AN
 EXTRACT
 FROM
 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION
 BY
DR. BEVERIDGE.

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

 WHEN in my serious thoughts I begin to look within myself, and consider what I am, I presently find myself to be a reasonable creature; for, was I not so, it would be unreasonable for me to reason and reflect. But, am I a reasonable creature? Why, then, I am sure, within this veil of flesh there dwells a soul, and that of a higher nature than either plants or brutes are endued with; for they have souls indeed, but yet they know it not, and though they act, they know it not; being not possible for them to look within themselves, or reflect upon their own existencies and actions. But 'it is not so with me: I not only know I have' a soul, but that I have such a soul, which can consider of itself, and deliberate of every par­ticular action that issues from it.

 And, indeed, was there never another argument in the world, to convince me of the spiritual nature of my soul, this alone would be sufficient: for, what below a spirit can reflect upon itself? Or, what below a spirit can put forth itself in such actions, as I find I can exercise myself in? Myy soul can in a moment mount from earth to heaven, fly from pole to pole, and view all the courses and motions of the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and stars; and then, the next moment returning to myself again, I can consider, where I have been, what glorious objects have been pre­sented to my view; and wonder at the activity of my soul, that can run over so many millions of miles, and finish so great a work in so small a space of time. And are such acts as these the effects of drossy earth, or impenetrable matter? Can any thing below a spirit raise itself so much beyond the reach of material actions?

 But stay a little: What is this soul of mine, that it is so nimble in its actions, and so spiritual in its nature? W by, it is that which actuates and informs the several organs and members of my body, and enables me not only to perform the natural actions of life and sense, but likewise to understand, consult, argue, and conclude; to will and nill, hope and despair, desire and abhor, joy and grieve, love and hate; to be angry now, and again appeased. It is that by which, at this very time, my hand is writing, and my heart resolving, what to believe, and how to practice. 

 In a word, my soul is myself; and therefore, when I speak of my soul, I speak of no other person but myself. Not as if I totally excluded this earthly substance of my body from being a part of myself: I know it is. But I think it most reasonable to denominate myself from my better part. For, alas! Take away my soul, and my body of course moulders into dust, from whence it was taken. "All flesh is grass, "says the Prophet, "and all the good­liness thereof is as the flower of the field."

 And this is no metaphorical expression, but a real truth; for what is that which I feed upon but merely grass, digested into corn, flesh, and the like, which, by a second digestion, is transfused and converted into the substance of my body?. And hence it is, that my body, is but like the grass, or flower of the field, fading, transient, and momentary; to day flourishing in all its glory, tomorrow cut down, dried up, and withered.

 But how far is this beneath the spiritual and incor­ruptible nature of my soul, which subsists of itself, and can never be dissolved; being not compounded of any earthly or elementary matter, as the body is, but a pure spiritual substance, infused into me by God, to whom, after a short abode in the body, it is to return, and live for ever, either in a state of happiness or misery!

 But must it so indeed? How much then does it con­cern me, seriously to bethink myself where I had best to lead this everlasting life, in eternal glory, or infernal misery! But betwixt these, as there is no medium, so there is no comparison; and therefore I shall not put it to the question, which place to choose to live in? but I, this morning, with the leave of the Most High God, do choose the land of Canaan, the kingdom of heaven, to be the lot of mine inheritance, the only seat of bliss and glory, for my soul to rest and dwell in to all eternity.

 But the King of that glorious place lath told me, that " strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to eternal life, and that there be but few that find it;" (1iatt. 7: 14;) yea, and that "many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (Luke 3: 24.)

 What, therefore, must I do? Why, I must either re­solve to make it my whole business to get to heaven, or else I must never hope to come thither. without any further dispute, therefore, I resolve, in the presence of Almighty God, that from this day forward I will make it my whole business upon earth, to look after my happiness in heaven, and to walk circumspectly in those blessed paths that God has appointed all to walk in, that ever expect to come to him.

 Now, though there be but one way, and that a narrow one too, that leads to heaven; yet there are two things requisite to all those that walk in it, and they are faith and obedience: to believe and to live aright. And these two. are so inseparably united, that the latter cannot well be supposed without the former; for I cannot obey what GOD has commanded me, unless I first believe what he has taught me; and they are both equally difficult as they are necessary. Indeed, of the two, I think it is harder to lay the sure foundation of faith, than to build the superstructure of obedience upon it; for it seems next to impossible for one that believes every truth, not to obey every command, that is written in the word of GOD.

 But it is not so easy a thing, as is commonly thought, to believe the word of GOD; especially in these times, in which there are so many pernicious errors and damnable heresies crept into the articles of some men's faith, as do not only shock the foundation of the Church of CHRIST, but strike at the root of all religion.

 The first thing, therefore, that, by the grace of God, I am resolved to do in reference to my everlasting estate is, to see my faith, that it be both rightly placed, and firmly fixed, that I may not be as a '1 wave, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning craftiness of those that he in wait to deceive;" but that I may be thoroughly settled in my faith concerning those things, the knowledge of which is absolutely necessary to my future happiness. Let, therefore, what times so ever come upon me; let what temptation so ever be thrown upon me; I am resolved, by the grace of God, steadfastly to believe as followeth:­

ARTICLE 1:

I believe there is one GOD, the Being of all Beings.

 IN that I think I am, sure I am; and in that I am, I am sure there is a GOD; for if there was no God, how came I to be? How came I hither? Who gave me my being? Myself? That could not be; for before I had a being I was nothing, and therefore could do nothing, much less make myself a being. Did my parents give me my being? Alas! They knew not what I should be, before I was; and, therefore, certainly could not give me my being when I was not.

 As to my soul, it is plain they could not give me that, because it is a being of a spiritual nature, quite distinct from matter, as my own experience tells me, and therefore could not be the product of any material agent; for, that a bodily substance should give being to a spiritual one, implies a contradiction; and if it could neither make itself, nor take its rise from any earthly cause, I may certainly conclude, that it must be infused by God, though I am not able to determine either when or how it was done.

 As to my body, I must own it was derived from my parents, who were immediately concerned in bringing the materials of it together; but then, who made up these coarse materials into the form or figure of a body? Was this the effect of natural generation? But how came my parents by this generative power? Did they derive it by succession from our first parents in paradise? Be it so. But whence came they? Did they spring out of the earth? No. What then' Were they made by chance This could not be; fbr as chance never produces one effect that is regular and uniform, so it cannot be supposed that a being of such admirable beauty, symmetry, and pro­portion, and such a nice contexture of parts, as the body of a man is, should ever be jumbled together by a for­tuitous concourse of atoms.

 And the like may be said of all other created beings in the world: for there is no natural cause can give being to any thing, unless it has that being it gives in itself; for it is a received maxim in philosophy, that nothing can give what it has not. And so, however the bodies of men, or brutes, or plants, may now, in the ordinary course of nature, be produced by generation, yet there must needs be some one Supreme Almighty Being in the world, that as the being of all other beings in itself, who first created these several species, and endued them with power to pro­pagate their kind; and this Supreme Being is that which we call GOD.

 Hence it is that there is not a leaf, no, not a line in. this great book of the creation, wherein, we may not plainly read the existence and perfections of the great and glorious Creator. For who is it that bedecked yonder stately canopy of heaven with those glittering spangles, the stars Who is it that commands the sun to run its course, and the moon to ride its circuit so constantly about the world? Who is it that formed me so curiously in my mother's womb? Who is it that gives my stomach power to digest such variety of meats into chyle, and my heart or liver to turn them all to blood, and thence to send each particle to its proper place, and all to keep up this crazy carcass?

 Doubtless these, however ordinary or natural they may appear, are very great and wonderful effects, that must at first be produced by some infinitely powerful Agent, the high and mighty GOD, who is not only the Chief of beings, but the Being of all beings whatsoever.

 I say the Being of all beings, because whatsoever ex­cellency or perfection is in any other thing, is emi­nently, yea, infinitely comprehended in him; yea, He is not only all-wise, all-good, all-mighty, &c., but be is all wisdom, all goodness, all might, all mercy, all justice, all glory, &c. And as He is the ocean of all these perfections in himself, so is He the fountain of them all to us; inso­much that we have nothing, not so much as the least moment of life, but what is communicated to us from this everlasting GOD. And not only what we poor sinful worms are, or have, but even whatsoever those nobler creatures, the angels, have, it is but a beam darted from this Sun; it is but a stream flowing from this overflowing Fountain.

 Lift up thine eyes, therefore, O my soul, and fix them a little upon this glorious object! How transcendantly glorious must He needs be who is the Being of all beings, the perfection of all perfections, the very glory of all glories, the eternal GOD? He is the glory of all love and goodness, who is good, and does good continually unto me, though I be evil, and do evil continually against him. He is the glory of wisdom and knowledge, unto whom all the secret thoughts, the inward motions of my soul, are exactly known and manifest.

 Never did a thought lurk so secretly in my heart, but his all-seeing eye could espy it out. Even at this time he knows what I am now thinking of, and what I am now doing, as well as myself. And, indeed, well may he know what I think, and speak, and do, when I can neither think, nor speak, nor do any thing, unless himself' be pleased to give me strength to do it. He is the glory of might and power, who did but speak the word, and there pre­sently went out that commanding power from him by which this stately fabric of the world was formed and fashioned.

 And as he created all things by the word of his power, so I believe he preserves and governs all things by the power of the same word. Yea, so great is his power, that he can as easily frown my soul from my body into hell or nothing, as I can throw this book out of my hand upon the ground; nay, he need not throw me into nothing, but as, if I should let go my hold, the book would pre­sently fall; so, should GOD but take away his supporting hand from under me, I should of myself immediately fall down to nothing. This, therefore, is that GOD whom I believe to be the Being of all beings; and so the Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Disposer of all things in the world.

ARTICLE 2:

I believe that whatsoever the Most high GOD would have me to believe or do, in order to his glory and my happiness, he has revealed to me in his Holy Scriptures.

 UPON the same account that I believe there is a God, I believe, likewise, that this God is to be worshipped; the same light that discovers the one, discovering the other too. Worship being that which is contained in the very notion of a Deity; which is, that he is the Being of all beings, upon whom all other things or beings do depend. And if there be such a Being, that is the spring and foun­tain of all other beings, it is necessary that all other should reverence and worship him, without whom they could not subsist; and therefore it is that men are generally more superstitious in their worshipping than they ought to be, rather than deny that worship to him which they ought to give.

 That, therefore, there is a GOD, and that this God is to be worshipped, I do not doubt; but the great question is, who is this GOD, Whom I ought to worship? And, what is that worship which I ought to perform unto him? The former I have resolved upon in the foregoing article; the latter I am resolved to search out in this, viz., Which of all the several kinds of worship, that men perform to the Deity, I had best make choice of. The general inclina­tions which are naturally implanted in my soul to some religion, it is impossible for me to shift off; but there being such a multiplicity of religions in the world, I desire now seriously to consider which of them all to restrain these my general inclinations to.

 For though I do not in the least question but that I 'shall, upon inquiry, find the Christian Religion 'to be the only true religion in the world, yet I cannot say it is, unless I find it, upon good grounds, to be so indeed: for, to profess myself a Christian, and believe that Christians are in the right, only because my forefathers were so, is no more than the Heathens and Mahometans have to say for themselves.

 That, therefore, I may make impartial inquiry into all religions, and so be sure to find out the best, I shall, for a time, look upon myself as one not at all interested in any particular religion whatsoever, but only as one who desires, in general, to serve and obey him that made me in a right manner, and thereby to be made partaker of that happiness my nature is capable of. In. order to this, it will be necessary to propose to myself some certain marks or characters, whereby I may be able to judge and make choice of the religion I intend to embrace: and they are, in general, these two, viz:­ First, That is the best religion wherein God is wor­shipped and served most like himself, 1: e., most suitably and conformably to his nature and will. 

 And, Secondly, Since all men naturally desire happiness, and our greatest happiness consists in the fruition of God, that is certainly the best religion, which gives me the, best and most comfortable assurances of being happy with God to all eternity.

 To embrace a religion without these marks would be worse than to have no religion at all; for better it is to perform no worship to God, than such as is displeasing to him; to do him no service than such as will be ineffec­tual to make me happy, and not only frustrate my expecta­tions of bliss, but make me for ever miserable.

 The religion, then, that I am to look after, must be such a one, wherein I may be sure to please GOD, and to be made happy with him; and, by consequence, such a one, wherein all the cause of his displeasure and my misery may be removed:: and that is, sin. For sin being infinitely opposite to him, as he is a Being of infinite holiness, must certainly set me at the greatest distance from him, and render me most odious in his sight; and whatsoever does so, must make me miserable.

 For as our holiness consisteth in likeness, so doth our happiness in nearness to God: and if it be our happiness to be near unto him, it must certainly be our misery to be at a distance from him. In enjoying him we enjoy all things, he-being and having all things in himself; and so, in not enjoying him, we are not only deprived of all that we can enjoy, but made liable 'to the punishments that are the consequence of it.

 That there is no such thing in nature as virtue and vice, as good and evil, is what I can, by no means, persuade myself to; for my conscience tells me that there is: and not only mine, but every one that ever yet lived upon the face of the earth; all people, of whatsoever nation or language, still acknowledging sin to be sin, and that the displeasing the Deity, which they worship, is indeed an evil that ought to be carefully avoided. And therefore, the very Heathens did not only upbraid others with it, but likewise often checked themselves for it: and all men naturally desire to seem, though not to be, holy. But let others say what they will, I, for my own part, cannot but see sin in myself; for, if God be GOD, He must be just and perfect; and if I be not so, I am not like him, and therefore, must needs displease him; it being impossible any thing should please him, but what is like unto him. And this disagreement with the will and nature of God, is that which we call sin.

 And being thus conscious to myself that I have sinned against my Maker, I may reasonably conclude that as he is omniscient, and, by consequence, a witness of these my offences, so must Ile likewise be just in the punishment of them; and these punishments must be infinite and eternal: for wherein cloth the nature of divine justice consist, but in giving to sin its just punishments, as well as to virtue its due rewards? Now, that the punishment of sin in this world is not so much as it deserves, nor, by consequence, as much as, injustice, ought to be laid upon it, to me is clear, in that every sin being committed against an infinite God, deserves infinite punishment; whereas all the punishments we suffer in this world cannot be any more than finite.

 Upon these grounds I am fully satisfied that I am a sinner; and that it cannot stand with the justice of GOD that made me, to pardon my sins, without satisfaction made to his divine justice for them; and yet, that unless they be pardoned, it is impossible for me to be happy here, or hereafter; and therefore must I look after some religion, wherein I may be sure my sins nay be thus pardoned, and my soul made happy; wherein I may please God, and God bless me. Which that I maybe the better able to discover, I shall take a brief survey of all the reli­gions I ever heard of.

 Now, though there be as many kinds of religions as nations, yea, almost as particular persons in the world; yet may they all be reduced to these four; the Paganish, Mahometan, Jewish, and Christian Religion.

 As to the first, it is indeed of a very large extent, and comprehends under it all such as neither acknowledge Mahomet to be a Prophet, nor expect a promised Messiah, nor believe in a crucified JESUS. Now let me see, whether the Paganish religion, being farther extended, and more generally professed than any, or indeed all the rest, be not the true religion, wherein God is most rightly worshipped, and I may be the most certainly saved. And here, when I take a view of this religion, as it is dispersed through several parts of Asia, Africa, and America, I find them very devout in worshipping their deities, such as they are, and they have great numbers of them: some worship the sun; others, the moon and stars; others, the earth and other elements, serpents, trees, and the like. Others pay adora­tion to images and statues, in the fashion of men and women, hogs, horses, and other shapes, and some to the Devil himself.

 But now, to go no farther, this seems to me, at first sight, to be a very strange and absurd sort of religion; or rather, it is quite the reverse of it: for, the true notion we have of religion, is the worshipping the true God, in a true manner; and this is the worshipping false gods, in a false manner. For I cannot entertain any other notion of God, than as one supreme Almighty Being, who made and governs all things, and who, as he is a Spirit, ought to be worshipped in a spiritual manner; and, therefore, as the very supposing more deities than one, implies a contra­diction; so the paying divine homage, in a gross, carnal manner, to material and corporeal beings, which are either the work of men's hands, or, at best, but creatures like ourselves, which can neither hear nor understand what we say to them, much less give us what we desire of them, is not religion, but idolatry and superstition, or rather mad­ness and delusion.

 So that this religion, I see, if I should embrace it, would be so far from making me happy, that the more zealous I should be for it, the more miserable I should be by it; for he that made these things cannot but be very angry at me, if I should give that worship to them which is only due to himself; and so, the way whereby I expect my sins should be pardoned, they would be more increased. There­fore, leaving their superstitious idolatries, and diabolical delusions, I must go and seek for the true religion some­where else.

The next religion, that has the most votes on- its side, is the Mahometan Religion; so called from one MAHOMET an Arabian, who about a thousand years ago, by the assistance of one SERGIUS, a Nestorian Monk, compiled a book in the Arabian tongue, which he called Al Koran, and made the rule of his followers' faith and manners; pretending that it was sent from heaven to him by the band of the angel GABRIEL.

This book I have perused, and find many things in it agreeable to right reason; as, that there is but one GOD, gracious and merciful, the LORD of the whole universe; that this God we are to resign ourselves wholly to; that all that obey him shall be certainly rewarded, and all that disobey him, as certainly punished. But yet I dare not venture my soul upon it, because, as there are many things consonant, so are there many things dissonant to the light that is implanted in me; as, that God should swear by figs and olives, by Mount Sinai, as this book makes him to do in the Chapter of the Fig,; that SOLOMON should have an army composed of men, and devils, and birds; and that he should discourse with a bird, which acquainted him with the affairs of the Queen of Sheba.

 As to the argument, whereby he would persuade us that this book was sent us from GOD, viz., That there are no contradictions in it, I take it to be very false and frivolous; for, besides that there are many books compiled by men, which have no contradiction in them, it is certain, there are a great many plain contradictions in this book. Thus, in the Chapter of the Table, he says, that "all that believe in God, and the resurrection of the dead, and have done good works, shall be saved; " but in the Chapter of Grati­fication, he says, " All that do not believe in the Koran shall be destroyed." In like manner, he tells us in the Chapter of the Table, that the books of the Old and New Testament were sent from God; and, at the same time supposes, that the Koran was sent from him too; which, to me, seems impossible. For my reason tells me, that GOD, who is truth and wisdom itself, cannot be guilty of falsehood or contradiction: and if these books contradict one another, as it is evident they do in many instances, it is plain God could not be the author of both; and by consequence, if the Scripture be true, the Koran must of necessity be false. 

 To instance but in one particular: the Koran says, in the Chapter of Women, ' God has no Son; ' the Scripture, God said of JESUS, " This is my beloved Sox, in whom I am well pleased: “ (Matt. 3: 17: ) and it expressly calls that "JESUS, the SON of GOD." (Heb. 4: 14.) - Now it is impossible that both these should be true; or, by consequence, that that should be true which says both are so.

 But there is still another objection against this religion, and that is, the rewards therein promised will not avail to make me happy, though I should be partaker of them for all the promises made to us in this Paradise are but mere sensible pleasures; as, that we shall have all manner of herbs and fruits, and drinks, and women with exceeding great and black eyes; and such pleasures as these, though they may indeed affect my body, yet they cannot be the happiness of my soul.

 Indeed, I know not how this book should promise any higher happiness than that of the body, because it shows no means of attaining to it; it shows no way how my sins may be pardoned, and so my soul made happy. It says, I confess, that God is gracious and merciful, and therefore will pardon them; but my reason tells me, that as God is gracious and merciful, and therefore will pardon sin; so is he also just and righteous, and therefore must punish it. And how these two can stand together, is not manifested in the Koran; and therefore I dare not trust my soul with it.

 Thus, upon diligent search, have I found the two religions, that are most generally professed, to have little of religion in them. I shall, therefore, in the next place, take a view of that religion which has the fewest followers, and that is, the Jewish: a religion, not established by any human laws, nor indeed generally professed in any nation; but only by a company of despicable people scattered up and down the world.

 The principles of this religion are contained in a book, written in the Hebrew tongue, which they call the Law, composed of several precepts, promises, and threatenings; together with histories of things past, and prophecies of things to come. This book, they say, was written by men inspired by God himself; and, therefore, they avouch it not to be a human invention, but merely of divine institution.

 This book, also, I have diligently read and examined into, and must ingenuously confess, that at the very first glance me thought I read divinity in it, and could not but conclude, from the majesty of its style, the purity of its precepts, the harmony of its parts, the certainty of its promises, and the excellency of its rewards, that it could be derived from no other author but God himself. It is here only that I find my Maker worshipped under the proper notion of a Deity, as he is JEHOVAH; and that in the right manner, for we are here commanded " to love and serve him with all our hearts, with all our souls, our might and mind;" (Dent. 4: 5, 10: 12;) which is, indeed, the perfection of all true worship. And as God is here worshipped aright, so is the happiness which is -here entailed upon this true worship, the highest that it is possible a creature should be capable of; being nothing less than the enjoyment of him we worship, so as to have him to be " a God to us, and ourselves to be a people to Him." (Jer. xxxi. 33.)

 But that which I look upon still as the surest character of the true religion is, its holding forth the way, how I, being a sinner, can be invested with this happiness; or how GOD can show his justice in punishing sin in itself, and yet be so merciful as to pardon and remit it to me, and so receive me to his favor; which the religions I viewed before did not so much as pretend to, nor offer at all at. And this is what this Book of the Law does likewise dis­cover to me, by showing, that GOD ALMIGHTY would not visit our sins upon ourselves, but upon another person; that he would appoint and ordain one to be our Sponsor or Mediator, who, by his infinite merit, should bear and atone for our iniquities, and so show his love and mercy in justifying and acquitting us from our sins, at the same time that he manifests his justice in inflicting the punish­ment of them upon this person, in our stead. A method so deep and mysterious, that if God himself had not revealed it, I am confident no mortal man could ever have discovered or thought of it!

 Neither are there any doubts and scruples concerning this great mystery, but what this book does clearly answer and resolve; as will appear more plainly from a distinct consideration of the several objections that are urged against it.

 As, Obj. 1. That it does not seem agreeable to reason, that one man should bear the sins of another, because every man has enough to do to bear his own burden; and since sin is committed against an infinite God, and therefore deserves infinite punishment, how can any finite creature bear this infinite punishment, especially it being due to so many thousands of people as there are in the world?

 But this book sufficiently unties this knot, by showing me, that it is not a mere man, but God himself, that would bear these my sins, even He whose name is, " The LORD our Righteousness," (Jer. xxxiii. 6,) where the essential name of the Most High God, which cannot possibly be given to any but to Him who is the Being of all beings, is given to him who should thus bear my sins and justify my person; whence DAVID also calls him LORD. (Psal. ex. 1.) ISAIAH calls him, "The mighty GOD." (Isai. 9: 6.) Yea, and the LORD of Hosts himself, with his own mouth, calls him "His Fellow." (Zech. 13: 7.)

 Obj. 2. But how can God suffer any punishments? Or, suppose he could, how can one nature satisfy far the offences of another? It was man that stood guilty; and how can it stand with the justice of God not to punish man for the sins he is guilty of?

 To resolve this doubt, this holy book assures me, that this GOD should become man; expressly telling me, that as his name is a Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting FATHER, the Prince of Peace," (Isai. 9: 6,) so should he be born a child, and given as a Son. And therefore at the same time that the LORD of Hosts calls him " His Fellow," he calls him a man too: " Against the man that is my Fellow, says the LORD of Hosts." (Zech. 13: 7.)

 Obj. 3. But if he be born as other men are, he must needs be a sinner, as other men be; for such as are born by natural generation, must necessarily be born also in natural corruption.

 To remove this obstacle, this holy book tells me, that a virgin shall conceive and bear this SON, and his name shall be IMMANUEL." (Isai. 7: 14.) And so being be­gotten, but not by a sinful man, himself, shall be a man, but not a sinful man; and so being GOD and man, he is every way fit to mediate betwixt GOD and man, to recon­cile God to me, and me to GOD; that my sins may be par­doned, GOD’s wrath appeased, and so my soul made happy in the enjoyment of him.

 But there is one thing that keeps me from settling upon this religion; and that is, the expiration of the time in which this book promiseth this person should come into the world; for it is expressly said, " That seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy city, to finish the transgressions, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in ever-g lasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision, and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. (Dan. 9: 24.)

 From which anointing, he is in the next verse called " MESSIAH, the Anointed;" (under which name he is, from hence, expected by the Jews;) and the beginning of these seventy weeks is expressly said, " to be at the going forth of the commandment to build and restore Jeru­salem." (Ver. 25.) Now, if we understand these seventy weeks in the largest sense, for seventy weeks, or "Sabbath of years," (as it is expressed, Lev. 25: 8,) the time of the MESSIAH'S coming must have been but 49O years after the commandment for the building of the city; whereas, whether we understand it of the decree and commandment that CYRUS made, (2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23, Ezra 1: 1-a-3,) or that which DARIUS made, (Ezra 6:,) or that ARTAXERXES made, (chap. 7:,) it is evident, that it is above 2OOO years since they were all made; and therefore. the time of this person's coining has been expired above 16OO years at least.

 So likewise doth this Book of the Law (as they call it) assure us, that " the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SHILOH come;" (Gen. xlix. 1O;) where the Jews themselves, JONATHAN and ONKELOS, expound the word SHILOH by MESSIAH;; and so doth the Jerusalem Targum too. Now, it is plain, that there has been neither sceptre nor lawgiver in Judah, nor any political government at all among the Jews, for above 16OO years; which plainly shows, that either their prophecies of a Messiah are false, or he came into the world many ages since.

 So likewise it was expressly foretold in this book, that " the glory of the second temple should be greater than the glory of the former," (IIag. 2: 9.) Now the Jews themselves acknowledge, that there were five of the principal things, which were in the first, wanting in the second temple, viz., 1. The Ark, with the mercy-seat, and cherubim. 2. The Shechinah, or Divine presence. 3, The Holy Prophetical Spirit. 4. The U rim and Thum mim. 5. The Heavenly Fire. Yea, and when the very foundationn of the second temple was laid, the old men that had seen the first, wept to see how far short it was likely to come of the former. (Ezra 3: 12.) To make therefore the glory of the second temple to be greater than the glory of the first, notwithstanding the want of so many glorious things, they must, of necessity, understand it of the coming of the MESSIAH into it, who is called, " The Desire of all Nations; " (ver. 8;) whereas the Jews them­selves cannot but confess, that this temple has been demolished above 16OO years; and therefore it is im­possible now for the MESSIAH to come into it.

 Indeed, the time of the MESSIAH's coming was so expressly set down in these and the like places, that ELIAS, one of their great Rabbies, gathered from hence, that the world should last 6OOO years; 2OOO without the Law, 2OOO under the Law, and 2OOO under the MESSIAH (Sanh. c. ll;) which computation of the MESSIAH'S coming after 4OOO years from the beginning of the world, comes near the time of the sceptre's departing from Judah, and the end of DANIEL'S seventy weeks.

 Hence it is that my reason draws me into this dilemma, either that book which the Jews receive as the word of GOD is indeed not so, or else they do not rightly apply it; and therefore I must go hence, and seek some other religion to fix my soul upon. Not as if my reason told me, that the prophecies I have mentioned were false in themselves: I cannot shake off my faith in this law, especially now I have so seriously perused it, and so deli­berately weighed and considered it; neither can I believe that ever any Mahometan, or Indian, that did, without prejudice, set himself to read it through, and to examine every particular by the light of unbiassed reason, could say, it was ever hatched in a human brain; but that it is indeed of a heavenly stamp, and divine authority; and therefore, though I am forced by the strength of reason to shake hands with this religion, yet the same reason will not sutler me to lay aside that Law which they do profess, but only their profession of it. So that whatsoever religion I, settle upon, my conscience still commands me to stick close to this book of the Jewish law, and to receive and entertain it, as the word of the glorious JEHOVAH, the Being of all beings.

 There is but one religion more generally professed in the, world, that I am to search into; and that is, the Christian Religion, so named from JESUS CHRIST, whose doctrine, life, and death, are recorded by four several per­sons, in a book which they call the Gospel. And this book appears to me to be of undoubted authority, as to the truth and certainty of those things that are therein re­corded; for, if they had been false, both the persons that wrote them, and he of whom they wrote, had so many malicious enemies, ready upon all occasions to accuse them, that they had long ago been condemned for lies and forgeries. But now these writings having been extant for above 16OO years, and even by the worst of enemies acknowledged to be a true relation of what passed in the world about that time; my reason will not permit me to be their first accuser, but enjoins me to receive them under that notion, in which they have been brought down to me through so many generations. For this general reception, on all hands, is a sufficient ground, for me to build my faith upon, as to the truth of the relation, though not a sufficient ground to believe every thing contained in the book to be the word of God himself: for, in this particular, it is not the testimony of others that I am to build upon, but its own: I may read its verity in man's testimony, but its divinity only in its own doctrines.

 This book I have also diligently perused, and find it ex­pressly asserts that JESUS CHRIST, whose life and death it records, was indeed that person who was long promised by GOD; and that all the Prophecies under the old law-con­cerning that MESSIAH, God-Man, were actually Fulfilled in this Person; which, if upon diligent search I find to be true, I shall presently subscribe both with hand and heart to this religion. It is a comfort to me, that it acknowledgeth the Jewish law to be sent from GOD: for truly, if it did not, my conscience would scarce permit me to give any credit to it, being so fully convinced that that book is indeed of a higher extract than human invention. And therefore it is, that I cannot, I dare not believe, but that every particular Prophecy contained in it, either is or shall be certainly Fulfilled, according to every circumstance of time and place mentioned therein; and, by consequence, that this prophecy in particular, concerning the MESSIAH'S coming, is already past; the time wherein it was foretold he should come being so long expired. So that I do not now doubt, whether the MESSIAH be come or no, but whether this JESUS CHRIST was indeed the person. And this I shall best find out by comparing the Christian Gospel with the Jewish Law; or the histories of CHRIST under the one, with the prophecies of the MESSIAH tinder the other; still concluding, that if whatsoever was fore­told concerning the MESSIAH, was Fulfilled in this JESUS CHRIST, then he was indeed the MESSIAH that was to come into the world; and to make this comparison the more exact, I shall run through the several circumstances that attended his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

 And first, for the birth of the MESSIAH, the Law says, he was to be "born of the seed of ABRAHAM," (Gen. 22: 18,) and "DAVID," (2 Sam. 7: 12,) -and of "the stern of JESSE." (Isai. 11: 1.) From whence he is fre­quently called by the Jews, " the Son of DAVID." The Gospel says, that "JESUS CHRIST was the Son of DAVID, the Son of ABRAHAM." (Platt. 1: 1.) The Law, that he was to be "born of a virgin;" (Isai. 7: 14;) the Gospel, that "MARY, a virgin, brought forth this JESUS.", (Matt. 1: 18; Luke 1: 27, 31, 35; 2: 5-7.) The Law, that "he was to be born at Bethlehem Ephrata;" (Micah 5: 2;) the Gospel, that this-JESUS was born there. (Mait. 2: 1; John 7: 42.)

 The Law says, that "he was to be brought out of Egypt; " (Has. 11: 1;) the Gospel, that JESUS was called thence. (Matt. 2: 19, 2O.) The Law says, that "one should go' before the MESSIAH," (Mal. 3: 1,) and should "cry in the wilderness; " (Isai. xl. 3;) the Gospel, that JOHN­ Baptist did go before CHRIST. (Matt. 3: 1, 3; Mark 1: 2, 3.)- The Law, that the MESSIAH should preach the doctrine of salvation in Galilee, who, sitting before - in darkness, should see great light; (Isai. is: 1, 2;) the Gospel, that JESUS did so. (Matt. 4: 12, 23.) The Law, that in the MESSIAH's days, the " eyes of the blind should be opened, and the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the lame leap, and the tongue of the dumb sing; " (Isai. xxxv. 5, 6;) the Gospel, that it was so in the days of JESUS CHRIST. (Matt.iv.23; 11: 5.)

 But for all these wonders and miracles, the Law says, ~' they should hear, but not understand; 'and see, yet not perceive; " (Isai. vi,. 9,) and the Gospel, that "seeing, they did not see, and hearing, they did not hear, neither did they understand." (Matt. 13: 13; Mark 4: 12.) The Law, that he should be " despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; " (Isai. liii. 3;) the Gospel,. that JESUS CHRIST "had not where to lay his head." (Matt. viii. 2O.) " His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death; " (Matt. 26: 38;) yea, he was in " an agony, and his sweat was as drops of blood," (Luke 22: 24,) so well was he acquainted with grief. The Law says, that 4' he should ride into Jerusalem upon an ass, upon a colt, the foal of an ass; " (Zech. 9: 9;) and the Gospel, that JESUS CHRIST, "as he was going to Jerusalem, having found an ass, sat thereon: “ (John 12: 14; Matt. 21: 6:) at which time, the Law says, the people should cry, Hosanna, " blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD;" (Psa. cxviii. 26;) the Gospel, that the multitude did so to CHRIST. (Matt. 21: 9.) The Law, that " one of his own familiar friends, in whom he trusted, which did eat of his bread, should lift up his heel against him; " (Psa. 12: 9;) the Gospel, that JUDAS, who was one of CHRIST's disciples, and so eat of his bread, did betray him into the hands of the Jews. (Matt. 26: 47; 'Luke 22: 46.) The Law, that he should be " prized at and sold for thirty pieces of silver, with which should be " bought the potter's field; " (Zech. 11:12,13;) the Gospel, that "they covenanted with JUDAS, to betray JESUS for thirty pieces of silver," (Matt. 26: 15,) with which they afterwards "bought the potter's field." (Chap. 27: 7.) The Law, that "he should be numbered amongst trans­gressors; " (Isai. liii. 12;) the Gospel, that "JESUS was crucified betwixt two thieves." (Mark 15: 27; Matt. 27: 38.) The Law says, they "should pierce his hands and feet; " (Psa. 22: 16; Zech. 12: 1O;) the Gospel, that they crucified JESUS; " (Matt. 27: 35; Luke 23: 33;) which was a death, wherein they used to pierce the hands and feet of those that were nailed to the cross. But though they should pierce his flesh, yet the Law says, they should not break his bones, no, not one of them; (Exod. 12: 46; Num. 11: 12; Psa. xxxiv. 2O;) the Gospel, that "they brake not the legs of CHRIST. " (John xix. 33, 36.) The Law says, that they that "should see him, should laugh him to scorn, shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying, He trusted in the LORD that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him; " (Psa. 22: 8;) the Gospel, that the Scribes and Elders did so to CHRIST. (Matt. 27: 42, 43.) The Law says, they should "give him gall for meat, and vinegar to drink; " (Psa. lxix. 21;) and the Gospel, that they gave CHRIST "vinegar to drink, mingled with gall." (Matt. 27: 34•, 48.) The Law, that they should " part his garments amongst them, and cast lots upon his vesture; " (Psa. 22: 19;) the Gospel, that " they parted JESUS's garments, casting lots." (Matt. 27:34; John xix. 23; Mark 15: 24.)

 And as for the time of his coining into the world, it is certain, that this JESUS came before the second temple was demolished; by which means 11 the glory of the second temple is greater than the glory of the first," according to the prophecy: (Hag. 2: 9:) and as for JACOB ''S prophecy, that " the sceptre should not depart from JUDAH, nor the Lawgiver, until SHILOH," or the MESSIAH, " come; " (Gen. xlix. 1O,) it is certain, that it did not depart from.

 JUDAH, Until HEROD, by the Senate of Rome, was made King of Judea: in whose days this JESUS was born. (Matt. 2: 1; Luke 1: 5.) And so did DANIEL'S seventy weeks, or 49O years, exactly reach unto, and were deter­mined in, the days of this JESUS: so that all the old pro­phecies concerning the time of the MESSIAH'S coming, are perfectly Fulfilled in this JESUS of Nazareth.

 But farther, the Law says, that though the MESSIAH should be crucified, yet "GOD would not leave his soul in hell, nor suffer his Holy One to see corruption." (Psa. 16: 1O.) Now the Gospel says, that this "JESUS rose from the dead; " (Matt. 28: 6; Luke 24: 6;) and that "he was seen of several after his resurrection," as of MARY MAGDALENE, (Matt. 28: 9,) "of the eleven dis­ciples," (ver. 16-18; Mark 16: 14,) of "the two that were going to Emmaus," (Luke 24: 13-15,) of PETER, (ver. 34,) and of " the, disciples that were gathered together, the door being shut." (John 20: 19.) "And he did eat before them;" (Luke 24: 43;) which it is impos­sible for a spirit to do; yea, " he was seen of above five hundred at one time," (1 Cor. 15: 6,) and of PAUL him­self. (Ver. 8.) Neither did he he so long as to see cor­ruption; for he was buried but the day before the Sabbath, (Mark 15: 42,) and rose the day after. (xvi. 1.)

 Lastly, The Law says, " he was to ascend on high, to lead captivity captive, and to give gifts to men." (Psa. lxviii. 18.) And that JESUS did so, is likewise evident from the Gospel; for, "after he had spoken with them, he was received up into heaven, and there sat, at the right hand of GOD." (Mark 16: 19; Luke 24: 51.) And he gave such gifts to men, that his disciples of a sudden, were enabled to " speak all manner of languages," (Acts 2: 8,) to "work many signs and wonders," (ver. 1'2,) " to heal all manner of diseases," (ver. 15, 16,) yea, with a word speaking, " to cure a man lame from his mother's womb." Chap. 3: 6, 7.)

 Thus the Gospel is a perfect transcript of the Law, and. the histories of JESUS are nothing but the prophecies of CHRIST turned into a history. And when to this I join the consideration of the piety of the life which this man led, the purity of the doctrine which he taught, and the miraculousness of the works he wrought, I cannot but be farther confirmed in the truth of what is here related. The miracles which he wrought, as the healing of the sick with a word of his mouth, raising the dead, feeding so many thousands with five loaves, and the like, were so powerful and convincing, that his very enemies, that would not believe him to be the MESSIAH, could scarce deny him to be a God. (Joseph. Antiq. 1. 18: c. 4.)

 Neither was the doctrine of the Gospel only established at the first, but likewise propagated by miracles afterwards. And it was no doubt a great miracle, that doctrine so con­trary to flesh and blood should be propagated by any means whatsoever; but a far greater, that it should be propagated by a company of simple and illiterate men, who had neither power to force, nor eloquence to persuade, men to the embracing of it. For who would have thought, that such persons as these were, should ever make any of the Jews, who expected a King for their Messiah, to advance them to temporal dignities, believe, that that JESUS, whom themselves crucified at Jerusalem, was the person? Or, that they should be able to propagate the Gospel amongst the Gentiles also, who neither believed in the true God, nor expected any Messiah to come and" redeem them? But this they did, and brought over, not only many persons, but whole nations to the profession of the Gospel; propagating this most holy doctrine, amongst the most barbarous and sinful people in the world, maugre all the opposition that the world, the flesh, and the Devil, could make.

 Now, can any man, that exercises his reason, think they did all this purely by their own strength? No, sure none of these wonderful effects could ever be produced by any thing less than the wisdom, and power, and faithfulness of their LORD and Master, whose service they were engaged in, and who promised to be with them " to the end of the world." (Dail. 28: 2O.) Questionless it was nothing else but the SPIRIT of the Most High GOD that went along with them, and accompanied the word they preached; otherwise it never could have made such deep impression upon the hearts of them that heard it, as not only to command their attention, but to hinder them from resisting the power and authority by which the dis­ciples spake.

 And now I perceive that it is CHRIST, and CHRIST alone, I am to cast my soul upon; that it is he alone that is the way to life, and his word alone, the word of life, which, " whosoever believes and is baptized into, shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." Away, then, with your Paganish idolatries, your Mahometan superstitions, and Jewish ceremonies; it is the Christian Religion I am resolved to live and die in, because it is this alone in which I am taught to worship God aright, and to obtain the pardon of my sins, and to be made eternally happy.

 And since all its doctrines and precepts are contained in the Holy Scriptures, it is necessary that I should assent unto them, as a standing revelation of GOD’s will, and an eternal treasure of, divine knowledge; whereby all that sincerely believe in CHRIST, may be sufficiently instructed, as well as thoroughly furnished, unto every good word and work.

 Without any more ado, therefore, I believe, and am verily persuaded, that all the books of the ancient Law, with all those that have been received into the canon of the Scripture, by the Church of God, since the coming of CHRIST, which we call the New Testament, are indeed the word of the eternal God, dictated by his own SPIRIT, and that they contain in them a perfect rule of faith and manners; upon the due observance of which, I cannot fail of worshipping GOD, in such a manner as will be ac­ceptable to him here, and of enjoying hereafter all that he has reserved in heaven for such as do so.

 Unto these books, therefore, of the Law and Gospel, I am resolved by His grace that wrote them, to conform all the ensuing articles of my faith, and all the actions and resolutions of my life, insomuch, that whatever it has pleased him herein to assert, I believe it is my duty to believe; and whatsoever he has been pleased td command me, I believe it is my duty to perform.

ARTICLE III

I believe, that its there is One GOD, so this One GOD is Three Persons, 

FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST.

 THIS, I confess, is a mystery which I cannot possibly conceive, yet it is a truth which I can easily believe: yea, I can easily believe it, because it is so high that I cannot possibly conceive it; for it is impossible any thing should be true of the Infinite Creator, which can be fully ex­pressed to the capacities of a finite creature: and, for this reason, I ever did, and ever shall, look upon those appre­hensions of God to be the truest, whereby we apprehend him to be the most incomprehensible.

 Upon this ground, therefore, it is, that the mysteries of the Gospel, which I am less able to conceive, I think my­self the more obliged to believe; especially this mystery of mysteries, the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, which I am so far from being able to comprehend, or in­deed to apprehend, that I cannot set myself seriously to think about it, but I immediately lose myself: That God the FATHER should be one perfect GOD of himself; GOD the SON, one perfect God of himself; and GOD the HOLY GHOST, one perfect GOD of himself; and yet these Three should be but one perfect GOD.

 O heart-amazing, thought-devouring, inconceivable mystery! Though I cannot possibly conceive how it should be so, I believe it really to be so, viz., That the Being of all beings is but One in essence, yet Three in sub­sistence; but One nature, yet Three Persons; and that those Three Persons in that One nature, though absolutely dis­tinct from one another, are yet but the same GOD.

 And I believe these Three Persons in this one nature, are indeed to one another, as they are expressed to be to us; that the one is really a FATHER to the other, that the other is really a SON to him, and the Third the product of both; yet, that there is neither first, second, nor third amongst them, either in time or nature; so that he that begat was not at all before him that was begotten, nor he that proceeded from them both any whit after either of them.

 And what I think myself obliged to believe is, that it was not the divine nature, but the divine person of the FATHER, which did from eternity beget the divine person of the SON; and from the divine person of the FATHER and of the SON, did, from eternity, proceed the divine person of the HOLY GHOST; and so one not being before the other, in time or nature, as they are from eternity three perfectly distinct Persons, so they are but one co­essential GOD.

 But dive not, O my soul, too deep into this bottomless ocean, this abyss of mysteries! It is the Holy of Holies; presume not to enter into it; but let this suffice thee, that He, who best knows himself, has avouched it of himself, and therefore thou oughtest to believe it. " Go ye there­fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY GHOST." (Matt. 28: 19.) And again, "There are three that bare record in heaven, the FATHER, the WORD, and the

HOLY GHOST: and these Three are One." (i John 5: 7.)

ARTICLE 4:

I believe that I was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity;

and that ever since, 1 have been continually conceiving mischief, and bringing forth vanity.

 UNLESS my heart was naturally very sinful and cor­rupt, it would be impossible for me not to believe that which I have so much cause continually to bewail; or if I do not bewail it, I have still the more cause to believe it; and therefore am so much the more persuaded of it, by how much the less I find myself affected with it; for certainly I must be a hard-hearted wretch indeed, steeped in sin, and fraught with corruption to the highest, if I know myself so oft to have incensed the wrath of the Most High God against, me, as I do, and yet not be sensible of my natural corruption, nor acknowledge myself to be, by nature, a child of wrath, as well as others; for I verily believe, that the want of such a due sense of myself, argues as much original corruption, as murder and whoredom do actual pollution; and I shall ever suspect those to be the most under the power of that corruption, that labor most by arguments to divest it of its power.

 And therefore, for my own part, I am resolved, by the grace of God, never to go about to confute that by willful arguments, which I find so true by woeful experience.

If there be not a bitter root in my heart, whence pro­ceeds so much bitter fruit in my life? Alas! I can neither set my head nor heart about any thing, but I still show myself to be the sinful offspring of sinful parents; nay, I do not only betray the inbred venom of my heart by poisoning my common actions, but even my most religious performances, with sin. I cannot pray, but I sin; I can­not hear, or preach a sermon, but I sin; I cannot give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin; nay, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my very confessions are still aggravations of them; my repentance needs to be repented of, my tears want washing with the blood of my Redeemer.

 Thus, not only the worst of my sins, but even the best of my. duties, speak me a child of ADAM; insomuch, that whensoever I reflect upon my past actions, methinks I cannot but look upon my whole life, from the time of my conception to this very moment, to be but as one continued act of sin.

 And whence can such a continued stream of corruption flow, but from the corrupt cistern of my heart? And whence can that corrupt cistern of my heart be filled, but from the corrupt fountain of my nature? Cease, therefore, O my soul, to gainsay the power of original sin within thee, and labor now to subdue it under thee.

 But why do I speak of my subduing this sin myself? Surely this would be both an argument of it, and an ad­dition- to it. It is to thee, O my GOD, who art both the searcher and cleanser of hearts, that I desire to make my moan! It is to thee I cry out in the bitterness of my soul, 41O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? " Who shall? O, who can do it but Thyself? Arise thou, therefore, O my GOD, and show thyself as infinitely merciful in the pardoning, as thou art infinitely powerful in the purging away, my sins.

ARTICLE 5:

I believe the SON of GOD became the Son of Man, that
I, the son of man, might become the son of GOD.

 O How comfortably does this raise me from the lowest abasement of sin and misery, to the highest exaltation of happiness and glory! This is that great article of faith by which all the benefits of our Savior's death and passion are made over to me in the New Covenant, and by which, if I perform the conditions therein required, I shall not only be retrieved from the bondage and corruption that is inherent in me, as a child of wrath, but be justified and accepted as the son of GOD, and be made a joint-heir with CHRIST.

 This is a point of the greatest moment, which, by the assistance of him, of whom I speak, I shall therefore be the more exact in examining into. Now, when I say and believe that GOD became man, I do not so understand it, as if the divine nature took upon

it a human person, but that a divine person took upon him the human nature, 1: e., it was not the divine nature in general, without respect to the persons, but one of the persons in the divine nature, which took flesh upon him; and yet, to speak precisely, it was not the divine person distinct from the divine nature, but it was the divine nature in that person which thus took upon it the. human and this was not the first or third, but the second person only in the Sacred Trinity.

 But, on the other side, as it was not the divine nature, but a divine person that did assume, so neither was it a human person, but the human nature, that was assumed;, for otherwise, if he had assumed the person of any one man in the world, his death had been beneficial to none but him; whereas now that he has assumed the nature of man in general, all that partake of that nature are capable of partaking of the benefits he purchased for us, by dying in our stead; and thus, under each ADAM, as the repre­sentation was universal, so were the effects designed to be: "For as in ADAM all died, even so in CHRIST shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15: 22.)

 Again, when I say, the SON of GOD became the Son of Man; I do not mean, as if by this he should cease to be what he was before,-the SON of GOD; for he did not leave his Godhead to take upon him the manhood; but I believe he took the manhood into his Godhead. God; therefore, so became man, as to be both perfectly GOD and perfectly man, united together in one person.

 I say, in one person; for if he 'should be GOD and man in distinct persons, this would avail me more than if he should be GOD only and not man; or man only, and not GOD; because the merit and value of both his active and passive obedience is grounded merely upon the union of the two natures in one and the same person. He there­fore, by his life and death, merited so much for us, because the same person that so lived and died was GOD as well as man; and every action that he did, and every passion that he suffered, was done and suffered by him that was GOD, as well as man.

 And hence it is that CHRIST, of all the persons in the world, is only fit to be my Redeemer, Mediator, and Surety, because he alone is both GOD and man in one person. If he was not man, he could not undertake that office; if he was not GOD, he could not perform it. If he was not man, he could not be capable of being bound for me; if he was not GOD, he would not be able to pay my debt.

 It was man by whom the covenant was broken, and therefore man must have suitable punishment laid upon him; it was GOD with whom it was broken, and therefore GOD must have sufficient satisfaction made unto him;. and as for that satisfaction, it was man that had offended, and -therefore man alone could make it suitable; it was GOD that was offended, and therefore GOD alone could make it sufficient.

 The sum of all this is: Man can suffer, but he cannot satisfy; GOD can satisfy, but he cannot suffer: but CHRIST, being both GOD and man, can both suffer and satisfy too, and so is perfectly fit both to suffer for man, and to make satisfaction unto GOD, to reconcile GOD to man, and man to GOD. And thus, CHRIST having as­sumed my nature into his person, and so satisfied divine justice for my sins, I am received into grace and- favor­ again with the Most High GOD.

 Upon this principle, I believe that I, by nature the son of man, am made by grace the son of GOD, as really as CHRIST, by nature the SON of God, was made, by office, the Son of Man; and so, though in myself I may say to corruption, " Thou art my mother," yet in CHRIST I may say to God, "Abba, Father."

 I believe, that in the same propriety of speech that my earthly father was called the father of my natural self, is God the father of my spiritual self. For why was my earthly father called my father, but because that I, as to my natural being, was born of what proceeded from him, viz., his seed? Why so, as to my spiritual being, am I born of what proceeds from God, his SPIRIT.

 Thus it is, that I believe that CHRIST, the Son, of GOD, became the Son of Man; and thus it is, that I believe myself, the son of- man, to be made thereby the son of GOD. "I believe," O my GOD and Father, "do thou help mine unbelief! " And every day more and more in­crease my faith, until itself shall be done away, and turned into the most perfect vision and fruition of thine own most glorious Godhead!

ARTICLE 6:

I believe that CHRIST lived to GOD, and died for sin, that
I might die to sin, and live with GOD.

 AND thus, by faith, I follow my SAVIOR from his in­carnation to his death and passion, believing all that he (lid or suffered to be for, my sake; for CHRIST did not only take my nature upon him, but he suffered and obeyed, he underwent miseries, and undertook duties for me; so that not only his passive, but likewise his active obedience unto GOD, in that nature, was still for me. Not as if I believed his duty as man. was not GOD’s debt by the law of creation: yes, I believe that he owed that obedience unto GOD, that if he had committed but one sin, and that of the lightest tincture, in all his lifetime, he would have been so far from being able to satisfy for my sins, that he could not have satisfied for his own: "For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, sepa­rate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those High Priests, to offer up sacri­fice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's." (Heb. 7: 26, 27.)

 So that if he had not had these qualifications, in their absolute perfection, he could not have been our High Priest, nor, by consequence, have made atonement for, nor expiated any sins whatsoever; but now, though both as man, and as GOD-Man, or Mediator too, it behoved him to be thus spotless; yet, as being God, co-equal with the FATHER, it was not out of duty, but merely upon our account, that he thus subjected his neck to the yoke of his own law; himself, as GOD, being the Lawgiver, and so no more under it than the FATHER himself.

 And hereupon it is that I verily believe, that what­soever CHRIST either did or suffered in the flesh was meritorious: so that I believe my person is as really accepted, by his righteousness imputed to me, as that my sins were laid upon him.

 And as for his death, I believe it was not only as much, but infinitely more satisfactory to divine justice, than though I should have died to eternity; for by that means justice is actually and perfectly satisfied already, which it could never have been by my suffering for my sins myself; for if justice, by that means, could ever be satis­fied,-if it could ever say, ' It is enough,' it could not stand with the same justice, now satisfied, still to inflict punishment; nor, by consequence, could the damned justly scorch in the, flames of GOD’s wrath for ever. Neither did the death of my SAVIOR, reach only to the con­demning, but likewise to the commanding power of sin; it did not only pluck out its sting, but likewise deprive it of its strength; so that he did not only merit by his death that I should never die for sin, but likewise that I should die to it. Neither did he only merit by his life that I should be accounted righteous in him before GOD, but likewise that I should be made righteous in myself by GOD. Yea, I believe that CHRIST, by his death, has so fully discharged the debt I owe to GOD, that now, for the remission of my sins, and the accepting of my person, (if I perform the conditions He requires in his covenant,) I may not only appeal to the throne of grace, but likewise to the judgment-seat of GOD; I may not only cry, 'Mercy, mercy, O gracious Father,' but ' Justice, justice, my righteous GOD.' I may not only say, 'LORD, be gracious and merciful,' but' Be just and faithful to acquit me front that debt, and cancel that bond which my Surety has paid for me, and which thou hast promised to accept of; being not only "gracious and merciful," but "just and faithful, to forgive me my sins, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness."' (1 John 1: 9.)