lation of the covenant of works, is reparable. We have brought ourselves into a moit lamentable ftate by fin ; and we are irrecoverably loft indeed, as to all that we can do for our own help; "O Ifrael, thou haft deftroyed thyself." Who can repair that ruin? There is a glorious ME that fays, "In ME is thy help," Hof. xiii. 7. Who that ME is, is explained in our text, even a God in Chrill, the glorious I and THEE; "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." There is no help, no juf tification for them now by a covenant of works; but, "I will give thee for a covenant to them;" which, tho' it be all works to thee, yet it fhall be all grace to them. The world is bufy calling the law of works into this and the other handfome thape, and pleafing themselves with a fancy, that in this way of works they may have righteoufnefs and life, to the difparagement of the way of grace, to the deftruction of their own fouls, and to the difhonour of Chrift, who alone is the covenant of the people. 2. Hence we fee the greatnefs of the love of God to wards poor finners, in giving fuch a great and glorious perfon as Chrift, and that for fuch a great and glorious end, as to be a covenant of the people; "God fo loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him might not perifh, but have everlafting life," Chrift came not to be a covenant of the people without a commiflion, call, and ordination from his Father. He had authority from the Father to do all that he did about the covenant; "I will give thee for a covenant." Let not our notions of God be fo grofs, as to think, that God the Father is of an implacable nature, full of feverity; and that the Son only is of a pleafant, meek nature, full of lenity towards finners. the Father was the firft, in order of nature, that made the motion concerning man's redemption; Chrift was appointed, authorized, and given of him: behold, the love of God hath gone to its utmoft height in giving Chrift, for he cannot give a greater gift; and the love of Chrift hath alfo gone to its utmoft, in confenting hereto, and giving himself, and all this to be no lefs than a complete covenant of the people. Because the VOL. I. Q people people can do nothing, therefore he leaves them nothing to do of themselves; "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." 3. Hence we may fee a teft of the true religion. All fchemes that centre not in Christ, are to be rejected; and all schemes of the covenant, that make not Christ to be the all of it, are to be renounced: If I can find nothing in the covenant but Chrift, surely I find enough, and I find all that my text makes of it; and if the world make it a new scheme, at their peril be it. But this I fay, that every scheme, that leads to felf, and takes off from Chrift, is a falfe and ruinous fcheme; yea, every doctrine that advances any thing to be a rival with him, and mingles our filthy rags with his excellent robes, is of a foul-ruining nature, and utterly to be detested. The fecond Adam came not to patch up, and amend old Adam's coat, as fome exprefs it, but to give us a wholly new garment of his own making, and dyed with his own blood: "I will give thee for a covenant." Our chief bufinefs, as minifters of the gofpel, is to trumpet forth the tranfcendent excellency of Chrift, and defire to know nothing but Chrift, and him crucified, and as the ALL of the covenant, for making people both happy and holy. 4. Hence we may fee the believer's freedom from the law as a covenant of works: he is not under the law, but under grace; having closed with Chrift, Christ is now all the covenant that he is under: he is freed both from the Do and the Die, the command and the threa tening of the covenant of works: they are made void to him through Chrift, for he is not under it, either to be juftified or condemned: he is not under its command, to be juftified for his obedience; nor under its threatening and fanction, to be condemned for his dif obedience, as it is a covenant; for, "There is no con- · demnation to them that are in Chrift." It is true, as the law is a rule of obedience, he remains under it, as much and more than ever, and ftands obliged thereby to study perfection; and his difobedience may bring upon him rods and ftripes, and all the terrible effects of God's fatherly difpleafure upon foul and body; but as it is a rule rule of acceptance, a condition of life, or a covenant of works, he hath nothing to do with it, nothing to expect from it, nothing to fear by it: he hath nothing to do with it any more than a wife hath to do with a dead hufband. Rom. vii. 4. "Ye are dead to the law, by the body of Chrift, that ye might be married to another, even to him that is raifed from the dead, that ye might bring forth fruit unto God." He is not to bring forth. fruit any more to the dead hufband, to the law; but to Christ, the living hufband. He hath nothing to expec from it; no life, no righteoufnefs, no happinefs, no holinefs by his own legal obedience, but only by Christ, a better covenant. And he hath nothing to fear by it; no hell, no death, no damnation, no condemnation, no liablenefs thereto. And hence, 5. We fee what place the believer's obedience hath in the covenant of grace: His obedience hath no place here, in point of cafuality, or proper federal conditionality; for this were to turn it into the fame place it had in the covenant of works, where, though there was no merit of condignity (I know few will dare to fay fo), yet there was a merit by paction; that is to fay, there was a promife of life made to works and obedience, "Do, and live." But, in the covenant of grace, we affert, against all popish doctrine whatsoever, that there is no fuch reward of work, obedience, or perfonal holiness, upon compact and promife; becaufe the tenor of this covenant runs upon the condition of Chrift's obedience and righteoufnefs, apprehended by faith. Gofpel-holinefs is of manifold neceflity in the new covenant; but the promife of life is not here made to the work, but to the worker; and to the worker, not for his work; but for the merit of Chrift: As for inftance, "Be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the crown of life;" the promife is not made to fidelity, but to the faithful perfon, whofe fidelity is a fign that he is in Chrift, "In whom all the promises are yea, and Amen." If the law had now the promise of life to our obedience, we fhould not have life and falvation any other way but by the law, and by the works thereof; Gal. iii. 21. "If there had been a law given, that could have given life, verily righteousness fhould fhould have been by the law;" therefore our obedience now is not a caufe or condition, but a neceffary effect of the covenant, and qualification of all that are within the covenant; yea, all whom this covenant takes hold of, it makes them holy: And therefore, " Without holinefs no man fhall fee God;" becaufe without holiness no man hath this effetive evidence of his being within this holy covenant. 6. Hence we may fee, what are the motives that now fhould influence the believer in his obedience. If Chrift be the ALL of the covenant, and that he is loofed from all his former relation to the covenant of works, he is not to obey either from a legal hope of heaven, or flavish fear of hell. Not from a legal hope of heaven; for the covenant fecures the purchafe of that by Christ's perfect obedience: not from a flavish fear of hell; for the covenant hath fecured freedom from that by Christ's complete fatisfaction. The principal motive is the love of Chrift contraining; the love of a God in Chrift, who is given for a covenant of the people. God deals not with believers now according to the covenant of works, neither ought they to deal with him as if they were under it. They ought to mourn for fin, to repent, to confefs, to beg pardon, but not in a legal way, as if they had to do with a wrathful Judge, but as having to do with a merciful Father in Chrift: they are to yield obedience to the law, not out of a fervile fear of hell and wrath, but out of a child-like love and willing mind; fo far as. the believer acts otherwife, so far he is under a fpirit of bondage. Neither bught the believer to act from a dread and fear of his being difinherited; fo far as he does fo, it is not an act of faith, but of unbelief; for he cannot view this covenant, and yet fee himself left at an uncertainty. There is no liableness to a forfeiture of its privileges; Chrift is the covenant of the people. 7. Hence fee, if Chrift be the covenant of the people, by God's ordination, why the believer is to take the law only out of the hand of a Mediator, and yet is not without law to God, when he is under the law to Chrift, He is not to view it in the first covenant-form, in the hand hand of an abfolute God, but only in Chrift, and as it is cat into a new covenant-form and the original authority of the law is not here diffolved, nor obligation to obedience diminished, but rather firengthened and fweetened; in regard that this authority does now run only in this fweet and bleffed channel, by the Father's ordination; yea, the Creator's authority and fovereignty is in Chrift, and the whole fulness of the Godhead, and by the voice of God the Father from the excellent glory, faying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleated hear ye him." We are so much obliged, by the Father's appointment, to obey him, and take the law only out of his hand, that if we do it not we con demn the authority of the Father, and run cross to this divine ordination. 8. Hence fee, if Chrift be the ALL of the covenant, then believers have all things in Chrift. Chrift being the covenant of the people; this covenant is all his falvati on, and all his defire. All his falvation is here; and well may the believer fay, in the exercife of faith, in Chrift I have all things at once; neither need I any more that is neceffary to falvation; this covenant is all my falvation. He may fay, in the point of juftification, Christ is my righteoufnefs, my treasure, my work, my covenant, my all; yea, my ALL IN ALL; "For in him dwel leth the fulness of the Godhead bodily" and believers are complete in him, who of God is made to them wif dom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemption. 9. Hence we may fee, if Chrift be given for a cove. nant of the people, that the gofpel ftrictly and properly taken, is a bundle of good news, glad tidings, and gracious promifes; our text is a fum of the gofpel, and it is a free promife, "I will give thee for a covenant of the people:" there is no precept nor commandment here. The law is properly a word of precept, but not the gospel: the law commands all, and the gofpel promifes all. It were a difparagement to the divine law, if it were not perfect and exceeding broad, if there were any duty we are called unto not enjoined therein: Why, are there no. commands in the gospel, fay fome? We are ready, Sirs,. to confound the difpenfation of the gofpel, with this. gofpel Q3 |