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the brightness and fplendor, their ears will be dinned with the found, and their hearts overwhelmed with the revelations and exhibitions of it. Four thousand years therefore, will be little enough to give notice of it. On this account, God fent forth heralds and made proclamations in all ages, and caufed the found of his feet to be heard upon the mountains, till time was of age and the creation come to maturity.

and man

The subject was too big for utterance, in his best ftate, too weak and feeble to hear it. So marvellous and matchless is this love, that it tranfcends every thing great befides; and nullifies all other things, and remains alone the object of wonder and admiration. There was no room to pour it forth, and therefore there muft be time. allowed for it. And befide, God would hereby, raise the expectations of mankind, that he might come at their defire; and be received with affection and efteem by them; and be, as the Prophet has it, Haggai 2. 7. the defire of all nations.

And if fr had not entered, and Satan become by The lord and god of the world, and

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filled men with wrath against him, it had been fo. He would have been the joyous defire of all the nations of the world, and would have been received by them with fuitable affections and applause. But the deceiver throwing things into diforder and confufion, prevented it, and made his gracious appearance and engagement for us, a matter of difguft and offence.

This wickedness of the devil prevented that general jubilee, which all nations would have had by the coming of their univerfal mediator and fubfiture, whofe coming and engagement, was pregnant with love and good will. And many would have been joyful fpectators of the fcene, while he was fulfilling all righteousness, and rendering every human character truly refpectable and fublime.

Nothing but this would fatisfy the love of God to man. Time and eternity had been filled and burdened with it; and mankind are unable to this day, either to look at it or hear it. Not abfolutely unable; but accidentally, through their own fault, they can endure neither the fight nor found of it. The creation has been declaring and publifhing invisible

invifible things; even an eternal power and godhead wholly in love with us, laboring and ftriving how to exprefs it. And this is one peculiar manifeftation of it under our prefent confideration.

Now to justify a man is not the fame as to pardon him. To pardon him is to overlook his faults, and to forbear the punishment which is due. But to juftify him is to vindicate his character, to difprove all that may be laid to his charge as flanders, and to declare him innocent and unblemifhed in the eye of the law. And, as it is to be taken here, it is to vindicate him fo far as to prove, that it was impoffible to be better, or to do more good than he has done. He has magnified the law and made it honorable.

The law by which his righteousness is measured, is the law of ten commands, delivered on mount Sinai. This law, is nothing but the refult and expreffion of the inward averfion which God has to what is evil, and the delight he has in what is good. All the force, with which he hates injustice and confufion, and all the energy with which he loves what is reafonable, juft and good, is come

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beds in a publick manner upon the fabbath-day. There was no neceffity for doing this at the time in which it was done. Nor can we fuppofe that he ordered it to be done on purpose to provoke and exafperate his enemies against him; for it is contrary to his nature and command to give unneceffary offences. But if we fuppofe that he meant to awaken their attention to confider that

as

the jewish fabbath, it ftood in its peculiar administration to them, was only temporary; and, like the greatest part of their difpenfation, was foon to pass into a higher ftate, this affigns a good reafon for his conduct therein.

This appears more evident ftill in the matter of the ears of corn. Matthew 12. 1. At that time Jefus went through the corn fields on the fabbaths. So it fhould be read.

By Luke 6. 1. We find that it was the second fabbath after the firft, the pharifees found fault with him. That is, is, they found fault with him upon his allowing it to be done two fabbaths, fucceffively. And he vindicates himfelf and difciples, by alluding to David's breach of a temporary

temporary command, in a certain cafe, without being cenfured for it. And afferts that he was Lord of the fabbath: and therefore had power over it, intimating, I think, his defign of bringing it under a new administration.

But be this as it will, that the fabbath is removed into the first day of the week, is clear from the teftimonies above. And confequently, the christian fabbath, has in it every thing that is poffible to be in a fabbath; all the contents, all the principles and all the ideas that can contribute to give it greatness and authority.

The primitive faints had a prospect of this tranfcendent day under the gofpel, and fung over it, and prophefied of its coming; and, by an anticipating faith made it prefent, when as yet it was many years forward in futurity. An inftance of this we have in Pfalm 112. 23. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

The day here alluded to, is fome way or other made remarkable and folemn: and, that it is the firft

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