Of the death of Chrif. The things of that treatife were written -with the Pen of a vulgar fcribe, that every one might run and read ; whence then it fhould Le, that To learned a man ihoulá not underhand my meaning, link& from his own prejudice, I know not : however, I have now fo fully deliii-Nsed 9ny fenfe and meaning as to thefe things, that I hope no place remaìueth for difseptatiou thereabout. But let us look a little into Mr. Baxter's enquiry after that, whichhe prefelleth not well to underhand t.. Whether, faith he, a max may fitly be fad actually and ipfo facto ea be delivered and dvfcharged, who it not at all delivered, bat only Oath a right to deliverance, l doubt. To unriddle this with moilof the following exceptions, and to refolvc his doubt fo far as I am concern'd, as having adminillred oceafion thereunto, I (hall tranfcribe the place from --hence theft difficulties arepretended to arife.. The paffage is in Lib. g.. Cap. 7. of that treatife, page roo, iv, as followeth t. " That adual freedom from the obligation doth not follow the fatisfa- " lion made by. Chrift, cannot be granted. For by his death, he did.deliver " us from death, and that aftually fo far, as that the cleft are laid to die and " rife with him : he did a&wally or (fo faibo deliver us from the curie,"by be- " lag made a cürfe for us. The hand writing that was againli us, even the " whole obligation was taken out of the vsay, and nailed to his croie. It. is ". true, all for whom Ile did this, do not initatttly aftually apprehend and per- " crive it, which is impoffible. But yet that hinders Trot; but that they " have all the fruits of his death in adual right, though not in adual poffèf- " lion: which lau they cannot have until at lead it be made known to,them. As " if a man pay a ranfom for a prifoncr detained in a foreign country; the ve- ` r). 'ay of ehe payment and acceptation of ir, the prifoncr hash right to his' " lieer y, rsough- he cagot enjoy it, until fuch " time as tidings of it Is " bt ;' t Into him, and a warrant produced forhis liberty. So '. that, thatrea- ` fo nothing but a begging Q to dqx". o. l'he f tisfaaion. of Chili} by the payment of the fame thing that was in the obligation, is no nay proie- d:cial to that free gracious condonation of fin fo oftenmentioned. - Cod's " gracious condonation of fin comprizeth the whole difpenfation of-grace to- " wards us .n. Che;, : whereof there are two parts : Fisfi, The laying ofour fin " on Chrift 3 or making him to be fin for us, which was merely and purely an eft of free grace. Secaxdly,- The gracions imputation of the righteoufnefsof " Chrih to us: cr making us the righteoufnefs of God in - him; vfhich$t no " lets f grace Paid rcrcy : however that remiffion, grace, and pardon which is " in God for fusser,, is act oppoled to Chrif}'s merits, but ours. He pardon- " eth all to us, but he 1parctir not his only Son. The freedom then:of pardon w bath not its foundation in any doled of the merit or fatisfadiou of Chrift, but in three other things s liieff, The will of God freely appointing this " fatisfaftion of Cnrilt.: yob. 3. in. Rom. S. 8. Secondly, In a graciohs"aicep- " ration of that decreed fatisfaftion in our fiends, fo many, no more. fTbïxdlq, " In a free application of the death of (brilt unto us remiffion then.excludes " not a full fatisfaftion by the folutionof the very thing. in the obligation, " but only the folution or fatisfaftion of him to whom remiffion ' is grant- ` ed", &e. All that is here affirmed, may be reduced to . thefe-heads: (t.) Actual freedom from the obligation is the immediate fruit. of the death of Chrill : underhand fuck art immediation, as I have often defcribcd. (s.) Hence, Chrift is laid aftually, or iyrfo fat-10 to deliver us, becaufe' ¡our deliverance which is to be accomplifhed fiib termino, is the infallible, ab'folute, immediate iffue and produeh of what he did for us. zidual and ipf folio, are oppofed to the ;nunet.tion of any filch thing, as fhoúld make our deliverance to be only potential, or conditional (3.) 'Thole for whom Chrift doth work this deliverance, arc nor as to a fimulry of time art Illy delivered:. they neither enjoy, nor arc acquaintedwith any filch deliverance until the appointed time be come, but have actual right thereunto, to pol9efs it in due feafon. This being the fern and plain intendment of that place, I fuppgfe there asall not need any operous micasour to remove the objedious that arc laid againft it: and 43
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