Part 2 — Chapter 8: The Differences Between the Covenant of Redemption and the Covenant of Grace

It is not the same Covenant that is made with Christ and that which is made with sinners. 1. They differ in the subject or the parties contracting. In this of suretyship, the Parties are Jehovah God as common to all the three on the one part: and on the other the only Son of God the second Person undertaking the work of Redemption. In the Covenant of Reconciliation the Parties are God the Father, Son, and Spirit, out of free love pitying us and lost sinners who had broken the Covenant of Works. 2. Hence the Covenant of Suretyship is the cause of the stability and firmness of the Covenant of Grace. It is true (Psalm 89:19), David is meant, when he says, I have laid help upon one that is mighty, I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 20. I have found David my servant. For the grace of election made David mighty in the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and made him mighty to execute his office; but this is so to be understood (says Mollerus and others) of David, as it is also to be referred to Christ, upon whom the strength of our salvation is laid, and the strength laid Covenant-ways upon Christ is the cause why David and his seed stand sure in an everlasting Covenant of reconciliation. Though the Covenants of Suretyship and of Reconciliation differ, yet must they not be separated: but faith principally must be fixed upon the most binding Covenant-relation between JEHOVAH and the Son of God. Eye Christ always in the Covenant, else it is but the sheath or scabbard of a Covenant, and a letter to us.

3. There be two parts (as it were) of the Covenant of Redemption. 1. A Covenant of Designation. 2. Of actual Redemption. The former is eternal; for the Lord does not begin in time to [reconstructed: design] Covenant-ways the Son to be the Consenter to be our Surety: nor does the Son in time begin to consent. But the Covenant-consent in, 1. Designing of one Person the Son, and no other. Of 2. Decreeing and fore-ordaining of Him. 3. Of mutual delighting in love and in eternal thoughts in the sons of men to be redeemed (1 Peter 1:20; Proverbs 30:31), was closed and concluded in an ended bargain from everlasting: for the Parties were coexistent and together, and rejoicing in one another: and in the common work, to borrow that expression, thinking long till the day of marrying of God and man, and until Immanuel's day should dawn (John 8): Abraham rejoiced to see my day. But as touching the other part, the Man Christ, until he should be Man and have a man's will, he could not in two wills close with the Covenant of actual Redemption.

But the Covenant of Reconciliation is no more eternal, than the creation, which is eternal in the Decree of God, as are all things that fall out in time. But this Covenant was made in Paradise, though it was decreed from everlasting, yet it had no being as a Covenant, nor could have any, so long as the Covenant of Works did stand. But it came in due time, the medicine and the Physician Christ the blessed seed, not few hours after Adam was fallen, came to his sick-bed, or rather to his death-bed: blessed be his love who redeemed us in our low condition, for Adam had no faith to receive, nor hope of a Redeemer. Christ came, not sought for, not sent for, not so much as desired by us: for how could we desire a thing impossible, to our knowledge? Or could we thirst for a ransom of the blood of God unknown to Angels or Men? This is [reconstructed: prevenient] grace indeed.

4. They differ in the subject, matter: The Covenant of Redemption is, 1. who shall be the surety of Redemption to undertake for man? Here am I, says the Son, your fellow (Zechariah 13:7). 2. What shall be his work? What shall be his wage? He shall lay down his life, that shall be his work: he shall be obedient to his Father to the death, even the death of the cross. And his wage shall be, He shall see his seed, and God shall give him a name above every name. But no such work is laid on us, nor such a reward to be expected by us in the Covenant of Reconciliation. Only here life and forgiveness is promised to us upon condition of believing in Christ: and fit it is that Christ be alone, none under such a Commandment as He (John 10:18).

5. The Covenant of Redemption has different commands, 2. Promises: 3. And conditions from the Covenant of Reconciliation. The Commands of the Covenant of Suretyship are of two sorts: 1. Some common. 2. Some proper and peculiar. The former is, that Christ fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), obey the whole Law, being made under the Law. Now the command of being under the Law, is two ways considered. 1. As laid upon the Son of God, so it is no command, but a voluntary desire: and so his consenting to take on our nature is a consenting to empty himself, and to be under the Law, but no act of obedience, because he was under no commanding obligation to take on him our nature. But 2. as it is laid upon him now God-Man, and the Word made flesh, he is under a necessity to give perfect obedience (Hebrews 10:5). Therefore coming into the world: The Son being to enter into the world, and to take on our nature, speaks to the Father, thus: Sacrifice and offerings you desire not, as expiations to take away sin, for they cannot expiate sin, A body you have framed to me, which is the only one sacrifice of the true Lamb of God which takes away sin (John 1:29), and that once for all: and there are not any sacrifices ever to come after (Hebrews 9:26, 28). And perfect obedience with all the heart was tendered by Christ from a holy nature, he being full of the Holy Ghost from his Mother's womb, so as none could accuse him of sin (Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 7:26; John 8:46), and this obedience had influence in Christ's obedience. To the 2. to wit, to that proper and peculiar command of suretyship that never man was under, but only Christ (John 10:18): This Commandment (to lay down my life for sinners) received I (and I only) from my Father. (Psalm 40:6): Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, my ears you have opened — 8. I delight to do your will, O my God, indeed your Law is within my heart. Now thus we are not either ways under the commands of the Covenant of Grace: Who in heaven and earth but Christ, could have come under bail and an act of suretyship for us?

2. There were promises of a higher nature made to Christ in his Covenant, than are made to us in our Covenant of reconciliation, to wit, dominion from sea to sea: A throne at the right hand of God is not made to angels (Hebrews 1:8, 13), nor to us; nor is there remission and pardon promised to him, as to us, of this hereafter.

3. The condition of justifying faith, laying hold on him who justifies the ungodly, is required of us in our Covenant: There is no such condition required of Christ in his Covenant of suretyship. The faith of Christ is the faith of dependency, but not as a condition of the Covenant of suretyship, but in another account.

Q. But is it not hard, that Christ is in one Covenant, and believers in another? It's not hard, when the Lord Christ's Covenant and our Covenant cannot be separated, and when Christ's room in the Covenant of Redemption is to be the designed person covenanting, who undertakes for us, as the surety, witness, and Angel or Messenger of the New Covenant, who makes sure our writs, makes valid and strong our charters, rights, and evidences of our inheritance.

Q. How is it that the promises are made to Christ, as to the seed (Galatians 3:16)?

Ans. Our divines, Beza, Piscator, Deodati, the English divines in their Annotations, expound the seed Christ, of Christ Mystical, as the Church the body (1 Corinthians 12:12) is called Christ. Judicious Pareus says, that the Apostle expounds the seed, not collectively of many, and of all the posterity of Abraham, but individually of one Christ, from whom flows to the believers, not so much the corporal blessing, as the spiritual, that is, righteousness and eternal life: And so says he, the Apostle says, that this blessing or the inheritance is given to Abraham and believers, not by the Law, that is by no merit in Abraham, but by the promise, and by faith in Christ. Among Papists, Liranus; the promises are made to the seed, scilicet, Christo, in quo impletae sunt & non in alio, ideo dicitur semini in singulari numero, that is, to Christ in whom the promises are fulfilled, and in none other; therefore it is said to the seed in the singular number. So also, Cajetan: Semini autem ejus, tanquam & cui promissa sunt, & in quo adimplenda erant promissa. Corn. a lapide: If the word seed, semen, were taken collectively, the promise could not stand; for it's sure all the Jews were not blessed in the seed: Indeed many of them (says Calvin) were a curse. Estius says, the word seed, is a collective name, and notes many; and has not in the Hebrew the plural number. Augustine (says he) will have all Christians following the faith of Abraham to be here noted, for they are that seed to which the promise is made, whereas Christ is properly he in whom the promise is to be fulfilled, and in whom all are one by faith, and all are reduced to the singular number.

There is no reason to expound the seed Christ, of Mystical Christ and of his seed. 1. Because the seed is he in whom the nations are blessed, both Jews and Gentiles, verse 14. And the seed made a curse for us, verse 13. But this seed is only Christ, not Mystical Christ, head and members: for neither are we blessed in Christ Mystical, nor was Christ Mystical the Church made a curse for us: Nor did the Church Mystical pay a price of satisfaction to offended justice for us, verse 19. The word seed seems to have the same signification, verse 16 and verse 19. Consider then, verse 19. Therefore then, what does the Law serve? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed come, to whom the promise was made. Now the seed coming is Christ coming in the flesh to take on our nature. If the seed were taken for Christ Mystical, the Apostle must say, The Law was added because of transgression, until the seed should come: that is, until Christ Mystical, his Church should come in the flesh, which is nonsense. 3. Whether the promise be of Canaan, and of life eternal thereby held forth; Or of Christ to come of Abraham, in whom all flesh shall be blessed; or of righteousness by faith, not by the works of the Law; Or of all these coming under the name of the inheritance, the promise is made to many in number like the stars: For the Lamb and the hundred forty and four thousands standing with him on Mount Zion, and the thousands of thousands which none can number (Revelation 7:9), are many, and may well be called seeds; And though they be all one in Christ, yet the Apostle must speak too ambiguously, when he said, The promise of righteousness and life is made to the seed, that is, to Christ head and members: for the promise is so made to Christ, especially of life, pardon, righteousness, as the blessings promised are fulfilled and given through, and for Christ as the only meritorious cause, as all grant: which way the promises are in no sense made to believers, who cannot come in as joint satisfiers with Christ, and as joint meritorious procurers with Christ of the blessings promised to us. 4. The promise is made to the seed coming in the flesh, and assuming our nature in a personal union, verse 19, as is, by confession of all, expounded. Now this restricts the promise to God incarnate, and must exclude the members. 5. It runs most naturally to the text, and comfortably to us, if neither Christ (Galatians 3:16) be understood as a private man, the Son of Mary: nor yet as Christ Mystical, as (1 Corinthians 12:12), but as Christ, a public person, and Head and Lord-Mediator. 1. He represents all the elect: and so the word seed is taken individually. He takes all the promises and the weight of the whole Covenant of Grace and covenant-promises off the Lord's hand as the second Adam representing all the family and house: Behold I and the children that God has given me. As the weight of the Covenant of Works, and of the promises thereof, was upon the first Adam, as he should manage these promises, so should it fare, ill or well, with all his seed. And so as Christ having the Gospel and covenant-promises committed to him, so should it be with us: and this tutor cannot miscarry, and so shall it be well with the pupils and minors.

Were it no more but that (John 14:19), Because I live, you shall live also: you shall live by promise, the free promise of life eternal: it's no small vantage.

2. The promises are laid down in Christ as in a public Lord-Keeper. Christ is that excellent Ark in which are the Tables of the Covenant, and the Book of the Law and Covenant (Deuteronomy 31:26; 1 Kings 8:9), and as the first subject of the promises he keeps them. Indeed, Christ is the fountain and original cause of all the promises: for he merited by his blood, remission, righteousness, perseverance, eternal life, all grace, which the Lord makes ours by free promise. 2. In Christ they are made and published to us: so they are dear mercies to Christ: they stand Christ at a dear rate: they are ours freely for no price or hire. 3. Hence nothing hinders, but the promises as made to Christ the first Heir and Son of promise: for Christ is the chief and principal thing promised, and other things that are freely given us (by promise) are given to us, ⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩, with Christ, or after that he has given us Christ: and assignees, and younger brethren come in under the first Heir. Our blood-relation to the Family stands by Christ, interest to promises comes all this way. The Lord's method is, Get first Christ, then all the promises are yours: for they follow him. And Christ well manages Covenant-promises, as they most tend to the good of his own.

And this is specially to be considered that Christ, from the womb to the grave, does act and suffer nothing but as a public person. For us he was born (Isaiah 9:6). For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given (Luke 2:11). Rejoice (says the Angel) for to you (not to us Angels, or rather neither for himself) to you is born a Saviour. 2. Why? For whose sake came he this journey to the earth? Luke says it was no private business of his own (Luke 19:10). He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and to save (says Paul) sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

3. Why did he die? He was made a curse, ⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩, for us (Galatians 3:13). Sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Died for his sheep (John 10:11). For his friends (John 15:13). Was made poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9). Is our forerunner who has entered into heaven, ⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩, for us (Hebrews 6:20). We have a great high Priest — touched with our infirmities (Hebrews 4:14-15). Who has entered into the heavens to appear in the presence of God for us, ⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩. Christ's public Spirit, who breathed not for himself, lived not for himself, died not for himself, nor ascended to heaven for himself, nor enjoys he heaven for himself, should show us the necessity we have of Christ. The Physician is needful to the sick, the ransom to the captive, bread to him that famishes: but Christ is more necessary to the sinner. We know not how many are in Christ's debt: for heaven, Angels, Sun and Moon, seas and fountains, men and all things subsist by him (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). Yet most of men judge fire and water more needful than Christ: and think, they no more need Christ or Covenant-interest in him, than the cart needs the third wheel, or the great Ocean a drop of dew: nor is it every necessity of Christ that we press. There is a necessity of a Physician to a whole Pharisee: as a dead man stands in need of life; But it is a literal necessity by which the whole (says Christ, Matthew 9) needs not the Physician: but it is the sick, paining necessity, such as this, I die a hundred times, if I get not CHRIST. This takes away sleep in the night, and brings a fixed aim to sell all and buy Him.