The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errors of Papists, Arminians,…The true doctrine of justification asserted and vindicated, from the errours of Papists, Arminians,…

compare this place with Ps. 2.12. and thus the words following suppose, for our God is a consuming fire; this is taken out of Deu. 4.24. and the meaning is, God is no less angry with Christians sinning against him, then formerly with the Israelites, & it is as easy for him to destroy whom he is offended with, as for the fire to destroy stubble. How directly doth this place overthrow that Antinomian assertion, God saw sin in believers in the Old Testament, and therefore afflicted them, but it is not so under the New?

Now when its said, God is a consuming fire, this denoteth the great anger of God, compare it with Deu. 9.3. & Deu. 32.22. Fire is most efficacious, and least capable of transmutation as other elements are, for which reason the Persians worshipped fire for a god, but fire might be extinguished, whereas God is such a fire as consumeth all, and remaineth immutable. Know then (brethren) that as there are places in the New Testament, which speak of the riches of his grace, so also of his consuming anger. As therefore the promises of the Scripture are for consolation & hope to the godly, so are the threatenings for a godly fear. Between these two millstones a Christian is made dulcis farina, as Luther once said; and neither of these millstones may be taken for a pledge, as the Law was in the Old Testament, because one cannot work without the other. Therefore for a man to take only those places of Scripture, which speak of the goodness of the promises, and to reject the terrors of the threatenings▪ is spiritual theft in an high degree. Doth not Paul, 2 Cor. 5 excite himself to run like a Giant in his ministerial race, because of the terror of the Lord at the day of Judgement? See ver. 10. We must all appear (so to