OCR Text |
Show 768 An Addrefs to 'Proteflants. VoL. I. 6 9 the Law? For 1Je is 1101 a Jew, w!Jo is one outwardly, neither U that Circum- ~ cifion, which is outawrd in the Flejh ; bur_ be is a J~w, n:hicb i~ one inwa>-dPart ll. !y, 1md Circumci,/ion is rbot of the Heart, ·rn tbe Spmr, and not m the Leuer, ·sea. 4· wbofe Praifc is not of JUen, but of G_od. So th:n he ~ho keeps the Law of Go~, and abft_ains from th~ ImpuritY of the.Y!orld_, ts the good Alan, the Jufl Lrver; he 1sthe Apofile s rrue Jew and Gt~cu111:i/ion. . Wherefore it is not ill exprefs'd by that extraordmary Man J. Haler of Ear on: The A1oral Man, fays ~e, i.r a _Cbriflian ~y the Jurer Stde :. As if he had faid, Spe:11lntions may_ fatl, Nouons be miilaken, Forms wuher, hut Truth and H.ighteoufnefs wtll ft:md the Tej1; and rhe Man that loves them will not be mo\'ed, He tells us, That I he Fathtrs had thai Opinion of t l•e Si11urity ti[ the. Life .of Jome Heathens, that r!Jry believ'J God had in Sto~e for fucb cvM hts Savmg Grace, and.tbflt be wo~ti.I.Jlltlke. rbnn Po.ffe.ffors o[IJis Evcr!tifling Kingdom. And rneafunng your Sat1sfaEbon by the Pleafure I took m reading what the Author both quotes and comments upon this SubjeEt, I will venture to tranfcribe h!'1J. at large, whofe.Authority ought to go as far as his Reafon, and he cla1rns no more, nor mdeed does any reafonable Man, fince God himfelf feerns to fubmit to that Method of c.· vercoming us, to wit, ConviEl:ion, viz. t" Let it not trouble you (faith he) that I entitle them to fame Part of " our Chriflian Faith, and therefore without Scruple to be receiv'd as Weak, "· and not to be caft forth as Dead. Salvinnus difpudng what Faith is; .:• fluid eft igitur Credulitm vel Fides? (faith he) (!pin.~r f!de!iter. hominem " Cbri.flo credere, id eft, Fi~elen~ Deo effe, .hoc elt, hdcbrer Pt_l mand~ta "fervare, What might rh_ts Fatth . be? (fa1th. h:) I fuppo~e. 1t ts nothing " elfe, but Faith[11lly to beheve Cbri/1; and thls IS to be Fanhful unto God; " which is nothing elfe, but Faithfully to keep tbe Co111mandments of God. " Not therefore only a bare Belief, but the Fidelity and Truftinefs of God's " Servants, faithfully accomplifhing the Will of our Mailer, is required '' as a Pan of our Cbrijlian Fmtb. " Now, all rhofe good Things which A1oral .i\1en by the Light of Na" ture Jf. do are a Part of God's..,Will written in their Hearts: whereforct " fo far as 'they were Confcientious in performing them (if Salvianus his " Reafon be good;) fo far have they Tide and. lntereft in out Faith._ And " therefore Regulus, that· Famous Roman, when he endured infinite Tor· " ments, rather than he would break his Oath, may thus far be counted " a Martyr and V/itnefs for the Truth. For the Crown of Martyrdom fits " nor only on the Heads of thofe, _who haft loft their Ll\res, rather than " they would ceafc: ro profefs the Name cf Chrifl ; but on the Head of eve,, ry one that filffers for the Teftimony of a Good Confcience and for Righ· 11 teoufnefs Sake. And here I cannot pafs by one very General and Grofs ·~ Miftake of our Age. For in our Difcourfes concerning the Notes of a u Chrijlian j\f,m, by what Signs we may know a Man to be one of the l'i· "jible Company of Chrifl, we have fo tied our felves to this outward Pro· ~' fefiion, that if we know no mher Virtue in a Man, but that he hat~ 4 con'd his Creed by Hean, let his Life be never fo prof:Jne, we think tt " Argument enough for us to account him within the Pale and Circuit <?f " the Church. On the contr:Hy Side, let his Life be never fo upright, 1f f' either he be little feen in, or peradventure quite ignoram of the Myit~ry " of Chrift, we efi:eem of him but as deJd. And thofe, who concc1ve " well of thofe Moral good Things, as of fame Tokens giving Hope of * ~· Life, ·Vo.L. I. An .Addrejs to 'Protejlahts. 769 '' Life, we account but as a Kind of Manichrcs wh h " Ean~ l1ad Life in it. I muft confefs that I have' not~ : ou~ht t~e very 1679· " ficiency in the Schools of our Age as that 1 could fe: :ha \ t StPro- ~ :: Tab.le.an~ the Ads of it are not a; properly the Pan's of k~licioecond PJrt H. " Chn~ta.mry, a1 the AEh and Obfervarions of the Firfi > if 1 ~ifiaakd Sea:. 4• t' !hen tt 1s Sr. ldmts that hath abus'd me; for" he defcdbi~g Reli ion be, " JtS proper A~s, te1l_s os, thlt P11re Reb£ion and undefiled he/ore tod nn~ " the Father, u1 to vifir the Fa!her!ifr and the Widobls in their .A.flliO. ., and to k~ep h1mfe!f '!nfpotud of the World. So that the Thing whi {/'"!• " an eJpu~t~l.fefintd D~a~ef! of the ~ew Chri.flian Langllage lignifies nor~ints " but Mora/tty ~n~ CivJIIIy, that '" the Language of the Holy Gb fi · -~ ports True Rebg1on. Thus far J. Halc.r. 0 tm He hath faid fo well on this ACcount, that there is little Need 1 thould fay any more ; yet let me add ~bus much : pid Men mind the Lan ua , of the Htl!y Ghofl !f!Ore than thetr.own ConceJts, they would not fiile ~hofe !fleer .Moral Men tn a Way of D1fgrace, who are not of rhcir PerJwafion. J~ would fuffice, that t~ofe that F~ar God and work Rigbteo~t{nifs ;11 all Na~ Alb 1c. 34; wns art acFftred of h11n; That Chtift himfelf hath fJid lie rht~t doth the H• Ill of j' ather which is ;, Heaven, fo til enter inlrl th; Kingdom of He _ ven; an . e_f them that work I~iquiry, Depart {rom me, 1 know y ou not. a Mat. 7• My Fr~endr, Let u!i not_decetve our felves, God wiN not be moded; S~tch 4~ we fo::o, toe fha!J &ertal1l/y reap. The Tree is known by it's Fruits and G~r 6 W!ll be ]~dg"d according to it'S Fruits. The Wages of Sin ir Death _.'Men Ma~ 1." . l;\'111 find tt fo; and every Mln fhaJJ receive his Reward fuirable to h~ Rom.6. 2J• Work. For PeoJ?le to talk of Special Groce, .and yet be Clrried awa b18 Common. Temp~a~tdn.s: To. let Pride, Vanity, Coveroufnefs, Revenge, yet!. predo~m~te, It ts .Provokm~ to God :. Bur to conceit th;r the Righteous God w.t\1 1ndu~e his People 1n drat Latttude, which be condemns in other Me~, rs abpmm~bte. "Tis Sa~8:.ification, that makes the Saint; and Self-d. enlal that co~~htuteS" the Chnfi1an ; and nor filling our Heads and eleva-tmg our Fanc1es by .applying thofe Promi.fes to our felves, which as yet we.hav~ ~o Imereft tn, though we 11!ay thmk they belong to no Bocfy clfe: T~ts Sp1TJtual F!t~llgy of our fetves IS moll pernicious. I cannot but fJy '!llh r~e Apo~le, '1i.s n_either ClfcNntcifion nor Uncircumcijion, Jew nor Gen: Rom. 2, 29; ~tie (t~rs not t othe~ Thrng) bu.t the New Creatl{re, created after Cbrifl JrJ111 Gal, 6. 1s. zn Ho~rne Is :' for wttbolllt ~l~nejs no .A:lan jhafl ever fee the Lord. And Heb. u. 14-o wha~ rs liolmefs, bnt aBftatnmg from Wickednefs? And what's that but keep!ng the Law of God ? Great Pence have they that love rhy Law faid PCal. 119; Davzd, that had known the Trou"bie of breaking it: Therefore it is' that •'6s. Grna nnd Tr11rh ar~ come by JeJm Cbrifl, to help us to [11/ji! tbe L 11w not John 1, 1,:11~ to.exc~fe our Difohedience to the Law: And what before we were u~able th1s gwes us Force to do .. So t~at Chri/1ianity i~ not an fnd11!gence of Peal pic under.WeaknefS and D1fobechence, Lut the Cornpfeating and Perfeftion of that R1ghteoufnefs which without him was but Chon and Im erfea thro~gh the all-fllfficient Grace and Power th·ar came by Jeflls Chriif. 1 G1ve me Leava, I befeech yon, for I have a Godly Jealoufie upon me~ I fe:1r, left the very End of. Chrift's Coming H miflaken; and of how dreadful a Confequence fuch a M1fbke would be, you cannot poffibly be ignorant that believe. there is No Salvation i~ nny other Name. Let us hear the Teftl: rn_ony ofScnpture: They are the Words ofChrift him(elf, I mJJ/1 prencb 1be !•ke4o 43,: Kmgdom of G,od, for therefort am 1 fenr~ ~ow •. what is this Kingdom of God, but Gods Governf!Jent? And whe~e 1s this K,ingdom and G:nvern· menr _ro ~ _fet up, bur m Man ? So Chnfr tells us, Behold the Kingdom of Ch. •1·21i God u •ahmyou. So thlt the Reafon of his being fent i" char the: K-ing-dom :1nd Government of the Devil may be dettroyed, the firong Man that kept the Haufe, the Heart, be difpoffeffed, and the Kingdom lnd· Go Tern .. Rlen t of God in the Soul, ereit:ed and eftablifhcd. We are uughr ro pray fnr it. l 'i linle as we make of it. Thy Kingdom come, thy fVtU be done. Would bkeu. a.. to God People would but confider what rhey Psay for! For t-hey are fcan- ... · 5 F d•liz'd |