which haply the author himself dare not do, and may firongly hope others may not do: but if the principal will yield it it is in vain to think corrupt nature will not catch at it, and make a vile ufe, and dangerous improvement of it.

For example, If fuch a principie as this be afferted for a truth before the world, That men need not fear that any, or all the fins they commit, fball do them any hurt; let the author, or any man in the world, warn, and caution readers (as the Antinomian author of that expreffion hath done) not to abufe this doctrine, it is to no purpose: the doctrine itself is full of dangerous confequents, and wicked men have the best skill to infer and draw them forth, to cherish and countenance their lufts; that which the author might defign for the relief of the diftreffed, quickly turns itfelf into poilon, in the bowels of the wicked; nor can we excufe it, by faying any gofpei truth may be thus abufed; for this is one of that number, but a principle that gives offence to the godly, and encouragement to the ungodly. And so much as to the rife and occafion of Antinomian

errors.

2. In the next place, let us view fome of the chief doctrines commonly called Antinomian, amongst which there will be found a Ipar audes, the radical and moft prolific error, from which most of the rest are spawned, and procreated.

Error. 1. I fhall begin with the dangerous mistake of the Antinomians in the doctrine of justification. The article of juftification is defervedly filed, by our divines, Articulus ftantis, vel cadentis religionis, the very pillar of the Chriftian religion.

In two things, however, I must do the Antinomians right : (1.) In acknowledging, that though their errors, about justification, be great and dangerous, yet they are not so much about the fubftance, as about the mode of a finner's juftification; an error far inferior to that of the Papifts, who deprefs the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and exalt their own inherent righteousness in the bufinefsof juftification. (2.) I am bound, in charity, to believe, that fome, among them, do hold thofe errors but fpeculatively, whilft the truth lies nearer their hearts, and will not fuffer them to reduce their own opinions into practice. Now as to their errors about juftification, the moft that I Error I. have read do make Juftification to be an immanent and eternal act of God; and do affirm, the elect were juftified before. themselves or the world had a being. Others come lower, and affirm, The elect were juftified at the time of Chrift's death. With thefe Dr. Crifp harmonizes.

Error 2. That juftification by faith is no more but a manifeftation to us of what was really done before we had a being. Hence Mr. Saltmarsh thus defines faith, It is, faith he, a being perfuaded more or less of Chrift's love to us; fo that when we believe, that which was hid before doth then appear. God (faith another,) cannot charge one fin upon that man who believes this truth, That God laid his iniquities upon Christ.

Error 3. That men ought not to doubt of their faith, or queftion, Whether they believe, or no: Nay, That we ought no more to question our faith, than to question Christ. Saltm. of Free Grace, p. 92, 95'

Error 4. That believers are not bound to confess fin, mourn for it, or pray for the forgiveness of it; because it was pardoned before it was committed; and pardoned fin, is no fin. See Eaton's Honeycomb, p. 446, 447.

Error 5. They fay, That God fees no fin in believers, whatfoever fins they commit. Some of them, as Mr. Town, and Mr. Eaton, fpeak out and tell us, That God can see no adultery, no lying, no blafphemy, no cozening in believers; for though believers do fall into fuch enormities, yet all their fins being pardoned from eternity, they are no fins in them. Town's Affertions, p. 96, 97, 98. Eaton's Honeycomb, chap. 7. p. 136, 137. with others of a more pernicious character than they.

Error 6. That God is not angry with the elect, nor doth he finite them for their fins; and to fay that he doth fo, is an injurious reflection upon the juftice of God. This is avouched generally in all their writings.

Error 7. They tell us, That by God's laying our iniquities upon Chrift, he became as completely finful as we, and we as completely righteous as Chrift. Vide Dr. Crifp, p. 270.

Error 8. Upon the fame ground it is, that they affirm, That believers need not fear either their own fins, or the fins of others; for that neither their own, nor any other mens fins can do them any hurt, nor muft they do any duty for their own falvation.

Error 9. They will not allow the new covenant to be madè properly with us, but with Chrift for us;. and that this covenant is all of it a promise, having no condition on our part. They do not abfolutely deny that faith, repentance and obedi ence are conditions in the new covenant; but fay, They are not conditions on our part, but Chrift's; and that he repented, believed, and obeyed for us. Saltmarfb of Free-grace, p. 126,

227.

Error 10. They speak very flightingly of trying ourselves by marks and figns of grace. Saltmarsh often calls it a weak, low, carnal way; but the New-England Antinomians, or Libertines, call it a fundamental error, to make fanctification an evidence of juftification; that it is to light a candle to the fun; that it darkens our juftification; and that the darker our fanctification is, the brighter our juftification is. See their book entitled, Rife, Reign, Error. p. 72.

in this breviate, or fummary account of Antinomian doctrines, I have only fingled out, and touched some of their principal mistakes and errors, into which some of them run much farther than others. But I look upon fuch doctrines to be in themselves of a very dangerous nature, and the malignity and contagion would certainly 1pread much farther into the world than it doth, had not God provided two powerful antidotes to refift the malignity, viz.

1. The scope and current of fcripture.

2. The experience and practice of the faints.

(1.) Thefe doctrines run cross to the scope and current of the fcriptures, which conftantly speak of all unregenerate perfons (without exception of the very elect themselves, during that ftate) as children of wrath, even as others, without Christ, and under condemnation.

They frequently difcover God's anger, and tell us his caftigatory rods of affliction are laid upon them for their fins.

They represent fin as the greatest evil; most opposite to the glory of God, and good of the faints; and are therefore filled with cautions and threatenings to prevent their finning.

They call the faints frequently and earneftly, not only to mourn for their fins before the Lord; but to pray for the pardon and remiffion of them in the blood of Christ.

They give us a far different account of faving faith, and da not place it in a persuasion more or lefs of Christ's love to us, or a manifestation in our confciences of the actual remission of our fins before we had a being; but in our receiving Christ, as the gospel offers him, for righteousness and life.

They frequently call the people of God to the examination and trial of their intereft in Chrift by marks and figns: and accordingly furnish them with variety of fuch marks from the divers parts or branches of fanctification in themselves.

They earnestly, and every where, prefs believers to strictness and conftancy in the duties of religion, as the way wherein God would have them to walk. They infer duties from privi leges; and therefore the Antinomian dialect is a wild note,

which the generality of serious Chriftians do eafily distinguish from the fcripture-ftile and language.

(2.) The experience and practice of the faints recorded in fcripture, as well as our contemporaries, or those whofe lives are recorded for our imitation, do greatly fecure us from the fpreading malignity of Antinomianifm, Converfe with the living, or read the hiftories of dead faints, and you shall find, that, in their addreffes to God, they ftill blefs and praise him, for that great and wonderful change of ftate which was made upon them when they firft believed in Chrift, and on their believing paffed from death to life; freely acknowledging before God, they were before their converfion, equal in fin and mifery with the vileft wretches in the world: they heartily mourn for their daily fins, fear nothing more than fin, no afflictions in the world go fo near their hearts, as fin doth: they can mourn for the hardness of their hearts, that they can mourn no more for fin. They acknowledge the rods of God, that are upon them, are not only the evidences of his displeasure against them for their fins; but the fruits of their uneven walking with him; and that the greatest of their afflictions is less than the least of their iniquities deserve. They fall at their Father's feet, as oft as they fall into fin, humbly and earneftly fuing for pardon thro' the blood of Chrift. They are not only fenfible that God fees fin in them, but that he feeth fuch and fo great evils in them, as makes them admire at his patience, that they are not confumed in their iniquities. They find caufe enough to fufpect their own fincerity, doubt the truth of their faith, and of their graces; and are therefore frequent and ferious in the trial and examination of their own ftates, by fcripture marks and figns. They urge the commands and threatenings, as well as the promiles, upon their own hearts, to promote fanctification; excite themielves to duty and watchfulness against fin; they alfo encourage themselves by the rewards of obedience, knowing their labour is not in vain in the Lord: and all this while they look not for that in themfelves, which is only to be found in Chrift; nor for that in the law, which is only to be found in the gofpel; nor for that on earth, which is only to be found in heaven: this is the way that they take. And he that shall tell them their fins can do them no hurt, or their duties do them no good, fpeaks to them, not only as a Barbarian, in a language they understand not, but in fuch a language as their fouls deteft and abhor,

Moreover, the zeal and love of Chrift and his glory, being kindled in their fouls, they have no patience to hear

fuch doctrines as fo greatly derogate from his glory, under a pretence of honouring and exalting him: it wounds and grieves their very hearts to fee the world hardened in their prejudices against reformation, and a gap opened to all licentioufnels.

But, notwithstanding this double antidote and fecurity, we find, by daily experience, fuch doctrines too much obtaining in the profeffing world. For my own part, he that fearches my heart and reins, is witnefs, I would rather chufe to have my right-hand wither, and my tongue rot within my mouth, than to speak one word, or write one line, to cloud or diminish the free grace of God. Let it arife, and thine in its meridian glory. None owes more to it, or expects more from it, than I do; and what I fhall write in this controverfy, is to vindicate it from thofe doctrines and opinions, which, under pretence of exalting it, do really militate against it. To begin therefore with the first and leading error.

Error I. That the juftification of finners is an immanent and eternal act of God, not only preceeding all acts of fin, but the very existence of the finner himself, and so perfectly abolishing fin in our perfons, that we are as clean from fin as Chrift himJelf, avaμaputol, as fome of them have spoken. To flop the progrefs of this error, I fhall,

1. Lay down the fentence of the orthodox about it.

2. Offer some reasons for the refutation of it.

(1.) That which I take to be the truth agreed upon, and afferted by found and reformed divines, touching gospel juftification, is by them made clear to the world, in these following fcriptural diftinctions of it.

Juftification may be confidered under a twofold refpect or habitude.

1. According to God's eternal decree; or,

2. According to the executions thereof in time.

1. According to God's eternal decree and purpofe; and in this refpect grace is faid to be "given us in Chrift before the "world began," 2 Tim. i. 19. and we are faid to be " pre"deflinated to the adoption of children by Jefus Chrift," Eph. i. 5.

2. According to the execution thereof in time, so they again diftinguish it, by confidering it two ways:

1. In its impetration by Christ.

2. In its application to us.

That very mercy or privilege of justification, which God, from all eternity, purely out of his benevolent love, purposed and decreed for his elect, was alfo in time purchased for them