A SERMON Oil there etTentially, but manifefiative, therefore God hath revealed many of his reafons, ~nd ltts us at leaf\ fee the convemenc1es and harmonies of this Plot. , III. It is faidtobe his Will, to dillinguifh this greatefl work of all his work,, pd t:x:trll, to Wit, the Incanzatton •f hts Son, as where.m the cluefell good did. communicate h•mfclft? h1s Creatures by the nighefi union, to the utmofi; yet to difiingui!h 1t lrom Ius works ad extra, and !hew that it was not neceffary (as A11jelm, and others have thought,)being deceived with this reafon Summu,;. 6o11umJua commrmicare Op_ortet, It became him indeed to do fo, b~t lt was not neceffar:r:, and 1t became h1m not as any part of his Intrinfecal perfections , to commumcate h1mfelf, for then he had always done it; but as having infinite per– leGhons m l11m 1t became h1m to perfect others by them : It i,s a work you fee cf h1s Wtll not of h1s Nature. To beget h1s Son as God was ah act of his Nature . therefore could not be otherwife, but to prepare a body for him; ·~nd that h; • ihould be born the Son of Man was an act of h1s w,u, Lo whm he comes i1lto tht world, hefa)'S,f!x. Ar he6egetsusof hisow11Wtlt. J <tmrs '· · Will you know how much his Will was in it, how llrongly fet ; know, for fur– ther explicauons fake, that the takmg away of fins by the Incarnation of Chrifi was one ofhis greatell refolutions and the llrongell that ever he took up,not fimp: ly ave!letty or mclmablenefs fo as he could be content1t were done;But it was that upon which his Will was more fer than ever upon _any thing he was deeply and intimately affected unto, fa as h1s thoughts are fa1d to run moll upon it and to be taken up With lt. And his delights alfo, the chiefell of them were in it which continued it from everlalling; all purpofes vanilh if not fed with delight, but this purpofe became matter of greatefi delight: Gladder (as it were,) he was that he fhould fee this effected, than any thing elfe that was in his power to effect, this you may fee ground for in Pfat. 40. r. which place I quote,becaufe this Text is taken out of the next words,to wh1chth~t rth. verje is a Pretace, Mm!Y fayshe (in the Gene– ral,) arethrwonderfulworkswhichthouhafldone, and thy thou~hts to tiS· ward cmmot be recko~tul, his mi11d bath fo run 011 tu from evtrlafling. And then for infiance he brings in this of giving his Son; Sacrifice a11d Burnt Offe– ritigs, (§c. as if he lbould have faid, This of all other is the grtateft inflance of all his works of wo11der, This his thoughts were mojl upo11, fo mm!Y that they caunot 6r numbrtd; this is his maller-piece which he brings in hzj/ar om11ittm,in fiead of all. And add but unto this Prov 8. r~- where you fhall fee the curious Qgefiion in part refolved, What God did before the World was made? How he ran out that Eternity and what his thou~lltS and delight moll ran upon,and you have it refol– ved by onewbo knew lm mmd,was ofh1s Counfel,the mighty Counfellor as being the wifdom of the Father, as be is there llyled, That WM 6y him 6tforr he made the World, ver.22,2 ~.1!Jc. Thrn was I ver. ~o. ( afJ the whilr,) 6y him, who came out of his bojom; he compares himfelf to a Child brought up by the Pa· rent, I wM 6rot~ght up witb htm, laJ in his bofom ; And what did they toge· ther? Two things. ' Firll, They delighted one with another, and one in another. The Father that he was able to beget fuch a Son like him, Coeternal with him, I was dmly his delight; and this ;vas delight enough, though ~o Creature had been made; and obferve it, that ot all works ad rxtra towards h1s Creatures wh1ch he was to do, he mentions none but the difpenfation towards the Sons of Men, and his delight therein next to the delight they had each in other. S(condly, R ejoyceing in the habitable parts of the Earth, Andmy delights were with the SotJs of Mm which do iuhabit here 6t!ow, and jilt the Earth. Now What could it be lhould afford God thoughts of delight about the Sons of Men'fo long aforehand, to look and fee them all at one dap turn'd Rebels a– gainfi him, and view them mufler'd together in Troops agawlt h1m ; tlus could miniller none but fad and difconfolate thoughts, It pai11rd hnn al the hMrt; Gm.
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