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men and angels had put their fhoulders to this work, it would never have been done; for the redemption of the foul is precious, and ceafeth for ever, as to the creature. He alone is the Meffiah, chofen, conftituted, promised, typified, to whom all the prophets gave witness, and we are not to look for another: infufficiency is ingraven and ftamped upon all others.

3. His being the Perfon ordained, imports, the alone fufficiency of this glorious Perfon for this glorious work. O the glorious excellency of this Perfon here given! and, O the glorious fufficiency of this Perfon! "I will give thee. I have laid help upon. One that is mighty:" this is he that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his ftrength, mighty to fave: this is he that comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah; who trode the wine-prefs of his Father's wrath alone, and of the people there was none with him.

4. His being the Perfon ordained of the Father, imports, the unparallelled love both of him that gave, and of him that is given; both of the ordainer and ordained: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be a propitiation for our fins," 1 John iv. 10. And herein is love, that Chrift fo chearfully undertook this work; He rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the fons of men, Prov. viii. 31. Here are both the parties of the covenant, God and Chrift; that glorious I, and that glorious THEE; "I will give thee:" two wonderful Covenanters. God forefeeing from eternity that mankind would be ruined, by violating the covenant betwixt God and man, fet on foot a better project, even an inviolable covenant betwixt God and Chrift: two unchangeable parties, mutually engaging for. the relief and recovery of the loft finner; and Chrift bearing such a part of the work, as to get the name of the whole; "I will give thee for a covenant of the people."

3dly, The glorious manner of this ordination, is im-. ported in the word GIVE; Iwill GIVE thee. A man's gift makes room for him, fays Solomon, and give him place among great men," Prov. xviii. 16. Men are esteemed and refpected for the valuableness of the gifts and be

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nefits,

nefits they give; how much more fhould God's gift make room for him! Chrift is God's gift; "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." And this giving of Chrift implies feveral things which cannot concern the manner of his ordination, to be a covenant of the peo, ple.

1. In general, and negatively, God's giving of Chrift does not imply, that he was bout to alienate his own right to Chrift from himfelf to us; no, he is fill his only begotten Son; when we give a thing to another, we alienate our own right to it; but it is not fo here: what God gives, we may have the benefit and ufe of it, but God ftill keeps a right over us and it: hence fays the apoftle, All things are yours, for ye are Chri's, and Chrift is God's." But,

2. More particularly, and pofitively, God's giving of Chrift for a covenant to the people, implies,

(1.) His eternal deftination by the Father for this end, to be the covenant of the people, before the people had a being: they were not fo much as confulted in the matter, when the contract was figned in the counfel of peace. betwixt the Father and the Son; and we have no rea fon to complain of injury done us here, for we have nothing to contract on our part: the breach of the first covenant left us worfe than nothing; for the first Adam left us with a burden of debt, a burden of poverty and want; yea, a burden of curfes from the fiery law; and all that we can do, is to increase the debt, inflead of being able to pay it off. Now, I fay, God's giving him, includes his internal deftination by the Father for this mediatorial work, without our having any hand in it, or knowledge of it, or any obligation lying upon God fo to do as he did, in the eternal tranfaction with his Son concerning the people, whom he defigned to fave. There was no obligation lying upon Chrift, to come in our flead, to be our Surety, to take our guilt, and pay our debt, previous to his own confent; nor any obligation upon God to accept of a Surety, inftead of the prin cipal debtor therefore, God's giving of Chrift, muft imply a tranfaction, wherein the Son confented to be the covenant, to be the Mediator, to take our guilt up

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on him; and the Father confented to send him, and accept of his furetyfhip for loft finners.

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(2.) God's giving of Chrift, implies his actual qualifying, and fending him to accomplish that which was contrived from eternity. How he called and qualified: him, you fee in the preceeding verfe; he called him in righteoufnefs, and qualified him with a fupereminent unction of the Holy Ghoft; "I will put my Spirit upon) him, and he fhall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” Accordingly he received the Spirit above the meafure. How he fent him, you fee in feveral places of fcripture; he gave him a body, a true body, and a reasonable foul; and then he gave him to the death in the fulne's of time; for, It pleafed the Lord to bruife him" Juftice awakened against him; "Awake, O fword, again my Shepherd,-fmite the Shepherd." He was put in the wine-prefs of divine vengeance, and bruifed there: he was not only bruifed in his name, being called a madman and a devil; not only bruifed in his eftate, while the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nefis, but the Son of man had no where to lay his head'; neither was he bruifed in his body only, while they pierced his hands and his feet; but bruifed in his foul, till it was exceeding forrowful, even unto death, and till the agonies of his foul preffed the blood out of his body, even great drops of blood: no wonder, for he was plunged in the ocean of God's wrath, and fuffered all the hell that was due to fin: fin being imputed to him as the covenant of the people, juftice did not spare him; Rom. viii. 32. "He fpared not his own Son, but gave him to the death for us all."

(3.) God's giving of Chrift implies, that the manner of his ordination of this work, was every way free and gratuitous: what freer than a gift? God gives Chrift for a covenant of the people, without regard to any mo tive, merit, or folicitation of the people; yea, and in oppofition thereto. This gift is free, in oppofition to merit, either of condignity or congruity. If we be for merit of our own, we must be for hell, for that is all that we merit; if wretchednefs, mifery, and a mafs of confufion and enmity, be accounted merit, then we may lay claim to it, but no otherwife. This gift is free,

in oppofition to constraint, force, or neceflity: God had nothing from without to conftrain him to contrive the redemption of man, or to give Chrift for that end; though all mankind should have been for ever drowned in the flood of his wrath, God had remained as he was, as happy as ever; no force was upon him to contrive a remedy for man. This gift is free, in oppofition to debt: God owed us nothing but wrath; but we owe many millions of talents to his infinite juftice. In a word, it is free, in oppofition to all motives from without God himfelf. There was nothing about us, to move him to pity us, ten thousand things to move him to destroy us. Upon what condition in us could God be moved to give his Christ to us; feeing our best condition, before he gave him in poffeffion to us, is a condition of fin and mifery, death and thraldom? But then again,

(4.) God's giving of Chrift for a covenant of the people, his giving him thus, I fay, implies a right and title that the people have to receive him. God's giving Chrift, is the foundation of our title to receive him : faith, which is the only actual acceptance of the gift, is the mean of putting us in poffeffion; but it would be. the height of prefumption, thus to take and receive, if there were no giving; John iii. 27. "No man receiveth any thing, except it be given him from heaven." As this receiving then fuppofes a giving of Chrift, prior to the. receiving, fo this giving of Chrift for a covenant of the. people, implies the people's right, and title, and warrant to receive him. There is a two-fold giving of Chrift:

1. A giving of Christ in point of actual poffeffion; and thus he is given to the elect foul in the day of believing; and this giving is the foundation of his title to all things in and through him: for, "How will he not with him freely give us all things?" Rom. viii. 32. And till a man have an interest in Chrift thus, he hath no faving right to any thing, no right to a communion-table; nay, no covenant-right to the food of his common-table.

2. There is a giving of Christ in point of exhibition and gofpel-offer; and thus he is given to the whole vifible church, in the difpenfation of the word; and this

giving is a foundation of our title to receive Chrift, and our claim of right to take this gift out of the hand of the Giver. A right of poffeffion none have, till they believe, and take the gift that is offered; but a right of accefs and warrant to believe, all have, whether they believe or not, or whether they take this gift out of • God's hands or not. That Chrift is God's gift to a whole vifible church in this fenfe, is a great privilege, whatever the world think or fay about it, and it is a part of my errand this day, to tell you of it: if it be difgulting doctrine to any, and will not go down, we cannot help it; it is Bible-doctrine, and gofpel-doctrine, and therefore we mult preach it in his name, who commands us to preach the gospel to every creature. But, I think, it fhould be welcome doctrine to all that hear me, That Chrift is given to all the people in this house, in the fame manner that the manna was given to all the people of old, John vi. 32.; where Chrift fpeaking to all the promifcuous multitude, and making a comparifon betwixt himself, and the manna that fell about the tents of Ifrael in the wilderness, fays, "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven" where the revelation and offer of Chrift is declared to be a giving of him, before ever he be received or believed on. It is fuch a gift and grant, as warrants a man to believe, and receive the gift; for this end is He given to a perithing world; "God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth on him, might not perish, but have everlasting life." As the brazen ferpent was given for a common-good to the whole camp of Ifrael, that whofoever in all the camp, being ftung with the fiery-ferpents looked thereto, might not die, but live; even fo is Chrift given as a common good to poor ftung finners, that looking to him they may be faved. Chrift is given to all, in the difpenfation of this gofpel. And, O it fhould be glad tidings of great joy to all people, That to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, whofe name is WONDERFUL. This giving, in a general and definite manner, to all, in the gospel-offer, may be, and is, for the most part, where there is no receiving: but there can be no receiving of Chrift for falvation,

where

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