as if there were not encouragement enough to believe in the offers of Christs righteousness to them this discouraged frame of spirit is that we shall particularly consider of as being directly contrary to the doctrine of our safe appearing in Christs righteousness which has been cleared up in the former part of this Discourse That Saints are very apt to be discouraged from believing is evident from the universal experience of the people of God they find it a difficult thing to live a life of Faith and find many doubtings arising in their hearts many jealousies that their hearts are suggesting they are apt to be discouraged from believing for other things outward blessings divine assistance and whatever God has promised and thus it is also with respect unto their acceptance with God were they not so apt to be discouraged they would live a more sweet and comfortable life than they do the Disciples of Christ were slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have written Luk. 24.25 Saints are ready to say as he I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips Isai 6.5 their Faith would many time fail if there were not special assistance given unto them Luk 22.32 I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not the Apostle Paul plainly implies that he found great want of Faith when he expresses his caÌ„â— to know Christ and the power of his resurrection Phil. 3. 10. and hence it is that God is so often stirring us up in his Word to believe and has appointed so many means for the confirmation and establishment of our Faith and if we confider the state of the people of God it is no wonder that they have many doubtings and risings of discouragement in their he arts for the same principles that do so discourage natural men are in Saints though they be in part mortified yet they do remain there ignorance of God carnal reason pride of heart are remaining in them and Satan is busie to stir up jealousies in their hearts he is striking at their Faith casting in his fiery darts into them Eph 6. 16. and they have many discouraging temptations before their eyes which are matter for carnal reason to work upon which are next to be spoken unto 2. Consider what their Discouragements are together with Proposals for the removing of them Discouragement 1. The unspeakable greatness of the blessings that are offered in the Gospel he has a sense upon his heart that it is a wonderful priviledg to be brought into a state of acceptance with God the favour of God is better than life to be saved and translated from a mean condition in this world into the highest heavens to behold the face of God for ever to enjoy pleasures for evermore at the right hand of God to be made like the Angels of God 't is so great a thing that it will scarce enter into him considering how mean and unworthy he is if God had spoken of some little thing of some more mode rate felicity he should not have stuck so much at it but this is so inconceivably great that he is jealous whether God be willing to bestow it upon him the greatness of it puts him to a stand and makes it more unlikely in his eyes sometimes when he begins to rejoyce in it his heart checks him and he fears it is too good news to be true as the Disciples believed not for joy Luk. 24.41 and as it is spoken of them Psal 126.1 when the Lord turned again the captivity of his people we were like them that dream the heart does not so stagger at lesser mercies but the sense of the greatness of salvation makes it recoil and proves a temptation to unbelief he doubts of it and sayes will God in very deed do this thing when he would rejoyce in the thoughts of it he is pulled back by fears that it will not be so the greatness of it begets a secret damp upon his sonl least it should not be true it seems incredible For the removal of this discouragement Consider 1. The infiniteness of Gods mercy this is a great gift but it is not too great a gift for God to bestow he has an heart large enough to entertain such purposes as this men are ready to think that God will count it too much for them and that a more moderate felicity were fitter for them but the mercy of God is unlimited he does not envy mans blessedness he can find in his heart to bestow all his glory upon poor unworthy man God is rich inmercy Eph. 2.4 plenteous in mercy Psal 103.8 the greatest act of mercy is not beyond the merciful nature of God he can do any thing that is an act of mercy his mercy is such that it cannot be overcome with provocations but it can overcome the greatest provocations his mercy is such that it has no dependance upon mans worthiness God has grace enough not to give earthly blessings only but heavenly blessings unto men he has such mercy as that he can bear to see men in the possession of heavenly glory and not grudg at it or think much of it he has such mercy that he can take wonderful delight to see men happy 2. It is no impoverishing of God to bestow blessedness upon you God is not the poorer for making you and thousands of such as you happy God does not empty himself and lose of his fulness he has never the less for filling of you if a man that has much for himself give any thing to you he has the less for himself and that makes men the more backward to give unto others but it is not thus with God the Sun has not the less light for enlightning the world God does bestow all his mercy and salvation without any diminution to himself he is not the less happy himself by making you happy he can spare all this glory to you without any wrong to himself though this salvation be so great a thing yet God can afford to give it it is a difficult thing to men sometimes to perform their engagments to others but it is no difficult thing to God to perform his offers to you in my Fathers house there is bread enough and to spare Luke 15.17 God has not the less glory for himself nor for any of his friends by bestowing glory upon you 3. God made man oapable of enjoying blessedness God has made man not only capable of wordly delights but he has gâ—ven him an understanding and free-will whereby he is capable of enjoying God himself man is made of such a nature that he is capable of enjoying the presence of God and being capable of it he cannot be satisfied till he come to the enjoyment of him he cannot rest but in his center he cannot be happy till he enjoyes his proper object and surely God would never have created such a creature with such capacity if he had not an heart to bring him
set in the second place of dignity the throne being the highest the Lord Jesus is advanced unto greater glory in heaven as he is man then any angel in heaven in special besides other particulars in having the administration and government of all things in his hands This Exaltation of Christ is a clear evidence of Gods accepting that sacrifice that he offered up for us 〈◊〉 and being fully satisfied for our sins by the sufferings of Jesus Christ And there are three things therein that serve to convince us hereof 1. By Christs Exaltation he is delivered from that suffering estate which our sins brought him into he is hereby set free from that state of humiliation which he was in for our sins vengeance had taken hold of Christ as our surety the justice of God seized him he was apprehended as one liable to the Law and God took vengeance on him and soured out wrath on him but now by his Exaltation he is set at liberty justice has dismissed him God has done exacting any more punishment on him which is a clear evidence that he is wholly discharged of that guilt that was upon him Christ subjected himself to the wrath of God and God punished him as much as he pleased Christ bore the curse till God laid it was enough In his resurrection God opened the prison door and let him out God sent an Officer to deliver him from his grave Mat. 28. 2. The angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door Gods delivering of Christ evidenceth the satisfaction that he has received by his sufferings if Christ were not risen it would be an argument that sins were not satisfied for 1 Cor. 15.17 If Christ be not risen your faith is vain ye are yet in your sins but his resurrection shews that Gods demands are answered and therefore when Christ was raised from the dead he is said to be justified God gave him a legal acquittance and discharge from that guilt which he had taken upon him 1 Tim. 3.16 God was manifest in the flesh justified in the spirit the Apostle Peter expresses it thus he was quickned in the spirit 1 Pet 3.18 so that when he was quickned he was justified Christ could never have been delivered out of the hands of Justice if he had not paid the uttermost farthing Hence we are said to have a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ 1 Pet. 1.3 God has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead this consideration is a means by Gods blessing to beget a lively hope in us the ground of our hope is the resurrection of Christ it might better be rendred a living hope the same word is rendred living 1 Pet. 2.4 this is such an hope as will abide and continue the hope that is built upon the foundation will never fail other hopes may dye away but this is a living hope a parallel Scripture to this is 1 Pet. 3.18 we have the answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ a well-informed conscience is satisfied with this when a mans conscience accuses him of sins they are manifest and he can't deny them heinous and he can't excuse them yet this silences those accusations that Christ is risen Conscience sees in the resurrection of Christ the satisfactoriness of his sufferings and has peace on that account that the debt is paid and upon the same account it is that Paul attributes power to the refurrection of Christ Phil. 3.10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection when God sets this consideration home upon the heart it has a mighty comforting power this will raise up a drooping spirit when a man is distressed indeed with the guilt of sia the world has no power to comfort him his priviledge cannot his duties cannot but this thing set home has power to ease his heart resiesh his soul silence his conscience the sence of this brings great comfort to a christian and the Apostle mentions this consideration as the security of christians against condemnation and as that which adds further encouragement to that which rises from his death Rom. 8.34 Who is he that condemneth it is Christ thao dyed yea rather is risen again 2. By Christs Exaltation he is rewarded for his sufferings God presently upon his sufferings took him up into heaven and bountifully rewarded him for his undertaking some seem loth to grant that Christ did merit for himself but there is no danger in affirming that according to compact God did gloriously recompence Christ for his Obedience and sufferings for us the primary design of Christs undertaking was to merit for us but it was every way suitable that this service of his should be rewarded 2 Phil. 8.9 he humbled himself and became obedient to death the death of the cross wherefore also God hath highly exalted him God took wonderful contentment in it that Christ would lay down his life for us that is the intendment of that expression therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life John 10.17 God did highly approve of it and took a complacency in it and in Christ by reason of it and manifested his approbation by rewarding it Christ has a glorious reward in heaven and this is an evidence that he has gone thorow his undertaking that he has not failed in the work that God committed to him If Christ had failed of righteousness not only we but he also would have failed of glory Christs own had a dependance upon his working out of perfect righteousness as well as ours his happiness and ours were imbarked together if he had not run the race he had not been crowned if he had not been a conquerer he had not received the prize if he had sunk under the work and not compleated our redemption God would not have bestowed this reward upon him but since he has received a glorious reward we may conclude he has done his work and performed the Office of a surety this argument the spirit of God makes use of John 16.8 9 10. the comforter will convince of righteousness because I go to my Father and ye see me no more the way whereby Christ came to sit down on the right-hand of the majesty on high was the purging of our sins with his blood Heb. 1.3 the thing whereby Christ came to be admitted into the holy place Was the obtaining of eternal redemption for us Heb. 9.12 The way that he came to partake of that priviledge of sitting down with his Father on his throne was the overcoming the difficulties of the work which he undertook Rev. 3.20 3. By his Exaltation he has the administration of things put into his hands that he may bestow upon sinners that salvation in order to which he suffered that he may put him into the possession of that glory which was the end of his undertaking it is
place against the sins of ungodly men being executed to the full upon them Mat. 5.18 it has taken place against the sins of the Elect upon Jesus Christ the curse having been executed upon him Gal 3.13 He baâ—k redeemed us from the curse being made a curse for us and God does bestow eternal life upon none but those who have fulfilled the righteousness of the Law in their Surety eternal life is given as a recompence of Christs Righteousness Rom. 5.21 PROPOSITION III. This covenant of Works could not be known by our first Parents any other way than by divine revelation because both the promises and threatnings of this covenant depended on the free will of God so that whatever a bilities of understanding Adam had in his first estate they were insufficient to make a discovery of them the precepts of the Law were written In the heart of man when he was first made and so they are still though not so legibly Rom. 2.15 They show the works of the Law written in their hearts and this I dont understand to be any distinct work of God from that of creating the soul for the precepts of the Law excepting that one of the Sabbath have a self-evidencing power so that supposing man to have an understanding he can't but have some knowledg of them and supposing them to have an understanding not corrupted he can't but have a clear knowledge of them but the promises and threatnings of the Law are not understood by any thing written in mens heart Conscience indeed by its own natural light does give evidence that sin is offensive to God and so affright men with expectation of wrath but it can't witness the certainty of Judgments much less of eternal condemnation except it have received some further light either from the Works or Word of God. PROPOSITION IV. The Covenant of Works does require Obedience only as the condition of life there are several other Obligations upon us unto Obedience some antecedent to the covenant of works as the infinite excellency of God the work of Creation some of them consequent as the dying love of Christ Gods giving converting Grace and many the like but the covenant of works requires it only as a condition of life and hence tho the covenant of works be fulfilled for us by Jesus Christ so that there is no engagement on us to perfect obedience as it is a condition of life yet those antecedent obligations do remain upon and we ow obedience still as a natural due Psal 95.6 that primitive obligation as we are creatures will ly upon us for ever besides those other obligations that God has laid upon us since PROPOSITION V. The covenant of works requires perfect but not personal obedience the obedience required in the covenant of works is perfect for one transgression layes man open to the curse but it does not stand upon personal obedience every one is obliged to personal obedience but this is upon another account and not by vertue of the covenant of works the covenant of works never tied us up to personal obedience as the condition of life God has been so far from binding us up to personal obedience as the condition of life that he never did propose that way unto us but from the beginning of the world constituted a publick person to act in our behalf and upon his failing immediately revealed Jesus Christ to be another publick person to act for us Rom. 5.19 PROPOSITION VI The life promised in the Covenant of works is a life of glory in heaven the promise is life Gal. 3.12 The man that doth them shall live in them some have thought that Adam should have had only the continuance of that blessedness which he was created in if he had kept the Covenant it is very true that there is no mention in the Covenant of his going to heaven but we have clear ground to conclude from Scripture that if man had stood he should have gone to heaven according to this promise 1. Because hell where the devils are is the reward of disobedience by the covenant of works therefore heaven where the holy angels are is the reward of Obedience it is meet the rewards should be proportionable I know it is answered that sin deserves evil at Gods hands but holiness which is due unto God does not deserve any rewards but this does not take off the force of the argument for it is by the Law that sin merits as well as holiness and hence wicked men are punished only for such sins as they commit in this life 2 Cor. 5.10 and there is as much goodness in holiness as evil in sin and it is a meet thing that God should bestow as much good in a way of obedience as he inflicts evil in a way of disobedience besides the Law expresses the punishment of sin by death Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death and the reward of obedience by life Gal. 3.12 the man that doth them shall live by them therefore it is a life directly opposite to that death a life that contains as much good in it as that death doth evil those terms do mutually explain one the other 2. Because Christ in fulfilling of the law for us has purchased life for us in heaven Christ has purchased heaven for us Epb. 1.14 it is called a purchased possession and he did it by performing the righteousness of the Law for us it is by making of us righteous that we come to have a title unto eternal life Rom 5.21 Grace reigns by righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 3. Because Christ tells the young man in the Gospel that enquired of him what good thing he should do that he might have eternal life that if he would enter into life be should keep the Commandments Mat. 19.16 17. where we may mind that the life enquired after by the young man was a life in Heaven and that Christ in this answer is leading of him to the covenant of works upon a design to convince him of his inability to keep it 4. Because the Apostle Paul gives that as the reason that men cannot be justified by the Law because they are sinners Rom. 8.3 3.20 the Legallists that Paul disputes against expected eternal life in heaven by their works yet in all his disputes with them he never telis them that the covenant of works does not promise any such thing if he could have told them so that would clearly have cut off all their hopes but he still shows that they can't have Salvation by the Law upon this account because they can't fulfil it yea he plainly implies that the reward by the Law and Gospel are the same but the way of obtaining it is different Rom. 4.4 He that worketh has the reward by debt be that worketh not hath it by grace The second thing that falls under Consideration here is What is the difference between the Covenant of works and the