old covenant of works, where they and their money fhall perish: but for you that are poor, guilty, filthy, perifhing finners, deftitute of all good in yourfelves, here is good news to you; here is grace, free grace, full grace, rich grace, all grace; grace to juflify the guilty, grace to fantify the filthy, grace to firengthen the weak, grace to fupply the needy. You that want grace, may come here and get it; you that have grace, may come here and get more; this blood has purchafed all grace, and the purchafer ftands ready to communi. cate it for he has no other thing to do with his mediatorial grace, but to give it out to finners, to men, to rebels: "He has received gifts for men, even for the rebellious, that God the Lord might dwell among them." O the noble purchase of this blood! It has purchafed freedom from the law, both from the curfe and command of the covenant of works, in fo much that the believer is neither under the mandate, nor the fanction of the law, as a covenant of works: by the obedience of Chrift to the command of that covenant they are made righteous, Rom. xv. 19. Who alio hath redeemed them from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for them, Gal, iii. 13. The believer indeed is under ftronger obligations to obey the law, as it is a rule of life and holiness, than ever Adam was in a flate of innocency; but as it is a covenant of works, and condition of life, he has not a farthing of debt to pay to it, if the righteoufnels of Chrift be complete and full; yea, this makes the law of God his delight, when he attains to the faith of this, that he has nothing to do with it as it is a covenant.

In a word, by this blood, fhed by the fword of jufticė, there is a purchafe made of accefs to God. The Son of man was lifted up upon the crois, to open the gates of heaven, which our fin had fhut; he rent the vail from top to bottom, and we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jefus. The fword awakenedagainst the Son, that he might bring us to the Father, Ι Pet. . 18. "Chrift has once fuffered for fin; the just for the unjuft, that he might bring us to God." We are at a distance from God, lying peaceably in

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the devil's arms; but they that were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Chrift. All the fermons, all the means in the world, will not, bring us near to God; the means by which he draws, men to himfelf, is juft by his blood and righteoufnels; "When I am lifted up, fays Chrift, I will draw all men after me.? Well, he was lifted up upon the crofs, where he received the blow of God's awakened fword; he was lifted up into. heaven, to his Father's right-hand, and he is lifted up. upon the pole of this gofpel; and has he faid, “I will draw all men after me?" O fay, Amen, Lord, let this be a drawing day.

VI. The Sixth thing was the Application. Now, many, very many things might be deduced from this doctrine, by way of application. I fhall at the time offer you but a few General Inferences, and refer the reft to be accommodated more particularly to the reft of the work of the day, as the Lord fhall please to guide and direct. Well, is it fo, that by fpecial orders from JEHOVAH, the Lord of hofis, the man Chrift, his Shepherd and his Fellow, did fall a facrifice to the awakened fword of infinite juftice? Is it fo as you have heard? Then we may hence fee, and behold,

1. The infinite malignity of fin, and the dreadful demerit thereof. Did it overflow the old world with a deluge of water? Did it confume Sodom and Gomorrah with a florm of fire and brimftone? Did it caft angels and men, that are under it into Tophet, "The place whereof is fire and much wood, which the breath of the Lord doth kindle;" fo as the fmoke of their torments afcend for ever and ever? In all this way the demerit of fin be feen; but much more here in Chrift, a facrifice to the awakened fword of divine vengeance.. Go to Golgotha, and fee the man that is God's Fellow, drinking up the cup of his Father's indignation! fuffering unto blood! fuffering unto death! for, "God fpared him not," being now in the room of finners: behold the earth trembling under the mighty load of this terrible wrath for there was a great earthquake, while the fword of God's wrath was running through the man

that

that was his Fellow; the heavens grew dark when this awful fpectacle was expoled; the fun was eclipfi ed, contrary to the common rules of nature, which made an heathen philofopher cry out, That either the frame of nature was diffolving, or the God of ne ' ture fuffering.' And what thall we that profefs to be. Chriflians fay to these things?, what hill we that are finners fay concerning that abominable evil, fin, which wrought this bloody tragedy? It was fin, and our fin too; for he was wounded for our iniquities; the Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all, Ita. liii. 6. O! how heavy did the man that is God's Fellow find the weight of fin to be, when it profied him to the ground, and made him sweat great drops of blood! when the fword of wrath, which he fuftained in our room, was above his head.

2. Hence behold both the goodnefs and feverity of God: his Goodnefs, in finding cut this way of latisfac tion to his own juftice, and wounding his own Son; that finners, for whom he was Surety, might not be wounded eternally: and the Severity and Juftice of God, in exacting fuch a full fatisfaction, that though all the elect had been fatisfying eternally in hell, juftice had not been made to fhine to plendidly and gloriously O if we could think and fpeak aright of this wonderful mystery O wonder that we are not more affected with it that we, miferable wretched finners, thould have been purfued eternally by juice, and could do nothing to avert the ftroak of it; and that fuch a great and glorious Perfon, as the Man, God's Fellow, should interpofe himfelf; and hereupon the Father thould fpare the poor finful enemies, and make way for them to efcape, by diverting of his juftice from parfaing them, and by making it take hold of the Son of his bofom; exacting the debt feverely from him! O wonder that the Lord fhould pafs by the enemies, and fatisfy him'elf upon his own Son!

3. Hence behold the wonderful concurrence of the glorious perfons of the bleffed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, to carry on the work of our redemp tion; for here is the Lord of hofts, Jenovan, Father,

Son, and Holy Ghoft, One God, effentially confidered, profecuting the work of redemption; and faying, with refpect to Chrift, the feeond Perfon of the Godhead, confidered as he became man and Mediator, "Awake, O fword, against the man that is my Fellow." Not that God the Father delighted in the fuffering, as fuch, of his innocent Son; for, "He afflicts not willingly, even the children of men :" but confidering the end and the effe that was to follow, the feed that he should be, get to eternal life, and the captives whom he was to redeem; in this refpect, " It pleafed the Lord to bruise him;" when he might have fuffered all mankind to ly fill in their forlorn condition, it pleafed him to give his life a ransom for many. Here the whole Trinity is in concert, each perfon to perform his own part; wherein all the bright perfections of the divine nature do glorioufly confpire. O how does God commend his love to us, In that whilft we were yet finners, Chrift died for us? Rom, v, 8. And, O how he loved us, who washed us from our fins in his own blood? Rev. i. 5. Again,

4. Behold herein the Holy Sovereignty of God, that over-rules all the actions of men, even these wherein they have a moft fenfible hand, and are moft inexcufable. Though Judas that betrayed, Pilate that condemned, the innocent Son of God, acted noft finfully; yet the Lord himself had an active over-ruling hand in carrying on his own defigns. What Judas and Pilate did, was not by guefs, but juft the execution of God's antient decree: how pure and spotlefs is God in venting and manifefting his grace, holinefs, and juftice, when men are venting their corruption, impiety, and injuftice! Here is a principal diamond in JEHOVAH's crown, that he is able, not only to govern all the natural fecond caufes that are in the world, in their feveral courfes and actions, and order them to his own glory; but even devils, wicked men, and hypocrites, their most corrupt and abominable actions, and make them invariably fubfervient to the promoting of his own holy ends and purpofes, and yet be free of their fin: for which they fhall count to him; and as it was no excufe to the

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crucifiers of the Son of God, that they did what before was decreed of God; fo it fhall be no excufe to any man in a finful courfe, that God has a hand in every thing that really comes to país, who yet is juft and holy in all. This may alfo flay our hearts, when the devil and his inftruments are, as it were, running mad, that they can do no more than what God permits; nay, fome way commiffionates them to do: no fword of men, or devils, can do any execution, unlefs God fays, “Awake, Ofword."

5 In this text and doctrine we may fee and behold, what a glorioufly well qualified Redeemer we have; he is God's Shepherd, the man his Fellow: behold what intereft he has in God! and that bath by nature, being God's Fellow; and by covenant, being God's Shepherd: behold what intereft he has in us; and that alfo both by nature, being man; and by covenant, by virtue of the covenant of grace, being our Shepherd by God's appointment and conflitution. O how fit is he, who is the effential Wifdom of the Father, to reveal the counfel of God's love from eternity! How fit is he, who is the middle perfon of the Godhead, to be the Mediator and Midfman! How fit is he, who is the eternal Son of God, to bring many fons and daughters to glory! The eternal Word that made the world, alfo to redeem the world! How fit, as God-man; being man, to pay man's debt; as God, to give it a value man, to deal with man; and God, to deal with God! What an able Sa viour must he be, who is God's Fellow! able to fave to the uttermoft? Help is laid upon one that is mighty indeed! What a willing Saviour muft he be, who is God's Fellow! He could not have been forced to fuffer, nor dragged to the work, if he had not been willing: nay, with chearful willingness he flew, as it were, upon the point of the fword; "Lo, I come." What a fufficient ranfom has he given, fince he is God's Fellow! O this price of redemption cannot be over-valued! What a well-furnished Saviour is he, to give life to whom he will. God's Fellow, the party offended, dying to conciliate friendfhip with the party offending! O what a gift is Chrift, when God fo loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; his Fellow, his Equal!