fuitable end for him, who had all the jarring elements to manage, all the oppofite tendencies of things to govern, and direct to one common end, than to give a proof of his wonderful skill in reconciling the feemingly oppofite and irreconcilable interefts of juftice and mercy! Never was there any end more noble, more fuitable than that which God had in view, in the contrivance of this falvation. He defign'd to complete the dif covery he gave of his attributes, to honour his laws, to expose the folly and weakness of his great enemy, to fhew his glorious wifdom in compofing the greatest difference, reconciling the most seemingly crofs and irreconcilable interests of justice and mercy.

Thus we fee the end was wife: nor were the means, and the timing of the means lefs fo. Much of wisdom was there laid out in fitting the perfon of the redeemer, to open a door for the glorification of the grace, mercy and love of God, to repair the honour of God's law and of his authority, to baffle Satan's power and policy, and to reconcile and amicably compofe the opposite interests of fpotlefs juftice and tender mercy. Much of wif dom fhines in timing of this difcovery, and in the application of it. Well might it be called manifold wifdom that fhines herein. And juftly may that falvation, which is thus wifely contrived, be called great, in respect of that wildom which did -contrive it.

(2.) This is indeed a great falvation, and can-not but be fo, if we confider the author of it, God, the great God. He it is who contrived, and claims the honour of the accomplishment of this work, of the falvation of the church as his due: and this honour is given him cordially by all thofe who

are

are faved. They find themselves obliged to own all other things unable for contriving or for effeEtuating a work fo great as is the falvation of finners. In vain is falvation looked for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; in the Lord alone is the falvation of his people, Jer. iii. 23. And this acknowledgment of the church is confonant to that declaration which God gives, Ifa. xlv. 21.-——————— -There is no God elfe befide me, a juft God and a Saviour, there is none befide me. All the perfons of the glorious Trinity have their diftinct hand and concernment in this falvation.“ The first proposal is owing to the love of the father, the accomplishment of it to the fon, and the application of it to the fpirit. Sure it must be agreat work indeed, a great falvation that bufied i the thoughts of the bleffed Trinity from all eternity, and employed, if I may fo fpeak, their hands in time. And fuch is the falvation we fpeak of.:

(3.)'Tis a great falvation, if we confider the way of its accomplishment, the means whereby it is brought about; and these were the wonderful great condefcenfion of the Son of God, humbling himself so far, as to take upon him the form of a fervant, finful man, Phil ii. 6, 7. his inexpreffibly great fufferings in foul and body, and the exceeding greatnefs of his mighty power put forth in the application of these great things which were purchafed, not with things of so small a price, fo inconfiderable as filver or gold, or fuch corruptible drofs, but with the precious blood of Chrift, 1 Pet. i. 18.:

(4.) 'Tis great falvation, if we confider the manner of its publication. God himself brought the first news of it to Adam, and did afterwards upon feveral occafions carry on the discovery, by

Part II. adding to that first revelation, and giving new beams of light to it, as the various occafions of the church did require, Heb. ii. 2, 3. But that which is most remarkable, and of greatest confideration, is that the publication of this was a part of the work which a humbled God, while tabernacled amongst men, took to himself; he went about preaching falvation.

(5.) This falvation deferves to be called great, if we take a view of the great evils we are hereby liberate and faved from. (1.) Hereby we are faved from great pollutions. We are all by nature as black, as filthy as hell; we have by fin debafed ourfelves to hell: we are fo filthy that God, the holy God, cannot look upon us without abhorrence: we are abominate by the holy angels, and even by ourselves, when our eyes are opened. There is fo much filthinefs in every finner, as is fufficient to make him loathe himself, if he but faw himself. Job, who had as great a teftimony given him by God, the best judge as ever man had, yet loathes and abhors himself, when God lets him fee himself. Muft not that be great filthiness that makes not only God, the holy God, loathe man; but even, finful polluted man abominate himself? And is it not a great falvation to be faved from fo great filthinefs? Sure it is. 'Tis a filthiness that the nitre and fope of human endeavours has many times been tried upon, but to no purpose. No thing can wash out the ftain but the blood of God: and to be faved from fuch filthinefs, is a mercy of no fmall confideration: 'Tis indeed great falvation. (2.) 'Tis falvation from the guilt of fin. Sin carries in it an obligation to punishment. Rom. viii. 1. It ties fin and punishment together; and confequently is like a ftrong chain whereby the finner

is bound to deftruction, fo faft that he cannot get away from it. He is tied to hell; and fure when one finds himself thus knit to deftruction, he will think it a great falvation to be faved from it, to have this knot loofed. (3.) 'Tis 'falvation from the dominion of fin. Sin is a great tyrant, and imposes a moft heavy and intolerable yoke upon all its vaffals. We may fee what a tyrant it is, by the many tragical events with which the world is daily filled.. We fee fome kingdoms foked in blood, fome families buried in contempt; fome men ruined in their reputation, others in their bodies, others in their eftates: and if we enquire who has done all this mischief; we fhall find that fin has done it all. It has made one part of a nation imbrue their hands in their neighbours blood; it has hurried men upon these foolish and hurtful practices, whereby they have ruined their families, their eftates, their names, their fouls, their bodies. Sure then falvation from the reign and dominion of this infufferable tyrant, deferves to be ftil'd great falvation. (4.) "Tis falvation from the molefting power of the remainders of fin that dwells in believers: and this is great falvation. So grievous are the workings, ftirrings, motions of this enemy, that it makes the children of God many times look upon themselves as wretched, and cry out with the apoftle, Rom. vii. 24. Owretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And to be freed from that which makes a man account himself miferable and wretched, is certainly a great falvation. (5.) 'Tis falvation from the wrath of God; and how great a mercy is this? Who knows the power of his wrath? And who knows how great a deliverance it is to be faved from the wrath to come?

Such

only

only can who have their eyes open, to see the danger they are in from the imminency of the whirlwind of the Lord's anger, that goes forth with fury, and falls with pain upon the head of the wicked. (6.) 'Tis falvation from Satan's flavery and fure to be faved from his flavery is a great falvation indeed. He rules in the children of difobedience: and where he reigns he never treats one of his flaves better, than he did that poor child, of whom we have an account in the Evangelifts. He takes them and tears them, and bruifes them, throwing them fometimes into the fire, and fometimes into the water, Matt. xvii. 14. Mark ix. 17. Luke ix. 39. Hè runs them into very different evils, fire and water, but equally deftructive to their life. And to be faved from fuch treatment, from fuch an enemy, is furely a great falvation; and will easily be acknowleged fuch, by all who know how great a misery it is to be under fuch a yoke. (7.) 'Tis falvation from the sting of death, and from the fear of death. We read of fome that all their lifetime have been in bondage through fears of death, Heb. ii. 15. 'tis likewife declared a part of Chrift's undertaking, to deliver fuch. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himfelf likewife took part of the fame, that thro' death he might deftray him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime fubject to bondage. Whoever takes a view of thefe evils, which this falvation and deliverance has a respect to, cannot but own it a great falvation.

Where

(6.) To add no more confiderations for the illuftration of this property, it must be owned to be a great falvation, if we confider what are the ad