Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the moral law and the covenants, from the…Vindiciae legis, or, A vindication of the morall law and the covenants, from the…

2. The Law must not be separated from the Spirit of God. The ¹Law is only light to the understanding, the Spirit of God must circumcise the heart to love it, and delight in it, otherwise that is true of Gods Law, which Aristotle, 2. Polit. cap. 2. said of all humane Laws, [Greek or Hebrew], it's not able of it self to make good and honest Citizens. This is a principle always to be carried along with you: for, the whole Word of God is the instrument and organ of spiritual life, and the Law is part of this Word of God: This I proved before; nay, should the Moral Law be quite abolished, yet it would not be for this end, because the Spirit of God did not use it as an instrument of life; for, we see all sides grant, that circumcision and the sacraments are argued against by the Apostle, as being against our Salvation, and damnable in their own use now; yet in the old Testament, those sacraments of Circumcision, and the Paschal Lamb, were spiritual means of faith, as truly as Baptism, and the Lords Supper are. It is true, there ⟨p. 13⟩is a difference in the degree of Gods grace by them; but not in the truth: and therefore our Divines do well confute the Papists, who hold those sacraments only typical of ours, and not to be really exhibitive of grace, as these are in the New Testament. Therefore, if the Apostles, arguing against the Moral Law, would prove it no instrument of Gods Spirit for our good, the same would hold also in Circumcision, and all those sacraments; and therefore at least for that time they must grant it a help to Christ and grace, as well as Circumcision was. If you say, Why then doth the Apostle argue against the works of the Moral Law? I answer, Because the Jews rested in them without Christ: and, it is the fault of our people, they turn the Gospel into the Law; and we may say, Whosoever seeks to be saved by his Baptism, he falls off from Christ.

2. The Law must not be separated from the Spirit of God. The ¹Law is only light to the understanding, the Spirit of God must circumcise the heart to love it, and delight in it, otherwise that is true of Gods Law, which Aristotle, 2. Polit. cap. 2. said of all humane Lawes, 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, it's not able of it self to make good and honest Citizens. This is a principle alwayes to be carried along with you: for, the whole Word of God is the instrument and organ of spirituall life, and the Law is part of this Word of God: This I proved before; nay, should the Morall Law be quite abolished, yet it would not be for this end, because the Spirit of God did not use it as an instrument of life; for, we see all sides grant, that circumcision and the sacraments are argued against by the Apostle, as being against our Salvation, and damnable in their own use now; yet in the old Testament, those sacraments of Circumcision, and the Paschall Lamb, were spirituall meanes of faith, as truly as Baptisme, and the Lords Supper are. It is true, there