108 A SERMON on &condty, Hereby He was one that was peculiarly fit to deal with both and to have a hand and firoke in both, and both with him. ' For now, as Zach.q.7. He is become the Man, God's Fellow; andfo, more !ban Man. He had not elfe been meet to deal with God; it had been robbery m a meer Man to have arrogated fuch an equahty,.wh1ch yet was not in him Phi!. 2. For as_God fays, Jer. 30.21• who but He coulddraw nigh to me, fo nea~ as thus, to Mediate? Who durfi attempt, or prefume, or engage his heart to doit? But Him, beil!g my Fellow, I wilt cau{e to draw mgh 1mto me · and there is no unfitnefs, no difparagement in it; which if he had been but a Crea– ture, would have ~een. And, Secondly, He being the Man, God's FeOow, we may draw nigh to him, and He to Us. For why, as m the fame,'!er. 30. 2. Becomes out of the mid{/ of lff. So alfo, Heb+r4, '5· S" what a fit H1gh Pr~ejl, by rhis, He is made for us, fo as we m,"!Y bold!Y draw 11ear, verfe r6. tothe Throne of Grace; that is, Suing wt have agreat Htgh Prtef/; not limply an H'gh Pr,iejl, but a great Htgh Priej/, no !efs than J E SVS, the Son of God , who may draw nigh to God for us, But you might fay, This is too high a Priefl, too Great for tu to draw nigh to. Therefore he adds, But 'jet h• is 11ot all HJgh Priejl, which. cmmot be touched with the feelmg of otlr I11jrmitiu; that is, is a Man as we are, and therefore · fubje~ to the fame feeling of pain and miferies, which (as God) he is not ; and therefore we may come boldly to him and make our moan, &c. as in the 1 6th verfe. And Thirdly,(which is a Reafon beyond all this)By this peculiar fitnefsof his, he is fitted to communicate the benefit of His Mediation to us, which without it He had not done; and therefore this fitnefs of his is a matter of great confequence and momeor. · Now the benefit we were to receive by His Mediation, was to have Righteouf– nefs from him, fo as to appear in God's fight without tin; and fo to be brought into favour, and that fo great, •as to be the Som of God. Now, in that the Son of God took our Nature, He wasfitted to do this. For, That we might have His Righteoufnefs communicated to us, it was fit that our Nature lhould be a Fountain or Cifiern of it firfi; elfe what peculiar claim copId we make to it more than other Creatures? Heb.2,1 1. this Reafon is given, He that (anflifieth, audthey that are Janflified are one, that is, £~ irlr, ejujdtm Natur£. Had they not been fo, He could not fo fitly have been made Righ– teoufnefs and San~ification to us; and therefore (fays he, 1ohn '7• 19,) For their .fakes fimflijie I my{elf; that is, .My Htmtaue Natt~re, which he c~IIs him– felf, as one Per(on with himfelf; for his Oeicy was fanCl:ified from everlafiing, that they may6e fmtflified; that is, Partakers of" the fame R ighteoufnefs that I have. And this is one Reafon he gives in Heb. 2. why, ;~""• it behaved him, verfe ro. that Jo he might fantltfie us, by firfi fan~ifyingour Nature. For it was fit, that That Nature which had tinned, lhould be fan~.fied, to colldemn fin ill our flefb, as the Apofile reafons, Rom.8. and fo now it is fitly imputed to us, as done for us. And therefore a Redeemer in the Old Law was to be a Kitlfman, he had right of Redeeming only, Ltvit.25.25. and Ruth4· 4. 5, 6, 7· and therefore the Hebrew word, Goet, fignifieth a Redeemer and a Kin[man. And Chrifi therefore, that He might have right of Redeeming and San~ifying; and they a right in his Redemption, it was fit they lhould partake of one, Where– for<: v.14- of Htb. 2. Fora(m11ch as the Chtldrm were partakers of" j/t{b and htood,C!ic. He alfo, that fohe might be of a kindred to them, and rightfully call them Brethren, verfe 11. and to make them Sons of God, as himfelf wos, John.1.12. . · And hence now, by reafon of the want of this very fitnefs, the benefit of his Modiation, fo as to convey Righteoufiu(s is not intended to Angels; and tilere– fore it isexclutively added, v.r6. He took not on him the Nature of" A11g;ls; they· had not this benefit by it, becaufe not their Nature, So as rhis fit1u(s IS a thmg God much !ookt at and refpe~ed ; for though of never fo great a value in. it felf, yet cloth good but to thofe for whom He was then fo properly and peculiarly afit Mediator, namely, Men. · ln
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