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God, became the furety, to take the matter upon himself And not only to intreat, but to deferve the highest favour and falvation for the finner. That thy Mediator is God as well as man, to perfonate both, and secure the interefts of both: To give satisfaction to the holy juft God, in fulfilling all righteoufnefs; and alfo to give the most comfortable relief to miserable finners, by fuch a worthy and fuf. ficient atonement, made on their behalf, wherein God has declared himself well pleased.

And that the offended Majefty would be pleased to fatisfy himself, out of his own treafures, (where it could no way else ever be done) that his own wifdom and goodness would intercede, and prevail with himself, to forgive and be kind, when justice called for punishment: this doing it for his own fake fhall make me fo far from difputing the payment, or difowning the free grace, that I will look upon the favour as fo much the higher, and the obligation as fo much the ftronger when God would lay the design himself, and not withhold his Son, coequal with himself, who fhared with him in his glory, "before the world was," John xvii. 5. And he that made all things, muft needs be before them; and if before them; then from everlasting. For who could give beginning to God Almighty? and yet, who that were lefs, could be the maker of heaven and earth?

I will believe my Lord Jefus then to be, what he calls himself, Rev. i. 11. " Alpha and Omega, the "firft and the laft:" and "greater than the tem"ple," Matt. xii. 6. Because he had the Godhead perfonally united to his human nature, and not only for a while resident in him, like the temple, that was a type of him. Therefore I obferve, that when the Jews accufed him, for making himself God, John x. 33. He did not deny the charge; (as certainly he would have done, for God's fake, and for

ours;

ours; if he had been but a man, he would not have fet up himself a rival in his Father's throne; nor an idol to enfnare and ruin, inftead of faving our fouls:) but he only retorts upon them for calling them gods, whom they knew to be but men: and at the fame time denying his Deity; who did the works which none but God himself could accomplish. And indeed, my soul, where were the wonderful condefcenfion, and fuch mighty humbling of himself, to be made in the likeness of men, if he had not been God, before he was man? As God therefore, I admire, and adore, and bless him; that he would fo ftrangely ftoop, to take our nature upon him, to catch hold of it, as finking into ruin, and unite it to his own, never to be parted; but above all the angels in heaven to be for ever glorified. And O what too great now for me to expect from fuch a Redeemer! let my needs be never fo preffing, and my dangers never fo threatening, cannot he supply me, and fecure me? is any thing too hard for God? I know whom I have believed, and the pardon of all my fins, the whole juftification of my perfon, and the eternal falvation of my foul; how easily by him can they be effected: To him therefore I look; on him alone I depend, and in him I will still believe, to the faving of the foul.

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THE PRAYER.

Bleffed Jefus, I look to thee, I truft in thee, and depend upon thee, as my Lord and my God: thou art fo the only-begotten of the "Father, that, like thee, there is no other; and "fo related to him, as to be equal with him. Have

mercy upon me, O thou Son of God, as well as "the Son of David! Yea, thou that art very God, "able to the uttermoft to fave me, by virtue of thy VOL. I. "eternal

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"eternal Deity and power almighty, make thy "great falvation effectual to me. O help me, Lord, "both as thy creature, and thy redeemed, to be"lieve in thee, and give up myself to thee; to fol"low and ferve thee, to love and pleafe, to honour "and glorify thee, as long as I have my being. "Amen."

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MEDITATION VIII.

Of the Incarnation of our blessed Saviour.

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HOUGH fome now begin to make it a controverfy, whether there be any mystery in Chrif tianity, yet a more authentic writer has affured thee, O my foul," without controverfy, great is "this myftery, God manifefted in the flesh, Tim, iii. 16. And that the Word should be made flesh; the Son of God become the Son of man; and he that made the world, be made of a woman: that the fhould receive him, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and bring him forth, as a new-born infant, who was from everlafting: that he should be born, who beareth all things; the Creator be humbled into a creature; he that was before Abraham, come into the world two thoufand years after Abraham; David's Lord to be made of David's feed; and he brought lower than the angels, who is over all, bleffed for ever: if there be nothing abftrufe and profound in all this, then what is ftrange and unaccountable in the world? and where is that depth, in which the elephant may fwim, and the wifeft diver find no bottom? he that over-fhadowed the virgin Mary, has alfo caft a fhadow over this myf

tery;

tery; that where we wonder at it, yet we cannot fee through it. Our Redeemer's name is wonderful, and who fhall declare his generation? it is true, God in whom we all live, and move, and are, is not far from every one of us; but in Chrift Jefus dwells all the fulness of the Godhead, fo as never elfe in any creature. And he that counts it no robbery to be equal with God, has taken part of our flesh and blood; and was "in all things made like to his brethren," Heb. ii. 14, 17. He came and pitched his tabernacle in our nature, and dwelt among us, taking even frail duft and ashes into an infeparable unity with the everlafting Deity. And fo that which is moft admirable in itself, proves moft comfortable unto us; and we may look upon it, not fo much to astonish, as to refresh us; seeing he is gone as far to cleanfe us, as ever Adam did to defile us; and was conceived of the Holy Ghost, to provide a remedy for the pollution of our finful conception. Here (to allude to that in Pfal. lxxxv. 10, 11.) "Mercy and truth are met together, righ"teoufnefs and peace have kiffed each other." For God is fatisfied in his Son, and for his fake reconciled to my foul. And this truth springing out of the earth, righteoufnefs has looked down from heaven. Chrift, the true vine, growing out of his virgin mother, produces fruits to glad the heart of God and man. In his body prepared for him he has wrought the wonders of redemption for us: and "to us the child was born; to us the Son was given," Ifa. ix. 6. And to whom was this errand, but to poor loft finners?

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Here then, my foul, understand the kindness of thy friend, coming to thee upon fo ftrange a vifit, and gather up thefe acts and monuments of the Lord Chrift, as negotiating on thy behalf. Confider him fhut up in the confinement of the womb, to keep thee from the prison of hell? brought forth

into the light of this world, to bring thee into the glory of the next; made lower than the angels, to exalt my nature above them; not afhamed to call us brethren, that the Moft High might not difdain to be called our Father.

Rejoice, O daughter of heaven; for behold thy King comes to thee. A King that is able; and thy King that is willing to do for thee. Kings do not ufe to vifit and wait on their fubjects: no, these think themselves kindly used, when but admitted to wait upon them. But the King of kings bows his heavens, and comes down to us, to be our EMMANUEL, God with us, that we might not be afraid of one fo like to us. And he comes, as the gladdeft meffenger, with pardon to the condemned; and brings the fweeteft news of falvation to them ready to perish. Now, if Abraham rejoiced to fee his day afar off, and angels defire to look into his tranfactions, though not immediately relating to themselves, O how mayeft thou rejoice, my foul, to fee that come and done which more concerns thee than all things elfe in the world? That the Lord of love has fo remembered thee in thy low eftate, and taken the way to raife thee to the higheft glory; to bring the God that was fallen out with thee for thy fin, to look fweet upon thee in his Son? and how God could overlook the unworthiness of his offending creatures, thou feeft by his affuming their nature. And God in my very nature, O how fweetly is it fuited to the particular exigence of fuch a finner! 'Tis I, faith our blessed Saviour, be not afraid I that came down among men, not in fire and burnings, to fcar and confound them; but clothed in the garments of their own flesh, to endear myself to them: look unto me and be faved, all the ends of the earth. Come to me, and believe in me, that ye may never perish, but have everlafting life. And whither elfe wilt thou feek, my soul ?

nor

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