fwer, it is impoffible that Chrift can be the true and living God, fince it is plain from what has been faid in the former part of this work, that no person is truly God but the father of Chrift, and that Chrift has a God above him.

It is impoffible for Chrift to be eternal: for if God be his Father, as all acknowledge, then there was a time when the fon had not a being: for to be a fon, and to be equal in duration with his eternal Father that begot him, is undoubtedly impoffible. Besides, we are told plainly, that the fon was first fore-ordained before he came to have a being in these latter times, 1 Pet. i. 20. Now no fore-ordained being can poffibly be eternal, fince he that did ordain his being must be before him of neceffity; and none but the very firft of all beings can be truly eternal.

How could he have a being before Abraham, fince it is declared he was of the feed of Abraham? How could he be before David, when it was out of David's pofterity that God raised up Jefus according to hispromife? And fince Jefus the fon of God was made of a woman, Gal. iv. 4. he could not be more antient in time than his mother that bare him.

It follows then that thefe fcriptures on which the objection depends are purely figurative, and are not to be understood in their literal fenfe and meaning: they declare indeed, that Christ in fome fenfe or other was before all things, before Abraham, and had glory

before

before the world was, but not in that fenfe which the objectors suppose.

For it is not reasonable they should be understood in fuch a fenfe as contradicts both common understanding, and the greatest and plainest part of all the bible; they are places of the fame nature with those which St. Peter affirms are hard to be underfood, 2 Pet. iii. 16, and for that reafon must by interpre→ tation be brought to such a sense as is agreeable to the analogy of faith, and the moft general scope and defign of the holy fcriptures: that is to say, that Chrift was before Abraham, and before the world, &c. in the fore-ordination, decree and counfel of God, as in very deed St. Peter interprets them, when he faith thus of Chrift, that he verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifeft in these last times, 1 Pet. i. 20.

OF THE SATISFACTION THAT CHRIST MADE TO GOD.

SOME argue thus; that if Chrift had not been God, the facrifice he offered, or the fatisfaction he made for finners, would not have been of that infinite worth which was necessary to fatisfy the infinite juftice of an offended God. I anfwer; The holy fcriptures do not any where declare this doctrine, but on the contrary they tell us, that as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation ;

1

E

бо

fo by the righteoufness of one the free gift came upon all men to juftification of life, Rom. v. 18.

In which words are contained the whole doctrine of the fatisfaction of Chrift; and they imply thus much only, that God was fo infinitely well pleased with the unspotted righteousness of his fon, that for his fake he entered into a new covenant of grace and inercy with mankind, wherein he did engage himself to be ftill their God, and to afford them new means of becoming his people.

Thus did God, in infinite mercy, take all men again into favour for the fake of one perfectly righteous person, as in infinite juftice he had before included all men under fuffering for their firft father's fin and tranfgreffion: So that as by man came death, the punishment due to the breach of the first covenant, fo by man came alfo the refurrection from the dead, 1 Cor. XV. 21. All which was not the effect of any equivalent price which by Christ was given to God, but of the righteousness or obedience, which he performed to his father's command: for as by one man's difobedience many were made finners; fo by the obedience of one fhall many be made righteous, Rom. v. 19.

Had Christ given to God, or made in our stead fuch a fatisfaction as had been equivalent to the tranfgreffions of all men, in order to redeem them, how then could eternal life be the free gift cf God? How then could we be faved by free grace? and how could our fins be faid to be forgiven? for gift, and

grace,

grace, and forgiveness, are not proper terms where an equivalent hath been received.

In the fcripture it is faid indeed, that Chrift hath obtained eternal redemption for us, Heb. ix. 12. That our peace is made through the blood of his cross, Col. That we were reconciled unto God by the death of his fon, Rom. v. 10. But it fpeaks not so much as one word of an equivalent.

i. 20.

But is it not said, fay fome, that we are bought with a price, 1 Cor. vi. 20; and that the Son of man has given his life a ranfim for many? Mat. xx. 28. I anfwer; these are but improper expreffions, and are of the fame nature with those which attribute hands, and eyes, and ears to God, which only imply that fuch acts are done by God which men ufually perform by these bodily parts: Even fo Chrift is faid to ranfom us, and to buy us with a price, because by his means we do receive benefits equivalent to what they do who are set free from any kind of misery and bondage, by the payment of a price to them in whose bondage they are.

I fhall, as a close to what I have to fay on this head, add, that the juftice of God fpoken of is fatisfied in a manner different from that which the adversary supposes: that is to fay, the justice of God is fatisfied in the certain punishment of Adam's tranfgreffion. Adam was commanded not to eat of the foroidden fruit on pain of death. This command he tranfgreffed and it is evident, that the punishment

was accordingly inflicted, for Adam died, and all his pofterity do die likewife.. Now when the penalty is thus inflicted, it is plain that juftice is fatisfied, and God in equity can require no more: but had not Chrift obtained the favour to reftore us to life after the punishment was thus inflicted, there had then. been an end of mankind for ever.

From hence it is apparent how idle their fancy is who imagine Chrift fuffered what all mankind should have fuffered, in order to free them for ever from fuffering the fame. For it is plain beyond contradic tion, that we are not freed from death, the punishment due to that firft tranfgreffion, for we all die God does exact the forfeiture of every one of us, and by confequence his juftice, as to that offence, is fatisfied in all its demands. But this, fay fome, is falfe, for hell was our due as well as death; and from that Chrift has freed every one that will believe.. I anfwer; it is ftrange that Chrift fhould free believers froin. one part of the punishment and not from the other: The fcriptures no where reveal this fecret, and for that reason we need not believe it.

Hell is the punishment which is due to the breach of the fecond covenant, and not of the firft; now neither has Chrift freed us from this by any thing that he has done and fufered for us. He by his righteoufnefs did indeed procure for us a new covenant, and this new covenant of grace proposes life and pardon, on condition that we will believe its promises,

fincerely