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head of the covenant by faith. Being thus ingrafted into him, ye fhall partake of all that happiness which is fecured to Chrift myftical, in the everlafting covenant: even as, through your becoming children of Adam, by natural generation, ye are perfonally entered into the first covenant, fo as to fali under that fin and death which paffed upon all men, by the breach thereof, Rom. v. 12.

III. Of the Party contracted and undertaken for.

A

S the party contractor and undertaker on man's fide, in the covenant of grace, was a reprefentative; fo the party contracted and undertaken for, was reprefented by him. And that these two, namely, the reprefented, and thofe contracted for, are of equal latitude, is plain from the nature of the thing for thefe whom one reprefents in a covenant he contracts for in that covenant; and those for whom one contracts for in a covenant made with him as reprefentative, are reprefented by him in that covenant. Thus it was in the covenant of the first Adam, who was a figure of Chrift the head of the fecond covenant. In it, thofe whom Adam contracted for, he reprefented; and thofe whom he reprefented, he contracted for: he reprefented his natural feed only, and for them alone he contracted: Therefore those whom the fecond Adam contracted for, he reprefented; and whom he reprefented, he contracted for.

Now the party represented and contracted for, by our Lord Jefus Chrift, in the covenant of grace, was the elect of mankind; being a certain number of mankind, chofen from eternity to everlasting life; children, partakers of flesh and blood, which God gave to Chrift, Heb. ii. 13, 14. In their perfon he stood, making this covenant with his Father in their name he acted, ftriking this bargain with him, as a furety to obey the law and fatisfy justice,

And

And this I fhall, in the firft place, confirm; and then shall enquire, how the elect were considered in this covenant and federal reprefentation.

Firft, That the elect were the party represented, or contracted and undertaken for, in the covenant of grace, appears from the following grounds.

1. The party with whom the covenant was made, is in the text called God's Chofen; as reprefenting and contracting for all the chofen or elect: even as the first man was called Adam or man, as reprefenting and contracting for all mankind, in his covenant. For as the apoftle teacheth, Heb. ii. 11. He -and they are all of one; not only of one nature, but also of one body, to wit, the election: Chrift is the head elect, Ifa. xlii. 1. they the body elect, Eph. v. 23. Therefore they go under one name, principally belonging to him, and then to them by participation with him. Thus he is alfo called Abraham's feed, as representing all the fpiritual feed of Abraham, that is, the elect, Gal. iii. 16. And to thy feed, which is Chrift; and the feed of the woman, as oppofed to the ferpent's feed: and under that name alfo the elect are comprehended; they, and they only, being the party betwixt whom and the ferpent with his feed, God puts the enmity, according to the promise, Gen. iii. 15.

2. Those whom Chrift reprefented and contracted for in the covenant of grace, are the heavenly men: I Cor. xv. 47, 48. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the fecond man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, fuch are they also that are earthy and as is the heavenly, fuch are they also that are heavenly. Now, the heavenly men, belonging to 1 Chrift the fecond man, are none other but the elect. For they are contradiftinguished to the earthy men, belonging to the firft man; to wit, all mankind taken into the first covenant in Adam: and therefore they are the elect men, taken into the second cove

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nant, in the fecond Adam. Again, the heavenly men are those who fhall bear the image of the heavenly man, Chrift, ver. 49.; and fuch are the elect, and they alone. And, finally, they are those to whom Chrift js, in respect of efficacy, a quickening fpirit: for as is the heavenly, fuch are they alfo that are heavenly. As Adam's deadly efficacy goes as wide as his reprefentation did in the first covenant, reaching all mankind his natural feed, and them only: fo Chrift's quickening efficacy goes as wide as his reprefentation did in the fecond covenant, reaching all the elect, his fpiritual feed, and them only: and if it did not, fome would be deprived of the benefit, which was purchased and paid for, by the furety in their name; the which is not confiftent with the juftice of God.

3. They whom Chrift reprefented and contracted for in the covenant, are his feed, his fpiritual feed: Gal. iii. 16. Now to Abraham and his feed were the promises made. He faith-And to thy feed, which is Chrift. Pfalm lxxxix. 3, 4. I have fworn unto David my fervant. Thy feed will I establish for ever. In the covenants typical of the covenant of grace, the parties reprefented were the feed of the reprefentatives they were made with, as was cleared before and in the firft Adam's covenant, his natural feed were the reprefented. Wherefore, in the fecond Adam's covenant, his fpiritual feed are the represented. Now, Chrift's fpiritual feed are the elect, and none other; for they are those whom he begets with the word of truth, James i. 18. and are born again (1 Pet. i. 23.) unto him in their regeneration; whom therefore he fees as his feed, with his own image on them, Ifa. liii. 1. They are the travel of his foul, who fooner or later are all of them, justified, ver. 11. They are the feed that shall serve him, Pfalm xxii. 30.; which fhall be established and endure for ever, namely, in a ftate of happiness, Pfalm lxxxix. 4, 29, 36,

4. Lastly,

4. Lastly, Chrift was in the covenant of grace, Ifrael's representative, according to that text, Ifa. xlix. 3. Thou art my fervant, O Ifrael, in whom I will be glorified. Now, Ifrael the collective body, is the elect. Rom. ix. 6. They are not all Ifrael which are of Ifrael: Therefore the elect were the party reprefented and contracted for in the covenant. So those whom Chrift took with him into the bond of his covenant, are described to be the feed of Abraham; Heb. ii. 16. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels: but he took upon him the feed of Abraham: or rather, as it is read in the margin of our Bibles, more agreeable to the original, He taketh not hold of angels: but of the feed of Abraham he taketh hold. The original word fignifies, to take hold of a thing running away, or falling down; and, in the fame manner of conftruction, it is ufed of Chrift's catching hold of Peter finking in the water, Matth. xiv. 31. Fallen angels and men were both run away from God, and finking in the fea of his wrath; and Chrift, with the bond of the covenant, takes hold of men; but not of the fallen angels: them he leaves to fink unto the bottom. All the feed of Adam was finking, as well as the feed of Abraham, which is but a part of the feed of Adam, even fome of all mankind; but Chrift is not faid to have taken hold of the feed of Adam, that is, all mankind; but of the feed of Abraham, that is, all the elect, or the fpiritual Ifrael, called the house of Jacob, Luke i. 33. Accordingly it is obfervable, that the first time the covenant of grace was heard of in the world, the difcourfe was directed to the serpent, by way of narration, Gen. iii. 14, 15.; not to Adam, as the first covenant was chap. il. 16, 17. that Adam might know, he was to come in here as a private person only, and not as a public perfon with his feed. And for this caufe alfo, our Lord Jefus is not fimply called Adam,, or Man; but the laft Adam, and the fecond Man,

whofe

whofe feed differs from that of the firft man, as Abraham's feed from Adam's feed; but he is fimply called Ifrael, without any epithet at all: and his feed is plainly determined to be the elect, Ifa. xlv. 25. In the Lord fhall all the feed of Ifrael be justified: even as in the firft man all the feed of Adam was condemned, Rom. v. 18. For the first man was fimply called Adam or Man, because, in the first covenant, he was a compend of all mankind; he was all man in law reckoning, they being all represented by him: fo Jefus Chrift was a compend of all Ifrael; that is, all the elect; he was all Ifrael in law-reckoning, they being all reprefented by him. And thus we have the true ground of the univerfality of that expreffion, Ifa. liii. 6. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all; i. e. of all Ifrael, that is to fay, all the elect. The which is confirmed by a parallel text, bearing the type, whereof this hath the antitype, viz. Lev. xvi. 21. And Aaron fhall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confefs over him all the iniquities of the children of Ifrael, and all their tranfgreffions in all their fins, putting them upon the head of the goat. For as Ifrael was a people entertained with types, fo they themselves were indeed a typical people.

Secondly, We are to inquire, how the elect were confidered in this covenant and federal reprefentation. And therein they came under a threefold confideration.

1. They were confidered as finners, lost, ruined, and undone in Adam; loft sheep of the house of Ifrael, Matth. xv. 24. In the first covenant, the whole flock of mankind was put under the hand of one fhepherd, to wit, Adam; but he lofing himself, loft all the flock, and was never able to recover fo much as one of them again. God had, from all eternity, put a fecret mark on fome of them, whereby he diftinguished them from the reft, 2 Tim. ii. 19.

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