DISC. inward and fpiritual grace to be wrought XI. in the heart: Secondly, That this inward

and spiritual grace was the cutting off and cafting away of fin: Thirdly, That for this work they were not fufficient as of themfelves, but their fufficiency was of the Lord their God, who would work in them, and with them, through faith, by the holy Spirit: Fourthly, That the effect and confequence of this fpiritual circumcifion would be the love of God fhed abroad in their hearts, with it's genuine fruit of unfeigned obedience to his commandments : and, laftly, That this would prepare the way to eternal life; "that thou mayest "LIVE," faith Mofes; "that thou mayeft

live," not only on earth, under grace, but hereafter in glory: fince "purification "of the heart" is in order to a better life in that celeftial Canaan, the ultimate end of all the promises, that good land which the Lord our God fhall give to every Ifraelite indeed, and in which he himself, after having been the "fhield" of Abraham and his feed, fhall be their " exceeding great

"reward."

XI.

"reward"." And fo it is written, "Blef- DISC. "fed are the pure in heart, for they shall "fee God"." Thus do these two texts from the writings of Mofes involve in them the substance of the Gofpel; they begin with the cleaning of the heart from fin, thence proceeding on to the love of God till they terminate in the beatific vision of him in an endless life. And could the Jews have read their law, without that veil, which infidelity had drawn over the eyes of their understanding; could they have beheld, with open face, the glory of the Lord, enshrined in the Mofaic myfteries; could they have difcerned the " apple of "gold" through the "network of filver"," instead of mistaking the cafket for the jewel which it contained and preferved; they had then faved an Apostle the trouble of informing them, that "he is not a Jew, " which is one outwardly, nor is that cir"cumcifion which is outward in the flesh; "but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, " and circumcifion is that of the heart, in

e Gen. xv. I. f Matth. v. 8. 8 Prov. xxv. 11.
X 3
"the

DISC. "the fpirit, and not in the letter, whofe

praise is not of men, but of God"."

We will venture then to fuppofe, that the inftitution of the rite now before us, with the reafon and end thereof, is fufficiently cleared, and circumcifion proved to be a facramental fign of the cutting off and cafting away of fin from the heart. But what mean ye then, as faith St. Bernard, by circumcifing the child Jefus, who did no fin, and knew none; who was conceived in the womb of a virgin, by the Spirit of eternal purity? why must he undergo this painful ceremony? To this we answer, befides the example of humility and obedience herein afforded us by our Lord; as alfo the proof from hence refulting of the reality of his human nature; befides these collateral confiderations, I fay, the reason why Chrift was, as on this day, circumcifed, is the fame with the reason why he was born, why he lived, and why he died. What he did, and what he fuffered, he did

h Rom. xi. 28.

and

XI.

and fuffered not for himself, but for us. DISC. The whole of this momentous and falutary truth is expreffed by the Apostle in those few words; "He was made fin for us, "who knew no fin, that we might be"come the righteoufnefs of God in him '." He bore our griefs, that we might enter into his joy he put on the bloody garment of fin and death, that we might be invested with the white and fpotlefs robes of righteoufnefs and life. He became not only one with us, as the head is with the members; but one for us, or in our ftead, as a furety is for a debtor. And therefore, though, as the all perfect Son of God, he could need neither circumcifion nor baptifm, yet, as the fuffering reprefentative of fallen human nature, he fubmitted to both, with the fame view, namely, "to fulfil "all righteousness." This was the argument he used to John, in the cafe of his baptism, and it holdeth equally in that of his circumcifion. For having once undertaken to appear as our furety and substitute,

DISC. it became incumbent on him to fulfil

XI.

all righteoufnefs," to perform, what we fhould have performed, and to fuffer for what we did not perform. As the children therefore were compounded of flesh and blood, he partook of the fame; he was

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made of a woman :" as they were circumcifed, he was circumcifed alfo; he was "made under the law *." And indeed, it had profited us nothing, that he was made of a woman, had he not likewise been "made under the law;" for then the law. could never have apprehended him; the law, with it's penalties, having no concern with a perfon, who, like him, was not an offender against it. For "the law was not "made for the righteous, but for the law"lefs and difobedient'." We are the tranfgreffors, the debtors, whofe bond was forfeited, and "the hand writing of condem"nation" standing in full force against us. But Chrift, by fubmitting to the act of circumcifion, voluntarily put himself under the law, and took the whole burthen of 1 Tim. i. 9.

k Gal. iv. 4.