I beg his excuse : truth and good company will give a modest man a little confidence sometimes; and against his experience of the whole world, falsely pretended, I can oppose the testimonies of the Scripture, and all the ancient writers of the church, very few ex- cepted. We can know of God only what he hath, one way or other, revealed of himself, and nothing else; and I say again, that God hath not revealed his love unto sinners, and his pardoning mercy, any other way but in and by Jesus Christ. For what he adds as to the knowledge which the Jews had of these things by God's revela- tion in the Scripture, when he can prove that all those revelations, or any of them, had not respect unto the promised seed, — the Son of
292 A VINDICATION OF
God, — to be exhibited in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil, he will speak somewhat unto his purpose. In the meantime, this insertion of the consideration of them who enjoyed that revelation of Christ which God was pleased to build his church upon under the Old Testament, is weak and impertinent. Their apprehensions, I acknowledge, concerning the person of Christ, and the speciality of the work of his mediation, were dark and obscure; but so, also, pro- portionably was their knowledge of all other sacred truths, which yet with all diligence they inquired into. That which I intended is expressed by the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, " It is written. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prejDared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by liis Spirit." "What a confident man was this apostle, as to affirm that the things of the gi'ace and mercy of God did never enter into the heart of man to conceive, nor would so have done, had they not been revealed' by the Spirit of God in the gospel through Jesus Christ I
But this is only a transient charge. There ensues that which is much more severe, p. 45; as, for instance, "He tells us, ' that in Christ' (that is, in his death and sufferings for our sins) 'God hath manifested the naturalness of this righteousness" (that is, vindictive justice in punishing sin), ' that it was impossible that it should be diverted from sinners without the interposing of a propitiation; that is, that God is so just and righteous, that he cannot pardon sin without satisfaction to his justice.' Now, this indeed is such a notion of justice as is perfectly new, which neither Scripture nor nature acquaints us with ; for all mankind have accounted it an act of goodness, without the least suspicion of injustice in it, to remit injuries and offences without exacting any punishment, — that he is so far from being just, that he is cruel and savage, who will remit no offence till he hath satisfied his revenge." The reader who is in any measure or degree acquainted with these things, knows full well what is intended by that which I have asserted. It is no more but this, — that such is the essentijd holiness and righteousness of the nature of God, that, considering him as the supreme governor and ruler of all mankind, it Avas inconsis- tent with the holmess and rectitude of his rule, and the glory of his government, to pass by sin absolutely, or to pardon it without satis- faction, propitiation, or atonement. This, I said, was made evident in the death and sufferings of Christ, wherein God made all our iniquities to meet upon him, and spared him not, that we might obtain mercy and gi-ace. This is here now called out by our author as a very dangerous or foolish passage in my discourse, which he thought he might highly advantage his reputation by reflecting upon. But as the orator said to his adversary, " Equidem vehementer Isetov
THE PRECEDING DISCOURSE. 293
eum esse me, in quern tu cum cuperes, nullam contumeliam jacere potueris, qu£e non ad maximam partem civium convenerit," — so it is here fallen out. If this man knows not that this is the judgment of the generality of the most learned divines of Europe upon the matter, of all who have engaged with any success against the Socinians, one or two only excepted, I can pity him, but not relieve him in his unhappiness, unless he will be pleased to take more pains in reading good books than as yet he appeareth to have done. But for the thing itself, and his reflections upon it, I shall observe yet some few things, and so pass on; — as first, the opposition that he makes unto my position is nothing but a crude assertion of one of the meanest and most absurd sophisms which the Socinians use in this cause, — namely, that every one may remit injuries and offences as he pleaseth, without exacting any punishment : which, as it is true in most cases of injuries and offences against private persons, wherein no others are concerned but themselves, nor are they obliged by any law of the community to pursue their own right ; so, with respect unto public rulers of the community, and unto such injuries and offences as are done against supreme rule, tending directly unto the dissolution of the society centring in it, to suppose that such rulers are not obliged to inflict those punishments which justice and the preservation of the com- munity doth require, is a fond and ridiculous imagination, — destruc- tive, if pursued, unto all human society, and rendering government a useless thing in the world. Therefore, what this author (who seems to understand very little of these things) adds, " that governors may spare or punish as they see reason for it;" if the rule of that reason and judgment be not that justice which respects the good and benefit of the society or community, they do amiss, and sin, in sparing and punishing : which I suppose he will not ascribe unto the government of God. But I have fully debated these things in sundry writings against the Socinians; so that I will not again enlarge upon them without a more important occasion. It is not improbable but he knows where to find those discourses; and he may, when he please, exercise his skill upon them. Again : I cannot but remark upon the consequences that he chargeth this position withal ; and yet I cannot do it without begging pardon for repeating such horrid and desperate blasphemies. P. 46, " The account," saith he, " of this is very plain; because the justice of God hath glutted itself with revenge on sin in the death of Christ, and so henceforward we may be sure he will be very kind, as a revengeful man is when his passion is over." P. 47, " The sum of which is, that God is all love and patience when he hath taken his fill of revenge; as others use to say that the devil is very- good when he is pleased." P. 59, " The justice and vengeance of God, having their actings assigned them to the full, being glutted and