4;thly. It appears from what God bestows upon his elect, upon the account of the undertaking of Christ for them, in the pursuit of the eternal purpose of his will, antecedently to any thing whatsoever in them that should engage him to do them the least good. When God comes as a friend, to hold out unto and bestow good things upon men, — I mean, good in that kind of mercy which is peculiarly suited to the bringing of them to the enjoyment of himself, — it is evident that he hath put an end to all enmity and quarrel between him and them. Now, antecedently unto any thing in men, God, for Christ's sake, bestows, with the greatest act of friendship imaginable, no less than the Holy Spirit on them. By him they are quickened ; and their faith is but a fruit of that Spirit bestowed on them. If they have not any sufficiency in themselves, as much as to think a good thought, nor can do any thing that is acceptable to God, being by nature dead in trespasses and sins, which at present (the Scrip- ture affirming it) I take for granted, then assuredly God doth give his Holy Spirit to the saints,^ whereby he " works in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure,"^ antecedently to any good thing in them that is well-pleasing unto him. Every thing that men do must either be brought forth by the strength and ability of their own natural faculties, assisted and provoked by motives and persua- sions from without, or it must be the operation of the Spirit of God. There is not another principle to be fixed on. The first (at pre- sent I take it for granted) is not the fountain of any spiritual acting whatsoever, neither can any gracious act be educed radically from the corrupt natural faculty, however assisted or advantaged.* It must be the Spirit, then, that is the sole principal cause and author of all the movings of our souls towards God that are acceptable to him in Christ. Now, the cause is certainly before the effect; and the Spirit, in order of nature, is bestowed upon us antecedently to
' Rom. viii. 32; 1 Pet. ii. 24; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Gal. iii. 13; Heb. ii. 9. « Tsa. lix. 21 ; Rom. viii. 11; Gal. v. 22; 1 Cor. xii. 4; 2 Cor. iii. 5; John xv. 4, 5; Eph. ii. 1-3. » Phil. ii. 13. « Gen. viii. 21 ; Job xiv. 4; Matt xii. 33.
VII.] THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST. 301
all the grace which he worketh in us. Whether the Spirit be be- stowed on men on the account of Christ's undertaking for them none can question but they must withal deny him to be the media- tor of the new covenant. The Spirit of grace is the principal pro- mise thereof, Isa. lix. 20, 21. "We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ," Eph. i. 8. Surely the Holy Spirit himself, so often promised to us of God, is a spiritual blessing. God's bestowing faith on us is antecedent to our believing, and this also is given upon the account of Christ: Phil. i. 29, "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ to believe on him." If, then, God, for Christ's sake, antecedently to any thing that is good, that is not enmity to him, that is not iniquity in men, do bestow on them all that ever is good in them, as to the root and principle of it, surely his quarrel against their sins is put to an issue. Hence Christ being said to "make reconciliation for the sins of the people," Heb. ii. 17, God, as one pacified and atoned thereujoon, is said to be "in him reconciling the world unto himself," 2 Cor. v. 19; and in the dispensation of the gospel he is still set forth as one carrying on that peace whose foundation is laid in the blood of his Son,^ by the atonement of his justice; and we are said to accept or "receive the atonement," Rom. V. 11. We receive it by faith, it being accepted by him. Thus this death and oblation is said to be a "sacrifice of a sweet-smelling sa- vour," Eph. V. 2, — that wherein God is abundantly delighted, and wherewith his soul is fully satisfied ; so that as when he smelled a sweet savour from the sacrifice of Noah, he sware he would curse the earth no more,^ smelling this sweet savour of the oblation of Christ on the account of them for whom it was offered, he will not exe- cute the curse on them whereof they were guilty. I might also insist on those testimonies, for the farther proof of the former asser- tion, where an immediate efficacy for the taking away of sin is as- - cribed to the death of Christ;^ but what hath been spoken may at present suffice.
The premises considered, some light may be brought forth to dis- cover the various mistakes of men about the effects of the death of Christ as to the taking away of sin, if that were now the matter before us.'* Some having truly fixed their thoughts on the efficacy of the death of Christ for abolition of sin, do give their lusts and darkness leave to make wretched inferences thereupon ; as that, "Because we are so completely justified and accepted before and with- out our believing, or the consideration of any thing whatever in us, therefore sin is nothing, nor at all to be accounted of." And though they say we must not sin that grace may abound, yet too many, by