Should be holy and without Blame before him in Love. * Did I think this would meet with any Optofition, I u'd be in this more large. Eph. 1. 3, 4. Nay, * did I look upon it here to be neceffary, I fhould fhew you very largely and clearly, that God did not only make the Covenant with Chrift before the World began, and the Conditions thereof: But I could alfo fhew you that the very Saints Qualifications, as Part of the Covenant, was then concluded on by the Father and the Son, according to thefe Scriptures, Eph. 1. 3, 4. Chap. 2. Lo. and Rom. 8. 28. which it may be I may touch upon further anon. But, Thirdly, this Covenant was not made with any of the Fathers, neither in whole, nor in part, as the Undertakers thereof; for then it must be alfo concluded, that they are Copartners with Chrift in our Salvation, and fo that Chrift is not Mediator alone: But this would be blafphemy for any one to furmize. And therefore by the way, when thou readeft of the New Covenant in Scripture, as thought it was made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, or David, thou art to confider this with thy felf: First, that God fpake to them in fuch a way, for to fhew, or fignifie unto us, how he did make the Covenant, that he did make with Chrift, before the World began, they being Types of him. Secondly, That he thereby might let him, understand that he was the fame then as he is now, and now as he was then; and that then it was refolved on between His Son and He, that in After-ages his Son fhould in their Natures, from their Loins, and for their Sins, be born of a Woman, hanged on the the Crois, &c. for them: For all along you may fee that when he speaketh to them of the New Covenant, he mentions their Seed, their Seed, ftill aiming at Chrift; Chrift the Seed of the Woman, was to break the Serpent's Head, Gen. 3. 15. Gen. 17. Pfal. 87. 36. Now to Abraham and his Seed, was the Promise mai, his Seed fhall endure for ever, and his Throne as the Days of Heaven, &c. ftill pointing at Chrift. And Thirdly, to ftir, up their Faith and Expecta ions to be Conftant unto the End, in waiting for that which he and his Son had concluded on before time, and what he had fince. the Conclufion declared unto the World by the Prophets. Fourthly, It appeareth that the Heart of God was much delighted therein alfo, as is evident, in that he was always in every Age, declaring of that unto them, which before he had prepared for them. O this good God of Heaven! Object. But (you will fay perhaps) the Scriptures fay plainly, that the New Covenant was and is made with Believers, faying, The Days come, faith the Lord, that I will make a New Covenant with the Houfe of Ifrael, ond the House of Judah, not according to the Covenant that I made with their Father in the Day in which I brought them out of the Land of Egypt, &c. Heb. 8. 10, 11, 12. Jer. 31. 33. So that it doth not run with Chrift alone, but with Believers alfo, I will make a New Covenant with the Houfe of Ifrael and Judah, &c. 1. Anfw. First, It cannot be meant that the New Covenant was made with Chrift, and the Houfe of Ifrael and Judah as the Undertaker thereof: For fo it was made with Chrift alone, F 5 which . which is clear, in that it was made long before the House of Ifrael and Judah had a Being,' as I fhewed before. 2. Anfw. But, Secondly; thefe Words here are fçoken, firft to fhew rather the End of the Ceremonies, than the Beginning or Rife of the New Covenant. Mind a little; the Apostle is labouring to beat the Jews (to whom he wrote this Epiftle) off of the Ceremonies of the Law, of the Priests, Altar, Offerings, Temple, &c. and to bring them to the right Understanding of the Thing and Things that they held forth, which was to come, and to put an End to thofe. If you do but understand the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is a Difcourfe that fheweth that the Son of God being come, there is an End put to the Ceremonies; for they were to continue fo long and no longer. It, faith the Apostle, flood in Meats and Drinks, and divers Washings, and carnal Ordinances impofed on them until the Time of Reformation; that is, until Chrift did come. But Chrift being come an high Priest of good Things to come, &c.---puts an End to the Things and Ordinances of the Levitical Priesthood, read the 7, 8, 9, 10. Chapters, and you will find this true. So then, when he faith, The Days come in which I will make a New Covenant, it is rather to be meant a Changing of the Adminiftration, a taking away the Type, the Shadow, the Ceremonies from the Houfe of Ifrael and Judah, and relieving, by the Birth of Chrift, and the Death of Chrift, and the Offering of the Body of him, whom the Shadows and Types did point out to be indeed he, whom God the Father had given for a Ranfom by Covenant for the Souls of the Saints; and alfo to manifeft the the Truth of that Covenant which was made between the Father and the Son before the World began; for though the New Covenant was made before the World began, and allo every one in all Ages was faved by the Vertue of that Covenant; yet that Covenant was never fo clearly made manifeft, as at the coming Death and Refurrection of Chrift; and therefore, faith the Scripture, He hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel, 2 Tim. 1. 9, 10. Who hath faved us, and called us with an boly Calling, not according to the Works of Righteonfnefs which we have done; but according to his wn Purpofe and Grace, which was given us in Chrift before the World began (there is the Covenant) but it was made MANIFEST by the APPEARING of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who bath abolifhed Death, and brought Life and Immortality to LIGHT through the Gospel: Therefore, I fay, thefe Words are rather to discover that the Time was come to change the Difpenfation, to take away the Type, and bring in the Subftance, and fo manifefting that more clearly, which before lay hid in dark Sayings and Figures. And this is ufual with God to fpeak in this Man mer. Again, If at any time you find in the Scrip-ture, that the Covenant of Works is fpoken of, as the firft Covenant that was manifefted, and fo before the fecond Covenant; yet you must understand that it was fo only, as to Manifeftation; that is, it was firft given to Man, yet not made before that which was made with Chrift: And indeed it was requifite that it fhould be, given, or made known firft, that thereby there might be a Way made for the Second, by its dif coverin covering of Sin, and the fad State that Man 'was in after the Fall, by reafon of that. And again, that the other might be made the more welcome to the Sons of Men. *Yet the fecond A. * And in this did Chrift in dam, was before the time most gloriously answer first, and also the fe- Adam, who was the Figure cond Covenant before of Chrift (Rom. 5.) as well the firft. This is a Riddle. as of other things, for as the first Covenant was made with the first Adam, fo was the fecond Covenant made with the fecond; for thefe are and were the two great publick Perfons, or Reprefentators of the whole World, as to the first and fecond Covenants; and therefore you find God fpeaking on this wife in Scripture concerning the new Covenant, My Covenant fhail stand fast with HIM, Pfal. 89. 28, 34, 35. My Mercy, will I keep for HIM for evermore, faith God; my Covenant fhall fland fast with HIM (this HIM is Chrift, if you compare this with Luke 1. 32) My Covenant will I not break, namely, that which was made with HIM, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my Mouth: Once have I fworn by my Holiness that I will not lie unto * D AVID, to whom this was fpoken figuratively in the Perfon of Chrift; for that was God's ufual way to fpeak of the glorious things of the Gospel in the time of the Law, as I faid before. * David here is to he underflood Chrift. Secondly, The Conditions alfo were concluded on, and agreed to be fulfilled by him; as it is clear, if you understand his Saying in the 12th of John at the 27th Ver. where he foretelleth his th, and faith, Now is my Soul troubled, and . what |