C H A P. I 5. Some Arg. vindicated from Mr. Baxter's exceptions. 2.17 that the Fmderal Union & Intereft , which he faith is fuperadded to the Na- tural, will admit of no other Confederation of the pofierity Intereffed, than what is phyfical & Natural , & followeth upon the Natural Union , he shall then lay a ground for what he would fay here , but till then he shall but beat the aire ; & when he hath done that , he shall deftroy what he hath grant- ed , vit. all Fcederal Union & Intereft : for a Fcederal Union & Interefl will ground a foederal & legal Conaderation of the perlons interefied; as well as aNaturalUnion and Intereft will ground a Natural and phyfical Con- federation of the fame perlons. And Mr. Baxter's not adverting to this,con- foundeth all ; for hence it is, that he will have all things here confidered only phyfically , and according to Ariflotle'r notions , with which we have nothing to do, while fpeaking of a Foederal Union and Interef'r , and of what followeth thereupon. This being premitted , we may quickly difpatch the refl. The perfon of Peter ( faith he ) never war in reality, or God's reputation , the. perfon of Ada:n ( nor Adam's perfon the perfon of Peter ) but Peter being vir- tually d7 feminally in Ada n , when he finned; his perfon is derived from Adam's perfòn ; d2 fe Peter's guilt is not numerically the fame with Adam's , but the ac- cident of another Subject , therefore another accident derived with the perfon from Adam , e from neerer parents. Anf. All this is only true , in a phyfi- cal Natural fenfe ; bat notwithftanding, if we confider Adam and his pofte. rity, in a legal& fceieral fenfe , as we mutt , if there be (as is granted ) a foederal Union & Interelt , then all runneth in another channel. The per- fon of Peter is foeierally and legally , in the perfon of Adam ; yea God repu- teth them both to be one Federal perfon, : and the perfon of Peter was thus atually in the perfon of Adam , and not virtually and feminally : for thefe notions have no place here. And hence Peter's original guilt is numerically the fame with Alam's : and in this fenfe Peter had as neer a Relation to Adam , as Abel had ; for here Adam is confidered , as the Head & Center, and all his polterily , as equal members of this Political & Fcederal Body, and as Lines coming equally from the fame Centre. He addeth. The fundamentum of that Relation ( of guilt) it the Natural Relation of the perfon to Adam (c" Jò it is relatio in relatione fundata) The fundamentum of that Natural relation is Generation yea a feries of Gene- rations from Adam to that perfon. And Adam's Generation being the communi- cation of a guilty Nature withperfonality , to his Saner & Daughters, is the fun- damentum next following his perfonal fault guilt, charged en him by the law. So that here is a long feries of efficient enures , bringing down from Adam's per- fon dr guilt a diflinti numerical perfon d7 guilt of every one of this later pofieri- ty. Alf. i. The fundamentum of that relation of guilt is more properly & proximely , the foederal relation of the perfon to Adam, than the Natural relation : and the fundamentum of this foederal relation is not Generation ,. fiat the free Ordination and Conilitution of God. (z) What he meaneth by thefe words , and Adam's generation being the communication of a guilty nature with perfonality to his Sons and Daughters , is the fundamentum, next followin4 his perfonal fault and guilt, charged on blm by the Late, I do not know If his a leaning
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