A Discourse of the Covenants, Chapter 4

A Discourse of the Covenants · Chapter 4

p. 67Of the Covenant of Grace, as revealed to Abraham. CHAP. IV.

God puts a ſpecial Honour upon Abraham by his Covenant-Tranſactions with him. §. 1. Abraham's Deſcent, and Contemporaries: his ſeeming Incapacity for that Covenant-Relation which God brought him into. §. 2. Abraham to be conſidered in a double capacity; the Covenant not made with him as an ordinary believing Parent: The Method of the following Diſcourſe propoſed. §. 3. The Covenant of Grace revealed to Abraham: Gal. 3. v. 6, 7, 8, 9, & 16, 17. propoſed. §. 4. The time of this Covenant-Tranſaction exactly noted: ſome Inferences from thence. §. 5. The Sum of all ſpiritual Bleſſings included in it: Abraham made the Father of the Faithful by it. §. 6. This Covenant confirmed of God in Chriſt: Gal. 3. 16, 17. farther opened; why Abraham and David ſo particularly named in the Genealogy of Chriſt. §. 7. Abraham a Root of Covenant-Bleſſings, and common Parent to Believers: p. 68why Paradiſe called Abraham's Boſom. §. 8. An eternal Settlement of the way of Salvation by Faith in Chriſt, in this Covenant. §. 9. The Promiſe of this Covenant given to Abraham twenty five years before the Covenant of Circumciſion: no outward Sign added, nor Ordinances of Worſhip peculiar to it, till Chriſt's time: the Seed, as well as the Bleſſing, promiſed; their Intereſt in the promiſed Bleſſing compleat and full: the Reaſon of this; and a miſtake removed: the Claim of Believers in the Intereſt of Abraham's Seed, and not as Coordinate with him. §. 10.

§. 1. THE next ſignal Advance that was made of the Diſcovery of God's Grace to Men, was in Abraham's time, and by the Foederal Tranſactions of God with him, whereby he was brought into ſuch a Relation to God, and the whole Church, as was in ſome reſpects peculiar to himſelf, and never was the Lot of any other of the Children of Men either before or ſince his time; in reſpect of which Abraham may be conſidered as a Type of Chriſt, who is eminently the Head and Prince of the new Covenant; And becauſe of that ſpecial Grace and Favour that the Lord beſtowed upon him in his Tranſactions with him, is he ſtyled The Friend of God: And the p. 69Covenant is ſaid to be Mercy to Abraham, and Truth to Jacob; Mic. 7. ult. intimating the beginning of it to be with Abraham which was of meer Grace and Mercy, tho' when once made with him, the Truth and Faithfulneſs of God was ingaged to make it good to the ſucceeding Heirs thereof: not but that the Covenant of Grace as made with Abraham was the ſame for Subſtance, that had been more darkly revealed in the Ages before, but it pleaſed God to tranſact it with him as he had not done with any before him. It may be noted alſo that Abraham is the firſt Man in the World unto whom God is ſaid to have appeared or been ſeen, Act. 7. 2. with Gen. 12.

§. 2. This Abraham was of the Poſterity of Shem, deſcended from him in the Tenth Generation, and choſen of God from amongſt all his rumerous Offspring to be in an eſpecial manner the Heir of his Bleſſing: Gen. 11. Yet are we not to imagine that Abraham and his Family were the only People that God had in the World in his Days; for altho' there was then a very great Defection of the World from God and his true Worſhip, yet was it not univerſal as in Noah's time; but there were many alive that did truly fear God, and were accepted with him, beſides Abraham and thoſe immediately depending on him; for even Shem lived till Abraham was 150 years old; and Arphaxad lived till he was 88, which was 13 years after that Covenant was confirmed with him, p. 70mentioned Gen. 12. Salah lived until Abraham was 118 years of Age, which was about 19 years after the Covenant of Circumciſion was given to him: And Heber lived after his Death, even until Jacob was about 19 years old (for he was the longeſt Liver of all that were born after the Flood) And there is no doubt but theſe Patriarchs with their Houſes, and others joyning with them, and under their Conduct, did worſhip and ſerve the true God; yet it pleaſed the Lord to ſingle out Abraham, call him to his Foot, and make him an Head of all future Covenants with Men; And this, notwithſtanding ſuch a Bar lay in his way at the time of his calling, as to his entering into any ſuch Relation, as was impoſſible to have been removed, but by Omnipotent Grace and Power; And that both upon a Moral and Phyſical Account.

1. Upon a Moral Account: Abraham was not a Perſon eminent for Holineſs and Religion; when God called him to inherit Shem's Bleſſing, he was not better or more deſerving then any of the reſt of his Poſterity, but was ſwiming down the Stream of a wicked World, being degenerated from the Religion and Piety of his Anceſtors, unto falſe Worſhip and Idolatry; Joſh. 24. 2, 3. And therefore it is not without reaſon that the Prophet Ezekiel, chap. 16. 3. upbraids the People of Iſrael with this, that their Father was an Amorite, and their Mother an Hittite, not properly but metaphorically ſo called, becauſe p. 71even they had been involved in the Guilt of like Apoſtacy from God as theſe Nations, before the Lord graciouſly called them out of it.

2. Upon a natural Account; For Sarai the Wife of Abraham was barren, and noted to be ſo before God called him, Gen. 11. 30. And yet the Bleſſing of Shem muſt have been loſt, the hope of the Church periſhed, and all Covenant-Tranſactions with Abraham proved of none Effect, if he had not had Seed; foraſmuch as by virtue of God's Covenant to be eſtabliſhed with him, the Meſſiah (as concerning the Fleſh) was to come of him; And yet all this was no Impediment, or Obſtruction in his way, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth the things that are not as tho' that were. Rom. 4.

§. 3. There is one thing more to be premitted to the Conſideration of God's Covenant-Tranſactions with Abraham in particular, which we have moſt clearly ſtated in the New Teſtament, viz.

That with reſpect to them Abraham is to be conſidered in a double Capacity, both as the Father of all true Believers, and as the Father and Root of the Iſraelitiſh Nation, and for both theſe Seeds God did enter into Covenant with him; howbeit theſe Seeds being formally diſtinguiſht the one from the other, their Covenant Intereſt muſt of neceſſity be diverſe, and fall under a diſtinct Conſideration; and the Bleſſings appropriate p. 72to either, muſt be conveyed in a way agreable to their peculiar and reſpective Covenant-Intereſt; And theſe things may not be confounded without a manifeſt Hazard of the moſt important Articles in the Chriſtian Religion; And yet ſuch is the mutual reſpect of all God's Covenant-Tranſactions with Abraham, and ſuch was to be his Diſpenſation towards the Church for ſome Ages following, as did require a preſent Intermixture of the Promiſes, and an involving of ſpiritual Bleſſings in the ſhade of temporal, and of a ſpiritual Seed in a natural. This I ſuppoſe is more evident then to admit a Denyal; and other Relation of Abraham in the Covenants made with him the Scripture ſpeaks not of; neither can we prove thereby, That any of the Covenants given to him, were tranſacted with him ſimply under the Notion, or in the Relation of, an ordinary believing Parent, or Head of a particular Houſhold.

And therefore for the better underſtanding of theſe things, it is neceſſary that with due Attention both to the Hiſtory of the Old Teſtament, & the Light of the New, we humbly enquire concerning,

1. The Covenant of Grace as made with Abraham.

2. The Covenant made with him for his natural Offspring; And

3. Their mutual Reſpect, and Dependence one upon the other.

§. 4. To begin with the firſt: That God did p. 73reveal the Covenant of Grace to Abraham, as alſo the general nature of that Covenant, and the Seed concerned in it, we have plainly declared in that Account which the Holy Ghoſt gives of it, in Gal. 3. 6, 7, 8, 9, & 16, 17. Verſes; which I ſhall here tranſcribe at large;

Verſ. 6. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for Righteouſneſs.

7. Know ye therefore that they which are of Faith the ſame are the Children of Abraham.

8. And the Scripture foreſeeing that God would juſtifie the Heathen thro' Faith, preached before the Goſpel unto Abraham (ſaying) In thee ſhall all Nations be bleſſed.

9. So then they which be of Faith, are bleſſed with faithful Abraham.

16. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promiſes made: he ſaith not, And to Seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy Seed, which is Chriſt.

17. And this I ſay, that the Covenant that was confirm'd before of God in Chriſt, the Law which was four hundred and thirty years, after cannot diſannul, that it ſhould make the Promiſe of none effect.

Theſe Words contain the whole of what I intend in this Diſcourſe; the Sum of which, as to my preſent Purpoſe, I ſhall briefly collect in ſome Obſervations upon them.

§. 5. Firſt, That the Goſpel was preached to Abraham, and the Covenant of Grace revealed to p. 74him, we have aſſerted in ſuch full Terms in this Context as none can rationally doubt thereof; and moreover in ver. 17. we have the Time of God's eſtabliſhing this Covenant with him exactly noted: It was (ſaith the Text) 430 years before the giving of the Law; Gal. 3. 17. (viz. on Mount Sinai) Now the Law was given in a very little time after the Children of Iſrael came out of Egypt; And from the giving of the firſt Promiſe to Abraham, which we have recorded Gen. 12. 2, 3. unto that very Night in which the Children of Iſrael were brought out of their Egyptian Bondage, is the Computation of theſe Years made, as will be evident to him that ſhall diligently compare the Chronology of thoſe times with the expreſs Teſtimony of Moſes, Exod. 12. 41. And it came to paſs at the end of the 430 years, even the ſelf ſame day it came to paſs that all the Hoſts of the Lord went out from the Land of Egypt. From the time of the firſt Promiſe to the end of Iſrael's ſojourning in Egypt was 430 years, tho' their Abode in Egypt was not near ſo long. And from hence we collect,

1. That in the Tranſaction of God with Abraham, recorded Gen. 12. he did ſolemnly confirm his Covenant with him (altho' Moſes makes not expreſs mention of the Term Covenant until another occaſion be offered Gen. 15. 18.) For the Promiſe there mentioned, the Apoſtle aſſerts to be the Covenant confirmed of God in Chriſt unto Abraham.

p. 752. The Mercy of Iſrael's Redemption out of Egypt was in ſome reſpect to be referred to this Covenant as the Spring thereof (tho' it was not immediately and in its own nature a New Covenant-Bleſſing to all that did partake in it) And all the dealings of God with them as a ſelect and peculiar People in Covenant with himſelf, were in Subſerviency to the great Ends of this Covenant with Abraham; and therefore none of them may be interpreted to the Prejudice or diſannulling of thoſe Promiſes in which the Goſpel was preached unto Abraham.

3. By the Computation of Moſes, Exod. 12. it appears, That the Promiſe we are ſpeaking of was given to Abraham on the 15th day of the Month Abib (the firſt Month according to the religious Account of the Jews) on which day Iſrael a Typical Church, obtained a Typical Redemption, in the Intereſt of a Typical Paſſover; And on that ſame day Chriſt our true Paſſover was ſacrificed for us upon the Croſs, obtained eternal Redemption, and by confirming the Covenant of Grace with his own Blood, paſſed all the Promiſes thereof into **The Covenant of Grace is to be conſidered by us a Teſtamentary Covenant. Conf. Heb. 7. 22. with Chap. 9. 16.Heb 7:22an unalterable Teſtament.

§. 6. Secondly, The Sum and Subſtance of all ſpiritual and eternal Bleſſings was included in the Covenant and Promiſe given unto Abraham p. 76Gen. 12. In theſe words: I will bleſs thee, and thou ſhalt be a Bleſſing; The Grace and Bleſſings of the New-Covenant were given and enſured unto Abraham for himſelf; and moreover this Honour was conferred on him, That he ſhould be an Head of Covenant-Bleſſings, as the Father of all true Believers; No leſs is intended in thoſe words, thou ſhalt be a Bleſſing; They ſuppoſe indeed that He ſhould be bleſſed, but the Promiſe terminates not in himſelf, but alſo conveys Bleſſedneſs to many others thro' a Relation to him as his Children; which is yet more fully expreſt in that which follows: In thee ſhall all Nations be bleſſed; This general Promiſe intends not, that every individual Perſon in every Nation ſhould at any time be bleſſed in Abraham; but that his Bleſſing ſhould not be confined to any one Nation excluding others, and that all in every Nation that were bleſſed, ſhould be ſo by virtue of the Covenant now made with Abraham, and in a Relation to him as their Father: This was the Goſpel preached unto Abraham; and a Promiſe of the Juſtification of the Heathen thro' Faith: Gal. 3. 8. and in the Intereſt of this Bleſſing of Abraham they receive the Promiſe of the Spirit as being his Seed ver. 14. And this Promiſe, of a believing Seed which ſhould with himſelf inherit the Bleſſings of the Covenant of Grace, was farther confirmed unto Abraham a conſiderable time after this, Gen. 15. compared with Rom. 4. 3, 18.

p. 77§. 7. Thirdly, This Covenant was made with Abraham in and thro' Jeſus Chriſt; It is not Abraham but Chriſt that is the firſt Head thereof; in and by him all the Promiſes of it are ratified, as he was the Surety of the Covenant: Heb. 7. 22. and in him they are all Yea and Amen, 2. Cor. 1. From whom all the Grace of the Covenant is derived upon poor Sinners thro' Faith in his Name. This the Apoſtle aſſerts moſt clearly, Gal. 3. 17. and argues it from the Form of the Promiſes as made unto Abraham ver. 16. Ʋnto Abraham and his Seed were the Promiſes made; he ſaith not unto Seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy Seed, which is Chriſt.

The Scope of the Apoſtle's Diſcourſe will teach us that thoſe Promiſes are meant which relate to the Juſtification and Salvation of poor Sinners; even ſuch as include that Grace by which the Gentiles are called to inherit eternal Life; ſome do principally refer this to Gen. 17. 7. and it will readily be granted that ſome of thoſe Promiſes that ultimately reſpect the ſpiritual Seed and ſpiritual Bleſſings, are ſometimes given to Abraham under the Covert of thoſe Terms that have an immediate reſpect unto his natural Seed and temporal Bleſſings as made Types of the other; and when they are ſo, the Promiſe ſtill runs to his Seed, in the ſingular Number; which the holy Ghoſt may here teach us to be on ſet purpoſe to gather up our Thoughts to Chriſt alone, as the Spring and Root of Abraham's Bleſſing, when we conſider the myſtical p. 78import of ſuch Promiſes. But this being allowed, That the Apoſtle hath the form of that Promiſe in his Eye, we cannot from thence conclude that the Promiſe is made to Abraham's Seed both natural and myſtical in one and the ſame Tenour; but only thus much will fairly follow upon it, That the Apoſtle argues from the carnal Seed as typical, to the ſpiritual Seed as typified thereby; and ſo arguing makes ſpecial Uſe of the Terms in which the Promiſe is made, as purpoſely fitted to its typical reſpect or myſtical ſence. So is the Prohibition of breaking a Bone of the Paſchal Lamb, which was a Type of Chriſt, applyed by John to Chriſt himſelf who was typified thereby: Joh. 19. 36. with Exod. 12. 46.

Howbeit (I conceive) the Apoſtle hath here a direct and ſpecial Eye to that Promiſe Gen. 22. 18. **This Promiſe is particularly cited by Peter, as a ſummary of the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham; Act. 3. 25.Acts 3:25In thy Seed ſhall all the Families of the Earth be bleſſed, which runs directly parallel both in Terms and Sence with the Promiſe given to Abraham Gen. 12. 3. which was before pleaded by him: Gal. 3. 8. This Promiſe was given forth in the Repetition and Confirmation of the Covenant before made with him, upon the occaſion of Abraham's having offered up Iſaac, whereby the Death and Sacrifice of Chriſt Jeſus was in a moſt lively manner prefigured; And clearly holds forth thus much, That as all Nations ſhould be bleſſed in a relation p. 79to Abraham as his Children, ſo that Bleſſing ſhould be derived upon them thro' Intereſt in Chriſt his promiſed Seed, and by the Efficacy of his Mediation in the Intereſt of that Sacrifice and Offering of a ſweet ſmelling Savour, Eph. 5. 2. that in the fulneſs of time he ſhould make unto God. And if it be objected, that the Promiſe there is made of or concerning Abraham's Seed, and not to his Seed; let it be minded that all the Promiſes made of this Seed (viz. Chriſt) in one reſpect, may be ſaid to be made to this Seed in another, becauſe they are originally eſtabliſhed in the everlaſting Covenant of Redemption that was between the Father and him.

**See Strong of the Covenant p. 126.Some do interpret this Text in Gal. of Chriſt myſtical, becauſe of the order of the Words, The Promiſe is made firſt unto Abraham, then unto his Seed; therefore (ſay they) it is ſuch a Seed as comes to have Right in the Promiſe; Secondly, to Abraham and as his Children; And alſo becauſe the Apoſtles Scope is to prove that the Gentiles are juſtified by Faith, as Abraham was. But I ſhould rather apply them to Chriſt as perſonally conſidered; For the Seed to whom the Promiſe is made, is the ſame in whom all the Nations of the Earth are bleſſed, Gen. 22. 18. Now altho' as all Believers being the Seed of Abraham, are bleſſed with faithful Abraham, yet are they not that Seed in whom all Nations are bleſſed, but the Nations who are bleſſed in this Seed: And in the very p. 80next Verſe the Covenant is ſaid to be eſtabliſhed of God foreign in or unto Chriſt, who is the ſame Seed ſpoken of in the preceding Verſe; Now the Covenant is confirmed in Chriſt perſonal, not in Chriſt myſtical; hence Paraeus concludes it is to be underſtood individuè de uno Chriſto, ex quo omnis ſpiritualis Benedictio in fideles diffluit. But this alſo is to be obſerved, That Chriſt is given for a Covenant of the People, Iſa. 42. 6. and therefore the Covenant is eſtabliſhed in him, and with him for all Believers, who by Union with him, become that One Seed of Abraham unto whom the Bleſſing of his Covenant doth belong; And ſo in this ſence it as ſtrongly concludes for Juſtification only by Faith in Chriſt, as in the other. And for the order of the Words, it need not ſeem ſtrange that Abraham is firſt mentioned, and then Chriſt his Seed; for beſides that of the Promiſes chiefly intended, the firſt ſaith in thee, and that given afterwards, in thy Seed ſhall all Nations be bleſſed (which is the order the Apoſtle obſerves.) This is alſo to be conſidered, That Abraham was really the Father of Chriſt according to the Fleſh, and by Covenant appointed ſo to be, as was David alſo; and yet Chriſt is not only the Offspring, but alſo the Root both of Abraham and David; And altho' the Mercies of the Covenant, are called the ſure Mercies of David, becauſe of the Covenant which God made with him; yet are they all originally from Chriſt in one reſpect, tho' mediately by Chriſt in another, as they flow from p. 81a Covenant firſt made with David, which was to be after ratified and fulfilled in Chriſt the Son of David **Duorum maximè Filius dicitur Chriſtus Abrahae & David, quoniam iſtū ſapius, ac diſertius, quam caeteris, eſt promiſſus, Lud. Viv.And perhaps it is upon the account of the Covenants made with Abraham and David concerning this Matter, that in Mat. 1. 1. they are ſo peculiarly mentioned in the Genealogy of Chriſt as recorded by that Evangeliſt.

§. 8. Fourthly, This Covenant was made with Abraham as a Root of Covenant-Bleſſings, and common Parent unto all true Believers: Indeed Abraham himſelf obtained the Grace of this Covenant by Chriſt his Seed, and ſo came into it at the ſecond hand with reſpect to the Son of God who is the Prince of the Covenant; but with reſpect unto us, The Covenant was firſt given unto Abraham, and we are brought into it in the Intereſt of Relation to him as Children, which alſo is by Faith in Jeſus Chriſt: This ſpecial Honour did God put upon Abraham by the manner of his entring into Covenant with him, that thenceforth no People ſhould be taken into Covenant with himſelf but as his Seed. This is evident as to Iſrael after the Fleſh in the Old Teſtament, that their Covenant-Intereſt was derived from Abraham; and it appears as plainly concerning the ſpiritual Seed and Iſrael of God in the New-Teſtament, that Abraham is their Father Rom. 4. and p. 82all true Believers are bleſſed in him, as his Seed, Gal. 2. 8. & 29. with Gen. 12. 3. for by that Promiſe in Geneſis, Abraham was ordained, and conſtituted of God the Father of the faithful, as hath been before touched: And hence it is that their Fruition of Paradiſe is called a reſting in Abraham's Boſom, Luk. 16. becauſe as they have their Entrance into a State of Grace, ſo they are alſo brought into the Kingdom of Glory, and made to poſſeſs Heaven, as his Children. They are alſo ſaid to ſit down with Abraham in the Kingdom of of Heaven. Mat. 8. 11.

§. 9. Fifthly, The laſt thing I ſhall note is, The eternal Settlement of the way of Salvation according to the Tenour of the Covenant, which is by Faith in Chriſt: This is a Covenant that conveye the Grace of Life to poor Sinners by a free and gracious Promiſe; which admits of no other Reſtipulation in order to Covenant-Intereſt but Believing; … is of Faith becauſe it is of Grace; Rom. 4. 16. And this way is the only way of Life; There is but one Covenant of ſpiritual and eternal Bleſſings in Chriſt Jeſus, founded in the eternal Decree and Counſel of God's Love and Grace, which is now revealed unto Abraham; and there is but one Seed, which is of true Believers in Union with Chriſt; promiſed to him as the Heirs of this Covenant, and the Grace given thereby; and thus is the Way of their Juſtification and Acceptance with God determined, not by a natural Deſcent p. 83from Abraham, or any external Priviledg appendent thereunto, but by a walking in the Footſteps of Abraham's Faith, Rom. 4. 13. who is made the Exemplar of Juſtification unto all in future Ages, for whoſe perpetual Inſtruction this is recorded; That he believed God, and it was accounted to him for Righteouſneſs. The Tenour therefore of the Promiſe now given unto Abraham could never be altered, nor any ways evacuated, or ſuperſeded by any future Diſpenſation that the Church was brought under; but whatſoever Law or Covenant was afterwards given unto them, muſt of neceſſity lye in an order of Subſerviency unto it, and be directed towards the …ring in of the Perfection of that Diſpenſation of Grace which was unalterably fixed thereby Gal. 3. 17. It was the everlaſting Goſpel that was now preached unto Abraham, which was afterwards to break forth with the fulleſt Glory and Luſtre in the days of the Meſſiah, when the Lord performed his Mercy to Abraham, and remembered his holy Covenant. Luk. 1. 72, &c.

§. 10. I ſhall now cloſe this Chapter with ſome Co…laries deduced from the things already cleared; and then proceed in the Method before propounded:

1. This Covenant of Grace whereof we have been ſpeaking, and which the Holy Ghoſt in the New-Teſtament hath ſo remarkably pointed out … us, whereby Abraham was made the Father of p. 84the Faithful, and all Believers according to it were to be conſidered as a Seed that God would give to him, was confirmed and ratified by a ſure Promiſe unto Abraham a conſiderable time before the Covenant of Circumciſion was given to him; viz. about twenty five Years before it; and had then no outward Sign or Seal annexed thereto; And indeed that which hath been of late affirmed, That the Covenant of Grace always had an outward Sign on Seal added to it, is ſo wide a Miſtake, that on the contrary it may be affirmed, That altho' the Efficacy of its Grace did reach Believers in all Ages, yet it was not filled up with Ordinances of Worſhip proper, and peculiar to it ſelf, until the times of Reformation; nor had till then any outward Sign or Token immediately belonging thereunto; For had it been ſo, this Sign or Token, as the Covenant it ſelf, had remained without Change, and not vaniſhed away with the other Shadows of the Moſaical Oeconomy.

2. The Promiſe made unto Abraham gives the Seed, as well as the Bleſſing of that Seed unto him; Believers are the Children of Promiſe Typified by Iſaac afterwards, being begotten unto God of his own Will by the Efficacy and Grace of his free Promiſe and in the Virtue thereof; yea the Seed is firſt ſuppoſed in the Promiſe, and then the Bleſſing of that Seed is promiſed, which being of Grace, is made ſure unto all of them, Rom. 4. 16. And as the Bleſſing is ſpiritual, ſo is the Seed alſo, nor can it be extended farther then to that Seed p. 85which is the promiſed Subject thereof.

3. The Sum of all Goſpel bleſſings being comprized in this Promiſe, it will hence follow, That the proper Heirs of this Bleſſing of Abraham have a Right (not only in ſome, but) in all the Promiſes of the New Covenant; and that not in a limited Sence, and as ſuſpended on uncertain Conditions, but in a full Sence, and as ſecured by the infinite Grace, Wiſdom, Power, and Faithfulneſs of God, and accordingly they are in time made good to them all.

And this will be more manifeſt, if we conſider, that all the Bleſſings of this Covenant redound upon Believers by means of their Ʋnion and Communion with the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who is both the Head, and Root of the New-Covenant, and the Fountain from whence all its Bleſſings are derived to us, which as they were intirely purchaſed by him, ſo are they intirely applyed to all that are in him, and to none other;

The Limitation therefore of a New Covenant-Intereſt to the Grant of an external and temporary Priviledg only, I conceive to be utterly inconſiſtent with the Promiſes of the Covenant it ſelf; even ſuch as theſe Iſa. 54. 13. chap. 59. 21. Jer. 31. 33, 34. Ezek. 36. 26, 27. with Heb. 8. and many others of like import; Neither will theſe Texts admit of another Notion of late inſiſted on for the Commendation of Paedo-Baptiſm. viz.

That the Infant Seed of Believers, during their Infancy, have all of them a certain and p. 86definite Intereſt in the Covenant of Grace by virtue of which they are compleatly juſtified before God from the Guilt of original Sin▪ both Originans, and Originatum; and yet when they come to Years of Diſcretion may, (yea muſt) by their actual cloſing with, or refuſing the Terms of the Covenant, either obtain the Continuation and Confirmation of their Covenant-Intereſt, or be utterly and finally cut off from it, and ſo periſh eternally in their Ignorance of God, and Rebellion againſt him.

And as the Promiſes of the Covenant will admit of no ſuch partial Intereſt therein, ſo neither can this Opinion conſiſt with the Analogy of Faith in other Reſpects; For either the Stain of original Sin in theſe Infants is purged, and the Dominion of Concupiſcence in them deſtroyed, when their Guilt is pardoned, or it is not; If it be, then the caſe of theſe Infants in point of Perſeverance, is the ſame with that of Adult Perſons that are under Grace by their actual Faith; and then a final Apoſtacy from the Grace of the New Covenant muſt be allowed poſſible to befal the one as well as the other, notwithſtanding all the Proviſions of the Covenant, and Engagement of God there…n, to make the Promiſe ſure unto all the Seed: But this the Author will not admit: If he ſay that their Guilt is pardoned, but their Natures are not renewed, nor the Power of original Corruption deſtroyed, ſo as that Sin ſhall not have Dominion over them; It will be replyed; that then notwithſtanding p. 87their ſuppoſed Pardon, they remain an unclean thing, and ſo uncapable of Adminion into the Kingdom of Glory; But the Truth is, None are at any time juſtified before God, but ſuch as Chriſt hath loved, and waſhed from their Sins in his Blood; Rev. 1. 5. And none are waſhed by him: but thoſe that are in him, as the ſecond Adam; It is by Union to him as the Root of the New-Covenant, that the free Gift comes upon them to the Juſtification of Rom. 5. 14, &c.Rom 5:14Life; And none can have Union to him but by the indwelling of his holy Spirit; and wherever the Spirit of God applies the Blood of Chriſt for the Remiſſion of Sins he doth it alſo for the purging of the Conſcience from dead Works to ſerve the living God; And as certainly as any derive a New-Covenant Right from Chriſt for Pardon, they alſo receive a vital Influence from him for the Renovation of their Natures, and conforming their Souls to his own Image. And therefore to aſſert, That the Grace of Chriſt is applyed to ſome for the Remiſſion of Sins only, or that the Guilt of any Sin can be pardoned to any Perſon, and yet that Sin retain its Dominion over him, is (ſo far as I can diſcern) both unſcriptural, and incoherent with the Doctrin that is according to Godlineſs.

4. To conclude; It is plain, That a Believers Claim to the Bleſſings of the New-Covenant is in the Intereſt of Abraham's Seed, and by virtue of the Promiſes given to him relating to ſuch a Seed, and not as Coordinate with him in Covenant-Intereſt; p. 88They are not each one by this Covenant made the Father of a bleſſed Seed, as Abraham was the Father of the Faithful; neither can they claim the Promiſe for themſelves and their Seed according to the Tenour of Abraham's Covenant, and as he might; but they muſt reſt in a Relation to him as Children, and ſo receive his Bleſſing, that is, the Bleſſing promiſed to him for his Seed, and that by their own Faith, and for themſelves alone: Believers becauſe they are Abraham's Seed, are bleſſed with faithful Abraham; And, If we be Chriſts, then are we Abraham's Seed, and Heirs according to the Promiſe. Gal. 3. 29.