ofthe Covenant. 213 '\Tenant, telpecting loft finners; into a tefiament ·in their favour, 1 Cor. xi. 25. This cup is the new-'Iefla· ment in my blood. I . • . • • Hence it appears, ·that this bel?ngs to the ~dml/m:firatio:r1 of the covenant, committed -unto htm, for making finners' partakers of the covenant-benefits ; . yea,- and that is the firfi arid fundamental act of that , his adminiftration, laid ,as a foundation. of all the 0"' ther aets thereof, which are but fo many means ofek· ecuting the tdl:ament. Upon the lVlediator's under· , ' taking to fulfil the condition of the covenant, the Father made to him a difpofirion of the covenant-be• .ilefits contain'd in the promHfory part: and the be· nefits fo difpon'd, were acwally delivered over into l1is hand, as the appointed Tr.ufiee of the covenant, as we have already feen.Now he~ having them all thus. · in his hand, .l1ath made a difpofition·of them to poor 1inners, by way of tefiament, Luke xxii. 29. ' And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath ap– pointed unto me. Or, And 1difpone to you, ~s ·my Father difponed to me a kingdom.' The word here ufed,. fignifies to dlfpone ; . and hath in it the notion of a fede,ral or covenant-difpofition, and a tefi:amen– tary-difpofition too. '_ Of the former fort was the dif.– pofition made by the Father to 9Jlrifi, namely, a fe– deral difpofition; 'as being made on :--a mofi ·onerous I caufe> acondition properly fo c~lled, to wit, his mak– ing his foul an _ offering ~ for fin : and it can by no . means be a tefiamentary-<;lifpofition, fince 4 where a. tefiament is, there mufi alfo of neceffity be the death · - of a Tenaror,' Heb. ix. 16. the which, 'tis evident, f.::ould have no place in the cafe of the F,xther . . Of the latter fort is the difpofition luade by Jefus Chrifi: -to finners, namely, a teflamentary-difpojition, which, of its own nature, is a deed or conveyance of grace and liberal~ty, without conditions, properly fo called:; :md forafmuch: as finners were under an utter difabi– litjr to perform ~onditions, properly fo called, it was P there- '
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