Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT70 .B397 1675

42 Of .C'jod':r 'government, 58. By his satisfabiion or sacrifice, and this Merit, Chrift did pro- cure all that Pardon, Life andBenefits, whatfoever that confequently are givenus of God : And fo is the true meritorious cattle of all. 59. That Sacrificeand Obedience, Righteoufnefr and Merit, which was direly given to God, for man, by performance ofChrift's undertaking, mayyet be confequently laid to begivenunto man; In that it wasgiven toGodfor man, and in that the Benefits merited are given toman; and fo relatively as to thofe Benefits, the Sacrifice, Obedience, Righteoufnefr and Merit, may be laid to be given us. As the Ranfom is given to the Captive which is givenfor him, becaufe the libertypurchafed by it is given him. (Of which moreafter.) SECT. IV. Of the NewCovenant, or the Law of grace in the Second Edition. 6o. The New Covenant is Chrs Law of Grace ; his Infirument by whichhe givethTitle or Right to the Benefits promifed, and conveyeth Right to the Fruits of his Sacrifice and Merits ; And his Law by which he governeththeChurch as a Saviour, in order to Recovery and Salva- tion. It hathgreatly fcandalized the Papifis againft us to find fome old Pro- teflants deny Chrift to be aLaw-Giver, and in his Gofpel tohave a Law. The cafe is fad, that any in oppofition to others fhould run into fuck an Antinomian extream: They are unlike to be good Preachers of Chrift's Law, who maintain that he hathno Law : And t1fërecan be no fin againft it, nor expe&ation of being judgedby it, if he have none. And he is noKing and Ruler, if he have no Law. But yet let thePapifls forbear intuiting, and rememberthat thetrue meaningof moft of them is no more, than to afire what Suarez himfelf propugneth, viz. that betides Revelations , and the Duties thence naturally refulting , (by' natural Law) and the Sacraments, Chrift hath no other Laws. And both snarez and they are here to blame ( for the Paps that are by Tome accufed for calling the Gofpel aLaw, doalto give too little honour to Chrift's Laws ); It befeemeth noneof them to ufe fuch ill Language, what-ever they mean. If they fhould fay that the King is no Law- Giver, and hath no Laws, they would wrong him by that Language (as denying his Royalty) how well foever they fhould interpret it.; For the Legiflative-Power is the principal effential part of Soveraignty. But if any really deny Chrift to be a Law-Giver, and when he hath done reproacheth the Paps and Arminian for contradiéting it; it is but as the blind reproaching thepurblind for feeing 5 whenthey that give molt to the Laws of Chrift ( among thefe Contenders) do give too little. TheBaptifmal-Covenant, is a Law as it ipofed, and as impofing the Covenant-Duties, and as determining theconditions ofLife and Death, accordingto which men mutt live and fhalbe judged : yea it is themolt famous Law, which Confeience bath todo with ; Though it be a Cove- nant as contented to, in the contra& That Sinners have terms of Life and Death, and offered Remedies againft all their Guilt and greateft Punillr-

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=