Goodwill Towards Men, Part 1 · Section 24 – Application
Sect. 24.
PROP. XXIV. The Condition of Man by the Fall, being such as hath been described, viz. being both under the Guilt, and power of Sin, it is twice impossible (as I may say) that ever he should be saved by himself, or by the Covenant of Works, and equally impossible, that he should not be cast, and condemned by this Covenant.
THe Covenant of Works promised life only upon perfect conformity to the Law, and will of God, threatning death to any sin: Now when once Man had broken Gods Law, and lost Gods Image, and had his Nature vitiated and corrupted, he could no more lay claim to life and happiness, but immediately was laid under the Sentence of Death, and did lye open to Gods wrath.
Now if the penalty threatned, and incurred, be inflicted on the Sinner, this giveth him enough, this sets him fast for ever. Intollerable torments, and endless miseries become his portion to Eternity. If he would think of making satisfaction for what is past, he cannot. He can never suffer any thing equivalent to everlasting death. And if he could, yet he should not be saved by the old Covenant, without some new Agreement, wherein it should please God to admit of a satisfaction. Satisfaction is not given to the Law, (as one noteth) but to the Law-giver, as above Law, who can accept of the solutio tantidem, vel aequivalentis aliàs indebiti. But there is no provision in the Covenant of Works, how a Man may escape and avoid the penalty, after once he is a sinner. Neither is there any more possibility of his claiming and having right, and title to happiness by the promise in that Covenant; the condition whereof we neither have fulfilled, nor can fulfil. And in these respects (as I said) it is utterly impossible that ever sinful Men and Women should attain to life by this Covenant. Alas, we are all Children of wrath by Nature and sons of death, dead in Law, under the Sentence of death. And dead in trespasses and sins, in another sence, sin reigneth, as death reigns; all Men Naturally are under the power of it. Naturally we are without strength, no more than a dead man, can raise himself, are we able of our selves to help our selves out of a sinful state, which leadeth to death Eternal.
Application.
I Shall now conclude this Discourse concerning Man's estate under the Covenant of Works (both as it was before, and since the Fall) with a few practical Inferences.
1. What cause is here to admire divine condescension! That ever God should vouchsafe to enter into Covenant with his own Creature, whom he might command at pleasure. What an honour was it unto Abraham, to be called the Friend of God? So it was an honour (sure) to Adam, to be taken into a League of Friendship with God; Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him?
2. What cause is here to blush at Man's Ingratitude, and most unworthy dealing with his Maker? Hos. 6.7. But they like Men, or like Adam, have transgressed the Covenant, they have dealt treacherously? Oh Adam's treacherous dealing, Adam's perfidiousness, breach of Covenant with God, is that indeed which all his posterity had need to be told of, have cause with sad hearts to remember and to be ashamed of.
3. What cause to tremble with astonishment, when we speak, or hear, or think of Man's Apostacy from God, and of the woful, dreadful effects, and consequences of it. The Crown is fallen from our heads, and wo to us, for we have sinned. Thus Man who was created for the special Service and fruition of God, now hath his back turned upon God; neither fit to serve, nor to enjoy him. Man that at his first Creation was a Favourite of God; since, by his fall and degeneration, is become an enemy of God.
4. O what need now that we look to it, that we get our Tenure changed! That we get out of the first, into the second Adam, without a change of state, and a change of Nature, we are miserable for ever. O better we had never been born, than not to be born again. As we are Adam's Off-spring, we inherit nothing but corruption, can lay claim to nothing but hell and wrath. And wo to us now, if God deal with us according to the tenure of the Covenant of Works.
Perhaps you will say, O but we are under the Gospel Covenant, which is unquestionably a Covenant of Grace.
I grant you are so externally; but as to your Eternal state, you will be never the better, if you refuse to come up to the terms of this better Covenant; that is, if you don't in a reall sence of your sinful and undone Condition without Christ, now heartily give up your selves to him, to be taught and guided, to be ruled and governed, as well as to be saved by him; or which is all one, if you are not really willing to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ in his own way.
I tell you, if you do not come up to the terms of the Covenant of Grace, you do in vain expect, you cannot have any saving benefit by it; no, in that case it leaveth you to the condemnation of the Covenant of Works; I say, it leaveth you where it found you.
The wrath of God still abideth on you; yea, this will increase it, that to the breach of the Covenant of Works, you add this great provoking sin, of slighting and contemning what the Lord is pleased to offer in the Covenant of Grace. This is the Condemnation; verily you will find it so, you that neglect and slight that great Salvation, offered in the Gospel.
5. O what cause to pitty poor Children, who are so miserable in themselves without Gods free mercy in Jesus Christ! Since our first father hath sinned, and brake Covenant with God, his blood was tainted, his whole race and off-spring corrupted. This corruption though it came first from Adam, yet immediate Parents are the next cause of the derivation of it. How should this turn our Bowels towards our poor Children? Are they Children of wrath by Nature, and should they not be our Benoni's? Oh how should our hearts ake for them! and how should we pour out our prayers, and tears daily before the Lord for them? O that Ishmael might live in thy sight! should not tender Mothers travail in birth again, till they may see Christ formed in their Children.
And how should Parents fear entailing a new Curse upon their posterity! There is a curse in the house of the Swearer, a curse in the house of the Thief, and the unjust person, the fraudulent dealer; many take care for nothing but only to lay up riches for their Children: O but take heed that you do not lay up a curse with those riches. That would spoil all.
Again, how should Parents fear corrupting their Children more and more by a bad example; though corruption comes not into the world meerly by imitation, yet evil examples do very much encrease wickedness in the world. Aetas parentum pejor avis, tulit Nos nequiores, &c. Hor.
Lastly, though our Children are by Nature in a sinful miserable estate; yet there is a remedy provided in Christ, and set forth in the Gospel; and how should we fear depriving our Infants of that Ordinance they are capable of, even in infancy! Infants circumcision under the Law pointed at the corruption of the Natural birth; so doth Infant Baptism under the Gospel. They that deny this Ordinance to Infants, would make Christ less favourable to the Children of Believers under the Gospel, than he was to the Children of his people of Old. Though we do not suppose Grace necessarily tied to the outward Ordinance, as if whosoever did partake of the one, must necessarily partake of the other; nor think, as the Papists, that Original sin hath the Nature of sin, only before, not after Baptism; yet surely, we ought to prize any expression of Gods Favour towards our poor Children; and as we would not seem to slight his mercy, we should fear to deny Children this Ordinance, which the Lord alloweth them, which they are capable of; yea, which is the only Ordinance, and outward means that Infants are capable of. And as we should fear to deprive Children of this Gospel-Ordinance, so how should we fear to deprive them of the Gospel it self! Rejecting Christ and the Gospel, was that which brought wrath, to the uttermost, on the Jews; should we sin away the Gospel, then we deprive poor posterity of the means of Grace and Salvation, and set them in such a state as is described there, Eph. 2.12. to have no hope in the world; Ah Sirs, the despising of Gospel-Grace, may bring uttermost wrath upon us and ours.
The End of the First Part.