bre: and every man shall receive his own reward, ac-
cording to bis own labour. Where it is clearly enough
declared, that the proportion of the reward will be
adjusted to that'of the labour. Nor unlike to this is
the discourse concerning the resurrection of the dead,
1 Cor. 15. 40, 41, there are also celestial bodies, and
bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial is one, and
the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory
of the sun, and ano ber glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; for one fior differeth from another star
in glory. Where first, the bodies laid alide at death are
compared with those assumed at the resurrection: and
then, the celestial bodies are said to differ very much
in glory from each other.. As the sun, moon, and
stars are all truly celestial bodies, but greatly unlike
in glory. And to what purpose is that distinct
mention of fun, moon and itars, and of the unequal
glory of each, if the Apostle only intended to teach
us the difference of the terrestrial from the celestial
bodies, while all the celestial were notwithstanding to
have the same degree of glory?
XL. "It cannot, it seems, on any pretence, bu

At lear denied, that, at least the principal leaders, Patriarchs the leadProphets, Apostles, Martyrs and diligent teachers of ing perthe Old and New Testament church shall have some o. and N. greater degree of glory alligned them. What was Testalaid to the Apostles, was not said to all, Mat: 19. ment h ve 28, when the son of man fall fit in the throne of his a greater

degree of glory, ye’ also fhall fit, upon twelve thrones, judgirig. the

glory. twelve tribes of Israel. The meaning of thefe words, if I can form any judgment, the illustrious Grotius has best of all explained. It is, as if our Lord had faid, you shall occupy the next place of honour to me. your king. To judge here denotes, to be set over, or to preside by a metalepfis, because generally presidents : are employed in paling sentence. Whence a prefdentship or province is called by the Hebrews 1930, Gen. 49. 16. Zach. 3. 7. The metaphor is taken from the ancient state of the kingdom of Israel, in which the 17 Vol. II.

20

Phylarcha

Phylarcba, or heads of the tribes, stood in the next
degree to the royal majesty, and are supposed to have
fat by the king's throne, in chairs of state, in the
publick assemblies. But to confine this glory of the
Apostles within the limits of the church militant in
such a manner, that, in the triumphant, where they
have the full reward of their labours, they shall quit
their thrones, seems repugnant to reason: nor does
it agree with John's vision, who saw in heaven four
and twenty thrones, and twenty four elders fitting on
them, that is, the Patriarchs of the Old and New
Teftamerit church, clothed in white raiment, and having
on their beads crowns of gold, Rev. 4. 4.

Rev. 4. 4. And these
things are so evident, that those very persons, who,
in other respects, contradict the disparity of celestial
glory, own, that we are to distinguish between that
happiness, which shall be the portion of believers, as
believers, and the commendation, which, in the last •
day, shall be given to every one, in proportion to the
diligence and luccefs he shall have laboured in promo-
ting the kingdom of Christ, and which it seems, is
to be inequally distributed. But because it is a
glorious thing, to obtain such a commendation from
the mouth of Christ, and the memory of that testi-
mony shall for ever abide in the minds of believers;
they cannot deny, but in the kingdom of heaven a
disparity of degrees in that kind of glory may be
admitted to take place among the blessed. For
certainly, it is not to be thought, that then there will
be many fervants of Christ, who may, in that respect,
be compared with the Apostle Paul. see Theses Amyraldi

de vita æterna $. 34. Other

XLI. The Apostle John seems to have given a things not check to other things, which are too curiously made curiously the matter of enquiry, concerning the condition or to be en- state of the future world, when he said, i John 3.2, quired in

beloved, now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear, what we shall be. It is then more prudent
and pious to endeavour to become hereafter partakers

of

1

10.

of that glorious life, than to gratify an itch of curiosity with insipid and vain speculations. This, however, we may look upon as a certain truth, that eye bath not seen, nor ear beard, neither have entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things, which God bath prepared for them that love him, i Cor. 2 9.

I.

CH A P.
Of the Doctrine of Salvation in the first age of

the World.

W

A fumma- 1. E have thus far considered those benefits, ry of the

that are essential to the covenant of grace: let things to be explain us now more particularly take a view of the two ed. ECONOMIES, or the different dispensations, under

which that covenant was administred. And here, according to the plan, laid down Chap. III. of the preceeding book, we are more accurately to explain, first, the nature of the OLD TESTAMENT, and then, that of the new. In the OLD, we will distinctly consider four principal points. 1. The doctrine concerning the common alvation, as there laid down. II. The benefits or priveleges of that testament

III. Its defcets, or according to Paul, Heb. 7. 18,
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof, on account.
of which that covenant was not faultless, Heb. 8. 7.
IV. Its abrogation. The DOCTRINE, again, may be
considered, as expressed by Words, figured by
TYPES, and ratified by SACRAMENTS.
II. Divine compaffion published to wretched

The first
man, immediately upon his fall, the first doctrine of Gospel
grace; in such a manner, indeed, as in few words, promise.
and those almost enigmatical, fummarily to contain
the whole gospel : we have that first promise Gen. 3.
14, 15: and the Lord said unto the serpent, because
thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and
above every beast of the field : upon thy belly shalt thou
go, and drift shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and be
tween iby feed and ber seed; it shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise bis beél. Luther long ago com-
plained, that none of the ancient fathers and bishops,
who were men eminent for knowledge and piety,
had explained this passage as it deserved: their fuc-
cessors ought to use the greater diligence to do it with
the more care: which several learned interpreters
have indeed happily effected. Treading in their
foot-steps, we shall make it appear, that the principal
articles of the gospel-doctrine are summarily con-
taned in this text.

III. We suppose, that the devil is condemned, by In the ferthis sentence, to whom, the Lord addresses himself, pent, the under the appellation of the serpent, because he had devil was

condemnabused that animal, in order to deceive man For,

ed.
it is dull and triming to restrict that magnificentfspeech
of the deity, as if it had its full accomplithment in
that animal alone ; for besides, that it might seein
unbecoming the supreme being, to address a brute
beast, void of all reason, in such pomp of language,
many things said here to the ferpent, if interpreted
literally, are natural to that beast: as to go upon bis
belly and eat duft. For, we are not to affirm without

scripture,

Z 3