The Morning Exercise Methodized, Sermon 6
THE COVENANT OF WORKS.
GEN. 2.16, 17.
And the Lord God commanded the man, ſaying, of every Tree of the Garden*foreign thou mayſt freely eat; but of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou ſhalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou ſhalt ſurely dye.foreign—Hebr. Dying thou ſhalt dye.
THe next head in the body of our Religion which falls this Morning to be ſpoken to in Courſe, is, Gods Covenant made with Adam before the fall, which we call a Covenant of Works; and we ground our Diſcourſe upon the Text read to you.
When God would communicate his goodneſſe to the creatures, he made the world out of nothing for his own glory, but eſpecially man after his Image; this inferiour world he provided for mans houſe and habitation; but he dreſſeth and trimmeth one part for him eſpecially, and calls it Paradiſe. In the Paradiſe or pleaſant Garden he was not to live idly, but muſt dreſſe and keep it. In the midſt of all mans enjoyments which the Lord allows him with a liberal hand, yet he lets him know withall he was under ſubjection, though Lord of all, and therefore gives him a command; obſequii examen, & obedientiae quoddam rudimentum; Calvin.a teſt and tryal of his obedience to which God trains him up.
As Lords when they let out their Lands to Husbandmen, reſerve ſomewhat to themſelves which the Tenants are not to meddle with, that they may have ſome check upon them;Muſcul. ſo God here. That which the Lord commands Adam was no hard matter; he grants him a vaſt latitude to eat of all freely,Oecol. only one ſort excepted, in which exception, as God was not envious to him, (as the Envious One ſuggeſted) ſo was not this Commandment grievous to him.
Object. It may be objected from 1 Tim. 1.9. The Law is not made for a righteous man; why then for Adam in his righteouſneſſe?
Reſol. Paul means good men do not ſo need the Law as bad men do; for good Laws roſe from evil manners; yet in a ſenſe the Law is given for righteous men, not to juſtifie them, for it finds them juſtified already, and paſt the condemnation of the Law; it finding them alſo ſanctified,Beza. it treats them not as enemies, but leads them, and delights them conſenting to it. This ſerves to explode the errour of Antinomians and Libertines; ſo then God to declare his Soveraignty, and mans ſubjection, gave Adam though innocent, a Law. Mark how God bound mans obedience with a double fence; firſt, he fenced him with a free indulgence to eat of all but one, this was an Argument to his ingenuity; ſecondly, by a ſevere prohibition upon pain of death; by the firſt the Lord wooes him by love; by the ſecond he frights him by the terrour of his juſtice, and bids him touch it if he durſt.
Obſerve among all the Trees of the Garden there are two here mentioned in a more peculiar manner; the Tree of life, and the Tree of knowledge, which are called by Divines two Sacraments, in a large ſenſe; in which ſenſe alſo, the Ark of Noah, the fire which deſcended and burn't the Sacrifice, Polanius.the Baptiſme of the Red Sea and Cloud, the Manna, the water out of the Rock, the pouring out of the blood of the Sacrifices, the Land of Canaan, the Tabernacle, Temple, Ark of the Teſtimony, the propitiatory, the golden Candleſtick, the twelve ſtones taken out of Jordan, with the pool of Betheſda; all theſe I ſay in a large ſenſe are Sacramental Symbols of the Covenant of Grace, or extraordinary Sacraments; but the Tree of knowledge, and Tree of life, are called Sacraments of the Covenant of works.
By theſe the Lord did ſignifie and ſeal to our firſt Parents, that they ſhould alwayes enjoy that happy ſtate of life in which they were made, upon condition of obedience to his Commandments; i. e. in eating of the Tree of life, and not eating of the Tree of knowledge.
For it was called the Tree of life, not becauſe of any native property and peculiar vertue, it had in it ſelf to convey life; but Symbolically, Morally and Sacramentally, it was a ſign and obſignation to them of life natural and ſpiritual to be continued to them, as long as they continued in obedience unto God.
Aug.In like manner the Tree of knowledge of good and evil was ſpoken, from the ſad event and experience they had of it, as Sampſon had of God departed from him when he left his Nazaritiſh haire by Dalilah.
Now that a Covenant of Works lay in this Commandment is clear; 1. Becauſe that was the condition of mans ſtanding and life, as it is expreſly declared; 2. Becauſe in the breach of that Commandment given him, he loſt all.
This obedience as it was Characteriſtical to Adams Covenant, and Contradiſtinguiſhed to the Covenant of Grace, was perfect, perſonal, and perpetual. In a ſenſe, though different from the other, thoſe three things are required in our obedience under the Covenant of Grace, not in reference to the Covenant, nor to juſtification; neither is our perſonal righteouſneſſe perfect, I mean legally; yet is it perfect, though not in us, but in our ſurety; neither was the Covenant made primarily with us, but with him, and with us in him, and on his account; even as God made the Covenant of Works primarily with Adam, and with us in him as our head incluſively.
Now for our better opening this doctrine to you I ſhall propound and anſwer ſome queſtions.
1. What is meant by Covenant?
2. What ground we have to call it Adams Covenant, or a Covenant of Works.
3. Wherein doth the Nature and Tenour of it conſiſt?
4. Whether the Covenant of Works was revived and repeated to Iſrael?
5. How long it laſted; whither till now unto any?
Queſt. 1. What is meant by Covenant, name and thing?
Anſw. The word in the Hebrew is foreign Berith, which hath a threefold derivation, very fit to be taken notice of for clearing of the nature of the Covenant.
1. From Barah to chooſe, becauſe the perſons are choſen between whom the Covenant or Agreement is made:foreign Indeed Gods Covenant with man is not only with his elect and choſen ones, but a fruit and effect of our election; yea, the Lord doth encline our wills to make choice of him, and of his terms. I have made a Covenant with my choſen; ſo again, Chooſe you whom ye will ſerve; ye are witneſses againſt your ſelves this day, Pſal. 89.3. Joſh. 24.15, 22that you have choſen the Lord.
2. Or elſe this word Berith Covenant may be taken from Barah to eat, Illyricus.becauſe they were wont to eat together of the Sacrifice ſlain and provided at the making of the Covenant, at which time they had a Feaſt; hence the Apoſtle ſpeaking of the Euchariſt, the ſigne and ſeal of the Covenant, and which is a ſpiritual Food and Feaſt upon a Covenant account, ſaith, This Cup is the New Teſtament, or New Covenant in my blood, 1 Cor. 11.25.
3. Or from Bathar to cut and divide aſunder, foreignby tranſpoſing a letter; for ſo the ſacrifice was divided, and the Covenanting parties were to paſse between the parts: Thus Abraham entred into Covenant with God, and he took a Heifer, Shee Goat, Gen. 15. Ver. 9.10.and a Ramme, and divided them in the midſt, and laid one piece againſt another, Ver. 9.10. And behold a burning Lamp paſſed between thoſe pieces, Ver. 17.18.in that ſame day the Lord made a Covenant with Abraham. This cutting of the ſacrifice into pieces, and paſſing thorow was a lively and dreadful ſigne, that the party who ſhould break Covenant, ſhould be cut aſunder, and into pieces, as he well d…ſe ved, and as he at leaſt implicitely imprecated upon himſelf; notable to this purpoſe is that in the Prophet Jeremy, I will give the men that have tranſgreſſed my Covenant, Jer. 34.18, 19, 20.which have not performed the words of the Covenant which they made before me, when they cut the Calfe in twaine, and paſſed between the parts thereof, the Princes of Judah, the Princes of Jeruſalem, the Eunuchs and the Prieſts, and all the People of the Land, which paſſed between the parts of the Calf, I will even give them into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of them that ſe k their life, &c. — that is, to be ſlain and cut in pieces by the Sword. And herein I take the Emphaſis of the expreſſion to lie,Lev. 26.25. I will bring a Sword upon you which ſhall avenge the quarrel of my Covenant; i. e. by cutting them aſunder.
And this cuſtome was conveyed to the Gentiles, they went between the fire, and carried a Sword in their hands, and ſo took an oath;Lib. 10. contra Jul. as Cyril proves out of Sophocles.
Thus Virgil ſpeaking of Romulus and Tatius, Aeneid. 8. Hinc foedus à foedo animali foedè mactato.—Caeſae jungebant foedera porcae.
They cut a Swine in ſunder, and made a League; and to name no more, Titus Livius ſpeaking of the League between the Romans, and Albans, the Foecialis, Herald or Miniſter of thoſe Ceremonies, cryed, If the Romans ſhall falſifie by publick and wicked fraud, in that day O Jupiter do thou ſo ſmite the Romans, as I ſmite this Swine, and ſo knock't the Swine on the head with a ſtone.
By all which it appears that Covenants have been ever held ſolemn, and ſacred things, and that men by breaking of them deſerved dreadful puniſhments.
In like manner there was the ſhedding, dividing, and ſprinkling of blood at the making of Covenants, and hence it was called the blood of the Covenant;Exod. 24.6, 7, 8. Moſes took half the blood and put it in Baſons, and half of the blood he ſprinkled on the Altar, and he took the book of the Covenant, and read in the audien…e of the people, and they ſaid, All that the Lord hath ſaid, will we do, and be obedient; and Moſes took the blood and ſprinkled it on the people and ſaid, Behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all theſe words: Note, He sprinkled the Altar inſtead of God, who being incorporeal, and a Spirit, could not be ſprinkled, yet being a Covenant party, would have the Altar ſprinkled for him.
So much ſhall ſerve for the firſt Queſtion, ſetting forth in our Anſwer to it the name and nature of a Covenant in general; the ſecond Queſtion follows.
Queſt. 2. What ground we have to ſpeak of Gods Covenant with Adam, and to call it a Covenant, there being no mention of it here in the Text, nor elſewhere in Scripture do we read of Gods Covenant with Adam.
Anſw. However the name be not here, yet the thing is here and elſewhere, comparing Scripture with Scripture; it is a nice cavil in Socinians to call fot the word Satisfaction; others for the word Sacrament, others for the word Trinity, others for the words Faith alone juſtifying, others for the word Sabbath for Lords day, &c. and thence to conclude againſt Satisfaction, Sacraments, Trinity, Juſtification by faith alone, and Sabbath, for want of expreſſe words, when the things themſelves are lively ſet down in other words; ſo in this caſe of Gods Covenant with Adam, we have 1. Gods Command which lays man under an obligation. 2. We have Gods promiſe upon condition of obedience. 3. We have Gods threatning upon his diſobedience; 4. We have their underſtanding it ſo, as appears in Eves words to the Serpent. 5.Chap. 3.3. We have the two Trees as ſigns and ſymbols of the Covenant. 6. We have a ſecond Covenant, and a New Covenant, therefore there was a firſt and Old Covenant; a Covenant of Grace ſuppoſeth one of Works.
Object. If any ſhall ſay by firſt and old Covenant was meant Gods Covenant with Iſrael, and not with Adam; and ſo by Covenant of Works the ſame is meant, namely that which the Lord made at Mount Sinai.
Anſw. Hereunto I anſwer; There is a repetition of the Covenant of Works with Adam in the Law of Moſes, Hebr. 8.7, 8, 9. Gal. 3.12. Rom. 10.5.as in that of the Apoſtle to the Galatians, The Law is not of faith, b…t the man that doth theſe things ſhall live in them; ſo likewiſe to the Romans, Moſes dsſcribes the righteouſneſs which is of the Law, that the man who doth theſe things ſhall live in them: Thus it was with Adam principally and properly; therefore he was under a Covenant of Works, when God gave him that command in my Text.
Quest. 3. Wherein then doth this Covenant of Works conſiſt? what is the nature, tenour and end of it as ſuch?
Anſw. 1. This Covenant required working on our part as the condition of it for juſtification and happineſſe; therefore called a Covenant of Works;Gal. 3.12. thus before, the man that doth theſe things ſhall live. Working indeed is alſo required under grace now; but 1. Not to Juſtification; 2. Not from our own Power;Epheſ. 2.8. Jam. 2.20. 3. Not previous to faith, which worketh by love, and lives by working, but man lives by faith.
2. A ſecond Characteriſtical ſigne of the Covenant of Works is this, that in and under it man is left to ſtand upon his own legs and bottome, to live upon his own ſtock, and by his own induſtry; he had a power to ſtand, and not to have fallen; this is meant when it is ſaid, God created man in his own Image.Gen. 1.27.
Eccleſ. 7.29.And again, This only have I found that God made man upright.
3. In the firſt Covenant, namely, that of Works; man had no need of a Mediatour; God did then ſtipulate with Adam immediately; for ſeeing as yet he had not made God his enemy by ſin, he needed no days-man to make friends hy interceſſion for him.
Gen. 1. ult.After mans Creation God ſaid, He ſaw every thing which he had mude, and behold it was very good; and after the Covenant made in chap. 2. its ſaid, They were naked, and they were not aſhamed; i. e. they had not contracted guilt by committing of ſinne, from whence onelyonly ariſeth ſhame; therefore under the Covenant there needeth no Mediatour.
And hence Moſes Law was not properly a Covenant of Works,Gal. 3.19. becauſe that Law was given in the hand of a Mediatour.
4. The Covenant of Works once broken, God abates nothing of his juſtice, no not upon repentance, but the ſoul that ſinned, dyed. Mark our Text, Thou ſhalt dye the death, by which doubling of the words in the Hebrew Idiom of ſpeech, is meant Ʋehemency and Certainty, Vatablus.which was effected, and ſo had continued inevitably, without the help of another Covenant hinted in that firſt promiſe, Gen. 3.15.
For the firſt Covenant gives no relief to a poor ſinner when he hath broken it, but leaves him hopeleſſe and helpleſſe under a fearful expectation of wrath and fury indignation.
5. The Lord in the Covenant of Works accepts the perſon for the Works ſake; that is, he mainly looks at the work how adequate it is to the command and rule which he ſo exactly heeds, that upon the leaſt failer his juſtice breaks out in wrath, neither can any perſonal excellency in the world ſalve the matter;Deut. 27. ult. Curſed is he that continueth not in all the words of the Law to do them, and all the people ſhall ſay Amen; a doleful Amen; Jam. 2.10.and whoſoever keeps the whole Law, and offends in one point, is guilty of all: Note that whoſoever, God reſpects no mans perſon in that caſe.
6. The Covenant of Works in performance of the condition leaves a man matter of boaſting and glorying in himſelf, and makes God a debtour to him.
Where is boaſting? it is excluded; by what Law? of works? Rom. 3.27.Nay; as if he had ſaid; the Covenant of Works affords matter of boaſting to him that worketh to juſtification by his own perſonal power and righteouſneſſe.
Now to him that worketh is the reward reckoned, not of grace, Rom. 4.4.but of debt; i. e. it obligeth God to pay it him as a due, which is the language of Phariſees and Papiſts; which were juſtly challenged and claimed; 1. Were we indeed under a Covenant of Works, and not of Grace; 2. Were our works perfect: 3. Did we not lye at Gods mercy for our guilt; All which declare man impotent, and grace neceſſary, and withal Jews and Papiſts, to be enemies to the Croſſe of Chriſt and Covenant of Grace, and under a Covenant of Works, of which more anon.
7. The Covenant of Works leaves a man ſtill in doubt while reſting in it, in that ſtate, becauſe it is a mutable ſtate at beſt; he had all in his own hands, and then Satan cunningly rooked him of all: God puts him into a good bottome, and leaves him to be his own Pilot at Sea; the Divel aſſaults him, and ſinks him; and therefore the ſecond Covenant takes all into Gods hands, that it may continue ſafe under his Father by care and cuſtoddy; 1 Pet. 1.4, 5. John 10.28, 29. and ſo gives the ſoul good ſecurity againſt death and danger, which Adam had not while he ſtood; much leſſe can any rich or honourable man in his fools Paradiſe here in this world, ſay his Mountain is unmoveable, his glory unchangeable, ſeeing it paſſeth away as a Pageant, 1 Cor. 7.31. if Adams Paradiſe was ſo mutable, much more theirs; if he ſtood not in his integrity, how ſhall they ſtand in their iniquity?
8. The Covenant of Works was made with all men in Adam, who was made and ſtood as a publick perſon, head and root in a common and comprehenſive capacity; I ſay it was made with him as ſuch, and with all in him: Quo manſit remanente, & quo pereunte peribat; he and all ſtood and fell together; for even the Elect may ſay, We are all by nature the children of wrath as well as others; Rom. 3.19.and that of St. Paul, We know that what things ſoever the Law ſaith, it ſaith to them who are under the Law that every mouth may be ſtopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
But the Covenant of Grace is a diſcriminating thing; it takes in ſome, and leaves out others; Chriſt is not a head in Covenant with all, as Adam was, but of his Elect only; for we finde many in the world under the headſhip of Satan and Antichriſt, and old Adam, who are out of Chriſt, not only becauſe unconverted as Saints themſelves are before regeneration, but out of Chriſt in the account of Gods Election, Donation and Covenant, who have none of his ſpecial love, nor ever ſhall have.
Thus I have briefly opened the diſtinguiſhing Characters of the Covenant of Works, which might have been more enlarged by thoſe of the Covenant of Grace, which is eaſily done by way of oppoſition and compariſon one with the other; and therefore, and for brevities ſake I omit it; and come to the next queſtion.
Queſt. 4. Whether this Covenant of Works made with Adam, was revived and repeated to Iſrael in Moſes time; and if ſo, in what ſenſe, and why?
Anſw. I anſwer affirmatively, that in ſome ſort the Covenant of Works was revived and repeated to them, which appears from theſe grounds.
1. They were tyed to Commandments under a curſe.
Gal.3.10. Deut. 28 1, 2. & ver. 15.16.2. Bleſſing is promiſed to obedience; they are both ſet down by Moſes at large in Deuteronomy, chap. 28. and elſewhere.
3. It is expreſly called a Covenant, I mean the giving of the Law for obedience.
The Lord God made a Covenant with us in Horeb.Deut. 5.2.
4. It is oppoſed to the Covenant of Grace as another Covenant upon this very diſtinguiſhing account of obedience and faith, works and grace, as you may ſee at large among other places in that of the Hebrews.Hebr. 8.6, 7, 8, 9, 10, &c.
Now there are foure principal ends which the Lord had in ſo doing.
1. That he might hereby make men know what ſin is, how prone we are to it, and how averſe and head-ſtrong againſt all good; this is done by a Law of Works, Rom. 7.7. to the 13. ver. This indeed is Gods clear glaſſe by which he diſcovers to us the moral and penal evil of ſin; ſo Rom. 3.20.
2. That hereby the Lord might hold men in to obedience by a ſtrong curb; becauſe we are ſo apt to break fence, he hedgeth up our way with thornes, Hoſ. 2.5, 6.
3. That God might ſtop every mouth, and make all guilty before him, Rom. 3.19.
4. That men may hereby be laſh't and driven to Chriſt as with a School-maſters rod, to ſee an abſolute need of him, and to make out hard after him, Gal. 3.22, 23, 24.
For men care not to run to a City of Refuge unleſſe the avenger of blood follow behinde at their heels; neither do the whole need or regard the Phyſician, but the ſick and wounded.
Yet notwithſtanding all this, they were not properly under a Covenant of Works, neither was the law given to them as ſuch a Covenant meerly.
1. Becauſe as the Law was to convince of ſin, ſo it ſhewed the expiation of ſin, and therefore their Sacrifices were killed and the blood ſhed and ſprinkled, Heb. 9.22, 23.
2. The Covenant at Mount Sinai was not made with all without exception as Adams was, but only with a ſelect people, even with Iſrael.
3. Becauſe the Lord ſtill puts them in minde of his promiſe to Abraham, which included Chriſt, and faith in him,Gal. 3.16, 17. and was not null by the Law.
Queſt. 5. The laſt queſtion is how long this Covenant laſted, and whither any be under a Covenant of Works?
Anſw. Moſt ſtrictly it was but to the giving of the firſt promiſe, for then the Covenant of Grace began, but was more largely and clearly revealed (till the coming of Chriſt) by the Law and the Prophets; but was moſt perſpicuouſly and fully by Chriſt himſelf in his doctrine and death, and by the abundant pouring out of his Spirit.
Howbeit all along and to this day every natural man is under a Covenant of Works, becauſe out of Chriſt, therefore under the Law, and the curſe of it; for which cauſe the Covenant of Works is by ſome called the Covenant of nature.Faedus naturae.
Again, all they which look for righteouſneſſe and ſalvation by the power of their wills, by the ſtrength of nature, and by performance of duties, as Jews, Turks, Philoſophers, Papiſts, Socinians, Gal. 4.24, 25.Pelagians, theſe are all under a Covenant of Works, they are not under grace; they are of Hagar the Bond-woman, of Mount Sinai which anſwers to Jeruſalem which now is, which is in bondage with her children, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks in his elegant Allegory.
I come now to draw ſome Corollaries from this doctrine of the Covenant of Works thus propounded, in a practical way of application, and that briefly.
Corol. 1. It ſerves for admiration, to wonder with a holy aſtoniſhment at the Lords infinite condeſcending love in making a Covenant with poor man.
1. Becauſe it was a free act in him to do it, he lay under no compulſion to it;Rom. 9.15, 16. nothing of merit or profit in a deſpicable worme appears as a motive to it; it was a royal act of glorious grace from the King of heaven to vile creatures: O wonderful!
2. Becauſe as it was free for him to do it, ſo he bound his hands by it, and as it were loſt his freedome by it; for his truth holds him faſt to it,Hebr. 6.18. by which its impoſſible for him to change. O wonderful!
3. He made the firſt offer, he prevented us by his grace, he loved us firſt, 1 John 4.10, 19. all this appeared in the firſt Covenant with us,Bullinger de f…dere Dei unios, & aeterno. in vouchſafing us to make any at all with him: Ineffabilis miſericordiae Divinae Argumentum quod ipſum numen, ipſe inquam Deus Aeternus faedus ipſum primus offert, nullis ad hoc hominum meritis adactus, ſed merâ & nativâ bonitate impulſus; nec ſcio an humanum ingenium hoc myſterium vel plenè toncipere, vel dignis laudibus evehere poſſit. Unſpeakable mercy that the eternal God ſhould firſt offer to league with us, moved to it by no merit in us, but by his own native goodneſſe only; a myſtery which the minde of man cannot conceive, nor his tongue praiſe to the worth of it; thus a grave Authour, which will the more inhance the love of God; if we
4. Conſider that he makes Covenant upon Covenant after breaches and forfeitures, renews them again, and ratifies them ſtronger than ever, as he did the new Covenant after the old was broken by our high and hainous provocation in the fall; and which he doth to every elect ſoul in the Sacraments, and after groſſe and grievous Apoſtaſies; See Jerem. 3.1. Ezek. 16.60, 61, 62, 63. Hoſ. 2. O admire and adore this love!
Corol. 2. Seeing there are two Covenants on foot, one of Works, another of grace; and very many, yea, the farre greateſt part of the world are under a Covenant of Works, which is a moſt ſad and doleful eſtate, becauſe a ſtate of wrath and death, a moſt wretched and accurſed condition; O try under what Covenant thou art; for if thou art in the ſtate of ſinful nature, a ſprowt of old Adam, never yet cut off from his root of bitterneſſe, nor graffed into Chriſt, thou art undone; to be under ſuch a Covenant is to be an enemy to God, and to be lyable to all his plagues; O make haſte then, and flee as a Post, and as the young Roe into Christs Armes.
For conſider, how thou canſt ſtand before the Bar of God in thy ſins, in thy nakedneſſe; Adam fled away from the preſence of God afraid and aſhamed, hiding himſelf in the Thicket, becauſe he was naked; but where wilt thou hide thy nakedneſſe in that dreadful day of the Lord! there will be no ſhelter in that day for a ſinner:
Corol. 3. Labour to underſtand and diſcern aright the nature, tenour and termes of both Covenants.
1. Becauſe they are eaſiiy miſtaken, and many do miſtake them; Rom. 10.2, 3.
2. Becauſe the miſtake is dangerous, like a man in the dark as he travels, findes two wayes; one way is wrong,Prov. 14.12. yet it ſeems as good and ſafe as the other; he goes on in the wrong, which leads him to a Rock, where he falls down headlong, and breaks his neck; ſo many a poor ſoul imagines he is under a Covenant of Grace, and in a ſafe way to heaven, when alas he is yet under a Covenant of Works, and in the high-way to hell; Labour then to diſcern the difference, ſearch Scriptures, and thy own heart, go to the Lord by prayer,Job 33.23. and to his M niſters, that they may ſhew thee thy way, leſt thou go on to thy deſtruction. And therefore,
Corol. 4. Improve the Covenant of works for the conviction of ſin, righteouſneſs, and judgement; for till the Lord lets thee ſee what it is to be under ſuch a ſtate, thou wilt never ſee the evil of it, nor ever deſire to change it.
Corol. 5. Renounce thy Covenants with ſin, Satan, and creatures, or elſe thou wilt never be admitted into Covenant with God; if thou break not with them, God will never cloſe with thee; if thou be a Covenant-ſervant to them, thou art no Covenant-ſervant of the Lords; for how canſt thou ſerve thoſe two Maſters, Matth. 6.24. 1 Joh. 2.15, 16.God and Mammon? both which crave thy whole man, and thy whole work, and which are utterly inconſiſtent with each other.
Corol. 6. Labour to relieve thy ſelf under thy greateſt ſtraits and ſears by Covenant promiſes; I mean the promiſes of the new Covenant which are called better promiſes, Hebr. 8.6, 10, 11, 12. Joh. 15.becauſe abſolute pr…miſes; becauſe they work that in us and for us which God requires of us, when of our ſelves we can do nothing.
As the new Covenant is the beſt Covenant, and the promiſes of it the beſt promiſes, Iſa. 55.3. Acts 13 34.ſo the mercies of it are the beſt mercies, for they are the ſure mercies of David, 2 Sam. 23.5.
Corol. 7. Bleſſe the Lord that ye are under the beſt diſpenſation, and cleareſt diſcovery of the Covenant of grace, better than Adams after the promiſe was made to him upon his fall; better than Noahs after the flood, better than Iſraels in the Wilderneſſe, yea, better than the Patriarchs and Prophets who had much legality and obſcurity in their adminiſtrations, in compariſon of us who behold with open face the glory of God, 2 Cor. 3.18.
That it is the lot of us Gentiles to be brought into the knowledge and participation of the Goſpel in the laſt and beſt time; I mean after Chriſts appearance in the fleſh.
The Apoſtle compares the Church to a Tree, Rom. 11.16, 17.which hath the ſame root Chriſt, but ſeveral branches; now that the natural branches ſhould be cut off to make way for the ingrafting of us wildings,Pet. Mart. is matter of praiſe to the High God for his rich grace to us Gentiles, Epheſ. 3.8.
Corol. 8. Labour for a ſpirit of ſelf-denial and debaſement; for as the Old Covenant ſpirit is a ſpirit of pride and boaſting to advance natural abilities,Rom. 3.27. Rom. 10.3. to glory in our own perſonal endowments and performances; ſo a New Covenant ſpirit is contrary to that, and is a ſpirit of faith, ſelf-denial and debaſement.
Corol. 9. Watch againſt Satan; as ſoon as ever God and man were in Covenant, he ſet himſelf to break that Covenant, and prevailed; for he beguiled their ſimplicity by his ſubtilty, 2 Cor. 11.3.Gen. 3.
Now albeit the New Covenant ſtands on a ſurer foundation, yet he will very much weaken our comforts, and increaſe our ſorrows by drawing us under Gods diſpleaſure by ſin, forfeiting Covenant mercies by Covenant breaches, which mercies though they are not loſt finally to Gods Elect, yet are they often to be recovered, renewed and ſecured to our ſouls by a clear evidence.
Beſides Satan will perſwade men to ſlight and renounce their Baptiſme, as when he makes Witches, and turns Chriſtians to be Mahumetans, becauſe thereby he knows they renounce their Covenant with God to make one with himſelf; there are that upon fairer pretences, neglect or deny the Seals of the Covenant; Satan had a fair pretence alſo to draw away our firſt Parents, and make them break with God, which they little thought would have coſt ſo dear; but the ſad event ſhewed the ſinfulneſſe of that ſinne; wherefore Wa ch and pray that ye enter not into temptation; Be not ignorant of Satans Devices in theſe back-ſliding and fedifragous times, Remember from whence ye are fallen, and walk ſtedfaſt in Gods Covenant; you that ſtand, 1 Cor. 10.12.learn by others falls to take heed.