Church with them when the Lord shall make the Church of the Jews the Mother-Church and should give them unto the Jews fââ daughters c. so in Abraham and his Posterity and that they might still lay claim unto the Covenant and the Promise made unto their Fathers being born the Sons of the Covenant To have any particular office prescribed by God in a Family is look'd upon and promised as a great mercy to have a Priesthood continued in the Family of Aaron and afterwards of Phineas as a reward of that great act of his in being zealous for the Lord in executing Judgement for the Lord gave him an everlasting Priesthood and to have the Kingdom continued unto David and his Posterity as he takes notice Thou hast spoken of my house for a great while to come there shall not want a man of his loyns to sit upon the Throne of Israel and it 's look'd upon as a great Judgment for a Family and a Posterity to be disinherited as for the family of Esau to be cast out of the Priesthood and the Family of Saul to be cast out of the Kingdom how much more then is it a mercy to have the visible Church of God continued in any mans Posterity for all blessings descend according unto this as it appears in the Sons of Noah there is a blessing upon Shem and Japhet and their Posterity but it is in reference to a Church-state but there is no blessing upon Cham but cursed be Canan God would never take a Church out of his loyns it should never be continued in his posterity There shall not be a Cananite in the house of the Lord for ever Zac. 14. ult and therefore a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren the curse and blessing is answerable unto the respect men have to a Church-state 4. It 's the greatest wrath that God doth pour out upon men in this life to cast them out of external Church-priviledges The Jews as when they were taken into covenant it was for themselves and their posterity that God would owne their seed as his and would avouch them to be his people so when God did cast them out and gave them a bill of divorce called them Loammi and did remove the Candlestick he did cast them out and their seed the natural branches were broken off if it be not a blessing to injoy it surely it 's no great judgment to be deprived of it but the Apostle saith Wrath iâ come upon them to the uttermost or to the end therefore it the wrath be so great in a casting out surely there is a great deal of mercy shewed in the taking in 5. The Apostle speaks even of an interest in the external priviledges of the covenant as a very great matter having shewed that all men by nature are in the same condition and in a mans spiritual estate outward and Church-priviledges make no difference he doth demand Then what advantage a man hath by Church-priviledges and what good there is in them Rom. 3.22 if they make not men to differ what excellency hath the Jew above any other men or any other people The Apostle says Much every way therefore though they may not differ in reference to a spiritual state yet there is a great excellency and advantage and the Apostle speaking of the grafting in of the Gentiles into the same Church-covenant them and the posterity when the Jews were disinherited he says Rom. 11.17 Privilegia beneficia foederis in Ecclesia patrum deposita Par. That they did partake of the root and the fatness of the olive-tree therefore in Scripture it 's commended as a great advantage and priviledge unto a man to be brought into the external rights and to have an interest in outward priviledges of the Church of God 2. But what are those priviledges and those particular benefits that come upon a person and his posterity thereby 1 Many of them shall be saved elected and converted to God for the Lord doth take the number of his Elect out of the loyns of his own the Church of the first-born whose names are written in Heaven is hid in the visible Church here as wheat in a heap of chaff 2 It 's the only ground of hope that parents have for the salvation of their children dying in their infancy David did hope it though he might say with Austin Ego in illo puero nihil habui praeter delictum yet he saith I shall go to him and his heart was quieted concerning his eternal state by virtue of the Covenant made with him We have no other promise but this I will be thy God and the God of thy seed and this is Gospel a man is as truly bound to lay hold of the promise and cast himself upon it for his seed as for himself 3 There is no ordinary way of salvation but it is amongst them that are taken into Covenant salvation is of the Jews Joh. 4. there was in an ordinary way salvation to be had no where else and therefore by being taken into the outward priviledges of the Church a man is brought into the ordinary way of salvation Esa 5.7 Exod. 15.5 Gen. 6.2 4 It 's a special honour to be the vineyard of the Lord the garden of the Lord hedged in from the rest of the world his wall a wine press a garden inclosed a fountain sealed to be called the Sons of God the people of God and the Lord to avouch them such publickly before all the world to be his peculiar treasure the Lord to be their God and they his people above all people of the earth theirs is the Adoption it 's spoken of this federal external sonship Rom. 9.4 Esa 22.1 29.1 Rom. 3.2 5 By this you have special priviledges Jerusalem is the valley of Vision and Jesuron the seeing people it is Ariel the Altar of the Lord chiefly to them are committed the Oracles of God which they are to keep and to transmit unto posterity it 's a depositum laid up and concredited to them In Judah is God known his name is great in Israel Psal 147. ult he hath not dealt so with other nations they are a people near unto him and the Lord hath promised that he will give them his special presence I will dwell in the midst of them Zac. 8.3 2 Cor. 6. Christ walks in the middle of the golden Candlesticks though he be in glory 6 By coming under the outward priviledges of this Covenant they have very glorious operations mighty works upon them that other men have never experience of and all this even in them that perish and they have this as a fruit of their external interest for Hos 6.5 there is hewing and slaying there is sowing and planting when the rest of the common fields lye untilled Mat. 13.3 1 Cor. 12.8 and there are great gifts bestowed such as the Lord doth not bestow on any
to perform the promise is Gods part and to press God with his promise is our part I will do it for you says tne Lord yet I will be inquired of by you that I may do it for you ask and you shall receive knock and it shall be opened and there is no way that ever any creature could attain any thing of God but this way Upon this very ground Christ himself if he will attain from God he must ask and so 't is with the Angels and so 't is with the Saints in Heaven Dan. 4.17 they cry How long Lord How much more is it to be with dust and ashes 3. That the Lord may honour his own Ordinance and testifie how much he doth delight in the worship of a creature and that thereby he might make it a double mercy For ungodly men to receive blessings as a fruit of Providence unto them it comes always single that is in the thing only but unto a godly man that has it as a fruit of the promise it 's always a double mercy mercy in the thing and mercy to the man not only an accomplishment of Gods promises but the return of the mans prayers the exercise of Gods faithfulness unto us and of our graces towards God and there are no mercies so sweet as those that come in with the exercise of grace in the attaining of them Deum orationibus ambiamus coelum tundimus misericordiam extorquemus as Tertullian says of the power of the Saints prayers because of his delight in the exercise of their graces And there is no duty wherein the graces of the Saints do act with more life and power than they do in prayer there is magna conjunctio a great concurrence of grace in them as we see it in Abraham in his prayer what strong acts of grace he puts forth Gen. 18. The nearer the soul draws to God the fountain of its life the more lively it works and moves the swifter the nearer the centre and there is no duty in which the soul draws nearer to God than it doth in prayer and hath more immediate communion with him than when he is upon his knees before the Throne of grace 4. And lastly the way to attain promises is a patient waiting for them till the Lords time come for it 's true of promises as it is of prophecies though the vision be for an appointed time Hab. 2.3 yet wait for it for it will come and will not tarry It 's a speech like unto that in Luk. 18.7 8. though he bear long with them yet he will avenge them speedily it may tarry long in respect of the time prefixed by us and may seem long to us but it shall not be long when the time comes that is appointed by God The Lord commonly does in the answering of prayers as he does in the fulfilling of Prophecies it 's a great while before the Prophecy seems to speak or to give any hope of its accomplishment as it was in the deliverance out of Egypt and Babylon but yet when once it begins but to dawn its day immediately in a manner it strangely and suddenly breaks forth that the Saints of God can scarce believe their own eyes they are like unto them that dream And so it is in the return of their prayers also as in the calling of the Jews they are as dry bones and they are scattered here and there all the world over but the bones shall come together and it shall be so suddenly done that the Lord saith A Nation shall be born at once and before Sion travelled she brought forth and so it is in the answer of Prayers as it was with Elijah he prayed seven times and his servant looked and there was nothing and yet he continued praying at last there appeared a Cloud like unto a mans hand and by and by the Heavens were covered over with Clouds and then the rain fell when it begins once to appear that the Clouds do break away a little the Lord doth strangely hasten the work and there is a glorious concurrence and falling in of all causes to its accomplishment there is a time of the Promise's accomplishment Acts 7 1â and a great part of the Mercy is in the season of it the Lord doth not delay because he is unwilling to bestow it or because the Mercy comes hardly off for he knows that to our hasty Nature bis dat qui citò but the Lord doth defer it that he may improve the Mercy by the season of it for Gods time is best and not ours my time is not yet come though your time be alwayes ready all Christs Miracles were so much the more glorious by the seasons of their putting forth and so are Gods Mercies also the more magnified in coming to us in the fittest time he does wait to be gracious that is that he may bestow the Mercy when we are fittest to receive it and our hearts are best prepared for it As in judgement to a wicked man the Lord does watch over him for evil and he shall be ensnared in an evil time as a Bird in an evil snare judgement shall come upon him when he least expects it and is least prepared for it he shall be cut off as the foam upon the waters Hos 10.7 sicut aquae superiores ferventis ollae Jerome for the word spuma doth signifie a bubble that does arise from heat c. when they are swelled up and hold up their heads on high and be lifted up above the rest of the waters then they shall suddenly be cut off As I say there is a time for judgment that Justice doth watch over men for evil so there is also a time for Mercy that Grace does watch over men for good there is a time for the Promise to bring forth as well as the threatning and therefore it 's said That by Faith and Patience the Saints have inherited the Promises and there is as well a Patience in waiting as in Suffering Zeph. 2.1 2. let Patience have its perfect work in you in this respect also that you may be intire and perfect wanting nothing Hebr. 10.36 But the Soul will be ready to say I could be willing to wait Gods time if I could be sure to attain the Promise at the last but what grounds are there to support and underprop my heart that I shall receive the Promise and not miss of it in the end Now the grounds to assure the Soul thereof are these 1. The faithfulness of God the Promises are therefore confirmed by an Oath Heb. 6.17 that by two immutable things wherein it 's impossible for God to lye we might have strong Consolation Quid est Dei juratio nisi promissi confirmatio Aust. infidelium quaedam increpatio An Oath amongst Men puts an end to Controversie much more should the Oath of God put an end to all Controversie and Disputes in the Soul and
Gospel are committed unto them and the Lord doth lay them up in them as in a common Treasury 2 Cor. 4.7 We have this treasure in earthen vessels c. It is not committed to them for their own sakes or for their own use but it is for the good of the family and so Christ speaks unto his Disciples Mat. 13.52 they should be as a Scribe instructed unto the kingdom of God it was the office of the Scribes to teach the people the mysteries of the Word of God and to give the sense as Ezra the Scribe did and therefore Christ makes use of the word and applies it unto the Ministers of the Gospel and he must be endued with all sorts of knowledge he must have variety he must have old things which he has treasured up long for he is to be a Treasury of it the Priests lips are to preserve knowledge and also he must not be content with old things but he must seek after new discoveries new degrees of light he must grow in knowledge daily and therefore he must have new affections also and this he must not hide and reserve there but he must bring it forth it is what a godly man that is called by God to teach others should be affected with and afflicted for if he come short in any grace or gifts that some of his flock are eminent for Non quod ferre potes sed quod profers Cajet Esa 50.4 and all those that the Lord does call to this work he doth in some measure qualifie for God doth not send a Messenger and cut off his feet now all this is for the Churches for the Saints sake and for their good 1 Cor. 3.21 22. Let no man glory in man for all things are yours all for your sakes the highest offices and the greatest gifts and the greatest variety Paul Apollo and Cephas all is for your sake for your edification and salvation We preach not our selves but Jesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Jesus sake we are not Lords of your faith but helpers of your joy c. Eph 4.11 12. he gave gifts unto men to qualifie them for their offices and all is for the perfecting of the Saints 3. He puts into them suitable affections and inward dispositions of heart towards them Paul says I was amongst you as a Nurse with much pains and unweariedness 1 Thess 2.7 and with much patience and forbearance bearing with your frowardness and the crookedness of your spirits and dispositions Phil. 1.8 I long for you all in the bowels of Christ Phil. 1.8 bowels you know do signifie the tenderest affections 1 such as are not natural but wrought in me by Christ for I had them not of my self and so it notes causam efficientem 2 With great affections such as Christ their Saviour did bear to them having their names written in his heart even to lay down his life for them with such bowels do I long for you being willing to be sacrificed unto the service of your faith and so it notes causam exemplarem 2 Cor. 8.16 he put the same care into the heart of Titus Phil. 2.20 it is said of Timothy Phil. 2.20 he doth naturally care for your things ad animi sinceritatem refert Theodor. it is not from any outward respect or fleshly end but from a natural principle wrought in him by the Lord that he doth it naturally from an inward principle in nature as the natural affection of the father and mother is put into them for the good of the child so there is a natural principle put into them for the good of the Saints c. 4. He doth set them in their places stars they are and he doth appoint them their orbs where they shall shine for the seven Stars are the Angels of the Churches and are in the right hand of Christ are at his dispose who sends them to a people where they shall be fishers men do not know where the sholes of fish go for we fish under water but the Lord saith Go and speak to them for I have much people in this city and when he has gathered in the number of his Elect in any place then he takes away the Ministry from thence and when there are any to be gathered in then he doth bring them again This is the reason why he doth cause it to rain upon one city and not upon another also As he sets them in their stations so quoad protectionem he it is that doth preserve them from the rage of men which truly we know not how soon we may be exposed to for I fear the time draws near yet the witnesses shall not be killed till they have finished their testimony and it is not all the power of the enemy shall be able to remove them 5. He doth over-rule and order them in their Ministry for the good of his people sometimes the Spirit of the Lord comes upon them and they speak beyond their intentions or meditations Heb. 1.1 he speaks ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he orders their hearts and he doth over-rule their tongues he doth make discoveries unto them for the good of his people as sometimes he doth pour a darkness upon them for the sins of his people and sometimes God in judgment hides his truths from a Teacher because the people are not fitted to receive them It 's true not only of the Magistrates that the Lord gives them up to commit follies as he did David because he was provoked against Israel therefore he tempted David to number the people but also it is true of the Ministers Mic. 3.6 Pro divinatione erit caligo ye shall have darkness and the Lord will give no Visions unto the Prophets and though they seek it Esa 29.10 yet they shall have no answer from God he will pour out upon the Prophets and the seers the spirit of a deep sleep Now as the Lord doth sometimes hide his word from his Prophets and his Messengers of purpose in judgment unto the people that they that say to their Ministers Prophesie not the Lord says They shall not prophesie so he doth also give light unto them and answerable unto the good that he doth mean to do unto a people such is his presence and assistance with the Prophets that he doth imploy and all the discoveries of God in the Word shall be to them to whom he intends evil as the words of a sealed book that they shall say I cannot read it because it is sealed as the Lord opens the book in mercy to his people and to his Prophets so he doth seal it in judgment to other men that seeing they shall see and not perceive and hearing they shall hear and not understand Acts 18.5 Paul was pressed in spirit and testified unto the Jews pro violento impulsu ad solitum instinctum plus accessit fervoris Calv. There is sometimes a greater impulse upon the Ministers of
our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 which we do by his Grace yet there is a concurrence of ours therein 5 That the Patience and forbearance of God even towards the Vessels of mercy may be so much the more exalted Num. 14.17 Moses says Let the Power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken the Lord long-suffering and of great mercy even his forbearance is an act of his power it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã it is an impotency in a man that he cannot forbear if he be injured it is utterly a fault amongst you but it is not so with God it is his Power that he can forbear 't is the patience of his power and therefore we are not consumed when we daily provoke him the imagination of a mans heart being continually evil he is God and not man Gen. 6.5 Gen. 8.21 Hos 11.9 therefore Gen. 6.5 and 8.21 they do seem to cross each other in the first place 't is said the Lord will destroy man because the imaginations of his heart were evil and in the other I will not again curse the ground for mans sake for the imaginations of his heart are evil from his youth it seems to be given as a reason of two contraries he will and he will not every imagination of the heart of man is evil therefore I will no more curse the Earth for his sake it seems strange reasoning it is by the Jesuites and Arminians looked upon as an extenuation of Original sin There is now that infirmity come upon him which was in Adam indeed a sin but now it is become a disease an infirmity a condition of Nature and therefore humanae infirmitatis miserebor I will pity humane infirmity so A Lapide and others who make the being of sin in us to be no sin but there is quite another sence of the words the particle ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is taken either causativè or adversativè and so it is rendred sometimes quia because and sometimes quamvis although Glass Rhet. pag. 606. Our translators take the first for the imaginations of the heart or because the imaginations of the heart of man are only evil and so Brentius Pareus c. Si vellem semper genus humanum diluvio punire c. If I should always bring upon them a flood for their iniquity I should not leave a man upon the earth all man-kind would be destroy'd for the imaginations of his heart are evil from his youth and therefore now having smelt a savour of rest from a sacrifice I will not for this cause destroy them any more by a flood But many of the learned render it adversativè and so it is although so Exod. 13.17 The Lord led them not thorough the land of the Philistins although that was near it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Exod. 34.19 Let my Lord I pray thee goe amongst us for it is a stiffe-necked people that is although it be a stiffe-necked people and so it is an expression of the wonderfull patience of God that though men provoke him daily and all the imaginations of their hearts are evil continually yet hoc non obstante I will shew my patience towards them and will no more curfe the ground for mans sake c. and it is spoken of all men not only wicked men but godly men for whose sake the Lord doth spare the creatures for it is for the Saints sake that the world stands and that the earth is not destroyed and yet the imaginations of their hearts are evil from their youth and by this the patience of God towards the vessels of mercy as well as towards the vessels of wrath is very highly exalted 6 That the Lord may hereby shew how great a grace that donum perseverantiae gift of perseverance is and what an almighty power doth concur thereunto Adam had no sin and yet he fell from his first state how then shall we stand that have in us nothing else but sin something of the venom of the old Serpent that is ready to open unto him upon every suggestion and ready to take fire by every temptation a sin that doth easily beset us or compass up about Heb. 12.21 And the great aim of Satan without and sin within is to extinguish grace that this seed may dye in the man but it is maintained and there is an almighty power that does it therefore 1 Pet. 1.15 We are kept by the mighty power of God through saith unto salvation or else we should perish every day and this exalts the grace of the second Covenant unto the souls of the Saints because there is not only a grace of conversion but of perseverance also the Spirit of Christ having once taken possession of the soul takes possession for ever never to leave it again if Christ hath cast out the strong man he will never himself be cast out till Satan be stronger than he which is never possible 7 That the souls of the Saints may be kept here in a continual longing and a groaning condition for glory there is nothing so great an evil as sin and therefore nothing should make the soul weary of this life so much as sin because it cannot end but with our life and this is one blessed fruit of it Rom. 8.13 We groan for the Adoption but why do we groan 2 Cor. 5.24 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã there are many burdens that the people of God are under in this life but there is no burden like unto that of the body of death that is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a weight indeed Heb. 12.1 and they groan therefore to put off this tabernacle because without it there is no putting off this body of sin but by being freed from this prison we are so apt to be in love with this present life that we had need of something that might be bitterness to us and imbitter it to us so that we take not up our rest here but that the soul may look for and hasten to the coming of the day of God and may rejoyce to put off this Tabernacle be willing that the flesh should be destroyed that thereby there may be the destruction of the body of sin in us also And thus we see the Soveraignty of God working for the Saints in this great state of the being of sin in the Saints in this life bringing much good unto them as well as much glory unto himself thereby § 3. 2. As the being of sin comes under the Soveraignty of God so doth the rising of it in the heart which doth never break forth into act it is true that the heart of man is an evil treasury and it is an evil fountain but though it be always issuing yet it doth not vent it self the same way but sometimes in this kind and sometimes in that Seneca in omnibus omnia vitia sunt licèt non se exerunt c. Mar. 7.21 22 23. For out
of the heart proceed evil thoughts adulteries fornications murders thefts covetousness wickedness deceit lasciviousness an evil eye blasphemy pride foolishness all these evil things come from within and defile the man c. for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Mat. 12.34 Now how comes it to pass that now one sin riseth in the heart and sometimes another sin when there is an equal propension unto all sin it riseth out of the heart but there is a Soveraignty of God that doth order these motions and desires in the heart permitting such motions and stirrings of heart now which he had not before Jam. 1.15 Lust conceiveth and brings forth sin there is original sin the root of corruption which is called Lust Jam. 1.15 and that is the mother of all sin and it is said to conceive when it is formed into motions reasonings consultations and desires and consents but yet there is many a lust conceived that never is brought forth into act and the permitting the rising as well as of the being of lust depends upon the Dominion and the Soveraignty of God As there came into the heart of Esau such a resolution when my father is dead I will slay my brother Jacob so there came a motion into the heart of Judas to betray Christ and thereupon he consulted how to do it with the greatest advantage and how to take the fittest opportunity to bring it to pass so a thought came into Davids heart to number the people Satan stirred it up but God in judgment giving him over that it should be at this time when God was angry with Israel and Ezech. 38.10 It shall come to pass at the same time that things shall come into thy mind and thou shalt think an evil thought a thought that he did not think before the time of his destruction was near then such motions shall arise as it did in Ahab Is not Ramoth in Gilead ours c which was the occasion of his destruction There is a providence even in the rising of lusts in the hearts of his own people that this lust at this special time and another lust at another time should rise in them it is the same Soveraignty of God that doth draw forth gracious desires in the Saints and doth permit corrupt desires in them also God is not the Author but the orderer of them and yet even in this also the Soveraignty of God is exercised for the good of the Saints and that many ways 1 In this that all lusts break not forth in the soul continually for lust that is the mother of all sin original sin stands equally prepared unto all sin at all times and therefore that all lusts be not stirring in the heart together is from a glorious act of the soveraign restraint of God Hos 4.2 By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out c. erumpunt it is taken from waters that have been hid or from fire shut up in an oven or a furnace Hos 7.6 sometimes it breaks forth into thoughts in the soul and sometimes into acts in the life Now there is a double restraint that the Soveraignty of God has over mens acts and over their lusts and it 's a great mercy to have acts of sin restrained as it was in Abimelech Gen. 20.6 his lust was let out but God restrained the act and it is a greater mercy to have the lust restrained than the act as the Lord said They shall not desire thy land Now the Lord doth restrain the Devils acts but for his lusts he doth let them range and so he doth very far also restrain the acts of wicked men when he sets no bounds unto their lusts next to being freed from the being of sin it 's a mercy to be delivered from the rising of sin and in that there is a special manifestation of the Soveraignty of God for if the rising of one sin be so troublesom unto a godly man that he strives and prays and wrestles with it and it is unto him as the thorn in his flesh he cannot be quiet in himself by reason of it how miserable and continually unquiet would the heart of a godly man be if he should have many such strangers and way-faring men come to him as it was said of the lust that came into Davids heart how should a godly man be able even to stand under the burden of them therefore even this restraint of the rising of some lusts is a special mercy that Josephs lust should not rise and conceive in him at such a time and when he had such an opportunity And it is the greater because I conceive the Spirit of God by a peculiar work and not a common doth restrain the lusts of the Saints It 's true that there is restraining grace both unto the godly and the wicked but not both from the same principle but the Spirit having once taken possession of a godly man for his own house and Temple he doth never work common works in that man more as a Spirit assisting barely but as a Spirit inhabiting 2 There is a great deal of mercy in the Lords ordering of the rising of lust when lust doth not rise when the object is present there is the object and the opportunity but the lust is past away as Ruth lay at Boaz his feet all night yet no lust ariseth towards her and David had an opportunity of killing Saul but yet when Saul was in his hand and he was stirred up to it by his servants also yet God restrained his lust it did not rise in him which we may see by the contrary in other men as soon as the object is offered the lust is up in the young man Prov. 7. he met a harlot and he went after her straight-ways and there is a man that no sooner sees his neighbours wife but he doth lust after her his lust riseth as soon as the object is presented and so it was with Achan I saw and I coveted and I took and so it is with many a man let the least shew or provocation be given and his spirit is on fire immediately but it was not so with Abraham though he was the better man and had a better right than Lot yet in the contention the lust of pride and passion did not arise in him Let there be no strife between me and thee for we are brethren A man of understanding is of a cool spirit he doth not take fire immediately that lust should rise at one time and not at another it can be attributed unto nothing but the Soveraignty of God ordering and over-ruling and restraining it c. 3 The Lord doth let some lusts at this time arise that it may shew a man that such a sin is in his nature which formerly he haply never considered never particularly repented of and never saw the fruit of it breaking forth in his life Now to lead a man
That they may stand in aw of the threats of God under the second covenant Pag. 164 The difference between the covenant made with Christ and with us lies in these things 1 It was made with Christ primarily as a publick person for the Elect but it is made with every one of us in the second place as we are members of Christ 2 It is made with Christ immediately and for his own sake but with us mediately in him 3 The promise made unto Christ was from everlasting but the covenant is made with us when we believe 4 All the promises of the second covenant belong unto Christ as his purchase and unto us of promise 5 Christ as to his covenant hath no surety but we have a surety of ours ibid. It is the duty of every one to enter into this covenant with the Lord. 1 If they come not under this covenant they have no interest in God 2 It is only in this covenant that all the persons have undertaken peculiar offices for the good of men 3 Otherwise God regards them not nor any thing they do 4 This is a matrimonial covenant and it is a covenant of friendship 5 God and the soul know not how to live asunder 6 This covenant is the last that God ever intends to make with mankind Pag. 165 That we enter into covenant with God it is required 1 That we hear the words of the covenant and know aright the terms of it 2 That we deny our selves 3 Bear his yoke 4 Not shrink at the cross but take it up Pag. 168 God requires of all those that enter into covenant with him that they should make conscience to keep it Pag. 171 Saints have many promises of the second covenant not accomplished to them in this life because they walk not exactly according to the rules of this covenant Pag. 172 A man once in covenant is ever in covenant 1 Because the love of God that made the covenant is everlasting 2 Because it is made with the persons of men 3 Because union with Christ puts them into this covenant and that is indissoluble 4 Because the righteousness of this covenant is everlasting 5 Because Christ is the surety of it 6 Because the everlasting principle of grace in the soul doth always lay hold of and cleave unto the covenant Pag. 173 Saints are yet to be exhorted not to break the covenant 1 Because of the falseness of their hearts 2 Because of the slothfulness and heedlesness of their spirits in whatever is good though bound by many bonds 3 Because thereby they may be quickned to seek to God for grace to keep it 4 Fear those sins which come nearest covenant-breaking Pag. 174 That Saints may keep covenant they must 1 Get a true heart 2 A stablished and fixed heart 3 Exercise faith upon the grace of God in this covenant Pag. 175 Saints being entred into covenant ought to improve their interest in it in all their ways 1 In reference to themselves 2 In reference to God Pag. 177 A fourfold relation is the necessary result of this covenant hereby Christ becomes 1 our Father 2 our Husband 3 our Friend 4 our Lord. ibid. Saints hearts should be always in such a frame as to receive the mercies of the covenant which consist 1 In a believing heart relying upon the grace of the covenant notwithstanding seeming impossibilities 2 In a continual expectation of the promise And yet 3 A resigning it unto the will of God whether he will bestow it in this life or no. 4 In desiring mercy no further than it may make them holy Pag. 179 Saints in this covenant ingage themselves that whatever God bestows in mercy they will return again in duty Pag. 180 Saints having given up their names to God in this covenant they ought often to renew it 1 Because of the unbelief of their spirits 2 To manifest the sincerity of their hearts 3 Because of the falseness of their hearts 4 Because thereby they lay the greater engagement upon them 5 Because of the forgetfulness of their hearts 6 Because of their ignorance and blindness Pag. 184 He that renews covenant must 1 Be deeply sensible of breach of covenant 2 Resolve to break all other covenants 3 Consider the terms of the covenant anew 4 Do it with a free and full consent 5 Be willing to bind himself in the highest way to obedience thereto 6 Do it with earnest desire to God for grace to keep it Pag. 186 The times and seasons of renewing are 1 After an eminent falling into great sin 2 In time of publick humiliation 3 Of publick reformation 4 After special deliverance or mercy as a testimony of thankfulness 5 When the heart is bent to back-slide 6 At the Lords Supper Pag. 188 The benefits of this renewing covenant are 1 It is a testimony of the truth of repentance 2 It 's the foundation of consolation 3 It 's a means to establish the heart 4 It brings mercies 5 It improves graces 6 It fortifies against temptations 7 It strengthens union with Christ 8 It is a door to communion with God 9 It keeps from or recovers out of back-sliding 10 It is the spring of duty and action Pag. 190 CHAP. IV. The Covenant of Grace is referring to the Seed of the Faithful Gen. 17.7 The Covenant that God made with Abraham is the same that all the Faithful stand in unto the worlds end Pag. 193 Though in the manner of its administration there is a great deal of difference yet as to the substance of the covenant the Confederates are the same and taken in upon the same grounds ibid. That the children of believing Parents are taken into the same covenant with them is a point of great concernment and ought earnestly to be contended for because 1 It exceedingly advances the grace of God unto parents and makes much for their consolation 2 It is one of the great arguments the Scripture useth to draw men in to believe 3 It is the only difference God hath put in his word between the children of believers and strangers 4 It is the only ground believers can have for the salvation of their children that die in their infancy Pag. 193 Ever since the Fall God hath taken children into the same covenant with their parents Pag. 195 When parents are cast out of covenant the children are also Pag. 196 Children of believing parents are members of the visible Church ibid. Thence there is a holiness comes upon those children ibid. God hath made glorious promises to the posterity of the Saints Pag. 197 That children are so taken in is Gospel and to be believed as any other part of the covenant ibid. God will take children into the same covenant with their parents 1 To shew the extent of the grace of the second covenant 2 Because a great number of the Elect are the children of Saints 3 To shew his peculiar love to their seed 4 This is the surest
Rom. 4. is directly opposed to the work of faith and therefore we find Abraham denied his reason and shut his eyes against it when he came to believe ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. he did not judge of it this way and that way he did not dispute it but rested in his word alone And therefore the Apostle asks 1 Cor. 1.20 where is the wise man the scribe and the disputer of this world The more wisdom men have and the greater improvement of reason the greater disputants men are the farther off usually from faith and the greater enemies thereunto 3. All a mans own righteousness either what a man has done before his conversion as Paul or what he can do after his conversion may be so abused and relied upon as to derogate from the righteousness of God for when men are convinced of their sins and see that there is something wanting to their Salvation then they think they will do something more as the young man in the Gospel What shall I do to inherit eternal life he had a confidence in what he had done and fearing lest that might fall short there was something more that he was willing for to do When men are once convinced of their sins they cannot look upon any thing that they have done that will satisfie and their good deeds will not weigh down their bad but then they say Mic. 6.6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God will he be pleased with thousands of Rams c. As if their after-obedience should make amends for their former sins And so under Popery at this day many do fast and macerate their bodies watch and pray and chastise themselves by scourging and going Pilgrimage give away all their Goods to the poor and betake themselves unto a voluntary Poverty shut themselves up in a Monastery and Hermitage and seclude themselves from all the comforts of this life yea even Princes and Emperours lay down their Kingdoms and cast away their Crowns and betake themselves unto a private life and all upon this ground that these shall be opera satisfactoria satisfactory works Luth. in Gal. 5. and so expiatory for their former sins And hence it is that men convinced of their sins labour as for life to satisfie God and to quiet their Consciences And when men have wrought hard all their days with such expectations as these they are hardly brought off to come to Christ as stript naked of all and to acknowledge that all their righteousness is an abomination And these are the mountains that are to be cast down the high imaginations and presumptuous thoughts of themselves before they can come to Christ and the casting down of these is a preparing the way for the Lord. 4. When mens Consciences are awakened and sin revived by an almighty work of the Law and the second Covenant offered to them then they say the news is too good to be true there is no mercy for them whatever God intends to others surely he can never think thoughts of peace to them he will never take such toads and serpents as they are into his bosom to have communion with him and they say there is no hope While men are in peace and sin lies sleeping at the door so long a mans self-love and self-flattery makes it easie to presume and he says It 's a small matter to believe for God is merciful and Christ died for sinners And if there be but a few men that shall be saved yet he doubts not but he shall be one of that number But when once God discovers his sin and awakens his Conscience then the man says Though the greatest part of mankind should be saved and if there were but one man in the world that should be condemned surely he should be the man If a man had come to Judas after his Conscience was awakened on the sight of his sin before he hanged himself and told him be not discouraged though thou hast committed a great sin Christ is the Saviour of the world and it is but believing in him and this sin shall be pardoned and thy soul saved He would have answered you as Spira did when they did exhort him to believe That they were as good bid him to fulfill the whole Law and bid him lay hold upon a star in the firmament For a man to see sin to be an infinite evil and God to be a provoked God ready to take vengeance and Hell open and himself ready to drop into everlasting destruction and yet now for him to cast himself into the arms of everlasting mercy and relie for his eternal happiness on the favour of an almighty and a sin-revenging God and say If I perish I perish I will rest upon him and trust to his mercy whether he save me or damn me For a man by an exclusive act to shut out all other hopes and ways and confine his thoughts to free Grace alone and to leave himself at the mercy of God Psal 10.14 and at his foot-stool to be willing to be at his dispose it 's that which the unbelief and despair of a mans heart upon the apprehension of the guilt of sin will never be brought unto without an act of Almighty power Ephes 1.19 Therefore we read in Luk. 3.5 to make way for Christ there be vallies to be filled as well as mountains to be levelled and laid low Before men are humbled they are mountains too high to submit to this righteousness and being humbled they become vallies and are too low to rise up and to imbrace the Grace that is offered by the Prince of the second Covenant Now so far as a man does not submit to the righteousness of God so far he desires to stand under the first Covenant still § 4. In a man under the Covenant of Works there are two things 1 An answerable spirit 2 Suitable fruits And if a man desire both these then we may conclude he desires to be under this Covenant 1. They that under the Covenant of Works have an answerable spirit a spirit that does always accompany this Covenant Rom. 8.15 We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear c. Now this was the natural fruit of this Covenant Gal. 4.24 for it has only gendered to bondage since the fall unto Adam in innocency it was a Covenant not of bondage but of freedom but being broken all that come under it are children of the bond-woman and the spirit that does accompany it is a spirit of bondage For there is a twofold spirit that is answerable unto the twofold Covenant and with the change of a mans Covenant there follows a change of a mans spirit and never till then now this spirit is a spirit of fear to witness guilt a fear of Gods presence and a fear of Gods judgments Amos 1.10 Heb. 2.15 Isa 33.5 Fearfulness has surprized the hypocrite and as Cain says
the Covenant as broken while they do so continue have no more benefit by a Priest than the Devils have only to man there is a possibility and not unto them but the second Covenant is a Covenant with a Priest and there is a threefold office of a Priest 1 He does present their persons for he stands in their steads he bears their names two ways upon his heart and upon his shoulders 2 He offers a sacrifice for their sins and does carry the blood into the most holy place and doth sprinkle it before the Mercy-seat 3 He presents their requests and desires unto the Father together with his own upon the same Altar of the Godhead which is the Golden Altar Heb. 7.22 for he ever lives to make intercession for us 4. In the Covenant of Works there is matter of glorying and boasting in a mans self if a man abide in the Covenant and the reward is of debt Rom 4.1 4. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Indeed Adam might have come into the presence of God and have said Lord I have fulfilled thy Commandment I have done thy whole will c. And as the Lord Jesus Christ did I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do now glorifie me with thy self now justifie me bestow upon me the grace and life that thou hast promised c. But under the second Covenant there is no place for either there is no debt for all is of grace to give the will and the deed and to pardon the failings and defects of any thing we do that we are accepted it is meerly of Grace And there is no boasting for all is done by the strength of another and through the acceptance of another For Christ is made to us Wisdom and Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption that he that glories may glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1.30 And so boasting is excluded by what law not by the law of works but by the law of faith Rom. 3.27 For the soul says Ephes 2.9 I was in the same condemnation with them that perish and the Lord had mercy upon me because mercy pleases him not for mine own righteousness but according to his own mercy he saveth us Tit. 3.4 5. Now it is impossible therefore for a man to be under both Covenants because the terms and âhe conditions of the one are contrary and destroy the other § 5. It may be asked Quest Whether a godly man while he lives here having a double principle the one from the first Adam and the other from the second Adam he may not also have a double Covenant state and a double Image partly the Image of the first and partly the Image of the second Adam partly of the earthly and partly of the heavenly Why may not a man also say that so far as he is flesh he is under the Covenant of Works but so far as he is regenerate he is under a Covenant of Grace For so some of our Divines have spoken of late Consider a regenerate man in his natural being and so he is ever under the Law and as often as he sinneth is under the sentence of death but as he is in Christ so he is free from the Law by Grace c. A godly man has a double principle and this doth argue a double image Answ and the corrupt principle that is within him is a remainder of the image of the old Adam and the gracious principle is the image of the second Adam begun in him But yet this cannot infer a double Covenant because the Image respects his nature but the Covenant does respect his Person Now it is with a man as it is with Christ there are two natures in him and they have two properties the one eternal and the other in time the one is infinite and the other finite the one mortal and the other immortal but if we look upon his Sonship that is but one because it respects his Person filiatio est suppositi filiati filiation is of a person so though a man have two very different natures in him of flesh and spirit the one from Christ and the other from Satan and in the one a man does resemble God and in the other the Devil yet they argue not two Covenants quia faedus pertinet ad suppositum the Covenant belongs to the person 2. A double Image may stand together and though indeed they seek to destroy each other the flesh lusting against the spirit because they are contrary yet it shall not prevail But the two Covenants do actually necessarily and immediately destroy each other because the terms are contrary and therefore unless a man may stand righteous before God in his own righteousness and in the righteousness of Christ at once unless he may be an heir of the Curse and of the Promise unless he may be justified and condemned unless his sins may be pardoned and his righteousness imputed unless he may appear before God in himself and in another he cannot be said to be under both Covenants for the terms of the Covenant are such that they do necessarily destroy each other 3. The change of a mans Covenant is a legal act an act of God upon a mans being once in Christ God does account a man as one under the Law no more as God did count Abraham righteous and counted him the father of the faithful so that it is an act of God without a man and upon him and this is perfect and may be at once and a man is truly translated out of the Covenant of Works the first day of his conversion and shall never be looked upon as one under that Covenant more Phil. 1.6 but there is a good work in a man which is the change of a mans Image and that is perfected by degrees and therefore the remainders of the old image do remain and as God does make the Covenant of Works from which a man is delivered a servant to the Covenant of Grace so he does the remainders of the old image in a man also SECT III. The APPLICATION Vse 1 § 1. THe Use is of Examination whether a mans Covenant be changed or no and whether he be translated out of the first Covenant There is no change of a mans Covenant but by union with Christ for the Covenants were made with a double head the first and the second Adam and it is our union with them that brings us under their Covenant A man comes not under the Covenant of the Angels he has not the righteousness of the good nor the sins of the bad Angels imputed because he is not one with them he that is in the first Adam is still under his Covenant and he that is in the second Adam is translated from the first Adam Rom. 8. 1 Joh. 3.24 Rom. 8.9 Now how should a man know whether he be one with Christ or no for he that is in Christ is no more under the Law as a Covenant
shewed many ways ââw we will speak a little to the sin of it and that in these Particulars 1 Hereby thou endeavourest to make void the Covenant of Grace and all those gloriâus thoughts that God had towards sinners from everlasting as the highest way to glorifie himself He did therefore purpose it in himself and from himself Prov. 8.30 Psal 40.5 that he will gloriefie himself this way by a second Covenant and God delighted in it and spent infinite thoughts about it it 's the pleasure of the Lord and all this thou dost make void to thy self by continuing under thy former Covenant and if thou accept not the Grace offered in the second Now the Apostle speaks of it as a fearful evil to make void the Law but how great is their âvil that do their utmost to make the Gospel void 2 Thou hereby at once frustrates the whole end of Christs coming into the world for âhe came into the world as a second Adam with a Covenant and an Image and no man can partake of his Image unless he have an interest in his Covenant for all the Promises of renewing the Image of God in man are not the promises of the first but of the second Covenant Mal. 3.1 Heb. 12.24 Heb. 7.22 and it 's he that is in Christ that is a new Creature 2 Cor. 5.14 For he is given as a Covenant to the Nations The Lord shall come speedily into his Temple even the messenger of the Conant in whom ye delight So that the great end of Christs coming into the world is that he might bring in a second Covenant by which God and man may be reconciled sins pardoned and the sinner saved and whosoever is not translated into this Covenant Christ is come and dead in vain as to him 3 Thou dost hereby reject and despise the greatest grace that ever was shewed to the sons of men for God to enter into a Covenant with man in his Creation was an act of meer Grace God might have required obedience and have promised no recompence for all was by right of creation due from man to God but God did not owe any thing to man again and yet this was but faedus amicitiae a Covenant of Friendship but when man had sinned and become faedifragus a Covenant-breaker now for God to try man again by a second Covenant that it should be a Covenant with man as a sinner is a far greater act of favour to be engaged to him Isa 26.18 19. and that upon higher terms and better promises it 's the admiration of all the Angels in Heaven that God should so far honour a sinful creature as to take him into Covenant with himself Jer. 13.11 Zac. 11.10 4 This is much heightned by this that the Angels that fell were as capable of mercy as we and Christ and his Righteousness as proportionable a good for the Salvation of the Angels as he is for man though they did sin ex destinata malitia maliciously and without temptation Bernard and so perire necesse est poenitere potentes yet had the Lord set his thoughts of mercy upon them and sent his Son with a Covenant to them The same Omnipotency that overcomes the heart of a man could have also overcome the heart of a Devil but he did catch at Mankind when he let the Angels go and never made them the offer of a second Covenant and this mans sin is beyond that of the Devils in that he refuseth to come under this Covenant of Grace 5 Hereby thou takest the name of God in vain and receivest no benefit by all his Ordinances and Promises and motions of the Spirit that thou enjoyest 1 All his Ordinances for to what end is the Ministry of the Gospel set up and appointed by God but only in the first place to bring men into Covenant with God God is in Christ reconciling the world and how is that done why by making a covenant of peace as this second covenant is called Ezek. 37.26 And by perswading men and treating with them to bring them under the bonds of this covenant 2 Cor 5.18 19. for as the Apostle says He has made us the ministers of reconciliation and all the offers that we make unto you of Christ it is but to perswade you to accept of him as God has given him as a covenant to the Nations and until you do accept of Christ in his covenant and consent to that you can have no other benefit by him that will be effectual to the saving of your soul And as for all other benefits of the Ministry without this they will never answer the great end for which the Lord appointed it It were but a low end in a Minister to propound no higher thing to himself than this that he might inform the judgments of men and draw them to some outward conformity or civilize men and to do some duties to satisfie their consciences but our end should be that which God did send us for and to count that we have laboured in vain Act. 26.18 if we miss thereof and that is to turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God to translate men out of the kingdom of darkness into the glorious kingdom of his dear Son the greatest mercies of your lives be offers of Christ and his benefits which are all grounded upon the covenant of Grace 2 All the Promises do belong unto the second covenant and he has given us exceeding great and precious promises 2 Pet. 1.4 whereby we are made partakers of the Divine nature There are promises of pardon and of grace and holiness and happiness promises of the life that now is and that which is to come There are conditional Promises and there are absolute Promises I will be thy God I will give thee my Son and my Spirit I will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh But the bottom of all these is the Covenant and thereunto all the Promises of the Gospel are referred and therefore he that has no interest in the Covenant he in applying a promise takes the name of God in vain for if you be Christs you are Abrahams seed Gal. 3. ult and heirs also of the promise If you are Christs and are in him your Covenant is changed you then come under Abrahams Covenant for it is in respect of this Covenant only Rom. 4.16 Gal. 4.28 that he is said to be the father of us all and if your Covenant be changed you are heirs of the Promise We as Isaac are children of the promise c. And till a mans Covenant be changed there is not a promise in the Book of God that belongs unto him and whensoever he does apply them unto himself he doth wrest the Scripture and he takes the name of God in vain c. 3 As for the Sacraments whosoever has not his Covenant changed they can
happiness of all those that are in Christ even in this that their Covenant is changed and it was unto David the ground of all his comfort that God had made with him this Everlasting Covenant and well it might be for it was the foundation of all his happiness and his salvation But you 'l say Wherein lies the glory of this condition of a souls being translated from their former root 1. Being translated into this Covenant God is reconciled to thee for the Covenant of Grace is a Covenant of Peace and Reconciliation so that the enmity between thee and God is taken up and he looks upon thee as an enemy no more 2. Being taken into Covenant with God again there do many sweet relations grow out of the Covenant for the Lord saith I will be their God and they shall be my people and the Lord is not ashamed to be called their God he is our father and husband and our friend we have as truly by Covenant an interest in all that is in God for our best good as the Lord himself hath for his own glory his power is made over to us as truly as if we had infinite power and his mercy as if we had infinite mercy and grace and wisdom c. 3. Being once in Covenant he becomes the son of God a mans Covenant is a Covenant of Sonship I will be their God and they shall be my sons and daughters c. 1 Joh. 3.1 Behold what manner of love the father hath shewed unto us that we should be called the sons of God Gal. 4.18 and if sons then heirs in all the inheritance of Christ Being sons of the free-woman it is thereby that we become heirs of the Promise the inheritance is not by the Law but by the Gospel if they that are of the Law be heirs then Christ were dead in vain 4. Hereby a man has a ground for his faith upon all occasions and a bottom for his prayers it is the Covenant that is unto faith the Magna Charta where all the priviledges and liberties of a Believer are found and this Covenant is sure God is a faithful God a God that will not lye that cannot deny himself Jer. 31.18 Turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God Lord do not abhor us for thou art the Lord our God Jer. 14.21 And the Psalmist hath respect unto this Covenant For all the earth are full of the habitation of crueltieâ Isa 64.9 Remember not our iniquities for ever behold we beseech thee we are all thy people And take them in the worst terms and when a man has even suffered shipwrack yet the Covenant is tabula post naufragium a plank after shipwrack by which the soul is kept from sinking see it in our Lord Christ himself in that hour of the power of darkness My God my God c. how did Christ call the Lord his God for as Christ is God so he has the same essence with the Father and he thought it no robbery to be equal with Him but as Mediator he is God the Fathers Servant and so the Lord is his God by Covenant Psal 89.36 Christ says Thou art my Father and my God And Joh. 20.17 And he is no other way Christs God and Father but by Covenant for Christ took a new Covenant-right unto God as Mediator And as we come under the Covenant so doth the Lord in him become our God also and we have a right unto him and by looking unto God in Covenant the spirit of a Christian is upheld in the greatest sense of wrath when the Lord did bruise and grind him to powder making his soul an offering for sin A man out of this Covenant has no ground for his faith nor bottom for any of his prayers 5. It is a Covenant that can never be broken an Everlasting Covenant a Covenant of salt Heb. 7. a Covenant that has a surety Christ says If he fail in any thing put it upon my account And Isa 56.7 I know I shall not be ashamed One sin did break the first Covenant and it being broken could never be made up by one offence condemnation came upon all but by the free gift righteousness comes upon all for many offences to justification because the righteousness of the Covenant is a perfect and an everlasting righteousness and upon this is a godly mans comfort mainly grounded David by his sin foresaw that he had undone his Family the Lord threatned him by the Prophet That the sword should never depart from his house yet he comforts himself in this that his Covenant remained sure A godly mans comfort mainly comes in by his state much more than by his actions and he comforts himself in the one when he abhors himself for the other and though God will judge for both yet he will judge of mens actions according to their states Therefore whatever you do give diligence to make your calling and election sure which can never be without a Translation into the Covenant of Grace CHAP. VI. A Mans Translation out of the first Covenant is by Vnion Gal. 3.29 And if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise SECT I. How our Translation is by Vnion with the nature of this Vnion § 1. HAving thus far opened the necessity of a Translation the change of a mans Covenant as well as of his Image we come now unto the Second Head propounded and that is Wherein this Translation doth consist For which I have chosen this Text Gal. 3.29 And if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise In the opening hereof there are Three things that I must lay down as grounds 1. That God will deal with all men not only in a way of Dominion but in a way of Stipulation So that men in Covenant with God are of two sorts either regenerate or unregenerate Sons or Servants Children of the bond-woman or of the free and they that are unregenerate âemain under the Covenant of Works they that are regenerate are under a Covenant of Grace There is a twofold universal Covenant made with all mankind which Divines do call faedus universale one made with Adam before his fall and with all man-kind For the Curse of his Covenant transgressed coming upon all does plainly prove that the blessing of âhe Covenant should have belonged unto all if it had been observed and the blessing and âurse of the Covenant does come primarily upon none but those with whom the Covenant âas made There is another universal Covenant made after the fall made not only with âan but with all flesh even with every living creature that is upon the earth oâ Foul and âattel and every Beast of the earth and it contains in it two Branches 1. That all âsh shall be no more cut off by the waters or a flood 2. That while the earth remains Sâed-time and Harvest
King should at first make a Proclamation unto Rebels that they should live if they would accept of pardon and then afterward should publish a new one that they that would live should keep the Law either a man would conclude that the King had called in his former Proclamation and made it null or else would have them both stand together and so it is here God did at first promise righteousness and life to be had by believing and afterwards he did publish a Law requiring duty Surely either the Lord did repent of the former and so that Covenant is become of no effect or else it seems he would have both joined together and man should be justified and saved partly by doing and partly by believing Now to this objection the Apostle answers Answ 1 Gods intention in giving the Law was not thereby to make the promise âoid and of none effect for God did purpose to justifie the Heathen by faith and the inâeritance is still by promise the Covenant made with Abraham was a Covenant established by an Oath that nothing should arise de novo to make an alteration in it 2 Gods intention was not to join the Law and the Promise together in the matter of Justification and life because they be quite cross and contrary one to another therefore by the righteousness of the Law no man can be justified in the sight of God they do directly deââoy each other if the inheritance be by the Law it is no more of promise and therefore ãâã man can be justified by both 3 Yet God having revealed the Law after the Promise and seeing he will have them âoth to be perpetual and lasting they must stand together and a way must be found out âow they may and not cross one another nor destroy or disanul each other for the Law ãâã not against the promise of God God forbid we should think so then if they cannot and together in a way of ingrediency they may very well in a way of subserviency if not ãâã co-ordination they may in subordination both tending to honour the Mercy and Grace of âod in his Son the one primarily and the other secondarily as an appendix or an additiâ thereunto And so much the Text does clearly manifest 1 In that it 's said the Law was added was an appurtenance to something else and was not set up as that way alone by which men ââe to attain righteousness and life now added by way of conjunction it cannot be they câânot mix together and be concauses of the same thing and in the same kind therefore it must be by way of subordination the one as the principal the other as the accessary or additional 2 It is said that the Law was given in the hand of a Mediator that is by the ministry of a Mediator 1 Moses was the Typical or the Notional Mediator for he stood between God and the people in receiving of the Law Deut. 5.5 and Christ was the real and universal Mediator And hence it will appear that it was not set up alone as a Covenant of Works as ãâã was at first for that was faedus amicitiae a Covenant of friendship when God and man âere not at variance when man stood before God in his own righteousness and there was ãâã difference nor variance between God and him for a Mediator is not a Mediator of one tâerefore God giving it in the hand of a Mediator doth clearly manifest that he did not set it up as a Covenant alone 2 The real Mediator was Christ though Moses Typical and Christ did not by his Ministry bring in this Covenant of the Law to make void the Covenant of Grace which was the better Covenant of which he was appointed Mediator the Covenant that was made with him as the seed and with all the Saints in him Ver. 16. Seeing therefore these two must stand together and the former cannot be disanulled by the latâer hence then it must needs be inferred that Gods intention was in publishing the Law to âo it in subordination unto the Gospel and the second Covenant and that so it is to stand ând to be made use of by the Saints Hence the Doctrine that lies before us is this ãâã Doct. That for all those that are in Christ God has made the first Covenant subordiâate unto the second The whole use of the Law unto the Saints and of all the parts of it is âhat it may be a servant to the Gospel and as to be freed from the Law standing alone as a Covenant is the greatest part of a mans Christian liberty so to have the Law of God pressed âpon the new Covenant and standing in subordination to the Gospel as a servant is a great âart of a Christians dignity and a right understanding and apprehension of both these opens ãâã very great door unto all Gospel-mysteries § 2. Now that I may be understood we are to consider that the Law is taken in Scripture two ways as it was given by God upon Mount Sinai for a double end 1 It is taken largely Jer. 31.33 2 Cor. 3.3 for the whole Doctrine delivered by God upon Mount Sinai with the Precepts and the Promises thereof and so Grace is the Law written in the heart it is the Epistle of Christ ministred by us 2 It is taken strictly setting down an exact rule of righteousness and promising life upon condition of personal and perfect obedience And so the Apostle says Rom. 10.5 6. That the law is not of faith the righteousness of the law speaketh in this manner he that doth them shall live in them Now if we take the Moral Law as given upon Mount Sinai in the first sense so it is a Covenant of Grace but if we take it in the latter sense so it is a Covenant of Works for the Lords intention in giving the Law was double unto the carnal Jews to set forth to them the old Covenant which they had broken and yet unto the believing Jews it did darkly shadow and set forth unto them the Covenant of Grace made with Christ and therefore it was not only delivered as a rule of righteousness but in the form and terms of a Covenant this do and thou shalt live 1 In the first sense the Law given upon Mount Sinai was a Covenant of Grace for this Law does teach them 1 That the Lord was their God now since man sinned God is the God of none but in Christ 2 This Law did set forth God to them as shewing mercy pardoning iniquity not visiting iniquity a God forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and there is no pardon but under a second Covenant 3 All the Sacrifices they were Types of Christ and they were commanded in the second Commandment and they did all belong unto the Covenant of Grace and did shew that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins and God did ratifie this Covenant by blood which he
be reduced thereunto even the whole Doctrine of Moses so it is distinguished from the Prophets the Law came by Moses 2 Strictly for the precepts of the Moral Law Mat. 11.13 Joh. 1.17 as holding forth a perfect rule of righteousness and as promising life upon the terms of perfect and personal obedience thereunto and so the Apostle takes it in Rom. 10.5 The righteousness which is of the Law is thus described The man that doth these things shall live in them If we take the Law in the first sense it was a Covenant of Grace darkly revealed for therein God did enter into Covenant with that Church and State and unto all the Saints that were in Christ it was a Covenant of Grace 1. That the Law was given upon Mount Sinai as a Covenant cannot be denied for the Scripture does plainly call it so Deut. 4.12 13. The Lord spake unto you says Moses out of the middle of the fire and he declared unto you the Covenant which he commanded you to perform even ten Commandments and he writ them upon two tables of stone And Deut. 5.2 3. The Lord our God made a Covenant with us in Horeb he made not this Covenant with our fathers but with us even with us who are here alive this day the Lord talked with you face to face in the Mount out of the middle of the fire It was the same Covenant that God before made with Abraham for the substance of it but when it is said not to be made with their fathers it is to be understood only of the form and manner of the promulgation in that clear and glorious manner and taking a Nation into Covenant with himself in a publick eminent and solemn manner And it had all the parts of a Covenant there are two things make up a Covenant 1 Direction of something to be done by both parties something that they are bound unto and so the Law is the rule of the Covenant 2 There is a Sanction which is the consent and agreement of both parties binding themselves each to other and therein properly does the formality of a Covenant lye Now they were both in this here was a rule and therefore they are said to transgress the Covenant that is the precept or rule of the Covenant as Deut. 17.2 and here was a sanction or a promise you shall be my people and all good things were promised them And when the Lord does fulfill his promise he is said then to establish his Covenant Deut. 8.18 and to remember his Covenant So that the Law was given upon Mount Sinai not barely as a Law but it was given also in a Covenant-way 2. This Covenant was a Covenant of Grace 1 That Covenant wherein God promises to be our God since the fall is a Covenant of Grace but so he doth in this I am the Lord thy God 2 That Covenant which does hold forth pardon of sin is a Covenant of Grace but so does this set forth God as shewing mercy to thousands pardoning mercy for it stands in opposition unto visiting of iniquity 3 Circumcision was a seal of the Covenant of Grace Rom. 4.11 this was a seal of the Covenant upon Mount Sinai He that is circumcised is a debter to the whole Law Gal. 5.3 c. 4 That Covenant that was confirmed and ratified by blood was a Covenant of Grace but so was this Covenant that God made with Israel upon Mount Sinai Exod. 24.3 See Buckley of the Covenant He took the book of the Covenant and read it in the audience of the people and they said all What the Lord has said will we do And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people and said Behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord made with you 5 That Covenant that binds to the observation of the Ceremonial Law that is a Covenant of Grace for the Ceremonies were all Types of Christ and shadows of good things to come and the body is Christ The first Covenant had Ordinances of Divine service Heb. 9.1 and a worldly Sanctuary it is spoken of the Covenant made upon Mount Sinai and they were all of them enjoined in the second Commandment 6 The Covenant made in the hand of a Mediator was not a Covenant of Works for that was foedus amicitiae a Covenant of friendship that was made between God and man he being perfect and needing no Mediator Gal. 3.19 but this was given in the hand of a Mediator and therefore it was of Grace But if we consider the Law strictly so it contains the sum of the Covenant of Works which God did therefore reveal because it was even wholly obliterated and blotted out of the mind of man and therefore it was speculum primitivae hominis justitiae c. a glass of the primitive righteousness of man And unto all men out of Christ in an unregenerate state it remains as a Covenant of Works binding them to personal and perfect obedience if they hope to attain life 1 The Moral Law is the same to the sinner out of Christ that it was unto Christ the Surety for what it was to the Surety that it was to the sinner for he did put his name into our bond only in us it was necessary in him voluntary But Gal. 4.4 the Law was unto Christ a Covenant of Works therefore to every sinner out of Christ it remains so 2 That which teaches us Justification and life by doing that is a Covenant of Works but so does the Law strictly taken and it is therefore opposed unto the Gospel there is the righteousness of the Law and the righteousness of the Gospel 3 The Curse under which all unregenerate men are Rom. 3.20 Gal. 3.1 2. is the curse of the Moral Law but that is the curse of the Covenant of Works therefore the Moral Law is a Covenant of Works Gal. 3.13 Gal. 4.5 Gal. 4.23 24. 4 Therefore the Apostle makes it a distinct Covenant from the Covenant of Grace The Law thus taken strictly as a copy of the Covenant that God made with Adam and containing the sum of the Covenant of Works and being delivered in the form of this Covenant this Covenant has the Lord made subservient and subordinate unto the Covenant of Grace as Hagar to Sarah SECT II. The Subservience of the Law as it discovers Sin § 1. THE first part of the Subserviency of the Law is in point of Sin and so it has a threefold use or end There is a threefold use of the Law subservient to the Gospel Joh. 12. subordinate to the Gospel and the Grace thereof 1 As it is a looking-glass to reveal sin 2 As it is a bridle to restrain sin and in both these it is a servant to the Gospel 3 As a Judge to condemn it and the man for it There is one that judges you even Moses c. 1. The Law is a glass to discover sin it is called
they shall have this fruit by it which will be a great one hereafter Seeing that all men are sinners in Adam alike and sin in one man is as much improved as in another that all men are not alike sinful in this life and alike miserable in the life to come for there be degrees of wrath and that all men do not sin against the Holy Ghost and are not by Satan hurried on to the great Transgression it is no thanks to the man but merely to restraining Grace So in Mar. 10.21 the young man that came to Christ Mark 10.21 Christ is said to love him he was proud and stood upon his own righteousness and he was covetous and did part with Christ to reserve to himself an Estate and went away from him as being offended at his Doctrine and never returned again and yet it is said that Christ loved him what was there lovely in such a man Here Interpreters distinguish 1 of the act 2 of the object 1 Of the Act they say there is a double love of Christ so Cartwright Quia illi grata est humani generis conservatio ideoque politicas virtutes amare dicitur Tenues paulatim per se evanescentes imaginis suae reliquias Beza a Humane and Divine a Divine love that is to Salvation so he loves only the Saints but there was a humane love and so he loved his friends and kindred according to the flesh who yet did not believe in him And some say there is a double love of God and of Christ as God there is a peculiar and a fatherly love and this he bears only to his own people but there is also a common love whereby he loves whatever is of his own in any of the Creatures So Beza and Calvin But I should rather call them the common works of the Spirit of Christ dispensed unto unregenerate men under the Gospel 2 They distinguish of the Object he âoved the remainder of his own Image or rather the works of his own Spirit in him though they were common that he was preserved unchangeable in tanta morum corruptela where there was such a general and universal overspreading of wickedness and this was Donum Dei gratuitum naturale illam pravitatem non quidem immutantis sed in quibus illi placet paulatim reprimentis Bernard i. e. Not mortifying but restraining sin So that all this was grounded upon the restraining Grace the Lord did vouchsafe unto him in his younger years for to be preserved is a good thing a great gift it is a great mercy not to be tainted with the common corruption and not to wallow in the common mire of the times nor to be given over thereunto 3 In reference unto godly men before and after their conversion 1 Before a mans conversion so it was with Paul Phil. 3. who was concerning the righteousness of the Law blameless and one that did not sin against his Conscience even then when he persecuted the Church Act. 23.1 because there is the greater guilt and horror upon a mans Conscience having so highly dishonoured God the greater bitterness to a man having insnared and corrupted others by his example and the greater matter of temptation Satan representing unto a man anew the sweetness that a man has tasted in former sins and his former experience of it does exceedingly strengthen the temptation and make a mans heart to hanker the more earnestly after them 2 After conversion restraining Grace is a mercy Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins Psal 19.13 Also the word does signifie to restrain or keep a man back or with-hold him as with a bridle the same word is used in Gen. 20. I with-held thee from touching her And so David Set a watch before the door of my lips So that though lust will be in a mans heart and though it will sometimes arise and all the power of Grace cannot keep it under yet to have it restrained that it shall not break forth and a man not to be hurried upon sinful actions is a great mercy After conversion for the lust of Adultery to be up in David and he desired her and yet if he had been kept from the act it had been a great mercy and so in numbering the people his lust was up and to have been kept from the act would have been a great mercy as we see it in the case of Nabal his lust was up but how does David bless God that it did not break forth into acts but that the lust was restrained before-hand and so do all the Saints of God bless the Lord that sometimes by his Law and sometimes by afflictions and by the admonitions of friends or by the reproach of enemies any lust is kept within its bounds from breaking forth or that there is a restraint of it in any measure that a man doth not pour out himself upon it with greediness that a man is not wicked in the highest degree and that carnal fear doth not prevail upon him as it did upon Peter and carnal love as it did upon Sampson or Solomon and passion as it did upon Asa c. 4. By the Gospel lust is subdued and mortified and that is one great end of the Gospel That we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts Tit. 2.13 14. And having these promises should purifie our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 And he that has this hope does purifie himself even as God is pure But the Spirit of God doth make use of the Law even to this end also and the restraints thereof There is a double way for the mortifying of sin 1 By infusing a new principle of Grace 2 By restraining the old principle of sin 1 There must be a new principle of Grace infused which will work out the contrary and hinder the actings of it the spirits lusting against the flesh We are not under the Law but under Grace therefore sin shall not have dominion over you Rom. 6.12 Not under the Law strengthning and irritating sin but under Grace subduing it the Spirit of God-working in a man a new and another nature Joh. 3.6 which is contrary unto sin and is like unto that spirit of holiness that works it That which is born of the spirit is spirit Joh. 3.6 and it cannot sin because it is born of God 2 There is a power of the same Spirit of God restraining and keeping under the lusts of men Psal 19.13 and thereby destroying them With-hold from me presumptuous sins in me they are and I find in my self a proneness to them but keep them under With-hold me from the actings of them lest they grow upon me and get the dominion over me As by the exercise of sin it does increase so by the restraining of it it does die and is brought to nothing It is as fire if it be covered and have no vent it will go out and as Trees the more
the Law which is a glass to discover sin and a rule to guide in duty to the end of the world and there will be use of this rule without as long as Heaven and Earth shall last and this frame of Heaven and Earth shall continue till the image of God be perfectly renewed in all the Saints and the law written perfectly in their hearts and they are a law fully unto themselves and so can live above the law and can live upon the law till then you will need the law without and so long this law shall continue and be of use in the Church of God 2. The meaning therefore is that the state of the Old Testament which is here called the Law and the Prophets that is that manner of discovering of the mind of God unto his people which was in the Law and the Prophets that was unto John that is by speaking of Christ to come and promising a higher and a greater light and a greater measure of the spirit in after times but yet it was not accomplished but in 1 Pet. 1.12 To them it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things that are now reported to us to whom the Gospel is preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven which things the Angels desire to look into So that the state of the Church of God under the Old Testament and the manner of revelation of the mind of God and that measure of dispensation of the Spirit of God and not the Typical part only as some would have it is here meant So that the Ceremonial Law and the Prophets did but speak of Christ to come and did vanish in John's time the Substance being come the Shadows must fly away but also all that manner of dispensation being more obscure and less spiritual and less powerful all that did end because the Law and the Prophets did but speak of Christ to come but John of Christ already come Behold the lamb of God c. so much that word in the Original signifies 3. At the coming of Christ the Law and the Prophets were as it were taken away not by abrogation but by way of excellency as when the Sun rises the Stars disappear and are darkned and all mens eyes gaze on the Sun This is a new and a higher and more glorious way of discovery 2 Cor. 3.10 That which was glorious had no glory in respect of the glory that excelled because now Christ was manifested to be more fully that which he was stiled to be before Dan. 8.13 the word Palmoni signifies the wonderful numberer of secrets or as Junius and Glass what has innumerable secrets And there are divers such names given unto Christ in the Scripture his name shall be called Wonderful Counseller to set forth his nature and his actions Prov. 30.1 Ithiel and Vcal c. The Angel Dan. 9. prays unto Christ to discover unto him how long the Vision concerning the daily Sacrifice and the desolation of the Sanctuary shall be for as Christ is the head of the Angels so he is the teacher of the Angels also and the secrets of the Counsels of God he knows and he reveals them unto the Angels in answer to their prayers Rev. 5. Now there being a fuller and a more glorious way of revelation and a fuller dispensation of Grace the state of the Old Testament under the Law and the Prophets is to be done away not by way of Abrogation but by way of Excellency and so these Scriptures also I conceive are to be understood They shall say no more The Lord lives that brought up his people out of the land of Egypt Jer. 2.3 c. Not that this mercy should be wholly forgotten but as it were darkned and obscured by a greater mercy and a more glorious deliverance and that place also They shall no more teach one another saying Know the Lord for they shall be all taught of God from the greatest unto the least that is there shall be a more full and glorious way of discovery that in comparison of that abundance of light when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the fulness of Grace vvhen the vveak shall be as David there shall be no need of those former vvays of instructions but they shall have their teaching more immediately from the Lord and so that place There shall be no more need of the light of the Sun and of the Moon there shall be a fuller and more glorious light there shall novv seem to be no need of these former vvays of instruction by them and also that place they shall see his face Rev. 22.4 not that men shall have the Beatifical vision here but that there shall be a fuller manifestation of God insomuch that in comparison of what it was before it shall be even as seeing his face in glory as there shall be no more death no more sorrow no more crying not that absolutely there shall be no more for while there shall be sin there will be cause of sorrow and there shall be death till the Resurrection when the change of them that are found alive at the Lords coming shall be to them instead of death death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed immediately before the giving up of the Kingdom of Christ unto the Father but the peace and prosperity of the Church shall be such all the former persecuting Monarchies being destroyed that there shall be in comparison of what there was in former times no more death nor sorrow nor crying under persecutions and groaning and mourning under the cruelties of men no more And thus you see for all this the Law and the Prophets continue till Heaven and Earth be no more Object 2 But it is said in this Text Gal. 3.19 that this subserviency of the Law was but to last till the seed should come unto whom the promise was made and afterwards be given in the hand of a Mediator Vers 16. But till then and that seed is said to be Christ and therefore now Christ being come who is that seed this subserviency of the Law is ended for till then it was to last and no longer Answ 1. Some would seem to understand this only of the Ceremonial Law which they say is afterwards said to be a School-master to bring men unto Christ and so Beza seems to carry it namely that the School-master is only the Ceremonial Law which I conceive our former whole discourse of the use of the Moral Law in this great work of bringing a soul to Christ by discovering of sin and restraining sin and shewing a man the way of Gospel-obedience hath fully rectified but if we consider what is said vers 12 13. this will be clearly manifested for he speaks of that Law that saith He that doth them shall live in them and of that Law that saith Cursed is every one that continues not
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 Jeâ 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
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
consist of Promises they are many Promises of this life and of the life to come Promises absolute and conditional Promises of Grace and to Grace and they are therefore called better Promises and so because in respect of the Fathers their good things were even wholly contained in Promises as the Ceremonial Law was contained in Ordinances and they saw nothing in the one but in the Type and nothing in the other but in the Promises they did salute them afar off and imbracing them died in the faith of them but they never received the thing promised Heb. 11. Joh. 8.57 only as Abraham desired to see my days says Christ and he saw it and was glad And it is sometimes called the promise because they are all one in Christ being in him all yea and amen as lines in a Center are one follow any promise to its Original as rivers unto the head and rise of them and they will all lead you unto Christ and yet they are Promises in themselves many as the lines are in the Circumference though but one in the Center Ephes 2.12 the Apostle Paul useth a quite different expression Strangers unto the Covenants of promise he doth as it were make the promise but one for substance and the Covenants many the Covenants are many because of their manifold delivery being severally renewed and yet in all these in several ages the promises the same as if but one promise 2. How and in what order is Abraham to be considered in this Covenant and in receiving this promise In this Covenant Abraham stands as a publick person as a common root Rom. 11. or as a common Parent unto all the faithful unto the worlds end as one that did receive the Promise not only for himself but for all those that should after his example believe in Christ and become his Children and therefore he is said to be the father of the faithful Rom. 4.16 and they that do believe are Abrahams seed and also heirs of the Promise For as Austin hath observed there are three sorts of Fathers and of Sons some are according to nature and others are secundum Doctrinam according to Doctrine so Paul was father to Timothy having begotten him by the Gospel others secundum imitationem according to imitation as filii Abrahami nos sumus cujus fidem imitamur we are Abrahams children if we imitate his faith And this the Lord doth for a double end 1 To put an honour upon his servant as a great reward of his faith and therefore he changed his name calling him the Father of many Nations as one that was the root and first in the Covenant and they all coming in at second hand under Abrahams Covenant and therefore Mic. 7.20 it is mercy to Abraham Mic. 7.20 and truth to Jacob because in Abraham after a sort the Covenant did begin not that to him the Covenant of Grace was first revealed for it was made known unto Adam and Abel was justified by faith Heb. 11.3 but because unto Abraham was the clearest discovery of the Covenant and the Lord did in the most solemn manner enter into Covenant with him therefore it is mercy to Abraham that being the foundation of making the Covenant as his truth and faithfulness is of keeping the Covenant 2 The Lord does it thereby to make Abraham as it were a Type of Christ that it may be continued unto posterity that the way by which God intended to dispense the Grace of the Covenant was from one common head or root as the first Covenant to the first Aam and all his posterity so the second Covenant with the second Aam of whom first Abraham and afterwards David were the fullest Types and resemblances Thus that the Lord might honour Abraham his friend with the highest honour as the root of all the Faithful and that this manner of conveyance of the Grace of the Covenant from one common root might be made known and thereby mans heart led unto Christ the root and Prince of the Covenant therefore it was made with Abraham as a publick person and the father of us all 3. What is meant by Christ here the seed of Abraham not seeds as of many Here Interpreters are divided There is a twofold seed of Abraham to which they have an eye according unto these two promises In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Gen. 22.18 Christus in individuo Christus in aggregato and Gen. 17.7 I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee and answerably unto these they observe in Scripture a twofold Christ Christ Personal and Christ Mystical so 1 Cor. 12.12 the whole Church is called Christ and the sufferings of the Church are called the sufferings of Christ Ephes 1.23 and the fulness of the Church the fulness of Christ as Col. 1.18 Here some say is to be understood Christ personal for two reasons 1 The person to whom the promise is made is the same in whom all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed but this is by Abraham in reference to this seed It 's true all the faithful as they are the seed of Abraham they are blessed with faithful Abraham but they are not that seed in whom all the Nations of the world shall be blessed Rutherf Triumph of Faith p. 51. Gen. 22.18 that is in Abraham as this seed should come out of his loins and it refers us only to the person of Christ which cannot be understood of Christ Mystical therefore Ambrose saith of this promise Impletum est in Christo ideoque non in multis sed in uno firmata est promissio 2 Because it is said verse the 17. the Covenant was made before of God ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã erga Christum or ad Christum in or to Christ speaking of the same seed that he had spoken of in the verse before now this promise and Covenant was not confirmed in Christ Mystical but Christ Personal in whom all the promises of God are Yea and Amen And hence Pareus and divers others do conclude it to be understood Individuè de uno Christo ex quo omnis spiritualis benedictio in fidelem diffluit c. Individually of Christ from whom all spiritual benediction flows Others do conceive it is to be understood of Christ Mystical 1 From the order that is here mentioned the promise is made first unto Abraham and then unto his seed therefore the seed here spoken of must be such a seed as comes to have a right to the promise as second Bulkley of the Gospel-Covenant p. 37. in order unto Abraham but this cannot be Christ Personal for he has not a right unto the Promise from Abraham but Abraham from him and therefore it must be understood of Christ Mystical who are to look upon Abraham as the root and themselves as branches 2 They argue from the Apostles scope in this place which is to prove that
us also that we are to admire honour and exalt the Lord Jesus given as a Covenant to the Nations 1st That he would consent thereunto for whatever Christ is made for us and whatsoever he is given to us is by his own consent and there is a concurrence of his will with God the Father 's therein for as he is the Son he is God equal with the Father and thought it no robbery so to be Phil. 2.7 8. and therefore he cannot come under an act of Gods will but by his own consent whence in the very election of Christ there is a concurrence of the will of Christ unto it Christs generation is an act of nature but his election is an act of will and as Christ is God he cannot come under an act of Gods will without his own consent He is said to be foreknown 1 Pet. 1.20 Heb. 1.2 and foreordained before the world began and to be appointed heir of all things God having an absolute dominion over us we being in his hand as clay in the hand of a Potter our election is meerly an act of his sovereignty God having absolute power to appoint us to what end he will as well as to give us what being he will but it is not so in the election of Christ nor in any of the consequents of his election he coming not under an act of Gods will but by his own consent Hence that Christ should come under this Covenant and be made a Covenant unto us doth exceedingly exalt the Lord Jesus We look upon it as a great condescension in God the Father that when he had made his creature he would be bound to him and not only be his God by creation but also by stipulation he pays debts that owes none he forgives debts as not valuing them But the condescension of Christ is exceeding great to enter into Covenant by way of obedience and subjection and this honours God more than the obedience of all the creatures in Heaven and Earth that his Son should be in subjection to him and this honours the Law more than any thing else that he that is the Lord of the Law should be made under the Law and that he that was equal with God in nature should come under the counsel of his will it is much more than for all the creatures to obey him that did owe all that they were by the right of their creation for all the Stars to vail their faces before the Son it 's nothing but for one Sun to be willing to be Eclipsed that the other may shine for all the Subjects in Kingdom to serve a Prince is nothing but for a Prince equal with himself in state and honour to come and be a Servant and wait upon him on his knees and be at his command honours him more 2dly That hereby you should have the benefit of this eternal transaction between the Father and the Son before the World began and of that mutual agreement that was between them for the whole Covenant was in reference unto you Christ came into the World under an ingagement and therefore he saith Lo I come to do thy will and the Lord calls him his Servant I will bring forth my righteous servant the branch and by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many and it was a service undertaken and consented unto and that which he was appointed before the world began 1 Pet. 1.20 Titus 1.2 2 Tim. 1.9 And of this I conceive these places of Scripture are to be understood John 17.6 Thine they were and thou gavest them unto me And Rev. 3.8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not writen in the lambs book c. It cannot be spoken of election for though election being an act ad extra is common unto all the persons and therefore the Son and Spirit had a hand in the choice as well as the Father I know whom I have chosen yet that is an act of Christ as God but this is spoken of him as he is the Mediator as he is the Lamb so he hath a Book of life which can be understood no otherwise but in reference unto the Covenant that the Lord did work with him as Mediator and in reference to the Souls that the Lord did then indent with him for to save all those that he had chosen unto life that were in the Covenant between Christ and him and he did give unto Christ by Covenant and Christ did therein transcribe their names out of the Lords Book of election into the Lambs Book which is a meer transcript of the Father's Book of life And thus you have the benefit of this great transaction between the Father and the Son by vertue of this Covenant and thereby you become part of Christs care and have your names written in his heart from all eternity and thereby have as it were a being in Christ before you had a being in your selves he bore you in his bosom had your names in his Book before the World was 3dly That to introduce this Covenant of Grace Mercy and Reconciliation for it was not to take place till after the fall he should put himself under another Covenant and that upon the worst terms a Covenant broken and so he must not only come under the duty but also under the curse of it be made under the law Gal. 4.4 to redeem us that were under the law To undertake the duty had been much to fulfill all righteousness but to bear the curse to be made a curse for us was more But above all to lye under the guilt as an offender that was the greatest abasement to be reputed a sinner by men and to have sin imputed to him by God to be made sin and to confess your sins as his own Psal 40.2 2 Cor. 5.21 to be circumcised and stand in the Temple for purification as if he were born in sin and for the iniquity of us all to meet upon him is a greater condescension Isa 33.6 Had Christ undertaken to have been when that Covenant was broken but a Mediator by way of intercession and intreaty being beloved of God and powerful with him as the Woman of Tekoah was with David for Absolom and the Saints are so Ministers one for another pray one for another that you may be healed yea and the Angels also for they are Interceders with the Lord in the behalf of his people Dan. 4.17 had the Lord Christ but improved his power and interest with God that when we had broken the first Covenant he would have tried us with a second to see if we would be more âaithful unto God in that than we had been in the first it had been a great mercy and a wonderful act of love so far to have appeared for us but for the Lord Christ to become a surety that is a Mediator of satisfaction to pay our debt and not to do
Christ is the fountain of Consolation and is therefore called in the abstract the Consolation of Israel Luke 2.25 and the more immediate the Lord appears in ordinances the more sweet and powerful they are as it shall be in the Ordinances of the later dayes Rev. 21.22 I saw no Temple there all dark discoveries of God that were in former ages shall be done away and yet it is not spoken of Heaven for vers 3. it is the Tabernacle of the Lord is with men and a Tabernacle is to be removed and no abiding habitation vers 23. The glory of the Lord and the Lamb shall be the Light thereof v. 23. and therefore no need of the Sun or the Moon that is of any creature influences or comforts but it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Lucerna such a light as doth not make it a perfect day it is a light that doth argue its night still in comparison of what it shall be when the Sun of Righteousness shall arise in glory and yet this more immediate presence made them both more sweet and more powerful and that makes glory so infinitely sweet because the comfort that we shall have there shall come in immediately from the Lord here though Ordinances and Providences and Comforts be sweet yet they are conveyed by the creature and therefore they lose much of their sweetness and glory but then he will make us to drink of the Rivers of his pleasures Now for a mans comfort to come in from Christ immediately by partaking with him in the same Covenant and the promises thereof to have it in the same Fountain with the Lord of Life the consolation of Israel it doth very much sweeten them unto the soul and therefore it 's a Christians wisdom to drink his comforts as near the Fountain as he can and the greater cordials they will prove and the more reviving and therefore be you much in these things and your souls shall live they are the most quickning and reviving considerations that are in the whole Book of God To be much in creature comforts whether in delighting in them or depending upon them 2 Chron. 16.12 is a snare It 's said of Asa That in his sickness he sought not to the Lord and the reason is given because his heart was wholly in the Physicians and his hope and expectation from them But to be in these consolations is your duty because as Hezekiah observes Esa 38.15 by or upon these things men live by such experiments as these are by such promises and in all these is the life of my spirit And this was Davids consolation at the last when he came to dye 2 Sam. 23.5 2 Sam. 23.5 Though my House is not so with God yet he has made with me an everlasting Covenant in all things ordered and sure there is a threefold property of the Covenant that he takes comfort in it was everlasting it was sure it was ordered in all things the word in the Hebrew is the same with that in the Proverbs chap. 16. 1. The ordering and disposing of the heart is from the Lord and the word is used in a double sense in the Scripture Prov. 9.2 sometimes for the furnishing of a Table and for the ordering and marshalling of an Army 1 Sam. 4. they put the Battel in array every one keeps his rank and so it is in this Covenant every thing keeps its place Christ is first in it and then faith in its place and the Saints in their places and there is much comfort to be taken from this order of the Covenant and this will appear to us in several particulars for God is not the God of confusion but order and this being the greatest and the most glorious work of God there is the fullest and the most perfect order to be imagined and therein the wisdom and goodness of God doth exceedingly appear 1. It 's a great honour that the Lord has put upon his people that they should be conformed unto the image of his Son so that they should stand before him in the Covenant of his Son and have in their place and degree the same right and claim to mercy that Christ has The Scripture makes Christ the Sun in the Firmament of all excellency and the more any thing partakes of him the more glorious it is as the second Temple was and Johns ministerie the Law and the Prophets were till John but afterwards the Gospel comes which was a clearer discovery of Christ and they were all eclipsed though the Law had much more outward pomp and glory yet because it did discover Christ but darkly in comparison of the Gospel therefore that is said to exceed in glory and so in Scripture the Saints do ascribe glory one to another as they are in Christ and according to their priority in Christ as the Apostle saies Rom. 16.7 Who were in Christ before me and Paul saith in another place I was like one that was born out of due time because last of all he appeared unto me 1 Cor. 15. and therefore Austin saith It abated his earnest desire of some principal part of his own good works because nomen Christi non erat ibi the name of Christ was not there had the Lord put man fallen under the Covenant of the Angels that fell not it had been an honour and put them into the same condition with them but it is far beyond it to put them under the same Covenant that was made with him whom the Angels worship and the highest honour that we have by Christ is our union with him and our legal union standing before God in the same Covenant with him is the highest part of that honour for our natural union bearing with him the same Image doth flow from it It 's a great honour to stand before God in the righteousness of Christ but the ground thereof is because we stand before God under the Covenant of Christ the inheritance of Christ is in the Saints Ephes 1. they are therefore said to be the glory of Christ as Christ is the glory of the Father his glory shall be at the last to have a large and numerous posterity to have a beautiful and a glorious spouse without spot or wrinkle or any such thing and what is it that makes us have relation to Christ as a Spouse It is taking hold of his Covenant and therefore the Covenant of Grace is said to be a marriage Covenant And what is it makes the match between any but consent Hos 2 19. And therefore it 's generally concluded by our Divines amongst the essentials of marriage for parties to give mutual consent according unto that received rule of the Civil Law where there is not the consent of both parties it ought not to be held legal Matrimony There may be a wooing and a ravishment but truly and properly there can be no Marriage without consent It is therefore a consent joyntly
stead that what he did was accounted to be ours whether to righteousness and life or unto sin and death but yet so that had he stood the same obedience was in their own persons required of his posterity for themselves as was required of Adam though not with the same respect not as publick persons and representative heads so that if they had not performed it they had fallen for themselves though all mankind had not fallen if Adam had stood for the woman was first in the transgression 1 Tim. 2. Rom. 5.12 and yet though the woman fell first all mankind did not fall in her fall but by one man sin entred into the world and therefore it was not every sin of a particular person that would have destroyed all mankind but of their representative only But the second Covenant hath this in it that the first never had in Adam the second Covenant hath a surety and that is something more than a publick person that is one that represents another and stands in his place and is bound unto his debt so that if the person ingaged pay not the debt the surety must and so Adam was not the surety for all mankind that he would perform the debt or bear the curse for them all there was no Covenant that had a Surety but Christ and he was a surety of the first Covenant Gal. 4.4 made under the Law and of a better Covenant to perform all the duties of the Gospel So that all that is required is of Christ as the second Adam only in his publick capacity and representation the Law is required of us but if we perform it not we have a surety that has undertaken it Thus as the first Covenant was made with the first Adam and all his posterity so the second Covenant is made with the second Adam and all his posterity also 2. We read of a Covenant made with Persons and people and promised unto them as special mercies a Covenant made with Abraham and Isaac a Covenant made with David 2 Sam. 23.5 The Lord has made with me an everlasting Covenant in all things ordered and sure And there is a Covenant made with a people also Jer. 31.31 God made a Covenant with the house of Judah a Covenant that he would bring them under the bonds of the Covenant and Esa 55.3 Every one that thirsts come to the waters c. and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David and Ezec. 16. I entred into Covenant with thee and thou becamest mine and therefore Zac. 9.12 By the blood of thy Covenant I have delivered the prisoners out of the pit in which there is no water 3. Men are said to make the Covenant and to break it Hezekiah exhorts them 2 Chron. 30.7 8. to give the hand unto the Lord 2 Chron. 30.7 8. it 's an expression of entring into Covenant as striking the hand is in the Proverbs an expression of entring into suretiship for another there are four expressions of it in 1 Chron. 29.24 All the Princes and the mighty men and all the house of the Kingdom gave their hands unto Solomon it notes a military subjection by way of Covenant and agreement between them they did take an oath of Allegiance unto him And so that expression to joyn the hand Ezeck 17.18 He hath broken the Covenant after he had given his hand c. and Job 17.3 to strike hand is to enter into suretiship or to be engaged in a Covenant so the saints are said to enter into Covenant with the Lord by sacrifice Psal 50.5 Esay 56. and they are said to take hold of the Covenant again they are said to break the Covenant which could not be if the Covenant were not made with them and not to be faithful and constant therein Psal 25.10 Lev. 26.15 4. It will appear from the promises of the second Covenant though it 's true that they are all yea and amen in him yet are they properly and formally made unto us either the first promises of grace or else of reward unto grace Promises of grace are He will give his Spirit and will give repentance he will heal our backslidings c. and we have an unction from the holy one c. And reward of service done either in the inward dispositions Blessed are the pure in spirit blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness c. or in the outward action 1 Cor. 9.24 So run that you may obtain 1 Cor. 15. ult your labour is not in vain in the Lord. And though the Covenant be made only out of free grace yet the Saints do claim these promises not only out of mercy but from the faithfulness of God 1 Cor. 10.19 1 Jo. 1.9 2 Tim. 4.8 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able he is faithful and just to forgive us c. And what is the ground of this but the Covenant of God whereby his faithfulness is ingaged 5. The Covenant of grace is a Covenant in the hand of a Mediator and confirmed by the death of the Testator Heb. it 's not only a Covenant but it 's a Testament 1 Christ is the Mediator now no man is a mediator between God and himself a Mediator is not a Mediator of one it must be a third person a dayes-man that must lay hold upon both therefore there is a Covenant made with Christ and Christ is a Mediator for the establishment of the Covenant with us also And 2 Christ is the Testator he died and left his Legacies of all the promises to the saints now no man gives a Legacy to himself In the Covenant made between the Father and Christ Christ is a party and a publick person but in this Covenant between God and us he is a Mediator and the Testator by whom we receive all the Legacies and Inheritance that he has purchased for us and granted to us Rom. 4.11 6. The Sacraments are seals of the Covenant of grace Now if we look upon the Covenant made with Christ and consider that his faith was perfect in God and he knew the Lord would not fail him but saies He is near that justifies me who will contend with me he will not leave my soul in Hell c. But though Christ had a strong faith yet we have but a weak faith and therefore had need of Sacraments and outward signs to confirm it wherefore the Sacraments are not to confirm the Covenant made with Christ but the Covenant made with the Saints he to whom the Covenant is made unto him the seals are to be applied and it would seem unreasonable for the Covenant to be made unto one and the seals to be applied unto the other therefore there is a Covenant made with the saints and to this Covenant the Sacraments are added as seals 7. There is a double oath to confirm this
Covenant there is an oath made by God the Father to Christ and there is an oath also made to us there is an oath made unto Christ and therefore he is said to be made a Priest by a Covenant oath Psal 110.4 and the oath to us Heb. 6.17 18. Who are heirs of promise that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie c. God having taken up unchangeable counsels concerning this Covenant he did therefore to shew the Immutability of his Counsel confirm it by an oath and being so engaged he cannot go back though that be true also because he is faithful and cannot deny himself Yet because his counsel was unchangeable and he did never intend to alter his Covenant for ever therefore he did swear that he might shew how much his heart was in it and that he did never intend to change it but his counsel in it was unchangeable And this Doctrine I do the rather pitch upon in opposition to the licentious tenent of the Antinomians from the former Doctrine The Covenant of grace is made with Christ and he has undertaken to perform all duties required of us and bear all the curse for us as he was our surety therefore say they all is required of Christ and nothing of us and so though we walk never so loosly and corruptly yet God will require all at his hands and while Christ doth not fail the Covenant on our part can never be broken Indeed this is a truth that God has laid help upon one that is mighty and he does expect all at Christs hand because he can never fail the Covenant cannot be broken for he is the surety thereof but yet we must remember withall that we come under the same Covenant with Christ and we in our place are bound unto the same obedience and so far as we come short we sin and may be charged with unfaithfulness before God though this shall never break the Covenant nor be imputed unto a man to his destruction because this Covenant has a surety yet as the Covenant with the first Adam bound all his posterity unto the same duty so does the Covenant made with the second Adam also only a man might have broken the first Covenant for himself though he could not break it for all mankind but under the second Covenant a man cannot break the Covenant for himself so as not to be capable of mercy upon repentance because the second Adam is the surety thereof 2. The Reasons why it was necessary that the Covenant of Grace should be made with all the faithful and not with Christ only as their head are Reason 1 1. To answer those great ends why God will deal with man in a Covenant way 1 The Lord will enter into Covenant that he may declare his glory not only in a way of goodness but in a way of faithfulness In the Creation the Lord did shew forth much power and wisdom and in the Law much holiness But there was no way to manifest his faithfulness Mic. 7.20 but by Covenant The Lord hath chosen you above all people that you might know that he is the Lord the faithful God And Rom. 15.8 9. there is the truth of God to the Jews herein manifested and the mercy of God to the Gentiles who were strangers and not before taken into Covenant so that it is hereby the Lord doth gloriously manifest an Attribute and that which shall manifest an Attribute must be no small matter and therefore when the Lord doth shew his power he doth create the Heavens and the Earth and lays the beams of his Chambers in the waters raiseth such a roof as the Heavens and lays such a foundation as the earth and settles it upon nothing if he will shew his love he will give his Son and if his grace he will pardon sin and if his holiness he will give a Law if his mercy to the vessels of mercy give them Heaven a kingdom of joy and glory and if his wrath he will make Hell So that whatever the Lord hath done in the world is for the manifestation of himself and that which shall make manifest any Attribute of God to the World must needs be some great thing It is only this entering into Covenant that hath manifested the faithfulness of God he had not been else known to be a faithful God unto the World as Exod. 3.6 says the Lord By the name Jehovah I was not known to them that is as a God fulfilling of the promises So by the name of a God faithful and true he had not been known but in reference to the Covenant and the faithfulness of God was so much the more manifested by this Had the Lord only entered into Covenant with Christ he keeping the Covenant and yielding obedience to it the faithfulness of God had not been put to that stress and trial as it hath been now that the Covenant is made with man and he unsteady therein and does transgress it and forget the Covenant of his God and yet that the Lord should towards him remember his holy Covenant still and our unfaithfulness not make the faithfulness of God of none effect and the people of God therefore notwithstanding all their unfaithfulness to cast themselves upon the Covenant of God and the promises thereof as David did 2 Sam. 23.5 and his words yet to be found as it were tryed words Psal 12.6 The words of the Lord are pure words tryed as silver seven times Psal 12.6 c. The fire that tries these words was that of affliction and when a man is brought into a streight and then casts himself upon a promise and thereby has experience of the truth and faithfulness of God therein then it is said to be tryed and all the people of God have had experience of it so often that there is no dross to be found in it no more than can be conceived to be in gold and silver purified seven times 2. The Lords intention was to honour man also and it 's one of the greatest and highest dignities that the Lord hath put upon his people Jer. 13.11 to bind them unto himself for a name and a glory and Deut. 26.18 19. the Lord did avouch them to be his people to make them high above all people and therefore the staff of beauty mentioned in Zach. 11.10 is the Covenant between God and his people I brake my staff of beauty that I might break my Covenant which I made with all the people c. and it is a Covenant of friendship a Covenant of marriage and in all this there is an honour and a kind of equality and it 's the ground of all the honour that the Lord doth put upon us for our union with Christ is grounded upon our Covenant with God Had the Lord taken Christ into Covenant with himself only he had indeed honoured his Son but not his Saints but now to make them
one with the Son and to enter into the same Covenant with them and in their own persons that he hath established with the Son it doth highly honour the Saints and exalt the grace of God towards them also 3. That the Lord might bind men unto him more firmly in a way of obedience and that the obedience might be made the more sweet Man was bound unto God by a bond of creation and from whom he had his being unto him he did owe his service but the Lord will bind him unto him with a further cord and bond of stipulation the one was natural and necessary and the other voluntary and though he did owe obedience had there been never a promise made him of a reward yet much more when the Lord will bind himself by Covenant to reward his meanest services The ground of the Covenant is love Deut. 7.7 8. 2 Cor. 5.19 Jer. 31.3 Hos 2.19 and God loves the Saints also in his Son and is willing to be reconciled to them in him and a man may say the yoak of Christ is not only easie but profitable also Matt. 11.29 because it hath a promise annexed to every service and for this cause was the Covenant made with the Saints that they might be a willing people in all their obedience there being a promise going with the duty in whatever was required of them 4. That the people of God might exercise faith in their prayers putting these bonds in suit that the Lord hath made over unto them when they look upon themselves as sons of Abraham Heirs of Promise and Children of the Covenant c. and thereby they come with a great deal the more boldness before the throne of grace as David 1 Chron. 17.23 24. Let the thing thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house be established for ever do as thou hast said that thy name may be magnified for ever the Lord of Hosts is the God of Israel even a God to Israel For because thou hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee now Lord thou art God and hast promised this goodness to thy servant let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant that it may be before thee for ever for thou blessest O Lord and it shall be blessed for ever have respect unto the Covenant for all the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty Reason 2 2. There is a Covenant made with the Saints also that they may see that they are as strictly bound to obedience in their own persons under the second Covenant as they were under the first Covenant and that the doctrine of the Gospel though it be a Doctrine of liberty yet is not a Doctrine of licentiousness there is as much of duty required of us now as there was then and so far as we come short of the Law we sin and every such transgression is so far as it prevails a Covenant-breaking on our part and an act of unfaithfulness but the Covenant cannot be broken because we have a surety which the first Covenant had not and the righteousness of this Covenant sin can never spend it is an everlasting righteousness therefore that Doctrine that saith God requires all of Christ and nothing of you is a Doctrine of sinful liberty it 's true That he takes satisfaction in his Son and he makes you accepted in his beloved and therefore he will never suffer his faithfulness to fail for Psal 102.28 Thou art the same and the children of thy servants shall continue c. yet in point of duty he expects from us uprightness and perfect obedience so that it is your sin and unfaithfulness if you perform it not as it was required of the first Adam so of all his posterity and as of Christ so of all his posterity also 3. That the Saints also may stand in awe of the threats of God under the second Covenant it 's true there is no curse there for it is a covenant of blessing but yet there is a double anger in God paterna hostilis ira simplex redundans c. I will visit their offences with a rod and that with many sharp and lesser trials and yet my Covenant I will not break they shall be the sure mercies of David still therefore Psal 119. he saith Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me because God had in Covenant undertaken to preserve him to his kingdom therefore he could not else have been a faithful God and there is also a faithfulness in the threatning executed as well as there is in the promises performed and that the hearts of the people of God may stand in awe thereof therefore it is necessary that as they should remember all duty was not so performed by Christ but that there is duty also in their place required of them and all suffering was not so undergone by Christ but that there may be suffering reserved for them also though not as a part of the curse of the first Covenant nor for satisfaction yet as the threatning was for their unfaithfulness under the second Covenant so it is inflicted for their humiliation and sanctification § 3. Wherein lies the difference between the Covenant made with Christ and with us 1 It was made with Christ primarily as a publick person for all the Elect but it is made with every one of us in the second place as we are members of Christ and so being in him we come under his Covenant 2 It is made with Christ immediately and for his own sake there was no mediator between God and Christ 2 Sam 7. Dan. 21.9 but the Lord accepted of his ingagement and relyed upon his faithfulness in performing his duty as Christ did upon Gods faithfulness in fulfilling his promise and whatever the Lord performs unto us it is for Christs sake but it is with us mediately in him he being the mediator of the Covenant and of all the mercies thereof 3 The promise made unto Christ was made from everlasting before the foundation of the world 2 Tim. 1.9 Rev. 13.8 it 's said The Lamb had a book of life before the foundation of the world it cannot be understood of election for he himself as mediator was elected therefore it is spoken in reference to this Covenant that God did make with Christ before the world was Prov. 8.22 he being from the beginning and this Covenant was to take place immediately after the fall but the Covenant with his people is made with them when they believe and are ingrafted into Christ faith being nothing else but a consent unto the Covenant and the terms of it on our part and therefore that is an act done by the creature in time when a man is converted and therefore notwithstanding the Covenant made with Christ yet the elect themselves Ephes 2.12 till they be converted are said
by living in any sin destroy your own prayers And take not only the example of the Angels but the example of our Lord Christ the rule and pattern of holiness for you to walk by he is your Prince your Leader c. all manner of terms that note out exemplariness and require imitation and he was faithful in the Covenant made with God he doth for the active part of his obedience fulfill all righteousness and for the passive part he paid the utmost farthing though the Lord did hide his face and his enemies did rage and triumph over him it was the hour of the power of darkness and if the flesh did desire its own preservation yet the will of nature did give way unto the will of duty and He did drink up the Brook in the way Psal 110. ult that Torrent of Curses and wrath that lay between us and glory and therefore did lift up his head and he is now in Heaven as Gods servant and so shall be till the last day that he shall give up the Kingdom unto God the Father he is performing the remaining acts of his Office there and by his Spirit on Earth and by his presence and intercession in glory and all is that he might be a faithful High-Priest and able to save to the uttermost those that come unto him But we have yet a higher pattern and that is God the Father himself he is alwayes mindful of his Covenant Psal 111.5 Psal 9.34 Mic. 7.20 Ezech. 16.61 My Covenant I will not break for he is a faithful God and he will perform his truth to Jacob and his mercy unto Abraham as he has sworn in the days of old And the faithfulness of God is infinitely seen in this that the unfaithfulness of man cannot make the faithfulness of God of none effect Says the Lord I will give thee thy Sisters thy elder and thy younger Sister unto thee as Daughters but not by thy Covenant it is a promise that though they had by doing more wickedly justified the Gentile nations and he instances in Sodom and Samaria and therefore worse judgements should come upon them yet the time would come that the Lord would remember his Covenant that he had made with their Fathers and he would make them the Mother-Church and all the Gentile Churches and Nations should flow unto her and it shall come to pass that ten men out of all the Nations under Heaven should lay hold on the skirt of a Jew Zac. 8.23 but all this shall not be by thy Covenant sic non desciverant ut Deus esset liber Cal. and therefore it was not in reference to their keeping Covenant with God but in remembrance of Gods Covenant with them and therefore he refers them unto his faithfulness and not to theirs and therefore when they should see it they should be ashamed and put their mouths in the dust to think that the Lord should continue faithful unto those that had been so unfaithful every way to him as they had been 4. The people of God in this life do miss of many of the Promises of the second Covenant that they are not accomplished unto them because they do not walk exactly according to the rules of this Covenant therefore Psal 25.10 But the wayes of the Lord are mercy and truth unto them that keep his Covenant The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting unto them that fear him Psal 103.18 to such as keep his Covenant and think upon his Commandments to do them but else though they shall not fail of eternal mercy Christ is the surety that the Covenant shall not be broken yet there be many promises of the Covenant that in this life they shall never have accomplished to them 1 Sam. 2.29 saies the Lord I said thy House and the House of thy Fathers should stand before me for ever but now that be far from me saies the Lord for they that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed The promises of God are of two sorts 1 Some are absolute which God hath undertaken to perform of his own free grace not only citra meritum but also citra conditionem not only without merit but without all supposed or prerequired conditions in us As I will be your God I will give you my Son I will pour out my Spirit I will pardon your sins c. I will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh these are absolute promises 2 There are conditional promises which shew what God will do upon such duties performed by the creature which are such as without Gods special grace he is never able to perform and these are made for the encouragement of men in a way of obedience but they do not alwaies promise the purpose of God to give the condition of the reward for as it is in Judgements there are some conditional threatnings which upon a change in the creature never come to pass Jer. 18.7 At what time saies God I speak against a nation to pluck up and destroy if that nation turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them and if I speak of a Nation or a Kingdom to build and plant it if it do evil in my sight I will repent of the good I would do unto them so it is in the conditional promises Novit Deus mutare decretum si tu non noveris em ndare delictum God knows how to change his declared promise if thou know not how to change thy sin which I conceive to be the meaning of all those places where God is said to break Covenant with his people Numb 14.34 You shall bear your iniquity even forty years and you shall know my breach of promise that is by woful experience you shall find what a misery it is to have such glorious promises made unto you but by reason of your unfaithfulness on your part they being conditional shall never be performed and so the Psalmist has it Psal 89.39 Thou hast made void the Covenant of thy servant all his posterity were cut off from this mercy and promise in this life because they disobeyed the word of the Lord and walked not in his Covenant c. and so Zach. 11.10 I will break my Covenant with them it is spoken of a national Covenant and casting off the Nations from being a Church or people unto himself wherein even the Saints must needs be deprived of many temporal promises of the Covenant because they did not walk stedfastly with God therein And if a man shall consider the example of the sufferings of many of the Saints as of Eli David Sampson and Solomon though they were beloved of God and in Covenant with him yet by their unfaithfulness in the Covenant how many temporal promises of the Covenant did they miss Faith is the condion of the Covenant Foederis pacti
obedience the condition foederis praestiti Jer. 7.12 Jer. 11.5 They must obey that God may perform Esay 54.9 10. Jer. 32.40 and how many temporal afflictions were inflicted on them And so I may say to any soul that keeps Covenant with God thy sufferings will say to thee cavendae tempestates flenda naufragia Austin de Nat. Grat. cap. 35. And thus we should take heed of keeping the Covenant or else though the Lord continue faithful in reference to the promises of eternity because Christ is the surety yet in regard of temporal promises you may go without them and many of them never be performed unto you But you will say may a man that is in the Covenant of Grace break the Covenant may the Covenant of Grace be broken as the Covenant of Works was If it may not be broken to what end do you exhort us to keep it It 's true that the Covenant of Grace cannot be broken a man that is once in Covenant is ever in Covenant and the grounds of it are these 1. The Love of God that made the Covenant is an everlasting Love and therefore the Covenant it self is every where called an everlasting Covenant and the Lord saith If you can bring another flood upon the Earth and if you can stop the Sun in his course and change the Ordinances of Heaven then the Covenant might be broken that he had made with his people Therefore Rom. 8. the Apostle saies that nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord for the Lord loves us with an everlasting Love 2. It is a Covenant made with the persons of men mens persons are first taken into Covenant and there is this difference between the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works in the later Covenant the works were taken into Covenant first and then the person for the works sake and so long as their works continued holy so long their persons were to be accepted and find favour and honour with the Lord Gen. 4.7 If thou doest well there is an elevation and a lifting up of the face but if thou dost evil cursed is thy person for thy works sake and there is an ira redundans in personam wrath falling on the person that doth immediately follow thereupon but now in the Covenant of Grace it is quite contrary mens persons are first taken into Covenant and accepted and then their works for their persons sake the Lord had respect unto Abel and unto his offering and therefore till the person be in Covenant the works are abominable before God Now the works of the Saints may not always be accepted of God he may be and is often displeased with the acts of his covenant-people but yet their persons alwayes find acceptance with him their persons are the same I will visit their offences with a rod and their sins with scourges but my loving kindness I will not take from their persons my Covenant I will not break Psal 89. there is an ira simplex simple anger that doth reach to the sin but not to the person he is never a child of wrath more after his person is taken into a state of adoption with the Lord. 3. Their union with Christ is that which puts them into the second Covenant Gal. 3.29 as this union gives them interest in Christs righteousness and Sonship so it doth first state them in the Covenant which is the ground of all the rest the intendment of God was that the union between Christ and them should be the means to convey all this to their souls all comes in by Union Now so long as the Union between Christ and a soul continues so long the Covenant cannot be broken but this Union is indissoluble sin cannot nay death cannot separate between God and a soul in Covenant with him and therefore as they live so they dye in the Lord and sleep in Jesus 4. The righteousness of this Covenant is an everlasting righteousness Dan. 9. The Lord hath finished transgression and made an end of sin in the great condemning power of it and brought in everlasting righteousness such as sin could never spend for he is the son of righteousness the Lord of righteousness and therefore his Covenant can never be broken seeing the righteousness of the Covenant can never be expended 5. Christ is the surety of this better Covenant and therefore though we pay not the debt that we owe he hath undertaken it and the Lord will expect all of him and thence he is said to lay help on one that is mighty Psal 89. he will take your words no more but Christ is able to pay it as he did the debt of the first Covenant so he is able to perform the duty of the second the Lord hath ingaged him in it and he expects all from him as from the surety of the Covenant which he hath undertaken 6. Lastly This Covenant can never be broken because there is an everlasting principle of Grace begun in the Soul that doth always lay hold of the Covenant and cleave to it and consent to it and work towards it for it is incorruptible and immortal seed and therefore Jer. 32.40 This is the Covenant I will make with you I will write my law in your heart c. that you shall never depart from me In a Married condition there may be many failings in a Wife or a Husband as neglect disobedience c. but the Marriage Covenant is never broken till she take another Husband and the Covenant of Grace is a Marriage Covenant Now though there be many errors and failings in a Wife yet unless thou chuse another Husband and subject thy self to another Lord the Covenant between God and thee is not broken It is a matter of wonderful consolation that the Covenant between us and the Lord is a Covenant of salt that the sins of the people of God though they be many yet they cannot break the Covenant How should the consideration of this rich Grace and Mercy make the Saints triumph over Death and Hell O death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory blessed be God we are more than Conquerors through Christ Jesus our Lord. But yet you had need be exhorted not to break this Covenant 1. By reason of the falseness of our own hearts Jer. 2.24 for we are like a wild Asse in the wilderness that doth traverse her paths that no hedges or fetters can hold her in so much that the Lord speaks it with admiration How weak is thy heart Ezek. 16.30 That it 's not able to hold out against any temptation not able to bear any one affliction but immediately it 's ready to depart from God Gen. 49.4 unstable as water there is a treachery and a perfidiousness of spirit in the best of us and therefore we had need be often called upon Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall and let us take
heed lest any of us fall short of the grace of God and lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief to depart from the living God Heb. 3.12 For there is nothing that the heart of man is more prone to than backsliding and therefore we had need be often admonished to keep firm to the Covenant under which we stand for there is not the greatest cheat in the World that is in falseness and unstedfastness like our hearts wherefore we need many bonds upon it and should have regard to the cords of love that God ties us with to himself in this Covenant 2. We had need be exhorted to it from the slothfulness and heedlesness of our spirits in whatever is good though we be bound unto it by so many bonds the Lord hath always respect unto his Covenant and we desire he should do so now we had need to have respect always to the Covenant and to be continually minded that we forget not what the Lord our God requires of us as 2 King 10.31 it was a brand upon Jehu That he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord his God Heedlesness in a mans carriage to God is a high provocation to walk with God at an adventure without respect unto the Covenants and great ingagements in which you stand to God Lev. 26.23 Hos 7.8 this is to be towards the Lord as a Cake not turned which is baked only on one side and no more therefore we had need have the more frequent admonition to take heed lest any man fall short of the grace of God we ought to give the more diligent heed lest by any means we let slip the things that we have heard and had need to be warned to cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart and to desire of the Lord that he would fix and unite our hearts to fear his name as the Psalmist doth Psal 86.11 Let these things quicken any secure Soul that goes on in any way of disobedience unto God for thou wilt pay dear at last for all thy wanderings from the paths of this Covenant and thou shalt experience it an evil and a bitter thing to draw back from God 3. That you may be quickened to seek unto the Lord for Grace to keep this Covenant and may acknowledge before the Lord that the stability and eternity of the second Covenant lies not in us nor in the observation of it for as much as in us lies we do break it continually but from the eternal love of God and the inseparable union between Christ and us and the Lord having made him the surety of the Covenant therefore it stands but were we left unto our selves we should break it every day and every sin in us would spend all the grace of the Covenant as it did in Adam but there is without us a fountain for a supply for truly the stability of the Covenant doth not proceed from our part in the Covenant as the Lord says in Ezekiel Ezek. 16.61 that the mercies he would give them should not be by their Covenant but all proceed from his and therefore Hos 10.12 it is sow in righteousness and reap in mercy and it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in ore Hos 10.12 in the mouth of mercy that is according to the measure of mercy The mercies and blessings of the Covenant God doth dispense not according to the proportion of our righteousness and stability of the Covenant but according to the proportion of his own grace manifested there and there is no argument that is more effectual amongst men than this As one came unto a Prince and desired him to perform a Covenant and ingagement that he had made unto them which he refusing being in his Robes the Soldier touching his Purple said Imperator hac veste indutum mentiri nefas est O Emperor it is not lawful for him who his clothed with this Robe to lye 4. We had need be continually minded of the Covenant that we may fear those sins that do come nearest a Covenant-breaking It is true there is no sin of a Godly man that can break his Covenant as I have already shewed you but yet there are some sins that come nearer to Covenant-breaking than others do and in this respect are to be looked upon as sins of a very hanious nature and of a deeper dye c. This is a rule That which doth manifest the most unsoundness of heart that doth break the Covenant for the condition of the Covenant is that a mans heart should be perfect with God Gen. 17.2 And it is one of these sorts or I may say both these sorts of sinning that do come nearest thereunto 1 when a man doth sin against light and doth it deliberately and with a high hand for Eo magis peccatum quo magis voluntarium The will is the measure of all sins The more of the Will there is in any evil the greater the sin is and therefore it is made the measure of the sin against the holy Ghost Heb. 10.26 it is sinning wilfully after a man hath received the knowledge of the truth and in this David came nearest to breaking this Covenant 1 King 15.5 He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life save only in the matter of Vriah David had many other sins lay upon him and he says his iniquities were gone over his head and as a sore burden for him to bear but the Lord said he turned not aside from the Lord in any thing but this because it was a studied plotted sin committed against knowledge and therefore with a high hand thus to sin did manifest the greatest unfaithfulness of Davids spirit towards God that he did show all the days of his life 2 When a man walks on in a sin and lies in it a long time together unrepented of and can act it again and again and it is as a thread drawn through the course of a mans life it comes nearest to an unsound heart and that denominates a man an Adulterer or an Adulteress as James 4.4 as we see in Solomon he lived a great while in these evils and though he were beloved of the Lord yet his heart was turn'd away from following the Lord and he said to his heart Go to now and I will provoke thee with wine Now his lying and living in sin it is true did not break the Covenant between God and him yet it was the most dangerous step to an unsound heart and therefore came nearest to breaking the Covenant A godly man cannot lye and live and dye in any known sin but he may live in it long and be continually insnared and turn away to folly but the more it is thus with thee the nearer thou dost come unto Covenant-breaking with the Lord. But what shall I do to keep
all my goods I will give the tenth to thee and this stone shall be Gods house and I will build here an Altar Gen. 28.22 and this vow Jacob had forgotten at his return and the Lord sent affliction upon him to mind him of his vow the ravishing of Dinah and the horrible rage committed upon the Shechemites and yet Jacob still forgot it but the Lord in mercy put him in mind of it Arise Jacob and go to Bethel and build an Altar unto the God that appeared unto thee when thou fledst from the face of thy Brother Esau Gen. 35.1 And it was usual with the people of God of old when they did pray for mercy to vow duty Psal 116.12 13. What shall I render unto the Lord I will take the cup of salvation so it was in their Feasts and sacrifices of Thanksgiving they had a cup of salvation a grace-cup and I will pay my vows unto the Lord that I spake with my mouth when I was in trouble and so Hannah 1 Sam. 1. 1 Sam. 1.11 11. If thou wilt look upon the affliction of thine Hand-maid and remember me and give me a man-child then will I give him to the Lord all the days of his life and there shall no Rasor come upon his head and she did fulfill her vow the Lord hath heard my petition I asked of him and his name was called Samuel asked of God therefore I lent him or returned him to the Lord as long as he lived 2. In respect of the relation which this Covenant doth bring upon you and in regard of the duties of this Relation Now there is a fourfold relation which is the necessary result of this Covenant Esay 9.6 Heb. 2. 1 Hereby Christ becomes your Father and therefore he is called the everlasting Father and Heb. 2. we are said to be his children and he is said to see his seed and prolong his dayes upon earth Now Christ becomes your Father as he is the second Adam and that is by Covenant as well as by an Image and therefore this Covenant binds you to honour him in this relation Mal. 1.6 If I be your Father where is my honour Where is mine Image you ought to bear upon you What impression of my likeness is there upon you What beam of glory do you carry about you in all your conversation Are you denominated by the world to have my holiness upon you to be merciful as I am merciful to be conformable to my law in all things 2 It is a matrimonial Covenant Hos 2.19 I will betroth thee unto me for ever and the Lord Jesus becomes your Husband and his Church is therefore called his Spouse the Lambs Wife and he requires faithfulness and fruitfulness that you should be unto him and to none other for the Lord will have no Harlot nor barren Spouse she must not lift up her Eyes upon any other in any wanton love her desire must be to him alone 3 It is a Covenant of Friendship and so by this Covenant Abraham was taken into friendship with God and is called by God himself Abraham my friend and Christ saith I have not called you servants but I have called you friends for I have shewed you all things that I have received of my Father now if thou hast a friend thou must behave thy self friendly thou must impart thy heart and thy secrets and have no reserves from thy friend thou must have the same friends and the same enemies with him else never pretend friendship if any other person come at any time in competition with thy friend thou must be his at all times In foederibus eosdem amicos inimicos habere solent foederati In Covenants the Federates have the same friends and enemies Friendship is offensive and defensive c. we have the greatest obligation to God and 't is our duty to stick close to him at all times and this friendship is in a special manner tryed in adversity When he is a bundle of myrrh he shall lye all night between my breasts Cant. 1.13 and our choice should be the reproaches of Christ and the waters that do quench other fire do by an antiperistasis become oyl to this and make it to flame the more Cant. 8.6 it is Coals of Juniper which do burn the hottest the opposition that a Saint meets with in the world doth but raise his love to Christ the higher 4 It is a Covenant in which Christ becomes our Lord and we his servants for he is the Lord that bought us and therefore it is Pauls honour to be called the servant of Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 6.19 as by the Covenant that Christ made with his Father he is become the Fathers servant though he be the man Gods fellow or Deo proximus next to God Esay 42.1.6 so we also by our Covenant are become servants of Christ therefore say I must do his work only and be only at his command no man can serve two Masters much less may he serve Christ and divers Lusts and pleasures it is an abominable thing for a man to take wages of Christ and do the work of his enemy Satan for no man can serve two Masters therefore from him I am to receive directions and mine eyes are to be upon him as the Eye of a Servant is unto the hand of his Master and of a Maiden to the hand of her Mistress a mans guidance is from him and to him a man must give an account and from him receive wages and expect a probation and therefore servants nihil suum habere possunt ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Aristot Saluti dominorum non debent suam anteponere says the Law servants have nothing of their own and therefore must make their Masters will theirs Herodot has a story of the servants of Xerxes qui exorta tempestate in mare desiliunt ut domini sui saluti consulant who in a tempest leaped into the Sea to save their Master c. Malo in nos murmur hominum quà m in Deum I had rather mens murmurs should be against us than against the Lord said devout Bernard It was Luthers meat and drink his constant diet to be reproached for Christ All these relations are the immediate result of the Covenant and a man should improve the Covenant to inforce upon himself the duties that this relation brings with it what should keep a woman true to her Husband but this The Covenant of God is upon me and what should keep the Nazarites from cutting their hair and drinking of wine but the vow of God upon them and they would not break it So that the Covenant should be the great ingagement unto duty 3. Your hearts should be alwaies in such a frame as to receive the mercies of the Covenant for the Lord doth betroth the soul to him in righteousness and in mercy Mercy indeed hath a double rise either it is the issue of providence or else of
promise now mercies that are the fruit and birth of the promises are the sweetest for they are children of the promise that are children of the Covenant Zeph. 2.2 and the promise of God doth as well travel with mercy as the threatnings of God travel with judgement seek the Lord before the decree bring forth it is not to be understood de decreto Dei occulto sed promulgato of the secret decree but of the sentence declared in Gods word as Calv. observes and so do the promises bring forth also now a man that is an heir of promise should walk in the expectation of it that his heart may be fit to receive it continually Jer. 11.4 5. and that God may perform unto him all that he hath spoken obey my voice do all that I command you that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your Fathers The true reason why we many times fail of the mercy is because we are not prepared for it and our heart is not in a frame for Covenant-mercies and therefore doth the Lord defer them and wait to be gracious Esay 30. for mercy is like unto cordials given unto foul stomachs which do but increase the peccant humour sometimes Deus non exaudit propitius God doth not hear in mercy and sometimes exaudit iratus he hears in wrath c. it will not be given in mercy but in judgement if unto a heart unprepared for then duty becomes duty to us when our hearts are prepared to receive the command and a man can say O Lord my heart is ready and then mercy doth become mercy when the heart is prepared to receive it before the mercy come and the mercy of the Covenant doth consist in both giving the mercy and preparing the heart to receive it fitting the vessel and then filling it Now a frame of heart fit to receive mercies consists in these particulars 1. A believing heart relying upon the grace of the Covenant notwithstanding all seeming impossibilities and so Abraham though his body was dry and Sarahs womb dead yet ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he did not dispute and reason the case pro and con and looked not at the probability of the thing but at the grace of the Covenant Psal 118. and the love and power of God therein so David many bulls are come about me they compass me in on every side but they are extinct as the fire among thorns for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them c. and I shall not dye but live and declare the works of the Lord. As Luther when all the world was up in arms against him as it were odium impetum totius orbis sustinuit yet he saith vincet mea audacia in Christo ultimum illorum jam pallentem furorem brevi efficiam ut anathema sit esse papistam My confidence in Christ shall overcome their fury they be men that are fit to enter into Canaan and to receive the promise of the Covenant that can say of the sons of Anak and the Cities walled up to Heaven we can overcome them they be bread for us their defence is departed from them their Rock is not as our Rock c. 2. When a soul is kept watchful and in a continual expectation of the promise I watch for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning he did expect God should come Psal and therefore though he did tarry yet he would watch for him and he doth set himself upon his watch tower Luke 12.35 and this is for a man to stand having his loyns girt and his lamp burning as one that expects the return of his Lord from the marriage and he opens to him immediately Surely it is such a soul that God will pour out the mercies of the Covenant upon he will make him sit down to meat and gird himself and serve him c. Whereas we go without mercies many times because mercy is offered and we are not ready to receive it the Lord knocks and goes away again the soul doth not open a man cannot say my heart is prepared Cant. 5. looking for and hastning to the coming of the day of the Lord 2 Pet. 3.13 3. When a mans heart though in expectation of the mercy yet is weaned from it and resigns it unto the will of God whether he will bestow it or no whether in this life he shall have the mercy he desires or whether he will pay him all in the life to come if he have the mercy now he does not look upon it as his portion but only as solatium a solace a viatick for his way as if he be deprived of them fit exercitium justi injusti supplicium Prosper de vit contempl He has the exercise of the just and punishment of the unjust And so David was in expectation of the Kingdom for it was one of the sure mercies of David yet it is said Psal 131.1 2. His heart was as a weaned child to prepare him for that mercy God had weaned him from it before ever he should injoy it and it is a noble frame of heart to be always in a readiness to resign a mercy before a man has the possession of it and to be contented to let God take as well as give what his soul waits upon him for 4 When a man desires a mercy no further than it may make him holy for the Covenant of God is a holy Covenant Luk. 1.72 and the mercies of the Covenant are ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Act. 13.34 which is the word that the Septuagint doth use Esay 55.3 and Luke renders it according to the translation and not according to the Hebrew that which in the Hebrew is mercies they render holy things and indeed mercies they cannot be unless they tend to promoting holiness in the soul and when a man with Agur fears mercies lest they should draw away his heart Prov. 30. give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient he feared the snare that is in prosperity the hook that is in the bait with which many a man is taken and thereby drawn away from the things of God and few are as Jehosophat who had Silver and Gold in abundance and his heart was lifted up in the wayes of the Lord 2 Chro. 17.6 his heart was incouraged the more in a way of holiness and when a man desires mercies quae nos ornare possunt pariter munire which may as well fortifie as adorn us Prosper The soul of a child of God desires he may have mercies that may be his defence as well as his ornament there are mercies that do adorn men but they do also insnare them and betray them to the enemy nay such a soul desires Heaven not so much for the perfection of his happiness as for the perfection of his holiness which nothing can perfect but the beatifical vision when he shall appear we shall
be like him for we shall see him as he is answerable to our vision of him such will be our conformity to him Mercies unto wicked men are suitable to their services they give to God unsanctified services and God does give them unsanctified rewards and their services are seemingly services but really sins so are the mercies that God gives them seeming blessings but really curses they are indeed blessings in the thing but as they draw out their corruptions so they are curses unto the men So Iratus dat amanti quod malè amat as Austin saies God gives it in wrath as he did to them Quails c. and though they were fed to the full yet he sends âanness into their souls he gave them their hearts desire in wrath 5 By this Covenant you do ingage your selves that whatever God bestows in mercy you will return again in duty that you may injoy nothing apart from God but as the Lord saith of his people in Covenant they are his portion so you also say of God he is your God and as all that is in him is made over unto you so you will be his people and all that is in you shall be made over unto him and should be laid out or laid down for him and you shall resign to him whatever he shall call for and this is for a man to hate Father and Mother and his own life and acknowledge as David did of thine own have we given thee God gave it unto them and they do return it willingly unto God again that which is a Samuel asked of God shall be also lent unto the Lord and the soul never desires or expects good from any mercy from which God hath no glory for a man is a servant to God and it is all the Master 's that the servant hath of gains as the Law saith Cant. 8.11 Servi sunt res Domini quicquid acquirunt acquirunt domino c. Solomon had a Vineyard and he let it out to keepers and he expected the fruits thereof even a thousand pieces of Silver and of the Husbandmen to whom the Vineyard was committed the Lord expected fruits c. a soul is never so well pleased as when it brings forth fruit for God and lays out his strength to the uttermost that he may bring in a revenue of glory to the Lord his God 6 When all the duties of the Covenant are performed by us in the fittest time and in the highest and the best manner 1 In the fittest time as the Lord takes the fittest time to show us mercy so should we also take the fittest time to perform our duty to him and it 's a great matter to know the season there is an accepted time there is a day of salvation 2 And also we must perform it in the highest manner as David said It is for the Lord and therefore the house must be magnificent this have I done out of my poverty though he offered the wealth of a kingdom And the Lord says to Israel Wouldest thou offer this to thy prince I am a great king God expects we should perform all our duties with that reverence and exactness as we do when we offer any gift or present to a Ruler over us 2. We are to improve the Covenant in reference unto God for the obtaining all the mercies of the Covenant because therein the Lord hath in faithfulness ingaged himself Debita reddit nulli debens c. God pays debts and yet is debtor to none but to his own faithfulness So do they Isa 63.18 19. The Lord was departed and had sold them into the hand of strangers and they possessed their Land they pray Return for thy servants sake the tribes of thy inheritance the people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while we are thine thou never barest rule over them and thy name was never called upon them they were never a people whom thou tookest into Covenant as thou hast done unto us And so Isa 63.9 Be not wroth very sore nor remember our iniquity for ever behold I beseech thee we are all thy people Jer. 14.8 9. O thou the hope of Israel the saviour thereof in the time of trouble why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land why shouldest thou be as a man astonished as a mighty man that cannot save if thou O Lord art in the midst of us and we are called by thy name Thy name is called upon us we are thy people in Covenant The Lords portion the lot of his inheritance for God is always mindful of his Covenant and in pursuance thereof he doth whatever he doth in the world if he give Christ it is with respect to the Covenant he hath raised up an horn of salvation Luk. 1.72 that is a strong and powerful Saviour for he has laid help upon one that is mighty And all is that he might perform his Covenant unto our fathers and to remember his holy Covenant Christ and all the mercies by him which are given to us are a fruit of the Covenant that was made with Christ before the world was Lev. 26.41 42. if their uncircumcised hearts be humbled and they accept the punishment of their iniquity then will I remember my Covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham and I will remember the land Now How should a man improve his Covenant in reference unto God 1. Consider rightly the latitude of Covenant mercies and the greatness of them for it is in this Covenant that all your salvation lies that your hearts may be carried out answerable to the vastness of the loving-kindness of God and that no mercy of the Covenant may be left unconsidered and untasted of but that you may have a taste that the Lord is gracious in every one of them and that a man may see that it is the weakness of his heart and the lowness of his spirit that he doth not press towards them all for the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.9 He labours whether present or absent ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã are ambitious c. habet sapientia sui generis superbiam and therefore a godly man is not willing to leave out any thing either of the graces or the priviledges of the Covenant for they are Covenant mercies that are the precious mercies of your lives the flower of all the mercies of a mans life it is therefore said to be a Covenant stablished upon better promises the first Covenant did promise life for ever in Heaven as it did threaten death for ever in Hell but yet there are better promises as he said Est aliud in Christo formosius salvatore There is something in Christ more beautiful than a Saviour so there is something in the Covenant that is better than Heaven 1 The Lord hath made over himself to us in this Covenant He is not ashamed to be called our God to be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee
And this is the Covenant that I will make with them I will be their God Jer. 31.33 and they shall be my people And what it is for to have Jehovah for your God The happiness of it you have heard that as you are wholly his so he also is become wholly yours all that is within you is for God and all that is in God is for you and for your good And he is your God as he is Christs God for there the Covenant-right doth first begin he is my father and your father my God and your God c. 2 He doth in this Covenant take you to be unto himself a peculiar people whom he hath separated unto himself above all people to be unto him for a name and for a praise throughout the earth as Exod. 19.5 You shall be unto me a peculiar treasure above all the people of the earth and he doth say they are his portion the Lords portion is his people and Israel is the lot of his inheritance though all the earth be his yet he hath set his heart upon them and they are dear and precious ones 3 By this Covenant the earth stands that all the creatures may serve the Saints those that are in Covenant with the Lord it is the curse of the first Covenant that shall set on fire the whole frame of the world at the last and great day all the creatures serve the Saints as they do serve God for Christ hath bought the services of all the creatures and he hath in his house vessels of dishonour as well as for honour and even the Devils and wicked men bow to him and they shall worship one day at the Saints feet and shall know that God loves them and God makes use of these vessels of dishonour to fan and purifie his people 2 King 21.13 I will wipe them as a man doth a dish and I will shave them with a rasor that is hired even the King of Assyria And some vessels of honour God uses for the good of his Saints and so do the Angels as well as all other creatures serve their graces or their necessities they are ministring spirits to the heirs of salvation 4 By this Covenant all their sins are pardoned and God remembers them no more the foundation of pardon is not only laid in the satisfaction of Christ the ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã price that he hath laid down but also in the free grace of God in making of the Covenant and in the gracious acceptation of the payment of the surety for you see that God is in Christ reconciling the world there is Covenant grace that runs along with all the fruits of the death of Christ so that even Meritum Christi habet in se gratiam invisceratam The merit of Christ hath grace imbowelled it 5 It is a Covenant of Communion for it is conjugal and in it is the nearest Union and Communion that can be between creatures it 's a Covenant of friendship and the proper effect of friendship is fellowship 2 Cor 6.16 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã I will dwell in them and walk amongst them which is a high degree of condescension There are two ways of Gods communicating himself the one is infinite and to us inconceivable so God doth in the mystery of his eternal generation communicate himself unto his son and as the Godhead doth communicate it self unto the man Christ Jesus in a personal union so there is a communication of himself unto the Saints and the highest communication that is is in a Covenant way there is but little that God doth impart of himself unto all the creatures in comparison of what God doth unto his Saints there is more of his wisdom holiness goodness and all his attributes that is to be seen in these than in all the world besides 't is the Saints alone that can shew forth the vertues of him that hath called them 1 Pet. 2.9 6 By this Covenant he doth dispense Grace and Glory 1 For Grace To make room for that in the Soul He will take away the heart of stone and he will put his law into their hearts Jer. 31.33 And that grace shall teach them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts c. And 2 for Glory hereafter that also is dispensed by this Covenant for the inheritance is not by the Law not by the first but by the second Covenant they only that are heirs of promise are the persons that are ordained to Glory and they only are the sons of the Resurrection their services only are accepted of God and all the glory that he hath in this inferior world comes in by them and it is whatever they do even the meanest services not only their religious works but their civil and natural works which they do out of necessity of nature yet having a tincture of the blood of this Covenant upon them they are in order to an eternal reward and whereas to all other men may be said to what purpose is the multitude of your services Summo dedecore vos afficiam I accept them not Mal. 2.3 I will spread dung upon your faces that is the dung of your fasts and of your solemn services they shall make you but the more hateful and abominable and vile and become a dunghill before God that 's all the fruit you shall have of your religious duties But now men that are in Covenant they can say We will be abundant in the work of the Lord for we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. last 2 Chron. 13.5 2. Have an eye unto the stability of the Covenant it is a Covenant of Salt Sal est duraturae amicitiae symbolum Salt is a symbol of lasting friendship and signifies here that the Lord will never turn away from them to do them good Jer. 32.10 it is a Covenant that we can never break because the righteousness thereof can never be spent And the stability of the Covenant lies not only in the love and mercy of God that made it but 1 in the faithfulness of God who is ingaged and cannot go back for he is not as man that he should repent Dan. 9 4. and therefore in the Scripture he is every where stiled the faithful God that keeps Covenant and mercy for ever and the Apostle says God is not unfaithful to forget your work and labour of love God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins for God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able It is said Mic. 7. last He will perform his mercy to Abraham and his truth to Jacob and he is ingaged by a double Oath That by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lye we may have strong consolation 1 By an oath to Christ for he is made a Priest by an oath Psal 110 3. 2 By an oath unto us and therefore it is
easier for the Mountains to remove out of their place and to stay the Sun in its course to change the Ordinances of Heaven than for the Covenant of peace to be broken with his people 2 Unto the surety of the Covenant for though we fail yet he does not fail he did undertake under the first Covenant to pay all the debt we owe and it is his righteousness alone by which we stand righteous before God and in the second Covenant he hath undertaken to present us without spot and to make all our services acceptable and well pleasing in his sight and the argument is a good one that Moses uses in behalf of the people of Israel pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy as thou hast forgiven them from Egypt even until now for the sins of men cannot make void the faithfulness of God 3. Rejoyce in the Covenant and make it the matter of your delight even Covenant-mercies for 2 Sam. 23.5 This is all my salvation and all my delight that the Lord hath made an everlasting Covenant with me in all things ordered and sure the sweetness doth not lie so much in the mercy as in the tenure by which we hold it it is in the Covenant and this is the only true ground of all a Christians joy it is his whole salvation and therefore should be all his delight Exod. 24.7 8 9. the people of Israel did enter into Covenant with God Moses read the book of the Covenant to them and they consented and said all that the Lord hath said we will do and then the glory of the Lord appeared and they âaw the God of Israel not as we shall see him in Heaven face to face but some visible manifestation of his presence amongst them there was and he laid not his hands upon them that is he did not destroy them but they saw God and did eat and drink that is they rejoyced in the Covenant that they had made with God and they saw that God did manifest unto them the signes of acceptance in this Covenant and therefore they kept a holy feast and did rejoyce exceedingly before the Lord and when they entred into Covenant ân the time of Asa 2 Chron. 15.15 all the people rejoyced at the oath for they had sworn with all their heart and they sought God with their whole desire and he was found of them it is that which the Lord expects that men should glory in him and make their âoast of him that he is pleased to be confederate with them 4. Plead your interest in Covenant mercies for it is in the Covenant that the power of all your prayers does lie God is not indebted unto any men in the world but the children of the Covenant or not so much unto them as to his own promise Austin Conf. dignaris eis quibus âmnia debita dimittis etiam promissionibus tuis debitor fieri and therefore the Lord saith âut me in remembrance plead thou Esay 43.26 Psal 74.20 c. you that are the Lords remembrancers keep not siâence have respect unto the Covenant for all the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty there is all manner of cruelty executed and yet men hide it under âir and specious pretences and these latibula impiorum lurking places of wicked men are âalled the dark places of the earth c. Now in such a time as this when there was nothing âut cruelty executed the enemies did roar in their Congregations and did triumph in their wickedness and the more spoil any of them could make upon the Temple the more famous he was it was when Jerusalem was taken now what have the poor people of God to look upon nothing but put God in remembrance of his Covenant have respect unto thy Covenant and so should all the Saints do in their prayers go to God and plead the uprightness of thy heart in the middle of all thy failings Lord though thou hast smitten us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death yet have we not gone back from thee and so doth Hezekiah when he comes to die remember Lord that I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and it is this that is the condition that thou hast made of the Covenant of Grace not a perfect way but a heart perfect with God and therefore men in Covenant are said to plead with God for themselves and for the Churches because they only have an interest in him and they can by grace claim mercies from God but other men cannot and so doth Christ manifest his desires to the Father according to the Covenant Zech. 1. And the Lord answered the Angel with good and comfortable words and so a poor soul shall find the Lord will do with him also in all his supplications to God and pleadings with God He will answer him according to his hearts desire 5. Expect that God shall deal with thee according unto this Covenant and so thou maist judge of all his wayes towards thee for God does always dispense himself unto a person according to the Covenant under which he stands and this is that which deceives most men in the Church because they hear of the Covenant of Grace and do live under the outward priviledges thereof though for the state of their persons they be under the Covenant of works yet they expect that Gods dealing should be to them according to the tenour of the second Covenant and therefore if they do sin and afterwards ask pardon they conclude that God will give pardon and grace and that what services they do find acceptance with him and shall have from him a reward It is true with them that are in the Covenant of grace it is so but this is the great deceit when a man doth transire de genere in genus and from the priviledges of the one Covenant apply them unto a person that is under the other Covenant If thou sin thou maist expect pardon and if thou do duty thou that art under the second Covenant maist expect acceptance and if thou be afflicted thou must look upon it as an act of the Fathers love whom I love I rebuke and chasten and if thou dost sin look that God should visit thy offences with a rod for God in faithfulness doth afflict his own children and if the frowardness of thy heart be not overcome by it he will put forth an almighty power of loving kindness to draw thy heart to him with the cords of thy love Esay 57. I have seen thy wayes and I will heal thee Some promises of the Covenant are absolute the immediate fruits of free grace and the soul may expect these without preparation or condition but some promises are only upon condition now in the Covenant thou hast no ground to expect them without the condition be performed Vse 4 § 4. Having given up
our names to God in this Covenant given the hand to the Lord it is a duty often to renew it and to repeat unto a mans soul the same obligation and here I will show 1 That it is not enough that a man do enter into Covenant with the Lord but that he renew it often 2 I will give you the grounds why a man should renew his Covenant 3 Shew the times when in a special manner the Lord expects it and when it is a way to find mercy with the Lord. 4 Show you the manner how it is to be done 5 I 'le press it by setting before you the great benefits and fruits that do flow from a renewed Covenant with the Lord. 1. A man being once entred into Covenant with God is held and obliged by that Covenant for ever as we see the Devils entred into Covenant and this Covenant they have broken in respect of the precept yet they are all still under the curse of it and shall be for ever and that curse the chains of darkness in which they are held so man being once ingaged is for ever engaged therefore it 's his duty often to renew his Covenant and that will appear in these particulars 1. The Lord hath often renewed his Covenant with his people he made a Covenant with Abraham Gen. 15.18 and yet he renews his Covenant again Gen. 17.2 4 7. So the Lord did take Israel into Covenant with himself and his name was called upon them he doth take them into their Fathers Covenant he remembred his Covenant with Abraham and Isaac Exod. 6.4 5 7. and he saith I will take you unto me for a people and I will be to you a God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God c. and yet this Covenant he renews in a publick and solemn manner upon Mount Sinai when out of his mouth went a fiery law Deut. 5.2 3. Deut. 5.2 3. He made a Covenant with us in Horeb he made not this Covenant with our Fathers some refer it unto all the Patriachs from Adam and so the Covenant was the same for they entred into Abrahams Covenant but it is spoken in regard of the publick and glorious way of revealing it to them beyond what it was to their Fathers which was not revealed with that solemnity and speaking with and seeing God face to face or else by the Fathers some do understand those that died in Egypt and in the Wilderness who had forgotten the Covenant of their Fathers and the Lord did not renew it with them and yet afterwards Exod. 24.7 8 10. Moses takes the book of the Covenant and reads it in the audience of the people and they ingaged themselves to do all that the Lord had said and be obedient to his requirings and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the people and said This is the blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you and v. 11. They did eat and drink before the Lord and see the glory of the God of Israel and upon the people he laid not his hand c. and yet this is not enough but the Lord renews his Covenant again Deut. 29.1 The words of the Covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab besides the Covenant that he made with them in Horeb and v. 10. 12. You stand before the Lord this day that you should enter into Covenant with the Lord and into the oath which the Lord made with thee to establish thee this day for a people to himself that he might be unto thee a God as he hath sworn unto thy Fathers c. thus you see the Lord has often renewed his Covenant with his people 2. The people of God have often renewed their Covenant also with him it was not enough that they had in Moses time been taken into Covenant so often but before he died he renewed the Covenant with them and they did solemnly ingage themselves The Lord will we serve Josh 24.25 and his voice will we obey and he set up a Stone under an Oak for a witness against them 2 Chron. 15.12 2 Chron. 29.10 2 Chron. 34.31 if they should hereafter deny the Lord their God And this Covenant was renewed in the days of King Asa and Hezekiah and Josiah and Ezra 10.3 and Nehemiah 9.38 therefore renewing of the Covenant is a duty that we owe unto the Lord and that ingagement must be reiterated c. 2. But seeing that a Covenant once made doth alwayes bind a man and the force of it continues distance of time doth not wear it out why should it be needful for men to renew their Covenant so often The grounds of it are these 1. Because of the unbelief of our spirits and from the infirmity of our faith for the confirmation of our faith in the mercy and grace of the Covenant Therefore David made it the matter and ground of all his delight and his thoughts were wholly upon it Why did God renew the Covenant so often with Abraham but to strengthen and confirm his faith therein that it was a sure Covenant and should never be forgotten The mercies of the Covenant are great and the heart of man would fail and his spirit sink in the expectation of them but then he calls to mind his Covenant and renews his Covenant-ingagements with them and for this cause we receive the seals of the Covenant often and every time we do so we renew the Covenant between God and us Gods seals are set to our seals that this may be like unto Joshua's stones a testimony that we have entred into Covenant with the Lord. 2. To manifest the sincerity of our hearts that though we fail in the duty of it yet our hearts still stand to it we delight in the Law according to our inward man though we fall every day yet saies a soul in Covenant with God I love to think of renewing the ingagement that is between God and me as a loving and tender Wife loves often to renew her ingagement to her Husband and to have it much in her mind that she may not forget the Covenant of her God so to shew that a man doth not repent but his ingagement âs still pleasing to him he renews it often and if it were to do again and again a man would do the same thing if it were every hour to let the world see he is not turned back from the Covenant of his God Phil. 3.9 saies the Apostle I suffered the loss of all things and do count them dung c. I have not repented of it I am of the same mind still there is not in me a principle to draw back and to depart from the living God I am willing to renew this ângagement still When there is an error in the contract that a man makes with another then âf it were to do again the soul would not do it so
there is many a man that goes back from ââis ingagement to God long and per poenitentiae poenitentiam Diabolo satisfaciet Tertul. By repenting âf his repentance he will satisfie the Devil But a heart that is sincere with God will renew ât again and he would not have his ingagement broken he still cries out Lord I am thine and thou art the Lord my God surely thou art our Father and thy compassion does not fail but thou renewest it upon us every moment Therefore I come again to give the hand to the Lord and renew my Covenant with him 3. By reason of the falseness of our hearts there is so much treachery of spirit that we are not easily kept within bounds our purposes are easily broken and men draw back from the Lord by reason of the falseness of their hearts and the treachery that is in them Ezech. 16.30 How weak is thy heart unstable as water and it is said that water hardly contains it self within its own bounds And therefore it was Chrysostoms complaint once Gen. 49.4 and since it has been the complaint of many others after him That a Minister did never find his âork as he left it and so does a Christian complain he does seldom find his heart as he left ãâã Now that a mans heart may be fixed therefore the Lord takes his people into Coveâant with himself and they bind themselves much in Covenants 4. They renew their Covenant that by often repeating and renewing it it may be set on upon their spirits the more and lay the greater ingagement upon them for surely the more frequently we bind our selves the faster we are bound and every renewal of our Covenant doth intend and strengthen the obligation and makes the deeper impression upon the heart and therefore Deut. 6.7 the Lord commands Israel to teach them diligently unto their children the word in the Hebrew is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is to sharpen them as you do a Knife saepius ad cotem impellendum the way to make it take the deepest impression upon the soul is to set it on by often and frequent repetitions because of the deadness of our hearts and inadvertence of spirit we are apt to forget the Covenant of the Lord Deut. 4.23 and when men are apt to forget a thing they had need have it repeated often to them 5. By reason of the forgetfulness of the heart there is nothing that the ungodliness of a mans heart is more prone to than to forget his ingagement unto God and therefore was that strict charge laid upon them Deut. 4.23 Take heed to your selves lest you forget the Covenant which the Lord your God made with you and make you a graven Image c. The happiness of the Angels lies in this that they both know all the duties of their Covenant and have them alwaies in mind for where there is no sinfulness there is no forgetfulness but the misery of man lies in this as to the ingagement of this Covenant in many things he is ignorant of it so also is he unmindful of it and thence the Apostle saith Heb. 2.1 2. Lest we prove leaking vessels c. or as some will derive the word Heb. 2.1 2. charta bibula quae Scripturam non bene continet the word is written there as in sinking paper and the Ink runs abroad that afterwards when you have writ it you cannot read it now things that we are willing to remember we repeat them often and do thereby keep them in mind as the remembrance of the creation the mercy the Lord would not have forgotten and for this cause he has appointed a weekly remembrance and the death of Christ he would not have to be forgotten and therefore he appoints us to remember it often do this in remembrance of me because it would else quickly wear out of our minds mercies and duties being for the most part written in our hearts as letters written upon the water no sooner in but out and therefore we read in Esay 48.8 when the Lord would have a thing take deep impression upon them he bids them to remember it yea bring it again to mind O ye transgressors not only remember it once but often bring it again to mind c. Now there is a double curse upon the memory of man 1 There is a natural weakness that it is like a Sieve that lets pass all the Corn and retains nothing but the Chaff 2 There is a weakness that is below nature As there is a strength unto good that is supernatural when a man is immediately acted by the Spirit of God that there is in him more than the strength of a man so there is also in wayes of sin when a man hath an immediate concurrence of the spirit of the Devil Rev. 2.10 Joh. 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and his lusts ye will do and the Devil shall cast some of you into prison that is wicked men acted by the spirit of the Devil and so Rev. 12.11 the Dragon is the Heathen Roman Emperours but it is as they are acted by Satan and therefore it is said to be the old Serpent and Satan in them for the Devil hath not in himself ten horns it is the Devil working in them and acting them so there is also a weakness below nature men are apt to forget the word and their duty which they learn out of it but Satan comes and as an Harpy snatcheth away the word that is he adds a weakness below the nature men are apt to forget it sooner than otherwise they would have done by putting into the heart contrary impressions the things that we regard and take care of we are apt to remember but the things that we care not for we are apt to forget quae curant senes meminerunt old men remember what they care for Now the heart of man is least set upon Covenant duties of any thing and therefore had need to have its memory helped with continual and frequent repetitions of them 6. By reason of the ignorance and blindness of the mind of man we had need to be remembred of our Covenant and to renew it often we are all narrow mouthed vessels and receive all things from God but by drops and light comes in upon us but by degrees in several beams and a man looks often upon it before he can understand it and therefore the Lord gives unto us line upon line and precept upon precept Esay 28.10 And thence the Saints of God read over the same things and be content to hear the same things again because they have a new view of them they have a farther light into and farther discoveries of them Psal 25.14 Psal 25.14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him the word in Hebrew signifies mysterium arcanum a secret is something that cannot be known unless it be by revelation that a man by all
his wisdom and industry could not find out And what is that secret of the Covenant The Covenant is the secret and it is with them that he may make it known unto them therefore there is a mysterie in the dutys of the Covenant that is not revealed unto all but it is unto them that fear him and the Lord will do it suitably unto our frame as our grace comes in by constant supplies of the Spirit of God so doth our knowledge also and all by a daily increase of light from the Spirit and this is by a frequent repetition of the same act of faith and therefore the people of God love to repeat it and thereby they see farther into these mysteries from day to day and they do the more exceedingly prize the mercy of the Covenant as the greatest mercy they can injoy 3. How is this work to be done and what is it for a man to renew his Covenant 1. He that will renew his Covenant with God must be deeply sensible of the breach of Covenant and of the unfaithfulness of his heart therein It should deeply humble us to consider that no bonds should hold us If there were no other tye upon us but that of our creation that we had our being from him and that out of nothing but when unto this natural and necessary bond we have added a voluntary and have consented unto the Lord yet now for us to forget the Covenant of our God and prove perfidious to him and draw back is this your return unto God for his Grace in taking you into Covenant and who doth always remember Covenant mercies for you even then when you forget duty to him Is this your requital of the Lord who in the performance of the Covenant did not spare his Son when he cryed that he might be saved God was so resolved upon his Covenant with you that the death of his Son was a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour and he was delighted in it in performance of the grace of the Covenant made with you And also the Lord Christ met with variety of discouragements not only the weight of sin in the guilt of it which he complained of as his own though he knew no sin Psal 40.12 but the wrath of the Father the rage of his enemies the hour and the power of darkness the falshood of his Disciples and yet when he was tempted to come down from the Cross he doth hold it out that he might thereby shew that he loved you to the uttermost and would save you to the utmost And now for you Prov. 20.25 after vows to make inquiry whenas no man doth receed or go back from the Covenant in which he hath ingaged himself without infamy and it 's as odious as for a man to prove false to his friend and betray him and as unfair dealing it is as for a Servant to run away from his Master or a Soldier from his Commander and as David says by way of reproach he hath broken his Covenant and laid his hand upon him that was at peace with him yea for the Wife of a mans bosom to betray a man and to forget the Covenant of her God for a man to forget his Oath that he took at his Baptism and as the Jews did labour to make their circumcision uncircumcision and to do this unto a God that was never a Wilderness to you nor ever gives you cause to repent of your ingagement surely hereby you see not only your perfidiousness and unthankfulness but also fully to make forfeiture of all Covenant mercies to bring upon your selves all the curses of the Covenant Gen. 2.28 Num. 14.34 and to put God upon breach of Covenant with you who have behaved your selves so unfaithfully towards him and thereby you acknowledge though you have subscribed your names in the register of Zion yet you deserve unto your perpetual ignominy to have them expunged thence and to be written in the earth and given up to an everlasting forgetfulness So it was with Josiah when he made his Covenant his heart was tender and he did humble himself before the Lord for their Covenant-breaking 2 Chron. 34.27 31. Neh. 10. And Ezra 10. it doth follow upon a great humiliation a man that is not sensible of and his heart not affected with the breach of Covenant that man is not fit to renew his Covenant with the Lord. 2. It must be with a resolution of heart to break all other Covenants men are said Isa 28.15 To make a Covenant with death and hell that is they were as secure Isa 28.15 and as fearless of it as a man that hath a person in Covenant with him whom he looks upon as his friend and fears him not and thus they make a Covenant with sin and ingage themselves to serve other gods and so when the people renewed the Covenant in Joshuah's time you see the Command you have chosen the Lord to serve him Josh 24.22 put away therefore your strange gods and so the command was to put away their strange wives Ezra There are cords of vanity and there are bonds of iniquity by which men do bind themselves Now all these Covenants must be broken if a man come to renew his Covenant with the Lord for the answer you must give to the Covenant must be the answer of a good conscience and that Conscience that reserves to it self any league with sin unbroken 1 Pet 3.21 is not a good conscience before God a Covenant that is sinful is in it self void and a nullity because in every such ingagement there is dolus deceit and error which are destroying to the nature of a Covenant which should be free and deliberate and therefore it is in all such Covenants as with Herods Oath they bind to nothing but repentance for Juramentum non est vinculum iniquitatis and therefore a man must resolve to break Covenant with all sinful ingagements if he do intend to renew his Covenant with the Lord. 3. A man must know the terms and read over the Articles of the Covenant anew for no wise man will set his hand to an obligation of which he is not well acquainted with the condition and if there were no other cause nor ingagement upon man to know the will of God and their own duty this were enough they have bound themselves to serve him and therefore by the same Covenant they are bound to know the rules by which he will be served for Deo serviendum non est ex arbitrio sed ex imperio so doth Josiah 2 Chron. 34.30 he caused to be read in the ears of the people all the words of the book of the Covenant and then he stood up and made a Covenant before the Lord to perform all the words of the Covenant written in the Book 4. It must be with a free and full consent of heart for the Covenant in the renewing of it must
a Covenant with the Lord God of Israel that his fierce wrath may turn away from us The end of his making the Covenant was to divert the Judgement And so we read also in the Book of Nehemiah and thus gracious is the Lord Nehem. 9.38 that when he doth send judgement for sin he doth not continue the judgement but till he doth see an humiliation and reformation in act let there be but the serious purpose of reformation and let the Covenant be renewed to ingage the soul thereunto and the Lord doth remove the judgement and when the will is in his people he doth accept it for the deed as David Psal 32.5 I said I will confess my sin unto the Lord and the Lord forgave me my sin and the prodigal Son doth but say I will go to my father and while he was yet a great way off the father met him 3. In a time of publick reformation when the foundations have been destroyed and all things out of course and a great deal of difficulty appears and even impossibility in carrying on the work yet the people of God looking upon it as a duty have set upon it with full resolution and purpose of heart and have covenanted to go through with the work notwithstanding all opposition Jehoiada made a Covenant between the Lord and the King and the people that they should be the Lords people here Religion was corrupted and Dominion was usurped and the Lord put it into the heart of Jehoiada the Priest to endeavour the reformation of both and therefore he brought forth the Kings Son to whom the government did rightly belong and did set him up in the Throne and deposed Athalia the usurping Queen and he doth make a double Covenant 1 A Covenant between God and the King and the People and in this Covenant the King and the people do make up but one party and they ingage themselves to be Gods people and the King to rule for God as under him 2 There is also a Covenant between the King and the People that he ruling for God and under God they will for Conscience sake obey Now my Covenant with any Magistrate must be understood as being a second and subordinate Covenant I am so to keep Covenant with them that I must also keep my Covenant with the Lord. Wherefore after they had thus strengthened themselves by a Covenant in the next verse they set upon the work of reformation effectually for all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and brake it down And so did Josiah he made a Covenant with the Lord To walk after the Lord and keep his Commandments with all his heart 2 King 23.3 4. and then he commanded them to bring out of the Temple of the Lord all the Vessels that were made for Baal c. and wrought the most glorious reformation that ever ' was by any of the Kings of Judah having his heart and hands strengthened by a Covenant with the Lord. 4. As a testimony of a mans Thankfulness for any great mercy or special deliverance or as an argument of faith that a man is to use unto God when he doth pray for and expect from God any special mercy 1 As an argument that a man should use unto God to obtain mercy it is that artificial way of praying that the Lord himself teaches his people Hosea 14.2 Take away our iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the calves of our lips Assur shall not save us we will not ride upon Horses neither will we say any more to the work of our hands Ye are our Gods for in thee the fatherless find mercy c. And so Jacob also Gen. 28.20 22. he begged a blessing in his journey and he doth follow the prayers he had put up with a vow if the Lord will be with me he shall be my God and if he bring me to my Fathers house this Stone shall be Gods House and if the Lord bless me with an estate I will surely return him of his own I will give the tenth unto thee so punctual is this holy man to restipulate or return something unto God answerable unto the mercy that he doth beg of God If Hezekiah may be delivered from death Esay 38.20 and David from guilt Psal 51.14 they promise to sing aloud of so great a mercy and to teach transgressors the way of God also the Fathers to the Children shall declare his truth When a man in desiring the mercy doth it with a spiritual eye and doth not ask amiss he is truly careful to perform the duty that such a mercy calls for that he may return as well as receive for quantum à praeceptis tantum ab auribus Dei sumus Tertullian When there is no obedience to God there must be expected no audience by God And therefore one special argument that the people of God do use in their prayers to obtain mercy is a renewing their Covenant 2 It is to be done in testimony of thankfulness for mercy received and then doth a man indeed make a right use of a mercy when he is bound the closer unto God by such cords of Love and the more the Lord doth ingage him the more he is willing to ingage himself to God A great army of Ethiopians came against the King of Judah with an host of a thousand thousand men and the Lord delivered them into his hand now at their return they came to Jerusalem to give God the glory of the victory and they offered unto him of the spoil which they had taken and now they enter into Covenant with the Lord to seek the Lord God of their Fathers with all their hearts and with all their souls and so the renewing of the Covenant is their return made unto God for the mercy And so the Jews at their return out of Babylon Jer. 50.4 5. They come with weeping and seek the way to Sion with their faces thitherward and they say Let us bind our selves unto the Lord by a perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten so that in receiving and attaining the mercy God calls for a Covenant as also in returning the mercy 5. When a man finds his heart bent to backsliding and he is unsteady and unstable in any good way Moses finding the people of Israel a very unsteady people and whose hearts were not stedfast with the Lord after that solemn Covenant with them upon Mount Sinai he renews it again a little before his death when they were come to the borders of the promised Land and inforceth it both with the wonders that God wrought upon Pharaoh and also the great miracles that he had wrought for them when he led them through the wilderness forty years And the same thing was the ground of Joshua's renewing his Covenant Josh 24. Josh 24. And Nehemiah finding that many of the Jews loved their strange Wives and the children that they had by them
and therefore it would be hard to perswade them to put them away having convinced them of the sin and obtained of them a promise that they would put them away he doth bind them by a Covenant which they subscribe seal and confirm by an Oath and a curse for he that will keep Covenant with God may sometimes be smitten in the place of Dragons and sometimes his Father and his Mother may stand in the way of his duty to God when he should keep the Covenant they may perswade him to break it now this is praise-worthy for a man with Levi to say to his Father and Mother I have not seen him not to know his own Brethren nor his own Children Deut. 33.9 A man had need have his heart strengthned by all manner of Covenant ingagements or else he will do as the children of Israel did about putting away their servants Jer. 34.9 go back again and behave himself falsly and unsteadily therein 6. When a man doth receive the Sacraments any of the seals of the Covenant it is his duty to renew the Covenant as often as we set to the seal anew we should read over the obligation anew Gen. 15.18 The Lord made a Covenant with Abraham but yet Gen. 17.1 2 c. the Lord renews the Covenant and the occasion of it was v. 10. because the Lord did then institute the Sacrament of Circumcision the seal of the righteousness of faith Rom. 4. when the Lord institutes the seal he renews his Covenant and so should we as often as we set to the seal Psal 50.5 So Psal 50.5 Gather my Saints together to me that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice there is a double sense given of it some say it is a description of the people of Israel whom the Lord owned to be his people because in Covenant with him by sacrifice Exod. 24. Calvin Sigilla Syngraphae sc adminicula ad saciendum Dei foedus others think it to be spoken by way of opposition to them that did rest only in the outward rites the Sacrifices that they did offer and did never look upon them as signs and seals or administring helps to the establishment of Gods Covenant they did only use the sacrifices unto the end for which the Lord appointed or did look upon them as a renewing of their Covenant with God and their ingagement unto him for their obedience And so it should be in every ordinance of God these acts of obedience should lead us unto the Covenant which is the ground of our obligation unto the same obedience this is true of Baptism also 1 Pet. 3.21 1 Pet. 3.21 which I conceive to be an allusion unto John's Baptism wherein the people first confessed their sins and renounced them and afterwards inquired into the work that they were to do in promising and ingaging themselves unto obedience and so there was a restipulation on their part unto God again And so it is true of the Lords Supper it is the New-Covenant or Testament in his blood Now the fruit and benefits that the people of God have found by the renewing of their Covenant are many 1. It hath been a testimony to them of the truth of their repentance Math. 3.8 John calls for fruits meet for repentance and what is a right fruit of repentance but to abhor the former evils we have been guilty of and say Ashur shall not save us c. and to engage to perform the contrary duty for it is not testimony enough of the truth of a mans repentance that he doth abstain from the acts of former sins unless also he has a testimony unto his own soul that he doth endeavour to grow in the contrary graces 2. It is the foundation of consolation 2 Chron. 15.14 15. in the time of Asa the King of Judah they swore with a loud voice with Trumpets and Cornets and all Judah rejoyced at the oath for they had sworn with all their hearts A day of renewing Covenant with the Lord will be a day of great rejoycing and great consolation unto the ssoul for it 's like unto a new Wedding-day the Covenant with God being a Matrimonial Covenant and it brings the soul from its wandrings unto God again and the soul says I will return to my former Husband for it was better with me then than now 3. It is a means to establish and stay the heart which is in it self exceeding fickle and uncertain it 's unstable as water Josh 24.31 they bound themselves by Covenant to serve the Lord and they did it all the days of Joshua and the Elders that had out-lived him that had seen the great mercies of God unto them and their bonds and ingagements to God So Josiah made them all stand to the Covenant and all his days they departed not from following the Lord the God of their Fathers for Jer. 13.11 2 Chron. 34.33 As a girdle cleaves to the loyns of a man so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel that they might be to me for a name and a praise and a glory there is a principle of fixing and establishing in the Covenant that a man is thereby bound to cleave to God with full purpose of heart there is no going back therefore it is called the bond of the Covenant 4. It 's a special means joyned with fasting and prayer to prevail with God for mercy when a man is willing as well to ingage himself to duty as he is to expect mercy from the Lord they sought the Lord with their whole desire and he was found of them 2 Chron. 15. and the Lord gave them rest round about and there is no more effectual way to obtain any blessing or mercy from God than a renewing of Covenant and ingagement of obedience to God And the reason hereof is this because the more the will renews its Covenant with God the more subordinated it is to the Will of God now God doth in a manner to speak âith reverence submit the liberality of his mercies to a will subordinated to his will Again the more we renew our Covenant with God the more harmonie there is between our will and the will of God and O! what peace ariseth hence what contentment in âvery condition According to the tenure of the New Covenant a solid full will is acceptââ by God for the effect and therefore the more the will renews its consent to the Coveâânt the more it is accepted by God 5. It doth not only establish the heart but make it better as the will becomes good ât first by willing what is good so it is then best when it most strongly wills what is best âow when doth the will more strongly will what is best than when it doth most firmly reâew its Covenant with God its best good So many grains as there are of a deterâined will in adhering to God according to the terms of the
thee and thy Seed after thee in their Generation for an everlasting Covenant to be a God to thee and thy Seed after thee SECT I. That Children are taken into their Parents Covenant § 1. THE subject we have in hand is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace the new and better Covenant and therein having shewed the Person that made the Covenant with man and spoken of the free Grace of God which was the Fountain from whence this Covenant of Grace did flow we came in the next place to consider the Persons with whom this Covenant was made and they are set down in a threefold subordination 1 First and immediately with Christ the second Adam 2 In him with all the Faithfull 3 In them with their Seed And this last is the head we are now to enter upon having laid these two grounds 1 That the Covenant that God made with Abraham is the same Covenant that all the Faithfull whether Jews or Gentiles stand under to the worlds end Rom. 4.16 therefore is Abraham called the Father of us all though of the Gentiles ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã There is cognatio specialis quae coram Deo locum habet Deo nos gratos reddit Beza All Believers have a special Cognation to God by virtue of Abrahams Covenant and this is not barely by imitation of his Faith which the Apostle Paul asserts vers 12. of those that walk in the steps of the Faith of Abraham but there is â blessed resultance from this that a man is thereby translated into the Covenant of Abraâam and there is no distinction of persons for there is neither Jew nor Greek Gal. 3.29 neither bond âor free neither male nor female for ye are all one in Christ Jesus Ad jus adoptionis acquirendum vel minuendum nullum discrimen sancta est in Christo aequalitas quae unitas Par. Par. As to the right of Adoption there is no inequality all are in Christ equal All therefore that are Christs are Abrahams seed and heirs according to the Promise Gal. 4.28.31 we as Isaac are the children of Promise we are not the children of the bond-woman but of the free 2 Though in the manner of the Administration of this Covenant there be a great deal of difference from what it was in ancient times yet as to the substance of the Covenant the persons that are foederati in it are the same and taken in upon the same grounds and shall be so to the end of the world and therefore as the seed were taken into Covenant with their father the same way will the Lord dispense the Covenant to the end of the world that if he take the Parent into Covenant he will take the seed with him and therefore their children are called the Sons of the Covenant Act. 3.25 because it 's as a Birth-Priviledge and belongs unto them as they are taken into their Fathers Covenant And this the Lord says shall be the way in which he will dispense his Covenant for ever Act. 2.39 that no man may say this was a peculiar priviledge unto Abraham and his seed onely for Abraham is made the Father of many Nations Rom. 4.12 the Father of the Circumcision and of the Uncircumcision and the Promise is to you and your seed and unto them that are afar off as Gentiles unconverted are said to be that are yet strangers unto the Church of God Ephes 2.17 and the Priviledges thereof even to as many as in all ages the Lord shall call And these two grounds being laid this Covenant made with Abraham will give us ground to observe this point Doctrine That the Children of believing Parents in the Covenant of Grace are taken into the same Covenant with their Parents the Covenant is to them and to their seed and therefore their Posterity may well be stiled the Children or Sons of the Covenant A point it is of great concernment and therefore to be contended earnestly for 1. As that which doth exceedingly advance the Grace of God unto Parents and makes much for their Consolation that are Believers that not only the Lord doth extend mercy to them but to their seed as he did here extend it to Abrahams seed by which God exceedingly exalts his free Grace and so it 's made an argument of special Love unto Parents Deut. 4.37 Because he loved thy Parents therefore he chose their seed after them Mercy unto their Posterity is from the Love of God unto Parents Now as it is a special Grace of the second Covenant that wherever Believers come unto all people where they live they shall be a blessing Gen. 12.2 the word in the Hebrew is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã esto benedictio so Montanus we render it according to the Septuagint Thou shalt be a blessing but as Aynsworth has well observed this manner of speaking in the Hebrew is very vehement and emphatical noting Gods commanding the blessing according to the Expression Psal 133.3 For there the Lord commanded the Blessing even life for evermore c. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as dew from the Lord c. They shall be as dew the cause of a Nations flourishing and to a decaying Nation they shall be the root and support the holy seed shall be the substance thereof Isa 16.13 how much more shall the Grace of the Covenant be exalted in reference to their Posterity for their consolation in that they are nearer and dearer to them than any other can be and therefore they shall be a blessing to them and this will be much heightned unto them by this that while they were under the Covenant of Works while unstranslated they did convey unto them the Curse of the first Covenant and the Lord doth threaten that he will visit the iniquity of the Parents upon the Children Now it were a great terrour to a man that while he is under the first Covenant his iniquity shall be visited upon his Children if when he is translated into the second Covenant the grace of the Covenant should no way extend unto them and âârange it were that all the creatures coming under the Covenant of the Saints are by tââs means preserved in their being and attain many benefits that by reason of the curse of the first Covenant they should never have attained if amongst all the rest their children should have no benefit by their fathers Covenant and they which are nearest to them should only be excluded 2. This is one of the great Arguments that the Scripture useth to draw men in to Believe because not only they shall have benefit by it but their Posterity there is a double use that I find the Apostle makes of that argument 1 To the Children as a means to bring them in repent ye therefore and be converted for you are the children of the Covenant which God made with your fathers there is mercy in
of all his that die in their infancy because the Covenant is the same with both and the persons taken into Covenant are the same Thou and thy seed after thee This truth therefore we had need to be carefully instructed in and which has stirred up those that are faithful unto God and his Truth to contend earnestly for this Doctrine as delivered unto and this priviledge as conferred on the Saints against those that would put their children into the same condition with those who are farthest off from God Jude 3. so that though they be the children of their flesh yet they are not of their Covenant There has of late years been much written about it and therefore I shall not enter into the disputation as that which you may read every where and inform your selves at leisure about but barely lay down the truth in a positive way in which I shall but nakedly represent unto you what I find delivered by those that hold and love the truth herein I shall first begin with the proof of the Doctrine That children are taken into their parents Covenant together with themselves which I shall endeavour to make good to you by these clear and evident Arguments 1. This ever hath been since the Fall and ever since the Father has gathered unto the Lord Jesus his Son a Church upon Earth the way of the Lords administration of the second Covenant that whensoever he has taken parents into Covenant with him into his Kingdom and Family he has taken in their children together with them Acts 3.25 and has counted them as part of his Family and Kingdom therefore they are called the Sons of God Gen. 6.1 and the children of the Lord your God Deut. 14.1 and amongst the Gentiles Gal. 3.26 he saith That you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and therefore called the children of the Kingdom Mat. 8.12 Rom. 9.2 3. not that they are all born of God and are inwardly as to the state of their persons the children of God but Rom. 9.2 3. Theirs is the Adoption it is not meant of an inward and spiritual Adoption but it 's meant of an external and visible Adoption to be separated from all other people and to be owned by God as his children Israel is my son my first-born Exod. 19.5 6. yet there were many in Israel that were inwardly and for the state of their persons enemies to God and the children of the Devil and so much the Apostle does evidently assert Rom. 11.21 Rom. 11.21 Here 's a twofold Olive-tree there is the true Olive-tree and that is Abraham Isaac and Jacob by virtue of their Covenant Non quibus à natura inesset sanctitas sed quia ex iis erant nati quos Dominus foedere gratuito à reliquis gentibus sibi segregat Beza and they that were born of them are called the natural branches and what is the wild Olive that is all those that were out of the Church of the Jews that were not visibly taken into Abrahams family and Covenant so that now there is a threefold Israel of God 1 There is natural Israel and they are taken into Covenant for their fathers sake as they are natural branches growing upon the good Olive-tree 2 There is surrogated Israel those that are grafted in when they were broken off therefore as the other did grow upon the root of Abrahams Covenant so do these also for they were gathered in Rom. 11.17 that is as Beza renders it for those * Pro ipsis in locum ramorum defractorum that were broken off therefore as the others grow upon his root they and their children so do these also 3 The Lord shall return again in mercy to his people Israel they shall be taken in again for their parents Covenant for they are beloved for their fathers sake and they shall be again ingrafted into their own Olive-tree so that it has been the constant way of Gods administration of the Covenant of grace he has taken the parents into Covenant and they being ingrafted into a visible Church of God they are grafted in as the root and all their children are as branches growing thereupon 2. When the parents are disinherited and cast out of the Covenant so are the children also therefore when the parents are taken in the children are taken in Rom. 11. we read of a breaking off and a grafting in Now the breaking off and grafting in must answer to and expound one the other now how were they natural branches They were so called by reason of their birth growing naturally upon Abraham the root How were they broken off They were rejected from being a visible Church the Lord called them Loammi and would owne them for his people no more deprived them of the adoption which did before belong unto them they were formerly counted the people of God above all Nations under Heaven 1 Thess 2.16 but now rejected and this the Apostle calls wrath come upon them to the uttermost men that are members of the invisible Church cannot be broken off their sins though they may vastare conscientiam yet they cannot excutere fidem c. So then as the Lord took in the believing Gentiles and their children into a visible Church unto himself and translated the adoption unto them so he did cast off the Jews and their children he broke off the natural branches that they should be unto him no longer as a peculiar people so that together with their fathers the children were broken off therefore together with their parents the children of the Gentiles are grafted in and therefore all is put upon the parents Covenant for their opposition to the Gospel the Lord laid this great wrath upon them and their posterity 3. Children are members of the visible Church where their parents are in Covenant with God grafting in is admission into visible membership as breaking off is a casting out of visible membership so Mar. 10.14 Of such not only of these very little ones but of such as these is the Kingdom of Heaven Now by the Kingdom of Heaven is meant the visible Church and it 's commonly so put in the Gospel so that of such is the visible Church of God constituted and made up therefore little children born in the Church are by Christ counted as those of whom the Church and Kingdom of Christ in part consists Now all men by nature are children of wrath and enemies to God strangers to the Common-wealth of Israel Eph. 2.12 there is no difference but only by virtue of the Covenant of grace which cannot come upon their own but only in their parents right no man is born a member of the Church naturally but 't is a birth-priviledge that comes upon them by grace through their parents Covenant 4. Hence it comes to pass that there is a holiness comes upon those children of believing parents Rom. 11.16 Rom. 11.16 If the
root be holy so are the branches and if the first-fruits be holy the lump is also holy the root is Abraham and the Fathers and they are said to be the first-fruits because they were first consecrated unto God and the branches were dedicated in their root 1 Cor. 7.14 and the lump in the first-fruits and so 1 Cor. 7.14 Else were your children unclean but now are they holy What 's the holiness that is here meant it's not a personal and inherent holiness that 's here spoken of for the branches that were thus holy were broken off which if they had been truly and spiritually holy they could never have been therefore it 's spoken only of a federal and derived holiness from their parents Covenant as Israel is called the holy nation Exod. 19.6 and the holy people Dan. 8.24.12.7 that is a people that God had separated to himself of all Nations under Heaven whom he would in a special manner owne and amongst whom he had set up his Ordinances and would dwell for federal holiness is nothing else but being separated from the world to become a member of the visible Church and thereby to have a right unto the ordinances and priviledges of a visible member though he be not truly converted or begotten unto God and this is called being a Jew outwardly that is a member of the visible Church and to whom the priviledges of a Church-member did belong but there is a Jew inwardly in whose heart there dwells converting grace Now how doth this holiness flow seeing that by nature all men are alike unholy and there is no more separation of one man unto God than another and one man hath no more right by nature unto visible and external priviledges than another for all are born in the same condition This is only by virtue of their being taken into their parents Covenant and because the first-fruits are holy so is the whole lump and because the root is holy so are the branches there is a holiness derived from one unto the other 5. We meet with very glorious promises that God has made to the posterity of the Saints Deut. 30.6 The Lord will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seed Esa 59.21 fear not Jacob my servant and thou Jeshuron whom I have chosen I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thy off-spring and they shall spring up as the grass and as the willows c. My Spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put into thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed henceforth and for ever Now though these promises shall not be made good unto every particular person in the Church yet it is the Church of God that is the proper subject unto whom they shall be made good and in an ordinary way they shall be acccomplished unto none else And by nature one man has no more right to a promise than another nor ground to expect it only the Covenant of God makes the difference they are all heirs of the promises as they are children of the Kingdom and Covenant Lastly This is Gospel and therefore to be believed and laid hold upon as well as any other part of the second Covenant for a Believer in the exercise of his faith is to take in the whole Covenant as in the obedience of faith he is to take in the whole Commandment A mans faith if it be sincere must be universal as well as his obedience that this is Gospel and a Gospel-promise I suppose that no man will deny I will be thy God and the God of thy seed Now how does the Lord become the God of the parents it's only by Covenant and so he is said to be the God of the Lord Jesus Christ he saith I ascend unto my God and your God and My God my God why hast thou forsaken me It 's spoken with reference unto the Covenant into which Christ had entred with the Lord now being the parents God in Covenant he says He will be the God of their seed that is theirs in Covenant also We may observe that God hath revealed this as Gospel and also that the people of God have believed it and exercised their faith upon it as Gospel in the behalf of their children 1. This God has revealed as Gospel and part of the second Covenant The first discovery that we have of the Gospel in Scripture is that Gen. 3.15 Gen. 3.15 where the woman being first in the transgression the Lord was pleased to enter into Covenant with her I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed Adam and Eve were a seminal visible Church for by them the Church as well as the world was to be built and at the same time when the Lord did reveal ââs grace unto her he joyns also her seed with her Now the combatants in that war and enemies Interpreters do observe to be three 1 Satan and the woman 2 The seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent 3 One principal seed the seed of the woman by way of eminence and that 's the Lord Christ the promised seed and that old Serpent the Devil So then in the first dawning of the Gospel the Lord took the seed of the woman into the same Covenant and made unto them the same promise as unto the woman The next mention of the Covenant that we read of is with Noah Gen. 6.18 and the Lord intending to bring a Floud upon the Earth renews this Covenant with him and this is twice renewed with him It 's true the Covenant here spoken of is the Covenant of grace but it 's but one particular branch of it namely a temporal deliverance for the Covenant of grace takes in temporal as well as spiritual and eternal promises Pareus est novi foederis appendix de promissione terrena 1 The Covenant was renewed in delivering Noah himself from the Floud that was then to come on the Earth and therein his seed also was taken in for so it runs with thee and thy sons c. and also after the Floud in reference to himself and his posterity that the Lord would not destroy them by a floud as he had done their forefathers Gen. 9.9 Gen. 9.9 I establish my covenant with you and your seed after you so that the covenant still runs in those terms the Lord never made a covenant with the parent but he took his seed into the same covenant expresly The next mention we read of the covenant was with Abraham when the Lord would take his family into covenant with himself wherefore the covenant is said after a sort to begin in him Mic. 7.20 Mercy to Abraham and truth unto Jacob and still it runs with thee and thy seed and not onely his immediate seed but also his seed in many succeeding generations from one age to
fruitfulness And that it 's not spoken of the invisible Church the Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven is plain for these two reasons 1 Because the Jews are said to be the natural branches of the good Olive-tree and the Gentiles are said to be branches of the Olive-tree that is wild by nature and were grafted in contrary to nature Now to Jews and Gentiles grace and regeneration are alike contrary by nature so that there are no natural branches neither is there any grace derived from parents unto children Saving grace flows not from any company of men no not from the invisible Church they are only Christs and he only can communicate them but Church-ordinances and priviledges are properly the Churches and by the Church are derived unto all the members thereof whether they be Elect or Reprobate Mic. 3. ult We are born again not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man Joh. 1.13 for amongst Jews and Gentiles there is no difference All men have sinned and come short of the glory of God Rom. 3. but this is spoken of a birth-right priviledge which doth descend and come upon a man as he grows upon such a root therefore this is meant only of a visible Church-state 2 It 's spoken of an Olive-tree which hath two sorts of branches some remain in their own Olive-tree and are never broken off but some there are that are broken off for as Christ spreading himself as a Vine into a visible Church hath both fruitful and unfruitful branches some are in him that bear no fruit Joh. 15.2 so hath the Church of God as an Olive-tree some branches that abide and some that are broken off Now in the invisible Church there are no branches to be broken off for ex solis constat electis it 's the Church of the first-born whose names are written in Heaven therefore this Olive-tree is a visible Church and the branches growing in it are visible members they that are grafted in are taken into visible membership and they that are broken off are cast out from a visible membership the root of this Olive-tree is Abraham the father of the Faithful with whom as it were the Church-covenant did begin for there was not a covenant made with him only for himself That the Lord would be his God but also the God of his seed and therefore it 's mercy to Abraham but it 's truth to Jacob and the benefit of their grafting in is this they partake of the root and of the fatness of the Olive-tree the root is Abraham and that in reference unto the Church-covenant made with him and his seed wherefore they are the children of Abraham and of the Israel of God and they partake of the fatness of Church-blessings priviledges and ordinances for that must be meant for it 's such a fatness that the Jews did partake of that were broken off and such a fatness from which they also might be cut off vers 22. if they continued not in his goodness therefore it must be meant of Church-ordinances and priviledges only and not of the saving graces of the Spirit which flow immediately from Christ and not from the Olive-tree the Church 2. It is made a special mercy to the Jews when they shall be grafted in again into their own Olive-tree that is become a Church of God and be taken into Abrahams Church-covenant and be made partakers of Church-priviledges and ordinances and this shall be the new Jerusalem that is to come down from God out of Heaven Rev. 1.2 and this Church shall injoy communion by outward priviledges and ordinances as the Churches of the Gentiles do for there shall be a gathering of men to the Lord by them Esa 66.19 there shall fishers in abundance stand upon the waters and the fish which is the persons that shall be taken and converted by them shall be as the fish of the great sea exceeding many Ezech. 47.10 for the great harvest of the Church is reserved for the latter days and the Ministry must continue so long as there are any of the body to be gathered in or to be perfected till we come to the unity of the faith Eph. 4.13 and to be perfect men and there shall be Church-censures administred in their glory and in the highest majesty and authority there shall no unclean thing enter there Rev. 22.11 without shall be dogs and every one that loves and makes a lye and it 's that this Church shall bewail as the great want in those rising Gentiles we have a little sister and she hath no breasts Cant. 8.8 by breasts she means the ordinances and the ministry of the word wherein milk for babes is laid up therefore this Church that she complains had no breasts was the Gentiles as afterwards the Gentile Churches do with joy and triumph relate of themselves vers 10. That their breasts were like towers c. and as formerly the children of the Jews were taken into the Church-covenant with their parents and made members of the visible Church which no man can deny so it shall be with them again as they were broken off with their parents so with their parents they shall be grafted in and those promises made good unto them their children were Church-members and so shall they again be Esa 65.23 they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them the promise is Ezech. 16.20 21. Jer. 30.20 Cant. 7.2 Their children shall be as afore-time and their congregation shall be established before me which latter words do refer unto their Church-state they shall be sons of the Church as they were in former times and the Lord says that the ordinance of Baptism shall be very fruitful even unto those infants of the Church and very efficacious though now it 's dark and we find little benefit by it being an ordinance of God appointed by him to convey secretly gracious influences tending unto infants spiritual welfare so some expound that place Cant. 7.2 Thy navel is like a round goblet c. The Church is here compared unto a mother conceiving and bringing forth now here is the way of nourishment for children in the womb not yet brought forth which is ministred by the navel as to children brought forth it is taken in by the mouth Now there being no ordinance of which children in the womb of the Church while infants are capable but Baptism therefore it 's conceived by some to be meant here by the navel of the Church and thus we see it shall be a special mercy to the Jews when they shall be ingrafted in again into the external form of a visible Church 2. To be cast out from being a visible member is the greatest judgment that can befal a person or a people in this life God doth then cut them up by the roots 1 Vpon a person 1 Cor. 5.5 such
to the Jews and their children but also to the Gentiles for that is meant by afar off Eph. 2.17 all that shall be converted and take hold of the Covenant for themselves their posterity shall be taken into their Covenant-right also and that 's the inducement and the argument used Act. 2.39 The great plague of sin lies in this that a man does not only undo himself but his posterity as it was in Adam and the great comfort in grace is that a man shall do good to his posterity as it was promised to Christ Psal 89.29 filiabitur nomen ejus his name shall be continued amongst his posterity in the Church Now for God to give a man a name in his posterity to owne them it 's a great mercy to speak of a mans house a great while for to come and it 's exceedingly heightned by this Adams sin was imputed to his posterity as well as his grace now the priviledges of the Fathers Covenant shall be entailed but the sins of the parents are personal and shall never be imputed unto the children It 's true that the sin of Adam is imputed but the sin of the immediate parents is not imputed unto the children and though God doth visit the iniquity of the parents upon the children yet it is as true that the children do not bear the iniquities of the fathers so that the fathers priviledges are the childrens but the fathers sins are his own for every man now sins as a private person for himself not as a publick person as a representative head as Adam did for himself and his posterity 3 The Lord would engage their children to himself above all the Families and Posterities of the Earth Ezech. 16. and therefore he calls them the children born unto him thou hast taken my sons and my daughters that thou hast born to me and they shall have the Priviledge that none upon Earth have that thereby they may be engaged to God and if they be wicked they may be the more left without excuse as Nazianzen says in Orat. 40. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã they are persons given up and dedicated to God in their infancy and from the womb there is written upon them holiness to the Lord and if outward and temporal mercies be such great Obligations upon the Soul what are spiritual and Church-mercies and therefore the condemnation of the children of the Kingdom shall be greater than of the children of this world because their mercies and priviledges and opportunities are greater the Lord would bind them unto himself by higher cords of love than he does the rest of the world he does make the Sun to shine and the rain to fall upon other men filling their hearts with food and gladness There are temporal mercies that God dispenses to all men but they are not like unto the mercies of spiritual and Church-priviledges that 's beyond what other men injoy the Lord would bind them that are his Covenant-people unto himself by this cord beyond the rest of the world 4 To shew forth the goodness and overflowing mercy of Christ under the second Covenant unto unregenerate men who for the state of their persons are under the Covenant of Works and are enemies unto the Covenant of Grace and yet they shall injoy many priviledges and benefits thereby and this the Lord does bestow upon them either as preparatives and as means to fit them for services or as priviledges and rewards of services for all the creatures are now given into the hands of Christ and all men in the Church belong to him they all come under him either as servants or as sons they that are sons partake in the graces of the Covenant but the servants also partake in the priviledges of it for they abide in the house though not for ever and while they are in the house they have bread enough and to spare they partake of the root and fatness of the good Olive-tree they have Church-ordinances that fit them for service and they receive Church priviledges as temporal rewards of service 5 For the Elects sake there are some upon whom the grace of the Covenant is bestowed and unto whom the Priviledges of the Covenant do chiefly belong and they are the Elect of God but because they are bound up in the same bundle with the rest of mankind and men cannot distinguish for it is electing Love that puts the difference therefore as Ordinances are continued unto all for the Elects sake so Priviledges are bestowed upon all but the primary intention of them is for the Saints the Elect of God that they might partake in them for whom they were specially purchased and intended As the preaching of the Gospel was primarily intended for the Elect of God that they might partake in it and for the gathering in of Souls unto him but because the Elect of God are amongst the wicked of the world therefore if men be to dispense Ordinances they must do it in common and wait upon God in the use of them and the grace of God will fall upon the Elect unto Conversion and so it does accidentally come upon ungodly men but primarily and intentionally it is given only for the Elects sake as appears by this that when the Lord has finished and gather'd in the number of the Elect he will continue Ordinances and Church-priviledges unto unregenerate men no longer therefore as Ordinances being dispensed by men must be in common for the Elects sake so must priviledges dispensed by men be also as the World stands for the Saints and yet ungodly men enjoy much of the comforts of the world that a man would think it were all for their sakes so Church-priviledges are vouchsafed to ungodly men as a great part of the Church that a man would think all were for their sakes and yet it is with a special respect and primary intention to the Saints that both the one and the other are continued in the world wicked men shall share with the Saints in the external priviledges rather than the Saints of God be wholly deprived of them And upon these grounds I conceive it mainly is that the Covenant is entailed from father to son for the outward priviledges but not for the inward graces thereof § 9. How far Arguments drawn from Circumcision Quest 9 being an Ordinance of the Old Testament can by way of Rule determin any of the Essentials of Baptism which is an Ordinance of the New Testament that is how far this argument has force in it to say The Children of the Jews being infants came under their fathers Covenant and therefore were by Gods command initiated and sealed by Circumcision which was the Seal of the Covenant therefore under the New Testament the children of Christians while infants are taken into Covenant with their Parents and so ought to be initiated and sealed by Baptism which is the Seal of the Covenant under the new Administration as Circumcision was under the old
made with him an everlasting Covenant 2 Sam. 23.5 though he make it not to grow it was not spoken in respect unto himself alone but unto his Family and his House also and that was Luther's will I have neither Lands nor Possessions to leave them Tibi reddo nutri doce serva ut hactenus me qui pater es pupillorum judex viduarum And so a man may dye in faith not only in reference unto himself and his own Covenant-interest but the Covenant-interest of his Posterity also BOOK III. The Covenant of Grace its Nature and Benefits CHAP. I. Gods part of the Covenant doth consist in Promises SECT I. What Promises are why and how the Covenant of Grace doth consist of Promises and of what HAving spoken thus far of two general heads 1 the Person that made the Covenant and had the first great hand in it and that was God and therefore it 's called Gods Covenant and not mans I will establish my Covenant between me and thee 2 the persons with whom this Covenant is made and that in a threefold subordination 1 with Christ as Mediator as a publick person as the second Adam 2 with Believers in him 3 in them with all their seed Let us now come to look into the nature of this Covenant more particularly and examine the essentials thereof There are three things that are ordinarily distinguished by Divines a Law a Testament and a Covenant A Law depends upon the absolute Soveraignty of the Law-giver and requires subjection whether the persons commanded consent to it or no and so all the Laws of God do depend upon the absolute Soveraignty of God as he is a Law-giver able to save and to destroy A Testament is grounded only upon the Will of the Testator bequeathing of such Legacies freely without requiring the consent of the party to whom they are bequeathed but a Covenant differs from them both in this that it requires the consent and agreement of both parties and therein each party binds himself freely to the performance of several conditions each to other Cocceius doth ground it upon that place Heb. 8.6 A Covenant established upon better promises and he defines it thus ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Divina legislatio promissionibus sancita It is a Law that God establishes upon Promises and therefore implies two things something on Gods part which is the promise and something on mans part which is the duty and unto both these consent of parties is required Gods consent unto the promise and mans consent unto the service and therefore by a Synecdoche the name Covenant is applied unto both parts of these and both of them are called the Covenant 1 The Covenant is sometimes put for the Promise of God which is the Covenant on Gods part Exod. 34.10 Behold I will make a Covenant before all thy people I will do marvels the meaning is no more but voluntaria promissione me obstringo c. I bind my self by a voluntary promise This is my covenant with thee Esa 59.21 says the Lord My Spirit that is put upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth c. Numb 18.19 All the heave-offering of the holy things which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord have I given thee and thy sons by a statute for ever it it a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord. It is spoken only of the free promise of God made unto Aaron and his sons in reference unto the Prieshood 2 The Covenant is sometimes put for the command of God in which he doth require a duty from man Moses was with the Lord in the Mount forty days and nights and he writ upon the Tables the words of the Covenant Exod. 34.28 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the ten Commandments and it 's common in Scripture-acceptation to put the command of God and the duty of man under the name of the Covenant of God So that there are in the essentials of the Covenant two things 1 there is the promise on Gods part which is Gods part of the Covenant 2 there is the duty on man's part in reference unto the command of God there is mercy and duty and mutual consent of both We shall begin with the Convenant on Gods part that we may see what of his free grace he doth oblige and bind himself unto though it 's true he is debtor to none any further than his own free grace makes him so Deus promittendo se debitorem fecit Austin Now Gods part of the Covenant consists in promises and rewards and mans part of the Covenant consists in services and in these two are the essentials of the covenant and these will be our three general heads to be spoken to First Gods part of the covenant doth consist in promises such is the covenant that he made with Abraham wherein he does promise to be a God unto him and to his seed after him and this will appear in four things 1 Because in Scripture we find the covenant and the promises to be put for one and the same thing Gal. 3.16 To Abraham and his seed were the promises made and this I say that the covenant confirmed before of God in Christ the law that was four hundred and thirty years after could not disannul or make the promise of none effect And hence it is called the covenant of promise Eph. 2.12 which though some of our Divines do put and may be not unfitly as a distinction of the covenant of Grace into two branches Ball of the Covenant 4. p. 27. the covenant of promise and the new covenant taking this for the covenant made with the Fathers before the exhibiting of Christ in the flesh who did only see the promises afar off and saluted them Heb. 11.13 and therefore they are called the children of the covenant and of the promise Act. 3.25 yet the truth is so long as there is any one part of it unaccomplished so far it will be the covenant of promise and consist in promises still till Gods people do come to Heaven and receive the happiness and the inheritance of the covenant which the Lord has now promised to the Saints 2 A people taken into covenant with God are said to be intitled unto the promises which before they were strangers unto Rom. 9.4 and could claim no interest in when God took the people of Israel into covenant with himself and they became unto him a peculiar people and treasure of all the people of the earth then unto them did belong ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the worship of God and the promises which all the other Nations of the Earth could lay no claim unto and upon this ground all those that are confederates with God and taken into covenant they are called the coheirs of promise because they have a title unto all those great things which God in covenant has ingaged himself to bestow 3 When the Lord
doth perform any promise he is then said to keep his covenant and to remember his covenant to perform his mercy promised unto our Forefathers when he did fulfil his promises he remembred for them his covenant so that as when they do transgress his command that being part of his covenant they are said to break covenant with God so when the Lord does not perform his promise he is said to break the covenant Psal 89.39 Zac. 11.10 and to make it void 4 The end of the covenant is but to inherit the promises all the Saints are said to be the Sons of Abraham because they are taken into the same covenant with him with whom God did eminently make the covenant and for this cause the children of the same covenant are called the Sons of Abraham and Heaven being the same inheritance that Abraham had as the end of his covenant and the same that all the Saints enter into it 's therefore called in respect of them Abrahams bosome they sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of God that is having the same reward of their covenant that Abraham had and that 's nothing but the promised inheritance they do inherit the promises Heb. 6.12 so that all the glory that the people of God have in Heaven it 's nothing else but the accomplishment of promises it 's both a purchased and a promised possession it is true that one ingredient of the covenant is Law but that belongs unto the covenant as it contains the rules of our services and the covenant on our part and not to the covenant on Gods part for to make a Covenant is simply an act of Grace whereas to give a Law is simply an act of Soveraignty and absolute Dominion Here my purpose is not to handle the Doctrine of the promises in the extent or full latitude thereof but only speak of it as it refers mainly unto the point in hand First we will consider what a promise is It is the declaration of the eternal purpose of God concerning good things to come which he doth ingage his faithfulness freely through Christ to bestow upon his people Eph. 3.9 1. I say it 's a declaration of Gods eternal purpose the purposes of God are secret and hid in his own breast only these are Mysteries hid in God that is while it remains only in his own purpose and is not discovered unto the creature and this purpose of his as it is the ground so it 's the rule of all the good that he intends to do unto his Saints he doth call them according to his own purpose and grace 2 Tim. 1.9 It 's true we read of a promise made before the world began Titus 1.2 but it was in respect of the covenant that passed between the Father and the Son and could not be formally made unto the Saints but is secret in his own thoughts and purposes and these thoughts of God to us-ward as they are innumerable so they were exceeding delightful to the Lord Jesus Christ Psal 40.5 How wonderful are thy works and thy thoughts to us-ward c. but the breaking forth of this purpose of God is seen in his promises There is a double consideration of the will of God 1 voluntas propositi his will of purpose 2 praecepti of precept there is the will of God that he would have us do and the manifestation thereof is his precept and there is the will of God which he himself will do and that is expressed in Prophecies that he will accomplish and Promises that he will fulfil And there is a great deal of difference between this his revealed will and his secret will for the whole will of his precepts is revealed and therefore the Apostle says he has declared the whole counsel of God Act. 20.27 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and there is enough to make the man of God perfect perfectly instructed to every good work and much of the will of his purpose what he will accomplish is revealed also though much of it be secret in the breast of God yet all the Prophecies he will accomplish and all the promises he will assuredly fulfil as he has declared his whole will concerning mans duty what he should do so he has also declared his whole will concerning all the good he doth purpose to do for men and this declaration of the will and the mind of God is called the promise of God 2. Promises are of good things to come threatnings and promises are both conversant about things to come but threatnings are about evil things to come Heb. 11.7 Zac. 1.6 Zeph. 2.1 2. Noah being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet c. And promises are of good things to come Josh 23.14 You know in all your hearts that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you c. As when the Lord doth perform any word of his it 's said he doth cause it to arise he has confirmed his word Dan. 9.12 excitavit or surgere fecit Calvin he has caused his word to arise so when it is not performed it is truly said to fall David says Thou hast spoken of my house a great while to come All the great promises that God made to David are of things to come and therefore David says 2 Sam. 7.19 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life As it was the happiness of the people of Israel that they had in the Wilderness a Rock that followed them not only for a present supply but for a future provision 1 Cor. 10. so are the promises also unto the Saints in mercy received they have the glory of the Lord going before them and his promises to follow them they have the glory to be their rereward they are compassed about with mercy on every side they have goodness that goes before them in performance and mercy that follows them in promises as the rereward that as a wicked man âgh there be evils tnreatned fall upon him here yet they are but the first-fruits ãâã âcium Divini judicii the prejudgment of Divine Judgment but the main of the evil thinââe threatning is to come so though godly men have much good that they receive aââsent yet the main of it in the promise is yet to come 3. Unto the performance of these though they be made freely yet the Lord does ingage his faithfulness by virtue of the Covenant If we look upon the promises in fieri in making so we must look upon his free grace only but if we look on them in facto esse as made so we must have an eye unto his faithfulness his love and mercy is the only reason of making promises but his faithfulness and truth is the ground of keeping and performing promises as it 's spoken of his promise made to David and his house for thy words sake according to thy own
heart hast thou done these great things that is of thy own free grace and unexpected Love because thou wouldst have mercy and yet it is Mercy to Abraham but it is Truth to Jacob c. Mic. 7. v. ult and therefore Austin calls the promise Chirographum Dei Gods Bond it is the bond or hand-writing that God has given the creature to assure him of Heaven so that as the Apostle calls the Law Chirographum contra nos Col. 2. a bond against us so are the promises the bond that is for us because they do speak God to be with us 4. All this is through Christ both making and performing 2 Cor. 1.20 so it is in him that the promises are Yea and Amen as all the precepts of the Law though given to us yet they are principally required of Christ as our surety and the transgressions of them are laid upon him so all the promises of the Gospel though they be made unto the Saints yet they be primarily made unto Christ as our head and representative for as we have heard he is the seed with whom the covenant is made and he is given unto us as a covenant so he is primarily the Heir of promise and as in respect of possession Esa 49.8 we enter into his inheritance called our masters joy so in respect of the promise and reversion we come under his covenant and so partake of his inheritance and have no further any promise made to us than as we are one with Christ and no promise is performed to us but by virtue of union with him and therefore it's Christus in aggregato Christ mystical that is the proper subject of all the promises and their accomplishment is to himself as the head and to the Saints as the body § 2. Why doth Gods part of the Covenant in this life mainly consist in promises It 's true that these promises shall end in performances and Heaven is the accomplishment of all the promises it is a promised as well as a purchased possession when the Saints are all gathered home all the promises shall be at an end and therefore in that respect faith shall cease for the object of it shall be taken away and therefore the acts of it must needs come to an end though it 's true that the habit of faith as well as all other graces being a part of the image of God and the new creation of Christ is of an eternal nature but yet the Lord does mainly dwell with his people in a way of promise and the covenant on his part doth run in promises 1 Cor. 2.5 7. 1. The life that the Saints live in this world must be a life of faith and not by sight there is another life though we live by faith and not by sight here that in glory is reserved for us and another manner of living and the main objects of faith are the promises Rom. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã 4.19 21. He staggered not through unbelief He did not reason pro and con about it because faithful is he that has promised and he will also do it he is able to perform It 's true there is a faith that rests upon the whole Word of God as true and good and so the soul receives it but yet the object of faith by which the soul rests on God is mainly the promise so that as obedience is the Law written in the heart so also the object of faith is the promise written in the heart the Lord lets in the promise and the soul rests thereupon and if the Lord had not dealt so in a way of promises our life could never have been a life of faith 2. They are the great grounds of our hope and thereby the Lord will sweeten our obedience he doth not give forth a bare command as an act of Soveraignty but he adds thereunto a promise as an act of Grace Heb. 6.18 The Lord willing to shew the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath that we might have strong consolation who are fled for refuge to the hope set before them which hope we have as an anchor to the soul And the Anchor is cast under water and takes hold of something that is not seen as yet for if I see it why do I yet hope for it Now though it 's true a godly man should not yield obedience meerly for reward yet a man may have respect to the recompence of reward and though it is true that this should not be the great thing that should launch them forth in duties of holiness yet this is a good wind to fill the sails the Lord letting him see that there is an inseparable communion of Gods glory and our good also duty and mercy ãâã hand in hand and that the Lord requires no duty but it is for our good always tâ he may perform unto us the promise that is annexed thereunto There is an amor mercâ ãâã love of reward that is not mercenary Heb. 12.1 Christ had the joy set before him that did sweete ãâã sufferings he had a glory and a posterity promised him and Moses had respect also to the recompence of the reward Heb. 11.25 And the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 4.18 While we look at the things that are not seen that is the scope and the main aim of the soul in all our obedience active or passive and by this the Lord doth delight to sweeten our way 3. The promises are the great means of the souls purification 2 Cor. 7.1 Let us purge our selves having these promises and perfect holiness And by these great and precious promises we are made partakers of the Divine nature The promises are the Treasury of all that grace that God doth intend to bestow upon his people and from thence do the Saints fetch it Isa 12.3 for they are the wells of salvation and it is by this that the soul is fitted for the performance there is a being made meet and 't is the promise that made them so as a mans beholding of God in himself doth transform him perfectly into the image of God Col. 1.12 2 Cor. 3.18 so beholding God in the promise does transform a man by degrees into the image of that holiness that is in the promise A man looking upon himself sees his heart as a barren wilderness as empty of grace as the first Chaos was of form and beauty Now he says what is impossible with man is possible with God and the soul sucks a promise and is thereby changed into the image thereof 4. That they may be the rule of the prayers of the Saints for his will must be the rule of our prayers as well as of all other acts of our obedience the precepts of the one and the promises of the other we must ask according to his will if we hope to speed and therefore our prayers should be nothing else but pressing God with
of his love and yet with all this he is never satisfied There is a further promise and that is an inheritance with the Saints in light and therefore he can never rest satisfied till he come there he forgets that which is behind and does reach forward to that which is before Phil. 3.12 Quest But how should we do to attain promises 1. Be sensible of your want of them we should look over all the Paradise of the promises and know that there is not a tree nor a fruit in it but it 's good for food the fruit is for meat and the leaves for medicine See how far thou dost come short look upon duty in the latitude and extent of it for obedience must be universal so you must do upon the promises that your faith may be universal also There should be always in our eyes a sight of something before unto which we should reach out our selves Phil. 3.12 God doth never accomplish promises but he doth use to make men see their need of them before-hand they say Lord increase our faith and Christ shews them the excellency of faith Luk. 17.5 and their necessity thereof that by this means raising their apprehensions of it and shewing to them their necessity of it they might be prepared to receive it as the Lord was ready to bestow it we go without many promises because we see no necessity of them and therefore our souls sit down quietly without them 2. Get a strong faith for it was by faith that they did attain the promises Heb. 11.33 and it must be such a faith as must stay the heart and fix the eye upon the promise and thereby support it under all the seeming oppositions and improbabilities or impossibilities unto an eye of reason or an arm of flesh it must cause a man to close his eyes against them all in the matter of justification there is in faith an exclusive resolution against all other ways and means of righteousness whatsoever so there is in this also against all things that from sense and reason may be offered or pretended to the soul to weaken the power of the promise of God therein Rom. 4.19 20. In Abraham there was enough that he might have taken in to have discouraged him but yet ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he did not admit a dispute he did not take in a consultation of flesh and blood when men have so consulted flesh and blood their faith has failed them God had promised his people a deliverance but they say our bones are dry and our hope is past Ezech. 37.11.12 we have no more reason to expect the accomplishment of such a promise than that we should see dry bones revive and arise out of their graves And the people of God have had their hearts always to fail them when they have looked off from the promise as Peter when the wind arose and he begins to sink he crys out Lord save me and Martha saith By this time he stinketh and the Israelites say The sons of Anak are there c. As whensoever the people of God begin to turn away their eyes from the holy commandment then their hearts fail them in point of duty so it is when they look off from the holy promise then their heart fails them in matter of faith and they cast away their confidence for every promise carries with it an obligation laid upon the power of God to accomplish it our faith gives us a title to the promise and the promise binds the omnipotence of God for its accomplishment and therefore it 's said They stopped the mouths of lyons and quencht the violence of the fire Heb. 11.13 and raised the dead to life By acts of Gods omnipotence all this was done yet they are attributed unto their faith as the fruit of it by which the omnipotence of God is ingaged in the work Therefore it was a brave spirit in Luther fit for him that shall attain the promises that when they sought his life by all means that might be at home and abroad and at last raised a war against him that small Chaldean war yet he wrote upon the walls of his Study that speech of David I shall not dye but live and declare the works of the Lord. Psal 118. 3. Be much in prayer for the promise is a kind of a debt and therefore it 's said when God doth perform any promise reddit debita nulli debens c. and it 's prayer that puts this bond in suit before the Throne of Grace Jer. 29.10 12. After seventy years are accomplished in Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return unto this place then shall you call upon me and pray to me and I will hear you and this was the very course that Daniel took Dan. 9.1 2. for we can expect nothing from God in mercy that we do not obtain by prayer he leads his people into their own land by supplications In the consolations that we receive from God he speaks to our hearts and in the supplications that we put up unto God we speak unto his heart and the grounds are these why God will have all promises to be nothing else but the returns of prayer 1. That hereby we may testifie that it 's the will of God that we eye in the mercy and not our own will for it's whatsoever we ask according to his will he hears us There is a natural and a carnal desire of mercies when it 's a mans own will that puts him upon it and there is a spiritual and holy desire of mercies and that is when a man has an eye unto Gods will in the promise to bestow them as well as to his own necessity that requires them ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Hence there is a double importunity in prayer as Luk 11.8 a holy kind of impudency that they will in no wise be put off there 's a being stirred up by the apprehension of necessity Hos 7.14 and a desire of the flesh to attain the thing and so men howl for corn wine and oyl but they are but the crys of beasts and not of Saints and so men ask amiss and attain not as it is in Jam. 1.5 But there is an importunity that is grounded upon the will of God and upon the promise and the soul earnestly desires it because he sees it's agreeable unto the will of God that has promised it it 's not the love of the thing that is so much the ground of his importunity as seeing the will of God in the promise and for this cause the Lord will make the accomplishment of all promises to be the only returns of prayers 2. That hereby we may know that his mercy is free in bestowing of it and that though God has promised it in a way of mercy yet there is no way for us to attain it but in a way of duty
personal and real c. We have seen that the Covenant on Gods part does consist in promises and that these promises are either absolute or conditional either performed by God without any required condition in us not only citra meritum sed conditionem not only without merit but also condition or else performed by God upon a certain condition wrought in us as a preparation or a qualification of the subject to receive the promises And we find in the next place that these absolute promises are of two sorts answerable unto a twofold object of faith that the Scripture doth hold forth they are either personal or real either promises of persons or of things 1 Promises of things that are absolute and real and of these are chiefly four 1 Ezech. 36.26 I will take away the heart of stone and I will give you a heart of flesh 2 Jer. 31.33 I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts And these two are promises of conversion and of the power of God in Christ put forth upon the Elect of God 3 Esa 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy sins And unto this belong many other promises of remission 4 There are also promises of perseverance Jer. 32.40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me 2 There are also personal Promises and these are the great and leading promises of the second Covenant Here I will shew you 1 that there are such promises and 2 shew you the nature of them 3 the grounds of it why the second Covenant must have such promises as these 4 wherein the excellency of these promises doth consist 1. That there are some personal Promises in which all the three persons in the Godhead are made over unto the soul The first great promise was Gen. 3.15 personal it was of the seed of the woman that the Lord would give Jesus Christ his Son to be born of a woman and to take mans nature and pitch his Tent with us that he should take not the nature of Angels but the seed of Abraham c. and so Esa 9.6 To us a Son is given And when the Lord came to renew the Covenant with Abraham it is That he will be a God unto him and to his seed after him and that is common in Scripture for God to say Jer. 31.33 I will be their God and they shall be my people And there is a further discovery of the promise in Esa 44.3 I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thy off-spring And so Joel 2.28 I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh So that these three are the great personal Promises of the Gospel and in these doth the main grace of the new Covenant lye 2. As for the nature of personal Promises they do import a gracious propriety in the persons which God doth by Covenant make over unto the creature The end of promises is to give a propriety and we know that a propriety amongst the creatures is nothing else but jus ad rem when a man doth claim such a thing as his own and has a power to use it and dispose of it in a lawful way for his own benefit and advantage as it seemeth good to him so that propriety as it were puts the thing into the mans hand to do with it what he pleaseth to make improvement and advantage of it that it may be for his own accommodation he may do what he list with his own c. As if a man hath a propriety in Lands or Houses he may either sell or let or give or leave or live upon them as he pleaseth Now as there is a real propriety that respects things so there is a personal propriety that respects persons which is grounded either in natural or voluntary relations as a Father has a propriety in his Son and the Son in the Father and the Husband in the Wife and the Wife in the Husband the Prince in the People and the People in their Prince and the intent of personal propriety is the same in its kind with that which is real that every person that has such a propriety in another should enjoy all benefits and advantages as they could in a way of equity expect or desire to do as the husband that hath a propriety in the wife if there were no sinful defects in the persons that are so appropriated should receive from her all manner of help and assistance as if he himself were the wife and his wife receive from her husband all that kindness and support as if she were the husband and as if all were in her own power to use And so it is in personal promises the intent of them is to make over the persons that when the Lord says I will be thy God the meaning is whatsoever is in me as a God shall be truly thine my infinite power my infinite wisdom and grace and mercy all shall be thine that the soul may lawfully lay claim to it and confidently expect it of him and that as truly as if the creature it self had infinite power and wisdom and mercy and all in his own hands So it is in giving the person of the Son that we should have a propriety and an interest in him as our Brother our Husband our Head and whatever is in him whether of grace or merit shall be as truly ours as it is his and as truly laid out for us as if we had it all inherent in our selves And so it is in giving the Spirit it is a propriety in the person so that the Spirit for conviction for conversion for sanctification for renovation for direction and for consolation doth as truly improve these for us as if they were our own and as if they were inherent in us or we could use and exercise them according to our own pleasure and they are these personal promises of the Covenant that do intitle the soul to such an interest in the persons 3. The grounds of them why must the second Covenant have personal promises The grounds of it are these 1. Man in his Fall had wholly lost God and therefore he is said Eph. 2. to be without God in the world one that had no relation to him one that had no interest in him It 's true that Adam before his Fall had a natural propriety in God both as his Creator and as his Father Luc. 3. ult Adam was the Son of God and so it 's true of the Angels they are called his Sons because they did bear his Image Job 1.6 which no other Creature did but after his Fall all Right unto God was forfeited and man could not look upon him in any relation either as a
suitable unto the relation in which I stand unto thee for though men in their relations act weakly as men yet in the relations which God stands in to his People he doth act infinitely and as it becomes a God 4. It will appear also by the expressions in Scripture that the Saints have interest in several Attributes of God and from their interest in some of them we may conclude their interest in all for God is not divided Integram salutem à Deo diviso sperare non possumus we may not hope for an entire salvation from a divided God Psal 59.10 he is call'd not only the God of Mercy as he is commonly but the God of my Mercy so of all the Mercy that was in God David lays claim to it as his Mercy it 's in God indeed subjectivè but yet it is mine even all the Mercy that is in God and he is the God of my Mercy Psal 84.5 Ephes 6.10 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee and the Apostle's exhortation is Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might the meaning is that very Omnipotence that is in God is by the Covenant on Gods part so made over unto his people that it becomes as effectually theirs unto all the ends and intents thereof as if they themselves were the subjects of it and the meaning of the Apostle doth arise unto this height that they should take unto themselves as great confidence in the overcoming of enemies be they never so powerful and in performing of duties also be they never so difficult as if they had Omnipotence in their own hand to exercise and put forth according to their own desires and for the effectual procuring of their own happiness and on this ground it is that the Saints are said to glory in God and make their boast of him all the day long Hab. 3.18 and they triumph in the God of their salvation because they do look upon all things as having the attributes of God ingaged unto them and by this means the Soul treads down strength for what can be too intricate for infinite wisdom and what can be too hainous for infinite mercy or too difficult for infinite power c and so the Soul does laugh at all oppositions and all the power of man to scorn because he looks upon himself with all the Saints to be interessed in all the Attributes of God and fortified by them 5. The great end of Christ's coming into the world was to bring us unto God and that was not only 1 Pet. 3.18 that all the Attributes of God should work for us as they did for Christ which because we had forfeited therefore they all acted against us and should have done for ever but that Christ by bringing us to God might give us also an interest in them all that they should all become ours as they were his for Christ is but the way as he himself saith I am the way the truth and the life and therefore Aquinas hath well branched Divinity into these heads De Deo de Christo prout via est nobis tendendi in Deum Of God and of Christ as he is the way tending to God Christ came to reconcile all the Attributes of God unto Man and the great purchase of the death of Christ was not an interest in all the Creatures but an interest in all the Attributes of the Divine Nature that they should be ours and should act for us 1. Pet. 1.21 6. The highest object of faith is God he is Objectum ultimatum the ultimate Object Christ is but Mediatum the Mediate Object Now what is there in God that is revealed unto our Faith but his Attributes we know him no otherwise but by his back parts and we know that every Attribute of God is an object of Faith in the Scripture and whatever Faith lays hold on as its object it makes it to become its own in ipso amplexu in the very embracement He that takes hold of Christ by Faith makes him his own Thou art my Lord and my God and if it lay hold of its promises they become its own and there is nothing that gives a propriety to the Soul but its receiving of it and appropriating it he loved me and died for me and gave himself for me Thus Faith argues and appropriates Christ and all his Benefits and so it is in laying hold of every attribute of God that doth appropriate it unto his person and it becomes his own rests upon infinite wisdom and lays hold on infinite power and relies upon infinite mercy and holiness and grace and all shall be thine Believe Soul and all shall be thine for all the objects of faith are offered and propounded by God and nothing is required to make them ours but receiving them as it 's said of Christ Joh. 1.12 To as many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God to them that believe in his Name so it 's of promises and of attributes also and if they be not ours it 's because we receive them not our interest lies in our application § 2. This is peculiar to the Second Covenant that the Lord should make over unto his people the inheritance of all his Attributes 1. It 's true that Adam had an interest in God or else he could not have lost it But we have heard of Mans great misery in the Fall that it lay in his loss of God Ephes 2.12 and we know that if he had continued in that state of Innocency that Covenant would have brought him unto God for death threatned upon his breach of it was eternal separation from God in Hell therefore the Life promised must be an eternal fruition of God in Heaven but yet it was not such an interest as the Saints have under the second Covenant for that was limited only unto one condition that men if they did stand in their integrity the Lord would be so unto them but if they fell the Lord would become their God no more but now is become their enemy c. But there is this in the New Covenant that the Lord is their God in all conditions whatever and they have in all conditions an interest in all the Attributes and they may expect that they shall be all imployed for them and every Saint may conclude with the Psalmist surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all my dayes which is more than the petra sequens that Rock that followed the People of Israel in the wilderness in their long journey they had wisdom to direct them and power to protect them and mercy to pardon them and grace to heal them and so it is of all the other Attributes of God they belong unto his People in all conditions and though there be never so great changes in them yet there is no change in the Lord. Isai 57.17 18. We read in Isai
the invisible God Joh. 5.22 All the glorious Attributes of God do shew forth themselves in Christ he it is that acts them all the love of God to the Saints is exercised by Christ and all the grace of God is dispensed by Christ and the wrath of God against his enemies is executed by Christ and therefore we read of the wrath of the Lamb for it 's he that shall give every one of them their portion Now if it be so that all the Attributes be in the hand of Christ to exercise and act then the Lord raigne therefore let the earth rejoyce Christ Jesus exerciseth all the Attributes of God for his people in another way than ever they could else have been acted by God immediately Now if we be in Christ and by a mystical union make up one body with him then as he doth exercise and act all the Attributes of God as the Soveraignty of God is given to him and he sits upon the Throne of God in the administration of all things so they shall be all laid out for us for the Church which is the body of Christ and the fulness of him that fills all in all 3. Though all the Attributes be made over unto us in this manner yet it 's after a certain order in the Attributes the Attribute that the soul doth first close with is the mercy and the free grace and love of God and by that a man comes to have an interest in all the rest and the Attribute that is ingaged for all is the faithfulness and truth of God 1 The attribute that the soul first closes with is his love and mercy and free grace which are the attributes that the Lord doth mainly exalt in this life and has most gloriously set forth and therefore 't is called riches of mercy and the glory of God the knowledge of the glory of God It 's this attribute in which the Lord doth mainly glory 2 Cor. 4.6 and therefore it 's called his glory and it 's said that mercy rejoyceth over judgment for in the time of this life under the offers of the Covenant of grace the attribute that God doth mainly exerercise in the Gospel is free grace that God is in Christ reconciling the world and has sent abroad the ministry of reconciliation and God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son This is the great Load-stone that doth draw in the heart unto God 1 Tim. 1.14 God who is rich in mercy out of his abundant love c. Now the soul being thus drawn in with a cord of love the Lord giving a command unto loving kindness to fetch in such a wandring soul unto himself hence the soul at first coming unto God grounded upon his mercy by closing with him in this is made partaker of all the attributes of God and has an interest in them all but so as the soul doth close with mercy first and with free grace As it is in the offices of Christ the soul doth close with them all and has an interest in them all but yet so as it doth take Christ as he is offered him by the Father and that is first as a Priest as a surety for sinners and as one set forth to be a propitiation for sin and the soul having in this manner closed with Christ as a Priest and having a title to the Priestly Office now he has taken whole Christ and submits to him as his Prophet and King also thus as the immediate object of faith that justifies is Christ dying and rising and as made sin and as made a curse for us c. and then the soul having closed with Christ it has an interest in whole Christ with all his Offices so it 's here also though all the attributes of God are gloriously displayed in the second Covenant yet the attribute that mainly the Lord delights to honour is mercy and free grace and the soul first closes with this and so comes to have a title and an interest in all that is in God in every attribute 2 As his love is the first attribute that the soul closes with and so comes to have an interest in them all so it 's his faithfulness that is ingaged for the exercise of them all and therefore all our forgiveness is put upon his faithfulness He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins Isa 49.7 How do we know that the pardoning mercy of God shall be exercised towards us when we have sinned God is faithful who has promised 1 Joh. 1.2 and he hath wholly made over himself unto us in every attribute and the promise and the oath of God are both grounded in his faithfulness for the performance thereof so that the faithfulness of God doth not only assure us that all creatures shall work for us shall all work together for our good Rom. 8.29 but that all the attributes of God shall work for us in their season and in their order as it is said That the stars in their courses fought against Sisera so there is an order for the working of all the attributes and every one of them in their courses work for the Saints the faithfulness of God is ingaged for them so to do § 4. What are the ends for which God has in Covenant made over the Attributes unto his people They are many and we shall best discover them by the use that the people of God have of all the attributes in the Scripture 1. That they may be all discovered and made known unto the Saints there is in all men a blindness of heart and that specially in reference unto God from whom they are estranged through the ignorance that is in them Eph. 4.18 19. Now they having an interest in them all the Lord will proclaim his name and cause his mercy and goodness to pass before them though not in that visible manner as he did unto Moses Exod. 33.19 yet in a more spiritual way they do behold the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus 2 Cor. 4.6 and therefore the great aim of God in all his works is the discovery of his attributes unto the Saints and all his great works are done to that very end and therefore he gives them a Law that he may manifest his Holiness To shew his power he has made a world to manifest his love he has given Christ to declare his grace he doth pardon sin and to shew his justice and wrath he has made Hell and laid the foundations of the bottomless pit and this is the first end why God has made over his attributes unto his people it is that they may know them and therefore the great thing the Saints look at in all Gods works and his goings forth is what attributes are discovered I would see thy power and thy glory in the Sanctuary Psal 63.2 Psal 10.6 8. He saved them for his name sake that he
might cause his power to be acknowledged 2. God hath made over his attributes to his people that they may take from them all grounds of faith with an assurance that they shall be all exercised for them according unto their necessities Psal 13.5 so the Mercy of God I have trusted in thy mercy my heart shall rejoyce in thy salvation Here is mercy the object of faith and an assurance that this attribute shall shew forth it self in a work of salvation and deliverance for him I have trusted in the mercy of God for the bringing me out of this and another affliction and I have been delivered Psal 52.8 therefore I will always exalt the mercy of God So for the Power of God the soul can argue from thence Dan. 3. when men threaten and Devils rage and the fiery furnace may be heated seven times hotter to consume the soul that has no help amongst creatures yet says Daniel and the three Children the God whom we serve is able to deliver us And the Lord encourages the soul from the assurance of his power Is my arm shortned that I cannot save is any thing too hard for the Lord is there any restraint to omnipotence And so also Christ puts them upon it in this With man it 's impossible but with God all things are possible it 's spoken in reference to a work of Sanctification when the Disciples said Who then can be saved Esay 26.4 Esay 27.5 So for the Eternity of God Trust in the Lord for ever for the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of Ages and so men are said to take hold of the strength of God And so of the Holiness of God I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lye unto David and therefore Psal 23.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life And so Abraham believed God was able to raise him up again from the dead if it might stand with his glory he did not question his will but that his power should be put forth for the accomplishment of his promise We know that the ultimate object of faith is God through Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.21 our faith and hope is in God now the highest object of faith in God is the attributes of God that he has discovered for we can believe in him no otherwise than we know him and as he has revealed himself and the way of Gods revealing himself unto his people in this life is only by his back parts which are his attributes and therefore this is the way of the acting of faith in this life and all the promises of God and the precepts and the threatnings of God are all of them founded on his attributes and in these doth the strength and stability of them lye because the Lord Jehovah is a rock of ages As it is in ends all intermediate ends work in the strength and the power of the utmost end so it is in objects also Objectum mediatum fidei movet in virtute objecti ultimati ab eo perfectionem accipit The mediate object of faith moves in the virtue of the ultimate object and receives perfection from it Eph. 4.18.23.24 3. That from these the soul may receive all principles of grace grace is called the Life of God and the Divine Nature the Image of God created in the soul it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã according unto God Now in an image there are two things required 1 Proportion or similitude and resemblance 2 There is a deduction or a derivation it must be taken from it As there is a resemblance of the nature of God so there is a derivation of it from God Now though the incommunicable attributes of God are so called because there are in the creatures no footsteps or resemblances yet there are of the attributes that are communicable from them the image of God is derived unto us and we are made partakers of his holiness holy as he is holy Heb. 12.10 Jam. 1.5 and merciful as he is merciful and wise as he is wise If any man want wisdom let him ask it of God as all of them shall be employed for man without him so all of them shall work in man an image or a resemblance of himself within him that a man beholding the glory of the Lord is transformed thereby into the same image And this is to be made the rule to judge the measure of our graces by for primum est mensura reliquorum c. The first is the measure of the rest in that kind So far as they do come short of bearing a resemblance with the communicable attributes of God I say of bearing a resemblance for they are in God by nature but in us by grace and by new creation they are nature in him they are not so in us so far we are to bewail the defects of our graces and so far grace is the image of God in us but in part a good work begun and no more and it is a discovery of his attributes which are the original pattern that doth perfect his image in us which is but the counterpane and therefore we shall be perfectly like him when we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.3 4. God hath in Covenant made over his Attributes that from these the soul may take all rules of duty and as the highest objects of faith are in God so from him are the highest rules of duty and therefore Eph. 5.1 the exhortation is Be ye imitators of God 1 Pet. 1.15 and be you holy in all manner of conversation because he is holy and so from the Soveraignty of God it 's the ordinary argument thou shalt do thus and thus for I am Jehovah thy God And David takes his rule from this in the preparation he made for the Temple the house must be exceeding magnificent and therefore all his preparation though the wealth of a Kingdom was but an act of his poverty for it is for the Lord who is a great God and dwells not in Temples made with hands c. And it 's the argument that he himself useth as the rule unto them in their performances Mal. 1.13 I am a great King and my name is dreadful amongst the Heathen As the soul is never rightly bottomed upon a promise till it is carried out into that attribute upon which the promise doth depend so the soul is never grounded in duty till it looks beyond the precept and sees the attributes in God which are the foundation of the duty and this is properly to walk worthy of God Col. 1.10 That ye may walk worthy c. It doth not note exactam proportionem Daven sed quandam decentiam convenientiam not an exact proportion but a certain decence and convenience when a mans duties are done by rules taken from so great a God and proportionable unto the nature holiness and excellency of that God God is a Spirit
1 Joh. 4.24 and therefore must be worshipped in spirit and truth 5. That the great motives unto duty and the great restraints from sin be taken from these It 's a matter of great consequence not only that we do the duties that God requires but also what motives they are that fill the sails in our performances For a man to perform high duties upon low motives argues a heart full of flesh to preach the Gospel is a high service but to do it to serve a mans belly or his pride to gather Disciples after him that he may have the credit of a Teacher of others and be cryed up amongst them this doth in a great measure blast all his service therefore let men look to their motives in their performances And so for sin it 's not enough to abstain from sin but a man is to have an eye upon the principle that lyes the restraint upon him what it is many a man may be kept from sin for fleshy aims as Haman refrained himself till he came home and so King Joash during all the days of Jehoiada the fear of man will restrain lust many times where there is no fear of God There are as it were several topicks from which the arguments and reasonings of the soul are taken for the Word of God is quick and powerful c. Heb. 4.12 the one refers to principles for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is the seat of principles and the other to the dianoetick faculty a mans arguments and reasonings from those principles and there are some high and noble motives suitable to the nature of grace and there are some low and sinful motives agreeable to the nature of flesh and the Word of God is a curious discerner of both and it 's a great matter from what topicks a man doth take the argument that does mainly act his spirit in duty and as the highest rule of duty is to be found in the attributes of God so the noblest motives unto duty are to be found in them also Joel 2.13 Rent your hearts and not your garments and turn to the Lord your God for he is merciful and gracious he is long-suffering slow to anger and of great kindness who knows if he will return and repent And Gen. 17.1 I am God all-sufficient walk before me and be upright There are arguments enough to be taken from God and those of the highest kind to quicken a soul in all duties required of him And so it is also as to restraint from sin Hos 3.5 They shall fear the Lord and his goodness Heb. 12.29 Let us have grace to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire Exod. 34.14 Thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God 6. That they may be unto the Saints the ground of prayer and that is in three things 1 They desire that God would manifest his attributes it 's something of God that they would have discovered therefore they cry out with the Psalmist Psal 57.3 O send out thy light and thy truth send forth thy mercy and thy truth it is the discovery and manifestation of an attribute that is the great thing the people of God do beg in all their prayers Num. 14.17 Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast said 2 It 's the great argument that they use in prayer the main argument of faith is from an attribute and a mans interest therein Remember me O Lord for this and pardon me according to the greatness of thy mercy Nehem. 13.22 Psal 115.1 2 Chron. 14.11 for thy mercy and for thy truths sake And Asa argues from the power of God It 's all one to thee to save with few as with many 3 They do come to God under such an attribute suitable to the mercy that they beg and their faith is staid thereupon and 't is a great matter to look upon God under an attribute that answers our necessity as Christ when he would speak of Judgment Mat. 11.24 Joh. 17. Num. 14.14 and give God thanks for it he call him righteous Father and when he begs Sanctification for his people he calls him holy Father and so when Moses prays for the pardon of sin he calls him the Lord merciful and gracious 7. That they may admire and adore the Lord for the excellencies that are in his Divine Nature and that they may give him the glory of every attribute Glory is but the shining forth of an excellency the ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Effulgence and brightness of it Heb. 1.3 and our giving glory is but the reflexion of this excellency Now we give God the glory of his works and of his going forth unto the creature but we should not only give him the glory of these but also of the excellency of his own nature there is none holy as the Lord who is a God like our God pardoning iniquity If we had hearts truly spiritual we would admire God more for the excellencies that are in himself than for all his goings forth to the creature and so the Saints and Angels in Heaven do 8. That in the manifestation of every attribute and the working of it for his people the Saints may rejoyce and particularly give God the glory of that attribute which he hath now so eminently put forth for them and that they may glory in their inheritance thereby Psal 21.13 Be thou exalted O Lord in thy own strength so will we sing and praise thy power I will sing of thy power Psal 59.16 17. and I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble To thee O my strength will I sing for God is my defence and the God of my mercy Rev. 4.8 and so do all the Saints holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which is and was and is to come The attributes of God are the last city of refuge that the Saints can flye unto Prov. 18.10 even the Name of the Lord is their strong tower and when the Lord doth make bare his arm and takes to himself his great power and sends forth his mercy and relieves his people in their distresses Oh! how then do the Saints triumph and rejoyce in him The last refuge is in God and the highest triumph is in God and these are the glorious ends for which God has made over his attributes unto the Saints § 3. See the glory of this inheritance that of the creatures is indeed glorious and that of promises is more but the foundation of all and top of all lyes in attributes It 's of no small concernment for a soul to know the glory of his own inheritance partly because there is a prophaneness of heart in all men that do undervalue spiritual things as well spiritual priviledges as spiritual truths or spiritual graces with
and just that forgives us our sins As all the precepts of the Law are to be resolved at last into the authority of the Law-giver so all the promises of the Gospel are to be resolved into the power and faithfulness of him that made the promise so that every promise is but a line to lead the soul into this centre first unto Christ unto whom the promises were first made and through Christ unto God who made the promises It 's full of sweetness when a man can look upon all the creatures in the world and can say all things are mine all shall work together for my good when he can look into the precepts and promises of the Word and can say I have claimed it as mine inheritance for ever for it is the joy of my heart but much more when the soul can look upon the attributes of God which are as far above creatures and promises as the Heaven is above the Earth in comparison and can claim a propriety in these also and therefore it 's the Motto of the Saints Tolle Deum nullus ero Take away God and I am nothing If I had all the creatures in the world and all the promises in the Word yet if I have no interest in God all these could be no good to me 3. It 's the last refuge of the Saints in this life The name of the Lord is a strong tower Prov. 18.10 and his name is his attributes called the Memorial of God it 's the property of men to flye to the city of refuge that is next unto them and at hand and therefore in danger the Saints are apt to betake themselves unto creatures and think that their mountain shall stand strong but then God breaks all their hopes and expectation in the creatures and the mans provision proves to be made of snow and it melts away Esay 66.11 and being thus beaten off from creatures now the Saints betake themselves unto promises and they suck these breasts of consolation But when the soul looks upon himself and finds his unsuitableness unto them and his title but baffled he can find no sweetness in them now unto what shall the soul flye it comes to Attributes and under them it sits down securely and can rejoyce in the Lord when creatures fail Hab. 3.18 19. and when a man has not a promise that his soul can pitch upon yet he can say The Lord the Lord merciful and gracious and from thence though he hath not a promise yet he can gather as it were a half-promise and that is who knows if he will return and repent c. Joel 2.14 The Lord in this doth delight to train up the soul to an immediate dependence and therefore doth often reduce a man unto such extremities that he may see the foundation upon which all his mercy is built and therefore as he deals with comforts and signs in reference unto Christ so he deals with creatures and promises in reference unto God Now God gives unto his people the consolations of the promise and signs of his grace to refresh them in their way that they may be unto them as grapes in the wilderness but yet he will sometimes hide the consolations of his Spirit and withdraw his light and sometimes will hide the light of a mans own graces from him on purpose that a man may flye unto Christ and see that it is in him only that we hold them and from him we must fetch them also the Lord will let his people enjoy the comfort of promises and of creatures but sometimes he will turn away from us as it were the comfort of them both that our souls may retire unto him alone in whom our happiness and comfort doth consist so that a man that has for many years walked in the light of Gods countenance and enjoyed the assurance of his love yet shall be brought unto acts of recumbency again and to lanch out into the fulness that is in Christ and the all-sufficiency that is in God as if he were to begin all anew and therefore Bernard de Amore Dei cap. 2. has such an excellent speech of himself who did daily strive to see his interest in God Manibus pedibúsque sursum tendo ad te sed respiciens factum sum mihi ipsi de meipso laboriosa taediosa quaestio I do greatly tend upward to thee but beholding the work I am a tedious question to my self Now he says his heart is filled with joy in his interest in God Clamo vociferor Domine bonum est nos esse hìc sed repentè cado in terram quasi mortuus respiciens nihil video me ubi priùs eram invenio in dolore scilicet cordis afflictione spiritûs c. I cry Lord it 's good being here but presently I fall on the earth as dead and looking back see nothing c. Now in such withdrawments blessed is the man whose God is Jehovah and in the failing of all the rest of his comforts yet he can rest and stay his soul upon this Rock of Ages 4. This shall be the only happiness of the Saints in glory when this promise shall be perfectly fulfilled for there will come a time when both creatures and promises shall cease for the earth and all the works thereof shall be burnt up when the Heavens do shrivel together as a scroll and then the good things of thy life-time will take their leave for ever for God did but set up the stage of this world to be as the wilderness through which the Saints should pass into Canaan but the stage of this world shall be taken down and all the promises of God shall come to an end for they shall all of them speak in their due time and not lye there is a time for the finishing of the whole Mystery of God Rev. 10.7 and the Decrees of God shall bring forth in mercy or in wrath and the promises shall be delivered of all the blessings that are in them and the threatnings shall be eased of all the plagues that are in them Now when both these inheritances shall cease what has a Saint then to live upon Now he has a higher inheritance and that is of Attributes for then God shall be all in all and in him alone shall the happiness of the creature consist 1 Cor. 15.28 and it is observable that then our perfect happiness begins in God when creatures and promises are come to an end and therefore the soul that has his interest in him can take his leave with delight of all creature-comforts as never to have use of them more as Elijah did part with his mantle when he was taken up into Heaven because they see that it shall be infinitely made up in God though it come not in in this low way as it did unto his people in times past suitable to their low estate while they walked as servants upon the
earth 5. Creatures and promises could never make a man happy if a mans interest in them were never so clearly discovered to him for it could never put his soul into a fruition of the chiefest good it would only make all to be faith and we should rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God 1 Pet. 1.9 and it is true that this is a joy unspeakable and glorious Fruitio est actus voluntatis circa finem importat quietationem delectationem anima in amato Fruition is an act of the will about the end and it imports the quietation and delectation of the soul in its beloved Medin But the soul would be for ever unquiet and always full of restlesness still tending towards God Heb. 12.23 therefore it enjoys him as the end of faith and hope and thence souls in Heaven are made perfect not only because their image is perfected by the beatifical vision but also because they are put into a fruition of that which was the highest and ultimate object of their faith and love and fruitio est nobilissima actio voluntatis the most noble act of the will and it 's this act upon the highest object that doth perfect the will and the perfection of the will is the perfection of the man as the act of the will is the act of the man Vse 1 § 4. From hence see the misery of all those that are out of Covenant with God they have all the Attributes of God against them and they have no inheritance in him thou mayst have large revenues amongst the creatures for God doth give Kingdoms unto the basest of men but it is but mica canibus projecta a crum thrown to a dog as Luther speaks of the Turkish Empire and in them all thou shalt but inherit the wind Prov. 11.29 for thou hast no inheritance in the Lord he is no God to thee tolle meum tolle Deum take away my and take away God it is unto thee as if there were no God And here it 's good to consider 1. If a man had all the creatures armed against him for his destruction as all men out of Covenant have for the Creation groans under their service that is the bondage of corruption spoken of Rom. 8.21 but also they are very ready to make war upon thee for when a man is taken into Covenant with God there is a league made with the beasts of the earth the stones of the field and the creeping things of the ground And God will hear the Heavens and the Heavens shall hear the Earth Hos 2.21 and the Earth shall hear the corn and the wine and the oyl and they shall hear Jezreel and I will sow her unto me in the earth and will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy c. All the creatures shall work together for their good and yet if God arm the meanest of the creatures against a man they shall destroy him Pharaoh the great King of Egypt that durst presume to war against God cannot contend with Flyes nor with the Lice and the Frogs he cannot fight a pitcht battel with the waves Now if a man cannot stand out a battel with the smallest of the creatures how can he fight against God Therefore I would a little reason with you as God doth with his people if thou hast run with the footmen Jer. 12.5 and they have wearied thee how wilt thou contend with horses and if in a land of peace they have wearied thee what wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan if thou canst not stand it out against creatures how wilt thou be able to endure when the Lord shall rise up and all his Attributes shall be armed against thee For as this is the great comfort of the Saints and their last refuge so it 's the great terrour unto wicked men and their last destruction 2. Consider if it were but a threatning what a miserable thing it is to lye under any evil aspect thereof the Lord has spread out the Expansum of his Word over the rational world and the Lord rules all by it and according to it he will judge them all Zac. 1.6 Did not my word overtake your fathers for the Decree will surely bring forth it will not always carry the judgment in the womb of it and if it be so terrible a thing to be under the power of any one threatning of God Zeph. 2.2 what is it to lye under the evil aspect of all the threatnings of God that there is not a word in this book but speaks terrour unto the man much more under the evil aspects of all the Attributes of God 3. This is the happiness of the Saints that they have something in God to plead for them they have as it were a threefold Advocate 1 within themselves and so the Spirit pleads the causes of the soul 2 without them and so Jesus Christ is an Advocate with the Father 3 they have something in God himself I say not that I will pray the Father for you for the Father himself loves you c. So here is the misery of wicked men not only the Spirit pleads against them and will strive with them no more but becomes unto them a spirit of bondage in themselves and binds them over unto wrath and Christ pleads against them as Luther tells a story of one Doctor Krans in a Tract of his De Fascina spirituali in Gal. 3. Ego Christum negavi ideo stat coram Patre accusat me illam cogitationem tam fortiter conceperat ut nullâ adhortatione aut consolatione sibi pateretur excuti atque ita desperavit seipsum miserrimè occîdit c. I denied Christ and therefore he stands before the Father and accuseth me c. The learned do for our understanding frame a holy kind of conflict between the Attributes of God according to the liberty allowed them in Scripture speaking of God after the manner of men in the work of our Redemption as if the Lord were reduced into some straights by the cross demands of several Attributes Justice calling for vengeance upon sinful and cursed creatures and with Justice the Truth of God doth joyn to make good his threatning the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye and mercy on the other side pleads for compassion towards miserable and seduced man and this sets infinite wisdom on work to reconcile the different pleas of the Attributes of God in mans redemption but what a misery will that man be in that shall have no Attribute of God to plead for him but they shall all joyn in their pleas and demands against him not only those terrible Attributes that the soul is afraid of as Justice and Truth and Holiness but also the Attributes in which a mans hope is Men cry out God is merciful Oh but mercy is set against thee O sinner and thou hast no interest in his mercy
fasten upon yet there is an attribute left which will be tabula post naufragium now expect the goodness of God to appear for thy succour in his putting forth of an attribute for none of them shall fail in their season there are no graces in the Saints but there is a season for their working Phil. 4.10 Your care for me says the Apostle Phil. 4.10 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã doth reviviscere it doth flourish or wax green again so that graces have their opportunity of working there is a spring-time Now we do not say that a tree is dead that bears not fruit always but that which doth not bring forth in the Summer which is the season of fruit and therefore I cannot but look upon it as an act of Soveraignty that of Christ's cursing the fig-tree Mark 11.13 for the Text says The time of figs was not yet come Mark 11.13 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Some say that the fig-tree in this country did bear fruit all the year but that this word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã will not bear for it is plain there was a season of the fruit of this Tree as well as of other trees Some say that the time of the ripening and the gathering of fruit was not yet but there might be expected green figs but there was no fruit nor hope of fruit for the Tree had leaves only Innuit Christum hoc facto altius quid significâsse ficum scil symbolum esse populi Judaici Kem. Christ hereby signified the Jewish Church from whom the Lord expected always fruit because the season of it was always and this was an act of absolute Soveraignty over the creature and he that created it might curse it at his pleasure but the Lord does never expect fruit but in the season of fruit at the season he sent to the Husband-men that they should give him of the fruit of his Vineyard Luk. 20.10 for that grace is not idle that doth not act at all times but Quae non operatur quando dabitur ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã That which doth not act when a season shall be offered So also there is a season an opportunity for the exercise of every attribute and as the Lord expects the one of us in its season so should we and we may with boldness and comfort expect the other from him in the season The Hebrews say In the mount will the Lord be seen If thou hast sinned at any time then expect that pardoning mercy shall be put forth say The Lord is the God of my mercy now pardon me according to the greatness of thy mercy And if thou be at any time assaulted with temptation expect that the Power of God shall be put forth for thee and that the Lord shall say My grace is sufficient for thee If thou be at any time perplexed with difficulties and thou knowest not what to do now look up unto infinite Wisdom The Lord knows how to deliver the just out of adversity though I know not which way to scape yet say deliverance shall come from some other hand as Mordecai said though I cannot see from whence it shall come and I cannot in my wisdom see a way of deliverance yet it shall come now is the season for such an attribute to shew forth it self and therefore now I can look for the acting of it with comfort as having an interest in it God is a help found in the time of need he is a help promised before Psal 46.1 but he is never found so to be before the season when the soul is in trouble then he puts forth himself and makes bare his arm and therefore as the Apostle says He is as having nothing 2 Cor. 6.10 and yet possessing all things So the Saints they have them not in possession but they have them in their right of inheritance and for their use as their occasions and necessity do require that if it were possible for them to stand in need of the service of the whole Creation all the creatures should work for them and wait upon them in their necessity and look what experiences the ancient Saints have had thereof they in the like cases and necessity may expect if it stand with Gods glory and their best good the Moon shall stand still and the Sun shall go back and the Lyons shall stop their mouths the fire shall cease to burn and be a defence the Ravens bring meat the Heavens shall rain bread the Rocks shall give water c. and whatsoever attributes the Lord has at any time exerted and put forth for the Saints in the season of their need that you may expect grounded upon the same Faithfulness the same Covenant and Oath that was performed unto them and it 's the highest priviledge and happiness of the Saints to have the Attributes of God lye as a rescue for them Zac. 1.8 as the Angels did behind the Myrtle-trees in the bottom when there can be an expectation from nothing else in the world as David speaks of his enemies Psal 6.2 5. They did imagine mischief and consulted how to cast him down from his excellency whom God had exalted but says he My soul wait thou on God only my expectation is from him alone He can now look up to God and expect salvation from him when he can see no hope any other way As we are not the fountain of our own grace but it is laid up in Christ 1 Joh. 5.11 and we can expect that all the grace that is in Christ shall be put forth answerably unto our necessity in the season of it and therefore our grace shall abound as our trials and occasions do increase for suitable unto them shall our supplies of the Spirit be Phil. 1.19 says the Apostle For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ So the fountain of all our happiness is not in our selves but in our God and all the attributes that are in him shall be managed and put forth for us as our necessity shall require according to the Love Wisdom and Faithfulness of a God so that if thou couldst stand in need of infinite wisdom and infinite power and grace and mercy all of them should be put forth and exercised for thee not only a conspiracy and combination of all the creatures but also of all the Attributes of God all of them shall work together for thy good 5. Is not this a mighty ground of assurance that all the creatures shall be given you and that the Lord here will deny you nothing that may be for your good He that gives the greater will he deny the lesser He that makes over all that is in himself will he deny any thing that is in any of his works Surely it was a good saying of Bernard for the things of this life Qui dabit regnum non dabit viaticum c.
man to ingage the Attributes of God against himself as to ingage against those that have an interest in the Attributes of God for the Covenant that God hath made with his people is offensive and defensive and the Lord will surely appear for them it 's therefore a design that did never prosper in the hand of any that did undertake it nay be sure thou wilt perish under the power of those attributes there is no such way to turn the edge of them all against thee as this is as it was said of Canaan It 's a land that eats up the inhabitants so we may say of this it 's a work that devours the workers the Lord will rebuke Kings for their sakes if they touch his anointed and there is no vengeance like unto that of the Temple thou wilt surely perish in thy own opposition for it doth arm all the Attributes of God against thee and they do arm the Church against thee and therefore the worm Jacob must thresh the mountain Isa 41. and when the strength of the Churches enemies is greatest and their hopes highest when they are folded up as thorns and while they are drunken as drunkards Nah. 1.10 they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry and in the same place where they did expect the destruction of the Church they shall be sure to find their own Mic. 4.11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee that say Let her be defiled and let our eye look upon Sion but they know not the thoughts of the Lord neither understand they his counsel for he shall gather them as the sheaves in the floor Arise and thresh O daughter of Sion for I will make thy horn iron and I will make thy hoofs brass and thou shall beat in pieces many people c. They are to the world as a burdensom stone all men will be lifting at them till they be broken in pieces by them it 's their own folly to dash and fall upon them percussum è pectore ferrum 2. It 's a Use of direction to the Saints that have an interest in God as their God in Covenant and so are intitled unto all the Attributes of God 1 Exercise faith upon every attribute and thereby make it to be your own in the use and improvement thereof Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might that is let your faith take hold of the strength of God and thereby let it rise unto such a height of confidence as if you had almighty power in your own hand to exercise if thou be in any streight and dost want wisdom to direct thee in thy way be thou wise by the wisdom of God and let thy faith raise thee up unto that height of confidence that it is as impossible for Satan to out-wit thee as it is to go beyond infinite Wisdom and so if thou sin at any time question thy pardon no more than if thou hadst infinite mercy in thy own hand and wert able to pardon thy self for it 's all made over to thee in this one promise I will be thy God for that which is originally and essentially in God that by our dependency becomes ours as truly as if we were the subjects in which it doth reside 2 It should raise up in a man a holy greatness of mind suitable unto such a priviledge and it 's a thing of no small concernment that the people of God should be raised up to such a holy greatness for it would free them from those vain hopes and fears and those low imployments that now they are busied about for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã there is nothing great here below a man should look upon all things with the eye of God to have all the Attributes of God made over to him if dangers offer themselves the soul is not surprized for as God sits in Heaven and laughs them to scorn when the workers of Babel did build a Tower to their own confusion so do the Saints also the virgin the daughter of Sion doth laugh thee to scorn c. If wisdom shew it self and a man hath to do with the policy of an Achitophel he fears it no more than folly and believes it shall be as he prays Lord turn it into folly and he laughs at the plot And if the guilt of sin rise up in his conscience he can say Though I have sinned and am a sinner yet God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and grace is free Jesus Christ is ascended up into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God for it 's a fault in the Saints they think when they sin it 's their duty to question their estates their interest in God and it 's good to question it for tryal and examination but not by way of diffidence unto a mans dejection for the way to increase a mans sanctification is not to weaken his faith in the point of justification and if the power of sin do prevail yet a man goes forth against it in the strength of the Lord and he saith Though it be to ãâã impossible yet it is possible with God and his power is ingaged for my perfection and this were to live the life of God as grace is called Eph. 4.18 3 Sing unto God the praises of every Attribute for as we should look through all that is in Christ that our hearts might take in whole Christ and the Church doth so Cant. Psal 21.13 5 and Paul Phil. 3.7 8 9. so should we of all the Attributes of God also Be thou exalted in thy own strength O Lord so will we sing and praise thy power and I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of trouble Observe the attributes that at any time God discovers to thee in thy straits specially and unto those sing praises it 's all that the Lord expects as a return for all that his attributes work for you that you should give them glory and the way to ingage any Attribute of God for you again is to give it the glory of any of the former discoveries thereof and the way to disingage an attribute is to neglect to give that attribute its glory when it has been put forth Cessat gratiarum decursus ubi cessat recursus c. Where the recurse or return of graces ceaseth the decurse or flowing forth of fresh graces ceaseth For the Lords aim under the new Covenant is the glory of the attributes of his nature as well as the glory of the persons that they all of them may have their due place and order in our hearts and as the Lord doth distinctly put them forth in their order for a man as his necessity does require so he does expect that we should take them as our portion and rejoycing in the Lord therein give unto them in our hearts their particular and distinct honour for the Lord
appear from the union of a Saint with all the Persons in the Trinity The Scripture speaks distinctly 1 Cor. 6.17 not only of a union with Christ but with the Spirit he that is joyned unto the Lord is one spirit i. e. not only makes up one spiritual body with him but also is one with the Spirit that dwells in him and therefore Joh. 17.21 Christs prayer is That they may be one Pater Filius sunt unum per naturam nostra unio per gratiam Athan. De ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã spiritualis piorum in Deo unitatis in vitae hujus infirmitate pluribus disserere non possumus sed mysterium hoc reverenter adoramus unitatis hujus participes fieri optamus as we are one not only one amongst themselves but one with us also according unto that glorious and unspeakable union that is between the persons amongst themselves of which this is but a shadow and a resemblance God is said to dwell in the Saints and they are the habitation of God through the Spirit 2 Cor. 6.16 and they are said to dwell in God Joh 1.4 16. and 1 Thess 1.1 which is in God the Father c. and to work in God Joh. 3.21 And our Divines do commonly say that in glory our union with God shall be perfected and they say that the soul is capable of an union with God as it does appear in its union with the Son for the mystical union is not only unto Christ as Man but unto the Godhead as well as unto the Manhood of Christ for we are made one with whole Christ both God and Man Now by this means there being but one Essence there must follow a glorious union with all the Persons and if this be perfected as some make that to be the intent of Christs prayer Joh. 17.21 That they may be one with us as thou Father art in me if there be a perfection of their union hereafter then surely there is an union that is begun in this life with all the persons in the Godhead and so much also our particular union with them does imply for all communion is grounded in union 3. It will appear from the distinct Communion of the Saints with them all Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ 1 Joh. 1.3 And there is a fellowship of the Spirit also Joh. 14.21 1 Cor. 13.14 1 There are distinct manifestations Christ says I will manifest my self to him and there is a distinct Love He that loves me shall be loved of my Father I do not say that I will pray the Father for the Father himself loves you and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father also and therefore there is the love of the Son discovered and the love of the Father also Sometimes the love and good will of the one is let into the Soul and sometimes of another and the soul is drawn out and ravished sometimes with the love of the one and sometimes with the love of another and we honour them distinctly and believe in them distinctly honour the Son as they honour the Father and believe in God believe also in me Joh. 14.1 Answerable unto the manifestations and discoveries that are made such are the apprehensions and the affections of the Saints Some are mightily at first conversion taken up with the love of the Father and they see that Christ was but his servant in that work and the fountain of free grace was in the Father and the plot to redeem was his and it was his will that Christ came to perform and therefore their hearts and faith are mainly drawn out towards God the Father Others there be that have the love of Christ set on upon their hearts who though he were God and in the form of God and thought it no robbery to be equal with God yet he did empty himself and humbled himself unto death even the death of the Cross and he came off freely upon the motion of the Father which was so much the more because all the acts of the Father though they are acts of Love yet are acts of Majesty also and there was no dishonour or condescension in the Father but the acts of Christ were acts of ministery and of humiliation and that even unto the death of the Cross that he should be made sin and made a curse and the Love of Christ is discovered unto them as passing knowledge There are distinct manifestations of them all and therein is the ground of their communion with them all 2 There are distinct communications the Father opens his bosom and he reveals his counsels There is a book in the right hand of him that sits upon the Throne he reveals his mind unto Christ Joh. 1.18 Joh. 6.46 and by him unto his Saints and therefore he is said to come out of the bosom of the Father and therefore man is said to hear and learn of the Father and the Son communicates his righteousness his graces his victories his priviledges his inheritance and the Spirit doth convey unto the soul his right and his warmth for the Spirit is as fire his holiness and his comforts for he is the oyl of gladness his communion doth consist in giving and receiving and returning Now there is something that all the Saints do receive from each of the persons and there is a peculiar glory that they do return unto them all answerable unto the mercies that they do receive and by this means proportionable unto the mercies they receive such is the communion that the Saints have sometimes with one person and sometimes with another they know that he that has communion with the Father has communion with the Son and with the Holy Ghost because they are one but my meaning is that person which a mans heart is at the present affected with and drawn out unto in a more special manner that he has a special communion with which is something of the Love of the Father and the manifestation and communication of the Father sometimes of the Son and sometimes of the Spirit and answerable unto these our communion is said to be with each of them 4. It will appear by these distinct acts of office which they have for the good of the Saints undertaken for though opera ad extrà sunt indivisa and we cannot say that one works but the other works also and therefore we cannot call them opera propria proper works yet they are appropriata appropriated in the Scripture they are more specially attributed some unto one and some to another Eph. 1.2 3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world and blessed us with all spiritual mercies in Christ and for Christ we have Redemption through his blood c. and as for the Spirit Eph. 1.13 14. After you believed you were sealed with the holy Spirit
caecitatem veluti quodam velo diffusam ignorance and blindness diffused as by a certain veil there is a double veil and God will take both away a veil upon the truth and a veil upon the heart also and both shall be swallowed up that is shall be utterly removed and there shall come a time that the Sea of glass that is now mingled with fire shall be clear as crystal again and the Temple shall be opened so that a man may see into the Ark of the Testimony which formerly had a veil before it Rev. 11.19 that it could not be seen it was in the secret of the Pavilion of God but then the most secret mysteries shall be exposed unto the common view of the Saints but it shall be when the Kingdoms of the Earth shall be given to the Lord Jesus Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever 4. The Father is pleased in Christ his Son he delights in him and so he did before the world he was the delight of God the Father from all Eternity I was his delight daily Prov. 8.30 this is my beloved Son Mat. 3. ult and therefore even amongst men children are called the desire of their parents eyes and that upon which they set their mind their hearts do go out unto them Ezech. 24.25 so in your measure you that are Saints are the delight of God the Father from day to day he loves you as well with a love of complacence as with a love of benevolence and therefore he calls the name of the Church Esay 62. Hephziba my delight is in her the Lord takes pleasure in his people his delight is in them that fear him Psal 147.11 149.4 and them that hope in his mercy Therefore the carrying on of the work of Redemption to the full accomplishment of all the gracious intentions of the Father is called the pleasure of the Lord Isa 53.10 which was to prosper in the hands of Christ it being of all the works of God that in which he doth most delight as when a man sets his greatest love upon any thing or person in that he has the greatest delight to see it prosper and thrive and succeed never did an earthly father take so much delight and full satisfaction in the prosperity of a child and yet we know that a wise Son makes a glad father as the Lord does to see the souls of his people prosper and the ways of his grace to be fully magnified towards them because all the love of the creature is but a drop unto the love of the Father which is in Heaven as the Lord has more delight in Christ than he has in all the Saints so he has more delight in one Saint than he has in all the creatures besides because he bears unto them a greater love and hath from them a far greater glory There is joy in heaven says Christ over one sinner that repents and so there is amongst the Angels why because theirs is a joy in the Lord himself and it 's the happiness of the Saints that they can joy in God and we may well make God our Father our delight when he does make us his delight he that has the Son and the Saints and Angels in glory to delight in that yet he should declare that his delight should be with the sons of men here below what an amazing condescension is this of our God how does it ingage us to delight in him only 5. Jesus Christ as he was the Son had a glorious and a sweet communion with the Father so Christ saith Joh. 14.10 I am in the Father and the Father in me and he dwells in me it notes that constant communion that he as Mediator had with the Father Joh. 16.32 Ye shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone but the Father is with me and therefore upon all occasions he did retire himself unto the Father as his great support in the days of his pilgrimage Joh. 1.3 and so have the Saints also our fellowship is with the Father they have access by one Spirit unto the Father Eph. 2.18 ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã he leads us by the hand and by our sonship we have boldness with him Pater nomen pietatis potestatis est Father is a name of piety and power Tertul. Oh the infinite sweetness that is for the soul to walk before God the Father in ways of holiness that in these ways he may enjoy fellowship and communion with himself There is a great deal of sweetness in a communion of Saints our Brethren but much more in communion with Christ our Husband but most of all in communion with God our Father he is to be taken as well for a pattern of the one as of the other 6. As God is the Father of Christ so he doth hear the prayers of Christ and therefore Christ says Father I thank thee that thou hast heard me and I know thou hearest me always Joh. 11.41 And though his satisfaction be always referred unto his Godhead Heb. 9.41 yet his Intercession refers unto his Sonship Act. 20.28 Heb. 7. ult the word of the Oath makes the Son who is consecrated for evermore men that know how powerful the name of a father is and what bowels it moves may well assure themselves that it is much more in him who is the Father of mercies as well as our Father and therefore if we know how to give good gifts to our children and will give them suitable to their necessities surely so will he much more and such a man must acknowledge that our Father is Saints may assure themselves that they have not only an Advocate without them which is Christ with the Father and an Advocate within them unto the Father for the same word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã is used of both Joh. 16.27 but they have an Advocate in the Father also and it 's that which Christ puts them upon not only to look upon his Intercession as that which doth prevail only but to the Fathers love and the bowels that are in himself the Father himself loves you 7. As a Father he gives Christ an inheritance Thou art my Son Psal 2.7 8. I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance He has appointed him heir of all things Heb. 1.3 and all that are the sons of God are heirs Rom. 8.16 17. yea all that are sons of God are first-born Heb. 12.23 1 Cor. 3.22 and therefore they have a double portion All things are yours and Rev. 21.7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things c. And it 's such an inheritance as none else have in the creatures for it is one thing to hold it by right of a servant by providence and another by the right of a son 1 Pet. 1.5 for the son abides in the house always and 't is an inheritance in promises of grace and of glory which no other men in the world
Jerusalem that is above Gal. 4.26 and in allusion to it we read of a new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of heaven Rev. 21.1 2. 2 To the Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven that is we are taken into fellowship with all the Elect of God we do make up one body with them 3 Vnto God the Judge of all we have not only communion therefore with Christ as Mediator and with the Angels and Saints but we have a further communion and that is with God himself which is a term of his Essence when it is put without a term of restriction and refers us to all the persons in the Godhead Father Son and Holy Ghost 2. Wherein doth this Communion and fellowship consist I shall describe it to you according to the fellowship that is between men from whence this Metaphor is borrowed 1. The great communion that persons have is in the love one of another that was the great thing in which David and Jonathan had communion and not so much in their persons for David lived a persecuted life 2 Sam. 1.26 but he was sure of Jonathans love Thy love to me was wonderful passing the love of women therefore is no fellowship like that that is by interchanging of love for love is the souls byas it carries it with it wheresoever it goes it is an interchanging of hearts an interchanging of love transit amans in amatum the lover passeth into the beloved Now though the Father be in Heaven yet he loves not though we be strangers from the Lord while we are in the body yet the Father himself loves you says Christ Joh. 14.21 23. I will love him and my Father shall love him and though we be upon earth yet we can walk in his love 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen you love and though now you see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable c. and this is the communion that we have with the Angels though they are Spirits and we see them not yet we know that they bear a tender love to the Saints for they do as Nurses bear them in their arms and in this was the fellowship of the persons one to another much seen they delighted themselves in the love of each other Joh. 14. ult This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and that is the communion that the Saints have with Christ 1 Joh. 3.1 Joh. 3.16 he is my beloved Esa 5.1 I will sing to my beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard c. he it is whom my soul loveth my beloved is mine and I am his and this was the great thing that delighted the Lord from Eternity his delights were with the sons of men Prov. 8.30 his thoughts of love were his delight towards them and as the Lord had communion with our love in the thoughts of it so may we have communion with his love also and therefore we do read of walking in love and dwelling in love 1 Joh. 4.16 1 Joh. 4.16 that upon which the soul is constantly set it is said to dwell upon it Job 17.11 the thoughts are called the possessions of the heart that which the thoughts do dwell upon the heart is said to possess Now as the Lord is said to inhabit the praises of Israel because they praise him constantly and therefore he is said to dwell in praises so because his love doth daily refresh sinners therefore they are said to dwell in love also as a man hath communion with Satan by thoughts the goings forth of his heart are after him and his ways so a man hath communion with each person also by the goings forth of the soul to them there is therefore a communion by interchanging of love and they that so do interchange hearts 2. There is a communion in their actings one for another for there are mutual offices of love that this amor benevolentia doth bring forth and the soul is never satisfied in either of them God the Father acts in love in giving his Son and making over himself to thy soul in justifying thy person and adopting thee to be his own son and estating upon thee a Kingdom for it is the Fathers pleasure to give you a kingdom and all these acts of love the soul opens and considers them apart and says What shall I return unto the Lord for all these things and then love doth unlock the heart and it saith the love of bounty from the father calls upon me for a love of duty is any thing too much for him that hath done so much for me and then in all these he tastes the love of God Rom. 5. for it is shed abroad in his heart and the soul in the gift tastes the love of the giver and therefore the soul is willing to speak for him and act for him and live to him and dye for him What shall I return to the Lord for all his benefits And then his own poverty comes in with bitterness to him he is willing beyond his ability he would be bountiful but he hath it not and therefore he doth as it 's said of Aeschinus that when he saw other hearers of Socrates give gifts to him he saith Nihil te dignum quod dare possum invenio hoc modo pauperem me esse sentio itaq dono tibi quod unum habeo meipsum c. I have nothing worthy of thee to give but I give my self and the soul saith as Cicero to Lentulus Caeteris in officiis omnibus satisfacere possum nunquam mihiipsi c. And this also is the communion that Christ hath with the Father the Father says Sit thou at my right hand and I will give thee the heathen for an inheritance c. and I will hold thee by the hand and Christ saith I must do my Fathers business and it 's my meat and drink 3. They have a communion in visitations for we say that amongst men friendship is maintained by visits and increased thereby and so it is between God and the Saints also there is indeed a visitation in wrath as the Lord saith Jer. 5.9 Shall I not visit for these things and there is a visitation in mercy and compassion Zac. 10.3 The Lord hath visited his flock the house of Judah and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battel c. Luk. 1.68 He hath visited and redeemed his people Now God is said to visit us when he comes to manifest his love and to bestow upon us sweet and spiritual blessings Cant. 5.1 I am come into my garden c. and when the soul comes to God of purpose to enjoy communion with him for we can never come to God but we have need of him and when we are most sensible of our wants and mans interest carries him to God but surely to desire to see God for himself is an act of pure friendship to see thy power
but this and 't is as well as I could wish for my self though I have nothing of the things below 2 In the Saints and because their condition in this life is commonly set forth by the state of the people of Israel in Egypt let that be the instance to express it unto us when they were come out of Egypt they were in a barren and howling wilderness death did a thousand ways present it self to them and under as many shapes they had neither bread nor water nor provision nor protection but what they had from God immediately and yet having God in Covenant they had enough because they were interessed in the alsufficiency of God and therefore if they want bread he gives them Manna and if water he doth cause the Rock to yield it if protection if direction he is a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night in allusion to which the Prophet speaks Esa 4.4 5. Now we shall see this set forth by Moses who was an eye-witness of it and a Leader of the people through the wilderness Deut. 33.27 for their provision it 's true that he has a land of corn and wine and the Heavens drop down dew but it is from the fountain of Jacob it 's commonly expounded the posterity of Jacob and so haply it may be understood Qui à Jacobo instar fontis perennis ortum ducunt but there is yet a spiritual meaning in it and so Cocceius observes Fons Jacobi dicitur quòd est fons salutis Psal 68.27 The fountain of Jacob is the fountain of salvation So that all these mercies they had from him that was the Father and the Fountain of mercy he was the Fountain of Israel and for protection the eternal God is thy refuge in danger you need flye to no other Asylum but to him alone Esa 26.20 Come my people enter into your chambers and shut the door about you it is the Attributes of God and his alsufficiency that are the chambers into which the Saints are called to hide themselves and therefore it is to preserve them from dangers that if they fall at any time they may never fall to the ground for under them are the everlasting arms which notes two things 1 Potentiae sustentationem sustentation by his power 2 Gratiae amplexum the embracement of his grace he doth carry them in his arms and though they fall yet still his arms are under them and who is this that is in this manner all unto them it is he that is alsufficient he that is thy God in Covenant the God of Jeshuron for a habitation they and thy fathers wandred up and down having no setled dwelling place incertis sedibus but thou Lord Psal 90.1 hast been our habitation in all generations and when they wanted Ordinances in the Captivity they had neither Tabernacle nor Temple but he was a Sanctuary to them Ezech. 11.16 he did supply the want of publick Ordinances in himself and for their guidance and Deut. 32.10 12. The Lord alone led them and there was no strange God with him he did all by himself alone he led them and he fed them and there was none other joyned with him in the work he was alsufficient to them But to come to the reasons and grounds of all this Reas 1 1. The first and great ground of all this is his own love it was only his love that brought him into Covenant with them because the Lord loved thee and made thee to be his people it was looking upon them in the time of love and this love is the womb in which the Covenant and all the mercies of the Covenant were bred now the nature of love is bountiful nescit nimium it knows no excess The Father loved the Son Joh. 3.3 5. 2 Thess 2.16 and has given all things into his hand the Father hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace The great thing that God aims at in the second Covenant is his own glory manifestative glory now he cannot receive manifestative glory but according to the measure of love manifested unto the creature and his love therefore being the highest he must find out an expression that is suitable to the manifestation of such a love the gift must be such as may express the height and depth and breadth of his love and therefore it must be in giving the greatest blessing or else it could not have been an expression of the greatest love if there had been any thing greater or better to have been bestowed that is in point of consolation he would have given it Heb. 6.13 If there had been a greater he would have sworn by it so he doth in point of affection also if there had been a greater he would have given that gift but a greater than himself in his alsufficiency God had not to bestow 2. It was necessary from the insufficiency of all things else to supply our wants there is an insufficiency in all the creatures and therefore a continual restlesness in the soul while it is bottomed upon the creatures they are but broken cisterns Jer. 2.13 that can hold no water when once man departed from God and forsook him the Fountain of living water he sought a sufficiency in the creatures alone they immediately became vanity they have not a vanity in themselves but it is the sin of man that fills the creature with vanity if the Lord should give a man as he has done the Devil the dominion of the world for he is not only the Prince of the air but he is the god of this world yet all this would but leave a man in the Devils condition and his soul would never be satisfied with it there is still something wanting that all the creatures cannot supply so that the soul saith as Austin Quicquid nobis adest praeter Deum nostrum dulce non est nolumus omnia quae dedit si non dat seipsum qui dedit omnia 3. Because the Lord would have the happiness of the creatures to concenter in him alone which could never be if he were not an alsufficient God Esa 26.3 Trust in the Lord for ever 1 Pet. 1.13 trust perfectly in the grace that is revealed unto us by Jesus Christ if there were any thing wanting in him to be supplied and fetched in elsewhere the soul could never trust in him alone but he will have them have no other god therefore surely there is no need of any other he hath all good things in him the happiness of the soul lies in the rest of it Psal 116.7 and therefore when a man comes to Heaven he is said to enter into his rest Now God is the resting place of the soul return unto thy rest O my soul wherefore if there were not an alsufficiency but something wanting in God the soul must needs be restless till it know whither to go for a supply but he being
and prove a curse and not a blessing 4. Because it is very sweet to God when we follow him through a wilderness and see nothing but an alsufficiency in him through a land not sown Jer. 2.2 then you shew your love to him and he looks upon it as the day of your espousals Hos 9.10 I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness it is a proverbial speech when you have none to look to but God Drusius when you are in a land of drought it is never so pleasing unto God as when we are brought into a wilderness and yet there to follow him and the Lord doth never speak so sweetly to us as when he doth deprive us of these outward things that our hearts may stay upon him alone and therefore Hos 2.14 he says I will allure her into the wilderness what was there in the wilderness that might allure her The wilderness has a double consideration 1 It was a place of affliction and so there was nothing to allure for no affliction for the present is joyous but grievous 2 The wilderness was a place of manifestation where God did shew himself in his Ordinances and in his mighty works and if the wilderness be so there is an alluring in it and then saith God will I speak to her heart O when God brings into the wilderness and gives discoveries of himself there are the greatest comforts and the sweetest speakings unto the souls of his Saints the Lord doth not fail them in their time of need 5. Gods great glory is to manifest his Attributes in the sufferings of his people and it is the great work that he doth in the world and the greatest comfort that the Saints have is to see the Attributes of God drawn forth and to work for them Jer. 2.31 Have I been a wilderness to Israel It 's true says the Lord I brought them into a wilderness and did allure them thither but when they were there I was not a wilderness unto them they found all in me though the earth afforded them nothing yet there was nothing wanting from Heaven it was not a wilderness when they were in the wilderness See an instance of it Jer. 29.22 there were two false Prophets that did strive to make provision for themselves and they pleased the people Jer. 2.29 and said The King of Babylon should not carry them away captive they spoke lies in the name of the Lord and we see what became of them but Jeremiah that made no provision for himself did not as Baruck seek great things for himself we see how he is provided for even in the enemies hand Jer. 39.11 12. Look well to him do him no harm but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee how good is it to look up to God for all our supplies and not to distrust his goodness and power in any danger or strait that we may be exposed to 6. As our supplies do come from God so also there is a special token of love and interest discovered in his sufficiency and that is sweeter than the mercy it self the Lord loves to give unto his people every mercy that they need and as it is lined with love so it shall be faced with love that the mercy shall come in according unto the promise and he can look upon it as the birth of the promises as a pledge and a fruit of interest in the alsufficiency of God it 's a great thing and is much more than the blessing it self if it were a thousand times multiplied that all the promises lead a man to Christ the foundation of them all 2 Cor. 1.20 they do lead a man as beams to the Sun so when the mercy leads a man to his interest in the alsufficiency of God that 's more than the mercy it self when a mân sees it 's given in to the bargain when he seeks first the Kingdom of Heaven all things in this world shall be added to him Psal 6.33 though they are in themselves but small yet they are magni amoris indicium there is a great deal of difference between a kiss and a reward though there may be a greater bounty in the one but there is more love in the other and so far as the people of God taste that the Lord is gracious so far they taste his love is sweeter than all unto them for if there were not love in the gift there were no relish in it we use to despise the gifts only of enemies and indeed the hearts of all the Saints do so far undervalue them as Luther that they can tell God Let thy gifts of this worlds goods only be to another but let me have a smile from thy face one kiss of thy mouth and it shall chear me more than corn or wine and oil as for all other things they are but as Luther said of the Turkish Empire mica canibus projecta a mite cast to the dogs because there was no love in it therefore a little that the righteous hath is better than the riches of many wicked as a little that the righteous doth is better than the pompous services of many wicked persons because there is love in the one and none in the other and without this all is as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal Object 2 You say that none have an interest in the alsufficiency of God but his Covenant-people But we see that the men of the world have great sufficiency Psal 73.7 they have more than heart can wish they enjoy all manner of abundance that one would think the alsufficiency of God were made over to them rather than to the Saints one would have thought it to have been the portion of Dives rather than Lazarus For the wicked fare deliciously every day c. Answ It 's true indeed that many wicked men who are strangers to God and his Covenant have great sufficiency in outward things but yet 1 though it be from the alsufficiency of God for he it is that is the Fountain of common mercies he doth cause the Sun to rise upon the unjust c. he opens his hand and fills every living thing it is he therefore that is said to fill their bellies with his hid treasure Psal 17.14 but yet it is not from their interest in his alsufficiency they have all from God but they have no interest in God it 's one thing to receive mercy from God ex largitate from an overflowing of his goodness and another thing to receive it ex proprietate from an interest in his goodness There are some benefits by Christ that wicked men have that have no interest in Christ there are many works that the Sun doth effect in the earth when it never shines and so it 's with Christ he vouchsafeth good things to many a soul in whose Horizon he doth never rise there is a great difference in the manner of conveyance 2 A sufficiency they have
has bid Shimei curse and if Job lose all that he has though by the hand of creatures yet he saith The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away there is no evil in the city that the Lord has not done and therefore Christ saith Thou couldst have no power over me unless it were given thee from above Now as you look upon them as vain that worship an Idol and stand in fear of it though you know they do but bow down to the stock of a Tree yet a deceived heart has turned him aside c. that he cannot discern the deceit and say Is there not a lye in my right hand Esa 44.20 so when men fear creatures it is but as if a man feared an Idol that can do him no hurt and they can do you no good though every man seeks the face of the Ruler and they think that he is able to shew them much favour in judgment yet let him do what he can Prov. 29.26 Psal 33.15 and intend never so much good to you all that is good to you is from the Lord in his judgment He doth fashion the hearts of men and he considers all their ways c. they have the same apprehensions that he gives them and the same affections and intentions if they do thee any good it is because the Lord has assisted and touched their hearts for they have but such a fashion as he gives them therefore he is said to ascend and descend Prov. 30.2 3 4. it 's conceived by some to be an expression taken from Jacobs Ladder in which there were Angels ascending and descending as it is Joh. 1. ult but yet in all the administrations of the best of creatures it is he that ascends and descends for all the good of the creature is at his dispose and he must give the creature a commission to do good as well as to do us evil and will you flye unto that for sufficiency that can neither do good nor evil 4. Will you place your sufficiency in the creature when it cannot reach unto that which is best in the man Every holy man doth take a measure of all things as they relate unto his soul and that which doth his soul most good that he judges best for him and that which doth the soul most hurt that he judges worst for him for Saints measure all prosperity by that of the soul but all creature-comforts are but food that perishes and therefore we are exhorted not to labour for them for they will all die unto us Joh. 6.27 and therefore that men might not dote upon carrying them with them into another world consider we brought nothing into this world 1 Tim. 6.7 neither shall we carry any thing out of this world as soon as we have put off this Tabernacle all the necessary supports thereof will be of use to us no more for they are all in reference to the Tabernacle it self ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã He only can cure the heart that formed it ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Chrys de poenit hom 4. when God establishes the heart in peace no creature can move it 5. The creatures have no good in them but what is borrowed All the good that is in the creatures is either real or apparent 1 If there be any real good in any creature it is derived unto it from God they are all cyphers and they have no good in them of themselves but what is put into them if God will put much of his Spirit into a Magistrate as he did into Moses the abilities of many men shall be in that one man he shall rule his people with great success and if the Lord will afterward take it away and divide it amongst men it is as he will dispose of it whether to fill the vessel or empty it and if the Lord will create the fruit of the lips peace a Minister shall be able to speak peace and administer a word that shall be in season unto him that is weary but else though he speak with never so much eloquence it will be to no purpose there is no more in it than God puts into it 2 There is appearing good and that is put into the creatures by the subtilty of Satan and by the lusts of men 1 By the subtilty of Satan for he intending to make use of the creature to betray the soul of a man doth put a fair gloss upon it and a varnish as we see he did to Christ when he represented to him the Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them in a moment of time so doth Satan represent the creatures to us in his own glass and deceives us with the apparent good that is in them 2 There is also something that the lusts of men do add and that is a conceit that there is some such excellency in it Prov. 18.11 it is a strong hold and a high wall it 's desirable for food and pleasant to the taste but it is but in his own conceit and all the pomp of the world is but fancy and all the great things of the world are not great in reality but only that great affection and the high apprehension that men have of them makes them seem so to be Psal 36.9 but with God only is the fountain of life by life is meant all good and it is in God originally as in a fountain it is in the creatures but derivatively as in a stream and therefore it 's the greatest folly for a man to leave the fountain to go to the streams and to forsake the Sun to take our light from the Moon and the Stars which shine only by a borrowed light and upon this ground the Saints are not much troubled at the miscarriages in creatures when they promise fair but by and by their hopes are nipt and it brings not the work to perfection therefore they regard it not and say it is but a bucket broken and a stream dried up a pipe stopped but there is as much water in the fountain still as ever and unto that he has immediate recourse 6. A man's retiring unto creatures in any of his straits is that which doth cause God to leave him for no man is to have a double dependence because that argues a double heart God will be all in all for supports and supplies as well as Christ will be all in all for righteousness and salvation 2 Chron. 26.15 and therefore it is said That Vzziah was helped till he was strong he was marvellously helped but then his heart withdrew from God unto his own supports and then the Lord left him to them which proved his overthrow for with him only the fatherless find mercy they that are truly so in their own esteem and account and have none to look to or make provision for them any more than fatherless children have it is in him that they shall find mercy but they that say unto
belong unto him as Mediator because as Mediator he is King as well as Priest he is indeed a Priest and a Prophet only to his people but as he is a King so he rules over his enemies even those that will not acknowledge his kingdom over them It 's true that none have an interest in any Office of Christ but he that hath an interest in them all and therefore he cannot be said to be our King so as to rule us for our spiritual and eternal good unless he be also our Prophet and our Priest and none are in this sense the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ but they that consent to and accept of his government they that kiss the Son but yet he is a King appointed by God though he be not accepted by us and therefore he is Gods King that is he rules by Gods commission and as a servant unto his ends even then when we acknowledge him not to be our King and his government is not assented to by us he will judge them as a King though he doth not save them as a King § 3. The government of all things in his Kingdom is exercised by him in the behalf of the Saints and so they have a right to the Soveraignty of God and it is made over to them as will appear 1. In this that it was given to Christ for their sake he hath a kingdom given him not for his own sake but for our sakes Joh. 17.2 Joh. 17.2 He hath given him power over all flesh that he might give eternal life unto as many as thou hast given him imperium accepit Christus non tam sibi quà m nostrae salutis causâ Calv. so that it was with special respect unto them that he did undertake the government of the world had it not been that he had a people in the world that were given him of the Father and whose names were written in the Lambs book and whom he did intend to save he would not have undertaken the government of all things for Eph. 1.22 he is made the head over all things but it is to the Church magna consolatio est quòd tantum imperium habet is qui id exercet Ecclesiae bono c. Grot. But wherein lies the force of this reason that he must have power over all flesh that he might give eternal life unto as many as God had given him Why could not Christ have given them eternal life unless he had had power over all flesh unless the government of the world had been put into his hands I conceive the force of it to lye in this 1. Had the government still been in the hand of God as God so he must have proceeded according to the rules of the first Covenant and according to the severity of a God and therefore the Father judgeth no man Now the Father as God and the Son as God have but one judgment and they do proceed by the same rule and if the Father cannot judge them but he must destroy them then neither can the Son as God for they have one and the same will and judgment but supposing a Mediator one that will undertake to give God satisfaction for sin then the world may stand and it is fit that he should rule it that hath bought it he hath bought the persons of the Saints and the services of all the creatures for their good therefore it is by Christ that the world stands the government is put into his hand as Mediator for had not there been a Mediator the world must have perished under the weight of the first transgression but that the world might stand and men live in the world in their successive generations and so by grace attain holiness and glory for this cause there was power given him over all flesh and this is the reason given by Chemnitius why the Father judges not immediately Patris nostri sive Divinae naturae judicium cum peccatoribus agentis est juxta severitatem rigorem legis divinae c. 2. He could not give them eternal life else because he could not order all things for their spiritual good even all the motions of the creatures all the temptations of Satan all the affections of men either good or bad sometimes in ways of love and courtesie sometimes in ways of displeasure and persecution and all providential occurrences such opportunities of service and such occasions of sinning which he hath the ordering of for the good of his people All things do work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8.28 because all of them are in the hand of a Mediator for this very end and purpose that he might order all things so as might conduct them safe to heaven how comes it to pass that all the creatures do service to the Saints and there is not one of them that can do them a disservice in reference to their spiritual estates Cyrus in ways of kindness shall be drawn out to the service of God My shepherd saith God he shall be and wicked men shall wipe them as a man doth a dish c. the fire shall not burn them the water shall not drown them no weapon formed against thee shall prosper c. All this is because that the administration of all things are put into the hand of a Mediator for their eternal good and he will order all things so as they shall conduce unto that great end for which he hath undertaken the government in the Kingdom of Providence it 's all in order to the spiritual Kingdom it was purely out of the love of the Father to the Saints that he did give the Kingdom unto Christ and it was purely out of love to the Saints that he did accept of it and thus the Lord laid help on one that 's mighty Christ the Mediator doth administer all things for their good and that both in the spiritual and in the providential kingdom In the spiritual kingdom all the Ordinances are for their good it is for the edification of the Saints and the building up of the body of Christ Eph. 4.12 all the institutions of Christ are for their good and all the motions of the Spirit in what kind soever and the desertions of the Spirit Cant. 4. ult all of them are that their spices may flow forth whether it be North wind or South wind and they have two quite different or contrary qualities and operations yea the very operations of the Spirit and the desertions of the Spirit also work for good the Lord hides his face for a little moment that he may have mercy upon them with everlasting kindness c. So it is in the providential kingdom also all is for the good of the Saints 1 Pet. 1.6 and they shall be gainers by it in the end so much affliction they have as they need and so much prosperity as will do them good for the Lord delights in the
of persons they may as Eli did misreprove a Hannah in the Church of God and as David believe a Zibi against the son of his friend for commonly the best deserving Christians are clouded by the glaring light of the lamps of Hypocrites who make it their business to raise false reports against such as outshine them in true grace and holiness but at last God will discover them and cast them out of the Churches prayers and affection they shall not always abide with them 1 Joh. 2.18 that they may be made manifest not to be of them and they that are approved shall be made manifest and so shall they that are corrupted also they shall be found lyars and they shall be cast out the Lord will cut them off that they may deceive the expectations of the Saints no more the Lord doth delight to do it and we should wait his leisure in it who will certainly shew himself a God that judges in the earth 3 That thereby the Saints may be awakened and admonished when Hymeneus fell then 2 Tim. 2.7 is that exhortation most seasonable Let him that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity and let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall when a man observes horrendas tempestates flenda naufragia horrid tempests it is a hint to the Saints look to your standing see that you be built upon a Rock that storms and tempests may not overthrow you 5. In their judgments for they are terrible judgments that the Lord doth execute upon unregenerate men in the Church there are no mercies like those out of Sion and there are no judgments like them no men are so eminently under the curse as they are Out of the Throne came thundering and lightning and voices Rev. 4.5 for the Churches sake and by their prayers And this is 1 that the Saints may be thankful how great a mercy is it that I had not fallen away as well as he Joh. 14.22 2 That they may take heed of the same sins lest they be overtaken by the same plagues Remember Lots wife the natural branches are broken off thou standest by faith be not high-minded but fear they entred not through unbelief let us fear lest we also come short c. Heb. 4.1 § 3. There belongs also unto the spiritual Kingdom reductivè all the works and the dispensations of God amongst the creatures for though only men that live in the Church be the proper subjects of the spiritual Kingdom and in respect of the spiritual part of it only the Saints yet as the Mediator undertook the government of all other things for the Churches sake so in the government of all things he has a special respect unto their good Eph. 1. ult Joh. 17.2 so that all the creatures and the government of them all comes under the spiritual Kingdom two ways 1 As they tend to perfect the graces of the Saints 2 As they belong unto the priviledges of the Saints so reductivè they belong to the spiritual Kingdom 1. Christ in the spiritual Kingdom doth so order and dispose of all the creatures that they do all tend to perfect and increase the graces of the Saints Rom. 8.28 Rom. 8.28 All things shall work together for good to them that love God the Apostle speaks it in reference unto affliction but yet because there was a general doctrine in it he would not restrain it and therefore he saith ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is all creatures and all events ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã i. e. 1 they shall not work so of themselves but by a blessed and gracious concurrence of God with them all as it is said That Ministers are workers togethers with God ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã 2 Cor. 6.1 Alas it is not any thing we can do or by any power that is in us but only there is a concurrence of the principal with the instrumental cause for instrumentum agit dispositivè in virtute principalis agentis 2 Some refer it unto the creatures themselves that they do not do this apart as if any one action or any one dispensation meerly did it but they do it as it were in a conspiracy or concatenation they all joyn together in the work that if we take any one particular we may seem to go backward and it may tend to the disadvantage of the spiritual Kingdom but we must take them all together as we are not to judge of the works of God ante quintum actum so neither are we to judge of the fruits of his works but by laying of them all together and see how they work in a due order and subordination one to another c. and unto what is it ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that is ad aeternam piorum salutem for sine summo bono nil bonum As there is nothing good without the chiefest good so there is nothing good that doth not lead a man unto the chief good and therefore when it 's said That all things work together for good the meaning is they shall all make for the increase of their grace here and their glory hereafter all of them shall work for the eternal good of their souls whereas unto all wicked men all the creatures and all the dispensations of God in the ordering of the creatures cedunt in perniciem tend to their perdition they are unto the one in praemium for a reward unto the other in supplicium for punishment as Prosper has it Or as Cyprian saith of the Sacrament it was Petro in remedium Judae in venenum a remedy to Peter but poyson to Judas so it is here all the creatures that the wicked do enjoy they are indeed seemingly blessings but really curses outwardly bread but in verity a stone a fish in shew but in truth a scorpion for they do all of them tend to the ripening of their sins and the hastning of their ruine but to the Saints 1 Cor. 3.21 22. All things are yours he was speaking of glorying in men they should not boast of their Teachers though it is true indeed that the Primitive Church had their Crown of twelve Stars yet they were all the servants of the Churches debent tam corpori quà m capiti servire they ought to serve the body as well as the head and therefore some will have it ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã for ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã but the Apostle doth speak here as in the fore-quoted places as I conceive where though speaking of one particular yet there being a general truth in it he doth propound it generally for it is not to be restrained to persons as the after-enumeration shews for he speaks of life and death things present and things to come now how doth he mean that all is ours that is aedificationi saluti destinata as ordained for our edification and salvation there is a special design of grace in ordering and disposing of them all so as
they shall be truly our servants that is they shall tend unto the advancement of our spiritual and eternal good Rom. 8.38 what he had before spoken positively that they shall all do us good here he speaks negatively that they shall never be able to do us hurt I am perswaded that neither life nor death via extrema secunda adversa the highest pitch of prosperity and the lowest ebb of adversity or affliction shall not be able to hurt us nor Angels good or bad nor principalities and powers that is all the powers of Empires and Monarchs of the world nor things present nor things to come not any intermediate events that now do or hereafter may befal us nor heights nor depths nor any creature i. e. if there be any creature that comes not under the former enumeration whether it be in heaven above or in the deeps beneath it shall never be able to hurt us in respect of our eternal state because it shall never be able to separate us from the love of God which has so sure a ground for it is love born to us in Christ in whom he has elected us c. therefore you see there comes no disadvantage but a continual advantage unto the spiritual Kingdom by all the creatures and by the dispensations of Christ in the ordering and the government of them all Let us see this by an enumeration of some particulars 1. If the Lord give unto his people prosperity it shall be to the advantage of the inward man and in their outward prosperity their souls shall prosper 2 Chron. 17.6 Jehosaphat had silver and gold and riches in abundance and his heart was lifted up and encouraged in the ways of Gods commandments and thereby the people of God make them friends of the unrighteous Mammon and they lay up a good foundation that they may lay hold of eternal life Eccles 7.11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance it is good in it self without an inheritance but there is a special advantage by wisdom with an inheritance and so it 's better to the man or it is good to a mans self but it is not so good unto another and so Prov. 14.24 The crown of the wise is their riches but there are to other men riches reserved for the hurt of the owner and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them Prov. 1.32 wisdom is the better with an inheritance but folly is the worse with an inheritance for the folly of fools is foolishness he speaks it of rich fools there are no men discover their folly more and whose foolishness is more eminent and notorious than these mens as riches draw forth the graces of the one so do they also the sins of the other 2. If the Lord give unto his people afflictions it shall be to the advantage of their inward man Rom. 5.3 Tribulation works patience surely patience is a fruit of the Spirit as all other graces are and cannot be wrought in any man by affliction unless it be given him by the Spirit A man must have patience 1 if ever he will bear affliction fruitfully but 2 the word is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which doth signifie to work a thing out and bringing of it to perfection Phil. 2.12 It is this therefore that when patience is wrought in the soul by the Spirit it is improved and exceedingly drawn out by affliction it doth improve the graces of the Saints and upon this ground it is said Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations Jam. 1.2 Esa 27.8 9. in measure God shoots forth the affliction and the mercy of God is greatly seen in the moderation of the affliction By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is the fruit to take away the sin of his people when he makes all the stones of their Altars to be as chalk stones and therefore Esa 24.15 Glorifie the Lord in the fires ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Heb. 12.10 he doth chastise them that they may be made partakers of his holiness 3. Temptations for the Lord Jesus doth order all the temptations of Satan and directs them unto spiritual ends for even the very enemies of the spiritual Kingdom he doth over-rule so as he makes them servants to it even the vessels of dishonour have their use in the great house as the Apostle speaks 2 Tim. 2.21 Satan is an enemy ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã that enemy in two things to the Saints 1 In his accusations unto God he is therefore called the Accuser of the Brethren and so he did move God against Job to destroy him without a cause Job 2.3 there was cause enough in Job if the Lord had been extreme to mark what he had done amiss but there was not that cause that Satan did alledge and it is a mercy to the people of God that though there be cause enough yet he doth hide the true cause from their malicious accusers that that which they fasten upon them is no cause to set God or man against them but the more the Lord doth appear for his servants to justifie them had not Satan accused Job so impetuously God had never so eminently appeared for his justification This should quiet and comfort the Saints in all the hard measure and reproaches that they meet withal in the world that yet the Lord will arise for their justification and their enemies confusion that though a child of God may lye under the blast of the wicked for a season yet God will vindicate him at last so that false friends as well as true enemies shall be made to say Surely there is no inchantment against any of the seed of Jacob Jude 15. c. Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him and his children c. 2 Satan is an enemy by his temptations unto the Saints and so the strength of God is made perfect in their weakness that is manifestly declared so to be 2 Cor. 12. for thereby their strength is tryed there is nothing tries grace so much as temptation unto sin because nothing is more opposite unto grace and gratia vexata seipsam prodit grace vexed discovers it self thereby also their corruption is purged for the Lord doth commonly temper that poyson into a medicine and Satan that seeks to kill shall be instrumental to cure he that doth intend to stab the man shall but give vent to his imposthume and therefore Luther says of temptation when the Papists did object unto Luther that he himself granted Purgatory I do indeed saith he but it is but that Purgatory of temptation and he adds Hoc Purgatorium non est fictum and hereby the enemy is conquered for we are more than conquerors Rom. 8. It was said that the Carthaginians did prevail against
a while see what he can do with him 2 Sometimes in just judgment God doth it when his people sin against him and depart from him the Lord doth leave them in the hand of the Devil as a prisoner that he may correct them and so recover them as a father leaves his child in the hand of a servant to correct so as he stands by and sets the measure to it he shall but correct him in measure Rev. 2.10 He will cast them into prison for ten days as he did Paul he was buffetted by Satan to prevent sin he did leave him to correct his sin 3 In an ordinance of Excommunication 1 Cor. 5.5 being delivered to Satan he doth exercise tyranny over him to stir up the guilt of sin within him and to torment his conscience and God departs from him in point of comfort for 2 Cor. 2.7 it was that he might not be swallowed up with over-much sorrow therefore it is sorrow that is the fruit of this Ordinance c. 2. Yet all this doth the Soveraignty of God order and over-rule for the good of the Saints There are two things that the power of Satan is wholly exercised in temptation and affliction 1 He is a Tempter in us and that both as he is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã and ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as Clem. Alexandr speaks 1 He doth effectually stir up sin within us and he works effectually in the children of disobedience and 2 In any sin that is stirred up in us he is a worker together with us to bring it forth unto perfection for it 's not only to beget sin in us but to perfect it that he doth aim at 2 He is an Accuser of us unto God ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the accuser of the brethren Rev. 12.10 as Christ is called ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Satan doth plead against them before God and before men and in their own consciences also stirring up of guilt in them also and he hath his accesses unto Heaven and he doth put up his desires unto God against us and doth lay our sins unto our charge before the Throne of Justice and demands justice against us Zac. 3.1 2. for Zac. 3.1 2. Satan stands at his right hand which was to accuse for the Accuser stood at the right hand and it was to resist him the right hand being chiefly the instrument of action therefore it was to hinder him in the great service that he was now about to do and to object against him before the Lord his filthy garment with which he was cloathed at his appearance before the Lord. Now both these the temptations and the accusations of Satan the Soveraignty of God doth rule and over-rule for the spiritual good of the Saints which I shall make appear in these particulars and therefore Bernard calls him Malleus terrae and he saith Terit electos in utilitatem reprobos conterit in damnationem pag. 300. 1. There is a restraint upon him that he shall tempt them no more than is for their good He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able 1 Cor. 10.13 It is true that Satan is subtle in his temptations and he doth take a measure of the spirits of men that so he may proportion his temptations unto them some spirits are too low for some temptations as their understandings are for some opinions Now Satan therefore doth not suggest such depths unto them but deals with them in a lower way but there are some temptations that would not take with some because their spirits and their understandings are above them and he deals with them in a higher and in a more ingenious way Now as Satan doth take a measure of the spirits of men in every temptation so doth God also take a measure of their grace that it shall be so much and no more for there are some temptations that the grace that is in some men could not bear and therefore the Lord doth proportion it in wisdom and in mercy it is true unto wicked men it is otherwise there is a power that is beyond the strength of the common works that are upon them an opportunity of temptation that turns them off as leaves that are shaken with the wind but it is not so with the Saints Ad mensuram permittitur tentare Diabolus sed qui dat Tentatori potestatem ipse tantato praebet misericordiam August tom 8. p. 435. 2. Satan shall tempt no further than it shall be for the subduing of corruption men are delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh but it is an over-ruling hand of the Soveraignty of God who doth temper such poyson into a wholesom medicine and what the enemy did intend should kill that shall be a means to cure And therefore Luther doth deride the Papists in this who having spoken in his Covent unto one of the Society of a Purgatory and they objected it against him that he did grant in his writings a Purgatory also he answers them That he doth grant a Purgatory but it is this of temptation only by which the Lord is pleased to purge the souls of his people and that makes them to come out the more refined hoc Purgatorium fictum non est c. Great hath been the gain that the people of God have had by their temptations this way yea even by those temptations in which they have been foiled Nescit Diabolus quomodo illo insidiante furente utatur ad salutem fidelium excellentissima Dei sapientia c. Aug. tom 3. p. 218. 3. It doth mightily improve their graces we see it in Job we know what the end was that God made with him as all afflictions improve graces and make the land fruitful as the rain doth though it make the way foul so there is not a greater affliction than temptation for a man to be left to be as the sink into which the Devil shall empty all the filthiness that is in that unclean spirit therefore this also shall turn into the increase of grace wherefore Luther's saying That there are three things make a Divine Meditation Oration and Tentation is most true for grace opposed is much improved a soul had never seen such high acts of grace had it not met with such high opposition It 's true in it self it doth not increase grace for it is opposite unto it but by an Antiperistasis it doth debemus esse Dialectici non pugnamus ut homines sed ut Christiani Luth. and therefore the Spirit of Christ will improve his own work in us by our temptations also 4. We have by this experience of the power of Christ in us Experimental knowledge is a knowledge upon tryal and such a knowledge a man can never have till he be brought unto a tryal there is many a man that doth presumptuously think that he can do much and resist much but when he comes to the tryal he is weak as
do the Saints that are of the same body with themselves for they do none of them live barely as private men though they are not all publick persons in respect of office and function yet they are in respect of their relation and they have all of them reference unto the body and they do pray as members of the body and have in all things respect unto the good of the body for as the Spirit that doth interpret the Scripture is not a private Spirit so the Spirit that doth act the Saints is not a private Spirit therefore as in the good of every member the body is interessed so also in the prayers of every one the body is interessed therefore as we are to look upon all the prayers of Christ not as the prayers of a private man but as put up by him who is the Churches Head so we are also to look upon the prayers of all the Saints not as of private men but also as under the relation of membership under which they stand in the body of Christ and as we are to look upon their sufferings as being of the body so are we also to look upon their services as being done by the members of the same body and all of them for the good and benefit of the body Moses obtained great benefits to the people of Israel by his prayers their blessings depended much upon his prayers Pardon them as thou hast done it from Egypt till now and the Lord answers I have pardoned them according to thy word and again Moses prays Go before them or carry us not from hence the Lord answers My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest The blessings that godly men attain are not barely the fruit of their own prayers and yet they that are godly do pray also but they are a concurrence of prayers and by them we do attain mercy yea sometimes when we are little able to pray for our selves when the spirit of prayer is low in its actings in us yet then the souls of some of the Saints are upon the wing and the Lord will have respect unto them for they are of the body As we rejoice not in the gifts of others because we look upon them as given unto other men and do not look upon them as a part of the body and so see our interest in them that they are given them for our good and therefore they are to us rather matter of envy than of rejoicing so we take no comfort in the prayers of the Saints upon this ground because we look not upon them as praying upon the same common interest with us and as praying for us as fellow-members who have with them an equal interest in the good of the body and its prosperity And as they obtain mercy so they keep off judgment if Noah Daniel and Job stood before me he speaks it as the most effectual way of prevailing with him and as that which he would least of all deny and yet the Decree being gone forth his heart could not be towards them The Saints have in their ages attained great mercy for the body and therefore Elijah is called the chariot of Israel and the horse-men thereof their main defence lay in him under Heaven they had not so great a one and therefore godly men in all ages have looked upon it as a great misery for the godly of the age to be removed as having their party and their interest upon earth weakned as if an eminent man of any party be taken away it 's looked upon as a great weakning to them and he is thereupon greâây bewailed by them Wherefore it is reproved as their sin Esa 57.1 That the righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart c. and Mic. 7.1 it is expressed by the Prophet as a duty and so it was with Austins mother he saies of her Orationibus vivebat and it was in answer to her prayers that he was new-born unto God Parturivit me carne ut in hanc temporalem corde ut in aeternam lucem renascerer Tom. 9. cap. 8. She travailed with me as in her flesh to bring me forth to a temporal life so in her heart to an eternal life he was an eminent instrument in the Church in the age in which he lived and mightily confuted the false Teachers of the time and did gloriously defend the truth and appeared for it and all this he did attain by the benefit of his mothers prayers And they do bring upon the Churches enemies very great and terrible judgments by their prayers there is a fire that comes out of their mouths and consumes their enemies and that not as they are theirs but as they are the Churches enemies And not only the prayers of the present age shall have power against Antichrist but the prayers of the former ages as to instance in the prayers of David taking place against Judas Act. 1. so there have been prayers for many years that have been going for the Reformation of England from Popery which have been answered eminently in our daies and will be more and more answered in succeeding generations the people of God pray continually for more degrees of grace and light Now it 's true that when men strike an Oak with many blows yet it doth not fall till the last blow and yet we say that it is not the last blow that fells the Oak but all that went before so 't is here as it was in the death of Christ his last act was the full payment but yet all his former obedience and sufferings did concur thereunto to all that full satisfaction that was given by him to the Father and it 's dreadful when the prayers of all the people of God do fall upon a man surely vengeance will overtake him as an armed man Look as all the prayers of the Saints do at the last day meet together in the Devils destruction so it shall be in the destruction of any great and eminent instrument of his as in attaining special deliverances the Lord stands upon number so it is in bringing in eminent judgments also and therefore Hezekiah sends for Isaiah and tells him That the children were come to the birth the promises did travail with deliverance but there was no strength to bring forth unless he would add his prayers also and so it is with the people of God it is much more to lose one praying man than a plotting or a fighting man and that is the meaning that great Babylon came into remembrance before God how was it it was from the Lords remembrancers for the Vials did come out of the Temple Rev. 16.1 all their prayers met together Rev. 16.1 and there is a full cry that the Lord is put in remembrance which by his long delay and forbearance he had seemed to neglect and forget 8. By their Faith the people of God attain much mercy to others as well as by their
prayers for as by their prayers they do not only attain mercy for themselves so they do not only by their faith attain mercy for themselves it is said of the men that came to Christ Jesus That when he saw their faith he said to the sick of the palsie Son thy sins are forgiven thee c. Mark 2.5 There is a question put by Interpreters whether any man be saved by another mans faith or what benefit a man may have by the faith of another to which they commonly give this answer That the faith of others may be very useful unto men though they be sinful in reference unto temporal mercies and deliverance as the Saints are said by faith to subdue kingdoms attain promises stop the mouths of lyons out of weakness were made strong Heb. 11.33 waxed valiant in fight and turned to flight the armies of the aliens c. in which works there were many others had the benefit of them besides themselves and yet all is attributed to their faith And therefore if by the faith of one many even ungodly men may fare the better how much more may all the Saints who are one body and live not only for their own good but also for the good one of another by their faith attain very many temporal blessings one from another and by the faith one of another Yea they go further though it 's true that no man can be saved but by his own faith and it was by this mans faith also laying hold upon pardon that his sins were forgiven him yet ubi est mutuus fidei consensus ab aliis juvari aliorum salutem Calv. The Lord even in granting spiritual blessings to his people hath as well respect unto the faith of others as unto the prayers of others as when we pray and others pray for us the mercy is granted as a return unto both prayers so when we believe and others also do believe the mercy is given with respect to the faith of both parties and this is the blessed condition of Saints that they do not only attain temporal mercies one for another and are the better in temporal things but even in spiritual and eternal things they do attain mercy as by their prayers so by the faith one of another as they may pray one for another so they may also believe one for another and the mercies be granted to them so there be a concurrence also of the faith of the person that receives the mercy It was a great mercy that the people of Israel should enter into âanaan by the faith of Abraham and Jacob and Joseph they only believing and embracing those promises which they never lived to see fulfilled and accomplished But if it be so great a mercy to enter into the earthly Canaan and yet some entred not because of their unbelief for a mans own proper unbelief may deprive him of those temporal blessings which a man might else attain how much more a mercy is it to enter into the spiritual Canaan that of the Gospel even the promised Land the spiritual Priviledges of the Gospel and those that are eternal and that with the assistance of another mans faith It is ordinary with us to desire the prayers one of another and by the same reason that we have an interest in the prayers of the faithful we have an interest in the faith of the faithful also and we may as well desire them to improve and exercise their faith for us as their prayers and so did Monica for her son and parents should do it for their children as well as for their own souls and so for our friends also Austin speaking of the former experiences that his mother had in the answer and return of her prayers saies of her Semper orans tanquam chirographa tua ingerebat tibi c. And truly the returns of the faith of the faithful would be as great though they be not so commonly known as the return of their prayers and yet their prayers will avail nothing if they be not the prayers of faith § 4. Thus we have spoken something of the providential Kingdom in over-ruling all things for the good of the Saints in reference unto Good men now follows that we speak something also in reference unto Evil men for there is a Government and Soveraignty that the Lord doth also exercise towards them and all for the good of his own people Now the Lord Jesus hath a rule and dominion not only over his own house but also over the world and he doth rule them with a rod of iron Psal 2.9 and it is in this only that the people of God when they look upon wicked men in the world can comfort themselves that the Lord reigns and the power and the government of themselves is not in their own hand even the vessels of dishonour in his great house whether we understand it of the Church or of the world are for the masters use and at the masters command even wicked men as well as Devils are not at their own dispose there is a government that he doth exercise over them for he hath undertaken the government of all things for the good of his people and for their sake and if he do administer all for their good he must rule their enemies in all things as well as the Saints that the people of God may say That neither Angels nor principalities nor powers nor any creature shall be able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Rom. 8.38 he orders all the motions of enemies as well as the motions of his people as the Captain of the Lords Host and he orders all things so as it shall be for the destruction of the enemy at the last for all things are put under his feet the last enemy that is destroyed is death therefore all is put under his government and he doth rule them so as that in their own actings they do find their own destruction his government over them is that they might be destroyed and in their own way find their destruction but yet so as they shall be wholly ruled and ordered for the good of his people and that will appear in these particulars 1. That they have a being and standing in the world is for the good of the Saints caeteri mortales qui ex isto numero non sunt ad utilitatem nascuntur istorum August They had never been born if God had not had some use to make of them for the good of the Saints non enim quenquam istorum Deus temerè aut fortuito creat God creates none of them in vain as if he knew not what use to make of them it is for the Saints sake that they have their standing in the world for it is for them that the world stands it is but that the number of the Elect may be gathered and perfected and when that is done the stage of this world shall be taken down
the Lord shall so lead thee that thou shalt not dash thy foot against a stone tibi nocere non possunt sed coguntur inservire 2 Stones were for bounds and Land-marks and they shall not be removed but you shall continually enjoy the bounds of your own habitation they shall not be removed it shall be as sure as if you were in league with the Stones that they shall not depart from your bounds 3 Cocceius hath out of Vlpian a certain punishment ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã appellant whence they did use to heap stones upon a ground that it might never be plowed to hinder its fruitfulness Thus the sense is The Stones shall be at league with thee that none of them shall hinder the fruitfulness of thy land and make it lye barren and untilled as in judgment they might doe Now if there be a Covenant by God made with all these for his people then surely the Motions and the Actings of all these shall be for the good of his People But you will say In what particular do all these little things work for the good of the Saints It will clearly appear in these particulars 1. In the smallest things the people see God and their spirits are elevated and raised up to behold him in them for not only the Heavens declare the Glory of God Psal 19.1 but even the meanest Creatures in all their motions do it Repraesentat quaelibet herba Deum Now there is a threefold Vision of God in this World in his Works and in his Word and in his Son and it is of special use that the works of God are unto the Saints in all their being and motions that they can see something of God in them Our Communion with God depends upon our Vision of God and the more we see God in all things the more we converse with him Now there is not the least of all the Creation of God but it doth represent him to us and we look upon it as a footstep of God it is that which doth raise up our hearts unto Heaven while we are upon Earth and causeth us to look upon nothing small that hath so glorious a Creator and so wise a Disposer in minimis lauda magnum says Austin when he speaks de culice there is much of God to be seen and the heart is much to be over-aw'd not only in the lesser things of the Word but also of the Works of God 2. It is unto the people of God matter of praise even in the actings of the meanest of the creatures to see how they work unto an end that they know not but the wise disposer of them knows all their motions and directs them unto his end the out-goings of the morning and evening do praise thee that is objectivè and occasionaliter as they give unto his people matter and occasion of praise In the creation the Morning Stars did sing Job 38.7 and so they do in all the Executions of Providence also fitting them for this end and guiding them to this end c. Austin in Psal 148. blames those that dislike and find fault with the works of God In officina non audent vituperare fabrum tamen audent reprehendere in mundo Deum Perdidisti Hallelujah A man doth lose his praise and the matter and occasion of it which is unto a Saint a great loss for praise is his delight and he loves the occasion of it 3. There is great matter of Meditation even in these ordinary things such as do mightily affect the Souls of the Saints it was so to David Psal 148.7 8 9 10. Praise the Lord from the earth ye Dragons and all deeps fire and hail snow and vapours stormy wind fulfilling his Word mountains and all hills fruitful trees and all cedars Beasts and all cattel creeping things and flying fowls and how can this be Nudae creaturae Deum celebrant Moller dum ad mirandam ejus sapientiam potentiam quotidie ostendunt The dangers prevented and the good things conferred such as are secrets unto us and we know not we consider not of as Luther saith of himself in the like case Somnia nostra observat quando nescimus nos vivere c. equidem odi carnem meam quòd haec scio vera esse iis tamen non seriò afficior c. It gives the Soul high matter of Meditation puts it into the Mount with God 4. It is unto the People of God a great ground of exercising their Faith and that in two things 1 Upon the word of Promise that all these creatures are his by Covenant in all their motions and therefore he has not a common interest in them with the rest of the world but they come unto him from another hand and he receives them by another tenure Now any mercy that has the respect of the Covenant put upon it is infinitely heightned unto them the smallest mercy enjoy'd by Covenant is better than the greatest without the Covenant it is better be as low as Hell with a promise than in Paradise without it therefore it is true that other men walk upon the Stones and they hurt them not and the Beasts break not in upon them the Sun shines and the Rain falls upon them yet here is the sweetness to a Believer This I enjoy as a fruit of an everlasting Covenant as an heir of Promise and as a Pledge of an eternal Inheritance 2 It will be a ground to exercise a mans Faith for a support if the Lord cloath the grass of the field how much more will he cloath you and if he feeds the Ravens he will surely not starve his Children nay if the supply of all the Creatures will be a Provision for you you shall not want it they shall all act for you and if it were possible to put a Saint of God in this life in such a condition as he should want the supply of all the creatures at once they should surely all work for his good for the Lord provides them of purpose and for that very end that they may work for you and therefore are they continued in their being and to that end are govern'd by him 5. The Love of the People of God is drawn out by them exceedingly even by small Mercies for it is not the greatness of the Blessing but the abundance of Love discovered to the soul in it that takes a gracious heart for we love him because he loved us first And as his love is discovered such are the outgoings of our love to him again Now these small things may be magni amoris indicium an ordinary turn of the creature may testifie a great deal of love from God to the Soul as when Israel came out of Egypt Joh. 19.36 not a Dog did move his tongue Exod. 11.7 if they had the matter had not been great for in the night they use to bark but though there was a great cry amongst the Egyptians
them to have the Remainders of sin in them in this life and they shall never be freed from it till their dissolution We shall easily see that he as the Lord of all has ordered this by his Sovereignty and Supremacy for the good of his people and that it was for their sakes 1 That hereby he may exalt the Grace of Justification unto the Saints for God to pardon sins past it were rich mercy infinite mercy but for the Lord to leave sin remaining in a man and while he is conflicting with it and fears he shall be overcome with it every moment sees himself still to remain a sinner and yet the grace of Justification still to hold out that as there is in me a Fountain of sin so God is the Father of mercies and he doth not only pardon at first but when I sin and endeavour to make a breach upon my Justification again he shews mercy still and doth multiply to pardon Isa 55.7 this exalts the Righteousness of Christ imputed in justification for tolle morbos tolle vulnera nulla erit medicinae causa Dam. Therefore a man doth daily wash his feet and sees the Sun of Righteousness to rise upon him daily that he may be justifi'd not only from the Acts of sin but also from the remainders and Reliques of sin that are in him Joh. 13.10 And this also doth exalt the grace of God the Father justifying When the Apostle had had more than ordinary experience of the remainders of corruption in him and was much afflicted looking upon himself as a miserable man by reason thereof and judging himself worthy to be destroy'd for it and might by reason thereof have expected the sentence of death every moment now he looks upon the grace of the Gospel as justifying and he finds a new sweetness in it there is now no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 Not only the sins committed before Conversion but the sins remaining after do justly make the soul liable to condemnation but such is the grace that justifies us that there is no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus 2 That there may be a continual Conflict kept up in us our life is a Warfare and therefore Job 14.14 it is said all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã all the days militiae meae of my warfare this is not against enemies without against spiritual wickednesses in high places only but against enemies within in a special manner the Flesh lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and by this means the war is maintain'd The Lord will have the time of this life to be tempus militiae a time of warfare and the other life laetitiae of triumph as Bernard speaks this laboris of labour that mercedis of reward and there is no conflict in the world like unto this to have two contraries in the same place each of them striving to destroy one another and yet neither of them compleatly and totally prevailing for they are contrary Gal. 5.17 and there is a greater opposition against sin than there is against the Devils themselves or any enemies without there are the sorest battels fought between flesh and spirit in the same soul and with greater displeasure and indignation against them than Saints against the Devil himself for this is the greatest evil to them because it is in them and because the Lord will have a conflict that so the graces of his People may be both exercised and also tryed and improved the power of Grace and the truth of it would never have been so gloriously seen if there had not been such a principle of corruption drawing it forth daily 3 That he may keep his people humble there is no one thing that the Lord takes more care of than that the Saints should not be lifted up it is the end of Affliction to hide pride from their hearts and of temptations and desertions in the flesh that they might not be lifted up in themselves and exalted above measure Now it 's true it 's matter enough to humble one if duely considered to call to mind what he has been as it did Paul I was a persecutor and a blasphemer and injurious 1 Tim. 1.13 As some of the Heathens having risen to be Kings from small beginnings would keep something still to put them in mind of their Original as one being a Potters son would be served only in Earthen Vessels all his life-time The remembrance of what is past might humble a man to say Such were some of you such were ye but it is much more effectual to humble a man to consider that very iniquity is not fully purged unto this day but there are still some remainders of it upon me there is still a law in my members that rebells against the law of my mind that when I would do good evil is present with me and this makes me to look upon my self as a wretched and a miserable man and makes me to loath and abhor my self the same sore is running upon me still I am sensible I have the leprosie and therefore I can take no pleasure in my self the Devil comes and hath something in me there is a Principle that is prone to close with any temptation there is a sea of corruption that doth but wait for a wind nay if the Devil should never disquiet it yet it is a Fountain that will cast mire out of it self c. 4 That the Saints may be exercised in Prayer and Repentance daily Now it is that which the Lord requires of them every day Pray without ceasing and a man is Nulli rei nisi poenitentiae natus c. Now that there may be something that we may ask of him daily to give us that is a further degree of Grace a greater measure of purging and that we may apply the Righteousness of Christ for to mortifie sin in us as well as to satisfie God for sin and that there may be always something that we may confess and bewail before God and repent of and mourn for this sin is still left in us And look what benefits the people of God do receive from these constant and daily exercises all these do flow from the Sovereignty of God towards them in leaving of the remainders of sin in them and by this means we come to have a part in that great honour which belongs to Christ and that is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã taking away of sin It 's true Christ only doth it by way of satisfaction and he is the only original of our sanctification but yet we do it as having our spirits also acted by the Spirit of Christ and so our wills and desires joyning and concurring with him in that work therefore we are said to mortifie the deeds of the body and to crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts to purge
mercy God hath shewed in me a pattern of Patience Oh that ever such a one should find mercy and favour with him that he should take me into his bosome 8 It puts a man upon the greater Mortification of sin he doth with the greater hatred abhorr all evil ye that fear the Lord hate evil Dolor dolore tollitur venenâ venenis dispeâluntur Aug. now hatred will be contented with nothing but destruction the more the Enemy doth arise the more doth a mans hatred arise Gratia vexata seipsam prodit a man shall say What have I to doe any more with Idols to the Moles and to the Batts David hates that sin that had so defiled him and this sets him against the whole body of sin I was shapen in iniquity and now he looks for the Root Psal 51. and he doth hate sin in the Fountain of it And as it is in a sin in Practice so it is in an errour in Judgement he will not only be watchfull against it but he will also hate it the more There was not such an enemy against the Manichees in the world as Austin was because he had been himself deluded with it as when he was to dispute with Fortunatus Secum in eodem errore constitutum congredi putabat And so Luther that of Popery Brevi efficiam c. and so he doth answer himself Vincet mea audacia in Christo and Paul with more Zeal did preach that Faith which before he destroyed and thereby the Saints glorifi'd God for him Gal. 1. ult it makes a man zealous to honour God in that thing wherein he had so highly dishonour'd him 9 It makes a man tender towards others Gal. 6.1 he will put on a spirit of Meekness to others because he hath found the mercy of God to his own Soul and therefore he despairs of nothing that they may also through your mercy attain mercy Rom. 11.31 there being the same mercy shewed unto them that was shewed unto us and they are as capable of the same mercy as we were Christ shewed tenderness unto Peter and he appeared unto him one of the first after his Resurrection and he did comfort him even against his fall shewed him great favour and surely so will the soul be ready to comfort others also he that hath received mercy will put on bowels of mercy who is offended and I burn not no man is put off no man encouraged in his sin the pride of a mans heart is as well broken with Mercies as it is with Crosses and Afflictions and the Lord doth hide pride from the heart in them both that a man that doth put his mouth in the dust when God is pacify'd will be as low as the dust towards another in the same Offence with himself this I have had experience of and yet received unto mercy and it becomes me to put on the same bowels to others 10 Providence orders it for the consolation of the people of God and it is a mighty argument of faith as if when God gives his Son he will give all things so if God do bring good out of sin all shall work together for good Sin is the greatest evil greater than Hell the one God is the Author of but not of the other the one is against an uncreated good the glory of God the other is but against the good of the creature and yet even this shall be for good and so a man may say with Gregory of Adams sin foelix culpa but not talem meruit Redemptorem § 5. 2. Not only a mans own sins but other mens sins are turned unto the good of the Saints also the providence of God doth so order all things that they have a benefit by them and that both by wicked and godly mens sins and in the sins of wicked men it is true what Austin saith That God had never suffered sin to come into the world if it had been such an evil as he could have brought no good out of it Bonitas tua novit malis nostris bene uti Anselm Non solùm mala passiva quae nobis irrogantur in bonum cedunt sed etiam activa quae nos ipsi facimus Luther Collaudandus est benignissimus omnipotens Deus qui malis nostris non solùm non vincitur sed ex iis operatur nostrum bonum Gerson Omnipotens Deus cùm summè bonus sit nullo modo sineret aliquid mali esse in operibus suis nisi adeò esset omnipotens bonus ut benefaceret etiam de malo illorum nequitia est malè uti bonis operibus ejus sic illius sapientia est bene uti malis eorum operibus August And as all the sins of ungodly men shall turn to the glory of God so they shall all of them be for the good of his people they shall be gainers by all the wickedness that is done in the world as the Lord will work his glory out of all Though the Lord forbid sin and hate it and thereby appears not to be the Author of it so the Saints do hate sin and mourn for it that thereby it may appear that they are not partakers in it and yet for all this God doth work his glory and the good of the Saints out of all the wickedness and all the confusions that are in the world and next to the pardon of sin this is the great priviledge of the second Covenant that their own and other mens sins do work together for their good those things that they do mourn for and pray against c. And this I will manifest 1 in general and then 2 in some of the particulars thereof because it is maximum divinae providentiae argumentum Clem. Alex. 1. In general how doth God make the sins of wicked men to conduce unto the good of the Saints This will appear in these particulars 1 Hereby they may always read what they were as in the example of the Saints they may always read what they ought to be the one is set before them as a pattern as well as the other Tit. 3.3 We our selves were sometime disobedient foolish deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy and it is good for the Saints to be mindful thereof what they have been sic fuimus olim I was once saith Luther Monachus miserrimus look to the rock whence thou wert hewn Paul kept the condition of his unregeneracy always in his mind It is true God forgets our sins but we should not see the wickedness that is in the lives of other men and read thine own in it as Austin did in a child vidi puerulum c. and thence he doth conclude it was so with him quando minimus fui 2 By this they see what they are delivered from might not I have been such a one 1 Cor. 6.11 Such were some of you but now you are washed you are sanctified you are justified and by this the grace
of God is exalted in their hearts so much the more which might have suffered them for ever to have walked in the errour of the wicked and to have gone in the same way with them Psal 69.27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity that is as the Saints go from one degree of grace to another they go from glory to glory from strength to strength so let these go from one sin to another God lets them do it till they have filled up their measure and then le ts go judgment after it upon them by giving them over unto it that so they may fill up their measure for there is a measure of sin as well as of grace Joel 3.13 Put in thy sickle and reap for the harvest is ripe the press is full there is a measure of iniquity and then they do come up in remembrance before God the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full A dismal judgment it is that a man should live for no other end but to fill up iniquity 3 Hereby the Saints are daily admonished what they are in their own nature if the Lord leave the best men to themselves and kept it not under the restraint of grace 2 Tim. 2.19 they seeing others Apostasie fear themselves and Christ speaking of him that was to betray him all the Disciples began to fear lest it should be themselves this sin is in my nature say they and therefore it is meer mercy that I am not so wicked as Cain and Judas I am as like to commit it as they if the Lord should leave me to my self that gratia subsequens the Rock that followed them preserves his people from the sin that is in their natures and they reflect upon that when they see others fall into sin considering themselves lest they also be tempted Gal. 6.1 4 Hereby they are minded of the ends that sin brings men to that they may fear them As the ends of godly men are to be observed whose faith follow knowing the end of their conversation so we are called upon in Scripture to consider the ends of the wicked Prov. 23.21 Drunkenness will cloath a man with rags who hath redness of eyes and wounds without cause Prov. 6.26 By the means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a morsel of bread and a dart striking through his liver and he gets a wound and dishonour that shall never be wiped off Prov. 21.16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã in coetu gigantum in the congregation of the Giants they being the first sort of sinners that ever went into Hell and so did give the first denomination unto the place of the damned 5 By this the Saints are put upon many duties towards them which will abound unto their account and 1 to pity their souls and to wait for them with patience Tit. 3.2 3. Shewing all meekness towards all men for we our selves were such Rom. 11.31 says the Apostle That through your mercy they also may obtain mercy 2 Despair not of them because the Lord shewed mercy to you therefore wait if at any time God will give them repentance 1 Tim. 1.16 He shewed in me a pattern to them that should hereafter believe in him c. we have in our selves an instance 3 We are to undervalue the persons of thesâ men how great soever Prov. 29.27 The wicked is an abomination to the just Psal 15.4 Dan. Dan. 4.17 4.17 they are the basest of men be they never so great 4 As the people of God fear the ends of the wicked so they hate their ways He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly Psal 1.1 he stands not in the way of sinners when sinners entice him he consents not Gen. 49.6 My soul come not thou into their secrets unto their assembly my honour be not thou united Psal 141.4 let me not eat of their dainties and also Psal 26.9 Gather not my soul with sinners nor my life with bloody men there is a bundle of the living there is a being gathered unto ones fathers and people wicked men are so and godly men are so they both have their people let me not be gathered with them that are ungodly O Lord. 2. Now more particularly the Saints are by Providence gainers by the plots of wicked men and their counsels by their attempts against them and by their executions and in all these the secret providence of God over them is manifested First by their plots and counsels a great part of the evil of wicked men lies in their plots devices and machinations Psal 35.20 They devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land they never know what they are doing or meditating on their thoughts are a continual forge of evil the Devils anvil always at work against the people of God Jer. 18.18 Jer. 18.18 Let us devise devices against Jeremiah it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which signifies a cunning plot and a curious work c. and the Saints fear their plots commonly more than their power as they fear the Devil more as a Serpent than as a Lyon and yet by their plots they travail with mischief devise evil continually Prov. 6.14 and it is ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which signifies fodit he hath a Mine within Prov. 6.14 and is always digging out mischief as a godly man hath a fountain that is always issuing good there is a good treasure and an evil treasure and the Holy Ghost speaks much of the plottings of wicked men against the Saints which never come unto any thing they weave a spiders web which never becomes a garment and by these plots the Saints are gainers 1 They see the Lord restraining their very plots that they do not always rise none of them shall desire thy land they shall not see their own advantages and they shall grope at noon day Job 5.14 it is spoken of their counsels he disappoints the counsels of the crafty and that is by snarling their thoughts confounding their plots that they do not see their own way they want no will to effect their mischievous devices but yet they cannot tell what way to take against the people of God therein the Lord is seen 2 He clogs them their hands cannot perform their enterprise they cannot bring their wicked devices to pass always when they should come to execution when the children are come unto the birth there is no strength to bring them forth for the Lord doth blow upon them and they wither as the grass upon the house top and they bear no fruit 3 They end in their own destruction Esa 59.5 They hatch cockatrice eggs and weave the spiders web c. a serpent a viper eats out the bowels of the mother they themselves are stung with them unto death they are taken in their own craft the wicked is insnared in the work of his own
your right Hand and pluck out your right Eye deny your selves that nothing shall be exalted in the heart but Christ and nothing must be dear to a man in comparison of Christ he must sell all to buy the Pearl Matt. 13.45 and part with it with joy not only part with a mans sins but his righteousness and priviledges and take them up by a new title as Paul he suffered the loss of all things Phil. 3.8 9. but found them all in Christ and attained them by a far better and more glorious title A man must do it as you do in Copy-holds a man must bring in his old Copy into the Court and there must be a surrender made and then you shall take it up again and have a new and a better state in it c. A man must part with sin as a snare and with self as a sacrifice and lay them all down at Christs feet he must be his utmost end that gives order and measure to all the means tending thereunto c. 3. The will of man is desperately shut against Christ and against this way of closing with him partly from a mans ungodliness because it is the highest way in which God will be honoured and partly because a man hates the terms and conditions that Christ must be received upon a man cannot give up all unto Christ sin is sweet and self is dear and the great God of the world the Idol that a man has worshipped all his life time now for a man to come and change his God it is that which the will of man is hardly brought unto and therefore Christ puts it upon the will John 5.40 You will not come to me who ever will let him come and take of the water of life freely Rev. 22. I would have gathered you but you would not The Lord does knock at this everlasting door and men bar the door against him and harden their hearts and will rather cleave to the Law and seek to patch up a broken Covenant and will venture their eternal estates upon it nay if they be convinced that there is no life to be had elsewhere they will venture to sit down in a state and way of death rather than they will come unto Christ that they may have life 4. When the Lord brings a man into the bond of Christs Covenant and he becomes an heir of Promise there is an almighty power put forth upon the will to perswade it and to open the heart to accept of Christ and to be subject unto him upon his own terms Gen. 9.27 The Lord shall perswade Japhet to dwell in the tents of Sem which all the rhetorick of the Angels in Heaven and Ministers the Angels upon Earth could never do none but the Spirit of Christ can open the heart it is alone in his power that has the Keys of Hell and Death Ut velimu sine nobis operatur cùm volumus nobiscum cooperatur August de Grat Lib. arb Chap. 17. Phil. 3.8 praebendo vires efficacissimas voluntati giving power to the will to choose Christ and so determining a mans will upon this glorious object that a man seeing Christ to be the chiefest of ten thousands he also desires him and so by preventing grace he does work the will and by assisting grace he works the deed that a man chooses the Lord for his portion and as that which above all things he desires to injoy and place his happiness in and unto him he cleaves with full purpose of heart for ever Act. 11. 23. And thus a man looking upon Christ as the person in whom there is a Covenant and an Image laid up and seeing the glory of that Covenant and the beauty of holiness that is in that Image of both he desires to be made partaker but there is the greater excellency because the person goes with them there is an excellency in the dowry but there is more in the person the soul thus accepting of Christ and catching at the terms of the Covenant as a dying man does at any thing looks upon it as a golden Septer held forth to him by the law condemned and as the brazen Serpent exalted upon the Pole to a sin-stung soul and the heart does greedily and with all its might take hold of it as a man would do a Cord let down as the only means to pluck him out of a dungeon or to save him from drowning and perishing Now to give you some arguments to inforce this that men should take hold of Christs Covenant 1. He is given by God the Father as a Covenant to the Nations Isa 49.8 And it will prove a high act of unthankfulness not to accept of him as a gift from God their sin was much aggravated John 1.11 John 1.11 He came to his own and his own received him not a man does not receive Christ that does not take him in this manner as offered by God the Father as a Covenant our ends in taking of Christ should answer Gods ends in giving of him now God did give him as a Covenant and an Image and we should receive him for both those ends and the Lord has used all means to inforce you to it that you may lay hold of this Covenant he did so with Adam at first Adam still thought that his former Covenant continued and would have given life and therefore he still had a mind to the Tree of Life but God to let him see there was no hope by that Covenant sent an Angel there with a flaming Sword and all that man might come to Christ âev 2.7 who is the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of God and came in the place of the old Tree of Life and he hath taught men that by the works of the Law no flesh can be justified and that that way to Heaven is stopped and that door barr'd for ever God sets the guilt of sin and terrors of the law upon any man that would be justified by his works 2. It is Christs Covenant and therefore lay hold of it for Christ is the standard of all excellency and the more any thing relates to him or holds forth of him the more glorious it is The second Temple was more glorious than the first because of Christs presence in it and John Baptists Ministry the greatest of all that were born of women and yet the least in the Kingdom of God was greater than he and therefore to you that believe he is precious 1 Pet. 2.7 and when he shall raign over Israel and they be converted to him he shall be the glory of his people Israel How should we therefore lay hold of him and take him as worthy of all acceptation 3. Consider the glory of this Covenant 1. In it thou hast an interest in God in all the persons in Trinity for I will be thy God is the grand promise thereof Now to have the Lord for a
mans God is to have an interest in infinite mercy and power and grace the God of my mercy and the God of my strength c. and have the Lord thine in a way of communion and fruition that the Lord will impart himself so as to become my portion the Covenant of Grace being a Covenant of Friendship and this is much more if we consider it is not in our own but in Christs right and therefore I having naturally no distinct title unto God yet being under his Covenant he is become my God as he is Christs God John 20.17 I ascend unto my Father and your Father my God and your God 2. This Covenant brings in a righteousness beyond that of the Angels 1. It is the righteousness of God Dan 9.24 and not meerly of a creature 2. It is a righteousness that sin can never spend an everlasting righteousness it is a Garment that will cover all the sins of the Elect of God a Sun of righteousness that though it enlighten all the Stars and the Earth yet every day it goes forth as a Bridgroom out of his Chamber as full of glory as ever it was 3. It is a Covenant by which Heaven is opened which was before shut against all the sons of men Heb. 10.20 we have access with boldness into the most holy place by the blood of Jesus by a new and a living way which he has consecrated through the veil c. when Heaven was shut by sin there was no way to open it but the Lord himself to descend from Heaven and to take upon himself a created nature so that the way to Heaven is by Christs Incarnation and Satisfaction in the Flesh and it is the way that Christ has made new because the old way was shut and man cast out of Paradise a Type of Heaven and it is a new way because it shall never wax old as the former Covenant did and a livingway because it gives life unto the Passenger that walks to Heaven in it and in the way of the Law there is no Life to be found but this is a living way a man finds life in it though the Law indeed was a way to Heaven but a man must bring life with him that will walk in it And by this opening of Heaven we have a double benefit 1 All good comes out of Heaven to us John 1. ult 2 We ascend up to Heaven to receive the mansions that are prepared for us and so Heaven is our home our House not made with hands and all by this Covenant 4 It is by this Covenant that a man hath the service of all the Angels and the inheritance of all the creatures it 's Christ whom the Angels serve and they ascend and descend upon the son of man there was no such thing under the first Covenant they were our fellow servants but our servants they were not till the grace of the second Covenant was made manifest it is first Christ that they serve the Lord bringing his only begotten Son into the world he saith Heb. 1.6 1 Cor. 3.21 Fidelibus est totus mundus divitiarum Jo. 5.22 and let all the Angels of God worship him and of all the creatures 't is said all things are yours for they are Christs Inheritance and ours only as we are in him there is dominium Politicum and Evangelicum a Politick and Evangelick dominion they have the use and the good of all the creatures 5 It 's by this Covenant that your Government of the World is changed and committed into another hand the Lord hath committed all judgement to the Son Christ is now King of Nations as well as of Saints and he has as Mediator a providential Kingdom as well as a Spiritual he is the Head over all things to the Church Ephes 1.22 a head of Guidance as well as of eminence the Keys of Hell and Death are committed to him the Government is upon his Shoulder as the great Officer that the Lord employs Esa 9.6 and it is our happiness that he that is our Head and Husband hath the rule of all things in his hand should the Lord have continued to have governed the world he must without a Mediator have destroyed it according to the first Covenant and the rules of his Government therefore the Lord saith I cannot go before you but I will send mine Angel take heed of him and obey his voice and it 's the happiness of the world that the Lord Christ raigns Let the earth rejoyce c. 6 It is by this Covenant that the world stands he upholds all things by the word of his power had not he put under his hand Heb. 1. the Earth had melted and come to nothing he establishes the earth for the curse of the first Covenant coming upon the creatures must have received them all Yet that 's not all but that the earth should stand firm and that by his word he shall raise the earth and elevate the creatures this is much more for there is an earnest expectation of all the creatures for a deliverance as well as of the Saints and hence we look for a new Heaven and a new Earth What change soever shall be made in the creatures at the last day whether in substance or in quality it shall be perfective not destructive for it is a promise that the Saints expect and pray for and all the creatures do groan and wait for when the glory of the Sons of God shall be made manifest Vse 3 § 3. It 's for consolation it is this in which the soul lives and the privation thereof is the death of the soul in Hell where it is utter darkness Now as in the first Covenant there is a life of Comfort in the duties of it he that doth them shall live in them Heb. 10.38 Gal. 2.20 so there is the second Covenant also and therefore the just is said to live by faith as the other by doing shall live in it so he shall by believing in believing he shall live not only a life of holiness but a life of comfort and therefore as the second Covenant is the better Covenant because it is established or founded upon better promises so the comforts that do flow from those promises are higher and more glorious consolations and therefore all the ordinances and promises of it are called the breasts of consolation Esa 66.11 Heb. 6.18 out of which a man may suck and be satisfied the comforts of the second Covenant are strong consolations that which is powerful and able to bear up the spirit in the greatest assaults of temptation either from sin or Satan 2 Thess 2.16 and it is everlasting consolation and good hope through grace and such were not the comforts and consolations of the first Covenant But the more immediate any mercy and comfort is and the nearer it is to the fountain of Consolation the sweeter it is now