SERMON XLIV. j$ sin ; verse 3. for we are, by nature, the children of his wrath, we are strangers and enemies in our minds, and by wicked works ; Col. i..21. We are afar offfrom God, without God, and without hope in the world ; Eph. ii. 12. Though this be spoken particu- larly ofthe Ephesiau idolaters, yet, in a sense, it is true of every man, in a state of nature. 2. God appears willing to be reconciled, ready to receive us upon our return to him, in this chapter. In other places of scripture, he is, represented sittingon a throne of grace, approach- able by sinful creatures ; and this is sufficiently implied in verse 4. He is rich inmercy, and has loved us with great love. 3. He has appointed his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be 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 honourable Mediator ; and since we could not provide ourselves of such a friend, he has appointed his own Son to that office. God has set him forth to be apro- pitiation. 4. He makes us willing to be reconciled : He saves us by free grace, andwhen he has ordained faith to be the way ofour return to him, he works that faith in us, by his own Spirit. Verse8. By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Let us consider noiv, what are our duties, according to this representation of the character, which God the Father sustains here. From all these things it plainly follows, that in our reli- gious transactions, we are eminently to look to God the Father, as the person who is our original Maker, Lord and sovereign ; whose laws we have broken, whose anger we have incurred, and fromwhom we 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 byhumble repentance, as sitting on the throne of Majesty, and vindicating the rights of godhead : To him we must pray, and apply our- selves, eminently to him as the first Spring of mercy, the Author of all grace, and ascribe to him the gloryof his condes- cending 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 appointed 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 the whole epistle, plainly leads us to this practice. II. We come next to enqúire more particularly, how Christ the Son of God, is represented as the medium, through whom we have access to the Father, for our reconci- liation is attributed to him, he is our peace; verse 14. Now
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