1. The higher and larger measure of willingness, or the more superlatively the will be bended, the light of a divine Law shining on the mind and will, the more of the Spirit, (because the Spirit is essentially free, Ps. 51.12. 2 Cor. 3.17.) the more freeness: and the more freeness, the more renewed will in the obedience: and the more renewed will the less constraint, because freeness exhausteth constraint, and especially when constraint looketh toward eternal punishment, and the Law compelleth, under pain of eternal death, those that are under Law-obligation,1 to obey. Now fear of eternal wrath is wholly swallowed up, where a free spirit of love and strong delight to obey, intervenes between obedience and such fear, as is clear in the man Christ in the days of his flesh, and the confirmed Angels: and though I doubt nothing, but fear of the second death was in its way, and so far as was congruous and convenient for a state of sinless innocency, to work upon the will of the first Adam and Eve to debtor them from sinning; otherwise that threatening of God (In the day thou eatest thou shalt dye) had no intrinsical end, nor was it rational, which cannot be said: yet Law-threatenings had no influence on the will of ⟨p. 319⟩the confirmed Angels, much less on the perfect and holy will of the second Adam, which was so filled with God, so ballasted with so many talent weights of sweet delight and free love, Ps. 40.7, 8. Joh. 4.34. as Angels and Christ obeyed, without any eye-look or glance of their thoughts to Law-threatening. And the justified beleever• now obeying as a Son, not as a bond-slave, yieldeth willing obedience, from a free leading Spirit, the Spirit of adoption proper to sons, who obey their father, out of an instinct of love, not out of a principle of commanding awing and terrifying Law, as slaves under bondage do obey their masters, Rom 8.14, 15, 16, 17. And the Law of the Spirit of life cometh in into the place of the compelling and cursing Law (not that the directing and obliging power thereof is removed) and acteth a believer to obey, as if there were no Law over him at all, and freeth him from the Law of sin, from the dominion of the Law in binding him over to a curse, Rom. 8.2. Rom. 7.1, 2, 3. as if there were not a Law given to a justified man, 1 Tim. 1.9.
1. The higher and larger measure of willingnesse, or the more superlatively the will be bended, the light of a divine Law shining on the minde and will, the more of the Spirit, (because the Spirit is essentially free, Ps. 51.12. 2 Cor. 3.17.) the more freenesse: and the more freenesse, the more renewed will in the obedience: and the more renewed will the lesse constraint, because freenesse exhausteth constraint, and especially when constraint looketh toward eternall punishment, and the Law compelleth, under pain of eternall death, those that are under Law-obligation,1 to obey. Now fear of eternall wrath is wholly swallowed up, where a free spirit of love and strong delight to obey, intervenes between obedience and such feare, as is cleare in the man Christ in the dayes of his flesh, and the confirmed Angels: and though I doubt nothing, but feare of the second death was in its way, and so farre as was congruous and convenient for a state of sinlesse innocencie, to worke upon the will of the first Adam and Evah to deterre them from sinning; otherwise that threatning of God (In the day thou eatest thou shalt dye) had no intrinsecall end, nor was it rationall, which cannot be said: yet Law-threatnings had no influence on the will of ⟨p. 319⟩the confirmed Angells, much lesse on the perfect and holy will of the second Adam, which was so filled with God, so balasted with so many talent weights of sweet delight and free love, Ps. 40.7, 8. Joh. 4.34. as Angels and Christ obeyed, without any eye-looke or glance of their thoughts to Law-threatning. And the justified beleever• now obeying as a Sonne, not as a bond-slave, yeeldeth willing obedience, from a free leading Spirit, the Spirit of adoption proper to sons, who obey their father, out of an instinct of love, not out of a principle of commanding awing and terrifying Law, as slaves under bondage doe obey their masters, Rom 8.14, 15, 16, 17. And the Law of the Spirit of life commeth in into the place of the compelling and cursing Law (not that the directing and obliging power thereof is removed) and acteth a beleever to obey, as if there were no Law over him at all, and freeth him from the Law of sinne, from the dominion of the Law in binding him over to a curse, Rom. 8.2
- 1Threatening had influence on the will of the first Adam, not of the second, or of confirmed Angels.Threatning had influence on the will of the first Adam, not of the second, or of confirmed Angels.
