body; A body hast thou given me, that this body, this human nature, might be a facrifice for fin. God had a mind to fet forth the glory of his juftice to the utmost, and by this engagement it is done. What tho' the whole world were drowned in a deluge of water, or, as Sodom, burnt to ashes ? What tho' all the pofterity of Adam were doom'd to everlasting burning? What tho' every fpire of grafs or atom of duft were a rational creature, and for fin thrown into hell? This would be indeed an excellent act of justice: But what is all this to the juftice executed upon Chrift, when he stood in our ftead? What are all other judgments to his bloody fweat in the garden, and his expiring groans upon a cross? Here is the highest act of juftice imaginable, to make the foul of his dearly beloved Son an offering for fin, when imputed to him. See Rom. iii. 25. Here the awakned fword of justice is drunk to full and complete fatisfaction with the moft noble blood that ever was or could be. God had a mind to fet forth his holiness to the utmost: Now the perfect obedience of men and angels might fet forth his holiness; but what is all this to the obedience of the Son of God, whofe obedience does indeed magnify the law? God's law was never honoured, and his holiness never fhined with fuch a fparkling luftre. God had a mind to fet forth his power to the utmoft; and now the arm of omnipotency was not fo much manifefted in laying the foundation of the earth, and ftretching out the heavens as a curtain, and turning the wheels of providence, as in bringing about the falvation of finners by Chrift; the power of God fupporting Chrift under that load of wrath, which would have crufhed ten thousand worlds. Pfal. lxii. 11. Once have I heard, yea

twice, that power belongeth to the Lord. Once have I heard it in the work of creation and providence, but far more gloriously in the work of redemption, wherein he spoiled principalities and powers, bruifed the head of the ferpent, destroyed the works of the devil, difarmed death, and knocked off the fetters of our spiritual captivity. In a word, God had a mind to fet forth his wifdom to the utmost. Wifdom fhines every moment in the work of creation, it glitters every day in the work of providence; but all the treafures of wifdom are hid in Christ. Here is the wisdom of God in a mystery, the manifold wisdom of God, particularly in uniting the moft diftant extremes; the divine and human nature are united in one perfon, the juftice and mercy of God united in joint harmony for the falvation of finners, without robbing each other of their right, and fo God and man united in an eternal fellowship: Stubble is made to dwell with devouring fire, without being deftroyed; and weaknefs to behold glory, without being overwhelmed; yea, ftraw is made to dwell with everlasting burnings, Ifa. xxxi. 14. Who among us can dwell with devouring fire, &c.? Why, even the believer can dwell with a God of terrible majefty and infinite juftice, and dwell there with fatisfaction, and without hazard of being confumed, because of this engagement of Chrift, whereby juftice is infinitely fatisfied. Thus, I fay, God had a mind to fet forth the glory of his perfections: Now, zeal for this glory of God engaged the mediator's heart to this work. 3dly, He engaged his heart, from a view of his Father's reward, Heb. xii. 2. For the joy that was fet before him, he endured the crofs, &c. and now is fet down at the right-hand of God. Heb. ii. 9. A a 2

His

up

His Father promised him, that, having drunk of the brook in the way, he then fhould lift his head; and accordingly, he having bumbled himself, &c. therefore God bath highly exalted him, Phil. ii. 8, 9. In a word, it was the Father's promife to him, that, upon his making his foul an offering for fin, he should fee his feed, and fee the travail of his foul and be fatisfied: And therefore his heart was engaged to the work. 4thly, He engaged his heart to this work; Why? It was even out of love and pity to loft finners: He faw us helpless and hopeless, and lying in our blood; end then our time was a time of love. Chrift was drawn to this work; but what was it that drew him? Even a cord of love: Love brought him out of heaven, and love nailed him to a cross, and love laid him in a grave, and love made him rife again, and mount up to heaven to agent our caufe. On what defign came he to the world? It was a defign of love. What ficknefs died he of? He was even fick of love, and died in love.

Ofhall

not this love beget love, and engage our hearts to him, whose heart was engaged to this work out of love to us? In a word, it was to engage the heart of finners to him, and fo to make way for their approaching unto God in him.'

Secondly, As to the reafon of our faith, in the laft words of the text, it is built upon a Thus faith the Lord; Who is this, &c. faith the Lord. There is JEHOVAH's teftimony; and why is this added? Why? (1.) Becaufe nothing is more quieting to the confcience of a finner than the teftimony of a God concerning a Saviour: God by his Holy Spirit in the word teftifying of Chrift to the confcience, faying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleafed; true peace of confcience is grounded upon

this teftimony. (2.) Nothing is more fecuring to the foul; for God's teftimony is our fecurity, Pfal. xix. 7 The teftimony of the Lord is fure. It is very fure, Pfal. xciii. 5. Here is ground for the affurance of faith, the fure word and teftimony of a God that cannot lye. (3.) Nothing is more rejoicing to the heart, Pfal. xix. 8. and Pfal. Ix. 6. God bath Spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice; Why? Nothing fpeaks out more love than this, when JEHOVAH fays the word, as well as does the work. The foul cannot but rejoice when the Lord fpeaks in to it; at least, here is ground of joy unfpeakable, John xv. 11. These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (4.) Nothing is more filencing to unbelief than this: Why? Here is the very utmost length that unbelief can go: For, fays the unbelieving heart, If God would fay it, then I would believe it. Well, Thus faith the Lord comes in here, to ruin and filence your unbelief. Here is the reafon of our faith: For you're to obferve two things in the text; the one is, the glorious object of faith, a Chrift engaging himself in our ftead: The other is the convincing reafon of faith; it comes with a Thus faith the Lord. Now, in order to get our faith fixed, and brought to a full affurance and certainty, we are not fo much to look to the object of faith, or the thing to be believed, as to the reafon of faith, and the ground of it, namely, God's teftimony, he fays it: His truth and veracity is at the stake to give a fecurity: It is the great word of the great God. It is not the greatness of a promise that draws our faith, but the fidelity of the promifer; nay, the greater the promife is, the more will we doubt of it, unless there be a ground for believing

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lieving it. If a man of undoubted integrity come and tell you ever fo great things that he is to do for you, and give to you, the greatness of the things promised is not the reafon of your believing him; nay, the greater they are, the further will you be from believing: But the reafon of your believing is, because the man is honeft and able, and a person of intire credit, whom you can trust. Even fo it is here; there is a great thing propofed to our faith, that Chrift, the fent of God, is engaged for our complete falvation; and upon this ground he promifes in the text, I'll be your God, and ye shall be my people. But, the greater it is, the further are we from believing it; and therefore we must have a reafon for our faith; Well, it is here, the God of truth fays it, and we are to take it upon the testimony of the God that cannot lye. When Abraham was ftrong in the faith, and against hope believed in hope, was it the greatnefs of the promise that fupported his faith, or the reasonableness of it? No, no; his body and Sarah's both were dead: But he confidered the veracity and ability of the God that promised, Rom. iv. 21. He was fully perfuaded that he that had promifed was able to perform. When Mofes was fent to Ifrael in Egypt, to tell them that the fet time was come that they were to be delivered from their Egyptian thraldom and bondage, and to be brought to a land flowing with milk and honey; here is a great promife: But O, fays Mofes, how will they believe this? Why, fays God, go tell them that I AM hath fent you, even the God of beings, that can give a being to what I fay. I was known to their forefathers by the name, Lord God Almighty; because I did mightily for them, to wit, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: And now I am

come