'TIS not leſs certain, That every Mortal ſtrives to attain Happineſs; than morally known, That notwithſtanding the different Sentiments about the intrinſick nature, all reaſonable Creatures agree in the purſuit thereof. To wiſh well to ones ſelf, is congenite; in ſo much, that Baſeneſs it ſelf is not cheriſhed by the wicked, unleſs under a notion of ſome good. And though perhaps our Intellect cannot be inveagled ſo far, as to deem a thing Moral, which is contrary to it; yet our blind Will, upon a ſurmiſe of its being pleaſant or advantagious, embraces it, for good, under ſuch or the like circumſtances.

And if this Appetite be promiſcuouſly found in reaſonable Souls; it muſt doubtleſs, with an overplus, diſplay it ſelf in ſuch, who being from their Youth educated above the vulgar ſort, by aid of their cultivation, are furniſhed with means for •••• cing into a critick ſearch of a point, on which dependeth Eternity; thereby to reſcue their Souls from all imminent danger, and to make it a Candidate of the deſired Beatitude: due means, in this, as in all other caſes, proving often Motives for taking in hand, what otherwiſe would lie dormant.

Therefore, ſince my Parents (Jews by Birth) were willing to beſtow coſt and charges on my breeding, after their way; and the ſedulity of my Teachers, had brought me to the perfect view of their Doctrine and Traditions: 'twas no wonder, that being in ſome meaſure accompliſht, I uſed thoſe means I had, in finding out that object, wherein our chief and only happineſs doth reſide. And though I was formerly perſwaded, that this object was GOD; yet ſeeing that he was ſought for in divers ways and manners, my Mind could not be at reſt, until I had ſearch'd for the beſt. Thus, our Mind is of ſo infinite and reſtleſs an apprehenſion, that after it hath attained the fruition of what conſtantly reliſheth our fancy, it is yet ſtill appetent of more; in ſo much, that as the object never wants freſh glances of admiration, ſo our Mind is never deſtitute of an eagerneſs for comprehending and poſſeſſing of whatever is admirable in it.

And there being three chief means now extant in the World, which, as by ſo many lines, ſeem to tend to the ſame Center; namely, the Jewiſh, the Chriſtian, and the Mahumetan perſwaſion, I conſequently preſumed to dive into their ſeveral Truths and advantages.

What the Chair of Moſes could afford, therewith I was ſufficiently acquainted, and indeed thought my ſelf to be in poſſeſſion of Truth; whether by prejudice, or that the two abovementioned profeſſions themſelves did acknowledge God to be our Lawgiver. In the Mahumetan Religion, I could find nothing of ſenſe or reaſon, and Authority as little as both, except wherein they agree in the Moſaick and Moral Law: Eſpecially, I did want amongſt them, the fullfilling of Promiſes, the chiefeſt Faith and Hope of Iſrael. Thus looking back to the Chriſtians, where I perceived the fulfilling of Promiſes pretended (as I then thought) the aſſertion of a Meſſiah come, the Covenant urged, the holy Canon of Scripture received; conſidering alſo their Doctrine, Sobriety of Life, and skill in all ſort of Languages and Learning; I was perſwaded into a better belief of them than before. My way therefore was firſt to compare Doctrine with Doctrine, Predictions with Events, and the nature of Promiſes with their being accompliſhed, and then, to make my Applications (though hidden, for fear of the Jews) to ſome Divines, by their aſſiſtance to be better informed in the concern of my Souls Salvation.

After ſundry Conferences and Debates, over-ruled by reaſon and evidence of Arguments, by the cooperating Grace of GOD, I at laſt did yield to Chriſtian Truths, and concluded within me, that their Way (waving the deplorable animoſities, which after a like manner I found to have been amongſt the Jews of old) was the ſureſt means, in order to the obtaining of a bleſſed End; in conſideration, that GOD cannot be enjoyed as an end of our Happineſs, unleſs by what he is pleaſed to preſcribe in his ſeveral Diſpenſations.

I. Whereupon in the firſt place, I conſidered the Promiſes of GOD concerning the King MESSIAS (by whom only we hope to be ſaved, Pſal. 2. 12.) his coming into the World. And here that notable paſſage of Gen. 49. 10. preſented it ſelf, in the very Front; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The Rod (or Scepter) ſhall not depart from Juda, nor the Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him ſhall the obedience of the people be. And pray, let any unbyaſſed Jew anſwer me (they all agreeing▪ that by this Shiloh, is to be underſtod the Meſſiah) When this Rod or Scepter (becauſe 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſignifieth both: and cuſtom declares it to be ſo, by the diverſity of imperial Enſigns; as the Scepter of Ahaſuerus and the Roman faſces, Rods) departed from Juda ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſo called, and then reduced to two Tribes and a half) together with the Lawgiver, if not at the coming of Jeſus of Nazareth? For Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee, was a Gentile, and the Roman Eagle (the Enſign of that Nation) had ſpread its Wings over all Judea, according to the threatning Prediction, Deut. 28. 49. (in caſe of diſobedience.) The LORD ſhall bring a Nation againſt thee from far, from the end of the Earth, flying, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as an Eagle, a Nation whoſe Tongue thou ſhalt not underſtand; thereby meaning the Romans (for the Jews underſtood Syriack and Chaldaick, and likewiſe Hebrew, as in the caſe of Rabſheka) who both over-ruled, and utterly overthrew them, in ſuch a manner, that Joſephus their Chronologer, can ſcarcely touch any notable paſſage in his History, particularly in reference to Jeruſalem's deſtruction, the Metropolis of the Land, and the Seat of the King and the Lawgiver, wherein the event ſhould not be anſwerable to the Prediction, from v. 49. to 57. All which, although it did happen after Chriſt's Aſcenſion; yet the fooling of the Romans in Canaan before it, and the Jews being deprived of a formal Scepter (though a material one is ſaid to have hung in the Sanhedrim) was an antecedent to this Cataſtrophe. The conſideration whereof did extort from a Jewiſh Rabbi (as I remember I have read it) this Confeſſion; that either GOD for their ſins did retard the coming of the King Meſſiah, or elſe, if he was come, there could be none elſe but this Jeſus of Nazareth, in whom Chriſtians believed. Moreover, 'tis worthy any Man's curious obſervation, when it is ſaid; That to him ſhall be the obedience of the people; as viz. in oppoſition to Juda, who ſwayd his Scepter over a National people, whereas Shiloh was to do it over the Univerſe, which our Poland Tranſlation ſeems to have aimed at, when it renders theſe words, by, iemu bedzie oddane poſluſzenſtwo narodow, i. e. to him ſhall be NB. delivered the obedience of Nations; as if it were by ſucceeding to his bodily Anceſtors (for it is evident, that our Lord ſprang out of Juda, Hebr. 7. 14.) in the Throne which was to be of larger extent than theirs. The Engliſh Bible hath it, to him ſhall be the gathering of the people; I believe, following Rabbi Salomon, who makes the Radix of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , to be not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which alſo is emphatick and ſignificant; for as all Chriſtians do obey the LORD JESƲS, ſo all the Churches over the Univerſe are gathered unto him as their ſpiritual Prince, who rules over them with a more or leſs influence of grace, until the fullneſs of all. The Jewiſh exception againſt this place, in taking 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for a Rod of puniſhment, is eaſily evinced, by the adjoining words; the Lawgiver from between his feet, they having no Lawgiver at preſent.

In the next place, offer'd it ſelf, that of Daniel cap. 9. where that the Prophet foretells the time of Meſſiah his entring into the World, the Rabbies do univerſally allow. Now there we find the reſtriction of time, from the Prophecy to the fulfilling of it, tied to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ſeventy Weeks: which being to be underſtood prophetically, denote ſeventy 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Weeks of Years, that is, ſeventy time ſeven. Making therefore a deduction from the Captivity of Babylon, to the deſtruction of the Temple, we ſhall find exactly 70 Weeks of Years: The Captivity laſted 70 Years, and the ſecond Temple 420, which added, makes 490. So, that this Prophecy is an invincible Argument, for the Meſſiah being come about the time, unleſs we are willing to argue the Spirit of God to be falſe. Now, did not Jeſus of Nazareth come about that time? whom, if the Jews are not willing to acknowledge for the foretold Meſſiah, let them produce another. And though there might be, (as there are) ſome wranglings about the punctilioes of time; yet that muſt prove a ſorry ſhift; The queſtion being not, whether the promiſed Seed ſhould not appear about ſuch a time, but whether it ſhould come after the expiration of it: or, after the Deſolator coming with his abominable Army (even at the conſummation of the determined time) had poured out deſolation upon them that were to be deſolated? Dan. 9. 27.

And this leads me to the third conſideration of Haggai 2. 7. where the LORD promiſeth, that in the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 laſt Temple ſhould appear the deſire of all Nations (to be ruled over, Gen. 49.) which the Rabbies themſelves expound of the Meſſiah, comparing it with the other place, The Lord will appear in his Temple, Mal. 3. 1. whereby the glory of this laſt ſhould by many degrees ſurmount that of Salomon's. And indeed, if we conſider, how that beſides the inferiority of the ſtructure of this, in compariſon to the magnificence and ſtupendous riches of the former, there were wanting Vrim and Thummim, the Ark, the Tables of the Law, the Manna, the Rod of Aaron, the Fire from Heaven, immediate Revelation, overſhadowing of the Cloud of Majeſty, &c. what other reaſon is there to think, or to believe, that this laſt Temple ſhould exceed in glory the firſt, unleſs the appearance of him in it, who is the LORD of Silver, of Gold, of all Riches, and the Univerſe; even of Meſſias the King? And in that appeared Jeſus of Nazareth, the ſuppoſed then, and now deſervedly believed Meſſiah; after whoſe rejection, deſolation came upon the place, without any hopes of its being rebuilt again, at leaſt for former uſes (though Julian the Apoſtate boldly ventured it) ſince that Viſion and Prophecy were to be ſeal'd up (that is, never to appear again) v. 24. and Sacrifice with oblation to ceaſe, v. 27. inſtead whereof, everlaſting righteouſneſs was to be inſtalled.

Then I went to the place of the promiſed Meſſias, his Nativity, which is clearly expreſſed in Micah 5. 2. But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be amongſt the leaſt of the thouſands of Judah, yet out of thee ſhall come forth unto me 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, to be the RVLER in Iſrael: whoſe goings forth have been from old, from everlaſting. By this 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Moſhel, the Jews of old underſtood none but Meſſias, in ſo much, that when Herod did hear the promiſed King of the Jews was born, and preſently being inquiſitive where the place of his Birth ſhould be, for reſolution, had this very ſame ſaying, quoted by the chief Prieſts and Scribes of the people, as is to be ſeen in Mat. 2. 1,—6. But now 'tis notoriouſly known, that that Bethlehem of Ephratah, at which the Prophet divinely inſpired did then point, doth now lie in duſt and aſhes; ſo that it muſt of neceſſity follow, the Promiſe was fullfilled, when that place was as yet in being, elſe the Prediction was a Fable. We do read indeed, that Hierom, the old Father of the Chriſtian Church, had once his Station at Bethlehem (which the Jews do urge) but, beſides that the name was only left and the Town quite demoliſhed, as this ſame Father doth acknowledge, when he tells us of ſome ſmall Cottages there erected; 'tis for certain, that now, there is neither ſign nor reſemblance, no nor the name of the City leſt; the Saracens, or rather Hagarens, having laid it in aſhes; and yet the Ruler, or the Governour, was to be born there. They have another ſhift to except againſt this place, viz. That by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is here not to be underſtood a Ruler, but a Parable, or a Byword. Which to be a wretched eluſion, the context evinces; ſince that, he who is here called Moſhel, was to ſtand, and to feed in the ſtrength of the LORD, in the majeſty of the LORD his GOD, and was to be great unto the ends of the Earth, v. 4. which can by no means be attributed to a Parable, that being an accident. Not to ſay, that their Forefathers the LXX. interpret it ſo as we do, and as it ought, by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a Governour, or a Ruler; and accordingly Matthew in the forequoted place, Matth. 2.

II. Thus being ſatisfied about the time and place of Meſſiah his coming, I next conſidered the manner; and knowing what Chriſtians did aver in that point, I preſumed to look back to the Prophecies. Here I might have a large Field to expatiate into, and not unpleaſant to the Reader; yet not intending this Prooem for a Treatiſe, and haſtening to the diſplaying of the Covenant (though that alſo will be compendious.) I ſhall only touch the chief paſſages, interwoven with ſuitable obſervations thereunto.

'Tis therefore to be noted, that it is a Maxim amongſt the Jews, That every Promiſe of GOD ought to be conſidered as it was pronounced at firſt, without further additions or limitations following in proceſs of time; theſe having a collateral tendency to the ſame end, which yet muſt take effect in that ſame ſimplicity, as it hath been held forth in the firſt Promiſe.

But it is agreed on all ſides, that Gen. 3. 15. after the fall of Adam, the Meſſiah was promiſed in theſe words; I will put an enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed: it ſhall bruiſe thy head, and thou ſhalt bruiſe his heel. Now theſe do repreſent him to us as a ſeed of a Woman, there being no mention made of a Man. And this was the firſt promiſe made of a Womans Seed before ſhe had known Man, Gen. 4. 1. Which, though it was reiterated to Abram, who thereupon was call'd Abraham, and Sarai, Sarah, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (as the Cabaliſts tell us) being taken out of the Tetragrammaton, and added to both their names, as well for confirming God's Covenant, as to ſhew, they were equal ſharers in the benefit and conveyance of the promiſe, Gen. 17. 5,—16. (upon which the inſpired Apoſtle comments moſt ſignificantly, Gal. 3. 15, &c.) though likewiſe this Seed be called the Rod out of the ſtem of Jeſſe, Eſay 11. 12. yet they were only as ſo many Channels, from which ſhould at laſt iſſue forth a Woman to compleat the promiſe of the Seed: or as ſo many holy Predeceſſors of that Virgin, which was to conceive and bear a Son, whoſe name ſhould be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Immanuel, Eſay 7. 14. purſuant to the promiſe made in Paradiſe, then ſhut, and ever ſhut after. This manner of Meſſias his Birth, is expreſſed in Jer. 31. 22. The LORD hath created a new thing in the Earth, a Woman ſhall compaſs a Man. And if we will liſt to Cabaliſtical Myſteries (who averr, that on every letter of the holy Word, hung Mountains or Rocks of concealed Myſteries, which being ſtruck at by refined reaſon, as a Hammer, and by Grace as a hand, do yield an infinite number of Sparks, tending to the illuminating of our underſtandings.) We may have a pleaſant obſervation in the paſſage of Eſay 9. 7. Where the Meſſiah, being introduced as if he had appear'd already, is inveſted with the following Attribute; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 &c. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 In order to the increaſe of his Dominion and Peace, whereof there will be no end, he ſhall ſit upon the Throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, &c. Where in the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 le Marbe, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is final, ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) in the middle, againſt the nature of Orthography in that Language. The paſſage is on all ſides allowed to be a Prophecy of the Meſſiah to come: But the reaſon of this extraordinary placing of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 final, is in queſtion. What Petrus Galatinus ſaith concerning it, we will refer the Reader to in his lib. 4. c. 19. de Aro. Cath. ver. And as for the Maſorah, though that be for the reading of this word with an open Mem ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) yet it gives no reaſon: and a ſphalma▪ it could not be, for that it doth not prejudice the ſenſe: the continued exemplaries (beſides) from the Autograph to this day, retaining the ſame Character. Let therefore a ſober and pious Chriſtian Reader give me leave to explain this 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Caballiſtically. In the firſt place, the letter conſidered numerically, imports 600. Now, from this Prediction, to the coming of Meſſiah, even the Lord Jeſus, are 600 years compleat. And, from henceforth (as if the Prophet had reflected upon his myſterious 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) the increaſe of the Kingdom of Meſſiah was to be, i. e. at the end of 600 years from his prediction, thence, to continue for ever: and to ſpread it ſelf over all Nations: (the increaſe) not only over National Iſrael. In the next place, this 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may be taken figuratively; denoting, that the promiſed Child and the Son ſhould be born of a Virgin (the Prophet, having in another place depoſited the ſame in expreſs terms) that had not interfer'd with a Man; the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 being cloſe.

From all this, it appears, that the promiſed Meſſiah was to be born of a Virgin, the truth whereof appear'd in the event, ſo uncontroulable, that beſides the Authority of the Holy Ghoſt, Matth. 2. and all ancient Founders of the Chriſtian Church, ſome of the Rabbies have it upon Record; though not without blaſphemous aſperſions.

III. Next to this, I ſearch'd into the Nature of the promiſed Seed; who that he ſhould be a MAN, was certain, but I found him alſo called GOD in the holy Writ, eſpecially by the moſt venerable name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 JEHOVA, whereon I will at preſent ſolely inſiſt, not willing to expatiate in a concern, of it ſelf requiring a Volume, and which, this only inſtance is able to evince. The Jews call this 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Schem hamphoraſh, a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a proper and eſſential name of GOD; if ſo, then it being attributed to Meſſiah, he muſt properly and eſſentially be GOD. And that the Meſſiah is called not only the mighty GOD, the everlaſting father, Eſay 9. 6. whoſe goings forth are from everlaſting, Micah 5. 2. but alſo Jehova, is manifeſt out of Jer. 23. 6. And this is the name whereby he ſhall be called THE LORD (in the Hebrew it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) OUR RIGHTEOUSNES. On which paſſage, I find in the Book call'd Ikkarim Orat. 2. c. 28. This Rabbinical Comment, which may tend to their own conviction 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 That is, the Scripture calls the name of Meſſiah (Jehova tzidkenu) the LORD our Righteouſneſs, becauſe the Mediator is to be GOD, by whoſe hands we are to obtain Righteouſneſs from God himſelf, and therefore it calls him by the name▪ 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .

And by this, and the like names and proprieties, attributed to the Meſſiah in the Old Teſtament, I was fully convinced of his Godhead. Thence reflecting upon Chriſt's Miracles of a meer ſupernatural Power, I could not but ſatisfie my ſelf in that point alſo, that he was the ſame that was to come.

All this while, admiring the Divine goodneſs and wiſdom, I was invited to glorifie his holy name, for that he was pleaſed to open my Eyes, and to ſhew me the true path of Salvation; that being reſcued from the power of Sathan, I had been admitted to the hope of enjoying him for ever, according to his holy Covenant, under which I now found my ſelf comprehended.

And now as for the COVENANTS of GOD,GOD'S COVENANT. willing ſhortly to handle the matter, we will in the firſt place, conſider the Notion of the name. In Hebrew it is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 he hath choſen, for that perſons and conditions are choſen in a Covenant, which word, in the Engliſh, proceeds from Convening or agreeing on ſuch Articles as are liked by them that are upon a Treaty.

Next we will conſider the notion of the thing it ſelf. And thus, it is taken (1.) in a large ſence; when it doth import as much as a Commandment; as for Example (to paſs by other paſſages for ſhortneſs ſake) Joſh. 7. 11. Iſrael hath ſinned, and they have alſo tranſgreſſed my Covenant, which I commanded them; for they have taken of the accurſed thing, &c. and 15. becauſe he hath tranſgreſſed the Covenant of the LORD: This Covenant was nothing but a Commandment under a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Joſ. 6. 17, 18. Or it is taken (ſecondly) in a more ſtrict ſenſe, only for a promiſe of GOD, without any intervening conditions, as for Example, Gen. 9. 9. Behold (ſaying to Noah) with you and with your Seed after you, and with every living Creature that is with you, &c. I will eſtabliſh my Covenant, &c. Where that by this Covenant is underſtood only a promiſe of GOD, is manifeſt, not only for that there was no ſtipulation, neither expreſs nor implicit, but that the benefit thereof extended it ſelf to the very Beaſts, without any regard of Souls Immortal. Or laſtly, it is taken in the ſtrictest ſenſe, for the Covenant (as it is commonly call'd) of Grace, eſtabliſhed in the promiſed Seed, under the condition of Faith and Repentance, as was that, which GOD uttered to Abraham, Gen. 15. 17. Gal. 3. 17.

Thus having ſhortly explain'd the ſeveral acceptions and meaning of the word Covenant, my poſition is, That GOD never entred upon a Covenant (as the word is duly to be taken) with Man, but the Covenant of Grace in Chriſt. So that all other paſſages, wherein the word Covenant is found, do intimate either a Commandment, or elſe a Promiſe, without any ſtipulation of the parties concern'd; except that of Sinai, which, by reaſon of its ratihabition, changed the Scene of GOD'S purpoſe and propoſal.

There is therefore no Covenant of Nature; for that none was made before the Fall, and after it, none could be made. The Tranſaction, that paſſed between GOD and Adam in Eden, Gen. 2. was a meer Sanction on God's ſide, whereunto Adam was obliged to liſten by nature, which as yet uncorrupted, was able to perform what was enjoined. We find indeed a ſaying in Hoſea 6. 7. They have tranſgreſſed the Covenant 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as Adam. But, if Adam ſhould here be taken for the Protoplaſt, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Covenant, muſt be taken in a large ſenſe for a Commandment: However, 'tis agreed upon by the learned and skilled in the Hebrew, that Adam is taken here for a noun common, that is for every Mortal, according to ſeveral Tranſlations, in particular the Engliſh; But they, like Men, have tranſgreſſed my Covenant: The Poland tranſlation (that of my native ſoil) takes the word adjectively, for human, they have tranſgreſſed my Covenant, as a human, or as a Man's Covenant, not as if it had been of Divine Authority; wherein 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 they have dealt diſloyally againſt me. To theſe and the like interpretations (which are not againſt the Analogy of Faith.) I will add one, which I deem the moſt grammatical and ſignificant, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 And they, as one Man, tranſgreſſed the Covenant. That is, they were ſo unanimous to break the LORD'S Inſtitution and Will, that in the proſecuting of their ſinful and rebellious Enterprize, all of them were as one Man 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . Thus the doubt being clear'd, and we having ſhewed that Adam is here taken appellatively, I proceed.

If there had been any Covenant of Nature, the Heathens had been under ſome Covenant, for that ſuch like conditions, as this Covenant might have had, (if ever it could have been) were written in their hearts, Rom. 2. 15. yet the Apoſtle calls them ſtrangers from the Covenants of Promiſe, Eph. 2. 12. From the Covenants in the plural, as pointing at that which was uttered to Abraham, and, that of Sinai grounded by the raſh ratifying of the Jews in ſome meaſure, upon the Law of Nature (though not with a difannulling of the promiſe) the like whereof we never read to have been done by the Heathens.

Which leads us to another conſideration, about the impoſſibility of ſuch a Covenant as that of Nature; for that, neither the Juſtice of God will permit, that ſuch conditions as the Law of Nature containeth, ſhould in a Covenanting way, be propoſed to Man, after the fall of the firſt; nor is Man able to perform them: and Grace without Chriſt, hath nothing to do in meer naturals: yea, though general Grace may extend it ſelf to the Heathens, yet, neither that (ſpeaking ſtrictly) can be admitted to the retinue of a Covenant of Nature, ſtanding on the bottom of ſelfpoſſibility.

At laſt, ſince whereever an Arithmetical proportion is obſerved, betwixt the tranſacting parties that are unequal, there can be no Covenant; and, if there could, ſuch a commenſuration cannot be expected after the fall; it follows, there was not, nor is not, yea cannot be any Covenant of Nature.

To make here a long harangue, about the difference between the arithmetical and geometrical proportion, as it doth not belong to my Province, ſo it would prove tedious to the Reader. Yet leſt I ſhould meet with ſome not unwilling to underſtand me, waving ſeveral niceties about it, I will give a taſte: Arithmetical proportion is, when the Medius terminus is equally diſtant from both extreams: Geometrical, when it is liker and nearer to one of the extreams than to the other. Thence, to diſtributive Juſtice is allotted Medium Geometricum; to the communitative, Arithmeticum. And this commutative Juſtice is when an equal proportion is obſerved between giving and receiving, between the merit and reward, between the injunction and the performance. But pray now, where is there a perſon, after the fall of Adam, that ſhould be able to draw this Radix equally diſtant from, and equally commenſurate to the injoining and the performing party. And if, at the beſt, it could at any time be found, yet what ſhould the upſhot of it be in reference to a reward, except that we are unprofitable Servants, we have done that which was our duty to do. And what is it Man is ſuppoſed to have done? When ye have done All, Luc. 17. 10. Now, as this All, cannot be done by a Man in the State of Sin; ſo if it had been done in the State of Innocency, it had been but a duty, tending to no more than Vnprofitableneſs, and therefore not a Reſult of a Covenant, which, as to us, hath always a proportion Geometrical, as being grounded upon diſtributive Juſtice, 2 Tim. 4. 8. by Grace purchaſed for us, through the ſatisfaction of an equal in Nature, even by Chriſt Covenanting for us with the Father.

Here it may be, ſome will ſay, that by this aſſertion, and a kind of a Paradox, I bereave GOD of the power of exacting due obedience to his Law from, and ſeem to have little regard of the tranſmiſſion of original Sin, to the Poſterity of Adam.

Anſwer. Not in the leaſt. For, ſuppoſe a Monarch ſhould beſtow on his Subject a Feud for himſelf and his Poſterity after him, as a meer token of his bounty towards his new Creature; if this firſt Feudatary ſhould break his Allegiance to his Prince, he would doubtleſs involve his Poſterity in the ſame diſadvantages he felt, meerly by not being truſty to his charge, and would tranſmit to them, by generation and imputation, the ſame ignominy, he himſelf was branded with for his diſobedience, though no ſuch thing as a Covenant had intercurr'd, and therefore could not be broken; Allegiance being natural, and ſufficient to keep a Subject within the bonds of obligation, without a ſupervenient paction, which (in our caſe) cannot be made but amongſt equals, where the ſtipulating party is not obliged to any performance whatſoever, but by free condeſcenſion, only for the benefit of others.

And as for the right of God to exact due obedience to his law at the hands of Adam's Poſterity, though there intervened no Covenant, it ſtill remains inviolable. For though they cannot be tied to the performance of that Sanction; Of every tree, &c. Gen. 3. 16. having in their root tranſgreſſed it, and forfeited the title to their happineſs; yet, they can be tied to the moral Law, written in the hearts of Men, by the Author of their Lives, not having forfeited their Nature; by which they owe Allegiance to their Maker; who as ſuch, hath right to exact due Obedience to his Commandments, without a paction. And to obviate all exceptions, 'tis to be conſidered, That though all the Precepts of meer Morality, may appear to be violated by Adam in the tranſgreſſion of this Sanction, yet the moral Law might have been, and, been either kept or violated, without ſuch a ſupervening Sanction added to the Moral Law, for Man's trial and final Conviction.

And let none ſuſpect, that here I do ſhake hands with the Socinians, becauſe they likewiſe deny the Covenant of Nature. For beſides that, I do here acknowledge the Son's coeſſentiality with the Father, particular grace after the Fall, meritorious Redemption, ſatisfaction for ſin in our ſtead; Juſtification by Faith taken relatively, &c. All which evert Socinianiſm. We differ in the ends of our Poſitions. They do it to make Adam ſubject to mortality in the very ſtate of Innocence, as to a conſequence of meer nature (which I expreſly deteſt ſomewhat lower.) I again do it, to extol the wiſdom and goodneſs of God; who not willing to create Man for a meer terreſtrial Life, nor ground his happineſs on his frailty, and foreknowing he would ſin, and offend his Juſtice, found out means to bring him to the fruition of himſelf in Heaven: to purchaſe for him perſeverance, to atone his own Juſtice by a Covenant made with his Son, which being Everlaſting, no other could be made on God's ſide, that thereby all the glory, and the riſe of it as well as the accompliſhing, might be attributed only to him, who tenders Grace for Grace, that his Heavenly gifts to Men, for a gracious or free Covenant, fulfilled by the Son, in order to Mens Salvation.

And now emerges the adorable myſtery of the Covenant of Grace, the ſole tranſaction, which not only by way of excellency, but abſolutely can challenge the name of a Covenant. A myſtery which the Angels deſire to look into, 1 Pet. 1. 12. A Myſtery, whoſe dimenſions are unſearchable, Rom. 11. 33. A Myſtery, without controverſie great, 1 Tim. 3. 16. The tenour whereof, was by the myſtical King and Prophet David, delivered in Pſal. 40. 5, 6, 7, 8. Thy thoughts (ſpeaking in the Spirit of Chriſt, and them he Covenanted for.) Thy thoughts (NB.) towards us, cannot be reckoned up unto thee, in order. If I would declare and ſpeak of them, they are more than can be numbred. Sacrifice and offering thou didſt not deſire, mine Ears haſt thou piered: burnt-offerings and ſin-offerings haſt thou not required. Then ſaid I, Lo, I come: in the Volume of the Book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God, thy law is within my heart, &c. Which eminent and myſterious paſſage, the Apoſte periphraſtically explains, Hebr. 10. 5. &c. Wherefore, when he comes into the World, he ſaith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldſt not, but a body thou haſt prepared me. In burnt-offerings and ſacrifices for ſin, thou hadſt no pleaſure: Then ſaid I, Lo, I come (in the beginning [ 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Gen. 3. 15] of the Book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above, when he had ſaid; Sacrifice, and offering and burnt-offerings, and that for ſin, thou wouldst not, neither hadſt thou pleaſure in them (which are offered by the Law) then ſaid he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God:

Chriſtian Reader! This is the Key, let's now open the Cloſet of Myſtery, and by aſſiſtance of the Everlaſting Truth, find out the hidden treaſures of God's counſel about us.

But firſt, give me leave to clear the Text. The words in the Pſalm ſeem to differ from thoſe in the Epiſtle to the Hebrews, in that particular paſſage, whereon we lay the ſtreſs of our aſſertion: viz. In the Hebrew it ſounds 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which the Engliſh and other Tranſlators do render, Thou haſt opened (or pierced) my Ears; and in Greek again, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a body haſt thou prepared (or fitted) me: which ſeem to be quite differing things. But, towards the unfolding of it (1.) The Author to the Hebrews (St. Paul) in quoting the Pſalmiſt, did follow the LXX. who were Jews, and underſtood the Hebrew phraſe, whether proper or improper: therefore, notwithſtanding the words may ſeem to jar with each other; there is yet a Harmony in the ſenſe, whether (2.) We do look upon the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; which proceeding from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , denoteth not only to pierce, but alſo to prepare; in which latter ſence the LXX. having taken it, rendred 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Ears by body, per Metonymiam adjuncti: or elſe (3.) upon the res ſubſtrata, the myſtical meaning involved in this Veil, which the LXX. might alſo have hinted at. For the piercing, or boring the Ear with an Awl, was of Moſaical Inſtitution, for ſuch Iſraelites, who having ſerved ſix Years with their Brethren Maſters, were willing to continue in that ſtate of ſervitude, till Death had freed them, Deut. 17. 16, 17. By which piercing of an Ear, the Iſraelite Servant took upon him, as it were a new political body, whereof, being thus inaugurated, he could not be diveſted till the period of his Earthly Life. So that this is the true reaſon why the LXX. and greater than them, the Apoſtle, as being the immediate Penman of the Holy Ghoſt, rendred the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by fitted and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Metonymically by body; eſpecially, the promiſed Meſſiah, not only taking upon him the ſeed of Abraham, Hebr. 2. 16. In the ſhape of a ſervant, Phil. 2. 7. whence he is called a righteous ſervant, Iſai. 53. 11. with all due attendance to the Word of God, piercing his Ears to preach righteouſneſs, Pſal. 40. 9. but being alſo the Word, which becoming fleſh, Joh. 1. 14. had pierced them: To paſs by the myſtery, taken from ſix years labour, and an entrance upon ſervitude at the beginning of the ſeventh; to denote the time of God's Promiſe concerning the Seed, Gen. 2. at the brink of the ſeventh day, when God having put an end to the work of Creation, reſted upon that of Redemption, through the agreement of his righteous ſervant, in order to the purchaſing of that reſt, which remaineth to the people of God, Hebr. 4. 9.

I have, to my ſmall capacity, clear'd the Text, with all poſſible brevity, not willing to enlarge upon what the Holy Ghoſt hath by the hand of the holy Apoſtle, convey'd to the Church for a Truth. And though I be not ſo far a Pythagorean, or rather a nice Cabalist, as to eſpouſe the numbers for undoubted verities; yet, when myſtical predictions, calculated with event, ſuggeſt ſuch like obſervations; I judge it an office of every Chriſtian, as well for their own comfort, as to invite the curious, whom Grace hath endowed with more critical Wits, in order to a narrower ſearch, to lay hold on them; no ways letting ſlip the opportunity of admiring the ſupream wiſdom, which hath thus liked All, in numero, pondere, & menſura, in number, weight, and meaſure.

But now to the matter. God who is a Being, by way of Excellency, and by reaſon of the inſeparable goodneſs from his Eſſence, is Communicative, willing to diſplay his Power and Wiſdom, reſolved to Create the World; over which he thought fit to ſet a Ruler as well as a Beholder. And becauſe the Univerſe was to be material, the Ruler of it was to participate of matter: But moreover, for the contemplating of its decency and order, he was to be indued with a Mind, able to admire and to adore the ſupream Architect, 1 Cor. 6. 20. whom, as he could not ſuppoſe corporeal, at leaſt for the immenſity of his unſupported Work, Job 38. 6. ſo he could not apprehend him as ſuch, without having ſomething of immateriality within him. This Ruler therefore, was to be MAN, and to be created after the Image of his Maker, Gen. 1. and to conſiſt of Body and Soul, Gen. 2. 7. He was to live for ever by the natural means of the Tree of Life, which was able to continue his vigour, under God, if ſo be he would ſtand to his preſcript: nor was any conſequence of Nature able to uſher death upon him, whilſt obedient, elſe deſtruction ſhould accoſt him, and he periſh, Gen. 2. 17. But again, as his goodneſs would, and his power could accompliſh, ſo his wiſdom, that knew how to contrive the project (loquimut humano more) did foreſee the flexibleneſs and frailty of the material part of Man, by a natural drift to things inviting, even forbidden, Ja. 1. 13, 15. and that the Soul, which was to reſtrain the body and its ſenſitive Appetites, ſhould by the ſuggeſtion of Sathan (who was to fall before Man) yield to them, as having a power that it might not, not that it ſhould not exorbitate in a ſinleſs capacity of ſinning, and thereby draw upon it ſelf, not only everlaſting confuſion, but alſo for a puniſhment, be, for the future, ſubject to what it was to command; GOD in his Juſtice, whoſe Eyes are purer than to behold Sin, did in his predetermination, condemn Man for Sin, which he had foreſeen; and conſequently, concluding all his Poſterity under the ſame guilt, Rom. 3. 9. Gal. 3. 21. condemn'd them alſo for it, Rom. 1. 8. By the by, I quote theſe Scriptures, for that there is nothing comes to paſs in time, which hath not been in the Idea of GOD, from Everlaſting. Thus, a Man, being ideally come to nothing before he was ſomething, the ſecond perſon of the moſt holy Trinity, out of a meer compaſſion to ſo noble a Creature, in the production of whom he was (if I may ſay ſo) to be inſtrumental, Pſal. 33. 6. Joh. 1. 3. enters upon a Covenant with his Father, and for making an atonement, ſince no other ſacrifice would do, condeſcends to the taking upon him the humane nature, therein to take away the guilt of the future Man and his Poſterity, by offering up his own ſelf a Sacrifice, Rom. 2. 2, 24, 25. and by becoming a Mediator between God and Man, Gal. 3. 19, 20. The ratification whereof, on both ſides, was grounded upon the name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Exod. 6. 3. Rev. 1. 8. to which, in token of approbation, the Father added an Oath; The LORD hath ſworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedeck, Pſal. 110. 4. by two immutable things (viz. his name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and his oath) to ratifie his acceptance of that paction, for the comfort of ſuch, who from the Snares of Sathan, ſhould fly to it for a refuge, and lay hold of the hope ſet before them, Hebr. 6. 18. And the Son, on the other ſide, declared his readineſs to ſtand to his ſtipulation, by a preſent compliance; Lo, I am to do thy will, O GOD, Hebr. 10. 9. Hence it proceeded, that this name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by the cuſtom of the Iſraelites, was only once in a year, at the day of propitiation, pronounced by the chief Prieſt, at the ſolemn bleſſing of the people, Num. 6. 24, 25. Here is the true order of the Covenant betwixt God the Father and his Son Jeſus, in order to our Salvation, on which depends that Grace whereby we are ſaved, and the adminiſtration whereof to us in Chriſt, is called the Covenant, by way of excellency; and, more ſignificantly, the COVENANT of GRACE.

From hence it is, that it is called the everlaſting Covenant (none, in order to the effecting of Gods final purpoſe before it, none after it) Hebr. 13. 20. through the blood of the everlaſting Covenant: hence it is, that the ſecond perſon of the Deity is called the lamb ſlain from the foundation of the World, wherewith he was inveſted by his forerunner, Joh. 1. 29. yea hence it is, that he is termed the firſt-born of the dead, Apoc. 1. 5. for that Adam, and all in him, were dead ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) nor could hope for Life, until the Seed was promiſed to a dead 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , who after that, was called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the Mother of all living; as being the primitive Mother of the LORD of life, and by him, a reſtorer of the plenitude of Angels, ſome of which being fallen and dead in treſpaſs, upon Mans creation, that was to recrute the number, drew him and embroyl'd him in the ſame crime they were guilty off, and made him dead alſo. Which again was adumbrated in Iſaac, born by promiſe, out of Sarah, when her Wom • and Abraham's, body were dead, Rom. 4. 19. on which point demonſtratively inſiſts the enlightned Apoſtle, Gal. 3. and clears it, Epheſ. 2. 6. God, when we were dead in ſins, hath quickned us: NB. together with Chriſt in our firſt and ſecond reſurrection: adding immediately; By GRACE you are ſaved.

Thus the LORD, cuts off all occaſion of boaſting; and therefore, would never enter on his own accord, upon a Covenant with a meer Man, for that a meer Man could never draw a parallel to the juſtice of God, by reaſon of his meer natural abilities, before the fall, and meer ſinfulneſs after it. Therefore, GOD hath ſet forth his own SON (by mutual agreement) a propitiation through Faith in his Blood; to declare his righteouſneſs, for the remiſſion of ſins that are paſt through his forbearance: that he might be juſt, and the juſtifier of him which believeth in Jeſus, Rom. 3. 25, 26. As therefore there was an arithmetical proportion, betwixt the Father and the Son: betwixt the claim of God's Juſtice and Chriſt's ſatisfaction; ſo the purchace of redemption, was, anſwerably to the mutual Covenant, a tie for GOD to declare himſelf juſt, by juſtifying them that laid hold on his Son's ſatisfaction, diſcharging in full the demand, and by an overplus uſhering in Grace, for the benefit of them that were included in this Covenant, under condition of Faith and Repentance. And the Redeemer ſhall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from tranſgreſſion in Jacob, ſaith the LORD. As for me (here GOD declares himſelf juſt, in performing his Promiſe to Chriſt concerning his Seed (Eſay 53. 10.) after redemption.) As for me (ſaith the LORD) this is my Covenant with them; my ſpirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy ſeed, nor out of the mouth of thy ſeeds ſeed, ſaith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever, Eſay 59. 20, 21. Here, after the atonement by Redemption followeth Faith (my words, &c. Deut. 31. 14. Rom. 10. 8, 9.) and Repentance (to them that turn from tranſgreſſion.) And thence, the relyance of the faithful, on this ſatisfaction, is ſynecdochically call'd a Covenant, Pſal. 50. 5. comp. with Pſal. 40. as before: as ſometimes, (becauſe of the mutual interweaving of myſtical affairs) the whole body of the Church is call'd Chriſt, 1 Cor. 12. 12.

This Covenant was from the beginning of the Creation, variouſly adumbrated: even to the Angels, before the Creation of Man (which I modeſtly conceive, and ſubmit to the cenſure of the Church) when the morning ſtars ſung together, and all the Sons of God ſhouted for joy, Job 30. 7. ſeeing (by God's intimation) that that Man, who was to be created and aſſaulted, yea ſeduced by the Devil, their former Companion, and now an unhappy Rebel and Enemy, ſhould be reſcued by the Son of God their head, and ſhould be brought to that condition (though the manner of it was hidden to them as yet) they, under him were in. And here the Battel between Michael and the Dragon preſents it ſelf, Apoc. 12. both for the reſcuing of the Woman, whom Sathan was to perſecute, and for maintaining the body of Moſes (viz. the Sacrifices typifying Chriſt, for the comfort of the Believers, until he came) Jud. 9. Whereupon the Heavens rejoice, and they that dwell in them, Rev. 12. 12.

From which period, the ſecond perſon of the Deity was often after call'd an Angel of God's Countenance, and emphatically an Angel of the Covenant.

I will not be bold, yet it is not againſt the analogy of Faith to think, that the Cherubim likewiſe ſtanding at the entrance of Paradiſe, after Man's baniſhment, was the ſecond perſon of the Deity, by his flaming Sword (his Word, Hebr. 4. 12, 14.) to undeceive him of all he could preſume of the earthly Tree of Life, in order to his full relying upon the promiſed Seed, which only was the way, the truth, and the life.

After the actual fall of Adam, this Covenant of God was repreſented in the promiſed Seed, Gen. 3. and Chriſt's ſatisfaction, in Sacrifices, until his coming, at which, by one offering he was to perfect for ever them that are ſegregated, Hebr. 10. 14. Afterwards it was intimated to Abraham, with intermixt additions about the Land of Canaan, Gen. 15. 17. everywhere on Man's ſide the conditions of Faith and Repentance, (though under ſeveral Etymologies) being annexed. Then it was to be renewed with the Children of Iſrael, Exod. 19. 5. and that this tranſaction ſhould have been a Covenant of Grace in the promiſed Meſſiah, appeareth by God's Meſſage to his people; If you keep my Covenant (that is the ſame that was intimated to Abraham, according to Deut. 29. 13.) then you ſhall be a peculiar people, &c. comp. with 1 Pet. 2. 9. But what ſaith the people to it. They did not proceed ſo orderly as Abraham, who believed God's abilities above his own, and it was counted to him for righteouſneſs, Gen. 15. 6. afterwards manifeſting his Faith by walking before the LORD, and being perfect, Gen. 17. 1. but preſently ratifies it by a promiſe of Self-performance. All that the LORD hath ſpoken we will do, Exod. 19. 8, & 24. 13. placing their Works afore their Faith, and their own righteouſneſs before that of God and Chriſt, Rom. 9. 31, 32. whereby they ſinned againſt God, and tyed themſelves by their ratihabition to the rigour of the Law, under the brandiſhing of a Curſe, Curſed be he, that confirmeth (N.B.) not all the words of this Law to do them, Deut. 27. 26. And this is the chief reaſon, why they are ſaid to have vexed, or made ſad the holy ſpirit of the Angel of preſence, who in his love and pity had redeemed them, and bare them, and carried them all the days of old (Gen. 48. 16.) and now was willing to make them feel the fruit of the Covenant between him and his Father, without an impending curſe, had they but relyed on his, and not their own ability; had they required the ſpirit of Grace, and not boaſted of natural ſelf-performance. In deſault whereof, he turn'd their Enemy, and he fought againſt them, Eſay 63. 10.

May be you will ſay, What had become then of the Law? Anſwer. It had been of the ſame uſe as it is now under the Goſpel to them that rely not upon their own righteouſneſs and abilities, but upon thoſe of Chriſt; and, what the Law is now to a Believer, is a point ſufficiently known.

However, notwithſtanding this unconſiderate ratifying of the Children of Jacob, whereby on their ſide the Law got the name of a Covenant; the mercy of God was of that tendency, as not to forget the firſt Covenant under this Moſaical diſpenſation, wherein conſequently it exerted it ſelf, and was confirmed by ſo many Types and Sacrifices, in ſome meaſure mitigating the rigour of the Law, which it ſelf alſo, convincing the Iſraelites of their folly, became to them at laſt, by the forbearance of God, grounded upon future Redemption, Rom. 3. 24, 25. A Schoolmaſter, Gal. 3. 24. Thus divinely St. Paul; And this I ſay unto you, that the Covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Chriſt, the Law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot diſannul that it ſhould make the promiſe of none effect, Gal. 3. 17. God's promiſe was of longer date, and a greater conſequence (being grounded upon the name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and the ratifying of his Son) than the preſumptuous ratihabition of the Law by the Children of Iſrael, who in a manner had annul'd the promiſe by ſetting up their own righteouſneſs inſtead of God's, Rom. 10. 3. as if they had not ſtood in need of a Saviour and a Mediator; and therefore it would ſtand, notwithſtanding the Idol of Self-performance (here it is obſervable, by the bye, that the Apoſtle terms the one a Law, and the other a Covenant.) And the regret of their former proceeding with God, is clearly ſet forth, in many paſſages of the holy Volume; but one may ſerve for all, and that is Eſay 64. 6. We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteouſneſs are as filthy rags, &c. Whereupon is renewed the Promiſe, under the name of a righteous branch of David, which ſhould be called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The LORD (Jehova) our Righteouſneſs, Jer. 23. 6. It was no longer; We ſhall do whatever the Lord commands, but JEHOVA (the name of Grace, on which the Covenant was grounded) ſhould be their Righteouſneſs. He was ſhortly to diſplay the Banner of Salvation, and by the ſhade thereof, cover the iniquities, not only of Iſrael, but of all the World, as being made unto it; Wiſdom, Sanctification and Redemption, as well as Righteouſneſs, for that he that glorieth, may glory only in the Lord, 1 Cor. 1. 30, 31.

GOD therefore having entred upon a Covenant with his Son, rejecting all other Sacrifices and ſatisfactions, as no way commenſurate to his perſon and juſtice (Sacrifice thou wouldſt not) and accepting of his Son's blood, for Man's iniquity, did pour down upon the elect GRACE, in order to their Salvation. And the whole Tract of adminiſtring the ſame, after ſuppoſed and accepted of ſatisfaction of the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , is called the Covenant of Grace, (as Chriſt, upon that ſame account is called FAITH, Gal. 3. 23.) By Grace you are ſaved, through Faith, Eph. 2. 8. And of his fullneſs, have all we received GRACE (NB.) for GRACE, Joh. 1. 6.

The benefit whereof derived on Mankind, is in the firſt place Adoption, whereby we are declared to be the Sons of God, Joh. 1. 12. and joint heirs with Chriſt, Rom. 8. 17. and that, from the foundation of the World, Eph. 1. 4, 5, 14. manifeſted in the fullneſs of time, by taking away the curſe of the Law, Gal. 4. 4, 5, 6, 7. This adoption was firſt adumbrated in the Children of Iſrael, when GOD delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, and called them his Son, Hoſea 11. 1. only in Chriſt, if the Son therefore make you free, you ſhall be free in deed, Joh 8. 36. For which reaſon, this ſame paſſage (though myſtically grounded on another) is applied to our Saviour, Matth. 2. 15. for that as the Egyptians were the firſt Enemies of the Iſraelites, that kept them in bondage and ſubjection; ſo Sathan was the firſt Enemy of Mankind, and they in his ſervitude: out of which they were freed by this Angel of the Covenant; whereupon, by an intervening ſojourning of the Iſraelites, and of Chriſt in Egypt, and by their return to Canaan, the Head and the Members compoſing one ſpiritual Body, are call'd a Son; I call'd my Son out of Egypt. And ſuch like Emperichoreſies are often found in Scripture, as for inſtance, that of JESUS; Saul, Saul, Why doſt thou perſecute me? And as this adoption was repreſented in the Children of Iſrael, ſo it was afterwards extended to all the believing, Rom. 8. 23. there being no difference, 1 Cor. 7. 19. And this gives us the confidence of calling God Abba.

Secondly, Juſtification, wherein a Sinner (in himſelf) is by God the Father proclaimed juſt, Rom. 4. 5. upon the ſcore of Chriſt's ſatisfaction, purfuant to the Covenant, Iſa. 53. 11. Wherein the firſt condition of the Covenant, viz. Faith, is a hand applying to our Souls the merit of our Redeemer, Rom. 3. 24, 25. and whereby God ſhews himſelf just, in ſtanding to his Covenant, after the appeaſing of his wrath by the blood of the Mediator; That he might be juſt, Rom. 3. 26. and Chriſt ſhews himſelf righteous, in performing what was ſtipulated for the taking off of Man's Iniquity; My righteous ſervant ſhall juſtifie many. Whereby? By his knowledge, ibid. which is believing in him, Rom. 3. 26. expreſſed to the life by the Lord, Joh. 17. 3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true GOD, and Jeſus Chriſt whom thou haſt ſent. The whole proceſs and accompliſhment whereof, equally glorifieth the Father and the Son; Father, the hour (NB.) is come, glorifie thy Son, that thy Son alſo may glorifie thee, Joh. 17. 1. through the truth, v. 19. kept on both ſides, purſuant to the everlaſting paction, v. 22, 23, 24. upon which account GOD the Father, after Chriſt's Prayer for the ratification of the approaching Work, is by him called, the Righteous Father, by which Righteouſneſs Chriſt was raiſed from the dead, Hebr. 13. 20. for our juſtification, Rom. 4. 25.

Thirdly, Thence ariſeth Sanctification; Chriſt of GOD is made unto us ſanctification, 1 Cor. 1. 30. whereby is not only underſtood the ſegregation from all things common, but alſo a ſeparation from all ſinful acts by the ſpirit of God, 1 Cor. 6. 11. 1 Theſſ. 4. 3, 4. And here the ſecond condition of the Covenant of Grace hath place, viz. Repentance, Mark 1. 15.

By this Repentance a Believer becomes a new Creature, Gal. 6. 15. renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him, Col. 3. (not after him by whom he was deceived; you ſhall know.) In righteouſneſs and true holineſs, Eph. 4. 23. preſenting for the blood of the dead and unreaſonable Creatures, a living Sacrifice, and a reaſonable ſervice, Rom. 12. 1. Which works are acceptable to God, upon the ſcore of their being the gifts of GOD, whereof he doth not repent, Rom. 11. 29. but as ſuch (coronat Deus dona ſua, non merita noſtra) rewards them with a Crown of Righteouſneſs, 2 Tim. 4. 8. according to promiſe, Jam. 1. 12. to ſhew himſelf a righteous judge by granting an Equivalent for the purchace of his Son. And here falls the conceit of meritoriouſneſs of Works; becauſe they being no ways ours but Chriſt's, and his holy Spirit's within us, can no more of themſelves deſerve Heaven, than they could Redemption, whoſe effects they are, in order to the better fitting of us for that end (thence via ad regnum, Bern.) for which we were pre-ordained by Grace. Thus all things have their Off-ſpring from GOD, and through him, end in him, not unlike to the periphery of a Circle (the moſt perfect figure, and ſuſtaining its own ſelf) ending in the ſame point from which it began; Of him, through him, to him, are all things, to him be glory for ever, Rom. 11. 36.

Fourthly, After the Conditions follow the ſigns and ſeals of the Covenant. In the firſt place Baptiſm, a ſign of initiation into the benefit of Chriſt's Death, Burial, and Reſurrection, Rom. 6. 3, 4, 5. for that we may put on Chriſt, Gal. 3. 27. and even as water, be united in one Body, until the whole Church, being by it and the word, ſanctified and cleanſed, Eph. 5. 26, 27. we become an aggregate Chriſt, 1 Cor. 11, 12. The manner of its adminiſtration, I will leave untoucht, and ſtraight proceed to the ſecond ſign, viz. the Supper of the Lord; which, to be ſhort (for I have already gone beyond the limits of my Province) is a viſible ſign of inviſible grace, purchaſed by the Sacrifice of Chriſt, which, to our comfort, and for the ſealing up of God's Promiſes) it doth efficaciouſly repreſent to us. To give an inſight into the nature of it, without launcing into the doleful Chaos of unneceſſary, and ſometimes blaſphemous Controverſies about it, I will only take notice of a paſſage amongſt the Jews, which, if it ſhould not clear the doubt, will yet give ſome light to the lovers of truth. 'Twas therefore, and is now, a common Cuſtom amongſt the Jews, for the chief of the Family, after the eating of the Paſsover, at their going to reſt, to take the Unleavened-Bread, and to diſtribute the ſame amongſt his Houſhold, and after that, Wine, with that nicety, that not one crum of the Bread, nor one drop of Wine, is to be left; and this they do in remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Lamb, and ſeparately, of its Body and Blood, having no Temple wherein to offer, as thoſe that were at the ſtanding of the Temple, without Jeruſalem, could not, and this they call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Whereupon Chriſt the true Paſſover-Lamb, who was to bear the iniquity of the people, and to take away the Sacrifice and the oblation by his Death, following this Rite, inſtituted his Sacrament, by Bread and Wine, and call'd it his Body and Blood, in remembrance of his Paſſion and Death.

Laſtly, Upon this Covenant is grounded our hope of Reſurrection. Chriſt himſelf inſiſts upon it, Matth. 22. 31, 32. I am the God of Abraham, &c.

Here Chriſt puts the Sadducees in mind of God's Covenant, grounded upon his name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Exod. 3. 6, 7, 8. For if God be an Eſſentiator of Beings, by way of a Covenant, he cannot call himſelf an Eſſentiator of what is devoid of being. If therefore God be a Jehova of Abraham, &c. it muſt be by making them exiſtent, for their upholding of the impreſſion of that Covenant, by which he is theirs. If ſo, the Patriarchs muſt be ſtill exiſtent after death, ſince that after it, God bears that denomination in reference to them; a non Entity not being able to bear the ſtamp of an Entity, as a ſhadow or nothing cannot repreſent the lineaments of a Seal. Hence it proceeded (as we mentioned before) that at the day of annual propitiation, this name was thrice (not without a myſtery) put upon Iſrael, Num. 6. 27. to remember them of God's Covenant, and their Eternal Welfare.

To which, all ſpiritual Iſrael, being brought once at the Conſummation of the World, and Chriſt having finiſhed his work, ſhall lay down the Office of a Mediator, and deliver the Kingdom to his Father, that then being only conſpicuous by his name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and needing no further Covenanting, he together with his Father, may begin the period of an Everlaſting Sabbath.