10 OPPO%ITtON MADE in an especial regard and 'love, and didmore act in him than in any other. But that the Son of God assumed our nature intopersonal subsistence with himself, where- by, whole Christ was one person, and all his mediatory acts were the acts of that one person, of him who was both God and man; this they would not acknowledge. And this pernicious imagination, though it seem to make great concessions of truth, doth no less effectually avert the foundation of the church than the former: for ifthe divine and human nature of Christ, do not constitute one individual person, all that he did for us was:only as a man, which would have been altogether insufficient for the salvation of the church, nor had God redeemed it with his own blood. This seems to be the opinion of some amongst us at thisday, about thepersonof Christ. They acknowledge the being of theEternal Word, the Son of God; and they allow in the like manner, the verity of his human nature, or own that man Christ Jesus; only they say that the Eternal Word was in him and with him in the same kind, as it is with other be- lievers; but in a supreme degree of manifestation and power. But though in these things there is a great en- deavour to put a new colour and appearance on old ima- ginations, the design of Satan is one and the same in them all, namely, to oppose the building of the church upon its proper sole foundation. And these things shall be afterwards expressly spoken unto. I intend no more in theseinstances, but briefly to de- monstrate, that the principal opposition ofthe gates of hell unto the church, lay always unto the building of it by faith on the person of Christ. It were easy also to demonstrate, that Mahometism, which bath been so sore a stroke unto the Christianpro- fession, is nothing but n concurrence and combination of these two ways, of force and fraud, in opposition tinto the person of Christ. It is true, that Satan after all this, by another way attempted the doctrine ofthe offices and grace ofChrist, with the worship ofGod in him. And this hebath car. tied so far, as that it issued in a fatal Anticliristian apos- tasy: which is not of my present consideration. But we may proceed to what is of ourown immediate concernment. And the same work with that before de- scribed, is still carried on. The person of Christ, the faith of the church concerning it, the relation of the church unto it, thebuilding ofthe church on it, the life UNTO ?IIE ettt,ctCII and preservation of the church thereby, are the things that the gates ofhell are engaged in an opposition unto. For, 9. It is known with whet subtilty and urgency his di- vine nature and person are opposed by the Socinians. What an accession is made daily unto their incredulity, what inclination ofmind multitudes do manifest towards their pernicious ways, are alsoevident unto all who have any concernment in or for religion. But this argument I have laboured in on other occasions. 2. Many who expressly deny not his divine person, yet seem to grow weary of any concernment therein. A natural religion; or none at all, pleaseth them better than faith in God by Jesus Christ. That any thing more is necessary in religion, but what natural light will discover and conduct us in, with themoral dutiesof righteousness and honesty which it directs unto, there are too many that will not acknowledge. What is be- yond the line of nature and reason, is rejected as unin- telligible mysteries or follies. The person and grace of Christ are supposed to breed all the disturbance in religion. Without them, the common notions of the Divine being and goodness, will guide men sufficiently unto eternal blessedness; theydid sobeforethe comingof Christ in the flesh, and may do so now heis gone to heaven. 3. There are some who have so ordered the frameof objective religion, as that it is very uncertain whether they leave any place for the personofChrist in it or no. For besides their denial of the hypostaticalunion of his natures, they ascribe all that unto a light within then[, which God will affect only by Christ as a Mediator. What are the internal actings of their minds, as unto faith and trust towards him, I know not: but from their outward profession he seems to be almost excluded. 4. There are not a fewwho pretend high unto reli- gion and devotion, who declare no erroneous concep- tions about the doctrine of the personof Christ, who yet manifest themselves not to have that regard unto him, which the gospel prescribes and requires. Hence have we so many discourses published about religion, the practical holiness and duties of obedience, written with great elegancy of style, and seriousness in argu- ment, wherein wecan meet with little or nothing where- in Jesus Christ, his office, or his graceare concerned;
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