promise in Baptisme and whosoever doth wilfully live and continue in any sin and purposely abstaine from good when occasion is offered and omits holy duties which the law requires as observing of the Sabbath hearing of the word and such like we count him a carnall man and he hath no part as yet in the Covenant of grace For he that is justified is also mortified and sanctified and cannot purposely continue in any sin of omission or commission CHAP. XVI The Differences BVt the differences between them are many and great First they differ in the manner of requiring obedience to the law and exacting good workes The Covenant of Moses requires that a man shold first endeavour to fulfill the whole law that thereby he may be justified and live and if he cannot do so that then he should flie to sacrifices for sinne and free-will offerings and in them as in types to Christ and his righteousnesse and obedience that there he may finde that which by the law he cannot obtaine But the Covenant of the Gospel requires that a man should first renounce himselfe and all his owne righteousnesse and seeke salvation and righteousnesse in Christ by faith and that being justified by grace in Christ he should by way of thankfulnesse labour to the utmost to bring forth all fruites of holinesse righteousnesse and obedience to all Gods commandements and that for this end that he may glorifie God adorne his profession and be more and more assured of his communion with Christ and sincere love to God Secondly these Covenants differ in matter and substance The matter and substance of the Covenant made by the Ministery of Moses it was mixt it was partly conditionall and partly absolute partly legall and partly Evangelicall it required to justification both workes and faith but after a divers manner and it was a mixt Covenant of two divers Covenants both the Covenant of Workes and the Covenant of Grace First it required workes that men should doe the workes of the Law and live and this it did by way of the first Covenant For the morall Law written in two Tables of stone and consisting of the ten Commandements which God spake from mount Sinai is called by the name of a Covenant Deut. 4. 13. He declared to you saith Moses there his Covenant which he commanded you to performe even ten Commandements and he wrote them upon two Tables of Stone and Deuter. 9. vers. 9. These two Tables are called the tables of the Covenant by these testimonies it is plain that the law was given to Israel as a Covenant which required obedience for justification and life Secondly this Covenant given by Moses promised Christ and required that whēsoever they failed in their obedience to the Law they should flee to sacrifices and sinne-offerings which were Types of Christ and did prefigure signifie and seale his satisfaction and atonement for sinne and that by faith they should seeke righteousnesse and satisfaction in him and shoul rest upon those promises which God made with their Fathers that in Christ the blessed seed all Nations of the earth should be blessed And this is the second even the Evangelicall part of the Covenant and is called by the name of another Covenant Deut. 29. 2. For indeed this is the Covenant of Grace as the other part is the Covenant of Works This GOD propounds absolutely the other is conditionall that a man shall doe it if hee can and if hee can doe it hee shall live if hee cannot that he should flee by faith to Christ foreshadowed in types and promised to the Fathers Thus the Covenant which God made with Israel was not a simple but a mixt Covenant and the matter of it was mixt But the Covenant of Grace in the Gospell is simple without mixture and propounds no other way to salvation but onely in and through Iesus Christ no justification but that which is by faith in Christs obedience without our owne workes This is a second difference The rest of the maine differences are plainely laid downe by the Apostle Paul 2 Cor. 3. One is that the Covenant which God made with Israel was an old Covenant For it is called by the Apostle {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} vers. 14. But the Covenant made with all Nations by the Gospell is called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the New Covenant vers. 6. Now the Covenant with Israel may truely bee called Old and is so indeed in respect of the Covenant under the Gospell for two reasons First because the legall part of it which was the Covenant of Workes laid downe in the ten Commandements of the Law written in Tables of Stone is in substance all one with the first Covenant which God made with Man in the state of Innocency the summe of both is that one thing Doe this and live Secondly because the Evangelical part of it which promised life and righteousnesse in Christ the promised seed was given after the old manner as it was to the Fathers before the Law that is in generall darke and obscure promises did shew Christ onely afarre off to come in the latter ages of the world But the Covenant of the Gospel is every way new It is made with us after a new maner It sheweth Christ already come and that most plainely and it hath no reliques of the Old Covenant of works in it but teacheth justificatiō by faith without works even by communion of Christ and of his righteousnesse alone without any concurrence of our own righteousnesse and workes of the Law concurring for justification Another difference wch the Apostle makes betweene these Covenants is that the one is the Letter the other the Spirit For so he affirmes ver. 6 Now the reasons of this are two especially The first reason why the Covenant with Israel is called the letter and the Covenant of the Gospel the Spirit is because Moses who was the mediator of the Covenant with Israel did give onely the Letter of the Covenant that is the Law and the Covenant written in Tables and in Letters but he could not give the Spirit to make them understand the Covenant nor any inward grace and ability to make them keepe it But Christ the Mediator by whose Ministery the Covenant of the Gospell is given hath also the Holy Ghost in himselfe without measure which Spirit he by his Word and together with the word of the Covenant sends into our hearts and enables us to beleeve and to keepe the Covenant And as Iohn the Baptist comparing himselfe and his ministery with the ministery of Christ saith I baptize you with water but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire that is I give onely the outward signe but he gives the inward grace So it may be said of Moses and Christ that Moses gave onely the letter or writing of the Covenant but Christ gives the word and with it the Spirit of Grace also
both set before us Christs death and obedience and our communion with him and also confirme our faith and confidence in him As their Sacraments were parts of their profession and were testimonies of their love to God and were accounted Gods worship so are ours As their Sacraments did distinguish them from Pagans Infidels and all strange Sects so doe ours As their Sacraments had God their Authour so ours Ours and theirs are both Seales of the righteousnesse of Faith both are effectuall to beleevers onely both have the same effects increase of faith hope confidence love charity among men and the like Thus farre theâ—e two Covenants agree in the Seales Lastly they agree in the generall successe effect and sufficiency for both of them have had good successe and taken effect and bin sufficient to beget grace in the Elect to bring all true beleevers to eternall salvation and blessednesse As the Covenant plainely revealed in the Gospell brings all true Christians to beleeve in Christ and to finde comfort and salvation in his Mediation Intercession Righteousnesse Resurrection and victory over death So by the Covenant made of Old with the Fathers Adam Abel Enoch and Noah were brought to beleeve in Christ and were saved Enoch by faith in Christ was translated Noah by faith made the Arke to the saving of himselfe and his houshold Abraham saw by faith the day of Christ and by beleeving in him was justified Iob rejoyced that Christ God would plead for man with God and the Son of man for his friend and neighbour Iob 16. 21. and professed his faith and confidence in the Resurrection of Christ his Redeemer Iob 19. 25. CHAP. XIII The difference betweene the Covenant made with the Fathers and the Covenant with us THey differ divers wayes The first which is indeed the greatest difference of all is in respect of the darknesse and obscurity of the one and the plainnesse and perspicuity of the other The Covenant with the Fathers was every way and in every point more darke and obscure involved in types and shadowes of Christ The Covenant in the Gospell is plaine and perspicuous it removes the vaile and shewes Christ the substance with open face In the Old Covenant the severity of Gods justice and his just wrath and enmity against sinne did not so plainely appeare because the effect of them was not made manifest upon his own dear Sonne our Mediatour untill he came to suffer actually such ignominy reproach agonies and a most ignominious and cursed death for our sinnes which he tooke upon him to beare and which were imputed to him and punished in him our surety Gods not sparing him but afflicting him with all his stormes and delivering him up to hellish paines and agonies and to a cursed death doe wonderfully shew his infinite wrath against sinne which was but slenderly and darkely revealed to the Fathers in Types and Figures in the slaughter of Beasts and burning of sinne-offerings So likewise though in the Old Testament we reade of God and some mention of his Sonne Psalm 2. 12. Prov. 30. 4. and of the Spirit of God and doe finde many phrases which signifie more persons then one or two in one Iehovah yet the Mystery of the Trinity was not so fully revealed as now it is in the Gospell wherein wee have plaine affirmation of three distinct persons the Father the Son and the holy Ghost in the unity of Gods essence and all the three are said to be one though by distinct properties and divers works they are described unto us severally and distinguished one from another And hereby we see that the new Covenant of the Gospel is more plaine and the old more darke in respect of the parties God and man betweene whom the Covenants are made Secondly in the old Christ the Mediatour was darkly shadowed out to the Fathers they had onely this knowledge of Christ that they should be saved by a Mediator that this Mediatour should be the seed of the woman that he should be the Archangell or Prince of Angels and Emanuel God with us yea and should be called the mighty God and should make atonement for sinne and bring in eternall righteousnesse But how God and man should in him become one person how God in him should be incarnate and humbled and stand in our place and beare our sins how he should fulfill the law in every particular point how he should satisfie Iustice and suffer the wrath of God these things were not distinctly nor fully revealed unto them only the extraordinary Prophets had some foresight of them and did more plainely at sometimes describe some of them But now in the Gospel wee see the person of our Saviour and his two Natures most plainly set forth before us the manner of his Birth and Incarnation the personal union of his Natures the manner of his obedience death and satisfaction and the particular uses of them as also the vertue of his resurrection and ascension And therefore the new Covenant is more plaine in respect of the Mediatour Thirdly all the promises of eternall life and Salvation and the condition on mans behalfe how and after what manner it should be performed also the things signified and confirmed by the seales were farre more darke and obscure in the old Covenant But in the new Covenant of the Gospel all these things are so plaine that even children may learne and understand them And thus in all respects and in all parts the Old was more obscure and the New is more plaine And this is the first and the maine difference Out of this there doe arise two other even a second and third difference betweene these Covenants The one which is the second in order is a difference in the parties received into the Covenants The old Covenant because of dimnesse and obscurity did shine forth but a little and gave light onely to them who were neare at hand and hereupon it came to passe that it reached to a very few sometimes but to one or two families and when it was in greatest force but to one Nation and people of the world But the new Covenant in brightnesse of knowledge and plainenesse of revelation doth shine like the Sunne and gives light farre and neere to all Nations even to them that sate in darkenesse and in the shadow of death And hereupon it comes to passe that people of all Nations are received into this Covenant and the parties which now enter league with God are not some few men or some one Nation but all Nations and people of the world God is one party and all Nations of the earth are the other party A third difference consists in the power efficacy successe and effect which is divers in these two Covenants For howbeit they agree in these generally because both of them have had successe taken effect and beene of power to bring many to salvation as is before noted Yet by
which makes it effectuall to salvation And therefore the Covenant as it proceeds from Moses and comes by his Ministery is but a letter but that which Christ gave as Mediatour is the Spirit Another Reason may be drawne from the manner of giving Moses gave the Covenant written in Letters which many could see but could not read and many could read and could not understand and many could understand literally after a naturall and carnall manner according to the proper literall sense but they could not understand the words spiritually according to the spirituall sense they could not see nor discerne the true scope end and use of the Words But Christ did preach the Covenant of the Gospell by a lively voyce in words easie to be understood which did not onely sound in the eares but also pierce into the hearts and spirits of the hearers and did shew not onely the matter but also the manner end and use of every thing and how the Law and Commandements doe not onely binde the outward man and require the outward act but also do binde the inward man even the soule and spirit and doe require all holy thoughts motions dispositions of the heart and soul and thus the words of the New Covenant are fit Instruments of the Spirit and the Spirit doth worke powerfully by them Another difference laid downe by the Apostle verse 13 14 18. is that there was a vaile before the Covenant with Israel which hindred their sight so that the people could not looke into the end nor see the right use of the Law and the ceremonies thereof But the Covenant of the Gospell is given with much evidence of speech and therein we all with open face behold as in a glasse the glory of the Lord Now this vaile consisted of two parts The first was the darknesse and blindnesse of their hearts and the weaknesse of their sight The second was the obscurity and darknesse of the Covenant it selfe which both in respect of the words and also of the Seales the Types and Figures was very darke and hard to be understood First the people themselves were naturally by reason of originall corruption blinde and ignorant and not able to see the right end and use of the Law and Covenant yea their sight was so weake that they could no more looke upon Gods glory then the weake eye of a man can looke upon the bright Sunne when it shineth in full strength and therefore being not able to looke upon the glory of God shining in the Covenant they could in no case see into the end and use of it and so their owne weakenesse and blindnesse was a vaile unto them and is this day to all the Iewes till their hearts be converted to the Lord vers. 16. and till he powres out his Spirit on them Secondly the words of the Covenant were spoken and the Seales and Ceremonies ordained after such an obscure manner that a vaile of darknesse did hang over them till Christ by his actuall fulfilling of them and by the words of the New Covenant in the Gospel did make all plaine and pull away the vaile of darknesse This obscurity of the Covenant proceeded from three speciall causes the first was Gods hiding and concealing of his purpose in the giving of the Law For his purpose in giving the Morall Law was not that Israel should doe it and be justified thereby which after mans fall and corruption is impossible but onely to teach them and us what is true and perfect righteousnesse which leadeth unto life and to make all men examine themselves by it as by a rule that by it finding themselves destitute of righteousnesse and utterly unable to performe righteousnesse they might be driven out of themselves and so prepared to receive Christ and embrace his righteousnesse Also Gods purpose and counsell in giving the Ceremoniall law was not that men should performe them as any part of righteousnesse to justification neither did he ordaine them to be of themselves purgations from sinne and expiations of iniquity but onely to be Types foreshadowing Christ and his all-sufficient sacrifice and seales of the Covenant wch did seal it not by any vertue in them but by vertue of Christs which they signified Now though this was Gods counsell and purpose in giving the law morall and Ceremoniall yet he did conceale and not in plaine words expresse it he told them not that he meant by putting them upon the performance of the law to make them find out their own weaknesse and insufficiency and thereupon flee to Christ the end of the law and the substance of the Ceremonies and sacrifices But contrarily he required their performance of the Law for the obtaining of life and did so speake as though it had beene possible for them to fulfill it and to be justified thereby and so they commonly did understand his words erroniously even as the Papists doe at this day thinking that God would never have commanded them to doe the Law if hee had not knowne that it was in their power to doe it as he commanded and this was the first cause of the obscurity of that Covenant The second cause was the mixture of the legall part of the Covenant with the Evangelicall and the joyning of them both as it were in one continued speech For first God required by the morall law that they should do it for the obtaining of life then immediatly he addes unto it the ceremoniall law and ordained sacrifices for sin which did declare them to be sinners and so destitute of righteousnesse and gave them divers types and shadowes of Christ and by that law he required obedience and doing upon paines of death and cutting off so that the people of Israel did still imagine themselves to be in the Covenant of workes and from that manner of speech used by God and from the title of laws and statutes which God gave to the Ceremonies and from the words before going they gathered that the sacrifices oblations and other rites were rather laws to be observed for righteousnesse then seales of the Covenant of grace and signes of Christ and his righteousnesse they thought the use of them to consist in doing not in signifying and stirring up of faith to lay hold on Christ and this was a second cause of the darknesse of that Covenant The third cause was the great penurie and scarcitie of Evangelicall promises in that Covenant and the great inequality and disproportion which was betweene them and the legall Commandements of Workes For in that Covenant we finde few promises of life salvation but only upon condition of Workes Christ is very seldome pointed at in plaine words The Evangelicall promises as they are rare very few in all the Bookes of the Law which God gave them by Moses so they are either very generall or else very obscure more then those which were given to the Fathers long before But the Legall Commandements and Promises are