SEAM. 'CLINT.] AND TOE VSE OP Tr. . 259 this is sufficiently implied in verse 4. " He is rich in mercy, and has loved us with great love." 3. He has appointed his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, tobe the Reconciler. We are utterly unworthy of his favour or love ; nor will a holy God suffer guilty creatures to come near him, without a proper and ho- nourable Mediator; and sincewe could not provide our- selves of such a friend, he has appointed his own Son to that office. " God has set him forth to be a propi- tiation," 4. He makes us willing to be reconciled : He saves us by free grace, and when he has ordained faith to be the way of our return to him, he works that faith in us by his own Spirit. Verse 8. " By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Let us consider now, what are our duties, according to this representation of the character, which God the Fa- ther sustains here. From all these things it plainly fol- lows, that, in our religious transactions, we are emi- nently to look to God the Father, as the person who is our original Maker, Lord, and ; whose laws we have broken, whose anger we have incurred, and fromwhomwe have separated ourselves by sin: We are to seek peace with him, and reconciliation to him. We must return to him as our rightful Lord, and address ourselves to him, by humble repentance, as sitting on the throne of Majesty, and vindicating the rights ofgod- head : To him we must pray, and apply ourselves, emi- nently, to him as the first Spring of mercy, the Author of all grace, and ascribe to him the glory of his conde- scending wisdom and love ; we must offer him our thanks and praises, that he is willing to be reconciled, that he has sent his Son to be the Reconciler, and ap- pointed, a way of reconciliation. This is the general current of scripture language, both in precept and in example: and the chapter, where my text is, as well as thewhole epistle, plainly leads us to this practice. II. We come next to enquire, more particularly, how Christ, the Son of God, is represented as the medium, through whomwe have access to the Father, for our re- conciliation is attributed to him, " he is our peace," ver.' s2
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