life and salvation is of or by any work of ours, there is room for our boasting, Eph. ii. 9. even as in the covenant of works, wherein life was by works, not in the way of proper merit, but only by virtue of paction or covenant *, SECONDLY, I shall explain and unfold that righteousness, the fulfilling of which was the condition of the covenant of works. And that we may have the more distinct view of it, I shall shew, 1. The parts of that righteousness. 2. The character which, upon his Father's call, the Lord Jesus took upon himself, in the covenant, in order to his accepting and performing the condition of the covenant for his people. First, I am to shew the parts of that righteousness, the fulfilling whereof was made the condition of the covenant. And forasmuch as Christ undertook the performing of that condition in the room and stead of his spiritual seed, the debt of righteousness was and must be stated from the law or broken covenant of works, which they were lying under. For the law or covenant of works was so far from being neglected in the new bargain, that whatever it had to charge upon or demand of the elect for life and salvation, was sum med up and set down in the new covenant, and the full and complete payment thereof made the condition of that covenant, Isa. xlii. 21. Psal, lxix. 4. This may from thence be summed up in these three things, holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and satisfaction for sin, which make the whole of the condition of the covenant of grace, the price of the redemption of an elect world, which Christ the second Adam undertook from eternity, to accomplish in himself, in their name, room, and stead. 1. Holiness of nature. That the law required as a term of enjoying eternal life, condemning original sin and corruption of nature as well as of life, saying, Thou shalt For God being essentially and necessarily holy, nothing can be so contrary to him as an unholy nature. But Christ's spiritual seed were as unable to reach this holiness of nature, as any of their brethren of Adam's family; their nature was corrupt, and it was quite beyond their power to purify it, Prov. xx. 9. Wherefore, that the law * Proper inferences from this point may be seen in the treatise on the covenant of grace, under the title, Of the conditionary part of the covenant. might be satisfied in this point, it was settled as a condition of the covenant, That the second Adam representing them should be a man of a perfectly holy, pure, and untainted nature, fully answering for them that holiness and perfection of nature required by the law. It consists of two articles, (1.) That he as the second Adam should be conceived and born holy, for and instead of his spiritual seed, conceived and born in sin. (2.) That he should inviolably retain the holiness of nature for them, and in their name *. 2. Righteousness of life. This also the law required as one of the terms of life. The law given to Adam and all his seed, which they were obliged to obey in all points, by the tie of natural duty, and by covenant for life, was never fulfilled by them; and Christ's spiritual seed as well as others fell short of it, Rom. iii. 23. The first Adam began the course of obedience, but he quickly fell off from it, and all his natural seed in him. But the justice of God, and the honour of his law, could not suffer the reward, the prize, the crown of eternal life, to be bestowed without running of the race. The elect having no ability for running that race, it was made a condition of the second covenant, that Christ as a public person, their representative, should begin and perfect the course of obedience to the law in righteousness of life. This may be taken up in these three articles. (1.) That he, as the second Adam, should, in the name of those represented by him, obey the whole law. (2.) That every part of that obedience of his should be screwed up to the highest pitch and degree. (3.) That all this should be continued to the end, without the least failure in one jot of parts or degrees of obedience t.. 3. Satisfaction for sin, Isa. liii. 10. The former two were in the condition of Adam's covenant; but this was not: for there being no sin, no satisfaction was due. But the new covenant, supposing the first to be broken, behoved to be settled on the condition of a satisfaction, in virtue of the justice of God, and of his truth, who had annexed a See the illustration of these two articles, ubi fupra, under the title, Holiness of Nature. † See ubi fupra, under the title, Righteousness of Life, penalty to the breach of the covenant of works. And in this part of the condition of the covenant the following articles were settled. (1.) That Christ, as a public person should satisfy for all comprehended in the covenant, all and every one of his spiritual seed, Isa. liii. 6. (2.) That he should satisfy for them, by suffering for them, and in their name and stead, Heb. ix. 22. (8). That he should by suffering satisfy for them fully and compleatly, that the law might have no need to come back on them for any part of the satisfaction due. (4.) That he should suffer the same punishment that they should have suffered in virtue of the penalty of the broken covenant of works, from which this debt of satisfaction was stated; and that was death in its full latitude and extent. (5.) That he should suffer all this voluntarily, submissively, and out of regard to the wronged honour of God, willingly repairing it *. Secondly, I shall shew the character which, upon his Father's call, our Lord took upon himself, in the covenant, in order to his accepting and performing the condition of the covenant for his people, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, hath a manifold relation to the covenant, as he is called the covenant itself: but here I meddle only with those relations to it which concerned the condition; and shall take them up in this threefold character, their kinsman Redeemer in the covenant, the Surety of the covenant, and the Priest thereof. (1.) Christ became the kinsman Redeemer in the covenant, Job xix. 25. And there were four things which the kinsman Redeemer was to do for his kinsman, which he was not able to do for himself; all which Christ took upon him in the conditionary part of the covenant. (1.) He was to marry the widow of the deceased kinsman, to raise up seed to his brother, Ruth iii. 9. compared with Ezek. xvi. 8. So our kinsman Redeemer undertook in this covenant to marry the widow, to take on man's nature in the fulness of time, marrying it to himself in a personal union with the divine nature. (2.) He was to redeem the mortgaged inheritance of his poor kinsman, Lev. xxv. 25. Heaven and eternal life is the • See ubi fupra, title, Satisfaction for Sin.. mortgaged inheritance. Our kinsman Redeemer took the burden of the redemption on himself, and agreed to pay the price of the purchase. (3.) He was to redeem his poor kinsman, brought into bondage, paying his ransom, Lev. xxv. 47. Sinners had lost their freedom, and became slaves to sin and Satan. Our kinsman Redeemer agreed to give himself for them, for purchasing of their liberty, 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6. (4.) He was to avenge the blood of his slain kinsman on the slayer, Deut. xix. 12. All mankind was slain, and the elect of God among the rest. Our kinsman Redeemer un dertook the avenging of their blood on Sin and Satan*. 2. Christ became the Surety of the Covenant. This the scripture expressly teacheth, Heb. vii. 22. What suretyship is among men, many have known to their cost, to the ruin of themselves and their families. It is a man's taking on himself the person of another in law, and binding and oblig. ing himself to answer for what can be legally demanded of that other person. Against rash undertaking of this Solomon cautioneth, Prov. xi. 15. It is twofold; suretyship by way of satisfaction for debt contracted, (Prov. xxi. 26), by the party whom one is surety for; and suretyship by way of caution for some deed to be performed by the party for whom one is surety, Prov. xx. 16. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and take a pledge of him for a strange woman; that is, for they will not perform, and the cautioner will be left in the lurch. Here I shall enquire, for whom and for what Christ became Surety in the covenant. 1st, For whom Christ became Surety in the covenant. Possibly it may be safely said, that Christ became God's Surety to us in the covenant, taking on himself to see all the pro mises of the covenant performed to the seed, even to all believers. For in the case of one unknown to us, though in himself most faithful, a surety may be necessary, especially if the party be of a jealous and suspicious temper. It is certain that God's promises are, in respect of his infallible veracity, most sure and firm, and cannot miss to be performed: but sinners are slow to believe, Luke xxiv. 25. And if Christ be Surety for God unto us, it is for the same end that God has given his oath in the case, Heb. vi. 17, 18. But I doubt if the scripture calls Jesus Christ a Surety in • Vide ubi supra, tit. Christ the kinsman Redeemer in the covenant. that sense. In Heb. vii. 22, the only text wherein Christ is expressly called a Surety, it is undeniable that the suretyship respects his priestly office, ver. 20. with 22. and therefore his suretyship for us to God: whereas his suretyship for God to us cannot relate to his priestly office, but to his kingly office, in respect of which all power is given to him in heaven and earth, and consequently a power to see that all the promises be performed to his people. In two other texts only, we read of suretyship relating to the case between God and a soul; and in both the suretyship is not to, but for the soul, viz. Psal. cxix. 122. Be surety for thy servant for good,' Job xvii. 3. Put me in a surety with thee.' The original expression is the same in the latter text as in the former. Whatever is of this, one thing is plain, that it doth not belong to the condition of the covenant, but to the promises of it; and therefore lies not here be fore us. But Christ became our Surety to God in the covenant. Thus was he most properly, if not the only, Surety of the covenant. The covenant of grace was made with the spi ritual seed in Christ, as their head and representative, and their Surety taking burden for them upon himself, Psal. lxxxix. 19. 2dly, For what he became surety. This will appear by considering the nature of his suretyship. I spoke before of two kinds of suretyship. It was the first, the heaviest of the two, that our Lord undertook, viz. suretyship in the way of satisfaction for debt contracted, wherein the burden was wholly devolved on himself, and he was to be the sole actor and sufferer. The debt of the elect world was, by God's eternal foreknowledge, stated from the broken covenant of works, in the whole latitude of its demands on them: and Christ became surety for it, and so did strike hands with his Father from eternity, to pay it completely. And, (1). He became Surety for their debt of punishment, which they as sinners were liable in payment of, as the ori ginal phrase is, 2 Thess. i. 9. That was the debt owing to the divine justice for all and every one of their breaches of the holy law, whether original or actual. The demerit of their sins was an infinite punishment, as being committed against an infinite God. They were liable to bear the pains VOL. I. 3 C |