In his ensuing pages he wonderfully perplexeth himself in gather- ing up sayings, backward and forward in my discourse, to make some advantage to his purpose, and hopes that he is arrived at no less success than a discovery of I know not what contradictions in what I have asserted. As I said before, so I say again, that I refer the determination and judgment of this whole matter unto any one who will but once read over the discourse excepted against. But for his part, I greatly pity him, as really supposing him at a loss in the sense of what is yet plainly delivered ; and I had rather continue to think so, than to be relieved by supposing him guilty of such gi'oss prevarications as he must be if he understands what he treats about. Plainly, I have showed that there was an especial law of mediation, Avhich Christ was subject unto, at the commandment of the Father: that he should be incarnate; that he should be the king, priest, and prophet of his church ; that he should bear our iniquities, make his soul an offering for sin, and give his life a ransom for many, were the principal parts of this law. The whole of it I have lately ex- plained, in my exercitations unto the second part of the Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews ; whereon, if he please, he may exercise and try his skill in a way of opposition. This law our Lord Jesus Christ did not yield obedience to in our stead, as though we had been obliged originally unto the duties of it, which we neither were nor could be ; although what he suffered penally in any of them was in our stead; without which consideration he could not have right- eously suffered in any kind. And the following trivial exception of this author, about the obligation on us to lay down our lives for the
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brethren, is meet for him to put in, seeing we are not obliged so to (lie for any one as Christ died for us. Was Paul crucified for you? But, secondly, Christ our mediator, and as mediator, Avas obliged unto all that obedience unto the moral, and all other laws of God, that the church was obliged unto ; and that which I have asserted hereon is, that the effects of the former obedience of Christ are com- municated unto us, but the latter obedience itself is imputed unto us; and [I] have proved it by those arguments which this man does not touch upon. All this is more fully, clearly, and plainly declared in the discourse itself; and I have only represented so much of it here again, that it might be evident unto all how frivolous are his exceptions. It is therefore to no purpose for me to transcribe again the quotations out of my book which he filleth up his pages with, seeing it is but little in them which he excepteth against ; and who- ever 2:)leaseth, may consult them at large in the places from whence they are taken ; or, because it is not easy to find them out singly, they are so picked up and down, backwards and forwards, curtailed and added to at pleasure, any one may, in a very little space of time, read over the whole unto his full satisfaction. I shall, therefore, only consider his exceptions, and haste unto an end of this fruitless trouble, wherein I am most unwillingly engaged by this man's unsuspected disingenuity and ignorance.
After the citation of some passages, he adds, jd. 301, " Thi.s, me- thinks, is very strange, that what he did as mediator is not imputed unto us ; but what he did, not as our mediator, but as a man subject to the law, that is imputed to us, and reckoned as if we had done it, by reason of his being our mediator. And it is as strange to the full, that Christ should do whatever was required of us by virtue of any law, when he was neither husband, nor wife, nor father, merchant nor tradesman, seaman nor soldier, captain nor lieutenant, much le.ss a temporal prince and monarch. And how he should discharge the duties of these relations for us, which are required of us by certain laws, when he never was in any of these relations, and could not pos- sibly be in all, is an argument which may exercise the subtilty of schoolmen, and to them I leave it."
It were greatly to be desired that he would be a little more heed- ful, and with attention read the writings of other men, that he might understand them before he comes to make such a bluster in his op- position to them: for I had told him plainly, that though there was a peculiar law of mediation, whose acts and duties we had no obli- gation unto, yet the Lord Christ, even as mediator, was obliged unto, and did personally perform, all the duties of obedience unto the law of God whereunto we were subject and obliged, p. 181,^ sec. 14. And ' r. 159 of tliis volume.
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