Ver 18, the 17th Chapter of St. JOHN. 269 we loved God, but that he loved to, and f nt hi, Son to be the Propitiation for our Sine; There is nothing too near, nor too dear for us. It will take the more with us, if we confider the infinite complacency and contentment God had in Chrift, yet he feat hìi Son. Man's Love is defenfive, he loves his Children out of defign of Immortality, be- caufe he lives in them. God had no reafon to do fo, he had many reafons io the con- trary, yet he Cent his Son to die for us, when we were Enemies. And his Sin is lent g What to do ? Not only to treat with us, hot only to borrow a Tongue to fpeak to us; but to take a Body to die for us, to be fubllituted in our room and (lead. 4. It informs us of the great condefcention of Chrift, that he fubmitted to be fent. PfaI. 4o. 7, 8. Then faid I, Lo, I come ; in the Polume of the Book it is tbritten of me: I delight to do thy Will, 0 my God : yea, thy Law it within my Heart. He was ready, when God would fend him, like a Servant ready to be difpatched upon his Errand. That Chrift would be fent, that he would take our Nature, not while it was inno- cent, but when it was guilty, liable to the Wrath of God, when all Mankind were proclaimedTraytors and Out-Laws; and whoever partaked of oùr Nature, was to partake of our Sorrow ! yet then was Chrift Cent ; he came in the fmililude of frnful Flefh, Rom. 8.3. Chrift did not partake of the infe(lion of our Nature ; he was not a Sinner, by being born of our Stock, the Infeétion was flopped by the Holy Ghoft 5 but he took our Nature, when it was finful, tainted with Sin, and in this Meffage and Errand he laid afide his Majefiy, and by an unfpeakable difpenfation he abllains from the full ufe and exercife of the Godhead, not from the Godhead it Celf. Therefore, he prays, John r 7. s. 1nd now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own Pelf, with the Glory which I bad with thee before the World was. He begs for his Glory again, which he had laid afide for a while. It cannot be meant of the Divine Nature, for to that no., thing can be given ; it cannot be meant of Humane Nature, becaufe that is not capa- ble of the Glory which Chrift had before the World was; the meaning is, he defires to be reltored to the full ufe of the Godhead, from which he had abftained by an un- fpeakable Difpenfation a long time, and by the interpofition of his Humane Nature, the Glory of the Godhead was, as it were, eclipfed, as a Candle in a Dark Lanthorn ; and therefore he defires, that the Vail might be taken away, and he might return a- gain to the full ufe of the Godhead, having done his Work. It is irkfome to us to go back a few degrees in Pomp and Pleafure, even upon juft and convenient Reafons ;. but how did Chrift condefcend and ftoop, when he was thus fent into the World by God for our fakes ! q. Here is fome,ground of Comfort to them that believe; you may offer to God a Mediator -of his own chufing, one that was authorized by himfelf. When you plead with God, you may fay, Lord ! thou haft feat thy Son : Or when you plead with your own Hearts, you may urge them with this, God feat him to be helpful to my Soul. There things may be obferved from the firft thing, the Miffion of Chrift. SERM.
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