II. The next period of time in which an exhibition of the covenant of grace was made, is that from Noah to Abraham. And Noah is the principal person taken notice of in it. His father, at his birth, thought there was something remarkable in him, and designed to be done by him, and thus expressed himself; This same shall comfort us concerning our work, &'c. Gen. v. 29. and therefore called his name Noah, which signifies comfort, and is derived from On, to comfort, the last letter being cut off. And in this Lamech has respect, not so much to things temporal, and to benefit that should be received through Noah's invention of instruments for the more easy cultivating of the earth, and by bringing agriculture to a greater perfection, as he did; whereby the curse of the earth was, in a great measure, removed, which made it very difficult, through great toil and labour, to get a livelihood; but not so much to these as to things spiritual, respect is had by Lamech; and if he did not think him to be the promised seed, the Messiah, the consolation of Israel; yet he might conclude, that he would be an eminent type of Christ, from whom all comfort flows, the Saviour of men from their sins, their evil works, and from the curses of the law, on account of them; and who has eased them from the toil and labour of their hands, to get a righteousness of their own for their justification, having wrought out one for thein. However, in this person, Noah, there was a rich display of the grace of the covenant.

1. In his person, both in his private and public capacity. He found grace' in the eyes of the Lord; that is, favour and good will, which is the source of all the blessings of grace, of electing, redeeming, justifying, pardoning, adopting, and sanctifying grace; of all the graces of the Spirit, as faith, hope, love ̧ &c. all which Noah was a partaker of, and this in the midst of a world of ungodly men; which shewed it to be free and distinguishing: he was a just, or righteous man'; not by his own works, by which no man can be justified, but by the righteousness of faith, of which he was an heir, Heb. xi. 7. even the righteousness which is by the faith of Christ: and he was perfect in his generations; not in himself, but in the righteousness of Christ, by which he was justified, and was a truly sincere and upright man, and walked with God, as Enoch did, and was favoured with much communion with him: and in his public capacity he was a preacher of righteousness; of righteousness to be done between man and man; of the righteousness of God in bringing a flood upon the world to destroy it; and also of the righteousness of Christ; for no doubt he was a preacher of that of which he was an heir, and so had knowledge of, and faith in it: the persons to whom he preached, or Christ in him by his Spirit, were the spirits eat are now in prison; but then in the days of Noah, while he was preparing Mark, were on earth; to whose ministry they were disobedient, and so it was dont success; 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20.

There was a display of the grace of God in the ark which Noah was dimake for the saving of his family, which may be considered either as and of the church of God, which is to be formed in all things according

to the pattern given by God himself, as that was; and which weathers the storms and tempests, and beating of the waters of affliction and persecution, as that did in a literal sense; and in which are carnal professors, hypocrites, and heretics, as well as God's chosen people, and truly gracious souls; as there were all sorts of creatures in the ark: or else the ark may be considered as a type of Christ, the cover and shelter from the storm and tempest of divine wrath and vindictive justice, and in whom spiritual rest is to be had for weary souls; just as the dove let out of the ark found no rest until it returned to it again; and as in the ark few souls were saved, only Noah and his family, and none but those that were in the ark; so there are but few that seek and find the way of salvation, and eternal life by Christ; and there is salvation in no other, but in him; nor are there any saved, but who are saved in and by him.

3. The sacrifice of Noah, after he came out of the ark, was typical of the sacrifice of Christ, both with respect to the matter of it, clean creatures; expressive of the purity of Christ's sacrifice, who is the Lamb of God without. spot or blemish; and who offered himself without spot to God; and who, having no sin himself, was fit to be a sacrifice for the sins of others: and also with respect to the acceptance of it; God smelled a sweet savour; that is, he was well-pleased with, and graciously accepted of Noah's sacrifice; and the same phrase is used of the acceptance of Christ's sacrifice, Eph. v. 2.

4. The covenant made with Noah, though it was not the special covenant of grace, being made with him and all his posterity, and even with all creatures; yet as it was a covenant of preservation, it was a covenant of kindness and goodness in a temporal way; and it bore a resemblance to the covenant of grace; inasmuch as there were no conditions in it, no sign or token to be ob-' served on man's part; only what God himself gave as a token of his good will the rain-bow in the cloud; and seeing that it is a covenant durable, lasting, and inviolable; Isai. liv. 9, 10. The rain bow, the token of it, shewed it to be a covenant of peace, which is one of the titles of the covenant of grace in the text referred to. So Christ, the Mediator of it, is said to have a rain-bow upon his head; and a rain-bow is said to be round about the throne, signifying, that access to the throne of grace is only through the peace-maker Jesus Christ. To which may be added, that if this covenant of preservation had not taken place; but inankind had been now destroyed; the covenant of grace would have been made void, and of no effect; since the promised Seed, the great blessing of that covenant, was not yet come, and if so, never could, in the way promised.

5. Noah's blessing of Shem is not to be omitted; Blessed be the Lord God of Shem! in which is a display of covenant-grace; for to be the Lord God of any person, is the sum and substance of the covenant of grace, which always rung in this stile, I will be their God. Moreover, Noah foretold spiritual blessings of grace which should be enjoyed by his posterity in future ti.ne; God shali en

large Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, Gen. ix. 26, 27. The tents of Shem signify the church of God in its tabernacle-state; and which continued among the Jews who were of the race of Shem, until the coming of Christ; and then God sent the gospel into the Gentile world, among the posterity of Japhet, and enlarged, or persuaded them, as some choose to render the word, to come and join with the believing Jews in the same gospel-churchstate; whereby they became of the same body, and partakers of the same promises and blessings of the covenant; by which the above prophecy was in part fulfilled, and will be more completely in the latter day.

III. The next period of time in which an exhibition was made of the covenant and of the grace of it, is that from Abraham to Moses. Abraham himself stands foremost in it; he was an eminent instance of the grace of God, of the electing and calling grace of God. He was born in an idolatrous family, and lived in an idolatrous land; and he was called from his own country, and his father's house, to forsake it, and go elsewhere and serve the Lord; and to be separate from the rest of the world; as the people of God are, when effectually called he was an eminent instance of justifying grace; he was justified, but not by works, and so had not whereof to glory before God; but he was justified by faith in the righteousness of Christ; He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness, Gen. xv. 6. Not the act of faith, but the Object of it, what he believed in, the Lord and his righteousness; for what was imputed to him, is imputed to all that believe in Christ, Jews or Gentiles, in all ages; now whatsoever may be said for Abraham's faith, being inputed to himself for righteousness; it can never be thought, surely, that it is imputed to others also for the same. Besides, it is the righteousness of faith, the righteousness of Christ received by faith, which Abraham, when uncircumcised, had; and which is imputed to them also that believe, whether circumcised or uncircumcised, Rom. iv. 2, &c. To which may be added, that the gospel was preached to Abraham; the good news of his spiritual seed, those that waik in the steps of his faith, whether Jews or Gentiles, being blessed with all spiritual blessings in the Messiah, who should spring from him, Gal. iii. 8.

But what more especially deserve attention, are the several appearances of God unto Abraham, and the manifestations of the covenant of grace then made unto him. The first appearance was at the time of his call from his idolatrous country and kindred, when the covenant of grace was broke up to him, and he was assured of the blessings of it, Gen. xii. 1-3. as it is to the chosen ones in effectual calling; and that it was this covenant that was then made known to Abraham, is clear from Gal. iii. 17. where it is said to be confirmed before of God in Christ; which certainly designs the covenant of grace; for what else could be said to be thus confirmed? and which indeed was made with him, and confirmed in him in eternity, and was now made manifest to Abra--ham; and from the time of the manifestation of it to him at his call from

Chaldea, to the giving of the law on mount Sinia, were four hundred and thirty years there mentioned. The next appearance of God to him I shall take notice of, for I propose not to consider every one, is that which is recorded in Gen. xv. 1. where in a vision God said unto him, I am thy shield and thy ex ceeding great reward; his shield, to protect him from all enemies, temporal and spiritual; his reward, portion, and inheritance in this life and that to come; and which is an exceeding great one, and is the sum and substance of the covenant of grace. Another appearance of God to Abraham was, when he was ninetynine years of age; when, besides the covenant of circumcision, God gave to him, and his natural seed of the male kind, and a promise of the land of Canaan to his posterity, as he had done before, he made himself known to him as the almighty God, or God all-sufficient; whose power and grace were sufficient to support him in his walk before him, and bring him to a state of perfection, Gen. xvii. 1. and particularly in 4. he said to him, As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations; which the apostle explains of his being the father of all that believe, whether circumcised or uncircumcised; even of all that walk in the steps of his faith, and believe unto righteousness, as he did; these are blessed, with faithful Abraham, with all the blessings of the covenant of grace, as he was, Rom. iv. 9-17. Once more, the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre. Three appeared to him in an human form, two of them were angels, and one was Jehovah, the Son of God; who not only foretold the birth of a son to Abraham, but made known to him the design to destroy Sodom; and gave an high encomium of his piety and justice; and allowed him to expostulate with him about the destruction of Sodom; admitted him to stand before him, and he communed with him. All which shewed him to be a friend of God, and interested in the covenant of his grace, Gen. xviii. 3, &c. At the time of the offering up of his son Isaac, by the command of the Lord, he appeared to him, and restrained him from the actual performance of it; upon which he called the name of the place JehovahJireh, the Lord will see, or will appear in the mount of difficulties, as he had to him; and when he made a farther manifestation of the covenant of grace in that important article; In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, Gen. xxii. 14-18. meaning the promised seed, the Messiah, that should spring from him, as he did, and is called the Son of Abraham, in whom all the elect are blessed with all spiritual blessings, the blessings of the everlasting covenant. Not to omit the interview Abraham had with Melchizedek, who met him upon his return from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him in the name of the most high God; this man was an eminent type of Christ; his name and title agree with his, king of righteousness, and king of peace; the righteous and peaceable king; a priest continually, and of whose order Christ was; and whose eternity is shadowed forth in his genealogy being unknown, in which he was made like unto the Son of God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father: It may be our Lord has respect to this interview, when he says, Abraham saw

my day, and was glad; saw him in the promise, and saw him in this type, John viii. 56.

come,

him not.

Isaac, the Son of Abraham, is the next instance of covenant-grace in this period of time; in his line from Abraham it was promised the Messiah should and did the same covenant of that was exhibited to Abraham, grace was manifested to Isaac in the same words, Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. And he was himself an eminent type of Christ, the promised Seed, and the great blessing of the covenant, both in his sacrifice and in his resurrection. Isaac was Abraham's own son, his only son, his beloved son, whom he took to offer on mount Moriah; Isaac went with him without reluctance, carrying the wood on which he was to be laid, and was laid; by which it appeared that Abraham withheld So Christ, who has been offered a sacrifice by the will of God, is his own Son, his begotten Son, his only begotten Son, and his beloved Son, when it was his pleasure to make his soul an offering for sin, he willingly went, as a lamb to the slaughter, bearing on his shoulders the cross on which he was crucified; and was not spared by his divine Father, but delivered up for us all. And though Isaac died not, yet he was reckoned by Abraham as dead; who accounted that God was able to raise him from the dead; from whence als he received him in a figure, Heb. xi. 19. a ram caught in a thicket being shewn him, and which he offered in his room; and so Iaaac was delivered, and went home alive to his father's house; and this was on the third day from the time Abraham reckoned him as a dead man. So Christ was put to death in the flesh, signified by the ram in the thicket; and quickened in the Spirit, typified by Isaac saved alive; who, after his resurrection, went to his God and our God, to his Father and our Father; and his resurrection was on the third day, according to this scripture-type of him.

Jacob, the son of Isaac, is another instance in whom there was a display of covenant-grace, in the period of time between Abraham and Moses. He was an eminent and illustrious instance of electing grace, according to which the blessings of the covenant are dispensed. He and Esau were brothers, twins, and if any, Esau had the precedence; yet before their birth it was notified to Rebekah, that the elder should serve the younger, Gen. xxv. 23. which the apostle makes use of to illustrate and exemplify the grace of God in election, Rom. ix. 11, &c. The same covenant of grace that was manifested to Abraham and Isaac, was repeated and made known to Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 13. Christ also was represented to him by a ladder whose top reached to heaven, and on which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending. The same is said of Christ, John i. 51. who in his divine nature reached to heaven, and was in heaven when in his human nature he was here on earth; and to whom angels ministered, and who is the only Mediator between God and man, and the way of access to God, and communion with him. Christ in an human form appeared to Jacob, and wrestled with him, with whom Jacob had so much power as to prevail, and obtain the blessing from him, and got the name of Israel, Gen.