A57966:133
The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace
The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace containing something of the nature of the covenant of works, the sovereignty of God, the extent of the death of Christ ... the covenant of grace ... of surety or redemption between the by Samuel Rutherford ...The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace containing something of the nature of the covenant of works, the soveraignty of God, the extent of the death of Christ ... the covenant of grace ... of surety or redemption between the by Samuel Rutherford ...
Edinburgh: printed by Andro Anderson for Robert Brown, 1655
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.
Thy wickedness may hurt a man, as thou art, and thy righteousness may profit the Son of man. 1Job 22.2. Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable to himself? Is it pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it a gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? So Eliphaz. And David, Psal. 16.2. My goodness extendeth not to thee. Acts 17.25. Neither is the Lord worshipped with mens hands, nor with their spirits: as if he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life & breath and all things. What then is the glory of the creatures obedience to him? It is some shining of the excellency of God upon men and Angels, from the works of God, and our obedience to him. But suppose there were no creature to pay the rent of this glory to him, is the Lord a loser therefore? Hath he need of our songs of glory? Or that creatures should be Heralds of his praise? Or needs he the workmanship or structure of Heaven, Sun and Moon to be a Printed Book to spell and sound his glory? If he need not the Book (as he needeth nothing created.2 Who sayeth I am the Lord Al-sufficient) ⟨p. 37⟩he needs not one letter, nor any sense of the Contents of the Chapters of that Book. There is a secret carnal notion of God in us, when we act and suffer for God, that brings a false peace,3 and some calms of mind, we have pleased him once, and beside that peace, a scum and a froth smokes up unsensible in the heart, we are profitable to God, it would be the worse with him, if he wanted our prayers and service: but had the Lord any missing of Heaven and of Angels and Men, in these infinite and innumerable ages of duration, that went before any created being? When he was upon these infinite and self-delighting thoughts, solacing himself in that infinite substantial fairness and love his Son Christ, Prov. 8.89.30.4