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'might ferve him without fear, in holinefs and righ'teousness 1.' Who gave himself for us that he 'might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 'himself a peculiar people zealous of good works 2." And this was the chief part of that account that our Lord giveth unto his Father, in that bleffed prayer that he made a little before his paflion: I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished the work which thou gaveft me to do 3.' As if he fhould have faid, Thou haft fent me into the world about a great and weighty bufinefs, the reftitution of thy fallen creatures; and that therein as thy creature may partake of thy goodness, fo thou mayeft reap the glory of thy creatures fervice: And now behold according to that command of thine, I here return unto thee thy creature healed, and reftored, that it may be as ❝ well a monument, as a proclaimer of thy goodness, and glory, unto all eternity.'

2. To manifest unto men and angels the glory and infinite perfection and excellence of all his bleffed attributes: the glory of his wifdom in contriving, and of his power in effecting fuch a deliverance for the children of men, by a way that exceeded the difquifition of men and angels; the glory of his mercy that could not have been poffibly fo confpicuous to mankind, if man had never fallen. In the creation of man he manifefted the glory of his goodness, that communicated a being to him, that fo he might communicate his goodneis to him but in the redemption of man, he manifefted his mercy in forgiving and healing a rebellious and miferable creature: The glory of his juftice, that would not pardon the fin till he had a fatisfaction for the fin; that would not fpare the fon, whom he chofe to be the furety for the finner.

:

2. In reference to man: And fo the ends of our Lord's fuffering were principally thefe:

1. To abfolve and deliver him from guilt, the confequence of fin, and mifery the fruit of guilt: In Luke i. 74, 75. 2 Titus i. 14.

John xvii. 4.

'whom

'whom we have redemption through his blood, the 'forgiveness of fins 1.' And furely, had the fruit of Chrift's death refted here, it had been a great degree of mercy; if we rightly weighed the heaviness of the burden of guilt, the feverity of the wrath of God, and the extremity of that mifery that doth and must attend it. If a man under the guilt and horror of fome hideous treafon, under the fevere and inexorable fentence of the laws against him, under the imminent infliction of moft exquifite and continuing torments, fhould but hear of a pardon and discharge from this; how welcome would it be, though the refidue of his life were to be spent in exile; but our Lord's purchase refts not here.

2. To reconcile God to his creature. So that it doth not only remove the effects of the anger of God, which is punishment, which may be removed, and yet the anger continuing: Nor doth it only remove the anger of God, and leave a man in a kind of flare of indifferency, as it is between perfons that never were acquainted one with another; but it is a ftate of reconciliation; That he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the crofs, having flain the enmity thereby 2;' God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 'their trefpaffes unto them. And certainly this is a great addition unto the former, that God in Chrift fhould not only pafs by our fins, but would no longer look upon us as ftrangers, but as perfons reconciled unto him: And furely a foul fenfible of the unhappy condition of being eftranged from God, how highly would he prize a ftate of reconciliation, though it were in the meanest and loweft relation? I am no more worthy to be called thy fon, make me as one of thy hired fervants 4:' So that I may not be eftranged from thee, reconcile me unto thyfelf, though in the condition of thy meaneft fervant. But neither doth the happy fruit of our Lord's fuffering reft here. ' Eph. i. 7. 2 Eph. ii. 16. 2 Cor. v. 19. 4 Luke xv. 19.

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s. To reftore unto us that near and bleffed relation of being fons of God. That we might receive the 'adoption of fons 1.- Behold now we are the fons ' of God, and it doth not yet appear what we fhall be 2. This was that dear expreffion of our Lord, after his refurrection. 'Go to my brethren, and tell them I 'afcend unto my Father and your Father, to my God and your God3.' He seems to intereft them in this bleffed relation in a kind of equality with himfelf; My brethren, My Father and your Father, and the sweet and comfortable confequents of this are incomparable. Is he my Father? then I know he can pity me as a father pitieth his children: he can pardon and spare me as a father spareth his fon that ferves him 5. Is he my Father? then whither fhould I go but to him for protection in all my dangers? for directions in all my difficulties? for fatisfaction in all my doubts? for fupply in all my wants? This I can with confidence expect from a poor earthly father, according to the compass of his abilities: If ye then being evil know how to give good things unto your children, how much more fhall your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to them that afk him.' Mercy, and compaffion, and love, is a virtue in a man, in an earthly father, a piece of that image of God which at first he imprinted in man; and yet paffion and human infirmity, as it hath much weakened the habit thereof in us, fo it may fufpend the exercife thereof to a near relation: but in Almighty God these virtues are in their perfection, and nothing at all in him that can remit it; mercy and tendernels are attributes which he delights in; mercy pleateth him ; it was the great attribute he proclaimed his name by 7, and fo diffufive is his mercy that it extends to all, he is good to all, and his tender mercies are over 'all his works,' and not only to the juft and good, but even to the unkind; caufing his fun to fhine

1 Gal. iv. 5. Mal. ii. 17.

2 1 John iii. 2.

6 Matth. vii. 11.

John xx. 17.

7 Exod. xxxiv. 6.

4 Psal. ciii. 13. 8 Psal. cxlv. 9.

upon

upon the evil and the good: and furely he that hath mercy and goodnets for an enemy, cannot deny it unto a child. 'Can a mother forget her fucking child, &c. yea fhe may forget; yet will I 'not forget thee, faith the Lord '.'

To reftore us to a moft fure, everlasting and blessed inheritance in heaven. If a fon, then an heir of God through Chrift 2:' and here is the complement of all; not only abfolved from the guilt of fin, reconciled to God, put into the relation of a child of God; but after all this, to be everlastingly and unchangeably stated in a blessed condition unto all eternity and all this from the condition of a most vile, finful loft creature, and by fuch a price as the blood of Chrift. More need not, cannot be faid.

VIII. And by what hath been faid, it is eafy to see what the fruits and effects of all this are. God will not be disappointed in the end of fo great a work, and therefore we cannot be disappointed in the fruit of it, and those are either fuch as are enjoyed in this life, or principally appropriated to that which is to come. 1. Thofe benefits that naturally arife from Christ crucified, and are enjoyed in this life, are thefe:

1. Juftification and acceptation in the fight of God; he looks upon us as thofe that have satisfied his justice when his Son fuffered; and as thofe that performed his will, when his Son performed it: fo that as our Lord imputed our fins to our Redeemer, fo he imputes his righteoufne's unto us; and as he was well pleased with him, fo he was well pleased in him, with as many as are received into this covenant.

2. Peace with God. This is the natural confeof the former. quence Being juftified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jelus 'Chrift 4.' The only caufe of breach between God and his creature is removed, and peace and love reftored between them.

1 Isaiah xlix. 15. A Rom. v. 1.

2 Gal. iv. 7. 3 the crowning of the whole.

3. Free

3. Free accefs unto God: for we are reftored unto peace with him, and confequently accefs unto him; and indeed it is a part of that d ty which he expects from us. Our access to him, is not only our privilege, as the access of a fubject to his prince, or a child to his father; but it is our duty, as a thing enjoined unto us in teftimony of our dependance and love to him.

4. Confequently, peace with our ownfelves, and our own confcience; and that upon a double ground. 1. Because our confcience is fprinkled by the blood of Chrift, which defaceth and obliterateth all those black items, that otherwife would be continually calling upon us. 2. Because confcience ever fideth with God, whofe vicegerent fhe is in the foul, and hath the very fame afpect, for the most part that heaven hath; and therefore, if it be clear above, it is ordinarily quiet within; and if God fpeaks peace, the conscience, unless distempered, doth not speak trouble.

5. An affsurance of a continual fupply of fufficient grace, to lead us through this vale of trouble, without a final apoftacy or falling from him. Were our falvation in our own hands, or managed by our own ftrength we should utterly lofe it every moment; but the power, and truth, and love of God, is engaged in a covenant of the higheft folemnity that ever was, fealed in the blood of the Son of God, for our preservation; and it shall be as impoffible for us to fall from that condition, as for the Almighty God to be disappointed: no, his council and truth, the conftant supply of the bleffed Spirit of Chrift, fhall keep alive that feed of life, that he hath thrown into his foul. For his feed remaineth in him, and he can'not fin, because he is born of God 1.'

6. Sufficient grace to preferve us from, or fupport us in, or deliver us out of temptations. We ftand more in need of grace, than we do of our bread; because the confequence of the want of the former, is of more