Of the l(,nowled_'!, of (jod the Father, ~ that Man at '}e>'ufolcm, did, by the like Example alled by him, teach us Men to BooK Ill. die unto our being Creatures, which hath been ~o~monly termed b~ them, de– ~ ihoying of Fldh, dN. and then to nfe up m Spmt unt? that Bemg 111 the form of God, and one in Spirit wah God, even as Ch~tit h1mfelf afore the World had done, and thereby prefervcd h1mfelf from R.u111 : and thts 1s the Covenant of Grace, Cty they i thus Chriit became the Head of the.New Creation, as he wos Author of the firfl:. 3· That great a~d excellently Learned _Man, Sir Franck Baco11, in a confef– fion of faith, whtch I "had 111 Manufcnpt, under hts Hand, about forty fix Years ago, and fince printed 164 I, but without his Name, his words are thefe, 'I believe that God is fo Holy, Pure, and Jealous, as it is impoffible for him 'to be pleafed in any Creature, though the Work of his own Hands; fo that 'neither Angel, nor Man, could il:and, or can il:and one moment in his Eyes, ' without the behold111g of the fame 111 the Face of a Medtator : and thertfore 'before him, with whom all Things are prefent, the Lamb of God was flain 'afore all the World ; without which Eternal Purpofe of his, it was impojfible 'for him to have defcended to any Work of Creation, but he !hould have en– ' joyed the bldfed and individual Society ofthree Perfons, in the God-head only 'for ever. But that out of his Eternal and Infinite GoodneiS, and Love, pur– ' paling.to become a Creature, and communicate with his Creatures, He or– ' dained, in his Eternal Counfel, that one Perfon of the God-head, !hould be ' united to one Nature, and to one particular of his Creatures, that fo in the ' Perfon of the Mediator, the true Ladder might be fixed, whereby God might ' defcend to his Creatures, and bis Creatures afcend unto bim. Arid in his fifth Paragraph it follows; ' That by virtue of this his Eternal Counfcl, touching a Mediator, he de– ' fcended, at his own good pleafure, and according to the Times and Seafons to 'himfelf known, to become a Creature; who by his Eternal Word created all 'Things, and by his Eternal Spirit doth comfort and preferve them. T here are two Things in his il:ating this, which I do not readily aifent nnto. 1. That Chriil: was confidered by God as the Lamb (lain, and from the fore– fight of his Death ; and the Second Perfon undertaking to become the Lamb !lain, it was, that God defigned to create, even as through and for his Death, as afore con!idered, he ordained to redeem Man, confidered then as fallen : But this needed not as to Creation, there being no fuppofttion of Guilt in that which was nothing, which all Things afore their Creation were; and befides, though his taking our Nature, was defigned and proved to our Redemption from Sin, )'et fufficient alone to move him fimply to make and create meer Creatures, was that ether R.eafon which he gives, that one Perfon of the God-head !hould be united to one of his own Creatures; in whofe Perfon, fo united, God's Holi– nels and Purity would fully be pleafed to defcend to cre.re other fellow Crea– tures for him and his Glory. Let Chrifl:"s Blood then frand to reconcile Sinners,or thofe that were in danger to fin ; and let his bare undertaking to be united to a Creature, be a fufficient relief againil: the meannefs of meer Creatures, and by their Defects to ftt forth his Glory. The Creature alone confidered, had not been worth the making,without this Deftgn; Cbrifl:"s Perfon alone was an abun– dantly well-pleafing Medium, or Mediator of Union to the Elell, and of il:a– bility umo the frailty and unworthinefs in Creatures. ?.. The fccond thing (which may il:umble feme) in this Aifertion is, that he f.1ys, It was impoffible for God, without this Counfel or Decree (namely, of Chrifl:'s Incarnation) to have defcended to any Work of Creation, &c. Which Expreffion, unleiS underfl:ood of an Impoffibility, ex Hypotheji, by way of Suppofition, (that God would not have been pleafed with any, or all Works his Power could make, unlels this Perfonal Union of fome Creature with God, had been added and undertaken) would have a Danger in it, and a great Ab– furdity. Only as of a Wife Man it is (aid, He cannot do that which bis Wifdom and
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