ment believers in his day, fays of this kingdom, "We have "received it; "9 as he had faid, y 22. "Ye are come unto "Mount Zion," &c. And this is the advantage that NewTeftament believers have by this fhaking of the earth, and also heaven. John the Baptift faid of this kingdom, in his miniftry, "It is at hand ;" and while our Lord faid the fame thing, he told, that there were fome there "that should not "tafle death, till they faw the Son of man coming in his "kingdom," or the kingdom of God coming with power, Matth. xvi. 28. Mark ix. 1. They faw this, after the Lord afcended, and poured out the Holy Ghoft; and then they began to preach of it after this manner: "Therefore, "being by the right hand of God exalted, and having recci"ved of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghoft, he hath "fhed forth this, which ye now fee and hear. For David "is not afcended into the heavens, (i. e. with his body, as "Jefus did); but he faith himfelf, The Lord faid unto my "Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy "footftool. Therefore let all the houfe of Ifrael know afsu"redly, that God hath made that fame Jefus whom ye have "crucified, both Lord and Chrift." Acts ii. 33-36. And thus this kingdom, spoken of long before by the prophets, and declared to be at hand by John Baptift, and by Jefus Chrift himself while on earth, was fairly fet up, and took place, when he fat down on his throne in heaven, and fent his gofpel, with the Holy Ghost, from thence unto all nations, gathering the things on earth together with the things in heaven, into one in himself. John Baptift was more than a prophet, because he had this to declare, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand;" but the leaft of them that preach the gofpel of the kingdom, which the Apoftle fays "we have "now received," has greater things to declare than John the Baptift, and fo is greater than he. This is our great privilege under the gofpel, that this kingdom is fet up, and is daily increafing. New-Teftament believers have received this kingdom, and they are herein privileged far beyond the Old-Teftament faints, who did not receive this glorious accomplishment of the promises till it took place, and fo were not made perfect without us. And however little we may reckon of this, through our blindness and inadvertency to it, yet the angels defire to look into this "glory following the suffer❝ings of Chrift," 1 Pet. i. 10. 11. 12. For my part, I could not understand the Lord and his Apoftles fpeaking of this kingdom, and the glorious new state of of things, far excelling what was before. For, thought I, the Old-Teftament faints were faved the fame way as we, and they went to heaven when they died, even as New-Teftament faints; the covenant of grace was ftill the fame; and all the difference between the Old and New Teftament is only in some circumstances: how then do the apoftles make fuch a world's wonder of the excellency of this new ftate of things, and of the great happiness of living under it, and having a part in it? But when it pleafed the Lord, by feveral means, to open the fcriptures, and thereby lead me into fome notion at leaft of what I have been hitherto attempting to declare, I came to find, that (whatever was the happiness of the OldTeftament faints in heaven before Chrift came, and though there was never any eternal falvation for finners but of free grace through Jefus Chrift, and by faith in him), there is a greater difference betwixt the New Teftament and the Old than I apprehended, and that our Lord and his apostles are far from fpeaking hyperbolically, in declaring the exceeding glory of the New-Teftament ftate of things above all that took place in the world before; and that every scribe inftructed in the kingdom of God, has glorious new things to bring out of his treasure, as well as old. Yet, after all that has been hitherto faid, fome, no doubt, may fee but little ground for reckoning much upon the glorious things God hath done in the latter days; and may be looking on the things faid as airy notions, perhaps afraid of them, and thinking within themselves, "Oh that our faith were like the "faith of the Old-Teftament faints!" They do well to i mitate their faith; for it is propofed to us as a pattern to follow; "but ftill looking to Jefus, the author and finisher "of our faith, who, for the joy that was fet before him, en. "dured the crofs, defpifing the fhame, and is set down at "the right hand of the throne of God." God has revealed nothing in vain; and what he seems to make much of, we muft not despise. And if there be any difference betwixt things hid in God and manifefted, betwixt a type and the thing typified, betwixt a promise and the accomplishment of that promife, there must be such a difference betwixt this new state of things and what was before and if the accomplishment of a promise have things in it which were not while the promife was not accomplished, there must be new things, even a new kingdom here. Yet because many can fee no fatisfying accomplishment of the prophecies in the times of refreshing, which commenced upon Chrift's afcenfion, and his : coming in the gospel, and are to iffue in the times of refti. tution of all things, at his fecond coming; and because they cannot fee the new things of the kingdom of God, which were not before Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth, and afcended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things; it will not be amifs, therefore, to put them in mind of fome things further to fatisfy them in this point. As, 1. God is manifefted in this New Teftament church and kingdom, as he was never before, John i. 18. Heb. i. 1. 2. 3. God is reprefented to the creatures no way to the disadvan tage in the "Word made flesh," the brightnefs of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon. All the discoveries were imperfect before the exprefs image of his perfon was ex. hibited. 66 This fame New-Teftament church discovers fomething that was hid in God from the beginning of the world, not from men only, but from the angels, Eph. iii. 9. 10. It is no difparagement to the Old-Teflament faints, or their happiness in heaven before Chrift came, to fay, that there was fomething hid from them which the angels themselves knew not: For "unto the angels in heavenly places is now known, by the "church, the manifold wifdom of God." Now God's great counfels are laid open to them; they now fee the end of the creating the worlds, and of the entrance of fin, and of their prefervation from falling, and of the tranflating the Old-Teftament faints into heaven among them; and of all the promifes, types, and fhadows of the Old Teftament; and the mystery of his whole procedure from the foundation of the world unfolded, and new wonders of wifdom exposed to them, which they had no thought of before. All this is made known to them by the church, even this fame church that we reckon fo little upon. Blind thoughtless creatures are we, that are called to the knowledge of this church, and profefs to believe it, and yet fee no form or comeliness in it, beyond what was in the world before it was: and yet the angels defire to pry into it, and, as it were, go to fchool again, to learn fomething of God they knew not before. They had ftudied the works of creation and providence before; they had inquired into all the promises and types of the Old Teftament, and confidered whatever prefigurations or preparations for this ftate of things were in the heavens before ; but, like children looking to a wife workman gathering materials, making preparations, and addreffing himself to fome notable piece of workmanship, they wondered what it should come come to at the length. Now here they fee it in the church; yea, and they are obliged to the Son of man for new leffons in the church, which they never learned before. The Son of man, Christ Jefus, knows more of God than ever man or angel knew; even the foul of Jefus Chrift is filled with wifdom very far above angels, and therefore he makes that gradation, Mark xiii. 32.- "Of that hour knoweth no man, "no not the angels, neither the Son." This knowledge of God that is in the church, is firft communicate to the foul of the Son of man, and from him to angels and men ; nei. ther can they know any thing of God but what was known before, except this way. This then is the teacher of angels as well as of men; and this his church is his school. The angels are not ashamed to own themselves his scholars here, Rev. xix. 1o. and compare Rev. i. 1. with xxii. 9. - That of God which is made known in this kingdom, as it was never before, is especially his grace; therefore the Apostle, when speaking of this kingdom that we have received, fays, "Let us hold the grace." To clear this, let us confider, 1. The state of things before the entrance of fin. 2. From thence to the fetting up of this kingdom. As to the first of these: 1. Whatever discoveries of God's goodness were in that state, yet there was no fuch condefcenfion of God towards the creatures, as in the person and mediation of Emmanuel, God with us. 2. Neither was there any full representation of his love in a fruit like itself. He gave many things, but not his Son, in that first state; but now "God fo loved the world, he gave his Son; " a fruit of his love equal to itself! 3. There was no difcovery of pardoning mercy in that state of things; not the leaft evidence of it. But here it reigns, through the righteousness of Christ, unto eternal life, and all the glory of God fhines here. 4. There was no preferving grace belonging unto that state of things; and therefore both angels and men fell. As to the prefervation of the angels that stood, that was not owing unto the. state wherein they were made, but unto their election of fovereign grace unto this kingdom; and that grace is the grace of this kingdom. Next, If we confider the state of things after the fall, before Christ came, under the Old Teftament, we shall see that this kingdom excels in this respect, of a discovery of God's grace. For, 1. Then this grace was only forefhewed in dark promises and types, not yet fully exhibited. True, the faints were faved in believing it; but they believed it to VOL. I. L come come afterward: "They died in faith, not having received "the promises; but faw them afar off, and were perfuaded "of them, and embraced them." All the grace they enjoyed was the fruit of their election unto this kingdom, and was their preparation for it: fo it was the grace of this king. dom, like a few drops of rain before a full shower. This grace, forefhewed and foretafted by Old-Teftament faints, was much vailed, not only in the types, but in the promises and prophecies of it: fo that the "prophets themselves in"quired what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Chrift, "which was in them, did fignify, when it told beforehand "the fufferings of Chrift, and the glory that fhould follow." Confider Pet. i. 10. 11. 12. The light that shines in the New Testament has given unto New-Teftament believers more understanding of the promises and prophecies than the prophets themselves had. Mofes's law, with all the prefigurations it had of this grace, was a vail over it; fo that the children of Ifrael could not ftedfaftly look to the end of that which is abolished: "But we all, with open face, behold, as "in a glafs, the glory of the Lord." And thefe dark aforehand discoveries of the grace of God were inclosed in narrow bounds; first, in the families of the patriarchs, then in the nation of Ifrael: but now "the grace of God that bringeth "falvation, hath appeared unto all men," all nations. See Eph. ii. from y 12. Then it was whispered in a corner, now it is proclaimed to every creature, Rom. xvi. 25. 26. 2. If we confider the Old Teftament, and the state of things under it, in themselves, and abftra&t from the promises of this grace, and the typical reference they had unto this grace ; there we have the ministration of death, but here the miniftration of righteoufnefs and of the Spirit. There was bon. dage and fear; here is liberty, and love, and lively hope. There they were held at a distance; here there is access into the holieft by the spirit of adoption, and boldness and confi. dence by the faith of Chrift. In a word, the law given by Mofes miniftered and wrought wrath, but grace came by Je fus Chrift: The law had the promises and fhadows of grace, but the truth of these came by Jefus Chrift, John i. 17. "Now "hath God faved us, and called us with a holy calling, ac"cording to his own purpofe and grace, which was given us "in Christ before the world began, but is now made mani"feft by the appearing of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who "hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. i. 9. 10. 2. There |