il DISPLAY of and expofe him toopen lame, like the bird furtivis nudata coloriler, theArmieians ad- vance themfelves in his quarrel, and in behalf of their darling, quite exclude both the merit ofChrift, and fpirit of God, from any titleto their produaion. 1. For the merit of Chrift, whereaswe affirmthat God bleffethus with all fpiritual bleffings in him, or for his fake, Eppel: i. 3. Amongft which, doubtlefs faith poffeffeth not the loweft room, that he is made unto us righteoufnefs, and fanftificati- on, and redemption ; he wasmade fin for us, that we might be made the riehteou[:efs of God in him ; that he is the Lord our righteoufrefs, and glories to be called by that name ; and whatfoever -he is unto us, it is chiefly by the wayof merit, that to us it is given ,k,), xesr , for Clirift's faké to believe on him, Phil. i. z9. where :co' xmif, is plainly referred to IféEvay is given, as if the apoftle Should have Bid, Chrili is the meritorious taufe of the beftowmg of theft good gifts, faith, and conflancy unto mar- tyrdom upon you, when l faywe profefs all thefe to be the proper and immediate pro- ducts of the pal-lionand blood ofChrift, thefe turbulentVenus's come in with a prohi- bities, and quite expel it from having any intereft therein. -. (a) There is nothing more'va %n, nothing more feeeliß*, fay they in their apology, than to attribute out regeneration, and faith, unto thedeath of Chrift ; for if Chrift may befaid to have merited for us faith, and regeneration, then faith cannot be a condition, wh%performance God fhould require at thehands ofinners, under the painof eternal damnation. And again, iffaith be the effeft of the merit of Chrift, it cannot be our duty no ? Suppofe then that the churchfhould pray, that it would pleafeGod for Chrift's fake, to call home thofe fheep that belong tohis fold, not as yet couched ? That he would grant faith and repentance,, for the merit of his foul, to them that are as yet a far off ? Were thisan altogether vain and foolifh prayer? Let others think asthey pleafe, it is fuch a vanity, as I deftre not to be weaned from, nor anyone elfe, I believe, that loves theLord Jefus in ftucerity: oh! that chriftians fhould patiently endure, fuch adiminution of their Saviour'shonour, as with one dafh of an Arminian pen, to havethe chief effects of his death and paffion quite obliterated : if thisbe a motive to the love and honour ofthe fon of God, if this be a way to fet forth the precioufttefs of his blood, by denying the efficacy thereof, in enabling its by faith, to get an intereft in the new covenant t molt chriftians in the world are under a necelfity of being new catechifed by thefe feraphicaldoftors. Until when, theymuß give us leave tobelieve with the apoftle, that God bleffeth us with allfpiritual hidings in Chrift, Ephef. i. 3. And we will take leave to account faith a fpiritual bleffing : and therefore bellowed on us for Chrift's fake ; again, Once our regeneration is nothing but a purging of our confciences from dead works, thatwe may ferve the living God, which being done by the blood ofChrift, as the aptftle witneffeth, Hob. ix. 14. We will afcribe our new birth, or forming anew, to the virtue of that grace, which is purchafed by his blood : that precious blood it is, which redeem- eh usfrom our vain converfarion, r Peter i. 18, 19. By whofe efficacy we are vindica- ted fromtheBate of finand corrupted naturewhereinwe are born. TheArminian have but one argumtent, that ever I could meet with, whereby they ftrive to robChrift of his glory, of meriting and procuring for us faith and repentance ; and that is, besaufe they are fuchalts of ours, as in duty and obedience to the precepts of the Gofpel, we are bound to perform (b). and this they every where profs at large, ufq; d' ufq, in plain terms theywill rot fuller their idol tobe accounted defelive inany thing that is neceffary to bring us unto heaven. Now concerning this argument, that nothing which God requireth of us, can be procured for us by Chriß, I would have two things noted. Firft, that the ftrengthof it confifts in this, that no gift ofGod beftowed upon us, can be a thing well pleating tohim as being in us : for all his precepts andcom- mandsfignifyonly, what iswell pleafing unto him, that we fhould be, or do andit is not the meriting' of any thing by Chrift, but God's beftowing of it, as the effe& thereof, which hinders it from beingá thing requireable of us, as a part of our dutyi, which I (hallconfider hereafter : onlynow obferve, that there being nothing in us, by the way of habit or ad, from the beginningof our faith, to theconfummation thereof, from our new birth, until we become perfeft men of Chrift, by the finifhingof our courfe, that is not required ofus in the Gofpel, all, and every grace, whereof we are (a) Nihil ineptius, nihil ¡meals, quam regenerationem & fidem, merito Chrifti tribuere, fi calm Chriltus dicatur nobis meritus fidem & regenerationem, turn fides conditio elle non poterat: quam a peccatcribus, Deus rub comminazione mortis borne exigeret, Rem. Apol. sap. 8. peg. 95 Si fides fit effeílum merits Chrifti, non poteft effe ails, offin,, nultri, idm. (b) Rem. Apol. ubi Cup. Comas. ad Malin. cap. 28. fat. 9. iu
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