flesh, and dwelt among us.

What is this? It is this; the second Person is here called the Word. Now, as a word is first conceived, and then pronounced or revealed, so was the word made flesh; that is, the second Person takes humanity in his person, and clothed himself with humanity: now, humanity thus hypostatically united, all its powers are become infinite, not by transub

All was very good, he had no reference whatever N-B. to any supposed stability in the things created, ta abide in that state. God knew the contrary, and his having given all things unto Christ, before their existence, is a proof of his appointment. Had God designed the streams of happiness to flow from the pure fountain of Nature's excellency, could Satan contanimate the fountain that God had made pure, or dam up the streams that he commanded to flow, and gladden the world? If he could, against his will, and in opposition to his appointment, our miserable minds are called upon to contemplate a reigning Devil, a ruined world, a vanquished and a disappointed God.

As God could not pronounce them good in the sense alluded to, we must of necessity suppose that in all, there inhered a property or properties, that entitled them to the eulogy bestowed upon them, for the idea of boasting applies to men only.

They were all good, internally so,-for

transubstantiation of essence, but by communi-
cation of name and powers; for this Person has
that
which is not proper to
proper to his person,
neither of his natures alone as man, to the God-
head, and God to his humanity, yet both proper
to his person; yet, by communication of proper-
ties, his humanity is become infinite; so he is the
brightness of the glory of God, and the express

image

all were perfect in their kind. They were good in their tendencies to produce those effects, that accelerated the accomplishment of the Divine plan.

The decrees of God, and the motives of human actions, are essentially different: yet, under the inspection of Divine wisdom, and under the hower control of Divine power, they are necessary parts of that indivisible whole that accomplishes the decreed end.

Men, in their actions, are as guilty as if they opposed the designs of God; for the decrees being hid, cannot be a motive of action. Numberless instances are easily adduced to prove this: the crucifixion of Christ, was an event decreed of God; for this end he came into the world; he could not be crucified without means, the means and the end being inseperably connected: we find that both are equally the subject of prophecy; and as the prophecy is founded upon the decree,

both

image of his person; Heb. i. 3: Col, i. 15; in knowledge, in righteousness, and of true holiness; Col. iii. 10: Eph. iv. 24; in our image let us make man; in knowledge, the image of the Father; in righteousness, the image of the Son; in holiness, the image of the Holy Ghost. I say, that all the powers of his humanity became infinitely perfect, his knowledge of his Father; Mat.

xi.

both must be equally the subject of that decree. The oracles of truth inform us, respecting Christ who was to be crucified, that he should be à stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, &c. Isaiah viii. 14: being an offence to them, their angry passions were soon irritated, and under the influence of Satanic power, they released a murderer, and crucified the Lord of life and glory. Are we to suppose that the ignominious death of the cross, was the effect of diabolic influence, and of Jewish opposition, irrespective of the appointments of God. We find in the word, that his crucifixion was decreed; and that the Jews, as the means, were decreed also: and further, that the decree was not the result of their timestate rebellion, but from eternity. Acts ii. 23; Him being delivered by the determinate council and fore-knowledge of God; ye have taken, and by wicked hands, have crucified and slain. 1 Pet. ii. 8; And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,

F 3

Indas

xi. 27; His knowledge of man also; John xvi. 30; his knowledge of his Father's will and decrees; Ps. ii. 7; was infinitely perfect, his reason, his judgment, his will, was all infinitely perfect. His love is infinite; that before his Father's glorious perfections shall be eclipsed, he

will

offence, (to both the houses of Israel) even to them that stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereuuto also they were appointed. The existence of Judas, to complete the works of redemption as a mean, was as necessary as the existence of Christ. One of the ends of Christ's death, was the fulfilment of prophecy; he could not have been betrayed without Judas, for Judas was appointed thereunto; and the appointment of him for ever exclude all others from the power of doing it; and had it not been so, the Scriptures would not have been fulfilled. I have lost none of them, but the Son of perdition, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled; John xvii. 12. I know the squeamishness of moderate divines, and of moderate professors, (though the idea of moderate christians and moderate divines, has something in it very problematical) when speaking, or more properly when thinking of speaking of the decrees of God, instead of adhering to the plain testimony of Scripture, instead of feeding the doubtful mind with established truth, they

sub

will engage all his perfections, his love and affections as infinitely perfect to his body.

(e) Now, such a Lord of life was he set up from all eternity, therefore his body was sustained in

him

substitute a palaver of their own, which is only palaver intelligible to the Egyptians. When the bleeding heart pants for the balm of gilead, it is swathed with hemlock; when the parched soul pants after living waters to quench his thirst, and to lave his burning sides, he is presented with an utopian draught, that lulls him into temporary ease, but he awakes to meet his misery with all the horrors of disappointment.-When making another fruitless effort, he is condemned for not complying with the recipe, and the stubbornness of the disease attributed to the rejection of their legal nostrums. None can effect a cure, but him who is constituted our covenant-head, and he effects the cure, not by laying an additional weight upon the palsied shoulders of agonized humanity, but by giving the soul, to see that according to the design and eternal purposes of Jehovah, that there is a divine oneness between Christ and his people; and that all preceding dispensations, were only preparatory means in the hands of God, to the introduction of this.

(e) Cbrist was constituted from eternity the head of his church, which is his body ; and if so,

ffers &