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that great difference between God and man, occasioned by our sin and apostacy from him, which of itself could issue in nothing but the utter ruin of the whole race of mankind, there was none in heaven or earth in their original nature and operations, who was meet or able to make up a righteous peace between them. Yet must this be done by a Mediator, or cease for ever.

This Mediator could not be God himself absolutely considered; 'for a Mediator is not of one, but God is one,' Gal. iii. 20. Whatever God might do herein in a way of sovereign grace, yet he could not do it in the way of mediation, which yet was necessary unto his own glory, as we have at large discoursed elsewhere.

And as for creatures, there was none in heaven or earth that was meet to undertake this office. For if one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him?' 1 Sam. ii. 25. There is not any days-man betwixt us, to lay his hand upon us both,' Job ix. 33.

In this state of things, the Lord Christ as the Son of God said, 'Lo, I come to do thy will, O God; sacrifice and burntofferings thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me; and, lo, I come to do thy will,' Heb. x. 5--9. By the assumption of our nature into union with himself, in his one divine person, he became every way meet for the discharge of his office, and undertakes it accordingly.

That which we inquire after at present, is the glory of Christ herein, and how we may behold that glory. And there are three things wherein we may take a prospect of it.

I. In his susception of this office.

II. In his discharge of it.

III. In the event and consequence thereof; or what ensued thereon.

In the susception of this office, we may behold the glory of Christ, (1.) In his condescension. (2.) In his love.

First, We may behold his glory in his infinite condescension to take this office on him, and our nature to be his own unto that end. It did not befal him by lot or chance, it was not im

posed on him against his will, it belonged not unto him by any necessity of nature or condition, he stood not in need of it, it was no addition unto him; but of his own mind and accord, he graciously condescended unto the susception and discharge of it. So the Apostle expresseth it, Phil. ii. 5-8. 'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took on himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'

It was the mind that was in Jesus Christ, which is proposed unto our consideration and imitation; what he was inclined and disposed unto from himself and his own mind alone. And that in general which is ascribed unto him, exinanition or selfemptiness; he emptied himself. This the ancient church called his yaraẞaris, as we do his condescension, an act of which kind in God is called the humbling of himself, Psal. cxiii. 6. Wherefore the susception of our nature for the discharge of the office of mediation therein, was an infinite condescension in the Son of God, wherein he is exceedingly glorious in the eyes. of believers.

And I shall do these three things. (1.) Shew in general the greatness of this condescension. (2.) Declare the especial nature of it. And, (3.) Take what view we are able of the glory of Christ therein.

1st, Such is the transcendent excellency of the divine nature, that it is said of God, that he dwelleth on high, and humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth,' Psal. cxiii. 5, 6. He condescends from the prerogative of his excellency, to behold, to look upon, to take notice of the most glorious things in heaven above, and the greatest things in the earth below. All his respect unto the creatures, the most glorious of them, is an act of infinite condescension. And it is so on two accounts.

1. Because of the infinite distance that is between his essence, nature, or being, and that of the creatures. Hence 'all nations. before him are as the drop of a bucket, and

are counted as the

small dust of the balance; yea, that they are as nothing, that they are accounted unto him less than nothing and vanity.' All being is essentially in him, and in comparison thereunto, all other things are as nothing. And there are no measures, there is no proportion between infinite being and nothing; nothing that should induce a regard from the one unto the other. Wherefore, the infinite, essential greatness of the nature of God, with its infinite distance from the nature of all creatures thereby, causeth all his dealings with them to be in the way of condescension or humbling himself. So it is expressed, Isa. lvii. 15. Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabited eternity, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.' He is so the high and lofty One, and so inhabiteth eternity, or existeth in his own eternal being, that it is an act of mere grace in him, to take notice of things below; and therefore he doth it in an especial manner of those whom the world doth most despise.

2. It ariseth from his infinite self-sufficiency unto all the acts and ends of his own eternal blessedness. What we have a regard unto, what we respect and desire, it is that it may add unto our satisfaction. So it is, so it must be with every creature; no creature is self-sufficient unto its own blessedness. The human nature of Christ himself in heaven is not so; it lives in God, and God in it, in a full dependence on God, and in receiving blessed and glorious communications from him. No rational creature, angel or man, can do, think, or act any thing, but it is all to add to their perfection and satisfaction, they are not self-sufficient. God alone wants nothing, stands in need of nothing, nothing can be added unto him, seeing he giveth unto all life, and breath, and all things,' Acts xvii. 25. The whole creation in all its excellency cannot contribute one mite unto the satisfaction or blessedness of God. He hath it all in infinite perfection from himself and his own nature; our goodness extends not unto him; 'A man cannot profit God as he may profit his neighbour. If thou sinnest, what dost thou against him? and if thy transgressions are multiplied, what dost thou unto him? (God loseth nothing of his own self-suffi

ciency and blessedness therein, by all this); and if thou be righteous, what givest thou unto him, or what receiveth he at thy hand? Job xxxv. 6-8. And from hence also it follows, that all God's concernment in the creation, is by an act of condescension.

How glorious then is the condescension of the Son of God in his susception of the office of mediation? For if such be the perfection of the divine nature, and its distance so absolutely infinite from the whole creation, and if such be his self-sufficiency unto his own eternal blessedness, as that nothing can be taken from him, nothing added unto him, so that every regard in him unto any of the creatures, is an act of self-humiliation and condescension from the prerogative of his being and state; what heart can conceive, what tongue can express, the glory of that condescension in the Son of God, whereby he took our nature upon him, took it to be his own in order unto a discharge of the office of mediation on our behalf?

But, 2dly, That we may the better behold the glory of Christ herein, we may briefly consider the especial nature of this condescension, and wherein it doth consist. But whereas, not only the denial, but misapprehensions hereof have pestered the church of God in all ages, we must in the first place reject them, and then declare the truth.

1. This condescension of the Son of God did not consist in a laying aside, or parting with, or separation from the divine nature, so as that he should cease to be Ged, by being man. The foundation of it lay in this, that he was in the form of God, and counted it not robbery to be equal with God,' Phil. ii. 6. That is, being really and essentially God in his divine nature, he professed himself therein to be equal with God or the person of the Father. He was in the form of God, that is, he was God, participant of the divine nature, for God hath no form but that of his essence and being; and hence he was equal with God, in authority, dignity, and power. Because he was in the form of God, he must be equal with God, for there is order in the divine persons, but no inequality in the divine Being. So the Jews understood him, that when he said, 'God was his Father, he made himself equal with God.' For in his so saying, he ascrib

ed unto himself equal power with the Father, as unto all divine operations, 'My Father (saith he) worketh hitherto, and I work,' John v. 17, 18. And they by whom his divine nature is denied, do cast this condescension of Christ quite out of our religion, as that which hath no reality or substance in it. But we shall speak of them afterwards.

Being in this state, it is said that he took on him the form of a servant, and was found in fashion as a man,' Phil. ii. 7. This is his condescension. It is not said, that he ceased to be in the form of God; but continuing so to be, he took on him the form of a servant in our nature; he became what he was not, but he ceased not to be what he was; so he testifieth of himself, John iii. 13. 'No man hath ascended up into heaven, but he that came down from heaven, the Son of man which is in heaven. Although he was then on earth as the Son of man; yet he ceased not to be God thereby; in his divine nature he was then also in heaven. He who is God, can no more be not God, than he who is not God, can be God; and our difference with the Socinians herein is, we believe that Christ being God was made man for our sakes; they say, that being only a man, he was made a God for his own sake.

This then is the foundation of the glory of Christ in this condescension, the life and soul of all heavenly truth and mysteries; namely, that the Son of God becoming in time to be what he was not, the Son of man, ceased not thereby to be what he was, even the eternal Son of God. Wherefore,

2. Much less did this condescension consist in the conversion of the divine nature into the human, which was the imagination of some of the Arians of old, and we have yet (to my own knowledge) some that follow them in the same dotage. They say that the 'Word which was in the beginning, by which all things were made, being in itself an effect of the divine will and power, was in the fulness of time turned into flesh; that is, the substance of it was so, as the water in the miracle wrought by our Saviour, was turned into wine; for by an act of the divine power of Christ it ceased to be water substantially, and was wine only; not water mixed with wine; so these men suppose a substantial change of the one nature into the other, of the divine

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