And thus our picus and learned divines generally affirm faith to be the condition of the covenant. So * Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, ' Faith, (saith he) hath the honour above all other graces, to be ' the condition of the second covenant ; therefore it is certainly ' some great matter that faith enables us to do. Whatsoever keeps * covenant with God, brings strength, though itself be never so ' weak ; as Samson's hair. What is weaker than a httle hair ? ' yet, because the keeping that, \\as keeping covenant with God ; ' therefore even a little hair was so great strength to Samson. Faith ' then, that is the condition of the covenant, in which all grace and ' mercy is contained, if it be kept, it will cause strength indeed to ' do great things.'*
And as this excellent man, Mr. Burroughs, is in this sense for the conditionality of the new covenant, so are the most learned and eminent of our own divines. Dr. Edward Reynolds -[-, assignhig the differences betmxt the two covenants, gives this for one : < They differ in the condition (saith he) ; there legal obedience,
* Moses's Self-denial, p. 288.
f Dr. Reynold's Life of Christ, p. 512.
VIXBICIARUM VINDEX. 529
* here only faith ; and tlie certain consequent thereof, repentance.
* There is difference hkewise in tlie manner of performing these
* conditions: For now God himself begins first to work upon us, ' and in us, before we move or stir towards him. He doth not ' only command us, and leave us to our created strength to obey ' the command ; but he furnisheth us with his own grace and Spi- ' rit to obey the command.'
Of the same judgment is Dr. Owen *. * Are we able (saith lie) ' of ourselves to fulfil the condition of the new Covenant ? Is it
* not as easy for a man by his own strength to fulfil the whole law, ' as to repent and believe the promise of the gospel ? This then is
* one main difference of these two covenants. That the Lord did in
* the Old only require the condition ; now in the New, he also ' effects it in all the foederates, to whom the covenant is extended.' This is the man you pretended to be against conditions.
Mr. William Pemble -f , opening the nature of the two covenants, saith, ' The law offers life unto man upon condition of perfect ' obedience ; the gospel offers life unto man upon another condi-
* tion, to wit, of repentance and faith in Christ.' And after his proofs for it, saith, * From whence we conclude firmly, That the ' difference between the law and the gospel, assigned by our di-
* vines, is most certain and agi'eeable to the scriptures, viz. That
* the law gives life unto the just, upon condition of perfect obedi-
* ence in all things ; the gospel gives hfe unto sinners, upon con-
* dition they repent, and believe in Christ Jesus.'
Learned and judicious Mr. William Perkins J thus, ' The cove- ' nant of grace is that, whereby God freely promising Christ and
* his benefits, exacts again of man, that he would by faith receive, ' Christ. And again, in the covenant of grace two things must be ' considered, the substance thereof, and the condition. The sub- ' stance of the covenant is. That righteousness and life everlasting, ' is given to God's church and people by Christ §. The condition ' is. That we, for our part, are by faith to receive the aforesaid ' benefits ; and this condition is by grace, as well as the sub- ' stance.'
That learned, humble, and painful minister of Christ, Mr. John Ball ||, stating the difference bet\vixt the two covenants, shews that in the covenant at Sinai, in the covenant with Abraham, and that
* Dr. Owen's Treatise of Redemption, book 3. chap. i. p. 103, 104. And in his Tract of Justification, p, 299, &c.
f Pemble of Justification, sect. 4. chap. i. p. 214, 215, 2IG, 217.
j Perkins* Order of Causes, chap, xxxi.p. 17.
§ Reformed Catholic of Justification, p. 570.
!| IVIr. J. Ball, of the covenant of grace, chap. i. Of the Ntw Covenant, p. 1 98.
530 VIXDICIAHUM VIXDEX.
M'itli David, that in all these covenant-expressurcs, there are for substance the same evangelical conditions of faith and sincerity.
Dr Davenant * thus : ' In the covenant of the gospel it is other- < wise ; for in this covenant, to the obtainment of reconciliation, 'justification, and life eternal, there is no other condition required ' than of true and lively faith, John iii. 16. ' Therefore justifica-
* tion, and the right to eternal hfe doth depend on the condition of ' faith alone."
Dr. Downame •)• harmonizeth with the rest in these words: ' That which is the only condition of the covenant of grace, by ^ that alone we are justiried: But faith is the condition of the co- ^ venant of grace, which is therefore called lex fidei. Our writers, ' saith he, distinguishing the two covenants of God, that is, the law ' and the gospel, whereof one is the covenant of works, the other ' the covenant of grace, do teach, That the law of works is that
* which to justification requireth works as the condition thereof: ' the law of faith that which to justification requireth faith as the ' condition thereof The former saith this, Do this, and thou shall
* live ; the latter, Believe in Christy and thou shalt he saved."*
But what stand I upon particular, though renowned names ? You may see a whole constellation of our sound and famous di- vines in the assembly, thus expressing themselves about this point. ' The grace of God, say they, is manifested in the second cove-
* nant, in that he freely provideth and ofFereth to sinners a Me-
* diator, and life and salvation by him, and requiring faith as the ' condition to interest them in him, promiseth and giveth his Holy ' Spirit to all his elect, to work in them that faith with all other ' saving graces, and to enable them to all holy obedience, as the ' evidence of the truth of their faith,' &c. \
I could even tire the reader with the testimonies of eminent fo- reign Divines, as Cameron, de triplicijwdere, Thes. 82. Ursinus et Paroeus, explicato Catech. Quest. 18. defoedere. Wendeline Christian Theology.^ lib. 1. cap. 19. thes. 9- Poliaiider, Rivet, Wallwus, and Thysius, the four learned professors at Leyden, Synops. Dis. 23. sect. 27. &c. And as for those ancient and modern Divines whom the Antinomians have corrupted and misrepresented, the reader may see them all vindicated, and their concurrence with those I have named evidenced by that learned and pious Mr. John Craile, in his Modest vindication of the doctrine of conditions in the covenant (f grace, from p. BS. onward ; a man whose name and memory is precious with me, not only upon the account of that excellent ser- mon he preached, and those fervent prayers he poured out many
* Davenant dejustific. Act. cap. 30.
f Tract. 1. of justification, b. 6. chap. 8. sect. 10. and b. 7. chap. 2. sect. 6.
I Larger catechis. Ah. Londun 1648, p. 8.
VIXDIOIAIIUM VIXDEX. 5^i