26 OftheNATIVITIE. Sermon4. Ails 1.7. herelivech ;. and therefore let this "Vi"l''•fia)' us. The Times And Sea(ons He hathptttin Hi< owntpower,zt u notfort~& to know them. This IS for us to know, that wuh His appointment, we mull: come to a full point. So doth the<..ApoJ!le, and fo let us, and not bulie ourfelves muchwith ir,time is bur the meafr~re or caske, that wherewith it isjilfed,dothmore coneerne us. Totharrherefore !erus come. I 2. (Jod[tnt. I The degrees arefeven (as Ifaid.) To take them as they rife. tMijit Dem, Godfent. That ll:andeth firll: ~ and at it, let our firll: ll:ay be. That will fall out to make theftrft de– gree. For,eventhts,that Go o fentatall, IpJI"~mittercDei, this veryfendingitfelfe,is a degree. Itts fo; and fo we would reckon of It, tfwe knew theSender, and who He is ;the MAjejfie ofHis prefence how great it is, and howglorious, how farre furpalling all we can fee on earth. For Him, for fuch an one as He, to condefcend,buttofend;is fure a degree. For enouoh it had beene.,and more than enough for llim,ro befent to; and not to fcndHimfe!fe.To ha~e fit Hill, and beene contenr, that we mightfend to Him,andhaveour mclfage and petition ad– mitted,and not Htfend to us. That had beene as much as we could looke for,and well,ifwe might have beene vouchfafed but that. But it wasl/ethatfent: not nie to Him firfi, nay, not wetol/tmatall, but lie to m. · He to us? And what werewe, thatllttoru? Vs, (as elfe-where He rermethus)meere Eph.•. n. Aliens from Him, andHis llot<}/,oldc Not that onely, but Vs, in cafe ofmen,whom the Law had palfed upon. (So is our ellate defcribed in the end oftheText.)For Him, to{end to11s., [ ogreat as He,ro fuch as we; to thinkeru, tanti, fo much wonh, as to make anymifion, or motion, orro difeafeany about us; This may well bethejirft. Be it then fo; thattbru, or for"', or concerning ttS, Go o would trouble H~rnfe!fe to make anyfending .. Afielnef!e there is in this. Frdl He was; afulne)Je there wasmHtm, (eventhefrelneffiofcornpafioninHis bowels over ourell:ate)dfc fuch aSender would never once have (ent. · 2 Go o fen.t .· Sent, and.fent His SoN N•: That, (I make no quell:ion,)will beare a Husmt.flcond. othersHe might have·fem; and who{oever it had beene He had fenc, it might well hav.eferved our tl)rnes. Iffenc by.~he hand ofa~y His Servants, any Patriarch, Prophet, any ordinary meJ!enger, it·had beene enough• So, httherto had beene his Sending. So, and no ocherwife, evertill now. · , . . . Then)'ifte fendbyAny may feeme fufficienr, to fend His SoN N•, mull needs feeme :. · .fr~U. For ever the moree,.<Jellenc thePerfonfertt, the more honourable thefending: the t,:o!.>.g. grtater He, thefieH~r it. Now,grtater there is not thanHis Sonne, Hisftrjl, His onely begottm Sonne, in whom ihefrilnej{e oftile'God.headdwelt; In fending Him, He fent the greateft, the beft, the frt!lejf thing He had. · _, Toheape themeafureupyet more, with the car{e ofHisfending, in the word ·~.,.;,.., ... 'lpwas' voluntary .•· He fenc Him not for need : buc for meere love to us, acd nothing elfe. There was no ahJ!.lttte nmfity that He lhould have fent Him. He might have done what He i;lrenlled, bytf!e meanes and minill:ery offomebelides. Go o could have enabled aCrea– tllre"1 aCreatureenabled by Go o, andthepOJverofEiis might, could foone have troddowne 8Aial1 under or~rfeet' ·But ifit had beene any otherHe had feur, His love and regard eo us had n@t lhe'wed fo ft•ll. ' 'lt hadbeene,:oftendit Deus charitatem, but not, Ec.ce quantam charitA- ' lob. 3· 1 • t'emojlendit Deut. Whomfoever He had fent bclides, His love had nm beenefi•O: at leafi, not {o ftdl as it QJould have beene, ifHe had fent His Sonne. That therefore it might befull, and fo appeareto us forfidl, Mijit Dmsftlir~mfrcum. Enough it was, in compaffion ofour efiat!l, to have relecved us byany : Men chat are in need eo be releeved, care not who they be that doe it. Enough then for compafion: but notenough to manifefi tht fulnt([e ofHis love, unlerfe toreleeveus, Hefent His owne Sonne. 3 This is full. one 'would t)1ii\ke: Yet, the tMAnner of Hisf~ndingHim, is {11/ltr Jli!l. Made. tMijit Filium; Filium faCium. 'S~nt His Sonne; His Sonne mAde. Senc Him, and fent Him madt: This is a third. rFor if He would have fenr Him, Helhould not have fent him-made : but as He was, neither made nor created, but like Himfelfe in His owne efiate,' as was meet for the Sonne oj'Gbd, to be fent. To 11Jakt Him any thing, is to marre Him ,be'it what it will be. ''fbjJndl!im made, is to {end Him marred, and no better. There– fore! make no doitbt, C'l'i' J\'i :s' r s fending is one degree, Hismakingis3n~her: So to '' ,. [md I '
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