A57966:450
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.
But such as will have our works the formal cause of our justification, they put them in the chair of Christs merit, and they must be meritorious as Adams legal obedience should have been: yea, but not, but by and of gracious estimation, God so esteeming them, say they. True: but, as is proven, neither was Adams obedience meritorious, but by Gods estimation: Yea and Calvin gives a power of meriting ex pacto to our works. But our works of grace are dyed and washen in Christs blood, and justified that they may justify us.1 But the Scripture speaks nothing of justifying of works, or not imputing sin to our works. Antinomians dream of a freeing of both the person and works of a justified man from Law-obligation, and that is a way indeed to justify works of murder and adultery in David or any justified man from being sins against the Law of God: But because our works of grace have an intrinsical power of meriting and justifying communicated to them by the merits of Christ, they must be far more our formal righteousness before God, then Adams righteousness was his justification and life before God. And if our works of grace have no power of merit or worth communicated to them from Christs death, then must it follow, though Christ had never dyed, our works may have the same gracious esteem of God, the same power of meriting, of justifying ⟨p. 179⟩and saving they now have. Yea, and since Christ hath redeemed us from our vain conversation, 1 Pet. 1.18. by his blood: Why but, as he hath redeemed us from hell,2 and purchased salvation to us, by giving us grace by our own good works after conversion to redeem and justify and save our selves, so he hath redeemed us from our vain conversation, 1 Pet. 1.18. by giving us grace to do such works, before we be redeemed from our vain conversation, and before we be converted, as we may merit our conversion and Redemption from our vain conversation? If it be said, he absolutely and without any condition that is required, on our part, by his blood redeems all, whom he hath given his Son Christ to die for, from their vain conversation. 1. All mankind without exception (for by their way he hath died for them all) must be redeemed from their vain conversation and converted: Nothing can be more false. 2.