2 It muſt needs he a dreadful, fearful, horrid, and aſtomſhing Apparition, and Exhibition of the great Law-giver here, that ſuch 4 Perion as 3174s, te fanttifed by him, fo favoured with bamihiart- ty with him, fo conftituted Medi.:tor between the Peoplc and God ji this Work tor their Good and Comfort, fo called and ordered by God to manage It, yet ſhould cry to God to ſuccour him, while he &d guaike and trembie at it; red by God's voice to him again, Exod. 19. 19. Chriſtians now ive 19 Call, nor Accels to fo terrible a Diſpenſation of the Cove- nant, but have Immunity, Exemption, and Freedom {from it, which was not fo helpful to Holineſs, as the Gofpel-Dilpenſation, to which row they have actual Admiſſion, having freed them trom all the Ter- ror and Curies of the Moſaical one. ;
22 Bur Þþ ye are come unto 7 mount Sion, and & unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru- {f;1om., and to / an innumerable company of angels.
h Tie Spirit now adds the Priviledge of Chriſtians in the better ſtate, to which they have acceſs by the Goſpel-Difpentation from the 22d, to tle 25thVer/e; ye have left thoſe Einderances and Diſadvantazes inftanced in before, but are come to theſe Helps tor Your furtherance in Holineſs ; ye have an Acceſs to all thoſe moſt excellent, tho' inviſible things, by Faith, and by it attain them, and are incorporated into them, as they follow. - j This 1s not I1- tcrally to be underſtood for the Mount, on which the City of David was built, for that was as viſible, and touchable as Mount Sima!, to which it is oppoſed ; but that Mount which is higher than the Þi>ncit, as high as Heaven it ſelf, wer. 25. chap. 9. 24. Fon 3. 13.
Viere is the molt orderly Government of God for Holineſs, Mich. . 7. whence all good Gifts, and Goſpel-Blefſings are conveyed to tit: Church, of which theſe Believers were Members, J/a. 8. 18. and 28.15. and $9.20. Rerel. 14. 1. hþ Of which the 1iving God 15 the Puilder and Maker and wherein he divelleth, where nothing but Liic is, and whence Chriſt's voice giveth Liſe to dead Souls, inabling thein to hive a Life of Holineſs to God, as Pſal. 46. 4, 5: and 48. 1,8. and 87. 3. Iſa. So. 14, John 5.25. to diſtinguiſh this from any earthly City or Corporation, it 1s ſaid to be the Heavenly Feruialem, 1ts Orizinal Nature and End being all heavenly ; a fruit- tul place, whence Believers are made Partakers of the moſt ſpiritual Influences for Hojineſs ; where there is nothing carnal, terrible, deadly, barren, but all cauſal and produttive of Holineſs iJueth thence. T/a. 52. and 65. 17, 18,19. and $5. 10. fohn 17. 24. Gal. 4.25. Rev. 3. 12. and 21. 2,10. { In which Cityare many excel- lent Inhabitants with which Believers are Incorporated, and to whom they have relation, as Myriads of Angels, who are miniſtring Spirits under the Goſpel, as under the Lai, full of Holineſs, Power, Apility and Indowments, fit tor their Work and End ;, who, though tor number, are thouſands and millions of them, Plal. 68. 17. and 153. 20, and 104. 4, Ads 7.53. Gal. 3.19. Rev. 5.11. yet are all fulniting their Lord's Pleaſure in every place, as ordered by him. Their Miniſtration of the Law was terrible in flaming Fire, but of the Goſpel, moſt ſweet and gracious, Luke 2. 13,14. At Sinat they miniſtred externally, and ſenſibly, affeting Senſes ; but from Sn they miniſter ſpiritually, to Hearts, Matth. 4. 11. Luke 22443. P al. 1.11. reſiſting evil Spirits miniſtring wickedly. Their Mi- mitry little effe&ual under the Law, but under the Goſpel, ſaving, AHs 7.53. Heb. 1.14. Rev. 19.10. Their former Mimiſtration temporary and ceafinz, but this everlaſting, til] they bring all their Truft into Abraham's Boſom, Luke 165. 22, They are promoting Holin=ſs by God's ſending things to us by them, and by their obſer- ving the goings and doings of Chriſtians, whether holy, or not, 1 Cor. 11, 10, and giving an Account of the Succeſs of their Mini- {tiry towards them, as to this end, Matth. 18. 1c. And the neg- let of this means to help our purſuing Holineſs, will God require, Heb. 2.2.
23 To m the general aſſembly and church 7 of rhe fir{t-born which o are || written in heaven, and to p God the judge of all, and to 9 the ſpirits of juſt men made perfect,
m Other Inhabitants of this heavenly City and Polity with whom Believers are incorporated, as ſuch.into whoſe Communion they have admittance here below, viz. to the Catholick Aſſembly of Chriſt, his whole Budy, the Fulneſs oft him who filleth all 1n all; an Aſſembly eathered out of all Nations, Rev. 5. 9. and 7. 9g. throughout the Worid, extended to all Times and Ages, eſpecially to that part of 1: which 1s on-Earth, ſojourning here, fitting for Heaven; the other part 1s triumphing in 1t. They are not called, or incorpo- rated only 1nto a particular Church, a ſtraitned Society, as the Old- Teftament-Church was, the General Aſſembly of Saints are more helpful to Holineſs, than a lefler, Pſal. 22. 27, 28. Gal. 4. 25, 26, 27. # This General Affembly is not a Rout, but a Church, ſuch as
are called out of the World with a holy Calling, ſubje&ing them-
ſeives to Chriſt 2s their Head, and are, as quickned, ſo ordered and ruled by him : It 1s not a weak, or an Infant-Church, but ſtrong and perfect, come unto maturity, in reſpe&t of the great Diſcove- ries'of the Myſteries of God, made by Chriſt to them, Chap. s. 12, 13. and 6, 3. Gal. 4.1, 3, 4+ This choſen, called, and well-order- derced Society, were only of ſuch Perſons, who were the Firſt-Born of God, and Partners of Chriſt's Sonſhip and Primogeniture, beins regenerated by him, and dignified with his Birth-right-priviledges, Rom. 8. 17, 29. They are the Might and Excellency of Chriſt, whereas the Church at Sinat, for the Body of them, were but ty- pically, hterally, and externally fo, Exed. 4.22, Col. 1. 15, 18. and d1d not univerſally enjoy, as thoſe do, the ſtrength and fulnefs of Grace from God, Fohn 1.16. Gal. 3. 26, 29, are Jovnt-heirs with Chriſt, Rom. 8.17. and made by him Kings and Prieſts to God and his Father, 1 Pet. 2. 5. Rev. 1.6, 5 Thev were not, as the Church
HEBREW S.
; at Sinai, of an earthly Enrolement, regiſtred here to know their F1-
and was comforted and fſtrength-