1he Love of God to lt/len, Vol. I. might live through him. Each of thefe: finglyis a great Evidence of God's Love tous ; much more all of them together. L It is a great Evidence of the Love of God to Mankind, that he was pleated to take our Cafe into Confderátion, and to concern himfelf for our Happinefs. Nothing does more commend an Ad of Kindnefs, than if there be great Conde- fcenfion in it. We ufe to value a (wall Favour, if it be done to us by one that is far above us, more than a far greater, done to us by a mean and inconfiderate Per- fon. This made David to break out into fuch Admiration, when he confidered the ordinary Providence of God towards Mankind, Lord, what is Man, that thou art mindful of him ! or the Son of Man, that thou fhouldfl confider him ! This is a wonderful Condefcenfion indeed, for God to be mindful of Man. At the heft we are but his Creatures, and upon that very Account at an infinite Diftance from him ; fo that were not he infinitely good, he would not be con- cerned for us, who are fo infinitely beneath the Confederation of his Love and Pity. Neitherare we of the higheft Rank of Creatures ; eve are much below the Angels; as to the Excellency and Perfection óf their Beings ; fo that if God had not had a peculiar Pity and Regard t6 the Sons of Men, he might have placed his Affection and Care, upon a much nobler Order of Creatures, than we are, and fo much the more miferable, becaufe they fell from a higher ftep of Happinefs, I mean the loft Angels ; but yet for Reafons heft known to his Infinite Wifdom, God raft by them, and was pleated to confider us.- This the Apoftle to. the He- brews takes notice of, as an Argument of God's peculiar and extraordinary Love to Mankind, that he feat his Son, not to take upon him the Nature of Angels, but of the Seed of Abraham. Now that he, who is fo far above us, and after that we by wilful Tranfgreffion had loft our felves, had no Obligation to take Care of us, but what his own Good nefs laid upon him, that he fhould concern himfelf fo much for us; and be fo fo- licitóus for our Recovery, this is a great Evidence of his Kindnefs and Good-will to us, and cannot beimagined to proceed from any other Caufe. II. Another Evidenceof God's great Love to us, is, that he was pleafed to de- fign fo great a Benefit for us. This the Scripture expreffeth to us by Life; and it is ufual in Scripture to exprefs the belt and molt defirable things byLife ; be- caufe as it is one of the greateft Bleffings, fo it is the Foundationof all other En- joyments: And therefore the Apoftle ufeth but this one word to exprefs to us all the Bleffings and Benefits of Chrift's coming into the World; Godfeet his only-be- gotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And this Expreflion is very proper to our Cafe ; becaufe Life fignifies the repa- ration of all that which was loft by the Fall of Man. For Manby his wilfulDe- generacy and Apoftacy from God, is funk into' a State of Sin and Mifery, both which the Scripture is wont to exprefs by Death. In refped of our Sinful State we are Spiritually Dead; and in refped of the Punifhment and Mifery due to us for our Sins, we are Judicially Dead, Dead in Law ; for the Wages of Sin is Death. Now God bath fent his Son into the World, that in both thefe refpeds we might live through bim. a. We are Spiritually Dead, Dead in Trefpaffèsand Sins, as the Apoftle fpeaks, Eph. z. I, 2. Toubath he quickned, who were dead in trefpajfes andfins, where- in in times pallye walked, according to the courfe of this world. Every Wicked' Man, tho' in a Natural Senfe he be Alive, yet in a Moral Senfe he is Dead. So the Apoftle fpeakingof thole who live infinfiiiLulls and Pleafures, fays of them, that they are dead while they live, t Tim. 5. 6. What Corrupt Humours are to the Body, that Sin is to the Soul, their Difeafe and their Death. Now God fent his Son to deliver us from this Death, by renewing our Nature, and mortifying our Lufts; by reftoring us to the Life of Grace and Holinefs, and,de/Iroying the Body of Sin in us, that henceforth we fhould not ferve Sin. And that this is a great Argument of the mighty Love of God to us, the Apoftle tells us, Eph. 2. 4, 5. God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead infans, bath quicknedus together withChri/I. It is an Argu- ment of the Riches of God's Mercy, and of his great.Love tous, to recover us out
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