bewail the parting with one fon, when he had eleven behind? But God gave his only begotten, Son, and the Son of his love for us! It is recorded as an admirable inftance of Abraham's obedience, that he was willing to part with his only fon at God's command. Gen. xxii. 12. Now I know that thou fearest God, feeing thou haft not withheld thy fon, thine only fan, from me. But what was Abraham's fon to God's eternal Son, the fecond perfon of the glorious Trinity! a Son that was his equal! a Son in whom his foul delighted! a Son that never displeased him at any time! How bitterly did David mourn at parting with a rebellious fon! O. Abfalom, my fon, my fon, would to God I had died for thee, &c. But what are all the fons of men, or ten thousand worlds full of men, or as many heavens full of angels, to the beloved Son of God, whom all the angels worship and adore! And yet this is the gift that God gives us. giving this gift, divine bounty hath stretched itself to the uttermoft: He could have created a million of heavens more bright, and millions of angels more glorious for us; but a more glorious Son he had not, nor could have; a greater gift he had not in all his treasures, than his own co-eternal and con-substantial Son, yet he makes a free gift of him to us! Who would not give thanks unto God for this his unfpeakable gift? And who would not part with all the world to have an intreft in this gift fealed to him at the Lord's table?—This is the gift that sweetens all other gifts, and without which nothing in a world hath any fweetnefs in it. In This gift of God is moft free; it was impoffible that the world could have Chrift any other way than as a free gift. A man like old Jacob may be bereaved of his children, but it was not poffible that God could be bereaved of his dear Son. Neither could we have him by purchase; we were fo poor, we had not wherewith to purchase the leaft blefling. And what though all the riches of the world had been ours, though all its mountains had been gold, pearls, or diamonds, they would not have been fufficient to purchafe one fight, of this gift, far less a right to it. Nor could ever any motive be found out for beftowing this gift, but the mere free love of God, John iii. 16. God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son: As if he had faid, fince the world hath no merit, nor price, worth, nor motive, to obtain this bleffing, I just make a free gift of him to the world: Take him freely, poor beggars of Adam's family; take him, and he will enrich you all! And O how feasonably and unexpectedly was this gift given? Adam, when he came trembling before God after his fall, looking for his final doom, did little expect fuch a gift, until God himself, to the aftonishment of angels and men, promifed the feed of the woman. Who could have thought that the great God would have gifted his dear Son to fuch vile wretches, finners that were not feeking him? Nay, who of mankind could have defired such a gift? Indeed, when we had been perifhing, we might have looked-up, and cried, O God have mercy upon us: But who would have faid, O give the Son of thy love to bear the wrath due to us! We neither deferved, nor defired this gift, but God gave it most freely and furprisingly! When Adam brcke God's covenant, he was purfued with a cry, Adam where art thou? Doubtlefs, Adam expected a terrible blow from the fword of justice: but, behold, he is pursued with a cry, and the unfpeakable gift in the crier's hand! O how furprising was this to poor, trembling, guilty Adam! What caufe had he to cry, Thanks be unto God for his unfpeakable gift! What shall I render to the Lord for fuch a gift? And the fame caufe have we.. O wonderful love! this free gift is offered freely to the poorest creature of Adam's family; fo that fuch an one as I, am warranted to accept and embrace it, and make fure my intereft in it; Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. Many covet other gifts, but I covet this beft gift, this enriching gift; this is a lawful covetoufnefs: I receive this gift of God into my bofom, into my very heart. O that I had the marks of those who poffefs this gift, and are truly thankful for it! Can I fay, that this gift is truly precious in my eyes, and that I efteem it far above all temporal gifts whatsoever: That I am oft thinking upon his matchlefs excellency, his low ftoop and condescending love; and do I frequently break out with the Pfalmift, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth I defire befides thee. -Have I low thoughts of myself, as unworthy that Chrift fhould come under my roof, reckoning myself with Paul, the leaft of all faints and chief of finners? Do I renounce all Chrift's rivals and competitors, fuch as my beloved lufts, and beloved righteoufnefs? Do I count all my doings and duties but lofs and dung, for the righteousness of Chrift? Do I take the crown off every head, and put it upon Chrift's head, and give him all the glory of my falvation, and fay, that in the Lord Je fus only have I righteousness and frength? Am I careful to avoid every thing that would dishonour Chrift? and do I fay to every temptation that offers, How Shall I do this wickedness and fin against God, or bring a reproach upon Chrift and his ways? Do I rejoice when Chrift is honoured, his throne raifed, his glory advanced, and his fubjects increased; and when flrangers and young ones are drawn to love and admire him? Am I often faying, What fall I render to the Lord for his unspeakable gift? I am at a loss how to exprefs my thankfulness: I have nothing to give him; but I'll render all I have to him, my foul, my body, my love, my praifes, my time, my talents, my walk and converfation. Lord, accept of my two poor mites, foul and body, in token of my gratitude for God's redeeming love and free gift; and make me fit for giving thee thanks eternally for this unfpeakable gift: O! that i could apply thefe bleffed marks to myfelf! And O what thanks do I owe my dear Saviour, that fubmitted willingly to be heaven's gift to the children of men; yea, frankly offered, and gave himself to be a facrifice for them, to drink of the brook in the way, even the cup of God's wrath, that we might drink the cup of God's blefling! O how low was our fall, that nothing could rife us up again but the low abasement of the Son of God! And O how low was the step that he behoved to make to recover us! The Son of God must be tread upon as a worm! The Almighty Physician must come from heaven, and let his heart be pierced, to prepare a medicine to cure our difeafe! He that thought it no robbery to be equal with God, must be made equal to robbers and murderers! He must not only suffer death, but desertion alfo, from God, from man and the whole creation! He gave himfef not, only to fuffer the pangs of death, but the pains of hell; not only the forrows of dying men, but the forrows of damned fouls! O unfpeakable gift! Οι The Son of Man must fuffer many things. UR Lord oft fpoke of his fufferings to his difciples, because he would have them deeply imprinted upon the hearts of all his people, that they might always think upon them, and carry about with them the dying of the Lord Jefus. As Chrift foretold his fufferings before-hand, fo they came exactly to pafs. He faid he must suffer many things for his people, and accordingly he did fo: Let me view his fufferings before I go to commemorate them at his table. 1. I must confider him that suffered many things for us; the Spirit of God requires us to confider the High Prieft, who he is, Heb. iii. 1. Though he calls himfelf in the text the Son of Man, as to his human nature; yet he is also the Son of God, as to his divine nature; yea, God equal with the Father, the great God our Saviour: This God-man, the WONDERFUL, is our High Priest, that fuffered many things for us. He is our glorious Emmanuel, the innocent and immaculate Lamb of God, that had not the least spot or crime of his own to fuffer for-He is the brightness of his Father's glory, the exprefs image of his perfon; he is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He that fuffered is he that went about always doing good to perfons of all forts, and deserved well of those who perfecuted and crucified him. He is the great lover of mankind, and G friend of finners; our glorious benefactor, who remembered us in our low eftate; one that comes under the most endearing characters to us, as that of our father, our husband, our brother, master, physician, ranfomer, &c. Now, will not a fon be fenfible of the fufferings of his father, or a wife of the fufferings of her husband? Or one brother be touched with the fufferings of another? This is the great High Priest that fuffered many things for us. - 2. I am to confider the many things he fuffered. Ah, they are fo great, fo various, and manifold, I cannot recount nor comprehend them! I may fay, he suffered in both natures: Though his Godhead could not properly fuffer grief or pain, yet it fuffered an eclipfe for 33 years, except a fhort time it fhone forth on Mount Tabor. Hefuffered many things in his human nature, both in foul and body; he was perfecuted, tempted, calumniated, betrayed, bound, mocked, fpit on, buffeted, fcourged, wounded, crowned with thorns, and crucified, -He fuffered in all his offices, he was mocked as a Prophet, and bid prophefy who fmote him; as a Priest, he was bid fave himself, seeing he pretended to fave others; as a King, he was mocked with an old purple robe and thorny crown.-He fuffered in his honour and reputation, being difgraced and reproached by men, called a Samaritan, one poffeffed of the devil, a blafphemer, a glutton, a drunkard, a feducer, &c. He was even overwhelmed with calumny.-He suffered as a blasphemer against God, as a traitor to Cæfar, and an enemy to Mofes's law, though he was entirely free of them all. He was wounded and pierced in all parts of his body, in his head, hands, and feet; in his cheeks, back, and fide. He fuffered in his outward goods, being spoiled of all things, and even stript of his clothes to his very fkin, and nailed to the crofs naked. He fuffered in all his five fenfes; his fight, with the fpiteful carriage of thole chat paffed by, wagging their heads; his hearing, with their blafphemous talk; his fmell, with the noifome favour of the fculls of the dead; his tafte, with vinegar and gall; his feeling, with thorns and nails pier |