4. That the Lord is not angry with a believer for his sins. 5. That the Lord doth not chastise a believer for his sins.

6. Lastly, That a believer hath no cause neither to confess his sins, nor to crave a pardon at the hands of God for them, neither yet to fast, nor mourn, nor humble himself before the Lord for them.

Evan. These points which you have now mentioned have occasioned many needless and fruitless disputes; and that because men have either not understood what they have said, or else not declared whereof they have affirmed; for in one sense they may all of them be truly affirmed, and in another sense they may all of them be truly denied wherefore if we would clearly understand the truth, we must distinguish betwixt the law as it is the law of works, and as it is the law of Christ. j

j The Antinomian sense of all these positions is, no doubt, erroneous and detestable and is opposed and disproven by our author. The posisions themselves are parodoxes, bearing a precious gospel truth, which he maintains against the legalist; but I doubt it is too much to call them all Antinomian paradoxes. But to call them simply, and by the lump, Antinomian errors, is shocking: one might as good say, it is a Popish or Lutheran error, "That the bread in the sacrament is Christ's body;" and that it is a Socinian, Arminian, or Baxterian error, "That a sinner is justified by faith;" for the first four of the paradoxes are as directly scriptural as these are; though the Antinomian sense of the former is antiscriptural, as is the Popish, Lutheran, Socinian, Arminian, and Baxterian sense of the latter, respectively. At this rate, one might subvert the very foundations of Christianity, as might easily be instructed, if there were sufficient cause to exemplify it here. How few doctrines of the Bible are there that have not been wrested to an erroneous sense by some corrupt men or other? yet will not their corrupt glosses warrant the condemning of the scriptural positions themselves as erroneous.

The first four of these paradoxes are found in the following texts of Scripture, viz. 1st, Rom. vi. 14, Ye are not under the law, but under grace." Chap. vii. 6, "Now we are delivered from the law."

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2d, 1 John iii. 6, Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth not." Ver. 9, ever is born of God, doth not commit sin-and he cannot sin."

"Whoso

3d, Num. xxiii. 21, He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel." Cant. iv. 7, “Thou art all fair my love there is no spot

in thee."

4th, Isa. liv. 9, "So have 1 sworn, that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee."

The case standing thus, these paradoxes must needs be sensed one way or other, agreeable to the analogy of faith, and so defended by all who own the divine authority of the Holy Scripture. And as an orthodox divine would not condemn the two propositions above mentioned, brought in for illustration of this matter, but clear the same by giving a sound sense of them, and rejecting the unsound sense, as that it is true that the bread is Christ's body sacramentally; false, that it is so by transubstantiation, or consubstantiation: that it is true, sinners are justified by faith as an instrument, apprehending and applying Christ's righteousness; false, that they are justified by it as a work, fulfilling the pretented new proper gospel law: so our author gives

Now, as it is the law of works, it may be truly said, that a believer is not under the law, but is delivered from it, k according to that of the apostle, Rom. vi. 14, "Ye are not under the law, but under grace;" and Rom. vii. 6, "But now we are delivered from the law." And if believers be not under the law, but are delivered from the law, as it is a law of works, then, though they sin, yet do they not transgress the law of works; for "where no law is, there is no transgression," Rom. vi. 15. And therefore, says the apostle John, "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not," 1 John iii. 6; that is, as I conceive, whosoever abideth in Christ by faith, sinneth not against the law of works. And if a believer sin not against the law of works, then can God see no sin in a believer, as a transgression of that law; m and therefore it is said, Num. xxiii. 21, "He a safe and sound sense of these Scriptural paradoxes, and rejects the unsound sense put upon them by Antinomians; and this he does, by applying to them the distinction of the law, as it is the law of works, i.e. the covenant of works, and as it is the law of Christ, i.e. a rule of life, in the hand of a Mediator, to believers. Now, if this distinction be admitted here, neither in these nor equivalent terms, but the law of Christ, and law of works, must be reckoned one and the same thing; then believers in Christ, whom none but Antinomians will deny to be under the law, as it is the law of Christ, or a rule of life, are evidently staked down under the covenant of works still, forasmuch, as, in the sense of the Holy Scripture, as well as in the sense of our author, the law of works is the covenant of works. And since it is plain from the Holy Scripture, and from the Westminster Confession, that believers are not under the law as a covenant of works; a way which, by this distinction, our author had blocked up, is, by rejecting of it, and confounding the law of works and law of Christ, opened for Antinomians to cast off the law for good and all.

The two last of these paradoxes are consequently scriptural, as necessarily following upon the former, being understood in the same sense as they are, and as our author explains them.

k"True believers be not under the law as a covenant of works."— Westmin. Con

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fess. chap. 19. sec. 6. "The law of works," says our author, is as much to say,

as the covenant of works."

"As the world is altogether set upon sin, and can do nothing but sin, so they that are born of God sin not; not that their sins of themselves are not deadly, but because their persons are so lively in Christ, that the deadliness of sin cannot prevail against them."-Mr. John Davidson's Cat. p. 32. ness of sin, appears from these words a little after: sin be removed from the faithful altogether," &c. works threatens, says our author to Neophitus, (page 351) is "condemnation and eternal death; and this you have no cause at all to fear."

What he means by the deadli"Howbeit the condemnation of The penalty which the law of

m Mr. James Melvil to the same purpose expresses it thus,

But God into his daughter dear sees nane iniquitie,
Nor in his chosen Israel will spy enormitie

Not luking in hir bowk, whilk is with ferntickles repleit,
But ever into Christ her face, whilk pleasand is and sweet.

Morning Vision, dedicated to James VI. p. 85.

hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel" and again it is said, Jer. 1. 20, "At that time the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found:" and in Cant. iv. 7, Christ says concerning his spouse, "Behold thou art all fair, my love, and there is no spot in thee." And if God can see no sin in a believer, then assuredly he is neither angry nor doth chastise a believer for his sins, as a transgression of that law; n and hence it is, that the Lord says concerning his own people that were believers, Isa. xxvii. 4, Anger is not in me:" and again, Isa. liv. 9, the Lord speaking comfortably to his spouse the Church, says, "As I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will no more be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." Now, if the Lord be not angry with a believer, neither doth chastise him for his sins, as they are any transgression of the law of works, then hath a believer neither need to confess his sins unto God, nor to crave pardon for them, nor yet to fast, nor mourn, nor humble himself for them, as conceiving them to be any transgression of the law, as it is the law of works. o Thus you see,

n Such anger is revenging wrath, and such chastisement is proper punishment inflicted for satisfying offended justice; in which sense it is said, Isa. liii. 5, The chastisement of our peace was upon him," namely, on Jesus Christ; and therefore it cannot be on believers themselves.

o Our author does not indeed here refute the Antinomian error, that the believer ought not to mourn for his sins: he does that effectually in the next paragraph. But here he refutes the legalist, who will needs have the believer still to be under the law, as it is the covenant of works; and therefore to confess and mourn," &c. for his sins, as still committed against the covenant of works. But it is evident as the light, that believers are not under the covenant of works, or, in other terms, under the law, as that covenant; and that principle being once fixed, the whole chain of consequences, which our author has here made, does necessarily follow thereupon. It is strange that nothing can be allowed in believers to be mourning for sin, unless they mourn for it as unbelievers, as persons under the covenant of works, who doubtless are under the curse and condemnation for their sin. Gal. iii. 10. But "as our obedience now is not the performance, so our sinning is not the violation of the condition of the old covenant. Believers their sins now, though transgressions of the law, are not counted violations of the conditions of the covenant of works, under which they are not."-Brown on Justification, chap. 15, p. 224. "If sense of sin be taken for the unbelieving feeling of, and judging myself cast out of his sight, and condemned; whereas yet I am in Christ, and it is God that justifies (me); who is he that shall condemn?" (Rom. viii. 23, 34.) we shall agree with Antinomians. This is indeed the hasty sense of unbelief. Psalm xxxi. 22; John ii. 4. Hence let them be rebuked, who say not that Christ in the gospel hath taken away this sense of sin." Rutherford on the Covenant, p. 222.

that if you consider the law in this sense, then all these points follow according as you say our friend Antinomista hath endeavoured to persuade you.

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But if you consider the law, as it is the law of Christ, then they do not so, but quite contrary. For as the law is the law of Christ, it may be truly said, that a believer is under the law, and not delivered from it; according to that of the apostle, 1 Cor. ix. 21, Being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ;" and according to that of the same apostle, Rom. iii. 31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! yea, (by faith) we establish the law." And if a believer be under the law, and not delivered from it, as it is the law of Christ, then if he sin, he doth thereby transgress the law of Christ; and hence I conceive it is that the apostle John says, both concerning himself and other believers, 1 John i. 8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us:" and so says the apostle James, chap. iii. 2, "In many things we offend all." And if a believer transgress the law of Christ, then doubtless he seeth it for it is said, Prov. v. 21, "That the ways of man are before the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings:" and in Heb. iv. 13, it is said, “All things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." And if the Lord see the sins that a believer commits against the law, as it is the law of Christ, then doubtless he is angry with them; for it is said, Psalm cvi. 40, that because the people "went a whoring after their own inventions, therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance;" and in Deut. i. 37. Moses says concerning himself, "The Lord was angry with him.” And if the Lord be angry with a believer for his transgressing the law of Christ, then assuredly (if need be) he will chastise him for it: for it is said, (Psalm lxxxix. 30-32.) concerning the seed and children of Jesus Christ, "If they forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments, then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." And in 1 Cor. xi. 30, it is said concerning believers, for this cause," namely, their unworthy receiving of the sacrament, "many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." And if the Lord be angry with be-lievers, and chastise them for their sins, as they are a transgression of the law of Christ, then hath a believer cause to confess his sins unto the Lord, and to crave pardon for them, as conceiving them to be a transgression of the law of Christ. p

p Thus our author hath solidly refuted in this paragraph the Antinomian sense of all the six positions above-mentioned.

§ 11. And now, my loving neighbour, Neophitus, I pray you, consider seriously of these things, and learn to distinguish aright betwixt the law, as it is the law of works, and as it is the law of Christ, and that in effect and practice: I mean, in heart and conscience.

Neo. Sir, It is the unfeigned desire of my heart so to do; and therefore, I pray you, give me some direction therein. 9

Evan. Surely the best direction that I can give you is, to labour truly to know, and firmly to believe, that you are not now under the law, as it is the law of works; and that you are now under the law as it is the law of Christ; and that therefore you must neither hope for what the law of works promises, in case of your most exact obedience; nor fear what it threatens, in case of your most imperfect and defective obedience and yet you may both hope for what the law of Christ promises, in case of your obedience, and are to fear what it threatens, in case of your disobedience.

Neo. But, Sir, what are these promises and threatenings? and, first, I pray you, tell me what it is the law of works promises.

Evan. The law of works, or, which is all one, (as I have told you) the covenant of works, promises justification and eternal life to all that yield perfect obedience thereunto: and this you are not to hope for, because of your obedience. And indeed, to say as the thing is, you being dead to the law of works, can yield no obedience at all unto it; for how can a dead wife yield any obedienee to her husband? And if you can yield no obedience at all unto it, what hope can you have of any reward for your obedience? Nay, let me tell you more, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hath purchased both justification and eternal life by his perfect obedience to the law of works, and hath freely given it to you, as it is written, Acts xiii. 39, " By him all that believe are justified for all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses :" and, " Verily, verily," says our Saviour," he that believeth in me hath everlasting life," John vi. 47.

Neo. And I pray you, sir, what does the law of works threaten, in case of man's disobedience unto it?

Evan. Why, the penalty which the law of works, in that case, threatens, is condemnation and death eternal: and this you have no cause at all to fear, in case of your most defective obedience; for no man hath any cause to fear the penalty of that law which he

q Namely, how to improve these points of doctrine in my practice. There lies the great difficulty; and according as unbelief or faith has the ascendant, so will the soul in practice carry itself; confessing, begging pardon, fasting, mourning, and humbling itself either as a condemned malefactor, or as an offending child.