his glory?" Both these were necessary in respect of the covenant : his suffering was necessary, in respect of the condition thereof, which behoved to be fulfilled by him; and his entering into his glory was necessary, in respect of the promise thereof, which behoved to be fulfilled unto him. Now, Christ ascended and entered into glory, as a public person, as a forerunner entering for us, Heb. vi. 20. And therefore the promise, in virtue of which he ascended an entered into it, comprehends the ascension and glory of all his mystical members, who are therefore said to sit together in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, Eph. ii. 6. And then, and not till then, will the promise be perfectly fulfilled to him, when all the mystical members are personally there, together with their head; when the whole seed, perfectly recovered from death, shall reign there, together with him, in life, for evermore.

And this shall suffice to have been said here of the promise of eternal life, in the last period thereof.

INFERENCE FROM THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE.

Thus we have opened the promise of eternal life to the elect, with the effects thereof on them, in its several periods; to wit, before their union with Christ; and then, from their union with Christ nntil death; and finally, from their death, through eternity: the whole springing out of the promises peculiar to Christ himself. For as these last were fulfilled, in preserving the root of Jesse, notwithstanding of the various changes that family did undergo, in which it was often in hazard of extinction, until such time as Christ sprang out of it, as a root out of a dry ground, Isa. xi. 1, 10; and liii. 2; and then, in carrying him up, and carrying him through in his work notwithstanding of the load of imputed sin that lay upon him, and the opposition he met with in the world, and the powers of hell, engaged against him, Isa. xlix. 8; and 1, 7, 8, 9; and finally, in raising him from the dead, taking him up into heaven, and glorifying him there for ever and ever, 1 Tim. iii. 16. Even so the promise of eternal life to the elect, included therein, is fulfilled, in preserving them in their unconverted state, till such time as they are united to Christ by faith: and then, in carrying them up, and carrying them through, in favour and communion with God, during the whole time of their continuance in this world, notwithstanding of all the opposition from the devil the world and the flesh and lastly, in raising them up at the last day, and receiving them soul and body, into heaven, there to be ever with the Lord.

And now, from the whole of what hath been said on that point, we

deduce the following inference, that all the benefits of the covenant of grace bestowed, or to be bestowed on sinners, are the sure mercies of David, Isa. lv. 3. This may be taken up in these three things following:

1. They are all of them mercies, pure mercies, without respect to any worthiness in the receivers. They all are free grace gifts; for the covenant is to us a covenant of grace, from the first to the last : Eph. ii. 7, "That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus." Ver. 8, "For by grace are ye saved, through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God." The receiving of believers into glory, is, after all their working, as much of free grace, as is the quickening of them, when being dead in sin, they could do no good work at all. They have their faith and their works, their grace and their glory, their temporal and their eternal good things, all of them equally of free grace: for they are all secured to them in, and flow from the promise of the covenant made before the world began; and are founded on a ground which they had no manner of hand in the laying of.

2. They all are the mercies of David, that is, of Jesus Christ the Son of David. His obedience and death are the alone channel wherein the free grace of the covenant runs, bringing along with it all those mercies, Eph. ii. 7. It is to the holiness of his nature, the righteousness of his life, and the satisfaction made by his death, they are all owing: for upon these alone, and upon nothing in us, whether before or after conversion, is the promise of eternal life founded. Our believing through grace, while others continue in unbelief; our seeing God in glory, while others are cast into outer darnness; the bread we eat, and the water we drink, in this life, together with the hidden manna we shall eat of, and the rivers of pleasures we shall drink of, in heaven; are all equally the purchase of our Redeemer's blood.

What of them the

3. Lastly, They are all of them sure mercies. saints have already got, they could not have missed of; and what of them they have not as yet received, is as sure as if they had it in hand, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, "David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel;" and that upon this ground, "for his kingdom was lift up on high," 1 Chron. xiv. 2. Now, Saul's kingdom was lift up on high too; and yet he lost it. But David had his kingdom by the covenant; Saul, not so: hence the former seeing the promise begin to be accomplished, rightly concluded, that it would hold on till it was fully performed; notwithstanding that the latter fell from his excellency. Uncovenanted mercies are totering

mercies; but the covenant-mercies are sure. The former may flow plentifully for a while, and yet at length be quite dried up for ever; but the spring of the latter being once opened, will flow for evermore without interruption. The promise is infallibly sure, and cannot miscarry it is sure from the nature of God who made it; even from his infallible truth, and from his justice too in respect of Christ, 2 Thess. i. 6, 7.

:

Thus far of the second part of the covenant, namely, the promissory part.

NO PROPER PENALTY OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.

A penalty is no essential part of a proper covenant. It is but accidental only, arising not from the nature of a covenant, but from the nature of the covenanters, who being fallible, may break either the condition, or the promise: in which case a penalty is annexed, to secure the performance of the condition on the one side, and of the promise on the other. Wherefore, since the party contracting on man's side, on whom it lay to perform the condition of this covenant, was infallible; as was the party contracting on heaven's side, on whom it lay to perform the promise of it: there was no place at all for a penalty thereof, properly so called; as there was none in the first covenant, but upon one side. In the second covenant, the Father and the Son absolutely trusted each the other. Upon the credit of the Son, the Father received all the Old Testament saints into heaven, before the price of their redemption was paid; and upon the credit of the Father, the Son, nearly seventeen hundred years ago, paid the full price of the redemption of the elect, while vast, multitudes of them were not as yet born into the world, and many of them are not even to this day.

It is true, the parties contracted for are fallible but then the performing of the condition of this covenant, as such, doth in no case lie upon them; Christ having taken it entirely on himself, and accordingly performed it already. While they continue in their natural state, without Christ, they are personally in the covenant of works, not in the covenant of grace. And being once become believers in Christ, the promise of the covenant of grace stands always entire to them, notwithstanding of all their failures; and must needs stand so, in virtue of the condition of the covenant already performed, and judicially sustained, as performed by Jesus Christ for them. And though they are fallible, in respect of their actions, as long as they are in this world; yet from the moment of their union with Christ by faith, they are not fallible in respect of

their state they can no more fall from their state of grace, than the saints in heaven can. Hence, even in their case, there is no place for the curse, or eternal wrath, the only penalty by which they should lose their right to the promise of the covenant. They are indeed liable to God's fatherly anger and chastisements for their sins but forasmuch as by these there is no intercision of their right to the promise; and that they are not vindictive, but medicinal; they cannot be accounted a proper penalty of the covenant of grace, however they may be improperly so called; but do really belong to the promissory part, and administration of the covenant, Psalm lxxxix. 30, 31, 32, 33, 34; Isa. xxvii. 9; Heb. xii. 5, 6, 7. Where the condition of a covenant is fully performed, and legally sustained as such, in favour of the party who is to receive the benefit promised, it is evident there can be no more place for a proper penalty of the covenant on that side: and so it is here in the case of believers.

And thus we have dispatched the third head, namely, the parts of the covenant.

HEAD IV.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.

IT remains now to consider the administration of the covenant. And since the salvation of sinners doth entirely depend on this covenant; and that all the dispensations of God toward them, for carrying on and completing that gracious design, are regulated according to it: and since withal it is in itself the deepest secret, being a compact entered into betwixt the Father and the Son, before the world began: it is altogether necessary, that there be an administration of it, whereby it may be rendered effectual to the end for which it was made. And hereof we will have a view, by considering, 1. The party on whom the administration of the covenant is devolved; 2. The object of the administration; 3. The ends of it; and, 4. The nature of it. Of all which in order.

I. CHRIST THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COVENANT.

SUCH is the nature of the thing, the weight and importance of this administration, that none who was not fit to be a party-contractor in the covenant, could be meet to be intrusted therewith. Where

fore the administration of the covenant was devolved upon no mere man nor angel, but on the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam: and he hath it by the covenant itself, as a reward of his work. It was therein made over to him by promise; particularly, by the promise of a glorious exaltation, to be the Father's honorary servant, prime minister of heaven, mentioned before, and now to be more fully and distinctly unfolded. It was for this cause the last Adam was made a quickening spirit, as saith the text, 1 Cor. xv. 45, with which we shall compare the promise,

Isa. xlix. 8, "I will-give thee for a covenant of the people." These are the Father's words to Christ the second Adam, the great surety-servant, chosen to make reparation of the injury done to the honour of God by the spiritual Israel, ver. 3; the light of the Gentiles, ver. 6, which is none other but he, Luke ii. 32; Acts xiii. 47; whose appearing in the world made the acceptable time, the day of salvation, as in the preceding part of this 8th verse, compared with 2 Cor. vi. 2. And they are a promise made to him of a reward of his work, in fulfilling the condition of the covenant by his obedience and death: for they are immediately subjoined to the promise of assistance therein; I will preserve thee, (namely, in the course of thy obedience, doing and dying, so that thou shalt not be utterly swallowed up of death, but swim through these deepest waters safe ashore,) and give thee for a covenant of the people; or simply, of people. Not that Christ was never given for a covenant of the people till he rose from the dead; nay, he was so given immediately after the fall, Gen. iii. 15: but that it was always upon the view, and in consideration of his obedience and death he was so given; and that he was at his resurrection and ascension solemnly invested with that office.

This giving, according to the scripture-phraseology, imports a divine constitution or settlement. So it is said, ver. 6, "I will give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation unto the end of the earth;" i. e. I will constitute or set thee for a light even as God set (Heb. gave) the sun and moon in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth, Gen. i. 17. Thus the people making or appointing a captain, are said to give a head or captain, Numb. xiv. 4; Neh. ix. 17. Wherefore, to give Christ for a covenant of the people, is to constitute or make him the covenant; whereby the people, any people, Jews or Gentiles, may become God's people, and receive all the benefits of that covenantrelation to God. This then speaks Jesus Christ to be the ordinance of God for the reconciliation of sinners to God, and their partaking of all the benefits of the covenant: even as the sun is the ordinance