DISCOURSE VII. MAT. i. 21. Thou shalt call his Name JESUS, for he shall fave his People from their Sins. I Finish'd the first Article of the Creed the last time, which related to the firft Perfon in the bleffed Trinity. I come now to the Second, relating to the Second Perfon in it, contain'd in thefe Words, And in Jefus Chrift, his only Son our Lord. Where we muft fupply the first word, I believe; and then the Profeffion of our Faith in the Second Perfon in the Trinity, will amount to these four things. ift, That he is our Saviour, imply'd in the word fefus. 2dly, That he is the Meffiah, or Anointed of God, in the word Chrift. 3dly, That he is the only Son of God. And, 4thly, That he is Our Lord. All which being great and weighty Truths, neceffary to be known of every Christian, must be diftinctly and particularly handled. I begin with the First thing here attributed to him, which is, a Saviour, imply'd in the word Fefus; of which I am to speak from thefe Words, Thou shalt call his Name Fefus, for he ball fave his People from their Sins. Where we may obferve, 1. That the Son of God receiv'd his Name at the ufual time of Circumcifion, therein complying with the Orders and Customs of the Jewish Church, under which he was born, whofe Example herein is a good Precedent to teach us to do likewise. 2. We may obferve, that the Name then given him was not impos'd at random, but for a great and weighty Reafon; he was call'd Jefus, because he was to fave his People from their Sins. Which may teach us, in giving Names, not to impofe any vain or idle ones, but fuch as are memorative of fome Bleffing, or inftructive of fome Duty. To believa believe in Jefus then, is to believe in a Saviour; for fo the word both in Greek and Hebrew fignifies. And as Creation was before attributed to the Father, fo is Redemption or Salvation here afcrib'd to the Son. And this will lead us to enquire, First, What this Salvation is. Secondly, How it was obtain'd and effected for us. First, The Salvation here imply'd in the Name of Jefus, is double, viz. a faving People from their Sins; and what is the Confequent of it, a reftoring them to that Happiness which by their Sins they had loft and forfeited. ift, I fay, the Salvation imply'd in the Name of Jefus, is a faving of People from their Sins; for this reason, our Text tells us, was this Name given him: and indeed there is no other Name given under Heaven, whereby we can be fav'd, than the Name of our Lord Jesus; Acts 4. 12. This is fo peculiar to our Saviour, that there is no Salvation in any other. Hence St. John tells us, he came to convince the World of Sin; that is, of the folly and danger of it: and not only fo, but he came to bless Mankind, by turning them from their Iniquities; A&ts 3. 26. Sin is indeed the Rife and Spring of all Mifery, and the removing of that, is the removing the Fountain of all Evil, and the refcuing us from temporal and eternal Mifery. But in what fenfe is Chrift faid to fave his People from their Sins? Why, chiefly in these three fenses; from the Power and Dominion of Sin, from the Filth and Pollution of it, and from the Guilt and Punishment of it: each of which will require a brief Explication. 1. Chrift, as our Jefus, faves us from the Power and Dominion of Sin, breaking the Force of its Temptations, and destroying its Empire in the Soul. "Tis indeed, the Infelicity of our prefent State, not to be totally free from the Being of Sin; that is referv'd for the Happiness of a future State. At prefent, we are affaulted by the Importunity of our Lufts, and are forc'd to combat fome Remainders of Corruption; but yet Chrift has fo vanquifh'd the Power of it, that it shall not reign in our mortal Bodies, or force us to obey it in the Lufts thereof. If we refift its Temptations, it can have no power over us; the Sinner indeed that yields to it, becomes a Slave to his Lufts, and a Vaffal to to his vile Affections; he furrenders himself into the hands of an Enemy that is conquer'd for him, and becomes a willing Bond-flave to the worft of Tyrants: whereas by withstanding the Sollicitations to Sin, we enervate all its Power; which, without our own Consent, can have no more Dominion over us. 2. Chrift faves his People, as from the Power, fo from the Pollution of Sin. The Defilement of original Sin he has caus'd to be wafh'd away in the Waters of Baptifm: and as for all actual Tranfgreffions, he has fo order'd it, that the Pollution of them is purg'd away by the Waters of Repentance, and the Tears of a Godly Sorrow, 3. Chrift faves his People from the Guilt and Punishment of Sin: all Sin being a Breach of God's Laws, renders Men obnoxious to Punifhment; that is, to no lefs than Death, both Temporal, Spiritual and Eternal: For the Wages of Sin is Death, Rom. 6. 23. But our bleffed Saviour has deliver'd us from the Sentence and Curfe of the Law, which cannot now thunder out Wrath, or threaten us with Death who are no longer under the Law, but under Grace: For tho the Wages of Sin is Death, yet the Gift of God is Eternal Life, through Fefus Christ our Lord. Which will lead us to the zd Part of that Salvation, which Jefus Chrift as our Saviour has wrought out for us; and that is, his restoring us to that Happinefs, which by our Sins we had loft and forfeited. Our firft Parents fhut themselves out of Paradife by the firft Tranfgreffion, and thereby entail'd a Curse upon their Pofterity ever fince. Now Chrift came to restore us to a better Paradife, and has accordingly turn'd the former Curfe into a greater Bleffing; for which, he is very properly call'd Jefus a Saviour. We find fuch as have done any fignal or eminent Service for their Country, either by delivering it from any great Evils, or doing it any great Good, have been ftyl'd fometimes Fathers, fometimes Saviours of their Country. Fbua, which in Hebrew is the fame Name with Jefus, was fo call'd for his leading the Ifraelites out of the Wilderness into the promis'd Land of Canaan, and was therein a Type of our bleffed Saviour; who leading his People into a better Land of Promife, even into Heaven itself, may be more justly ftyl'd by the Name of Fefus a Saviour. Moreover, fofbua (as one hath well obferv'd) fav'd not Ifrael by his own Power, or of himself, but God by him: Whereas Fefus himfelf, by his own Power, God by him; Heb. 7. 25. and elsewhere, that he is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all, and only thofe, that obey him; Heb. 5. 9. 'Tis not the bare Recital of the Creed, and faying we believe in Jefus, that will intitle us to the Salvation imply'd in it; but we muft become his People in Covenant with him, and walk as fuch, before he will fave us from our Sins, or bring us to his Glory. In fhort then, Chrift is truly and properly a Saviour, because he faves his People from their Sins: that is, by the Power of his Grace, he deftroys the Dominion of Sin; by the Virtue of his Blood, he gives the Remiffion of it; and by advancing them to Glory, will take away the very Being and Poffibility of finning any more: So that the Power, the Pollution, and the Guilt of Sin being remov'd, there can be no Condemnation to them that are in Chrift Fefus. Moreover, he has deftroy'd Death, the Wages of Sin, and him that had the Power of Death, the Devil, the great Inftigator to it; and by both fecures to them Eternal Life. The Leffons we may learn hence, are many : I fhall mention a few. As, 1. We learn hence where to go, and from whom to hope for Salvation; namely, to our Lord Jefus Chrift, who alone obtain'd and can only confer it upon us; for there is no Salvation in any other, neither is there any other Name under Heaven by which we can be fav'd: and therefore 'tis in vain to feek to, or rely upon any other. 2. We learn hence, the Terms upon which alone we may hope for Life and Salvation from him; namely, upon the Conditions of Faith and Repentance, which he has made neceffary to intitle us to it: he is a Saviour to none but his own People, who believe his Doctrine and obey his Precepts; neither does he fave any from their Sins, but fuch as repent and turn from them, without which, 'tis Vanity and Prefumption to expect it. 3. We learn hence, to blefs and magnify the unspeakable Love and Goodnefs of God, in providing fo well for the Salvation of Mankind, and fending his own Son to be the Saviour of the World: This we are taught from the Hymn of Zacharias, whom we find praifing God for raising up bis Horn of Salvation for us in the House of his Servant David, to fave us from our Enemies, and the hands of all that, bate us. And good old Simeon defir'd to fee nothing more, when his Eyes had seen this great Salvation. for 'twas he alone that brought Life and Immortality to Light thro' the Gospel, which before were wrapt up in thick Darkness: The World before (faith the Apoftle) knew not God, till the only begotten Son, which was in the Bosom of the Father, was pleas'd to reveal him. Since which, he has open'd a new and living way for us into the Holy of Holies, and given us fuch plain Directions, that if we follow them, we can't miss it. Now if the Apostles and Preachers of the Gofpel, who receiv'd the Knowledge of this Salvation from Cnrift himfelf, were faid to fave thofe whom they converted by their preaching, as they frequently are in Holy Scripture; how much more truly and eminently may Chrift be ftyl❜d a Saviour, who gave them both the Commiffion and Directions to teach it to others? : Laftly, The Son of God may be yet more properly nam'd our Saviour, from his actual beftowing this great Salvation for he not only procur'd and publish'd it, but alone confers it upon us. Hence he is faid to be able to fave to the uttermoft, all those that come unto God by him for having all Power both in Heaven and Earth, he alone is able to bestow Salvation upon us; yea, to this end did the Father give him this Power, that he should give eternal Life to as many as he has given him; John 17. 2. And for this reafon has God exalted him with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour; Acts 5. 31. Thus we fee what is meant by the Name of Jefus, and likewife for what reafons it was given to the Second Perfon in the Trinity, which we all profefs to believe, when we fay, I believe in Fefus. But is he thus a Saviour to all Men? The Anfwer to this leads to the Laft Thing propounded, which was to fhew to whom this Salvation belongs; which, our Text tells, are his own People: for he is faid to fave his People from their Sins ; that is, all, and only them, to whom he is a God, and they to him a People. He died indeed for all Men, and the Merit of his Sufferings and Satisfaction is fufficient to fave the whole World: but because the Promise of it is not abfolute, and the actual bestowing it is only upon the Conditions of Faith and Repentance, it becomes effectual only to those that perform them. Hence we read, that tho he be able to fave to the uttermoft, yet 'tis only thofe that come unto God |