Now for its confirmation, I mean the confirma.. tion of the ministry of the promise of life made to, Adam, was still further confirmed to Noah and the church by the bow, than to Adam, Gen. ix. 13.. Now, this bow was a confirmation of the ministry of the church,. Isaiah liv. 9, ro; they that can see no more in this bow than barely a seal that God would never destroy the world more by water, may well be reckoned with those, Isaiah xxxiv. 15, 16, 17, There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay and hatch, and gather under hershadow; there shall the vultures also be gathered,, every one with her mate. The vulture, though. a winged fowl, yet always looking downwards for her prey; the owl, though she has great eyes, the light dazzles her sight: read the other two verses.. What though the world be secured from water by this covenant, yet it is in danger of fire every day. I say, that the ministry of the church was farther confirmed to Noah than to Adam; for it is confirmed to Noah. with a bow, which sig-nified an Oath, as shall be proved; though I do, not think that the promise to Adam was without a seal; but what that seal was is the question:.

First. I observe, that Adam. was naked, before the fall as well as after, but only they were not: ashamed, because they knew. it: not.. Compare: Gen. ii.. 25,. chap.. iii. II. So they could not: know there was such a thing as being clothed!. I{ observe, that they sewed fig leaves together, and made them

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themselves aprons; but this is before God came into the garden, so doth all the sons of Adam to this day; if they can but get a few leaves of duty to cover their nakedness, they think they are prepared for God, come when he will; but to know the necessity of being clothed they did not know.

Secondly. The promise was not yet made, therefore their fig-leaved aprons could be no seal. I state this doctrine, that it is not all the works and and obedience of the sons of Adam that can be a seal of the promise of life. I know I shall be opposed in this, but I value not, I desire but one argument, thus, If it be the promiser's prerogative to seal his own grace, then the receiver of grace has none. I thought to have offered no more, but another offered itself so directly to my service, that I cannot well pass it by. If a seal be to confirm the immutability of the counsel of the promiser, then the receiver of grace cannot by any grace received seal the promise; but the former is true, Rom. xv. 8, Hcb. vi. 17, therefore it must be the promiser that seals. But I return to Adam; I observe, that after God has given Adam the promise of life, and before he turns him out of the garden, and denies him the tree of life, which was the seal of the covenant of works, he made them coats of skins and cloath ed them; but now what skins these were is the question? I conceive that God prepared them himself, or instructed Adam to do it, but I rather

think that God inspired Adam to offer sacrifices, and so cloathed them with the skins of the sacrifices : my reason is this, because Cain and Abel offered sacrifices, and we do not read of any command they had. Now we must say they were commanded by God, or by imitating their father.. Now if it cannot be proved they were commanded, it is the more probable they had it from their father; if there be any proof for the command, let it be produced. I will be bold to say, they had it from their father, as the seal of the promise of life. I shall prove it by such consequences, that it will put the opposer beyond confuting it. I argue thus: If Abel offered sacrifices, the sacrifices must be significant, or its virtue must be intrinsical in itself; but the former is true. Gen. iv. 4, If Abel offered sacrifices by faith, he must believe in the thing signified and sealed by his sacrifices, or in its intrinsical worth and virtue; in its intrinsical worth and virtue it was not, for then Abel's offering and Cain's had not differed.

. Secondly. Had Abel believed in the intrinsical worth and virtue of his sacrifices, he had trodden the promises of life under foot, therefore he of fered it as the seal of the promise of life made to Adam. Now oppose who can. So I say Adam and Eve were cloathed with the skins of their sa crifices, as a seal of the promise, yet the promise or mystery was further confirmed to Noab, for that

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was confirmed by oath. It is true we have no account of an oath in Genesis, but only of a bow in the cloud, yet Isaiah tells us that God swore, Isaiah liv. 9, For this is as the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. I observe that word this, for this is as the waters of Noah. What this? this that he was a going to say, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so, have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee,. nor rebuke thee. He swore to Noah that the waters: should no more go over the earth; but to whom he: sware that he would not be wrath, is the question.. Not to Noah, for then there needed not to have been is and so: I state this doctrine, that the one is the original, and the other an abstract or copy, the thing is plain; but which is the original. is my matter in hand.. I answer, that God had sworn that he would not be wroth with that thee, before he did swear to Noah, that the waters should. no more go over the earth. Now this thee must: either respect a singular person, or a singularbody; if we say this thee respected only the singular person of Noah, then it had been in vain for God to have comforted his church with an eath, in which they were not concerned:

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Secondly. If that thee was a body, that God. swore to Noah, for that he would not be wroth.

with, then I ask the bigness and substance of that body? If universal, God must be foresworn to Noah, in any that perish, for they cannot perish without wrath; if a particular body, then every particular person of that particular body must believe that God must lie to Noah, if he be angry with them, and so make Noah the object of faith. But one argument more, If it was a peculiar covenant with Noah, then must every one that are saved have such a peculiar oath made to them. Let any of those that are of this judgment produce their witness.