SECTION II. 73 from the dead, ascend to heaven, be exalted to the government ofall things visible and invisible ; Eph: i. 22, 23. should send his Spirit down to work faith, repentance and holiness in all his cho- sen and redeemed ones, and carry them through. a thousand temptations and difficulties, and through death itself, to heaven and glory. This is the doctrine that human reason could never have found out, and as. much ado to be persuaded to receive it now it is manifested, in the New Testament. These are won- ders of unsearchable wisdom, and an entertainment for prying angels: But if the gospel of Christ signify no more than the mere promise of pardon to those thatrepent of their sins, and believe Jesus Ch"rist to he a true prophet, and follow the example and commands of Christ, who has explained and confirmed the light ofnature, what is there in this that deserves such a catalogue of glorious titles as the apostle bestows upon this gospel ? There is no such great and deep contrivance, such astonishingwisdom in such a covenant of grace, as does nothing else but abate the severe and rigid terms of the covenant of works, and make re- pentance and imperfect obedience to serve instead of perfect obedience, in order to obtainpardon and happiness. I confess there was need of some divine revelation to assure us that God would accept of our repentance and our honest en- deavours, when in his law he demands perfection. But this any common prophet might have done, being sent of God and sup- ported by miracles, as Elijah and Elisha were. And when once this doctrine was thus plainly revealed, there would be nogreat . difficulty to persuade men to receive it ; there are no such sublime mysteries and depths of wisdom and knowledge contained in it ; nor does it need any extraordinary genius, much less divine wisdom itself to have been the inventor of it. But far be it from us to have such a diminishing thought of the glorious gospel of Christ. IV: Another reason that I shall give to prove, that the gos- pel of Christ is such a doctrine as I have before described, is the opinions both of the Jews and Gentiles concerning it, and the treatment that it met with both in Judea and amongst the nati- ons. It was counted foolishness by the Greeks, or the learned heathens, and it was a stone of stumbling to the Jews. We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; I Cor. i. 23. Whereas if the doctrine of Christ crucified had implied no more in it than this, that Jesus, by his death and martrydom on the cross, bore a testi- mony to the truth of the doctrine which he preached, and that doctrine was nothing else but a discovery of God's rea- diness to accept of sinners that repented and obeyed him, as well
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