z86 On t!ie Nati'"'uity. fer·ve !Jim wi.t!]outftar, in holinefl am{~ig1Jteott/Jtefl before him,*· In a word, Chrifl: came· into the world to advance the glory of God,_and the happinefs of the eanh, by refloring us to rhc favour of our maker, and · a conforn1ity to him. And certainly, ifwe have any fenfe of the evil of fin or the tni– fery of hell, of'the be_autyof holinefs .or the glory .of heaven, .it muJl needs be a n1atter of great joy to celebrate the birth oJ hi~l who doth deliver us fron1 the one, and give us affurance of the other. . It ren1aineth yet, that we fpeak ·of the .. circun1flances of the· nativity \vhich \Ye cele,brate; and many things prefent th~m- . felves full of C()n1fort and infiruction. We fhall only obferv~ our Saviour's ~on1ing in- . _ to the world after that manner which did beft fnit with his ·ddign. Indeed when a man fhould hear of the Son of God's coming down frori1 heaven, and n1aking a progrefs into the IQwer world, he would be apt to think that his appearance ·would be with the greateil: fplendor and Jnagniflcence, and that the glory of heaven fuould continually attend and fignalize his perfon ; at leafi, that all the princes i.n the world fhould be fm.11moned to attend his reception, and that · the * Luke i. 74, 7 ;,.
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