106 s E R M 0 N On CO LOSS. I. ::w: And ( h~ving made peace th~ougb the blood of his Crofs) by Htm to reconczle aft tbmgr unto himfel[, by Him, I Jay, whether they be tbingr in Earth, or thingi in Heaven. THat GodwtU i1z Chrijl, reco11ciling the World to himftlf, is the Sum of. and the Theme which the Gofpel dilates upon, :2. Cor.5. 19, and the Tit!~ . the Apo!lle gives therefore to the DoCtrine of the Gofpel, is, The word of Reconciliatio11, to wit, That God was i11 Chrif/, (!)c. that is, That God the Father had from everlafling made this hii efl'ectal bufinefs, which he hath plot– ted, and been defirous to bnng about; and tiJat though all thi11gs are of him, ver..t8, yet tillS above all the rdt And that God. the Father hath a_ppointed Chnfl, as the Means to accompldh tt, wtth full fausfachon made to hts Juflice. GodwM i11 Chrif/, (!)c. God the F<•thtr's part, I have already handled out of a·nother Scripture; more proper to that Argument, and how far it was advanced by him. Firlt, By taking up a firong and unalterable Refolution, to gather in one the Sons of Men, fcattered from him, Eph. 1 .g, 10, It is declared to be the lrfyf/ery of hi&Wz!J, which he purpofod in hzmfolj,accordilzg to his good pleafurt; and as this Text tells us, It pteafedHim. It had been his lull meaning, his everlafling intent and pur pole; yeo, a matter of the greatefi delight to him, as 1rr. ~· 24i11 jbewi11g Mercy, on the Earth, not in Hell, therein u my delight. This Pur. pofe was fed with delight, and therefore vanifht not. And the greater men are, the greater delights they ufe to have; and this being God's, mufi needs be a mat– ter of infinite moment and confequence; his heart being in it fo much, and he being fet upon it, Secondly, This Pt~rpofolaynotidle in him, but fct him awork, his lfi[dom awork; and out of thofc his infinite depths, found out and invented a way and means of effecting our Reconciliation, evm the I11car1wtio" m1d 'Death of his oWJI So11; before the wound was given, provided a Plaifler and fufficient remedy to falvc alla~ain, which otherwife had been pafl finding out. For we who could never have found out a Remedy for a Cut-finger, (had not God prefcribed and appointed one) could much lefs for this. It being a cafe of that difficulty (fup– poling his Ju]lice refolving to have full fatisfaction; which, as it p>ffed all the Creatures power to make, fo it paffed their<kill and thoughts to find our, how, and by whom, it might be effected.) The 'Dwits, they could not imagine any \vay, no more for us 1han for themfelves; and therefore tempted Man, thinking him, when he had finned, fure enough; tnd Hell· gates fo flrongly locl<r, that no Art could find or make a Key to open them, a Power to break them open. And Ad,Jm,poor Man! he trembled,knew not which way to turn himfelf; and thought God would have flown upon him prefcntly. The good Angels, they i:11ow it /;ut 1:)' tbe Ch11rch, Eph. 3.1o. In this ilrait, aforehand God fer his depths awork to find out One, in and by whom all this might be accommodated, and (to allude to Abr,>ham's Speech,) provided bim(e!j' a Sacrifice, unknow.n to us,. . .. Thirdly, 1t bath been fhewn, that He, to mamfcft Ius fcnoufnefs tn 1t callea Ius So11 to it. Whom, Fourthly,We i)ave Jhewn atllis entreaty to have been fully willing,and undertook it. I
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