Words; ye therefore bear them not, because ye CHAP. are not of God; if ye believe in him to any XVIII. purpose, ye will believe alfo in me; but he that has, and cherishes the Spirit of Unrighteoufnefs, will, for fo long, cherish the Spirit of Anti-Chrift, or Resistance to the Gospel, in himself; and that Man, throughout all Ages of it, will ever want Integrity towards its Truths, who is defective in his Integrity towards its purifying Defign. It will never carry Evidence with it, whether internal or external, fufficient to convince and profelyte fuch a Perfon; tho' that Evidence was double to what it is, was that poffible. But, if he is fincere and acts the Part of the Gentleman upon Honour, in his Declaration for fulfilling the Law of Nature, he will be altogether Chriftian, and look upon Christ as the greatest Friend to that most honeft pacifick Project, that ever yet vifited this World: as being, in every thing of his prescribing, the fole perfect, the only effectual Means for bringing it to any Effect; and from liftening to him, become an Inftance of the Truth of his divine inconteftable Affertion, He that is of God, heareth God's Words. For this is, doubtless, the most usual Way of his opening the Heart of those who hear his Gospel; and there is both Virtue and Piety in affenting to fuch a perfpicuous Propofition, and embracing fuch evident Means; because the Evidence and Perfpicuity are ratified in the Virtue and Piety of the End they promote. Such Means therefore are certainly to be earneftly and worthily contended for, if it was only for the fake of fuch a worthy End.

IF any Man therefore is averfe to the doing the Will of God, too much to be avow'd open

ly;

CHAP ly; or if indifferent to it, in Principle, he has XVIII. the Difpofition of an Author within him, to de

clare upon Principle (as he of Christianity as old, &c. every where does) that the Means are not obligatory, but arbitrary, indifferent, needlefs Things which is filing a Declaration before God, and all the World, against himself, and all his Difciples, what little refpect they bear to the End; too fhameful for them to own! but, at the fame time, too evident to be denied! If therefore they know themselves to be fuch notorious Hypocrites as to the End, it is no wonder they are seen to be Unbelievers, or which is the fame Thing, in other Words, Hypocrites in their Objections to the Means; and the Parity of divine Juftice in allotting one and the fame Portion to Unbelievers and to Hypocrites, * is admirably exact, as well as very terrible.

THEY have been often put in Mind of the Danger, and Juftice of the Damnation hanging over their Heads; from that I defift, having fufficiently fhewn the Immorality of their Unbelief; that answers my Purpose in speaking to the Rejecters of this Faith.

II. There are CORRUPTERS of the Faith. For this being a new explicit Principle for controuling all irregular Practice, when the Practice will not be controul'd by it, it naturally becomes difaffected to the other, either in whole, or in part. If it cannot for Shame wholly throw it off, it will, out of Favour to the indulg'd Irregularity, try Ways and Means to corrupt, or new model it, fo, as there fhall be, at leaft to Matt, xxiv. 51.

Luke, xii, 46.

their Imagination, a better Understanding be-CHAP. tween one and t'other. Either Ignorance of XVIII. Scripture, filthy Lucre, Luft of forbidden Pleafure, of Party Honour, and fecular Ambition of a Sect, or fome finifter View, as it predominates, takes the Chair; and dictates to the Principle, "You cannot be my Guide unless you bend and dispense fo and fo, it must be "done; I fhall not difown you, if you do not

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me: I perceive how it may be done." Thus Corruption begins in Principle, and spreads by Argument, and Men fide with it, as they find the evil Difpofition within towards Works of the Flesh terminating in this Life, like to be favour'd by it. For the Head of all Herefy is Carnality, or Earthiness. Sincerum eft nifi vas, quodcunque infundis acefcit. What tho' it occafions fome Self-condemnation within, no Mortal can detect that; if the Principle is stuck to in Appearance, the Name of Faith remains, that faves Appearances, and that is enough.

AND that has ever been done, by introducing new unfcriptural Terms into the Faith once deliver❜d to the Saints; for the defeating of which, Councils have been able hitherto to find out no better Method, at least they have tried no other, than piously to fuperadd to the Faith other antagonist Terms, not fo much because they are to be met with in Scripture, as because they import a Meaning effectually contrary, and preservative against thofe Expreffions and Sentiments, which firft began the Innovation.

AND fo it will ever be, that corrupt Manners, in part refolv'd upon in fome Inftance or other, will ever be refolv'd upon a corrupt Creed to fupVOL. II.

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port

CHAP. port them. them. For Inftance, the more the GreatXVIII. nefs of the Perfon, whom God fent into the World to take away Sin and give it Life, is leffen'd and degraded; the more that, by a direct Tendency, leffens our Notion of God's Hatred of Sin; our Perception of his Love of the World; and our Confidence of Access, and Acceptance; of Remiffion of Sins, and eternal Life; and confequently, the corresponding Practice depending upon the Influence of thofe Truths, will all be proportionably leffen'd and abated, i. e. our Averfion and Avoidance of Sin, our Love and Gratitude to God; our Repentance will be more flow and indifferent, and our Devotion colder and lefs frequent. So that whoever efpoufes these Diminutions of Virtue as his Choice, is violently inclined, and too often carried and attach'd in Creed by way of Justification, to the leffening, degrading Notions of the Son of God. Tho' it is plain they ought not to ufe fuch Liberty, feeing in realiay the End of fuch Liberty, however cloak'd over with Words, is a Cloak of Malicioufnefs; there is Malice at the Bottom against the full Extent of the Commandments regarding the Religion of the Means for perfecting the Religion of the End, at the fame time they continue to compliment and flatter the Commands regarding the last.

up

My prefent Subject confines me to confider fuch only, as has a near Affinity to what I have been treating of. Such is the Extreme of fome, who by Principle receive the Faith, and yet in Principle degrade it of its proper Rank, and Subordination; and deprefs it even below the Ufe and Service of a Means, making little or nothing of it; which is a very heinous and most

dan

dangerous Departure from the Truth, denying CHA P. and diminishing it from what it really is in its XVIII. Station.

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Obedi, & credidifti, is a famous Socinian Maxim; and again Socinus difparages it at a very low Rate. "Faith as it applies Affent of "the Understanding to the Truths of the Gofpel, is not of neceffary Obligation, but a kind "of Ornament at best, rather than Matter of "real Ufe; admit it brings fome fmall Advantage with it, yet the Want or Abfence will be "attended with no great Inconvenience; you may fay of it, as one did of the Art of Poetry, "Si adeft laudo, fi abeft non multum vitupero; "what is faid of Meats may be faid of that, 66 1 Cor. viii. 8. it commendeth not to God, "neither if we believe are we the better, neither "if we believe not are we the worse, modo vite fanctimonia falva fit." *

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*Edward's Prefervative, Part III. p. 35. See more of these Sentiments, in Reland's Critical Reflections on Mahometanifm and Socianifm, p. 236. And it is pretty observable what the fame Author, p. 204, remarks of the Apoftate Emperor Julian, that he embraced the Sentiments of Actius (whilft he was a Chriftian) which confifted in Opinions very little differing from Photianifm, i. e. Socinianifm.

So near

is the Affinity, and so easy the Tranfition or Apoftafy from Socianifm to Deifm. The Rational Catechism, and most of their Writings I have met with, drop all use of Christ as a Mediator, &c. and the very mention of a New Covenant, which is the most certain original Foundation of Christianity. Tho' fome of their Books retain the mention of Christ as Mediator of Interceffion in Heaven, yet was it poffible for God, who never does an improper Thing, to appoint a mere Man in their Senfe, to be Mediator there, he could be no more in the Nature of Things, than an incompetent, partial, half Mediator, as I have before fhewn in the first Vol. and without Omnifcience and Omniprefence to the Hearts of all Men, could not be capable of difcharging the Office of Mediator ex parte.

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