notwithstanding which, they hope, through the mercy of God, who they think will make all reasonable allowances for their weakness, &c. to come off with impunity

44

declare-his righteoufnefs that he might be juft and the juflifier of him which believeth in fefus. Here we have (1) The appointment of Chrift afferted; Whom God bath fet forth. (2.) The end of his appointment, or the thing for which he was fet forth declared; to be a propitiation. (3) The import or meaning of the propitiation defcribed, To declare his (God's) righteousness. (4.) The ends of this declaration pointed out (1.) That the honour of God's juftice might be fecured, That God might be juft. (2.) And mercy glorified while he is the juflifier of him which believes in Jefus. No words can be chofen more expreffive of what is the obvious meaning of the quoted paffages and the current of my fermons on this point, than thefe. In a word, I afferted that the immediate end of Chrift's appointment to be a propitiation was to declare God's righteoufnefs, and not his mercy Mr. H. fays this is not true, and to confute it fays that "the fcripture every where reprefents the im"mediate, grand defign of Chrift's fuffering," ( e. of his propitiation or of the declaration of righteoufaefs)" as being to manifeft God's mercy.". But this does not confute my inference from the text, becaufe I do not fpeak of the immediate end of the actual facrifice of Chrift; but of the immediate end of his appointment to be a facrifice; thus having miftaken the point, he fays nothing to the purpose.

What has been now obferved is helpful to confute his fecond charge againft me, which is this, "2dly. The good "Dr. has undoubtedly mistaken the fenfe of the text. "By the righteoufnefs of God there he fuppofes his pu"nishing juftice to be intended, whereas the Apoftle intends "his righteoufnefs in pardoning fin and juftifying the finner; that righteoufnefs of God by which fingers are "juftified, which the Apoftle appofeth to the righteoufnefs "of obedience to the law," D. p. 11. To this I answer,

'

1. I do indeed fuppofe, that by righteousness in the text is meant that perfection whereby God is difpofed to render to every one their juft dues, which I fuppofe includes punifning juftice to the guilty, as well as rewarding juftice to thofe who merit reward (which by the way is the cafe of none but Chrift,) and pardoning juftice or righteoufnefs

nity and obtain forgivenefs. It is very evident, that men in all ages and nations have eafily admitted the belief of God's readiness to forgive and fave them.

The

a&

to thofe who believe; (for pardoning the believer is an act of rewarding juftice to Chrift, while it is an act of free undeferved mercy to the finner.) I fuppofe that the fame righteoufnefs which was difplayed in the work and fufferings of Chrift,juftifies the believer on account of what Chrift has done and fuffered. I have no notion of one kind of rightedufnefs in God by which he punishes,and another by which he juftifies. The facrifice or the blood of Chrift by which we are faid to be juftified, Rom. v. 9. is a righteoufnefs for juftification, only as it is fuch a display of God's righteoufnefs as made it just for God on account of it to juftify the believer, by reckoning or imputing to him that difplay of righteoufnels Chrift has made, as tho' made by himself.

2. Mr. H. fays "the Apoftle oppofeth the righteoufnefs by which the finner is juftified, to the righteousness 3 of obedience to the law." But will he maintain that finners are juftified by a righteoufnefs which stands opposed to, and is different from that of obedience to the law? Is it not a legal righteoufnefs, i. e. fuch an one as the law requires, by which finners are juftified? If it is, then the Apoftle does not oppofe the righteoufnefs by which finners are juftified, to that of obedience to the law Indeed he oppofes it to that of our own obedience to the law (which is unrighteoufnefs) but not of Chrift's which is perfect.It is Mr. H. then, and not I, who has undoubtedly "miftaken the fenfe of the text."

2. The fecond thing in which Mr. H. mifreprefents me Here is this: When I fay that the immediate end of Chrift's appointment to be a facrifice was not to declare God's kindness and perfwade men that he is merciful and very ready to forgive them; he fuppofes that I am fpeaking of that grace and mercy which actually faves finners; whereas it will appear to any impartial reader that I mean fomething very different, viz. that kindnefs or indulgence which finners are apt to think is in God, which really is not, whereby, they imagine, he is inclined to pass by their fins on the eafy terms of a few prayers, &c. and will not be Ariat to require fatisfaction for them. It is this falfe notion of mercy which I fay Chrift did not come to declare,

but

The Heathen have imagined that their facrifices were fufficient to procure the compaffion of their gods, and 、 a discharge from guilt; and Jews as well as Chriftians have

but rather to confute and overthrow. It is abundantly manifeft that men are too prone to imagine that God is a kind and good-natured being, and not difpofed to be strict to mark iniquity and punifh finners; and they are apt to look on the gift of Chrift as expreflive of this, and hence they turn the grace of God into wantonness, and indulge themfelves in fin; whereas the facrifice of Chrift was defigned to fhew the direct contrary, viz. that fin is fuch an evil, that rather than it should go unpunished, the Son of God fhould die, which is fo far from difcovering fuch a kind of mercy, that it furnishes the most perfect reafons of despair of the pardon, even of the leaft fin, without full fatisfaction. And when any one is truly convinced and fees the holiness and righteoufnefs of God as difplayed on the crofs of Chrift, his fond hopes of pardon, which he had while fecure, inftantly die, and leave him a helpless wretch in the hands of a fovereign God; and he would forever defpair of God's favour, were it not that he fees juftice fatisfied in that propitiation which reveals it, and which at the fame time difcovers his own guilt and wretchedness in the ftrongeft point of light, while it exhibits a fufficient ground of hope. This holy mercy is revealed in or by the death of Chrift, and no where else; but not that falfe mercy above defcribed, which is what I fay the death of Chrift was not defigned to reveal. And tho' this is not fo clearly and peremptorily expreffed in my fermons as might have been, yet the impartial reader can't but see, by attending to the 34, 35 and 36 pages, that this is plainly my defign.

What has been obferved ferves to fhew the abfurdity of Mr. H's third charge againft me under this head, which is this" 3dly. The Dr. is greatly mistaken in faying God's mercy in freely pardoning and faving poor "guilty finners, was not doubted before Chrift revealed it, and that men are of themselves too prone to believe," D. p. 12. To this I answer,

1. I never faid that "God's mercy in freely pardoning "and faving finners was not doubted before Chrift re"vealed it." This never came into my head, nor has it E

dropt

have always been prone to think it an eafy matter to atone for their fin, and obtain the divine forgiveness, by a few prayers, alms, and external reformations: (therefore Chrift did not come into the world to declare or demonftrate that God is [thus] merciful [or indulgent] for this was not doubted [but too readily believed] before; but it was to manifeft the truth and righteousness of God discovered in the law,) which is a transcript of his perfections; and to let all men, yea all worlds fee, that God is as holy and righteous as his law declares him to be, which men admit with great reluctance,

dropt from my pen: tar otherwife. I fuppofe that natural men have no notions of free pardon and falvation: That they imagine their fins to be little, and do not justly deferve everlafting damnation; and if at any time they are convinced that their fins are great, and they exposed to God's wrath, yet as they do not fee their fin to be infinite, and hope God will make fome abatements on their reformations, which they purpose by and by, they make a rightcoufness of their purpofes or endeavours, and look for pardon, not as free, but as the reward of thefe good things done by them. But a belief of free pardon is ever founded on a sense of total wretchedness and defert of hell, arifing from a view of the holiness and righteoufnefs of God on the one hand, and of the atonement, or revelation of that righteousness in the perfon of Chrift, on the other.

2. Neither do I fay" poor guilty finners." By this he would infinuate that I teach, that truly convinced awakened finners are too prone to believe God is ready to forgive them. But he knew I was fpeaking of fecure finners, for the words next to thofe he has quoted are And none but the awakened finner has any fcruples about it.' Ser. p. 29. I fay he knew this, for in p. 12 he fays "What I obferve of carnal fecure finners eafily believing the mercy of God, but not his juftice, is to no purpose." But why to no purpose? If it is true, it is to good, if falfe, to bad purpose: but whether to good, bad, or no purpose, he ought to have fhewn it, rather than trumped up a fentiment, and fathered it on me, which he knew I did not hold, on purpofe to find or make fomething to cenfure. However he offers one evidence to fhew it to be to no purpose, viz."They"

reluctance, as it is contrary to their interest and felflove; and fo to open the way for the exercife and manifeftation of that glorious grace which can reign only thro' or in a confiftency with the perfect righteousness of God now manifested in the atonement of Chrift.]

Let it be here obferved, that though I affert, that the death of Chrift was itself a declaration of, and defigned fully to establish the righteousness of God, and to leave fuch undeniable evidences of it, as are fufficient to stop every mouth, and compel every rational being, who hears the report of the gospel, to confefs that he is indeed infinitely righteous, and ftrict to punish fin; and though I affert that the immediate end of this appointment was, not to fhew that God is merciful [or indulgent,] which is believed by thofe who defpife the facrifice of Chrift; yet I firmly believe, that Chrift, by his actual obedience and death, which have fully declared God's righteoufnefs, hath opened a way for the most full and glorious display of infinite and amazing mercy that ever was known, even of that grace which reigns thro' righteousness unto eternal life, Rom.

* have

V. 21.

"They" (finners)" only feem to believe it" (God's mercy)" if they really believe any thing, it is that they little need of mercy." very But how come they to believe this lie? Is it not because they do not believe God's righteousness, and because they believe or rather imagine that there is as much mercy in God, at leaft,as they need, especially if his juftice is much out of fight, or represented to them as a fecond attribute, as a fervant "to minifter to and follow the lead of mercy," D. p. 11. But fince what I faid was nothing to the purpofe, he will make me fay fomething to bad purpofe that he may condemn me. For he will have it that I hold that convinced finners are more ready to believe God's mercy than justice, and fpends near a page to prove this falfe, while he need not have faid one word, as I had not faid any fuch thing. Mr. H. might with as much truth have charged me with faying that the Arminians are right-We read of falfe accufers, 2 Tim. iii. 34 I pray that none of us may be found among them at laft.