venant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the defolate heritages." Where you fee the vifion is doubled, because it is true.

The method I would endeavour, through grace, to follow, is,

I. To offer fome remarks concerning the covenant in general.

II. Shew how Chrift is the covenant, and in what respects he bears that name.

III. Enquire for whofe benefit he is fo; and thus fhew that he is the covenant of the people.

IV. By whofe authority he is fo; and here fpeak of his divine ordination, and being given of God for

that end.

V. Offer fome reafons of the doctrine, why he is given to be a covenant, and why a covenant of the people.

VI. Draw fome inferences for application.

I. The first thing is, To offer fome remarks concerning the covenant in general; and I confine them to these four, which are imported in the text and doctrine.

1. The first remarkable thing imported in the text, is, That the covenant of works is broken, and cannot 'fave us; and we are broken, and cannot fave our'felves.' There was a covenant of works made with the first Adam and his feed, before the fall; and therein God was upon these terms with man, Do and Live; and if you do not, you fhall die. In this law of works, there was a precept, and a fanction. The precept is, Do this; that is, perform perfect and perfonal obedience; the fanction is, If thou do not, thou fhalt die ;' importing that the reward of obedience was eternal life; "The man that doth thefe things, fhall live in them:" and that the punishment of difobedience was eternal death; "The foul that finneth fhall die," Gen. ii. 17. Now, as by the fall of mankind, the precept of doing is broken, and the penalty of dying is incurred, and eternal life forfeited; fo our falvation is impoffible without a perfect righteousness; a righteoufnefs of obedience, performing the precept of the law, and fo intitling to live; a righteouf

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nefs

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nefs to fatisfaction, undergoing the penalty of the law, and fo delivering from death. The former is impoffible for us; for, we are dead in fins and trefpaffes, and fo can never perform any duty acceptable to God, far less complete and perfect obedience. The latter is impoffi ble; for, being both finite and finful creatures, we can never give infinite and finlefs fatisfaction; and fo we are broken and loft by the breach of this covenant. There are four things upon this particularly, that I prefume, you all profe's to know; namely, t. The tenor of the covenant of works, That, when God created man, • he entered into a covenant of life, or works, with him, upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, ' upon the pain of death.' 2. The breach of this covenant, That our firft parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by finning againt God,' and particularly, by eating the forbidden fruit.' 3. Our concern in this original apoftafy and fall in Adam, That the covenant being made with him, not only for himself, but for his pofterity, all mankind defcending from him by ordinary generation, finned in him, and fell with him, in his firft tranfgreffion: "For by one man fin "entered into the world, and death by fin; and fo death "paffed upon all men, for that all have finned," or, in 'whom all have finned.' 4. The fatal, woful effects of this fall and breach of the covenant of works; namely, That by this means we have fallen into a state of fin and mifery; that our ftate is a finful ftate, we being guilty of Adam's first fin, wanting original righteoulnefs, and our whole nature being corrupted, whence proceeds all our actual fin; and that our ftate is a miferable ftate, having loft communion with God, being under his wrath and curfe, liable to all the miferies of this life, to death itself, and the pains of hell for ever. Why? The wages of fin is death, and we are children of wrath; and curfed is every one that continueth not in 'all things written in the book of the law, to do them.' It may be, it is long fince ye knew thefe things in your catechifms: but, O, how long is it fince you believed

them?

them? or, do you believe them yet? Have you feent your fall in Adam, and your woful, finful, miferable flate by nature, through the breach of the covenant of works? If you were convinced of this, furely the news. of another covenant would be welcome to you. But then,

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2. The Second remarkable thing, imported in the text, is, That there is a covenant of grace provided, 'for the recovery of fome, by Jefus Chrift, from a state of fin and death to a ftate of righteoufnefs and eter nal life; or, you may take it thus, God having out of his mere good pleafure, from all eternity, elected fome to everlailing life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the eftate of fin and mifery, and to bring them into an eftate of falvation by a Redeemer. Hence fuch fcriptural expreffions as thefe, "By grace are ye faved ;-not by works of righ teousness that we have done ;-for if there had been a law, [namely, of works] which could have given life, verily righteoufnefs fhould have been by the law," Gal. Now, this covenant of grace may be confider ed, either in its original tranfaction from eternity, or in its actual manifeftation in time.

iii. 21.

(1.) Confider it in its original tranfaction from eternity betwixt the Father and the Son. God having in his eternal decree of permitting the fall, forefeen the ruin of mankind by the breach and violation of the covenant of works, gracioufly purpofed not to proceed against allmankind, according to the demerit of the r tranfgreffion, in the execution of that death uppm them which that covenant threatened; and therefore a council of peace is called from eternity, and the 'propofal made concerning the fhewing mercy to an elect number, in a way that fhould be to the honour and glory of God's holinefs, which fays, They muft do perfectly; and of God's juftice, which fays, They muft die eternally. Well, none in all the creation of men and angels were able to fatisfy this propofal: then fays Chrift, "Lo I come," Pfal. xl. 8. I offer myself to be their Surety, to give a perfect obedience to the law, which was the condition. of the covenant of works, and to give infinite fatisfacti

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on to offend juftice, in anfwer to the penalty incurred thro' the breach and violation of that covenant. "Lo, I' come;" fince the law cannot be fulfilled without doing, nor justice fatisfied without doing, lo, I come to do both; and feeing this undertaking must be accomplished by one, who is both finite, that he may die; and infinite, that he may conquer death and wrath; I offer to do it in their nature, and by an unfpeakable mystery to become flesh; "Lo, I come;" let the impannelled criminal go free. The Father being infinitely well-pleafed with this confent, encourages his eternal Son, enters into a covenant with him, calls him, qualifies him, promifes to uphold liim in the whole work, and to give him for a covenant of the people; and that, for making his foul an offering for fn, he fhould fee his feed, and fee the travel of his foul and be fatisfied, Ifa. liii. 11. This is called by many, "The covenant of redemption;" not that it is another covenant of grace, but I take it as another confideration of the fame covenant. It was made with Chrift as the fecond Adanı, and in him with all the elect as his feed. As it is made with Chrift, it is properly conditional to him; the condition being perfect obedience, and complete fatisfaction; but as made with the elect in him, it is abfolute; confifling of free and abfolute promifes to them. But.

(2.) Confider it in its actual manifestation in time: and here, omitting what might be faid of the legal admini. firation of it under the Old Teftament, and the evangelical adminiftration under the New, I fhall only fay, That as the tranfaction betwixt the Father and the Son from eternity, is the fountain, fo this manifeflation of it in time is the opening of the fountain: and the grace of God is manifefted in this covenant of grace feveral ways. 1. In that he freely provides a Saviour for loft finners, thewing, by the gofpel, that he hath made this provifion. 2. In that he freely offers to finners a Me, diator, and life and falvation in him. 3. In that he not only calls and commands them to come to him by faith, as the means to intereft them in him, and to believe in him for falvation: but, 4. Promifes his holy Spirit to work in them that faith, and all other faving

graces,

graces. And though this, and all the other abfclute promifes of the covenant fhall be certainly accomplished, and actually applied to the elect only; yet, in the eter nal difpenfation of the gospel, and adminiftration of the covenant, they are revealed and exhibited in a general indefinite way and manner, with an univerfal offer and command to all and every one that hear this gofpel, to plead them, and lay hold upon them; that in this way the hearers of the gofpel may be left inexcufable that embrace it not; and that the elect may be gathered in, made to believe, and come under the bond of the cove

nant.

3. The Third remarkable thing, imported in the text, is, That there is an oneness and identity betwixt the covenant of grace, as made with Chrift, and as made.

with us in him; both are one and the fame covenant:' for here the Father is contracting with the Son, "I will give thee for a covenant of the people;" therefore, that with the Son and with the people belong to one and the fame covenant with refpect to Chrift, it had its conftitution from eternity; with respect to us, it hath its application in time: on this account it is called, "The grace given us in Chrift before the world began," 2 Tim.' i. 9. And eternal life, which God that cannot lie promifed before the world began," Tit, i. 2. As the first Adam was our public federal head, and he and we includ ed in one and the fame covenant of works; fo Chrift, the fecond Adam, is our public head, and the covenant of grace with him and us, is the fame covenant, though he' alone is the Head, Surety, and Mediator, to, whom fome promifes and precepts are peculiar: however, he being the covenant of the people, all things promifed unto, or to be performed by the people, are fecured in the contract with Chrift; all the condition of life to be. performed is found in him; yea, he undertakes, in that covenant, the removal of all obftructions and impediments from within that would hinder their attainment of covenant-mercy, being for a light to the Gentiles, to take away the inward blindnefs that is found in them; fo that, not only all neceffaries for redemption, but al fo neceflaries for the powerful and effectual application

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