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cially Christians; then the feweft were to be CHAP. elected out of the Heatben World, fome out of XIX. the Jews, but most out of the Chriftians, who have receiv'd the five Talents here below. God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, with the holy Angels, all intereft themselves, and offer Qualifications to the Chriftian, if they will but confent, and use proper Endeavours to be elected. All that are called might be chofen; and it is thro' their own Defect that many are called, and few chofen. The wicked Angels oppofe it with all their Devices, and Might: And all the Might and Chance they have in the Oppofition is owing to the Folly, Inconftancy, and Abuse of Liberty in the Candidate. And what fharpens the Vigilance and Keennefs of the Oppofition is, out of regard to their own Intereft; that they might thereby prevent the Numbers of the Elect from being compleated, as long as they can, and fo defer the evil Day, the Day of Judgment, as late as poffible; and towards alleviating the Miseries of that Day, in the mean time, gather up all the Affociates they can, in the Calamity prepar'd for them,

2. IT is not true in Fact, that God did not prescribe fufficient Remedy to the Disease, or afford fufficient Means for Mens Happiness, but deferr'd it for 4000 Years till the Time of Tiberius. As the Will of God was directed by the greatest Wisdom and Goodness in appointing different Degrees of Happiness or Rewards hereafter, according to the different Ufe Men make of their moral Powers in pursuing it in this Life, in the diligent and due Application of the Means he severally put in their Power ; fo, from the first Prevarication in Happiness, or be

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CHAP. ginning of the Disease, he prefcrib'd one uniXIX. form, potent, adequate Remedy, to fupply every

thing that was not in Man's Power, upon Condition of his diligently doing every thing on his part that was in his Power, from the firft to the jaft Man of our Race; and fucceffively thro' all his Generations, and in every Country under Heaven; which was the Promife of the Mediator in Paradife, in the Seed of the Woman, as I obferv'd before. And this Means was difpens'd to Mankind by the fame Wisdom and Goodness in the Diversity of one, two, and five ufufructuary Talents; as it was more obfcurely, or lefs clearly, or, at length, reveal'd to perfect Light; whilst every Man had equally committed to him the one ufing Talent, of diligently feeking God as be is, and diligently feeking to please him as a Rewarder, committed to him.

WITH refpect to those who had the one Ta lent of Means, I took notice before * how that univerfal Principle of Reason, and Creed of Natural Religion, That God is a Rewarder of thofe who diligently feek to pleafe him, flow'd from that original Promife of a Mediator to Adam. There needed but one Perfon, Methuselah, to convey it fafe to Noab, for he convers'd with both of them. Enoch, and doubtless others in the old World walk'd with God and pleas'd him in virtue of that Faith; and Sacrifice was unqueftionably intimated and inftituted from Heaven, from the very firft, as observ'd before, to conferve that Hope and Belief, and preferve the Memorial of that Means of pleafing God without which Faith, of God being a Rewarder, in vir

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* Vol. I.

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XIX.

tue of that Means, or Medium, it was impoffi. CHA P. ble either in the old World, or the new, implicitly or explicitly, to pleafe him. From Noah, who is called the Heir of the Righteousness of Faith of the old World, the Promife with the Sacrifice flow'd down in two Channels, one, in a direct Line to Abraham, and fo to the Houfe and Lineage of David; to Abraham the Promife was renew'd of bleffing all Nations and Kindreds of the World in bis Seed, that fhould be born of the Virgin Mary. In the other, Promife and Sacrifice went out in a winding Channel, to water the reft of the Earth more fparingly, and with Interruptions from the Inhabiters of it, till the Time of refreshing should come from the Prefence of the Revelation of the Lord.

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THO' the Promife might be loft in a fhort Time, by the Unfaithfulnefs of Oral Tradition; yet the shedding of Blood in Sacrifice, and the Neceffity of Atonement remain'd all the World over; and we find it in Fact, in the Discovery of every diftant Territory of it, together with the Memory of the Flood convey'd down to all People; whofe Reafon could hardly fail of con necting the Sins of the then World and the Anger and Hatred of God, to fuch a Judgment, and likewise his monumental, diftinguishing, rewarding Love of the Righteous, feeing almost all Mankind were drown'd, and but very few faved from perishing by Water. Yet the Religion and Devotion of Sacrifice carried with it, in the very Face of the Thing, a Proof and a Teftimonial to every one's Reafon, that God was reconcileable to Sinners; and therefore a Rewarder of thofe

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CHAP. thofe who diligently feek to please him, and confe quently a Punisher of those who do not.

XIX.

THIS being fo natural, fo eafy, and so univerfal a Principle of Reasoning to all Mankind, carrying with it a Divine Authority as a Principle of Faith and Religion, to all those who would do their Duty in ufing their Reason, in feeking God as he is, and please him in Hope of his rewarding Favour. And those Gentiles who govern their Actions by that Principle of Faith, are not fo much as one Remove from Abraham. Having Faith in a future Country and better City, they have the Similitude of Children in that wherein Abraham was Father of the Faithful, and compleatly and emphatically Father of many Nations, they inherit that Country and City with him; and fhare the Bleffing of Mofes's Faith, who likewife had Respect unto the Recompence of Reward; all the Juft upon Earth lived by that Faith, fteer'd by that Compafs, and became faithful and juftifiable before God from their Fidelity, to that Expectation. The Scripture forefeeing that God would justify the Heathen thro' Faith, preach'd the Gospel [the Promife, the fame Gofpel, the fame Promise to fallen Adam, which preferv'd the first form'd Father of the World, and brought him out of his Fall, Wifd. x. 1.] unto Abraham, In thee fhall all Nations be bleffed, Gal. iii. 8. Tho' they loft the Promife, yet it was included in that true religious Principle of God's being a Rewarder; and tho Men want to be put in mind of their Promise,

*Sacrificant, adolent, libant, orantq; voventq;
Mortales fuperis, fi quid peccavit inique
Quifquam,ut placati pœnas iramque remittant.

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yet God does not, to give the Effect of it im- CHAP. partially to all his diligent, fincere Servants. XIX. Inafmuch as the Mediator tafted Death for all Men, and gave his Life a Ranfom for all, to be teftified in due time. And this makes good the Apostle's Argument, why God would have all Men to be faved, and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth, upon the Proof that follows, For there is one God (of the Gentiles as well as the Jews, the common Father of all Men) and one Mediator betwixt God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus* the Mediator, as Man, took human Nature in general upon him, which fhews the great Beauty of his own Expreffion, Whosoever shall do the Will of my Father which is in Heaven, the fame is my Brother, and Sifter, and Mother; the Gentiles being related to him as well as the Jews, and equally ordain'd to truft in his Name; that all the Defcendants of Adam might be equally his Brethren in the Flesh and Blood he partook of. He would have all Men, by their common Reafoning upon his Goodnefs, at all Times, and in all Places, to come to the Knowledge of that Truth, that he is a Rewarder of thofe who diligently feek to please him: That includes and fecures the reft; till in his own due Time he shall teftify the Mediator more openly and explicitly to all Nations.

AND therefore the fame Apoftle tells the Romans, that Word, or Righteousness of Faith, which he preached, was in their Heart †, as well as the Righteoufnefs of Works, of the moral Law, which he contended alfo for, and proved to be written there.

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