Quest. XXXV. How is the covenant of grace administered under the New Testament?
Answ. Under the New Testament, when Christ the substance was exhibited the same covenant of grace was, and still is, to be administered in the preaching of the word; and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, in which, grace and salvation is held forth in more fulness, evidence, and efficacy, to all nations.
Having considered the nature of the covenant, in which God has promised salvation to his people, and how his grace is manifested therein, we proceed to speak concerning the various dispensations thereof, or the way in which God has been pleased, from time to time, to discover and apply the blessings contained in it, for the encouragement of his people to hope for salvation. This he has done, at sundry times, and in divers manners, Heb. i. 1. the first method of administration was before Christ’s incarnation; the other, in all succeeding ages, to continue to the end of the world. Accordingly we are led to consider,
I. How the covenant of grace was administered under the Old Testament. As God has always had a church in the world, in the earliest ages thereof, which has been the seat of his special presence, and been favoured with the displays of his glory; so he has made known, and applied to them, the blessings of salvation, or the promises of this covenant, in which they are contained. How he has done this, is particularly considered in this answer; in which there is something supposed, namely, that it was absolutely necessary, for the salvation of the elect, that God should, some way or other, reveal Christ to them, by whom they were to obtain remission of sins; for he was to be the object of their faith, as well as the fountain of their blessedness. This he could not have been, unless he had taken some methods to lead the world into the knowledge of his Person, and that work he designed to engage in, whereby they, who lived before his incarnation, might be encouraged to look for the benefits which he would procure, by what he was to do and suffer, in order thereunto. Now, that he has done so, and that the method which he has taken therein, was sufficient to build up his elect in the faith of the promised Messiah, is what we are particularly to consider, and so shall shew,
1. That God revealed Christ, and the blessings of the covenant of grace, to his church of old. There were two ways by which he did this; one was by express words, or an intimation given from heaven, that the Messiah, the prince of life, should, in the fulness of time, take our nature, and dwell among us; and that what he was then to be, and do, should be conducive to the salvation of those who lived before his incarnation, as much as though he had done this from the beginning of the world: the other was, by types, or significant ordinances, which are only different ways of discovering the same important doctrines to them.
(1.) God revealed Christ then to come to the Old Testament church, by promises and prophecies; to the end, that though they were not, at that time, to behold him, as manifested in the flesh, they might take a view of him by faith, and hereby he might be rendered the object of their desire and expectation, that when he came, it might be no unlooked-for event, but the accomplishment of those promises and predictions that related thereunto: thus God told Abraham, not only that he should be blessed with a numerous off-spring, but that, in his seed, that is, in the Messiah, who should descend from him, all the nations of the earth should he blessed; he likewise says to Israel, by Moses, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet, from among thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken, Deut. xviii. 15. and, in following ages, there were promises and predictions, that gave farther light, concerning the person and offices, the sufferings and glory of the Messiah, as it is said, To him give all the prophets witness, Acts x. 43. And the prophet Isaiah is so express, in the account he gives of this matter, that he is styled, by some, the evangelical prophet; what he says, concerning him, is so particular, as though it had been an history of what was past, rather than a prophecy of what was to come; accordingly he foretells, that he should be born, or given, as a public blessing to the world, and describes him not only as having the government upon his shoulder, but as having the perfections of the divine nature, which discover him fit for that important trust, when he styles him, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace, Isa. ix. 6. And, as he speaks of his birth, so he intimates, that he should be born of a virgin; chap. vii. 14. and he describes him, in chap. liii. as condescending to bear our sins, as standing in our room and stead, designing hereby to make atonement for them; he speaks of him, as brought like a lamb to the slaughter, and cut off out of the land of the living, making his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, and after this, that he should prolong his days, and that the consequence hereof should be glorious to himself, and of the highest advantage to his people: and he describes him elsewhere, chap. lxiii. 1, &c. in a most elegant manner as one triumphing over conquered enemies; travelling, or pursuing his victories, in the greatness of his strength, and making it appear that he is mighty to save.
Another prophet speaks of him as a Branch that should grow out of the root or stock of David, when it was almost dead and dry, and that he should set up a more glorious throne, and exercise a government over his people in a spiritual way, Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. And the prophet Micah gives us an account of the very place of his birth, and speaks of Bethlehem, as rendered famous and renowned by his being born therein, who should be a ruler in Israel, though otherwise it was little among the thousands of Judah, Micah v. 2. Another prophet signifies his coming at that time, when God would shake all nations, that is, fill the world with civil commotions, and cause it to feel the sad effects of those wars, whereby the kingdoms of the world had been dis-jointed, and many of them broken in pieces, that then the desire of all nations should come, and fill his house, to wit, the second temple, with glory, Hag. ii. 7. And the prophet Daniel speaks of him as the Messiah, or Christ, the character by which he was most known, when he was here on earth, and gives a chronological account of the time when he should come, and be cut off, though not for himself, and hereby confirm the covenant, and at the same time, cause the sacrifice and oblation, that is, the ordinances of the ceremonial law, to cease, and so make way for another dispensation of the covenant, to wit, that which we are under, which was to succeed in the room thereof.
(2.) The covenant of grace was also administered by the various types and ordinances of the ceremonial law, which were all significant signs of that grace, that should be displayed in the gospel, which was to be obtained by Christ. Many of these types and ordinances were instituted before the whole body of the ceremonial law was given from mount Sinai. The first we read of was that of sacrifices, which were offered in the first ages of the world, whereby they had an early intimation given them of the blood of the covenant, which should be shed to expiate sin. And, after this, circumcision was instituted, first given to Abraham, as a visible mark, or token, of the covenant, immediately before the birth of Isaac, the promised seed, at that time, when God was pleased to enter into covenant with him, Gen. xvii. 9, 10. and this ordinance was continued in the church, throughout all the generations thereof, till our Saviour’s time, and is explained by the apostle, as a sign, or seal of the righteousness of faith, Rom. iv. 11.
Another type was the passover, which was first instituted in commemoration of Israel’s departure out of Egypt, which had in it many significant rites and ceremonies, whereby our redemption, by Christ, was set forth; upon which occasion, the apostle calls him our Passover, who is sacrificed for us, 1 Cor. v. 7. and in allusion hereunto, he is styled, The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, John i. 29.
There were many other ceremonial ordinances, or types, which God gave to the Jewish nation, which were significant representations of the grace that was to be displayed in the gospel, or, as it is expressed in this answer, they fore-signified Christ then to come, which contained as the apostle expresses it, A shadow of good things to come, Heb. x. 1. so that they all pointed at the grace of the covenant, or the accomplishment of what was to be performed by Christ, after his incarnation: but this will be more particularly considered, when we speak of the ceremonial law, as distinguished from the moral, under a following answer[[103]]. Therefore, at present, we shall only consider the types in general, and their reference to the grace of the covenant, whereby the Old Testament church were led into the knowledge of the Messiah then to come, together with what he was to do and suffer, to purchase and apply the blessings of this covenant to his people. And here we shall shew,