vide the word of God. The ways of Truth and Error lie close together, though they never coincide. When fome preachers fay, that "The road to heaven paffes very near the mouth of hell," they do not mean, that the road to heaven and the road to hell are one and the fame. If I affert, that the way of Truth runs parallel to the ditch of Error, I by no means intend to confound them. Let Error therefore come, in fome things, ever fo near Truth, yet it can no more be the Truth, than a filthy ditch, that runs parallel to a good road, can be the road.

It is often a thing little in appearance, that turns the fcale of truth; nevertheless, the difference be tween a scale turned or not turned, is as real as the difference between right and wrong. I make this obfervation: (1) To fhew that although my opponents come very near me in fome things, and I go very near them in others, yet the difference between us is as effential as the difference between truth and error: And (2) to remind them and myself, that we ought fo much the more, to exercife Chriftian forbearance towards each other, as we find it difficult, whenever we do not ftand upon our guard, to do justice to every part of the Truth, without feeming to diffent even from ourfelves. However, our fhort fightedness and twilight knowledge do not alter the nature of things. The truth of the anti-pharifaic and anti-Crifpian gospel is as immutable as its eternal Author; and whether I have marked out its boundaries with a tolerable degree of juftnefs or not, I muft fay as the heathen poet:

Eft modus in rebus, funt certi denique fines, Quos ultra citra que nequit confiftere rectum. +

+ Truth is confined within her firm bounds: nay, there is a middle line equally diftant from all extremes ; on that line fhe flands, and to mifs her, you need only step over it to the right hand or to the left.

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SCRIPTURAL ESSAY

On the rewardablenefs of Works according to the Covenant of Grace;

CONTAINING

1. A VARIETY of Scriptures, which fhew, that HEAVEN ITSELF is the gracious REWARD of the WORKS of Faith, and that Believers may lofe that Reward by bad Works. -II. An ANSWER to the moft plaufible Objections against this Doctrine. - III. SOME REFLECTIONS upon the unreasonableness of thofe, who scorn to work with an eye to the Reward, that God offers to excite us to Obedience.

FIRST PArt.

HAVING Be of SALVATION by the coAVING particularly guarded in the preceeding venant of grace, and having endeavoured to fecure the foundation of the gospel against the unwearied attacks of Pharifees; 1 fhall now particularly guard the WORKS of the covenant of grace, and by that means fecure the fuperftructure against the perpetual-affaults of Antinomians; a part of my work this, which is fo much the more important, as the use of a strong foundation is only to bear up an useful structure.

None but fools act without motive. To deprive a wife man of every motive to act, is to keep him in total inaction; and to rob him of any grand motive, is to weaken his willingness to act, or his fervour in acting. The love of God is undoubtedly the most generous motive to obedience: In thousands of weak

be

believers, love is not yet well kindled; it is rather afmoking flax than a blazing fire; in thousands of Laodicean profeffors it is scarce lukewarm; and in all apoftates it is waxed cold. Therefore, in the prefent, fickly state of the church militant, it is as abfurd in preachers, to urge no motive of good works but love; as it would be in phyficians to infift, that a good stomach must be the only motive, from which their patients ought to take either food or phyfic.

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Our Lord far from countenancing our refine. ments in this refpect, perpetually fecures the practice of good works by promifing heaven to all that fevere in doing them; while he deters us from fin, by threatening deftruction to all that perfift in committing it; working thus alternately upon our hopes and fears, thofe powerful fprings of action.

The force of this double incentive to practical religion, I greatly weakened; when, being carried away by the ftream of Solifidianifm, I rafhly faid in my old fermon, that "good works fhall be rewarded in heaven and eternal life, although not with eternal life and heaven." An Antinomian error this, which I publicly renounce, and against which I enter the following proteft.

If the oracles of God command us to work FROM an initial life of grace, FOR an eternal life of glory; frequently annexing the promife of heavenly blifs to good works, and threatening all workers of iniquity with hell-torments; it follows, that heaven will be the gracious reward of good works, and hell the just wages of bad ones.

I readily grant however, that, if we confider ourfelves merely as finners, in the light of the first gofpel axiom, and according to the covenant of works, which we have fo frequently broken; heaven is MERELY the GIFT of God through our Lord Jefus Chrift: for, according to that covenant, deftruction is the wages of all who have committed fin. But, if we are converted finners or obedient believers: and if we confider ourselves in the light of the fecond gofpel G & axiom,

axiom, and according to the covenant of grace; every unprejudiced perfon, who believes the bible, mult allow that heaven is the gracious REWARD of our works of faith.

An illuftration may help the reader to fee the juftnefs of this distinction—Â charitable nobleman difcharges the debts of ten infolvent prisoners, fets them up in great or little farms, according to their refpective abilities; and laying down a thousand pounds before them, he fays: "I have already done much for you, but I will do more ftill. I freely give you this purfe, to encourage your industry. You fhall fhare this gold among you, if you manage your farms according to my directions: but if you let your fields be over-run with thorns, you shall not only lofe the bounty I defign for the induftrious, but forfeit all my preceding favours." Now who does not fee, that the thousand pounds thus laid down, are a free gift of the nobleman; that nevertheless, upon the performance of the condition he has fixed, they become a gracious reward of induftry; and that con fequently, the obtaining of this reward turns now entirely upon the works of induftry performed by the farmers.

Juft fo eternal falvation is the free gift of God thro' Jefus Chrift; and yet the obtaining of it [by adults] turns entirely upon their works of faith; that is, upon their works as well as upon their faith. Hence the fcripture fays indifferently, He that BELIEVETH is NOT CONDEMNED; and, If thou DOEST WELL fhalt thou not be ACCEPTED? All that BELIEVE are JUSTI FIED; and, He that WORKETH righteoufness is ACCEPTED.- Our Lord, fpeaking of a weeping penitent, fays equally: Her fins, which are many, are forgiven; for he LOVED much; and, Thy fins are forgiven, thy FAITH hath faved thee.-As for St. Paul, tho' he always juftly excludes the works of unbelief, and merely ceremonial works, yet he fo joins faith, and works of faith, as to fhew us, they are equally neceffary to eternal falvation: There is no condemnation,

fays

fays he, to them that are in Chrift by faith: [Here is the Pharifee's portion] who wALK not after the flesh, but after the fpirit [Here is the Antinomian's portion.] Hence it appears, that living faith now and always works righteoufnefs; and that the works of righte ousness now and always accompany faith, fo long as it remains living.

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I know this is the doctrine,' fays judicious Mr. Baxter, that will have the loudeft outcries raised against it and will make fome cry out, Heresy, Popery, Socinianifm! and what not? For my own 'part the Searcher of hearts knoweth, that not fin'gularity, or any good will to Popery provoketh me to entertain it; but that I have earnestly fought the 'Lord's direction upon my knees, before I durft ad' venture on it; and that I relifted the light of this con. 'clufion as long as I was able.'-May this bright testi. mony make way for an illuminated cloud of prophets and apoftles! and may the fun of righteousness rifing behind it, fo fcatter the fhades of error, that we may awake out of our Antinomian dreams, and fee a glorious, unclouded gofpel-day!

That in fubordination to Chrift, our eternal falvation depends upon good works, i. e. upon the works of faith, will appear indubitable to them that believe the bible, and candidly confider the following fcriptures, in which HEAVEN and eternal life IN GLORY are fufpended upon works, if they spring from a fincere belief in the light of our difpenfation: I fay, if they fpring from true faith, it being abfolutely im-poffible for an Heathen, and much more for a Chrif tian, to work righteousness without BELIEVING in fome degree that God is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently feek him, as well as the punifher of them that prefumptuously fin against him: For without faith it is impoffible to pleafe God; all faithlefs works fpringing merely from fuperftition, like thofe of Baal's priests, or from hypocrify like thofe of the Pharifees. Having thus guarded again the doctrine of FAITH, I produce fome of the many feriptures

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