations, when 
philosophy and eloquence were in their flower and vigour ; 
so that truth, unless adorned with the dress and artifice of 
falsehood, was despised, and a message from God himself, 
unless eloquently conveyed, had no force to persuade. 
Therefore the apostles debased themselves in the sense of 
their own weakness; "We have this treasure in earthen 
vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, 
and not of us," 2 Cor. iv. 7. It was from distrust of them- 
selves, their true confidence in God proceeded. They were 
only so far powerful as he enabled them ; like instruments 
in which there is not virtue sufficient for the carving of a 
statue, if they do not receive it impressed from the artificer 
that uses them. Briefly, as God, the author of wonders, 
uses that which is weak in nature, to conquer the most re- 
bellious parts of it ; he makes the weak sand a more power- 
ful bridle to the impetuous element of waters, than the 
strongest banks raised by the industry of men and composed 
of the most solid materials ; so he was pleased, by a few 
artless, impotent persons, to confound the wisdom and over- 
come the power of the world. 

3. The great, sudden, and lasting change that was made 
in the world, by the preaching of the gospel, is a certain 
argument of the divine power that animated those mean 
appearances, and that no instrument is weak in God's 
hands. 

(1.) The greatness of the change is such, that it was only 
possible to divine power. It is a great miracle to render 
sight to the blind, but it is more miraculous to enlighten the 
dark mind, to see the truth and beauty of supernatural 
mysteries, when they are disguised under reproach and sad 
representations, and eflfectually to believe them, especially 
when the inferior appetite is so contrary to faith. It is a 
prodigy to raise the dead, but it is more admirable to sanctify 
an habituated sinner ; for in comparing the quality of those 
miracles, that is the greatest, in tlie performing whereof God 
is discovered to be the absolute Lord of the greater nature ; 
now the intellectual nature is superior to the corporeal. 
Besides, there is no contradiction from a dead body against 
the divine power in raising it ; on the contrary, if any sense 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 311 

were remaining, it would ardently desire to be restored to 
the full enjoyment of life ; but corrupt nature is most oppo- 
site to renewing grace. And in this sense our Savio«r's 
promise to the disciples was principally accomplished ; 
" Verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works 
that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall 
he do, because I go to the Father," John xiv. 12 ; for the 
strange conversion of the Gentiles by the preaching of the 
gospel, was the most divine and powerful work of our Sa- 
viour in glory, after his sending the Holy Ghost, and ex- 
ceeded all the miraculous operations performed by him on 
the earth. The glorious light of truth scattered the thick 
and terrible darkness of ignorance and error, that was so 
universal. The gospel in its power and the quality of its 
effects, was like those words, " Let there be light," which the 
eternal Word pronounced upon the confused chaos, and in- 
fused a soul and life into the world. The clear knowledge 
of God in his nature, and glorious works of creation and 
redemption, of the duty of man, of the future state, was 
communicated to the meanest understandings. 

And in proportion to the light of faith, such was the 
measure of piety and holiness. Idolatry that had number, 
antiquity, authority on its side, was entirely abolished. 
The false deities were cast out of the temple, and the cross 
of Christ was planted in the hearts of men. The pure beams 
of the Sun of Righteousness quickly extinguished the fires 
of the devil's altars, and the real miracles performed by 
the divine power exposed his lying wonders to contempt. 
Accordingly the apostle tells the Thessalonians ; " For they 
themselves show of us, what manner of entering in we had 
unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the 
living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, 
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered 
us from the w^ath to come," 1 Thes. i. 9. Innumerable from 
secret atheism and public gentilism were converted to ac- 
knowledge and accept of the Redeemer for their Lord. WTiat 
could produce such a marvellous change in the world but an 
almighty power ? How seemingly impossible was it to bring 
so many who were proud in their natures, perverse in their 
customs, and indubitably assenting to their false religions, 
from such a distance as the worship of innumerable deities, 
to adore a crucified God ! It was admirable that Alexander 
broke the Persian empire with an army of thirty thousand ; 



312 THE HARMONY OF 

but what is there comparable in that conquest to the acts of 
the apostles ? How much less difficult is it for some nations 
to change their kings, than for ail to change their gods ! How 
far more easy is it to overcome the bodies of men, than sub- 
due their souls ! Upon the most exact inquiry, there will 
never be found in human nature any cause capable to pro- 
duce §uch an effect, nor in the records of all ages any ex- 
ample like it. 

Add to this, the excellent reformation in the hearts and 
lives of men. As their understandings, so their wills and 
affections, the sources of action, were miraculously altered. 
What the sages of the world could not effect in a few select 
persons, the gospel hath done in great numbers ; nay, raised 
them above all their feigned ideas, above the highest pitch 
of their proud philosophy. Those strong and furious pas- 
sions, which natural reason was as unable to restrain as a 
thread of silk is to govern a fierce beast, the gospel hath 
tamed and brought into order. It hath executed what philo- 
sophy durst never enterprise, despairing of success. The 
gospel overcame all those carnal reluctancies that seemed 
insuperable : it made the wise men of the world resign 
their reason to faith ; it persuaded carnal men to mortify 
the flesh, the ambitious to despise secular honours, the vo- 
luptuous to renounce their pleasures, the covetous to distri- 
bute their goods to the poor, the injured and incensed to 
forgive their enemies ; and all this for love to God, an affec- 
tion unknown to all other laws and institutions. Wherever 
it came, it miraculously transformed pagans into Christians, 
which was as truly wonderful, as for the basilisk to part 
with its poison, for a wolf to be changed into a lamb, nay, 
for dogs, (such were the Gentiles in our Saviour's language,) 
to be changed into angels of light and purity. An eminent 
instance we have of its eflicacy in the Corinthians, who in 
their heathen state were guilty of the vilest enormities : but 
after their receiving the gospel, the apostle testifies, they 
" were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God," 1 Cor. vi. 10, 11. 
Justin Martyr tells Triphon that those who had been stained 
witli all filthiness, and enslaved by charming imperious 
lusts, yet becoming Christians, they were purified and freed, 
and delighted in those virtues that were most contrary to 
their former vices. This alteration was so visible, that the 
lives of the first Christians were an apology for their faith. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 313 

And it is strongly urged by Origen, Tertullian, Lactantius, 
and others, as a convincing proof of the divinity of the 
Christian doctrine, that it made the professors of it divine in 
their conversations. The creation of grace was like the 
creation of nature, when trees sprang up in an instant laden 
with fruits ; so in the converted, all the blessed fruits of the 
spirit, " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith, meekness, temperance," abounded. This testimony 
even a pagan persecutor gives the common sort of Chris- 
tians, that they assembled to sing hymns to Christ ; that 
they obliged themselves solemnly to injure no person, to 
deceive none, to preserve faithfully what was committed to 
them, to be always true. 

And as, in obedience to tlie gospel, they gave a divorce to 
all the sinful delights of sense, so, which was incomparably 
more difficult, they -embraced thpse things which nature doth 
most abhor. No religion ever exposed its followers to such 
sufferings, nor inspired them with such resolution to sustain 
them. All other religions were productions of the flesh, 
and being allied together, if any time jealousy caused a dis- 
cord between them, yet an open persecution was unusual. 
But when Christianity first appeared, they all turned their 
hatred and violence against it, as a foreigner of a different 
extraction. How many living martyrs were exiles for the 
faith, and deprived of all human consolation ! yet they 
esteemed themselves more blessed in their miseries, than 
others in their pleasures. How many thousands were put 
to death for the honour of our Redeemer ! yet the least thing 
is the number, in comparison of the manner of their suffer- 
ings. If they had suffered a mild martyrdom, an easy and 
sudden death, wherein the combat and victory had been 
finished at a blow, their love and courage had not been so 
admirable ; but they endured torments so various and terri- 
ble, that had they not been practised upon them by their 
enemies, it were incredible that ever malice should be so 
ingenious to invent, or cruelty so hardened to inflict them. 
If all the furies of hell had come forth to suggest new tor- 
tures, they could not have devised worse. Neither was 
their mere suffering such torments so astonishing, as their 
readiness to encounter them and their behaviour under them. 
They maintained their faith in the presence of the most for- 
midable princes. Some, who might by favour, were afraid 
to escape the common persecution, esteeming no death pre- 

27 



314 THE HARMONY OP 

cious but martyrdom. They contended earnest y to suffer, 
and envied others the honourable ignominy and happy tor- 
ments that were endured for their beloved Redeemer. We 
have an instance of their courage in Tiburtius, who thus 
spake to his judges: " Bind me to racks and wheels, condemn 
me, banish me, load me with chains, burn me, tear me, omit 
no kind of torment. If you banish me, the smallest corner 
of the earth shall be to me as the whole world, because I 
shall find my God there; if you kill me, by the same act 
you will give me the happy liberty I sigh after, and deliver 
me from a prison on earth to reign in heaven ; if you con- 
demn me to the fire, I have quenched other flames in resist- 
ing concupiscence. Ordain what torment you please, it shall 
not trouble me, since my heart is filled with love to suffer and 
desire it." They were thankful to those who condemned 
them, and regarded their executioners with the same eye, as 
St. Peter did the angel that brake off his fetters to restore 
him to freedom : they cheerfully received them, as tliose 
who brought the keys of paradise in the same hands where- 
with they brought their swords. They entered into the fire 
with joy, and were not only patient but triumphant in their 
sufiTcrings ; as if they had been glorified in their souls, and 
impassible to the sufferings of their bodies. " I have seen," 
saith Eusebius, " the executioners tired with tormenting 
them, lie down panting and breathing, and others not less 
fierce, but more fresh, succeed in their cruel service; but I 
never saw the martyrs weary of suflferings, nor heard them 
desire a truce, much less deliverance from them." If the 
judges were softened with their blood, and by the force of 
nature were compelled to be compassionate, so as to offer 
them a release if they would but feign to deny Christ ; they 
were filled with indignation, esteeming it the worst injury, 
that the persecutors expected they would be guilty of but 
the shadow of infidelity to their dear Saviour. They were 
ambitious of the longest and most terrible sufferings for his 
sake, to be martyrs in every member. They sang the praises 
of Christ (their tongues being harmonious with the affec- 
tions of their hearts) in the flames; they preached him from 
the crosses ; they rejoiced in him as their only good, in the 
midst of devouring beasts. Briefly, they preserved an invi- 
olable faith to him, notwithstanding the most furious bat- 
teries against them. The barbarous enemy might tear their 
hearts from their breasts, but never Christ from their hearts, 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 315 

to whom they were inseparably united by love, stronger 
than the most cruel death. 

Now what less than the divine power could support thera 
under those torments, which it is almost incredible that 
bodies made of flesh could endure? I will not dispute 
whether it exceeds all natural force to suffer such a vicious 
affection of pride or obstinacy ; but the frequency of it ex- 
ceeds all natural possibility. It was not impossible for Mu- 
cins Scaevola, one of the Romans, being transported with 
indignation for missing his design, to hold his right hand 
unmoved in the fire, (more grieved at the error than the 
burning of it,) to -extinguish in the king, their enemy, all 
hopes of drawing from him the secret of his country by the 
force of torments ; but though it were but the suffering of 
one part and for a sliort time, yet it was not possible that 
many thousands such should have been at Rome ; for then 
that single example had not been so wonderful in all antiqui- 
ty : but the noble army of martyrs who overcame in the 
most bloody battles, was num.erous beyond account, and com- 
posed of all sorts of persons, of the aged and infirm, of tender 
youths, of delicate women, of the honourable and obscure ; 
yet in that difference of ages, and sexes, and states, there 
appeared sucli an equality of virtue, that it was visible, the 
same heavenly Spirit inspired them all with courage, and by 
assuring ihem of eternal life, made them despise present death. 
Such heroical and frequent constancy must be ascribed to the 
" breast-plate of faith and love" of a celestial temper, where- 
with the Almighty hath armed them. 

If it be said that some have died for a false religion, so 
that the extraordinary assistance of heaven was not neces- 
sary to encourage the Christian martyrs, the answer is 
clear, there is a vast difference between the number of the 
sufferers and manner of their sufferings. Some few, moved 
by vanity and melancholy, or compelled, have suffered for a 
false religion, that was authorized by the custom of their 
country for many ages ; but innumerable Christians, ani- 
mated by the example of their crucified king, freely sacrifi- 
ced themselves for the testimony of the gospel upon the first 
•ovelation of it, before any human respects gave colour to it. 
In those who suffered for a false religion, were visible either 
fear or vain-glory, stubbornness or rage ; but the Christians 
in their greatest sufferings expressed magnanimity without 
pride, constancy without fierceness, patience without stupid- 



316 



THE HARMONY OF 



ity, and such an admirable compassion to their enemies, as 
persuaded some of their tormentors to be companions v/ith 
them in martyrdom. 

(2.) The suddenness and universahty of the change ef- 
fected by the gospel, is a signal evidence of the divine pow- 
er that attended it. The apostle declares the admirable pro- 
gress of it " in all the world," during his time, Col. i. 6. In 
a few years with incredible swiftness it passed through Ju- 
dea, Samaria, Syria, Greece, and all the parts of the known 
habitable world. Tacitus acknowledges that in the eleventh 
year of Nero, great numbers of Christians were at Rome, 
at a great distance from the place where the gospel was first 
preached. It appears from the writings of the primitive 
Christians, that in the second century after the death of 
Christ, the Roman empire was filled with Christian church- 
es. The world was peopled with a new generation. Now 
what secret power prpduced that sudden and universal 
change ? Mow came it to pass that the gospel, contrary to 
the order of new things, should be so readily received, and 
in those places where the most insuperable obstacles oppo- 
sed it ? in Corinth, tlic seat of luxury and voluptuousness ; 
in Ephesus, where idolatry had its throne ; in Rome itself, 
where honours, riches, pleasures, were adored ? Moses with 
all his great miracles never conquered one nation to the 
true God ; the pharisecs " compassed sea and land to make 
one proselyte," but the gospel in a little time converted 
many nations from their opinions and manners wherein 
tiiey had been instructed and educated, to those that were 
not only difi^erent, but contrary. • The wonder in Isaiah was 
exceeded, that a nation was born in a day ; for the world 
were renewed as it were in a moment. Such a quickening 
universal efficacy was joined with the preaching of the gos- 
pel, that the power of God was never more visibly mani- 
fested in any work. Therefore the apostle mentionsiit as one 
part of tlie great mystery of godliness, that Christ Avas " be- 
lieved on in the world," ITim. iii. 16. There is nothing but 
supernatural, as in the birth, so in the progress of Christianit}^ 

(3.) The lasting changes made by the gospel is the effect 
of infinite power. Philosophy, though maintained by the 
successive force of the greatest wits, yet declined and came 
to nothing; but Christianity, attended only by its own au- 
thority, established its dominion, and raised an eternal em- 
pire of truth and holiness in the world. The reason of man 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 317 

cannot inspire into its productions a principle of life ; only 
that power which conveys to man an immortal soul, can 
derive to its institutions a spirit to animate and preserve 
them. And this victorious permanent virtue of the gospel 
is more admirable in regard it prevailed without the assist- 
ance, and against the opposition of all. Nothing could ef- 
fectually resist the sacred force of naked truth. The more 
it was oppressed, the more it prospered. It gained credit 
and disciples by contradiction and persecution ; it was mul- 
tiplied by the deaths of its followers. " The cloud of wit- 
nesses" dissolving in a shower of blood, made the church 
fruitful ; for many spectators that saw the Christian faith so 
fiercely persecuted, from a desire to know the cause that 
made it so hateful, by searching for its supposed guilt, found 
its real innocence. And thus to discover the truih, the 
tempests it suffered were more serviceable than the calm it 
enjoyed. Although some persecutors have boasted of their 
utter abolishing the Christian name in- all parts of the em- 
pire, yet those inscriptions are the proud monuments of 
their vanity, not victory. Tyrants are perished, but truth 
remains for ever. By which it is evident, that as the gospel 
had a higher principle than what is from below, so it was 
assisted with more than human power. 

To sum up in short what hath been amplified ; how glo- 
riously was the arm of the Lord revealed in raising the 
world, that for four thousand years lay in wickedness! 
What less than a divine power could soften such an obsti- 
nate hardness, as long custom in sin brings ? What could 
pluck up errors that had taken such deep root in the spirits 
of men and were naturalized to them, and plant a discipline 
so austere and thorny to sense ? WTio but the Almighty 
could cast out the devil from his empire so universally and 
long usurped, and withdraw his subjects that were captiva- 
ted by the terror of laws and by the delights of the flesh ? 
What invisible power made innumerable of the tender sex, 
who were not by temper courageous nor by obstinacy in- 
flexible, nay, who were so fearful that they could not see a 
drawn sword without affrightment, yet so resolute as to 
despise all the instruments of cruelty ? What is more 
astonishing than to see a flock of sheep encounter and over- 
come an army of lions ? " This was the Lord's doing," 
and it ought to be "marvellous in our eyes." Briefly, 
the making of a crucified person to reign in the midst of 
27* 



318 THE HARMONY OF 

his enemies, and to give laws to the whole earth, is a vic- 
tory worthy of the Lord of hosts. The conversion of the 
world to Christianity was the effect of infinite mercy and 
equal power. 

VII. The divine power shall be gloriously manifested in 
the complete salvation of the church at the end of the 
world. 

Jesus Christ as mediator is invested with sovereign " pow- 
er in heaven and in earth ;" and in that quality he shall ex- 
ercise it, till our salvation is finished ; " for he must reign 
till he hatli put all enemies under his feet," 1 Cor. xv. 25. 
" But we see not yet all things put under him," Heb. ii. 8. 
Although those persons and things that never degenerated 
from their original, are entirely subject to him ; the angels 
obey his will, universal nature is governed by his providence ; 
the heavens, the earth, the waters, and all things produced from 
them, never resist the direction of his hand; yet there are 
others that fell from their integrity, and some things conse- 
quent to man's rebellion, which either oppose the power of 
Christ or are not yet actually subdued ; and they are the 
enemies of our salvation, Satan, sin, and death. Now the 
perfect freedom of the church from all these, will be the 
last glorious act of Christ's regal office. And it is observa- 
ble, the day of judgment is called the day of redemption, 
with respect to tlie final accomplisliment of our felicity, that 
was purchased by the infinite price of his sufferings. The 
day of Christ's death was the day of redemption, as to our 
right and title ; for then our ransom was fully paid, and it 
is by the immortal efficacy of his blood that we partake of 
the glorious liberty of the sons of Gnjl ; but the actual en- 
joyment of it shall be at the last day. Therefore the per- 
fection of all our spiritual privileges is referred to that time, 
when "death our last enemy" siiall be overcome. The' 
apostle saith, "And not only they, but ourselves also, which 
have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan 
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption ; to wit, the re- 
demption of our body," Rom. viii. 23. During the present 
life, we are taken into God's family in the quality of his 
children ; but the most solemn act of our adoption shall be 
at the last day. In this there is a similitude betwixt Christ 
and his members ; for although he was the son of God by 
his marvellous conception, and owned by him while he per- 
formed his ministry upon the earth, yet all the testimonies 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 319 

of God's favour to him were not comparable to the declara- 
tion of it in raising him from the grave : then in the face 
of heaven and earth, he said, " Thou art my Son, this day- 
have I begotten thee." So in this life God acknowledges 
and treats us as his children ; he clothes us with the right- 
eousness of his Son, feeds us with his word, defends us from 
our spiritual enemies ; but the most public declaration of his 
favour shall be in the next life, when all the " children of 
the resurrection" shall be born in a day. Add further, al- 
though the souls of believers immediately upon their sepa- 
ration are received into heaven, and during the sleep of 
death enjoy admirable visions of glory; yet their blessed- 
ness is imperfect, in comparison of that excellent degree 
which shall be enjoyed at the resurrection. As the Roman 
generals, after a complete conquest, first entered the city 
privately, and having obtained license of the senate, made 
their triumphant entry with all the magnificence and splen- 
dour becoming the greatness of their victories ; so after a 
faithful Christian " hath fought the good fight," and is come 
off more than conqueror, he enters privately into the celes- 
tial city ; but when the body is raised to immortality, he 
sliall then, in the company and with the acclamations of 
the holy angels, have a glorious entry into it. 

I will briefly consider why the bodies of the saints shall 
be raised, and how the divine power will be manifested in 
that last act. 

1. (I.) The general reason is from God's justice. As the 
economy of divine providence requires there must be a fu- 
ture state, when God sliall sit upon a judicial throne to weigh 
the actions of all men, and render to every one according to 
their quality ; so it is as necessary that the person be judged, 
and not one part alone. The law commands the entire man 
composed of essential parts, the soul and body ; and it is 
obeyed or violated by both of them. Although the guilt or 
moral goodness of actions is chiefly attributed to the soul, 
because it is the principal of them, yet the actions are impu- 
ted to the whole man. The soul is the guide, the body the 
instrument : it is reasonable therefore that both should re- 
ceive their recompense. We see the example of this in hu- 
man justice, which is a copy of the divine. The whole man 
,s punished or rewarded : The soul is punished with disgrace 
and infamy, the body with pains ; the soul is rewarded with 
esteem and honour, the body with external marks of dignity. 



320 THE HARMONY OF 

Thus the divine justice will render to every one according 
to the things done in the body, whether good or evil, 
2 Cor. V. 10. 

(2.) The special reason of the saints' resurrection is their 
union with Christ; for he is not only our Redeemer and 
Prince, but our second Adam ; the same in grace, as the 
first was in nature. Now as from the first the soul M^as de- 
stroyed by sin, and the body by death ; so the second re- 
stores them both to their primitive state, the one by grace, 
the other by a glorious resurrection. Accordingly the gos- 
pel saith, that " by man came death," and " by man came 
also the resurrection of the dead," 1 Cor. xv. 21. Christ re- 
moved the moral and natural impossibility of our glorious 
resurrection ; tlie moral, by the infinite merit of his death, 
whereby divine justice is satisfied, that otherwise would not 
permit the guilty to be restored to eternal life; and the natu- 
ral, by his rising from the grave to a glorious immortality ; 
for his infinite power can do the same in all believers. It 
is observable, the apostle infers the resurrection of believers 
from that of Christ, not only as the cause, but the original 
example ; for the members must be conformed to the head, 
the children to their father, the younger to the elder bro- 
ther. Therefore he is called " the first fruits of them that 
slept," and " the first begotten of the dead," 1 Cor. xv ; 
Rev. i. 5. In Christ's resurrection ours is so fully assured, 
that the event is infallible. 

2. Now no less than infinite power is requisite to raise the 
bodies of the saints from the dust, and to transform them 
into the similitude of Christ's. 

(1.) To raise them. Nothing is more astonishing to na- 
ture, than that the bodies which after so many ages in the 
perpetual circulation of the elements have passed into a 
thousand different forms, one part of them being resolved 
into water, another evaporated into air, another turned into 
dust, should be restored to their first state. What wisdom 
is requisite to separate the parts so mixed and confounded ! 
what power to re-compose them ! what virtue to reinspire 
them with new life! It may seem more difficult than to re- 
vive a dead body whose organs and matter is not changed, 
of which we have examples in the scripture. When the 
Spirit of the Lord placed Ezekiel in the midst of a valley 
covered with bones, and caused him to consider attentively 
their number, which was very great, and their extreme dry- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 



321 



ness, he asked liim whether these bones could live ? upon 
which, as one divided and balanced between the seeming 
impossibility of the thing in itself, and the consideration of 
the divine power to which nothing is impossible, he answer- 
ed, " Lord, thou knowest." Upon this God commanded 
him, to prophesy upon those bones, and speak to them, as 
if they had been endued witli sense and understanding : 
" O ye dry bones, hear the v.'ord of the Lord : thus saith the 
Lord God unto these bones, behold, I will cause breath to 
enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews 
upon you, and will bring in flesh upon you, and cover you 
with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live, and ye 
shall know that I am the Lord-," Ezek. xxxvii. 4 — 6. And 
immediately there was a general commotion among them ; 
they joined together, the sinews and flesh came upon them, 
and the skin covered them ; and upon a second prophecy 
they w^ere all inspired v/iih the breath of life, and stood up 
" an exceeding great army." Now whether this was really 
represented to his outward senses, or only by the eificacy of 
the Spirit to his imagination, no doubt so strange a spectacle 
vehemently r.lTected him ; as with joy in hope of the mira- 
culous restoration of Israel, which that vision foretold, so 
with admiration of the divine power. But when the trum- 
pet of the archangel shall sound the universal jubilee ; and 
call forth the dead from all their receptacles, when the ele- 
ments, as faithful depositories, shall effectively restore what 
was committed to them, how admirable will the power of 
God appear ! 

(2.) No less than infinite power is able to change the 
raised bodies into the likeness of Christ's. The apostle 
speaks with an exaggeration of it : for " our conversation is 
in heaven, from whence also Ave look for the Saviour the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it 
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to 
the Avorking Avhereby he is able even to subdue all things to 
himself," Phil. iii. 21. This resemblance will be only in 
the person of believers. All men shall rise to be judged, 
but not all to be transformed. There is a resurrection to 
death as well as to life. L^nhappy resurrection, which only 
serves to make the body the food of eternal death ! But the 
saints who endeavour to be like to Christ in purity, shall 
then have a perfect conformity to him in glory and immor- 
tality. How glorious the body of Christ is, we may conjee- 



322 



THE HARMONY OF 



ture ill part by what the apostle relates to Agrippa, " At 
mid-day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven above 
the brightness of the sun, shining round about me ;" which 
was no other but the light of the face of Christ that struck 
him with blindness, Acts xxvi. 13. One ray of this reflect- 
ing upon the first martyr St, Stephen in his sufferings, gave 
an angelical glory to his countenance. And St. John tells 
us, " When he appears, we shall be like him," 1 John iii. 2. 
He alludes to the rising of the sun, but with this difference — 
when the sun appears in the morning, the stars are made 
invisible ; but the bodies of the saints shall be clothed with 
a sun-like lustre, and shine in the midst of Christ's glory. 
Omnipotency alone that subdues all things, can raise and 
refine them from their dross unto such an admirable bright- 
ness. The angels will be surprised with wonder to soo mil- 
lions of stars spring out of the dust. " The Lord Jesus 
Christ will be admired in " all them that believe," 2 Thess. 
i. 10. 

Their bodies shall be raised to a glorious immortality. 
In this the general resurrection is diffcront from that which 
was particular, as of Lazarus. By the one, death was over- 
come and put to flight only for some time, for his second 
life was no more exempt from death than his first : but by 
the other, " death shall be swallowed up in victory," and 
lose its force for ever. Then shall our true Joshua be mag- 
nified in the sight of the whole world, and the glorious num- 
ber of saints shall cast their crowns at his feet, and sing the 
triumphant song, " Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood," and rescued us by thy power from all our enemies, 
and "art worthy of honour, and glory, and blessing, for 
ever." 



CHAPTER XXn. 



PRACTICAL INFERENCE. 



From what hath been discoursed concerning the extraor- 
dinary working of the divine power, we have a most con- 
vincing proof of the verity of the Christian religion ; for 
since God hath by so many miraculous effects, the infallible 
indications of his favour to the person of Jesus Christ, justi- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 323 

fied his doctrine, no reasonable doubt can remain concerning 
it. Indeed the internal excellencies of it, which are visible 
to the purged eye of the soul, are clear marks of its divinity. 
The mystery of our redemption is made up of various parts, 
in the union of which such an evident wisdom appears, that 
the rational mind, unless enslaved by prejudice, must be ra- 
vished into a compliance. Even that which most offends 
sense, the meanness of our Saviour's condition in the world, 
and the miseries to which he was exposed, do so perfectly 
correspond with his great design to make men holy and 
heavenly, that it appears to be the effect of most wise coun- 
sel. His death on the cross is so much not unbecoming 
God, as an infinite love and unconceivable compassion are 
becoming him. And such a beauty of holiness shines in 
the moral part, as clearly proves God to be its author. It 
denounces war against all vices and commands every virtue. 
All that is excellent in human institutions it delivers with 
infinitely more authority and efficacy ; and what natural 
reason did not reach to, it fully describes, in order to the 
glory of God and the happiness of man. 

Now as God, the Author of nature, hath by tastes, and 
smells, and other sensible qualities, distinguished things 
wholesome from noxious, even to the lowest living crea- 
tures, so he hr.'h much more distinguished objects that are 
saving from deadly, that is, the true religion from the false, 
by undoubted evidences, to any one who will exercise their 
spiritual senses, and sincerely desire to know and obey it. 
And that all the wise and holy embraced it in the face of 
the greatest discouragements, is an unanswerable argument 
that it is pleasing to God ; for how is it possible that the 
good God should suffer those to fall into mortal error, who 
from an ardent affection to him despised whatever is terrible 
or amiable in the world ? How is it possible he should de- 
ny the knowledge of himself to those, to whom he gave such 
a pure love to himself? 

But the human nature, in its corrupted state, is contrary 
both to the doctrine of the gospel, that propounds superna- 
tural verities hard to believe, and to the commands of it, that 
enjoin things hard to do. For this reason it was necessary 
that God by some external operations, the undeniable effects 
of his power, should discover to the world his approbation 
of it. 

Now that Christ is the Son of God and Redeemer of the 



324 THE HARMONY OF 

world, was miraculously declared from heaven by the whole 
divinity; " There are three that bear record in heaven, the 
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are 
one," 1 John v. 7. The Father testified by a voice as loud 
as thunder at his baptism and transfiguration, " This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Matt. iii. 17. The 
Son, by his glorious apparition to Paul, when he struck him 
to the earth with these words, " why persecutest thou me?" 
Acts ix. 4. The light was so radiant, the voice so strong, 
the impression it made so deep and sensible, that he knew 
it came from God. And he manifested himself to St. John 
with that brightness, that he " fell at his feet as dead," till in 
compassion he revived him, and said, " I am he that liveth 
and was dead, and, behold, I am alive for evermore," Rev. i. 
17, 18. And the Holy Spirit, by his miraculous descent in 
the shape of a dove upon him, and in fiery tongues upon the 
apostles, gave a visible testimony that Jesus Christ was sent 
from God to save the world. 

I will particularly consider one effect of the divine power, 
tlie resurrection of Christ, this being the most important ar- 
ticle of the gospel, and the demonstration of all tlie rest ; for 
it is not conceivable that Cod would by his almighty power 
have raised him from the grave to a glorious life, (and it is 
impossible he sliould be otherwise,) if lie hau taken the name 
of tlie Son of God in vain, and arrogated to himself divine 
honour, and only pretended that he was sent from him. By 
the resurrection he was "declared to be the Son of God with 
power ;" for that being tlie proof of his mission, justifies the 
truth of his doctrine, and particularly of tlie quality of God's 
Son which he always attributed to himself. 

Now if infidelity object, that we who live in the present 
age have no sensible testimony that Christ is risen ; and 
what assurance is there that the apostles who reported it 
were not deceivers or deceived ? In answer to this, I will 
briefly show how valuable the testimony of the apostles is, 
and vv^orthy of all acceptation ; and that it was equally im- 
possible tliey should be deceived, or intend to deceive. 

His death is attested by his enemies, Tacitus, a pagan, 
relates that he suffered under Pontius Pilate ; and the Jews 
to this day are so unhappy as to boast, of their being the 
causes of his crucifixion, and call him by a name that is the 
mark of his punisliment. But his resurrection they peremp- 
torily deny. Now the apostles being sent to convert the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 325 

world, were to lay this down as the foundation of their 
preaching, that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, that 
all might yield faith and obedience to him. This was their 
special charge, as St. Peter declares ; " Wherefore of these 
men which have companied with us all the time that the 
Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the 
baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up 
from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his 
resurrection," Acts i. 21. They were to testify concerning 
his doctrine and life, his miracles and sufferings, but princi- 
pally his resurrection. For this reason St. Paul, who was 
extraordinarily admitted into their order, had a miraculous 
sight of Christ from heaven to testify it to the world ; " Last 
of all he was seen of me," 1 Cor. xv. 8. 

Now for our full conviction, it is necessary to consider the 
quality of the witnesses, and the nature of their testimony. 

1. The witnesses were such, of whom there cannot be the 
least reasonable suspicion. In civil causes of the greatest 
moment, the testimony of the honourable and the rich is ac- 
counted valuable, because they are not easily corrupted : one 
of a low degree may from baseness of spirit, through cow- 
ardice and fear, be tempted to deny the truth ; one in a poor 
condition, may be so dazzled with the lustre of gold, when 
he considers the price of perjury, as to be induced to assert 
a falsehood. But who is more incorruptible, the noble that 
from a sense of honour abhors a lie, or those who by their 
divine birth and qualities did so detest it, that they would not 
tell a lie for the glory of God ? Who is more worthy of 
credit, the rich M'hose riches sometimes excite their desires 
after more, or those who by a generous disdain despised all 
things ? Besides, persons of known integrity, whom the 
different images of hopes and fears cannot probably incline 
to evil, are admitted to decide the weightiest causes ; now 
the apostles were so innocent, sober, honest, and unblameable, 
in the whole tenor of their conversations, that their most 
malignant adversaries could never fasten an accusation upon 
them. Indeed if their carnal interests had been concerned, 
there might have been some coloured objections against their 
testimony ; but if we duly consider things, it will appear 
utterly incredible that any deceit could be in it ; for as all 
the actions of reasonable men proceed from reason solid or 
apparent, so particularly imposture and fiction are never 
without some motive and design ; for being contrary to 



326 THE HARMONY OF ' 

nature, there must intervene a foreign consideration for their 
contrivance. 

Now the universal motives to invent fables are honour, 
riches, or pleasure. But none of these could possibly move 
the apostles to feign the resurrection of Christ. Not to insist 
on the meanness of their extraction and education, who had 
only seen boats and nets, and conversed with lakes and 
fishes, whereas ambition usually springs up in persons of 
high birth and breeding ; it is evident that no respect to 
human praise excited them, since they attributed the doc- 
trine of the gospel that should give them reputation in the 
world, to the Holy Spirit, and ascribed the glory of their 
miraculous actions entirely to the divine power, Acts iii. 12, 
13. Wlien the people of Lystra would have given divine 
honour to St. Paul, fie disclaimed it with abhorrency : and 
presently after, those who would have adored him as a god, 
stoned him as a malefactor ; he chose to be their sacrifice 
rather than their idol. Acts xiv. 19. Besides, how could 
they expect to be great or rich by declaring that one who 
came to such a tragical end in the face of the world, was 
raised to life, when the hands of the Jews M'cre still bloody 
with the wounds of their Master, and their hearts so enraged 
against all that honoured his name, as to excommunicate 
them for execrable persons. It had been as extravagant to 
have designed the acquiring of reputation or riches by their 
preaching, as for one to throw himself into a flaming fur- 
nace to be cooled and refreshed. And that pleasure could 
not be their aim, is manifest ; for they met with nothing but 
poverty and persecution, with derision and disgrace, with 
hardships and all the effects of fury, which they willingly 
endured rather than cease from preaching, or deny -what 
they had preached. Their unheard-of resolution to forsake 
their native country, and travel to all the known parts of the 
earth to convey the doctrine of Jesus Christ, is a strong de- 
monstration that they believed it to be true and of infinite 
moment, most worthy of all the dangers to which they vo- 
luntarily exposed themselves. Never did ambition or avarice^ 
the most active passions, cause men to be more diligent, than 
they were to communicate the knowledge of our Saviour to 
all nations. Now what greater assurance can we possibly 
receive that they were sincere in their report ? 

2. The nature of the testimony makes it very credible. 
It was matter of fact. If it had been some high speculation 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 327 

of universal things, abstracted from matter and above the 
cognizance of the senses, there might be some pretence to 
object, that the disciples, unexercised in sciences, were de- 
ceived by the subtilty of their Master : but it is a singular 
thing, of which the senses are the most faithful informers 
and competent judges. 

It was an ocular testimony, which as it makes the strongest 
impression upon the spectator, so upon the belief of others. 
Thus St. John ; " That which we have seen with our eyes, 
which we have looked upon, declare we unto you," 1 John 
i. 1. And that they were not deceived, we have great cer- 
tainty ; for Jesus had conversed a long time with them 
before his death, and their respect and love to him, and af- 
terwards their compassion, had deeply engraved the linea- 
ments of his visage in their memories ; and he presented 
himself not many years, but three days after his absence, so 
that it was impossible they should have forgotten his coun- 
tenance. He appeared to them not once or twice, but many 
times ; and not suddenly as a flash of lightning that 
presently vanishes, but conversed with them familiarly for - 
forty days. 

And it is observable, the apostles themselves were not 
easily wrought on to believe this truth. When the testimony 
of the angels assured them that he was risen, they received 
it with doubting, wonder, and troubled"* joy, and were sus- 
pended betvv^een hopes and fears ; and at his first appearance 
they were vehemently surprised. They saw him die on the 
cross three days before, and their memories were still filled 
with the frightful images of his suflferings ; so that they 
were balanced between the present testimony of sense, and 
the fresh remembrance of what they had seen. Therefore 
he justified the truth of his resurrection to all their senses. 
He discoursed with them, made them feel his wounds, ate 
and drank with them ; so that it was impossible they should 
be deceived unless willingly. Thus by the wise dispensation 
of God, their doubting hath confirmed our faith. 

3. The uniformity of the testimony makes it valuable 
upon a double account ; — first, as it secures us, there was 
no corruption in the witnesses ; secondly, that it was no 
illusion. 

(1.) That there was no corruption in the witnesses. The 
most prudent way to discover the falsity of a testimony, 
is to interrogate the witnesses severally, to see if there be 



328 



THE •HARMONY OF 



any contradiction between them. But if they concur not 
only as to the substance but circumstances, their deposition 
is very credible. Now the apostles exactly agreed in their 
testimony, as appears by the several gospels, in which, 
although wrote in divers times and places, yet there is an 
admirable harmony, not only as to the fact itself, but the 
least particularities. 

(2.) The agreement of so many proves it was no illusion 
that depended on fancy for its existence ; for deceptions of 
the brain are not common to many at once as visible bodies 
are, but singular because of the variety of fancies. If he 
had only appeared to some persons separately, carnal reason, 
which is ingenious to deceive itself, might object that it was 
only the effect of a distempered fancy, and no real object of 
sense. But after he had shown himself to some of the 
disciples apart, and that holy company was met together, 
uniting the several sparks, to encourage their hopes of his 
resurrection, he came to them altogether, and for many 
days conversed with them. Now who can believe that so 
many should be obstructed with melancholy for so long time, 
so as constantly to remain under the power of a delusion? 
Besides, he afterwards appeared to " five hundred" at once : 
and how could such a number of different ages, sexes, 
temperaments, be at the same time struck with the same 
imagination ? 

Add further, if a strong imagination had deceived them by 
melancholy, there would have been some discoveries of that 
humour in their actions ; for it is impossible that the mind 
so indisposed, should for a long lime act regularly. But in 
the whole course of their lives not the least extravagancy 
appears. Their zeal was tempered with prudence, their in- 
nocence was without folly, their conversation was becoming 
their great office. And of this we have unquestionable evi- 
dence ; for otherwise so many persons of excellent wisdom 
had never been persuaded by them to embrace Christianity, 
neither had their enemies so furiously persecuted them ; for 
it is beyond belief that they had so far extinguished the sen- 
timents of humanity, as to treat the apostles as the most 
guilty criminals, whom they knew to be distracted, and 
therefore worthy of compassion rather than hatred. 

But if it be objected, that it might be a phantasm, or solid 
body formed according to the likeness of Christ, that abused 
the apostles, and after some time withdrew itself j the vanity 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 329 

of the objection is very apparent, for such an effect could not 
be without the operation of a spiritual cause. Now the good 
angels cannot be guilty of falsehood, of which they had been 
in that representation, for he that appeared declared himself 
to be Jesus that suffered ; neither would the evil use such an 
artifice. The old serpent was too wise to promote the belief 
of Christ's resurrection, which is the foundation of Chris- 
tianity, an institution most holy, that woujd destroy his al- 
tars, discredit his oracles, bring glory to God and happiness 
to man, to both which he is eternally opposite. By all 
which it appears there was no deceit in the subject nor ob- 
ject. 

4. They sealed it with their blood. This last proof con- 
firms all the other. If a person of clear fame assert a thing, 
which he is ready to maintain with the loss of his life, there 
is no reason to doubt of the truth of his deposition. It is no 
wonder that Philostralus, a bold Grecian, to show his art, 
painted Apollonius Tyanaeus as a demi-god, exempted from 
death, and clothed with immortality. But if h-e had been 
drawn from his study, where he dressed that idol of iniquity, 
to appear before the magistrates to give an account of the 
truth of his relation, he certainly would have renounced his 
pretended hero, rather than have given his life for a lie. 
Now the apostles endured the most cruel death, to confirm 
the truth of their testimony. And what could possibly in- 
duce them to it, if they had not been certain of his resurrec- 
tion ? Could love to their dead Master animate them to 
suffer for the honour of his name ? This is inconceivable ; 
for he promised that he would rise the third day, and ascend 
to heaven, and make them partakers of his glory ; so that if 
he had lain in the rottenness of the grave, what charm, what 
stupidity \yas able to make them preserve so high a venera- 
tion for a deceiver 7 Nothing could remain in them but the 
memory and indignation of his imposture. Now if it be the 
dictate of natural reason, that the concurrent testimony of 
two or three credible persons, not weakened by any excep- 
tion, is sufficient to decide any cause of the greatest moment, 
that respects life, honour, and estate ; how much more should 
the attestation of the apostles put this great truth beyond all 
doubt, since they parted with their lives, the most precious 
possession in this world, for it I and which is infinitely more, 
if deceivers, they would certainly be deprived of eternal life 
in the next i 

28* 



330 THE HARMONY OP 

In short, since the creation, never Avas a testimony so clear 
and authentic, the divine providence so ordering the circum- 
stances, that the evidence should be above all suspicion. 
Neither did it ever happen, that any thing affirmed by so 
many and such worthy persons, was ever suspected, much 
less found to he false. It is the most unreasonable stiffness 
not to yield an entire assent to it ; for there would be no 
secure foundation of determining innumerable weighty cases, 
if we should doubt of things reported by the most credible 
circumspect persons, since we can be certified by our senses, 
but of a few objects. 

5. I shall only add, that the apostles did many great 
.miracles in the name of Ciirist, which was the strongest 
demonstration that he was raised to a glorious life. They 
were invested by the Spirit with the habits of various 
tongues. This kind of miracle was necessary for the uni- 
versal preaching of the gospel; for how difficult and ob- 
structive had it been to their work, if they must have 
returned to their infant state, to learn the signification of 
foreign languages, to pronounce the words in their ori- 
ginal sound, and the accents proper to their country ! 
Therefore the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of 
Christ, descended upon them, and became their master, and 
in a moment impressed on their memories the forms of dis- 
coursing, and on their tongues the manner of expressing 
them. Wherever the doctrine of Jesus was preached, " God 
bare them witness both with signs and wonders, and with 
divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Gliost, according to his 
own will," Heb. ii. 4. AVhen St. Peter passed through the 
streets filled with persons diseased and half dead, he caused 
a universal resurrection, by touching them with his reviving 
shadow. They tamed serpents, and quenched the malignity 
of their poison ; they commanded death to leave its prey, 
and life to return to its mansion that was not habitable for 
it. And that miraculous power contimied in their successors 
so long as was requisite for the conviction of the world. 
Justin Martyr, IreucEus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, mention 
divers miracles performed by Christians in those times. 
Tertullian offers to the emperor to whom he addressed his 
admirable apology, to compel the devils that possessed human 
bodies to confess themselves to be evil spirits, and thereby 
constrain the prince of darkness to enlighten his own slaves. 
And Cyprian assures the governor of Africa, that he would 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 331 

force the devils to come out of the bodies they tormented, 
lamenting their ejection. Now we cannot imagine they 
would so far discredit their doctrine and reputation, as to 
pretend to such a power without they had it. In short, to 
deny the miracles wrought by the primitive- Christians, were 
as great rashness, as to deny that Caesar conquered Pompey, 
or that Titus succeeded Vespasian ; for we have the concur- 
rent testimony of the gravest and best men, of understanding 
and conscience, who were eye-witnesses ; and which was 
not contradicted by those of the same age. Briefly, there 
are such clear characters of the divine hand to render the 
gospel authentic, that to deny it to be true, is to make God 
a liar. 

The conclusion is this — we see hovi' reasonable it is to 
give an entire assent to the truth of Christianity. The 
nature of the doctrine that is perfectly divine, declares its 
original. It is confirmed by supernatural testimonies. The 
doctrine distinguishes the miracles from false wonders, the 
illusions of Satan, and the miracles confirm the doctrine. 
What doubt can there be after the full deposition of the 
Spirit in raising Christ from the grave, in qualifying the 
apostles, who were rude and ignorant, with knowledge, zeal, 
courage, charity, and in all the graces requisite for their 
great enterprise, and in converting the world by their minis- 
try and miracles ? If we believe not so clear a revelation, 
our infidelity is desperate. When our Saviour was upon 
the earth, the meanness and poverty of his appearance less- 
ened their crime, who did not acknowledge and honour him 
in the disguise of a servant ; therefore they were capable of 
favour. Many of his bloody persecutors were converted and 
saved by the preaching of the apostles. But since the Holy 
Ghost halh convinced the world, by so strong a light, of sin, 
righteousness, and judgment, viz. that Jesus, whom the Jews 
most unworthily crucified, was the Son of God ; that in dy- 
ing he purchased the pardon of sin ; since he is risen and 
received to glory, " that all power in heaven and earth is 
given to him," the eflfect of which is most visible, for spirit- 
ual wickedness trembled at his name, were expelled from 
their dominions, and sent to their oLd prison to suflfer the 
chains and flames due to them ; to refuse his testimony, is a 
degree of obstinacy not far distant from the malice of the 
devils, and puts men without the reserves of pardoning 
mercy. And it is not a slight, superficial belief of this great 



332 THE HARMOiNY OF 

truth, that is sufficient, but that whicli is powerful in making 
us universally obedient to our glorified Redeemer, who will 
distribute crowns to all his faithful servants. We cannot 
truly believe his resurrection without believing his doctrine, 
nor believe his doctrine without unfeigned desires after the 
eternal felicity it promises, nor desire that felicity without a 
sincere compliance to his commands in order to the obtain- 
ing of it. In short, it is infidelity approaching madness, not 
to believe the truth of the gospel ; but it is madness of a 
higher kind and more prodigious, to pretend to believe it, 
and yet to live in disobedience to its precepts, in contempt 
of its promises and threatenings, as if it were a mere fable. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE THUTH OF GOD IN REDEMPTION. 

The original law given to man in paradise had a severe 
penalty annexed, tliat upon the first breach of it he should 
die. The end of the threatening was lo preserve in him a 
constant reverence of the command. After his disobedience, 
the honour of the divine truth was concerned as to the in- 
flicting of the punishment; for althougli the supreme Law- 
giver hath power over the law to relax the punishment as to 
particular persons, yet having declared that according to 
tliat rule he would proceed in judgment with man, the per- 
fection of his trutli rec(uired, that sin should be punished in 
such a manner, that his righteousness and holiness might 
eminently appear, and the reasonable creature for ever fear 
to otfend him. Now the God of truth hath by the death of 
his only Son so completely answered the ends of the legal 
threatening, that the glory of that attribute is broke forth 
like the sun through all the clouds that seemed to obscure 
it. " Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness and 
peace have kissed each other,"' Psalm Ixxxv. 10. Of this I 
have so largely treated before, that I shall add nothing more 
concerning it. 

There is a secondary respect wherein the truth of God is 
concernedj as to the accomplishing of our redemption by 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 333 

Jesus Christ, which I will briefly explicate. God having 
decreed the sending of his Son in the quality of Mediator to 
purchase our salvation, was pleased by several promises to 
declare his merciful purpose, and by various types to show 
the design of that glorious work, before the exhibition of it. 
This was the effect of his supreme wisdom and goodness — 
to comply with the weakness of the church, when it was 
newly separated from the world ; for, as a sudden strong 
light overpowers the eye that hath been long in the dark, so 
the full, bright revelation of the gospel had been above the 
capacity of the church, when it was first freed from a state 
of ignorance ! Light mixed with shadows was proportiona- 
ble to their sight. Therefore he was pleased by several re- 
presentations and predictions to exercise the faith, entertain 
the hope, and excite the desires of his people before the ac- 
complishment of our salvation by his Son — to render the 
belief of it easy and certain afterwards. Now for the honour 
of his truth, he was engaged to make good his word ; for 
although pure love and mercy is the original of all God's 
promises to man, yet his truth and fidelity are the reasons 
of his fulfilling them. Not that God is under the obligation 
of a law, but his own righteous name is the inviolable rule 
of his actions. Accordingly the apostle lays it as the founda- 
tion of our hopes, that " God who cannot lie," hath promised 
eternal life. Tit. i. 2. The divine decree alone concerning 
our salvation by Christ, is a sure foundation ; for God is as 
unchangeable in his will, as his nature ; in him there is " no 
variableness, neither shadow of tvirning," Jam. i. 17. But 
the promise determines the will of God to perform it upon 
another account ; for it is not single inconstancy but false- 
hood, not to perform what is promised ; from both which 
he is infinitely distant. St. Paul alleges this for the reason 
why the covenant of grace is unchangeable and of everlast- 
ing efficacy, in that the counsel of God was by his promise 
and oath confirmed, " that by two immutable things, in 
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong 
consolation," Heb. vi. 18. For the promise gives a rightful 
claim to the creature, and the fulfiUing of it is the justifica- 
tion of God's fidelity. In this sense it is said, " the law was 
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ;" 
that is, the grace of the gospel is the substantial and com- 
plete accomplishment of the types and promises under the 
law. 



334 THE HARMONY OF 

I. I will not enter into the discussion of all the prophecies 
concerning the Messiah in the old testament, to show how 
they are verified in Jesus Christ ; but briefly consider some 
special predictions that concern the time of the Messiah's 
coming, his person, and offices. 

1. The prophecy of dying Jacob ; " The sceptre shall not 
depart from Jiidah, nor a lawgiver from between his'feet, 
until Shiloh come," Gen. xlix. 10. By the sceptre and law- 
giver are meant divers forms of government, the first being 
the mark of regal power; the other title respects those whose 
power succeeded that of their kings, in the person of Zerub- 
babel and his successors. Jacob prophetically declares two 
things, their establishment in Judah, and their continuance 
till the coming of Shiloh. This oracle doth not precisely 
respect the person of Judali, for he never ascended the 
throne, nor possessed the empire over his brethren; nor 
foretold his posterity as a tribe distinguished from the rest, 
although it had special advantage from that time ; for the 
banner of Judah led the camp in their march through the 
wilderness. Numb. ii. 3 ; that tribe had the first possession 
of the land of Canaan ; these were the beginnings of its fu- 
ture glory. And from David to the captivity, that tribe 
possessed the kingdom ; but the glory of his sceptre was 
lost in the person of Zedekiah : therefore the full meaning 
of the prophecy regards the people of Israel in the relation 
they had to the tribe of Judah, for that tribe alone returned 
entire from the captivity with some relics of Levi and Ben- 
jamin ; .so that the nation from that lime was distinguished 
by the title of the Jews in relation to it; and the right to 
dispose of the sceptre was always in the tribe of Judah, for 
the LeX^ites that ruled after the captivity received their power 
from them. "Till Shiloh come," that is, the Messiah, as 
the Chaldee paraphrase and the ancient Jewish interpreters 
expound ; so that the intent of the oracle is, that after the 
establishment of the supreme power in the family of Judah, 
it should not pass into the hands of strangers, but as a cer- 
tain presage and immediate forerunner of the coming of 
Shiloh. And this was fully accomplished ; for in the cap- 
tivity there was an interruption, rather than an extinction 
of their government ; their return was promised at the time 
they were carried captives to Babylon. But at the coming 
of Christ, Judea was a province of the Romftn empire; Herod 
an Edomite, sat on the throne ; and as the tribe of Judah in 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 335 

general, so the family of David in particular was in such a 
low state, that Joseph and Mary that were descended from 
him, were constrained to lodge in a stable at Bethlehem. 
And since the blessed Peace-maker hath appeared on the 
earth, the Jews have lost all authority : their civil and eccle- 
siastical state is utteHy ruined, and they bear the visible 
marks of infamous servitude. 

2. The second famous prediction is by an angel to Daniel, 
v.'hen he was lamenting the ruin of Jerusalem, who com- 
forted him with an assurance that the city should be rebuilt; 
and farther told him, " that from the going forth of the 
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the 
Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and tliree-score 
and two weeks : the street shall be built again, and the wall 
even in troublous times. And after three-score and two 
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the 
people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city 
and sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
and to the end of the war desolations are determined," Dan. 
ix. 25. The clear intent of the angel's message is, that 
within the space of seventy prophetical weeks, (that is, four 
hundred and ninety years, according to the exposition of 
the rabbins themselves) after the issuing forth of the order 
for the rebuilding Jerusalem, the Messiah should come, and 
be put to death for the sins of men, which was exactly 
fulfilled. 

3. The time of the manifestation of the messiah is evidently 
set down in Haggai, ii. 7 — 9 ; " I will shake all nations and the 
Desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with 
glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold 
is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house 
shallbegreaterthanthatof the former, saith the Lord of hosts; 
and in this place will I give peace." The prophet to encourage 
the Jews in building the temple, assured them that it should 
have a surpassing glory by the presence of the Messiah, who 
is called the Desire of all nations ; and being the Prince of 
peace, his coming is described by that blessed effect; "And 
in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." 

The second temple was much inferior to Solomon's, as in 
magnificence and external ornaments, so especially because 
defective in those excellencies that were peculiar to the first. 
They were the ark of the covenant, and the appearance of 
glory between the cherubim; the fire from heaven to con- 



336 THE HARMONY OP 

sume the sacrifices, the urim and thummim, and the Holy 
Ghost who inspired the prophets. But when the Lord came 
to his temple, and performed many of his miracles there, this 
brought a glory to it infinitely exceeding that of the former; 
for what comparison is there between the shadowy presence 
of God between the cherubim, and his real presence in the 
human nature of Christ, in whom the fulness of the God- 
head dwelt bodily ? How much inferior were the priests and 
prophets to him who came from heaven, and had the Spirit 
without measure, to reveal the counsel of God for the salva- 
tion of the world ! 

4. The particular circumstances foretold concerning the 
Messiah, are all verified in Jesus Christ. It was foretold that 
the Messiah should have a forerunner, to prepare his way 
by preaching the doctrine of repentance; that he should be 
born of a virgin, and of the family of David, and in the town 
of Bethlehem; that he should go into Egypt, and be called 
forth from thence by God ; that his chief residence should 
be in Galilee, the region of Zebulun and Naphtali; that he 
should be poor and humble, and enter into Jerusalem on the 
foal of an ass; that he should perform great miracles in re- 
storing the blind, the lame, the deaf, and dumb ; that he 
should suffer many atflictions, contempt, scorn, stripes, be spit 
on, scourged, betrayed by his familiar friend, sold for a sordid 
price; that he should be put to death ; that his hands and 
feet should be bored, and his side pierced ; that he should 
die between two thieves ; that in his passion he should taste 
vinegar and gall ; that his garments should be divided, and 
lots be cast for his coat ; that he should be buried, and his 
body not see corruption, but rise again the third day ; that 
he should ascend to heaven, and sit at tlie right hand of God : 
and all these predictions are exactly fulfilled in the Lord 
Christ. 

5. The consequences of his coming are foretold ; 

(1.) That the Jews should reject him, because of the mean- 
ness of his appearance. They neither understood the great- 
ness and majesty, nor the abasement of the Messiah de- 
scribed in their prophecies ; — n6t his greatness, that the son 
of David was his Lord, that he was before Abraham who re- 
joiced to see his day ; for they did not believe the eternity of 
his divine nature ; — they did not understand his humiliation 
to death ; therefore it was objected by them that " the Messiah 
remains for ever, and this person saith he shall die." They 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 337 

fancied a carnal Messiah, shining with worldly pomp, ac- 
companied with thundering legions, to deliver them from 
temporal servitude; so that when they saw him "without 
form and comeliness," and that no beauty was in him to 
make him desirable, they " hid their faces from him," they 
" despised and esteemed him not." Thus by their obstinate 
refusal of the Messiah, they really and visibly fulfilled the pro- 
phecies concerning him. 

(2.) That the Levitical ceremonies and sacrifices should 
cease upon the death of the. Messiah, and the Jewish nation 
be dissolved. Although the legal service was established with 
great solemnity, yet there was always a sufficient indication 
that it should not be perpetual. Moses, who delivered the 
law, told them, that God would raise up another prophet whom 
" they must hear." And David composed a psalm to be sung 
in the temple, containing the establishment of a priest, not ac- 
cording to the order of Levi but Melchizedec, who should 
bring in a worship spiritual and divine. Psalm ex. 3. And we 
see this accomplished : all the ceremonies were buried in his 
grave, and the sacrifices for above sixteen hundred years are 
ceased. Besides the destruction of the holy city and sanc- 
tuary, the Jews are scattered in all parts, and in their dread- 
ful dispersion suffer the just punishment of their infidelity. 

(3.) It was prophesied that in the time of the Messiah 
idols should be ruined, and idolaters converted to the know- 
ledge of the true God; that he should be "a light to the 
Gentiles," and to him the gathering of the people should be. 
And this is so visibly accomplished in the conversion of the 
world to Christianity, that not one jot or tittle of God's word 
hath failed ; so that besides the glory due to his power and 
mercy, we are obliged to honour him as the fountain of truth. 

II. I will now make some short reflections upon the types 
of the law, to show how they are completed in Christ. 

The Mosaic dispensation was so contrived as to bear a re- 
semblance of the Messiah in all its parts. The law had " a 
shadow of good things to come," Heb. x. 1. " Christ is the 
end of the law," the substance of those shadows, Rom. x. 4. 
The main design of the epistle to the Hebrews is to show, 
that in the ancient tabernacle there were models of the hea- 
venly things revealed in the gospel. The great number of 
types declare the variety of the divine wisdom, and the ad- 
mirable fulness of Christ in whom they are verified. 

Three sorts were instituted : some were things without life, 
29 



338 



THE HARMONY OP 



whose qualities and effects shadowed forth his virtues and 
benefits ; — things endued with life and sense ; — reasonable 
persons, that either in their offices, actions, or the memorable 
accidents that befell them, represented the Messiah. 

1. Of the first sort, I will briefly consider the manna that 
miraculously fell from heaven, the rock that by its stream 
refreshed the Israelites in their journey to Canaan, and the 
brazen serpent : premising two things — that in comparing 
them with the truth, we are to observe the design of God, 
and not to seek for mysteries iy every thing ; as in pictures, 
some strokes of the pencil are for ornament only, others for 
.signification : — besides, when superlative things are spoken 
of them, exceeding their nature and that cannot be applied 
to them without a violent figure, the full and entire truth is 
found only in Jesus Christ. 

(1.) The manna was an eminent type of him. Accord- 
ingly the apostle declares of the Israelites, they "did all eat 
the same spii-itual meat," not in respect of its material, but 
symbolical nature, 1 Cor. x. 3. 

The express analogy between manna and Christ, is visible 
in respect of its marvellous production. The Mosaical manna 
was not the fruit of the earth, procured by human industry, 
but formed by the divine power, and rained down upon 
them ; therefore it is called " the corn of heaven," Psalm 
Ixxviii. 24. This typified the celestial original of our Re- 
deemer. He is tlie true bread from heaven, given by the 
Father, John vi. 32. He is called the gift of God eminently, 
being the richest and freest, without any merit or endeavour 
of men to procure it. And we may observe the truth infi- 
nitely exceeded the type; for manna descended only from 
the clouds, therefore our Saviour tells the Jews, " Moses 
gave you not that bread from heaven;" but he really came 
from heaven, where the great and glorious presence of God 
is manifested, and appeared under a visible form in the world. 
Manna w^as only styled the " bread of angels," to signify its 
excellency above common food ;" but " the bread of God is 
he which cometh down from heaven." 

Manna was dispensed to all the Israelites equally ; not as 
the delicious fruits of the earth, that are the portion of a few^, 
but as the light and influences of the heavens, that are com- 
mon to all. And herein it was a representation of Christ, 
who is offered to all without distinction of nations, to the 
Jews and Gentiles, to the Grecians and barbarians; and with- 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 339 

out the distinction of quality, to the honourable and mean, 
the rich and the poor, the learned and ignorant. And here 
we may observe the excellency of the spiritual manna above 
the mosaical ; for that fed but one nation, but the bread of 
God gives life to the world ; his infinite merit is sufficient for 
the salvation of all. 

Manna was a delicious food ; the taste of it is described 
to be like wafers mixed with honey, that have a pure, chaste 
sweetness. This typified the love of Christ shed abroad in 
the hearts of believers. Such an exalted ravishing pleasure 
proceeds from it, that the Psalmist breaks forth in an ecstasy, 
" Taste and see that the Lord is good," Psalm xxxiv. 9. 

Manna was their only support in the wilderness, strength- 
ening them to vanquish their enemies, and endure the hard- 
ships to which they were incident in their passage to Ca- 
naan. In this regard it was a lively image of Christ, who 
is our spiritual food while we are in the desert of the lower 
world, the place of our trial, exposed to dangers. By him 
alone we shall be finally victorious over the enemies of our 
salvation. And in this also the truth is infinitely above the 
type that prefigured it ; for manna could preserve the natu- 
ral life for a time only ; as our Saviour tells the JewSj 
" Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are 
dead." But Jesus Christ is " the living bread that came 
down from heaven," and hath a supernatural virtue, to con- 
vey a life incomparably more noble, and answerable to the 
quality of his original. It is incorruptible, as heaven from 
whence he came. " If any man eat of this bread, he shall 
live for ever," John vi. 51. Death is so far from extinguish- 
ing, that it advances the spiritual life to its perfection. 

(2.) The rock. The apostle testifies that the Israelites 
" drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that 
rock was Christ," 1 Cor. x. 4. That the miracle was mys- 
terious, is evident from the circumstances related of it. 
When the Israelites were in great distress for water, the 
Lord said to Moses, " I will stand before thee there upon the 
rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall 
come water out of it, that the people may drink," Exod. 
xvii. 6. If there had been no other design but the relieving 
of their necessity, that might have been supplied by rain 
from heaven ; or if only to give a visible effect of the divine 
power, that had been discovered in causing new springs to 



340 THE HARMONY OF 

cient to strike the rock 5 but he went to it to signify the 
respect it had to himself. He was the Son of God that spake 
to Moses, and conducted the people ; for this reason he is 
styled the angel of God's presence, not with respect to his 
nature, but offices. 

I will briefly observe the parallel between the rock and 
Christ. 

A rock is the ordinary title of God in scripture to repre- 
sent his unchangeable nature and infinite power, whereby 
he upholds the world ; and in a special manner it resembles 
the Messiah. He is called " the stone which the builders 
refused, that was made the head of the corner," 1 Pet. ii.7,8. 
He is the rock upon which tlie church is built, and secured 
against the violence of hell. Mat. xvi. 18. Now Israel was 
not supplied from the clouds or the valleys, but the rock, to 
show that the mystical rock, the Son of God, only can refresh 
the spiritual Israel with living water. 

The quality of the rock hath a proper signification ; for 
although it had in its veins a rich abundance of waters, yet 
to appearance nothing was more dry and hard. In this it 
was a figure of the spiritual rock. The eflfects have disco- 
vered in him unfathomable depths of riglileousness, grace, 
and salvation ; yet at the first view we had no hopes ; for if 
we consider him as God, he is infinitely holy and just, 
encompassed with everlasting flames against sin ; and how 
can we expect any cooling streams from him ? If we con- 
sider him as man, he is resembled to " a root out of a dry 
ground." The justice of the divine, and the infirmity of the 
human nature did not promise any comfort to us. But what 
cannot infinite love, united to infinite power, perform ? 
Divine goodness hath changed the laws of nature in our 
favour, and by an admirable act opened the rock to refresh 
us. 

The rock was struck with the rod of Moses, a type of the 
law, before it sent forth its streams ; thus our spiritual rock 
" was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniqui- 
ties," and then opened all his treasures to us. Being conse- 
crated by suflfering, he is " the Author of eternal salvation." 
In this respect the gospel propounds him for the object of 
saving faith ; " I determined to know nothing among you 
but Jesus Christ, and him crucified." The sacraments, the 
seals of the new covenant, have a special reference to his 
death, the foundation of it. 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 341 

The miraculous waters followed the Israelites in their 
journey, without which they had perished in the wilderness. 
This represents the indeficiency of the grace of Christ. A 
sovereign stream flows from him to satisfy all believers, 
John vii. 37. He tells us, " Whosoever drinketh of the water 
that I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that 
I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing 
up into everlasting life," John iv. 14. 

(3.) The brazen serpent sensibly expressed the manner of 
his death and the benefits derived from it. Therefore Jesus, 
being the minister of the circumcision, chose this figure for 
the instruction of the Jews ; " As Moses lifted up the serpent 
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
eternal life," John iii. 14, 15. The sacred story relates, that 
the Israelites by their rebellious murmuring provoked God 
to send serpents among them, whose poison was so fiery and 
mortal, that it brought tlie most painful death. In this 
afiliction they addressed themselves to the Father of mercies, 
who, moved by their repentance, commanded Moses to make 
a serpent of brass, and erect it on a pole in the view of the 
whole camp, that whosoever looked on it should be healed. 
By this account from scripture, we may clearly understand 
something of the greatest consequence was represented by 
it; for the only wise God ordains nothing without just rea- 
son. Why must a serpent of brass be elevated on a pole ? 
could not the divine power recover them without it ? Why 
must they look towards it ? could not a healing virtue be 
conveyed to their wounds but through their eyes ? All this 
had a direct reference to the mystery of Christ ; for the 
biting of the Israelites by the fiery serpents, doth naturally 
represent the effects of sin, that torments the conscience and 
inflames the soul with the apprehensions of future judgment. 
And the erecting of a brazen serpent upon a pole, that had 
the figure not the poison of those serpents, doth in a lively 
manner set forth the lifting up of Jesus Christ on the cross, 
who had the similitude only " of sinful flesh." The looking 
towards the brazen serpent is a fit resemblance of believing 
in Christ crucified for salvation. The sight of the eye was 
the only means to derive virtue from it, and the faith of the 
heart is the means by which the sovereign efficacy of our 
Redeemer is conveyed. " This is the will of him that sent 
me," saith our Saviour, " that every one which seeth the 
29* 



342 THE HARMONY OF 

Son and believeth on him, may have everlastmg life," John 
vi. 40. As in the camp of Israel, whoever looked towards 
the brazen serpent, whatever his wounds were or the weak- 
ness of his sight, had a present remedy ; so how numerous 
and grievous soever our sins be, how infirm our faith, yet if 
we sincerely regard the Son of God suffering, he will pre- 
serve us from death. For this end he is presented in the 
gospel as crucified before the eyes of all persons. 

2. Things endued with life and sense prefigured the 
Messiah. 

I shall particularly consider the paschal lamb, an illustri- 
ous type of him. " Christ our passover is sacrificed for us," 
1 Cor. v. 7. The whole scene, as it is laid down in the Tith 
of Exodus, shows an admirable agreement between them. 

A lamb in respect of its natural innocency and meekness, 
that suffers without resistance, was a fit emblem of our Sa- 
viour, whose voice was not heard in the street, who did not 
break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax, Isaiah 
xlii. 3. " He was oppressed, and he was aflSicted, yet he 
opened not his mouth : He is brought as a lamb to the 
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he 
openeth not his mouth," Isa. liii. 7. 

The lamb was to be without spot, to signify his absolute 
perfection. We are redeemed " with the precious blood 
of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot," 
1 Pet. i. 19. 

The lamb was to be separated from the flock four days. 
The Lord Jesus was separated from men, and consecrated 
to be the sacrifice for the world, after three or four years 
spent in his ministerial office, preparing himself for that 
great work. 

The paschal lamb was sacrificed and substituted in the 
place of the first-born. The Levitical priesthood not being 
instituted at their going forth from Egypt, every master of 
a family had a right to exercise it in his own house. Our 
Redeemer suffered in our stead, to propitiate God's justice 
towards us. 

The blood was to be sprinkled upon the posts of the 
door, that death might not enter into their houses. That 
sacred ceremony \vas typical ; for the sign itself had no re- 
semblance of sparing, and certainly the angel could distin- 
guish between the Israelites and the Egyptians without the 
bloody mark of God's favour : but it had a final respect to 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 343 

Christ. We are secured from destruction " by the blood of 
sprinkling." 

They were to eat the whole flesh of the lamb, to signify 
our entire taking of Christ upon the terms of the gospel to 
be our Prince and Saviour. The effects attributed to the 
paschal lamb, viz. redemption from death and bondage, 
clearly represent the glorious benefits we enjoy by Jesus 
Christ. The destroying angel passed over their houses, and 
caused the Egyptians to restore them to full liberty. That 
which all the dreadful signs wrought by Moses could not do, 
was effected by the passover, that overcame the stubborn- 
ness of Pharaoh, and inspired the Israelites with courage to 
undertake their journey to the promised land. Thus we 
pass from death to life, and from bondage to the glorious 
liberty of the sons of God, by virtue of Christ's blood. 

3. Reasonable persons represented our Saviour, either in 
their offices, or actions, or in the memorable accidents that 
befell them. 

Joseph, the beloved of his father, sent by him to visit his 
brethren, by them unworthily sold to strangers, and thereby 
raised to be their Lord and Saviour, was a lively type of 
him. 

Jonah three days and nights in the Avhale's belly and mi- 
raculously restored, was a type of his lying in the grave, 
and resurrection. 

Moses in his prophetical, and David in his kingly oflice, 
prefigured him. 

The priestly oflice being the foundation of the other two, 
and that upon which our salvation principally depends, was 
illustrated by two glorious types, Melchizedec and Aaron. 
The one the high-priest in ordinary, the other the priest of 
God by extraordinary designation. I will briefly touch 
upon the resemblance between him and Christ. 

Although sacrifices were offered from the beginning ; yet 
he is the first to whom that title is given, as called to that 
oflfice in a special manner. The divinitj^ of Christ's person, 
the eternity of his office, and the infinite value of his obla- 
tion were shadowed forth by him. Melchizedec is introdu- 
ced into the sacred story, as one descending from heaven 
and ascending thither, without any account of his birth or 
death. The silence of the scripture is mysterious ; for the 
Spirit conducted holy men in their writings. The Levitical 
priests descended by natural generation from their predeces- 



344 THE HARMONY OF 

sors, and had successors in their office, which was annexed 
to the race of Levi. But Melchizedec is represented with- 
out father and mother, without beginning and end of days, 
whose priesthood was permanent in himself, Heb. vii. 3 ; 
for things and persons have a double being, real in them- 
selves and notional as they exist in the mind ; so that no 
mention being made of his coming into the world, or leaving 
it, the silence of the scripture is equivalent to his continual 
duration. Now in this was an adumbration of Christ, who 
was the eternal Son of God, and really came from heaven 
to execute his office, and ascended thither. And although 
his oblation was finished on the earth and his intercession 
shall cease in heaven, yet the effects of it shall be eternal 
in the people, and the glory of it in himself. — The apostle 
observes another resemblance between the supreme quality 
of Melchizedec, king of Salem, and Jesus Christ. He was 
" king of righteousness and peace ;" he governed his sub- 
jects in righteousness, and never stained those hands with 
human blood, tliat were employed in the sacred office of the 
priesthood. And by those glorious titles are signified the 
benefits our Saviour conveys to his people. He is the true 
"King of righteousness;" by which is not intended the 
riglitcousness that justifies before God, in which respect he 
is called " the Lord our righteousness," and is said " to have 
brought in everlasting righteousness," for that respects his 
priestly office; in that quality he acquired it: but that title 
signifies his giving most righteous laws for the government 
of the cburch, and his dispensinj^ righteous rewards and 
punishments, eternal life and death, by which he preserves 
the majesty of liis laws, and secures the obedience of his 
subjects. And he is " King of peace ;" by which we are not 
to understand bis tamper and disposition; nor our peace 
with God, for reconciliation is grounded on his sacrifice; 
nor peace with conscience, the effect of the other; but that 
which depends on his royalty. As the King of peace, he 
keeps his subjects in a calm and quiet obedience ; all their 
thoughts and passions are regulated by his will. The laws 
of secular kings are only exposed to the eyes, or proclaim- 
ed to the ears of tlieir subjects; but his are engraven in 
their hearts. By the inward and almighty efficacy of his 
Spirit he inclines them to their universal duty ; and will 
bring them to eternal peace in his glorious kingdom. 

1. From hence v^'e have an irrefragable aieumcnt of the 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 345 

truth and divinity of the gospel ; for it is evident by com- 
paring the ancient figures with the present truth, the copies 
with the original, the pictures with the life, that eternal wisdom 
contrived them ; for no created understanding could frame 
so various representations of Christ, and all exactly agreeing 
with him, at such a distance before his appearance. And 
if we compare the predictions with the events, it is most 
clear that the divine knowledge only could reveal them ; for 
otherwise how was it possible, that the prophets so many 
ages before the coming of Christ should predict tliose things 
concerning him, that exceeded the foresight of all the angels 
of light? What intelligence could there be between Moses, 
and David, and Isaiah, that lived such a distance of time 
from one another, to deliver such things as meet in him as 
their centre ? And these prophecies are conveyed to us by 
the Jews, the most obstinate enemies of Christianity, who, 
although they reverence the letter, yet abhor the accom- 
plishment of them ; so that there can be no possible sus- 
picion that they are feigned, and of a later date than their 
titles declare. Their successive fulfilling is a perpetual mi- 
racle to justify the truth of our religion. Our Saviour used 
this method for the instruction of his disciples ; " These are 
the words which I spake unto you, that all things must be 
fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the 
prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me," Luke xxiv. 
44. As by dissecting a dead body we see the order and 
position of parts in the living, so by searching into the legal 
types, we may discover the truth of evangelical mysteries. 
Accordingly St. Paul framed a powerful demonstration from 
the scriptures, to prove that " Jesus Avas the Christ." In 
his writings he deciphers the riddles of the law, and re- 
moves the veil to discover the face of Christ engraven by 
the divine Artificer. Briefly, by showing the consent be- 
tween the two testaments, he illustrates the old by the new, 
and confirms the new by the old. Now what religion is 
there in the world, whose mysteries were foretold by the 
oracles of God and figured by his institutions above two 
thousand years before it was exhibited ; whose doctrine per- 
fectly accords with the most ancient, venerable, and divine 
writings? Can that religion be any other than divine, 
which God did so expressly predict, and pourtray in such 
various manner, for the receiving whereof he made such 
early preparations in the world ? Certainly without offer- 



346 THE HARMONY OF 

ing the greatest violence to our rational faculties, none can 
disbelieve it. He degrades himself from the dignity of be- 
ing a man, that refuses to be a Christian. 

2. From hence we may understand the excellent privile- 
ges of Christians, not only above the heathens who by di- 
vine desertion were wholly strangers to the covenant of 
mercy, but above God's peculiar people. The Messiah was 
the expectation and desire of heaven and earth. Before his 
coming, the saints had some glimmerings of light, which 
made them inwardly languish after the blessed manifestation 
of it ; but that was reserved for believers in the last ages of 
the world. That ancient promise, the morning-blush of the 
gospel-day, that the seed of the woman should break the 
head of the serpent and the serpent bruise his heel, signified 
the bloody victory the Messiah should obtain over Satan ; 
but how little of it was understood ! One may as well from 
the sight of the root foretel the dimensions of a tree, the co- 
lour, figure, and taste of its fruit, as from that prediction 
have discovered all the parts of our Mediator's office, and 
the excellent benefits resulting from it. The incarnation, 
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, are in the 
types and prophecies of the old testament, as corporeal be- 
ings are in the darkness of the night ; they have a real ex- 
istence, but no eye is so clear as to enlighten the obscurity. 
The most sharp-sighted seer might say, " I shall see him, 
but not now," The ministry of the law is compared to the 
light of a candle, that is, shadowy, and confined to a small 
place ; that of the gospel is like the sun in its strength, that 
enlightens the world, 2 Pet. i. 19. The prophets who were 
nearer the coming of Christ, had clearer revelations, but did 
not bring perfect day ; as some new stars appearing in the 
firmament, increase, but do not change the nature of the 
light. Isaiah, who is so exact in describing the circumstance 
of our Saviour's death, and his innocence, humility, and pa- 
tience, that he seems to be an evangelist rather than a pro- 
phet ; yet the Ethiopian proselyte, who certainly was a pro- 
ficient in the Jewish religion, understood not of whom the 
prophet spake. We see what they were ignorant of ; not 
that our sight is stronger, but our light is more clear. The 
doctrine of the Messiah saved them, but it was then seen at 
a distance, and under a veil of ceremonies after the Jewish 
fashion, that concealed its native beauty. The manifesta- 
tion of it is more evident in the accomplishment, than while 



THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 347 

the object of future expectation. The passover had respect 
to their dehverance from Egypt that was past, and therefore 
easily apprehensible ; but it was also a type of the Lamb of 
God, that was to take away the sins of the world ; and in 
this relation not so clearly understood. Our sacraments 
have a relation to what is past, and excite the memory by a 
clear signification of his sufferings. The full discovery of 
these mysteries was reserved as an honour to our Saviour's 
coming. He expounded the silent types and speaking ora- 
cles by an actual accomplishment and real comment in his 
person, life, and death. He is the Sun of righteousness, and 
sheds abroad a light that excels that of all the prophets in 
brightness, as well as his person transcends theirs in dignity. 
And how should the evangelical light warm our hearts with 
thankfulness to God for this admirable privilege ! The dim 
foresight of the Messiah two thousand years before his com- 
ing, put Abraham into an ecstasy of joy ; how should the 
full revelation of him affect us ! Many holy prophets and 
kings desired to see the things that we see. " They embra- 
ced" the promises ; we have the blessed effects ; they had 
the shadows ; we have the light. They saw only the veiled 
face of Moses ; " we all with open face as in a glass behold 
the glory of the Lord." Now what is our duty becoming 
this privilege, but to be " transformed into the same image 
from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord ?" The 
life of every Christian should be a shining representation of 
the graces and virtues of Christ, that are so visible in the 
gospel. Their holiness and heavenliness, their hopes and 
joys, should as much exceed the graces and comforts of be- 
lievers under the legal dispensation, as their knowledge is 
incomparably more clear and perfect. 

3. To conclude ; from the accomplishment of the ancient 
prophecies in the first coming of the Messiah, we may con- 
firm our faith in those glorious promises that are to be ful- 
filled at his second ; for it is the same divine goodness, the 
same fidelity, the same power still, upon which we are to 
build our hopes. And the consideration, that the perfection 
of our happiness is reserved till that time, should inflame our 
desires after it. 

It was the character of believers of the old testament, they 
" waited for the consolation of Israel :" it is the description 
of the saints in the new, they love the appearance of Christ. 
If they longed for his coming in the flesh, though it was at- 



348 THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. 

tended with all the circumstances of meanness and disho 
nour, the effects of our sins ; with what ardent and impa- 
tient desires should we hasten his coming in glory, when he 
shall " appear the second time unto them that look for him, 
without sin, unto salvation!" Heb. ix.'28. Then he will 
put an end to all the disorders of the world, and begin the 
glorious state wherein holiness and righteousness shall be 
crowned and reign for ever. The Christian church joins in 
that ardent address to our Saviour, Isa. Ixiv. 1, 2. And al- 
though the beauty and frame of this visible world shall be 
destroyed, yet that dreadful day shall be joyful to the saints; 
for then all the preparations of infinite wisdom and goodness, 
the things that " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered into the heart of man," shall be the everlasting 
portion of those who love God. " Come, Lord Jesus." 






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