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ject himself to the law, whofe precepts they had violated, and whofe curfe they now lay obnoxious to, that bearing and fuffering the one, and obeying and fulfilling the other, he might justly claim for them release and acceptance. Phillip. i 6, 7, Heb. ii. 14. Gal. iii. 13. Eph. i. 6. John xvii, 2, &c.

Now if, (as it appears) Chrift was the head and representative of his people in the covenant of redemption; all he engaged for, muft necef farily ftand or fall together with him; and as he fhould acquit himself in his engagements for them, they must partake the effects accordingly.

But

Chrift the head of his people, dealt prudently, acquitted himself with honour, came off victorious in fight, vanquished his foes, routed his enemies, and led captivity captive. By a holy and obedient life," he magnified the law, and brought "in everlasting righteoufnefs," If. xlii. 21. Dan. ix. 24, and by the offering up of himself a facrifice on the cross, in the room and place of his people, be bath finished tranfgreffion and made an end of fin.

Hence all poor finners believing in him, are by virtue of, and for his blood's fake, delivered from hell and damnation; and for the sake of his holy and obedient life, entitled to heaven, and eternal falvation. Or in other words, for the fake of what Chrift has done and fuffered, all his ad believing feed, who for their fins and iniquities had deferved hell, are not only delivered from the pit, but are accepted in the beloved, adopted into the family of heaven while here on earth, and have heaven and glory infured to them in the promifes of God, when called to depart.

11th, It is scarce poffible for us to hear, and

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seriously meditate of this matchlefs, and unmerited love of God exhibited in Chrift Jefus our Saviour, and not be led to enquire how all this is brought about; how it can comport with justice, that guilty creatures should not only be abfolved, but accepted alfo, and treated as righteous, and really deferving. And, O precious anfwer! Well might David fay of the word of God, that it was dearer to him than thousands of gold and filver, for this bleffed word, gives a full and fatisfactory answer to this important and interefting enquiry. enquiry. Afk we why obnoxious finners are acquitted? It is, fays the bleffed gospel, becaufe God bath found a ranfom.* Job xxxiii. 24, we had finned, Jefus fuffered;

*A ransom, the hebrew (copher) fignifies to cover, and is accordingly tranflated mercy-feat. Exod. xxv. 21, being the covering of the ark of the teftimony. And this mercy feat, fpoken of Heb. ix. 5, is by the fame inspired writer, called the hilafterion. Rom. iii. 25. that is, our propitiation; fo that Christ appears to be the true mercy-feat, the copher, the atonement, and ranfem found for finners.

I beg leave to add the note of no mean commentator on this paffage. I have found a ranfom, or propitiation; Jefus Christ is that ranfom, fo Elibu calls him, as Job had called him, his Redeemer, for he is both the purchafer, and the price, the priest and the facrifice. So high was the value put upon fouls, that nothing lefs would redeem them, and f fo great was the injury done by fin, that nothing lefs would atone for it, than the blood of the fon of God, who gave himself a ransom for many. This is a ranfom of God's finding, a contrivance of infinite wisdom; we could never have found it out ourselves, and the angels themselves could ne ver have found it, it is the wifdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, and fuch an invention as is, and will be the everlasting wonder of thofe principalities and powers that defire to look into it. Obferve how God glories in the invention here, eureka, eureka, I have found, I have found the ranfom, 1, even I am he that hath done it. Math. Henry.

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fered; for our tranfgreffions he was striken, fmitten of God and afflicted, the just gave up himself to death, even a death moft ignominious and excruciating, bare the fins of the unjust, that he might bring them to God. Do we enquire why vile and worthless finners, are dealt with in fo much mercy, treated with fuch wonderful loving kindness, that they are accepted, adopted, and beloved? The foul-transporting answer is, hear it with attention, and receive it with pleasure and gratitude, O my foul, and thou O christian reader whoever thou art; the answer I fay is, we are accepted in the beloved; not by works of righteousness which we have done, but of grace, free, rich, and fovereign. Jefus the everlasting, co-effential, and co-equal fon of the everlasting father, hath undertaken for us, espoused our caufe, borne our fin and forrow, difcharged our debts, and procured us favour and acceptance, and because he died for us we shall not die, and because he lived on earth below a holy and obedient life, fulfilling all righteousness, as our federal-head, and now for ever lives in heaven above to intercede, I fay because of his life, we fhall live alfo.

Glorious falvation, we who were guilty and obnoxious are abfolved; we who were polluted and defiled, are accepted; "for he hath made him to

be fin for us who knew no fin, that we might "be made the righteoufnefs of God in him."* 2 Cor.

*God made Chrift fin for us, inafmuch as he imputed our fins to him, that he might fuffer the punishment of them; and on the contrary, we are made the righteousness of God in Chrift, inasmuch as God imputeth his righteousness to us,

and

2 Cor. v. 21. Precious fcripture this, each word is big with wonder; each word is most emphatical, and claims the clofeft attention. He, the father, God of immaculate purity, who cannot approve fin, nor accept the guilty finner, as fuch, in love most stupendous and astonishing towards the deserved objects of his wrath, made, gave up, appointed, bim, his only begotten fon, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, Phillip. ii. 6. to be fin, imputing the guilt of his offending creatures unto him, that in his own body he might bear them on the cross, and as a fin offering might be facrificed to expiate tranfgreffion, and as a finner might fuffer the defert of the fins of his people. And O wonderful to tell, this, he was made, for us, Lord what is man, that thou art thus mindful of him, or what is a finful child of man, that thy fon fhould be made fin for him! For us, angels are left confined in chains of darknefs for their fins, but Jefus takes our nature, and is made fin for us, he knew no fin, immaculate in nature, guiltless in life; we knew nought but fin, conceived in fin, brought forth in iniquity, and like loft sheep, with one confent, bad gone aftray, yet, was be made fin for us. But O my foul, art thou not fwallowed up in wonder, and fweet furprize! Amazement higher ftill, what was all this for? What to effect? Why does Jehovah bow the fkies,

and we are esteemed righteous for the fake of the obedience of Chrift, Pifcat in loc.-The righteoufnefs of God, not a righteoufness inherent but imputed by God through faith. Therefore it is added (en auto) in him, fo we are the righteoufnefs of God in him, as he is fin for us, even by imputation. Bez. in loc.

kies, and in the habit of a poor ftranger appear in this corrupted world, and fojourn amongst his own offending creatures? It was, "that we might "be made the righteousness of God in him,* that we might, (believing in him) be invefted with that robe of righteoufnefs, which might render us acceptable to God, might be clothed upon with that garment of falvation, which fhould bespeak us the purchase of his blood, and gain us admiffion into the prefence chamber of the king of kings.

But how shall this righteousness become ours? By a gracious imputation, and, as it were, in exchange for our fins, for he took our fins, that we might become poffeffed of his righteoufnefs through faith in him; he affumed the human nature, that we might partake of the divine, and cloathed

As

*The righteousness of God in him, viz. that we might appear righteous before God, not in our inherent righteouf nefs, but the rightcoufnefs of Chrift imputed to us of God by faith; for the apoftle adds not (en auto) in him, without defign, but that he might fignify unto us, that we are not justified by a righteoufnefs of our own, but by the righteousness of another, even Chrift's imputed to us. Chrift is faid to have been made fin for us who knew no fin, fuch he was made by imputing our fins unto him; fo on the contrary, that we are made righteous, it is by imputing his righteousness unto us, By this wonderful permutation, Christ hath taken upon himself our evil things, that he might impart unto us his good things: he took our misery, that he might bestow on us his mercy; he took the curfe due to us, that we might partake of his bleffedness; he bowed to death, to raise us to life, and in order to this, took our fins, that we might take his righteoufnefs. Turret.Ipfe peccatum et nos juftitia, nec noftra fed Dei, nec in nobis fed in ipfo, ficut ipfe peccatum, non fuum fed noftrum, nec in fe, fed in nobis factus eft, Auguft.

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