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A Vindication of the Doctrine of Justification and Ʋnion before Faith.
WHereas Mr. Coleman, or his Prefacer, have taken occasion to cast Aspersions on the Church at Rowell, and on me (R. Davis) their Pastor, especially with Reference to David Culy, intimating, or terming him one of my Disciples, &c. The Lord forgive the Author that ungodly Speech, with others of the like nature, and that root of bitterness in his Mind whence they did pro∣ceed. Surely he had no cause to make any Reflections, or to take up a Reproach against the Church at Rowell, and me, because of the offensive, unsound and exorbi∣••ant Expressions of the said David Culy, forasmuch as we testify'd against them, and faithfully admonished and reproved him for them, which it pleased the Lord graciously ••o succeed unto his Conviction and Repentance, so that he openly retracted them, and declared his Sorrow or Contrition for them; and we do not hear that he hath uttered any such Language, or hath used any such Expressions since that time.
Therefore there cannot be the least Pretence or Excuse for his mentioning or repeat∣••ng that Matter as a just cause of blame to us, who had manifested our detestation of ••hem, or of Reproach, to David Culy, who hath openly declared his Repentance for ••hem, and his Recantation of them, except it were to give vent to the malignity of a ••epraved Nature, that lusteth unto Envy, and delighteth to be Slandering and Re∣proaching, which the Lord help him to be mortifying by the power of his Grace.
Since also the Prefacer hath to his mentioning of David Culy's untoward and grievous ••xpression, immediately subjoyned my Erroneous Interpretation of Heb. 2.14,15. ••s he thinks, with an apparent ill design to insinuate to the World, That I am guilty ••f the same gross Error which he charges upon David Culy, thinking, perhaps, every ••hing may be believed against a Man whom the most of Professors cry down.
I judge it is my Duty to take notice of his Reflections, and to Vindicate the Expo∣••tion I then gave. The Scope of that Sermon was to prove, That Christ upon the Cross did truly and properly bear, or sustain and represent the Persons of the Elect. The Argument to prove it was this, viz. That He was their common Head, Root, ••urety, Representative. The Foundation of which was, That God the Second Person, ••ccording to the Divine Ordination, assumed our Nature into an Hypostatical Union, ••ut not only as singly considered, but as being the common Head, Root, &c. of the ••lect Number. Therefore when He assumed the nature of the Election into a personal ••nion, He assumed in that Nature, as a common Head, the Persons of the Election ••o an Union with Himself, as their Head, Root, Representative. This was then ••d down, though perhaps not in the same express Words, yet I am sure to the same •…•…ose. This Truth was then inferred from Heb. 2.14. as well as other Scripture••