Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

1. It excels in the very Tenor, or outward Administration of the Covenant; for this Covenant, after it once began, continued without Interruption until Christ, whereas the Former was broken, or did expire. Hence God calls it a New-Covenant;— Not according to the Covenant, which I made with their Fathers in the Day that I took them by the Hand, to bring them out of the Land of Egypt, which my Covenant they brake, although I was an Husband unto them, saith the Lord. In this respect it might be called New, or, at least it may be called an Inchoation of the New, because it continued till Christ, which no other Expressure of the Covenant did before, and so it excelled all the former.

2. It excels in the Spiritual Benefits and Graces of the Spirit. We find, that under this Covenant they were more plentifully bestowed upon the Church, than formerly. Mark the Promises:¹ I will set My Eye upon them for Good, and I will bring them again to this Land; and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not bluck them up; and I will give them a Heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My People, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto Me with their whole Heart. ²—Again, I will shake all Nations, and the Desire of the Nations shall come, and I will fill this House with Glory, saith the Lord of Hosts: The Silver is mine, and the Gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts; the Glory of this latter House shall be greater than ⟨p. 83⟩of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts. And I will put my Law in their inward parts, ³and write it in their Hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my People, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his Brother, saying, know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquities, and I will remember their Sins no more.