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as Mr. Dod and other godly men had expounded them; and truly, I remember I was in hope I should at last attain to the perfect fulfilling of them; and, in the mean time, I conceived that God would accept the will for the deed; or what I could not do, Christ had done for me.

And though at last, by means of conferring with Mr. Thomas Hooker in private, the Lord was pleased to convince me that I was yet but a proud Pharisee, and to show me the way of faith and salvation by Christ alone, and to give me (I hope) a heart in some measure to embrace it; yet alas! through the weakness of my faith, I have been, and am still apt to turn aside to the covenant of works; and therefore have not attained to that joy and peace in believing, nor that measure of love to Christ, and man for Christ's sake, as I am confident many of God's saints do attain unto in the time of this life. The Lord be merciful unto me, and increase my faith!

And are there not others, though I hope but few, who being enlightened to see their misery, by reason of the guilt of sin, though not by reason of the filth of sin, and hearing of justification freely by grace, through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ, do applaud and magnify that doctrine, following them that do most preach and press the same, seeming to be, as it were, ravished with the hearing thereof, out of a conceit that they are by Christ freely justified from the guilt of sin, though still they retain the filth of sin? a These are they that content themselves with a gospel knowledge, with mere notions in the head, but not in the heart; glorying and rejoicing in free grace and justification by faith alone; professing faith in Christ, and yet are not possessed of Christ ;— these are they that can talk like believers, and yet do not walk like believers ;-these are they that have language like saints, and yet have conversation like devils; these are they that are not obe

a Mark here the spring of Antinomianism; namely, the want of a sound conviction of the odiousness aed filthiness of sin, rendering the soul loathsome and abominable in the sight of a holy God. Hence, as the sinner sees not his need of, so neither will he receive and rest on Christ for all his salvation, but will go about to halve it, grasping at his justifying blood, neglecting his sanctifying Spirit, and so falls short of all part or lot in that matter.

dient to the law of Christ, and therefore are justly called Antinomians.

Now, both these paths b leading from Christ, have been justly judged as erroneous; and, to my knowledge, not only a matter of eighteen or twenty years ago, but also within these three or four years, there has been much ado, both by preaching, writing, and disputing, both to reduce men out of them, and to keep them from them; and hot contentions have been on both sides, and all, I fear, to little purpose: for has not the strict professor according to the law, whilst he has striven to reduce the loose professor according to the gospel out of the Antinomian path entangled both himself and others the faster in the yoke of bondage? Gal. v. 1. And has not the loose professor according to the gospel, whilst he has striven to reduce the strict professor according to the law out of the legal path, "by promising liberty from the law, taught others, and been himself the servant of corruption?" 2 Pet. ii. 19.

For this cause I, though I be nothing, have by the grace of God endeavoured, in this dialogue, to walk as a middle man betwixt them both, in showing to each of them his erroneous path, with the middle path (which is Jesus Christ received truly, and walked in answerably m) as a means to bring them both unto him, and make them both one in him; and O! that the Lord would be pleased so to bless it to them, that it might be a means to produce this effect!

6 Namely, legalism and Antinomianism.

m A short and pithy description of the middle path, the only path-way to heaven"Jesus Christ (the way, John xiv. 6.) received truly (by faith, John i. 12; this is overlooked by the legalist) and walked in answerably," by holiness of heart and life, Col. ii. 6: this is neglected by the Antinomian. The Antinomian's faith is but pretended, and not true faith, since he walks not in Christ answerably. The legalist's holiness is but pretended, and not true holiness, since he hath not "received Christ" truly, and therefore is incapable of walking in Christ, which is the only true holiness competent to fallen mankind. Thus, both the legalist and the Antinomian are each of them destitute of true faith and true boliness; forasmuch as there can be no walking in Christ, without a true receiving of him; and there cannot be a true receiving of him, without walking in him so both of them are off the only way of salvation, and, continuing so must needs perish. Wherefore it concerns every one who has a value for his own soul, to take heed that he be found in the middle path.

I have (as you may see) gathered much of it out of known and approved authors; and yet have therein wronged no man; for I have restored it to the right owner again. Some part of it my manuscripts have afforded me; and of the rest I hope I may say, as Jacob did of his venison, Gen. xxvi. 20, "the Lord hath brought it unto me." Let me speak it without vain-glory, I have endeavoured herein to imitate the laborious bee, who out of divers flowers gathers honey and wax, and thereof makes one comb: if any soul feel any sweetness in it, let them praise God, and pray for me, who am weak in faith, and coid in love.

EDWARD FISHER.

A Catalogue of those writer's names, out of whom I have collected much of the matter contained in this ensuing Dialogue.

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THE

MARROW

OF

MODERN DIVINITY.

EVANGELISTA, a Minister of the Gospel.

NOMISTA, a Legalist.

ANTINOMISTA, an Antinomian.

NEOPHITUS, a Young Christian.

INTRODUCTION.

Sect. 1. Differences about the Law.-2. A threefold Law.

Nomista. SIR, my neighbour Neophitus and I having lately had some conference with this our friend and acquaintance Antinomista, about some points of religion, wherein he, differing from us both, at last said, he would be contented to be judged by our minister: therefore have we made bold to come unto you, all three of us, to pray you to hear us, and judge of our differences.

Evan. You are all of you very welcome to me; and if you please to let me hear what your differences are, I will tell you what I think.

§ 1. Nom. The truth is, sir, he and I differ in very many things; but more especially about the law: for I say, the law ought to be a rule of life to a believer; and he says, it ought not.

Neo. And surely, sir, the greatest difference betwixt him and I, is this; he would persuade me to believe in Christ; and bids me rejoice in the Lord, and live merrily, though I feel never so many corruptions in my heart, yea, though I be never so sinful in my life; the which I cannot do, nor, I think, ought to do; but rather to fear, and sorrow, and lament, for my sins.

Ant. The truth is, sir, the greatest difference betwixt my friend Nomista and I, is about the law; and therefore that is the greatest matter we come to you about.

Evan. I remember the apostle Paul willeth Titus to "avoid contentions and strivings about the law, because they are unprofitable and vain," Tit. iii. 2; and so I fear yours have been.

Nom. Sir, for my own part, I hold it very meet, that every true Christian should be very zealous for the holy law of God; especially now, when a company of these Antinomians do set themselves against it, and do what they can quite to abolish it, and utterly to root it out of the church: surely, sir, I think it not meet they should live in a Christian commonwealth.

Evan. I pray you, neighbour Nomista, be not so hot, neither let us have such unchristian-like expressions amongst us; but let us reason together in love, and with the spirit of meekness, 1 Cor. iv. 21, as Christians ought to do. I confess with the apostle, "It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing," Gal. iv. 18. But yet, as the same apostle said of the Jews, so I fear I may say of some Christians, that "they are zealous of the law," Acts xxi. 20; yea, some would be doctors of the law, and yet neither understand "what they say, nor whereof they affirm,” 1 Tim. i. 7.

Nom. Sir, I make no doubt but that I both know what I say, and whereof I affirm, when I say and affirm that the holy law of God ought to be a rule of life to a believer; for I dare pawn my soul on the truth of it.

Evan. But what law do you mean?

Nom. Why, sir, what law do you think I mean? Is there any more laws than one?

§ 2. Evan. Yea, in the Scriptures there is mention made of divers laws, but they may all be comprised under these three, viz.-the law of works, the law of faith, and the law of Christ; a Rom. iii.

a These terms are scriptural, as appears from the whole texts quoted by our author, namely, Rom. iii. 27, "Where is boasting then? it is excluded; by what law? of works? nay, but by the law of faith." Gal. vi. 2, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." By the law of works is meant the law of the ten commandments, as the covenant of works. By the law of faith, the gospel, or covenant of grace; for justification being the point upon which the apostle there states the opposition betwixt these two laws, it is evident that the former only is the law that doth not exclude boasting; and the latter only is it, by which a sinner is justified in a way that doth exclude boasting. By the law of Christ, is meant the same law of the ten commandments, as a rule of life, in the hand of a Mediator, to believers already justified, and not any one command of the law only; for " bearing one another's burdens" is a "fulfilling of the law of Christ," as it is a loving one another: but, according to the Scripture, that love is not a fulfilling of one command only, but of the whole law of the ten commands, Rom. xiii. 8-10, "He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if

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