Imatges de pàgina
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Chap. 5.

God commended his love towards us, in that while we were yet finners, Chrift died for us, Rom. 5. 8. Sinners are objects of difpleasure, and yet Love breaks out towards them in that great inftance, the Death of Chrift. If ever there were anger in God, 'twas at the Sin of a World; if ever there were Love in him, 'twas in the Gift of his Son. Thefe two may very well stand together.

4. Man may be confidered, either as a Sinner, or as a Creature. A man who hath a rebellious Son, may be angry with him as rebellious, and yet compaffionate him as a Son. In like manner, God may be angry with us as Sinners, and yet love us as Crea

tures.

Having removed the Socinian-Cavil, I fhall now proceed to speak of Gods Love, in giving his Son for us. Here I fhall diftinctly confider the giver. The Gift. The manner how it was given. The perfons for whom. The evil removed, and good procured by it, and the excellent Evangelical terms built upon it. Each one of thefe will illustrate this Love in giving his Son for us.

The Giver is God himself, no other could do it. And here two things offer themselves to us:

The one is the earliness of his Love. It was no Novel temporary thing, but ancient, nay eternal; upon the Prescience of the Fall he eternally defigned, that his Son should affume our Nature, and in it dye as an expiatory Sacrifice for us: Chrift was the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world, I Pet. I. 20. He was fet down for a Redeemer in the eternal Volumes before the world was up; and slain above in Decree, long before he was flain be

low

low in Time. A Plaister was provided before the Chap. 5. wound, a Saviour before the Fall of Man. When David would fet forth Gods Mercy in the highest ftrain, He doth it thus, His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, Pfal. 103. 17. Such is his Love in Chrift, reaching, as I may fay, from one end of eternity to another: Each one of us may cry out, as that Ancient did, Sero te amavi, Domine, Lord, 'twas late e're I loved thee. Our love is but of yesterday, a temporary thing, but his was as early as eternity it felf.

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The other is the freeness of it. Love, as the Philo-"Es fopher fpeaks, wills good to another for his fake,, To Be3 λεπαι τίνι, ε not for our own. In that wonderful Gift of Christ, Tα ayathe Love was Gods, the profit ours. Mercy ind, exeive ἕνεκα, ἀλλὰ man hath a kind of refpect to the Donor: frail Hu- μù dutõ, Arisi. manity, and the wheel of a mutable world tell him, Rhet. 1. 2. c.4 That himself, the now giver, may peradventure come to be a receiver. Hence the Apostle would have us remember them in adversity, as being in the body, Heb. 13. 3, and restore the lapfed, confidering thy felf, Gal. 6. 1. It may be our own cafe. There is in fuch acts of Mercy, a kind of refpect to our fu ture felf, which poffibly may become an object for Mercy. But Mercy in God, which is the fuavity of his Effence, iffues out in a pure gratuitous way; no fuch refpect can fall upon him, who is immutable and bleffed for ever. In the freeness of his Love, there are two things confiderable: On Gods part there was no want, on Mans no attractive.

On Gods part there was no want of us, or our Services; were there want with him, he could not be God: Could we fupply him, we should be greater r

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greater than himself in furnishing him with that which he could not do for himself; He is All-fufficient, and what want can be in him? Infinite, and what can be added to him? An Ocean, though -vaft, yet, because finite, may receive an addition from a little drop. But what can be added to infinity, which in its unmeasurable excellency comprizes all things within it felf? All nations to him are but as the drop of the bucket, and as the small duft of the ballance, Ifa. 40. 15. Their Righteousness cannot add one beam to his effential Glory, neither can their iniquity in the least eclipse it. However it be with the Creature, he is ftill himself. His own happiness a sphere of all Perfections, a Theatre of Glory to himself. Hence it appears, that Gods Love in giving his Son for us, was not a Love of indigence, but of fulness and redundance, flowing out in a pure gratuitous manner towards us, that the honour might be his, and the profit ours. He gives like himself, out of fuper-effluent goodnefs, as becomes one who is a Donor only, but no Re

ceiver.

On Mans part there was no attractive, to move God to give his Son for us. Mans Love is ufually drawn out by fome excellency or other in the object: but what can draw out Gods? Could the Origine of all goodness be attracted by any thing in the Creature? Yet is it poffible that any thing fhould be found in a fallen Creature to attract it? Mans mifery was indeed the occafion, but what was the attractive? Was our Love first, and a charm to his? Oh! no; to say, that a Creature is first in Love, is to blafpheme the Supreme Goodness, which

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uevos, Arift.

fets up Love in it. The Apostle is exprefs, Herein Chap. 5. is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins, 1 John 4. 10. Between men, Love is ordinarily reciprocal; he that loves, is beloved again: but here vínos di the Love was on one fide only. God loved his ve- is, pay, ry Enemies fo far, as to give his Son for them, to alipingraise up their Love to its great Original. Among Rhet. 1. 2. c. 4. men an harmony of fpirits, a fameness of tempers is a motive to Love. But what? was there, could there be any fuch thing in fallen man as fuch? How then was he fallen? What need was there of a Saviour? That holy Harmony was Mans Primitive reCtitude; and whileft it lafted, there was no need of any restorer. Alas! fallen man was a very Chaos of corruption, his very rational Powers were depraved; there was flesh in his fpirit, enmity in his mind against him, who lighted up a pure Reason in him at the first. There was bondage in his Will, it could not; nay, fuch was its horrible perverfnefs, it would not elevate it self to the fountain of its liberty. Among men, goodness is an allective to Love: but what goodness was there in a fallen, degenerate Creature, full-fraught with fin, and oppofite to its Maker? The very reliques of the Divine Image, which fin could not utterly expel out of the humane Nature, were yet fo captivated and imprifoned there, that grofs Idolatry filled the world in fpight of all the notions of a Deity implanted in the hearts of men. We fee cleerly, there was no attractive on our part: Why then did God give his Son for us? The only reafon was from himself, it was meer Grace, felf-moving Mercy, a pure emana

Chap. 5. tion of Love towards us unworthy Creatures, who might have been made the objects of his Wrath and that for ever.

The next thing confiderable is the Gift it self, and that was the Son of God, very God; a greater, a dearer perfon could not be given; if we measure Gods Love by the Gift, it is like that, altogether unmeasurable. Hence the Apoftle tells us, That there is a breadth, and length, and depth, and height, infinite dimenfions in it, fuch as pass the knowledg of men and angels, Eph. 3. 18, 19. When God gave us the Creatures for our ufe, he gave us but the drops and models of his Goodness: but when he gave his Son for us, he gave himself; God was the Giver, and

God the Gift. When God could fwear by no greater, he fware by himself; when he could give no greater, he gave himself. Here was Love acted to the uttermoft, elevated to the highest point; a greater Gift there could not be. 'Twas great Love in Jonathan to David, that for him he would strip himfelf of his Robe, nay, and venture the caft of a Javelin from an angry Father. But what manner of Love was it in God, that he would ftrip himfelf of his Orient pearl; that he would give his Son, his eternal Joy out of his bofom, to affume an humane Nature, and in it to bear the horrible stroke of Justice, which was due to us for our iniquities? In giving Laws and Promises, God gives but a created Image of his Sanctity and Grace but in giving his Son, he gave his effential increated Image to fuffer in the flesh for us, that his holy Image, broken in the fall, might be repaired again in us. When we were off from God, the Center of Souls, and

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