The New Covenant, Part 1 · Sermon 11
THE ELEVENTH SERMON.
GENESIS 17. 2.
And I will make my Couenant betwenne mee and thee.
THe third Vse (which we did but touch vponupon the last day,3. Vse. and meane at this time somwhat to enlarge) is,To mortifie sinne, by applying the promise of free pardon. that if the Couenant of the Law, and likewise the Old Testament, as it consists in types and shaddowes, be but a ministration of the letter, a ministration of bondage, and a ministration of enmity: But this new Couenant, this Couenant of Grace, is the ministration of the Spirit, the ministration of louelove, the ministration of freedome, the ministration of righteousnesse, and the ministration of life: then, beloues, we may gather this from it, that if a man will obtaine the Spirit, and thereby mortifie the deeds of the body, if hee would bee deliuered from the bondage of sinne and of death; then let him make vse of, and apply to himselfe the Couenant of Grace, the free promises of the pardon and remission of sinnes, let him apply them, that is the way to get the Spirit, that is the way to mortifie the deeds of the flesh, that is the way to get his heart changed, that is the way to be made a new creature. For the better vnderstanding of which, this is to he obserued, that which keepes eueryevery man off, that which keepes men in a condition of strangenesse from the life of God, is, because they see such difficulties in the commandements of GOD, as they are not able to keepe, when they looke vponupon the Cōmandement, and on the stubbornnesse of their owne hearts, and the indisposition that is in them to yeeld obedience, they thinke there is no hope, and therefore they neuer goe about it: for they see the Commandement, and they finde in their owne heart no disposition to keep it, but an aptnesse to rise in rebellion against it; I say, this keepes men off from the life of God: But, on the other side, when a man lookes vponupon the promises, he begins to see the Couenant that his sinnes shall be put a way, he beginnes to see the goodnesse, and the mercy, and the tender compassion of God towards him; hee begins to see a possibility of fulfilling the Law, in such a manner as GOD now requires; then his heart melteth, hee becomes not onelyonly applyable to the Commandement, but is ready to delight in it; this a man gets by applying his heart to the Couenant of grace, or by applying the Couenant of Grace to himselfe; that very applying of the promises of forgiuenesse, I say, it begets a disposition in the heart, which the Scriptures call a new life; that euen as you see the Sunne, when it applies its beames to a fitly disposed matter, and stayes vponupon it, when it pitcheth its beames vponupon it with any continuance, it begins to beget life and motion in it, and makes it a liuing creature: so doth the Couenant of Grace, when it is applyed to the heart of a man, it begins to beget life in him, and to make him a new creature, it makes him another man: there is that power in the Couenant of Grace, in the promises of the pardon and forgiuenesse of sins, that it begets another life in a man, it makes him a new creature, it makes him a liuing creature to GOD, which before he was not; the ground of which you shall see, 2 Cor. 3. 6.2 Cor. 3. 6. Hee hath made vsus able Ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit giues life. Marke it, the meaning of it is this, when the Couenant of works is deliuered to you, that is, when you heare the Law, the Commands, the duty you cannot performe, there is no more deliuered to you but the bare letter, that is, you know the duty, and no more. And what doth this duty doe? what doe these Commandements and precepts doe, when they are applyed to the heart of man? Saith hee, they kill. Now that which kills, fights before it kills, and that which fights must needs be an enemy: so then the Commandement is an Enemy, that is, eueryevery man esteemes it as an enemie to himselfe, and therefore hath an enemy-like affection to it againe; that is, he hates it, he would be rid of it, he wisheth there were no such Law or Commandement, hee desires it should be dealt with as he would hauehave an enemy dealt with, he would hauehave it vtterly taken away; when they grow in enmity one with another, as indeed they doe, the naked Commandement and the heart are at enmity: for the Commandement would hauehave one thing, and the heart would hauehave another; there are contrary wils, and there is a striuing betweene them, the one striuing this way, the other that way, the one resisting the other, and in the end, the Law and the Commandement gets the victory; because the sting of the Law is sinne: now the Law is the cause of sinne, as a straight Rule is the cause of crookednesse; for without the Law there should be no sin: now it causeth sinne; for if there were no Law, you know there could bee no feare, no transgression; because there could bee nothing against which the transgression should come, this sinne is the death of a man, so now the letter kils: But come now to the Couenant of Grace, saith the Text, it is the ministration of the Spirit, and the Spirit giues life; that is, when a man lookes on the Couenant of Grace, he lookes not on it now as an enemy, as hee did before vponupon the Commandement, but he sees in it much louelove, and much friendship to wards him; he sees God intends not any hurt, any euill to him, as he apprehended before; he sees God exceeding kinde, and mercifull, and willing to put away all his sinnes, and willing to accept the sincerity of his obedience, though there be not a perfection of obedience; now he begins to change his opinion, both of God and of all his Lawes, and precepts; when he sees Gods kindnesse towards him, and his compassion and readinesse to forgiue him, then his heart begins to relent towards the Lord againe, he begins to magnifie Gods goodnesse, and to condemne himselfe, he beleeues those promises, and thence he growes vp in louelove toward GOD; I say, hee growes vp in faith, and louelove, and in this act of faith is the Spirit infused into his heart; this Spirit being thus infused, writes the Law in his inward pa…ts, that is it that breeds in him a holy disposition, that inables him in some measure to keepe the Law, it prints in him all those graces that giuegive him strength to obserue the Commandements that God hath given him: so, my beloued, if a man will goe about this great worke, to change his heart, and to change his life, let him not goe about it as a morall man; that is, let him not onelyonly consider what Commandements there are, what the rectitude is that the LORD requires, and how to bring his heart to it; but let him goe about it as a Christian, that is, let him beleeue the promises of pardon in the blood of Christ, and the very beleeuing of those promises, will be able to clense and purge the heart from dead works: (in that place▪ we then named, and we could doe no more but name it) you shall finde it, Heb. 9. 14. Heb. 9. 14.How much more shall the blood of Christ, which by the eternall Spirit offered himselfe without fault to God, purge your consciences from dead workes, to serue the liuing God. The meaning of it is this, when a man hath once applyed the blood of Christ for his iustification, this effect will follow vponupon it, there will accompany it a certaine vigour, a certaine vertue, a certaine power and strength, which will also purge his conscience from dead workes; that is, there shall goe a power of the Holy Ghost together with this blood, that shall not onelyonly forbid him, and shew him that hee ought not to doe such and such euill things, but it shall clense his conscience from those rootes of dead workes, those corrupt lusts, and sinfull affections, that are in him, that dispose him to that euill; he shall find this power growing vponupon him, if hee doe but apply the blood, that is, if he apply the promise of pardon and forgiuenesse through the blood of Iesus Christ. The like you shall see, Gal. 3. 5.Gal. 3. …. He that ministreth to you the Spirit, and workes miracles amongst you, doth he doe it through the workes of the Law, or through the hearing of faith preached? That is, saith the Apostle, if I should onelyonly deliuer to you the Commandements, and the Precepts, and the Rules, by which you ought to walke, I might preach long enough to you, but you should neuer hauehave ability to keep any of these; saith he, you may obserue those that preach the Law to you, did you receiue the Spirit then? no, but when I preached to you the promises of pardon and forgiuenesse, then you receiued the Spirit, it was conueyed into your hearts.
Now,A double infusion of the Spirit. I take it, there is a double meaning of this infusion of the Spirit here: in the time of the Apostles, there was a miraculous infusion and giuing of the Holy Ghost, that when they preached to them, as Peter to Cornelius, and Paul to others, and laid their hands on them, the Holy Ghost fell on them; that is, they were filled presently with an immediate infusion of knowledge; they had, some the gift of tongues, some extraordinary manifestation of the Spirit; saith the Apostle, when this was done, was it done by the preaching of the Law? was it not done by the preaching of Christ, and by offering to you the pardon and forgiuenesse of sins through him? Therefore you see how hee expresseth it; Hee therefore that minist…eth the Spirit to you, and workes miracles among you, how doth hee worke these miracles? hee doth them not by the workes of the Law, but by the hearing of faith preached; that is, by our preaching of it, and your hearing it: So, my beloued, looke how the S…i…it was then conueighed to men, after the same manner it must now bee conueyed to vsus: so that beleeuing the promises is the way to get the heart healed; when a man hath any strong lust to conflict wi…hall, hee must not thinke, that setting himselfe with strong vowes and resolu…ions to resist it, is the way to beginne with: no, the way is to get assurance of pardon, to get ass…rance of Gods louelove to himselfe, in Christ, to labour to get communion betweene Christ and himselfe, to labour to delight in God, as he will when there once are …ermes of reconciliation betweene them, and when this is done, his heart will grow to an application of the Commandement, it will cloze with the Commandement: Whereas before it resisted it, and rebelled against it, it will cleaue to it, and louelove it, and delight in it, and will receiue an impression from it: this I take likewise to be the meaning of that 2. Pet. 1. 4.2 Pet. 1. 4. Hereby (saith he) we hauehave most gracious promises, and are thereby made partakers of the Diuine nature: that by them we shall be partakers of the godly nature; that is, by beleeuing the promises of pardon, we are thereby made par…akers of the godly nature; there is a renuing, there is a change of the nature, a man is made another nature, euen while hee is looking vponupon the promise of pardon and remission, the promises of the New Couenant, that offer Iesus Christ, and the gift of righteousnesse through him, euen by beleeuing those promises it is wrought.
That it is so, you may compare this with that Rom. 6. where this obiection is made, If there be a promise of pardon, and of grace, through Christ, then belike we may liue as we list? No, saith the Apostle, doe you but beleeue those promises of grace, and the care is easie for the rest, in 1, 2, 3.Rom. 6. 1, 2, 3. Verses, What shall wee say then? shall we continue in sinne that grace may abound? God forbid: Shall we that are dead to sinne liue yet therein? Know you not, that as ma…y as are baptized into Iesus Christ, are baptized into his death? The meaning is this, if once you receiue Iesus Christ, and the pardon and remission of sinnes through him, you cannot be so baptized into him, but you must be baptized into his death; that is, of necessity, sinne must bee crucified in you, you must be dead to sinne, as hee was dead; you cannot be baptized into him for iustification, but you must be baptized likewise for morti…ication of the flesh, and for resurrection to newnesse of life; Know you not, that all that are baptized into Iesus Christ, that is, that are baptized into him for reconciliation with God, of necessity they must also be baptized into his death? Therefore, saith he, you are dead to sinne, by being thus baptized with Christ, it is impossible you should liue in in it. So, I say, beloued, hee that hath the strongest faith, he that beleeues in the greatest degree the promi…es of pardon and remission, I dare boldly say, he hath the holiest heart, and the holiest life: for that is the roote of it, it ariseth from that roote, sanctification ariseth from iustification, the blood of Christ hath in it a power, not onelyonly to wash vsus from the guil… of sinne, but to cleanse, and to purge vsus likewise from the power, and staine of sinne: And therefore, I say, the best way to get a great degree of sanctification, and of mortification of sinfull lusts▪ the best way to get a greater measure of the graces of the Spirit, to grow vp to greater holinesse of conuersation, is to labour to grow in faith, in the beliefe of those promises of the Gospell: for there is no other reason in the world, why in the New Testament there is an infusion of the Spirit that giues life, but because now there are more euident promises of pardon, and forgiuenesse, and reconciliation with GOD, which by the Couenant of workes could not be. And so much shall serue for this.
The fourth,Vse. 4. and maine Vse, that wee are to make of this, from this description of the Couenant, is to learne to know the ground vponupon which we expect saluation, and the fulfilling of all the promises; the ground of all is this Couenant. My beloued, it is the greatest point that euer we had yet opportunity to deliuer to you, yea, it is the maine point that the Ministers of the Gospell can deliuer at any time, neither can they deliuer a point of greater moment, nor can you heare any, then the description of this Couenant of Grace: this is that you must lay vp for the foundation of all your comforts, it hath beene the corner stone vponupon which the Saints hauehave beene built, from the beginning of the world, vntounto this day: there is no ground you hauehave to beleeue you shall be saued, there is no ground to beleeue that any promise of God shall be made good to you, to beleeue that you shall hauehave the price of the high Calling of God in Iesus Christ, and those glorious Riches of the inheritance prepared for vsus in him; I say, there is no other ground at all, but vponupon this Couenant; all that wee teach you from day to day, are but conclusions drawne from this Couenant, they are all built vponupon this: therefore, if euer you had cause to attend any thing, you hauehave reason to attend to this; I say, this Couenant betweene GOD and vsus. And therefore we will labour to open to you now more cleerely, and distinctly, this Couenant; though a difficult thing it is, to deliuer to you cleerely what it is, and those that belong to it; yet you must know it, for it is the ground of all you hope for, it is that that eueryevery man is built vponupon, you hauehave no other ground but this, GOD hath made a Couenant with you, and you are in Couenant with him: therefore, that I may shew it to you, we will proceed from the very first preaching of the Couenant to Adam. When the Serpent had ouercome the Woman, and supplanted her and the Man, and had throwne them from their happinesse, God himselfe first preached the Gospell to them, and that in these termes, after he had charged them with their sinne, and had humbled them, (for that method he vseth) he sheweth Eue what she had done, and saith to Adam, Hast thou eaten of the tree, of which I said thou shalt not eate? he shewes them their sinne, and after that the curse; then he begins to tell them hee will not leaue them without hope; it is true, saith hee, the Serpent is your enemy, and hath ouercome you; but, saith hee, you shall not bee slaues to him, and captiued to him for euer; but you shall resist him, and be an enemy to him, I will put enmity betweene the Serpent and the Woman, and you shall fight together, there shall be a warre betweene you, and this shall bee the issue of the warre, the Serpent shall afflict you, and hurt you something, but thou shalt ouercome him, and bruise his head, thou shalt bee the death of him, thou shalt hauehave the victory ouer him. The Woman might aske, But how can this bee? Alas, I am weake, I finde my selfe too weake already in the Battell, he is too strong for mee? Saith hee, I will giuegive thee a certaine seede, one that shall bee borne of thee, and he shall be an enemy to the Serpent and his seede; that is, to all euill men, that are called his seede, because they are like him: there shall bee enmity betweene them two, and hee shall fight the Battrell for thee; and in that Battell betweene him and the Serpent, this shall be the issue, the Serpent shall bruise his heele, that is, he shall preuaile so farre as to cause men to crucifie him, which is but as the bruising of the heele; but, saith he, he shall breake his head, he shall vtterly destroy him, and ouercome him for thee: so thou shalt preuaile againe, and be set in the place, and enioy all the promises. The Church continued in the vertue of this promise, this preaching of the Gospell, vntill Abrahams time, and then GOD beginnes to manifest his Couenant againe; hee calls forth Abraham and tells him he meanes to make a Couenant with him, he tells him that hee will blesse him, and that all the Nations of the world should bee blessed in him: one while it is said thus; another while, all the Nations of the Earth shall be blessed in thy seede. Beloued, there are many difficulties in this, how the promise should be made to the seede? how againe it should be made to Abraham himselfe? (for it is said to be made to both) how all Nations are blessed in Abraham, and yet it is said, they shall be blessed in thy seed?
Againe, the condition of the Couenant, which he requires of Abraham, is the same thing that God makes a part likewise of his own Couenant.
Besides, GODS Couenant seemes not to bee the giuing of the M…siah, but the giuing of the promised Land, giuing him a sonne, and making him a great Nation; many difficulties there are in this: Therefore, that you may vnderstand them distinctly, I will deliuer it thus to you; not in the method wherein it is set downe, but so as I shall make it much clearer and perspicuous to you, and best to bee vnderstoost by you: therefore you shall obserue in GODS preaching the Gospell to Abraham;
First, the Couenant.
Secondly, the conditions of it.
Thirdly, the confirma…ion of it.
Fourthly, the parts of the Couenant.
Fiftly, the obiections the Iewes might bee ready to make against it. And shewing those fiue, we shall open it fully vntounto you.
First, The Couenant 1. The Couenant.that GOD made with Abraham, was after this manner: Abraham, saith the LORD, I will giuegive thee a seede, and in that seede, both thou thy selfe, and all the Nations of the Earth shall be blessed; and the question is, how this shall be done? Saith the Lord, hee shall blesse thee, he shall hauehave power in his hands to blesse thee; for I will make him a Prophet, a Priest, and a King. All the blessings that the people euer had, they were conueyed to them by these three, by their Priests, by their Prophets, and by their Kings: saith he, this promise I hauehave made to that seede, that be shall be a Prophet, a Priest, and a King; yea, saith he, that seede of mine that I shall send, that shall bee borne of thee, hee shall bee my Sonne, and my Heire, and in him likewise thou shalt be made an heyre, and a sonne; an heyre of all the World, as he is a Sonne, as hee is endowed with all spirituall priuiledges belonging to him; yea, thou shalt not onelyonly hauehave this, but, saith he, thou shalt euen hauehave the Spirit of the Sonne, and be made like to him, thou shalt be made a Prophet, as he is a Prophet, he shall …each thee so, by infusing of the same Spirit that dwels in himselfe, hee shall …each thee such knowledge, that thou shal… be a Prophet, as he: Yea, he shall make thee a Priest, as himselfe; thine owne person shall bee accepted aswell as what thou dost: yea, hee shall make thee a King, as he is a King; that is, thou shalt hauehave the spirit of a King, to rule ouer all thy sinfull lusts and dispositions, thou shalt hauehave the peace of a King, the ioy, the comfort, the riches of a King, and the victory of a King, I will deliuer thee from all thine enemies: and for a Type of this, (for the Couenant was made after Melchizedeck came to him, as we may see, Chap. 14.) thou shalt see a r…semblance of it, in that Melchizedeck hath done to thee, hee came to thee, and blessed thee, and hee was a King, a a Priest, and a Prophet; hee was the King of peace, and the Priest of the most high God; and what was the blessing that Melchizedeck brought to Abraham? Saith hee, The LORD blesse thee; he blessed him, that is, hee bade him goe on, and prosper, hee wished that all blessings might come vponupon him, that he might ouercome his enemies, &c. that hee might hauehave blessings of all sorts, they are not set down particularly; and in a word, hee made him heyre of all things: for, saith he, I am the Priest of the most high God, possessor of Heauen and Earth, and heere I hauehave brought thee Bread and Wine, that is, an earnest, a little for the whole, to shew this to thee, that GOD hath made thee heyre of all things: And thereupon, when the King of Sodom… presently offered him the riches that he had taken, when he came backe from the Victory, No, saith Abraham, I will not take them; for it is the LORD that blesseth mee, it is hee that shall make me rich, it is he that is my exceeding great reward, it is he that hath entred into Couenant with mee; and therefore, saith he, it shall neuer be said that the King of Sodome hath made Abraham rich▪ I hauehave receiued all from him, and I will restore all to him: therefore, you see, hee paid Tythes to Melchizedeck, he gaue him the tenth of all that he had: So is it now, saith God, that Mesiah, that promised …eed, is a Priest after the order of Melchizedeck; he is a King, he shall come and blesse thee, after that manner he shall make thee heyre of all things, onelyonly thou shalt doe him homage, saith hee, as thou didst to Melchizedeck; What was that homage? That thou shalt giuegive him the tenth of all thou hast, that is, by that thou shalt shew thine homage, thou shalt shew that thou art bound to yeeld him obedience, thou shalt shew vponupon what tenure thou holdest all that thou hast; thou giuest him that as a rent, acknowledging him to bee the Lord, of whom thou hast receiued all things, and to whom thou owest all things: therefore Abraham would take nothing of any else, hee would take nothing of the King of Sodome, nor he would doe nothing for the King of Sodome, that is, not to him, nor any man, but as from God, as a meanes vnderunder him. Beloued, this is the great Couenant that the Lord made with Abraham: So you see how the promise is made to the seed: for the promise was made thus to the seed, God had promised that hee should bee a King, a Priest, and a Prophet, I hauehave sworne, saith he, thou art a Priest for euer, after the order of Melchizedeck: againe, I will giuegive vntounto him the Kingdome of Dauid. Thus the promises come after in the Old Testament: So the promise is made to the seed, and againe it is the seede that blesseth him. This is the promise.
Now for the Condition that God required of Abraham, 2. The Condition of the Couenant, which is faith.it was this, Thou shalt beleeue this, thou shalt beleeue that such a Mesiah shall be sent into the World: Art thou able to beleeue this, Abraham? He answers, Yes. Well, saith the Lord, I will put thee to the tryall, I will see whether thou canst beleeue this, or no; and, withall, I will giuegive thee a signe or euidence that I am able to performe it: saith he, I will giuegive thee a Sonne: It is true, thou art as a dead man, thou art almost a hundred yeeres old, and the wombe of Sarah is dead: I will promise thee a Sonne, art thou able to beleeue it? Againe, thou seest the Land of Canaan, thou hast not one foot in it, I will giuegive this land from the length and breadth of it, for thy possession: Art thou able to beleeue this? saith the Text, Abraham did beleeue, and God accounted that faith of his for righteousnesse; that is, hee accepted him for it: for that faith he reckoned him a man fit to make a Couenant with all, hee accounted him a righteous person; that is, hee was willing to enter into Couenant with him, because he beleeued him. Beloued, this was not directly the beleeuing of the Mesiah, (he did not intend the Mesiah) but it was the beleeuing that he should hauehave a sonne. You see, the Text is plaine, Gen. 15. when God had said to Abraham, that hee would bee his exceeding great reward, saith Abraham, I goe childlesse, and the Steward of my house will be my heyre. Saith the LORD to him, Verse 4. This man shall not be thine heyre, but one that shall come out of thine own bowels shall be thine heyre. Goe looke vponupon the Starres, if thou be able to number them, then thou shalt number the seed that thou▪ shalt hauehave. Saith the Text, Verse 6. Abraham beleeued, and hee accounted that to him for righteousnesse So likewise he addes, in the Verses following, againe hee said, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Vr of the Chaldees, to giuegive thee this Land to inherit it. So, my beloued, this was the promise. Now, when Abraham had beleeued this, saith the Lord to him, This faith of thine, that is, not this particular act by which thou beleeuest that thou shalt hauehave a sonne, that shall be thine immediate heyre, but that habit, that grace of faith, that b…leeuing disposition in thee, whereby thou art able to beleeue this promise, saith he, with the same faith thou also belieuest the promise of the Messiah, that a certaine seed… shall be giuen thee, in whom all the Nations of the Earth shall be blessed. Saith he, this faith of thi…e I take for the condition of the Couenant on thy part, I will for this reckon thee as righteous, I will account thee as a man fit to be entred into Couenant withall. Againe, the Lord tryes him afterward, when Isaac was growne, Verse 22. Goe, saith hee, and kill thy sonne: Abraham was able to keepe it, hee went, and meant to hauehave done it in good earnest; so there was the same ground for beleeuing now, that there was before: So, saith hee, GOD could hauehave raised him from the dead when I had killed him, aswell as make mee, when I was dead, and Sarahs wombe, when that was dead, to bring forth a sonne: God can aswell raise him from the dead, as he could giuegive him mee from a dead wombe at first. Wee see, that God vponupon this renewes the Couenant againe, and renewes it with an Oath; sure, saith he, I will performe my Couenant, since I see that thou beleeuest, and fearest mee, and preferrest me before thine only sonne: these are but the concomitants of his faith. So, my beloued, it was this act of Abraham, by which hee did beleeue the promise of God, that made him partaker of the Couenant. And if you aske now what is the condition that makes eueryevery man partaker of this Covenant of grace? It is nothing but onelyonly faith, ability to beleeue it, that GOD would send such a Messiah, before the Law, and that hee hath exhibited, and sent him since: for you must know this, that all the promises, the very giuing of Isaac, the giuing of the promised Land, all these were but shaddowes, as it were, of the great promise, of the maine Couenant in Christ. So likewise, that act of Abrahams faith, whereby hee beleeued that he should hauehave a sonne, and beleeued that GOD would giuegive his children possession of that Land where he had not a foot, was but likewise a branch, and a shaddow, and a pledge, as it were, of the maine act of faith, whereby he beleeued the promised seed should be giuen him, in whom himselfe, and all the Nations of the Earth should bee blessed. So then wee hauehave found out this, what the Condition is that God requires of eueryevery man to bee made partaker of his Couenant; it is nothing but to beleeue in God; that is, God saith, I will giuegive my Sonne to you; to vsus a Sonne is giuen, &c. that shall be the promised seede, and I will make him a King, a Priest, and a Prophet, to blesse you; hee shall giuegive you remission of sinnes, &c. he shall teach you, and instruct you to mortifie your lusts, and shall make you partakers of his Kingdome; he shall make you heyres, and sonnes; this is a very great promise, can you beleeue this? If a man will but beleeue GOD now, I say, it makes him partaker of the Couenant, this puts him within the Couenant: you will say, this is very strange; how can it be, that so small a condition as this, that to bel…eue, should make a man partaker of the Couenant? that vponupon which all the promises hang initially, is nothing but beleeuing. You see Abraham did no more but beleeue GOD, when hee told him hee should hauehave a sonne, you see how much GOD made of that: So it is with vsus, if we doe but beleeue this, God will make as much of it, he will make good all the promises of the Couenant to vsus: But, I say, this hath need of a reason why it is suspended onelyonly vponupon faith, and beliefe; the reason is this, marke it well,Reasons why faith is the Condition. it is a point of exceeding great moment.
First, though there were nothing but faith, yet that beleeuing brings with it, and workes sanctification, and holinesse of life: for whereas you might object, May a man beleeue this promise, and yet walke according to the lusts of his owne ignorance, and so to be made partaker of the Couenant? Let him, if he can beleeue truly, and doe this, but it is impossible, let him beleeue, and the other will follow. Behold Abraham himselfe, (to giuegive you an instance of it) he beleeued GOD, and it was accounted to him for righteousnesse; I say, it was enough for him to beleeue GOD: For that drawes after it inherent righteousnesse of sanctification, and holinesse of life: for, saith the Text, Rom. 4. Abraham is said to beleeue GOD, when hee said he should hauehave a sonne, he gaue him glory, that is the ground, which drawes with it all other graces, after this manner; he that beleeues GOD, hath a good opinion of him, hee loues him; hee that loues him, must needs be full of good workes. Besides, he that beleeues him, when GOD shall say to him, I am thy exceeding great reward, see that thou keepe close to mee, thou shalt hauehave an eye vponupon mee, and walke with mee from day to day. Let a man beleeue that GOD is alsufficient, that he will be a Sunne and a Shield to him, and his exceeding great reward, hee will be ready to doe it. Abraham did so, when God called him from his Fathers house, and from his kindred, hee was ready to doe so; when GOD would hauehave him to offer vp his onelyonly sonne, he was ready to doe it: for he beleeued GOD, hee beleeued his promise, and his ability, and willingnesse to helpe him; hee beleeued his Almighty power, and therefore whatsoeuer GOD bid him doe, he would doe it; hee preferred GOD before his own ease, before his owne profit, before his onelyonly sonne whom hee loued: Let any man beleeue as Abraham did, and of necessity it will produce good workes; let a man beleeue truely, and truth of beliefe will bring forth truth of holinesse: and therefore wee heare what S. Iames saith, Iam. 2. saith he▪ Abraham was iustified by faith; it is true: but, saith hee, Abrahams faith had workes ioyned with it: for it was not a dead, a counterfeit faith, but a true faith, and being a true faith, you see, Abraham had workes aswell as faith: for when GOD bade him offer his sonne, he did it: Was not that an exceeding great worke? saith the Apostle there: So say I, no wonder that it is by faith, that the LORD requires no more but to beleeue: for when a man beleeues, workes will follow, it will breed holinesse of life; let him beleeue GOD to bee an exceeding great reward, that hee is a Sunne and a Shield, he will follow GOD wheresoeuer hee leades him; let him beleeue the promise of GOD, when he describes himselfe, hee must needes hauehave a good opinion of him, and louelove him, and bee exceeding fruitfull in good workes, and obedience to him; therefore that is one reason for it.
A second reason of it is,2. Reason. because it could not bee done by obedience to the Law; it was impossible to hauehave made the sonnes of men partakers of the Couenant, that way: for if it could hauehave beene done by the Law, and by the Commandement, it should hauehave beene; but the LORD tryed that in Adam, hee gaue Adam a Commandement, and ability to keepe it, (so hee made him perfectly innocent,) yet Adam did not keepe it. Put the case that GOD should hauehave tryed him the second time, and hauehave giuen him a Commandement againe, and not hauehave required the Condition of faith, but of obedience, hee would hauehave broken it, as hee did before; and therefore it could not bee by the Law: Therefore it must needes bee by faith, and the promises, otherwise it could neuer hauehave beene sure. Adam brake it; surely, if hee brake it, we should hauehave broken it, if it had beene any other way but by faith: and therefore wee see what the Apostle saith, Galat. 3. 21. Is the Law then against the promise of GOD? Gal. 3. 21.GOD forbid: for if there had beene a Lawe giuen that could hauehave giuen life, surely rig…teousnesse had beene by the Law: If Adam had stood and had kept the Law, and if men could hauehave entred into Couenant, and hauehave kept it, Christ had beene spared, the Couenant of Grace had beene spared; if righteousnesse had beene by the Law, there had needed no Messiah, there had needed no Couenant of Grace; and therefore, through the infirmity of the flesh, (Adams flesh, that would not keepe the Law, and ours, that is not able to keepe it) there was no other way to make mankind partaker of the Couenant of Grace, but onelyonly by faith, by beleeuing GOD, and by taking the promise, and the gift of Righteousnesse, through Iesus Christ: for it could neuer else in likelihood hauehave beene sure to the seede. This is the way to make it sure, when there is no more but an ac…eptation required, and not exact obedience to the Commandement.
Thirdly,3. Reason. it is by faith: because nothing else can answer the Couenant, but faith: you see, the Couenant is not a Commandement, Doe this, and liue, but the Couenant is a promise, I will giuegive thee, It runnes all vponupon promises, I will giuegive thee a seed, and in that seede thou shalt bee blessed. I will giuegive thee this good Land, &c. so that the Couenant of Grace stands on GODS part all in promises: Now you know that it is faith that answers the promise: for the promise is to beleeued; if the Couenant had stood in precepts, and Commandements, and rules of the Law, then it must hauehave beene answered by workes, and obedience, and therefore it could not be by obedience: for that holds not proportion, there is not agreement betweene them; but since the Couenant consists of promises, that must needes bee by beleeuing, and not by workes.
Fourthly,4. Reason. and lastly, it is by faith, because the Lord would hauehave it by free grace, and not of debt: for, saith hee, If I should giuegive a Law, and rules to men, and promise them life vponupon it, when they had performed the worke, they would challenge it of debt: no, saith the LORD, it is an inheritance, I doe not vse to deale with my children, as men doe with their seruants, that I should giuegive them worke to doe, and when they hauehave done it, I should giuegive them wages, then they would come and challenge it a my hands by way of debt: no, saith the Lord, this is an inheritance, and you are my sonnes, and you shall hauehave it giuen you freely, and giuen you as it becomes a Father to giuegive it, so you shall take it; therefore, that it might bee of free grace, and not of debt, therefore it is by faith, and not by workes. And that is added, likewise, if it had beene by workes, men would hauehave beene ready to boast▪ and hauehave said, I hauehave done this, I am able to keepe the Law, therefore the promise of eternall life shall bee made good to mee, I shall receiue it as wages, men would boast in themselues: No, saith the LORD, no creature shall boast in it selfe: for that puts eueryevery man further from the LORD, the more a man reioyceth in himselfe, the more he stands vponupon his owne bottome, the more he is diuorsed from GOD, and separated from him: but, saith he, he that reioyceth, let him reioyce in the LORD: for that fits a man for the LORD, and therefore I will hauehave it by faith, it shall not bee by workes. So, beloued, you see now what is the Condition. Surely, looke how Abraham was made partaker of the Couenant, so eueryevery one of vsus must bee; Abraham was made partaker of it by saith, so shall eueryevery man be made partaker of it by faith, and no otherwise. Abraham beleeued God, when hee had a promise, and because he beleeued him, (not that particular act of faith but) that grace of faith, whereby he beleeued this, and the other promises of the Messiah, was counted to him for righteousnesse: and so for this cause, because wee beleeue the promises, and the Couenant of Grace, therefore the LORD accepts vsus, and accounts vsus righteous; and because this seemes strange to the sonnes of men, therefore we see with how much adoe Paul labours to make it good, what strong obiections were against it in all times. I hauehave shewed the reason. Now when you reade Rom. 3. & 4. and Gal. 3. & 4. you may know the better the meaning of those places. Well, so you see the Couenant; secondly, you see the Condition; now you heare that there is such a Couenant as this.
The third thing is the confirmation of the Couenant; 3. The confirmation of the Couenant.when a man heares that GOD will vouchsafe so much fauour vntounto mankinde, a man is ready to say as Gedion did, alas my family is poore in Manasses, I am the least in all my Fathers house, And who am I, that I should be raised vp hitherto? that such a promise as this should be made to mee, that I should goe, and saue Israel? &c. I say, after the same manner a man might bee ready to obiect, Alas, what are wee the sonnes of men, that the great GOD of Heauen and Earth should enter into such a Couenant with vsus, that he should make vsus such promises as these, that he should make vsus heyres of the World, that hee should blesse vsus in that manner, to make vsus sonnes, to make vsus Kings and Priests? Saith the LORD, I confesse it is a Couenant that needes confirmation: therefore the LORD hath confirmed it all these wayes; the LORD hath confirmed it, first, by his promise; saith he, you hauehave my sure word for it; if that bee not enough, I will confirme it by an Oath, and because he had no greater to sweare by, he saith, by my selfe hauehave I sworne, that I will make it good: this is not enough, but he confirmes it by the blood of Christ himselfe; the Mediator shall come, and confirme this Testament, and when the Testament is confirmed by the death of the Testator, there is no more altering of that;Gal. 3. 15. saith hee, Gal. 3. A mans Testament no man changeth, after once it is confirmed: and when the Testator is dead, Heb. 9. then the Testament is confirmed: so it is confirmed by the blood, by the death of the Testator. This is not enough, but hee hath added seales vntounto it, hee hath confirmed it likewise by them; saith hee, I will adde the seale of Circumcision, and of the Passeouer. For Circumcision, saith the LORD, Goe, and circumcise your selues, and when I see the Circumcision, I will remember my Couenant, and make it good to you; that, as hee said of the Bow, he set the Bow in the Cloud, saith hee, I will make my Couenant, that I will neuer destroy the Earth againe with raine, this Bow shall be the witnesse of the Couenant, and when I looke vponupon it, I will remember my Couenant; after this manner are the signes and seales of the Couenant; saith he, Circumcise your selues, and when I see that, I will remember my Couenant, and will spare you, and I will make good to you all the promises of it: So likewise the Passeouer, saith hee, See that …ou keepe it, take the Lambe, and sprinkle the blood, &c. Saith he, when I see it, I will remember my Couenant. Where, beloued, this is to be obserued, that these signes or seales of the Couenant, not onelyonly confirme the promises on our part, but they signifie that faith, that condition which is required on our part: for when the LORD comes, and lookes into his Church, and sees a great company in it, sees his House full, and he comes, and askes, What doe you in my House? What doe a number of those that professe themselues to be within the compasse of the Couenant there? Their answer is, LORD, we beleeue, wee are among those that keepe the Condition. If you beleeue, where is your Circumcision? It may be you hauehave that outward Circumcision in the flesh, but where is the Circumcision of the heart? for, if you did beleeue indeede, it would worke a change in the heart, as faith, I told you, that is indeede a liuely faith, workes a cha…ge, it c…ts off sinfull lusts, it makes a man deny himselfe, and cleaue to God, and serue him with a perfect heart. So againe, after that manner doth the second signe of the Couenant, which is the Passeouer, when the LORD shall aske, Doe you beleeue? Yes, heere is the sprinkling of the blood of the Lambe. But where is the true sprinkling vponupon the heart and conscience? heere is the outward Passeouer, the outward profession, you come and take the signe and the seale, but where is the inward sprinkling? Therefore you see what was required in the Passeouer; saith hee, when you eate the Lambe, &c. hauehave you tasted of the sweet of the Lambe, hauehave you euer tasted of the sweetnesse that is in Iesus Christ, so that you can louelove him, and delight in him? are you clad like those that went out of Egypt, with their staues in their hands, and their feet shod; that is, are you ready to goe out of Egypt; that is, from sinne and wickednesse; from the state of vnregeneracie, wherein you were before? Againe, hath your soule tasted of the sowre hearbs, of that bondage, that now you are weary of all the bondage of sinne and Satan, that you desire exceedingly to goe from it, that you reckon the contrary condition a condition of freedome, wherein you are willing and desirous to continue? saith the LORD, when I looke vponupon these signes, I will remember my Couenant; onelyonly see that your Circumision be not in the letter, as we see, Rom. 2. but see that you be circumcised in your hearts; that there be not only a Passeouer, but see that you keepe the Passeouer with sincerity, see that all leauen bee cleansed out of your hearts, that is, that your hearts be empty of the dominion of eueryevery sinne; see that you hauehave tasted of the sowrenesse of that bondage, that you bee willing to be rid of it, see that you bee willing to trauell out of Egypt, to another, to a further Country; see that this be reall, not in profession and shew, but in deede; and, saith the LORD, I will remember my Couenant; and these are the confirmations of the Couenant, saith the Lord, you shall not neede to doubt it, I hauehave sworne, it is repeated, Heb. 6. besides, it is confirmed with blood, with the death of the Testator, and there is none that alters the Will of the dead, when he is dead, they adde nothing to it, nor taks nothing from it: besides, I hauehave confirmed it with seales, and therefore it stands vnalterable. These three things we hauehave obserued now in this Couenant.
FINIS.