A Discourse of the Two Covenants, Book 2 · Chapter 1 – Chapter 2
CHAP. I. The Author and Fountain of this Covenant.
Gen. 17.2. And I will make my Covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
SECT. I. The Perſon who makes this Covenant, Jehovah, and why he will deal with all in a Covenant way.
THE Covenant of Works as made with man in his Creation, as violated by the Fall, and as cancelled in his Regeneration, and as ſubordinate and made ſubſervient to the Covenant of Grace, we have ſeen in the former Diſcourſe; and we now come to conſider the nature of the ſecond and better Covenant, which all the Saints in Heaven are ſaved by, which man can never break, and the righteouſneſs whereof ſin can never ſpend.
There are in Scripture four eminent publick perſons with whom this Covenant was made, which are ſet down in two inſtances in the Scripture: (1) With Adam, where it is very darkly repreſented. (2) With Noah, Gen. 3.15. Gen. 9.9.and with his Sons, which is a branch of the Covenant of Grace, and is ſo brought in, Iſa. 54.9. This is the waters of Noah to me. (3) With Abraham, and to him was the cleareſt manifeſtation of it, who it may be was therefore called as a ſpecial term of honour the Friend of God, becauſe the Lord imparted ſecrets to him in a more evident familiar manner than he had done with the Saints of old, as a man does with his friend, Luk. 1.73. it is his Oath that he ſware to Abraham, to Abraham and his ſeed were the Promiſes made;Gal. 3.16. and if you be Chriſts you are Abrahams ſeed; and Gal. 4.22, 23, 24. Abrahams Family is made a type and a ſhadow of the two Covenants, and the durable generation of men under them. Abraham had two Sons, which things are an Allegory, they are the two Covenants, &c. and therefore Mic. 7. ult. it is mercy unto Abraham, and truth unto Jacob, becauſe in Abraham after a ſort the Promiſe and the Covenant did begin, and therefore it is mercy in making it, but it is truth in keeping of it. (4) With David, Pſal. 89.3. I have made a Covenant with my choſen, I have ſworn unto David my ſervant. And Iſa. 55.3. I will make an everlaſting Covenant with you, even the ſure mercies of David; and Act. 13.34. you will find it again repeated; and therefore is Chriſt called the Son of David, and alſo David that ſhall be King over them. Ezek. 37.24. Hoſ. 3. ult. Act. 15.16.The Tabernacle of David is ſaid to be raiſed up in the Primitive times; but there is a time coming that God will raiſe up the throne of David alſo, when that promiſe ſhall be fulfilled, I ſhall give him the Throne of his father David, of his Kingdom there ſhall be no end: and when that (Dan. 7.14.) ſhall be accompliſhed, He ſhall be brought unto the Antient of days, and ſhall receive a Kingdom, after the four perſecuting Monarchies ſhall be taken down, which we ſee not accompliſhed; when that Scripture Rev. 11.17. ſhall be fulfilled, That the Kingdoms of the Earth ſhall become the Kingdoms of the Lord. His they are now as he is the King of Nations, but they ſhall be ſo alſo as he is the King of Saints; and they ſhall ſubſcribe unto the Lord, and his name ſhall be called upon them, &c.
I have made choice of this Scripture, as ſetting forth the Covenant made with Abraham, or rather renewed which God had made fourteen years before,Gen. 15.18. but herein gave a more full expreſſion of his entring into Covenant with him. Wherein you may obſerve three things, (1) That there is a Covenant, the Lord will deal with Abraham in a Covenant way, the Lord will bring him into the bond of the Covenant.Ezek. 20.37. (2) The Author of this Covenant, Jehovah, the Lord God alſufficient; and therefore he doth not here call it Abrahams Covenant, but it is my Covenant. (3) The fountain from which in God this Covenant does flow, And I will make my Covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. This Covenant is a free gift, and an act meerly of free grace, and ſo much doth Abraham acknowledge immediately; for he falls upon his face to ſhew that he could never be thankful enough. The property of a thankful ſoul is this, the more mercy it receives from God, and the more boldneſs it may have with God, and with the greater confidence he may come to him, with the greater reverence he does walk towards the Lord; for there is nothing that a gracious heart fears more than goodneſs, and he is loweſt in himſelf when the Lord exalts him higheſt by his Grace. And this doth the Lord repeat three times, I will make a Covenant with thee, and my Covenant ſhall be with thee; and verſ. 7. I will eſtabliſh my Covenant with thee; I will cauſe my Covenant to ariſe; that is, I will raiſe up ſuch a relation between me and thee, I will take thee into Covenant with my ſelf, and I will enter into Covenant with thee; and this he doth repeat ſo often, (as Mercer does obſerve) partly to confirm the Faith of Abraham in the promiſed mercy, partly to ſet forth the greatneſs of the mercy, which no words were ſufficient to expreſs; alſo the repetition does ſtir up and awaken Abraham yet further to conſider of the greatneſs of the mercy of God to him in it, and the greatneſs alſo of his engagement to God thereby. And from hence the firſt obſervation that I ſhall give you is from looking upon Abrahams Covenant as being the ſame with that God made with all the faithful, Gal. 3. ult.
Doct. After man was fallen and had broken the firſt Covenant, the Lord out of his free Grace hath made with his people a ſecond Covenant, and a better Covenant. In the handling hereof are four things to be cleared: (1) The Perſon that makes the Covenant, who it is, Jehovah El-ſhaddai, (2) That God will after the fall, as well as before, deal with his Elect in a Covenant-way. (3) The Lord hath the firſt and the chief hand in it, I will do it, I, even I; and therefore he doth every where call it my Covenant. (4) That the fountain of this Covenant is from Gods free Grace.
1. The Perſon that makes it, the Author of this Covenant; and here there are two things, (1) That all the perſons in the Trinity do enter into Covenant, and thereby bind themſelves to make themſelves over unto the Elect; and that will appear to you by theſe Conſiderations: (1) They have all of them the ſame nature and eſſence, the ſame will, and have all a hand in the ſame acts; as Creation is the act of them all, ſo they do all concur in making of the Covenant, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt. (2) This is a Covenant of peace and reconciliation, and the Son and the Spirit are as truly offended with the ſin of man, and had a hand in the firſt Covenant, and their authority was as truly deſpiſed in the firſt tranſgreſſion, as the authority of the Father; and a diſhonour was put upon them alſo, and therefore there was as much need that they ſhould be reconciled and enter into a Covenant with man for his Salvation,Bern. Ser. 1. de adventu Domini. as God the Father. Yea ſome Divines conceive, that the firſt tranſgreſſion of Angels and men was chiefly againſt the Son; and ſome of our own Divines (as Reinolds in Pſal. 110. pag. 421.) ſay, That the firſt ſin of man was principally committed againſt the Son, it being an affectation of that which did properly belong to him, to be like unto God in Wiſdom; and alſo in this was ſown the ſeed of the unpardonable ſin which was to be the fatal ſin under the ſecond Covenant: and therefore as the mercy was the more glorious that they would undertake Offices in this Covenant for reconciliation, ſo there was the greater neceſſity that they ſhould alſo join and be taken into the Covenant. (3) If we conſider the perſon that does tranſact this buſineſs and ſtrike up this Covenant with Abraham, who though he did it as the Word of God in the name of all the perſons, yet it was the Son who did immediately ſpeak in it, as Glaſſius expounds Job 33.3. the word is there, The breath of the Almighty; and Pſal. 91.1. where the ſame word is uſed, it is the ſhadow of the Almighty, &c. (4) If we conſider that the Son ſpeaks of himſelf in Covenant as well as his Father; for it is by this Covenant that the Lord is the God of Abraham, becauſe therein he did promiſe ſo to be: now Exod. 3.2, 6. the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moſes, and ſaith, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Iſaac, &c. Act. 7.30.and the Angel of the Lord is by Scripture plainly proved to be God the Son; and it's generally (or for the moſt part) conſented unto by all Divines, ancient and modern;Mal. 3.1. and it may be that having the great hand in ſtriking up the Covenant, he is therefore called the Angel of the Covenant.
2. Though all the perſons enter into Covenant with the Saints, yet the perſon that the Scripture ſays we do chiefly enter into Covenant with, and that hath the main and firſt hand therein, is God the Father.
1. Becauſe it is ſaid in Scripture to be a Covenant of peace and reconciliation, and therefore it doth ſuppoſe an enmity and a war. Now though ſin was committed againſt all the Perſons, yet the ſuite againſt ſinners in Scripture does chiefly run in God the Father's name, as in all Societies there is uſually one in whoſe name all their ſuites are commenced▪ therefore 2 Cor. 5.18, 19. God was in Chriſt reconciling the world to himſelf; he ſpeaks … of God the Father, who does reconcile us unto himſelf by Jeſus Chriſt; and therefore we are ſaid to be reconciled to God, and the work of the reconciliation of a ſinner Chriſt calls his Fathers buſineſs; and he is ſaid to be an Advocate with the Father, 1 Joh. 2.1. Sin is an offence to all the Perſons, they having all a hand in mans Creation, and all of them joining in giving man a Law, and entring into Covenant with him in his Creation, but in Scripture the ſuite againſt ſin is ſaid to run every where in the Fathers name, and our reconciliation is unto him; and therefore it is the Father that has the great hand in the Covenant as the perſon reconciled.
2. Becauſe in the Scripture the other Perſons have their peculiar Offices, which they have voluntarily undertaken in this Covenant to reconcile men unto God, and therefore both are ſaid to be ſent, which is a term of Office, the Father ſends the Son, and the Son from the Father ſends the Spirit, Joh. 14. When the Comforter is come which I will ſend from the Father. Now Chriſt is the Mediator of the Covenant, Heb. 12.24. and the Spirit the ſeal of the Covenant, Epheſ. 1.13. the Covenant is the Covenant of Promiſe; and the Spirit of the Covenant is the Spirit of Promiſe, and the Perſon that tranſacts all from each Perſon within us in reference to this Covenant; as Chriſt does all with God without us in reference to this Covenant. Thence in Prayer we are ſaid chiefly to pray to God the Father; and Chriſt teacheth us to ſay, Our Father, &c. not that we are not to pray to all the Perſons, but becauſe the other Perſons have undertaken their peculiar Offices in reference to the Prayers of the Saints; the Spirit within us as a ſpirit of ſupplication indites our Prayers, and ſtirs up affections anſwerable to our Petitions, and groans unutterable; and Chriſt as our High Prieſt receives this Incenſe, and offers it, and as the great Maſter of Requeſts tenders our Prayers unto the Father, and they are received out of the Angels hand; therefore in Scripture we are chiefly directed to pray unto the Father: ſo though all the Perſons, Father, Son, and holy Spirit, do enter into Covenant with the Saints, yet the Covenant in Scripture is ſaid to be chiefly made with God the Father, becauſe of the Offices that the other Perſons have undertaken in the adminiſtration of this Covenant, and the Grace thereof.
3. It will appear by this, becauſe all things in this Covenant are from him, and the other Perſons in all the Offices that they undertake do it by his appointment, the original of all is in the Father.
1. The plot and the project was his to reconcile ſinners to himſelf by a ſecond Covenant, and all that the Son does therein is not his own will, but the will of him that ſent him; and it is by this will of the Father that we are ſanctified: the original and foundation of all the benefits that we have from Chriſt in this Covenant is from this will of the Father;Heb. 10. the Son can do nothing of himſelf, but what he ſees the Father do. The plot and platform was by him laid, and as (with reverence be it ſpoken) David ſaid, the platform of the building of the Temple was ſhewed unto him, and the deſign was his, though Solomon his Son built it; ſo it is here, the plot and the form was laid by the Father, but it was the Son that did build the Church.
2. The Perſon with whom he would make this Covenant, he did deſign, Joh. 17.6. Thine they were and thou gaveſt them me: And he ſhall give eternal life to as many as thou haſt given me. Rev. 13.8. 2 Tim. 2.19.And therefore there is Gods book of Life, and the Lambs book, and they do exactly anſwer one another, the latter being but a tranſcript only out of the former. The foundation of the Lord remains ſure, and hath this ſeal, &c.
3. He doth appoint how much Grace and how much Glory he will diſpenſe unto every one of them by this Covenant, the Lord has made Chriſt the Treaſurer, 1 Joh. 5.11. and as it were a Feoffee in truſt,Epheſ. 4. but Chriſt does not diſpenſe Grace unto all alike: there is a fulneſs of the age of the ſtature of Chriſt; but all Saints do not attain to the ſame ſtature in Grace, neither ſhall they in Glory, the difference is in the appointment of the Father; for in diſpenſing of Grace as well as in meriting of the ſame, Chriſt is but the Fathers ſervant, and does his will. To ſit at my right hand and at my left, is not mine to give, but it ſhall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
4. It was the Father that employed Chriſt in this great work, to be the Mediator of this Covenant, he did not take it of himſelf, and of his own motion, but as the Father enters into Covenant, ſo he appoints the Mediator of the Covenant, Iſa. 49.8. He gives him as a Covenant, and he did call him to be a Prieſt; therefore you read, Mat. 12.18. My ſervant whom I have choſen.
5. He did confirm this Covenant by an Oath, and thereby made it unchangeable; or elſe it could never have been. And there is a double Oath, (1) An Oath to Chriſt, Pſal. 110.4. making him a Prieſt by an Oath: (2) An Oath to all his federates, Heb. 6.17, 18.
6. He has delighted in this Covenant, and ſpent infinite thoughts upon it; and it is therefore called the pleaſure of the Lord. Iſa. 53.10.How many are thy thoughts to us ward, &c. Pſal. 40.5. it is the ſpeech of Chriſt unto his Father, as appears afterwards, If I ſhould ſpeak of thy thoughts unto us, they are more than can be expreſſed: and all theſe thoughts are in reference unto this Covenant, and his thoughts of peace towards the Elect, which he delighted in from everlaſting. And by all this it will appear, that though all the perſons be in Covenant with the Saints under the ſecond Covenant, yet it is chiefly God the Father.
§. 2. God will after the fall deal with his people in a Covenant-way: though mankind did prove unfaithful, and break the Covenant of their Creation, and ſo ſhould have periſhed for ever under the curſe of it, Covenant breaking being the great aggravation of all tranſgreſſion; and therefore though it was an act of grace and meer goodneſs before, yet now a man would have thought the Lord ſhould have tried man in a way of Covenant no more, but only have ruled him in a way of Soveraignty, and given him a command, and if he did not obey, to have taken him away as he ſaw good; but God will deal with man in a Covenant-way.
Mic. 7. ult. Rom. 15.8.1. The Lord will do it, thereby to make known his mercy and his truth, and he doth manifeſt both theſe in the Covenant; there is mercy in making the Covenant, and mercy infinitenitely the more, becauſe it is now with a perfidious and ſinful people, whoſe hearts have not been ſtedfaſt with the Lord; and there is truth and faithfulneſs in keeping it, and there was no way for God to ſhew forth his faithfulneſs but this, by continuing a Covenant, and to be conſtant in it; from a mans converſion unto his glorification, for ſpiritual mercies, and for temporal,Pſal. 111.9. he is always mindful of his Covenant; he has commanded his Covenant for ever, that is, to ſtand faſt for ever; his Faithfulneſs is as the Mountains, and as the Ordinances of Heaven, and you may as ſoon change the one as the other: and this Faithfulneſs under the ſecond Covenant is ſo much the more ſeen, becauſe of our unfaithfulneſs unto him; when the unfaithfulneſs of man cannot make the faithfulneſs of God of none effect
2. Becauſe the Lord will honour his Son as the ſecond Adam; and the glory of the firſt Adam was a Covenant and an Image, and ſo ſhall the ſecond Adam be. And he muſt have a ſeed alſo to whom theſe ſhall be conveyed,Iſa. 53.8. The word ſignifies generation. In whom he ſhall ſee his ſeed, and prolong his days, as Pſal. 72. and Chriſt is his Son in both generation and ſucceſſion, naturally, as they bear his Image, and legally as they ſtand under his Covenant, and the Lord will honour the ſecond Adam as he did the firſt; in both theſe the Lord having made Adam the type of him that was to come.
3. That hereby the Lord might honour the Creature; the Covenant is the ſtaff of beauty, becauſe it is the great beauty and glory of any people that God hath taken them into Covenant,Zach. 11.10 ſpecially if we conſider the ſecond Covenant to be Matrimonial, and the Lord doth thereby betroth him unto himſelf in loving kindneſs, and mercy and faithfulneſs, as Hoſ. 2.18. the great honour of the people of Iſrael, Deut. 26.18. was, that they were a people peculiar unto God; thence he is called the God of Iſrael: and this is the great honour of the Saints, which makes them more excellent than their neighbours, becauſe they have God ſo nigh them to be their God in Covenant.
4. That it may be the greater obligation unto men to obedience, Gen. 17.7. I will eſtabliſh my Covenant with thee, thou ſhalt therefore keep my Covenant. And it is the great anſwer unto all Temptations, I am in Covenant with the Lord, as a woman that is married, it is a ſufficient anſwer unto all other ſuiters, I am already married unto another. Je…. 13.11. As a girdle to the loins of a man, ſo have I cauſed the whole houſe of Iſrael to cleave unto me, that they might be unto me for a name and for a praiſe. The Lord bound them to him by Covenant, and it is a great aggravation of ſin, that the Lord loves us and we forget the Covenant of our God; therefore Adultery is aggravated above all other ſins, Hoſ. 3.2. A woman beloved of her husband, yet an adultereſs, how abominable is it!
5. To ſweeten obedience, and make it the more free and voluntary; when a man takes it upon himſelf and gives the hand to the Lord, 2 Chron. 30.7, 8. which was the cuſtom amongſt men, when they entred into Covenant,Ezek. 17.18. and that men might ſee that their good always goes along with their duty, and that God that did command to obey, did promiſe to reward, and therefore did it not ex indigentia ſed potentia, out of indigence, but from power; Chriſts goodneſs extends not unto God as munificentia, by way of munificence. Auſtin puts the difference between man and God in this, as the Earth drinks up the water, ſo doth the Sun-beams alſo, one out of its own neceſſity, but the other out of its power; ſo God requires duty out of bounty for your good always, that he may reward it; Grace does not deſtroy but raiſe and rectifie ſelf-love; Chriſt in his obedience had a glory ſet before him, and ſo had Moſes a reſpect to the recompence of reward. There is a love of reward which is lawful, when it is not this that is the only thing that lancheth a man forth in a duty, but only fills his ſails; but when it is mercenary love and has reſpect to nothing in the duty but the loaves, this is ſinful; and it is this Covenant that makes the yoke of Chriſt eaſie and profitable, having an eye to the exceeding great and precious promiſes, which engages a man to have reſpect to all the Commandments; for the Lord doth delight to allure men into ways of holineſs and duty.Hoſ. 2.14.
Laſtly, the Lord will have it ſo: (1) That by the promiſes of this Covenant, he may ſanctifie a man, change his image, and make him partaker of the Divine nature, and that every one of them may carry the ſoul continually to Chriſt as ſtreams to the fountain,2 Pet. 1.4. in whom they are Yea and Amen. (2) That this may be the ground of a working faith, and a lively hope, and a fervent prayer, all which are grounded only upon the promiſes of this Covenant; for had there not been a Covenant between God and us, there had been no place for faith, no ground for hope, and no room for the prayer of faith, which only is bottomed upon a promiſe. (3) Whatever is done in this Covenant it is God that has the firſt and chief hand therein, and we do not enter into Covenant with him, but he enters into Covenant with us firſt; though the Covenant be mutual, yet it is called the Lords Covenant, as Chriſt faith unto his Diſciples, Joh. 15.16. You have not choſen me, but I have choſen you: they did chuſe Chriſt (as every believing ſoul doth) but the love firſt began on Chriſts part; and ſo it does alſo in this Covenant, 1 Joh. 4.10. Not that we loved him, but he loved us, and me love him becauſe he loved us firſt: ſo we do not begin the Covenant with God, but the Lord doth begin with us; and the motion came from him alone. God the Father is not paſſive in it, but active, he was content that Chriſt ſhould reconcile us to him. As it was to David an acceptable ſervice of Joab in reconciling his Son Abſalom to him, becauſe his heart did run out to him; ſo God the Father is active in this work, he is in Chriſt reconciling the world; and all that Chriſt does is by the Fathers appointment; and he is his ſervant in it, and it is the pleaſure of the Lord, and he doth love to have it ſo; and had not he imployed Chriſt in this work, there had never been a reconciliation between God and man. As it is true by our Union with Chriſt we are joined to, or as the word ſignifies, glewed to the Lord; yet the Union doth begin on Chriſts part firſt, and Chriſt unites himſelf to us by the Spirit, before we can by our faith be united to him: ſo it is in the Covenant alſo, it does begin on Gods part; and as it was the Womans great diſhonour to be firſt in the tranſgreſſion, ſo it is the Lords great glory to be firſt in the reconciliation. And therefore when Adam, after his fall, ſtood trembling, and could expect nothing but a ſentence of condemnation, the Lord was pleaſed to reveal a new Covenant to him; for the Text ſaith, he was afraid and he hid himſelf: ſo unto Abraham, the motion of a Covenant was from the Lord, and not from Abraham. There is a Grace preceding which works Grace, and there is alſo a Grace co-operating that acts Grace, but it is preventing Grace that is the firſt.
§. 3. The main part of this Covenant is tranſacted by God without us, which will appear if we conſider the particulars of it.
1. The Purpoſe and intention of it, that is in himſelf, from his own will only; for all is done according to the good pleaſure of his will, Epheſ. 1.9. Rom. 9.and he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy: ſo that the whole purpoſe and plot of it is in the boſom of God alone, and according to this plot all things are done in this Covenant. As in the Creation all things are done from an Idea in the mind of God, and according unto that platform,Heb. 11.3. Joh. 1.18. as the Temple was built according to the pattern, ſo in the Covenant alſo; and therefore Chriſt is ſaid to come from the boſom of the Father; being from this gracious intention and purpoſe of God himſelf from everlaſting.
2. He entred into Covenant with Chriſt the ſecond Adam that he ſhould be the Mediator of the Covenant, and the perſon that ſhould do all the great works that he had intended in this Covenant:2 Tim. 1.9. and therefore we read of a promiſe of eternal life made unto us before the world began; God did not content himſelf with a purpoſe, but he added thereto a Promiſe and Covenant to his Decree, which could not be unto us, becauſe we were not; therefore it muſt be unto one that did repreſent our perſons, and was lookt upon as in our ſtead; for a purpoſe might be in himſelf, but a promiſe cannot be but unto another; and there was a glory and a poſterity that God did promiſe unto him in this Covenant, and that he would carry Chriſt through the work that he had to do,Pſal. 16. as appears afterwards: and therefore Chriſt ſays, He is my God, and the lot is fallen to me in a fair ground, which is the ſpeech of Chriſt; and therefore Prov. 8.22. he ſays, The Lord poſſeſſed me in the beginning of his way. The Covenant that he made with Chriſt was the firſt of his going forth unto the Creature,Prov. 8.30, 31. and upon this were grounded thoſe true delights of Chriſt mentioned, Prov. 8.30, 31. And my delights were with the ſons of men.
3. By vertue of this Covenant are all thoſe Legal acts paſt in God. In the work of Redemption there are ſome acts ſpiritually natural, and they are acts of God within us, which do imply a real and phyſical change,Phil. 1.6. when our natures and principles are changed, and of unholy are made holy: but there are alſo ſome Moral acts, and they are acts of God upon us; as if a man be a guilty perſon, or accuſed as ſuch, and there be an act of pardoning and accepting, this is a Moral act, an act upon him; and if he be a ſick perſon, and there be a Phyſician to cure him, or blind, and his eyes be opened, this is a natural act in him; and if a man be a captive and he be made a free man by a ranſome paid, this is a change of his ſtate; the one is in Juſtification, and the other in Sanctification; the one is mutatio moralis, and the other naturalis. Now the main acts of God in this Covenant, and the main of the Covenant conſiſts in acts done without us and upon us; as by ſoveraign imputation he doth count our ſins Chriſts,Iſa. 53. and he makes to meet upon him the iniquities of us all; he died as the ſecond Adam, and all the Elect died in him, and ſo his death took place for all the Elect that ever were, or ſhall be, by vertue of the Covenant of God, and the ſoveraign imputation of God immediately after the fall;Rev. 13.8. therefore is he ſaid, To be a Lamb ſlain from the foundation of the world; that is, in reſpect of efficacy grounded upon the imputation of God, who can call things that are not as if they were; Rom. 3.25.and ſo all the ſins of the old world and the ancient Saints were pardoned the ſins that were paſt through the forbearance of God:Tanquam in capite. 2 Cor. 5.21. and ſo Chriſt roſe as a publick perſon, as a ſecond Adam, and he being juſtified all the Elect were juſtified, though there be an actual Juſtification when they do believe, and ſo with him we aſcend and ſit together with him in Heavenly places, &c. And as he is made ſin for us, ſo we are made the righteouſneſs of God in him; as our ſins are laid upon him, ſo his righteouſneſs is imputed unto us, and truly accepted for us as our Surety. For the debt paid by a Surety is in the eſteem of the Law ſaid to be paid by the debter, and he for that cauſe is acquitted. And ſo it is in Adoption, Now we are the ſons of God, that is, God accepts us as Children and Sons, and becauſe we are Sons he has ſent forth the Spirit of his Son into our heart, we being by God counted members of Chriſt, and ſo by our Union with him we do partake with him in his filiation; and all theſe are acts of God upon us, but without us, and therefore the main benefits and acts of the Covenant are tranſacted by God without us; and that is as truly and as perfectly done now as ever it ſhall be.
4. There is not a ſoul that is brought into this Covenant but it is by God the Father; he hath ſaid,Ezek. 20.37. Joh. 8.44. I will bring them into the bond of the Covenant. No man can come to me except God the Father draw him. What is the meaning and intent of the preaching of the Goſpel without, and all the tenders and offers of Chriſt to the ſoul by the Spirit within? It is only to this end, that they might be a people in Covenant with God; and all things that Chriſt doth, he doth as God the Fathers ſervant, to draw men into Covenant with him, that by Chriſt we ſhould come unto God. The expreſſion of drawing does ſet forth unto us its efficacy and certainty; and therefore drawing and coming are put together, to ſhew that man by nature is not willing but an enemy unto this Covenant, but ex …olentibus volentes facit, he makes men of unwilling willing; he does powerfully work as if he did draw, and men do as certainly come as they that are drawn: Grace works ſtrongly, and therefore God is ſaid to draw, and it works ſweetly, and therefore men are ſaid to come; it is an act of power in God, and yet an act of will in man; it is a noble thing to conſider how man is drawn to God: never any man did come into the bond of the Covenant but he that was before drawn by the Father; and there is an Almighty power that goes to the work, even the ſame power that raiſed up the Lord Jeſus Chriſt from the dead to glory.Epheſ. 1.19.
5. All things that are within us or performed by us, he has undertaken to work in us to will and to do; the beginning of it and the finiſhing of it belongs to him;Phil. 1.6. and here lyes the happineſs of the Saints, that in the Covenant God has undertaken both parts, and therefore the Covenant doth commonly run, I will be their God, ſo ſhall they be my people. He doth undertake for us, as well as for himſelf, he doth undertake that he will be a good husband, and you ſhall be a good wife; and in this lyes the great bleſſing of the ſecond Covenant, and the Grace thereof. It is true, that the paſſive part is ours; and there are ſome acts that do belong to us properly, we believe and we repent, but it is he that works in us to believe and repent of his good pleaſure. Nos agimus ſed acti; nos volumus, ſed ipſe facit ut velimus, We act but as acted by him; we will, but he makes us to will. Auſt.
6. We are kept in the Covenant by him alone: he brings us within the bond of the Covenant, and he doth alſo keep us there, Jer. 31.33. I will put my Law in their hearts, and they ſhall not depart from me. And Hoſ. 2.7. I will hedge up their way, and will make a wall that they ſhall not find their paths. They ſhall follow after their lovers but they ſhall not overtake them; God will in mercy croſs them in ways of ſinning, and make all ways of ſin burdenſome to them; and all is, that they may return to their former husband; though they have committed adultery againſt him, yet he ſaith unto them, Return you back-ſliding children and I will receive you; you have gone a whoring from me, yet return to me, and I will receive you. And Hoſ. 3.3. The Lord will buy them unto him again with fifteen pieces of ſilver; their baſe condition into which they were caſt ſhould be the ground of their returning unto God again, their former husband; it is the purchaſe that the Lord would give for them; difficulties and diſquiets, and diſappointments in ways of ſin doth the Lord give men to keep them in his Covenant. Chriſt tells them, They ſhould deceive if poſſible the very Elect; Mac. 24. Rev. 13.8.they were deceived as many as were not writ in the Lambs book; a ſpecial hand of God is towards them in their preſervation, and there is a power of God put forth for them, that keeps their hearts as with a garriſon; he that brought them into the Covenant, hath undertaken to keep them there.
7. Every renewal of the Covenant is from the Lord;Gen. 2.15. the Lord did make this Covenant with Abraham, and fourteen years after renews it. It is not Abraham that renews it with God ſo much, as God with Abraham: and ſo the Lord ſays, Jer. 31.31. I will make a new Covenant; it is but a renewal of the ſame Covenant, and a further and more glorious manifeſtation of the mind of God therein; he will ſhew them his Covenant, Pſal. 25. Of this renewing the Covenant we ſhall ſpeak afterward, this is only to manifeſt, that he who hath the great and the univerſal hand in this Covenant is the Lord; we may ſay as the Scripture doth of Joſeph, whatever was done in Egypt he was the doer of it; ſo whatever is done in this Covenant, the Lord is the doer of it, it is the act of God the Father.
SECT. II. Free-Grace the Fountain of this Covenant.
WE come now to the fourth Head, the ground and foundation of whatever the Lord hath done in this Covenant, and that is Free-grace, his own good will, and his own unexpected love; the Lord had no argument or motive out of himſelf; and therefore he ſays, I will give my Covenant between me and thee; he hath no other aim in this whole work, but the praiſe of the glory of his Grace. Luk. 2. It is glory to God, and good will to men. Epheſ. 1.7.And thereby is God glorified under the ſecond Covenant, and this the Lord calls upon his people to obſerve, Look to the Rock from whence you were hewed; look to Abraham and to Sarah; Iſa. 41.2.and when he was in Ʋr of the Caldeans, and did with Terah his father worſhip other gods beyond the River, the Lord did call him alone and bleſs him, and alone ſingled out this one perſon, and raiſed him up and did exalt him and ſet him on high, and called him to his foot, and led him on his way, and the Lord paſſed on before him. And ſo David made the Covenant to be only the fruit of free-grace, 2 Sam. 7.21. What can David thy ſervant ſay more? It doth exceed my apprehenſion or expreſſion, only thou haſt done it according unto thy own heart, out of thy own free love, that thou mighteſt make thy ſervant to know even thoſe great things. And this will appear,
1. If we conſider the perſon that is firſt in this Covenant, and that is the Lord, who hath here expreſſed himſelf to be El-ſhaddai, he is al-ſufficient, one that hath all in himſelf, and within his own compaſs, he is a Sun, that is, he ſhines with his own natural light, and not as the Moon and Stars with a mutuatitious and a borrowed light; for as he is debter to none, ſo he ſtands in need of none, he needs not borrow any excellency or glory from another; and therefore for this God to enter into Covenant, muſt needs be of Grace, and by Grace you are ſaved.
2. If we look upon man as fallen under another Covenant broken and periſhed under the curſe of it, and under that Covenant deſiring to continue, Gal. 4.21. They did deſire to be under the Law, Rom. 10.3.they looked upon it as a deſirable condition, they did ſeek to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs, and were enemies to the Goſpel, and unto all others for the Goſpel ſake; the way of the Goſpel the heart of man is againſt, and that now the Lord ſhould unto ſuch reveal this ſecond Covenant that hate his Grace, and ſhut their eyes, and ſtop their ears, and do their utmoſt to receive the grace of God in vain, that though they be under another Covenant, & enemies unto this, yet ſhould rather chuſe to be under their broken Covenant than accept of this.
3. That this Covenant ſhould be given unto ſome and not unto others: that when the Angels that fell were under the ſame curſe of the former Covenant with us, yet that the Lord ſhould not catch after the ſeed of Angels,Heb. 2.16. but of Abraham, and let them periſh under their Covenant, never give unto them an offer of another Covenant. That when mankind were all of them ſtrangers to the Covenant of Grace, alike in their natural ſtates, and enemies, that the Lord ſhould be pleaſed to ſingle out ſome to ſhew them his Covenant, and for nothing but becauſe he hath a favour to them,Epheſ. 2.14. to chuſe ſome out of a wretched family, and a wicked ſtock; and the Grace of this Covenant he will make known unto them, and they ſhall know the power of this diſtinguiſhing love; and when he ſhall paſs by many of the great, and the wiſe, and the noble, and make choice of babes, and the fooliſh things of this world, that have nothing in them that ſhould commend them, but free-grace made the difference; and it is this that raiſeth them up above their brethren; He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy; and he gives a commiſſion to his loving kindneſs to take hold of ſuch a ſoul, and he hears a voice behind him, when he is poſting with his back upon God, and his face towards Hell, and there is a voice that he hears that other men do not: therefore it is ſaid, Act. 9.22. That they ſaw the light, but they heard not the voice of him that ſpake to me: they were with him, and yet there was a voice came to Paul; a noiſe and a ſound of it they did hear, but to hear ſo as to have it made effectual to their ſouls, that proceeds only from peculiar love.
4. That in this Covenant, (1) Our perſons ſhould be taken into the ſame Covenant with the Son of God is the higheſt advancement: as the greateſt and loweſt abaſement of Chriſt was,Gal. 4.4. to be made under our Covenant, to be made under the Law, and ſo under the curſe thereof, being made ſin; ſo the higheſt advancement of man is to come under Chriſts Covenant, and thereby we have an intereſt in his Righteouſneſs and Sonſhip; and by this there is the neareſt relation between God and us; for it is a Matrimonial Covenant, the neareſt and the ſweeteſt Union; and it is a Covenant of Friendſhip, wherein there is the fulleſt communion beyond that of the Angels themſelves; for we are betrothed unto the Lord in mercies and loving kindneſs, Hoſ. 2.18, 19. (2) In reſpect of our ſervices; it is by the Covenant that they have a reference unto a reward; there is not the meaneſt ſervices of the Saints that ſhall loſe their reward, not a cup of cold water: therefore Luther ſays, The whole world has not a reward good enough for the leaſt ſervice of a Saint; and profeſſes he had rather be the author of the meaneſt work of the Saints than of the moſt glorious acts of Alexander, or of Caeſar. And this reference unto a reward riſeth from this Covenant, for Pſal. 16.3. Chriſt ſaith, Our goodneſs extends not unto God. There was in Chriſt a merit, but it was only ex pacto, Heb. 10. it is by his will they are ſanctified, and through his acceptation: had not he made a Covenant with the Lord, it had been free with God the Father to accept the righteouſneſs of Chriſt or not; and therefore there is the Grace of Union and of Unction, and even the Merit of Chriſt, the ground of it is free-grace by vertue of the Covenant that paſſed between the Father and the Son; and therefore much more that our works or any thing we do ſhould have any relation to a reward from God, eſpecially as to Eternal Life.
§. 2. But did not Chriſt purchaſe this Covenant, or elſe by his entreaty obtain it? for Chriſt is the Mediator of the new Covenant, and therefore it may be at his requeſt the Lord did make this Covenant with us, and not ſingly out of his own love to us.
I anſwer, No, Chriſt did not merit the Grace of the Covenant; there is a difference to be carefully put between the Covenant it ſelf, and the benefits and fruits of the Covenant; all the fruits of the Covenant are diſpenſed by Chriſt, and are part of his purchaſe, as Heaven, Grace, and Glory, the very being of a Church, God has purchaſed it with his own blood; but as for the Covenant it ſelf, it is that in which Chriſt is promiſed, and all the Merits of Chriſt, and all our acceptation with God through him; and it is part of the Covenant that God makes with us, I will give you my Son, and one of the grand promiſes thereof; and when he did reſolve to enter into Covenant with man, then Chriſt becomes his ſervant, and his choſen, he being to be the ſecond Adam, and Perſon into whoſe hand all the tranſactions of this Covenant ſhould be committed. And to exalt this free-grace in him that is the Prince of the Covenant, and that we may ſee all things are of God, 2 Cor. 5.18. Who has reconciled us to himſelf in Chriſt; and all things that do appertain to the Kingdom of Chriſt: He that built all things is God; Heb. 3.4.it is ſpoken in reference to his Houſe, that is, his Church, and not in reference to the general works of Creation: ſo that though it is Chriſt that is the builder of his Houſe, and as a Lord in his own Houſe, yet in Chriſt it is God that is the builder of it, all things are originally of him; and this Grace of God in Chriſt as the Prince of the Covenant, will appear in theſe Particulars.
1. There is free-grace in deſignation; for he is the Elect of God, Iſa. 42.1. and Prov. 8.22. He is the beginning of the ways of God, the firſt-born among many brethren: one firſt in the womb of Gods Decree, and therefore had therein the preheminence, he was firſt elected, and we in him. And as our Election was an act of free-grace, He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy; ſo was Chriſts alſo an act of the ſame grace, and therefore, Heb. 1.3. He is the brightneſs of his glory, the expreſs image of his perſon. As he is God, ſo all the acts of the Father are acts of nature, as his generation is from God naturally, and therefore neceſſarily: But as he is the Head of the Church, and the Prince of the Covenant of Grace as God-man, ſo he comes under the acts of the will of God; and it was free with God whether he would have choſen him to this Office, and put this honour upon him or no: and therefore as in the one he is haeres natus, a born heir; ſo in the other he is conſtitutus, a conſtituted heir. So that even in Chriſt all is of Gods free-grace, he did not honour himſelf, he did not appoint himſelf, but it was the Lord that did call him, and deſign him to this ſervice, and wrote his name in the volume of his book; ſo ſome expound that place, Heb. 10.7. the firſt page of it, he being the beginning of all Gods going forth towards the Creature.
2. There is free-grace in the Fathers qualification, and preparing and fitting of Chriſt for this great work: it is true, that Chriſt was God, and had a power equal with his Father, and therefore thought it no robbery to be ſo, yet the Scripture doth attribute all unto the free-grace of the Father. (1) It was God the Father that prepared him a body; he that doth give unto every one of us a body, as it pleaſed him, he alſo did give the Lord Chriſt a body, and did faſhion it according to his good pleaſure, even a humane nature;Heb. 10.5. the Holy Ghoſt did overſhadow the Virgin that ſhe ſhould conceive; it was a body that was given him by the Father. (2) There was Union from the Father; and therefore there is a grace of Union as to us: in Myſtical Union, it is the Father made up the match between us and Chriſt, and we are united unto him for ever; ſo in the Perſonal and Hypoſtatical Union, it is the Father that made up the match, and made the two Natures to become one Perſon, and therefore it is ſaid, Luk. 1.35. That holy thing that is born ſhall be called the Son of God; for it was in obedience to the Father that he did come to take this body into Union; it is true, he did take the ſeed of Abraham, but it was by the Fathers command,Heb. 2.16. Heb. 10.7. and in obedience to him, and therefore he ſays, A body haſt thou prepared me; and therefore he did take it upon himſelf, as he did his ſufferings, The cup that his Father gave him he did drink; and ſo in him dwelt the fulneſs of the Godhead bodily.
3. There is alſo the grace of Unction, God gave not the Spirit by meaſure unto him:Joh. 3.34. Jeſus of Nazareth whom God has anointed with the Holy Ghoſt, and with power. As it pleaſed the Father in him ſhould all fulneſs dwell; as the Sun of Righteouſneſs, and as the fountain of life: and this is not in him only as God but as Mediator; but all this is ſtill as it pleaſed the Father, acts of his free-grace.
4. Aſſiſtance in this great work; it is true that Chriſt was God, and able to raiſe himſelf,1 Joh. 5.11. and did quicken himſelf, and did overcome death, and ſpoiled Principalities and Powers, and triumphed over them openly, but yet he doth aſcribe all this to the gracious aſſiſtance of God the Father; it is the Lord that made him a promiſe, that he ſhould go through with his work; and Chriſt doth ſtrengthen himſelf by exerciſing faith upon the Promiſes of God the Father, who promiſed,Iſa. 42.4. He ſhall not fail nor be diſcouraged till he hath ſet judgement in the earth; I the Lord have called thee in righteouſneſs, I will hold thee by the hand; that is, by a mighty aſſiſtance and ſupport, and I will keep thee, &c. and with theſe Chriſt helps himſelf by exerciſing faith upon them: I will truſt in thee, he is near that juſtifies me, Iſa. 50.8. Who will contend with me, the Lord is at my right hand, I ſhall not be moved, Pſal. 16.8, 9, 10.therefore my heart is glad, and my fleſh ſhall reſt in hope; for thou will not leave my ſoul in Hell; [i. e. in the grave, under the power and condemnation of that ſin and wrath that now is upon me], nor ſuffer my body to ſee corruption; but thou wilt ſhew me the path of life, &c. And Pſal. 22. he ſtrengthens his faith by experience of his forefathers, Our Fathers truſted in thee and thou deliveredſt them. So that Chriſts aſſiſtance in all his managing of the work of the Covenant is wholly from the free-grace of God the Father; and therefore in all the buſineſs of it Chriſt had recourſe unto his Father by prayer continually.
5. Acceptance: It is true that Chriſt as his Perſon was in worth and value anſwerable unto all the Elect of God, and beyond them, ſo there was a worth and price in all that he did in his ſuffering anſwerable unto whatever the Law and Juſtice of God did require; God did abate him nothing, he payed the uttermoſt farthing, elſe there could not have been ſatisfaction;Iſa. 63.6. for it muſt be redditio aequivalentis pro aequivalenti, it was a full ſatisfaction, God did abate him nothing in this, but God made our ſins to meet upon him, he did not abate him one ſin, and being made ſin he did not abate him any part of the curſe. And what mercies ſoever the Lord doth beſtow upon us, Chriſt hath paid a valuable price for them, becauſe his obedience did deſerve and did truly merit at the hand of God whatever the Lord ſhall beſtow upon us to eternity, either in Grace here, or Glory hereafter; it is indeed free unto us and a gift, but yet it is unto Chriſt a purchaſe; and therefore here indeed there is nothing of grace as it were, but all is of debt, that is, Chriſt did lay down ſomething anſwerable unto whatever God did either give, or forgive. But yet here is Grace in the Lords acceptance of all that Chriſt hath done and ſuffered for us, and the imputation thereof unto us, and that the Lord ſhould account this by a Soveraign imputation to be as done in our ſtead, and for us; for the Law did ſay, the ſoul that ſins ſhall die; it is Grace only that brings in the commutation of the Perſon, though there be no commutation of the righteouſneſs that was required of us,Heb. 10.10. it is meerly of Grace that the Lord has accepted of Chriſt for us; all the benefits of the Death of Chriſt, as Pardon of Sin, Reconciliation with God, Juſtification and Adoption, they do all depend upon this will of the Father: for had he not appointed this work, and thereby declared his acceptation, had not he accepted it, who was the Judge, we could never have had any benefit by it; and therefore it is by his will alone that all this is made over unto us, there was free-grace abundantly in his acceptation; By his knowledge ſhall my righteous ſervant juſtifie many; Iſa. 53.11. Joh. 6.38.by the knowledge of him, and faith in him, (for of ſuch a knowledge it is meant.) I came not to do my own will, but the will of him that ſent me: the meaning is not as if Chriſt came unwillingly, but that his Fathers will was firſt in this work, and ſo much in it that the thing that Chriſt did principally aim at was to pleaſe his Father, and to do his will therein. Now becauſe Chriſts great aim was to do his Fathers will, and to pleaſe his Father, doing all by appointment from him, he knew he hath acceptance with him; for though Chriſt had paid the price, it was free with God to accept it or no.
6. There is a reward that is given unto Chriſt for all the ſervices that he does perform; He hath a name above every name, Phil. 2.9, 10. and a ſeed, Iſa. 53. and a glory, He being ſet on the right hand of the Majeſty on high, 1 Pet. 1. ult. Angels and Principalities, and Powers being made ſubject unto him: and this the Lord hath given him as a reward of his ſervice. I will not now ſpeak unto that Queſtion put by ſome Divines, Whether Chriſt did merit for himſelf? which our Divines do deny in this ſenſe, as being the great end why he did come into the world, to merit for his Elect-ones, becauſe the Scripture ſaith, God ſo loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, Joh. 3.16. And to us a Child is born, to us a ſon is given, Iſa. 9.6. And Rom. 5. Herein was the love of Chriſt, that when we were enemies he died for us. And Joh. 17.19. For their ſakes I ſanctifie my ſelf. But yet it cannot be denied, that the Lord did give glory unto Chriſt as that which he promiſed as a reward of his obedience; only it was of Grace to appoint it, and of Grace to accept it, and ſo by conſequence of Grace to reward it.
7. And this will appear at the laſt day, that all that Chriſt hath and doth is from free-grace; becauſe the Kingdom that he hath received he muſt give up then unto God the Father, 1 Cor. 15.24. He did receive a Kingdom at the beginning, and had a gracious manifeſtation of it when he did aſcend up into Heaven, All power is given him in Heaven and in Earth; Dan. 7.14.and when the Perſecuting Monarchies be taken down, there ſhall be given him a Kingdom which ſhall not be deſtroyed; but all this ſhall be given up to the Father at the laſt day. Not that Chriſt ſhall ceaſe as Mediator to be the Head of the Church, and to have an influence into them in glory, God doing all by a Head; for I conceive that the Myſtical Union is eternal, as well as the Hypoſtatical, and that a man under the Covenant of Grace ſhall never ſtand before God in his own righteouſneſs to eternity, but as he is juſtified by the righteouſneſs of Chriſt now, by a righteouſneſs imputed, ſo he ſhall ever be; for as here he is accepted of God for his Maſters Grace, ſo he ſhall hereafter enter into his Maſters joy: but Chriſt ſhall give up the Church, which is his Kingdom, and the preſent manner of Government of it, and ſhall lay it all down, and make it appear before Men and Angels, that whatever he hath done, it has been as his Fathers ſervant to pleaſe him, and to do his will, and ſhall after the day of Judgement (which is the laſt act of his Kingly Office) give up his account to him, which ſhall be giving up of the Kingdom to God, that ſo God may be all in all, that is, have the glory, not only of all the glory of the Saints, but of all the glory of Chriſt alſo; and have his Grace honoured as the fountain of all: and it ſhall be manifeſted to all the world, that even the merit of Chriſt is after a ſort Gratia inviſcerata, Grace inviſcerated; the Kingdom ſhall ſo return unto God as it is now committed and appropriated unto Chriſt, Joh. 5.22, &c. The Father judgeth no man; and yet Heb. 12.22. he is called God the Judge of all; the Father judgeth in the Son, but the Son is the perſon to whom the execution and diſpenſation of all judgement is committed: now he rules his Church by the Miniſtry of the Word and Sacraments, and the ſupplies of his Spirit, by degrees perfecting his Image begun in his Members, and by the ſword of his mouth deſtroying his enemies; and ſo he ſhall do till the Reſurrection of the Dead; and then after a ſort this Kingdom ſhall ceaſe, he ſhall no more exerciſe the Office of a Mediator in compaſſionating, defending, and interceding for his Church; and then this glory he ſhall publickly …ſign before Men and Angels into the hand of his Father, as having done all as his ſervant; and he himſelf as a part of that great Church of the firſt-born ſhall appear ſubject to the Father, as having done all by his command; and God ſhall be all in all, and have the glory, not only of the ſalvation of the Saints, but of the exaltation of his Son alſo; yet ſo as Chriſt ſhall reign for ever as God co equal with the Father, and alſo as Mediator ſhall be the Head of the Church as glorified for ever.
Ʋſe 1 §. 3. Let us from hence learn that God is willing to be reconciled unto ſinners, and to exalt his Grace therein, for he is firſt in the reconciliation, the Covenant of reconciliation began in him, his love had no motive or foundation but within it ſelf, he doth it freely, and …or his own ſake, from the beginning to the end, from the foundation to the top-ſtone there …s nothing that is primarily active in our Salvation but free-grace, he has loved us freely, …hoſen us freely, freely given his Son, freely accepted his obedience for us, and imputed it …o us, it is his gift by grace, freely given us his Spirit; faith and repentance free,Rom. 5.18. Phil. 1.29. Gods works are free, Epheſ. 2.10. and Salvation free; For by Grace we are ſaved, through faith, Tit. 3.5. Even when he does reward our obedience, it is free, Hoſ. 10.12. We ſow in righ…eouſneſs, and reap in mercy. The unbelief of a mans heart is in nothing more ſeen, than in jea…ous and ſuſpicious thoughts of God, and therein doth the enmity of a mans ſpirit appear, when man diſtruſts him as an enemy; now his intention is to be reconciled, and he hath uſed the moſt effectual remedy, ſent his Son, and committed unto us the Miniſtry of reconciliation; it was a work that his heart was much in. How did it pleaſe David, when Joab made the motion of bringing home Abſalom again, becauſe his heart went out to him? So it is here, could you read the heart of God: you think, it may be, Chriſt is willing, and that he is compaſſionate towards you, but that the Father is hard to be reconciled, and Chriſt hath much ado to plead with him, and perſwade him; but I tell you, God is in Chriſt reconciling the world; Chriſt is a fruit of the Love of God to you;Joh. 3.16. Chriſt doth but his Fathers will when he brings you unto God, and his Father loves to have it ſo, for the Father himſelf loves you; be aſſured thy unworthineſs cannot hinder him, for he loves freely. Caſt thy ſoul upon this free-grace in the Son, anchor thou upon this Rock, and remember that all glory that is given to Chriſt, and all acts done by him, are to be to the glory of God the Father, Phil. 2.10, 11. It is required not only of the Saints, that they cloſe with the Grace of God conveyed by the Covenant, but with that Grace that made the Covenant and is the foundation of it, and ſay, Here I will reſt, (as the Lepers) if free-grace ſave me I ſhall live, if it will reject me I can but die; it is free which way ſoever he deals with me, there is not free-will in me that can make me differ.
Ʋſe 2 2. How ſhould this draw in our hearts to cloſe with this Love, and inflame them after the Lord! There is nothing doth inflame the ſoul towards God but impreſſions and reflections of the love of God unto us. (1) The great buſineſs of this Covenant is to win your Love, not only that he may be reconciled unto you, but that you may be reconciled unto him again. (2) Conſider what a grief it is to a man to loſe his Love; Love will be paid in no coyn but Love again. (3) The love and free-grace of God can do man no good unleſs it doth work in you love to him again: and as he loves you freely, ſo do you love him thankfully; as no benefit that comes from him is ſaving to you, unleſs it proceed from love, ſo there is no duty that comes from you is pleaſing unto him unleſs it proceed from love; and the proper fruit of this love is to work in you love to him again. (4) If you deſpiſe his Love, you ſhall ſurely feel his wrath; and there is nothing in the world that doth inflame the wrath of God, and make his fire burn ſo fiercely as Grace deſpiſed, and Love turned into wantonneſs. For if Love will not win you, what will?
Ʋſe 3 3. How ſhould this comfort us when we do turn to God, and ſpecially how ſhould it encourage a back-ſliding ſinner to return! No man hath ſuch miſgiving thoughts as he hath;Erubeſcit conſcientia, erubeſcit oratio, &c. Tert. Hoſ. 14.4. but yet remember, he will receive you graciouſly; Return you back-ſliding children, he will heal your back-ſliding, and love you freely. There is no ſin ſo great that free-grace cannot pardon, there is no mercy ſo good, that free-grace cannot beſtow; and therefore above all things beg of the Lord that the apprehenſions of this Love may be ſhed abroad in your hearts; it is this only that can make the promiſe ſure, becauſe it is of Grace: this will aſſiſt us in all duties, arm us againſt all temptations, ſuſtain us in all conditions, anſwer all objections that can be made againſt the peace and comfort of the ſoul: and truly when all works in a man ceaſe, and the guilt of ſin doth wear out the teſtimony of blood, and the filth of ſin the teſtimony of water, and the ſoul hath nothing to fly to, he is then fain to caſt anchor here, reſt upon the Grace of God in the Covenant, who promiſes mercy freely, loves for his own ſake, and becauſe he will, to ſhew the abſoluteneſs of his will, and the unchangeableneſs of his Counſel towards poor ſinners for ever;Cogitatio ſuffulta eſt: as de Deiu upon the place. Iſa. 26.3. and here the ſoul is ſtaid in the greateſt deſertions and darkneſs that can be, and there is a ſweet peace that follows in his ſoul: and there is nothing can ſtay ſinking thoughts and ſpirits like this, when apprehenſions of free-grace are put under a ſoul to ſupport it; That there is nothing can ſeparate from the love of God; that being the firſt cauſe, there can nothing ariſe de novo, that can make it void and of no effect.
CHAP. II. The Covenant of Grace as made primarily with Chriſt the ſecond Adam.
Gal. 3.16. Now to Abraham and his ſeed were the Promiſes made, he ſaith not to ſeeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy ſeed, which is Chriſt.