The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace

But 1. Good works are necessary, necessitate praecepti, by the command of God and promise, 1 Thes. 4.4. 1 Cor. 6.20. Eph. 2.10. Matth. 28.20. and where it is said, 1 Tim. 4.8. Godliness is profitable to all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. [Greek or Hebrew] the promise is opposed to the Law. And that is a strong Argument, Gal. 3.18. [Greek or Hebrew] If the inheritance be of the Law, it is no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise, Covenant-promise: What is that to the Galatians and to us Gentiles? M•ch every way. For three notable points are therein. 1. The heavenly inheritance promised to the seed, to Christ and his, ver. 16. not a poor earthly Canaan, as Socini•ns and Papists say, were promised to Abraham and his seed, except they say that an earthly Canaan was promised to Christ. 2. That Covenant-promise of an heavenly inheritance made to Abraham, the ⟨p. 178⟩same is made to the believing Galatians, the Gentiles and their seed, else Paul saith nothing for the Doctrine of Justification by faith to the Gentiles, contrary to the purpose of the Apostle. 3. There is an inheritance by Covenant-promise a promise of eternal life made not to works as the price that buys the right: for, sure, then Christ must have dyed in vain. 3. Works are not necessary simply,¹ necessitate medii: for then we must exclude all Infants; But the necessity of a Precept inferreth a necessity of means ordinary to all capable of a Command, that they do good, and sow to the Spirit, that they may reap of the Spirit life everlasting, Gal. 6.8