By this means, a ladder is erected which reaches from heaven to earth, God descends to man, and man ascends into fellowship with God. A chain of holy wonders is here linked together in the person of Christ, in whom all is wonderful, his incarnation, the hypostatical union of two natures in one person; his life of obedience, his passion, resurrection, ascension, session at the right hand of God, where he intercedes for, and acts the part of an advocate, are a wondrous exhibition of his infinite goodwill to the elect sons of men. One great end of Christ's incarnation was, that he might be capacitated and fitted for performing his office, and executing his mediatorial trust. He took our nature with all its sinless infirmities, a frail mortal body, which was susceptible of grief, capable of pain, which stood in need of temporal support, even as ours do. By which means the Lord of glory became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, and has an heart to pity and compassionate us, having himself dwelt in frail flesh, and tabernacled here below, where he himself by expe

rience felt and sustained, and was encompassed with all sorts and kinds of evils, sin only excepted, which had no place nor being in him. • Christ himself, (says 'Doctor Goodwin) who sanctified our na"ture, to the end we might be sanctified, (see John xvii. 19. Heb. ii. 11.) repre'sentatively sanctified every age of man's life he went through, as well as those ages 'or years of man's life he fell short of. He was sanctified in the womb, to sanctify

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some infants in the womb. He was holy ' when born, even because some infants ' when first born might be sanctified. And 'the same Lord Jesus pronounceth of infants," that of such is the kingdom of "God." The incarnation of Christ was the first step to his finishing the salvation of his people by his obedience and death. This he had in view, therefore just be'fore his assumption of our nature he said to his eternal Father: "A body hast thou fitted or prepared me, lo, I 6 come, I delight to do thy will O God, yea, thy law is within my heart." Christ undertook the salvation of his 'people before all time, immediately

upon the fall he was revealed as the 'serpent-bruiser, the sin-bearing, sinatoning Lamb. All the prophets spake ' of him, gave witness to him, declaring 'that through his name, whosoever be'lieveth in him, shall receive remission ' of sins. But this glorious Saviour was 'manifested in the flesh in the fulness of

time, when all flesh had corrupted its 'way upon the earth, and there was none ' of the human race righteous, no not 6 one; when Jew and Gentile were both plunged into the deepest abyss of sin and misery, and were fallen as far as 'possible into sin, and yet out of hell, then the son of God was manifested 'that he might destroy the works of the 'Devil. "When the fulness of the time 'was come, God sent forth his Son, made ' of a woman, made under the law," to 'deliver from sin, curse and damnation, his chosen and beloved ones. Our ⚫ blessed Jesus took hold of our nature, that in it he might manifest to us the 'boundless love, grace and mercy of his divine Father towards us. Hereby he ' that sanctifieth and they who are sancti

'fied, are all of one nature, which is an ' act of wondrous grace in Christ, and "should lead us to consider that his heart 6 is full of love, his bowels of mercy, that he is cloathed with infinite compassion, and is in every respect a most suitable 'mediator, in whom all fitness and fulness ' of relations meet. All fitness for the ' office of mediator is found in him, he is 'both. God and man united in one person, 'he sustains all sorts and kinds of relations to us and he is solemnly bound and engaged to us towards his members ' with the utmost affection, sympathy and 'love. "For as much then as the ́ children are partakers of flesh and blood, ' he also himself likewise took part of the 'same: that through death he might destroy death, and him that had the power of death, that is the devil."

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I proceed, thirdly, to consider his infinite mercy and compassion towards poor miserable sinners, as it is expressed in the words before us, in which a descriptive character is given of them. They are described as needy, poor and helpless.

"He shall deliver the needy when he

crieth: the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and, shall save the souls of the needy."

I will begin with the first description given of them, which is that they are needy. All mankind are needy, but it is such as feel their spiritual needs and necessities we have to do with. And they are such whom the Holy Spirit by his invincible, irresistible grace has wrought upon, by quickening their souls with new and spiritual life, which discovers itself in the following way and manner. The soul is brought experimentally to feel its want of all spiritual good, to view its own inherent filth, impurity and defilement, to taste the bitterness of sin, and to find none but Christ can relieve, save or sucThe awakened sinner finds himself ignorant of Christ and his salvation, and that he is indeed alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in him, and he crieth out being grieved and burthened with the remembrance and heavy load of his iniquities, unto the Lord, whose eyes are upon his people for

cour.