ing our cafe, we could have no hopes of being comfortably difpofed of. But good tidings, O children of the devil's family! You may be married to the Son of God, who for that end has taken on our nature; he fays, Matth. xxii. 4. " All things are ready come unto the marriage.' This match is the most honourable, the richeft, the happieft, of which we are capable. There is nothing to hinder the match, he will make you lovely; and, what is more, he will make you willing. Moft men despise this marriage, they prefer their farms and merchandise to it. But the poor meek ones will as gladly embrace it, as ever a captive woman, to fave her life, would match with the most defirable conqueror.-Thefe tidings relate,

8. To a victory, a glorious victory: Ifa. xxv. 8. "He will fwallow up, death in victory; and the Lord will wipe away tears from all eyes." There is no getting to the heavenly Canaan, without fighting our enemies; which would, if poffible, keep us out there. We are not able for them; fin, Satan, and death, are too strong for us. But good tidings! Chrift has fought that battle, and obtained a glorious victory; he offers you a fhare of the victory and spoils: Rev. iii. 21. " To him that overcometh, will I grant to fit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am fet down with my Father in his throne." Join the conqueror, come up at his back against your fpiritual enemies, and ye fhall be more than conquerors, through him that loved us, Rom. viii. 37. They who have not yet broke their covenant with death, and agreement with hell, will flight this victory. But it will be good tidings. to the meek poor ones, who would fain break through the hoft of their fpiritual enemies, but know not how to make it out.-These tidings relate,

Laftly

Lastly, To a peace, a most desirable peace: Eph. ii. 14. "For he (Chrift Jefus) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." Sin made difcord, and broke the peace between heaven and earth; fo that God and the finner became enemies. All accefs to God, all communication betwixt heaven and earth, was blocked up. But good tidings! Chrift has made peace by his own blood. It is offered to you, Ifa. xxvii. 4. 5. "Fury is not in me: Let him take hold of my ftrength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me." It is a firm peace, on the most folid foundation, a lasting peace which will never terminate, a peace which will ere long be complete in all its parts; peace external, internal, eternal. This will be good tidings to the meek poor ones, who are wounded with the apprehenfions of God's anger, and affrighted with the thoughts of his wrath.-We are, then,

III. To fhew how this work of preaching is and hath been performed by Jefus Chrift-As to this, we obferve, That he performed it under the Old Testament, and under the New Testament difpenfation.

First, He performed this work under the OldTeftament difpenfation.--Under this difpenfation,

1. The firft proclamation of these tidings was done perfonally by himself in paradife, to the compendized world, our firft parents: Gen. iii. 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed: it fhall bruise thy head, and thou fhalt bruise his heel." The Son of God appearing in human fhape, as a prelude of his incarnation, fat as

their Judge, and, as the Interpreter of his Father's. mind, preached the first gofpel to them in that promife, which contains the fubftance and abridgement of the whole gofpel. He was abfolutely the firft, in all refpects, who preached the good tidings of the gofpel.

2. The fecond proclamation was, by his ambaffadors in his name, who were of two forts :Extraordinary, namely, the prophets whom he infpired infallibly to teach the people: 2 Pet. i. 21. "For the prophefy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."-- And ordinary teachers, fuch as priests and Levites un. der the law, priests and others before the law. And in refpect of this preaching by men in his name, he is faid to have preached to those who lived before the flood: I Peter, iii. 19. "By which alfo he went, and preached unto the fpirits in prison."-There was alfo a proclamation,

3. By his written word, Deut. xxx. II.—14. This is his own word, where the meek poor ones may always find the glad tidings of falvation. Before it was written, they never wanted infpired men, and when it was written, though for a time, they might want prophets, yet this they had always from him as an infallible rule.

2dly, He preached and preaches under the NewTeftament difpenfation.-This he did,

1. By his own personal preaching in the days of his flesh, when he went about among the Jews, preaching to them as the Minister of the circumcifion: Rom. xv. 8. "Now I fay, that Jefus Christ was a minifter of the circumcifion for the truth of God, to confirm the promifes made unto the fathers." So that he himfelf, by himfelf, did begin this difpenfation. The gospel at

F. 2

the

the first began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb. ii. 3. "He fpake as never man fpake, and taught as one having authority." He did it,

2. By infpiring his apoftles to preach and write the doctrines of falvation, contained in the New Teftament, on whom he poured out his Spirit, and by their writings, they being dead, yet fpeak to us from him and by him.-He does it,

3. By raifing up and continuing always a gofpel-miniftry in the church: Eph. iv. 11.-13.

And he gave fome, apoftles; and fome, prophets; and fome, evangelifts; and fome, paftors and teachers; for the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the miniftry, for the edifying of the body of Chrift: Till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift." And with them he has promised to be prefent always, even unto the end of the world, Matth. xxviii. 20. These preach in his name, as deputed by him to declare thefe good tidings.

Thus you fee this work is performed by the Son of God, not only by himself, but by his fervants in his name. And though the mistakes, errors, and unfaithfulness of ordinary minifters, both under the Old and New Teftament, are folely their own, their preaching of the true doctrine of the gofpel is indeed his; they are but as it were the voice, he is the fpeaker. ForHe gave and gives the gifts whereby they are fitted to preach the gofpel. All their tapers are lighted at his fhining lamp: John, i. 9. " That was the true light, which lighteth every one that cometh into the world." Their wifdom and know. ledge in divine myfteries is given them by him, for the good of his church, Eph. iv. 8. Their commiffion

commiffion is from him, and from him they derive their power and authority, Matth. xxviii. 19. 20. They are his minifters and fervants fent out upon his work, and to him they must give an account: Laftly, The efficacy of their miniftry is folely owing to him and his Spirit, 1 Cor. iii. 7. "So then, neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increafe." He makes it effectual to his elect ones. -We are,

IV. To give the reasons of the doctrine, or fhew, That none but he was fit to be employed in this work. This will appear if we confider,

1. That none but he could reveal the fecrets of love, which were hid from eternity in the breast of God: John, i. 18. " No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bofom of the Father, he hath declared him." Neither man nor angel could open up these. But he was privy to his Father's counfels, as being in the bofom of his Father from all eternity.

2. None but he was fit to be an univerfal preacher to all perfons for whom these tidings were defigned, and to whom they were to be carried, and this in all ages. Who elfe could have the great charge of this weighty bufinefs? This required one of infinite wifdom, and one every where pre

fent. t.

Laftly, Whofe teftimony but his could be a fufficient ground of faith in this, of all matters the most important? Here lies the weight of God's honour, and the falvation of an elect world; and this required no lefs folid a bottom, than the teftimony of Truth itself.