of conveying it to the People.

See Exod. SER M.

Deut. xvii. 9, 10.
And when these fail-

xix. 20, &c. In the Body of which, as all
other Things were provided for which tend-
ed to the Good of Mankind, or the Worship
of God; fo particular Instruments were giv-
en for expounding the Word, which was
made the peculiar Office of the Priests and
Levites, Levit. x. xi.
xxiv. 8. xxxiii. 10.
ed in their Duty, God raised up thofe extra-
ordinary Messengers of his Word, the Pro-
phets, by whom, as the holy Penman tells
us, he at fundry Times, and in divers Man-
ners, Spake in Time paft unto the Fathers,
Heb. i. 1. And when these again could not
prevail, GOD faw there was Occafion for a
more powerful Preacher; and therefore the
Fullness of Time being come, the Son of GOD
himself must descend from Heaven, and be-
come the Minifter of his own Word.
ob! the Depth of the Riches of the Wisdom
and Knowledge of GOD! Behold the Son
of GOD, first to qualify himself for the Of-
fice he had undertaken, clothed himself in
Flesh and Blood, and fo became the Son of
Man. And thus in the Likeness of Man, he
gave the World his new Law, the Precepts
of the Gospel; for the Promulgation of which

But

he

X.

X.

SERM. he provided, just before his Afcenfion, by appointing his Apostles to go and teach it to all Nations, Matt. xxviii. 19. These in Obedience to his Word, difperfed themselves all over the World, and by Virtue of their Preaching it was, and of others fent by them, that as many as were ordained to Life, believed, Acts xxxiii. 48. Infomuch that though fome, through the peculiar Grace of GOD, were, by the secret Whisperings of the Holy Spirit, firft inwardly moved to receive the Word; yet Man was ftill, by the fame Grace of God, the conftant Inftrument of conveying it to them. Thus when the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading Efaias's Prophecy with a Defire to understand it, Philip was fent to him by the Spirit to expound it, Acts viii. 27, &c. whereas the fame Spirit, that had disposed him to read it, could doubtlefs have enlightened him to understand it, had not the Wisdom of GoD thought the Evangelift a properer Minifter for that Office. Thus again, in the wonderful Converfion of St. Paul, though the Lord Jefus himfelf vouchsafed to call him, yet he sent him to Ananias to know what he should do, Acts ix. And though an Angel was fent from Heaven, to teftify to Cornelius his Acceptance with

GOD;

X.

God; yet he had no Commiffion to inftruct SER M. him in the Faith; but Simon Peter must be sent for to perform that Office, Acts x. But I need not tire you with Inftances of this Nature: I fhall only just observe to you once for all, that as this Inftitution ever has been the constant Method of God's conveying his Word to us; fo the Apostle affures it ever will be, till the Confummation of all Things. For he gave fome Apoftles, and fome Prophets, and fome Evangelifts, and fome Paftors and Teachers, for the perfecting (or rather for the fitting out) of the Saints to the Work of the Ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Chrift: till we all come in the Unity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of GOD, unto the Measure of the Stature of the Fullness of Christ, Ephef. iv. 11, 12, 13.

Having thus proved the Fact, viz. that GOD, in communicating to us his Mind, and in revealing his Word, makes Ufe of the Miniftry of Man like unto ourselves; I fhall now proceed to fhew that this is an unspeakable Favour.

Had Man indeed retained his Innocence and Integrity; to have converfed with GoD would have been his greatest Happiness. His whole Nature would have been conformable

SER M. to the Divine Will, and his chief Delight to

X.

imitate the Perfections of his Creator.

This

must consequently have rendered the Presence of the Deity a defirable Bleffing, fince it is natural to covet the Prefence of those we love and imitate. So that GOD himself would have been the Meffenger of his own Laws, and at once have encouraged and quickened our Obedience. But this, to our Grief and Shame, is only reflecting upon a Happiness, once in our Power, but now forfeited and loft: The Cafe is otherwise, and Man is fallen: Who no fooner became confcious of Difobedience and Guilt, but he found his whole Nature alienated from his original Purity, and transformed from the Image of his Maker. The natural Confequence of which must be, that Man, thus deformed, must shun the Presence of a perfect and glorious Deity; thus conscious of Guilt and Shame, must avoid the Wrath of an angry Judge. And therefore when our firft Parents became fenfible of their Nakedness, no wonder that they endeavoured to hide themselves from the Prefence of the Lord, Gen. iii. 8. Nor is it at all difficult to account, why the fame Dread of the Divine Majefty that first feized Adam, should still

hold

X.

hold Poffeffion of his Pofterity; fince we SER M. can't but know, that fo long as the Guilt is transmitted down, the Horror of it must accompany it. And Sense of this therefore it was, that filled Jacob with Admiration, that, after he had seen GOD Face to Face, his Life should be preferved, Gen. xxxii. 30. To this also it was owing that Hagar, Gen. xvi. 13. and Gideon, Judg. vi. 22, 23. and Manoah, Judg. xxxiii. 22. were each of them under Apprehenfions of Death, upon feeing the Lord. Nor need we be furprized that the Children of Ifrael, when they had heard the Voice of the Lord, intreated that the Word might not be spoken to them, after that Manner, any more, Exod. xx. 19. compared with Heb. xii. 19. when the Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews tells us, that even Mofes (whom the Lord favoured fo much as to speak to him Face to Face, as a Man fpeaketh to his Friend, Exod. xxxiii. 11.) yet found the Sight fo terrible, that he faid, I exceedingly fear and quake, Heb. xii. 19, 21. If then God's communicating his Will either by himself or an Angel, be thus dreadful and astonishing; how much ought we to adore his Goodness for making Ufe of the Ministry of Man! For did he not vouchfafe to give