A47489:181
The everlasting covenant, a sweet cordial for a drooping soul, or, The excellent nature…
The everlasting covenant, a sweet cordial for a drooping soul, or, The excellent nature of the covenant of grace opened in a sermon preached January the 29th, at the funeral of Mr. Henry Forty, late pastor of a Church of Christ, at Abingdon, in the county of Berks, who departed this life Jan. 25th 1692/3 and was interred at Southwark ... : to which is added, An elegy on the death of the said minister / by Benjamin Keach ...The everlasting covenant, a sweet cordial for a drooping soul, or, The excellent nature of the covenant of grace opened in a sermon preached January the 29th, at the funeral of Mr. Henry Forty, late pastor of a Church of Christ, at Abingdon, in the county of Berks, who departed this life Jan. 25th 1692/3 and was interr'd at Southwark ... : to which is added, An elegy on the death of the said minister / by Benjamine Keach ...
London: printed for H. Barnard, 1693
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
3. 'Tis because 'tis a great, a full, and complete Salvation that is contained in this Covenant: This is all my Salvation, 'tis not a part of it; Christ in this Covenant did not work out a piece of it, and leave us to work out the rest: all our Salvation is of Grace, whatever we as Sinners, or as Saints do want, 'tis contained in this Covenant. Christ is not only given for us, but also given to us; not only the Medicine, and but a Hand also whereby 'tis applied. Faith is the Gift of the Promise, therefore not the Condition of it; they are Foederalia relata: Can a Promise or a Gift be a Condition of it self? This Exalts Christ, and abases Man; Christ hath no Coworker with him, tho' he hath some poor Instruments (that he applies in his Hand) yet he alone is the only Agent that doth all: We have this Treasure in Earthen Vessels, that the Excellency of the Power may be of God, and not of us, 2 Cor. 4.7. The Redemption in the Covenant of Grace, is by a Price which Christ as Priest laid down to satisfy the Law and Justice of God, and which as a King, he applies by his conquering of the Power, of Sin and Satan: Can a Man be redeemed and saved from Slavery in Turkey by a Ransom paid or laid down, and yet he abides under the power of a cruel Tyrant that holds him in strong Chains, and will not let him go, until the Redeemer hath subdued his merciless Master? Now sinners are in Satan's Chains and Fetters, and under the power of Sin, and until Christ destroys ⟨p. 36⟩and overcomes those cruel Enemies, they are not redeemed; this Salvation therefore in this Covenant is complete, i. e. we are not only redeemed out of the Hands of Justice and Divine Wrath, but out of Satan's Hands likewise, and from the power of Sin: nay, redeemed from a vain Conversation by Christ's Blood, 1 Pet. 1.18. for as a Priest he purchased subduing and cleansing Grace for us, tho' as a King he applies that Grace to us. To this very purpose, Christ gave himself i. e. to redeem us from all Iniquity, and purified to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works, Tit. 2.14. Sirs, assure yourselves, all that Christ came to redeem, shall be redeemed; he cannot be said to be a Redeemer of such who never were, nor shall be redeemed by him: not one drop of his Blood was shed in vain, he will have his whole purchase.