soon as man is made an object fit for the complacency of God, it cannot be but that God will again take complacency in him; so that the real change must be only on man; and then that relative or denominative change which must be on God, will thence immediately result.

Some also there be who gather from Christ's death, that God desired the sufferings of Christ as pleasing to him in itself; as if he made a bargain with Christ to sell so much mercy to man, for so much blood and pains of Christ; and as if he so delighted in the blood of the innocent, that he would the more willingly do good to us, if he might first forsake and crucify Christ. But this is to contradict Christ's business in the world, as if he who came from heaven to declare God's love, had come to declare him to delight in doing hurt; and as if he who came to demonstrate God's justice, had come to shew, that he had rather punish the innocent, than the guilty: but the case is quite otherwise: God doth not delight in man's sufferings as such; no, not of the guilty, much less of the innocent: he desired not Christ's suffering for itself; but as it was a convenient means, to demonstrate his justice, and his holiness, and to vindicate the honour of his government and law, and to be a warning to sinners, not to sin presumptuously; and yet to declare to them the greatness of his love.

And some are ready to gather from Christ's propitiation, that God is now more reconcilable to sin, and so they blaspheme him as if he were unholy and as if he made a smaller matter of our misdoings, since he is satisfied for them by a Mediator. And they are ready to gather, that God can now take complacency in man, though he have no inherent holiness at all, because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to him. And some take God's imputation of Christ's righteousness to us, to be a reputing us to be the persons, who ourselves fulfilled the law in or by Christ; so that his very attributes of wisdom, and love, and holiness, and justice, and mercy, &c. which Christ came purposely to declare, are by some denied, blasphemed or abused, on pretence of extolling Christ and our redemption; as if we might sin that grace may abound; Rom. vi. 1, 2. "But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid;" Gal. ii. 17.

Direct. 3. Distinguish between the common and the special benefits of man's redemption by Christ; and see how the latter do suppose the former; and set not these parts against each other, which God in wisdom hath joined together.'

To pass by all other the great and notable common benefit, is the conditional covenant of grace; or the conditional pardon of sin, and gift of eternal life to all without exception; John iii. 16. Mark xvi. 15, 16. Rom. x. 9. Matt. vi. 14, 15. xxii. 7-9. And this general conditional promise must be first preached; and the preaching of this is the universal or common call and offer of grace: and it must be first believed, as is before said. But the actual belief of it, according to its true intent and meaning, doth prove our actual personal title to all the benefits which were before given but conditionally; John iii. 16. 1 John v. 10-12. 2 Cor. v. 19-21.

Direct. 4. Accordingly judge how far redemption is common or special, by the common and special benefits procured.' For no man can deny but it is so far common, as the benefits are common: that is, so far as to procure and give to sinners a common conditional pardon as aforesaid (as Dr. Twisse very often taketh notice). And no man can affirm, that it is common to all, so far as absolutely or eventually to give them actual pardon and salvation, unless they dream that all are saved. But that some eventually and infallibly are saved all confess: and we had rather think that Christ and the good pleasure of God, is the chief differencing cause, than we ourselves.

Direct. 5. Set not the several parts of the office of Christ against each other; nor either depress or forget any one part, while you magnify and meditate only on the other.'

It is most ordinary to reduce all the office of Christ, to the prophetical, priestly, and kingly part. (For it is more proper to call them three parts of one office, than three offices :) but it is hard to reduce his incarnation, or his infanthumiliation, and his whole course of obedience, and fulfilling the law to any one, or all of these, totally. Though in some respect, as it is his example, it is teaching, and as it is part of his humiliation, it may be called a part of his sacrifice; yet as it is meritorious, obedience and perfection, it belongeth indeed to our high-priest, but not formally to

his priesthood: no nor yet as he himself is the sacrifice for sin; for it is not an act of priesthood to be himself a sacrifice. But yet I think the common distribution intimateth to us that sense which containeth the truth which we inquire after for the word priesthood is applied to Christ in a peculiar notion, so as it is never applied to any other; and therefore is taken more comprehensively, as including all that good which he doth for us (as good) by the way of mediation with the Father, and all his acts of mediation with God; as the prophetical and kingly parts, contain his other acts towards men. But yet a more plain and accurate distribution should be made; in which it should be manifested also to what heads his many other assumed titles of relation are to be reduced; but this is not a work for this place.

But that which now. I advise you to avoid, is the error of them who look so much at Christ's mediation with God, that they scarce observe his work with man: and the error of them who look so much at his work on man, that they overlook his mediation with God: and their's that so. observe his sacrifice, as to make light of his continual intercession or that observing both, make light of his doctrine and example: or that observe these so much as to make light of his sacrifice and intercession: or that extol his doctrine and example, and overlook his giving of the Spirit to all his living members; or that cannot magnify any one of these, without depressing or extenuating some other. If Christ's kingdom be not divided (Matt. xii. 25.), sure Christ himself is not divided, nor his works; 1 Cor. i. 13.

Direct. 6. Still distinguish between Christ's work of redemption, which he hath already wrought on earth, to constitute him our Mediatory Head, and that which he was further to do for us in that relation; that you may ground your faith on the first as a foundation laid by him, and may seek after the second as that which requireth somewhat from yourselves to your own participation.'

The first part is commonly called the impetration, the second the application (or rather the communication.) As God did first do himself the work of creation, and thence result his relations of our Owner, our Ruler, and our chief good (or our love, or end, or benefactor); so Christ first doth the works which make him our Redeemer towards

God; and then he is also our Owner, our Ruler, and our communicative Benefactor, hereupon. And this seemeth intimated by those phrases, (Heb. v. 8. ii. 9, 10.) where he is said to "learn obedience by the things which he suffered," that is, as a subject exercised obedience, and so learnt to know by experience what obeying is. And that "the Captain of our salvation was made perfect by sufferings, and for suffering death was crowned with glory," because his sufferings did constitute him a perfect Captain or Redeemer in performance; though before he was perfect in ability. As he that undertaketh to redeem some Turkish galley-slaves by conquering their navy, is made a perfect redeemer, or conqueror, when he hath taken the fleet, though yet the prisoners are in his power, to release them on such terms as seem best to him. And as a man is a perfect chirurgeon, when (besides his skill) he is furnished with all his instruments or salves (how costly soever) though yet the cure is not done or as he that hath ransomed prisoners is a perfect ransomer, when he hath paid the price, though yet they are not delivered, nor have any actual right themselves to claim deliverance by. I here mention this, because the building upon that foundation, which is supposed to be already laid and finished, and the seeking of the further salvation which yet we have no possession of, nor perhaps any title to, are works so very different, that he that doth not discern the difference, cannot exercise the Christian faith; because it is to be necessarily exercised by two such different acts, or different ways of acting and applying ourselves to our Redeemer.

Direct. 7. 'Still think of Christ's nearness both to the Father and to us; and so of our nearness to God in and by him.'

Our distance is the lamentable fruit of our apostacy; which inferreth our fears, and estrangedness, and backwardness to draw near to God; it causeth our ignorance of him, and our false conceits of his will and works; it greatly hindereth both love and confidence: whereas the apprehension of our nearness to God will do much to cure all these evils. As it is the misery of the proud, that God looketh on them as afar off, that is, with strangeness, and abhorrence, and disdain; Psal. cxxxviii. 6. And accord

VOL. XII.

ingly they shall be far off from the blessed ones hereafter; Luke xvi. 23. So it is the happiness of believers to be nigh to God, in Jesus Christ, who condescended to be nigh to us; which is our preparation to be yet nearer to him for ever; Psal. cxlviii. 14. xxxiv. 18. cxlv. 18. Ephes. ii. 13. It giveth the soul more familiar thoughts of God, who seemed before to be at an inaccessible distance; which is part of the boldness of access and confidence mentioned ; Ephes. iii. 12. ii. 18. Rom. v. 2. Heb. x. 19. We may come boldly to the throne of grace; Heb. iv. 16. And it greatly helpeth us in the work of love, to think how near God is come to us in Christ, and how near he hath taken the human nature unto him. When a sinner looketh at God only as in himself, and as he is estranged from the guilty, he is amazed and confounded, as if God were quite out of the reach of our love; but when he thinketh how he hath voluntarily come down into our flesh, that he might be man, and be familiar with man, and what a wonderful marriage the divine nature hath made with the human, this wonderfully reconcileth the heart to God, and maketh the thoughts of him more sweet and acceptable. If the life of faith be a dwelling in God, and God in us, and a walking with God; 1 John iii. 24. iv. 12. 15, 16. Ephes. iii. 17. Gen. xvii. 1. xxiv. 40. v. 22. vi. 9. Heb. xi. 5. Then must we perceive our nearness to God: the just apprehension of this nearness in Christ's incarnation and relation to us, is the chief means to bring us to the nearness of love and heavenly conversation; Col. iii. 1. 3, 4.

Direct. 8. Make Christ therefore the mediation of all your practical thoughts of God.'

cross.

The thoughts of God will be strange to us through our distance, and terrible through our guilt, if we look not upon him through the prospective of Christ's humanity and God out of Christ is a consuming fire to guilty souls. As our acceptance must be through the beloved, in whom he is well pleased; so our thoughts must be encouraged with the sense of that acceptance; and every thought must be led up to God, and emboldened by the Mediator; Matt. iii. 17. xvii. 5. vii. 18. Ephes. i.6. Heb. ii. 9, 10. 12, 13. 17.

Direct. 9. Never come to God in prayer, or any other