DISCOURSE V. 231 tant of grace and pardon, which began as soon as man liad sinned, and remains to this clay, even to all everlasting, to speak peace and pardon to sinners. Every circumstance in this part of the history of our Saviour was appointed in this view. He died, and lay in the grave for a short season, to prove the truth and reality of his death ; and he arose again, to confirm the pre- dictions ofthe ancient prophets; for all the works of God, con- cerning our Lord Jesus Christ, and his transactions in life and in death, were known to him from the beginning of the world ; and every step of his sufferings, and hisrising from the grave, was all ordained with a view to this covenant, by which he was raised from the dead; Act. xi. 18. All the decrees of God, and all the predictions of the prophets, all the types of the old Jewish law, and all the promises of God with regard to his Son Jesus, were doubtless appointed,accomplished, and fulfilled, with regard to this great sacrifice. The holy angels, who were to be employed lathe resurrec- tion and ascensionof Christ, were doubtless acquainted with this glorious event beforehand ; every one of those holy ones had their orders to be readyat the proper post for these transactions; for his rising fromthe dead, andhis glorious entrance, as the Son of God, into his heavenly kingdom ; thousands of angels were present there ; Ps. lxviii. 17, 18. 00 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thouhast ascendedon high, thou hast led captivity captive, &c.' 9. Therefore was our Lord Jesus Christ represented to the apostle John as a Lamb slain in the midst of the throne, after his resurrection, and his entrance into glory in heaven; Rev. v. 6. that there might be an everlasting emblem, and monument, or memorial of the Lamb slain before the face of God, for all theblesséd designs which God had in his view for the salvation of his people, through all the ages of mankind, ever sincesin entered into the world, even to the end of time, and the consummation of all things : That by this vision there might be before the eyes of God a perpetual appearance of this foundation of our pardon of sin, the justification of our persons through the blood of Christ, and our acceptancewith God in the heavenly world. And who can tell, or who can conceive, howmany and bow various were the blessed andglorious ends that God design- ed, and actually attained, by this representation ?
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