been God's goodnefs to us, fuitable thereto fhould our gratitude be toward him.

4. This confideration fitly ferves to beget in us hope in God upon all occafions of our need or diftrefs; as alfo comfort in all our afflictions. He hath fo loved the world, John iii. 16. that he gave his only-begotten Son for its falvation and happiness; how can he be fuppofed unwilling to bestow whatever else shall appear needful or beneficial for us? He that parted with a jewel fo inestimable in charity and pity toward us, to him no other thing can feem much to give us it is St. Paul's confolatory difcourfe; He that Rom. viii. did not fpare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how fhall he not with him freely give us all things? [All things that we need, that we can reasonably defire, that will be good and fit for us.]

5. I might add the use which St. John (1 John iv. 11.) makes of this confideration; Beloved, faith he, if God fo loved us, we also ought to love one another: if God fo lovingly gave up his only Son for us; what, (in respect, in gratitude, in imitation of him ;) what expreffions, I fay, of charity and good-will ought we to yield toward our brethren? what endeavours, what goods, what life of ours should be too dear for us to impart for their good? So much for this point. It follows,

Dur Lord.

32.

AS the name of God is by a myfterious kind of peculiarity attributed to the Father, fo is the name of Lord to the Son; who is fometimes called abfolutely the Lord, (or the Lord Jefus,) fometimes our Lord; to acknowledge and call him so being the special duty and character of a Chriftian: There be (faith St. Paul; there be, according to popular or worldly ufe) gods many, and lords many, but 1 Cor. viii. to us there is one God the Father, and one Lord Jefus Eph. iv. 5, Chrift: and, One Lord, one faith, one baptifm; one God 6. and Father of all things; (are by us Christians profeffed :) 3. and, No man can call Jefus Lord, (that is, cordially embrace Phil. ii. 11. Christianity,) but by the Holy Ghoft. The reafon of which

6.

1 Cor. xii.

peculiar appellation may be, because, befide that natural dominion over us appertaining to Christ as our God and Maker, that title is in feveral other refpects, and upon other grounds, due to him. In what notion foever we take lord, as a governor over fubjects, as a mafter over servants, as an owner of goods, as a master of disciples, as a leader of followers, he is, according to all fuch notions, our Lord: confider him in whatever refpect or capacity, as God, as man, as OtávSpumos, (God and man united; as Jefus, as Chrift,) he is our Lord. Examine all foundations imaginable of juft dominion: eminence of nature, of power, derivation of being, with the preservation and maintenance thereof; donation, acquifition, desert, purchase, redemption, conqueft, compact, and refignation of ourselves; upon them all his right of lordship over us is justly grounded. As God he is our Lord: endued with fupreme authority and irresistible power, alfo hath made all things, and upholds all things; and therefore all things are fubject to his disposal, (to be governed, and poffeffed, and used according to his pleasure ;) hence that most peculiar and auguft name of God, Jehovah, (denoting either independency and indefectibility in fubfiftence, or uncontrollable and infallible efficacy in action; both together; and therefore fitly rendered Kúpios by the Seventy Inter*For xúgu terpreters, and Lord by our tranflators *,) is attributed to doth fignify him; This is his name, faith the Prophet, whereby he shall be to fubfift; and zugos, called, Jehovah our righteousness; and what is in the Old efficacy, raTeftament spoken of Jehovah, is in the New Teftament by infallible expofition applied to him: as, for inftance, what Jer. xxiii. 6. Malachi did foretel concerning Elias, that he should preMatt. iii. 3.pare the way of Jehovah, was verified in St. John Baptift's Luke i. 76. preparing the way to our Saviour. As man alfo God did John v. 27. confer upon him lordship; a power and authority of rul

tification, power, or authority.

Mal. iii. 1.

ing and judging; of remitting offences; and punishing and rewarding: the Father hath given him authority even to execute judgment, őt viòs áv‡pánov køtiv, because (or Acts ii. 36. whereas) he is the Son of man: and, Let all the house of Ifrael, faith St. Peter, know affuredly, that God hath made him Lord and Chrift, (even) this Jefus, whom you did

ix. 2, 6.

9.

6.

crucify: and, The Son of man shall come in the glory of Matt. xvi. his Father with his angels, and reward every man ac- 27. cording to his works: and, Being found in fhape as a Phil. ii. 8. man, he humbled himself, faith St. Paul, becoming obedient Vid. Matt. unto death, the death of the cross; therefore alfo did God Vid. Acts exalt him—that at the name of Jefus every knee should x. 42. bend-and that every tongue should confefs that Jefus is the Lord: and again; To this end Chrift both died, rofe, and re- Rom. xiv. vived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living: and, God raised him from the dead, and fet him at his Eph. i. 20, right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, 21, 22. and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the Church: Thou haft given Johnxvii.2. him power over all flesh. Thus hath God in him performed more fignally and eminently what the Pfalmift thankfully acknowledges and praises him for in regard to man; Thou crownedft him with glory and honour; and didfi Pfal, viii. 5,fet him over the works of thy hands: thou haft put all things Heb. ii. 7, in fubjection under his feet. As God-man he is alfo Lord, 8. and Lord of lords; whatever naturally did belong to God; whatever freely was conferred on man, (by way of gift or reward,) did accrue to the Perfon, and was consequent upon the union hypoftatical; fo that, in this respect, Christ is eternally Lord; Lord, indeed, of all, as St. Peter ftyles A&s x. 36. him, having all things (excepting God himself, as St. Paul 1 Cor. xv. teaches us) put under his feet; but particularly (which 27. most concerns us to acknowledge and confider) our Lord; and that upon feveral grounds, which it will be convenient briefly to touch. An entire power over us, and a perfect ability to govern us, he hath; in which refpects it is both neceffary to fubmit to him, and reasonable willingly to admit him as our Lord: (perfons fo qualified, Ariftotle himself in his Politics tells us, have a natural title to dominion; as on the contrary, perfons weak, or unwise, unable to protect themselves, and unfit to manage things to their own good, are naturally fubjects and fervants.) Alfo, he hath made us, and he preferves us; all we are

xvii. 6.

3, &c.

or have is wholly derived from and depends upon him; whence he hath an abfolute right to difpofe of and use us according to his difcretion and pleafùre. He is the Son of God, is heir apparent, and natural Lord of all things; and fo our Lord, by birth and privilege of nature. But farther he hath alfo acquired us to himself, (adding a Eph. i. 14. legal to a natural right;) we are called wepiñoinois, (an acquist made by him ;) and λads eis wepinoinow, (a people appertaining to, or by, acquifition.) Divers ways hath John xvii. Chrift acquired us : by donation from God; Whom thou 12. vi. 39. haft given me, faith he to his Father, I have kept: and, Eph. ii. 2, This is the will of the Father that fent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lofe nothing. So we fall under by conqueft; conqueft over his enemies; conqueft over us ourselves, being his enemies: we were (partly by violence, partly by confent) enflaved to his enemies, and lived in obedience to them: them hath Chrift quite vanCol. ii. 15. quifhed and fubdued, (having *Spoiled those principalities *aindurá- and powers, and made a fhew of them openly, triumphing over them ;) and fo we rightfully fall under fubjection to him, as acceffions to his victory, and formerly belonging to his enemies: yea, ourselves, being, as St. Paul speaks, Col. i. 21. Expo T diavola, enemies in our mind and discourse, (difcovering our enmity by wicked, difobedient, and rebellious practices,) did he subdue by the power of his word Luke i. 74. and Spirit: whence, as it is in the Benedictus, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, (his enemies, and ours in truth and effect,) we may, we should ferve him without fear: being fervati, we become fervi; being subacti, we are fubditi. He might have justly destroyed us, deprived us of liberty and life, as dependents upon and partizans of his enemies; as ourselves being in actual hoftility against him: but seeing he hath faved us, we Acts xx. 28. thereby become his vaffals. But, farther, he hath pur1 Pet. i. 18. chafed us: he hath delivered up himself a ranfom and a 20. vii. 23. price for us; and fo hath acquired us, hath redeemed us,

ἀπεκδυσά

μένος.

1 Cor. vi.

hath bought us with his own blood: we having forfeited our lives to God's law, and being fentenced to a miserable death; he procured our redemption by himself under

Vid. John

going equivalent punishment, difcharging our debt, and fatisfying the divine juftice for us: whence, as St. Paul argues, we are not our own; for we were bought with a 1 Cor.vi.19, price; we are his, who faved our lives, freed us from 20. captivity, drew us out of extreme and endless mifery; va 2 Cor. v. 15. oi fürres, that we (now) living should not henceforth live to ourfelves, but to him that died for us, and rofe again: in requital for mercies and favours fo unexpreffibly great, we cannot (not in gratitude only, but in justice) owe less than ourselves; ourselves to be rendered wholly into his dominion and difpofal. He hath alfo acquired lordship over us, by defert and as a reward agreeable to his performances, of obedience and patience highly fatisfactory and Eph. i. 20. acceptable to God; He humbled himself, becoming obe-Phil. ii. 8. dient to the cross therefore also did Gòd exalt him, and gave him a name above every name: To this end Chrift Rom.xiv.9. both died, rofe, and revived, ἵνα καὶ νεκρῶν καὶ ζώντων κυριεύσῃ, κ. 17. that he might exercife lordship over both the dead and living: He drank of the brook in the way: therefore he Pfal. cx. 7. hath lift up his head: Therefore did God divide him a 1. liii. 21. portion with the great, and he did divide the Spoil with the frong, because he poured out his foul to death: And we see Heb. ii. 9. Jefus, faith the Apostle to the Hebrews, for his fufferance of death, crowned with glory and honour. I may add, that he hath acquired a right and title over us, as our continual benefactor, by the benefits he beftows, and the hire he pays us: he affords us fure protection, liberal maintenance, ample wages, (great privileges under, rich rewards) for our fervice; Knowing, faith St. Paul, that ye Col. iii. 24. Shall (in regard to your obedience) receive Tv åvτaÓDOV xangovouías, (the recompenfe of an inheritance:) for ye ferve the Lord Chrift. It is no Egyptian bondage that he detains us under; requiring hard labour, and yielding no comfort or recompenfe; but a moft beneficial and fruitful fervice. Doth Job fear God for nought? the Devil could Job i. 9. not but obferve and envy the benefits and bleffings the Vid. 1 Cor. pious man received in regard of his faithful fervice. Chrift Pf. lxxxiv. hath promised to withhold no good thing from his fer- 11: vants; nothing neceffary for the fupport or comfort even

iii. 8.

Matt. vi.33.