wit, mediatorial worship, baptifm, the Lord's Supper, and keeping holy the fabbath, they are things fo valuable and excellent, that it is impoffible for a reason well fixed on the foundation of religion, to quarrel with chriftianity on account of thefe pofitive dutys. We will confider them, if you please.

As to the chriftian mediator, it fignifys, in of the methe first place, a reconciler between God diator. and a finful world, by declaring the mind of God in the gospel, which is the rule of reconciliation, that is, indemnity upon repentance and amendment, and therefore, one of the apoftles fays, God reconciled the world to cor.. himself by Jefus Chrift and his apostles, not 18. imputing their trefpaffes to them (a).

(a) I muft obferve to you, Fewks, that although what Mrs. Benlow fays in the next place is very reafonable, well thought, and may be the truth of the cafe; and that a very valuable writer in his fine paraphrafe on the Romans, in his excellent book, called, The fcripture doctrine of original fin, and his fcripture account of atonement, (pieces well worth your purchasing) hath come into this way of thinking, and both written with great judgment and accuracy upon the fubject; I mean Mr. Taylor of Norwich, to whom the world is under very great obligations for his most excellent and delightful work, the Hebrew concordance adapted to the English Bible; the fecond volume of which is with impatience expected by all true friends to Biblial learning; yet what Mrs. Benlow hath in the first place fayed, is a good fcripture-account of the chriftian mediator. There is no fancy in it.

In

1

In the next place, that the mercy of God in pardoning might be confiftent with the honor of his righteous laws, and rectoral goodness might act with prudence and caution, not fimply, immediately, and unconditionally, because that would not be proper; it was the appointment of fupreme wif dom, that the blood of Chrift fhould be esteemed pretious, and his perfect character of all virtue and righteousness be confidered as an atonement. It was ordained, that his unblemished virtue and fteady obedience, even to death upon the crofs, in defence of truth and goodness, and for the advancement of whatsoever is noble, generous, and praife-worthy, fhould be the bafis of the divine mercy, that is, the mercy-feat from whence the divine favor was to flow. There is no equivalent in this. No infinite fatisfaction. No vicarious punishment. No commutation for the death of the nocent. There is no fecond perfon of a trinity flaughtered here to fatisfy the juftice of a triune deity. The bleffed God and Father of mercys does only fhew by this institution, that virtue wins the prize. God fixes the throne of his grace upon the worthyness of Jefus Chrift, and thereby declares, that the way for us to receive immortal glory, is to imitate, to our power, the exemplary piety and perfect obedience of our

Lord.

Lord. To reafon this appears the most excellent method for the recovery of finners. The governor of the univerfe, in this way, makes his pardon contribute to the advancement of goodness. The fcheme confirms our hope in God, by fhewing us the divine compaffion and tenderness, in this inftituted memorial of his forgiving us; and the term upon which he does forgive us, fhews the excellence and neceffity of true holyness, and disposes to univerfal obedience. The ftatuted appointment of mercy rejoyces us, and in our greatest troubles fupports us. The example of duty and goodness for our imitation, in the life and death of Jefus, is, like the marching pillar of fire, to lead us to the regions of immortality and day. And therefore it is, that we pray in the name of our great legiflator, that is, as the goodness and obedience of Chrift hath been declared the ground of remiffion of fin, and of eternal redemption; we ask the Father almighty in the spirit of truth and holyness, and may expect to be heared as the difciples of Jesus, if we walk in wifdom, harmless and blameless, Shining as lights in the world, in the midst of Phil. ii. 150 a crooked and perverfe generation; that is, if we believe and obey the gofpel, which entitles us to that remiffion of fins which Chrift received authority from God to declare. In

short,

fhort, the wife and righteous governor of the world was pleased to call the virtue and obedience of Chrift fatisfaction, and to make the death he fuffered by the hands of wicked men, in the ordinary courfe of things, the foundation of a new covenant. The confequence was, that in order to our obtaining a happy and glorious immortality, nothing farther was required of us than to comply with thofe terms of holyness which the gospel has delineated, and which the grace of God will render poffible to those who give all diligence to add virtue to virtue. The Spirit of God, the spirit of Chrift, the Holy Ghoft, the comforter, are abundantly fufficient for this purpose; and by fuch like phrases the gofpel means affiftance; that is, given ftrength and firmnefs of mind, generous principles and fentiments, refolutions and defires influencing the mind, and all our conduct. All this offers no violence to reason, It is perfectly confonant to it.

In the last place, by the appointed mediator, a ftop is for ever put to idolatry, while the gospel is strictly regarded, and made the fole rule of our religion. For by the pofitive order of the most high God, no being is to act or interfere between the Creator and his creature man, as viceroy or fupernal, whom we are to regard, but Jefus the recon

ciler, the redeemer, our conftituted king and judge under the fupreme Being. This firft born of every creature, in his high capacity or character of the word and reconciler, is the only one of all the beings produced by God that we are to addrefs ourselves to and glorify. This is a pofitive command. Woe to them that break it. And that we might not err in our addrefs, or affigning honor to this Being, we are farther told in the facred letters in what manner we are to apply ourfelves to him, and worship him. We are there ordered to give him mediatorial worShip, that is, to honor and glorify him as the word and reconciler, in proportion to what his grand character deferves; and through his mediation, in his name, to offer our prayers and praises to the fupreme Father, and author of all things; befeeching the Lord Jefus, whose worthyness hath been ordained a propitiation for our fin, (for the advanancement of virtue, as before obferved) to prefent, as our High-Priest, our prayers, offerings and interceffions to the fupreme God. Thus is the divine unity preferved, and the honor due to the peerless majefty of the bleffed God fecured. Idolatry is for ever excluded, and the pureft religion that infinite wisdom could contrive, is established. God, the Father of all,

We have but one and to him alone

we