191 Tt4E AT014ÉMENT OF CPfi(4ST D4AIQIFÉSTED. rDÌSC: v. runner into heaven, and have the honour of redeeming all the sons of God, and bringing them back unto the Father : and he decreed him to be the great sacrifice, for the expiation of the sins, of all his chosen and favourite sons : He has redeemed them all with his Mood. e. It was in the view of Jesus Christ, as the great Mediator and sacrifice, that God appoiinted any further communion, or any favourable communications, be- tween himself and his fallen creature man, It was in this view that he appointed, there shouldbe anyapproach of fallen man towards himself : It was in this view he gave him the first promise, and the first hope of mercy, even that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent ; Gen. iii. 15. by whommankind was de- ceived to their ruin and destruction ; and by appointing' Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for sin : It was prophesied that his heel, or the lower part of his nature, i, e. his body, should be bruised, in order tobreak the head of the serpent ; as it is explained ; 1 John iii. 8. For this pur- pose the So* of God was niknifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil ; i. e. his tyranny and do minion over man. 'This seed of the woman, was the appointed sacrifice far .this purpose ; Gen. iii. 15. It was with this view that God enquired after lost man in the garden ofparadise, in order to recover and save hint by his Son Jesus ; Gen. iii. 9. Adam, where art thou ? And he gave him the promise of recovery by this means, And as God afterwards appointed it, that no manshould come to the Father but by the Son ; John xiv. 6. so he revealed himself as making his way towards fallen Adam, by this man Jesus,; and it is by him that all that are brought back again to God have been appointed to draw near to him e'c-er since; for he . is the only appointed way. It is also very probable that God might make clearer discoveries to our first parents, in the midst of their ruined and dismal state, in and with this first promise, than Moses, the divine historian, has given tts an account of, because this was to be the beginning and first pledge of their hope of any acceptance- with God, and their ex- pectation of life and salvation. Let me here speak-one- awakening word to fallen sin- 3 J
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