where there is not this giving; for, "A man can receive nothing except it be given." This giving then, implies a right, and title, and warrant to receive: he is alfo given to you, that all that pleafe the bargain, have warrant 、 to take poffeffion. He is your own already, man, woman, in the former fenfe, whether you take him or not; as he faid to the Jews, "He came to his own, and his own received him not." But faith's improvement of this gift and grant among your hands, would make him your own, in a peculiar fenfe, by actual poffeffion. Thus we have the manner of his ordination, to be the covenant of the people; it is even by a free and gracious. donation. The next thing here was, 4thly, The gracious motive, ground, and reafon of this divine ordination, which is juft the divine Will; "I WILL give." This verb muft neceffarily be borrowed from the former claufe, "I WILL hold thine hand, and give thee for a covenant of the people." I WILL GIVE; Osovereign reafon! No gift in the world fo free as Chrift: when men bestow gifts upon one another, there is some. impulfive caufe that excites them to it, drawn from their relation to, or interest in one another; drawn from fervices and favours received, or expected from each other; but no fuch impulfive caufe here; we have no relation to God, but as his enemies; we can do him no fervice, but fin against him; therefore can merit nothing from him, but his curfe. His reafon of doing, then, must be his own fovereign will. Men may rack their wit, and difpute about the reafon of God's actions; but there would be more calm reafoning in the world, about gofpel-truths, if all our reafonings did ftrike fail to the fovereignty of free-grace, and floop to that: he will, because he will; "I will give thee." I think this WILL imports, 1. A confent and agreement: the counsel of peace is concluded, parties are both agreed; I wILL. 2. A complacency and fatisfaction: God is well-pleased with this device of his own infinite wifdom; well-pleafed with the ranfom and Ranfomer; "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleafed:" I take pleafure in giv ing him to be a covenant of the people; IwILL. 3. I think it imports authority: fupreme authority of the eternal God Godhead, three in one, is interpofed in this matter, for ordaining Chrift to this work; I wILL. And, 4. I think it imports an exprefs command, "I will give thee;" and of this command Chrift fpeaks, when he fays, "This com mandment have I received of my Father, to lay down my life for my fheep" And when he fays, "Lo, I come to do thy will; by the which will we are fanctified thro' the offering of the body of Jefus Chrift once for all," Heb. x. 10. In a word, if imports, That the fovereign will of JEHOVAH is the reafon of all, And this may lead us to, and fhall make me the more brief upon, V. The fifth thing propofed, namely, the reafons of the doctrine; why is Chrift given for a covenant of the people? And here I might fhew, 1. Why he is given. 2. Why given for a covenant. 3. Why given for a covenant of the people, of the Gentiles. 1. Why is he given, or exhibit by way of gift? Why, the grand reason is told already, even his fovereign will, Christ, the great ordinance of God for man's recovery, is difpenfed freely, by a gratuitous gift, that falvation may be by grace, and that free grace may get the whole glory of it, from the foundation to the cope-ftone, with fhoutings of grace, grace unto it. The giving of Chrift to all, in the gospel-offer, is from fovereign grace, and muft be abfolutely free and unconditional; for what in all the world is the condition of the offer? If men be in a finful condition, in a miferable, condition, in a loft condition, that is all the condition and qualification, that I know neceffary for making an offer of Chrift as a Saviour to them. If any clog the gofpel-offer with legal terms and conditions, they encroach upon the warrant minifters have to offer Chrift to all, and the warrant that all have to receive him; yea, they encroach upon fovereign grace, which hath made this grant and offer of Chrift, not to devils, but to men in the most extenfive terms: "To you, O men, do I call, and my voice is to the fons of men."-Again, the giving of Chrift to fome, in actual poffeffion, is from fovereign grace alfo; for, though none can be poffeffed of Chrift and his be nefits, till by faith they receive him; yet this faith to receive, receive, is given, as well as the gift received by it; Eph. ii. 8. "By grace ye are faved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." It is gi ven, by virtue of an abfolute promife of the covenant; fuch as that, Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power;" and fo, the hand to take the gift, being itfelf given out of the covenant, the covenant takes hold of the man, before the man takes hold of the covenant. But, 2. Why is Chrift given for a covenant? I offer you only one great reafon of it: he is given for a covenant, that God might have more glory out of the covenant of works, by the fecond Adam's fulfilling of it, than he loft by the firft Adam's breach and violation of it. The law of eternal life and death was irreverfibly ftated only by the covenant of works; and though we be changed, yet the covenant of works is unchangeable. And as by virtue of the stability of it, all the Chriftlefs world are condemned, curfed, and die eternally; fo, by virtue of its being perfectly fulfilled by Chrift, in whom only it is eftablifhed, all that are in him, are freed from condemnation, and live eternally. What is the covenant of grace? I may fay, it is Chrift's fulfilling, for us, the covenant of works. We were debtors to the mandato. ry and minatory part of the law, arraigned at the inflance of divine juftice, to pay the debt; Christ substi tuted himself in our room, came under the law, to pay the whole debt due thereunto; and now, God gets more glory by his doing fo, than he loft by our fins. Herein he glorified his fovereign Majefty, whofe authority was fo hainoufly violated by fuch a bafe creature as man is, in that he received him not into his favour, without a be coming reparation, made to his honour, by the interven tion of a perfect obedience, and full fatisfaction. Herein he glorified his infinite wisdom, in finding out a man to reconcile justice and mercy; to punish the fin, and yet to pardon the finner; to take vengeance on fin, to the 'very uttermoft, and yet, to magnify his mercy, while the finner is juftified, accepted and faved, without his own fuffering. This is that, POLUTOIKILOS SOPHIA TOU THEOU, The manifold wifdom of God.' Herein he glori fied his free love, goodness, and pity, in fubjecting his life to fuch a death, and his glory to fuch a shame, and all to purchase fuch vile and worthlefs creatures as we are, and to redeem us from eternal woe and mifery: as alfo, his almighty power is here glorified, in fupporting. the human nature of Chrift under the vaft load of divine wrath, and law-curfes.-Herein he glorified his ho linefs and faithfulness, in fulfilling not only the promife. of the law, as a covenant of works, even the promise of eternal life, made to perfect obedience; which, though we forfeited in our own perfons, yet we recover in Chrift; the condition of life in the covenant of works, being perfect obedience perfonal, and the condition of life here being perfect obedience and imputed; and fo the promise of life, upon the ground of a perfect obedi. ence fulfilled to us in him: but alfo divine faithfulness is glorified, in fulfilling all the threatenings of the law, while we, who come under the fentence of death in the first Adam, undergo that death in the fecond Adam.In a word, herein he glorifies his justice and righteoufnefs, in the remiffion of fins, through the propitiation of Chrift; Rom. iii, 25. "Whom God hath fet forth to be the propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare, his righteoufnefs for the remiffion of fins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Herein is vindictive juftice difplayed, in its greatest severity, in Chrift's being the facrifice and propitiation: and here is retributive justice illuftriously declared, in the finner's being re warded, juftified, faved, upon the blood and facrifice; the obedience and righteousness of Chrift; yea, all the perfections of the great God fhine glorioufly in the face of Chrift, as in a beautiful and bright conftellation, 2 Cor. iv. 6. And for this reafon he gave him for a Covenant. 3. Why is he given for a covenant of the people, of the Gentiles? Why, not only to fhew his difpleasure at the unbelief of the Jews, as we fee, Acts iii. 46, 47. Rom. xi. 11. 19, 20.; but also to fhew his fovereignty, That he will have mercy, on whom he will have mercy; and to fhew his truth, in fulfilling the ancient prophecy concerning the calling of the Gentiles. It is long fince God God promifed to Noah, faying, "God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he fhall dwell in the tents of Shem," Gen. ix. 27. Now of Japhet came the Gentiles, Gen. xii. 5.; and of Shem came the Jews. By the pofterity of Japhet were the ifles of the Gentiles divided. The ifles were folemaly by lot divided among them, (and probably this ifle of Britain among the reft;) fo that as Japhet's dwelling in the tents of Shem, is a clear prediction of the converfion of the Gentiles, and their fucceeding to the Jews in their church-privileges; fo this directs us to understand the promife in the context, "The ifles fhall wait for his law." He is given for a covenant of the people, a light of the Gentiles. In a word, he is given for a covenant of the people, to fhow the extent and allfufficiency of his grace, and the intrinfic value of his blood. Suppofe a prince were fetting up a fanctuary, or city of refuge, the privileges whereof are not reftricted to any fort of men, but extended to all, Gentiles as well as Jews; would not this declare, that the privileges of the place are full and ample, fo as whofoever comes to this fanctuary, might be fafe? Here allo, in like manner, the fufficiency of the merit of Chrift, and the fulness of his righteousness is declared, infomuch that none can, with any fhadow of reafon, exclude themfelves, be what they will, People, Gentiles, Dark, Blind, Imprifoned; feeing all Gentiles, who are called Dogs, Aliens, Heathens, Uncircumcifed, are included; and feeing the mot to written on the outfide of the door of the fanctuary, is, "Whofoever will, let him come ;" all comers are welcome, and refufers left inexcufable. ་་་ VI. The fixth thing propofed, was the application of the whole. This doctrine would admit of a vaft im provement, which we muft confine to as narrow bounds as poffible; and we may improve it, ift, For information. If it be fo, that Chrift, by dis vine ordination, is thus the covenant of the people; in the glafs of this doctrine, we clearly fee, many precious gofpel-truths. And, 1. Hence we may fee, in what way it is, that the ruin we brought upon ourfelves, by the breach and vio |