Q. You have made it appear plainly that the law of faith or the new covenant, whereof Christ was the mediator, is better than the law of works or the old cove- nant, whereof Moses was the mediator, in respect of precepts; is it also better iu respect of promises?
A. Heb. viii. 6, vii. 19.
This is indeed a comfortable passage ! for the better understanding whereof I shall single out the several noble propositions that are insinuated therein, and evidently contained in the words of it ; as, —
1. Christ was the mediator of the law of faith, the new law, in the same sense as Moses was mediator of the old law, the law of works.
2. Christ's addition of precepts and promises to the law of Moses is the law of faith, or the new covenant.
3. The people or church of the Jews lived under the old covenant, or the law of works, whereof Moses, not Christ, was the mediator.
oG8 VTNDICTiE EVANGELICE.
4. The difference between the old and the new covenant lies in this, that the new hath more precepts of obedience and more pro- mises than the old.
And now, truly, he that thinks that this man understands either the old covenant or the new, either Moses or Christ, either faith or works, shall have liberty from me to enjoy his opinion, for I have not more to add to convince him of his mistake than what the man himself hath here delivered.
For my part, I have much other work to do, occasioned by Mr B., and therefore I shall not here divert to the consideration of the two covenants and their difference, with the twofold administration of the covenant of grace, both before and after Christ's coming in the flesh; but I shall content myself with some brief animadversions upon the forementioned propositions and proceed : —
1. In what sense Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, I shall, God assisting, at large declare, when I come to treat of his death and satisfaction, and shall not here prevent myself in any thing of what must then and there be delivered.
2. That there are precepts and promises attending the new cove- nant is granted ; but that it consists in any addition of precepts to the Mosaical law, carried on in the same tenor with it, with other promises, is a figment directly destructive of the whole gospel and the mediation of the Son of God. By this means, the whole under- taking of Jesus Christ to lay down his life a ransom for us, — our jus- tification by his blood, his being of God made righteousness to us, the free pardon of our sins and acceptation with God by and for him, as he is the end of the law for righteousness ; all communication of effectual grace to work in us new obedience, the giving of a new, clean heart, with the law of God written in it by the Spirit; in a word, the whole promise made to Abraham, the whole new covenant, is excluded from the covenant, and men left yet in their sins. The covenant of works was, " Do this, and live ;" and the tenor of the law, " If a man do the things thereof, he shall live thereby, — that is, if a man by his own strength perform and fulfil the righteousness that the law requires, he shall have eternal life thereby. " This covenant," saitli the apostle, " God hath disannulled, because no man could be saved by it," Heb. vii. 18. " The law thereof, through sin, was become weak and insufficient as to any such end and purpose," Rom. viii. 3. What, then, doth God substitute in room thereof? Why, a new covenant, that hath more precepts added to the old, with all those of the old continued that respected moral obedience ! But is this a remedy? is not this rather a new burden? If the law could not save us before, because it was impossible, through sin, that we should perfectly accomplish it, and therefore " by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified," is it a likely way to relieve us by
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making an addition of more precepts to them which before we could not observe? But that, through the righteous hand of God, the in- terest of men's immortal souls is come to be concerned therein, I should think the time exceedingly lavished that is spent in this dis- course. " Let him that is ignorant be ignorant still," were a sufficient answer. And this that hath been said may suffice to the fourth par- ticular also.
3. That Moses was a mediator of a covenant of works, properly and formally so called, and that the church of the Jews lived under a covenant of works, is a no less pernicious figment than the former. The covenant of Avorks was, " Do this, and live;" — " On perfect obedience you shall have life." Mercy and pardon of sins were utter strangers to that covenant ; and therefore by it the Holy Ghost tells us that no man could be saved. The church of old had the pro- mises of Chri.st, Rom. ix. 4, Gen. iii. 15, xii. 3; were justified by faith, Gen. xv. 6, Rom. iv.. Gal. iii. ; obtained mercy for their sins, and were justified in the Lord, Isa. xlv. 24, 25; had the Spirit for conversion, regeneration, and sanctification, Ezek, xi. 19, xxxvi. 26; expected and obtained salvation by Jesus Christ; — things as remote from the covenant of works as the east is from the west.