The Doctrine of the Covenant of Redemption, Chapter 12
CHAP. 12. The A…tion of this Truth by way of Information.
THE Doctrine of the Covenant of Redemption is not meerly ſpeculative, but exceeding practical and it will not be amiſs, to ſubjoin ſome brief improvement of it, and here;
USE I.
May be by way of Information: there are ſeveral inferences which may be drawn from and confirmed by it: let a few be here taken notice of:
INFERENCE I.
We may here ſee the ground of the certainty, and infallibility of the Coverſion and Salvation of all Gods Elect. The right conception and conſideration of this Covenant, will take away all doubts about it, and afford many undeniable evidences of it; and in particular.
1. We may ſtrongly argue from the inexpreſſible love of God, which herein diſcovers it ſelf abundantly. The ſame love which gave Chriſt for us in the fulneſs of time, provided him for us in the days of Eternity; and that is ſet forth as incomparable, Joh. 5. 16. God ſo loved, &c: there is no reddition. Nay here is the Emphaſis of it; he not only gave him for us when we needed him, but he provided him for us before we needed him: that he made ſure of this ſalvation for us before all ages and generations. This Covenant was the Lords own Doing every way, and may well be marvellous in our eyes. He firſt thought of it, when there was none to put him in mind of it in his Infinite Wiſdom; and he Indented it: and ſure he would never have done all this if his heart had not been ſet upon the Salvation of his Choſen. It was he who propounded, and ratified this Covenant with his own Son, Pſal. 89. 3. and would he have made it, and ſo ratified it, with ſuch firm and inviolable …ngagements, if he had not been fully reſolved upon the unfailing accompliſhment of it?
2 This will be farther pleaded: becauſe the Individual names of thoſe who were thus to be redeemed by Chriſt, were put into the Articles of this Covenant. There was not only an agreement made, that there ſhould be a Common price paid, a Common ſtock laid in, which might be ſufficient for as many as would make improvement of it; It might then have been uncertain whether any at all ſhould have been ſaved by it: but the very perſons were covenanted for; and this is evidently intended by the writing of their names in the Book of life, of which mention is made in the Scripture, Rev. 13 8. 17. 8. Which is nothing elſe but the book of the Covenant of Redemption, in which proviſion was made for the reſtoring of dead ſinners to life again by Jeſus Chriſt, it is therefore called the Lambs book, becauſe theſe were given to him to redeem. And Names muſt needs indigitate perſons: ſo that the individuals were indented for, and this is a book which hath no blots in it: thoſe that are here written muſt needs be ſaved: what ſaith Chriſt himſelf about it? Joh. 6. 37. All that the Father hath given me ſhall come unto me.
3. All theſe are firmly promiſed and engaged to Chriſt in this Covenant, they ſhall be his Seed, upon the performance of the Articles that were propoſed unto him. This was one Encouragement that his Father offered to him, ſee Iſa. 13. 10 Pſal. 22. 30. and how do they come to be the Seed of Chriſt, and conſequently the Children of God, but by being brought into the Covenant of Grace, and under the Promiſe of Eternal Life, Gal. 3. 26. Now this was the Word and Promiſe of God himſelf; The Unchangeable God, the God that cannot Lie: and it is made to his own Son; and upon it he undertook the work, and went through it, in expectation of the compleat Accompliſhment of it, Heb. 12. 2. for the Joy that was ſet before him, &c. and what can we poſſibly conceive to be more firm?
4. The Sufficiency of the Redeemer muſt needs make this Salvation ſure to thoſe for whom it was provided. In this Covenant God took care to provide one who was every way able to do the work which he was to Engage in; and therefore it was utterly impoſſible that it ſhould fail in his hands. For this reaſon he is ſaid to be a strong Redeemer Jer. 50. 34. and Mighty to ſave, Iſa. 63. 1. ſee alſo for this, Deut. 33. 23 Pſal. 83. 19. He is able to bear down all Oppoſition that can be made againſt him and there is no adverſe power that can ſo interpoſe as to obſtruct this Salvation, but it is carried on with a ſtrong hand: needs then muſt it be without fail brought about.
5 By this Covenant, that which lay in the way as the great Obſtacle or hindrance of mans Salvation, is altogether removed, ſo as it ſhall no longer impede it: viz. the justice of the firſt Covenant. Fallen man is by a Righteous Law condemned, and Juſtice demands the life of the ſinner for its ſatisfaction: but in the Covenant of Redemption, Juſtice it ſelf is not only pacified, but ſtands as deeply engaged for the Salvation of Gods Redeemed, as any other of the Divine Attributes: it is in Combination with mercy in this buſineſs, Pſal. 85. 10. and by vertue of this tranſaction, not only Grace and Mercy, but Juſtice alſo appears gloriouſly, and triumphantly in the ſinners deliverance, 1 Joh. 1. 9. and what is there then that ſhould impede this buſineſs? Righteouſnes here breaks forth with Luſtre, and God no way wrongs either his Truth or his Holineſs, in ſaving the chief of ſinners by Jeſus Chriſt. For the Son of God becoming a ſurety for miſerable man, who was by the fall undone, and became inſolvent to the Law, he diſchargeth him of all his Obligations to that Covenant; & having given compleat ſatisfaction to it in all its demands, the ſinner is, by the higheſt Act of Juſtice, diſcharged of that debt: and now God declares his Righteouſneſs in Juſtifying of him, Rom. 3. 26. and therefore when the Apoſtle makes a Challenge, he ſtrengthens it by forming ſuch an argument as this, Rom. 8 34. Who is he that Condemneth? It is Chriſt that Dyed.
6. Hence if any of Gods Elect ſhould fail of being brought into the Covenant of Grace, and ſo being ſaved; this Covenant would ſo far be defeated and made void. For, if the Covenant were ſo made as that the Names of thoſe who were to be Redeemed, were all put into it, then either all theſe muſt be brought into the poſſeſſion of the good Provided for them or elſe there muſt be ſome of thoſe loſt whom the Father had given to Chriſt, againſt which he himſelf declares, and it would certainly tend greatly to his Diſhonour. Thoſe then who have attained to be able to read their names written in the book of Liſe, and have ſo made their Flection ſure, may hereby be aſſured, of their ſecure ſtanding in this Covenant, and comfort themſelves in the confident expectation of the unfailing aſſiſtance of the Grace of God, to Preſerve them unto Life Eternal, according to Phil. 1. 6.
INFERENCE II.
Here we ſee where and whence thoſe Abſolute promiſes Recorded in the Scripture, have their Originall. There is a great diſpute in the world about Abſolute Promiſes. The Arminians, do wholly deny any ſuch to be at all. The Antinomians do err as much on the other hand in aſſerting them to be made to ſinners as ſinners. A right underſtanding of this Covenant, and the true rela…ion which theſe promiſes have to it, will give us light for the clearing of all theſe doubts. Here then take theſe following Aſſertions.
1. That there are no promiſes of Gods ſpecial favour Recorded in His Word, but what do belong unto ſome Covenant or other. All Gods dealings with mankind, which refer to their Everlaſting Eſtate, are in the way of a Covenant. As ſoon as God had Created man, he plighted a Covenant with him, in which Life and Death were ſet before him: and when the Covenant was violated by mans ſin, and he had forfeited the Life that was promiſed, and purchaſed the Death threatned in that God having a deſign of ſaving a number of this unhappy race, made the diſcoveries of an Hope to him, by bringing in a New-Covenant, & this was revealed unto man immediately upon his Apoſtaſy. This indeed is a way beſt ſuited to the nature of man; and God hath vouchſafed thus to accommodate himſelf thereunto, ſee, Pſal. 111. 9. Iſa. 55. 3. And elſewhere frequently.
2 That it is of the nature of a Covenant Promiſe to be joyned with ſome Condition. This Concluſion follows from the conſideration of a Covenant in General, which is a Mutual Obligation, wherein there are two parties engaged each to the other: ſo that the engagement on one part, ſtands related to the engagement on the other part, & thereupon it is Hypothetical. A Covenant Promiſe is a Promiſe which is made with a relative reſpect to ſomething that is expected from him to whom it is made, on the performance whereof the Obligation of the Promiſe ſtands and on the failure whereof it becomes void: and therefore there is ſometimes expreſſed, always intended, a Threatning to take place inſtead of the Promiſe, in caſe of ſuch a failure: and a perſon hath no farther hold on the Promiſe, than as he is under the Condition of it. So was the promiſe of the firſt Covenant, Iſa. 56. 2. And therefore there was alſo a Threatning, Gen. 2. 17. Thus alſo is the Goſpel Covenant Promiſe expreſſed and connected, Mark, 16, 16.
3 That theſe Abſolute Promiſes are therefore called Abſolute, becauſe they have to depending Condition in the Covenant of Grace. Hither we are to refer all ſuch Promiſes as do engage the giving of the conditions of the Covenant of Grace to theſe or thoſe. Many ſuch as theſe are to be found in the Book of God, particularly in Iſa. 57. 18 Ezek. 36. 25, 26, 27. And ſeveral more of the ſame Tenour.
Theſe Promiſes can have no condition depending in the Covenant of Grace, for ſo they would argue a contradiction; for God to ſay, I will Convert you, if you will Convert yourſelves; I will give you a New heart, if you will make a New Heart to yourſelves; I will give you Faith to believe, if you will believe in your own ſtrength. Theſe promiſes repreſent God plainly undertaking, freely and fully to work that in ſinners, which is required in the Goſpel Covenant, in order to their being made partakers in the good therein promiſed; and for that reaſon are they ſaid to be Abſclute, with reſpect to the Goſpel Covenant, becauſe they bear no reſpect to the Condition which is therein propounded and required ſo as to engage for it.
4. That all theſe promiſes have their Conditions, and the performance of them, contained in the Covenant of Redemption. Hence it is that they are given in the Word of God, to be the diſcoveries of the great Efficacy of that Covenant, and to aſſure us of the certain and unfailing fulfilment of it: that no ſin or unworthineſs of the Creature, ſhall be able to obſtruct it, how much ſoever they have done to throw blocks in the way, and to provoke God to reject them, yet it ſhall not prevent the breaking out of his grace in the Accompliſhment thereof; becauſe all that Gods Elect do or can do, to hinder their own Salvation, and bring wrath upon themſelves, is taken care about, and full ſatisfaction is made for it in that Covenant by our Surety: and hereupon do theſe Concluſions follow.
1. That thoſe Promiſes are not of Univerſal Application. They do not engage God to all men univerſally: they are not made to Sinners as Sinners; i. e. …one can challenge the application of them to themſelves on that account, or for this reaſon, becauſe they are Sinners. But they are confined to the Election of God, or to thoſe who are comprehended in the Covenant of Redemption; and they only do obtain them, Rom. 11. 7. The Election hath obtained. It is not for every one that reads theſe Promiſes, to confide and lot upon it, that they are made unto him, and to take them to be the ground of his Faith, and to conclude that by vertue of them, he ſhall be Saved. God only knows whom they belong to, before ſuch time as there is a particular application made of them by his Spirit, Rom. 9. 6.
2. That no man can challenge theſe Promiſes as his own, till he be brought under the Covenant of Grace, and the Conditions of it are wrought in him. Theſe Promiſes do not diſcover any other way of Salvation unto men, than that which is Revealed in the Goſpel. which is by Faith in Chriſt, and Repentance unto Life: and therefore though theſe promiſes are not annexed to the Goſpel Condition, or depend upon it, yet they do engage for it, viz. to give a New Heart; to beſtow Faith and Repentance upon them, &c. and upon this account, they diſcover themſelves to belong to this or that man in particular, in the application which the Spirit of God doth make of theſe conditions to him: When therefore the Condition is wrought in the Soul, then the man may and ought to apply them, and take to himſelf the comfort of them, and acknowledge the Love of God to him, and his Faithfulneſs to his own purpoſes, and promiſes which he made to Chriſt in the Eeerlaſting Covenant: but till then we have no aſſurance. Our Election is only made ſure, by ſecuring our Calling, 2 Pet. 1. 10.
3. This notwithſtanding, theſe promiſes are uſeful to be looked upon by the Awakened, though at preſent Unconverted Sinner, to Engage him to wait upon, and hope in God for the performance of the work in him, and that notwithſtanding his own ſinful unworthineſs and weakneſs: ſince they declare to him, that Gods Grace is abſolutely independent on any qualifications in the Creature, and cannot be obſtructed by the abſence of them; and may thereupon direct him whither to go for Grace to believe, and for Sanctification; and whence he muſt derive it, if ever he partake in it. They ſay that God is the Author of all and therefore all the Objections and Diſcouragements which they are ready to gather from the conditions in that Covenant of Grace, and their own inability to perform them, are here recovered, by ſhewing them who is the Author of this Grace: and becauſe he hath abſolutely ſaid that he will do it for ſome, it gives us hope that if we wait upon him for it, he will do it for us.
4 Yea theſe promiſes ſignify to all where the Goſpel comes, that there is no hindrance on Gods part, why he may not come and pardon and heal the ſinner nor any impediment on our part by reaſon of Impenitency, unbelief, or great tranſgreſſions, but that he may look over, break through, and for all them come to us, and afford us this Salvation for his own Great Names Sake, and by vertue of the Covenant which he hath made with his own Son; and that notwithſtanding all our unworthineſs, and indiſpoſedneſs to entertain it. In a word, theſe Promiſes ſignify that the buſineſs of Redemption is ſecured, and that God hath already taken up, & is ſatisfied in the Suretiſhip of His Son, and accounts himſelf under an inviolable bond to perform the Good promiſed, for all thoſe who were appointed to be the Heirs of this great Salvation: and how much of encouragement is there in this for poor guilty ſinners that have no other hope before them?
INFERENCE III.
Here we ſee upon how ſtrong a foundation a believers hopes for Glory are laid. We have obſerved that there is a neer connection between the Covenant of Redemption and that of Grace: and here is one principal inference which is to bedrawn from the connection that he who by Faith in Chriſt is brought into the Covenant of Grace, may derive the ſtrength of hope and holy confidence to himſelf from the Ancient Covenant of Redemption; becauſe his being in this undeniably ſuppoſeth him to have been included in that: and then, no wonder if his faith be often ſhaken, and his hopes unſetled, if he do not keep his eye continually upon this. But a right ſpeculation here will wonderfully nouriſh and ſtrengthen him. Hope is a believers Anchor, with which he keeps himſelf from running adrift in hours of Temptation: it is that which he Lives upon till he comes to Heaven, Rom. 8. 24. How much then may he ſtrengthen this by ſuch a contemplation? for from this Covenant there flow down to him theſe Glorious diſcoveries.
1 Here he ſees that ſatisfaction is made to the Juſtice of God for his ſins; and that his happineſs is bought and paid for. He may here diſcern, not only a ſufficient price, but a Covenant price laid down; ſuch as was indented for by God himſelf, and therein all his demands anſwered; and therefore it is accepted by him: to that the law hath nothing, as a Covenant, to implead him for; whereby all the charges of ſatan and his own miſgiving heart that are made againſt him are fully confuted: and it no ways daſheth his Hope to reflect and conſider what he hath been in himſelf, (though it humbleth and abaſeth him) conſidering what he now is in Chriſt Jeſus, Rom 8. 1. Here he knows where he hath a right and title to the Glorious inheritance, and how it was procured for him: that it is already bought and paid for in his name, and for that reaſon it ſhall aſſuredly be beſtowed upon him in due time.
2 Here he ſees all the hard conditions of life, which are propounded in the Law, to be fully ſatisfied and performed. The Law ſaith do this and Live, ie. do it perfectly and conſtantly, without any failure or defect: though this were fair and eaſy to man in integrity, when he had the Image of God upon him, yet now he finds it hard, yea an impoſſibility in himſelf to comport with all; & the more he endeavours, the more apprehenſive he is of his ſhort coming: and this makes a legal life to be an horrible ſlavery. But he here is certified that Chriſt became ſurety for all this, and that he hath fully performed thoſe terms to a tittle, and this upon his account; ſo that hereupon he hath brought him to ſtand upon better terms of Salvation, Gal. 4. 5. and now, his dayly defects, though they grieve him, yet they do not hinder or damp his expectation of the life which is Promiſed.
3 Here alſo he ſees Jeſus Chriſt to be the undertaker for all that which is to be do…e by him in order to Salvation i e. for the performing and accompliſhing of the very Goſpel Covenant. When the law is ſatisfied for our offences, there is yet ſomething to be done by us in order to Salvation The new Covenant requires Faith, and Holineſs, and Perſeverance: and as we could not put the Firſt Grace into our ſelves, by converſion, ſo neither can we carry the work on when it is begun, nor withſtand all the powerful Temptations that ly in our way, and be Faithful …nto the Death, that we may receive the Crown of Life: and yet all this muſt be, according to the tenour of the Covenant, and the looking meerly upon this, makes a Child of God ſometimes to be afraid whether he ſhall hold out, he finds ſo much ſtrength ſet againſt him, and ſo much infirmity attending on him. But here is his Hope ſetled; in this Covenant Jeſus Chriſt was the undertaker for this alſo; for he is to bring his Redeemed to Glory Heb, 2. 10. hence that Promiſe, Joh 6. 37. He gave himſelf for his Church, not only to ſatisfy for them, but alſo to ſanctify them, Eph. 5. 25. &c. ſo that now he knows whither to go, and where to ask for all the help that he ſtands in …eed of where it cannot be denied him.
4 Here he alſo ſees all his Objections ſatisfactorily anſwered, and Doubts reſolved. When any thing offers to perplex him he brings it hither, and here he finds a full relief againſt it. If the Terrible Aſpect of Gods Juſtice Terrifies him, he comes hither and finds it to be ſatisfied, and kiſſing of Mercy. If the conſideration of Gods ſpotleſs Holineſs ſtartles him, he ſees it glorified in Jeſus Chriſt, and mightily advanced in bringing ſo much Honour to God by this way of Salvation thus laid out. If the thoughts of his Sins Amaze him, and the Terrible Threatinings againſt them become a Terrour to him, here he finds the Curſe exacted, and all his Sins ſatisfied for, and the whole penalty of them born: when his ſins look never ſo great and formidable to him, here he finds, a ſacrifice provided which is of infinite value. If his own Righteouſneſs aſhame him, by reaſon of the wo…ul imperfection of it, and the many blemiſhes that there are upon it, here he diſcovers One that is Perfect and Everlaſting laid in for him. If his own Weakneſs diſcourage him, and he be ready to ſink under the ſenſe of it, here he finds a ſtrength prepared for him, Even an Everlaſting Arm underneath to ſupport him. So that in nothing that can carry any appe…rance of a Diſcouragement in it, is he at a loſs in this Covenant to find a full relief againſt it.
5. And here he hath ſtrong grounds of Confidence againſt all the Enemies of his Salvation. He need not be afraid of any accuſations they can bring in againſt him, before God, though he knows that there is too much that can be truly ſaid againſt him, by reaſon of his daily ſollies, ſhort comings, aberrations: becauſe he knows that, his name being in the Covenant, that will ſpeak more for him, than all they can do againſt him; and his Redeemer at the Right Hand of God is his Advocate, to anſwer all that can be brought in againſt him by way of accuſation, Rom. 8. 34. Nor needs he be afraid of their underminings, or forcible oppoſition, though he knows that they are too ſubtile for him, and a great deal ſtranger than he is; becauſe he is aſſured of this, that his Redeemer is Strong, and Faithful, and muſt anſwer for him to God, being in that Covenant engaged to bring him to Salvation. And what ſhould impair the hopes of ſuch an one? Or who ſhall be able to make him aſhamed of this Hope?
INFERENCE IV.
Here we ſee the True and proper ground or reaſon of the Juſtification of a ſinner. This Article hath a great deal of Myſtery in it, and many are loſt in their Speculations about it, for want of a Clue to lead them through i…. But the conſideration of the Covenant of Redemption, will clear this great Truth from all difficulties which men are pe…plexed with about it. The Juſtification of a ſinner, though as it is conferred upon him in a way of Imputation, it is an act of Rich Grace; yet in it ſelf it is a Law act, and ought to proceed according to Truth and Equity; it is a Scripture Aſſertion, Prov. 17. 15. And the conſideration of this oftentimes makes an awakened ſoul to ſtumble and haeſitate: he is ready to ſay, ſhall not the Judge of the Earth do right: now I have ſinned, I have tranſgreſſed the Law, and it can never ceaſe to be a truth, that I have ſo done: how then ſhall God Pronounce me juſt, righteous, acquitted, who am a ſinner. What Truth can there be in ſuch a ſentence? for my Faith cannot make the leaſt ſatisfaction for my ſins; and my obedience is imperfect, & if God ſhould be strict to mark the iniquity mixing with it, I could not ſtand: where then is the Righteouſneſs of God, which is ſo much celebrated in Scripture, how doth he ſtand to his own Law, which ſaith that the ſinner ſhall dy? Now all theſe ſcruples will come to be fully taken off, and the Soul will be aboundantly ſatisfied in the Contemplation of this Covenant. for;
1 If faith in Jeſus Chriſt were only propounded in the Covenant of Grace, for our Juſtification, we could not poſſibly reconcile the Law and Grace, if there were no farther diſcovery made of the reaſon and ground of this. If God had not ſtood ingaged in the firſt Covenant to the terms of it, and his Holineſs and Juſtice been concerned in that engagement, it had not been ſo hard to underſtand how he might acquit the ſinner by beſtowing of a Free Pardon upon him, and there would have been no need for us to look any farther than to Grace in it, ſuppoſing it conſiſtent with Sovereign Holineſs thus to have done. But when we remember that there was ſuch a Covenant, and that both Gods Holineſs and Justice, and truth were deeply concerned in it, to ſee to the compleat performance of it, and that therfore the breach of it muſt be ſatisfied for, or elſe there can be no pardon or acquittance given; how ſhall we take up ſatisfied in ſuch an Offer, until we ſee how or in what way this ſatisfaction can be made? and when we are Convinced, that neither our Faith nor Obedience can be Meritorious, or anſwer the Demands of the Law, we muſt needs look yet farther?
2. Hence, in the Covenant of Grace, the Obedience of Chriſt is propounded to a ſinner, as the Matter of the Juſtification which he is to believe in him for. Chriſts Righteouſneſs is exhibited as both the Meritoorius, and alſo the Material cauſe of our being acquitted before God. To perſwade us to Embrace it, and Caſt ou…ſelves upon it, it preſents it before us as a Perfect Righteouſneſs, which is every way full, and anſwerable to the Law in all points, having enough in it to anſwer all the Demands of that whatſoever, hence we read, Rom: 5: 18, 19. How compleatly this makes up all that which was procured by Mans Offence: but,
3 The way how this Righteouſneſs came to be ours by Imputation, and ſo accepted for us unto our Juſtification, is diſcovered in and by the Contemplation of the Covenant of Redemption; in which we may Obſerve.
1. That we were there Covenanted for. This Covenant was not made with us but for us. Though Chriſt were the only Party Covenanting with his Father, yet we were the Subjects of the Covenant. That great Tranſaction was made with reſpect to us, and in order to the bringing about of our Salvation: ſo that, as Chriſt was the Redeemer, ſo we were the Perſons to be Redeemed by Him; Galatians, 4: 5.
2. That hence all that Chriſt did in that Great Work, was for us, or upon our account. He Lived not for Himſelf, neither Dyed He for Himſelf, but for us, Gal. 2. 20. 2. Cor. 5. Ult. He had no occaſion to put himſelf into the Condition of a Redeemer upon his own account: He Owed no Active Obedience to the Law for himſelf, being the Eternal Son of God: nor did he deſerve to ſuffer any Penalty for himſelf, for he was without ſin; it was therefore for ſuch as did need all this to be done for them, Gal. 4. 4. 5.
3 That what he thus did was upon agreement between his Father and him. That there firſt paſt a firm Covenant about it, before he engaged actually in the doing of it: ſo that there was a firm Foundation laid for the ſecuring of the Fruit and Benefit of it, and for this reaſon, the Blood of Chriſt is called the Blood of the Everlaſting Covenant, Hebr. 13: 20. Becauſe it was Shed upon this Compact.
4. That he had a firm and inviolable Promiſe from his Father, that all this ſhould be made ours, and that we ſhould reap the fruit and benefit of it, Iſa. 53. 10. It was a Promiſe made by God who cannot lie, and it was ſealed by Two Immutable things, Hebr. 6. 18. There was Gods Purpoſe and his Oath to confirm it. Now when all theſe things are put together, they clear up the Righteouſneſs of Gods Proceeding: for though it be a ſinner that ſtands at the Bar, and one who is in himſelf by Law a man of Death; yet when it is made to appear that he was redeemed by an Everlaſting Covenant. That Temporary Covenant of Works cannot infringe it, but muſt be ſubſervient unto it. And ſince he is Righteous in his ſurety, how Unrighteous ſoever he is in himſelf, God is Righteous in Juſtifying of him, and no injuſtice can juſtly be charged upon him, in declaring him to be Righteous, by vertue of this Righteouſneſs. So that our Juſtification is built upon a Foundation which is ſtronger than the Earth or Heavens.
INFERENCE V.
Here we Learn that mans whole Salvation proceeds from God himſelf, It plainly tells us how little hand poor man hath in his own deliverance from miſery, and obtaining of bleſſedneſs, and this will be diſcovered in two Propoſitions.
1 That the foundation of mans Salvation was laid in this Covenant. From hence it is that it derives its riſe and original, that any of the undone Children of Adam are brought to Inherit eternal Glory, they owe the whole acknowledgment of it hither Fallen man could not have bin ſaved without ſuch a Covenant: his happineſs abſolutely depended upon the good will of God; and theſe are the firſt thoughts that God enterteined in himſelf about mans delivery; and here began the futurition of it. If God had not Choſen them firſt, they would never have Choſen him. If Chriſt had not come to be a Redeemer, all the children of men muſt have died hopeleſly in their ſins, and if God the Father had not Covenanted with his Son about his coming on this great errand, he had certainly never come again, if Chriſts obedience had not been accepted with God upon the account of thoſe for whom he both Did and Died, it could never have been Imputed to them ſo as to be accounted the procuring cauſe of their Salvation, and if God had not thus Covenanted with his Son about it, it had never been thus accepted. No one of theſe things could have been left out, in this great affair. Now all this proceeds from God himſelf, it is his own doing, The creature that is to be ſaved by it, was not there to ſpeak for it ſelf, for it was before the Creation; ſo that neither was there any other Created being to ſpeak unto God in its behalf. If God had not thought of it and done it, it had never been; for this was an eternal act; it paſt in the Divine Counſel, and was ratified there before the world was.
II That all that which contributes to mans Salvation, ariſeth and flows down from this Covenant whatſoever elſe can be mentioned or thought of, that hath any influence into the eternal Salvation of the children of men, is hither to be reduced, as to the Original of it, Here were the contrivances and ways for the accompliſhment of all this buſineſs laid out, and moſt wiſely delineated: Here was all that was needful to bring ſinners to the actual poſſeſſion of eternal life prepared: yea the very Covenant of Grace in and by which the Treaty is held and carried on between God and Sinners under the Goſpel Diſpenſation is here fountained. Not only the Redemption it ſelf, but the Application of the Redemption is wholly derived from hence in all the parts and ſteps of it: in this Covenant it was that Chriſt was made all for us, that he might be ſo to us 1. Cor 1. 30. All the Promiſes which were made, of providing the Ordinances for, and giving them to men, of ſending them the means of Grace and the calls of the Goſpel; of ſending the Holy Spirit to them, and into them, of drawing ſinners home to Jeſus Chriſt, & making them to comply with him on his terms, of keeping them in him, and preſerving them from Falling away from Grace after they are in him; and of bringing them to, and making them to inherit Eternal Glory at the laſt, they are all the promiſes of this Covenant, and the engaged benefits of Chriſts Undertaking were made to him upon it, and were fulfilled eminently upon his having done the Work, Eph. 4. 10. &c. So that all this is of God: becauſe it is all of it laid up in Gods Covenant; yea in ſuch a Covenant wherein there were none engaged as Parties undertaking, but ſuch Perſons as were God.
Hence alſo the Application of this good to us muſt needs be acknowledged to this, and here muſt be aſſigned the reaſon why any of us do believe that we may be ſaved: it was not becauſe we were enclined or diſpoſed to it more than others, but becauſe our Salvation was Secured for us in that Covenant, and muſt be in this way Promoved: and how may this ſerve to hide pride from man, and lead him up to an humble acknowledgment of the Fountain of all his hopes?