difinherited-and have his portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; and if so, it had been better for them that they had never been made heirs.

Cufbi. Men who talk at that rate do not truft in the grace of God; if you read their writings, you will find that all their contention is for fleshly works, and in works they truft. And though the word grace be often brought in, yet it is only done as a deception to entangle others; hence fuch are faid in fcripture to weave the Spider's web; that is, as the spider catcheth her prey in her web, so these interweave the word grace to catch fouls for Satan in the net of works. And as many a fly fettles on the web to reft till it be devoured, fo many fouls fettle on the Arminian web of grace and works, till they are entangled in the curfe of God and jaws of the devil. Such truft in themselves, not in God; and in their own dead works they place their hopes, inftead of grace. But the inheritance is not promised to our works, nor fecured by them: For if the inheritance be of the law it is no more of promife; but God gave it to Abraham by promife. Gal. iii. 18. If it were to be obtained by the works of the law it would be very uncertain; man might perform his part, and he might not: and if he did not perform the conditions, whatever fuch conditions might be, then Infinite Wif dom might be fruftrated in his grand defigns: therefore God has fecured it in a way that the end

is fure to be accomplished; which will plainly appear, if you confider the following negative and pofitive: For if they which are of the law be beirs, faith is made void, and the promife made of none effect; because the law worketh wrath; for where no law is there is no tranfgreffion, Rom. iv. 15.

If the law worketh wrath, as it certainly does, because it reveals God's wrath against fin, and ftirs up fin against God; therefore the everlasting inheritance cannot be obtained by works, nor can it be fecured by the revelation of wrath so far from it, that the ftiffeft legalift is the greatest enemy to God, and the farthest from the kingdom of God. The inheritance therefore is of faith [which is God's gift], that it might be [bestowed] by grace [not earned by works], to the end the promise might [not mifcarry, but] be fure to all the feed. Rom. iv. 16,

Thus you see it is a bleffing given us in Christ -promised to faith-secured by grace—and insured to all the chofen feed. Those persons that you fpeak of, truft altogether in their own works, and bring in the word grace as a trap to entangle others in the works of the law: and when their fleshly works deceive and throw them down, as they did Peter, then they cry out, fuch an one is fallen from grace: whereas fuch always fight against grace. Thus the painted fepulchre wears the garlandwhile he is permitted to deceive, and grace bears the fcandal; when God fulfils his promife, The prating fool fall fall. Prov. x. 8.

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Abimaaz.

Abimaaz. But there are many of these people who talk much of legal convictions and law terrors; and you know that Paul fays, it is experience that worketh hope.

Cufbi. The experience of pardon, peace, and reconciliation through Chrift, and of regeneration by the Holy Ghost, worketh hope, but no other : the devils have experienced as many legal convictions, law terrors, motions of pride, workings of error, and as much defperate rebellion, as all the. human race together, and yet are as far from hope as enmity and eternity can fet them. But the elect are predeftinated: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predeftinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Eph. i. 11. Hence they are faid to have their names inrolled in the book of life; and the book is figned by three immutable witneffes, and each witnefs has his name recorded in it, as appears by the Bible; and the Bible is a copy of the eternal council. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghoft, and these three are one. 1 John v. 7. This book is fealed with feven feals, Rev. v. 1, and delivered to the dear Redeemer, as God the Father's will; which will was to be obeyed by the Saviour, and made known to the chofen heirs. The conditions of it, fuch as, magnifying the law, and fatiffying divine justice, were to be punctually performed, and the Father's plan fully executed by

the

the Lord Chrift; and fo the inheritance was to be handed down to us by the Father's will, and the Son's teftament; of which will Chrift is the teftator, the executor, and the mediator. And for this cause be is the Mediator of the new teftament, that by means of [his] death, for the redemption of the tranfgreffions that were [committed] under the first teftament [or law], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance: for where a teftament is, there must also of neceffity be the death of the teftator. Heb. ix. 15, 16. 16. Our blessed Lord fhewed this when he inftituted the Lord's fupper; which prefigured the death of himself as the Teftator, and the benefits of the testament, flowing to the innumerable multitude of chofen heirs. For this is my blood of the new teftament, which is fhed for many for the remiffion of fins. Matt. xxvi. 28.

Abimaaz. If this be the cafe, pray what became of the elect that went out of the world before the death of Chrift? How could the eternal inheritance be conveyed to them? For the apoftle fays, that a teftament is of force after men are dead; otherwife it is of no ftrength at all while the teftator liveth. Heb. ix. 17.

Cufbi. When the Saviour revealed the Father's will and his own teftament to Adam, faying, The feed of the woman fhall bruife the ferpent's head, and the Serpent fhall bruife the Saviour's beel, his death was implied in the promise, and clearly fhewn by the. facrifice: and when Abel embraced the fame

promise by faith, his lamb prefigured the Lord's death: hence Chrift is faid to die in the type; and is therefore called the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world. Rev. xiii. 8. So that the teftament was of ftrength as foon as the firft promife was confirmed by a facrifice. And by those legal sacrifices was the gofpel preached to the children of Ifrael, Heb. iv. 1, 2, 3; and thofe that rejected it, and trufted in the moral law, died in unbelief, and came fhort of the inheritance; but those who mixed faith with the word, received the benefits of the testainent; they eat the spiritual meat, and drank the fpiritual drink; they drank of the rock that followed them, and that rock was Chrift. 1 Cor. x. 4.

Mofes was very particular in pointing the Ifraelites to this bleffed Teftator and testament; for the tabernacle, which prefigured the church, the books likewife, and the people, were all sprinkled, to fhew that the church must be washed in the blood of the antitype; and that the teftament must be confirmed by the blood of Chrift, was fhewn by fprinkling the books; and that finners hearts must be sprinkled from an evil confcience, was fhewn by fprinkling the people. For when Mofes had Spoken every precept to the people, according to the law (he then pointed them to the blood of Chrift), be took the blood of calves and of goats, with water and fcarlet wool and byffop, and fprinkled both the books and all the people, faying, This is the blood of the teftament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, be Sprinkled