z92 ein EXpofttton of the. C IiA P. I I F. They whoweaken, oppofe, or take away this Reconciliation, are.Enemies to the talvation ofmen, the Honour ofChrifi, and the GloryofGod, From men they take theirHopes and Happinefs, from Chrifi his Office and Honour, from God his Grace and Glory. I know they will allow of a Reconciliation in Words, but it is ofMen to God, not ofGod unto men. They would have us reconcile our felves unto' God by Faith and Obedience, but for the Reconciliationof God unto us, by Sacrifice, Satisfaétìon and Attonement, that they deny. Whatwould they have poor {inners do in this cafe ? they are Enemies unto God ; go fay they, and bereconciled unto him; lay afide your Enmity, and be nomore his adverfaries : butalas, he is our Enemy'a/fo; we are chil- dren of wrath, obnoxious to the curie as tranfgreffors ofhis Law, and how (hall we be delivered from the wrath to come ? Takeno care of that, there is no fach Juflice in God, no fuch Indignation againfi fin and Inners as you imagine ; but our Confeiences tell usotherwife; the Lou' ofGod tellsús otherwife; the whole Scripture teffifìesto the contrary, all the Creation is filled with tokens and evidences of this Jullice and Indignation ofGod againfi fin, which you deny : And would you have us togive credit unto you, contrary to the confiant diCtates ofour ownConfeiewes, the Sentence of the Law, theTeftimony of the Word, the Voyce of the whole Creation, and that.in a matter of fuch importance and everlafting concernment unto us ? What if all thefe fhould provetrue, and you fhould prove lyars, fhould wenot perifh for ever, by re- lyingon your teflimony? Is it reafonable we fhould: attend untoyou in this mat- ter ? Go with your Sophifmr untomenwho werenever burdened with a fenfe of the Guilt offn, whole Spirits never took in a fenfe ofGods difpleafure againfi. it, who never were brought under bondage by the fntence of the Law, who never were forced to cry out in the bitternefs and anguith of their fouls, what thall we do to befaved? Wherewith (hall we come before the Lord, or appear before the High God ? and it may be they willbe entangledand reduced by. you; but for thofe who have thus in any meafure known the terror of the Lord, they will be fecured from you by his Grace. &fides, what ground do fuch men leave unto the Lord Chrifl to (land upon as it were in his Interceffionfor us in Heaven ? Do 'they not take that blood out of his hand, which he is carrying into the Holy Place ? And how do they defpoil him of his Honor, in taking offrom his work ? a miferable employment ; when men ihallfludy and take pains to perfwadethemfelves and others, that Chrifi path not done that for them, whichhe hath done for all that are his ; andwhich if he bath notdone for them, they mull perifh for evermore ; Is it worth the while for them to weaken Faith, Love and. Thankfulnefs unto Chrifi? From whom can fuch men look for their Reward? Can Right Reafon, or a Light within, be no otherwife adored, but by facrificing the blood ofChrifl' unto them ? no otherwife be enthroned, but bydew- him from his Office, and takinghis workOut ofhis ,hand ; and by an horrible in- gratitude, becaufe they know noother coulddo that work, to conclude That it is need- lefs ? Are men fo refolvednot to be beholding unto Jefus Chriti, that rather thangrant that he bathmade Reconciliation forus by his blood ,ehey will deny that there was any need that any fuch Reconciliation fhould be made ? O the depths of Satan ; Oh the flupidity and.blindnefs of men that are taken aliveby him, and lead captive at his pleafure. 2. They whowould come untoGod by Chrifl, may fee what in the firfi place, they are to look after. Indeed if they are oncebrought into that Condition wheiein they will ferioufly look after him, they will not beable to lookfrom it, though for a while it may be they will be unwilling to lookunto it. Reconciliation they mull have, or they can have no pesce. This lyes ftraight before them; theyare willing it may be to look upon theright hand, andthelefr, to feed there be any thing nigh them that will yield them relief; but all is in vain : If any thingelfe gives them cafe, it gives thempoyfon': if it givesthempeace, it gives them ruine. Reconciliation by the blood ofChrift is the only relief fortheir fouls.. Andnothingmore difcovers the vanity of much of that Religion which is in the world, than the regardlefnefsof men inlooking after this, which is the Foundation-11one of any durable building in the things ofGod. This they will do, and that they will do, but how they fhallhave an intere/ in the Reconciliationmade for fin, they trouble not themfelves withall. I I. The LordChrifl fuferedunder all his temptation, finned in none. He fuffered be- ing tempted, -finnednot being tempted. He had the Heart ofa man, the Affections of a man, and that in the higheft degree ofkrife and tendernefs. Whatever fudkrings the
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