The fountain opened, or, The great gospel privilege of having Christ exhibited to sinful…The fountain opened, or, The great gospel priviledge of having Christ exhibited to sinfull…

Under which three heads, are comprised all those duties which are required in and by the Moral Law.

Under which three heads, are comprized all those duties which are required in and by the Moral Law.

8. That all the Commands of the New-Covenant, which are purely Evangelical, are inclusively Comprehended in this Rule. It is to be observed, that there are some Duties introduced by the New Covenant, and are enjoined on all such unto whom it is promulgated, which were not Duties incumbent on man whiles he continued in a state of Integrity, such as Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance unto life, and the several things that are contained in these, as they point to us the way for fallen man to recover Gods favour, and obtain eternal Salvation; and indeed these Duties were inconsistent with that state. Man had not forfeited himself to the Law, and so needed not a Redeemer; he stood in his uprightness, and was defiled with no sin, and had no occasion for Repentance▪ These Duties therefore were not immediately comprised in the law of nature, nor was man in Innocency able by the improvement of his reason, to gather that there were any such Duties hypothetically belonging to his Rule. Nor is it to be supposed, that when God at first indented with man in the Covenant of Works, and warned him against disobedience, by showing him the ⟨p. 191⟩threatening; that he made any discovery to him of an hope that in case of his miscarriage he might be saved, or that he foretold a way of his recovery, in case he ruined himself by trespassing against the command, and bringing of himself under the threatening: doubtless he reserved this for the Opening of the Covenant of Grace: and till he so made it known, man could not possibly so much as guess at such a thing. However, there is thus much contained in the Moral Law, and the light of nature clearly discovered to man at first, viz. that the rightful authority and supremacy that God hath over all men, claims a liberty for him at any time to enjoin man in any thing, and make it his duty by virtue of his command to do it, if it be within the power which he at first endowed him withal; and consequently that he owes Obedience to God in whatsoever he shall at any time declare to be his will; hereupon Positive Commands oblige men by the light of nature, as well as Natural duties, supposing there be a Revelation of them made to them. We find therefore that God at first exerted this authority over our first Parents, when he put them into the Garden, by an arbitrary exempting the Tree of Knowledge from their eating of it, under pain of death;