by the free and gracious constitution of God his Father, who in thể economy and dispensation of grace, took upon himself the person of judge, whom the Son should satisfy, as mediator, while the Holy Ghost should convey all grace from the Father through the Son to the sinner. See Rom. iii. 24, 25, 26. 2 Cor. xiii. 13. John xvi. 13, 14, 15. And thus was Christ made of God wisdom, &c. (1) In the council of peace from eternity, which we call a covenant of redemp tion, because the redemption of the sinner was demanded and promised in that council. God did from eternity elect some to everlasting life, and appoint them to be vessels of mercy; but as they could not obtain salvation, except the justice of God were satisfied, therefore God enters into a covenant with his Son, and requires that he should make satisfaction by his suffering and pbedience, promising him that he would prepare a body for him, give him his Spirit, uphold him in his suffering, that he should see his seed, and obtain the highest glory. The Son consents to all this, engages to become his Father's servant, and declares it to be his delight to do his Father's will: whereupon his Father gives him his elect, and he claims them as his own, that he may fulfil the stipulated conditions for them; and thus they are, as it were, transferred from the book of life, to wit, the Father's election, into the book of life of the Lamb. See this covenant, Psalm ii. 7, 8, 9. x 6, 7, 8. lxxxix. 28. Isaiah xlii. 1. xlix. 4. i 10. John xvii 6. Eph i. 4, 5. iii. 10, 11. Rev. xvi. 8. xxi. 27, which covenant, confirmed "with the word of the oath, makes the Son wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemp tion," Heb. viii. 28.. The Lord Jesus Christ is also made of God wisdom, &c. by the covenant of grace, which G d established with! the elect sinner, whereby the allsufficient, the only wise, righteous and merciful God promiseth the foolish, guilty, filthy and impotent sinner, that he will be a God to him, and will thus bestow all conceivable bliss on him, and the sinner accepts of this upon God's proffer, assents to it, and resigns himself to the Lord, in order to be his, Gen. xvii. 7. Isaiah xlix. 5. lv. 3. But as God cannot enter into a covenant with the guilty and filthy sinner immediately, therefore he gives him his Son to be a mediator, that he, by satisfying his justice, may bring the sinner to God, and obtain for him all the promises of the covenant of grace: "Therefore he is the Mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance," Heb ix., 15. And so he is made of God by the covenant of grace wisdom, &c. For the Lord gives him for a covenant of the people, a light of the Gentiles," Isaiah xlii. 6.

That the covenant of redemption might now be executed, the covenant of grace perfected, and the sinner rendered complete in wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, God (a) sent his Son into the world to be a mediator, caused him to assume the human nature, to satisfy his vindictive justice, and procure wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption for his people: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," Rom. viii. 3, 4. (b) "God also exalted him by his right hand for elect men," gave him the promise of the Holy Ghost, to shed him forth" for his covenant people, "and made him thus Lord and Christ," Acts ii. 33, 36. And by that exaltation he is made of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption: "for God hath exalted him with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin," Acts v. 31. (c) In order that these benefits may be communicated to the sinner, the Lord God makes his Son, with all his fulness known to the world by the gospel, and proffers him to men, that they may receive and embrace him; he calls to them with a voice from heaven. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him," Matt. iii. 17. xvii. 5. He sends "his ambassadours to pray them in his," and in his Son's "name, to be reconciled to God," 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, 20, and so "the Saviour Jesus Christ brings life and immortality to light through the gospel," 2 Tim. i 20. (d) Yet all this would be to no purpose, if God did not actually and effectually by his Son render the sinner a partaker of this grace, by enlightening, justifying, sanctifying and redeeming him; for which purpose he gives the sinner faith, that he may thereby receive the Mediator with all his fulness, and may improve him in all his needs: for "faith is the gift of God," Eph. ii. 8. Philip. i. 29, which "God works" effectually in the soul, according to "the greatness of his power," Eph. i. 19, and it is faith, which receives the Son of God and his fulness, John i. 12, 167 Eph. iii. 17. What think ye, hearers, had not Paul sufficient reason to say, 1 Cor. i. 30, that "Christ is made of God to us wisdom," &c.? and may not this be called by the instructor a giving?* for there is not a greater, nor a more gracious gift, than the Son of God, with all his benefits. See John iii. 16, Rom. viii. 32. 1 John iv. 9, 10.

This is the English of the word used in the Dutch catechism, and in the German original.

But for whom was Christ made and given to be this? "For us," saith the apostle, 1 Cor. i. 30, " for them who are called to be saints," vrs. 2. "not many wise men, mighty or noble after the flesh, but the foolish, weak, ignoble and despised of the world, hath God chosen and called, that they may glory in the Lord," vrs. 26, 31. "Therefore all men without exception who perished in Adam, are not saved by Christ, but only those who are ingrafted into him, and receive all his benefits by a true faith," as the following Lord's day will inform us.

III. But who will dare to believe this great matter? what account have we of it? will the light of nature discover it to us? No, the creatures of God, contemplated in the most exact manner, will not teach us aught of this: we can learn from them only “God's eternal power and Godhead, that we may be without excuse," Rom. i. 20, The innate principles of knowledge, and our conscience may teach us, that there is an almighty, righteous, wise and good God, and that we have to do with him, according to Rom. i. 19. ii. 14, but they cannot afford us the least intimation, nor excite in us the least apprehension, whereby we may be induced to think, that God will de liver sinners by a covenant of grace, and by his Son. And therefore a person who doth not possess more than the mere light of nature, "is without Christ, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world," Eph. ii. 12. Can this then be learned from the law? not from the law neither: "For the promise was not to Abraham, or to his seed by the law," Rom. iv. 13. The law cannot show the sinner the means of deliverance, but can only discover his misery to him, and condemn him: " for the law worketh wrath," Rom. iv. 15. See Rom. iii. 19, 20. Gal. iii. 10, 11, 12.

Whence then do we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator and deliverer, made of God, wisdom, &c.? The instructor ans swereth according to the word of God, "From the holy gospel." The Greek word Euangelion, signifies joyful and good tidings, or tidings of good" I bring you good tidings, euangelizomai, or "evangelize you great joy," saith the angel who brought the first joyful news of the Saviour's birth, Luke ii. 10 11. The writers of the New Testament adopted this word, and learned the ordinary use of it from the seventy Greek translators of the Old Testament, who made use of the word euangelion, when they found the word Bisser in the Hebrew. See Isaiah, x. 4, 9. li. 7. Ixi. 1. There cannot, indeed, be more joyful news to a sinner under concern, than that Christ is a mediator and deliverer, and is made so great a salvation

to him of God. By this gospel we are not here to understand so
much the history of the birth, life, doctrine, miracles, humiliation,
and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we must understand by it
particularly, "the whole doctrine of salvation, by which God makes
the Mediator and Deliverer, Jesus Christ known to the sinner, offers
him to him, commands him to believe in him, and that through this
mediator he shall escape punishment, and be again received into fa-
vour." The gospel is the doctrine of salvation, by which a person is
conducted to salvation, according to the covenant of grace, descrtbed
in the books of the Old and New Testament: for "the word of
truth is the gospel of salvation," Eph. i. 3. Since now Christ with
his benefits is the sum of the gospel, therefore it is called the gospel
of Christ, 2 Cor, iv. 4. See also Rom. i. 1-4, 16, 17. Wherever
then we read in the holy scripture of Christ and his benefits, there
we have the gospel by which (a) God makes Christ known to the
sinner, as mediator and deliverer, and that in him only the sinner must
seek, and shall find all salvation: for "by the gospel is preached the
unsearchable riches of Christ." &c. Eph. iii. 8-11.(b) By the
gospel the Mediator, and all salvation in and through him, is also
offered to the sinner, and he is invited and called to him, that he may
"turn to him and be saved." Isaiah xlv. 22. lv. 1, 2, 3.
hath called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ," saith the apostle, 2. Thes. ii. 14, (e) By the
gospel the sinner is also commanded to believe in the Mediator to
salvation: "Jesus, preaching the gospel, said, believe the gospel,"
Mark. i. 14, 15. On which account it is sometimes called "a law."
Isaiah ii. 3. And also "the law of faith," Rom. iii. 27, since it,
obligeth every one, to whom it is brought, and denounces a severe
threatening against those, who "draw back" from it, Heb. x. 38.(d)
Further, the gospel engages and promises to the believer, that he
shall certainly escape punishment, and be again received into favour,
by faith in Christ, Mark xvi. 15, 16, John iii. 16, 36. Acts x. 43;
and so the gospe comforts the believing people of God, and speaks
comfortably to them," Isaiah xl. 1, 2. xi. 1, 2, 3..

"He

This gospel must be distinguished into the gospel of promise and of fulfilment. The gospel of promise is that which foretold and promised the Mediator, who was to come, with his saving benefits. The gospel of fulfilment, is the actual execution and fulfilment of the gospel of promise: therefore Paul saith, Rom. i. 1-4, "That God bath promised the gospel before by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son, who was made of the seed of David accor ding to the flesh," &c.

This gospel of promise "God spake in times past, and in diverg manners to the fathers," Heb. i. i. For (1) God himself revealed it first of all in Paradise. when "he said to the serpent. because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," Gen. iii. 14, 18. We suppose that the Lord God spake these words, when our first parents were present, not so much to the material serpent, as to the devil, who abused the serpent, because many things are mentioned here, which are natural to the serpent, and which it hath in common with other hurtful animals; and the rather, because “the devil and Satan is called the old serpent." Rev. xii. 13. Our Saviour teacheth us that the seed of the serpent signifies the ungodly, when he calls them "a generation of serpents and vipers," Matt. xxiii. 33, and saith that they are of their father the devil," John viii. 44. We suppose also, that these words were spoken, in order to comfort our parents, as their malicious foe was condemned by these words; therefore it is also evident, that the seed of the woman signifies in the first place the Mediator, who should be "the seed of Abraham," and thus, also "the seed of the woman;" Gen xxii. 18. Gal. iii. 16. iv. 4, and it signifies in the next place. elect believers with the Mediator, and in him; for these "are reckoned the seed," through the promise. Gen. xvii. 7. Rom. ix. 7, 8. And therefore the words, Gen iii. 14, 15, promise (a) that the Mediator should be man of man, to wit, of a woman. (b) That he should be holy, an enemy to the devil, and to his seed.(c) for he should be able to bruise (or crush) the head of the devil, or his power.(d) That he should destroy the works of the devil. 1 John ii. 8.(e) That he should suffer in his human nature; for the serpent should bruise his heel.(f) That the serpent should not conquer him, but that he should be exalted above the serpent, whose head he should bruise.(g) That believers, being united to him, should be made like him, as the seed, and should therefore be made wise, be justified, sanctified and delivered; but still by a conflict with the serpent and with his seed. These things, and such like, are contained in the promises. Our first parents no doubt understood these things more or less, and were more fully instructed in them by God, believed and embraced them to salvation, and delivered them also to their children by tradition. (2) God published this gospel afterwards by the holy patriarchs and prophets. The patriarchs

That he should be God;

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