furtherance of the divine decrees, to restore mankind to a state of salvation, and to renew to them the conditional promises of blessedness and life eternal.

§3. In the Promise made to Adam immediately upon the breach of the prescribed term of the First Covenant, was implied the establishment of the Second, denominated the New Covenant,-that of Grace,-of Promise,-of Life,—of Salvation. This was also to include all mankind, all that human race who had, in their progenitor, sinned and become obnoxious to condemnation: and by it redemption and salvation were to be obtained upon condition of practical faith in the promised Messias, the Second Adam, the Mediator of the New Testament. No time elapsed, therefore, between the condemnation of fallen man to temporal evil and to death, and the appointment of effectual means for his procuring pardon and eternal life.

§ 4. The Covenant of Grace, "the free gift of God," in which the Second Person of the glorious Trinity by voluntarily taking on himself the nature and obligations of sinful man, engaged to effect a reconciliation between God and Man;-this Second Covenant was superior to the First, inasmuch as under its provisions, sincere, though imperfect, obedience is accepted, on account of the perfect righteousness of our representative and surety;-divine aid and succour are granted to enable us to perform the required conditions, to withstand the enemies of our Salvation; and forgiveness is offered, when through the corruption of our nature we offend, with restoration to the best hopes and privileges, upon true repent

Covenant, the Son of God; finally, the rewards proposed are such as surpass the conception of the human mind. Whereas, under the former Covenant, a rigid obedience was enforced, to be performed by the force of rectitude with which man was at first endued; the penalties were known, absolute, and without appeal; natural strength and free-will, however inclined to good, were still liable to dangerous trials, and were unsupported by Almighty aid ;-neither were the joys of an earthly Paradise to be compared with the heavenly "glory that shall be revealed."

§ 5. The gracious assurance by which mankind became possessed of the promise of Salvation for the sake of their Redeemer, was repeated, explained, and confirmed, at various times and in different degrees, to those who were selected to preserve the line of the promised seed, or were distinguished by superior piety. To Noah was the blessing of increase given, certain typical observances were appointed, and with him and with his seed was a Covenant established; to Abraham the promises of the Messias were distinctly renewed, and received the seal of the rite of circumcision; to Isaac, to Jacob, and to David, further revelations were vouchsafed, till at length as the period drew nigh for the accomplishment of the primæval promise, the intimations of this great event given by the Spirit through the mouth of the Holy Prophets were more frequent and more explicit.

§ 6. The Law was given to Moses, and to the Children of Israel, who were much encreased in numbers in the Land of Egypt, in the intermediate time between the declaration and the accomplishment of the Promise of a Saviour; in order that a Church in

which the one true God should be worshipped according to his will, might be preserved in that nation, from whom according to the flesh the Messias should be born; that this nation being the depositary of the Oracles of God, might be kept from the idolatry and wickedness which overspread the earth; and that by the Decalogue, written with the finger of God himself, the Law of Nature, of which it is a transcript, might be re-instated in its original force and obligation.

§ 7. The particular Covenant which God made with his chosen people, by no means superseded or altered the Covenant of Grace which God had made with Adam, and in him with all his descendants both Jews and Gentiles to the end of time. This subsidiary agreement instituted for especial purposes, according to the counsels of infinite wisdom, was destined to endure only till the promised seed should come. That part, therefore, of the Law of Moses which related to the ritual observances imposed upon the Jewish Nation, and its civil code,—the ceremonial and judicial Law,—was abrogated when its intended object was effected: but that part which contains the precepts of general Religion, of our duty towards God and our Neighbour,—the moral Law,-being of universal obligation, and having been written originally in the heart of man, was not abolished at the coming of the Saviour, although the curse and condemnation attached to those who in the smallest particular infringed it, were removed.

§ 8. Thus the Second Covenant, of Grace, origi

of the woman should bruise the serpent's head,-kept in remembrance by the institution of sacrifices, by revelations of the divinity, and by appointed signs and seals,-continued under different sanctions and dispensations, all calculated to confirm the great promise, and to prepare for its fulfilment ;-this Second Covenant is that on which depends the Salvation of every human being, born naturally into the world, both before and after the Advent of the Messias; and is inclusive of all others, such as those with Noah, Abraham, and Moses, which were subservient in dif. ferent ways to the promotion of the Divine Glory, and the Redemption of Mankind, through the mediation of the incarnate Son of God.

From Scripture.

SECTION 1.

ROMANS V. 12. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. 1 John iii. 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Job xxxi. 33. If I covered my transgression as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom. Gen. iii. 9-15. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, who told thee that thou wast naked? hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat: Aad the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust thou shalt eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Matt. i. 21, 22, 23. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,