an audible voice from heaven, This is my beloved Son, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED*.

The promise above-mentioned is fuch an effential, or neceffary part of the apoftolic gospel, that this in Scripture is frequently called a promife, or THE PROMISE, and fometimes the promises, as containing many; which, in a way of believing and receiving Chrift, every finner of mankind may warrantably apply, or claim the benefit of; they being all yea and amen in Chrift, to the glory of God. Thus the apoftle Peter defigns it: THE PROMISE, fays he, is unto you-and to all that are. afar off, even to as many as the Lord our God fhall call. "The great apoftle of the Gentiles fpeaks in the fame dialect, Gal. iii. 18. If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promife; but God gave it to Abraham by PROMISE: and, chap. iii. 21. Is the law then against the PROMISES of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given, which could have given life, verily righteoufnefs fhould have been by the law and again, Rom. iv. 14. If they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and THE PROMISE made of none effect. To the fame purpose fpeaks the apoftle, Heb. iv. 1, 2. where the promise and the gospel are made convertible terms, or terms having the fame import. Let us fear, fays he, left a PROMISE being left us of entering into his reft, any of you fhould feem to come fhort of it. For unto us was the GOSPEL preached, as well as unto them.

No report concerning the death and refurrection of Jefus, however well attefted, could afford any. fuitable encouragement to finners, and far lefs lay a fure foundation for their faith, was not a promife. of life and falvation, through his name, connected with it: nor can an affent to the former be of any

Matt. iii. 17.

† 2 Cor. i. 20.

avail

avail to a finner, while the latter is not believed with particular application to himfelf*. Those, therefore, who deny that any fuch promife of falvation, through Chrift, belongs to the nature of the gofpel, or is made to fallen men in the difpenfation thereof, are fo far from adhering to the true apoftolic gospel, that they do in effect fubvert, and wholly overthrow it, leaving no fure foundation at all for a guilty and awakened finner, to build any hope of the forgiveness of fins, and eternal falvation, upon. This, according to them, must be laid by every man for himfelf, in fuch good difpofitions, and acts of felf-denied obedience, as men are fuppofed to acquire, and perform, in confequence of their believing what is called the fimple truth. Thus, inftead of building on the fure foundation which God has laid in Zion, in the free promifes of the gospel, men are taught to build their faith, and hope of falvation, on their own experience, love to the truth, and obedience to the commands of Chrift. In a word, they are inftructed to believe, that men have no reafon to expect any benefit by Christ, and his righteoufnefs, further than they are enabled to love God, and work righteousness t. Here methinks we have plain Popery, and a wide step

*There is ground to think, that the philofophy of the fact and its import, with I know not what character of the Deity arifing from thence, that are supposed to fuperfede all neceffity of any promifes, or declarations of the mercy of God in Chrift, to guilty finners of mankind, were altogether unknown to the apoftles: for however much Jonathan, and his tutor Palamon, feem to value themfelves upon the difcoveries those have enabled them to make, we do not meet with the leaft hint concerning them in the apoftolic writings.

+ Letters, p. 408, 409.

towards

towards downright Socinianifm. Hence we may learn, that Palamon's refentment against our Proteftant divines is not fo unreafonable as one would think; for who can blame him for fhewing a difguft at those whofe doctrine was for the most part very unfriendly to both the herefies just now mentioned; which he and his friends it feems have of late become enamoured with, as to honour them with the epithet of the only apoftolic gofpel. · Palemon would make us believe, that the gospel contains no promifes, or offers of grace, directed to finners. If this is indeed the cafe, it is not easy to conceive how it can be faid to be good tidings of great joy to all people for if the promife, gift of righteoufnefs, and the free offer of the remiffion of fins, and eternal life, through the name of Chrift, be feparated from the hiftory of his death and refurrection, this can afford no ground of hope or comfort to fallen men, more than to the fallen angels:

But the truth is, it was never intended, that the incarnation, death and refurrection of Jefus, should be published to any belonging to the human race as a ground of faith, but in the way of declaring to them the gift of righteousness, of the remiffion of fins, and falvation through his name; or that they have a fufficient warrant to claim the benefit of all that he has done and fuffered in the room of guilty finners, fo as to reft their hope of acceptance with God, and everlafting happiness, wholly upon his righteousness and death; and that in doing fo they will undoubtedly be fafe; the divine faithfulness being engaged for the falvation of all who thus betake themselves to, believe in, and wholly rely upon a crucified Saviour. And indeed the report concerning the death and refurrection of Chrift, and

2

Luke ii. 10.

the

the promise of life and falvation through his righteoufnefs, are fo nearly connected in the New Teftament, and difpenfation of the gospel, that, in Scripture and in God's account, the disbelief of the latter is conftructed a denial of the former; a faying in effect, that Jefus Chrift is not come in the flesh, or that he suffered and died in vain.

None then can believe the doctrine of the refurrection, or indeed any thing reported concerning Chrift, in the fenfe of the Scripture, who are not at the fame time enabled to believe on the footing of the divine record, teftimony, and promise, that they fhall have life and falvation through his name: and all who, under the influence of the divine Spirit, are helped to believe in this manner, may be as fully affured of their own falvation, as they are of his refurrection. Thus with great propriety the apoftle might fay, As concerning that he raised him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he faid on this wife, I will give you the fure mercies of David.

The fum of what has been just now faid, is, briefly this, that none can truly believe the gospel, or believe in Chrift, but those who do at the fame time receive him. That this is the Scripture-notion of believing on Chrift to juftification, and the faving of the foul, cannot be denied without contradicting the exprefs teftimony of the Spirit of God, who lays, To as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name *. And it will be difficult to fhew how there can be a receiving of him, or of eternal life as the gift of God through him, unless there be first a giving of him, and the bleffings of his purchase, in the promise and dispensation of the gospel. John i. 12

VOL. I.

.. M

What

What has been just now obferved, concerning the nature and grounds of justifying or faving faith, exactly tallies with the account which the apoftle John gives of the matter, when he intimates, that the report of the gospel, or the teftimony and record which God hath given of his Son, to be believed by finners in order to juftification, is not merely that he died and rofe again, but that eternal life is the gift of God to them through him. The fame apoftle informs us, that the fin of unbelief does not ly in not believing what Palamon calls the bare truth, or the fimple fact of Chrift's refurrec tion, but in not believing that God hath given to us eternal life in him, fo as to reft our whole hope of falvation upon him, as exhibited in the word and promifes of the gospel. He that believeth not God, Jays the apostle, hath made him a liar, because he belie veth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this the record, that God hath GIVEN TO US eternal life : and this life is in his Son *:

It is evident, that the record here spoken of is fuch as implies in it a giving of Chrift to finners, and a promife of eternal life through him. What finners are called to believe, if we may credit the infpired apostle, is not fimply that eternal life is in Chrift, or that he died and rofe again to purchase and fecure it to his chofen people; but that: God hath given unto them that eternal life; or that falvation and all spiritual bleffings, which are evidently included in eternal life, are the gift of God to THEM through him. And till perfons believe this, which they can never do but in the way of receiving or making particular application of the promife, in which the gift is exhibited, to their own fouls, they