one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Chrift Jefus. And he is called the Saviour of the world, not only by way of excellency, in refpect of the great danger he faves us from, but by way of exclufion alfo, in regard of the fole defignation of his perfon to this office, exclufive of all others. If ye believe not that I am he, fays he, ye shall die in your fins, John vill. 24. He is the only perfon that was deligned in all the prophecies, promifes, and types. He is the only Lamb of God that takes away the fin of the world, He is the promised feed of the woman, that was to break the ferpent's head. The heart of God is fixed upon him alone, and his refolution concerning the duration of his office is immutable and unalterable. He hath fummed up all the difpenfations of former ages in him, Eph. i. fo. All other things were preparations to and thadows of him; God, who had various ways of communicating himself to men, hath fummed up his whole will in his Son, and manifefted and declared that all his tranfactions with men did terminate in him.

2. The truth of this doctrine will appear, that none elfe was ever fitted for the management of this work. God and men were to be reconciled, and none but he that was God and man in one perfon could be a fit dafyman to lay his hand upon both. Had he been only man, he had been incapable to fatisfy offended juftice; and had he been only God, he had been incapable of fuffering. But being God and man, he is fitted for both. Infinite fatisfaction was requifite to appease the anger of God; tor without this, guilt would have remained; and none elie was capable to give it but Chrift, in regard of the infinite dignity and excellency of his perfon. It was upon no other perfon that the Spirit defcended like a dove, to furnish his human nature with all needful abilities for the discharge of his truft,

3. If we confider that none elfe ever did that for us which was neceffary for our reconciliation with God, It was he that anfwered the demands of the law, and

filenced the roarings of vindictive juftice. He only filled up the gap that was between God and finners. It was only Chrift that interpofed himself as a shelter between the wrath of God and the fouls of men. The prophet Ifaiah tells us, that he bare our griefs, and carried our forrows, and that the chaftifement of our peace was upon him. He received into his own bowels the fword of juftice that was fharpened and pointed for us. He trod the wine-prefs alone, and none of the people were with him. He endured the bruifes of God, the darts of the devil, and the reproaches of men; and would not defift till he had laid the foundation of an everlasting peace between God and finners.

4. If ye confider that none elfe was ever accepted of God but this Mediator. The legal facrifices were not able to make the comers thereunto perfect, Heb, x. 1. They were only fhadows of good things to come; Christ was the substance and complement of them all; and they were no farther regarded of God but as they were types and reprefentations of his Son. The daily repetition of them was an undeniable evidence of their inability to effect the reconciliation of man; but the blood of Chrift, typified by the blood fprinkled by Mofes upon the people, does it effectually. This was a facrifice wherein God fmelt a fweet favour, and was highly accepted of him.

Thirdly, It remains to fhew you what Chrift did in bringing about this reconciliation.

1. He undertook this work in the eternal tranfaction that was between the Father and him, as I have fhewn you formerly at large.

2. He purchased reconciliation by his death, and thereby procured the egrefs of the divine favour to man. This was the prime article in the covenant of grace, When he hall make his foul an offering for fin, ke Jhall fee his feed, If. liii. 10. God required this facrifice exclufive of all others, which were entirely useless for the fatisfaction of juftice, though fit to prefigure the grand facrifice that God intended. It was by the

death of Chrift alone that reconciliation was purchased to men, Rom. v. 10. Eph. ii. 13. & Col. i. 21. And when he was upon the cross, he cried, It is finished ; that is, the work of redemption is accomplished, reconciliation is purchased, I have done all that was appointed for me to do, the articles on my part are now fulfilled, there remain no more deaths for me to fuffer.

3. He brings about an actual reconciliation between God and finners by virtue of his efficacious interceffion, Heb. vii. 25. His advocacy in heaven is the gracious fpring of all divine communications. It is by this that he deals with God in the behalf of men; he leads every believer by the hand as it were into the gracious prefence of God, befpeaking acceptance for them after this manner: "Father, here is a poor creature that was born in fin, and hath lived in rebellion all his days; he hath broken all thy laws, and deferves all thy wrath; yet he is one of that number that thou gaveft me before the world began: and I have made full payment to thy juftice by my blood for all his debt; and now I have opened his eyes to fee the finfulness and mifery of his condition: I have broken his heart for his rebellions against thee, and bowed his will into obedience to the offer of thy grace: I have united him to me by faith as a living member of my myftical body and now fince he is mine by regeneration, let him alfo become thine by a fpecial acceptation: fince thy juftice is fatisfied for his fins, let thine anger alfo be turned away, and receive him gracioufly into favour." In a word, the reconciliation of every elect perfon with God, is actually brought about by Christ; He opens their eyes, and lets them fee their fin and danger; he beats down the ftubbornness and obftinacy of their wills, and brings up their hearts to a full compliance with the offers of peace made in the gofpel; and he leads them to God, and makes their perfons and duties acceptable to him. Hence it is faid, Eph. i. 6. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.

Before I proceed to the confideration of the fecond

1

part of Chrift's prieftly office, namely, his interceffion, I fhall make fome improvement of the doctrine of his fatisfaction.

1. Here we may fee the horrid and hateful evil of fin, which no other facrifice could expiate but the blood of the Son of God. As the ftrength of a disease is known and feen by the quality and force of the medicine, that is made ufe of to cure it, and the virtue of a commodity by the greatnefs of the price that is laid down to buy it; fo is the matter here. The fufferings and death of Chrift exprefs the evil of fin far above the fevereft judgements that ever were inflicted upon any creature. The dying groans of our bleffed Redeemer fet forth the horrid nature of fin, and loudly proclaim how hateful it is in the eye of an infinitely pure and holy God. How much evil muft there be in fin that made Chrift to groan and bleed to death to take it away! It is ftrange to imagine how rational agents should dare to commit fuch an evil, fo freely and openly, and that for trifles and perifhing vanities, which are of no continuance and duration. Can they escape, or can they poffibly endure the wrath and vengeance of an incenfed Deity? If God fpared not his own Son, when he came in the likenefs of finful flesh, how fhall finners efcape who are deeply and univerfally defiled? Can they encounter with the fury of the Almighty, the very apprehenfions of which made Chrift's foul exceeding forrowful even unto death? Have they patience to endure and bear that for ever, which was intolerable for Chrift to bear but for a few hours, who had all the strength of the Deity to fup. port him? If it was fo with the green tree, what ihall become of the dry, when expofed to the fiery trial? O what prodigious madnets is it for men to drink iniquity like water, as a harmless thing, when it is a poifon fo dangerous and deadly, that the leaft drop of it brings certain ruin? What defperate and monftrous folly is it to have flight apprehenfions of that which is attended with the firft and recond death;

even with all the terrors and torments of hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched; where mifery will continue in its full extremity, while eternity runs its endless courfe! Nothing but unreafonable infidelity and want of thought can make men venturous to provoke the living God, who is infinitely fenfible of their fins, and who both can and will moft terribly punish them for ever.

2. This lets us fee the ftrictnefs and inexorable feverity of divine juftice, that required fatisfaction equivalent to the defert of fin. All the other demonftrations of it which God hath given to the world, are nothing to this. God fpared not his own Son. The fountain of divine mercy ftopt its courfe, and would not let out one drop to Christ in the day of his extreme forrow and sufferings. The Father of mercies faw his dear Son sweating great drops of blood in a cold night, and crying out with a mournful accent, O Father, if it be poffible, let this cup pafs from me; and yet he would not grant the request. O the inflexible feverity of divine juftice! What will ye do, finners, when it falls upon you in hell? If the bleffed Son of God cried fo out, what will become of you? How will impenitent finners roar and yell for ever under the dreadful ftrokes of incenfed juftice! O what a dreadful thing must it be to fall into the hands of the living God!

3. See here the wonderful love of Chrift to poor miferable finners and his great defire for the salvation of their fouls. His love here paffeth knowledge. Ic infinitely tranfcends the reach of the moft illuminated understanding. What Chrift fuffered from his birth to his death on the accurfed tree, affords the most striking inftance of his great love to poor finners. No example of fuch love can be found among men. This matchlefs love of Chrift fhould inflame our hearts to fing, as Rev. i. 5. 6. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood; and hath made us kings