ESSAY VI. 171 signification of his proper name Jesus, in the Hebrew ; Mat. i. 21. i° Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." He saves or delivers us from sin, and from all the painful or criminal effects and consequences thereof : He delivers us from the wrath to come ; 1 Thess. i. 10. he saves us by withholding the divineanger from us, and takingaway every thing that provoked it, or might provoke it. Salvation is the natural word to express the blessings we receive from Christ, as he is our Saviour, that is, salvation from the guilt of sin end punishment thereof, partly in this world, Andchiefly in the world to come. Fait10 gives us a special in- terest in these blessings, by chusinghim or receiving him as our Saviour, by looking to him front the ends'of the earth, from the borders of hell, that we may be saved ; Is. xlv. 22. by calling upon the name of the Lord, that we may be saved ; Rom. x. 13. and by yielding obedience to him : So faith in a large sense maybe ,represented ; for Heb.,v. 9. He is the anther of eternal salvation to them that obey him, or accept ofall the blessingsof salvation in his' own appointed way. II. The next title which is given to our Lord Jesus, on this account, is a Mediator, to make peace between an offended God and offending man ; 1 Tim. ii. 5. There isone Godand one Me- diator between God and man, even the man Christ Jesus. He is that'Days-man, as Job speaks, chapter ix. 33. that great Recon- ciler, that Umpire or person who can argue for us with the blessed God, who is able to lay his handupon both, to come be- tween God and man, and to remove this dreadful difference betwixt them. And this he did by all those methods which God has appointed in the covenant of redemption made with his Son Jesus Christ, that is by his incarnation, his obedience, his suffer- ings, his death, his intercession, &c. Our salvation under this character is called peace ; Rom. v. 1. Jesus Christ himself, for this reason, is called our peace or peace-maker; Epit. ii. 24. and Is. xxvii. 5. where a sinner is represented as taking hold of the strength or arm of the Lord, in order to make peace with' him. It is called reconciliation to God ; 2 Cor. v. IS. and the gospel is, called the word of' recon- ciliation : And let it be observed, that our Mediator not only takes away the difference between God and man, but has also proceeded so far as to obtain an interest in the loveand favour of God for ever, instead of his former wrath, and displeasure, and condemnation. >e it is granted that the word faith in Christ, in its most strict and proper sense signifies a trust in him, according to the several discoveries made of him in the gospel : But if taken in its most large and general sense, as it implies the address or application of a sinner to Jesus Christ for salvation, it includes in it those various actions of the soul which are attendants on this trusting, either with it, before it, or after it, as many scripturessufttoiently manifest.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=