I don't think I have read a quote which better sums up both the strength and weakness of Reformed theology so well. Following Simeon's test again - you could not find theology more exhalting to the Saviour, and humbling to the sinner; but the door for the sinner to ignore the promotion of holiness has been left ajar.
It is said, "the promise is made to the Seed," yet the promise is made to us, and yet again the covenant is made with Abraham: How can all these stand together? […] The promises that are made to us, though they be of the same covenant, nevertheless differ in this respect: the active part is committed to the Messiah, to the Seed himself, but the passive part consists of the promises made to us […] The meaning is that they are derivative promises. The primary and original promises were made to Jesus Christ.
(Preston, The New Covenant [ed. 1639], cited in p. 250, "The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology", in Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos, ed. Richard B. Gaffin Jr.)
PS. I'd never heard of Preston but this is who he is.
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