utter discarding of free grace, Christ's imputed righteousness, and the power of true godliness: all which pernicious errors were expunged. and cast over the hedge, by our reforming forefathers. And is it not highly requisite, that their faithful contendings, orthodox and exemplary obedience and true holiness, be absolutely necessary unto salvation, as being the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith in every believer, the greatest saint being the best moralist; yet these are no ways meritorious of man's salvation: no, this depends upon God's eternal purposes, Rom. ix. 11. Eph. i. 4. We find it often said in scripture, that it shall be rendered to every man "according to his works," Rom. iii. Rev. xxii. 12, &c. but never for their works; yea, works, though otherwise materially good in themselves, in an unregenerate man become sinful before God; " for whatsoever is not of faith is sin," Rom. xiv. 23; although the omitting of them be more dishonouring to him, Rom. viii. 8. Psalm xxvi. 5. Matt. xxiii. 23. See Conf. chap. xvi. § 2, 3, 7. And so Luther, Calvin, Diodati, Beza, Perkins, Fisher, Flavel, Owen, Simpson, Binning, Dickson, Gray, Rutherford, Durham, Gillespie, Guthrie, Renwick, Pool, Henry, Halyburton, Boston. Marshall, and many others. (2.) They are antipodes to reason, and strike eminently against the very nature of God's covenant; for, according to the tenor of the covenant of works, nothing but perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience, can merit, (if any thing in a degenerate creature may be so called;) and can any reasonable man look his own conscience in the face and say, that he is the person that can perform this? Again, if we betake ourselves unto the covenant of grace, reason itself might blush, and be ashamed once to suppose, that the blood of the immaculate Son of God stood in any need of an addition of man's imperfect works, in order to complete salvation. See Catechising on the Heidelberg Catechism on question lii. page 180. Blackwall's Ratio sacro, page 17, &c. (3.) They must be very dangerous, soul-ruining, and Christ-dishonouring errors; for it might be counted altogether superfluous for a person to come to a physician for a cure, while he is not in the least suspicious of being infected with any malady. So, in like manner, can it be expected that any soul can cordially come, or be brought to Christ, without a due sense of its infinite distance from God by nature? of the impossibility of making any suitable approaches to him? and of the utter disability to do any thing that may answer the law, holiness, and righte ousness of God therein? &c. "For they that be whole," (at least think themselves so,)" need not a physician," saith Christ," and I came not to call the righteous," (or such as think themselves so,) "but sinners to repentance," Mark ix. 12. From hence observe, that whosoever intends to forsake sin, in order to come to Christ, or effectually to correct vice, before he believes on him, must needs meet with a miserable disappointment; for "without faith it is impossible to please God," Heb. xi. 6. and in the end sink himself into an immense and bottomless chaos of uncertainties, like one lopping the branches off a tree to kill the root: "No man cometh to the Father but by me, and without me ye can do nothing," says Christ himself, John xiv. 5. The love of God being the primo causa, the obedience and meri. torious righteousness of Christ the foundation, source, and spring of man's salvation, and all true happiness; "for by grace ye are saved," lives, should be copied out before us, when walking so repugnant to “acknowledging the God of our fathers, and walking before him with a perfect heart." Again, if we shall run a comparison betwixt the practice of those who are the subject-matter of this collection, and our present prevailing tem per and disposition, we will find how far they correspond with one another. How courageous and zealous were they for the cause and honour of Christ! How cold and lukewarm are we, of whatever sect or denomination! How willing were they to part with all for him! And what honour did many of them count it, to suffer for his name! How unwill. ing are we to part with any thing for him, much less to suffer such hardships for his sake! Of that we are ashamed, which they counted their or Eph. ii. 8. And whosoever has been made rightly to know any thing of the depravity of his nature in a lapsed state, or experienced any thing of the free grace of a God in Christ, will be made to acknowledge this, "That it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. And yet I know it is objected, That it is highly dishonouring to the Author of nature, to argue man to be such a mean and insufficient creature; and that it can never be supposed, that a gra-. cious and merciful God would make such a number of intelligent beings to damn them, or command a sinner to repent and come to Christ, and condemn him for not doing it, if it were not in his own power upon moral suasion to obey, &c. It is true, indeed, that in comparison of the irrational insect, and inanimate creation, man is a noble creature, both as to his formation, "I am wonderfully made," Psalm cxxxix. 14. and also in his intellectual parts, but much more in his primeval state and dignity, when all the faculties of the mind and powers of the soul stood entire, being endued not only with animal and intelligent, but also heavenly life," Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels," Psalm viii. 5. But then, in what follows, these objectors seem, either in advertently or willingly, to have forgot, (1.)" That man in honour abideth not," Psalm xlix. 12. (or, as the Rabbins read, and some translate it, as Cartwright, Ainsworth, Leigh and Broughton, "Adam in honour abideth not one night.") Adam by his disobedience, not only introduced a jar into the whole creation, rendered his posterity decrepit and lame, but also lost all power to any spiritual good, the whole of his intellectual parts concreated with him being either corrupted, darkened, obliterat ed, or lost. Indeed, Dr. Taylor would have us believe, that what Adam lost, and more, was restored to Noah, Gen, ix.; and that man's mental capacities are now the same as Adam's in innocence, saving so far as God sees fit to set any man above or below his standard; some are below Adam in rational endowments, and some are above him; of the latter he thinks Sir Isaac Newton was one, (Doctrine of Original Sin, p. 235. Supplement, p. 85.) The fallacy of which is so obvious and absurd, that it deserves no observation; for every man, to his dear-bought experience, may know, that man now, assisted by all the dark remains of original, moral, and political knowledge he is master of, can acquire no certain knowledge of any part of his duty, as to moral good or evil, but by a gradation of labour, slow, and multiplied deductions; and much less is able to bind the strong man, and cast him out. And yet all this is no way dishonouring to the great Author of nature as to the works of his hands; for although he made man at first, he made him not originally a C nament; accounting that our glory, which they looked on as a disgrace 1 How easy was it for them to choose the greatest suffering, rather than the least sin! How hard is it for us to refuse the greatest sin, before the least suffering! How active were they for the glory of God and the good of souls, and diligent to have their own evidences clear for heaven! But how little concern have we for the cause of Christ, his work and interest, and hov dark are the most part with respect to their spiritual state and duty! They were sympathizing Christians; but, alas! how little fellowfeeling is to be found among us: it is rather "Stand by, for I am holier than thou." Oh! that their Christian virtues, constant fidelity, unfeigned love, and unbiassed loyalty to Zion's King and Lord, could awaken us from our neutrality and supine security, wherein, instead of imitating the goodness and virtuous dispositions of these our ancestors, we have, by our defections and vicious courses, invited neglect and contempt on ourselves, being, as a philosopher once observed of passionate people, like sinful man; so that it is our sin that is dishonouring to him. "Lo, this have I found out," says the wisest of men, " that God at first made man upright, but he sought out many inventions." (2.) That, in a proper sense, God neither made man to save nor to damn him, but only for his pleasure, and the manifestation of his own power and glory, Rev. iv. 11. Conf. chap. ii. § 3. (3.) Although we have lost power to obey, yet he still retains his right to demand obedience, and nothing can be more suitable to the justice, wisdom, and sovereignty of God, than to maintain his right to perfect obedience from man, whom he originally endued with all power and abilities for what he commanded; neither is he any ways bound to restore that power again to man, which he by his disobedience lost. (4) All mankind by the fall stand condemned by God's judicial act," In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," Gen. ii. 17. And you'll say, a judge does a malefactor no injury in condemning him, when by the law he is found guilty of death; " and cursed is every one who confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them," Deut. xxvii. 26.; and much less the supreme Judge of all, who can do nothing wrong to any, in condemning man; " for the wages of sin is death," Rom. vi. 13. " and hath not the potter power over the clay ?" &c.-And, finally, if the first Adam's posterity be thus naturally endued with a power to do that which is spiritually good, pray what need was there for the second Adam to die to quicken his elect? Eph. ii. 1. Indeed, we are commanded to repent, and turn from our iniquities: "turn ye, turn ye, and live," Ezek. xxxiii. 11.; and ye "will not come unto me that ye might have lite," John v. 40. But who, excepting a bold Arminian, will say, that these texts imply a natural power in man to turn, come or not, as he pleases? If this were the case, the same spirit of God would not have said elsewhere," Draw me, and we will run after thee; turn thou us, and we shall be turned," Cant. i. 4. Jer. xxxi. 18.; " surely after I was turned I repented," ver. 19.; " it was not before I was turned I repented." No: this command and complaint only points out our duty; but the prayers and promises in the word shew us our ability for the performance thereof. And yet after all, proud, ignorant man must needs be his own Saviour; and if God say not so too, Cain will be wroth, and his countenance fall, Gen. iv. 5. "But let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth; but wo unto him that striveth with his Maker," men standing on their heads, who see all things the wrong way; giving - "The up with the greater part of these our most valuable rights and liberties, all which were most esteemed by our RENOWNED PROGENITORS— treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously." And if we shall add unto all these, in our progressive and increasing apostasy, our other heinous, land-crying sins and enormities, which prevail and increase among all ranks and denominations of men; few mourning over the low state of our Zion, and the daily decay of the interest of Christ and religion; then we not only may say, as the poet "That we live once said of the men of Athens, Thebes, and Oedipus, only in fable, and nothing remains of ancient Scotland but the name;" but also take up this bitter complaint and lamentation. 'Ah! Scotland, Scotland!'"How is the gold become dim; how is the most fine gold changed?" Ah! where is the God of Elijah, and where is his glory? Where is that Scottish zeal that once fl med in the breasts of thy nobility, barons, ministers, and commoners of all sorts? Ah! where is that true courage and heroic resolution for religion and the liberties of the nation, that did once animate all ranks in the land? Alas! alas! true Scots blood now runs cool in our veins! The cloud is now gone up in a great measure from off our assemblies; because we have deserted and relinquished the Lord's most noble cause and testimony, by a plain, palpable, and perpetual course of backsliding." The crown is fallen from our head; wo unto us, for we have sinned." For surely we may say of these our times, and with as much propriety, what some of these Worthies said of theirs, Quam graviter ingemescerent illi fortes viri qui ecclesie Scoticana pro libertate in acie decertarunt, si nostram nune ignaviam (ne quid gravius dicam) conspicerent, said Mr. Davidson, in a letter to the General Assen bly, 1601; i. e. How grievously would they be wail our stupendous slothfulness, could they but behold it, who of old thought no expense of blood and treasure too much for the defence of the church of Scotland's liberties.'-Or, to use the words of another * in the persecuting period, Were it possible that our reformers (and, we may add our late Martyrs,) who are entered in among the glorious choristers in the kingdom of heaven, singing their melodious harps about the throne of the Lamb, might have a furlough for a short time, to take a view of their apostatizing children, what may we judge would be their conceptions of these courses of defection, so far repugnant to the platform laid down in that glorious work of reformation? For if innocent Hamilton, godly and patient Wishart, apostolic Knox, eloquent Rollock, worthy Davidson, the courageous Melvills, prophetic Welch. majestic Bruce, great Henderson, renowned Gillespie, learned Binning, pious Gray, laborious Durham, heavenly-minded Rutherford, the faithful Guthries, diligent Blair, heart-melting Livingston, religious Wellwood, orthodox and practical Brown, zealous and stedfast Cameron, honest-hearted Cargill, sympathziing M Ward, persevering Blackadder, the evangelical Traills, were filed off from the assembly of constant and pious Renwick, &c. the first-born, sent as commissioners to haste down from the mount of God, to behold how quickly their offspring are gone out of the way, piping and dancing after a golden calf; ah! with what vehemency would their spirits be affected, to see their laborious structure almost razed to the foundation, by those to whom they committed the custody Mr. John Dickson, in a letter, while prisoner in the Bass. of the word of their great Lord's patience; they in the meantime sheltering themselves under the shadow of a rotten lump of fig-tree leaf distinctions, which will not sconce against the wrath of an angry God in the cool of the day,' &c. And, finally, What can have a more gloomy aspect in the midst of these evils, (with many more that might be noticed,)" when our pleasant things are laid waste," than to see such a scene of strife and division carried on, and maintained among Christ's professing witnesses in these lands, whereby true love and sympathy is eradicated, the very vitals of religion pulled out, and the ways of God and godliness lampooned and ridiculed, "giving Jacob to the curse, and Israel to the reproaches.” -And it is most lamentable, that while malignants (now as well as formerly) from without are cutting down the carved work of the sanctuary, Christ's professed friends and followers from within are busied in contention and animosities among themselves, by which means the enemy still advances and gains ground, similar to the case (exteriorly) of that once famous and flourishing city and temple of Jerusalem, when it was by Titus Vespasian utterly demolished.*All which seem to prelude or indicate, that the Lord is about to inflict these long-threatened, impending, but protracted judgments,† upon such a sinning land, church, and people. And as many of these Worthies have assured us, that judgments are abiding this church and nation; so our present condition and circumstances seem to say, that we are the generation ripening for them apace. -How much need have we then of the Christian armour that made them proof against Satan, his emissaries, and every trial and tribulation they were subjected unto?" Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day." But by this time somewhat might have been said concerning the testimony of the church of Scotland, as it was carried on and handed down by these witnesses of Christ to posterity, in its different parts and periods. -But as this has been somewhat (I may say needlessly) controverted in these our times, it were too large a subject for the narrow limits of a preface to enter upon at present, any further than to observe, that, (1.) The testimony of the church of Scotland is not only a free, full, and faithful testimony, yea, more extensive than the testimony of any one particular church since Christianity commenced in the world, but also a sure and costly testimony, confirmed and sealed with blood; ' and that of the best of our nobles, ministers, gentry, burgesses, and commons of all sorts;'-" who loved not their lives unto the death, but overcame by the word of their testimony.-Bind up the testimony, seal the law.” (2.) Although there is no truth whatsoever, when once controverted, See Josephus's De bello Jud. lib. v. and vi. ; and of this destruction, Eusebius, lib. iii. chap. 6. ; and the life of Titus Vespasian. + Well may we tremble now! what manners reign? But wherefore ask we? when a true reply Would shock too much. Kind Heaven, avert events, Whose fatal nature might reply too plain! Vengeance delay'd but gathers and ferments; More formidably blackens in the wind, YOUNG'S NICHT THOUGHTS, |