1. It was a near approach, by God's own allowance and appointment: See the context; " I will cause him to draw NEAR, and he fhall approach to me." We behov. ed to have flood at an infinite diftance from God to all eternity, had not Chrift been allowed to come near in our room. But behold, he made a near approach under the fhadow of lawful authority; his Father authorized him therein, and caufed him to approach: God the Father is the primary cause of our falvation; "This commandment," fays Chrift, "have I received of my Father," John x. 15.It is his Father's will that he came to do, Pfalm xl. 8. And how near Chrift approaches to God in our room, under this authority, allowance, and command, who can tell among men or angels? For he came fo near, as to lay his hand upon God; yea, to take God and all his glorious perfec tions, all his feemingly jarring attributes in his arms, as it were, and reconcile them one to another, and bind them together with the bond of infinite amity and har mony, to the highest glory of each of them, in the matter of our falvation: And hence, upon this near approach it was faid, " Mercy and truth are met together, righteoufnefs and peace have kiffed each other." Therefore,

2. It was a bold approach, by God's own affiftance; as well as near, by his allowance. This is evident alfo in the text, "I will caufe him to draw near;" and "Who is he that engaged his heart to approach unto me? faith the Lord." It was a bold and couragious approach indeed; but it was by his Father's help and afftance; Ifa. I. 7. "The Lord God will help me, therefore fhall I not be confounded; yea, therefore have I fet my face like a flint." It was fuch a bold adventure, as none could have made but himfelf. And yet,

3. It was an humble approach: for, "Tho' he was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, yet he humbled himself, and took upon him the form of a fervant," Phil. ii. 8. He became his Father's humble fervant in the work of our redemption; "Behold my fervant whom I uphold." He ferved him in a state of humiliation, from the time of his incarnation

to

to the time of his exaltation. He was meek and lowly while he offered his humble fervice to God for our fake, ftooping down to wath our feet, to wash our hearts, to wash our confciences, to wash our fouls in his own blood, faying, "If I wash thee not, thou haft no part in me." His approach to God was an humble and reverential approach, with holy filial fear and regard of his Father; therefore it is faid, Heb. v. 7. that in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and fupplications, with firong crying and tears, to him that was able to fave him from death, and was heard in that he feared. How humbly did he cry to his Father in the garden, when he said, "Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pafs from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done: Now is my foul troubled, and what shall I say: Father, fave me from this hour; but for this caufe came I to this hour: Father, glorify thy name." It was in the faddeft earnest, and deepest humility, that he approached to his Father in

this work.

4. It was a folemn approach: "Who is this that en, gaged his heart to approach unto me?" It is I, fays Chrift; and he fays it with a folemnity, "Lo I come.” Pfal. xl. 7. "Lo I come, in the volume of thy book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God," Lo I come; as if he had faid, Let heaven and earth be witneffes to this approach of mine; let God and all the creatures of God atteft it; for I am not ashamed of this work which the Father hath given me to dq: "Lo, I come."Qther characters of this approach may fall in upon the next general head: therefore I go to the next particular here premifed, which will alfo further illuftrate the nature of this approach.

3dly, Under what confideration are we to view the God to whom he approached?" Who is this that engag ed his heart to approach unto me?" What me? It is to ME, fays Jehovah. And here we would confider the God to whom he approached in our room, in thefe following refpects.

1. He engaged to approach unto God as an abfolute God. Chrift, the fecond Perfon of the adorable Trinity, perfonally confidered, engaged in our name to approach

to

to God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, effentially con fidered; to approach to the throne of infinite Majesty. We have to do with a God in Chrift, in all our approaches; and may not approach to a God out of Chrift, otherwife we would be confounded: but Chrift had to do with a God by himself. Chrift is the Mediator betwixt God and man, but there was no mediator betwixt God and Chrift: Chrifl muft approach, as well as he could, to God himself immediately, that we, thro' his mediation, might have accels to God.-It was a faying of Luther's, NOLO DEUM ABSOLUTUM; Lord, deliver me from an abfolute God, a God out of Chrift ;' for as he is terrible to finners, fo, in himfelf confidered, he dwells in light to which no man can approach, 1 Tim. vi. 16. But this inacceffible Being is the God to whom

Chrift did approach.

2. He engaged to approach unto God as a commanding God, commanding perfect obedience, according to the tenor of the covenant of works; commanding perfect obedience in man's own perfon, as the condition of life; and now, feeing, in the covenant of grace, a change of perfons is allowed, but no change of the terms or conditions, but that our holy God will fill be a commanding God, Chrift accepts of the terms, and engages to fulfil the condition of life, be the command what will; "Lo, I come, to do thy will." Father, what is thy command? I come to thee as a commanding God, a Law-giver, to obey thy law; yea, "Thy law is within my heart;" or, as it is in the Hebrew, Ir IS IN THE MIDST OF MY BOWELS. None, that had any blemish, was to approach or come near unto God, Lev. xxi. 21. If there had been any blemish in the perfon or righteoufnefs of Chrift, he could not have approached to an infinitely holy and commanding God; and his coming to God under this confideration, is just his coming under the law, or under the command, in

our room.

3. He engaged to approach unto God as a threatening God, threatening death and wrath to the tranfgreffors of his command, and faying, as Lev. x. 3. I will be fanctified by all that approach, or come nigh unto me;"

I will either be fanctified by them, or fanctified upon them and thus he had God to deal with, not only as a Commander and Law-giver, requiring obedience; but as a Judge, requiring fatisfaction when the law is broken. He approaches to God, not only as a God of infinite holiness, whofe command must be obeyed; but as a God of infinite juftice, whofe threatening must be execute and therefore, he coming to God in the room of thefe that had broken the command, and incurred the threatening, it muft follow, that,

4. He engaged to approach to God as an angry God, an offended Deity, and an Avenger of blood: "The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all;" and under this load of fin and guilt, he approaches to the God that was to take vengeance upon fin in his own perfon, and all the vengeance that fin deferved: He engaged to approached to God as a displeased and incenfed God, that he might please him by his obedience, and pacify him by his fatisfaction. He engaged to approach to that God, who is a confuming fire to finners; and, taking their fins along with him, he goes in to the very midst of that devouring fire, which would have devoured and destroyed the finner himself eternally, that he might quench the flame of that fire with his blood; though he was burnt to death in the cause, that we might not burn for ever in hell.—— What is hell, but the fire of God's wrath? It is just God himfelf, as a confuming fire, that is the hell of hell. It was a lamentable moan of a man upon his death-bed once, We have fome in this life that will go to a quire for us, fome that will fay mafs for us, fome that will plow for us, and fome that will pray for us; but, O where is there one that will go to "hell for us! But behold, here is one that engag ed his heart to approach to God, as a confuming fire, and fo to go to hell, and quench the fire of it for us; yea, and to drink off the cup of God's red-hot boiling vengeance to the bottom. For he engaged to approach to God as a God of terrible Majefty, being content that infinite juftice fhould act upon him a tragedy of

blood

blood and wounds, that our falvation might be obtained without any detriment to divine juftice, and to the highest glory of all the other divine perfections.When Christ approached to God as an abfolute God, he came near, as it were, to the feat of his Majefty, to prefent himself in our room; when he approached to God as a commanding God, he came near, as it were, to the throne of his holiness, and there he was an obedient fubject in our room; when he approached to God as a threatening God, then he came near, as it were, to his bench of judgment, and there he was a condemned pannel at the bar in our room; and when he approached to God as an angry and offended God, then he came near, as it were, to the tribunal of juftice, the fiery tribunal of his indignation, and there the fentence was execute upon him, while he gave himself to incenfed juftice in our room.Now, Chrift having thus approached to God, according to his engagement, the God to whom he approached is fo well-pleafed with this approach of his, that now, by an act passed at the fame tribunal of justice, where he was folemnly condemned to death in our room and ftead, he is as folemnly juftified and abfolved in our room; therefore he is faid to be juftified by the Spirit, 1 Tim. iii. 16.; and Christ himfelf fays, "He is near that juftifies me," Ifaiah 1. 8. And therefore the Lord is well-pleafed for his righteoufnefs fake: and when the Spirit of Chrift convinces of righteousness, he will demonftrate this from that argument, that Christ hath gone to his Father, John xvi. 10.And now the approach that he makes to God, is to a God whom he hath pleafed and pacified in our behalf, whofe Majefty. he hath allayed, whofe command he hath fulfilled, whofe threatening he hath fuftained, and whose wrath he hath endured, and for whofe loving-kindnefs he hath made a vent; and accordingly it is vented by an audible voice from heaven, faying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleafed," Whatever approach now it is that Chrift makes unto God, as an Advocate at the Father's right-hand, it is in the virtue and value of that engaged approach that I have mentioned; and

fo