brother, faying, Know the Lord: for all fball know me from the leaft to the greateft. verfe 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteoufnefs, and their fins and their iniquities will I remember no more. These promifes with their condition, having been propofed to, and accepted by Chrift as Second Adam, and the condition performed by him; the covenant comes natively, in the gofpel, to be fet before us in him, to be by us received and embraced in and through Chrift, by faith. Thus the promises are the covenant by way of eminency; even God's covenant, wherein he hath bound himself to perform his part, as the Mediator hath already performed his. And in this fenfe, indeed, the covenant of grace is not conditional, but confifts of abfolute promises; that is, promises become abfolute, through the condition thereof actually performed already: but being confidered in its full latitude, and in refpect of Chrift, the covenant, and all the promises thereof, are properly and ftrictly conditional.

3. The promises of the covenant are the purchafe of the blood of Chrift: the fruit of his fulfilling all righteoufnefs, in his birth, life, and death. As the curfe came by the demerit of Adam's fin; fo the promifes are owing to the merit of Chrift's righteoufnefs; they are the new teftament in his blood, 1 Cor. xi. 25. From the promife of the bread and water, (Ifa.xxxiii, 16.), to the promife of a feat with him on his throne, (Rev. iii. 21.), they are all the purchase of his meritorious obedience even to the death. Juftly are they called exceeding precious promifes, 2 Pet. i. 4. as being the price of his blood. Of what unfpeakable weight and importance muft they be, that coft fuch a price, between the Father and his own Son!

4. The great defign and end of the covenant is accomplished in the performing of the promissory part thereof; and that is, the glory of God, and the

falvation

falvation of finners. The great glory to God, and grace to finners, fpringing up from the whole of the covenant, meet together here, namely, in the accomplishment of the promises, as all the rivers meet together in the fea. The promises were the great thing the parties contractors had in view, when they entered into the covenant: it was room for them the Father fought by his propofal of the covenant; and that was what the Son intended to purchase, by his fulfilling the condition. The condition of the covenant is the foundation of the promises; the promifes the glorious fuperftructure reared upon that coftly foundation. The adminiftration of the covenant, is fubfervient to the accomplishment of the promifes. The condition of the covenant was performed on earth, in the fpace of about thirty-three years; the promifes have been a-performing more than five thoafand years on earth, and will be a-performing in heaven, through the ages of eternity.

5. The happiness and comfort of all the elect, for time and eternity, depends upon the promifes of the covenant. What keeps unconverted elect perfons from dying in that state, and fo dropping down to hell, but the promise of the covenant? What makes grace overtake them, when they are fleeing from it, but the promife? What preferves grace in them, like a fpark of fire in an ocean, that it is not extinguifhed, but the promife? And what is their fecu rity and comfort in the face of death, but the fame promife? 2 Sam. xxiii. 5..

6. The glory of the man Chrift, as Mediator, depends on the promife of the covenant. This was the fecurity, in the faith of which he lived on earth, about the fpace of thirty-three years, in a very low condition; and in end died an ignominious death: Pfal. xxii. 4. Our fathers trufted in thee they trufted, and thou didst deliver them. He paid the price

of

of the redemption of finners, while as yet many of the redeemed were not born, nay-nor as yet are; and feveral of them imbrewed their hands in his blood: but he refted on the promife of the covenant. He. pleaded it when he was juft entering into the fwelling waves. of death, where he was like Jonah, to be fwallowed up, John xvii. 5. Now, O Father, glorify me with thyfelf. And in the faith of the accomplishment of the promife, he completed his performance of the condition; for the joy that was fet before him in the promises, he endured the cross, defpifing the fame, Heb. xii. 2.

7. Lastly, God hath fworn the promife of the covenant: I have made a covenant with my chefen: I have fworn unto David my fervant. The Apoftle tells us, that God willing more abundantly to fhew unto the heirs of promife the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, Heb. vi. 17. A tender man will not fwear a promife, but in a matter of weight. Of what unfpeakable weight and importance then muft the promife of the covenant be, which the God of truth hath confirmed with his oath?

Now, for clearing of this part of the covenant, we fhall, 1. Confider the promises in general; and, 2. Take a more particular view of them..

Of the Promifes in general.

AS to the promises in general, two things are to

be inquired into: 1. What are the general kinds of them? and, 2. To whom they are made.

I. As to the general kinds of the promises; confidering the parties on whom the promifes of the covenant of grace have their direct and immediate ef fect, they appear to be of two general kinds

1. Some of them have their direct and immediate effect on CHRIST himfelf, the head of the covenant;

fuch

fuch as the promife of affiftance in his work, and the promife of a name above every name. So in the firft Covenant, there were promifes which were to have their direct and immediate effect on Adam himself, and looked not, but mediately and indirectly, to his pofterity, fuch of them, at least, as should have lived after the compleat fulfilling of the condition of that covenant; namely, the promises of natural life continued in vigour and comfort, and of Spiritual life continued in favour and fellowship with God, during the courfe of his probationary obedience.

2. Others of them have their direct and immediate effect on Chrift's spiritual feed, comprehended with him in the covenant; fuch as the promises of regeneration, of the new heart, and cleanfing from the defilement of fin. So in the firft Adam's covenant, the promife of life contained a promife of the holy conception and birth of his natural feed: in refpect of which the promife would have had its direct and immediate effect, not on Adam himself, but on his pofterity. II. The next thing to be confidered, is, To whom they were made? And we may take up this point in two things.

First, The promises of the firft fort, namely, thofe having their direct and immediate effect on the perfon of CHRIST, were made to Christ himself. Of this no doubt can be moved. And they were made to him as the head of the covenant, the Second Adam, the reprefentative of his feed. This appears from our text, wherein he is called the Chofen, the head. elect, and reprefentative of the election, David God's fervant: in which capacity, the covenant was cut off, or made, to him, by the Father. It is evident, that all the promises of affiftance in his work, and of his fubfequent reward, were made to him in view of his performance of the condition: and therefore, fince he performed the condition, as head of the covenant, Second

Second Adam, and reprefentative of his feed, thefe promifes were made to him in that capacity.

The promises of this kind then were made to Chrift only. And that was the peculiar honour put upon the head of the covenant, in the promiffory part; as it was his peculiar burden to fulfil the conditionary part. So he hath the name which is above every name, and is anointed with the oil of gladness above. his fellows. In the election, whereof he is the head, he fhines above the reft, as the fun in his meridian brightnefs above the twinkling ftars. He is the Ben-jamin at God's table with his brethren, whofe mess of promifes in the covenant is five times fo much as any of theirs; the Jofeph, who was feparate from his brethren, in fulfilling the condition of the covenant, and hath a double portion in the promised land made over to him, as the firft-born amongst many brethren.

Nevertheless, as the honour and profperity of the head redound to the members, their intereft, in refpect of their union and communion, being a joint intereft; fo the glory and honour fettled on CHRIST by promife, are a fpring of grace and glory to his members, an enriching treafure, their glory and crown. He is that head of gold which puts a glory on the body and the ointment poured upon the head, cannot mifs to go down to the fkirts of his garments. And hence is, (1.) The continual cry of prayer by the whole company of the faithful, for the accom plifbing of the promises made to the Mediator, Pfal. ixxii. 15. Prayer alfo fhall be made for him continually. It is evident that Pfalm concerns the Meffias. But prayer made continually for CHRIST! how can that be? Why, till the world end, that cry in prayer fhall never ceafe among the faithful, Thy kingdom come, Matth. vi. 10. It began with Adam's embraceing the promife by faith, was carried on all along