Paul argues Rom. 5.10 Chap. 8.32 5. Or would Jesus Christ die for the whole World and yet refuse to pray for them that they may all be saved See Joh. 17.9 The Reprobate World he prayed not for yet he prayed for all that should be saved Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their Words that World Christ is a Propitiation for their Sins or had made their Peace with God for he died for Even that World which he takes away the Sins of he died for and that All which he draws to himself by his Spirit he died for on the Cross he taketh away the Sin of the World by bearing it himself or by satisfying for the Sins thereof He was made Sin for us that knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him He made a Plenary Satisfaction to the Justice of God for the Sins of this whole World and obtained plenary Remission and Grace by his Blood that we might be Redeemed from a vain Conversation The Elect before Calling are as much the World as any others yea and the best part of it too Moreover by A Metonomy All is put for a part frequently in the Scripture God so loved the World that he gave his only Begotten Son that is God so loved Sinful Mankind both Jews and Gentiles That whosoever believeth on him might not perish but have everlasting Life Object We do not plead for an absolute Vniversal Redemption but for a Conditional one that is so that if all Repent act Faith are Regenerated obey Christ and are Holy and continue so to the End they shall be saved Answ. Is this Gospel Doth the Proclamation of Peace run thus 1. I argue then that Christ is but a Conditional Redeemer and hath only made a Conditional Peace i. e. he made our Peace and paid our Debts upon this Condition viz. That we Repent change our own Hearts or are Regenerated and get Faith and sincere Obedience and continue Holy and Obedient to the end 2. Moreover this Notion of a Conditional Peace and Redemption renders our Salvation not to be of God's Free Grace alone through that Redemption that is in Jesus Christ but that we procure our Peace or make it with God our selves with our own Money i. e. by our Repentance Faith Holiness and final Perseverance and that Christ only merited or purchased this Grant that our Money i. e. our Faith Obedience c. should go for good Coin in Heaven and procure our Justification Peace and Eternal Life for us And thus the Glory that we are saved would not belong to God and Jesus Christ alone true that we might be saved we may thank God and Christ God by the Death of his Son is made reconcilable but that we are saved we may thank our selves Christ doing no more for us that are saved than he did for them that perish but only we had more Wit and Care than they had i. e. for by improving our common Grace God was obliged to give us his Special Grace 3. After this Notion Christ might be or might not be a Redeemer at all our Peace might or might not be made with God because it wholly dependeth upon the Will of Man Man's Will determines the Issue of the whole matter not that Christ undertook to how our Wills or reconcile us to God no but that we our selves must Answer the Condition of Repentance Faith Obedience c. or else all that Christ hath done is lost and comes to nothing and why might not all refuse to do this as well as some who never will believe c. Christ shall be a Redeemer and make our Peace if we please this puts a Bar to the Purchaser as one observes a Man can't in any good sense be called a Redeemer of such Persons out of Slavery till the Persons perform those Conditions upon which he laid down the Price As for Example saith he I lay down an Hundred Pounds for the Redemption of a Person in Slavery upon this Condition that he yield to serve me Seven Years after I must have his Consent before I can Redeem him and therefore upon these Conditions I am certainly suspended from being a Redeemer nay and am no Redeemer of such Persons if they refuse the Terms So that for Christ to be an Universal Redeemer is a Contradiction for it is to be a Redeemer of all if they please but can be a Redeemer of none but of such that consented to the Terms proposed 4. Besides this casteth horrid Reproach upon the Son of God as if he had done some great thing for us in dying and making our Peace when indeed according to this Notion he doth but deceive poor Creatures for he has made their Peace and Redeemed them if they will but get out of Satan's Hands and break his Chains and Bonds in pieces and raise themselves from the Dead and change their own Hearts c. whereas he knew we were no more able to do this than to create a new World Therefore Brethren pray observe we affirm that whatsoever Conditions were agreed upon in the Covenant of Peace our Lord Jesus Christ undertook to do and perform them all both for us and also in us I will give them a new Heart I will take away the Stony Heart and I will give them a Heart of Flesh I will put my Fear into their Hearts and they shall not depart from me I will Circumcise their Hearts to love the Lord their God He that hath begun a good Work in you will perform it to the Day of Christ who were born not of Flesh nor of Blood nor of the Will of Man but of God To believe is our Duty but 't is Christ that gives us Grace and Power so to do and this Grace was also purchased for us by his Blood He is exalted at God's Right Hand to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance c. And Faith also is the Gift of God Eph. 2.8 5. Moreover Who can believe that Christ would shed his Blood for such whom he knew would never answer those Conditions which these Men speak of besides they being Conditions out of their power to perform 6. Moreover I might argue thus i. e. If Christ died for all he intended to save all but he never intended to save all therefore he died not for all Who shall frustrate his Purpose or Intention 7. That Purchase of Peace and Remission of Sins that leaves many Man under a certainty to be Damned is not to be esteemed a Redemption at all 8. Moreover Christ's Death and Resurrection shall have its full and proper Effects for whom or in whose stead he died See Joh. 12.23 24. 9. If there be the same Eternal and Unchangeable Cause of the Price of the Redemption as of the Application to the same Persons then whosoever his
Benjamin Keach Minister of the Gospel Aetat 57. 1698 J. Drapentier del in et sculp THE DISPLAY OF Glorious Grace OR THE Covenant of PEACE OPENED In FOURTEEN SERMONS Lately Preached In which the Errors of the present Day about Reconciliation and Justification are Detected By BENJAMIN KEACH PSAL. Lxxxix 34. My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my Lips LONDON Printed by S. Bridge and Sold by Mary Fabian at Mercers-Chappel in Cheapside and Joseph Collier at the Golden-Bible on London-Bridge by the Gate and William Marshall at the Bible in Newgate-street 1698. TO THE Unprejudic'd Reader AS I Preach not to please Mens Ears so but little regard ought to be had to the Scoffing Reflections of such Men who contemn every thing of this kind unless it consists of a Fancy-taking Modelation of empty Rhetorick or a high Florid Stile mixt with Wit Learning and Philosophical Notions Sad it is to see that in Divine Matters nay in Preaching Persons should affect New Modes and Fashions as to the shame of the present Generation they do in respect of Garbs and Dresses I am not for Airy and Florid Orations in the Ministration of the Word of God but for that plain Way of Preaching used by the Holy Apostles and our Worthy Modern Divines Besides could I so Preach or Write as is the Flesh-pleasing Ear-tickling A-la-mode of the Times of such who study Words more than Matter it would be utterly dislik'd by all such Pions Christians for whose sake and at whose Importunity these Sermons are published The Holy Apostle who tho profoundly Learned disclaims any Rhetorical Flourishes or perswasive Oratory but professes that his Speech and Preaching was not with the Inticing Words of Man's Wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and with Power 1 Cor. 2.4 I may say of some Mens Orations or Elocutions as Plutarch speaks of the Nightingale who was at first taken with his delicate Notes but when he saw him said Thou art a Voice and nothing else But alas since the Sacred Scripture it self can't escape some Mens Censure as if the Stile was rude and unpolished they being destitute of that Spirit which gave them forth What can I expect to meet with from such Reader The great Joy that generally appeared amongst all People upon the Conclusion of the late Peace put me upon Preaching on this Subject and when I found so great a Number of Books Subscribed for I thought I had a Call to Print and Publish them which was the least of my Thoughts when I first entered upon this Work And indeed I greatly fear many will see their Expectation frustrated I mean such who did not hear the Sermons Preached but only had some small account of them yet they knowing the Author I may see cause to recal what I speak of my Fears I must confess divers Worthy and Learned Men have wrote most excellently upon the Covenant of Grace yet perhaps hardly any in the Method here used nor under the Notions of a Covenant of Peace In some things thou wilt find that I do differ from many Learned Men who make the Covenant of Redemption a distinct Covenant from that of Peace and Reconciliation yet I desire thee to read the tenth Sermon before thou judgest who is in the right By the Baxterian Party I expect to be called an Antinomian for that hath been their Artifice of late to expose the True Ancient Protestant Doctrine about Justification c. but others who are sound in the Faith will I am sure acquit me of that Charge My main design in all my Preaching if I know my own Heart is wholly to advance the Free Grace of God through that Redemption which is in Jesus Christ and utterly to abase the Creature tho it may seem a hard thing to keep in an even Line and not fall into either Extream May be some may stumble at some Expressions about God's being Reconciled in Christ to the Elect whilst Sinners But sure they can't think that I mean because he is reconciled in the Second Adam that therefore he is actually Reconciled to any as they are considered in the First Adam and abide under God's denounced Wrath and the Curse of the Law I know I have been abused of late in Print by some on the other Hand but let all well weigh what I have said in my Medium betwixt two Extreams and what is here said and so receive Satisfaction if in the Judgment of any I have missed the Truth in any material Case I shall gladly receive Information from such and readily embrace it upon the Evidence of Truth For I confess I see but a little and the Best know but in part That which possibly may seem most distastful is the frequent repeating of some things yet in so doing I have followed the Directions of a very great Man viz. That such Things that are Emphatical should be often repeated to fix the Matter the better on the Mind of the Hearer or Reader Besides they come in occasionally upon different Heads And also I find the very same has been done by others who are look'd upon as Stars of the first Magnitude See the Epistle to Dr. Manton's Fourth Volume p. 8. where you have these Expressions viz. Let it not offend thee that some things are repeated which frequently happens in the Course of any Man's Ministry when the same Subject has been formerly handled Moreover one Reason of it might be because of the different Times of my Preaching these Sermons I being called oft to Preach upon other Subjects betwixt them neither do I think any thing is Vnprofitably repeated it being chiefly to Refute the New prevailing Errours about Justification Reader Thou wilt find many of the Essential Points of the Christian Religion are handled in these Sermons tho but weakly according to that small Gift-received And also thou wilt see how Vnjustly I have been misrepresented in an Epistle to a certain Book lately Published I do not say that thou hast all the Enlargements here Printed as Delivered when these Sermons were Preached especially in some of them for if I had so done the Book would have swelled too big and indeed it exceeds now what I first proposed But to Conclude If thou dost receive any Light Spiritual Profit or Advantage by thy perusing of these Sermons let thy care be to return the Praise to the God of Truth and with Charity to cover my Weaknesses and forget me not in thy Prayers who am now drawing towards the Period of my Labours and Days But yet through God's Grace at present remain thy Servant in the Gospel for Christ's sake From my House at Horslydown in Freeman's-Lane this 12th of the 3d Month called May 1689. B. Keach Reader there are some Faults escaped the Press which thou art desired to mend with thy Pen before thou readest PAg. 76. lin 13. for Author read Orthodox p. 10. l. 11. a Figure is false plac'd
wellcome News shall be saved from Hell and be Crowned with Glory in Heaven for ever and ever 9. O Bless God for the Gospel for the News of Peace and you Sinners see that you attend upon the Preaching of the Word of Reconciliation for this way he has ordained to work Faith in you O! Cry to him to pour out his Spirit and help you to believe never rest till you have got a Heart a Will to take of the Water of Life 10. Terror But tremble you that reject these Tidings this Grace for such that finally do so shall never have a share of that Peace Christ hath made by his Blood for on such the Wrath of God abides and will for ever Moreover he will also make it appear that Man's Destruction is of themselves tho their help is only in him Dread least God gives you up to blindness of Mind and hardness of Heart nay leave you also to Temporal Plagues and Judgments as he dealt by the Jews of old 11. Comfort Moreover here is Comfort to Believers who have heard and do know the Joyful Sound 1. They have Interest in this Peace and have a Title to Heaven by Christ's Righteousness alone 2. It is also a sign they were beloved from Everlasting because drawn to Christ or were Elected before time because called in time therefore let all such praise the Holy God To whom be Glory now and for ever Amen SERMON VIII Shewing when the Covenant did Commence also the Nature of the Covenant opened ISA. Liv. x. Neither shall the Covenant of my Peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee Doct. THAT there is a Covenant of Peace made or agreed on and stands firm in the behalf of all God's Elect. The next thing under the General Head I am upon I shall as it were but mention which is the Sixth thing proposed viz. Quest. When did the Covenant of Peace Commence and who are included in it and what is required in order to their actual Possession of the Peace and Blessings thereof 1. The Covenant was made in Eternity but the time of its first Commencement was after our first Parents had violated the Law of the first Covenant 2. But it did not so fully commence in the actual dispensation thereof until Christ put an end to the Covenant of Works then it was as you have heard established He took away the first that he might establish the second II. As to those who were included in it they were all the Elect or all the Seed of Christ or all that he as a publick Head represented and no more True the whole World receives many external Blessings by virtue of it for the Elect sake for Jesus Christ is their Great Landlord and Glorious Sovereign The World is upheld by a new Title i. e. from Christ as Mediator for had not he interposed between God and it the whole visible Fabrick doubtless had been dissolved and the whole Race of Mankind lost for ever III. That which is required in order to actual Interest in and Possession of the Sacred Blessings of this Covenant and the Peace thereof is Union with Christ I will cause you to pass under the Rod and bring you into the Bonds of the Covenant Under the Rod God brings Sinners under Convictions that wounds like a Rod and makes them pass under the Yoke i.e. he Marries them to his Son and so brings them into the Covenant Sinners by Faith take hold of this Covenant and Christ being given to them they also give themselves to him to be his and no more their own but the Lords they take God to be their God and Christ to be their Saviour and so come to possess the Blessings of the Covenant and the Peace thereof But no more as to this I shall proceed to the third General Head Thirdly My Business and Work is now to open the Nature of the Covenant of Peace 1. I shall God assisting shew you what a kind of Covenant it is or explain the Properties of it 2. Apply it I. The Covenant of Peace is the Covenant of Grace But pray observe that the Covenant of Peace may be considered as twofold or a mixt Covenant 1. As it refers to Christ or to his part and Work therein and as thus it was a Conditional Covenant Christ receives all for us wholly upon the account of his own Desert or Merits 2. But whatsoever we receive by virtue of this Covenant it is wholly in a way of Free Grace and Favour through his Merits or through that Redemption we have by his Blood But take it either ways 't is of Grace First As to the Rise Spring or Efficient Cause thereof it was God's Infinite Love and Free Grace to his Elect This moved the Fato send his Son to be our Mediator and to accept of him as our Surety to do and suffer for us and in our stead I have before shewed God was no more obliged to enter into a Covenant of Peace with Christ for us or any of Adam's Off-spring than he was to reconcile himself to the Fallen Angels for they were his Creatures and more glorious in their first Creation than Mankind were The Surety of the Covenant was alone of God's finding he procured him He hath devised means that his Banished might not for ever be expelled from him For the Lord hath ransomed Jacob and he sent Jesus What could be an Act of higher or greater Grace and Favour than for God to vouchsafe or provide such a Mediator and Surety for his Enemies One so Great Glorious Worthy and Able and one so willing to undertake to make our Peace and bring us again home to God Secondly And then as to us this Covenant God entered into with Christ for us must needs be of God's Free Grace For as I have before hinted I. It was not of Constraint I mean there was no Necessity laid on God or Jesus Christ thus to Love Redeem and Save us in respect of Motive there was nothing in Man I say that could move the Affections of God thus to do and much less was there any thing in us in respect of Merit we deserved no such Love either absolutely or comparatively because we were not only undeserving but an ill-deserving nay Hell deserving Creatures being Rebels to God Vile Contemptible and Base Creatures even as loathsome as filthy Worms What is Man that thou art mindful of him What is his Deformity his Polution his Filthiness And O! What Cursed Enmity was there in our Carnal Mind Yea how much like to the Devil were we by Nature II. In that God hath manifested his Love and Mercy to so many this shews his Infinite Grace to us-ward Object May be you will say Why not to more Nay Why not to all Answ. I answer Why to so many Nay why to any at all Or Why to such that are called Why to us and not rather to those
in time this is done absolutely in God's bestowing Grace and the Gifts of the Promise to dead Creatures or to Sinners as Sinners In whom as saith our Worthy Author there is an absolute Impossibility of performing the least entitling Act to the Promise There can be nothing freer than Life to a dead Creature neither doth Life give a Title to Action but it is the Principle of Action III. All the Promises of the Covenant in the Promulgation of it in its Original Nature and as respecting us expresses the Tenour of it as most Free and Absolute Thus it was to Adam to Abraham to David and to us I will be your God and you shall be my People It is not you shall have Peace upon the Condition that you do this or that ye shall be Pardon'd or then be Justified No but quite otherwise But he that worketh not but believeth on him that Justifieth the Vngodly 'T is not by our Obedience or Duties but by the Promises that we partake of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1.4 c. All is given absolutely of Free Grace True there are in the Covenant Conditions of Connexion if a Man believes he shall be saved But who gives that Faith Is it not God Pray observe that Jesus Christ hath made our Peace and Faith to receive the Atonement is given as an absolute Promise Is not the Spirit so given And pray doth not God give the Spirit before Faith can be exerted by us Is not Faith the Fruit of the Spirit And doth not the Fruit proceed from the Seed and the Act flow from the Habit Brethren beware of them that Preach Peace to you upon a Conditional Covenant the Condition they speak of is your Repentance Faith Regeneration and Obedience And alas who is able to perform these hard Conditions Besides this is to turn the Covenant of Grace into a Covenant of Works you must work for Justification and Peace if you will have it nay and you shall be no further Justified nor have Peace than you are Sanctified if you believe these Mens Gospel But we say that Peace is made and God hath promised that he will give the Spirit even pour it out upon Sinners he first pours out the Spirit of Grace and then the Sinners believe or look to him whom they pierced and receive the Blessing of Peace or have the Minifestation of it to their Consciences There is no Condition saith Reverend Cotton before Faith but a Condition of Misery a lost Condition These Men render God like Pharaoh's Task-masters who would have their Tale of Brick but find the Israelites no straw They will not have Sinners to have Peace without doing that for it which indeed no Man is able to do But O! let poor lost Souls look up to Christ wait on him attend on his Word cry to him who hath received Gifts for the Rebellious also i. e. the Gift of the Spirit the Gift or rather the Grace of Faith the Gift of Righteousness Will you have a Righteousness wrought out of your own Bowels or by doing or have none at all Will you be saved by Works and not by Grace But to proceed 5. The Absoluteness of the Covenant saith this Author appears as to us in that all the Foederal Intitling Conditions contained in it are found in another i. e. in Christ and not in us neither wrought in us nor by us for whatsoever is wrought in us is of Free Grace My Brethren Doth a Child contribute any thing to its own Formation in the Womb Alas What is in us before we are Born again And of his own Will begat he us c. Object But doth not the Gospel require Faith and Repentance as the Condition of Justification and Eternal Life 1 Answ. I told you but even now there are Conditions of Connexion by way of order and dependance of things one upon another As in Logick saith the same Reverend Divine if a Creature be a Man he is a Rational Creature or if God be the first Cause he is the Creator of all things And in this sence saith he Creation is a Condition of Salvation if a Man be Saved he must be Created So if a Man believe he shall be Saved believing is a Condition of Connexion a State of Grace is thus a Condition to a State of Glory by way of Connexion in the Promise but one is not the Foederal Condition of another but both come in as the Gift of Grace in this sence the Covenant contains all the Conditions of Order and Dependance in the Exhibition and Performance the hearing the Word is the Condition of Faith but hearing is not a Foederal Condition so the giving the Spirit is the Condition of Union to Christ and Faith and Faith the Condition of receiving of Pardon and living in Holiness and the giving of Pardon the Condition of receiving it and Holiness the Condition of seeing God and of having Eternal Happiness but these kind of Conditions are not Foederal Intitling Conditions to the Promise but are contained in the Promise and denote the Connexion and Dependance of one promised Benefit upon another 2. God requires Faith and Repentance of them that shall be saved but 1. Not that the Creature can do either of these of himself but to shew he will work Faith and Repentance in all whom he will save or as he hath ordained the End so he hath also ordained the Means 2. But not that either of these are procuring or Foederal Conditions of the Covenant blessings or of Salvation because all the Graces of the Spirit are contained in the Covenant as part of it therefore neither Faith Repentance Regeneration as the Creatures Part or Work can be Conditions of it These Men call Faith c. such a Condition that the Mercies granted are suspended till we perform the Condition It is therefore saith he no more than an Act of ours True we have a good Bargain as a Man that gives but Twenay Guineas of his own Purchases an Hundred Pounds per Annum Brethren as our Author observes We must distinguish of the Ministry of Reconciliation in respect of the Letter of it and the Spirit of it 1 Cor. 3.6 in the Letter of it or meer external Dispensation it kills because the Sinner looks upon all these Conditions of dependance Foederal Conditions but the Spirit in its Ministry is absolute according to the Original Contract and the fullest Discovery in its highest freedom therefore the Apostle says The Spirit giveth Life The believing Corinthians are said to be the Epistle of Christ written and transcribed from the Original-Covenant Contract Not with Ink but with the Spirit of the Living God Therefore From hence we must distinguish between the Covenant in its Absolute Tenure and the Ministry thereof which is Conditionally dispensed according to the Connexion Order and Dependance of good Things contained in the Promise to a mix'd People The Effects of
and Wrath of God only but also from Sin or a vain Conversation and out of the Power and Kingdom of Satan which Christ by his Blood as poured forth and in applying it undertook to do in the Covenant of Peace which is called Christ's Covenant As for thee by the blood of thy Covenant I have sent forth the Prisonâ—rs out of the Pit wherein there was no water Reverend Charnock says Christ is the surety of the Covenant of Grace but the Covenant of Redemption had no surety the Father and the Son trusted one another the Covenant of Redemption was not Confirmed by Blood c. Answ. Had God only entred into Covenant with Christ as a single Person and for himself there had been no need of a surety but since he entred into that Covenant as a publick person and that for broken and fallen mankind whom God regarded not their Credit being for ever gone there was a necessity of Christ's suretyship in that said Covenant in respect had to those things which Christ was to do for us and also work in us which he then engaged to the Father to perform and if the Covenant of Redemption from Sin and Wrath was not confirmed by the Blood of that Covenant one grand part of our safety and security is gone for ever My Brethren Our Lord Jesus Christ when he first entred into the Covenant with the Father agreed to be the Mediator and Surety thereof also evident it is that there are some Transactions where suretiship is required which a Surety must undertake to do and readily agree unto even all such things which the Creditor requires and the nature of the Covenant calls for So that there are some things that peculiarly belong to him as surety even so and in like manner it was here about the compleat accomplishment of the Covenant of Grace entered into between the Father and the Son in behalf of the Elect. Yet all the good we receive through the applicatory part of the said Covenant are but the effects fruits or product of the same Covenant as it was made with Christ for us as our Surety Also among Men those things and Covenant Transactions betwixt the Creditor and the Surety which peculiarly appertain to him to perform and answer though the poor debtor nevertheless is mainly concerned therein they being such things that must be performed by the Surety for him or the Debtor can have no benefit by it yet the free grants to the Debtor in the said Covenant upon the Suretys engagement is never called a distinct Covenant in it self but as I said before 't is one and the same Covenant our Covenant therefore is but a branch of Christ's Covenant with God the Father in which he engaged to Spouse and Marry us to himself for ever Therefore I know not what these Mens nice distinctions signifies unless it be to amuse the world or except it be for the worser purpose just now hinted Brethren The distinction lies not in two distinct Covenants Essentially differing from each other but in the distinct parts of the said one intire Covenant I. One part as it refers to Christ viz. he is the Surety and we the Debtors whom he engaged for his money and not ours pays all and makes satisfaction to God Christ is the Redeemer in this Covenant and we the Redeemed Christ is the Saviour and we the Saved II. That part that appertains to Christ was upon conditions of what he was to do and suffer he hath obtained all for us wholly by Desert and Merit and we have all every way of meer grace and favour particularly in the applicatory part thereof Moreover let it be noted that there is a difference in respect of the time of the making of the Covenant and of the Revelation Execution and Application thereof Christ in the Covenant first Articl'd with the Father to be Mediator and Surety c. and in the execution of the Covenant actually discharges those Offices and all things that appertains to them one thing being his bringing of us home to God or into the bonds of his Covenant Moreover Take here what the Reverend Assembly of Divines have said about the Covenant of Grace viz. Q. 30. Doth God leave mankind to perish in a state of Sin and Misery Answ. God doth not leave all mankind to perish in a state of Sin and Misery into which they fell by the Breach of the first Covenant called the Covenant of works but of his meer love and Mercy delivereth his Elect out of it and bringeth them into a state of Salvation by the second Covenant commonly called the Covenant of Grace Q. 31. With whom was the Covenant of Grace made Answ. The Covenant of Grace was made with Christ as the second Adam and in him with all the Elect as his Seed Thus that Learned Assembly From hence it doth appear that this opinion of two distinct Covenants was not received by that Assembly they own but two Covenants i. e. that of Works and that of Grace and I am sure the Scriptures bear witness of no other Covenant of Redemption but that of Grace and Reconciliation which includes Redemption and all Covenant-Blessings My Brethren That very Covenant made between the Father and the Son was hidden or kept secret as to the clear manifestation of it till Christ came and then it was manifested and the clear revelation of it is in the Gospel which shows how God manifesteth the grace of this Covenant by offering Pardon and Peace to sinners by revealing of Christ who is called the Covenant and offering him to them for Life and Salvation so that this Covenant contains all Grace Mercy and Redemption Moreover Remarkable it is to see how that Learned Person that wrote the Book called The Ark of the Covenant who too boldly asserts the Covenant of Redemption a distinct Covenant from the Covenant of Grace doth in divers places contradict himself herein take some of his words viz. So that I take saith he the meaning of these words This is my Covenant with them my Spirit that is upon thee c. to be This is my Covenant that I have made with thee upon their account and for their behoof or the Covenant that I have made with them to wit virtully when I Covenanted with thee and made promises to thee for their behoof He confesseth that the Covenant of 〈◊〉 was made with Christ primarily and representatively and with the Elect in him and all promises of Grace was made to us in Christ in that Covenant And what do we say more but this is to overthrow his own Notion of two distinct Covenants Nay the same Author confesseth that the grand thing he argues for is to prove that there is nothing spoken of Christ's Seed as parties with whom God deals in this Covenant and upon whom he layeth any Commands Answ. We say so too Christ is only the Covenanting party for us and on
Necessities but also to the making of us very Rich and Great 3. I mean by it God's Gracious Acceptance of our Persons Duties and all our Holy and Spiritual Performances or Services which is no small Favour and Blessing but one of the greatest we can partake of for this must always be premised that God will never accept of any Man's Duties till he first accepteth of his Person for thus he first accepts of Abel that is of his Person The Lord had a Respect unto Abel and to his Offering he offered his Offering in Faith he was a Believer and God accepted of his Person in Christ and so he doth of the Persons of all True Believers Wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved in whom we are united and made Members of his Body and it is in him that God looks upon us Secondly I shall endeavour to prove that this Trade or Blessing of free Access unto God is the Effects of the Peace made by Jesus Christ. 1. The Navigable River by which we Trade to Heaven by virtue of this Peace is opened viz. the Holy Spirit is poured forth This is that River that makes glad the City of God c. and this it doth not only in that it supplies God's People or his Holy City with Water to drink which is indeed Water of Life but also in that it is by it we Trade to Heaven all our Spiritual Trade and Traffick is in and through this River Our Trade my Brethren is a Trade of Merchandise For the Merchandise of it is better than the Merchandise of Silver and the Gain thereof than fine Gold Now this River proceeds from the Throne of God and the Lamb and that this River is opened by the Sacrifice of Christ or by that Peace he hath made See Acts 2.31 This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we are all Witnesses Therefore being by the Right Hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the Promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear Vers. 32. Moreover Jesus Christ promised the Spirit to his Disciples upon his Ascention and this Promise he graciously made good Therefore saith the Apostle being Justified by Faith we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by Faith into this Grace c. Again he saith And came and Preached Peace to you that were a far off c. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father that is through the Mediator and Peace-maker who hath reconciled us to God We are now admitted or introduced into the presence of the Father and this with boldness In whom we have Boldness and Access with Confidence by the Faith of him And this not only in Prayer but also in all Holy Fellowship Commerce and Heavenly Communion Having therefore Brethren Boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus It was the Blood of Christ that opened this Trade or procured this Access to Heaven for us By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Veil that is to say his Flesh. Hence our Blessed Lord saith I am the Way no Man cometh to the Father but by me Except this River had been opened we could never have Traded to Heaven and that this is done by Jesus Christ or by the Peace which he hath made I have thus fully proved Thirdly I shall shew you that this is the best Trade or there is no Trade like unto it in all the World 1. Because the Word of God declares it so to be The Merchandise hereof is better than the Merchandise of Silver and the Gain thereof than fine Gold Now what Merchandise of this World do Men account to excel that of Silver and fine Gold But Spiritual Merchandise the great God declares is better than these or whatsoever else you can think or speak of Now this I shall further indeavour to make appear in this Method following 1. In respect of the Subject these Merchandises enrich 2. In respect of the Nature of the Things Traded in or for 3. In respect of that Blessed Correspondent who manages all our Affairs in Heaven and that makes us Returns of all we venture 4. In respect of the Terms upon which we Trade 5. I shall apply the whole I shall speak briefly to each of these First The Subject that these Merchandises inrich is the Soul the Precious and Immortal Soul of Man which all other Trades and Merchandise cannot in the least degree relieve the Wants of much less inrich but these Heavenly Merchandises doth this 1. It is hereby the Soul of a Believer or a Spiritual Merchant comes to have God again God to be his God yea a God in Covenant with him and to be his Portion for ever as you have heard 'T is through Jesus Christ or by the Peace he hath made that this Blessing is obtained God is hereby our Father and Christ is our Saviour and the Spirit is our Sanctifier whosoever will venture out by Faith and Trade in these Seas or on this Voyage shall obtain a sure Interest in Christ and in God through Jesus Christ for ever 2. Because this Trade answers all the Necessities of the Soul or all its Wants My God shall supply all your need according to his Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus Graciously nay Gloriously or according to his own Fulness or rich Mercy or Riches in Glory Nay 3. Not only supply the Needs of our Souls but these Merchandises tend to inrich the Soul with Grace yea with all Grace This Trade or this Merchandise puts a Crown better than that of Gold on its Head and Chains about its Neck They shall be an Ornament of Grace unto thy Head and Chains about thy Neck This my Brethren makes the Soul amiable and honourable in the sight of God and all good Men A meek and quiet Spirit is in the sight of God of great price No other Ornaments are of any worth in the esteem of God but are hateful to him when the Creature is lifted up with Pride thereby What are the Curled Locks and Chains of Gold and Glisâ—â—â—ing Robes in the sight of God Poor Lazarus was far more lovely before his Eyes 4. Because these Merchandises inrich the Soul with Choice and Blessed Experiences Hence David saith The Law of thy Mouth is better to me than Thousands of Gold and Silver And again he saith speaking of his Experiences Thou hast put Gladness into my Heart more than in the time when their Corn and Wine encreased One Day in thy Courts is better than a Thousand And from hence it is that he cries out Whom have I in Heaven but thee Neithâ—r is there any on Earth I desire besides thee Again saith he O taste and see how good the Lord is He is
't is great gain every ways profitable at all times in all States and profitable to the Soul and Body too 7. The Things that Believers Trade in are the best Things of Heaven the best Things of God he has no better Things to bestow as you have heard all good is comprehended in these Riches and hence these Things are only given to his own People to his Beloved ones as a Pledge of his Eternal and Special Favour in Christ. What exceeds himself His Son his Spirit his Love his Grace his Peace Peace with God Peace of Conscience and Joy in the Holy Ghost and Eternal Happiness in Heaven 8. They are Eternal Things The Things that are seen are Temporal but the Things that are not seen they are Eternal These are Everlasting Wares you shall carry them out of the World with you These things have I spoken that my Joy might remain in you and that your Joy might be full O! what a Trade by this Peace is opened to Believers Thirdly This is the best Trade in respect of our Blessed Correspondent whom we Trade with or who manages all our Affairs at the Court of Heaven namely Jesus Christ. I. Consider that the Father hath put the Management of all our Affairs into Christ's Hands as our great Trustee Moreover every true Believer has committed himself and all his Concerns to Jesus Christ The Poor committeth himself unto thee II. Consider his Power he is the King of Heaven and Earth All Power is given to me in Heaven and Earth he is the Mighty God this made Paul say For I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that Day I have committed my self to him my Soul to him my Life and all I have and hope to receive to him and I doubt not of his Power and Ability to keep it III. Consider of his Faithfulness other Correspondents oftentimes deceive and prove unfaithful Stewards but Jesus Christ is Faithful he never failed any one poor Soul that truly trusted in him God is Faithful and Christ is called A Faithful High Priest c. IV. Consider of that great Price he gave for all those Things which we Trade with him for Moreover and that he bought them for us and has opened a Blessed and sure way of Conveyance of them and besides he hath obliged himself by Covenant to give them down to us as we need them V. Consider of that Relation Believers stand in to him and of his Infinite Love and Affections to them he Trades or Intercedes for his Friends for such he ransomed with his own Blood for his Spouse whom he hath betroathed to himself for ever VI. Consider what Returns he makes some venture much and that which is great in worth but hardly sometimes have returns of the full intrinsical value again but thus doth not Jesus Christ deal with us First Christ makes great and vast Returns 1. To appoint them that mourn in Sion to give them Beauty for Ashes Beauty especially Spiritual Beauty is a precious Thing but what are Ashes worth What are our Duties Our Fastings and Prayer and Humiliations Why of no more worth then a little Ashes Yet here is Beauty returned for Ashes yea Beauty on the Soul Glorious Beauty 2. And the Oyl of Joy for Mourning we mourn and weep for our Sins well and pray what are a few Tears good for Are these of any worth in themselves No certainly Yet Christ makes returns of the Oyl of Joy for this Mourning or in lieu of these Tears even the Holy Spirit which fills the Soul with Joy and Comfort 3. And the Garment of praise for the Spirit of Heaviness Christ approves of Sadness of Heart that rises from that Sense we have of that Unworthiness that is in us and of that Dishonour which is done to him But how little Worth is there in this Heaviness as in it self But he returns the Garment of praise i. e. he cloaths the Soul in Beautiful Garments all these Expressions shew that whatsoever we receive is in a way of Free Grace and that there is no Worth in our Duties and also that Christ in a way of Grace will make Blessed Returns My Brethren Rewards of meer Grace are far greater than those of Debt as I have often told you But further 4. He that gives or ventures a Cup of cold Water to a Disciple in the Name of a Disciple shall not lose his Reward This is a small thing indeed yet here is a great Return for this when given to a right Object and to a right End and if he that gives or ventures a Cup of cold Water has such Returns what shall he have that ventures his All yea his very Life 5. And every one that hath forsaken Houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father and Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my Name sake shall receive an hundred fold now at this time and in the World to come Eternal Life An hundred fold is a wonderful Return as when a Man that ventures one Pound to Sea to India or to any other place and receives a Hundred Pounds in lieu of it 't is a mighty Return but this is more in Quantity and better in Quality and that in this Life an Hundred fold here and a Crown of Glory in the Life to come Who would not Trade with such a Correspondent or not enter into such a Calling Will you not this Day become Spiritual Merchants What do you say II. He will fill our Treasures and that with Riches and Honours yea with durable Riches and Righteousness That I may cause them that love me to inherit Substance and I will fill their Treasures III. He hath promised to return Glory in Heaven for Sufferings on Earth For I reckon the Sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us Let us weigh one against the other and see what a vast difference there is For our light Afflictions that are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory But did I say these Returns are for what we venture No no not for but in venturing in keeping Christ's Precepts there is an exceeding great Reward For all Returns are in a way of Free Grace 't is a Free Trade 1. Without Money and without Price without Money or Monies worth We Trade for nothing receive nothing for what we had or give for it as you have heard 'T is true Buying denotes our parting with something that is our own that we may have that we want But what is ours which we must part with Is it of any worth We must 1. Part with all our Sins Evil Courses Evil Habits and old Companions 2. With our old Hopes of Heaven 3. Our own Righteousness in respect of
as the Glory of Christ and of the Holy Spirit therefore let him primarily have the Honour of our Peace and Salvation O how did Love and Bowels move towards us in the Heart of God the Father from everlasting III. Exhort Also be exhorted to prize and highly esteem of the Lord Jesus Christ from what you have heard concerning the Covenant because Christ is the Sum of the Covenant I will give thee for a Covenant to the People 1. Christ is originally and fundamentally the Covenant saith a Worthy Writer he is the Original Root out of which this Covenant sprang and he is the Foundation upon which it is grounded Behold I say in Zion for a Foundation a Stone a tried Stone a precious corner Stone a sure Foundation c. God fixt his Eye on Christ and entered into Covenant with him he is the Foundation Stone of this Covenant had there not been a Mediator found there had been no Covenant of Peace ever made nor any Redemption for poor Sinners 2. When it was first revealed it was expressed by his Person viz. The Seed of the Woman nothing else is mentioned there yet this contains the first Revelation of this Covenant to Fallen Man And what was the Covenant of Grace as revealed to Abraham but Jesus Christ In thy Seed shall all the Kindreds of the Earth be Blessed Thus Christ is represented as the Sum of the Covenant 3. Christ is the Covenant primarily as the same Author notes and by Propriety As Fire is hot for it self and all things hot for it and by participation With Christ the Covenant was made as the chief Party with Believers it was made in Subordination to him with him it was made at first Hand with us at second Hand Now Brethren this certainly is true therefore all Promises were made first to Christ and first fulfilled to him and all Acts of God's Love terminate first upon him and come to us through him Who has made us accepted in the Beloved Had not God's Love been fixt first on him as Mediator it had never run out to us all Covenant-Blessings are in him Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus Christ as our Head is the Repository or Seat of all Divine Blessings Christ is the Jewel the Riches or the Sum of all things in the Covenant as Life Righteousness Pardon Peace c. And he that receives this Jewel receives all things with him From hence he is compared to a Cluster of Camphire 4. Jesus Christ saith the same Author is the Covenant eminently because he is the chief Blessing of the Covenant there is not such another Promise in all the Bundle of Promises contained in the Covenant If thou knowest the Gift of God c. Christ is the Gift of God yet certainly our Author forgot that God the Father and the Holy Ghost are given as well as Christ in the Covenant but when Christ is given God the Father and the Holy Spirit is given He that has the Son has the Father also All other things in the Covenant are saith he but as the Garnish of this Jewel 5. Christ is the Covenant virtually he is the just value of all the Bargain he is of as much worth as all that is promised If you would know the worth of the Covenant consider the worth of Jesus Christ. Moreover my Brethren they that have Christ have all that is promised in the Covenant 6. Jesus Christ purchased all that good which is in the Covenant when we say God is our God we must say he is our God in Christ or by Christ or through his Redemption and Procurement 7. Christ is the Covenant comprehensively or summarily he is the very Compound or Abridgment of the Covenant he is the whole Covenant by way of Stipulation on our part c. 8. Jesus Christ is the only way of Conveyance of all Covenant Blessings through whom we receive all we need or that is Communicaed unto us Moreover the Tender of the Covenant and Interest in it is contained in the free Tender of Christ and Interest in him Get Christ be but in Christ and thou art in the Covenant Sirs when God gives Christ to a Sinner the whole Covenant is performed to that Person and he that receives not Jesus Christ shall never have one saving Benefit or Blessing thereof And thus may Christ be called the Covenant But IV. From hence also we may infer the wonderful worth that there is in the Blood of Christ It is not only precious Blood in respect had unto his Person whose Blood it is viz. the Eternal Son of God but also in respect of that Atonement it hath made and that Wrath it has appeased and that Peace it has procured and in regard of those Infinite Blessings and Priviiedges it hath merited for us and that precious Soul it Sanctifies O prize this Blood What will become of them that contemn and slight this Blood and the Vertue and Efficacy that is in it Or account it as the Blood of another Man or as an unholy and unprofitable thing it had been better for such if they had never been Born V. We may moreover from hence see the absolute necessity there is of the Work and Office of the Holy Spirit in order to the Application of the Blood of the Covenant and all Covenant Blessings unto us The Holy Ghost deserves my Brethren equal Glory with the Father and the Son The Holy Spirit must plant Grace in our Hearts or be a Vital Principle in the Soul it is he which infuses sacred Habits from whence all Vital Acts proceed by the Spirit we come to have the root of the matter in us from whence all Spiritual Fruit flows 't is the Spirit that draws us to Christ that unites our Souls to him without it the Death of Christ profits no Man it is he which sprinkles his Blood on our Consciences O let our Mediations swim in the unlimited Ocean of Love and Divine Goodness and magnifie all the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity VI. We may furthermore learn from hence to see what absolute necessity there is of the Revelation of this Mystery through the Word or Holy Gospel what signifies all Natural Religion doth naturally light in Man discover any thing of our Redemption and Reconciliation by Jesus Christ And from hence let us be moved to abhor those New and Cursed Notions which at this Day so much prevail which tend to raze the very Foundation of the true Christian Religion for such that contemn all revealed Religion contemn the Christian Religion From hence also VII We may perceive the Necessity of True and Saving Faith and likewise the Excellency thereof no Man is possessed of this Peace that has not the Faith of God's Elect He that believeth not is Condemned already and shall be Damned unless
he believes in Jesus Christ Also you may hereby see what a strong ground here is for our Faith and Comfort From hence also we may see the Cause why the Holy Angels pry into this Mystery this Love and Grace of God to Mankind they bow down to look into these things yea look with admiration And shall not we admire it who are more especially concerned herein IX Sinners be exhorted from the Considerations of the whole to labour and strive to receive Jesus Christ And let such of you who think and hope you have received him try your selves by what you have heard O be exhorted to know in this your Day the things which belong to your Peace before they are hid from your Eyes Luke 19.42 X. Believers see that you labour after a strong Faith in Christ and in the Covenant for the measure of your Peace will be according to the measure and degree of your Faith O get a great Faith and then your Peace will not be little but like a River yea wonderfully abound in you XI Tryal Let all that hear me this Day try themselves examine themselves whether they have Peace with God or not Take a few Rules to try your selves 1. Are you at War with Sin Is Sin cast out of your Love and Affections Is there an unreconcilable opposition made in you against all Sin And as it is Sin do you loath and hate it because it is hateful to God and hath exposed your Blessed Saviour to so much Pain Shame Sorrow and Suffering even to let out his most Precious Blood 2. Do you mourn for Sin because it caused such Cursed Enmity in your Hearts against God causing your Souls to rebel against him yea to hate and despise him in your Hearts 3. Are you reconciled to the Ways of God even to the strictest Acts and Duties of Holiness Do you love the Word of God because of its Purity 4. Do you love all the People of God and are you Reconciled to those who may in many things differ from you Do you pray for them and hate all Bitterness and forbear all Reproachful Language and Sensorious Reflections Dare any reproach and speak against their Father's Children Thou sitest and speakest against thy Brother and slandrest thine own Mothers Son It is thy deliberate Practice and Business as if God should say thus to do 'T is to be feared that such are not at Peace with God that are not at Peace with all the Children of God He that saith he is in the Light and hateth his Brother is in Darkness until now We know that we are passed from Death unto Life because we love the Brethren he that loveth not his Brother abideth in Death Therefore let such tremble that are not at Peace with all those who have Peace with God 5. Do you mourn for such whom you love even for your Brethren your Kinsfolk your Neighbours that are not yet Reconciled unto him See Rom. 9.1 2. 6. Do you Love Esteem and highly Respect and Honour the Ambassadors of Peace and cannot endure to hear them reviled and unjustly slandered and spoken against 7. Have you Peace in your own Consciences and Peace in your Families And do you live peaceably in the Church of God And also strive as much as in you is to be at Peace with all Men 8. Do you long for the Peace of Jerusalem and pray for her Peace for that Peace which is promised to her in the last Days Christ hath purchased Universal Peace for his Church not only internal Peace but external Peace also not only Peace within but Peace without not only Peace with God but Peace with Men also and the Day is near he will give his People Intire and Universal Peace Caution Let none mistake me in any thing I have delivered in any of these Sermons about God's being Reconciled in Christ c. so as to think he is at Peace Reconciled and well pleased with the Elect whilst they remain in a State of Enmity against him being vile and notorious Sinners God can't but hate Sin whereever it is and loath the unrenewed Sinner when he looks upon them as in the first Adam or as in their Filthiness for as such he hates and loaths them but as he looks upon any Persons in Christ so he loves them and is at Peace and well pleased with them God sees not as Man sees for he sees a Man Condemned and Justified at one and the same time nay as being in this World and yet as being in the World to come but whatever sight of Things or of Persons God hath or how we are lookt upon and Justified in his sight in Christ is one thing and what the State of Persons are or what Things and Persons may be said to be as they actually are or when they actually exist or in a proper Sense and Acceptation is another thing for it is ridiculous to say That a Man in a proper Sense is actually or personally Condemned and Justified Dead and yet Alive at one and the same time or is in the first Adam and yet in the second or in a State of Wrath and yet in a State of Grace at one and the same moment Nay and dangerous it is for any to say that a wicked Man whilst he is so is an Object of God's Delight or that such a Person is actually Justified and that God is at Peace and well pleased with him it being so directly contrary to the Testimony of God's Word and the Witness of the Divine Spirit The Sum therefore of what I say and mean is this When I say God in Christ is Reconciled to Sinners viz. God having chosen his Elect in Christ from Eternity was Reconciled to them in him as the Way and Means of the Procurement of their Peace or of their Recovery out of the Fall or out of their lapsed State foreseen by him but to say he was actually reconciled to them personally considered from Eternity or from the Death of Christ seems absurd and improper For how could he be said to be Reconciled to this or that Person before that Person had any personal Existencies or Being or if they had a Being yet were Enemies to him and loathsome Wretches and under his denounced Wrath and Curse and in which State they remain before they are actually united to Christ or are effectually called Yet take notice that that which actually reconciles the Holy God to us is Christ's Satisfaction alone to which there can be no Addition made by any Collateral Work wrought in us and done by us We should therefore distinguish between a Foederal a Virtual and a Representative Vnion and Justification and an Actual Vnion and Personal Justification For from hence perhaps the Mistake may arise The Scripture every where declareth that God is an Enemy or an Adversary to all Unconverted Persons nay and that he hates all the Workers of Iniquity and