poor foul he faid, If I wash thee not thou haft no part with me. John xiii. 8.

Justice feeing this, ftepped up and stood clofe by the Mediator, and acquiefced in the Saviour's wonderful act of clemency, faying, I am faithful and just to forgive thee thy fins, and to cleanfe thee from all unrighteoufnefs. 1 John i. 9. But Mofes ftill kept looking about for a covering; for his law fays, And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as be bath commanded us. Deut. vi. 25.

Washing, under the ceremonial law, was not fufficient to recommend a foul to God; a perfect obedience to the moral law was required. Nor had a finner any call for a ceremonial cleansing, if he had never tranfgreffed the moral precept. The Saviour obeyed the law perfectly, and therefore wanted no facrifice for himself; he offered himself, but it was for us,

The Lord Jefus feeing Mofes fo bent upon a righteousness to justify the finner, as well as a purification, the Mediator answered and faid, I have magnified the law and made it honourable. Ifa. xlii. 21. My obedience is fufficient to justify [him] and many [more]. Rom. v. 19. And to the prisoner he faid, Behold, I bring near my righteousness, Ifa. xlvi. 13, and I will clothe thee from head to foot [with it]. Ifa. lxi. 10. And when Mofes heard that

be was content. Lev. x. 20.

Then

Then faid the Mediator, Let them fet a fair mitre upon his head; fo they set a fair mitre upon bis head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the} Lord ftood by. Zech. iii. 5.

As foon as the Mediator had washed him, clothed him with his robe, and fet the fair mitre upon his. head, then he took the poor finner by the neck, and held him forth before the devil. And the Lord faid unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! even the Lord that bath chofen Jerufalem rebuke thee: Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zech.

iii. 2.

As foon as the devil faw that, he vanished like lightning falling from heaven. Luke x. 18. And there was heard a fhout and a loud voice even from the celestial regions, faying, Now is come falvation, and ftrength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of bis Chrift; for the accufer of our brethren is caft down, which accused them before our God day and night; and [Prodigalis] bas overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore rejoice ye heavens, and that dwell in them. Rev. xii. 10, 11, 12.

ye

Abimaaz. My very foul is fired with love to the dear Redeemer; well may he be called our wisdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption. 1 Cor. i. 30. My foul is as if it was juft delivered; furely I feel the bleffed effects of that poor finner's justification. O what a friend is the Saviour to the poor! Pray go on with the account.

Cufbi. As foon as the Mediator had washed,

clothed,

1

clothed, and crowned the poor prifoner, and had rebuked Satan the accufer, he then appeared at the right hand of Prodigalis, and stood as an advocate, in the very place where Satan the accufer had ftood. Thus the Advocate displaced the devil. This made the prifoner cry out, I will praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise kim I will praife kim among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to fave him from thofe that condemn bis foul. Pfalm cix. 30, 31.

Akimaaz. Pray what faid the great and terrible Name to this? he that fpake out of the thick darkness, Deut. v. 22; you know he is a confuming fire? Heb.

xii. 29.

Cufbi. Why, the Mediator took Prodigalis in his right hand, and led him up, even before that great and terrible Name, as you call it; he led him up to him (I fay), in his crown and robe, as he was, and said to his Father, Behold me, and [one of] the children which thou hast given me, Heb. ii. 13; and tl.at great and terrible name appeared one of the moft compaffionate and tender Fathers that ever mortal heard of; for he rofe up from his feat, and ran to him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, Luke xv. 20, and faid, This my fon was dead and is alive again, he was loft and is found, ver. 24. The poor foul cried aloud, feeing himself fo unworthy of adopting grace, and faid, Father, I have finned against heaven, and in thy fight, and am not worthy to be called thy fon, ver. 21; and lift up his voice

and wept aloud. But the Father wiped his blubbered cheeks, faying, And God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there fhall be no more death, neither forrow nor crying. Rev. xxi. 4. Then faid the Mediator to Prodigalis, Be not afraid, Mark v. 26, for the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me. John xvi. 27.

The Father feemed to take particular notice of the robe that the Mediator had put upon poor Prodigalis, and fmelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed bim, and faid, See, the smell of my fon is as the fmell of a field which [I] the Lord have bleffed. Therefore [I will] give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatnefs of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let people ferve thee, and [finful] nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy [fleshly] brethren, and let thy mother's [base-born] fons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be be that bleffeth thee. Gen. xxvii. 27, 28, 29.

Abimaaz. Why, the Father feemed as loving to him as the Mediator himself, who was flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone. Eph. v. 30. I cannot think how the poor foul could bear up under fuch unparalleled kindness and mercy. Aftonishing love! But the Son's robe is pleafing to the Father; for he has ever pronounced a bleffing on them whofe iniquities are forgiven, and whofe fin is covered with that robe; and has promifed never to impute fin to fuch again, nor charge their spirit with guile. Pfalm xxxii. 1, 2.

Cufbi. Indeed the Father feemed as fond of adorning him as the Mediator himself; for he did not think poor Prodigalis was fine enough. Therefore he faid, Put a ring on his finger, and fhoes on bis feet, and let us be merry. Luke xv. 22, 23. He ordered likewise all the hofts of heaven to acquiefce. in this his fovereign will; and faid, There shall be joy in heaven over one finner that repenteth, more that over ninety and nine just perfons [now in glory] that need no repentance. Luke xv. 7. Nor was the Father of eternity himself filent when the celestial triumphs began: fo far from it, that the Almighty's voice was as plainly heard in the anthem as the mufic and melody of all the reft. And indeed it must be so to fulfil the fcriptures, which cannot be broken. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty: he will fave; he will rejoice over thee with joy; be will reft in his love; he will joy over thee with finging. Zeph. iii. 17.

After the Father had kiffed him, bleffed him, ordered the ring on his finger, and the fhoes on his feet, and had joined in the anthem at the reception of him, because he had received him fafe and found; the Saviour put one of the hands of Prodigalis into the hand of his heavenly Father, and held the other hand fast himself; then faid the bleffed Saviour to poor Prodigalis, None shall pluck [thee] out of my band; my Father is greater than all, and none is able to pluck [thee] out of my Father's hands. John x. 28, 23. The Father having kiffed him, he

pointed