THREE PAIR OF GOSPEL AXIOMS,

Which may be considered as GOLDEN CHAINS, by which the Scripture Scales hang on their beam.

world? Thou art righteous, O Lord, &c, because thou hast judged thus. Thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy," (in a strict and legal sense.)

of righteousness" as a righteous Judge, and to make them "walk with Christ in white, because they are worthy," (in a gracious and evangelical sense.) Hence it appears, that God's design in the three grand economies of man's creation, redemption, and sanctification, is to display the riches of his FREE GRACE AND DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, by showing himself the bounteous Author of every good gift, and by graciously rewarding the worthy while he justly punishes the unworthy according to their works, agreeably to these awful words of Christ and his prophets: "For judg ment I am come into this world. The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the [men who to the last will remain] wicked, for the day of evil. Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness;" and to all the wicked that day will be evil, and terrible: "For behold, the day cometh," says the Lord, "that shall burn as an oven; and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts. But the righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: so that a man shall say, Verily there is a REWARD for the righteous! Doubtless there is a God that JUDGETH THE EARTH!"

Upon this rational and Scriptural plan, may we not solve a difficulty that has perplexed all the philosophers in the world? "How can you,” say they, "reasonably account for the origin of evil, without bearing hard upon God's infinite goodness, power, or knowledge? How can you make appear, not only that a good God could create a world, where evil now exists in ten thousand forms; but also, that it was highly expedient he should create such a world rather than any other?"

ANSWER.-When it pleased God to create a world, his wisdom obliged him to create upon the plan that was most worthy of him. Such a plan was undoubtedly that which agreed best with all the Divine perfections taken together. Wisdom and power absolutely required that it should be a world of rational, as well as of irrational creatures; of free,, as well as of necessary agents; such a world displaying far better what St. Paul calls woλuroixidos dopia, “the multifarious, variegated wisdom of God," as well as his infinite power in making, ruling, and overruling various orders of beings.

It could not be expected that myriads of free agents, who necessarily fell short of absolute perfection, would all behave alike. Here God's goodness demanded that those who behaved well should be rewarded; his sovereignty insisted that those who behaved ill should be punished; and his distributive justice and equity required that those who made the best use of their talents should be entitled to the highest rewards; while those who abused Divine favours most should have the severest punishments; mercy reserving to itself the right of raising rewards and of alle. viating punishments, in a way suited to the honour of all the other Divine attributes.

This being granted, (and I do not see how any man of reason and piety can deny it,) it evidently follows, (1.) That a world, in which va. rious orders of free, as well as of necessary agents are admitted, is most VOL. II.

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perfect. (2.) That this world, having been formed upon such a wise plan, was the most perfect that could possibly be created. (3.) That, in the very nature of things, evil may, although there is no necessity it should, enter into such a world; else it could not be a world of free agents who are candidates for rewards offered by distributive justice. (4.) That the blemishes and disorders of the natural world are only penal consequences of the disobedience of free agents. And (5.) That, from such penal disorders we may indeed conclude that man has abused free will, but not that God deals in free wrath. Only admit, therefore, the free will of rationals, and you cannot but fall in love with our Creator's plan; dark and horrid as it appears when it is viewed through the smoked glass of the fatalist, the Manichee, or the rigid Predestinarian.

SECTION IV.

Containing, (1.) An observation upon the terms of the covenants; and, (2.) A balanced specimen of the anti-Pharisaic Gospel, displaying Christ's glory in the first scale; and of the anti-Solifidian Gospel, setting forth the glory of evangelical obedience in the second scale.

To reconcile the opposite parts of the Scriptures, let us remember that God has made two covenants with man; the covenant of justice, and the covenant of grace. The first requires uninterrupted obedience to the law of paradisiacal innocence. The second enjoins repentance, faith, and humble obedience to all those Gospel precepts, which form what David calls the law of the Lord; St. Paul, the law of Christ; St. James, the law of liberty; and what our Lord calls my sayings,—my commandments, &c.

Being conceived in sin since the fall, and having all our powers enfeebled, we cannot personally keep the first covenant: therefore as the first Adam broke it for us, Christ, "the second Adam, the Lord from heaven," graciously came to make the law of innocence honourable, by keeping it for us, and to give us "power" to keep his own "law of li berty," that is, to repent, believe, and obey for ourselves. Therefore, with respect to the law of the first covenant, Christ alone is, and must be, our foundation, our righteousness, our way, our door, our glory, and all our salvation.

But with respect to the second covenant, the case is very different : for this covenant, and its law of liberty, requiring of us personal repentance and its fruits,-personal faith and its works,-all which together make up evangelical obedience, or "the obedience of faith;" it is evident, that, according to the requirements of the covenant of grace, our "obedience of faith" is (in due subordination to Christ) our righteousness, our narrow way, our strait gate, our glory, and our salvation: just as a farmer's care, labour, and industry are, in due subordination to the blessings of Divine Providence, the causes of his plentiful crops.

If you do not lose sight of this distinction ;-if you consider that our salvation or damnation have each two causes, the second of which never operates but in subordination to the first ;-if you observe, that the FIRST cause of our eternal salvation is God's free grace in making, and faith

fulness in keeping through Christ his Gospel promises to all sinners, who freely submit to the terms of the Gospel; and that consequently the SECOND cause of that salvation is our own prevented free will, sub. mitting to the obedience of faith, through the helps that Christ affords us ; -if, on the other hand, you take notice, that the FIRST cause of our eternal damnation is always our own free will, doing despite to the Spirit of grace; and that the SECOND cause of it is God's justice in denouncing, and his faithfulness in executing, by Christ, his awful threatenings against all that persist in unbelief to the end of their day of initial salvation, generally called "the day of grace;"-if you consider these things, I say, you will see, that all the scriptures which compose my Scales, and some hundreds more, which I omit for brevity's sake, agree as perfectly as the different parts of a good piece of music.

We now and then find, it is true, a solo in the Bible; I mean a passage that displays only the powerful voice of free grace, or of free will. Hence Zelotes and Honestus conclude that there is no harmony, but in the single part of the truth which they admire; supposing that the accents of free grace and free will, justly mixed together, form an enthusiastical or heretical noise, and not an evangelical, Divine concert. Thus much by way of introduction.

FIRST SCALE.

Scriptures that display the glory of CHRIST, the importance of primary causes, the excellence of original merit, and the power of free grace.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, &c; no man cometh to the Father, but by me. I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, John xiv, 6; x, 9.

Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, &c. He that believeth on him shall not be confounded, 1 Cor. iii, 11; 2 Pet. ii, 6.

God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of CHRIST. He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, Gal. vi, 14; 1 Cor. i, 31.

My soul shall be joyful in My GOD, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, Isa. Ixi, 10. My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, Luke i, 47.

Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bride adorn

SECOND SCALE.

Scriptures that display the glory of OBEDIENCE, the importance of secondary causes, the excellence of derived worthiness, and the power of free will.

Christ, in his sermon upon the mount, strongly recommends the obedience of faith, as the strait gate, and the narrow way, which lead unto life, Matt. vii, 13.

Not laying again the foundation of repentance. Charge the rich that they do good, &c, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, Heb. vi, 1; 1 Tim. vi, 17.

Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have xavxua, glorying in HIMSELF alone, and not in another, Gal. vi, 4. [It is the same word in the original.]

This is our rejoicing, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and GODLY SINCERITY, &c, we have had our conversation in the world, and to youward, 2 Cor. i, 12.

I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness and it covered me; my judg

eth herself with her jewels, Rom. ment was a robe and a diadem. I xiii, 14; Isa. lxi, 10. was eyes to the blind, &c, Job xxix, 14, 15.

Christ is made unto us of God The righteousness of the righteous righteousness, 1 Cor. i, 30.