3. That it is extremely to the dishonour of Jesus Christ, destructive to the gos- pel faith and all solid consolation, and forces men either to a familistical contempt or sophistical corrupting of the word of God in its defence.
Upon these and the like considerations and apprehensions, I deemed it might not be in vain to disprove the main assertion, as also to manifest the miserable inconsequence, from the asserting of God's eternal love to the denial of satisfac- tion; which in what manner the Lord enabled me to perform, you must know, reader, in the place above mentioned. At that time I had only had one conference with one about it; and for books I had only seen some few, and those so exceed- ingly inconsiderable, and so fully familistical, forced with so much contempt of the word, that I was not willing to cast away the least moinent on them.
But now, some few days ago (to come to the occasion of this appendix), there came to my hands a book written by Mr Sprigge who, both in his preface to the reader and in divers passages in the treatise itself, labours to commend to the world this glorious discovei-y, that Christ did not purchase, but only preach, peace unto us; that he came only to reveal and declare the love of God, not to procure it; that we only are reconciled to God by him, which he proves from Rom. v. 11 ; that no reconciliation with God is procured ; that this discovery, and the Uke, are that which we have prayed for all this Avhile. — Preface to the Reader. So also in many places of the treatise itself, pp. Go, 101. Indeed, everywhere it is his main scope. He bids us not think the heart of God was set upon the having a little blood (see Eph. v. 2) for the sins of his people, p. 59. These things are but plea.sant tales and childish things to allure us withal, p. 46. In short, one main aim of the book is to make the whole ministration of Clu'ist to be the discovery of a mystery nowhere revealed in the word.
It is not my purpose here to view the whole, or to separate the chaff from the wheat in it, to distinguish l^etween the spiritual truths and smoky vapours that are interwoven in it, but only to cautionate the reader a little about that one thing I before intimated, with some brief expostulations al)out it.
Only let me inform thee a little, also, that my motive hereunto is not only from the book itself, but also from the pretended " imprimatur " annexed to it. The truth itself, in opposition to this dangerous notion (with a discovery of the whole
PUBLISHED BY MR JOSHUA SPRIGGE. 427
fallacy), thou wilt find sufficiently confirmed from the Scripture in the foregoing treatise; and Christians will not easily, I hope, be shaken from the truth of the word by any pretended revelations whatsoever. Only, whereas ^tantum nomen (as is that of the reverend and learned Ucenser) is (I know not whether duly) afiixed to the treatise I speak of, until he shall have vinchcated himself, lest it should insinuate itself by the help of his name into others (as upon that score, without farther view, it was left with commendation by myself in the hand wherein I first saw it), I desire to give thee these few observations here as a foretaste, reserving thee for full satisfaction unto what is held out from the word herein in the foregoing treatise.
First, then, observe that that absurd consequence, deduced from this position, that Christ is not the cause but the effect of love, — namely, ergo, he did not pur- chase life, peace, and salv^^tion for us, — flows merely from ignorance of the love of God, and confounding those things which ought to be distinguished. Some look upon love in God as an unchangeable affection, when the truth is, as an affec- tion or passion, it hath no place in God at all. All agree that love in spirits, yea partly in men, is in appetitu iutellectivo, in the will, the intellectual appetite; and there defined to be 3-=X£<» rm) ro aya^ov, "to will good to any one." Certainly, then, in God his love is but a pure act of his will. That love which was the cause of sending his Son is, I say, an act of his will, his good pleasure, — not a natural affection to the creature. No such affection is there in God, as I have abundantly proved in this treatise. Now, this love, this act of God's will, was not purchased, not procured by Christ. Very true ; who ever was so mad as to affirm it ? Can a temporal thing be the cause of that which is eternal? This is not at all the sense of them who affirm that Christ procured the love of his Father for us. No; but the effects of this purpose, the fruits of this love, commonly called in the Scripture love, as affections are ascribed to God in respect of their effects. Now, that Christ purchased these for us, see afterward. This eternal act of God's will, this love, which was the rise of sending Jesus Christ, tended to his glory in these two acts: — first, The removing of wrath, death, curse, guilt, from them for whom he was sent, by satisfaction to his vindicative justice; secondly. The actual procuring of grace and glory for them, by merit and impetration. These things, though they are not the love of God, which is immanent in himself, yet they are those alone whereby we enjoy his love, and are purchased by Christ; which here I must not prove, lest I should actum agere.