First, then. In the second part of his parallel he affirms, "That when Christ finished his obedience, in dying and rising, and offering him- self a sacrifice, and making satisfaction, it was, by virtue of the account of God in Christ, and for Christ with God (that is, accepted with God for Christ's sake), the death, resurrection, the sacrifice and satisfaction, and the redemption of all, — that is, all and every one;" and therein he compares Christ to Adam in the performance of the business by him undertaken. Now, but that I cannot but with tremblmg con- sider what the apostle affirms, 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12, I should be ex- ceedingly amazed that any man in the world should be so far for- saken of sense, reason, faith, and all reverence of God and man, as to publish, maintain, and seek to propagate, such abominable, blas- phemous, senseless, contradictious errors. That the death of Christ sliould be accepted of and accounted before God as the death of
OBJECTIONS AND TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE CONSIDERED. 357
all, and yet the gi'eatest part of these all be adjudged to eternal death in their own persons by the same righteous God; that all and every one should arise in and with Jesus Christ, and yet most of them continue dead in their sins, and die for sin eternally; that satisfaction should be made and accepted for them who are never spared, nor shall be, one farthing of their debt; that atonement should be made by sacrifice for such as ever lie undelivered under wrath; that all the reprobates, Cain, Pharaoh, Ahab, and the rest, who were actually damned in hell, and under death and torments, then when Christ died, suffered, made satisfaction, and rose again, should be esteemed with God to have died, suffered, made satisfac- tion, and risen again with Christ ; — that, I say, such senseless contra- dictions, horrid errors, and abominable assertions, should be thus nakedly thrust upon Christians, without the least colour, pretence, or show of proof, but the naked authority of him who hath already embraced such things as these, were enough to make any man admire and be amazed, but that we know the judgments of God are oft- times hid, and far above out of our sights.
Secondly, In the third of his parallels he goeth one step higher, comparing Christ with Adam in respect of the efficacy, effect, and fruit of his obedience. He affirms, "That as by the sin of Adam all his posterity were deprived of life, and fell under sin and death, whence judgment and condemnation passed upon all, though this be done secretly and invisibly, and in some sort inexpressibly" (what he means by secretly and invisibly, well I know not, — surely he doth not sup- j)ose that these things might possibly be made the objects of our senses; and for inexpressibly, how that is, let E.om. v. 12, with other places, where all this and more is clearly, plainly, and fully expressed, be judge whether it be so or no); "so," saith he, "by the efficacy of the obedience of Christ, all men without exception are redeemed, restored, made righteous, justified freely by the grace of Christ, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, the ' righteousness that is by the faith of Jesus Christ' being ' unto all,' Rom. iii. 22," (where the impostor wickedly corrupteth the word of God, like the devil, Matt, iv., by cutting off the following words, " and upon all tliat believe," both alls answering to believers). " What remains now but that all also should be saved ? the Holy Ghost expressly affirm- ing that those 'whom God justifieth, he also glorifieth,'" Rom. y\x\. 30. " Solvite mortales animas, curisque levate." Such asser- tions as these, without any colour of proof, doth this author labour to obtrude upon us. Now, that men should be restored, and yet con- tinue lost; that they should be made righteous, and yet remain detestably Avicked, and wholly abominable; that they should be jus- tified freely by the grace of God, and yet always lie under the con- demning sentence of the law of God ; that the righteousness of God
So8 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK IV.
by the faith of Jesus Christ should be upon all unbelievers, — are not only things exceedingly opposite to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but so absolutely at variance and distance one with another, that the poor salve of Mr More's following cautions will not serve to heal their mutual wounds. I cannot but fear that it would be tedious and offensive to rake any longer in such a dunghill. Let them that have a mind to be captivated to error and falsehood by corruption of Scripture and denial of common sense aud reason, because they cannot receive the truth in the love thereof, delight themselves with such husks as these. What weaker arguments we have had, to main- tain that Christ, in his obedience to the death, was a public person in the room of all and every one, hath been already demonstrated. I shall now, by the reader's leave, a little transgress the rule of dis- putation, and, taking up the opposite part of the arguments, produce some few reasons and testimonies to demonstrate that our Saviour Christ, in his obedience unto death, in the redemption which he wrought, and satisfaction which he made, and sacrifice which he offered, was not a public person in the room of all and every man in the world, elect and reprobate, believers and infidels, or unbe- lievers ; which are briefly these : —