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Of The Acts of the Grace
of God

towards and upon His Elect in Time

Book IV of A Complete Body of Doctrinal and Practical
Divinity

by

John Gill

Chapter
1: Of the Manifestation and Administration of
the Covenant of Grace

Chapter
2: Of the Covenant of Grace in the Patriarchal
State

Chapter
3: Of the Covenant of Grace under the Mosaic
Dispensation

Chapter
4: Of the Covenant of Grace in the Times of
David and the Prophets

Chapter
5: Of the Abrogation of the Old Covenant

Chapter 6: Of the Law of God

Chapter 7: Of the Gospel

Chapter
1:

Of the Manifestation and Administration of the Covenant of Grace

Having treated of the sin and fall of
our first parents, and of the breach of the covenant of works by them, and of
the sad effects thereof to themselves, and of the woeful consequences of the
same to their posterity; of the imputation of their sin, and of the derivation
of a corrupt nature unto them; and of actual sins and transgressions flowing
from thence, and of the punishment due unto them: I am now come to the dawn of
grace to fallen man, to the breakings forth and application of the covenant of
grace, and the blessings of it to the spiritual seed of Christ among the
posterity of Adam.

I have considered the covenant of
grace in a former part of this work, as it was a compact in eternity, between
the three divine persons, Father, Son, and Spirit; in which each person agreed
to take his part in the economy of man’s salvation: and now I shall
consider the administration of that covenant in the various periods of time,
from the beginning of the world to the end of it.  The covenant of grace is but one and the
same in all ages, of which Christ is the substance; being given for “a
covenant of the people,” of all the people of God, both Jews and
Gentiles, who is “the same” in the “yesterday” of the
Old Testament, and in the “today” of the New Testament, and
“for ever”; he is “the way, the truth, and the life,”
the only true way to eternal life; and there never was any other way made known
to men since the fall of Adam; no other name under heaven has been given, or
will be given, by which men can be saved.
The patriarchs before the flood and after, before the law of Moses and
under it, before the coming of Christ, and all the saints since, are saved in
one and the same way, even “by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”;
and that is the grace of the covenant, exhibited at different times, and in
divers manners.  For though the
covenant is but one, there are different administrations of it; particularly
two, one before the coming of Christ, and the other after it; which lay the
foundation for the distinction of the “first” and
“second,” the “old” and the “new” covenant,
observed by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, Heb 8:7,8,13 9:1,15 12:24
for by the first and old covenant, is not meant the covenant of works made with
Adam, which had been broke and abrogated long ago; since the apostle is
speaking of a covenant waxen old, and ready to vanish away in his time: nor was
the covenant of works the first and most ancient covenant; the covenant of
grace, as an eternal compact, was before that; but by it is meant the first and
most ancient administration of the covenant of grace which reached from the
fall of Adam, when the covenant of works was broke, unto the coming of Christ,
when it was superseded and vacated by another administration of the same
covenant, called therefore the “second” and “new”
covenant.  The one we commonly call
the Old Testament dispensation, and the other the New Testament dispensation;
for which there seems to be some foundation in 2Co 3:6,14 Heb 9:15 these two
covenants, or rather the two administrations of the same covenant, are
allegorically represented by two women, Hagar and Sarah, the bondwoman and the
free, Ga 4:22-26 which fitly describe the nature and difference of them.  And before I proceed any farther, I shall
just point out the agreement and disagreement of those two administrations of
the covenant of grace.

1.  First, The agreement there is between
them.

1a.  They agree in the efficient cause, God:
the covenant of grace, in its original constitution in eternity, is of God, and
therefore it is called his covenant, being made by him; “I have made a
covenant--my covenant I will not break,” Ps 89:3,34 and whenever any
exhibition or manifestation of this covenant was made to any of the patriarchs,
as to Abraham, David, &c.  it is
ascribed to God, “I will make my covenant--he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant,” Ge 17:2 2Sa 23:5 so the new covenant, or new
administration of it, runs in this form, “I will make a new
covenant,” &c.  Heb
8:8.

1b.  In the moving cause, the sovereign
mercy, and free grace of God, which moved God to make the covenant of grace at
first, Ps 89:2,3.  And every
exhibition of it under the former dispensation, is a rich display of it, and
therefore it is called, the “mercy promised to the fathers” in his
“holy covenant,” Lu 1:72 and which has so largely appeared in the
coming of Christ, which is ascribed to “the tender mercy of our
God,” that “grace” and “truth,” in the great
abundance of them, are said to come by him; by which names the covenant of
grace, under the gospel dispensation, is called, in distinction from that under
the Mosaic one, Lu 1:78 Joh 1:17.

1c.  In the Mediator, who is Christ; there is
but one Mediator of the covenant of grace, let it be considered under what
dispensation it will; even Christ, who under the former dispensation was
revealed as the seed of the woman that should bruise the serpent’s head,
and make atonement by his sufferings and death, signified by the expiatory
sacrifices, under the law; the Shiloh, the peaceable One, and the Peace Maker,
the living Redeemer of Job, and of all believers under the Old Testament.  Moses, indeed, was a Mediator, but he
was only a typical one.  There is
but “one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus”; there
never was any other, and he is the “Mediator of the new covenant,”
1Ti 2:5 Heb 12:24.

1d.  In the subjects of these covenants, or
administrations of the covenants of grace, the elect of God, to whom the
blessings of it are applied.  It was
with the chosen people of God in Christ, the covenant of grace was originally
made; and according to the election of grace are the spiritual blessings of it
dispensed to the children of men, Ps 89:3 Eph 1:3,4 so they were under the
former dispensation, from the beginning of the world, to the seed of the woman,
in distinction from the seed of the serpent; to the remnant according to the
election of grace among the Jews, the children of the promise that were counted
for the seed; and election, or elect men, obtain the blessings of the covenant
in all ages, and under the present dispensation, more abundantly, and in
greater numbers.

1e.  In the blessings of it; they are the
same under both administrations.
Salvation and redemption by Christ is the great blessing held forth and enjoyed
under the one as under the other, 2Sa 23:5 Heb 9:15.  Justification by the righteousness of
Christ, which the Old Testament church had knowledge of, and faith in, as well
as the new, Isa 45:24,25 Ro 3:21-23.  Forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ,
all the prophets bore witness to; and the saints of old, as now, had as
comfortable an application of it, Ps 32:1,5 Isa 43:25 Mic 7:18 Ac 10:43.  Regeneration, spiritual circumcision,
and sanctification, were what men were made partakers of under the first, as
under the second administration of the covenant, De 30:6 Php 3:3.  Eternal life was made known in the
writings of the Old Testament, as well as in those of the New; and was
believed, looked for, and expected by the saints of the former, as of the
latter dispensation, Joh 5:39 Heb 11:10,16 Job 19:26,27.  In a word, they and we eat the same
spiritual meat, and drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that Rock
that followed them, and that Rock was Christ, 1Co 10:3,4.

2.  Secondly, In some things there is a
disagreement between these two administrations of the covenant of Grace.

2a.  Under the first administration saints
looked forward to Christ that was to come, and to the good things that were to
come by him, and so were waiting, expecting, and longing for the enjoyment of
them; but under the second and new administration, believers look backwards to
Christ as being come, before whose eyes he is evidently set forth in the word
and ordinances, as crucified and slain; and they look to the blessings of the
covenant through him as brought in; to peace, pardon, atonement, righteousness,
redemption, and salvation, as wrought out and finished.

2b.  There is a greater clearness and
evidence of things under the one than under the other; the law was only a
shadow of good things to come; did not so much as exhibit the image of them, at
least but very faintly.  The
obscurity of the former dispensation, was, signified by the veil over the face
of Moses, when he spoke to the children of Israel; so that they could not see
to the end of what was to be abolished; whereas, believers under the present
dispensation, with open face, with faces unveiled, behold, as in a glass, the
glory of the Lord clearly and plainly, Heb 10:1 2Co 3:13,18 then, comparatively,
it was night, now broad day; the day has broke, and the shadows are fled and
gone.

2c.  There is more of a spirit of liberty,
and less of bondage, under the one, than under the other; saints under the one
differed little from servants, being in bondage under the elements of the
world; but under the other are Christ’s freemen, and receive not the
spirit of bondage again, to fear; but the spirit of adoption, crying Abba,
Father; which is a free spirit, and brings liberty with it; and for this reason
the two different administrations of the covenant, are signified, the one by
Hagar, the bondwoman, because it gendered to bondage, and those under it were
in such a state; and the other by Sarah, the freewoman, an emblem of Jerusalem,
which is free, and the mother of us all, Ga 4:1-3,24-26 Ro 8:15.

2d.  There is a larger and more plentiful
effusion of the Spirit, and of his gifts and graces, under the one than under
the other; greater measures of grace, and of spiritual light and knowledge were
promised, as what would be communicated under the new and second administration
of the covenant; and accordingly grace, in all its fulness and
“truth,” in all its clearness and evidence, are “come by
Jesus Christ,” Joh 1:17 see Jer 31:31-34.

2e.  The latter administration of the
covenant extends to more persons than the former.  The Gentiles were strangers to the
covenants of promise, had no knowledge nor application of the promises and
blessings of the covenant of grace, except now and then, and here and there
one; but now the blessing of Abraham is come upon the Gentiles, and they are
fellow heirs of the same grace and privileges, and partakers of the promises in
Christ by the gospel, Eph 2:12 3:6 Ga 3:14.

2f.  The present administration of the
covenant of grace, will continue to the end of the world; it will never give
way to, nor be succeeded by another; it is that which remains, in distinction
from that which is done away, and so exceeds in glory: the ceremonial law,
under which the former covenant was administered, was “until the time of
reformation,” until Christ came and his forerunner; “The law and
the prophets were until John,” the harbinger of Christ, the fulfilling
end of them; see 2Co 3:11 Heb 9:10 Lu 16:16.

2g.  The ordinances of them are
different.  The first covenant had
ordinances of divine service; but those, comparatively, were carnal and
worldly, at best but typical and shadowy, and faint representations of divine
and spiritual things; and were to continue but for a while, and then to be
shaken and removed, and other ordinances take place, which shall not be shaken,
but remain to the second coming of Christ; and in which he is more clearly and
evidently set forth, and the blessings of his grace, Heb 9:1,10 12:27.

2h.  Though the promises and blessings of
grace under both administrations are the same, yet differently exhibited; under
the former dispensation, not only more darkly and obscurely, but by earthly
things, as by the land of Canaan, and the outward mercies of it; but under the
latter, as more clearly and plainly, so more spiritually and nakedly, as they
are in themselves spiritual, heavenly, and divine; and delivered out more free,
and unclogged of all conditions, and so called “better promises,”
and the administration of the covenant, in which they are, a “better
testament”; God having “provided” for New Testament saints
some “better thing,” at least held forth in a better manner; that
Old Testament saints might not be “made perfect” without them, Heb
8:6 7:22 11:40.

Chapter
2:

Of the Exhibitions of the Covenant of Grace in the Patriarchal State

Through the administration of the
covenant of grace may be considered in a three fold state; as in the
patriarchal state, before the giving of the law; and then under the Mosaic
dispensation; and last of all under the gospel dispensation: yet more agreeable
to the apostle’s distinction of the first and second, the old and the new
covenant, observed in the preceding chapter, I shall choose to consider it in
the distinct periods under these two; and I shall begin with the administration
of it under the first testament, as reaching from the fall of Adam to the
coming of Christ, and consider it as held forth in the several periods in that
long interval of time.

1.  The first period shall be from Adam to Noah.  And those in this period to whom the
covenant of grace, and the blessings of it were manifested and applied, were,

1a.  Our first parents themselves, Adam and
Eve, and that both by words and actions.
By words, and these spoken not directly to them, nor by way of promise
to them; but to the serpent, and threatening-wise to him; and yet were the
first dawn of grace to fallen man, Ge 3:15 from whence it might be at once
concluded by Adam and Eve, that they should not immediately die, but that a
seed should be of the woman who would be the ruin of Satan, and the Saviour of
them; which must spring light, life, and joy, in their trembling hearts: and
though these words are short and obscure, yet contain some of the principal
articles of faith and doctrines of the gospel; as the incarnation of the Son of
God, signified by the “seed of the woman,” who should be made of a
woman, born of a virgin, unbegotten by man, and without father as man; the
sufferings and death of Christ for the sins of men, signified by the
serpent’s “bruising his heel,” bringing him to the dust of
death in his inferior nature, sometimes expressed by his being bruised for the
sins of his people; and may hint at the manner of his death, and crucifixion,
since his feet could not well be pierced with nails without bruising his heel;
also the victory he should obtain over Satan signified by “bruising his
head,” destroying his power and policy, his schemes and works, his
authority, dominion, and empire; yea, him, himself, with his principalities and
powers; and may express the bruising him under the feet of his people, the
deliverance of them from him; the taking the captives out of the hand of the
mighty, and the saving them with an everlasting salvation.  Which is the sum and substance of the
gospel, and matter of joy to lost sinners.

The grace of the covenant, and the
blessings of it, were manifested and applied to our first parents, by certain
actions and things done; as by the Lord God making “coats of skin,”
and “clothing them with them,” which were emblems of the robe of
righteousness, and garments of salvation, Christ has wrought out; that
righteousness which God imputes without works; and is unto all, and upon all
them that believe, as their clothing and covering: and those coats being made
of the skins of slain beasts, very probably slain for sacrifice, which man was
soon taught the use of; may have respect to the sacrifice of Christ, the
woman’s seed, which should be offered up, as was agreed on in the
covenant of grace, and by which atonement would be made for sin, and upon which
justification from it proceeds; all which are momentous articles of faith.  The “cherubim” and
“flaming sword,” placed at the East end of the garden of Eden, to
keep the way of the tree of life, were not for terror, but for comfort; and
were an hieroglyphic, showing that God in succeeding ages would raise up a set
of prophets, under the Old Testament, and apostles and ministers of the gospel,
under the New Testament, who should hold forth the word of light and life; that
word which is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; that has
both light and heat in it; and who should show to men the way of salvation, and
observe unto them the true tree of life, and the way to it; even Christ, the
way, the truth, and the life; see Ge 3:21,24.

1b.  Abel, the Son of Adam, is the next
person to whom an exhibition of the covenant and of the grace of it, was made;
he was an instance of electing grace, according to which the blessings of the
covenant are dispensed: a hint was given in the serpent’s curse, that
there would be two seeds in the world, the seed of the serpent, and the seed of
the woman; this distinction took place in the first two men that were born into
the world.  Cain was of the wicked
one, the seed of the serpent; Abel was one of the spiritual seed of Christ, a
chosen vessel of salvation; and, in virtue of electing grace, was a partaker of
the blessings of grace in the covenant; particularly of justifying grace: he is
called righteous Abel, not by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness
of faith, by the righteousness of Christ received by faith; for he had the
grace of faith, which is a covenant grace, bestowed on him; by which he looked
to Christ for righteousness and eternal life; “By faith Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain; by which he obtained witness that he
was righteous,” Heb 11:4.  His
sacrifice was a more excellent one; not only as to its kind, being a lamb, and
so typical of the Lamb of God; but as to the manner in which it was offered, by
faith, in the view of a better sacrifice than that; even the sacrifice of
Christ, by which transgression is finished, sin made an end of, reconciliation
for it made, and an everlasting righteousness brought in; all which Abel, by
faith, looked unto, and God had respect to him, and to his offering; which he
testified in some visible way; perhaps by sending down fire upon it; which drew
the envy of his brother upon him, who could not rest until he had slain him: in
this Abel was a type of Christ, as well as in his being a keeper of sheep; who,
through the envy of the Jews, who were in some sense his brethren, was
delivered to the Roman governor, to be put to death; so that they are justly
said to be the betrayers and murderers of him; and a like punishment of their
sin came on them as on Cain; as he was drove from the presence of God, was an
exile from his native place, and wandered about in another land; so they were
carried captive by the Romans, and dispersed throughout the nations of the
world, among whom they wander about to this day.  Abel was a type of Christ also in his
intercession; for as he “being dead, yet speaketh”; so Christ,
though he was dead, yet is alive, and ever lives to make intercession, to speak
on the behalf of his people, and be an Advocate for them; and his blood has a
speaking voice in it, and speaks better things than that of Abel; it calls for
peace and pardon.

1c.  Seth, the other seed appointed in the
room of Abel, whom Cain slew, is not to be overlooked; since the appointment of
him was of grace, and to fill up the place of righteous Abel, and be the father
of a race of men that should serve the Lord; and was put, set, and laid as the
foundation, as it were, of the patriarchal church state, as his name signifies;
and was a type of Christ, the foundation God has laid in Zion: and in the days
of his son Enos, as an effect of divine grace, and the displays of it,
“Men began to call upon the name of the Lord,” Ge 4:25,26 not but
that they called upon the Lord personally, and in their families, before; but
now being more numerous, families joined together, and set up public worship;
where they met, and socially served the Lord, and called upon him in the name
of the Lord, in the name of Christ, who, as Mediator, might be more clearly
manifested; or they called themselves by the name of the Lord, of the
Lord’s people, and the sons of God, in distinction from the sons of men,
the men of the world, irreligious persons, profane and idolatrous; which distinction
took place before the flood, and perhaps as early as the times of Enos; see Ge
6:2.

1d.  Enoch is the only person in this period
besides, who is taken notice of for the grace of God bestowed on him; though,
no doubt, there were thousands who also were made partakers of it.  He was “trained” up in a
religious way, as his name signifies; he was eminent for his faith, and was
high in the favour of God: he had a testimony that he pleased God, which could
not be without faith, by which he drew nigh, had much nearness to, fellowship
and familiarity with him; he “walked with God,” enjoyed much
communion with him, and had large communications of grace, light, and knowledge
from him; was even favoured with a spirit of prophecy, and foretold a future
judgment, and the coming of Christ to it; and as he was made acquainted with
the second coming of Christ, so, no doubt, with his first coming to save lost
sinful men: and as Abel was a type of Christ in his low estate, in his
sufferings and death, Enoch was a type of him in his ascension to heaven; for
he “was not” on earth any longer than the time of his life
mentioned; “for God took him,” translated him from earth to heaven
took him to himself; so Christ, when he had finishes his work on earth, was
taken to heaven, a cloud received him out of the sight of his apostles, and he
ascended to his God and their God, to his Father and their Father.

2.  Secondly, The next period of time in
which an exhibition of the covenant of grace was made, is that from Noah to
Abraham.  And Noah is the principal
person taken notice of in it.  His
father, at his birth, thought there was something remarkable in him, and
designed to be done by him, and thus expressed himself; “This same shall
comfort us concerning our work,” &c.  Ge 5:29 and therefore called his name
Noah, which signifies comfort, and is derived from Mxn, to
“comfort,” the last letter being cut off.  And in this Lamech has respect, not so
much to things temporal, and to that benefit that should be received through
Noah’s invention of instruments for the more easy cultivating of the
earth, and by bringing agriculture to a greater perfection, as he did; whereby
the curse of the earth was, in a great measure, removed, which made it very
difficult, through great toil and labour, to get a livelihood; but not so much
to these as to things spiritual, respect is had by Lamech; and if he did not
think him to be the promised Seed, the Messiah, the Consolation of Israel; yet
he might conclude, that he would be an eminent type of Christ, from whom all
comfort flows, the Saviour of men from their sins, their evil works, and from
the curses of the law, on account of them; and who has eased them from the toil
and labour of their hands, to get a righteousness of their own for their
justification, having wrought out one for them.  However, in this person, Noah, there was
a rich display of the grace of the covenant.

2a.  In his person, both in his private and
public capacity.  He found grace in
the eyes of the Lord; that is, favour and good will, which is the source of all
the blessings of grace, of electing, redeeming, justifying, pardoning,
adopting, and sanctifying grace; of all the graces of the Spirit, as faith,
hope, love, &c.  all which Noah
was a partaker of, and this in the midst of a world of ungodly men; which
showed it to be free and distinguishing: he was a just, or righteous man; not
by his own works, by which no man can be justified, but by the righteousness of
faith, of which he was an heir, Heb 11:7 even the righteousness which is by the
faith of Christ: and he was “perfect in his generations”; not in
himself, but in the righteousness of Christ, by which he was justified, and was
a truly sincere and upright man, and walked with God, as Enoch did, and was
favoured with much communion with him: and in his public capacity he was a
“preacher of righteousness”; of righteousness to be done between
man and man; of the righteousness of God in bringing a flood upon the world to
destroy it; and also of the righteousness of Christ; for no doubt he was a
preacher of that of which he was an heir, and so had knowledge of and faith in
it: the persons to whom he preached, or Christ in him by his Spirit, were the
spirits that are now in prison; but then in the days of Noah, while he was
preparing the ark, were on earth; to whose ministry they were disobedient, and
so it was without success; see 2Pe 2:5 1Pe 3:19,20.

2b.  There was a display of the grace of God
in the ark which Noah was directed to make for the saving of his family, Heb
11:7 which may be considered either as an emblem of the church of God, which is
to be formed in all things according to the pattern given by God himself, as
that was; and which weathers the storms and tempests, and beatings of the
waters of affliction and persecution, as that did in a literal sense; and in
which are carnal professors, hypocrites, and heretics, as well as God’s
chosen people, and truly gracious souls; as there were all sorts of creatures
in the ark: or else the ark may be considered as a type of Christ, the cover
and shelter from the storm and tempest of divine wrath and vindictive justice,
and in whom spiritual rest is to be had for weary souls; just as the dove let
out of the ark found no rest until it returned to it again; and as in the ark
few souls were saved, only Noah and his family, and none but those that were in
the ark; so there are but few that seek and find the way of salvation, and
eternal life by Christ; and there is salvation in no other, but in him; nor are
there any saved, but who are saved in and by him.

2c.  This sacrifice of Noah, after he came
out of the ark, was typical of the sacrifice of Christ, both with respect to
the matter of it, clean creatures; expressive of the purity of Christ’s
sacrifice, who is the Lamb of God without spot or blemish; and who offered
himself without spot to God; and who, having no sin himself, was fit to be a
sacrifice for the sins of others: and also with respect to the acceptance of
it; “God smelled a sweet savour”; that is, he was well-pleased
with, and graciously accepted of Noah’s sacrifice; and the same phrase is
used of the acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice, Eph 5:2 Ge 8:20,21.

2d.  The covenant made with Noah, though it
was not the special covenant of grace, being made with him and all his posterity,
and even with all creatures; yet as it was a covenant of preservation, it was a
covenant of kindness and goodness in a temporal way; and it bore a resemblance
to the covenant of grace; inasmuch as there were no conditions in it, no sign
or token to be observed on man’s part; only what God himself gave as a
token of his good will, the rainbow in the cloud; and seeing that it is a
covenant durable, lasting, and inviolable; see Isa 54:9,10.  The rainbow, the token of it, showed it
to be a covenant of peace, which is one of the titles of the covenant of grace
in the text referred to.  So Christ,
the Mediator of it, is said to have a rain-bow upon his head; and a rainbow is
said to be round about the throne, signifying, that access to the throne of
grace is only through the peacemaker Jesus Christ, Re 10:1 4:3.  To which may be added, that if this
covenant of preservation had not taken place; but mankind had been now
destroyed; the covenant of grace would have been made void, and of no effect;
since the promised Seed, the great blessing of that covenant, was not yet come,
and if so, never could, in the way promised.

2e.  Noah’s blessing of Shem is not to
be omitted; “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem!”  in which is a display of covenant grace;
for to be the Lord God of any person, is the sum and substance of the covenant
of grace, which always runs in this style, “I will be their God,”
Moreover, Noah foretold spiritual blessings of grace which should be enjoyed by
his posterity in future time; “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall
dwell in the tents of Shem,” Ge 9:26,27.  The tents of Shem signify the church of
God in its tabernacle state; and which continued among the Jews who were of the
race of Shem, until the coming of Christ; and then God sent the gospel into the
Gentile world, among the posterity of Japhet, and enlarged, or
“persuaded” them, as some choose to render the word, to come and
join with the believing Jews in the same gospel church state; whereby they
became of the same body, and partakers of the same promises and blessings of
the covenant; by which the above prophecy was in part fulfilled, and will be
more completely in the latter day; see Isa 60:1-8.

3.  Thirdly, The next period of time in
which an exhibition was made of the covenant and of the grace of it, is that
from Abraham to Moses.  And,

3a.  Abraham himself stands foremost in it;
he was an eminent instance of the grace of God, of the electing and calling
grace of God.  He was born in an
idolatrous family, and lived in an idolatrous land; and he was called from his
own country, and his father’s house, to forsake it, and go elsewhere and
serve the Lord; and to be separate from them, and the rest of the world; as the
people of God are, when effectually called: he was an eminent instance of justifying
grace; he was justified, but not by works, and so had not whereof to glory
before God; but he was justified by faith in the righteousness of Christ;
“He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for
righteousness,” Ge 15:6.  Not
the act of faith, but the object of it, what he believed in, the Lord and his
righteousness; for what was imputed to him, is imputed to all that believe in
Christ, Jews or Gentiles, in all ages; now whatsoever may be said for
Abraham’s faith, being imputed to himself for righteousness; it can never
be thought, surely, that it is imputed to others also for the same.  Besides, it is the “righteousness
of faith,” the righteousness of Christ received by faith, which Abraham,
when uncircumcised, had; and which is imputed to them also that believe,
whether circumcised or uncircumcised, Ro 4:2,3,11,13,22-24.  To which may be added, that the gospel
was preached to Abraham; the good news of his spiritual seed, those that walk
in the steps of his faith, whether Jews or Gentiles, being blessed with all
spiritual blessings in the Messiah, who should spring from him, Ga 3:8.

But what more especially deserve
attention, are the various appearances of God unto Abraham, and the
manifestations of the covenant of grace then made unto him.  The first appearance was at the time of
his call from his idolatrous country and kindred, when the covenant of grace
was broke up to him, and he was assured of the blessings of it, Ge 12:1-3 as it
is to the chosen ones in effectual calling; and that it was this covenant that
was then made known to Abraham, is clear from Ga 3:17 where it is said to be
“confirmed before of God in Christ”; which certainly designs the
covenant of grace; for what else could be said to be thus “confirmed?”  and which indeed was made with him, and
confirmed in him in eternity, and was now made manifest to Abraham; and from
the time of the manifestation of it to him at his call from Chaldea, to the
giving of the law on mount Sinai, were four hundred and thirty years there mentioned.  The next appearance of God to him I
shall take notice of, (for I propose not to consider everyone) is that which is
recorded in Ge 15:1 where in a vision God said unto him, “I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great reward”; his shield, to protect him from
all enemies, temporal and spiritual; his reward, portion, and inheritance in
this life and that to come; and which is an exceeding great one, and is the sum
and substance of the covenant of grace.
Another appearance of God to Abraham was, when he was ninety nine years
of age; when, besides the covenant of circumcision, God gave to him, and his
natural seed of the male gender, and a promise of the land of Canaan to his
posterity, as he had done before, he made himself known to him as the almighty
God, or God all sufficient; whose power and grace were sufficient to support
him in his walk before him, and bring him to a state of perfection, Ge 17:1 and
particularly in Ge 17:4 he said to him, “As for me, behold my covenant is
with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations”; which the apostle
explains of his being the father of all that believe, whether circumcised or
uncircumcised; even of all that walk in the steps of his faith, and believe
unto righteousness, as he did; these are blessed, with faithful Abraham, with
all the blessings of the covenant of grace, as he was, Ro 4:9-17 Ga
3:9,29.  Once more, the Lord
appeared to him in the plains of Mamre.
Three appeared to him in an human form, two of them were angels, and one
was Jehovah, the Son of God; who not only foretold the birth of a son to
Abraham, but made known to him the design to destroy Sodom; and gave an high
encomium of his piety and justice; and allowed him to expostulate with him
about the destruction of Sodom; admitted him to stand before him, and he
communed with him.  All which showed
him to be a friend of God, and interested in the covenant of his grace, Ge
18:3,10,17,22,33.  At the time of
the offering up of his son Isaac, by the command of the Lord, he appeared to
him, and restrained him from the actual performance of it; upon which he called
the name of the place Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will see, or will appear in the
mount of difficulties, as he had to him; and when he made a further
manifestation of the covenant of grace in that important article; “In thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” Ge 22:14-18 meaning
the promised Seed, the Messiah, that should spring from him, as he did, and is
called the Son of Abraham, Mt 1:1 in whom all the elect are blessed with all
spiritual blessings, the blessings of the everlasting covenant.  Not to omit the interview Abraham had
with Melchizedek, who met him upon his return from the slaughter of the kings,
and blessed him in the name of the most high God; this man was an eminent type
of Christ; his name and title agree with his, king of righteousness, and king
of peace; the righteous and peaceable king; a priest continually, and of whose
order Christ was; and whose eternity is shadowed forth in his genealogy being
unknown, in which he was made like unto the Son of God, the eternal Son of the
eternal Father: it may be our Lord has respect to this interview, when he says,
“Abraham saw my day, and was glad”; saw him in the promise, and saw
him in this type, Joh 8:56 Heb 7:1-3 Ge 14:18,19.

3b.  Isaac, the son of Abraham, is the next
instance of covenant grace in this period of time; in his line from Abraham it
was promised the Messiah should come, and did: the same covenant of grace that
was exhibited to Abraham, was manifested to Isaac in the same words, Ge
26:3,4.  And he was himself an
eminent type of Christ, the promised Seed, and the great blessing of the
covenant, both in his sacrifice and in his resurrection.  Isaac was Abraham’s own son, his
only son, his beloved son, whom he took to offer on mount Moriah; Isaac went
with him without reluctance, carrying the wood on which he was to be laid, and
was laid; by which it appeared that Abraham withheld him not.  So Christ, who has been offered a
sacrifice by the will of God, is his own Son, his begotten Son, his only
begotten Son, and his beloved Son, when it was his pleasure to make his soul an
offering for sin, he willingly went, as a lamb to the slaughter, bearing on his
shoulders the cross on which he was crucified; and was not spared by his divine
Father, but delivered up for us all.
And though Isaac died not, yet he was reckoned by Abraham as dead; who
accounted that God was able to raise him from the dead; from “whence also
he received him in a figure,” Heb 11:19 a ram caught in a thicket being
shown him, and which he offered in his room; and so Isaac was delivered, and
went home alive to his father’s house; and this was on the third day from
the time Abraham reckoned him as a dead man.  So Christ was “put to death in the
flesh,” signified by the ram in the thicket; and “quickened in the
Spirit,” typified by Isaac saved alive; who, after his resurrection, went
to his God and our God, to his Father and our Father; and his resurrection was
on the third day, according to this scripture type of him.

3c.  Jacob, the son of Isaac, is another
instance in whom there was a display of covenant grace, in the period of time
between Abraham and Moses.  He was
an eminent and illustrious instance of electing grace, according to which the
blessings of the covenant are dispensed.
He and Esau were brothers, twins, and if any, Esau had the precedence;
yet before their birth it was notified to Rebekah, that “the elder should
serve the younger,” Ge 25:23 which the apostle makes use of to illustrate
and exemplify the grace of God in election, Ro 9:11-13.  The same covenant of grace that was
manifested to Abraham and Isaac, was repeated and made known to Jacob, Ge
28:13-15.  Christ also was
represented to him by a ladder, whose top reached to heaven, and on which he
saw the angels of God ascending and descending, Ge 28:12.  The same is said of Christ, Joh 1:51 who
in his divine nature reached to heaven, and was in heaven when in his human
nature he was here on earth; and to whom angels ministered, and who is the only
Mediator between God and man, and the way of access to God, and communion with
him.  Christ in an human form
appeared to Jacob, and wrestled with him, with whom Jacob had so much power as
to prevail, and obtain the blessing from him, and got the name of Israel, Ge
32:24-28.  The Messiah was
prophesied of by him, under the name of Shiloh, the prosperous and the
peaceable; in whose hands the pleasure of the Lord prospered, and who made
peace for men by the blood of his cross; and that he should spring from his son
Judah, and out of his tribe, as he did; and that he should come while civil
government, in some form or another, was in Judah; and that when he came, there
should be a great gathering of the Gentiles to him; all which have been exactly
fulfilled: and for Christ, as the author of salvation, provided and promised in
the covenant of grace, did the patriarch Jacob wait, Ge 49:10,18.

3d.  Within this period of time, about the
time the children of Israel were in Egypt, and before the times of Moses, lived
Job, and his three friends: who, though they were not of Israel, but of the
race of Esau, yet the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it, were made
known to them, as a pledge and earnest of what would be done in later times.  Job was an eminent instance of the grace
of God; his character, as given by God himself, is, that he was “a
perfect and upright man”; perfect, as justified by the righteousness of
Christ; upright and sincere, as sanctified by the Spirit; and who, in his walk
and conversation, appeared to be “one that feared God and eschewed
evil,” Job 1:8 and as he was a man of great knowledge of natural and
civil things, so of things divine, spiritual, and evangelical; of the impurity
of nature; of the insufficiency of man’s righteousness to justify him
before God; and of the doctrine of redemption and salvation by Christ.  How many articles of faith, and
doctrines of grace, are contained in those words of his; “I know that my
Redeemer liveth?”
&c.  from whence it appears,
that he knew Christ as the Redeemer, and as his Redeemer, provided and promised
in the covenant of grace; that he then existed; that he would be incarnate, and
dwell among men on earth; and come a second time to judge the world; and that
there would be a resurrection of the same body, and a beatific vision of God in
a future state; see Job 9:2,20,30,31 14:4 Job 19:25-27.  Job’s three friends, though they
mistook his case, and misapplied things to him, yet were men that knew, much of
divine things; of the corruption of nature; of the vanity of
self-righteousness; this, indeed, was their quarrel with Job, imagining, though
wrongly, that he was righteous in his own eyes: and how gloriously does Elihu
speak of the great Redeemer as the “Messenger” of the covenant, the
uncreated Angel, Christ; as “an Interpreter” of his Father’s
mind and will; One among a thousand, the Chiefest of ten thousand, whose office
it is “to show unto men his uprightness,” his own righteousness, to
declare and preach it, Ps 40:9.  And
as a Ransom found in council and covenant; a proper Person to give his life a
ransom for men: Job 4:17,18
15:14-16 Job 25:4-6
33:23,24.  Thus the covenant of
grace was exhibited, held forth, displayed, and manifested in the grace and
blessings of it in the times of the patriarchs.

Chapter
3:

Of the Exhibitions of the Covenant of Grace Under the Mosaic Dispensation

Having traced the manifestation and
application of the Covenant of Grace from the times of our first parents,
through the patriarchal state, to the times of Moses; I shall now consider it
as exhibited in his time, and unto the times of David and the prophets; and
shall begin,

1.  With Moses himself, who was a great man
of God; and though the law was by him, he had large knowledge of Christ; of his
person, offices, and grace; of the covenant of grace, and the blessings of
it.  “Had ye believed
Moses,” says Christ to the Jews, “ye would have believed me, for he
wrote of me,” Joh 5:46.

Moses was an eminent type of Christ,
in whom the grace of Christ, and of the covenant, was eminently displayed.  The apostle in Heb 3:1-14 runs the
parallel between Moses and Christ, though he gives the preference to Christ, as
it was just he should; they were both, he observes, concerned in the house of
God; both faithful therein; with this difference, Moses as a servant, and
Christ as a Son in his own house.
Moses was a mediator when the covenant on Sinai was given, at the
request of the people of Israel, and by the permission of God; and stood
between God and them, to deliver his word to them, Ga 3:19 De 5:5 in which he
was a type of Christ, the Mediator of the new and better covenant, and the
Mediator between God and man.  He
was a prophet, and spoke of Christ as who should be raised up a prophet like
unto him, and was to be hearkened to; and who has been raised up; and God has
spoken by him all his mind and will to the sons of men.  When Moses and Elias were with Christ on
the mount, which showed harmony and agreement between them; a voice was heard,
saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye
him,” as the great Prophet of the church; see De 18:15 Heb 1:1,2 Mt 17:5.  Moses was a priest, and officiated as
such before Aaron was appointed to that office; and he, indeed, invested him
with it by the offering of sacrifices, Ex 29:1 Ps 99:6 in which he prefigured
Christ in his priestly office, who became man, that he might be a merciful and
sympathizing one; and being holy, harmless, and separate from sinners, was fit
to be one, and to offer a pure sacrifice for sin.  Moses was also a king and a lawgiver
under God; a ruler and governor of the people of Israel, De 33:4,5.  Christ is King of Zion and King of
saints; by the designation of his Father, and with the acknowledgment of his
people, who own him, and submit to him as such; and of whose government there
will be no end, Ps 2:6 Isa 33:22 9:7.
Once more, Moses was a deliverer or redeemer of the people of Israel,
out of that state of bondage in which they were in Egypt, Ac 7:35 and in this
bore a figure of Christ the Redeemer of his people, from a worse than Egyptian
bondage, the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law; and herein and hereby through
him were held forth the grace of the covenant, and the blessings of it in
Christ to the faith of God’s people.

There were many things done by him,
and under him, and in his time, which exhibited and showed forth the covenant
of grace, and the things contained in it.
The whole ceremonial law was nothing else than a shadowy exhibition of
it; it was a shadow of good things to come by Christ, the great high Priest,
which are come by him; as peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation.  The priests, their garments, and their
sacrifices, with other numerous rites, all prefigured Christ, and the grace of
the covenant, which is by him: the ceremonial law was the gospel of the
Israelites, it was their pedagogue, their schoolmaster, that taught them the A
B C of the gospel in their infant state.
Christ was the mark and scope it aimed at, the end of it, and in whom it
had its full accomplishment; the Israelites, by reason of darkness, could not
see to the end of those things, which are now abolished, and which we with open
face behold.  It would be too
tedious to go over the various particulars in the former dispensation, which
held forth the grace of Christ, and of the covenant to the faith of men.  It may be sufficient to instance in
three or four of them, which were for a time, or of longer continuance; and
were either stated ordinances, or extraordinary works of providence, which
typified spiritual things.

The passover, which was instituted at
the time of lsrael’s going out of Egypt, was kept by faith; not only of
deliverance from Egyptian bondage, but in the faith of a future redemption and
salvation by Christ; hence he is called “Christ our passover,” 1Co
5:7 Heb 11:23.  The passover was a
lamb without blemish, slain by the congregation of Israel, between the two
evenings; it was then roasted with fire, and eaten whole with bitter herbs, and
its blood was sprinkled upon the doorposts of the houses of the Israelites;
that when the destroying angel passed through Egypt, to destroy their
firstborn, seeing the blood where it was sprinkled, passed by the houses in
which the Israelites were, and left them unhurt; and hence the institution had
the name of the passover; see Ex 12:1-51.
All which was typical of Christ, who is the Lamb of God, without spot or
blemish; who was taken by the Jews and crucified and slain; who endured the
fire of divine wrath, whereby his strength was dried up like a potsherd; is to
be, and is fed upon by faith; even a whole Christ, in his person, and offices,
and grace, attended with repentance and humiliation for sin; believers in him,
when they look to him by faith, mourn; and a profession of him is, more or
less, accompanied with bitter afflictions, reproaches, and persecutions; and
his blood, which from hence is called the blood of sprinkling, that being shed
and sprinkled on the hearts of men, not only purges their consciences from dead
works, but secures them from the wrath and justice of God; who, looking upon
this blood, which is ever in sight, is pacified towards them, and passes by
them, when he takes vengeance on others.

The manna was another type of Christ;
that was typical bread, Christ is the true bread; hence Christ, speaking of the
manna, and of himself, says, “My Father giveth you the true bread from
heaven,” Joh 6:32 meaning himself, the truth of the type; the manna was
only a shadow, Christ is the substance, the solid and substantial food,
signified by it, and therefore is called “the hidden manna,” Re
2:17 which every believer in Christ has a right to eat of, and does; so the Old
and New Testament saints “all eat of the same spiritual meat,” 1Co
10:3.  The Israelites being in the
wilderness, and hungry, complained for want of food, and murmured; God promised
to give them bread from heaven, which he did: this when they first saw, they
knew not what it was; and asked one another, What is it?  it was small in bulk, white in colour,
and sweet in taste; this they gathered every day for their daily food, as they
were directed; and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in
pans: and on this they lived while in the wilderness, until they came to the
land of Canaan; see Ex 16:1-36 and Nu 11:1-35 and Jos 5:12.  All which pointed to Christ and his
grace, the food of faith; who, when he came into the world, the world knew him
not; nor is he known to the Israel of God before conversion; they are without
Christ, without the knowledge of him while unregenerate; until it pleases God
to call them by his grace, and reveal his Son in them.  And he is entirely hidden from the men
of the world; in whose eyes, and in the eyes of carnal professors, he is
little, mean, and contemptible; yet white and ruddy, comely and beautiful, pure
and holy, and desirable, to truly gracious souls; to whose taste his fruits,
the blessings of his grace, his doctrines, his word, and ordinances, are sweet
and pleasant; and a crucified Christ, whose sufferings are signified by the
manna being ground, beaten, and baked, is the food of believers in this present
state; what is their daily food, and which they live upon while they are in the
wilderness, till they come to Canaan’s land, and eat of the “old
corn,” the things which God from all eternity has prepared for them that
love him.

The water out of the rock the
Israelites drank of in the wilderness, was another emblem and representative of
Christ and his grace; hence called “spiritual drink,” and the rock
a “spiritual rock; and that Rock was Christ,” 1Co 10:4.

The Israelites wanting water in the
wilderness, murmured, when Moses was ordered by the Lord to smite a rock at two
different times and places, from whence water gushed out for the supply of
them, their flocks, and herds.
Christ was signified by the rock, who may be compared to one for height,
shelter, strength, and duration; and with which they are followed and supplied
while they are in this world: and as it was by the rod of Moses the rock was smitten;
so Christ was stricken and smitten in a legal and judicial way, being the
surety and representative of his people, by which means the blessings of grace
flow unto them; as justification, pardon, &c.  just as the blood and water sprung from
his side when pierced with the spear; and this rock being thus smitten for
believers, they have a never failing supply of grace through the
wilderness.

The brazen serpent was another figure
of Christ and his grace.  The
Israelites being bitten with fiery serpents, of which many died; Moses was
ordered by the Lord to make a fiery serpent of brass, and set it on a pole,
that whoever was bitten might look unto it and live; which was done
accordingly, and the promised effect followed, Nu 21:6-9.  Our Lord takes notice of this very
significant type himself, and applies it to himself, Joh 3:14,15.  The serpent Moses made had the form of a
serpent, but not the nature of one: Christ was in the likeness of sinful flesh,
but his flesh was not sinful; he was without the poison of the serpent, sin,
original or; actual: it was a fiery one, denoting either the wrath of God
sustained by Christ, or the vengeance he took on his and our enemies when on
the cross; or rather, it may denote his flaming love to his people, expressed in
his sufferings and death.  It being
of brass, denoted not only his lustre and glory, but his strength; who, being
the mighty God, is able to save to the uttermost all that come and look unto
him for salvation.  The situation of
the serpent of Moses on a pole, may signify the crucifixion of Christ, which he
himself expressed by being lifted up from the earth, Joh 12:32 or his
exaltation at the right hand of God; or rather, the setting of him up in the
ministry of the gospel, where he is erected as an ensign and standard to gather
souls to him; and where he is held forth evidently as crucified and slain, as
the object and ground of hope.  And
as the end of the erection of the serpent was, that such who were bitten by the
fiery serpents might look to it and live; so the end of Christ’s
crucifixion, and of the ministration of him in the Gospel is, that such who are
envenomed with the poison of the old serpent, the devil, and whose wound is
otherwise incurable, might, through looking to Christ by faith, live spiritually,
comfortably, and eternally; as all such do who are favoured with a spiritual
sight of him, Joh 6:40.

2.  Besides Moses, there were others in his
time, in whom the grace of the covenant was remarkably displayed and
manifested; particularly Aaron, his brother, called “the saint of the
Lord,” Ps 106:16 the Holy One, with whom were the Urim and Thummim, De
33:8 a type of Christ, in whom all lights and perfections are; and though
Christ, as a priest, was not of the order of Aaron, but of another; yet Aaron,
in his priestly office, prefigured him; he was taken from among men, from among
his brethren, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin, and did not take this
honour to himself, but was called of God to it; “so Christ glorified not
himself to be made an high priest”; but was made so by his divine Father,
Heb 5:4,5 and has offered up a sacrifice for the sins of his people, of a sweet
smelling savour to God; which the sacrifices of Aaron and his sons were typical
of, by which the faith of believers in those times was led to the great and
better sacrifice of Christ.  Aaron
was also a type of Christ in his intercession, as well as in his sacrifice; he
could speak well, and therefore was appointed the spokesman of Moses unto the
people, Ex 4:14-16.  Christ is an
advocate for his people; he can speak well to their case for them, and ever
lives to appear in the presence of God, and to make intercession for them, and
is always heard.

3.  Joshua, the successor of Moses, was also
a type of Christ, and in him the grace of Christ, and of the covenant, was
evidently displayed.  Their names
agree, both signify a Saviour; Joshua is called Jesus, Heb 4:8.  Moses conducted the people of Israel
through the wilderness, to the borders of the land of Canaan, but was not
allowed to lead them into it; intimating, that it is not by the works of the
law, or by the works of righteousness, done by men, that they are or can be
saved; that a man must have a better righteousness than his own, or he will
never enter into the kingdom of heaven; there is no salvation but in and by the
name of Jesus, the antitype of Joshua: as Joshua led the people of Israel into
the land of Canaan, and settled them there; so Christ, by his blood and
righteousness, has opened a way for his people into the heavenly state, and
gives them an abundant entrance into his kingdom and glory.  Joshua did not give the true rest in Canaan; for then another would not have been spoken of;
it was only a typical one he gave; but Christ, our spiritual Joshua, gives
spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter.

The scarlet thread which Rahab the
harlot was ordered by the spies in the times of Joshua, to bind at her window,
that her house might be known by them, in order to save her, and all in it,
when Jericho was destroyed, was an emblem of the blood of Christ, by which are
peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation for the chief of sinners; for
Gentile sinners, as well as Jews; and through which is security from wrath,
ruin, and destruction.  Joshua was
favoured with an appearance of Christ unto him, with a sword drawn in his hand,
who declared unto him, that he came as the Captain of the host of the Lord, to
animate, encourage, and assist him.
Christ is the Captain of salvation, who has fought the battles of his
people for them; conquered all their enemies, and made them more than
conquerors through himself.  There
were later appearances of Christ to others in this period of time, as to Manoah
and his wife, who declared to them his name was “Pele,” a Wonder,
or Wonderful, which is one of the names of Christ, Isa 9:6 and to Gideon,
Samuel, and others, I shall take no further notice of.

Chapter
4:

Of the Covenant of Grace, as Exhibited in the Times of David, and the
Succeeding Prophets, to the Coming of Christ

Christ, the great blessing of the
covenant, was spoken of by all “the holy prophets which have been since
the world began”; by the patriarch prophets; by Moses and others; but
more abundantly by the prophets of a later date; God, who at sundry times, in
different ages of the world; “and in divers manners,” as by angels,
by vision, by dreams and impulses on the mind; “spake in times past to
the fathers by the prophets,” concerning his mind and will, the covenant
of his grace, and the blessings of it; to which dispensation of things is
opposed that which is by Christ; “hath in these last days spoken unto us
by his Son,” Lu 1:70 Heb 1:1,2.
From whence it appears, that the first administration of the covenant of
grace, as has been observed, reached from the beginning of the world, or near
it, to the coming of Christ; and now having traced it from Adam to Noah, from
Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, and from Moses to David; I shall next
consider it as more clearly manifested in the times of David, and by succeeding
prophets, to the coming of Christ.
And begin,

1.  First, with David, who was a prophet,
and by whom the Spirit of God spake concerning Christ, and the covenant of
grace made with him, Ac 2:30
1:16 2Sa 23:2-5.  The grace of the covenant was displayed
in him, the blessings of it were bestowed on him, the covenant itself was made
with him; not only the covenant of royalty, concerning the succession of the kingdom of Israel in his family; but the special
covenant of grace, in which his own salvation lay; a covenant ordered in all
things and sure, and an everlasting one, 2Sa 23:5.  This was made with him, as he declares,
that is, made manifest and applied unto him, and he was assured of his interest
in it.  He was an eminent type of
Christ, who is therefore often called by his name, Ps 89:3,20 Eze 34:23,24
37:24 Ho 3:5.  In his person, in the
comeliness of it; in his character and employment, as a shepherd; in his
offices, of prophet and king; in his afflictions and persecutions; and in his
wars and victories.  And great light
and knowledge he had of things respecting Christ and his grace, as the book of
Psalms, written by him, under divine inspiration, abundantly shows; as, of the
person of Christ; of his divine and eternal sonship; of his being the eternal
begotten Son of God, to whom this was first, at least, so clearly made known,
Ps 2:7.  From whence are taken all
those expressions in the New Testament, of Christ’s being the only
begotten Son, the only begotten of the Father, his own and proper Son: phrases expressive
of Christ’s co-essentiality, co eternity, and co-equality with his
Father.  David speaks of the
humanity of Christ, of a body being prepared for him in covenant, of the
formation of it in the womb of the virgin; of his being of his seed, and springing
from him as man, as he did, Ps 40:6 compared with Heb 10:5 Ps 139:15,16
132:11,17 Ac 13:23.  He speaks very
expressly of his sufferings and death, in Ps 22:1-31 uses the very words Christ
uttered on the cross; exactly describes the persons that surrounded him, and
mocked at him when on it, as well as the manner of his death, by crucifixion,
signified by his hands and feet being pierced; and also the dreadful pains and
agonies was then in, by which he was brought to the dust of death; yea, some
minute circumstances of his sufferings are observed, as casting lots on his
vesture, and parting his garments; and elsewhere, the giving him gall and
vinegar to drink, Ps 69:21.  He
foretells his burial in the grave, which should not be so long as to see
corruption, and his resurrection to an immortal life, Ps 16:10,11 Ac
2:25-31.  His ascension to heaven,
Ps 68:18 compared with Eph 4:8-10.
His session at the right hand of God, Ps 110:1 Heb 1:13.  He treats of his suretyship engagements,
and of his offices, as Prophet, Priest, and King, Ps 40:6-9 110:4 2:6 89:27
72:8.

2.  Secondly, Solomon, the Son of David, and
his successor in the kingdom, had not only the covenant of royalty established
with him, but the special covenant of grace was made with him, or made known
unto him; “I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son,” 2Sa
7:14.  He was both a preacher and
king of Israel; and, no doubt, a good man, notwithstanding his fall; his prayer
at the dedication of the temple shows it; as well as his being the amanuensis
of the Holy Spirit, in various writings: an eminent type he was of Christ, who
is therefore called Solomon, So 3:7,9,11 8:11,12 in his name, which signifies
peaceable, and agrees with Christ, the Prince of peace; in his scent, the Son
of David; in his wisdom, in which Christ is greater than Solomon; in his wealth
and riches; and in the peaceableness and extent of his kingdom.  Much of Christ, and the blessings of
grace through him, were made known unto him.  He writes of him under the name of
Wisdom, as a divine Person, the same with the Logos, the Word, and Son of God;
of his eternal existence; of the eternal generation of him; of his being
brought forth, and brought up as a Son with his Father from everlasting, as is
declared in the eighth of Proverbs; which when one reads, might be tempted to
think he was reading the first chapter of John, there being such a similarity,
yea, sameness of diction, sentiment, and doctrine.  Solomon or Agur speaks of Christ under
the names of Ithiel and Ucal; the one signifies, “God is with me”;
as he always was with Christ, and Christ with him: the other, “the mighty
One,” or, “I am able,” I can do all things; as he could,
being the Almighty.  He speaks in
the same place of the infinite, omnipresent, and omnipotent Being, whose name,
that is, his nature is incomprehensible and ineffable; and to whom he ascribes
a Son, as a divine, distinct Person from his Father; as of the same
incomprehensible and ineffable nature with him, and so co-essential,
co-eternal, and co-equal with him, Pr 30:1,4.  The book of Canticles, written by
Solomon, is a rich display of the glories and excellencies of Christ, of his
great love to his church, and of the covenant blessings of grace bestowed upon
her.  Pass we on now.

3.  Thirdly, To the prophets who lived in
the succeeding reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah; as
Isaiah, Jeremiah, &c.  who were
holy men of God, and spake and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit; the
Spirit of God was in them, and spoke by them; and the sure word of prophecy
they delivered, was as a light or lamp in a dark place; the gospel day not as
yet being broke, nor the shadows of the ceremonial law fled, nor Christ, the
Sun of Righteousness, yet up and risen.
These,

3a.  Speak much of the covenant of
grace.  Of it as a covenant of life
and peace, in which provision is made for the spiritual and eternal life of the
covenant ones; and in which the plan and model of their peace and
reconciliation by Christ was formed, Mal 2:5 Isa 54:10.  Of it as an everlasting one, which
should continue for ever, and never be altered, nor removed, Isa 55:3
54:10.  Of the persons who engaged
and entered into it, Jehovah and the branch, that should build the temple of
the Lord, between whom the council of peace was; yea, Jehovah the Father, the
Word of God, and his Spirit, who were each of them concerned in the covenant of
grace, Zec 6:12,13 Hag 2:4,5.  Of
Christ, as the sum and substance of it, said to be the covenant of the people,
in whom are all the blessings and promises of it, called the sure mercies of
David; and whose blood is said to be the blood of the covenant, by which it is
ratified and confirmed; and he is spoken of as the messenger of it, Isa 42:6
49:8 55:3 Zec 9:11 Mal 3:1.  Mention
is made by them of the persons on whose account the covenant of grace was made,
the elect of God, both Jews and Gentiles, Isa 49:5,6,8 yea, they speak of the
new covenant, or of the administration of it under the New Testament
dispensation, and give the several articles of it; which would be more clearly
known, and more powerfully have their effect, Jer 31:31-34.  Which may lead on to observe,

3b.  That the prophets in this period of time
speak very plain of the blessings of the covenant of grace, even more plainly
and fully than heretofore.  As of,

3b1.  The blessing of pardon of sin through
Christ, which is a blessing of the covenant, Heb 8:10,12.  Not
only Moses relates, that God appeared to him, and caused his goodness to pass
before him, and proclaimed his name, a God gracious and merciful, pardoning
iniquity, transgression, and sin; and David describes the blessedness of the
man whose iniquities are forgiven, and instances in himself, Ex 34:6,7 Ps
32:1,2,5.  But the apostle Peter
observes, that to Christ “give all the prophets witness,” that
“through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of
sins,” Ac 10:43.  They speak
of it as belonging to God, and him only, even every act of it, and as flowing
from his mercy; on which account there is none like unto him, Da 9:9 Mic 7:18
and of his being abundant in it, or abundantly pardoning, even all that apply
to him for it; and all their sins and transgressions, thou ever so many and
great, Isa 55:7 1:18 and of the freeness of pardon, as the effect of the free
favour, love, grace, and mercy of God, which is very strongly expressed in Isa
43:25 after so many aggravated sins of omission and commission are observed;
and yet they speak of it as founded upon the sufferings of Christ, and
redemption, reconciliation, atonement, and satisfaction procured thereby, Zec
3:9 Isa 44:22 Da 9:24.  They also
describe the persons that share in this blessing, even such whom God has
reserved for himself in election, and in the covenant of grace, and who are the
remnant of his heritage, his portion, and the lot of his inheritance, Jer 50:20
Mic 7:18.

3b2.  The blessing of justification by the
righteousness of Christ; which though a doctrine more clearly revealed under
the gospel dispensation, yet is “witnessed by the law and
prophets,” Ro 3:21,22.  The prophets speak of the righteousness
by which men are justified as an everlasting righteousness, that was then to be
brought in by Christ, the Surety and Saviour of his people, Da 9:24 and as
“well pleasing to God,” because by it the “law is magnified,”
all its demands answered, and it made “honourable,” and more so
than it could have been by the most perfect obedience of angels and men, Isa
42:21.  They speak of Christ as the
author of it; and hence he is called by them, “The Lord our
Righteousness”; and “the Sun of Righteousness”; because
righteousness is wrought out by him, and springs from him, as light from the
sun, Jer 23:6 Mal 4:2.  They speak
of Christ as the justifier of them that know him, and believe in him, Isa
53:11.  And of the seed of Israel
being justified in him, and glorying of him, as the Lord their Righteousness,
even all the elect of God, both Jews and Gentiles; and the church is
represented by them as expressing her strong faith of interest in the
righteousness of Christ, as her justifying one; “Surely shall one say, in
the Lord have I righteousness and strength,” Isa 45:24,25.  Under the emblem of Joshua, the high
priest, accused of, and charged with sin and guilt, yet acquitted by Christ,
the Angel of the Lord is represented an elect sinner, charged with sin by law
and justice, by Satan and his own conscience; but cleared from all by the
application and imputation of the righteousness of Christ, to him expressed by
those strong terms, “causing his iniquity to pass from him, and clothing
him with change of raiment,” Zec 3:1-4.  The same with the garments of salvation,
and robe of righteousness, the church declares she was clothed and covered
with, and in which she rejoiced, Isa 61:10.

3b3.  The blessing of adoption is another
covenant blessing, spoken of by the prophets; not national adoption, included
in the national covenant made with the people of Israel; but adoption by special
grace.  The prophets speak of
God’s putting some among the children that were unlovely, unworthy, and deserving
of his displeasure, and yet were the objects of his love and delight; his dear
sons and pleasant children, and whom he owned in such a relation, Jer 3:19 Jer
31:20 of some that were given to Christ as his children, and to whom he stood
in the relation of an everlasting Father, Isa 8:18 9:6 Heb 2:13.  And though the saints under the former
dispensation for the most part had not such a measure of the Spirit of
adoption, as under the New Testament, yet they were then heirs, and so
children; and some of them had a strong assurance of their interest in God, as
their Father; “Doubtless, thou art our Father,” Isa 63:16.  And the prophets also speak of a large
number of adopted sons and daughters of God, as in the latter day, in each of
the parts of the world, both among the Gentiles and among the Jews, Isa 43:6
45:11 Ho 1:10.

3b4.  Salvation, spiritual and eternal, in
general, is the great blessing of the covenant of grace, 2Sa 23:5 and this the
prophets enquired after, and diligently searched into and spoke of; of the
author of it, declaring it was not in hills and mountains, nor to be expected
from thence, but in the Lord God only; they affirm that Christ was appointed as
God’s salvation to the ends of the earth; that he would come and save,
and as having salvation; they represent him as mighty to save, yea as if
salvation was then already wrought out by him, Jer 3:23 Isa 49:6 35:4 63:1,5
Zec 9:9.  They speak of the nature
of it as an everlasting salvation, and describe the persons interested in it as
the Israel of God, both Jews and Gentiles; even such who are at the ends of the
earth, and who are encouraged to look to Christ for salvation, Isa 45:17,22 and
they speak of the time when it should be wrought out, Da 9:24 1Pe 1:10,11.

3c.  There are various things relating to
Christ, his person, office and grace, which are copiously and frequently spoken
of by the prophets in this period of time; as his incarnation, which though not
till many hundred years after, is spoken of as if then done, because of the
certainty of it in the purpose and promise of God, “to us a child is
born,” Isa 9:6 his birth of a virgin, with the name given him, Immanuel,
God with us; and which is represented as wonderful, new and unheard of, as it
justly might, Isa 7:14 Mt 1:23 Jer 31:22 Da 2:45.  The place of his birth, Bethlehem
Ephratah, Mic 5:2 Mt 2:4-6 Joh 7:41,42.
Some things following his birth, as the murder of the infants about
Bethlehem; his being carried to Egypt, and called again from thence, and
residing in Nazareth, Jer 31:15 Ho 11:1 Mt 2:13-23.  The parts where he should chiefly live,
converse, and minister, Isa 9:1 Mt 4:13,14.  His state of humiliation, sufferings, and
death, which are particularly described in Isa 53:1-12.  The circumstances of his being sold for
thirty pieces of silver by one of his disciples, forsaken by them all, and his
side pierced with a spear, Zec 11:12,13 13:7 12:10 Mt 27:3-10 26:31 Joh
19:34-37.  The prophets also speak
of the time of his coming and of his sufferings: Daniel fixes the exact time of
them, from a date given; and Haggai and Malachi declare he should come into the
second temple, and give it a greater glory than the former; so that he must
come and suffer as he did, before the destruction of that, Da 9:24,26 Hag 2:7,9
Mal 3:1.  And the same prophets,
with Zechariah, who were the last of the prophets, speak of his near approach,
that he was just at hand, and would soon, Suddenly, and at unawares, come into
his temple; and of his forerunner, Zec 3:8 6:12 9:9 Hag 2:6 Mal 3:1 4:5 but
though the prophets mentioned were the last of the inspired writers, prophecy
did not wholly cease with them; as appears by the instances of Zechariah the
father of John the Baptist, who prophesied of him, and of the Messiah; and good
old Simeon, to whom it was revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see
death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ; and Anna the prophetess, who
spoke of him to those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem, Lu 1:67
2:25,26,36,38.  So true it is what
our Lord says, that “the law and the prophets were until John”;
which finishes the Old Testament dispensation, and the first and old
administration of the covenant of grace; after which the kingdom of God, or
gospel of Christ, was preached more clearly and fully, and God spake no more by
the prophets, but by his Son, Lu 16:16 Heb 1:1,2 when the second and new
covenant, or administration of it, took place; of which we shall treat in the
next chapter.  And from what has been
observed it appears, that the former administration of the covenant of grace,
reaching from the fall of Adam to the coming of Christ, was by types and
figures, by shadows and sacrifices, and by promises and prophecies of future
things, which are now fulfilled; Christ, the sum and substance of all, being
come, the great blessing of the covenant of grace, and in whom all are
included.

Chapter
5:

Of the Abrogation of the Old Covenant, Or First Administration of it, And the
Introduction of the New, Or Second Administration of it

When we speak of the Abrogation of the
Covenant this is to be understood, not of the covenant of grace, as to the
matter and substance of it, which remains invariably the same in all periods of
time; it is an everlasting covenant; it is ordered in all things and sure; it can
never be broken and made void; every promise of it is unalterable, and every
blessing irreversible; the covenant of peace can never be removed; it will
stand firm to all generations; but with respect to the form of the
administration of it only, even the form of it, under the former, or Old
Testament dispensation, before described; and in order to set this in its true
and proper light,

1.  First, Let it be observed, that it was
never designed that the first administration of the covenant of grace should
continue always in that form; it was foretold that there should be a cessation
of it, and therefore it might be expected.

1a.  It was only intended to continue for a
certain time, called, “The time of reformation,” Heb 9:10 when
there would be a reform from burdensome rites and ceremonies; or “of
correction,” when what was faulty and deficient would be corrected,
amended, and become perfect; or “of direction,” when the saints
would be directed to look to Christ, the substance of types and figures, and for
perfection in him; the same with “the time appointed of the
Father,” until which time, children, though heirs, are under tutors and
governors; so the Israelites were under the elements of the world, the
ceremonies of the former dispensation, under the tutorage and pedagogy of the
law: for the “law,” the ceremonial law, was their
“schoolmaster unto Christ,” that led them to him, and instructed
them in him; but when he came, they were no longer under a schoolmaster; and
this was when “the fulness of time was come,” agreed on between the
Father and the Son; at which time the Son was sent, “that they might
receive the adoption of children,” and be no more considered as in their
nonage, and as needing the instructions of a schoolmaster, Ga 3:1-4
3:24,25.

1b.  The ancient form of the administration of
the covenant of grace, in a course of time, was limited to a certain people in
a certain country, worshipping at a certain place, and sacrificing on the same
altar.  The word, worship and
service of God, peculiarly belonged to the Jews, which was their distinguishing
privilege above all the nations of the world, Ps 147:19,20 Ro 3:1,2 9:4.  All their males were obliged three times
in the year to appear at Jerusalem and worship together; and all their
offerings and sacrifices were to be brought and offered on the altar there, and
no where else, De 12:11,14 16:16.
Now such a state of things was never designed to continue always; since
when Shiloh, the Messiah, should come, there would be a gathering of the people
to him, of people out of all nations of the world, who were to be blessed in
him; he was to be set up as an ensign to them, to whom they would seek; from
the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, his name was to be great
among the Gentiles, and incense to be offered to it in every place, Ge 49:10
Isa 11:10 Mal 1:11.  Now to such a
dispensation the former state of things could never suit, and therefore could
not be intended to be continued; the people of all nations could never be
convened into one country, and worship at one place, and sacrifice on one
altar.

1c.  It is expressly foretold, that there
would be “a new covenant,” or a new administration of it; and that
the former, in course, would cease, Jer 31:31,32 and it is upon this the
apostle reasons, and proves the abrogation of the former covenant, “in
that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old,” Heb
8:8,13.  Particularly it was
foretold, that sacrifices should cease, and be no longer acceptable to God;
which were a considerable branch of the administration of the old
covenant.  These were from the
beginning, as early as the first manifestation of the covenant of grace to
fallen man: indeed, while they were in use by divine appointment, they were not
in such high esteem with God as moral obedience and spiritual services, 1Sa 15:22 Ps 69:30,31 Ho 6:6.  And plain hints were given, that the
time would come when they should be no more practised and regarded David had
knowledge, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, of what Christ, the surety
of his people, said to his divine Father in the council and covenant of peace,
and what he would say again when he came into the world to be their Saviour;
“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire,” &c.  “Then said I, Lo, I come,”
&c.  Ps 40:6,7 Heb 10:5-7.  Christ’s coming into the world to
offer up himself a sacrifice for the sins of his people, was virtually saying,
that God would have legal sacrifices no longer ordered up, and would no more
accept of them.  And Daniel
expressly says, that the Messiah would “cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease”; the daily sacrifice, and every other offering
according to the law, Da 9:27.  And
the Jews themselves say, {1} “that all sacrifices will cease in time to
come (in the time of their vainly expected Messiah) but the sacrifice of
praise.”

According to prophecy, the Levitical
priesthood, with which so many rites and ceremonies were connected, and upon
which sacrifices were established, and in the exercise of which they were
performed, was to be changed; the Messiah was to come, an High Priest of
another order of priesthood than that of Aaron; “Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek,” Ps 110:4 which are the words of God
the Father to Christ, and from whence the apostle argues the imperfection of
the Levitical priesthood, and the change of it; and also of necessity the
change of the whole law, on which it was founded, Heb 7:11,12 7:15-17.

The ark was something very remarkable
in the former dispensation; in it was the Decalogue, and on the side of it the
whole body of the Jewish laws; it was a token, and indeed the place of the
divine presence, and a type of Christ, a symbol of the covenant; and therefore
called the ark of the covenant, and included the whole of the ceremonial law;
and is put for the whole service and worship of that dispensation.  Now of this it is foretold, that there
would be a time when it should be no more, and should not be so much as thought
of any more, Jer 3:16.

The ecclesiastical, as well as civil
state of the Jews, was to be shaken and removed; the one is signified by the
shaking of the heaven, as the other by the shaking of the earth, in Hag 2:6
which the apostle explains of “the removing of things shaken, that those
things which cannot be shaken may remain,” Heb 12:26,27 even of the
immovable kingdom after spoken of; the second administration of the covenant of
grace, which is to remain, and the ordinances of it, until the second coming of
Christ; whereas the ordinances of divine service under the first covenant were
so shaken as to be removed; and which were made to be removed, as they have
been, according to the above prediction.

Prophecy was another considerable way
and means by which the covenant of grace was administered, throughout the whole
Old Testament dispensation; and it was foretold that this should be sealed up,
finished, and cease; for one part of the Messiah’s work, when come, was
to seal up the “vision and prophecy,” Da 9:24 all the visions and
prophecies of the Old Testament were to have, and had their accomplishment in
Christ; were to be sealed up and fulfilled in him, the sum and substance of
them; or to “seal up the vision and prophet”; the prophets were to
be till John, the forerunner of Christ, and no longer: after Christ, the great
Prophet to be raised up, like unto Moses, there was to be no other, he only is
to be heard; whatever scheme of things, either as to doctrine or worship, is
set up, through pretended vision and prophecy, is to be disregarded; nor has
any prophet risen up since prophecy, as foretold, was at an end.  From all this now it might be expected,
that the first and old administration of the covenant would in time cease.

2.  Secondly, There are reasons to be given
why the first covenant should and must cease.

2a.  It was a typical covenant; the people on
whose account it was made, was a typical people, typical of the whole Israel of
God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles; of the spiritual Israel, chosen of God,
redeemed by Christ, and who shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; the
works, duties, and services enjoined them, and required of them with so much
strictness, rigour, and severity, were typical of the obedience of Christ, the
surety of the spiritual Israel; of that righteousness he was to fulfil and bring
in, by which they are made righteous in the sight of God.  The blessings promised unto them were
typical ones; they were only shadows of good things, of spiritual blessings
that were to come by Christ, Heb 10:1 9:11.  As the earthly Canaan was a type of the
heavenly inheritance, obtained in him; the sacrifices offered under that
covenant were typical ones; the priests that offered them, the garments they
offered them in, and the gifts and sacrifices offered by them, “served to
the example and shadow of heavenly things,” Heb 8:4,5 9:23.  The mediator of it, Moses, was a typical
mediator, typical of Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant; the blood with
which the first testament, or covenant, was dedicated and confirmed, was
typical blood, typical of the blood of Christ, called, “The blood of the
everlasting covenant,” Heb 9:18 13:20.  Now when the Antitype of all this came,
the types must cease; when Christ, the body, the sum and substance appeared,
these shadows must flee away, and disappear, in course, Col 2:17.

2b.  It was a faulty covenant, and therefore
it was proper it should give way to a new and better covenant; so the apostle
reasons; “for if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no
place have been sought for the second,” Heb 8:7,8.  Not that there was anything sinful or
criminal in the first covenant, but it was defective; there were some
deficiencies in it, which made the abrogation of it necessary.---

2b1.  It did not exhibit Christ present, only
in figure, in promise, and in prophecy; it only signified, that he would come
and save his people; but it did not hold forth salvation as wrought out by him;
it gave an intimation of the righteousness of Christ, that he was to bring in,
but not as brought in; under it the propitiation, reconciliation, and
satisfaction for sin, were not made, nor redemption from it obtained; wherefore
Christ became the propitiation “for the remission of sins that are
past”; and he suffered death “for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first testament,” Ro 3:25 Heb 9:15.

2b2.  The sacrifices then offered were
imperfect; for some sins there were no sacrifices appointed, as for sabbath
breaking, murder, adultery, &c.
and those that were appointed, could not really take away sin; at most
they only made a typical expiation, not a real one; they sanctified only
“to the purifying of the flesh”; but could not remove sin from the
conscience, and “purge that from dead works”; that only the blood
of Christ could do, Heb 9:13,14.

2b3.  There was but a small measure of the
gifts and graces of the Spirit bestowed on men under the first covenant; for
though there were here and there one on whom great gifts, and much grace were
bestowed, as Abraham and David, &c.
yet in common, it was but a scanty measure of grace, light, knowledge,
and holiness, that was given to ordinary saints; and the communication was
made, for the most part, only to Israelites, and but to a few among them, a
remnant, according to the election of grace.

2b4.  It was a state of darkness and obscurity
under that covenant; it was like a night season, in which lamps are lighted,
and torches used; such was the sure word of prophecy; it was like a light or
lamp in a dark place; there was light in some particular persons, as in the
prophets, and it was held forth by them; but in general there was but little
among the people, who “could not stedfastly look to the end of that which
is abolished,” the ceremonial law; under which the mysteries of grace
were couched, were clouded, and lay hid; they could not clearly see the end,
design, and scope of them; though there were glorious promises of grace, these
were covered with the veil of ceremonies, of which the veil, on the glory of
the face of Moses, was a type, 2Co 3:7,13.

2b5.  It was a state of bondage; this covenant
was signified by Hagar the bondwoman, and by mount Sinai, which gendered to
bondage, and answered to Jerusalem, as it was in the apostle’s time; to
the state of the Jews then, who were in bondage with their children: and the
Israelites, while in their nonage, while children, were in bondage, under the
elements of the world, which brought upon them a spirit of bondage to fear; for
such a number of laws and ordinances being given them, to the breach of which
death was annexed without mercy; and they so liable to break them, they,
through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage, Ga 4:3,24,25
Ro 8:15 Heb 2:15.

2c.  The rites and ceremonies by which this
covenant was greatly administered, are by the apostle called, “weak and
beggarly elements”; and being “weak” and
“unprofitable,” there was, therefore, a “disannulling”
of them, Ga 4:9 Heb 7:18,19.  The
sacrifices, which were a principal part of them, could not make, neither them
that did them, nor the comers unto them, perfect, as to the conscience; they
could not purge the worshippers, or those that attended ceremonial services, so
as that they should have no more conscience of sin; they could not take away
sin, neither from the sight of God, nor from the conscience of the sinner; nor
so as that there should be no remembrance of them; for notwithstanding the
daily sacrifices, morning and evening, and others on particular accounts, there
was an annual remembrance made of them all, on the day of atonement, Heb 9:9
10:1-4.  And especially when the
great high priest was come, and his sacrifice was offered, they were quite
impotent and useless, to answer any end at all: and therefore of right ought to
cease, and be no more used; which leads,

3.  Thirdly, To the abrogation of the first
covenant, or of the administration of it; which was signified by the rending of
the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies, at the death of Christ;
whereby the way into the holiest of all was made manifest, and all within exposed
to open view; as are the mysteries of grace, the veil of ceremonies being
removed; and now, with boldness and freedom, entrance is had into the holiest
of all by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, consecrated through the
veil of his flesh, which the former veil was a type of.  The abrogation of the old covenant is
expressed by “breaking down the middle wall of partition,” which
stood between Jews and Gentiles; such the ceremonial law was, and is so called
in allusion to the enclosure of the court of the Israelites, in the temple,
over which the Gentiles might not pass; and by abolishing and slaving the
enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; the same
ceremonial law, which had this name; because it indicated the hatred of God
against sin, and irritated the hatred of natural men to it, by its numerous and
wearisome rites; and because it was the occasion of enmity between Jew and
Gentile, Eph 2:14-16.  It is
moreover expressed by a disannulling of the commandment, the commandment of the
priesthood, and of sacrifices and rites belonging to it; and even the whole
ceremonial law, as to be of no more force, nor any longer binding; so that no
man, henceforward, ought to “judge” another, with respect to them,
nor take upon him to command an observance of them, and require obedience to
them, Heb 7:19 Col 2:16,17.  It is
likewise expressed by “a blotting out the hand writing of ordinances that
was against us”; being an accusation for sin, containing a charge of sin,
and implying an acknowledgment of it; as if they had given it under their
hands, and showing and owning that satisfaction for sin, and that expiation
were not yet made; wherefore when Christ came and paid the debt, he took up his
bond, and cancelled it, and blotted out this handwriting against his people,
that it might not be read any more, and nailed it to his cross; where law and
justice are directed to go for satisfaction, Col 2:14.  Once more, the abolition of the first
covenant, and its form of administration, is signified by the fleeing away and
disappearance of shadows.  The law
and its ceremonies were only shadows of good things to come by Christ; when he,
the Sun of Righteousness, arose, these shadows fled; when he, the body, sum,
and substance appeared, these disappeared: to this the church has respect, So
2:17 4:6.

Now the abrogation of the first and
old covenant, or of that form of administration of the covenant of grace, was
made, not at once, but gradually; and which the apostle suggests, when he says;
“In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old; now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away,” Heb 8:13.  It began to decay, and there were some
symptoms of a decay of it at the Babylonish captivity, and under the second
temple; when the land of Canaan, a type of the heavenly inheritance, was seized
upon by the Chaldeans, the inhabitants carried captive, a governor appointed
over it by the king of Babylon, and people left in it to till it for his use;
the temple was burnt, and temple worship and service ceased for many years, and
the vessels of it were carried to Babylon; and though after a term of years
there was a return of the people to their own land, and the temple was rebuilt,
and worship restored; yet, as the Jews themselves own {2}, the ark and many
other things were wanting in that temple; great declensions there were, both in
doctrine and worship; the sect of the Pharisees arose, and set up their own
traditions upon a level with the written word, if not above it; and great confusion
there was in the priesthood, that and the civil government being blended
together; and men were put into it, especially towards the close of this
period, that were very unfit for it; and oftentimes obtained it by corruption
and bribery; all which showed a decay, and foreboded a change of things as
near.

John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Christ, came and proclaimed the near approach of the Messiah; he declared, that
“the kingdom of heaven was at hand,” Mt 3:2.  The gospel dispensation, the new administration
of the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it: his father, at his birth,
called him “the prophet of the Highest,” who was to prepare his
way, and give knowledge of salvation to his people; and when he entered upon
his office, he directed the people to believe on Christ, who was to come; and
quickly pointed him to them, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world,” Joh 1:29 which the lambs of the daily
sacrifice, and all other sacrifices, could not do.  Christ himself appeared, and preached
the same as John had done, and began his ministry with the same words; but
during his life the ceremonies of the law continued in use: he himself was
circumcised the eighth day; his mother purified herself according to law, at
the proper time, and presented him in the temple, cording to the usual manner;
at twelve years of age he went up with his parents to Jerusalem, to keep the
passover; and when he had entered on his public ministry, he attended synagogue
and temple worship; when he healed the leper he sent him to the priest to offer
his gift; and one of the last actions of his life, was keeping the passover
with his disciples; but at his death, of right, though not in fact, all
ceremonies ceased, and even the whole dispensation or administration of the
covenant, as it had been before in use; all things now concerning him had an
end, Lu 22:37 all types and figures, shadows, sacrifices, promises, and
prophecies; he by his sacrifice, by his sufferings and death, caused the sacrifice
and oblation to cease, of right; nor should any afterwards have been offered
up, Da 9:27 nor any other rite and ceremony observed: yet, through the
influence of Judaizing teachers over weak minds, it was thought advisable to
continue the use of some of the ceremonies, at least for a time; after it was
known by Peter and others, that they were no longer in force, yet because of
the many thousands of Jews, who were all zealous of the law, it was judged
proper that compliances should be made, and charity and prudence to be
exercised, that weak minds might not be offended, until they were better
instructed in the doctrine of Christian liberty; which, when that was done, the
use of them was strongly opposed against the obstinate and self-willed, who
were resolved to retain them at any rate; and the saints were exhorted to stand
fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, and not to be
entangled with the yoke of bondage; by which means the Christian churches were
freed from those burdensome rites and ceremonies.  But still the carnal Jews continued
them, and even sacrifices, until the destruction of Jerusalem, which put an end
to them; for according to the law of God, no sacrifice might be offered but at
Jerusalem, and upon the altar there; so that when the city, temple, and altar
were destroyed, they ceased to offer any sacrifice, and never have offered any
since; whereby that prophecy is remarkably fulfilled; “the children of
Israel shall abide many days without a sacrifice,” Ho 3:4 as they have for
nineteen hundred years, and still do; not even a passover lamb is slain by
them, as well as no other sacrifice offered; which yet they would gladly offer,
in defiance of Christ, the great Sacrifice, were it not for the above law,
which stands in their way, and by which they are awed; and which is no small
instance of the wisdom and goodness of God in providence.  Now it was a little before the
destruction of Jerusalem
the apostle wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, and therefore, with great
propriety, he says of the old covenant, that it was not only decayed, and waxen
old, but was “ready to vanish away,” Heb 8:13.
This being the case,

4.  Fourthly, The new covenant, or the new
administration of the covenant of grace, took place; and as the one was gradually
removed, the other was gradually introduced; and this observation will serve to
reconcile the different areas fixed by different persons, for the beginning of
the new dispensation; some placing it at the birth of Christ; offsets at the
ministry of John the Baptist; others at the death of Christ, and his
resurrection from the dead; and others at his ascension, and the effusion of
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; whereas these were so many gradual
manifestations of it: at the birth of Christ, undoubtedly, “the fulness
of time” was come for the redemption of his people from the law who were
under it; and on which very day the gospel was first preached by the angels to
the shepherds, and afterwards more clearly and fully by John, by Christ and his
apostles: Mark the evangelist, seems to make the beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ the Son of God, to be with the ministry of John the Baptist, Mr
1:1-3 and which agrees with what Christ says; “the law and the prophets
were until John”; they terminated in him, his ministry put a period to
them; “since that time the kingdom of God is preached” in a clearer
manner, and attended to by more than it was before, Lu 16:16.  Christ appeared, and preached the gospel
as never man did; grace and truth came by him in a clearer and fuller manner
than it ever had: he not only preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand,
as John did, but that it was already come; though not with pomp, with outward
show and observation, and was actually among the people, Lu 17:20,21.  At his death, and by the shedding of his
blood, the New Testament was sealed, ratified, and confirmed by him, as the
Testator of it; and therefore called, “the blood of the New Testament,
and the blood of the everlasting Covenant,” Mt 26:28 Heb 13:20 of that
new administration of the covenant which should always continue; but this new
dispensation more clearly appeared at his ascension, and by the effusion of the
Holy Spirit on the apostles at the day of Pentecost; at his resurrection he
gave them a commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature; and ordered them to wait at Jerusalem until they were endued with the
Holy Spirit, as they were on the above day; whereby they were furnished and
qualified to carry the gospel, and preach it among all nations, as they
did.  And now it may be observed,
that the new administration of the covenant, under the gospel dispensation,
lies in the following things:

4a.  In an exhibition of Christ as come, and
as become the author of eternal salvation; in it he is set and held forth as
incarnate; as having obeyed, suffered, and died, and has made peace and
reconciliation, and full satisfaction for sin; and has obtained eternal
redemption; has risen from the dead, and ascended to heaven, and has received
for and given gifts to men to preach his gospel; these various articles of
grace are comprised in the “great mystery of godliness,” 1Ti 3:16
and in those words, which are the sum of the gospel declaration, “this is
a faithful saying,” &c.
1Ti 1:15.

4b.  In a more clear and extensive
ministration of the gospel: it first began to be spoken by Christ in the
clearest and fullest manner it possibly could be; and then by his apostles, who
received it from him, and gifts to minister it; and who by his orders carried
it throughout the world, and preached it to every creature under heaven, first
to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles; and is, “according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations, for the
obedience of faith,” Ro 16:25,26 so that the administration of the
covenant is no longer restrained to a certain people, but men of all nations
have the benefit of it.

4c.  In a freedom from all bondage and
servitude: not from the bondage of sin and Satan, common to all believers under
every dispensation; but from the rigorous exaction of the law, as a covenant of
works; from the yoke of the ceremonial law, and from the judicial laws, as
peculiar to the Jews; and which further lies in the free use of things
indifferent, and in the enjoyment of the privileges and immunities of the
gospel church state: this is the glorious liberty of the children of God, the
liberty with which Christ has made them free; and who receive the Spirit of
adoption, by whom they cry, Abba, Father; and who is a free Spirit, and where
he is, there is liberty.

4d.  In a large communication of the gifts
and graces of the Spirit: of extraordinary gifts, which in the first part of
this administration were bestowed, not only upon the apostles, but upon common Christians,
men and women, sons and daughters, servants and handmaids, according to the
prophecy of Joel, Joe 2:28,29 of common and ordinary gifts, to fit men for the
ordinary ministry of the word; and of the special graces of the Spirit, in a
greater degree to saints in common; as a larger measure of faith, peace, joy,
and comfort, and of light and knowledge; for according to this covenant, and
the administration of it, all know the Lord from the least to the greatest; and
though John was greater than the prophets, the least in this kingdom of heaven,
or gospel dispensation, is greater than he, Jer 31:34 Mt 11:11.

4e.  In ordinances more spiritual than the
ordinances of divine service under the first covenant were, which are called
“carnal” ones; but these, which are Baptism and the Lord’s
Supper, do in a very lively and spiritual manner represent the sufferings,
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and hold forth the blessings of the
covenant of grace in a comfortable way, and are the means of applying them to
believers, to the increase of their joy and peace; and these will continue
throughout the present administration of the covenant, even to the end of the
world, Mt 28:19,20 1Co 11:26.  Of
these ordinances I shall particularly treat elsewhere.

Now as the former administration of
the covenant was carried through the various periods of time from the first
exhibition, after the fall of Adam, to the first coming of Christ; so this
second and new administration of the covenant is carried through various
successive periods, unto his second coming.  The book of the Revelation exhibits the
state of the church from the resurrection of Christ to his personal coming; and
particularly the seven churches of Asia are emblematical of it in each of the
successive periods of time within that interval; and represent it in its
various changes and vicissitudes, as sometimes in prosperity and sometimes in
adversity; sometimes in the freer use and enjoyment of the ministry of the word
and ordinances, and sometimes as under clouds, darkness, and discouragements,
through persecutors and false teachers, until the spiritual reign of Christ
takes place; when the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
and be enlightened with his glory; when the gospel will be in its purity
everywhere, and the ordinances kept as they were first delivered, and gospel
churches set up, and gospel discipline maintained everywhere; which will be
followed with the personal reign of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the
last judgment, and the ultimate glory: of each of which in their proper
place.

Chapter 6:

Of the Law of God

It appears by what has been observed,
that there was an intermixture of law and gospel under the former dispensation,
as there also is in the present one; they are interspersed in both testaments;
though the law was more largely held forth than the gospel, under the former
dispensation; and therefore we commonly call it the legal dispensation; and
there is more of the gospel than of the law under the present dispensation; for
which reason we call it the gospel dispensation; yet there are of each in both;
and here will be a proper place to treat of law and gospel distinctly, which
will connect what has been already said to what is yet to be said; and by the latter
I shall be naturally led to the great and glorious truths of the gospel, I
intend to treat distinctly of.  And
shall begin with the law.

The word law is variously used,
sometimes for a part of the Scriptures only, the Pentateuch, or five books of
Moses; as when it is mentioned in the division of the Scripture by Christ, Lu
24:44 and along with the prophets, and as distinct from them, Joh 1:45
8:5.  Sometimes for all the books of
the Old Testament, which in general go by the name of the Law, as does the book
of Psalms on that account, as the places quoted out of it, or referred to in
it, show, Joh 10:34 Joh 12:34 15:25.
Sometimes it signifies the doctrine of the Scriptures in general, both
legal and evangelical, Ps 19:7 and the doctrine of the gospel in particular,
even the doctrine of the Messiah, Isa 2:3 Isa 42:4 called in the New Testament
“the law,” or doctrine “of faith,” Ro 3:27 and
sometimes it signifies the whole body of laws given from God by Moses to the
children of Israel, as distinct from the gospel of the grace of God, Joh 1:17
and which may be distinguished into the laws ceremonial, judicial, and
moral.

1.  The ceremonial law, of which little need
be said, since much has been observed concerning it already; this concerns the
ecclesiastical state of the Jews, their priests, sacrifices, feasts, fasts,
washings, &c.  and though some
of these rites were before the times of Moses, as sacrifices, the distinction
of clean and unclean creatures, circumcision, &c.  yet these were renewed and confirmed,
and others added to them; and the whole digested into a body of laws by Moses,
and given by him under a divine direction to the people of Israel.  This law was a shadow of good things to
come by Christ, of evangelical things, and indeed was no other than the gospel
veiled in types and figures; the priests served to the example and shadow of
heavenly things; the sacrifices were typical of the sacrifice of Christ; the
festivals were shadows, of which Christ was the body and substance; the
ablutions typified cleansing by the blood of Christ; and the whole was a
schoolmaster to the Jews, until he came; but when faith came, that is, Christ,
the object of faith, they were no longer under a schoolmaster, nor had they
need of the law as such; there was a disannulling of it, because of its
weakness and unprofitableness; for it became useless and unnecessary, having
its accomplishment in Christ.

2.  The judicial law, which respects the
political state or civil government of the Jews, and consists of statutes and
judgments, according to which the judges in Israel determined all causes
brought before them, and passed sentence; in which sentence the people were to
acquiesce, De 17:8-11.  Such as
related to any injuries done to their persons or property, and to the punishment
of offences, both of a greater and of a lesser kind; these were given by Moses,
but not made by him; they were made by God himself.  The government of the Jews was a very
particular form of government; it was a theocracy, a government immediately
under God; though he is King of the whole world, and Governor among and over
the nations of it, yet he was in a special and peculiar manner King over
Israel; and he made laws for them, by which they were to be ruled and governed:
nor had the commonwealth of Israel a power to make any new laws; nor any of
their judges and rulers, not even Moses, their lawgiver under God: and
therefore, when any matter came before him, not clearly determined by any law
given by God, he suspended the determination of it until he knew the mind of
God about it; see Le 24:12 Nu 15:34.
And when the people of Israel were desirous of a king, after the manner
of neighbouring nations, it was resented by the Lord, and reckoned by him as a rejection
of him from being their King; and though he gave them a king, or suffered them
to have one, it was in anger; and so far he still kept the peculiar government
of them in his hands, that their kings never had any power to make new laws;
nor did their best and wisest of kings make any, as David and Solomon; and when
a reformation was made among them, as by Hezekiah and Josiah, it was not by
making any new regulations, but by putting the old laws into execution; and by
directing and requiring of the judges, and other officers, to act according to
them.

It may be inquired, whether the
judicial laws, or the laws respecting the Jewish polity, are now in force or
not, and to be observed or not; which may be resolved by distinguishing between
them; there were some that were peculiar to the state of the Jews, their
continuance in the land of Canaan, and while their polity lasted, and until the
coming of the Messiah, when they were to cease, as is clear from Ge 49:10 such
as related to inheritances, and the alienation of them by marriage or otherwise;
the restoration of them when sold at the year of jubilee; the marrying of a
brother’s wife when he died without issue, &c.  the design of which was, to keep the
tribes distinct until the Messiah came, that it might be clearly known from
what tribe he sprung.  And there
were others that were peculiarly suited to the natural temper and disposition
of that people, who were covetous, cruel, and oppressive of the poor, froward
and perverse, jealous and revengeful; hence the laws concerning the manumission
of servants sold, at the end of the sixth year; the release of debts, and
letting the land rest from tillage every seventh year; concerning lending on
interest; leaving a corner in the field for the poor, and the forgotten sheaf;
--and others concerning divorces, and the trial of a suspected wife, and the
cities of refuge to flee to from the avenger of blood: these, with others,
ceased when the Jewish polity did, and are not binding on other nations.  But then there were other judicial laws,
which were founded on the light of nature, on reason, and on justice and
equity, and these remain in full force; and they must be wise as well as
righteous laws, which were made by God himself, their King and Legislator, as
they are said to be, De 4:6,8.  And
they are, certainly, the best constituted and regulated governments that come
nearest to the commonwealth of lsrael, and the civil laws of it, which are of
the kind last described; and where they are acted up unto, there what is said
by Wisdom is most truly verified, “By me kings reign, and princes decree
judgment”; and if these laws were more strictly attended to, which
respect the punishment of offences, especially capital ones, things would be
put upon a better footing than they are in some governments; and judges, in passing
sentences, would be able to do that part of their office with more certainty
and safety, and with a better conscience.
And whereas the commonwealth of Israel was governed by these laws for
many hundreds of years, and needed no other in their civil polity, when, in
such a course of time, every case that ordinarily happens, must arise, and be
brought into a court of judicature; I cannot but be of opinion, that a digest
of civil laws might be made out of the Bible, the law of the Lord that is
perfect, either as lying in express words in it, or to be deduced by the
analogy of things and cases, and by just consequence, as would be sufficient
for the government of any nation: and then there would be no need of so many
law books, nor of so many lawyers; and perhaps there would be fewer law
suits.  However, we Christians,
under whatsoever government we are, are directed to submit to every ordinance
of man for the Lord’s sake, and for conscience sake; even to everyone
that is not contrary to common sense and reason, and to religion and
conscience; see Ro 13:1-7 Tit 3:1 1Pe 2:13,14.

3.  The moral law, which lies chiefly in the
Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, Ex 20:3-17 and which our Lord has reduced, even
both tables of the law, to two capital ones, love to God, and love to our
neighbour, Mt 22:36-40 as the apostle has reduced the commands of the second
table to one, that is, love, which he calls the fulfilling of the law, Ro
13:9,10.  And this law, to love God
and our neighbour, is binding on every man, and is eternal, and remains
invariable and unalterable; and concerning which I shall treat more
largely.  And shall consider,

3a.  First, The author and giver of this law;
God was the author and maker of it; Moses the giver and minister of it from
God; it was God that first spoke the ten words, or commands, to the children of
Israel; and it was he that wrote and engraved them on tables of stone; the
writing was the writing of God, and the engraving was by the finger of God; it
was from his right hand this fiery law went: the ministry of angels was made
use of in it; it is called, the word spoken by angels; it was given by the
disposition of them; it was ordained by them in the hands of a mediator, who
was Moses, who stood between God and the people, received the lively oracles
from him, and delivered them to them.
There was a law in being before the times of Moses; or otherwise there
would have been no transgression, no imputation of sin, no charge of guilt, nor
any punishment inflicted; whereas death, the just demerit of sin, reigned from
Adam to Moses; and besides the positive law, which forbid the eating of the
fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; and was given as a trial of
man’s obedience to the whole moral law, and in the form of a covenant, in
which Adam stood as a federal head, to all his posterity; and which covenant he
broke, and involved himself and his in misery and ruin.  Besides this, there was the law of
nature, inscribed on his heart by his Maker, as the rule of his obedience to
him; and by which he knew much of God, and of the nature of moral good and
evil; and which; though much obliterated by the fall, some remains of it are to
be discerned in Adam’s posterity; and even in the Gentiles, Ro 1:19,20
2:14,15 and which is reinscribed in the hearts of God’s people in
regeneration, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace, Jer 31:33.  Now the law of Moses, for matter and
substance, is the same with the law of nature, though differing in the form of
administration; and this was renewed in the times of Moses, that it might be
confirmed, and that it might not be forgotten, and be wholly lost out of the
minds of men; of which there was great danger, through the great prevalence of
corruption in the world: and it was written, that it might remain,
“litera scripta manet”; and it was written on tables of stone, that
it might be the more durable; the apostle says, “it was added because of
transgressions,” to forbid them, restrain them, and punish for them; and
it “entered that the offence might abound,” the sin of Adam; that
the heinousness of it might appear, and the justness of its imputation to all
his posterity might be manifest; as well as all other offences might be seen by
it to be exceeding sinful, and righteously punishable: see Ga 3:19 Ro 5:20 Ro
7:13.  It was not delivered as a
pure covenant of works, though the self-righteous Jews turned it into one, and
sought for life and righteousness by it: and so it gendered to bondage, and
became a killing letter; nor a pure covenant of grace, though it was given as a
distinguishing favour to the people of Israel, De 4:6,8 Ps 147:19,20 Ro 9:4 and
much mercy and kindness are expressed in it; and it is prefaced with a
declaration of the Lord being the God of Israel, who had, of his great
goodness, brought them out of the land of Egypt, Ex 20:2,6,12.  But it was a part and branch of the
typical covenant, under which the covenant of grace was administered under the
former dispensation; and of what it was typical, has been observed before; and
a principal end of its being renewed was, that Christ, who was to come of the
Jews, might appear to be made under the law, as the surety of his people, the
righteousness of which he was to fulfil, and, indeed, all righteousness; being
the end of the law, the scope at which it aimed, as well as the fulfiller of
it.

3b.  Secondly, The epithets of this law, or
the properties of it, may be next considered; such as the scriptures expressly
give to it; and which will lead into the nature and quality of it.  As,

3b1.  That it is perfect.  “The law of the Lord is
perfect,” Ps 19:7 which is true of the moral law, by which men come to
know “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God,”
Ro 12:2 what it is his will should be done, and what not be done; it takes in
the whole duty of men, both to God and man; for to fear God, and keep his
commandments, is the whole duty of man; it includes love to God, and love to
our neighbour; and which are comprehensive of every duty to both: it is very
large and capacious; it is the commandment which is exceeding broad; it is so
complete and perfect, that as nothing is to be detracted from it, so nothing is
to be added to it, nor can be added to it, to make it more perfect: the papists
talk of counsels, exhortations, &c.
as additions; but these belong either to law or gospel.  And the Socinians say, that Christ came
to make the law more perfect; which they infer from some passages in Mt 5:1-48
where Christ observes, that it had been said by some of the ancients of old,
thus and thus; but he said, so and so; which is not to be understood of any new
laws made by him, but as giving the true sense of the old laws, and vindicating
them from the false glosses and interpretations of the Scribes and Pharisees:
and when the apostle John speaks of a new commandment, he means the old
commandment to love one another, as he himself explains it, 1Jo 2:7,8 and which
he calls new, because enforced by a new instance and example of Christ’s
love in dying for his people, and by new motives and arguments taken from the
same.---

3b2.  It is spiritual; We know that the law is
spiritual, says the apostle, Ro 7:14 which is to be understood of the moral
law; for as for the ceremonial law, that is called, “The law of a carnal
commandment”; and is said to stand in “carnal ordinances,”
Heb 7:16 9:10 which only reached the flesh, and the sanctifying of that: but
the moral law is so spiritual in its nature and requirements, that so holy and
spiritual a man as the apostle Paul when he compared himself with it, and
viewed himself in the glass of it, thought himself “carnal, and sold
under sin”.  The law reaches
to the thoughts and intents of the heart, and the affections of the mind, and
forbids and checks all irregular and inordinate motions in it, and the lusts of
it.  Thus, for instance, the sixth
command not only forbids actual murder, but all undue heat, passion, anger,
wrath, malice, resentment and revenge, conceived in the mind, and expressed by
words.  So the seventh command not
only prohibits the outward acts of uncleanness, as fornication, adultery,
&c.  but all unclean thoughts,
impure desires, and unchaste affections, as well as looks and words.  The law directs, not only to an external
worship of God, but to an internal, spiritual one; as to love the Lord, to fear
him, and put trust and confidence in him, suitable to his nature as a Spirit;
it requires of a man to serve it with his own mind and spirit, with his whole
heart, as the apostle did, Ro 7:25 and the assistance of the Spirit of God is
necessary to the observance of it; and God in covenant has promised his people,
that he “will put his Spirit within them, and cause them to walk in his
statutes,” and “keep his judgments, and do them,” Eze 36:27.

3b3.  The law is “holy”; so it is
said to be, Ro 7:12 and the commandment holy; it comes from an holy God, from
whom nothing unholy can proceed; for holiness is his nature, and he is holy in
all his works; and the law is a transcript of his holy will; the matter of it,
or what it requires, is holy; even sanctification of heart and life; and it
directs to live holily, soberly, righteously, and godly, in this evil
world.

3b4.  It is also “just,” as well
as holy and good, Ro 7:12.  There
are no laws so righteous as the laws of God; the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether, De 4:8 Ps 19:9.
It is impartial unto all, and requires the same of one as of another,
and renders to every man according to his works; it is just in condemning
wicked men for sin, and in justifying those that have a righteousness
answerable to its demands; for God is just, according to his law, while he is
the justifier of those that believe in Jesus.

3b5.  The law is good; the author of it is
good only, essentially, originally good; from whom every good and perfect gift
comes, and nothing that is evil and bad.
The law is materially good, it is morally good; as God by the light of
nature, so much more by the law of Moses, does he show to men that which is
good; in it he sets before them the good they are to do; and the evil they are
to avoid: it is pleasantly good; not to an unregenerate man, whose carnal mind
is enmity to all that is good, and so to the law of God; but to a regenerate
man, who, as the apostle, delights in the law of God after the inner man, and
loves it, as David did, and meditates on it, as every good man does, Ro 7:22 Ps
119:97 1:2.  And it is also
profitably good; not to God, for when men have done all they can, they are,
with respect to God, unprofitable servants, Lu 17:10 but to men, their fellow
creatures, and fellow Christians, to whom they are serviceable, by their good
works, Tit 3:8 and also to themselves; for though not “for,” yet
“in” keeping the commands there is great reward, as peace of
conscience, Ps 19:11 119:165.  The
law is good, “if a man use it lawfully,” 1Ti 1:8.  There is a lawful and an unlawful use of
the law; it is used unlawfully when men seek to obtain life and righteousness
by it; for the law cannot give life, nor is righteousness by it; nor can then
be justified by the works of it, in the sight of God; for no man can perfectly
keep it; there is not a just man that does good and sins not: but it is
lawfully used when obeyed in faith, from a principle of love, with a view to
the glory of God, without any selfish and sinister ends.  Which leads me to consider more
particularly,

3c.  Thirdly, The uses of the law both to
sinners and saints.

3c1.  To sinners.

3c1a.  To convince of sin.  Sin is a transgression of the law, by
which it is known that it is sin, being forbidden by the law; “By the law
is the knowledge of sin”; not only of gross actual sins; but of the
inward lusts of the mind; “I had not known lust,” says the apostle,
“except the law had said, Thou shall not covet,” Ro 3:20 7:7.  Yet only as it is used by the Spirit of
God, who holds it up to a mind enlightened by him, whereby it sees the
sinfulness of it; for it is the Spirit’s work savingly to convince of
sin; which he does by means of the law.

3c1b.  To restrain from sin; of this use are
the laws of men; hence civil magistrates are terrors to evildoers: so the law,
by its menaces, deters men from sin, when they are not truly convinced of the
evil of it, nor humbled for it; though by such restraints, it does but rise and
swell, and rage the more within, like a flood of water stopped in its
course.

3b1c.  To condemn and punish for sin; for
sinners it is made, and against them it lies, to their condemnation, unless
justified in Christ, 1Ti 1:9,10.  It
accuses of sin, charges with it; brings evidence of it; stops the sinner’s
mouth from pleading in his own cause; pronounces guilty before God; and curses
and condemns: it is the ministration of condemnation and death; and its
sentence takes place where the righteousness of Christ is not imputed.

3c2.  It is of use to saints and true
believers in Christ.

3c2a.  To point out the will of God unto them;
what is to be done by them, and what to be avoided; to inform them of, and urge
them to their duty, both towards God and man; for in that the whole of it lies.

3c2b.  To be a rule of life and conversation to
them; not a rule to obtain life by; but to live according to; to guide their
feet, to direct their steps, and preserve them from going into bye and crooked
paths.  The wise man says,
“The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light,” Pr 6:23.  And the wise man’s father says,
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Ps
119:105.

3c2c.  It is as a glass, in which a believer,
by the light of the Spirit of God, may see his own face, what manner of man he
is; how deformed, how carnal and corrupt, when compared with this law; and how
far short of perfection he is in himself; “I have seen an end of all
perfection,” says David; “Thy commandment is exceeding
broad”; to which the imperfect works of men are not commensurate; hence
good men are sensible that their own righteousness is insufficient to justify
them before God, it being but as rags, and those filthy ones.  Hence,

3c2d.  They are led to prize and value the
righteousness of Christ, since that is perfectly agreeable to the holy and
righteous law of God; yea, by it the law is magnified and made honourable;
wherefore they desire to be found in Christ, not having on their own
righteousness, but his; who is the end of the law for righteousness, to everyone
that believes.  Now,

3d.  Fourthly, The law of God continues under
the present dispensation for the said uses; Christ came not to destroy it, and
loosen mens obligations to it; but to fulfil it: nor is the law made null and void
by faith; by the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of
Christ; so far from it, that it is established by it {1}: there is a sense in
which the law is “done away,” and saints are
“delivered” from it; “that being dead wherein they were
held,” as in a prison; and they “become dead to it by the body of
Christ,” by his obedience and sufferings in it, 2Co 3:11 Ro 7:4,6.

3d1.  It does not continue as a covenant of
works; and, indeed, it was not delivered to the children of Israel as such
strictly and properly sneaking, only in a typical sense; though the Jews turned
it to such a purpose, and sought righteousness and life by it: but God never
made a covenant of works with men since the fall, in order to their obtaining
life and salvation by it; for it never was in the power of man since to perform
the conditions of such a covenant; however, it is certain, believers are not
under the law as a covenant of works; but under grace as a covenant of
grace.

3d2.  Nor does it continue as to the form of
administration of it by Moses; it is now no longer in his hands, nor to be
considered as such; the whole Mosaic economy is broke to pieces, and at an end,
which was prefigured by Moses casting the two tables of stone out of his hands,
and breaking them, when he came down from the mount: the law, especially as it
lies in the Decalogue; and as to the form of the administration of that by
Moses, was peculiar to the Jews; as appears by the preface to it, which can
agree with none but them; by the time of worship prescribed them in the fourth
command, which was temporary and typical; and by the promise of long life in
the land of Canaan, annexed to the fifth command.

3d3.  It continues not as a terrifying law to
believers, who are not come to mount Sinai, and are not under that stormy and
terrible dispensation; but they are come to mount Sion, and to all the
privileges of a gospel church state: nor are they brought into bondage by its
rigorous exactions; on a strict compliance to which, or perfect obedience
thereunto, their peace and comfort do not depend: nor are they awed and urged
by its menaces and curses, to an observance of it; but are constrained, by the
love of God and Christ, to run with cheerfulness the way of its commandments;
they are made willing to serve it with their mind and spirit, through the power
and efficacy of divine grace upon them; and they do serve it, not in the
oldness of the letter but in the newness of the spirit; or, as they are renewed
by the free Spirit of God.

3d4.  Nor is it a cursing and condemning law
to the saints.  As sinners and
transgressors of it, they are subject to its curses; but Christ has redeemed
them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for them; and so there is no
more curse to them here or hereafter; they are out of the reach of its curses,
and of condemnation by it; there is none to them that are in Christ: Who shall
condemn?  it is Christ that died;
and who by dying has bore their sentence of condemnation, and freed them from
it; and having passed from death to life, they shall never enter into
condemnation, Ga 3:10,13
Ro 8:1,33 Joh 5:24.

3d5.  Yet it continues as a rule of walk and
conversation to them, as before observed; and is to be regarded by them as in
the hands of Christ {2}; by whom it is held forth as King and Lawgiver, in his
church; and who, and not Moses, is to be heard, and his voice hearkened to, as
the Son and Master, in his own house.
Believers, though freed from the law, in the sense before declared, yet
are “not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,” and
obliged to regard it; and the rather, as it was in his heart, and he was made
under it, and has fulfilled it; and therefore may be viewed and served with
pleasure, 1Co 9:21.

Chapter 7:

Of the Gospel

There was Gospel in the former
dispensation, though called the legal dispensation; it was preached to Adam, to
Abraham, and by Isaiah, and other prophets, as has been observed.  Yet there is a clearer revelation and
ministration of it under the present dispensation; as the law was by the
ministration of Moses; “Grace and truth,” the word of grace and
truth, the gospel, “came by Jesus Christ,” in a clearer and fuller
manner than it had been made known before, Joh 1:17.  Concerning which the following things
may be noted.

1.  First, The name and signification of
it.  The Greek word euangelion, used
for it throughout the New Testament, signifies, a good message, good news, glad
tidings; such the gospel is; a message of good news from God, from heaven, the
far country, to sinners here on earth: such was the gospel Christ was anointed
to preach, and did preach, even good tidings, Lu 4:18 compared with Isa 61:1
and which his ministers bring, whose feet are beautiful upon the mountains, Isa
52:7 Ac 13:32,33.  The Hebrew word
used for the gospel, and the preaching of it, signifies good tidings also; and
it is observed by some, to have the signification of “flesh” in it,
which has led them to think of the incarnation of Christ; which is,
undoubtedly, good news to the children of men; and a considerable branch of the
gospel of Christ; what has given Isaiah the character of an evangelic prophet
is, because he so clearly spoke of the incarnation of Christ, as well as of his
sufferings and death, as if then present in his time: “To us a Child is
born, to us a Son is given,” Isa 9:6 7:14.  And when the angel proclaimed the birth
of Christ to the shepherds, he is said, “to bring good tidings of great
joy to all people,” Lu 2:10,11.  And this is one principal part of the
gospel, the great mystery of godliness; “God manifest in the
flesh,” 1Ti 3:16.  Our English word “gospel,”
is of Saxon derivation; in which language “spel” signifies speech;
and so gospel is either “good speech,” which carries in it the same
idea with the Greek and Hebrew words; or God’s speech, which he has
spoken by his Son, by his prophets, and by his ministers; and is the voice of
God the Son, the voice of Christ speaking in his ministers, and the voice of
the Holy Ghost also.

Now this word is variously used;
sometimes it is put for the history of Christ’s birth, life, and actions;
such are the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Mark begins his history thus; “The
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God,” Mr 1:1.  And Luke calls his Gospel; “The
former treatise” he had made, “of all that Jesus began, both to do
and teach,” Ac 1:1.  And hence
these four writers are commonly called evangelists; though this title is
sometimes given to others, as distinct from apostles, Eph 4:11 and even to ordinary
ministers of the word, when they do the work of an evangelist, or preach the
gospel faithfully, and make full proof of their ministry, 2Ti 4:5.  Sometimes the gospel is to be taken in a
large sense, as including the word and ordinances, Mt 28:19,20 Mr
16:15,16.  And sometimes strictly,
for the doctrine of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ;
hence gospel ministers, who bring good tidings of good, are said to publish
peace, and to publish salvation, Isa 52:7 the sum of which is expressed by the
apostle, when he says, “This is a faithful saying,” &c.  1Ti 1:15.  Hence,

1a.  The gospel is called, the gospel of
salvation, the word of salvation, and salvation itself, Eph 1:13 Ac 13:26 28:28
because it gives an account of Christ, the author of salvation; of his
appointment to it; of his mission, and coming into the world, to effect it; and
of his actual performance of it; of his being the able, willing, and only
Saviour; and of the salvation itself, as great and glorious, perfect and complete,
spiritual and everlasting; and because it describes also the persons that share
in it, sinners, sensible sinners, and who believe in Christ; and who, according
to the declaration of it, shall certainly be saved, Mr 16:16 Ac 16:30,31 and
because it is, not only the means of revealing, but of applying salvation; for
it is to them that believe “the power of God unto salvation,” Ro
1:16.

1b.  It is called, “The gospel of the
grace of God,” Ac 20:24 because the various doctrines of it are doctrines
of grace, or which exhibit blessings as flowing from the grace of God; as
election, redemption, pardon, justification, adoption, and eternal life; and
particularly, that salvation, from first to last, is all of grace, and not of
works, Eph 2:8.

1c.  It is called, “The gospel of
peace,” the word of reconciliation, the word preaching peace by Christ,
Eph 6:15 2Co 5:19 Ac 10:36 because it relates the steps taken in, council and
covenant; to form the scheme of man’s peace with God; to lay the foundation
of it; and to bring it about; hence called the council of peace, and the
covenant of peace, Zec 6:13 Isa 54:10.
And also relates the actual making of it; by whom, and by what means; by
Christ, who is our peace; by the chastisement of our peace being laid on him;
by the shedding of his blood on the cross; and by his suffering of death, Eph
2:14 Isa 53:5 Col 1:20 Ro 5:10.

1d.  It is called, “The gospel of the
kingdom,” Mt 4:23 because it treats both of the kingdom of grace here,
showing wherein it lies; and of the kingdom of glory hereafter, pointing out
the proper meetness for it, regeneration by the Spirit of God; and the right
and title to it, the righteousness of the Son of God; and that itself, as the
Father’s free gift to his people, flowing from his good will and
pleasure, Joh 3:5 Mt 5:20 Lu 12:32.

2.  Secondly, The author and origin of the
gospel.---

2a.  It is not of man, a device and invention
of men; a system of things schemed and formed by the art and wit of men; says
the apostle, “I neither received it of men, nor was I taught it”;
that is, by men, as human arts and sciences are, Ga 1:11,12.  It is not discoverable by the light of
nature and reason; the law, and the things of it, may be known thereby, as what
is morally good and evil, as were by the Gentiles, Ro 2:14,15 but not the
things of the gospel; they are what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it
entered into the heart of man to conceive of; as for instance, that fundamental
doctrine of the gospel, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God,
believed and confessed by Peter, was declared by our Lord to be what
“flesh and blood had not revealed” to him, but his “Father in
heaven,” Mt 16:16,17.  Hence
the gospel is frequently called, a mystery; the wisdom of God in a mystery; the
hidden wisdom; and the doctrines of it, the mysteries of the kingdom; which are
only known by those to whom it is given by the Spirit and grace of God to know
them, Mt 13:11 and when they are externally revealed, and men have got some
little notion and idea of them, they are disapproved of by them; for natural
men receive not with approbation, and a good liking, the things of the Spirit
of God, the doctrines of the gospel, which he searches and reveals; for they
are foolishness, insipid things to them; for which they have no taste; as the
doctrine of a crucified Christ, and salvation alone by him, 1Co 2:14
1:18,23.

2b.  The gospel is from heaven; it is good
news from a far country, which far country is heaven: the gospel is, with the
Holy Ghost, sent down from heaven; and Christ that spoke it, is He that
speaketh from heaven: the question put concerning the baptism of John;
“Whence was it?  from heaven,
or of men?”  may be put
concerning the gospel, and answered as that; that it is from heaven, and not of
men, 1Pe 1:12 Heb 12:25 Mt 21:25.
It comes from God, Father, Son, and Spirit; from God the Father, and is
therefore called the gospel of God; that is, the Father, concerning his Son
Jesus Christ, Ro 1:1,3 which he ordained before the world was; and in time
committed into the hands of men to preach, whom he made, and makes, able
ministers of it, and which he blesses and succeeds.  It comes also from Christ, the Son of
God; and is called, the gospel of his Son, the gospel of Christ, the word of
Christ, and the testimony of our Lord, Ro 1:9,16 Col 3:16 2Ti 1:8 of which
Christ is the subject, sum, and substance, as well as the author; even his
person, offices, and grace; and of which he was the preacher when here on
earth; for which he was qualified by the Spirit without measure, and spake and
preached it as never man did; and by whom it was revealed and brought to light
in the clearest manner; hence the apostle says, he received it “by the
revelation of Jesus Christ,” Ga 1:12.  It may be said likewise, to come from
the Holy Spirit of God, the inciter of the scriptures, wherein it lies; who
searches the deep things of it, and reveals them to men; who leads the
ministers of it into all the truths thereof; and makes their ministrations of
it powerful and successful; and whereby he and his grace, comparable to the
golden oil, are conveyed and received into the hearts of men.  The instruments of declaring,
publishing, and proclaiming the gospel, and its truths, to the children of men,
are the prophets of the Old Testament, who made a report of it, though believed
but by few; the angels, who descended at the birth of Christ, and brought the
good news of it; John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who pointed him
out as the Son of God, and as the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the
world; the apostles of Christ, who had a commission from him to preach the
gospel to every creature; and all ordinary ministers of the word, whose
business it is to publish good tidings of good things.

3.  Thirdly, The effects of the gospel when
attended with the power and Spirit of God.

3a.  The regeneration of men, who are said to
be born again by the word of God, and to be begotten again with the word of
truth, 1Pe 1:23 Jas 1:18 hence ministers of the gospel
are represented as spiritual fathers, 1Co 4:15.

3b.  As in regeneration souls are quickened
by the Spirit and grace of God, this is ascribed to the gospel as an
instrument, hence it is called the Spirit which giveth life, and said to be the
savour of life unto life, 2Co 2:16 3:6.

3c.  The gospel is frequently spoken of as a
light, a great light, a glorious light; and so is in the hands of the Spirit a
means of enlightening the dark minds of men into the mysteries of grace, and
the method of salvation; “the entrance of thy word giveth light, it
giveth understanding unto the simple,” Ps 119:130.  The Spirit of God gives the gospel an
entrance into the heart, being opened by him to attend unto it; and when it has
an entrance, it gives light into a man’s self, his state and condition,
and into the way of life by Christ; it is a glass in which the glory of Christ,
and of the riches of his grace, may be seen.

3d.  By it faith in Christ comes, and is
ingenerated in the heart by the Spirit of God attending it; hence among other
reasons, it is called “the word of faith”; and ministers, by
preaching it, are instruments of confirming and increasing faith, and of
perfecting what is lacking in it, Ro 10:8,17 1Th 3:10.

3e.  When faith is wrought in the soul, the
righteousness of Christ is revealed unto it in the gospel; and not at first
believing only but at after times; for it is revealed therein “from faith
to faith,” from one degree of it to another, giving thereby clearer views
of it, and of interest in it, Ro 1:17 hence it is called the word of
righteousness, and the ministration of righteousness, Heb 5:13 2Co 3:9.

3f.  It affords spiritual food, and is the
means of feeding and nourishing souls unto everlasting life; it contains words
of faith and good doctrine, even the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus; it has
in it milk for babes, and meat for strong men; and when it is found by faith,
it is eaten by it with pleasure, and fills with spiritual joy, 1Ti 4:6 6:3 Heb
5:13.  14 Jer 15:16 which---

3g.  Is another effect of it in gracious
souls, it yields much spiritual peace, joy, and comfort; the doctrines of it
are calculated for such a purpose; it is good news and glad tidings of good
things; as of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ, which,
when applied, cannot fail of producing spiritual joy in sensible sinners; when
Philip preached Christ and his gospel in Samaria, there was great joy in that
city, Ac 8:5,8 all this must be understood of the gospel, not as producing
these effects of itself, but as it comes, not in word only, but with the power
and in the demonstration of the Spirit; when it is sent forth out of Zion as
the rod of God’s strength, and it becomes the power of God unto
salvation, 1Th 1:5,8 Ps 110:2 Ro 1:16.

4.  Fourthly, The properties of the
gospel.

4a.  It is but one, there is not another, as
the apostle says, Ga 1:6,7 the same gospel which was in the beginning, and will
be to the end of the world, the same under.  the Old Testament as under the New; the
subject of it, Christ and salvation by him; the doctrines of it, of
justification, remission of sins, &c.
the same, only now more clearly revealed; then it was in types and
figures, now more plainly set forth, and more clearly and fully expressed; the
same was preached by Christ and his apostles, and by all faithful ministers
since, and will be to the end of time; for it is true of the gospel what is
said of Christ, it is “the same yesterday, today, and for ever,”
Heb 13:8.

4b.  It is called, from the objects of it, the
gospel of the circumcision, and the gospel of the uncircumcision, Ga 2:7 not
that the gospel of the one is different from that of the other; it is the same
gospel, only dispensed to different persons, the circumcised Jews and the
uncircumcised Gentiles; it was first ordered to be preached to the Jews, and to
them only, in Christ’s lifetime; after his death and resurrection he
enlarged the commission of his disciples, and sent them forth to preach the
gospel to every creature, both Jews and Gentiles; yet the special revelation
and application of it are made only to some; to some it is the savour of life
unto life, to others the savour of death unto death; there are some to whom God
would make it known; it was his determinate pleasure to make known the riches
of the glory of the mystery of it; to others it is hid, even to the wise and
prudent, while it is revealed unto babes; of which no other reason can be
given, but the sovereign will and pleasure of God, 2Co 2:16 4:3 Col 1:27 Mt
11:25,26.

4c.  It is a glorious gospel: so it is
called, 2Co 4:4 1Ti 1:11 it has a glory in it exceeding that of the law, and
the dispensation of it, 2Co 3:11 for the clearness, fulness, and suitableness
of its doctrines to the state and condition of men; and in which the glory of
the person of Christ as the Son of God, and of his officers as mediator, and of
the blessings of grace that come by him, is held forth in great splendour and
brightness.

4d.  It is an everlasting gospel, which is
the epithet given it, Re 14:6 it was ordained in the council and covenant of
God before the world was, of which it is a transcript, and so was from
everlasting, 1Co 2:7 and “the word of the Lord endureth for ever, and
this is the word which by the gospel is preached,” 1Pe 1:25 and which
will continue until all the elect of God are gathered in, maugre all the craft
and cunning, force and power of earth and hell.

5.  Fifthly, I shall close this chapter with
a brief answer to some queries relating to faith, repentance, and good works;
as, to what they belong, whether to law or gospel.

5a.  Whether faith is a duty of the moral
law, or is to be referred to the gospel?
to which it may be answered, that as the law is not of faith, so faith
is not of the law.  There is a faith
indeed which the law requires and obliges to, namely, faith and trust in God,
as the God of nature and providence; for as both the law of nature, and the law
of Moses, show there is a God, and who is to be worshipped; they both require a
belief of him, and trust and confidence in him; which is one part of the
worship of him enjoined therein: moreover the law obliges men to give credit to
any revelation of the mind and will of God he has made, or should think fit to
make unto them at any time; but as for special faith in Christ as a Saviour, or
believing in him to the saving of the soul; this the law knows nothing of, nor
does it make it known; this kind of faith neither comes by the ministration of
it, nor does it direct to Christ the object of it, nor give any encouragement to
believe in him on the above account; but it is a blessing of the covenant of
grace, which flows from electing love, is a gift of God’s free grace, the
operation of the Spirit of God, comes by the hearing of faith, or the word of
faith, as a means, that is, the gospel; for which reason, among others, the
gospel is so called; and it is that which points out Christ, the object of
faith; and directs and encourages sensible sinners under a divine influence to
exercise it on him; its language is, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved,” Ac 16:31.

5b.  Whether repentance is a doctrine of the
law or of the gospel?  the answer to
which is, that such who sin ought to repent of sin; this God has commanded, the
law of nature teaches; and so far as this is to be considered as a duty
incumbent on men, it belongs to the law, as all duty does; but then the law
makes no account of repentance for sin; nor does it admit of it as a
satisfaction for it; nor gives any encouragement to expect that God will receive
repenting sinners into his grace and favour upon it; this is what the gospel
does, and not the law; the law says not, repent and live, but do and live.  Moreover, there is what may be called a
legal repentance and contrition; for by the law is the knowledge of sin,
without which there can be no repentance; and it works a sense of wrath in the
sinners conscience, and a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation
from an incensed God; but if it stop here, it will prove no other than a
worldly sorrow, which worketh death.
The Spirit of God may make use of this, and go on and produce spiritual
repentance, such a repentance as is unto life, even life eternal; and unto
salvation, which needeth not to be repented of: but such a repentance is not
the work of the law; for life and salvation come not by any work of the law;
but true repentance, which has salvation annexed to it, is, as faith, a
blessing of the covenant of grace; a grant from God, a gift of Christ as a
Saviour, and with it remission of sins; a grace produced in the soul by the
Spirit of Christ, by means of the gospel, which only encourages to the exercise
of it; see Ac 5:31 11:18 2Co 7:10 Ga 3:2.
And so is a doctrine of the gospel, and not of the law, as appears from
the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who exhorted and
encouraged to repentance from gospel motives; and preached the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins, Mt 3:2 Mr 1:4.  But what has the law to do either with
baptism or the remission of sins?
His ministry was evangelical, and ran in the same strain with the
apostles, as appears from their answer to a question put to them; “Men
and brethren, what shall we do?”
A serious question, put upon thought and reflection by persons upon the
bottom of a covenant of works {1}, as the Jews rally were; and especially under
a sense of guilt, as those were, desirous to know what must be done by them,
that they “might be saved”; as it may be supplied from the
jailor’s words, when in the same case; or whereby they might make
atonement for, and obtain the pardon of so great a sin, of which they were
guilty {2}: to which a proper answer is returned, putting them off of legal
works for such purposes, and directing them to evangelical ones; “Repent
and be baptized, everyone of you, for the remission of sins,” Ac
2:37,38.  And this is also clear
from the story of Christ himself; who came, not to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance; which was not a legal, but evangelical repentance.  He began his ministry thus;
“Repent, and believe the gospel,” see Mt 9:13 Mr
1:15.  With which agrees
the ministry of the apostles in general; who, by the direction of Christ,
preached repentance and remission of sins in his name; which most certainly was
the gospel; the one, as well as the other, a doctrine of the gospel, Lu
24:47.  And the apostle Paul, who
was a most evangelical preacher, divides his whole ministry into these two
parts; “Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus
Christ,” Ac 20:21.

5c.  Whether good works belong to the gospel,
or to the law?  or rather, whether
there are any works that belong to the gospel distinct from the law?  to which it may be replied, That the
gospel, taken in a large sense, as has been observed in the beginning of this
chapter, includes both the doctrines and ordinances of the gospel; and the one,
as well as the other, are taught, and directed to be observed; yea, all good
works, which the law requires, are moved and urged unto in the ministry of the
gospel, upon gospel principles and motives: the gospel of the grace of God,
which brings the good tidings of salvation, instructs and urges men to do good
works, and to avoid sin, Tit 2:11,12 3:8.
But the gospel, strictly taken, is a pure declaration of grace, a mere
promise of salvation by Christ.  All
duty and good works belong to the law; promise and grace belong to the gospel;
the works of the law, and the grace of the gospel, are always opposed to each
other, Ro 3:20,24,28 Eph
2:8.  And if there were any works
distinct from the law, and not required by it, which, if not performed, would
be sin; then the apostle’s definition of sin, as a transgression of the
law, would not be a full and proper one, 1Jo 3:4 since then there would be sins
which were not transgressions of the law; wherefore, as all evil works are
transgressions of the law, all good works are required and enjoined by it.

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