was turned or shut out. Though she was in such necessitous circumstances, yet those that counted themselves her betters would not give place to her; and therefore, in the time of her travail, she was forced to betake herself to a stable; and when the child was born, it was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger; and there Christ lay a little infant; and there he eminently appeared as a lamb. But yet this feeble infant, that was born thus in a stable, and laid in a manger, was born to conquer and triumph over Satan, that roaring lion. He came to subdue the mighty powers of darkness, and make a shew of them openly; and so to restore peace on earth, and to manifest God's good will towards men, and to bring glory to God in the highest; according as the end of his birth was declared by the joyful songs of the glorious hosts of angels, ap `pearing to the shepherds at the same time that the infant lay in the manger; whereby his divine dignity was manifested. II. This admirable conjunction of excellencies appears in the acts and various passages of Christ's life. dwelt on the earth in mean outward circumstances, whereby his condescension and humility especially appeared, and his majesty was veiled; yet his divine dignity and glory did, in many of his acts, shine through the veil, and it illustriously appeared, that he was not only the Son of man, but the great God.

Though Christ

Thus in the circumstances of his infancy, his outward meanness appeared; yet there was something then to shew forth his divine dignity, in the wise men's being stirred up to come from the east to give honor to him, their being led by a miraculous star, and coming and falling down and worshipping him, and presenting him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. His humility and meekness wonderfully appeared in his subjection to his mother and reputed father when he was a child: He therein appeared as a lamb. But his divine glory broke forth and shone, when, at twelve years old, he disputed with the doctors in the temple. In that he appeared, in some measure, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

And so, after he entered on his public ministry, his marvellous humility and meekness was manifested, in his choosing to VOL. VII. 2 M

appear in such mean outward circumstances, and in being so contented in them, when he was so poor that he had not where to lay his head, and depended on the charity of some of his followers for his subsistence; as appears by Luke viii. at the beginning; as also in his meek, condescending, and familiar treatment of his disciples; in his discourses with them, treating them as a father his children; yea, as friends and companions; and in his patient bearing such affliction and reproach, and so many injuries from the Scribes and Pharisees, and others: In these things he appeared as a lamb. And yet he at the same time did many ways shew forth his divine majesty and glory, particularly in the miracles that he wrought, which were evidently divine works, and manifested omnipotent power, and so declared him to be the Lion of the tribe of Judah, His wonderful and miraculous works plainly shewed him to be the God of nature; in that it appeared by them that he had all nature in his hands, and could lay an arrest upon it, and stop, and change its course as he pleased. In healing the sick, and opening the eyes of the blind, and unstopping the ears of the deaf, and healing the lame; he shewed that he was the God that framed the eye, and created the ear, and was the author of the frame of man's body. By the dead's rising at his command, it appeared that he was the author and fountain of life, and that "God the Lord, to whom belong the issues from death." By his walking on the sea in a storm, when the waves were raised, he shewed himself to be that God spoken of, Job ix. 8. "That treadeth on the waves of the sea." By his stilling the storm, and calming the rage of the sea, by his powerful command, saying, "Peace, be still," he shewed himself to be he that has the command of the universe, and to be that God that brings things to pass by the word of his power, that speaks and it is done, that commands and it stands fast; and he that is spoken of, Psalm lxv. 7. "Who stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves." And Psalm cvii. 29. "That maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." And Psalm lxxxix. 8. 9, "O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee, or to thy faith

fulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them." Christ, by casting out devils, remarkably appeared as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and showed that he was stronger than that roaring lion, that seeks whom he may devour. He commanded them to come out, and they were forced to obey. They were terribly afraid of him; they fall down before him, and beseech him not to torment them: He forces a whole legion of them to forsake their old hold, by his powerful word; and they could not so much as enter into the swine without his leave. He shewed the glory of his omniscience, by telling the thoughts of men; as we have often an account. Herein he appeared to be that God spoken of, Amos iv. 15. "That declareth unto man what is his thought." Thus, in the midst of his meanness and humiliation, his divine glory appeared in his miracles, John ii. 11. "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory."

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And though Christ ordinarily appeared without outward glory, and in great obscurity, yet at a certain time he threw off the veil, and appeared in his divine majesty, so far as it could be outwardly manifested to men in this frail state, when he was transfigured in the mount. The Apostle Peter speaks of it, 2 Pet. i. 16, 17. Speaking there of himself, as one that was an "eye witness of his majesty, when he received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; which voice that came from heaven they heard, when they were with him in the holy mount."

And at the same time that Christ was wont to appear in such meekness, condescension, and humility, in his familiar discourses with his disciples, appearing therein as the Lamb of God; he was also wont to appear as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, with divine authority and majesty, in his so sharply rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees, and other hypocrites.

III. This admirable conjunction of excellencies remarkably appears in his offering up himself a sacrifice for sinners in

his last sufferings. As this was the greatest thing in all the work of redemption, the greatest act of Christ in that work; so in this act especially does there appear that admirable conjunction of excellencies that has been spoken of. Christ never so much appeared as a lamb, as when he was slain: "He came like a lamb to the slaughter," Isaiah liii. 7. Then he was offered up to God as a lamb without blemish, and without spot: Then especially did he appear to be the antitype of the lamb of the passover: 1 Cor. v. 7. “Christ our passover sacrificed for us." And yet in that act he did in an especial manner appear as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; yea, in this above all other acts, in many respects, as may appear in the following things.

1. Then was Christ in the greatest degree of his humiliation, and yet by that, above all other things, his divine glory appears. Christ's humiliation was great, in being born in such a low condition, of a poor virgin,, and in a stable: His humiliation was great, in being subject to Joseph the carpenter, and Mary his mother, and afterwards living in poverty, so as not to have where to lay his head, and in suffering such manifold and bitter reproaches as he suffered, while he went about preaching and working miracles; but his humiliation was never so great as it was in his last sufferings, beginning with his agony in the garden, until he expired on the cross. Never was he subject to such ignominy as then; never did he suffer so much pain in his body, or so much sorrow in his soul; never was he in so great an exercise of his condescension, humility, meekness, and patience, as he was in these last sufferings; never was his divine glory and majesty covered with so thick and dark a veil; never did he so empty himself, and make himself of no reputation, as at this time; and yet never was his divine glory so manifested by any act of his, as in that act, of yielding himself up to these sufferings. When the fruit of it came to appear, and the mystery and ends of it to be unfolded in the issue of it, then did the glory of it appear; then did it appear as the most glorious act of Christ that ever he exercised towards the creature, This act of his is celebrat

ed by the angels and hosts of heaven with peculiar praises, as that which is above all others glorious, as you may see in the context, verse 9, &c. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying, with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."

2. He never in any act gave so great a manifestation of love to God, and yet never so manifested his love to those that were enemies to God, as in that act. Christ never did any thing whereby his love to the Father was so eminently manifested, as in his laying down his life, under such inexpressible sufferings, in obedience to his command, and for the vindication of the honor of his authority and majesty; nor did ever any mere creature give such a testimony of love to God as that was; and yet this was the greatest expression of all of his love to sinful men, that were enemies to God; Rom. v. 10. "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, by the death of his Son." The greatness of Christ's love to such appears in nothing so much as in its being dying love. That blood of Christ that was sweat out, and fell in great drops to the ground, in his agony, was shed from love to God's enemies and his own. That shame and spitting, that torment of body, and that exceeding sorrow, even unto death, that he endured in his soul, was what he underwent from love to rebels against God, to save them from hell, and to purchase for them eternal glory. Never did Christ so eminently shew his regard to God's honor, as in offering up himself a victim to revenging justice, to vindicate God's honor: And yet in this above all, he manifested his love to them that