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ous news they had to proclaim to a guilty world. It was long before decreed in heaven, that he should die; it was the determinate counsel of God, from the beginning, that through death he should destroy the devil, break up his scheme, and thoroughly bruise his head. And for this, in the fulness of time, he left his father's bosom. For this he became flesh; and for this he entered upon his public ministry, characteriz ed by John the Baptist, at that juncture, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world: the true antitype of all the Jewish sacrifices. For this he called the twelve from their nets, that they might be his witnesses to all nations. For this he went up to Jerusalem, knowing what should befall him; and how am I straitened, said he, till it be accomplished. For this he went into the garden, knowing that his enemies would find him there; and in a view of the absolute necessity of his death for the salvation of sinners, he said to his Father, thy will be done: and then voluntarily resigned himself up into his enemies' hands, when he could have struck them dead, or had twelve legions of angels to have guarded him from their malice. I lay down my life for the sheep. This commandment have I received from my Father. For him did God the Father set forth to be a propitiation, to declare his righteousness, that he might be just. And for this the Father loved him, because he laid down his life for the sheep. And to testify his love and well-pleasedness in the sight of the whole intellectual system, he raised him from the dead, set him at his own right hand in heaven, declared himself ready to be reconciled, and ordered repentance and remission of sins to be preached to all nations in his name. Nay, all power in heaven and earth is committed into his hands, that he might reign till all his enemies are put under his feet, and satan's whole scheme completely disappointed. For as he loved rightcousness and hated iniquity with such fervour, as moved him to interpose and die in this cause, to discountenance sin, and magnify the divine law, bring glory to God, salvation to men, and so destroy the devil; wherefore God hath anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. Heb. i. 9. Given him a name above every name. Phil. ii. 9. And decreed, that

hould see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. (Isai

liii. 11.) That is, see as much glory to God and benefit to the creature, result from his death on the cross, as his soul desires.

For he shall see the tra

He shall see the fruit of his
But what can be enough in

Was his love to God, zeal for his glory, and for the honour of his government, and compassion to lost sinners, so great, as to bring him from his Father's bosom, worshipped by all the heavenly host, to hang naked, tortured, insulted on the cross, and there expire in the utmost agonies! As great glory to God, as great honour to his law, as great salvation to lost sinners shall result herefrom, as to be equal to his love, and zeal, and pity, infinite as they were. vail of his soul, and be satisfied. labours till he says it is enough. the eyes of such an one! What can satisfy a heart like his ! whose regard to the honour of God and of his law, and to the welfare of lost sinners, was so infinitely great! Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive! But in the midst of all this, we have the highest possible assurance of his sincerity in saying, Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out; (John vi. 37.) for these the Father gave him; they were the sheep he loved, and laid down his life for; the joy set before him, for whose salvation he endured the cross and despised the shame; these are his seed, the travail of his soul, for whom he was smitten of God, and in whose stead he became a curse, to redeem them from the curse, and that the blessing of Abraham might come upon them.

Thus this is the sum and substance of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. We preach Christ crucified: this was the glorious and joyful news the apostles proclaimed to a revolted, guilty world. And if to the Jews Christ crucified was a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; yet to them who were CALLED, Christ crucified was the power of God and the wisdom of God.-But this leads us to take a view of the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

SECTION II.

A general view of the glory of the Gospel.

THE Gospel is denominated the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ; and its glory is represented to be divine glory. For it is called the glory of God, and the glory of the Lord. 2 Cor. iii. 18. Chap. iv. 6. The law, as a ministration of death and condemnation, is said to be glorious; but the Gospel exceeds in glory, (2 Cor. iii. 7. 10.) because we have in the Gospel a more full and bright manifestation of the glory of the divine nature. The glory of both is of the same nature, divine glory; but in the Gospel it shines with greater brightness. Now the glory of the divine nature consists in infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. These perfections are the beauty of the divinity. But how are they manifested in the Gospel-It is true, the ends proposed in the Gospel are very glorious, to bring glory to God, salvation to men, and destruction to satan's cause. But how are the means glorious?-Christ crucified. How are the divine perfections manifested in bringing about these ends by the incarnation and death of the Son of God? This has been a stumbling-block to the Jew, and foolishness to the Greek; and yet is affirmed to be in an eminent and peculiar manner the wisdom of God. But how and wherein does the wisdom of God appear in the death of his Son? This is the point to which we are now carefully to attend.

It has been observed that the death of Christ was designed to answer the demands of the law in our stead. The law had said, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them. But by the deeds of this law no flesh can be justified in the sight of God; for by it all stand condemned as sinners. Therefore Christ was made a curse to redeem us from its curse not because it was a bad law; and so the fault in the law-giver; but because the law was holy, just, and good, and mankind without excuse, guilty before God, as much to blame as the curse of the law import

He was set forth to be a propitiation to declare God's

8

righteousness; and so in his death he magnified the law and made it honourable. Isai. xlii. 21. But there is no wisdom in doing honour to that which is not worthy of honour. And therefore,

If the divine law was not holy, just, and good, and did not in its own nature deserve to be magnified and made honourable at such an infinite expense as the blood of the Son of God, how was it wise in God to give his Son to die for this purpose? And if it was not wise, how was the divine conduct in this affair in any respect Godlike and glorious? If it was not wise, it was unwise. It must be unwise to be at such infinite expense, if the nature of the case did not call for it, if the law did not deserve such honour. And if there was no need of such an atonement in order to our pardon and salvation, it was no act of kindness to us. We might have been saved as well without. And if the law was in its own nature too se`vere, it could not be a holy or a just act in God to require such an atonement in order to our pardon and salvation; but the contrary.

It must therefore be laid down as a fundamental maxim, that the divine law in its full extent, and with all its curses, and that with respect not only to Adam in innocency, but also to all his sinful race, in whose stead Christ has borne its curse, is really, in itself, and in the eyes of God, holy, just, and good, glorious and amiable, worthy of having its honour secured by the blood of the Son of God. For there can be no glory in the death of Christ, if the law be not glorious.Rather, it must have been contrary to all the divine perfections for God to have given his Son to die, to do honour to that which deserved no honour. And the Gospel which brings us the news, instead of revealing the glory of God, would bring to light an affair infinitely and everlastingly to his dishonour.-For,

How must it appear in the eyes of all holy beings, if the law was good only with respect to Adam before the fall, but not with respect to him or his posterity since; that Christ should be made a curse, to redeem not only Adam, but to redeem us from the curse. That Christ should die to make atonement not only for the one offence of Adam, his first sin,

but the MANY offences of Adam and of his sinful race; even for every breach of that law, which curseth every one, that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them. If the law had not been in its full extent, holy, just and good, with respect to a fallen world, surely a being of perfect rectitude and infinite goodness, must have disannulled it, and not subjected his own Son, in our stead, to bear the curse.

If indeed we are a fallen, sinful, guilty world, (and if we are not, we did not need the Son of God to die in our behalf,) it is not at all strange, if there should be many and great prejudices in our hearts against the divine law, which we have broke, and by which we stand condemned, blinding our minds to its reasonableness and excellency, and tempting us to think it far from being holy, just, and good. Nor is it at all strange, if satan, who was banished from heaven by a like law, and is an avowed enemy to God and to his government, should desire to strengthen our prejudices against the divine law, and do all in his power to blind our minds, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine in our hearts. But only let our hearts be divested of prejudices, and in a disposition to approve that which is really excellent, and we cannot fail to discern the reasonableness and beauty of the divine law. For,

If God is an absolutely perfect being, (and to deny that he is, is downright atheism,) he must be infinitely glorious and amiable in himself: and therefore he must be infinitely worthy of that supreme love and honour, from all the children of men, which the law requires. And infinite worthiness lays a foundation for infinite obligation and infinite obligation to love and honour God supremely, will render us infinitely to blame if we do not and infinite blame deserves infinite punishment: exactly as the divine law, that perfect rule of right, has stated the case. And the more disinclined we be to love God, the more aggravated is our guilt: and if our inclination to love God with all our hearts is what it ought to be, there can be no difficulty in the way. So that there is no consistent medium between atheism, and an acknowledgment that the divine law is holy, just and good ⚫. And further,

If God is not an absolutely perfect being, in himself infinitely glorion ard

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