±SOCTRIfIE OP THE TRINITY. "-Christ becomes our Mediator of reconciliation, eminently, there five ways : 1. By his incarnation, that is, by takingour flesh and blood upon ,him: And thushe became-a man amongst men The Son of God, who is one with the Father in godhead, became one with us in human nature. The word, who was God, and who was with God, .the same wordwas madeflesh, anddwelt with us; John i. 14: When he became Emmanuel, Godwith us, he did not onlyunite God and man in his owls person, but since he came in the likeness ofsinful flesh; Rom. viii. 3. he- did, as it were, exemplify an union of peace and reconciliation between a holy God and sinful man. His very incarnation gave us a pledge of that friendship, which he came to restore between- God the Creator and his guilty creatures, who were before at enmity, and strangers; both by the apostacyof our first parents, and our owncontinued rebellions. 2. Christ came to reconcile us to God, by fulfilling perfect obedience to the law, which wehadbroken, sadby sustaining the punishment and death, which was due to our sins. This we could never suffer, and outlive the suffering ; for the broken law threatened death, but provided no resurrection. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, taking flesh and blood upon him, took our sins also, and became a sacrifice for sin ; he bare our sins in his body on the cursed tree ; 1 Pet. ii. 24. and, by his blood, has made complete atonement for sin, has repaired the honour of the law, and government ofGod, which we had highly dishonoured ; and thus he has made a way for the exercise of the mercy and for- giveness of God, without any disgrace to his governing justice; and has laid a happy foundation for our approach to God the Fa- ther, though we are, by nature, strangers and rebels, guilty and condemned. 3. Christ ascended to heaven, to present his own sacrifice before the throne of God, even as the high-priest, under the Jewish dispensation, went into theholy of holies, topresent the blood of the sacrifice of atonement, and sprinkle it before the mercy-seat. This was the chief glory and perfection of the priesthood of Aaron, and according to the apostle's reasonings, in the epistle to the Hebrews, chapters vii. viii. ix. This seems to be the ultimate glory and perfection of the priesthood of Christ, viz. his entrance into heaven with his own blood, there to áppear in the presentee of God for us; I-Ieb. ix. 11, 12-24. There he presents himself, not only as the Lamb that has, been slain, but he appears, in his own pure and' perfect metliatorial righteousness, before God,, in the name of sinfulman ; as Aaron the high-priest, in the nameof thepeopleof Israel, appeared in the most holy place before God; not only with theblood of atone-
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