moft worthy of God, but the most confummate contrivance of his wifdom and manifeftation of his goodness, that ever was given to his rational creation. From the perfonal then, let us proceed to confider and unfold the official character of the Son of God. To mention and explain at large, all the particular offices this illuftrious perfon was to execute, were inconfiftent with the concifeness of our prefent plan. We fhall, therefore, represent those offices that are more capital and comprehenfive, together with their neceflity and our Saviour's execution of them, in a general way; by which the neceffity and propriety of his perfonal character, and his important offices for the honour of his Father and the happiness of his brethren, will be clearly perceived.

I. This illuftrious perfon was to be the Saviour of his perishing brethren of mankind. This is the primary office of the Son of God with regard to the creation, and comprehends all his particular offices with refpect to mankind; and, therefore, this claims our firft confideration. It was our nature particularly into which he was born, for it was our falvation in a fpecial manner he was defigned to accomplish. Accordingly, the first and the most general official name, by which he was called, is Jefus; given him for this express reafon, that he was to fave his people from their fins, Matth. i. 21.

By the temptations of Satan, and their own finful compliance with them, the firft parents of our human race had tranfgreffed those just laws their great Maker prefcribed to them, for the prefervation and improvement of their own perfection and happiness, and the communication of the fame perfection and happiness to their offspring

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offspring. By this moft By this moft criminal offence, they had forfeited to themselves and their pofterity, all those bleffings which the divine goodnefs had promifed as the reward of their obedience; and involved both in all thofe evils, which are either the natural confequence, or the juft. and declared punishment of their tranfgreffion. We had loft the original perfection of our nature in knowledge, rectitude and goodness, and were involved in much imperfection and depravity. In confequence of this and our own actual fins proceeding from it, we had forfeited the favour of God, which is our chief good, and incurred his displeasure and the effects of it, which is our greatest mifery. As to our body, we had forfeited the fupernatural bleffing of immortality, which should have been the reward, and a moft proper one, of a pure and guiltless foul, and were funk down to that ftate of disease and mortality, that are the confequence of animal nature and the declared punishment of that fin, by which fupernatural perfection of mind and immortality of body were forfeited to mankind. As the future effect of these evils, we had forfeited life eternal in the everlasting image and enjoyment of God in a higher and happier world, and rendered ourselves, foul and body, obnoxious by our fins to everlafting deftruction. Such were the fad loffes we had sustained, and the many dreadful evils in which we were involved. What completed our mifery was, that we had neither inclination nor ability to extricate ourselves from these terrible evils, and recover the happiness from which we had fallen. The rectitude of the Deity, and the nature of things required perfect conformity to his image, as the firft foundation of happiness, and to qua

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lify us for the expreffions of his favour to complete it. The fame rectitude of the divine nature, and the established laws of his moral government, required condign atonement by fufferings and death to expiate our fins, and procure our deliverance from future punishments, and perfect future obedience to his laws, to give us a title to heaven and eternal happiness. But how impracticable were thefe to fallen mankind! weak and depraved creatures, we could not recover our proper perfection in our Father's image, the neceffary foundation of his favour and our own happiness. Finite and finful creatures, we could as little make a proper fatisfaction for our numberless fins committed againft the Majefty of God, and in violation of the infinite obligations we are under to obey him, fo as to appeafe his juft difpleasure and regain his favour. Impure and guilty, we could never acquire either meetnefs or title to his heavenly kingdom; but must have funk, at laft, into the regions of dark nefs and deftruction for ever. But what could never have been effected by us, or by the ordinary eftablifhment of his moral government, the gracious Father of the univerfe had determined to accomplish by an extraordinary, but moft God-like difpenfation of his grace. Mankind, though they had fallen by their own default, yet they had fallen alfo through the temptations of a fuperior, malicious, and artful adverfary. Our firft parents had been overcome by him, even in their primæval purity and perfection. Their pofterity, through this fall of their parents, were born into life, deftitute of original rectitude, and expofed from their first exiftence to the joint-influence of a fenfualizing nature, a finful world, and the temptations of

the

the devil; circumftances extremely unfavourable to their virtue and happiness. In ftrict juftice we could never be intitled to the divine favour and falvation, all our miseries being owing chiefly to ourselves; yet, no fpecies of being could be more proper objects of the divine compaffion. There were none whofe recovery would contribute more to the glory of God, and the good of his creation; and therefore none, for whofe falvation every perfection of the divine nature would more engage him to interpofe. This, bleffed be his gracious name, was actually the cafe. His goodnefs and mercy moved our falvation, and his wifdom and rectitude devised the method. by which it should be accomplished. The first and fundamental part of the grand fcheme was to obtain a proper fatisfaction for our fins, by which we might be delivered from guilt and condemnation, and restored to juftification and life, confiftently with the authority of the divine laws and government, and the happiness of God's rational empire as dependent on their obfervance of them. To accomplish this and the. other great purposes of his mediation, it was refolved in the councils of the Sacred Trinity, that the eternal Word fhould affume our nature into union with his divine perfon, thereby becoming, at once, the Son of God and Man, and Mediators betwixt them. By this, he would dignify our inferior nature, and be qualified, by his obedience and atonement, to make fatisfaction for our, fins, and procure our redemption, not only in perfect confiftency with the honour of God and. the obedience and happiness of his rational creation, but to their higheft advancement. To this office, therefore, he was deftined from those eternal ages in which the plan of the universe.

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and of our falvation was defigned; and we were chofen in him, before the foundation of the world, Eph. i. 4. For this office, he was generated and born into our nature at the appointed period; "for when the fulness of time was 66 come, God fent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them "that were under the law, that we might re"ceive the adoption of fons," Gal. iv. 4. That our Maker might be completely qualified to be our Redeemer, he, according to the ancient type of him, Ruth iv. 4, 5. became our near kinfman. He affumed our nature in foul and body, that in the fame nature that tranfgreffed the divine law he might obey it, and that in the fame nature that had difhonoured God by fin, he might honour him by an infinite fatisfaction for fin. With our nature he affumed our place, fubftituting himself in our ftead, that the punishment due to our fins might be legally transferred and inflicted upon him, and the merits of his fatisfaction be extended, and its bleffings beftowed upon us. And in this public character he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, that he might procure our redemption from fin and mifery, and our recovery to every bleffing of complete happiness; for he took "not fallen angels to redeem them,' as the original imports, but the feed of Abraham;" whose feed he was to be, and was to fave all out of all nations, who fhould, like faithful Abraham, believe in and obey him, Gal. iii. 8. "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be "made like unto his brethren, that he might "be a merciful and faithful High Prieft in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for "the fins of the people," Heb. ii. 16, 17.

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