thousands, forgiving iniquity and tranfgreffion and fir, and that will by no means clear the guilty." At the propofal of a covenant of peace for finners, justice ftands up and pleads, There fhall be no peace without I be satisfied, Heb. ix. 22.; therefore a sacrifice is provided, that the covenant of peace may upon it go on, and the broken first covenant is ingroffed in the fecond, that all it demands fhall be answered.

Secondly, But why is it a covenant on the facrifice of Christ himself! The reason is, because no other facrifice could avail in the case, Heb. x. 5. “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body haft thou prepared me." One can hardly think, that if the covenant could have been made on a less costly sacrifice, that the only begotten Son of God would have been made the facrifice, John iii. 16. There was a neceffity for Chrift's death, if finners were to have life, Luke xxiv. 26.

1. The Levitical facrifice of beasts could never avail in this cafe. For they were not of equal value with the guilty heads, beasts being in value far below men. Therefore by them indeed the debt might be acknowledged, and the way of paying it typified; but not paid.

3. Men could not be facrifices for themselves in this cafe to procure a covenant of peace; for if once the facrificing knife had come to their throat, they would never have recovered; if they had been once laid on the altar, they would have been confuming but never have fent forth a favour of reft to incenfed juftice.

3. Angels could not have been a facrifice; for neither could they have ever overcome the weight of wrath that was due, but would have funk under it. And their fufferings not being of infinite value, could not have been accepted for recompence of the wrong done to an infinite God. Wherefore Christ only could be a facrifice to procure the covenant of peace. For, (1.) He only could bear the curse, and overcome it. The curfe of the first covenant behoved to be execut

ed,

ed, in order to the establishing of the fecond for peace to finners; and he only could bear it, fo as to bear it out, and bear it off, Gen. xv. 10, 17, 18. Gal. iii. 13. The wicked in the other world will bear the curfe in. deed for themselves, and fo will be made facrifices for themselves, according to that, Pfal. xciv. ult. "He fhall bring upon them their own iniquity, and fhall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God fhall cut them off." But they will never be able to drink this cup up, and overcome it; fo they shall have no peace for ever.

(2.) He only was of infinite dignity, and fo his fufferings only could equal the offence of an infinite God by the fins of the world. Chrift's facrifice was of " a fweet smelling favour unto God," Eph. v. 2. It is an Old Teftament expreflion ufed, Gen. viii. 21. "The

Lord fmelled a fweet favour," Heb. afavour of full reft, namely, "quieting his Spirit," as the expreffion is, Zech. vi. 8. The fins of the elect world, most abominable to God, fent up as it were a most rank smell into his noftrils: no fufferings of the creature could master it, but the fufferings of Chrift did it fully.

Thirdly, Let us confider the import of this covenant's being a covenant on a facrifice.

1. This fays, that wrath is appeased, juftice has got fatisfaction for fin; the bar which the broken first covenant laid in the way of finners peace with God, is removed; for the new covenant is made on a facrifice, whereby atonement is made for the breach of the firft. covenant, and juftice has got of the Surety, for the finner, what it could demand, 2 Cor. v. ult.

2. It is confiftent with the honour of God, to take finners into this covenant, and receive them into favour as his confederates; for now the holiness, juftice, and truth of God, have the wrong done them repaired by this facrifice; and his mercy and grace have a free vent thereby, Pfal. Ixix. 4.

3. Sinners have free accefs into it. Solomon obferves,

Prov. xviii. 16. “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." And what will Chrift's gift of himself as a facrifice not do? Surely now the finner may come forward under the covert of that precious blood; the fword that guarded the tree of life was theathed in the facrifice of Christ, and laid by, Cant. ii. 10, II.

4. There is a feast for them, a feast on the sacrifice, the parties covenanting feafting together. Upon the covenant made betwixt Jacob and Laban there was a feaft kept, Gen. xxxi. 54. So upon this covenant made on the facrifice of Chrift, there is a feaft, 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. "Chrift our paffover is facrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast." The flesh and blood of Chrift crucified is meat indeed and drink indeed, and we are to feed and feaft thereon by faith.

Laftly, It is a fure covenant, as made on that factifice, the virtue and efficacy whereof being eternal, one can never be shaken out of it. The mercy and grace of God to finners have a fure foundation here, Pf. Ixxxix. 14. "Juftice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth fhall go before thy face." What can shake a finner out of this covenant when he is once really in it? Nothing can be supposed to do it but fin. But then it is a covenant on a facrifice whereby fin is expiated, and therefore it cannot have that malignant effect. Accordingly the promise of the covenant runs, Jer. xxxii. 40. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.”

I SHALL now make fome improvement of this doctrine. 1. Then fee how Christ loved us! When the Jews faw Christ come weeping to Lazarus's grave, they faid, “Behold how he loved him!" John xi. 36. How much more may we fay fo, when we confider him making a covenant with his Father for the falvation

of

of loft finners of mankind, and that on the facrifice of himself? It was much that he took any notice of our just ruin, being enemies to him as well as to his Father; more than he made a covenant for our recovery; most of all, that in order to establish it, he made his foul an offering for fin, and confented to shed his precious blood for it.

2. Then let us take this his covenant, and rest in it, as made by him. Let us leave to him the glory..

(2.) Of fole Maker of it with his Father, Zech. vi. 13. Let us not pretend to frame, make, and devife a covenant of our own, diftinct from his, in our accepting of it. Let us not quarrel his covenant, nor go about to model it anew, agreeable to our corrupt minds. Let us make no exceptions againft it, no exception in favour of any beloved luft, no exception against any of the duties of the covenant, nor against the difcipline thereof, which is the crofs. Let us defire nothing out that he has put in, nor any thing in that he has left out, Acts ix. 6. “ Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" So fincere covenanters look upon it as well ordered in all things, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.

(2.) Of fole Undertaker in it. He was fo when it was made, and when it was fulfilled, Ifa. lxiii. 3. "I have trodden the wine-prefs alone, and of the people there was none with me." Let none now then put in for a fhare in the undertaking. Some, in their pretended covenanting with God, undertake for their part, that if God will fave them for Chrift's fake from hell and wrath, they will be good fervants to God as long as they live, and keep his commands, and fo do their part; and fo they would share the glory with Christ, Rom. iv. 4. They confider not that they are without ftrength, and can do nothing; that they have as much need of the grace of Chrift to fanctify, as to justify them. But come ye to Christ in his covenant, to get your nature changed, the power of fin broken, and to be caused by him to walk in new obedience.

Сс

*

(3.) Of

(3.) Of the fole immediate right to the promises of it, Gal. iii. 16. You are welcome to claim the promifes, according to your need; but ye muft claim them only in his right, and be content to come in at his back to get them made out to you. This has been the way of the faints, as Daniel, chap. ix. 17, 18. and Paul, Phil. iii. 9. There is no standing of a sinner before God, but under the covert of the Mediator's blood; and no plea for finners, but in his name.

And to move you hereto, to acquiefce in the covenant as his, leaving him the glory, confider,

[1] It is beft for us as he has made it, Eccl. iii. 14. If we fhould offer to mend it, by adding to or taking. away any thing from it, we would be fure to mar it. Infinite wisdom knew best what was for our good, and infinite love fet him on it. As Chrift faw better than we, what was our true intereft; for he loved us more than we loved ourfelves, for he loved us infinitely, Eph. iii. 19.

[2.] Only he is able enough for that undertaking, Pfal. lxxxix. 19. And the work can be put in no other hand, but it will be marred. Why fhould we defire to take burden on ourselves, when he is content to be the great Burden- bearer, to bear our weight, and all the weights that hang at us, whether of duty, guilt, or affliction? He is fure, and can never ftumble under our weight, nor fall; but we are ready to fall at every turn, Pfal. lv. 22. Ifa. xlii. 4.

[3] The promife is fure in his right, and the claim that way cannot mifs, Pf. lxxxix. 33. When pleading the benefit of the promife, we confider ourfelves, we fee nothing but guilt, finfulness, unworthiness, ficklenefs, and inconftancy, to cut off our hopes; but looking to Chrift, we fee perfect holiness and righteousness, infinite dignity and excellency; fo that we may fay, "Lord, I am unworthy, yet my Saviour Christ is worthy for whom thou fhouldeft do this for me."

Laftly, Let poor trembling finners be encouraged to

come