way to establish this great truth, That none were faved fince the fall but through Chrift, by faith in him. Their defign is good; but why fhould they fhun to use the fcripture-language, and think they exprefs the thing better than the Spirit of God, who knew beft the fitteft words, and thereby reflect on him, as if his words were not fit for the purpose: Yet his words have a plain sense, and are better fitted to the purpose than those they have put in the place of them. He calls them two covenants; and fo they are indeed, as much diftinct as heaven and earth are; and fhews plainly, that all the covenanted in that first covenant were not faved, yea that none were faved but by faith in the promises of Christ, upon which the new covenant is established. Thus all the faints from Adam to Chrift obtained eternal life, and never one of them was faved by that national covenant with Ifrael, which is done away; though, having a fhadow of good things to come, it was fubfervient to the promise of Chrift, and to the faith of that promife, and was a schoolmafter to bring them to Chrift, that they might be justified by faith.

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"Hat we may have some further view of these two cove. nants, with the different states of things established by them, and of the kingdom of Chrift established by the new covenant, we may confider Heb. xii. from y 8. to the end; where we have a short account of the difference betwixt the covenant at Sinai and the new covenant, the different states of things under them, the excellency of the new, and the ftate of things established thereby; the doing away of that covenant, with what pertained to it; the remaining of the things pertaining to the new covenant; and the conclufion of all is, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom that cannot "be moved," &c. which is the kingdom of Jefus Christ, of which we fpeak.

The Apostle is upon an exhortation to holiness and whereas the Jews objected against the New-Teftament way of it, that it made void the law, and encouraged men in fin; he pleads ftrongly for holiness, 1. From the grace of the new covenant bringing us near to God, in oppofition to the ter rible voice of the law, injecting flavifh fear, and keeping finners at a distance. 2. From the glorious holy fociety established by the new covenant, into which we are brought

by

by the voice of the new covenant, in oppofition to the voice of Sinai, erecting an earthly nation. 3. From the greater majefty and glory of the voice of the new covenant, which is from heaven, than of that voice which spake on earth. And, 4. From the greater vengeance upon them that turn away from this voice fpeaking from heaven; vengeance from heaven being more dreadful than vengeance from earth. O. ther things might be noticed here to this purpose; but I fhall confine myself to my prefent scope.

The Apostle speaks here of the two covenants, calls them both a voice; and both that covenant, and this that we have now, are the voice of God. Yea, that voice at Sinai was the voice of the fame person who is the Mediator of the new covenant: for he appeared on Sinai, and gave the law, by the difpofition of angels, and the miniftry of Mofes, the typical mediator, and entered into that covenant with his typical people, whom he redeemed with a typical redemption out of Egypt; fo that he is the God of Ifrael. He fpeaks now in a more condefcending manner, not keeping finners at such a distance, being incarnate; and his voice now is the "voice "of his blood, which fpeaketh better things than that of "Abel;" but ftill he is the fame perfon that spake of old. And it is to be observed, that his voice then "fhook the "earth," but now he himself is notably at work, as Mediator of the new covenant, "fhaking not the earth only, but "alfo heaven."

1.

Obferve how the Apostle diftinguishes these two speakings of his, or his voice in the old covenant and in the new. As to the time of them: then, at Sinai, when he brought the children of Ifrael out of Egypt; and now, in the day of the gofpel. 2. He diftinguishes them by the place of speaking: "Then he spake on earth, from the top of the mount that "might be touched," after he had redeemed that people out' of Egypt; but now he fpeaketh "from heaven, from mount "Zion, the heavenly Jerufalem," having finished his work of redemption upon the earth. 3. He diftinguishes them by the effects of them : "His voice then fhook the earth: but "now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not "the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, fignifieth the removing of those things that are sha"ken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be fhaken, may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom," &c.

There was a great earthquake at Sinai when the first cove

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nant was made; but, by the strain of the text, it appears, that this fhaking of the earth was fignificant of a notable alperation of the state of things with respect unto the church then; even as the earthquake, and rending of the vail of the temple, was fignificant of a notable alteration of the state of things about the church. I fhall lay forth what I take to be the Apostle's fcope, in the following obfervations.

Obf. 1. "There was a notable alteration and change of "things with respect to the church on earth, by the Lord's "voice in the covenant with Ifrael at Sinai.'

What this change and alteration was, we may fee in the following inftances.

1. Then was the Lord accomplishing the promife made to the patriarchs, that was firft to be accomplished before the promise of the feed in whom all the nations fhould be blessed, Gen. xii. 1. 2. 6. 7. and xiii. 14. 15. and xv. &c.

Then was he known by the name Jehovah, the independent, unchangeable God, keeping and performing his word against all that stood in the way. Thus he was known in the performance of his word to the patriarchs, to whom he was only known by the name Almighty, able to perform in due time what he had promised: for they lived not to know him in the performance of his promife, Exod. vi. 2.-8.

2. The church, or God's covenanted people,, the feed of Ifrael, who were the Lord's people by the covenant of circumcifion, did then pafs out of the family-ftate, wherein the church had been from the beginning, into the state of a nation, and became a nation and kingdom of God, he being now related unto them as a nation by that national covenant, Exod. xix, 3. 4. 5. "And Mofes went up unto God, "and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, faying, "Thus fhalt thou fay to the house of Jacob, and tell the "children of Ifrael, Ye have feen what I did unto the E"gyptians, and how I bare you on eagles wings, and brought "you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my "voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye fhall be a pe❝culiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth «is mine; and ye fhall be unto me a kingdom of priests, "and an holy nation. These are the words which thou "fhalt fpeak unto the children of Ifrael." Read alfo y 7. 8. 9. This was not before. God was not related to his people from the fall, nor to the houfe of Jacob in the capacity of a nation; for before the church was in families.

3. The worship of God, and his special prefence, was

then

then fettled in the fanctuary, and all the ordinances of worship were fixed and established; whereas that prefence of God and his worship had not a fixed abode before: for they built altars to the Lord in the feveral places where the Son of God appeared to them, when fojourning in the land of promife, as in a ftrange country. But now there is a fettled place of the worship of God; as we fee Exod. xxix. 42.—46. "This fhall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the congre. gation, before the Lord; where I will meet with you, to "speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the "children of Ifrael, and the tabernacle fhall be fanctified by "my glory. And I will fanctify the tabernacle of the con"gregation, and the altar: I will fanctify alfo both Aaron and "his fons, to minifter unto me in the prieft's office. And I "will dwell amongst the children of lfrael, and will be their "God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, "that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell amongst them: I am the Lord their God."

4. By the covenant at Sinai, there was a feparation made betwixt all the nations of the earth, and Ifrael, now brought out of the land of Egypt, to be fettled by themselves in a land and kingdom of their own, where they had been ftrangers before among other people.

Unto this feparation ferved the law of commandments con. tained in ordinances delivered to that nation in the covenant at Sinai. The Apostle calls this the enmity, and the wall of partition betwixt them and all other people. And by the covenant containing this law, the nation of Ifrael was God's peculiar people; all that were not within the bond of that covenant being thereby excluded the church of God, as all that came within the bond of that covenant were of that nation and church; there being "one law for the ftranger "and the home-born," Eph. ii. 11. 12. &c. Exod. xix. 5. "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, "then ye fhall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine."

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Obf. 2. "This great alteration in the church left the state "of it earthly, and did not extend to heaven to make any "change there."

He spoke on earth; his voice fhook the earth; but now he thaketh alfo heaven.

The eternal promise of all spiritual bleffings in heavenly places in Chrift to all nations, was not yet performed by the

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voice that "hook only the earth: " for by that voice, the Lord was doing no more but fulfilling that promife made to the patriarchs, which was temporal and earthly; fo he then fhook only the earth.

However great this fhaking was, heaven was not moved by it. All things remained there as they were after the giving out of the first promise of Chrift to fallen man: for from that time, it became the receptacle of the departing fouls of them that died in the faith of the promised feed; and those fpirits of just men were there with the angels, expecting the full accomplishment of that great promife; even as the faints in heaven now are expecting, till the enemies of Chrift's kingdom be made his footftool, and looking for the glorious day of the complete redemption and perfection of the whole church, according to that promife, in the faith of which they have died. Enoch was translated into heaven without death, long before this voice that shook the earth; so that it did not extend to heaven to make any alteration there.

But all the earthly fhadows of heavenly things to come by Chrift, that were inftituted from the fall, were ingroffed in this covenant, and delivered to Ifrael, with many others added in the law of commandments contained in ordinances. Thus facrifices, inftituted at the giving of the first promise, and a holy place of worship on earth, and an altar, and circumcifion, were all carried into the covenant at Sinai : fo that whatever was earthly in the church, typifying heavenly things to come, belongs to that covenant made with Ifrael; and all the earthly ordinances that were before, together with many more now appointed, were now delivered to Ifrael, as rudiments by which they might come to the knowledge of Chrift, like children beginning to learn; and the apostle calls them the "rudiments of the world." These rudiments the law put into the hands of the Ifraelites and this is one way wherein the law was their "fchoolmaster to bring them to "Chrift," that they who believed might be justified by the faith of the promised feed.

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So the state of the church erected and established by this fhaking, was no more but earthly, and there was nothing heavenly in it, abftract from the typical reference it had to heavenly things to come by the promised feed.

For the people that were brought within the bond of that covenant, and of whom the kingdom of God, eftablished thereby, did confift, were an earthly feed, born after the flesh, even Ifrael according to the flesh. And though there were

fome