Zechariah 3:6-7

"And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, (7) Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by."

We have here Joshua in his office as priest, and solemnly ordained in it by the Lord himself. Oh! that such blessed ordinations were more frequent in the Church in the present hour. The protestation of the angel of the covenant is striking. But, I beg to make one observation upon the manner in which the Lord declares himself upon the occasion. If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge. I apprehend that these words are not made use of as a condition, or as a procuring cause of the blessedness promised, but as the evidences of the things themselves. The filthy garments of Joshua were taken away, and the fair mitre was actually put upon his head. Where Jesus hath taken away sin, that sin can be no more charged. It is similar to what the Apostle saith in the Hebrews. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. Hebrews 3:14. Surely our being made partakers of Christ doth not depend upon our holding; for this would be to make the grace of God to rest in its efficacy upon the merit of man. In both instances, the blessing spoken of, is a blessing already obtained, and the effect therefore becomes an evidence, and not the cause.