deftitute of place, power, life, force or fubje&is on whom it may be charged. He removed indeed all things in the creation out of their initial, into their final ftate. But fin was ufelefs and therefore was to have no place at all: he reduced it to nothing.

By this reduction of it to nothing, I mean as the apoftle here expreffes it, the difplacing of it. Elfe, in any other fense fin can never cease. For moral good and evil are two comparatives, that muft eternally exift and measure each other. But in the other fenfe it is annihilated, For Jefus the real offspring of Omnipotence, the glory and brightnefs of the invifible God, deftroyed it. Or as it is in the text, he removed it, put it away and displaced it; that it exifts

no longer as our

character and crime. Sin is

therefore as to us, in this refpect totally extinct and obliterated. All that was ours is paffed over, and has ceased to be any thing at all. For that relation and connection which fubfifted between us and fin, as our character and crime is nullified by the mediator's coming into it, and making it wholly and exclufively his own True,

fin is allowed to have a being, power and life in us while on this fide death, feemingly as it nothing had been done to relieve us: but by this deep contrivance of divine charity, in as ours; as our character, as our crime, as our blot; in other words, as longer exifts.

us,

our own;

it no

But this is not all. He took upon him not only the character of every finner, and the blame and fault thereunto belonging, but affumed the whole character of fin itself. It is therefore no where faid that he was made or nominated a finner; for that could never convey a proper and full idea of his undertaking. There is more in fin than men or angels either did or could act, or even conceive. The Son of God took upon him not merely that quantity or measure which had been acted by finners, and had become their actual crime. He was nominated and appointed to be the entire character of fin, the whole of what it could poffibly be, or atchieve, if acted to the utmost of its nature; which furpaffed all the powers and imaginations of created beings. This was it that numbered and measured

his fufferings, and gave its wide extent to the atonement, and made him a Savior, able to fave to the uttermoft them that come to God through him, feeing he has fuch a plea to urge in their favor. And by this Jerufalem is to be comforted and affured, that her warfare is accomplished, her fins pardoned; and, in her fubftitute, has received of the Lord's hand, double for all her fins. Ifaiah 4. 2.

chapter

What therefore Elihu faid to Job, thirty fifth, is applicable to every finner. If thou finneft what doeft thou against him? Or if thy tranfgreffions be multiplied, what doeft thou unto him? The more any man acts the fin that is in him as a fallen creature, the worse it will be for himself and his endeavoring to curb it and hinder its breaking out into actions, will be his own advantage. But neither of these cafes could weigh to make the fufferings of the Mediator either more or lefs. For, according to what is faid above, he fuffered, not merely for the fins belonging to mankind by actual commiffion, but what belonged to them by confequence. Sin itfell was in them, containing in its nature, more

evil works than ever they could be able to act; for the whole of which, he died. The lefs any man commits of the fins for which Chrift fuffered, the better for him. He is bound to endeavor to avoid them all: which, if he does not honestly aim at, will make his condition more intolerable than if a fubftitute had never appeared in his favor.

The devil having brought fo many of the angelic order into a ftate of irrecoverable ruin, it is very probable that he was in hopes to bring the human race into fimular circumftances, and fo prevent the coming of the Mediator to engage in their favor. But being disappointed, when he appeared, he is forced by fear and terror to confefs that he was come, as he feared he would. But withal ventures to complain as if incommoded by him. Says he, I know thee who thou art. Art thou come to torment me before the time?

He appears defirous to throw out fome hints, that he had obliged him to break the order of the divine appointment, and come before the time originally fixed upon. As if he would infinuate. ftrange! What are you come already? I verily

thought I should not have feen you here till the time fixed in your decree. I fuppofe I obliged you to make hafte. Was it fear that brought you fo foon? I fee you thought I fhould cut out too much work for you. So now it appears that I fhould have carried all before me, if you had kept to your original plan: but you have faved your caufe by furprising me and changing your scheme.

Some fuch fuggeftions as these

feem to be implied and infinuated in the devil's complaint and exclamation. Therefore the fpirit of God is careful and critical in noting and putting down the date of his coming into the world, declaring it to be exactly in the fulness of time. And confequently the finful works of angels and men neither haftened nor hindered him: he came the very fame time as he would have come if fin had never entered.

This then is one folemn truth to be afferted and maintained with all zeal and ardor; that when Jefus, in the fulness of time came to make a general reduction of all things under himfelf, to finish the worlds, to fet the corner fone upon the top of the univerfe, and compleat the

divine