man-redeemer, who having married our nature to the divine nature in himself, redeemed the mortgaged inheritance with his own blood, gave himself a ranfom for us, to deliver us from our fpiritual bondage,. and by his death deftroyed him that had the power of death: Rom. iii, 25. Whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood. Chap. v. 11. Our Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom we have now received the atonement. The comfort for a wounded confcience, fick with the guilt of fin, lies, here. This is that office of Chrift to which the convinced finner, standing trembling before the juft Judge of the world, lifts his eyes, and makes his recourfe for fafety; for there, and only there, can one fee a ranfom, a righteousness, an atonement. In his prophetical and kingly office, he administrates the covenant; but in his priestly office he performed the condition of it, So it is the foundation of the other two. It was by the facrifice of himself, that the word and spirit of the covenant, whereby he teacheth finners, were purchased and thereby alfo he obtained his kingdom. And his interceffion is founded upon his oblation. So his priestly office, and that confidered par ticularly in point of his offering his facrifice, doth, as the foundation-ftone, bear the weight of the falvation of finners, and of the honour of God and the Mediator therein. Wherefore, it is not ftrange, that his inveftiture with the priestly office was confirmed by the oath of God; a folemnity not used in the cafe of his prophetical and kingly offices. And thus far of the making of the covenant. The PARTS of the Covenant of Grace. HE parts of the covenant of grace, being the things therein agreed upon betwixt God and Chrift the fecond Adam, are two, to wit, the conditionary part and the promiffory part. Thefe comprehend the whole of the covenant, and of them we fhall treat in order. The first Part of the Covenant, namely, the CONDI THE TIONARY Part. HE condition of a covenant or bargain, properly and commonly fo called, is, That part of a covenant or bargain, upon the performing of which one's right to the benefit promifed is founded, and his plea for it is ftated, as becoming due to him for that his performance, according to and in virtue of the agreement between the parties. This is a federal condition, a covenant condition, or the condition of a covenant; and what all men, in common converfation, understand by the condition of a covenant or bargain. As for inftance, The paying of fuch fum of money for fuch a commodity, according to the agreement between the parties, is the condition of a covenant of commerce, fale or traffic: the working of fuch a piece of work, or doing of fuch a deed, for fuch a reward agreed upon by the parties, is the condition of a covenant of fervice and hire. a Besides this, there is alfo what is called a condition of connexion or order in a covenant; whereby one thing neceffarily goes before another, in the order of the covenant, without being the ground upon which one's right and title to that other thing is founded. As in the former inftance, The buyer's receiving of the commodity, and the hireling's receiving of the reward, covenanted or bargained for, muft needs go before their poffeffion or enjoyment of them; but it is evident, that that receiving is not the thing upon which the buyer's right and title to the commodity, or the hireling's right and title to the reward is founded: therefore, though it may be called a condition of connexion in the refpective cove nants, pants, yet it cannot, in any propriety of speech, be called the condition of them. Now, to apply these things to our purpose: In the order of the covenant of grace, forafmuch as the having of the Spirit muft go before faith, faith before juftification, juftification before fanctification, holinefs before heaven's happiness; thefe may be called conditions in the covenant of grace, to wit, conditions of certain connexion: and this belongs to the eftablished order of the promifes of the covenant, . which are contradiftinguished to the condition of the covenant. Howbeit fuch conditions can in no proper fense be called the condition or conditions of the covenant of grace, more than the buyer's receiving of the commodity can be called the condition of the covenant or bargain of fale. But the condition of the covenant of grace, properly fo called, is, Chrift in the form of a bond fervant, as laft Adam, Reprefentative, Kinfman-redeemer, Surety, and Priest, his fulfilling all righteoufnefs owing, in virtue of the broken covenant of works, unto God by his fpiritual feed: Mat. iii. 15. Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteoufness. For clearing of this purpofe, I fhall (1.) Evince this to be the condition of the covenant; (2.) Explain and unfold that righteoufness, the fulfilling whereof was made the condition of the covenant. First, To evince that this is the condition of the covenant of grace, confider, 1. Chrift's fulfilling all righteousness as the fecond Adam, is what the Father propofed unto him, as the terms on which his feed fhould be faved, and upon which he founded his promife of eternal life to be given them; and not any work or deed of theirs: Ifa. liii. 10. When thou shalt make his foul an offering for fin, he fhall fee his feed. Ver. 11. He shall fee of the travel of his foul and fhall be fatisfied: by his ledge shall my RIGHTEOUS SERVANT juftify many: for he shall BEAR their iniquities. Luke xxi. 20. This cup is the new testament IN MY BLOOD, which is fhed for you. And the fame is that which Christ as the second Adam did from eternity confent unto, undertake, and bind himfelf for; and which he did in time, according to agreement, perform. Thus he himself reprefents it, Matth. iii. 15. Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness; namely, as it becometh a person of honour and credit to fulfil his bargain, Luke xxiv. 26. Ought not Chrift to have fuffered thefe things? to wit, as one ought to perform the condition of a covenant or bargain he has agreed to. 2. This is the only ground of a finner's right and title to eternal life; and upon nothing else can he fafely found his plea before the Lord for life and falvation: Eph. i. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to the riches of his grace. Philip. iii. 8. 9. That I may win Chrift, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness--but--the righteousness which is of God by faith. Surely, upon the condition of the covenant fulfilled, one may found his plea before the Lord for the benefits promised in the covenant: but no man may found his plea before the Lord for thefe on any work or deed of his own whatsoever, no not on faith itfelf; but only on Chrift's fulfilling all righteoufnefs; therefore no work nor deed of ours whatsoever, no not faith itself, can be the con. dition of the covenant of grace properly fo called: but only Christ's fulfilling all righteoufnefs. The finner standing in the court of confcience, trembling be fore the Lord, flies in under the covert of that righ teousness fulfilled by the mediator, and dare oppose nothing but it to the condemning fentence of the law, giving up with all other pleas for life and falvation. Believing in Chrift is the pleading upon that ground, not the ground of the finners plea: it faith, My Lord and my God in the promise, upon the ground ground of Christ's fulfilling all righteousness allenarly, as the condition of the covenant. If any will make it the ground of their plea, they must needs produce it as a work of a law, that is, as a deed done by them, whereby they have fulfilled and anfwered a law, and thereupon they crave the benefit promised : the which will, according to fcripture, be found a dangerous adventure, Rom. iii. 20. Gal. ii. 16. and v. 4. 3. It is by this, and this alone, the falvation of finners becomes a debt: therefore this alone is the condition of the covenant. For the reward is of debt to him, and him only, who fulfils the condition of a covenant; to him that worketh, not to him that worketh not, but believeth, Rom. iv. 4. 5. And fo it is of debt to Chrift alone, not to us: and therefore it was he that fulfiled the condition of the covenant; we fulfil no part of it. This is confirmed from the primitive fituation of mankind with reference to eternal life, in the firft Adam's covenant, duly confidered. The condition thereof was perfect active obedience. And, according to the nature of that covenant, if this obedience had been fulfilled by Adam, eternal life to him and his would hereupon have become a debt to him. And the plea of his pofterity for life, in that cafe, would not have been founded on their perfonal obedience coming after that fulfilment; fince it would not have been the performance of the condition, but the fruit of the promise, of the covenant; but it would have been founded on that performance of Adam their reprefentative; forafmuch as, in the cafe fuppofed, it would have been the only obedience whereby the condition of that covenant was fulfiled: and fo they would have obtained life, not for any perfonal work or deed of theirs, but for the obedience of the first Adam their reprefentative, to which God did graciously make the promife of life, in the first covenant. 4 Faith and obedience are benefits promised in the |