begins (as it is congruous it fhould, upon fuppofition of redemption) with various, illimited (or general) promifes or declarations of divine favour and good-will for the renewing of the world. The great God givesaffurance, that he will return to the world with recovering grace, will enlighten men's minds, and forgive their fins; be reconciled to them, and be their God for ever. If the first covenant (which was loaded with precepts, and was given to the ancient church of the Jews) had been faultlefs (and able to justify and save the People) then should no place have been fought for the fecond; for finding fault with them (the fault of the people defeated the covenant of its due end) he fays, Behold, the days come, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Ifrael, and with the For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Judah house of Ifrael, after thofe days, fays the Lord I will put my Laws into their minds, and write them in their Hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be for me a people.( a) 4111 Such furely must be the foundation of the church of God. By fuch operation and vouchsafement will the work of redemption prosper, and a people be gather'd for his name. But this is the covenant on one fide. There must be a part that reaches us, and engages our hearts and wills, God will return to us and be our God; that the covenant may be mutual. and we must, by repentance quit our fin, and return to him, that we may be pardoned. Repent ye, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the prefence of the Lord. (b) A redeemer has been provided for us, facrificed for us and offered to us; but we must believe on him (and in believing, accept him to all the ends of redemption), that we may poffefs the happy fruits of his redemption. He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life (in right and title); and he that believeth not the fon (notwithstanding what the son hath done for him) shall not fee life; but the wrath of God: abideth on him. (c) Such fruit draws the mind and heart to the Son of God. And fuch law was requifite, that the fon may be honoured and received. And yet we fhould be ready to acknowledge, that this repentance and this faith are fupremely owing to the favour and grace of God. They will furely be the iffuc of his own writing his own laws upon the heart. (a) Heb. viii. 7.-10. (b) Acts; iii. 19, (c) Joh. iii. 36, heart. Even oppofers of the truth are to be meekly inftructed, if so be (if haply) God may give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth. (a) And by grace are ye fav'd, thro' faith, and that not of your felves (that faith is not the native fruit of our corrupted powers) it is the gift of God (b). Salvation is graciously promised to us; but obedience to the laws of the mediator, is prescribed in order to our poffeffion of that salvation. He is the author of eternal falvation to all them that obey him. Diligence in that obedience, that thus leads us to falvation, is called our working out of falvation. To this working out of falvation we are called and encouraged by the confideration of divine concurrence and energy. Work out your own falvation with fear and trembling (with Humility and awe; but work on), for it is God, that worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure. (c) The reasoning of this world would be, Sit ftill, be not fo buify; for God works in you to will and to do. But gospel-logick has other inferences. It calls into cxcrcife the powers that God exalts. Perfeverance in duty and obedience, to the end of life, is required of us, that we may be saved and crowned. If any man draw back (says God), my soul shall have no pleasure in him. (d) Be thou faithful to the death, and I will give thee the crown of life. (e) And yet there is great encouragement given to fincere minds to pray and hope, that this great grace fhall be conferr'd upon them. And the lord make you to increafe and abound in love one towards another, and towards all men, even as we do towards you; to the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness, before God, even our father, at the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift, with all his faints. (f) And the very God of peace fanctify you wholly, and I pray God, your whole Spirit and foul and body be preferved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. (g) Being confident of this very thing, that he that hath begun a good work in you, will perform (or accomplish) it until the day of Jesus Christ. (b) Accordingly, there are those that are fanctified by God the Father, and preferved in Chrift Jefus, as being called; (i) And God is able to keep them from falling and to prefent them faultless before the prefence of his Glory with exceeding joy. (k) Yet to this their 13. (d) Heb. x. 38, (e) Revel. ii. 10 (Jude. i. (k) Verfe 24. (a) 2. Tim. ii. 25. (f) Theff. iii. 12. 13. (6) Eph. ii. 7. (c) Phil. ii. 12. prefervation preservation, the precepts and diffwafions, the promises and comminations of the gospel-law are exceeding necessary and subfervient. As wisdom has ordain'd, fo grace makes ufe of those legislative means for our confervation in Chrift Jefus. It is true, this complication of law and grace occafions diverfity of fentiments among chriftan divines. Some, it is to be fear'd, incline to refufe the law, and others the grace. The juft conciliation may not be perceived by all (if by the best) capacities. We are not judges of the modes and methods of the divine operations and influences upon moral agents. Let it fuffice, that the God of all wisdom and grace knows how to blefs his own word and moral appointments to renovation and fanctification of fouls. Let us not quit what is plain and clear for the fake of what is intricate and obfcure. Let us take the divine difpenfation together, and there will appear fuch a rare intermixture of moral government and facred influence, fuch a complication of holy law and gracious aid, as will eminently bespeak a divine institution and disco The myfterious, fpeculative Doctrines of this Religion are excellent and noble; richly adapted to the exalting of the mind, and refining of the Heart.. H ERE are no fuch myfteries as need to be concealed, or to be hid in darkness, as being afhamed of the light. Let fuch fecrefies be confined to pagan fuperftitions. Though it may be rationally supposed,. that fome are more meet to entertain, and are more competent judges of facred and spiritual (as well as of phyfical or mathematical) truths than others are. No wonder there are abftrufe, myfterious theorems in this religion. There must be fuch in all religion; fince a felf-exiftent, eternal, immutable and incomprehenfible God must be acknowledged. Even natural natural phoenomena (whofe exiftence therefore we cannot deny) are often, as to the manner and ways of existence and production, unfearchable. No wonder there are unfathomable truths (thereupon call'd mysteries) in which the unfearchable nature, wifdom and will of God are exprefsly concern'd. The foolishness of God (or that, in which he has been least of all concern'd to fhew his wisdom, if it were but a gnat or a moth) is wifer than men (contains fuch abftrufities, as the wisdom of the world is not able to unravel). How much more then must his defigned wifdom (or the wisdom that designs to signalize it self) furmount all our pretences. Such wisdom has been concerned for our advancement, and is opened in the contents of this inftitution. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery (in a facred fecrecy) even hidden wisdom (beyond all. our ability to discover) which God ordain'd before the world (before the first stone of its foundation was laid) unto our glory. We may juftly then. expect some furprizing truths in such a revelation; nor fhould we be offended thereat. They are (which it felf is furprizing) for our glory Some of these myfterious truths are neceffary, fome voluntary and freely ordain'd. All excellent and auguft; fublime, fpiritual and pure; elevating the mind above earth and flesh; and some way or other contributive to our fanctification, falvation and glory. As, I. There is the cardinal truth concerning the three agencies or active powers in the divine nature, which we call perfons. It is hard indeed to fay (or we may not know) precisely how they are one, or how far they are diftinct. That they, in fome excellent, natural union, are the one God, we leave to the evidence alledged by didactic and polemic divines. Their being fo, lays folid foundation for all the mighty (or almighty) operations and works, and all the honours that are affigned them. With what holy veneration then is the mind ftruck, upon the cogitation, that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! The most indivifible Being admits a distinction that is somewhat analogous to what is called per fonal among us. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have their personal. names and perfonal agencies; and fuch agencies as are fuitable to God-head. Each of them is maker of the world. Such diftinction they have, that. they can, cach of them, admit and atchieve a diftinct fhare in a gracious. œconomy œconomy for the bleffedness of their creatures. They are graciously united in an oeconomy for our falvation. The father determines our reconciliation, and gives us his fon to be reconciler. The fon gives us him-. felf, and comes and fulfills the extrinfic work of reconciliation, and promifes the holy spirit to give teftimony to his work, and pursue it in the world. The holy fpirit comes and recommends the reconciler, and inlightens men's minds, and fubdues their hearts, and accomplishes intrinfic reconciliation in the world. And this he does at fuch a rate, as that he recommends himself to us at the fame time. He works fuch miracles and sheds abroad fuch spiritual bleflings, as fhow that he is the author of nature and of grace. Each perfon displays astonishing good will to us. We are laid under vast obligation to each of them. Well may we be commanded to be baptized and confecrated to each venerable name. 'Tis fatisfaction to us, to be affured that each of them is God, that our minds. may be certified, that all the honour, obedience and worship that we owe and pay unto them, is rendred to him who is is by nature, God. Here all is venerable and pure. And a high and lofty truth is made fundamental and accessary to our falvation. II. The perfon of the Mediator or Reconciler is an alluring, adorable mystery. That he, to whom it was vaft condefcenfion to put on the highcft angels nature, fhould ftoop to put on our's! Would God indeed dwell on earth, and dwell in flesh! Would the blessed son of God adjoin himfelf to an human cffence, and become a member of our mortal world! Would he put on our weakneffes and come down into the devil's territorics and expofe himself to his horrid temptations, that he may fympathize with us and conquer them! What grace is here! Would he become a victim for us, a ransom for our fouls! What holy and endearing love is here! The heathens boafted that their gods fometimes defcended to earth for the good of mankind. But there could be no defcent like this. What honour and dignity is here conferr'd on our nature. It has been already fhewn, that our religion does eminently acknowledge the original dignity of our race. Here it is unconceivably illuftrated. Our nature is exalted next to that of the eternal God. It is tranflated into the highest heavens, advanced above all the principalities and powers, and feat ed |
