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him, and fup with him, and he mith me; knocks by his word, by his rod, by his spirit, by his mercies, by his judgments, and by confcience. Now finners, will not you open the door of your hearts to Chrift, that he may open the door of heaven to you? If you fhut him out of your hearts, he will fhut you out of heaven; and what will you get by that? O firs, he hath gold to enrich you, wine to chear wine to chear you, bread to nourish you, righteoufnefs to juftify you, mercy to fave you, and happiness to crown you.

Let all that which is precious to God, be the fame to you. 1. The fon of God. 2. The book of God. 3. The day of God. 4. The ordinances of God. 5. The minifters of God. 6. The people of God. O let these be precious to you; the people of God are very precious to him; a faint is as glorious in his greatest mifery, as a finner is miferable in his greatest glory.

The Lord give a bleffing to what has been delivered.

SERMON

SERMON IX.

WONDERFUL.

CANT. V. 16. He is altogether Lovely. Doctrine, Jefus Chrift is Infinitely and Superlatively Lovely.

T O be in a state of grace, is to be miferable no more, but to enjoy eternal

felicity and happiness; having communion with their bleffed Saviour, and fanctified fouls on earth.

Jefus Chrift from one faint hath more glory given to him, than he received from all the world befides; we owe not only our. fervice to him, but ourselves also.

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I fhall now make fome entrance upon our Lord Jefus Chrift's leventh famous title, which is wonderful; this is one of his titles, in Ifa. ix. 6. He fhall be called wonderful.

The point that we fhall lay down and fpeak from, is this:

That a believer's Saviour is a wonderful Saviour.

He is wonderful in the eyes of all: Angels and faints for love, the world and devils for fear, wonder at him. For opening this excellent point, take thefe particulars.

1. Chrift is wonderful in his nature. 2.

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He is wonderful in his perfon. 3. He is wonderful in his incarnation. 4. He is wonderful in his faints. 5. He is wonderful in his offices. 6. He is wonderful in his miracles that he wrought. 7. He is wonderful in his humiliation. 8. He is wonderful in his conqueft. 9. He is wonderful in his afcenfion. 10. He is wonderful in his exaltation. 11. He is wonderful in his workings towards his faints. Laftly, He is wonderful in his coming to judgment.

Some have more time than matter, but I have now more matter than time; therefore I must omit much precious matter, for want of time.

Beloved, I fhall handle but one of these particulars, and that is the feventh, that Jefus Chrift is wonderful in his humiliation.

This is the head we shall now infift upon; and indeed this is one of the greatest wonders of all, that he that was fo high, fhould be brought fo low, that he that was fo rich, fhould become fo poor; that the Lord of life fhould die; and the great God to become a babe, and the eternal word not able to speak a word; that he that made the law, fhould be made under the law; he that was more excellent than all the Angels, fhould become leffer and lower than the Angels. Oh ye Angels, how ftand ye amazed at this! that the Lord of heaven and earth fhould become a fervant to his own fervants

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Phil. ii. 2. He took upon him the form of a fervant; this muft needs be wonderful to all the Angels in heaven. But to proceed, Jefus Chrift took upon him our nature, Heb. ii. 16. God could floop no lower than to become man, and man could be advanced no higher than to be united with God.

He that before made man a foul after the image of God, now made himself a body after the image of man. For man to be like to God is a wonder, but for God to be like to man is a greater.

But when was it that Jefus Chrift took. upon him our nature? when it was in innocency, free from all mifery and calamity? No, no, but when it was at the loweft after the fall, when it was moft beggarly, wretched, bloody, accurfed, finful, and moft feeble, When we were without ftrength, Chrift died for the ungodly, fays the Apoftle, Rom. v. 6.

Now my brethren, That he should take upon him our condition, our frailty, our curfe, fin and nature, when it was thus low, thus poor, thus wretched. Oh this is a wonder of wonders; and yet this you fee Jefus Chrift did.

Oh wonderful redemption! muft God take upon him our frailty? Had we fo far ran upon the score of vengeance, that none could fatisfy but God himfelf? Could he not have sent his Angels or faints, but muft he come himself in perfon? No, no, Angels

nor

nor faints could not do it, but if Chrift will fave us, he himself mult come and die for

us.

Our Saviour's humility defcended very low; he was born of a poor maid, of no account or reputation: Was there never a great lady or gentlewoman in Jerufalem, for this great Prince of heaven and earth to be born of, but that he must be born of a poor defpifed virgin?

Yea certainly, there were gentlewomen ftore in Jerufalem, but our Lord Jefus Chrift regardeth not the rich no more than the poor.

He was revealed to poor fhepherds, not to Emperors and Kings, rulers and great men, not to Doctors and learned men, nor to Cæfar at Rome, but to poor fhepherds in the field, Luke ii. 8, 9.

He was born in a ftable, Luke ii. 12. Not in a fair house or palace, nor in a parlor or chamber, no, but in a ftable, where horses and beafts were fed.

He was wrapt up in clouts, and laid in a manger; they were not clouts of fine linen or filk, nor cloth of gold or filver, nor precious robes, but poor and mean, like to beggars rags.

Now beloved, put all this together, and tell what is more wonderful than this: Oh wonderful, wonderful redemption!

Oh humility, humility! how great is thy

riches

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