A treatise of the divine promises in five bookes : in the first, a generall description of their nature, kinds, excellency, right use, properties, and the persons to whom they belong : in the foure last, a declaration of the covenant it selfe .../ by Edvvard Legh ...

* 1.11. CHRIST is promised to the godly.

THe first promise made to man and the foundation of all other was th••t, Gen. 3.15. It shall bruise thy head, It or

He, that is, CHRIST, shall bruise thy head, that is, breake the power and dominion of Satan. The first Promise was made concer∣ning CHRIST, because GOD intended to make good every pro∣mise in CHRIST.

In all ages the LORD re∣newed this promise of sending CHRIST the promised seed, as immediately after the floud, Noah by prophesie blessing his two sonnes, said, GOD shall enlarge Iaphet, and hee shall dwell in the tents of Shem, Gen. 9.27. He mea∣neth that we the Gentiles should be called to be one body with the Jewes in CHRIST. The same was afterwards oft re∣newed to Abraham: In thy Seed (that is, CHRIST) thou thy selfe, and all the nations of the earth (that is, the faithfull in all nations) shall be blessed, Gen. 12.3. Gen. 13.14. & 15.4, 18. Gen. 17.4. & 22.

The like was after promised to Isaac, Gen. 26.4. and Iacob, Gen.

28.14. and Gen. 49.10. it is said, The Scepter shall not depart from Iuda untill Shiloh come,* 1.2 that is, the Messias come, for Shiloh signifieth the tunicle or skinne that lappeth the Infant in the Mothers wombe; called by Phy∣sitians the secundine, (because it grieves the woman that is with child the second time, as it were a second birth) in French arriere fais, in English the after-birth or after-burden: and by a kind of figure is put for the Sonne of GOD in the wombe of the Vir∣gin, made man; to note him to be of the flesh of Mary, and his birth to be like the birth of other children, sinne onely ex∣cepted. There shall come a Starre out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, Numb. 24.17.

In all succeeding ages, Moses and all the Prophets in their times foretold of CHRIST,* 1.3 Acts 3.24. & 10.43. The LORD thy GOD will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee,

of thy brethren like unto mee, un∣to him shall yee hearken,* 1.4 Deut. 18.15. like unto mee] both in the participation of nature and office, saith Iunius: a true man, and a true Mediator, CHRIST is there meant, Acts 3.22. & 7.37. That evangelicall Prophet Esay spake of him then as already come. For unto us a childe * 1.5 is borne, unto us a Sonne is given, and the Governement shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderfull, Counsellor, the mighty GOD, the everlasting Fa∣ther, the Prince of Peace, Esay 9.6. See Esay 11.1.32.1, 2. & 53.2, 3, 4. Ezek 37.24. & 34.24. Ier. 33.15, 16. Ier. 23.5, 6. Micah 5.2. Zach. 3.8. & 6.12, 13. & 9.9, 10. He is called the messenger of the Covenant, Mal. 3.1. For in him GOD reconciled the world to himselfe, 2 Cor. 5.19.

There are multitudes of pro∣mises also concerning CHRIST,* 1.6 and the generall benefits by him in the New Testament.

1. That he shall save us: The Evangelist Matthew gives this reason of his name JESUS,* 1.7 For hee shall save his people from their sinnes, from the guiltinesse, power, and punishment of them. The Sonne of man is come to seeke and save that which was lost, Luke 19.10. GOD sent his Sonne into the world, that the world through him might be saved,* 1.8 Iohn 3.17. The Apostle with a vehe∣ment asseveration affirmeth this. This is a faithfull saying, and wor∣thy of all acceptation, that CHRIST JESUS came in∣to the world to save sinners, 1 Tim. 1.15. Hence CHRIST is often called our Saviour, Esay 49.26. Esay 60.16. Luke 2.11. 1 Tim. 1.1. 1 Tim. 2.3.

* 1.92. CHRIST is said to be A light to the Gentiles, Matth. 4.16. The light of the world, John 8.13. & 9.5. under this compari∣son of Light, all benefits which CHRIST brings us are contai∣ned,

light of knowledge, grace, and glory.

Hitherto belong all such Scrip∣tures as shew CHRIST to be our Life,* 1.10 Col. 3.4. Iohn 6.33. Ioh. 14.6. CHRIST also cals him∣selfe The bread of life, Ioh. 6.35, 51.* 1.11 Compares himselfe to a Vine, Iohn 15.1. to teach, that as the branch hath his whole life from the stock, so we have all our life from him.

3. GOD is well pleased in CHRIST, Mat. 3.17. In whom, not with, by, or through whom, but a larger preposition then them all, which signifieth two things: 1. That GOD is well pleased with CHRIST: 2. In and through him with others; there∣fore it is said, Ephes. 1.3. GOD hath blessed us,* 1.12 with all spirituall blessings in CHRIST, verse 4. GOD hath chosen us in him, ver. 6. accepted us in the beloved, ver. 7.* 1.13 In him wee have redemption through his blood, the forgivenesse of sinnes, according to the riches of

his grace. It is said, Acts 13.34. I will give you the sure mer∣cies of David, that is, all those good things which were promi∣sed in CHRIST, who was of the seed of David.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The world it selfe was no sooner begun, but the promise also began of sending Christ into the world, Gen 3.15 Yet this promise was in generall termes, neither shewing what seede, neither shewing what kind of woman, or of what people this seed should be. A second promise was made to Abraham, and it was a little more lightsome then this, for it shewed of what people he should be, viz of the Iewes, Gen 22.8. A third pro∣mise was more lightsome then this too, for it shewes of what Tribe he should be, viz of the Tribe of Iuda, Gen. 49 ••0. A fourth promise was yet more lightsome, for it shewed of what family He should be, viz of the family of David, 2 Sam 7 16 The fifth, and six, and seventh promises were much more lightsome then this, for the fift declared the party that should bring him into the world, viz a Virgin, Esay 7 17 The sixt the place he should be borne in, viz. Bethlehem, a City of Iudah, Micah 5.2 These youth declared the time, viz. seventy weekes of yeeres from the time the Prophet Daniel lived in, that is, foure hundred foure score and ten yeeres, Dan. 9 24. Days first Sermon of our Savi∣ours Nativity.
• * 1.2

  Shilo secun∣dae eius, id in que involvi∣tur partus in utero existēs, Metonymia rei continen∣t••s pro recon¦tenta, ut in∣quit ••remel. See Cart∣wright his confutation of the Rhe¦mish Testa∣ment, on Mat. 1.23 and Perkins on the Creed.
• * 1.3

  Rom 1.2.
• * 1.4

  Christ was promised to come of th•• seede of Da¦vid, Acts 1••.23. See Psal 8••.35.36 & 131, 11, 12, 13 14 Esay 16.5.
• * 1.5

  That is, Iesus Christ, of whom he prophesied, Chap. 7 14 Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and heare a Sonne, and shall call hu¦mane Im∣manuel.
• * 1.6

  Luke 1.32.
• * 1.7

  Mat. 1.21. Luke 3.6.
• * 1.8

  Ioh. 12.4••.
• * 1.9

  Esay 49 6. 1 Ioh. 19.
• * 1.10

  2 Tim. 1.10
• * 1.11

  He is said to be the Head of the body.
• * 1.12

  Rom. 8.32.
• * 1.13

  Ephes. 3.25.