too; which he proved in his Attempts upon the first. And we fee that from his Knowledge of our Frailties, he required no more of God, but fuch Permiflion to tempt Job--by leaving him to himself. For it is impoffible that God, who is all Goodness,

fhould

wicked Power. Sometimes their Bodies caft forcibly by him on the Ground. At other Times their Stomachs feized, depriving them of the common Cravings of Nature for Food. But this is probably only purfuing their ufual Strain of Ambition; To wit, for the Sake of a Parallel between them and Job; whofe Body was afflicted by that wicked Sprite. For it is well known that there is fcarcely a remarkable good Man in the Scriptures that they have not given fome paral del Inftance between them and him. But let them imagine or pretend what they will; it is certain that fuch is not the ufual Manner he tempts in. Rather he commonly feals in upon the unguarded Hours of Man, as OTWAY contrives for POLYDORE in his Defigns upon the Virtue of MONIMIA.

"Wait on, and watch her loofe unguarded Hours: "Then when her roving Thoughts have been abroad, "And brought in wanton Wishes to her Heart;

I'the very Minute when her Virtne nods,

I'll, &c.

Polydore has in this Place, exactly filled the Character, and played the Part of a Devil, more compleatly, as to his ufual Subtlety in tempting, than in any Part of MILTON's Paradifes, or DRYDEN's State of Innocence. Wherefore it should be always our Care that Virtue the fure Guardian of Innocence fhould not nod; and that Morals fhould be truly inculcated and indulged, being the Nourishment and Support of Vir

tue.

hould be either an acting or confenting Party to Evil: But he fometime on Account of our Difobedience (or for other Reafons known only to him) fuffers fuch Things to be: As is evident in the Cafe of Adam and Job.

AND tho' Job was as clearly deprived of the Affiftance of God as Adam was; and that there were many more fenfual Objects, then to induce him to yield than when Adam did; who had the human Abilities much ftronger: Yet as God was omniscient in knowing the Effects of leaving his Servant Job to himfelf, as well as he did the Effects of leaving Adam, how wonderful therefore a manifestation was it of his impenetrable Wisdom to do it :--As is clearly evinced from the different Effects of both thefe feeming annalogical Caufes. For as all the Acts of God are for the Better, fo were thefe; which in themfelves feem fevere, nay, deftructive, Trials of his Creature, And especially as the Fall of Adam, which happened by leaving him to himself, was the Ground-Work of a greater Display of the Power, Wisdom, and Love, of God, than if he never fell; (as fhall be hereafter fhewn) Or than could have been poffibly known to his Creatures if he had not fallen. The Reasons because he had provided a Remedy, (as before mentioned), against fuch confequent Effects. And the attoning Power, thus pitched upon, muft of Neceffity N 3

*

have

have taken upon him Humanity; because he must be punished in that Nature for the Crime, which the Frailties thereof occafioned; nor could lefs Excellency than a God, be fufficient to cancel its Guilt; fince it extended to all Mankind.

THIS fhort View fhews that nothing but the pure Love, and unbounded Mercy of God, as well as his moft infinite Wisdom, could be the Motive to this UNION (happy to us!) between our frail Nature and the Godhead in the Perfon of Chrift: Which could not have happened if Man had never fallen. And by this Means and Relationship, we may presume that we in fome Degree are intitled to Privileges in Heaven fcarcely allowable to Angels. The Thought of which Goodness alone, ought to exact from us, all the Praifes, Wonder, and Acknowledgments that the whole Faculties of Soul and Body can yield." Here is Love, not "that we loved GOD, but that he loved us, "and fent his Son as a PROPITIATION for our SINS."

66

WE E are next to confider the Motive that induced Christ to fuffer.---Upon Confideration whereof we fhall find that it refolves into the fame Principle and Motive, that induced God to promife and fend him :---Since there is no fevering the GODHEAD of the Trinity. And therefore that the fame Principle which induced the Father to promife and fend him, induced the Son to fuffer.-

Te

To wit.--LOVE--Pure Love and Mercy :-As alfo, a moft profound Submiffion to the Will of the Father, as he required it; which Chrift fignally inftanced in his extraordinary Act of Refignation in the Garden.

BUT if we fhould ask what was the Caufe of this LOVE and MERCY in God? We must anfwer---Nothing but Love and Mercy. For what Caufe can be found, to occafion any Act of the DIVINE WILL (which is in itself the Caufe of all Caufes) but fuch Caufe as muft refolve in it felf again. We find in Exodus, Cap. 3. Ver. 14. where God is fpeaking to Mofes, that he could find nothing to define himself by, but himfelf again. I AM that I AM, &c.---Tell them that I AM fent you, &c.

Now, fince we find that LovE induced the Father to make Man; and that the fame Principle induced him to promise and fend his Son as a Saviour; and that the fame Principle induced the Son to fuffer; we must

3dly. Confider-----THE SCOPE and DESIGN of fuch his Death and Paffion, and the GOOD that thereby accrued to us. Which is what was purpofed to be confidered under the 3d principal Head of this first Divifion.

SECTION

A

SECTION IV.

S the Cause and Motives of Christ's Sufferings have appeared on the foregoing Confiderations, it will naturally follow, that the SCOPE, DESIGN, and END of his Sufferings were to wash away every Blot and Stain of that original Sin, and of Guilt that accompanied it. And to pre

vent the Punishment that was to be the unavoidable Confequence of both. It was ob taining for us not only a Reprieve but a Pardon, which must have been fealed with the fame Blood that washed away the Guilt of the Crime: No other Sacrifice could be propitiatory to the Father, and that could not be difpenfed with; nor could it fail of absoLute EFFICACY.---For---As all Men died in the first ADAM, fo fhall all be made alive in the fecond ADAM.

Ir is true all that died in Adam, were made alive in Christ, because he obtained a general and abfolute Pardon, for all Mankind, by Virtue of the Covenant of Redemption or Agreement between the Father and the Spi rit on the one Pat, and Chrift, the Word, on the other: Therefore ALL became virtually alive. As well as that whomfoever are revived to the original Life in Adam's State of Innocence, become fo, in and through Chrift. For he obtained, as beforementioned,