kinsman, our brother, ' by spoiling principalities and powers,' Col. ii. 15, rescues us out of that tyrant's hand. (2.) There is a redemption by price or ransom ; to redeem is to buy again, 1 Cor. vi. 20, ' Ye are bought with a price ;' vii. 23, ' Ye are bought with a price.' The word price is added, not by a pleonasmics, but kut e^o^w, to intimate the excellency and dignity of the price wherewith they were bought, which was not 'silver or gold; but the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot,' 1 Pet. ^. 18, 19. ' Ye are bought with a price;' that is, ye are dearly bought, by a price of inestimable value ; but of this before. Again, sometimes Christ is called ' the surety of a better covenant.' Heb. vii. 22, ' By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament,' so called from the manner of the confirmation of it — viz., by the death of Christ. Look, as Christ was our surety to God, for the discharge of our debt — the surety and debtor, in law, are reputed as one person — so he is God's surety to us, for the performance of his promises. The office of a surety being applied to Christ sheweth that he hath so far engaged himself for us, as that he neither can nor will start from his engage- ment. You shall as soon remove the earth, stop the sun in his course, empty the sea with a cockle-shell, make a world, and unmake your- selves, as any power on earth, or in hell, shall ever be able to hinder Christ from the performance of the office of a surety. A perfect fulfilling of all righteousness, according to the tenor of the law, is required of man. Now Christ our surety, by a voluntary subjection of himself to the law, and by being made under the law, he hath ful- filled all righteousness, Gal. iv. 4 ; Mat. iii. 15 ; and that he did this for us is evident by that phrase of the apostle, Eom. v. 19, ' By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.' The contents of the law must be accomplished by our surety, or else we can never escape the curse of the law, Gal. iii. 10, 13 ; there must be a translation of the law from us in our persons, unto the person of our surety, or we are undone, and that for ever. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, and hath made us just by his obedience ; ' We are made the righteousness of God in him,' Kom. x. 4. Our surety became subject to the law, that he might redeem us that were obnoxious to the law, 2 Cor. v. 21. Again, full satisfaction for every transgression is required of man. Now Christ our surety hath made satisfaction for all our sins, he was made a curse for us,' Gal. iii. 13 ; and by that means he hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. To exact a debt which is fully satisfied, is a point of injustice. Now Christ our surety having made full satisfaction for all our sins, we need not fear to stand before the face of God's justice. A debtor that hath a surety that is able and willing to pay jfiis debt, yea, who hath fully paid it, need fear no colours. This title, ' a surety of a better covenant,' does necessarily import a blessed covenant between Jesus Christ and his dear Father, to whom he freely and readily becomes surety for us ; for what is suretyship but a voluntary transferring of another's debt upon the surety, he obliging to pay the debt for which he engageth as surety ? Thus you_ see, by the blessed and glorious titles that are given to Jesus Christ in the Scriptures, that there was a covenant of redemp- tion passed between God the Father and Jesus Christ. But,
VERY CLEARLY AND LARGELY OPENED. 361
(5.) Tlie fifth proposition is this, Tlmt the ivorJc of our redemption and salvation, was transacted between God the Father and Jesus Christ, be/ore the foundation of the world. This federal transaction between the Father and the Son was from eternity. Upon this ac- count the Lord Jesus is said to be ' the Lamb slain from the founda- tion of the world,' Rev. xiii, 8, because that it was agreed and cove- nanted between God the Father and Jesus Christ, that he should, in the fulness of time, be made flesh and die for sinners ; and therefore it was said to be done from the foundation of the world.^ Though Christ was not actually slain, but when he suffered for us upon the cross, yet he was slain from the beginning in God's purpose, in God's decrees, in God's promises, in the sacrifices, in the faith of the elect, and in the martyrs ; for Abel, the first that ever died, died a martyr, he died for religion. This compact betwixt the Father and the Son bears date from eternity. This the apostle asserts : 2 Tim. i. 9, ' Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling ; not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began. '2 Here is grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But what grace was that which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began ? Doubt- less it was the grace of redemption, which God, in his purpose and decree, had given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began. The scripture last cited does clearly shew that God the Father and Jesus Christ dealt together about the redemption of souls before the world began ; and that all our everlasting concernments were agreed on and made sure between them : so that Titus i. 2 gives the same sound, ' In hope of eternal life ; which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.' How was this life promised before the world began, but in this covenant of redemption, wherein God the Father promised and engaged to Jesus Christ that he would give eternal life to all his seed ? So the apostle tells us, ' He hath chosen us in him,' that is, in Christ, ' before the foundation of the world.' There was an eternal contrivance, compact, covenant, or agreement between God the Father and Jesus Christ, concerning the sanctification, holiness, and salvation of the elect. God agrees with Christ about the everlasting happiness of his chosen before the world began.^ So John x. 16, ' And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold ; them also I must bring.' Why must he bring them home ? how was he bound, how was he engaged to bring home his other sheep, that he puts a must upon it ? ' Them also I must bring,' Doubtless it was from this covenant and agreement which he had made with God the Father, wherein he had engaged himself to bring home all his elect. Christ takes a great deal of pains to bring home his sheep ; being bound in the covenant of redemption, to present all that are given him by charter blameless
^ God loved his people and provided for them, and contrived all their happiness before they were, yea, before the world was.
* The grace here spoken of cannot be understood of infused grace, unless we will say that it could be infused into us before either the world was. or we were in it.