his love. He had presented them to him in all that purity, holiness, brightnefs, and perfection, in which they would appear, when they should be adorned as the bride, the Lamb's wife, and be glorified with him for ever. This sight of them drew out the love of Christ to them, and endeared them to him, their heavenly bridegroom. It drew out his affection, and fixed his delight so immutably on them, that nothing could separate them from his love. He loved them because they were the objects of his Father's unutterable love. He loved them as the gifts of his Father's love to him and saith, "As the Father hath "loved me, so have I loved you." He loved them as his mystic body: and sustaining the relation of Head, and Husband, Father, and Shepherd unto them before all time, out of the love wherewith he thus loved them, as his Father's beloved ones and his own spouse, chil dren, members, and brethren, he undertook to raise them up from all the ruins of the fall, and to present them to him→ self "a glorious church, without spot, "or wrinkle, or any such thing"." To shew his all-sufficiency for the performance of all this, the Holy Ghost proclaimed his name and titles by the prophet Isaiah thus; "Unto us a child is g John xv. 9. ↳ Eph. v. 37: 66 "born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: "and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the "everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." O the immensity of Christ's love to his church and people! From the knowledge of his Father's love to them, and inviews of the glory he had designed for them, and decreed them for, and actually bestowed on them in him, he was freely disposed to lay aside his own glory, to empty himself, to leave his Father's bosom, to become man, that he might give the utmost evidence of his love to them. 66 1 My delights, saith he, "were with the sons of men*." Out of his own heart's love, in the full intuitive knowledge of all the guilt and exceeding sinfulness contained in their original and actual transgrefsions, he engaged as their Sponsor to be made sin and a curse for them. The Father, with a view to encourage his heart in the performance of this divine engagement, addrefses him in the following manner, "Thus saith God the Lord, he that "created the Heavens and stretched "them out; he that spread forth the "earth and that which cometh out of "it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them Isaiah ix. 6, 7. k Prov. viii. 31. "which walk therein: I the Lord have "called thee in righteousness, and will "hold thine hand, and will keep thee, "and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; "to open the blind eyes, to bring out "the prisoners from the prison, and "them that sit in darknefs out of the ፡፡ prison house.". The creation of the world was but a preparation to all this. It was the stage on which the Father would call forth Christ to act the highest part of his office as a covenant for the people. His glory was thus openly to appear. He was by his incarnation and obedience unto death to carry his en gagements in the everlasting covenant into execution, and hereby bring manifestative glory to all the perfections of Godhead. From his righteousness and bloodshedding the blessings of pardon, peace, righteousnefs, and justification unto life were to flow forth; and such an evidence of the love of the co-efsential Three to the elect was to be given herein, as would increase the praises thereof by all saints both in time and eternity. From the eternal compact betwixt the Father and the Son flows all our peace. It is the very origin of our salvation. All our springs of spiritual and everlasting life are contained in it, Isaiah xlii. 5, 6, 7.. and the everlasting gospel is the record of it. From it we learn how divinely suited this title, The God of all Grace, is to the Holy Three considered in their covenant-engagements and offices. Immediately upon Adam's fall, the Lord God proclaimed the Saviour, saying, "The seed of the woman shall bruise "the serpent's head"." From that time to the present moment grace reigns through righteousnefs unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord". Ever since the fall the Lord God hath had prophets, who have testified concerning Jesus. The Holy Ghost, "who searcheth all "things, yea, the deep things of God"," hath made a full revelation of Christ and of the Father's love in him: and the gospel is a most blefsed evidence of it. To him give all the prophets witness. They foretold the sufferings of Christ, and the glory which should follow. The long train of costly expiatory sacrifices afforded standing memorials of Christ's coming into the world to take away sin. "In the fulness of time, the "Father sent the Son to be the Saviour "of the world"." When the Son of God was about to become incarnate, and thereby exprefs his love to the elect sons of men, he declared his satisfaction m Gen. ii. 15. n Rom. v. 21. P 1 John iv. 14. in the prospect of what he was to be, and do, and suffer in his incarnate state; saying to his divine Father immediately before his afsumption of our nature into personal union with himself,-" Sacri"fice and offering thou wouldst not, "but a body hast thou prepared me. "Lo, I come; I delight to do thy will, "O my God, yea, thy law is within my "heart." Blefsings on him! his heart was in salvation-work from everlasting. His will remained immutably fixed and engaged in the performance of it. When he became incarnate, his heart was all love, and his bowels all mercy. He was full of grace and truth, and clothed with infinite compafsion. In our nature and in our world he was seen as God manifest in the flesh. He lived and tabernacled here below to perform the greatest work ever celebrated in Heaven, and to exprefs such love to his people, in their lost and guilty state, as would be matter for perpetual admiration and praise by all the saints throughout the ages of eternity. His eternal Father proclaimed him to an elect world saying, "This is my beloved Son; in whom "I am well pleased." The Holy Ghost visibly descended on him, who consecrated and sealed him as the Christ of God. Under the Father's testimony 9 Psalm xl. Heb. x. Matt. iii. 17. |