a ftate of alienation and estrangement from God; we are alienated from the very life of God, through the ignorance that is in us; like the prodigal we have gone into a far country, and care not for returning to our father's houfe: Yea, more, it is a ftate of enmity and hostility against God, the carnal mind is enmity against God, we are enemies in our minds by wicked works: It is a godlefs and a hopeless state, therefore said to be without God and without hope in the world: It is a state of worse than Egyptian darknefs; we are not fimply in the dark, but we are darkness itself: once ye were darkness: It is a state of impotency and weakness, for when we were without ftrength in due time Chrift died for us: It is a state of bondage and captivity to fin, Satan and the world; we are led captive by these potent enemies: It is a curfed and condemned ftate, we are condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on us: It is a state of death, we are dead spiritually under the power of fin, and lying upon the very borders of eternal death. Now this is the condition we are reduced unto by the fall, upon which account we may well take up that melancholy fong, The crown is fallen from our head, wo to us that we have finned; however infinite mercy and love takes occafion from this miferable and ruined estate of man to enter into a new covenant, even a covenant of grace, in order to his deliverance. 2. Remark, that the rife and spring of this covenant of grace was not foreseen faith or good works, or any thing else in the creature, but only the free and furprifing love of God, John iii. 16. God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in him, might not perish, but bave everlasting life, Jer. xxxi. 3. I have loved thee ; with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindnefs have I drawn thee. This love of God to loft finners, was altogether and abfolutely free, free in oppofition to merit, free in oppofition to constraint it hath no other caufe, but only the freedom of his own will, Eph. ii. 4. And as it is free, so it is fuperlatively great, love that paffes knowledge, love which hath a height and depth, a breadth and length which can never be fathomed, or found out; it is diftinguishing love that takes hold of man when it paffed by angels that fell; it fixed upon fome of Adam's family, when it paffed by others. 3. This covenant of grace in the original make and conftitution of it, was tranfacted with Christ as a new covenant-head, a publick perfon reprefenting all the spiritual feed which the Lord hath given him; for, firs, you must know, that fince the fall of man, God never entered into any covenant with him directly and immediately, but only by the intervention of a furety and mediator. Hence in our larger catechifm, in answer to that question, with whom was the covenant of grace made? The anfwer is, That it was made with Christ, and with the elect in him as his feed. Hence it is, that we read of Grace given us in Chrift before the world began. In this covenant there are fome things that relate particularly to Chrift himself as furety and redeemer, and fome things in it that relate to the members and feed of Chrift; the Father having promifed fufficient furniture and through-bearing to his Son, both for the purchase and application of our redemption, the Son not only undertakes to fatisfy justice, to fulfil the law, to bruife the head of the old ferpent, but also by his fpirit, which he would fend into their hearts, to fprinkle them with clear water, to take away the ftony heart, to enlighten them, to juftify them, to adopt and fanctify them, and at last to prefent them without spot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing; and when all this comes to be revealed and fet forth in a gospel difpenfation, what is incumbent upon us, but to fubfcribe to this glorious tranfaction and plan of redemption that was laid by infinite wisdom? Thus I fay the covenant of grace was originally tranfacted with Christ, and with us in him and through him; and they who either in print or pulpit ridicule or exclaim against this as a new scheme of doctrine, they do not ridicule us, but the doctrine afferted by the church of Scotland in her ftandards, which as it is founded upon the word, fo we are bound by folemn covenant to cleave unto it. 4. Remark, That the revelation of this covenant of grace tranfacted with Chrift before the world, was made very early to our firft parents in paradise immediately after the fall, Gen. iii. 15. The feed of the woman fhall bruife the head of the ferpent. Here it was, that the grand fecret which lay in the breaft of God, did firft break forth, when our first parents were waiting with a trembling heart every moment for the execution of the fentence of the broken covenant of works: Behold glad-tidings of great joy are iffued out from a throne of grace, namely, that in the fulness of time the Son of God was to take on the feed of the woman, and bruife' the ferpent's head, to destroy the devil, and his works, and redeem man from that gulph of mifery into which he was plunged; this was the covenant of and it is remarkable that in its first edition grace; it came forth in a promife of Chrift, this was enlarged and explained to Abraham, Mofes, David, and The rainbow of the covenant furrounding the throne of grace. BEING The fubftance of fome SERMONS preached at the facrament of Muckart, June 23, 1728. By the Rev. Mr. EBENEZER ERSKINE. REV. iv. 3. -And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in fight like unto an emerald. OT to ftand in the entrance of this discourse, NOT we may obferve here three things, which John faw in the vifion. ft, A Throne fet in heaven, in the close of the fecond verfe. 2dly, The glorious majefty that fat on the throne, who was like a Jafper and Sardine ftone for brightness. 3dly, The canopy of the throne, a rainbow round about it in colour like an emerald. I understand the whole of this to have a refpect immediately to the church militant here upon earth, and the glorious difpenfation of the grace of God under the new-teftament economy; and that which inclines me to understand it in this view is because this vifion is prophetical, and has a refpect to things that that were to be done afterward, as you fee in the first verse. Come up hither, and I will fhew thee things that must be hereafter, that is, things which are to be tranfacted in the church in the fucceeding ages and generations of the world; and therefore by the throne here that was fet in heaven, I understand the throne of grace, to which we are invited to come with boldness for grace and mercy to help in time of need, Heb. iv. 16. The throne which hath juftice fatisfied and judgment executed upon the fon of God, for its bafis and foundation, Pfal. xxxix. 14. The throne of God and of the Lamb, from which proceeds a pure river or water of life, clear as chryftal, Rev. xxii. 1. And this throne is faid to be fet in heaven, not as if God's throne of grace were only in heaven properly fo called; for we find the church militant on earth frequently expreffed by heaven in fcripture, Heb. xii. 20. She is called the heavenly Jerufalem, to wit, the church, Pet. ii. 2. the heavenly nation ; and therefore by heaven here, we may understand the church of God in general: and it is fo called to fhew that the hearts of believers even while here upon earth, are in heaven, they are defiring a better country, that is an heavenly, and when they address a throne of grace, they have their eyes upon an exalted Chrift, who is fet down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and his miniftry in the heavenly fanctuary. By him that fits on the throne, I understand Chrift or God in our nature, not excluding the Father and the Holy Ghoft; for it is the throne of God and of the Lamb. Ezek. i. 26. Ezek. i. 26. we have the fame defcription of a throne in a vifion, and we are told that above upon the throne was the appearance of a man, which can be applied to none other than the man Ii 4 Chrift |