claims this ever adorable [EMmaNUEL] GOD ASSOCIATE WITH US in our flesh, in the most harmless form of love, in that of an inoffenfive holy child; and in the most amiable relation of our brother, THE SAVIOR, the favior of man, of enemies, of a nature ready to perish; (a) coming, when none was righteous, no, not one, to be obedient to the death of the cross for us, that we might be the bleed people, that know the joyful found and walk in the light of His countenance; that in HIS NAME rejoice all the day long, and in His righteousness might be exalted as faved from the guilt, the dominion and punishment of fin. For the word favior implies us in dangers and evilswe are faved from. Its application in the natural fenfe in two inftances will lead us to a familiar notion of the falvation effected by HIM.

That in the O. T. is in Deut. xxviii. 31. where one of the curfes denounced against them that go after other gods is, Thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shall have none to [“ fave” Eng. B.] refcue (them.) For to think aright of its meaning is to conceive a sheep carried away by fome foreign enemies utterly incapable of helping itself, fo watched and straitly kept by them for the flaughter that its restoration to its former mafter would be impoffible, unlefs" fome, content to fweat and bleed, nay die in the attempt, fhould break in upon and overcome the foes, retake the fheep out of its confinement,

(a) Deut. xxvi. 5.

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affectionately bear it with all its great weight on his shoulders and breast, (a) restore it to his former master and replace it in his verdant paftures by the refreshing ftreams, there peaceably to feed and live for his service. Because thus to retake or (as our verfion juflly has it) to refcue the fheep from the ftate it would otherwife have perished in is to fave. From which view of the word this title THE SAVIOR imports us without HIM, like this sheep, under divine wrath for fin, fallen into, and carried away by the hands of fpiritual and more potent foes, the world, the flesh and the devil, totally unable to affift ourfelves in this ftate, fo watched by adverfaries and kept in boudage under the law and in the captivity of fin, that our restoration to our former LORD and condition was absolutely impracticable, unless this GOD-Man had been pleased to come down and retake our nature, to bear us loft heep, as we were, with the weight of our guilt and punishment, on His breaft and shoulders, Mat. xviii. 12. Luk. xv. 5. to free us in HIM, though HE fweated, bled and died, from the bondage of fin, the law and death, and to reflore us in the fame body to the LORD to ferve HIM, and feed in the paftures of His glory hereafter, as of His grace here, by

the

(a) To this circumstance in nature the typic high-prieft's bearing of the names of the children of ISRAEL on his fhoulders and breast had a respect.

the pleasant freams of comfort, Pf. xxiii. 2. by living fountains of waters; where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, nor have the fun (of tribulation) light on them, Rev. vii. 17. This is an idea fo ftriking that it may well ftir us up seriously to enquire whether we by faith see ourselves retaken from our fins to ferve GOD; it may well make each of them, who do, devoutly cry out, O vifit me with THY SALVATION, and pray that the good pleasure of His will may be fulfilled in them, and they be perfectly delivered by this great SHEPHERD, the SAVIOR OF RESCUER; well render every one diligent, left they by rejecting HIM fhould in an hour of diftrefs have none to rescue.

Nor less affecting is the idea given us in A&t. xxvii. 20. Behold the Alexandrian fhip which failed from Lafea contrary to the apostle's admonition, unable, when nigh the shore, to bear up against the tempeftuous wind Euroclydon, driving before its rage under Claudia ; — the affrighted mariners using every expedient and striking fail for fear of running on the quick-fands,

the blackning form ftill increafing, — the veffel under her mafts rolling to and fro like a drunken man, now carried up to heaven, now down to the deep, their fouls melting for very trouble lightning the fhip with all speed, cafting out the tackling, and, what heightened their woe, many days without fight of fun or ftars to

bless their wishful eyes and make an observation by to right their course, whilft driving up and down in the Adriatic amidst the gloomy and perplexing tempeft. Can we wonder to hear the infpired paffenger affirm, all hope that we should be faved was then taken away, when the lowring heavens from above poured down their impetuous ftorm, when the foaming waves beneath, breaking over them with dreadful roar, gaped to fwallow them up, when hidden rocks and dangerous coafts were near, on which they might every moment be driven and wrecked, enough to make them at their wits end? O! what a lively sense had they, as of their surrounding wants of falvation, and of the true nature of fervent prayer, fo of what the import of the word would be to them in their diftrefs. Yet for this falvation, which they afterwards had from this ANGEL OF SENT PERSON of GOD, when they all efcaped fafe to land, St. LUKE uses the word [fefefthai]" be faved," as he does the word compounded with [dia] thoroughly in ver. 42, 44. Apprehend we then from its ufe in this dreadful fea-piece the natural meaning of the word? The application of the word here, as in Mat. xiv. 30, fhews it but a picture of that more tremendous fcene the believer has deliverance from. It implies him through like fin at fea in the world, befet by its tempting blandishments, promifing a smooth courfe, — his earthy

veffel

veffel meeting with a greater form of afflictive adverfity, from GOD, as well as the blafts of the fpirit of this world, and powers of darkness contrary to it; him driven before it and after every human expedient obliged to ftrike fail and fubmit to the tempeft, amidst all his wishes for wings like a dove, that it may flee away, and be at reft, Pf.lv. 7, 9.- violently agitated in mind; now elevated to heaven, now funk into deep dejection of spirit; his foul melting because of trouble; throwing afide his cares,

cafting away every other concern, in order to remove his heaviness in this ftate fome-time without a fight of the SUN of righteousness to dispel the gloom, or of the prophetic and apoftolic lights to direct his way yet driven up and down amidst the waves of ungodliness and oppreffion, or the turbulent paffions of men, fo as to have, for aught he can do, all hope of being faved taken away, having heaven above appear angry for fin; -waves upon waves of ungodliness below with their roar, and temptation's force breaking violently upon him to make a pit for his foul;

rocks of offence he may hourly split on; and variety of extremities near, fickneffes and pains incident to our mortal body, Pf. lxi. 3, which may every minute make shipwreck of him, and fink him in everlasting woe. A confideration that will fhew a man at his wits end, H. where all his wifdom will fwallow itself up, in Hh 2

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