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law of God, the justice of God, said, "Deliver the prisoner, for he hath satisfied," and being raised up from the pit of corruption, no more to return unto it, "all the sure mercies of David," are confirmed and made sure. God performs those promises, and bestows those blessings, which out of his free grace, and in faithfulness he promised to David, (Psalm lxxxix. 4, 19.) concerning the Messiah, his not seeing corruption, and his eternal throne and kingdom, by raising first from the dead; and Christ was raised to convey to us "the sure mercies of David," to bestow, and apply all mercies to us, for he arose for our justification, for our sanctification, and for our resurrection, and to give us the highest security for all new-covenant mercies, which security was intended by God in the very act of raising Christ. If it be asked, What were those sure mercies of David? the answer is, the promise of an everlasting covenant, as appears from the 55th of Isaiah, from whence the words in our text are cited.

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God, as the God of peace, brought

again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant." The shedding of Christ's blood established, ratified, confirmed, and sealed every article of it for ever, and makes it everlasting; upon this the God and Father of Christ, as the God of peace, brought him back from the dead, evidencing hereby the efficacy of Christ's blood-shedding and death; and has ensured to the elect, that he will give and bestow upon them all the mercies, blessings and benefits which Christ obtained by his sacrifice. These mercies are styled in the margin, holy, or just things, others render it the covenanted things of David. All those blessings of healing, cleansing, peace, pardon, justification, yea, all which belong unto, and flow from, the covenant of grace, were given to Christ for us, are safe in his hands; he hath by his work of mediation opened a way whereby these are conveyed to us, consistent with all the glory of the divine perfections. And as his death was necessary to the intent that we might receive these sure mercies according to the divine council and cove

nant; so his resurrection was absolutely necessary also, to the end that he living in heaven might bestow them on us, as the fruits of his sorrows and resurrection from the grave. And God hath fulfilled every article which he engaged for in the everlasting covenant to Christ our head, who is seated upon his mediatorial throne, filled and prevented with all the blessings of grace and glory. And what God hath done in Christ, and to Christ, is good security, and as a pledge that he will perform all his promises to the elect. It is a most blessed consideration that our all in time and eternity depends upon what hath passed between God the Father and Jesus Christ; that he knows all his engagements to his Son; and that we are in his hands, and covenant, eternally safe and secure. It is also a comfortable subject for our thoughts and minds to ruminate on, that we are interested in those eternal acts which passed between God the Father, and Christ on our behalf before the world was, and also in all those acts which were transacted between the Father and the Son, in and throughout the whole of Christ's meditorial work,

which he performed and finished here below. And it is this salvation, in its full glory and efficacy, which alone can set us up on high, out of the reach of our spiritual enemies, and cause us to triumph over our present sins, corruptions and miseries. Now we may look upon every past fulfilment of God's promise, as a certain evidence of his fulfilling all the rest of his promises to us, in his own time and way. Especially, we may so look upon the fulfilment of the promise we have been speaking of in this light and view. Hath Christ been quickened from death, and raised up from the grave by the glory of the Father? so surely will all the elect be quickened by the Holy Ghost with new and spiritual life in their souls, and be raised up at the last day to a state of eternal life, glory, immortality, and blessedness. Was Christ the head justified at his resurrection? so surely shall all the elect who are already justified in him, have the sentence of it pronounced in their minds by the Holy Spirit. And as God, as the God of peace; brought back again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

through the blood of the everlasting covenant; so surely will he bring back from a state of spiritual death, and also out of a backsliding state, all the elect sheep, through the same blood of the everlasting

covenant.

He will work, and continue to work in every vessel of mercy, all the good pleasure of his will, and the work of faith with power; and this he will do to honour his Son's sacrifice, and to testify his being everlastingly well pleased herewith. It would greatly encrease, and strengthen our faith if we understood that the covenant engagements between the Father and the Son are finished, and that all wrought in us, and bestowed upon us, and enjoyed by us, are the fruits and consequences hereof. God hath every motive to love us; yea, he cannot but be well pleased with us to eternity: for as he beholds us in Christ, we are a perfection of beauty. As he considers the personal value, and worth of the life of his co-equal Son in our nature, and the eternal efficacy of his atonement, he cannot but delight in those eternal acts of his grace which are passed already in his divine mind, and shall yet

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