that the unregenerate never "love God as God, as the ultimate object, and most amiable good to be known," and as "the holy Ruler of the world,” and “the just Judge." They do not love his laws, his restraints, nor "the holiness and rectitude in themselves which God commandeth." The amount of Baxter's doctrine is, that unregenerate men do not love the entire divine character in all its relations, although they do sometimes love some of the divine attributes in some of their relations, more than they love themselves. (See the closing paragraph of 3, p. 360 above; see also 10 below).

These remarks prepare us to examine the teachings of Baxter with regard to the state of the heathen. He believed them to be, by nature, destitute of supreme love to the character of God viewed as a whole. In this sense he regarded them as totally depraved. Did he, then, believe that they would be lost? He supposed them to be under a "law of grace," a system by which their sins would be pardoned, on condition of their believing "that God is and is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But are any Pagans in this believing state, and are any saved in consequence of their compliance with this gracious law? "It is exceeding probable," is Baxter's reply, "at least, that God would never govern many hundred parts of the world (compared to the Jews) before Christ's incarnation, and five-sixth parts since his incarnation, by a law of grace which yet no person should ever have effectual grace to keep, as far as was necessary to his salvation." "But what numbers do perform the condition and are saved, no mortal man can tell," although we must think that "far fewer are saved where less means is vouchsafed, than among Christians who have herein the unvaluable preeminence above others."

"1

Although our merciful theologian did not profess to feel a confident assurance of the actual salvation of many heathen, yet he writes, in a style singularly characteristic:

"I wish the impartial reader to study Malachi 1: 10, 11, whether even this be not the sense, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name,' etc. Our translators have, as expositors, thrice at the least added the future tense, 'shall be;' but all the old translations, Syriac, Chaldee Paraphrase, Greek, Latin, etc., put it in the present tense, is great, is

1 Chap. XVI. §§ 29, 30.

offered.' It seems more probable by the context, that the Hebrew text understood the present tense, none being expressed."

"If we might imitate our Father Abraham, we should suppose the number of the saved through the world to be very considerable; for as I said elsewhere, though God had told him that Sodom was so much worse than the rest of the world that God would destroy it, yet Abraham thought there might be fifty righteous persons there. Its like he thought not worse of the rest of the world.”1

To the objection that the Gospel requires faith in Christ, as the condition of salvation, Baxter replies: that the disciples of Jesus became regenerate men before they believed that he was to die on the cross; faith in the atonement is necessary where the atonement can be known, but, where this blessed truth cannot be known, there God never exacteth of men according to what they have not, but only requires a good use of what they have. To the objection that all who are admitted into the kingdom of God must be saved by atoning grace, Baxter replies, that Pagans when thus admitted are saved, not on the ground of their own worth, but "for the sake of the meritorious sacrifice and righteousness of Christ as promised in Gen. 3: 1. No man ever came to the Father but by the Son's merit, and Spirit; nor without a consenting belief and affiance in God's redeeming or recovering, pardoning, saving mercy; and true repentance, and a sanctified soul, which is in love with God and goodness." When penitent, the heathen have been regenerated by the Holy Ghost, on the ground of Christ's atonement, although they have never heard of their Redeemer or of their Sanctifier. God often blesses men without their knowledge. Still, although the heathen have not heard of a Saviour, they are, according to Baxter, "bound not to despair of pardon and salvation; for an obligation to use means as tending to recovery is inconsistent with an obligation to despair. Therefore, hope of mercy and use of some means, mankind is obliged to by the law of lapsed nature."

1 Chap. XVI. §§ 32, 33.

2 "Though infants and idiots cannot actually believe, they may be saved by

Christ." Chap. XVIII. § 14.

8 Chap. XVI. § 26.

4

Chap. XII. Sect. 3, §§ 8-13.

§7. The Covenants.

Although the word law do principally signify the regulating imposition of our duty, and the word covenant doth principally signify a mutual contract, yet it is the same divine instrument which is meant oft and usually in Scripture by both these names. It is called a law in one respect, and a covenant in another, but the thing is the same."1 The law contains a command; this command is the condition of the covenant. The law contains a premiant clause; this promised reward is the benefit freely offered in the covenant. The law contains a penal clause; this threatened punishment is the evil specified in the covenant, as following the non-performance of the condition. The word "danan signifieth, usually, but the resolved declared terms of life and death, or the divine ordination by which he will rule and judge us. And so it is oft called a covenant before consent by man, which maketh it to be ovvvýjŋ, a mutual contract. And even a law, as received by a voluntary subject, is consented to and becometh a contract." "2 Christ inserted his commands in his Testament, John xiv.-xvi.; in his last will he gave certain gifts on certain terms. A testament is a covenant made by a man in expectation of his death.

The first covenant which God made with man, was the covenant of innocency with Adam. This was a covenant, because it contained a promise of blessedness to Adam on condition of his remaining sinless. But as we have now sinned, our perfect innocence is impossible; therefore, God promises no reward of innocence to us; for he would make no promise on a now impossible condition; cessante capacitate subditi, cessat promissio conditionalis et transit in sententiam. Hence "our divines say, that the law of nature (which they call moral) bindeth us as a rule of duty, but the covenant ceaseth." Even if we should hence. forth obey God, we have no promise of reward.

The second covenant is that of mediation made with Christ incarnate. It is too bold and offensive a phrase to call God's eternal decree of redemption by the name of a law, yea, or a covenant of God with himself; that is, of the Father with the Son. Therefore, all the descriptions of it in the Old Testament

1 Chap. XII. § 3.

2 Ib. § 3.

2

are but prophecies and promises containing the terms of the future covenant; as we call a form of prayer, a prayer, though it be but matter fitted to be a prayer when it hath the formal act."1 Emphatically is the idea disclaimed by our author, that Christ took "the real or reputative person of any man but himself." "His person was not the natural person of any other, nor esteemed of God so to be; nor yet was he the full and proper representative or civil person of any man, much less of all men; that is, one that the law allowed us to do and suffer by, so that, in law sense, his doing and suffering should be reputed ours, as a man payeth a debt by his servant or substitute; which is morally or reputatively his act and deed, or accepted in the same sort and to all the same effects and purposes, as if he had paid it with his own hands." Baxter condemns this doctrine precisely as it is now condemned by the New England divines; and affirms that, on this ground, the pure Redeemer was "in God's account a sinner, and the greatest sinner in the world, and hated as such by God above any other sinner."3 His being made sin for us signifieth, first, that he was made a sacrifice for sin, and was taken and used by God as one that undertook to suffer for our sins, in our stead, though not in our person; and, secondly, that he was really accounted a sinner by those that crucified him, and used as such." True or false, it is no new divinity which reaffirms what Baxter taught, that "Christ did not fulfil the law of innocency in our several persons; we did not reputatively fulfil that law by him; so as that his perfection is taken as ours, in habit and in act."5

The law given to Christ, that is, the condition of the covenant made with him as the incarnate Messiah, was his entire righteousness, his complete performance of duty. "It is abusive subtilty to divide Christ's performance into little parcels, and then say: This parcel is imputed to me for this use, and that for that use, and by one he merited this and by the other that, when

3 Ib. § 6.

1 Chap. XII. Sect. II. §§ 2, 3. 2 Ib. § 5. 4 Ib. § 8. Ib. 9. "In strict sense as representing a man, or doing it in his person, signifieth that Christ so died (and merited) in several mens' persons, as that the law or lawgiver doth take it to have been in sensu civili, their own suffering and doing and meriting, or to all intents, purposes and uses all one to them as if they had so died and merited themselves, thus Christ neither died nor merited for any man." Chap. XIII. § 13. Baxter insists on the distinction between Christ's suffering in our nature, and suffering in our individual persons.

(though each part of his condition or duty had its proper reason, yet) it was only the entire performance that was the condition of the benefits, and so of our justification and salvation."1

The reward offered to the incarnate Redeemer was the complete and eternal blessedness of his friends. There was no punishment annexed to this law or covenant, "for penal laws are for those that have need by fear to be restrained from sin, or constrained to duty; which Christ needed not."2

The third covenant made with man was the law or covenant of grace in the first edition. This "was made with Adam as the father of all mankind, and so with all mankind in him as truly and as much as the covenant of innocency was; for, first, God's word maketh no difference; secondly, Adam was as much after, the common father of mankind, and all we as much in him, as before the fall; thirdly, the express word of God in many places proveth it, joining children with parents in such blessings, and, therefore, including the children of Adam." 8 The command of this law, or the condition of this covenant, is, repentance of past sin, the cordial acceptance of truth so far as revealed. The reward of obedience, or the blessing of the covenant, is heaven; the punishment of disobedience is hell. It is called the law of grace, because it promises the pardon of sin on condition of a penitent and believing heart in view of the truth made known to the subject.

This law of grace is in force over the heathen world (see § 6 above); but it requires more and greater duties when it is addressed to those who have the supernatural revelation. It had a peculiar appendix, when it was addressed to Abraham and his seed. His family were required to be a "peculiar people" in their state of feeling, and to practise the outward rite of circumcision; these were the peculiar condition of their covenant with God. But this condition was made still fuller, the command of the law became still more extended, when the covenant was renewed with the Jews under Moses. A complicated ritual was appended to the law of grace as previously revealed, and the whole moral and ceremonial law was made the distinguishing badge of the Jewish theocracy. This is called by Baxter the "covenant of peculiarity," being the same with the covenant of grace enlarged by the Abrahamic and the Mosaic appen. Ib. Sect. III. § 21.

1 Chap. XII. Sect. II. § 16.

2 Ib. § 15,