thereby God might be provoked to withdraw his protection from them.

And for Jer. I. 20. it makes nothing to their purpose. Many expound the fin there fought after, and not found to be the fia of idolatry, which Ifrael fhould be purged from by their captivity, according to Ifa. xxvii. 9. But the generality of found expofitors are agreed, that by the not finding of Ifrael's and Judah's fin, is meant no more, but his not finding those bonds or obligations against them to eternal punishment, which their fins had put them under.

(4.) In a word, this opinion clashes with their other principles. For they fay, that though there was pardon and remission under the old covenant (which they allowed to be a covenant of grace) yet it was but gradatim, and fucceffively, as they offered facrifices. If a man had finned ignorantly, until he brought a facrifice, his fin lay upon him, it may be a week, a month's distance between, before they could have their pardon. Vide Dr. Crifp of the two covenants, p. 256, 257. Now I demand, If this were the ftate and cafe of all God's Ifrael under the Old Teftament, why do these men affirm, that God can fee no fin in a believer ? and why do they expound the words of Balaam fo contradictory to this their other opinion? For they will not deny but God fees unpardoned fins in all; and here is a week, or month, or nore time, allowed between the commiffion and remiffion of their fin. And fo much of the fifth Antinomian error.

Error 6. That God is not angry with the elect, nor doth he fmite them for their fins; and to Jay that he doth fo, is an injurious reflection upon the juftice of God, who hath received full Jatisfaction for all their fins from the hand of Chrift.

There are feveral mistakes and errors in thefe affertions; and I fuppofe our Antinomians were led into them, (1.) By their abhorrence of the Popish doctrine, which errs more dangerously in the other extreme; for they wickedly affert our fufferings to be fatisfactory for our fins, which is the ground of Popish penances, and voluntary felf-caftigations. (2.) From a groundless apprehenfion, that God's corrections of us for our fins, are inconfiftent with the fulness of Chrift's fatisfaction for them. Chrift having paid all our debts, and diffolved our obligations to all punishment, it cannot confift with the juftice of God to lay any Tod upon us for our fins, after Chrift hath borne all that our fins deferved.

This mistake of the end of Chrift's death, occafions them to ftumble into the other mistakes; they imagine that Chrift's fatisfaction abolished God's hatred of fin in believers. But this

cannot be; God's antipathy to fin can never be taken away. by the fatisfaction of Chrift, though his hatred to the perfons of the redeemed be; for the hatred of fin is found in the unchangeable nature of God: and he can as foon cease to be holy, as cease to hate fin, Hab. i. 13. Nor was Chrift's death ever defigned to this end; though Chrift hath satisfied for the fins of believers, God ftill hates fin in believers. His hatred to their fias, and love to their perfons, are not inconfiftent. As a man may love his leg or arm, as they are members of his own body, and notwithstanding that love, hate the gangrene which hath taken them; and lance or ufe painful corrofives for the cure of them.

Neither do our Antinomians distinguish as they ought, betwixt vindictive punishments from God, the pure iffues and effects of his juftice and wrath against the wicked; and his paternal caftigations, the pure iffues of the care and love of a difpleafed Father, Great and manifold are the differences betwixt his vindictive wrath upon his enemies, and the rebukes of the rod upon his children. Thofe are legal, thefe evangelical. Those out of wrath and hatred, thefe out of love. Thofe unfanctified, but thefe bleffed and fanctified to happy ends and purposes to his people. Thofe for deftruction, thefe for falvation.

To narrow the matter in controverfy as much as we can, I shall lay down three conceffions about God's corrections of his people.

Conceffion 1. We chearfully and thankfully acknowledge the perfection and fulnels of the fatisfaction of Chrift for all the fins of believers; and, with thankfulness do own, that if God should cast all, or any of them, into an ocean of temporal troubles and diftreffes; in all that fea of forrow there would not be found one drop of vindictive wrath. Chrift hath drunk the laft drop of that cup, and left nothing for believers to fuffer by way of fatisfaction.

Conceffion 2. We grant alfo, that all the fufferings of believers in this world are not for their fins; but fome of them are for the prevention of fin, 2 Cor. xii. 7. fome for the trial of graces, Jam. i. 2, 3. fome for a confirming teflimony to his truths, Acts v. 41. Such fufferings as thefe have much heavenly comfort concomitant with them.

their

Gonceffion 3. We do not fay that God's. difpleasure with his people for fin, evidenced against them in the tharpeft rebukes of the rod, is any argument that God's love is turned into ha tred against their perions: No, no, his love to his people is un

changeable. Having loved his own, he loved them to the end, John xiii. 1. Yet notwithstanding all this, three things are undeniably clear, and being thoroughly apprehended, will end this controverfy.

1. That God lays his correcting rod, in this world, on the perfons of believers.

2. That this rod of God is fometimes laid on them for their fins.

3. That these fatherly corrections of them for their fins, are reconcilable to, and fully confiftent with his justice, completely fatisfied by the blood of Chrift for all their fins. 1. That God lays his correcting rod, in this world, upon the perfons of believers. This no man can have the face to deny, that believes the fcriptures to be the word of God, or that the troubles of good men in this life fall not out by cafuality, but by the counsel and direction of divine Providence. He that denies the hand of God to be upon the perfons of believers, in this life, in the way of painful chastisements and fufferings, muft either ignorantly, or wilfully, overlook that fcripture, Heb. xii. 8. "What fon is he whom the Father chafteneth not? but if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not fons." Nor will any fober Christian deny these troubles of believers to be the effects of God's go verning Providence in the world, or once imagine, or affirm them to be mere cafualties and contingencies; for "affliction cometh "not forth of the duft, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground," Job v. 6. In what Eutopia doth that good man live upon earth, that feels not the painful rod of God upon him. felf, nor hears the fad laments and moans of other Chriftians under it! This fure is undeniable, that the rod of God is every where upon the perfons and tabernacles of the righteous; and if any doubt it, his own fenfe and feeling may in a little time give him a painful demonftration of it.

2. And for the fecond, that this rod of God is fometimes laid upon believers for their fins, methinks no fober modeft Chriftian in the world fhould doubt or deny it, when he confiders, that, 1. God himself hath fo declared it.

2. The faints in all ages have freely confeffed it to be fo.

1. God himself hath fully and plainly declared it to be fo, 2 Sam. xii. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. "Wherefore hast thou de"fpifed the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his fight? "Now therefore the fword fhall never depart from thy houfe," &c. Here is the fword, a terrible and painful evil, upon David's house, a man after God's own heart, and that exprefly for his

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fin in the matter of Uriah. So Mofes, one of the greateft favourites of heaven, for his finful fhifting of the Lord's work, "The anger of the Lord was kindled against Mofes," Exod. iv. 13, "For the multitudes of thine iniquities, because thy fins were increased, I have done these things unto thee," faith God to his own Ifrael, Jer. xxx. 15. To inftance in all the declarations made by God himself in this cafe, were to tranfcribe part of both teftaments.

2. And, as God hath declared the fins of his people to be the provoking caufes of his rods upon them; fo they have freely and ingenuously confeffed and acknowledged the fame, Lam. iii. 39, 40. "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for "the punishment of his fius? Let us search and try our ways, "and turn again to the Lord." This was fpoken by Jeremy, in the name of the whole captive church; fo Pfal. xxxviii. 3, 5. "There is no foundnefs in my flesh, (faith David) because of "thine anger; neither is there any reft in my bones, because "of my fin. My wounds ftink, and are corrupt, because of my "foolishness." And, were it not an hideous and unaccount. able thing to hear a child of God, under his rod, to ftand up. on his own juftification, and lay, Lord, my fins have not defer. ved this at thy hand, nor is it justice in thee thus to chastise me after thou hall received fatisfaction for all my fins from the hand of Chrift? Would it not look like an horrid blafphemy, to hear the best man in the world difputing and denying the justice of God in the troubles he lays him under? For my own part, let the Lord lay on as fmartly as he will upon me, I defire to follow the holy patterns and precedents recorded in fcripture for my imitation, and to fay with the people of God, Ezra ix. 13. "Thou haft punished me lefs than mine iniquities deferve.' And Micah vii. 9. "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, be"caufe I have finned against him." And he that refuses so to do, gives little evidence of the fpirit of adoption in him, but a very clear evidence of the pride and ignorance of his own heart. Job indeed ftifly flood upon his own vindication; but that was when he had to do with men, who falfly charged him, laying thofe fins as the causes of his troubles, which he was innocent of, Job. xxii. 5, 6. But when he had to do with God, he difputes no more, but faith, Behold, I am vile, what shall I anfwer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth, q.d. I have done, Father, I have done; whether thefe chaftifements be for my fin or no, fure I am, my fin not only deferves all this, but hell itfelf; thou art holy, but I am vile.

3. Nor can it at all be doubted, but that these fatherly cor rections of the faints for their fins, are reconcileable to, and fully confiftent with his juftice, fatisfied by the blood of Chrift for all their fins. For, (1) If it were not fo, the juft and righteous God would never have inferted such a clause of reservation in his gracious covenant with his people, to chaften them as he faw need, after he had taken them into the covenant, Pfal. Ixxxix. 30, 31, 32, 33. "If they tranfgrefs, he will visit their "tranfgreffions with a rod, and their iniquities with stripes ; ne"verthelefs (faith he) my loving-kindnets will I not take away." That [nevertheless] clearly proves the confiftency of his stripes for fin, with his loving-kindness to his people, and with Chrift's fatisfaction for their fins. (2.) If this were not confiftent with the juftice of God, to be fure he would never fingle them out to fpend his rods upon, rather than others. It is moft certain the holieft men have moft lafhes in this life: Afaph faid, Pfal. xxiii. 12, 14. "The ungodly profper in the world, but he was chaf"tened every morning;" and ver. 5. "The wicked are not in "trouble as other men." 1 Pet. iv. 17." Judgment must begin at the house of God;" and if piety would give men an exemption from all troubles, pains and chaftifements, then men might difcern love or hatred by the things that are before them, Contrary to Eccl. ix. 1, 2. Neither could thofe that are in Christ, fuffer the painful agonies of death, because of fin, exprefly contrary to Paul, Rom. viii. 10. "And if Christ be in you, the body "is dead because of fin." (3.) In a word, As Christ never shed his blood to extinguish or abolish God's displeasure against fin, in whomsoever it be found, fo he never shed it, to deprive his people of the manifold bleffings and advantages that accrue to them by the rods of God upon them. It was never his intent to put us into a condition on earth, that would have been fo much to our lofs. So then if the hand of God be upon his peo ple for fin, and confiftently enough with his juftice, it must be an error, to fay, God fmites not believers for ther fins, and it would be injustice in him so to do: which is their sixth error.

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Error 7. They tell us, That by God's laying our inquities upon Chrift, he became as completely finful as we, and we as completely righteous as Chrift: That not only the guilt and pu nishment of fin was laid upon Chrift, but fimply the very faults that men commit, the tranfgreffion itself became the tranfgref fion of Chrift; iniquity itself, not in any figure, but plainly fin itfelf, was laid on Chrift; and that Chrift himself was not more righteous than this perfon is, and this perfon is not more finful Shun Christ was.