Serm.I.XXXV. in the Redemption of Mankind. 639 go unpunifh'd ? Should he now, without any fatisfadion to his offended Jti- flice, pardon the Sinner, remit his Punifhment, and receive him to favour? would this be agreeable to his Holinefs, and Juflice, and Truth ? woüld this become the Wife Governor of the World, who loves Righteoufnefs and Order ; who hates fin, and is obliged by the effential re citude of his Nature to difcoun- tenance fin ? So that here is a confliû of the Attributes and Perfeâions of God. The Mercy of God pities our Mifery, and would recover us, would open Paradift to us ; but there is a flaming Sword that keeps us out ; the incenfed Juflice of God that muff be fatisfied ; and if he take vengeance of us, we are eternally ruin'd ; if he (pare us, how fhall Mercy and fuftice meet together ? how fluff God at once exprefs his Love to the Sinner, and his hatred to Sin ?. here is the diffi- culty of our Cafe. II. Let us now enquire what Means the Wifdom of God ufeth for our re- covery. The Wifdom of God hath devifed this expedient to accommodate all thefe Difficulties, to reconcile the Mercy and Juflice of God. The Son of God fhall undertake this work, and fatisfie the offended Juflice of God, and repair the ruin'd Nature of Man. He fhall.bring God and Man together, make up this Gulph, and renew the Commerce and Correfpondence between God and us, which was broken off by Sin. The work that God defigns is the redemption of Man, that is, his recovery from a fiate of Sin and Eternal Death, to a ftate of Holinefs andEternal Life. The Son. of God is to engage in this Defign of our Redemption, to fatisfie the offended Juflice of God toward us, fo as to purchafe our deliverance from the Wrath to come, and fo as to reboreus tothe Image and Favour of God, that we may be fan4tified, and be made Heirs ofEtet- nal Life. For opening of this, we will confider, i. The fitnefs of the Perlondefigned for thisWork. z. The fitnefs of the Means whereby he wasto accomplifh it. z. The fitnefs of the Perlondefign'd for this Work; and that was the Eternal Son of God, who in refped of his Infinite Wifdom and Power, the Dignity and Credit of his Perlon, his dearnefs to his Father, and Intereft in him, was very fit to undertake this Work, to mediate a Reconciliation between God and Man. z. The fitnefs of the Means whereby he was to accomplifh it ; and thefe t (hall refer to two Heads, his Humiliation and Exaltation. All the Parts of thefe are very fubfervient to the Defign of our Redemption. I. The Humiliation of Chrift, which confifis of three principal Parts ; his In. carnation, his Life, and his Death. I. His Incarnation, which is let forth in Scripture by feveral Expreflions ; his being made flelh, and dwelling among us, John i. 14. His being made of the feed of Davidaccording to the fiefh, Rom. I. 3. His being made ofa. woman, Gal. 4.4. The manifeftation of God in the fefh, i Tim. 3. i 6. His taking part of fi'.efh andblood, Heb. z. t4. His taking on him thefeed ofAbraham, and being made like untohis bre- thren, Heb. z. z 6, z 7. His coming in the flefh, z John z. z. All which liignifies his taking upon him Human Nature, and being really a Man as well as God. The Eternal Son of God, in the Fulnefs of Time took our Nature ; that is, affumed a real Soul and Body into Union with the-Divine Nature. Now this Perlon, who was really both God and Man, was admirably fitted for the Work of our Re. demption. In general, this made him a fit Mediator, an equal and middle Perlon to interpole in this Difference and take up this Quarrel between God and Man. Being bothGod and Man, he was concerned forboth Parties, and interefted both in the Honour of God, and the Happinefs of Man, and engaged to be tender of both ; and to procure the one by fuch ways as might be confiftent with the other. More particularly, his Incarnation did fit him for thofe two Offices which he was to perform in his Humiliation, ofProphet and Priefts z. The
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=