ESSAY II. The Form of the Gospel, An Enquiry, " Whether it be a New Law, with Commands, Threatenings and Conditions in it? And, whether the Duties of the Gospel are our JustifyingRighteousness ?" A Reconciling Discourse. SECTION I. Is the Gospel a Conditional Promise THE general nature and substance of the gospel is agreed on all hands to be a discovery of divine grace to sinful man through a Mediator : Butseveral parties of christians have raised endless doubts about the particular form of it, viz. whether it be amere absolute promise, or a conditional covenant : Whether it contain in it commands and threatenings or no : Or whether it be a new law. It is my opinion concerning many of the debates about our religion, that they may be sufficiently determined for the peace and practice of christians, by finding out the various use of words in common language, and especially the sense of them in the holy scriptures, and submitting our judgments and con- sciences to this sense of them, with a little reconciling expli- cation. And this noisy controversy may, perhaps, come nearer to a decision, if we will but honestly consult the ways of speaking, that the scripture useth in solving these three follow- ing questions : But before I propose them, I would beg one favour of my readers, and that is, as they run over these pages, theywould so far deny themselves of a common custom, as not to examine and judge of this little essay by any systems of orthodoxy in their closet, or in their head, but by the only system out of which I have drawn it, theholy bible ; for in the whole composure of titis discourse, I have not consulted one author besides ; and I would chuse to be readjust in the saine way in which I write, and to be judged by the sanie rule. I proceed now to name the three fol- lowing questions : Quest. I. Whether the gospel be an absolute or a condi- tional promise ? Answ. The gospel, in its most general sense, may be described as a declaration of the free mercy of God, for the salvation of fallen man by a Mediator. As man by his fall bath lost the image of, God, and his favour ; salvation includes the recovery of both these: It implies therefore repentance,
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