of love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins, John iv. 10. There the Apoftle lays the emphafis as well he might, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. We made no motion towards a return to him, the God from whom we had departed; nor could we ever have offered any thing for the fatisfaction of his justice, but what would have been defpifed. Infinite, felf-moving love firft kindled up this defign in the bofom of God; all was the ordination of heaven; and when the rage of the enemies of our bleffed Jefus boiled hotteft, and would be content with nothing but his death, he was delivered by the determinate counsel and fore knowledge of God; and they were doing no, thing but what God's hand and his counsel determined before to be done, Acts ii. 23. Acts iv. 27, 28. The wickedness and violence of men only fubferved God's ancient and original purpofe. As our Saviour intimated to his difciples when he faw the bafe and treacherous defign which Judas had formed against him, juft ripe for execution, Luke xii. 22. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: But wo unto that man by whom he is betrayed. The whole defign therefore was originally from God, and had its rife in the free and fovereign appointment of his grace, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Let me add for our standing comfort, that that love which first formed and planned the defign, will never throw it afide, till it hath completed and perfected it. This purpofe of God fhall stand, and this grand defign of

grace

grace as it was originally from him, fo he will always own it.

(2.) In this way of pardoning and justifying finners, all the perfections of God fhine out with additional and the brightest luftre. As the Apostle has obferved what a condecency there is in the way of our falvation by the death of Chrift to all the divine perfections, Heb. ii. 10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many fons to glory, to make the Captain of their falvation perfect through fufferings. Here it is, that mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have killed each other, Pfal. lxxxv. 10. Infinite juftice and boundless mercy, unspotted holinefs and everlafting truth, mutually, as it were, fmile upon, and congratulate each other. God appears a juft God in punishing fin, a merciful God in pardoning the finner. Sin is condemned to hell, that juftice may triumph in the punishment of it, whilft, at the fame time, the finner is raifed to the hope of heaven, that grace may triumph in his pardon and falvation. He appears a holy God, in that he will not admit the finner to any intercourfe with himself, or intereft in his favour, but in a way that fhall evi, dence his hatred of fin, and highest indignation against it; and O how holy in that when he efpies fin upon his own Son, though it was there only by imputation, his wrath flames out against it. And how faithful was he to his threatning, in that, rather than depart from the honours of it, all the death that was lodged in it, shall be poured upon the only, the eternally beloved

Son?

Son? What fhall we fay of the power of God, in making the cross of Chrift, the great inftrument of our pardon, victorious over all oppo fition, and shaking the throne of Satan by that death, which one would have thought was the ready way to eftablish it? And with what a glory is this power difplayed, when the doctrine of free remiffion in the blood of Chrift triumphs over all the corruption and pride of nature, and the most stubborn and ftout-hearted finners are brought to fubmit themselves the captives of a redeemer's grace? Here are wonders upon won' ders, miracles of power uniting with miracles of mercy, and all the terrors of juftice mingling with the triumphs of everlasting grace. Finally, what deep and legible impreffions are there of the wisdom of God upon this whole scheme? As the Apostle, fpeaking of our redemption and pardon by the death of Chrift, tells us, that God hath abounded herein towards us in all wisdom and prudence, Eph. i. 8; And that one great end of the gofpel-difpenfation was, that unto the principalities and powers might be known by the church the manifold wildom of God, Eph. iii. 10. How wonderful and astonishing the wisdom of God, in finding out an expedient to reconcile the different claims of juftice and mercy, and give each of them their own proper glory, in full confiftency with the honour of the other?, To fee hell poured out upon fin, whilft the finner is raised and preferred to heaven! To fee the curfe of the law executed in its fullest extent, and the grace of the gofpel exalted in its highest glory! Juftice maintaining its rights, and with a steddy hand vindicating the authority of the

divine government, and yet pardons freely dif penfed, and the guilty finner welcomed and entertained in the arms of everlasting mercy ! Mercy gratified in its moft chofen defigns, and justice receding from none of its demands! In one word, God and man reconciled, a juft and holy God, and guilty finful man; God fatisfied, and the finner faved! How glorious must that wisdom be, which formed a defign to effect all this, and conducted that defign thro' fo many oppofing interefts to fo happy an iffue? Well might the Apoftle cry out, as in a tranfport, Rom. xi. 33. O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! There are thofe difplays of the wifdom of God in our pardon and falvation by Chrift, which are no where else to be equalled.

When therefore the queftion has fometimes been put, whether God could not have pardoned fin, and juftified and faved the finner, in fome other way than by the obedience and death of Christ, the common answer that has been given by our divines has been this; that though God might have found out other ways, yet he could have pitched upon none, in which his own glory would have been fo fully provided for: and this, for ought I know, may be a proper anfwer, if we are allowed to put the queftion; most certainly, in this way of pardon and falvation, there is the higheft illuftration of the glory of all the divine perfections. But however, I rather think the queftion doth not become us; it is above our reach; our curiofity fhould be turned into admiration and praife. Inftead of enquiring what infinite wifdom, and

power,

power, and goodness, could, or could not, do; inftead of enquiring after other ways of falvation, and the poffibility of them, we should adore this wonderful appointment of divine wifdom; and whilft the glory of God fhines out fo brightly in it, our duty is to clofe with it, and thankfully accept of that grace which is here exhibited.

(3.) And lastly. It is plain that all was done with the full confent of the Father, and to his entire fatisfaction, for he has in the fulleft manner declared his well-pleafedness with it. Hence that great defign, whereby pardon, grace, and life are restored and fecured by the fufferings and death of Chrift, is in a peculiar manner faid to be the pleasure of the Lord, Ifa. liii. 10. and God is faid to be well-pleafed for his righteousness fake, Ifa. xlii. 21. Was it his pleasure to have his juftice fatisfied, his law honoured, his grace recommended and exalted? It must be his pleafure to see Chrift dying to bring in everlasting righteousness, for in his death all this was effected. And it is very obfervable to our prefent purpose, that when Chrift entred upon his public ministry, it was ushered in by an audible voice from heaven; and what did this voice proclaim, but how grateful Chrift's Perfon, and undertaking were to the Father, and what pleasure he took in him, as fulfilling all righteousness? He viewed him then fetting out in his great undertaking, fubjecting himself to the law, and preparing for all the inftances of his future obedience; and then you have it by an immediate voice from heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom