of God and his faints the lie, by crying up the will and power of fallen man, to believe, to come, and to close in with the Saviour?

Cufbi. As for the Saviour, they ought to leave him quite out of the question. If man is not fallen, there is no call for help; if he be not dead, there is no need of the gift of eternal life; if man has a will, no call for God to make him willing; if he has a power of his own, no call for a divine power to be put forth; and if he be not loft, no call for falvation by grace: but, alas! they are like the Roman catholics, whofe hearts may be compared to a field of battle, where pride and conscience are at war all the year round. Ask a papist how he is to be justified? Pride answers, By works. Afk if he can keep the law? The anfwer is, Yes; and gave it an obedience that exceeds the command, even works of fupererogation, more than the law requires. Afk confcience what she thinks of juftification and acceptance with God by fuperabounding works; and her anfwer will be this, You must judge of our heart by our actions. If we thought that our works would justify us, and bring in God himself a debtor to us (as we talk), we fhould not be at the pains of praying to thirty or forty mediators and interceffors; nor fhould we buy pardons and abfolutions, nor give fuch large fums to trading priefts to pray us out of hell when we are dead; you would hear nothing of this if all were right within; therefore you must judge of our faith by

thefe fruits. Juft fo it is with an Arminian; let confcience gripe him, and he talks of righteousness of Chrift and free grace; but if a few dead works make confcience lie quiet, then pride and felfwill contradict all that confcience faid: this appears throughout all their writings. Thus they rebel if the face of truth, and oppose the verdict and fentence of their own thoughts and confcience. It requires a greater power to raise a dead foul to the life of faith, than to raise a dead body to life and action.

Lazarus, come forth! The command was inftantly obeyed, though the body was fettered with a winding-fheet. He that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. John xi. 43, 44.

Abimaaz. According to your account of popery and Arminianism, which you seem to view as one fyftem, they are under the fame conteft that Nicodemus was his confcience told him that Jefus was the great Meffiah; this he owned. We believe that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man do the miracles that thou doeft, except God be with him. And yet his pride oppofed his confcience; Have any of the rulers believed on him? and if I go to him for tuition, what becomes of my infallibility and reputation? Thus he ftands at the ftrait gate, and his own pride made the ftrait. Had he obeyed the voice of the inward teftimony that the Saviour's miracles produced, without confulting his reputation, be

would

would have been removed out of that firait into a broad place, where there is no ftraitnefs. Job xxxvi. 16. But in order to keep up his reputation, and palm his confcience too, he acts the part of Guy Faux, goes by night, until he fees the crucifixion of the Saviour, and -the judgments that attended his dying cry. Then he appears, and publicly owns the dead temple, though before afhamed to own the living God, that for above thirty years had dwelt in it, and difplayed no lefs than omnipotent power from it. His pride procured him juft caufe for cutting regret.

Abimaaz. Indeed, my brother, the fear of man bringeth a fnare; but whofo putteth his trust in the Lord fhall be fafe. Prov. xxix. 25. And I believe thousands have been, and still are, taken in that fnare; they love (as the Saviour fays) the praise of men more than the praise of God. John xii, 43. This is awful; as the Lord declares, that whosoever shall be ashamed of him and of his words in this adulterous and finful generation, of him alfo fhall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Mark viii. 38. But do let me hear a little more of the Lord's proceedings with Prodigalis, for I dearly love to hear of converting work going on.

Cufbi. Why, bleffed be God, he is alive from the dead; as the Scripture fays, Bleffed and holy is be that hath part in the first refurrection; on such the fecond death bath no power. Rev. xx. 6.

Abimaaz. Pray what do you fuppofe the Holy Ghoft means by that text? Does he mean the preeminence of the faints at the general refurrection? or does he mean the faints rifing to newness of life by the quickening power of the Holy Ghost at regeneration?

Cufbi. Doubtless, the pre-eminence of the faints at the general refurrection is implied, because it is revealed, that the dead in Chrift fhall rife firft. I Theff. iv. 16. The faint fhall have the pre-eminence in that day. This their [wicked] way is their folly, yet their pofterity approve their fayings; like fheep they are laid in the grave; death fhall feed on them; and the upright fhall have dominion over them in the morning. Pf. xlix. 14. Thus, you fee, the dead in Chrift fhall rife firft; the upright fhall have dominion in that morning when the Sun of righteousnefs fhall arife; as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, fo fhall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Matt. xxiv. 27.

Abimaaz. Pray what is meant by the dead in Christ?

Cufbi. There are two heads who reprefent all the offspring of Adam; and every individual dies a member in union with one of thofe heads. The man that believes in Chrift, hath righteoufnefs and ftrength in Chrift; and, being joined to Chrift, is of one fpirit with him. He that is joined to the Lord is one fpirit. 1 Cor. vi. 17. By virtue of this spiritual union, he is a part of the mystical body of Christ, and

a member

a member in particular. 1 Cor. xii. 27. This union was from all eternity between Chrift and the elect; but it is not revealed till regeneration. Bleffed are they that follow the Lord in the regeneration; they fball fit on thrones. Matt. xix. 28.

As members of Chrift by grace, and in union with him by the fpirit, they live in this world; and as his members in union they accordingly die: hence they are faid to die in him. Bleffed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, faith the Spirit, that they may reft from their labours, and their works do follow them. Rev. xiv. 13. Perfons thus departed are called by the apoftle, the dead in Christ.

Chrift is called the fecond Adam, the Lord from heaven, the quickening spirit ; and those that die members of this heavenly head, are to be like him; as is the heavenly [head], such are they also that are heavenly [members]. 1 Cor. xv. 48. And as we have borne the image of the earthy [head before converfion], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly [head being converted]. 1 Cor. xv. 49.

On the other hand, Adam is the fallen head of all that are in the flesh, or in their first-born state, -never born again of the Spirit; hence they are called fleshly children; that is, they that are the children of the flesh, thefe are not the children of God. Rom. ix. 8.

Christ and Adam are the two heads, the reprefentatives of all the children of men. And fo it is