Difference be tween 30 Part I. diately after the Fall, otherwife call'd the Gospel InftiChap. 4. tution, or laftly the Mofaical,) is fometimes call'd a fometimes a Co- Law, fometimes a Covenant. It is then to be known, venant; or the that a Divine Law do's properly and strictly denote Law one or more Divine Precepts in what manner foever and Covenant. made known to Man: whereas a Divine Covenant properly and ftrictly denotes Some one or more Promifes; whereby God has been Graciously pleas'd to Oblige or Bind himself to Man. Hence it is, that fuch Divine Precepts as are known to Man by the Light of Nature Only, are only call'd the Law of Nature, never the Covenant of Nature, because God faw fit Not exprefly to annex any Promifes to the Obfervation of the Law of Nature. On the other hand, That Promise made to Noah by God, that he would never destroy the World again by a Flood of Water, is only call'd a Covenant, never a Law, because that Promise was made to Noah abfolutely, or without any Condition or Law added thereto. Whereas every Divine Institution, which contains not only Precepts, but alfo Promises annext to the faid Precepts, (of which Sort is the Inftitution before the Fall, as alfo both the Evangelical and Mofaical fince the Fall) is therefore wont promifcuously to be call'd fometimes a Law, fometimes a Covenant, viz. a Law in refpect of the Precepts therein contain'd, a Covenant in refpect of the Promises therein contain❜d. Of the true Differ. between the Two Coven. &c. I. The Gospel Cove Of the State of the Gospel from the Fall of Adam to the Giving of the Law of Mofes. I Have obferv'd in Chap. 2, and 3. that the Covenant nant was of Force before the Fall being broken, and fo according to unto Fuftification, from its being the Tenor thereof annull'd, by the Eating of the Forfirst made prefent bidden Fruit, God of his meer and infinite Mercy was ly after the Fall. pleas'd to make a New Covenant with Man thro' the Blood of Chrift our Mediator and Redeemer, which Covenant is ufually distinguish'd by the peculiar Name of Of the Gospel from the Fall to the Law of Mofes. of the Gospel. This Covenant, as it was made with Adam the Common Father of All Mankind, fo do's belong to All his Posterity, or the Univerfal Race of Mankind. Whereof may well be understood that Argument of St Paul, Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not of the Gentiles allo? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, who shall justify the Circumcifion by Faith, and Uncircumcifion thro' Faith. For the Gofpel Covenant was actually of Force from the very first Making thereof, or presently after the Fall, thro' all. fucceeding Ages. So that it is by the Gospel Covenant, that All holy Men that liv'd before Chrift, as well as Such as live after Chrift, fhall be justify'd or attain Eternal Life. But altho' the Gospel Covenant was thus actually of Force unto Juftification, from the Time it was firft made, or presently after the Fall; yet it feem'd good to the Divine Wisdom, not at the First to reveal the whole Gofpel Difpenfation, but thro' the feveral Ages of the World, either more obfcurely to intimate, or more plainly to make known, the feveral Parts of the Gospel Difpenfation, until That Fulnefs of Time was come, appointed by God for the Full Promulgation of the Gospel by Chrift and his Apoftles. 31 Part I Chap. s. II. The Gospel Dif penfation reveal & only by Degrees. As to the Age between the Fall and the Giving of the of the Revela Law of Mofes, there are in Scripture but few indeed tions relating to Particulars relating to the Gospel reveal'd during that between the Fall, the Gospel made Interval, but then they are Such as are of the highest and giving of the Law of Moses. Importance. IV. The first Revelation relating to the Gospel made in Revelation 1ft of the Age aforemention'd, is That recorded Gen. 3. 15. the Seed of the woviz. that the Seed of the Woman Should bruise the Ser-man. pent's head, i.e. that Chrift fhould overthrow the Power of the Devil, or as St John expreffes it, that the Son of God fhould be manifefted to destroy the Works of the Devil. 1 Joh. 3. 8. V. In this Very firft Prophecy Two things were re- The Two parts of = veal'd to Adam, viz. 1, That there fhould at a Cer- the first Revelatain time come One, by Whom the World fhould be re- tion, viz. Ideem'd, and all Holy Men justify d. 2ly, that this Re. deemer Part I. Chap. 5. VI. fhould be a Re deemer of the World fhould be the Seed of the Woman Only. As to the first Branch of this Revelation, viz. that Firft, that there there fhould come One who should redeem the World &c. deemer of the world, it is Not to be doubted but that This was the Faith of the Patriarchs, and confequently that They hop'd for Eternal Salvation, on the fame Condition We Chriftians do now, viz. thro' Faith in the Woman's Seed, i.e. Chrift. We meet with a Remarkable and Clear Evidence of This in Hebr. 11.7. where Noah is faid to have become Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith. For there is no Righteousness available to Eternal Life, (of which it is plain from the first Verfe of the faid Chapter, that the Infpir'd Writer is there speaking,) but the Righteoufnefs which is by Faith in Jefus Chrift. So that whereas it is faid that Noah was the Heir of this fame Faith, it thence follows that the faid Righteousness by Faith was deriv'd to Noah from his Ancestors, i.e. the Antediluvian Patriarchs. And it is not Reasonably to be doubted, but that a Man of fuch extraordinary Piety as Noah, took due or the greatest Care to tranfmit the fame Righteoufnels by Faith down to his Pofterity, or the Patriarchs after the Flood. VII. Second, that he " 1 Proceed we to the other Branch or part of the first fhould be the Seed Revelation, wherein it was foretold that the Redeemer of the Woman Only of the World fhould be the Seed of the Woman Only. The Meaning whereof is, that as to his Flesh or Human Nature he fhould have no Father, but by a Supernatural, Divine, and altogether Miraculous way fhould take to him Human Nature out of the Substance of his Mother Only. Sacrifices first in VIII. As by that Expreffion used in the first Prophecy, viz. Atituted by God, the Seed of the Woman, was intimated the Manner of and by them pre-Chrift's Incarnation; fo by the Sacrifices made úfe of, figur'd Chrift's Death. and as is most highly Reasonable to believe, appointed by God himself, prefently after the Fall, was prefigur'd the Death of Chrift, until he fhould appear in the End of the World, to put away (or destroy the Effect of) Sin by the Sacrifice of himself Once, as Hebr. 9. 26. The Sacrifice offer'd by Abel, and accepted by God, is exprefly prefly recorded Gen. 4. 4. and Hebr. 11.4. But it is not reasonably to be doubted, but that the two Brothers, Cain and Abel, had been taught this Rite of Divine Worship by their Father, and confequently that Sacrifices had been offer'd by Adam himself in a due and pious manner, even before any Son of his was born. Indeed it is not to be look'd on as a frivolous or groundlefs Conjecture, that the Coats, which God is faid to have made for Adam and Eve of Skins, were made of the Skins of thofe Beafts, which Adam offer'd as Expiatory Sacrifices for the Firft Sin of Him and his Wife, in Eating of the Forbidden Fruit, prefently after their Fall, and by the Special Command of God. For fince the Forgivenefs of Sin altogether depends on the meer Favour of God, it hence follows, that likewife the Manner of obtaining Forgivenefs, muft altogether depend on the Will, and confequently on the Appointment of God. Further, whereas there is no intrinfick or natural Value in the Blood of any Beast for to take away or expiate any Sin, and therefore it is altogether impoffible (as St Paul affirms Hebr. 1o. 4.) for the Blood of Bulls and of Goats to take away Sin, namely on account of its Own natural Value; hence it follows that Human Reafon by the bare Light of Nature, (whereby it is enabled to difcover only the Natural Analogy or Refpect of things) could by no means find out and teach Man, that the Rite of fuch Sacrificing to expiate Sin would be accepted by God, forafmuch as fuch Sacrifices of Beafts or the like have no Natural Analogy or Tendency to gain anew the Favour of God when once Offended. On the other hand bare Reafon would rather have admonish'd, that God eats not the Flesh of Bulls, nor drinks the Blood of Goats; and therefore there was no Reafon, why God, as an Expiation for the Sin of any Man, fhould accept of a Bullock out of bis House, or He-goat out of his Folds; efpecially forafmuch as every Beast of the Field is God's, and the Cattle on a thousand Hills, and laftly, the Whole World is his, and All that therein is, as Pfal. so. 9-13. Wherefore fince it is altogether Reafon 1 E able Part I. Chap. 5. IX. . The last Judg able to fuppofe, that the Rite of appeafing God by Sa- That the Laft Judgment was likewife Not unknown, ment reveal'd to or rather was actually reveal'd to them, No one can the Patriarchs, as reasonably doubt, that duly weighs that Remarkable allo the Judge. Prophecy of Enoch mention'd by St Jude in his Epiftle v. 14, and 15. Enoch, the feventh from Adam, propheTy'd of (or rather, to) thefe, Jaying, Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints, to execute Judg ment upon All, and to convince All that are Ungodly among them, of all their Ungodly Deeds which they have committed, and of all their hard Speeches which ungodly Sinner's have Jpoken against him. Whence it appears probable, that it was reveal'd to the Patriarchs, not only in general, that God has appointed a Day, wherein be will judge the World in Righteousness, (as Acts 17.31.) but alfo peculiarly that God has appointed the faid Judgment to be made (as St Paul expreffes it in the fame Verse laft cited) by That Man whom be bas Ordain'd, viz. by the Seed of the Woman promis'd pre fently |