The Fourth and Last Letter.

I

Dear Sir,

N your former Letter of September the 29th. you told me, that the words "in the 17th. of Genefieth. [Thon

"shalt keep my Covenam therefore thou "and thy Seed, &c.] do neither exprefs "nor give any the leaft intimation of any "fign at all that God intended thould be An"nexed unto the Covenant, &c. for there "God commands Abraham to keep the "Covenant in General Terms only, and "doth not fay thou halt keep my Cove66 nant in the fign of it, that being (fay you) my Addition only, &c. But in this of December the 15th. which I Received the 20th. you tell me, that as far as you can difcern, God fpeaks but of one fign in both verfes, [viz. 9. 10] Now, how I pray you can he fpeak of one fign in both verfes, if (as you copioufly affirmed) he

speaks

fpeaks nothing in the leaft of any fign at all in one of them? who is it now (to use your own Expreffions) that is Dazled? that fees or faw one for two, and two for one? and yet, all you fay is Demonftration, 'tis Solid, Scriptural, Subtantial, and all I fay is Chymera's, Contradictions, unproved Dictates, &c. Really Dear Sir, fome grains of Modefty would do no hurt; It would at leaft ferve to make your Alterations more excufable.

But the former, is not the only Point (though mind, it be one of the two Iffues on which the whole between us, must determine, ) in which you are fo flippery; you are as much fo in another, and that the fecond Iffue; for in your former Letters, all a long, you understand by the Spiritual Seed as I do, and as you ought, (viz. b Christ and Believing Gentiles (to whom happily, you add Believing Jews,) or Chrift Myftical reprefented in Ifaac, and indeed, without a fofter place in ones head than I am willing to believe you have, it is impoffible, feriously, to take it otherwife for 'tis [in Ifaac thy Seed fhall be called;] not [thy Seed thall be called Ifaac. And yet, in your Letter now you take the Spiritual Seed for Ifaac's Perfon; A fence of the Spiritual Seed against fence; For it is Isaac

in

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in the Spirit only that is the Spiritual Seed,
and Ifaac in the Spirit, is Chrift Mystical;
For fo the Apoftle [and to thy Seed which
is Chrift.] It is true, Ifaac was a Mystical
Perfon as he was a Type and Figure; but
if you mean but that by his being the Spi-
ritual Seed, [that he was the Seed of Abra-
ham, and was a Myftical Perfon,] then I
faac was no more the Spiritual Seed then
Ishmael, Ishmael being as much the Seed of
Abraham, and as much a Myftical and Ty-
pical perfon as Ifaac; Ishmael a Type and
Figure of the Legal Carnal Seed, as Ifaac
of the Believing Evangelical Seed; The
former reprefenting the Jews, the latter
Chrift and Believing Gentiles. Only, as
Ishmael to be a Type and Figure of the Car-
nal Legal Seed, was to be born after the
Flesh, according to the Rule and Law of
Generation in Nature; So Ifaac to be a
Type and Figure of the Spiritual Evange
lical Seed [who were to be born not of bloods,
nor of the will of the Flesh, nor of the will of
Man, but of God] was to be born after
the Spirit, (viz.) by the power of God
according to and in performance of his Pro-
mife (nade) to Abraham. And to be born
after the Spirit, with refpect to Ifaac, is
not (as happily, you may conceive it) to
be Regenerated and new born Spiritually,"

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but to be born as to his natural Perfon not as Ishmael was, in the ordinary courfe of Nature by meer Carnal Coition; but by Promife, in a fupernatural way, above the Rules and bawes and Powers of Nature, by Almighty Power Affifting; even when it had ceafed (as the Scripture tells us) to be with Sarah after the manner of Women, and when Abraham Himself also was old. See Gal. 4. 23, 29. what is to be by Promife in the one verfe, is to be born after the Spirit in the other. To start then a fence of the Spiritual Seed which was not thought of before, and which were not to the Purpose if a good one, is doubling ; and a Hare is used to double, when near run down.

Had I been engaged in this controverfie with a man unprejudiced, and not with one who, in adherence to an opinion long ago Conceived and Riveted, is obliged to do all things to maintain it, with one fufceptible of Light, and not with one that wriggles, and winds, and turns, and all to avoid it; with one that admits of plain sence, and not with one that will not fee, that thrice one makes three; or, that a Covenant between God and you, and thy Seed after thee, is a Covenant between three parties. I fay, had I had the happiness of de

bating

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bating and trying of it with a Perfon indifferent; and not the misfortune of being ingaged with one fo hugely prepoffeffed, and one not very confiftent to Himself, or to his Principles, the bufinefs long ago had been ended; but who can draw the Picture of Protems, or catch a Capering Will with the Wifp? [Ignis faruus]

As to your groundless, fevere, Provocative Reflections (the which you call Re proofs dreft up by all means!) in ftudyed, clean, mild, decent, and Chriftian Language,) fay once for all, that it were eafie for me, if I durft allow my felf the li berty you take in that kind, and that it were not both undecent and unchriftian to fharpen my Pen too: But I am refolved not to gratifie your design by any fuch intemperance. Í can better bear then deferve your Reprehenfions, and I have (I believe) too great Advantage in the caufe, and in my Argument, to marr it by fo bad Example. I alwayes thought it very improper in Debates and Controverfies instead of Arguing, to be (as you Phrafe it,) Gutting. He is rather a Butcher then a good Chyrurgion, that delights in cutting, and tearing, and flafhing, when there is no need of it. Surely, fofter words and harder Arguments would more become you.

But