But, though the promise does thus set an open door before all, who will, to enter freely; yet, as we are to take all God's revealed truths along with us, we have no ground to imagine, that these absolute promises, which express what God will do, with respect to the salvation of sinners, and what he really does in all who are saved, should bind him to make these good unto all, who hear these promises proclaimed before them, and were thereby obliged to give the new heart to all the hearers of the gospel, to put his Spirit within them, and to cause them to walk in his statutes, to be a God unto them, and to make them his people. Certainly not; and when promises are as absolute as can be, yet, when the things contained in them are the fruits and effects of Christ's purchase, such as are not common unto all the world, and the emanations of God's special love in Christ; this is a tacit restriction, which confines these promises unto the elect, though no one of Adam's posterity be excluded by name there, nor so described, as that he can on any rational grounds conclude himself shut out thence, until it appears by the event, that God hath not wrought these things in him, nor bestowed these blessings contained in the promise, and which he always does in these, for whom the promises are designed.

But neither is this the only thing that God has provided for salving his truth and veracity in his absolute promises. For, as all the promised blessings are in Christ the mediator's hand, so are they all of them promised only in him; nor is there one promise in the gospel to warrant any body to expel the least covenant blessing otherwise, than by participation with him. Christ himself, the Savior, Redeemer and Mediator, is the great covenant promise, which comprehends and takes in all the rest; and with an eye to which, all of them are made; insomuch, that, as I already observed, where he is given, the covenant itself, and all the blessings of it, are so likewise; and, on the contrary, where he is not given, none of the covenant is so. And this brings us to consider the order, which God has established for bestowing the blessings of the covenant, with their relation one to another, as they lie in the covenant, grant and promise.

The order of the covenant blessings, and the relation which these bear one to another, are so nearly connected, that one cannot distinctly speak of one of these, without taking in the other also. That there is some particular order in the bestowing of these covenant blessings, cannot be denied; since they are neither designed to be given, nor are so actually, all at once: but some in this life, some only after death; some at one's first conversion, and some afterward, as they grow up in grace. That there is also a certain relation of one of these to another, established in this disposition and covenant grant, is evident from these connections, which we find there stated, between one and others of them, in the conditional promises; and which, if carefully heeded, will contribute not a little toward the right understanding of that part of the gospel, which has been, through mistaken views of these, miserably perverted to the very reverse of what it was designed for.

The whole of these benefits, contained in the promises of the gospel, may be comprehended under two ranks and classes, as they regard man's salvation, either as the means or the end; which yet must be so understood, as that the same, which are the means of one blessing, are many times the end of another, as the whole frame is concerted and adjusted by infinite wisdom, so, as that altogether shall contribute something toward the complement of the whole design, until it comes to be perfected in glory. And thus, as we are taught in the gospel, to look upon the whole of our religion in this life, as a part of that salvation conveyed in the covenant, and which therefore goes under the name of grace; so all this together is made subservient to glory, but not in the same manner. Some there are barely instrumental means of the other blessings; and so framed both in their nature and use, as to be merely subservient to eternal glory. And of this sort I take faith to be the chief, as it is its very nature to take in that revelation, which God has made of his mind and will in his word. Others again, though they are in themselves very material parts of our salvation, and either previously requisite unto, or certain approaches toward eternal glory, and thus are also a part of the end; yet as they are given in this life, they are also subservient unto, and means of attaining that which is in the world to come. And these we may reckon of two sorts, such, viz. as serve mainly to give a right, and administer access unto life and glory; and such as, being themselves a part of that life, dispose, fit and qualify one for the full possession of it. Of the first sort are reconciliation, justification, adoption, and, which should have been first mentioned, union with Christ, did it not also equally belong unto the second class; with all the other relative benefits and privileges of the covenant, which serve principally to make a change in one's state and relations. Of the second, are all these benefits which we may call real, such as, union with Christ the head of influence, with the participation of his Spirit in regeneration, sanctification, and holiness, together with all that communion and fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, which believers are admitted to.

As it cannot be refused, that there are innumerable influences, wherein connections of this kind are stated; so, if we consider them any whit seriously in this light, it will be easy to see of what kind they are, and how such and such graces stand related unto, or are made to depend one upon another. We have already hinted how the whole of these covenant blessings depend upon union with Christ, and which, God willing, shall be more particularly cleared with respect to some of them in what is to follow. I only observe here in general, how both the relative and real blessings depend upon it, as both the one and the other are only to be had from him. It is an interest in him, which gives one an interest in his purchase, and which makes the title pleadable by us. Tis also by a communication of his Spirit that our natures come to be changed, and we wrought up into a meetness for communion and fellowship with God, both here and hereafter.

Another of these connections, which is most frequent, is, that between holiness and eternal life; or, which is indeed the same thing, between conformity unto God, and communion with him. As this same holiness is also a duty belonging unto this covenant, of which, by and by, some, not considering how it is also a grace, and as such conveyed and made over among the other blessings, have transformed it into a strict covenant condition; and as such brought it into the matter of that righteousness, by which we are justified before God. But, if we consider these connections as they are laid in the word, we shall find the relations thereby fixed between grace and glory quite of another nature; as that holiness which is here given, is a very material part, and therefore a good earnest of that glory which shall be revealed; and the exercise of grace here, in the acts and duties of holiness, an apprenticeship and preparation for glory. It is in this respect, that they may be very properly looked upon as fitting, disposing and preparing means; and thus we find these, who are made partners in this grace, are said to be prepared, made meet, fitted, and wrought for glory: while, in the meantime, none of all this preparation can be said to have any proper causality, or so much as found any, even the least part of one's right unto the inheritance; which is, notwithstanding of all this pains taken to fit one for the possession, bestowed on no other account than that of our Lord Jesus Christ his purchase; nor they entered any other way unto it, than by virtue of their relation to, and interest in him. And, after all, the most that can be made of it, is, that one must be qualified thus, before he can enter heaven: And this is true, both in the order of the covenant, and the very nature of the thing; which it is needless here to stand on. And the connections, founded upon these, are little more, than so many descriptions of the persons, who, according to this covenant are capable of the enjoyment of heaven; and whereby all, who are not so qualified, are as effectually excluded and shut out, as if this had been made the formal condition of life, as it was in Adam's covenant.

But there is one particular grace bestowed in this covenant, which falls also to be a duty, and which has such an influence upon all the other benefits, that we find more conditional connections stated upon it, than upon all the rest; whence it is also more improven, than any other grace or duty, to the overthrow of what it is plainly contrived, in the infinite wisdom of God, to support and maintain; I mean, the grace of God manifested in this covenant. It is the grace of faith; which, as it is designed the great instrumental mean for appropriating and applying Christ himself, with all his benefits; and therefore absolutely necessary in order to one's interest in, and enjoyment of them, has been more plausibly trumped up into the matter of our evangelical righteousness, as it is our fulfilling of that law of grace, which these gentlemen have made the measure and rule of God's dealings with lost sinners, instead of God's covenant of grace, held forth unto us in the gospel. I will not stand here to reason the matter with these men, because, I hope, none of these, who set up for the conditionality of faith among us, will allow of this gross divinity. But however, for their sakes, we must examine a little more narrowly, the ground and reason of these connections, where faith is mentioned, than would otherwise have been necessary.

And here it may not be denied, that faith is a duty, founded upon, and necessarily flowing from the very frame and constitution of this covenant. The declarations there made, and the promises given forth by the God of truth, command belief in the most powerful manner. And this they would have done, suppose there had been no such command in the whole Bible. And when our Lord Jesus Christ is there represented unto us, as the only mediator between God and man, the Savior and Redeemer of lost sinners; and life is held forth in him to all who will rest themselves upon his all-sufficiency, and by faith maintain communion with him, this becomes necessary, in order unto anyone's partaking of any of his benefits: so that, when God requires faith of us, he requires no more than was previously necessary to the very nature of the thing, and without which it was impossible to have any part or share in this matter. And thus the promises, which hold forth any blessing unto believing, are really, and in themselves, no more conditional, than these which promise the same absolutely; unless it is that the one have that expressed in them, which the other have implied, viz. the soul's acceptance, appropriation, and application to itself of these promises, with the blessings contained in, and conveyed by them. Whence those, who plead honestly for the conditionality of faith in the covenant, are, notwithstanding, in effect, as much for its absoluteness, as any one ought to be; and what they design by it, in reality, will amount to no more than this, that, unless one receives, applies, and makes use of Christ, and the covenant, both promises and blessings, as they are laid in him, none of these will be his, nor of any benefit or advantage to him. And as giving and receiving are so much correlates, that the one cannot possibly be without the other, one may easily judge what sort of conditionality these connections lay a foundation for; that is just of the same kind, as if one should give a beggar a crown, on condition he should receive it, and make use of it as his own.

But there is another view we are to take of faith, and which will set all these promises, wherein it is concerned, at a yet greater remove from any proper conditionality; as itself is the gift of God, and a gift promised in, and conveyed by this covenant. And thus all these conditional promises are what we may call reductively absolute; and which, in the event, will prove equivalent to their being purely so. Let the promise then be made to faith; but how shall one come by this faith, if it is not in his own power to believe when he pleases? and we are fully assured by God himself, it is not. If he has this by an absolute promise, as indeed almost all, who attribute anything unto grace at all, in these matters, own the first grace is thus conveyed, why then? there is an end of it: as that, whose condition is absolutely given, is itself so also. But if faith is given upon some other condition, we must, at last, of necessity suspend supernatural gifts, upon natural qualifications; which, I am sure, is very remote from many of their thoughts, who seem to plead for such conditions.

This will be yet much clearer, if we consider the influence which faith has upon the bestowing of these blessings, which are made, one way or other, to depend upon it in these gospel connections. And if we look through the blessings of the covenant, we will find, indeed, that faith hath a place in all, but a place quite different from that of a federal, or even an antecedent, or suspending condition, as some is pleased rather to term it; and that indeed the after blessings, those, I mean, which are bestowed after faith, are every way as absolutely given, and indeed in the very same manner, that the first grace is; or at least, that the difference is no other than that between creation and conservation; it is the same power working by means in the latter, which in the former wrought without them, and produced these very means, which he afterward employs.

Go to the next installment:
The Covenant of Grace: Part III