shew mercy, but only misery, which might be an occasion, but can be no cause, either why mercy is promised, or salvation granted. If man had not fallen from grace and state of Innocency, God had never sent his Sonne to redeeme him, nor shewed mercy reaching to the pardon and covering of his iniquity: If he had not lost himself, Christ had never come to find and restore him; if he had not wounded himself, he had not been healed and repaired of grace. Man then is a subject on whom God bestowes grace, and in whom he works it; and his misery an occasion that the Lord took of manifesting his mercy in succouring and lifting him up out of that distresse: but the free grace and love of God is the sole cause of what the Lord hath promised in this new Covenant, and doth give according to promise.
And though the old and new Covenant be of the same nature, and from the same fountaine, yet the new Covenant is preferred above the old, as farre as Sunne-light before Torch light, in this, that God who makes the Covenant hath more fully manifested the riches of his grace and superaboundant love in Jesus Christ, the brightnesse of his glory and engraven forme of his person, to the federates of the new Testament. In the old Covenant the Lord had made it knowne, that he was mercifull and gracious, slow to anger, aboundant in goodnesse: But in the new Covenant he doth most familiarly reveale himself to be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, and in him the Father of the faithfull: which most sweet and pleasant name doth breathe out unspeakable love and tendernesse.
Again, though the ancient federates had some knowledge of Gods Attributes, as an introduction to the Covenant of Grace, yet they never knew that transcendency of Gods love, which is brought to light in the new, mentioned in these and such like passages of Scripture: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sonnes of God.1 Joh. 3.1. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Sonne: that whosoever beleeveth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.Joh. 3.16. He spared not his own Sonne, but delivered him up for us all: how shall he not with him freely give us all things.Rom. 8.32. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediatour betweene God and man, the man Christ Jesus.1 Tim. 2.4,5. They that seek to stretch this speech of the Apostle to the fur-thest,
