A Caution to All Against a Legal Spirit

A Caution to all against a legal Spirit; especially to those that hare a Profession without Power, and learning without Grace.

^W”HY, says the haughty heart of legalists,

Bound to the law of works by nat’ral twists, c Why such ado about a law-divorce? [worse? ‘Men’s lives are bad, and would you have them 1 Such antinomian stuff with laboured toil ‘Would human beauty’s native lustre spoil. ‘What wickedness beneath the cov’ring lurks,

* That lewdly would divorce us all from works? Why such a stir about the law and grace?

* We know that merit cannot now take place.

1 And what needs more?’ Weil, to let slander drop., Be merit for a little here the scope.

Ah! many learn to lisp in gospel-terms, Who yet embrace the law with legal arms. By wholesome education some are taught To own that human merit now is naught; Who faintly but renounce proud merit’s name, And cleave refin’dly to the Popish scheme; For graceful works ex) ecting divine bliss, And, when they fail, trust Christ for what’s amiss. Thus to his righteousness profess to flee, let by it still would their own saviours, be.

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They seem, to works of merit bloody foes, Yet seek salvation as it were5 by those. Blind Gentiles found, who did not seek nor know; But Isra’l lost it whole, who Bought it bo.

Let all that love to wear the legal dress, Know that as sin, so bastard righteousness Has slain its thousands, who in tow’ring pride The righteousness of Jesus Christ deride A robe divinely wrought, divinely won; Yet cast by men, for rags that are their own. But some to legal works seem whole deny’d, Yet would by gospel-works be justify’d, By faith, repentance, love, and other such: -i These dreamers being righteous overmuch, Like Uzza, give the ark a wrongful touch. J By legal deeds, however gospelizVl, Can e’er tremendous justice be appeas’d? Or sinners justify’d before that God, Whose law is perfect, and exceeding broad? Nay, faith itself, that leading gospel-grace, Holds as a work no justifying place: Just Heav’n to man for righteousness imputes Not faith itself, or in its acts or fruits, But Jesus meritorious life and death, Faith’s proper object, all the honour hath. From this doth faith derive its glorious fame, Its great renown and justifying name; Receiving all things but deserving nought; By faith all ’s begg’d and taken, nothing bought. Its highest name is from the wedding vote, So instrumental in the marriage-knot.

Jehovah lends the bride, in that blest hour, Til’ exceeding greatness of his mighty pow’rc; Which sweetly does her heart-consent command. To reach the wealthy prince her naked hand. For close to his embrace she’d never stir, If first his loving arms embrac’d not her: J Rom. fab 3Zt c Ephes. vii. 16.

But this he does by kindly gradual chase, Of rousing, raising, teaching, drawing grace. He sh< ws her in his sweetest love address, His glory, as the Sun of .righteousness; At which all dying; lories ( nth adorn, Shrink like the sir k moon at the w hoiesome morn. This glorious Sun arising with a graces, Dark shade of creature-righteousness to chase, Faith now disclaims itself, ana all the train - Of virtues formerly accounted gam;

And counts them dutfg*,with holy meek disdain. J For now appears the height, the depth immense Of divine bounty and benevolence; Amazing mercy! ignorant ol bounds! Which most enlarged faculties confounds. How vain, how void now seem the vulgar charms, The monarch’s pomp of courts, and pride of arms? The boasted beauties of the human kind, The pow’rs of body, and the gifts of mind? Lo! in the grandeur of linmanuei’s train, All’s swallow’d up, as rivers in the main. He’s seen, when gospel-light and sight is giv’n, Encompass’d round with all the pomp of heav’n. The soul, now taught of God, sees human schools Make Christless rabbi’s only lit’rate fools; And that, till divine teaching pow’rful draw, No learning will divorce them from the law7. Mere argument may clear the head, and force A verbal, not a cordial clean divorce; Hence many, taught the wholesome terms of art, Have gospel-heads, but still a legal heart. Till sov’reign grace and pow’r the sinner catch, He takes not Jesus for his only match. Nay, works complete! ah! true, however odd, Dead works are rivals with the living God. Till Heaven’s preventing mercy clear the sight, Confound the pride with supemat’ral light;

d Phil, iii, 7, 8.

No haughty soul 6f human kind is brought To mortify her self-exalting thought.

I i bo’tu s ( Keaturj - in day-tents that lodge, Be their lives scann’d by the dreadful Jud

How shall they e’er his awful search endure, Biibre Whose purest eyes heav’n is not pure? How must their black indictment be. enlargNi, When by him angels are with folly charg’d? “What human worth shall stand, when he shall O may his glory stain the pride of man! [scan? How wondrous are the tracks of divine grace! How search less are his ways, how vast tlf abyss! Let haughty reason stoop, and fear to leap; Angelic plummets cannot sound the deep. With scorn he turns his eyes from haughty kings, With pleasure looks on low and worthless things; Deep are his judgments, sovereign is his will, Let ev’ry mortal worm be dumb, be still. In vain proud reason swells beyond its bound; -i God and his counsels are a gulf profound,

An ocean, wherein all our thoughts are drown’d. J.