But according to his exposition of this heavenly oracle, what shall any one imagine to be the sense of the context, where " I," and " me," spoken of Christ, do so often occur? Suppose that the words of that whole verse, " I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me," have this sense, — not Christ himself is the way, the truth, and the life, but the gospel: " No man cometh to the Father but by me ;" tliat is, not by me, but by " the gospel," — must not all tlie expressions of the same nature in the context have the same exposition? as namely, verse 1, "Ye believe in God, believe also in me ;" that is, not in me, but in " the gospel ;" — "I go to prepare a place for you ;" that is, not I do so, but "the gospel;" verse 3, "I will come again and receive you to myself;" that is, not I, but " the gospel" will do so; and so of all other things which Christ in that i)lace seems to speak of himself. If this be his way of interpreting Scripture, I wonder not that he blames others for their defect and miscan-iages therein.
When I first considered these two last sections,* I did not suspect but that he had at least truly represented my words, which he thought meet to reflect upon and scoff at; as knowing how easy it
THE PRECEDING DISCOURSE. 325
was for any one whose conscience would give him a dispensation for such an undertaking, to pick out sayings and expressions from the most innocent discourse, and odiously to propose them, as cut off from their proper coherence, and under a concealment of the end and the principal sense designed in them. Wherefore I did not so much as read over the discourse excepted against ; only, once or twice observing my words, as quoted by him, not directly to comply with what I knew to be my sense and intention, I turned unto the particular places to discover his prevarication. But having gone through this ungrateful task, I took the pains to read over the whole digTCSsion in my book, which his exceptions are levelled against ; and, upon my review of it, m.y admiration of his dealing was not a little increased. I cannot, therefore, but desire of the most partial adherers unto this censurer of other men's labours, judgments, and expressions, but once to read over that discourse, and if they own themselves to be Christians, I shall submit the whole of it, with the consideration of his reflections upon it, unto their judgments. If they refuse so to do, I let them know I despise their censures, and do look on the satisfaction they take in this man's scoffing reflections as the laughter of fools, or the crackling of thorns under a pot. For those who will be at so much pains to undeceive themselves, they will find that that expression of the " person of Christ" is but once or tmce used in all that long dis- course, and that occasionally; which, by the outcries here made against it, any one would suppose to have filled up almost all the pages of it. He will find, also, that I have owned and declared the revelation that God hath made of himself, the properties of his nature, and his will, in his works of creation and providence, in its full extent and efficacy ; and that by the knowledge of God in Christ, which I so much insist upon, I openly, plainly, and declaredly, intend nothing but the decla- ration that God hath made of himself in Jesus Christ by the gospel : whereof the knowledge of his person, the great mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh, with what he did and suffered as the mediator between God and man, is the chiefest instance ; in which knowledge consisteth all our wisdom of livinof unto God. Hereon I have no more to add, but that he by whom these things are denied or derided, doth openly renounce his Christianity. And that I do not lay this unto the charge of this doughty writer, is because I am satisfied that he hath not done it out of any such design, but partly out of ignorance of the things which he undertakes to wTite about, and partly to satisfy the malevolence of himself and some others against my person : which sort of depraved affections, where men give up themselves unto their prevalency, mil blind the eyes and pervert the judgments of persons as wise as he.
In the first section of his fourth chapter I am not particularly con-
326 A VINDICATION OF
cemed ; and whilst he only vents his own conceits, be they never so idle or atheological, I shall never trouble myself, either with their examination or confutation. So many as he can persuade to be of his mind, — that we have no union with Christ but by virtue of union with the church (the contrary whereof is absolutely true) ; that Christ is so a head of rule and government unto the church, as that he is not a head of influence and supplies of spiritual life (contrary to the faith of the catholic church in all ages) ; that these assertions of his have any countenance from antiquit}^, or the least from the passages quoted out of Chrysostom by hhnself ; that his glosses upon many texts of Scripture (which have an admirable coincidence with those of two other persons whom I shall name when occasion requires it) are sufficient to affix upon them the sense which he pleads for, with many other things of an equal falsehood and impertinency wherewith this section is stuffed, — shall, without any farther trouble from me, be left to follow their own inclinations. But yet, notwithstanding all the great pains he hath taken to instruct us in the nature of the union between Christ and believers, I shall take leave to prefer that given by Mr Hooker before it, not only as more true and agreeable unto the Scripture, but also as better expressing the doctrine of the church of England in this matter. And if these things please the pre- sent rulers of the church, — wherein upon the matter Christ is shuffled off, and the whole of our spiritual union is resolved into the doctrine of the gospel, and the rule of the church by bishops and pastors, let it imply what contradiction it will, as it doth the highest, seeing it is by the doctrine of the gospel that we are taught our union with Christ, and his rule of the church by his laws and Spirit, — I have only the advantage to know somewhat more than I did foniierly, though not much to my satisfaction.