*

loss to conceive. That they had not all the knowledge which we now possess, may be readily enough granted: but then, they must have known that all this exhibited a system of mercy and of grace; they must have been aware that some ulterior end was had in view, and this, if they had any curiosity, they must have desired to see. They must also have known, that faith was eminently called for, because all depended upon promise, and had no connection whatever, either with the moral law, or with the merit of man. And, the truth is, they waited for the salvation of God:+ they "all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."+

The more usual head, however, under which this subject is introduced and argued in the New Testament, is that of the covenant; and this was a covenant of grace: "For this is my covenant," says the Apostle, citing one of the Prophets, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, || "that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.... For I will be MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith," continues he, "A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." By the first covenant, as here taught, is meant, according to the next chapter,§ the ceremonial observances, which, as they had now received their completion in the person and sufferings of Christ, must of necessity pass away.

We are also instructed, in the same Epistle, " To look to

* Luke, x. 24.

Heb. xi, 13.

§ Chap. ix. 1, &c.

+ Gen. xlix. 18.

Heb. viii. 10-12, 13.

Jesus the mediator of the NEW COVENANT, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."* And in another place it is said: "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through THE BLOOD OF The everLASTING COVENANT, make you perfect in every good work to do his will."+ Here we find the covenant termed EVERLASTING, and the blood of Christ identified with that shed symbolically from the earliest times. In the Acts of the Apostles, this is termed, The covenant which God made with the Fathers: "Ye," it is said," are the children of the prophets, and of the COVENANT which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This covenant, therefore, was not new in scope or in substance, but only in form and observance. had now assumed a more glorious character, in exhibiting the humiliation and sufferings of Him who was God and with God, and by whom all things had been created and made, and this to atone for the sins of fallen man. It also pointed out to the believer a system of mercy and loving-kindness, which indeed had been made known from the first, and had been kept up by the faithful in all ages, under the cumbrous observances of a ritual law, but had now been revealed in a flood of unimpeded light and warmth, as miraculous and convincing in its circumstances, as it was comprehensive and glorious in its effects; as honourable to God, as it was encouraging to man; and as intelligible and practical, as it was convincing and good.

It

In all these instances (and to these innumerable others might be added) this covenanted mercy and grace is appealed

Heb. xii. 24. Where the blood of sprinkling cannot, by analogy, refer to that of Abel's person, but to that of his sacrifice, as practised afterwards under the Law. See Lev. xvi. 15. Is. lii. 15.-Better, because the work was far more instructive, complete, and glorious.

† Heb. xiii. 20, 21.

Acts, iii. 25.

to, as a thing about which there had never been any doubt. If, indeed, the mention of it had been only incidental, or had first come to light in the times of Isaiah, or of some one of the minor Prophets, or had been first propounded in the New Testament, upon the authority of that revelation alone, then might we have concluded with Warburton and others, that the Fathers had no knowledge whatever of these things, and that life and immortality had exclusively been brought to light in the times of Jesus; or, with others, that the Law is at variance with the Gospel, and actually opposed to it. From what has been said, however, I think we are bound to come to a very different conclusion;—that not only was the law of faith made known as early as transgression had made faith necessary, but also, that a system of means, dark and shadowy indeed in its character, yet too expressive to be misunderstood, was also set up, carried on, and finally amalgamated with the more enlightened one established in Jesus, when the fulness of time had arrived, and when the purposes of God had, as to this point, received their con

summation.

From what has been said, I think it must be clear, that, from the very first promise of Holy Writ, down to the declarations of the last inspired writer, the object of faith, namely the person of a suffering Redeemer was distinct and definite; and, that in truth, Christ not only existed before the times of Abraham, but existed in the knowledge and experience of his Church, and that to him all the Prophets have indeed borne witness. It must also be evident, that this system of faith had its rise, continuation, and consummation, in an exhibition of the unmerited mercies of God; and, that its first and last object was to meet, and provide for, the wants of intelligent creation. It is, perhaps, equally evident, that a moral law has also existed from a still earlier period, has been continued in all its rigour through the patriarchal and Mosaic times, has been pronounced holy, just,

and good, by the Apostle, and by him has also been said to be established by the Gospel. These combined systems have, throughout all ages, succeeded in producing the fruits of holiness and peace; and, as every service has been presented in the full exercise of obedience and assurance of faith, the blessings of time and of eternity have been dealt out with a liberal hand, and hosts innumerable have been added to the assembly of the first-born.

It has also been shewn from the nature of the case, that no other system can be effectual in first reducing, and then in duly elevating, the mind of man, so as to make him meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of eternal life. Our Scriptures moreover declare, that the kingdom of the Redeemer shall never fail; that it shall extend from sea to sea, from the river to the world's end; and that it shall remain as long as the sun and moon shall endure. And, as we have every reason to believe, that miraculous influences have now ceased, we have every ground for concluding, that our means of obedience and of grace are the same in character and intent with those made known in the earliest times; that they are full and complete in their requirements, means, and end; and in every respect permanent and unchangeable.

The last point we shall consider is, the suitableness and value of this view of the divine economy, as commenced, carried on, and completed, for our instruction, assurance, and final salvation. If we can suppose the Divine energies ever to have been thus exerted for the good of man, our next supposition must be, that they would be harmonious in their proceedings, and effective in their end: and this is what they peculiarly are. Our duties to God and to man are first authoritatively taught and urged. In the next place, the imperfections of our best services are clearly and strongly inculcated; the mercy of God is then proposed, and faith is demanded as the means whereby salvation shall finally be secured. Here the fullest exercise of all our best affections

k

and powers is both demanded and provided for, and sufficient aid afforded to raise the hope, and to realise the enjoyment of all that earth and heaven can afford; and, while the believer is forgetting what is behind, and reaching out for the acquisition of all that is before him, he is compelled to exclaim, (and this too forms one of his highest privileges and greatest enjoyments,) that the power is all of God; that Paul may plant, Apollos water, but that God giveth the increase, and that to his name is all the praise and the glory due.

Nor is this his ground of hope only of yesterday; it constitutes no new experiment now for the first time discovered and recommended: the believer can appeal to a cloud of witnesses, to an army of prophets, martyrs, saints; to an innumerable company whose faith, deeds, trials, expectations, have been witnessed and registered from the earliest times, and are still preserved for his instruction and comfort. In the first revelation he can read the promise made to the Fathers of that mysterious Child who was to be the King of kings and Lord of lords;-in the sufferings and experience of the first martyr, the testimony afforded that he pleased God, and that he lived by faith ;-and in those of the first murderer, that he, like all his apostate followers, was but a vagabond and a wanderer upon the earth, an alien to the commonwealth of mercy, and was without hope and without God in the world. In like manner, will the walk of Enoch with God, the covenant and the mercy afforded to Noah, adoption into the family of Abraham, and the becoming a spiritual heir of the promises made to him when he saw the day of Christ and rejoiced, instruct, edify, encourage, and support him. It would be endless to point out all the instances recorded in the Scriptures for the admonition and encouragement of the believer. They are to be found in every page of its history, laws, promises, predictions: and they have been revealed and perpetuated, that the man of God