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ed, that obedience was due to God; the creature condemned in his misbehaviour; a juftification of right, an acknowledgment of the creature's fubmiffion, obedience, and intire refignation to God. Here is bringing things back; whereas all things were brought into confufion by the apoftacy. Whereas there had been an inlet of evil, that had ruined. and mischieved the world; here is a way found out to ftop the current of man's fin, and to bring in divine goodnefs and loving-kindness. Man's fin is pardoned; guilt is taken off from the conscience; punishment prevented; God is pacified; and the finner discharged.

All this have I represented to you, to fhew you there was grateful matter in our Saviour's undertaking; which was matter tending to fatisfy God, acceptable to him, and further incline him to grace and favour. Also matter highly fatisfactory to the mind of man. Here is an intimation of divine clemency, benignity, compaffion; here it is made out, that which could but be hoped that it was fo; 'tis now confirmed, that God is placable and reconcilable. So that our Saviour doth bring about reconciliation, by doing things pleasing and acceptable to God and all these things are fitting in the case, and becoming man. For you know, though we are freely juftified by grace, yet grace doth admit fitting things to be done; and thefe fitting things are neceffary, and grace is no lefs, notwithstanding thefe fitting things to be done. For it doth justify the rule of right, which is the life of the universe, reflects honourably upon God, juftifies the law, as

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being good, juft, right, and equal: alfo good for the creature; for it tends to bring him back again to a creature-ftate, which is humility and modefty; humility, as creatures; modefty, as finners. Now fee what follows this interpofition of our Saviour and Lord: fin is pardoned, the finner repenting is dif charged, and a foundation laid of repentance. This for explication of the manner of bringing about the reconciliation.

But yet a little further; that I may make you fee how you are beholden to our Saviour for his undertaking. Now that our Saviour did design, and intend, and comprehend all these noble ends, this doth declare the great worthiness of our Saviour's. undertaking, and makes it reasonable service; which is the highest improvement of the nobleft faculty. For the highest angel in glory cannot act higher, than to perform to God intelligent and reasonable fervice. I repeat it again: in what Chrift did and fuffered; this doth exprefs the great worthiness of our Saviour's facrifice, and makes it a reafonable feruice. For that, that made the facrifice of Chrift fo tranfcendently above the death of ten thousands of beafts, was because all these were but meerly paffive; and our Saviour did understand and mean all thofe noble ends: this made our Saviour's facrifice fo highly excellent and tranfcendent. For that that makes an undertaking excellent is, that it is undertaken in a way of the trueft reafon, the higheft intelligence; and in a way of actual intention of fub. lime and noble ends; and that voluntarily and unconftrained and this is fignal in our Saviour's fa

crifice.

crifice. And this never was in the beast in the Mo faical facrifices; but in our Saviour, all these things were eminently. And things that fail of these ingredients, fall fhort of worth. The actual intention of God's honour, establishing right, recovering the law of the universe, and repairing fo excellent a creature as man was, who was loft; it is the nobleft end that ever was defign'd. Never was the creation parallell'd but by this reparation. The acting of the rational part of the world doth far tranfcend the motion of all the natural actions in the world; for all these are rather acted, than act. It is the intelligent and voluntary agents that do act out of forefight, and in the use of liberty and freedom. Now our Saviour being highly intelligent, and fully voluntary, did in his understanding, design and aim at all thefe ends, which are fo honourable for God, fo fitting for the purpose, and fo good for As he was apprehenfive of them, fo he was free in all that he did; he did it with all his foul. Therefore is the facrifice of Christ fo highly acceptable, and every way for our advantage. And there

man.

fore we may look upon the bufinefs of our recon

ciliation being in so good a hand, not only feasible, but right and effectual.

And Oh! that this confideration might but enter into your ferious thoughts, and make you careful to avoid any new offence. Reconciliation brought about in fo extraordinary a way; in a way that nowifdom lefs than God's could have found out and fhall we fin again! Shall any thing be a fufficient provocation to fin? Shall we do our felves fo great

a mischief? Shall we flight fin? Shall we fin upon eafy terms again? Shall we incur God's difpleafure a fecond time? Oh, take care of this: for to fin after reconciliation, feems to be an irrecoverable thing.

DISCOURSE XLIII.

The Mediation of CHRIST, the Grand Inftitution of Go D.

COL. iii. 17.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Have infifted upon the great benefits that we be

I lieving in Chrift, receive by him, the great

good that God intended to mankind, in the gift

of his fon.

Now I think fit in the next place, to fhew what ufe we are to make of Chrift. What he hath done for us, we have heard; what use we are to make of him, you are now to hear. To which purpose, I have pitched upon this place of fcripture; which is a text remarkable, and doth contain matter, which otherwise than by revelation, could never have been known. It is matter most acceptable to man's mind and understanding. A man might have thought thousands

thousands of years, and never have thought of this way. If God be the great end, Chrift is the means to the end; for Chrift is the way, the truth, and the life. John xiv. 6.

The words will engage your attention, if you confider four things.

1. The high import of the matter: a choice piece of revealed truth, of making ufe of the name of Christ in our addreffes and approaches unto God. It is (as I may fay) a fuperinduction upon the prin ciples of God's creation, a thing transcendent to it. It is a fupplementary provifion of grace. For man having lost himself, and having made void his intereft and access to God, because of his difloyalty, is warranted to make use of a name, whereby he is to gain accefs to God.

2. It is a point of most ordinary practice; not only to make use of him in fome particular cafes, but always to be put in ufe, and in all cafes: therefore we must be well informed in it, for we can do nothing without this knowledge, not fo much as say, I thank God, without either mentioning the name of Chrift in word, or in thought. Nothing is acceptable wherein Chrift is not named. Every body is willing to receive thanks; yet the apostle doth not only fay, whatfoever you do or think; but that, which every body will receive for its own fake, giving of thanks; that must be done in the name of Chrift.

3. It is that which is the proper apoftacy of the latter ages of the world, whereof we are to admonish, to take special notice of; that is the falfifica

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