ful man stands plainly thus. (1.) Man has finned and thereby provoked God to wrath. (2.) Incenfed juftice lays hold of finful man, takes him, and, like Ifaac, binds him, and lifts the hand with the knife in it, to fetch a stroke down upon the finner. (3.) In this cafe, no prayers, no tears of the finner, nay, nor any thing that the finner can think upon, can avail: Sacrifice and offering thou would not, fays our Lord, Heb. x. 5. (4.) While things are in this defperate condition with the finner, Chrift, being made a prieft, as has been faid, by virtue of his office fteps in and pleads for the finner, and offers himself in the finner's room, to fuffer what juftice was ready to have inflicted upon the finner. (5.) Justice accepts of the facrifice of this lamb of God's providing, and lets the finner go, but flays the facrifice. (6.) This being done, God is appeased; he has no more to charge the finner with; for the facrifice has fuffered; nay more, the facrifice being of infinitely more value than the finner, doth deferve and purchase a great many favours for him, all which this high prieft takes care to have bestowed on him; that is to fay, he intercedes for him, that he may lofe none of these things which Chrift has purchased for him: for his interceffion is nothing elfe, but that care, if I may fo fpeak, which the high prieft of our profeffion takes, that all thefe for whom he did offer himself a facrifice obtain the advantage of that facrifice. And of how great ufe this office is to fuch finners as are in the jaylor's cafe, may appear in part from what has already been difcourfed on this head, and may more fully appear from what we fhall afterward difcourfe on the fame. Now we come,' (3.) To fpeak of Chrift's being a King. As he he is by God appointed to be a prophet and a prieft, fo is he likewife to be a king. I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion, Pfal'ii. 6. His profeffed adherence to this coft him his life. This. was his charge, that he made himself a king. I cannot stand to speak of all these things which da belong to Chrift's kingly office. I fhall only hint at a few things which are of efpecial use to our prefent purpose. (1.) He has power and authori ty, by virtue of this office, to enact all fuch laws as may contribute to the good and advantage of his fubjects. (2.) He has power to reduce all fuch as do belong to his kingdom, to his obedience. Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power, fays God to him, Pfal. cx. 3. Sometimes the fubjects of his kingdom do rebel against him; but he makes them by his power willingly to fubmit to him. (3.) He has power to protect his fubjects against all their enemies: and hereupon it is that the church's confidence is founded, Ifa. xxxiii. 22. The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King, he will fave us. (4.) He has power entirely to make a conquest of all his enemies: for he must reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet, 1. Cor. xv. 25. In fine, he has a power whereby he is able even to fubdue all things to himself, all power being given him in heaven and in earth; and being made head over all things to the church, he will take care to employ and lay out all for the advantage, peace, reft and ftability of his church and people. But leaving this, we proceed, 3. To give a further account of the Lord Jefus Chrift on whom finners are called to believe. Two things we have faid of him; one, that he is God in our nature; the other, that he is clothed with a threefold office. We add, in the next place, as the consequence of what has been faid of him, that he is one in whom the convinced finner will find relief against a threefold evil, under which he lies. There are three things which do exceedingly burden the confcience of a finner in any good measure awakened, ignorance, guilt, and the power of fin. (1.) He finds himself extremely ignorant, perfectly in the dark, as to the mind and will of God. He knows not what hand he fhall turn to, what is fin, or what is duty, whether he had beft ly ftill, or move out of his prefent state; or if he find it ruining to ly ftill, he knows not what course to betake himself to. Now for this plague, which is one of the difmal confequences of man's apoftacy from God, there is relief in Chrift's prophetical office, by which he doth tranflate finners out of darknefs into his marvellous light. What before was hid from the eyes of all living, that he reveals to finners. That there were any thoughts of mercy or grace for finners in the heart of God, could never have been known by any, had not Christ revealed it: For, no man hath feen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bofom of the father, he hath declared him, John i. 18. (2.) Man is pressed down with guilt, and it is only in Chrift's priestly office that the awakened finner can find relief against this; for there is no way of purging the confcience from dead works, but only by the application of the blood of Chrift, who offered himself to God through the eternal fpirit, for this very end. (3.) In him there is relief against the power of fin, which is one part, and that no fmall part, of the mifery which man fell under by his apoftacy from God. He is infulted over, and en 4 Part II. flaved by fin and there never was, nor can there ever be any relief for him, but only in Christ, who has a power whereby he is able to fubdue all things to himself. He can ftrengthen the weak, and make the unwilling to become willing, by a day of his power, and turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. Moreover, 4. The Lord Jefus Chrift is one in whom the finner finds a threefold tormenting fcruple fully fatisfied. When the Lord opens the finner's eyes, and gives him a view of his condition, how matters ftand betwixt God and him, then there are three things which ly exceedingly heavy upon the finner. (1.) Where fhall I get one that has ability fufficient to undertake for me? The, finner fees fo much needful to be done in order to his relief, that he can think of none in heaven or earth that is able to relieve him. He is, as it were, laid in a grave that has a stone rolled to the door; and many a time is he forced to put the question, Who will roll away the ftone? He fees mountains lying in the way, and cannot think of an arm. fufficient to lift them. In Chrift only can he be fatisfied. He it is who is the mighty one, on whom the Lord has laid help, Pfal. Ixxxix. 19. one chofen out of the people for that very end, that he might be the ftrength of fuch as put their truft in him. He is the LORD JEHOVAH, in whom there is everlafting ftrength. (2.) When the finner hears of one that is able, this gives him no relief; for presently another doubt perplexes him, and fills his foul with anxiety: here indeed I fee abili ty fufficient; oh! but I fear he has no mind to employ and lay out his ability that way. This made many in the days of Christ's flesh, when he lived upon earth, come to him with their hearts full of fear; fear; they doubted he might not be willing to employ his fkill, to lay out his ability for their -help and relief. If thou wilt, faid the leper, thou canst make me clean, Matth. viii. 2. And fo fays the finner. Now in the difcovery of Chrift that is here made, we fee an answer to this doubt: as he is the Lord, one that has all power in heaven and in earth; whence it is that he is mighty to fave: fo he is Jefus, one that is willing, and defigns to lay out and improve his ability that way. But here, (3.) Another doubt may stare the finner broad in the face; there is perhaps wanting a commiffion for the work: the Lord Jefus Chrift wants neither power nor will; but I much queftion the father's willingness. This many times sticks long with diftreffed finners. But in this perfon, there is an answer to this as well as the former: he is Chrift, him hath God the Father fealed, anointed, and fet apart for that very work. He it is that hath exalted him to be a Saviour, and put power in his hand, for completing his work, and faving to the utmost all that come to God through him. 5. Chrift, as clothed with his threefold office, is able to remove a threefold obstruction that stood in the way of the finner's falvation and happiness, arifing from the nature of God. (1.) Juftice had a plea against the finner, and stood betwixt him and falvation. The fentence of juftice is, That he who doth fin is worthy of death. Well, the finner that believes in Christ answers, I am dead, fuffered in Chrift. (2.) Holiness fays, nothing fhall approach it that is impure. Well, Chrift fays, I have power to purge them from their filth, by the fpirit of judgment and of burning. (3.) But then the difficulty remains, as to the difcovery of |