less power than that which made it. He did not frame this world, as the carpenter his ship, to put it into other hands and look no more after it; but as He made it, so He is the continual pilot of it, sits still at the helm, and guides it; yea, He commands the winds and seas, and they obey Him. And this serves much for the comfort of the godly, but I cannot here insist on it.

And in Jesus Christ.]

The two great works of God, by which He is known to us, are, Creation and Redemption, which is a new or second creation. The Son of God, as God, was with the Father, as the worker of the former; but as God-man, He is the author of the latter. St. John begins his gospel with the first, and from that passes on to the second. In the beginning was The Word

by Him were all things made. But at ver. 14. the other is expressed: The Word was made flesh, and he dwelt among us, had a tent like ours, and made of the same materials. He adds, He was full of grace and truth; and for this end (as there follows), that we might all receive of his fulness, grace for grace. And this is that great work of new creation. Therefore the prophet Isaiah, foretelling this great work from the Lord's own mouth, speaks of it in these terms, Chap. li. 16. That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundation of the earth, and say unto Sion, Thou art my people. That making of a new people to Himself in Christ, is as the framing of heaven and earth. Now this restoration by Jesus Christ, supposes the ruin and misery of man by his fall, that sin and death under which he is born. This we all seem to know, and acknowledge, and well we may, for we daily feel the woeful fruits of that bitter root: but the truth is, the greatest part of us are not fully convinced, and therefore, do not consider of this gulf of wretchedness into which we are fallen. If we were, there would be more cries amongst us for help to be drawn out and delivered from it: this great Deliverer, this Saviour would be of more use, and of more esteem with us. But I cannot now insist on that point,

Only consider, that this makes the necessity of a Mediator. The disunion and distance which sin hath made betwixt God

and man, cannot be made up but by a Mediator, one to come betwixt; so that there is now no believing in God the Father, but by this believing in Jesus his Son; no appearing without horror, yea, without perdition, before so just a Judge highly offended, but by the intervention of so powerful a Reconciler, able to satisfy and appease Him. And He tells it us plainly and graciously, that we mistake not our way, No man cometh unto the Father but by me. John xiv. 6.

Few are our thoughts concerning God and returning to Him; but, if we have any, this is our unhappiness, that naturally we are subject to leave out Christ in them. We think there is something to be done; we talk of repentance, of prayer, and of amendment, though we have not these neither. But if we had these, there is yet one thing necessary above all these, which we forget; there is absolute need of a Mediator to make our peace, and restore us into favour with God, One who must for that end do and suffer for us what we can neither do nor suffer. Though we could shed rivers of tears, they cannot wash out the stain of any one sin; yea, there is some pollution in our very tears, so that they themselves have need to be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ.] Our anointed Saviour, anointed to be our King, our great High-priest, and our Prophet, and in all these, our Saviour: our prophet to teach us the way of salvation, our priest to purchase it for us, and our king to lead and protect us in the way, and to bring us safe to the end of it. Thus is his name full of sweetness and comfort, mel in ore, in aure melos, in corde medicina, as Bernard speaks: Honey in the mouth, music to the ear, a cordial to the heart. It is a rich ointment, and, in the preaching of the Gospel, an ointment poured forth, (Cant. i. 3.) diffusing its fragrant smell, for which the virgins, the chaste, purified souls of believers, love him; such as have their senses exercised, as the Apostle speaks (Heb. v. 14.) their spiritual smelling not obstructed with the

pollutions of the world, but quick and open to receive and be refreshed with the smell of this precious name of Jesus.

His only Son.] Other sons He hath, angels and men, by creation, and adoption, but this His only begotten Son, as God, by eternal and ineffable generation, and as man, peculiarly the Son of God, both in regard of his singular unexampled conception by the Holy Ghost, and by that personal union with the Deity which accompanied that conception, and by that fulness. of all grace which flowed from that union. The unfolding of these would require a long time, and after all, more would remain unsaid and unconceived by us; for, his generation who can declare? Isa. liii. 8.

Let us remember this, that our sonship is the product of His. He is the only begotten Son of God, and yet, To as many as received Him, He gave this privilege, to be the Sons of God.. John i. 12 and 14.

Our Lord.] Both by our loyal subjection to him, and our peculiar interest in him: these go together. Willing subjec tion and obedience to his laws, is an inseparable companion, and therefore a certain evidence, of our interest in his grace. Conceived by the Holy Ghost.]

This is that great mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh; the King of Glory after a manner divesting himself of his royal robes, and truly putting on the form of a servant, the Holy Ghost framing him a body in the virgin's womb. Not that it was impossible to have made his human nature sinless in the ordinary way, (though the schools usually give that reason,) but that by that miraculous and peculiar manner of birth, he might be declared to be more than man, as being a way more congruous both to the greatness of his person and the purity of his human nature.

Born of the Virgin Mary.]

He was not only of the same nature with man, which he might have been by a new created humanity, but of the same stock, and so, a fit Saviour, a near kinsman, as the word which in Hebrew is a Redeemer, doth signify; bone of our bone, and

flesh of our flesh. We see, then, the person of our Mediator is very fit for that his office, having both the natures of the par ties at variance which he was to reconcile. And this happy meeting of God and man in the person of Christ, to look no further, was a very great step to the agreement, and a strong pledge of its accomplishment. To see the nature of man who was an enemy, received into so close embraces with the Deity, as within the compass of one person, promised infallibly a reconcilement of the persons of men unto God. There the treaty of peace began, and was exceedingly promoted by that very beginning, so, that in it, there was a sure presage of the suc, cess: it was indeed, as they say of a good beginning, dimidium facti, half done. Had God and man treated any where but in the person of Christ, a peace had never been concluded, yea, it had broken up first; but being in him, it could not fail, for in him they were already one, one person, so there they could not but agree. God was in Christ reconciling the world to him. self. 2 Cor. iv. 19.

Considering the work to be done in this agreement, as well as the persons to be agreed, it was altogether needful that the Undertaker should be God and man, Humana Divinitas et Divina humanitas. The mediation was not a bare matter of word, but there was such a wrong done as required a satisfaction should be made. We speak not of what God might absolutely have done, but what was to be done suitable to God's end, which was for the joint glory of justice and mercy, that mercy and truth might meet, and righteousness and peace kiss each other. And because the party offending was not able for it, he that would effectually sue for him, must likewise satisfy for him. And this Jesus Christ did, as here follows. Now, that he might do this, it was necessary that he should be God able to save, and man fit to save man; man that he might suffer, and God that his suffering might be satisfying; man that he might die, and God that his death might have value to purchase life to us.

The Son was fit to be incarnate for this work, the Middle

Person in the Godhead to be man's mediator with God.That which we had lost, was, the dignity of the sons of God, and therefore, His only Son alone was fit to restore us to it. The beauty defaced in us, was, the image of God; therefore, the repairing and re-imparting of it, was a fit work for his purest and most perfect image, His Son, the character of His person, Heb. i. 3.

Now, this incarnation of the Word, the Son of God, is the foundation of all our hopes; the sense of that great promise, The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, and of many others of the same substance in the Prophets; the great salvation so often foretold, and so long expected by the Jews. When this was fulfilled, that a virgin did conceive by the Holy Ghost, then did the heavens drop down righteousness from above, and the earth bring forth salvation. Isa. xlv. 8. This seems to be that which the Church did so earnestly wish, Oh, that thou wert as my brother! Cant.

viii. 1.

Suffered under Pontius Pilate.]

Though all his life was one continual act of suffering, from his living in the cratch to his hanging on the cross, yet, because "of the shortness of this Confession, as likewise because this last act was the greatest and most remarkable of his sufferings, and the Scripture itself doth, as such, mention it most frequently, therefore it is here immediately subjoined to the article of his birth.

It is not for nothing that we have the name of the Roman judge here expressed, under whom he suffered: though it is nothing to his credit, yet, it is to the credit of Divine wisdom, even this; considering the nature and end of Christ's death, it being to satisfy a pronounced sentence of justice, though for others, it was a very agreeable circumstance, that he should not be suddenly or tumultuarily murdered, but be judicially, though unjustly, condemned.

Crucified.] Besides, it made his suffering more public and solemn; and the Divine providence ordered this, that he should