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Nek Eating Xt a Q ; 4 ios 3 * CATIA NTIRAHD (AK YFOCONTAS > *£ = ut Poe. ea ett FET le wine w os rs as THE PREFACE. ALMost every one of these essays was written above twenty years ago, and some of them more than thirty. The author finds reason to offer his sincere acknowledge- ments and thanks to Almighty God, who has preserved him, even to this day, in the same sentiments and principles of christian faith and love, amidst the numerous follies and errors of the times. One of these papers, indeed, found its way into the world, the very year in which it was written ; the very design of it was to exemplify the title of this book, and it has been often since solicited to be printed again: But it was delayed for many years, till the author had formed a collection of papers of this sort, large enough to compose a moderate volume; and the reader will be sufficiently informed of the present reason of this publication, by a mere explaining of the words of the allen Orthodoxy and Charity united. By the word Orthodoxy, the author means all those christian doctrines which were generally approved in the last age, so far as he knows at least, by almost all the pro- testant dissenters in the nation; even those great doctrines, on which‘ the reformation _ from the church of Rome was built; and they continued so all the time these essays were writing, and long before, in the general good esteem of the churches, as being con- formable to the instructions of Christ and his apostles. It is needless in this place, to reckon them all up particularly, but, in general, they were such as these: 1. By the fall of the first man, he, together with his posterity, lost their innocence and their immortality, their bodies were subjected to diseases and death, their natural inclinations were perverted from that which is good, and there was a strange prevailing bias in human nature, even from its infancy, to that which is evil. ' 2. In order to their recovery from this ruin, there is not only a necessity of the pardon of their sins, and reconciliation of their persons to God, but there is need also that their sinful natures be healed, and renewed by sanctifying grace, in order to restore men to virtue and piety, that.is, to the love of God and their fellow-creatures. 3. The Son of God, who, in the language of scripture, is one with the Father, came down Jrom heaven to take flesh, and therein to fulfil the duties of the law, and give an’ ‘VOL, Til. say aaa asta 45 578 PREFACE. Ne TE al example of perfect holiness: And then he was appointed to suffer death as a sacrifice and atonement for the sins of men, that mankind might thereby obtain pardon and the favour of God. 4, There is a necessity also, that sinners should heartily repent of their sins, return to God, and be renewed to the principles and temper of holiness, in order to their com- plete recovery to eternal life and happiness. 5. Besides this repentance and returning to God, it is also required that they believe in the name of Jesus Christ, their Saviour, or trust in him, with a humble expectation of the favour of God, through him: And, it is through this faith, they are to be justified and accepted of God. 6. They are also obliged to obey the law of God, as far as this feeble and imperfect state admits of, during their whole life, and still to grow up towards perfection therein. 7. When such persons die, their souls are conveyed to a state of peace and rest, in the presence of God, till the great day of the resurrection, when their bodies shall rise again from the dead, and the whole person, body and soul, be made happy for ever, in the favour and presence of God their Maker. These doctrines were generally professed at the time of the reformation, by protestants abroad and at home, and these are the set of principles, which have been usually called orthodoxy, or right sentiments. Now, it has unhappily fallen out, that many of those who have received and pr ofessed these important doctrines, have differed also in many lesser pots, such as the logical relations of some of these doctrines to one another, that is, ‘‘ Whether faith or works be conditions or consequents of their justification and acceptance; what is the essential difference between the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace, or the law and the gospel,” &c. as well as in several particular practices of divine worship, such as cere- monies, vestures, imposed forms of prayer, &c. and they have so far quarrelled about these things, as too much to neglect and abandon that christian love and charity they ought to have maintained, according to their general acknowledgement of the great and necessary truths and rules of christianity, and hereby they have, in many instances, lost that duty and character of good christians, viz. to love one another. Now since these unhappy and uncharitable practices, even amongst some good men, have prevailed even to this day, it is the design of these essays, to endeavour the recovery of these persons, who unite in these principles, to charitable sentiments and practices towards one another. Here it will be very natural to enquire, Where is there found amongst all these essays, any attempt to reconcile those to the christian love and charity of others, who, while they profess the christian religion, yet oppose, renounce or deny, the great doctrines of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, or his propitiation for sin by his death? All the answer that can be given, is this: The author would gladly have done it, that the whole book might be of a piece, and every page might overflow with love, if he could, after the turning over his New Testament, have met with any evident instances, or ex- PREFACE. 579 amples, any plain rules or requirements of such christian charity expressed towards persons of this character, in all the sacred writings. But the language of scripture gives no encouragement to such a charity; for this doctrine is not any where numbered among the doubtful disputables of our religion, the lesser things of christianity, such as meats and drinks, and observation of days, and outward forms of worship; but it is spoken of as a matter of far higher smapomtance, and, I think, seems to be necessary to constitute christianity itself. This doctrine contains in it, the highest and the kindest design toward men, for which our blessed Saviour came down from heaven; it was for this very reason he came into this world, viz. to give his life a ransom for sinners, Matt. xx. 28. and it is repeated in Mark x. 45. So that those who depart from, and renounce this article, renounce the kindest design of the coming and the death of Christ, and they seem, by the words of the holy writings, to be exposed to another sort of sentence, from which may the grace of God recover and preserve them! In the mean time, I hope those who heartily unite in their sentiments of these great doctrines, which I have mentioned, and maintain a cor- respondent practice of strict holiness, and dependence upon Jesus Christ, our great High-Priest, and our Sacrifice, will be taught by some of these papers, to learn the duties of christian love more perfectly, agreeable to the original design of the holy founder of our religion. It should be observed here, that though the chief part of these essays were written at the time which is mentioned, yet there happen to be now and then a few lines or pages, and some few citations from elder or later authors, which were not all written or inserted at that time. Let it be observed also, that all the characters, here mentioned, are general and indefinite; and there is not one character or name, that is now written in these papers, or ever was, that was designed to be applied to any particular person: For the author avoided it with care in all these writings, and in all his reviews of them, that no single person whatsoever should be so particularly described, as to imagine himself to be intended, and much less to be distinguished by any reader. May the divine blessing attend every humble attempt to establish the christian faith, and to confirm and enlarge our love, Amen. 4E2 baa pei % ob. sjilaiiimaiiael “out. sariy oust by te. syeugent ai ‘at - | “suvib Tih say gree PAs. vod Yam IG Bi, anhigoh 1S ‘pew oi sie aan ee dove viiasitvindo Ye agaist 19He0!: Sai 7 sigice tt ad i jdeaorw, Paphui hip bee baw coil sieit 9 anual : aby tong coat ad oro, yout Das. trea) Ty, eh 96 1GeD SAS. :FO cf; 2 “Cebit aE -nug alas a mnenty ganotaen Jo 105, yin 2 folie eo ¥ ‘gal OM Bian, elingaied .utlv:.scodt sqod £: saragogs oli) wi lorngig Bae rea ae so gery sh tls ibereee Socks doends sup seid bdo! yg: ¢ ash a woke come are $ Aone ahh LE bh ; US Ta iG Ro at artent, AOE Mise scsi sopeeeaeal x Sige peed ni A ly. saab Semmes ee : or 3 an ingle y Bene 4 Pasta! t + ger erage eA) bs ot Ve PEL eR” © ree iy ee 14. 7th VU . JJ eS : : PUAN LTT Y, ALE ‘ . or Meas Bi ; bite cage Pa = Se] rs rime Ee a ak aie dh tae, “hi ss sp: ¢ att “ak pea ae: ig = 2. : 4 * * j , : , 4 = ‘ ry ‘n, 4 ty 3 tu os ae ‘3 ot hie ie tay § ictgiatiies ke ae : tt , ; ene ; P 7 ‘ , Pe. : ~~. a = . a lie, nn i a Pe Pe mage. ‘ i ea, “Siael ‘ ; ‘ ORTHODOXY AND CHARITY UNITED, &c. ESSAY I.. THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. ¢ SECTION I. Tue word, gospel, is used in more senses than one. Sometimés it signifies the history of the life and doctrine, the death and the resurrection of Christ. So Mark i. 1. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. And so it is used in common ‘speech, when we call the writings of the four evangelists, the four gospels. But, in the most proper and usual sense of it, in scripture, it signifies “a discovery of divine mercy, through a Mediator, to mankind fallen into sin and misery ;” therefore in greek it is called way,ino, or glad tidings. The English name, indeed, as derived from its Saxon original, signifies only the word of God: Yet it is now peculiarly applied to the word of his grace, which reveals salvation to sinful and miserable man, and, therefore, it is often called the covenant of grace. This salvation is made up of many benefits or blessings, part of which are bestowed in this world, and. the rest in the world that is to come. The revelation of these benefits, and of the foundation on which they stand, and of the way whereby we come to be partakers of them, is the matter, sum and substance of the gospel, in its most general notion among christians. This gospel was not revealed, all at once, in its full glory to mankind. There have been several editions of it, or gradual discoveries of this grace, in all the former ages of the world. As soon as ever Adam had sinned, and ruined himself and his posterity too, by laying the foundation of their sin and misery, it pleased God to publish this gospel, by the promise of a Saviour, when he told our mother Eve, that her seed should bruise the head of the serpent, that had deceived her; Gen. iii. 15. This, by our divines, is usually called the first. gospel; for, in the modern language of the New Testament, it signifies, that Jesus Christ should come into this world, to destroy the works of the devil ; 1 John iii. 8. : ; : | | Doubtless, Noah, the second father of mankind, had some farther discoveries made to him, when the rainbow was appointed as the seal of a gracious covenant betwixt God and man: For the very promise of the continuance of the comfortable seasons of the year, being given to man in a way of mercy, do imply that God would not be irreconcileable to his fallen creatures. Nor can we reasonably suppose but that Adam and Neah, and all those most ancient patriarchs, had larger explications and comments of the first pro- mise given them than Moses has recorded. This gospel was renewed by revelations made to Abraham, when the Messiah, the Saviour, was promised to spring out of his family ; 58% THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. aS in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed; Gen. xxii. 18. Which promise is expressly called the gospel; Gal. ili. 8: There was also a type or pattern of our justifi- cation by faith in the way of the gospel, when Abraham believed God in his promises, and it was imputed to him for righteousness; Rom. iv. 3. Moses had a much larger discovery of the grace and mercy of God toward sinful man made to him, and to We Jews by him, than all the patriarchs put together : And this was not only done in the types, and figures, and ceremonies, not only in altars, sacrifices, washings, spr inklings, purifications, “and in their redemption from Egypt, their miraculous salvations in the eidbiniees: and their safe conduct to Canaan, the land of promised rest; but he had many literal and express revelations of * pardoning and sanc- tifying grace, hie are scattered up and down in the five books which he wrote, and which he gave to the children of Israel to direct their religion. ‘This is also called the gospel; Heb. iv. 2. To them was the gospel preached as well as unto us, as those words ought to be translated. This same gospel was afterward confirmed, illustrated and enlarged by succeeding prophets, in the several ages of the jewish church. But, God, who at salutes 'y times, and in divers manners, spoke this gospel to our fathers by ry the prophets, has in these later days published the same. to us in a brighter manner, by his Son Jesus, the promised Saviour, Heb. i. 1. And since the death land resurrection of Christ, the apostles being sent by their exalted Lord, have given yet plainer and fuller declarations of this gospel to the children of men. And, upon this account, it is several times called the gospel of Christ, not only because the offices and grace of Christ run through the whole of it, but also because the clearest discoveries of it are made to the world by Christ, and by his messengers the apostles. Now, from this last and fullest revelation of it, in the New Testament, we may derive a fuller and more perfect knowledge of the gospel, than all the former ages could attain. Hereby we learn, “ that the gospel is a promise of salvation from sin and hell, by the death, righteousness and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to every one that is sincerely willing to accept of it by coming to Christ, or trusting m him ;” and it includes also “ the promised aid of the Holy Spirit to those who seek it, to enable them to receive this salvation, and to fit them for the final possession of the promised glory.” It includes also the “ revelation of the future resurrection, the last judgment and eternal life.” To this end did the “ Son of God come into the world, that whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have everlasting life;’ John iii. 16. This may be made out and explained, more at large, in the following manner ; The ‘salvation, which the gospel proposes, is exactly answerable to our present state of sin and wretchedness, and fully supplies all the necessities of fallen man, his guilt and deserved misery, his sinful and corrupted nature, and his utter inability to help him- self; and therefore it must contain in it holiness and happiness, with divine directions and divine aids, in order to attain them. The happiness of it, is a freedom from that death and punishment, which we had incurred by sin, and a recovery to the favour of God, which we had lost, and everlasting joy therein. The holiness of it, is the image of God, in which we were at first ekéatbay which image was defaced and ruined by man’s first transgfession. The foundation of this salvation is the eternal mercy and good-will of God the F athedt to his poor perishing, sinful creatures, by the glorious undertaking and various trans- actions and offices of our Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator, and the several operations of THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. 583 ee the blessed Spirit. This salvation in the whole of it, is contrived and appointed by the various attributes of God, especially his wisdom, power and goodness, exerting them- selves for this purpose: It is purchased or procured for us, by the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ: Itis applied to us, by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are chosen, to partake of all this salvation, both the holiness and happiness of it, by the eternal good-will of the Father. We are recovered to the favour of God, and happiness, by the obedience or righteousness, the death and intercession, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, in our nature. We are restored to the image of God, and holiness, by the Spirit of Christ, that is promised and sent down into this world, to change our hearts and reform our lives, and thereby fit us for the heavenly happiness. But, what are we to do that we may become partakers of this salvation? For it is not every son and daughter of Adam who are possessors of it. Now, it is the gospel that reveals this to us, and also directs us in it. The appointed way, to partake of this salvation is, by believing or trusting in Christ; that is, when from a deep sense of the evil of sin, and our guilt and danger on that account, we grow weary and heavy laden with the burden of our sins, and surrender or betrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, that, by his death and obedience, we may be saved from hell, and be accepted unto eternal life, and that by the divine aid of his Spirit, we may have all the sinful powers of our natures renewed and sanctified, and fitted for that life eternal which Christ has purchased. Thus you see this grace of faith necessarily draws along with it sincere repentance for sin, and desires after true holiness. When we consider, that we are, by nature, afar off from God, ignorant and averse to all that is holy, we shall find that we are not more able, to believe unto salvation, nor to repent of sin, at first, than we are to perform works of holiness afterwards. Therefore this gospel provides us with divine strength to fulfil these duties; Christ is our strength, as well as our righteousness: Isaiah xlv. 24, 25. He is exalted to bestow repentance as well as forgiveness; Acts v. 31. and faith ts the gift of God, who creates us anew in Christ Jesus, unto good works; Eph. ii. 8—10. and makes us holy by his Spirit, as is before expressed. It is by the Holy Spirit, considered eminently .as the Spirit of Christ, that we are enabled to receive this salvation at first, and trained up and prepared for the full possession of it. It is further also comprehended, in this gospel, and promised, in this gracious consti- tution of God, that when we have finished our state of trial on earth, our souls shall be received, at death, into the presence and enjoyment of God; and our bodies also shall be raised from the grave, in the great resurrection-day, and thus our whole natures shall be made happy together to all eternity. This is the matter and subject of the gracious revelation of God, this is the method of salvation, and the manner of our partaking of it, which is appointed by God himself, and this is what I call the substance of the gospel. There are some other points of importance that belong to it, but this is the foundation of all, and comprehensive of the rest. To sum up the several parts of it in as few words as I can; the gospel of Christ ig a gracious constitution of God, for the recovery of sinful man, by sending his own Son, in the flesh, to obey his law, which man had broken, to make a proper atonement for sin by his death, and to procure the favour of God, and eternal happiness, for all that believe and repent, and receive this offered salvation, together with a promise 584 THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. eae of the Holy Spirit, to work this faith and repentance, in the hearts of men, to renew their. sinful natures unto holiness, to form them fit for this happiness, on earth, and to bring them to the full possession of it in heaven. | | | All this is so evident from a variety of scriptures, that might be cited here, that one would think there should be no need to prove it. But there have been. some persons in the last and in the present age, I chiefly intend the socinian writers, and those nominal christians, who are leaning towards deism, who would impoverish and curtail the gospel of Christ, and make it to consist in little more than mere natural religion, Some of these persons just make a shift to persuade themselves to believe the Bible, or at least they profess to believe it, because it is the religion of their country, but they explain it in so poor, so narrow, so dry, and insipid a manner, as raises it very little above the light of nature, viz. “That if we follow the dictates of our inward reason and our conscience, in’ worshipping God, and in loving our neighbours, according to the rules which scripture hath given us to explain and confirm the light of nature, and herein imitate the holy example of our Lord Jesus Christ, then our sins shall be forgiven us by the mere mercy of God, through the supplication and. intercession of so good a man as Jesus Christ, and we shall be accepted to eternal life ;” and this without any dependance on the death of Christ, as a proper atonement or satisfaction for sin, or any regard to him as a true and real sacrifice. And as for the Spirit of God, and his almighty operation on the souls of men, to enlighten and sanctify them, at least in our age, this is almost banished out of their gospel, and finds but little room in their religion. I think it necessary, therefore, to prove, that the gospel of Christ is such a doctrine as I have described ; and that I shall do by these five reasons: ~~ SECTION IL. I. Tuts doctrine, which | have now mentioned, of the restoration of believers in Jesus Christ to the favour of God, by the atoning sacrifice and obedience of Christ, and the renewing of sinful men to God’s image by the work of the Holy Spirit, and thereby — bringing them to eternal life, is the very gospel of Christ, because “ it ig the very Jabour and. business, the chief scope, aim and design of the great apostle of the gentiles, in those of his epistles where he sets himself, professedly, to explain the gospel; and this is what he takes frequent occasion also to bring. into:all his writings.” -It is his perpetual labour to instruct the Jews and geutiles in these vlorious and unknown truths: He uses yarious forms of speech te explain them to their understandings; for “ I "desire, saith he, and determine to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ, and him crucified, that is, nothing like it; nothing in comparison with it. 1 Cor. ii. 2.. It is the _ cross of Christ, that is and must be the great subject of my ministry; this is what I am sent to preach, for 7t ts the power of God, and the wisdom of God; 1 Cor. i. 24. for the salvation of men; Rom. i. 16. ‘f You find his letters to the churches full of such expressions as these, Christ died for our sins; 1 Cor. xv. 3. He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity ; Tit, i. 13.. We have redemption through his blood; Eph. i. 7. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; 2 Cor. v. 19. He was made sin verse 21. and a curse for us ; Gal. iii. 10. He is our propitiation and atonement ; 1 John ii, 2. He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; Heb. ix. 26. When we 3 THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. 585 rr eS se PSPS aresones were enemres we were reconciled to God by his death; Rom. v. 8. He made peace by the blood of his cross; Col. i. 20. He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification; Rom. iv. 25. By the righteousness of one man the Sree gift came upon all men to justification of life. By the obedience of one, shall many be made righ- éeous; Rom v. 18, 19. and we are justified by faith in him; verse 1. He teaches us also the offices of the Holy Spirit. We have access to God through his Spirit ; Eph. li, 18. We are purified and sanctified by the Spirit; 1 Cor. vi. 11. It is by the Spirit of Christ that we are to mortify the deeds of the flesh; Rom. viii. 13—17. — We are ted by the Spirit; and we are taught to understand this gospel by the Spirit which he hath given us; Eph. iii. 16. We are sealed by this Spirit unto the day of redemption; chapter iv. 23. The Spirit dwelling in us is a pledge and earnest of our inheritance in heaven, chapter i. 14. Now these expressions of his are to be understood in the common sense and meaning of the words, and not as far-fetched metaphors; for it is evident, that in all this he does not affect the arts of oratory, nor assume a magnificent air of writing, nor does he raise himself into sublimities of style, nor rove in an enthusiastic way, when he ‘treats of these subjects, but while he is explaining to us these great things of the gospel, he avoids the wisdom of words and oratory, and he talks in a plain rational, and argumen-' tative method to inform the minds of men, and give them the clearest knowledge of the truth. | Surely a person, that was sent of God to preach and write the gospel, for the use of all nations and future ages, and even for the ignorant and uninstructed barbarians, would not have expressed himself in this sort of language, if he meant no more by it than the socinians do by the gospel of Christ; that is, “that the Lord Jesus Christ was a very great man, but a mere man still; he was a prophet ordained of God, to preach up holiness in greater degrees than it had been before preached, to settle some points which were left a little doubtful by the light of nature, to assure us that God would be reconciled to man, and forgive him, if man repented and was sorry for his sins, and lived as well as he could for time to come; and that for the sake of the prayers of Christ, who was so very pious, so very religious, and so very heavenly a person, and so submissive in his sufferings to the will of God, he would favour the penitent among mankind with some blessings and comforts in this world, and eternal life in the world above. Then when he had preached this doctrine to the world, he suffered the death of the cross, to bear witness to the truth of it, and sealed it with his blood, and rose again for the confirmation of the same doctrine.” Now if this were all the meaning of the gospel of Christ, St. Paul would never have preached it in such language as he did. Can we think God would have employed such an instrument as this was, whose way of talking would have rather deceived multitudes than informed them of the truth, would have led them into the dark rather than have given them light, would have filled their heads with mysterious words without ideas, and instead of leading them into the VOL. III. 4-F- 586 THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. see SS SS SEI —— eee way of salvation, would have left them in bewildered thoughts, about the doctrines and duties of it with so much entanglement and confusion? Here I might add also, that the holy apostle not only instructs his own countrymen the Jews, and the gentile strangers in this divine doctrine, and teaches them to build their hopes of salvation upon it; but he ventures his own soul, his immortal concern- ments, and his everlasting hopes upon the same foundation. He glories in the cross of Christ; Gal. vi. 14. He has committed his all into his hands till the great judgment- day; 2 Tim.i. 12. He lives by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, saith he, and gave himself for me; Gal. ii. 20. It is the pleasure of his tongue, it is the joy of his pen, it is the delight and the life of his spirit to talk of those things: He hangs upon this subject, and knows not how to leave it; his very heart and soul is in it, and he abandons all things for the sake of this knowledge. He despises the former privileges of his birth, of his learning, of the jewish prerogatives and rites. He renounces all his legal and ceremonial perfection, and all his honour amongst the priests and the pharisees in comparison of this. What things were gain to me, says he, those I count lost for Christ: Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Philip. 11. 7—10. | Nor is the apostle Paul singular in this respect, or different in his sentiments from the other apostles. II. As this gospel of Christ which we have described, was the labour of the apos- tle’s ministry, and the design of the revelation of the New Testament, so it is this gos- pel which is often hinted and prophesied in the Old Testament also, and typified by the ceremonies of the jewish religion. Now these prophecies could not have been fulfilled, nor these types answered and accomplished, without such a gospel as I have explained. The prophecies of the Old Testament are various and many: Some of the clearest of those which relate to the sufferings and atonement of Christ, and to our justification by him, are expressed by Daniel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. By Daniel we are told, that the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself, and the design of this is to Jinish transgres- ston, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquities, and to bring in ever- lasting righteousness; Dan. ix. 24,26. Isaiah speaks the same thing more largely, Christ was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised Sor our iniquities. The THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. 587 nn aes esesee atonement chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. We like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. It pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief, and to make his soul an offering for sin. By the knowledge of him shall he justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. How ex- ceeding plain and strong is this language to support this doctrine? Isaiah liii.5, 6, 10, 11. In the Lord shall we have righteousness and strength: In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory ; Isaiah xlv. 24,25. And the prophet Jeremy expressly calls Christ the Lord our righteousness; Jer. xxiii. 6. The promise of sanctification by the Spirit of God, is given us in Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall be my people and I will be your God. 'This sort of language is repeated chapter xi. 19. and Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. Jer. xxxi. 31—34. which is cited by the apostle Paul in his epistles to the Hebrews, and to the Corinthians, as the language of the gospel, or the new covenant. Now it is manifest enough, that all these expressions of glorious grace, and of the method of our reconciliation to God, our sanctification and salvation could never be answered and accomplished without such a gospel of Christ as we have described. The rites and ceremonies of the jewish church speak the same thing, if we consider them as types and figures of the gospel-state. 1 will grant, indeed, that many of those ceremonies had also some other intendments, viz. to distinguish the nation of Israel and their religion, from the gentile world, and the fantastical inventions of pagan worship: To keep them in subjection to God as their political head or king: Several of their sacri- fices and methods of purification, were appointed to cleanse them from ceremonial defilements, and to atone for civil or political crimes, whereby they were admitted to their civil rights again, and their place in the congregation, when they had done any thing to forfeit them. But, it is evident, by the writings of the apostle Paul, in 2 Cor. chap. iii. Gal. chap. iv. Col. chap. ii.. Heb. vii, viii, ix, x. that the great end of these jewish ceremonial appointments, was to stand as types and figures of things under the gospel, and em- blems of the various offices and benefits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in this figura- tive or emblematical sense, what did all the sacrifices and the blood mean, the burning beasts and the smoking altars whereby the Jews made a typical atonement for their sins? What were they types of, what did they represent, if not the sasrifice of Christ? And what means the sprinkling all the people with the blood of animals, if these things did not typify and represent our being cleansed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is therefore called the blood of sprinkling, and which is the only real and substan- tial atonement for sin? What meant their laying the hand upon the goat that was to bear their iniquities, and the confession of the sins of all Israel over his head, if they did not design to foretel the transferring of the sins of men upon the head of our Lord Jesus Christ, the surety and the sacrifice for sinners? What did the washings of water imply, but the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon sinful men, and the purification of their natures by divine grace? Why did that glorious and divine light dwell in the taber- nacle and in the temple, and between the cherubims in the holy of holies, if it were not an emblem of the “fulness of the godhead dwelling bodily in the man Christ Jesus,” in and by whom God was to converse visibly with the children of men? Can any man be AF2 = 588 THE SUBSTANCE, OR MATTER OF THE GOSPEL. so absurd as to believe, in opposition to so many expressions of the apostle in his letters, that these sprinklings of water and of blood, these bleeding lambs, and burning goats and bullocks, these veils, curtains and tabernacles, served for nothing else but to wrap up the duties of the light of nature in them, and to explain, or rather to darken, the com- mon truths of natural religion? And yet the apostle tells us in several places, that these were types or figures of the gospel of Christ. Surely every shadow bore the shape and figure of the substance: Every veil and covering was fitted to the body. All these were but shadows, but Christ is the substance or the body, and the shape of the body ap- peared therein to those that had divine light to discern it, especially to us, whom St. Paul has taught to understand many of these mysteries. Those therefore who impoverish the gospel of Christ, as some writers have done, and deny those glorious doctrines that are included in it, they deny that gospel which was foretold by the prophets, that gospel which was hidden in the jewish shadows, and they. refuse to see it, though it be now broken forth into open light. 