like that of the first man. Because, on that supposition, there would not have been any such alliance between him and us, as to lay a foundation for our hope of salvation by his undertaking. It was necessary that he who should sustain the character, and perform the work of a Redeemer, should be our Goel, or near kinsman; one to whom the right of redemption belonged. Lev. xxv. 48, 49. Ruth ii. 20. and iii. 9. Margin. So it was declared in the first promise, The seed of the woman, and no other, shall bruise the serpent's head. He was not only to assume the nature of man, but to partake

Thus he became According to that

of it by being made of a woman. our kinsman, and our brother. saying, Both He that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one nature: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Heb. ii. 11. Amazing condescension this! That the Son of the Highest should become the child of a virgin; that the God of nature should become the seed of her who, with a bold, presumptuous hand, plucked the fatal fruit which entailed death on all our species; that He whom angels adore should appear in our nature when sunk in ruin, that he might obey, and bleed, and die, for our deliverance; what words can express, what heart can conceive, the depth of that condescension, and the riches of that grace, which appear in such a procedure?

It was absolutely necessary, notwithstanding, that the nature in which the work of redemption was to be performed, should not be so derived from its original fountain as to be tainted with sin; or partake, in any degree, of that moral defilement, in which every child of Adam is conceived and born.

It behoved us to have such a high-priest, as was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; for as a priest, he was to atone for our sins and ransom our souls. If the human nature of Christ had partook, in any measure, of that pollution which, since the fall, is hereditary to us; it would have been destitute of the holy image of God, as we are prior to regeneration: and, consequently, he would have been rendered incapable of making the least atonement for us. He who is himself sinful, cannot satisfy divine justice on the behalf of another; because, by one offence, he forfeits his own soul.— Here, then, the adorable wisdom of God appears in its richest glory. For though it was necessary our Surety should be man, and the seed of the woman, yet he was conceived in such a manner as to be entirely without sin. Yes, Jesus, though born of a woman, was absolutely free from the guilt of the first transgression, and from every degree of that depravity which is common to all the offspring of Adam. The perfect. purity of our Mediator's humanity, being an article of the last importance to our salvation, is frequently and strongly asserted in the sacred writings. The complete rectitude of his heart, and the unspotted sanctity of his life, are there displayed in lively colours.

A little to explain and illustrate this momentous truth, it may be of use to consider, How is it that we, who are the natural descendants of Adam, became guilty through the first transgression, and are made partakers of a depraved nature. As to guilt by the first offence, it may be observed, That the whole human nature subsisted in our original parents when it was committed; and that Adam was

our public representative. Hence it is that his offence became the sin of us all; is justly imputed and charged upon us. In him, as our common representative, we all sinned. Such being our natural state, as the descendants of an apostate head, we justly bear that humbling and awful character, CHILDREN OF WRATH, BY NATURE.-But Adam was not a federal head to Christ. The Lord from heaven was neither included in him, nor represented by him. He was not included in him. For the blessed Jesus was conceived in a way entirely supernatural, and born of a virgin. He was not born in virtue of those prolific words, by which the great Creator blessed the connubial state before the fall, Increase and multiply; but in virtue of a gracious promise, made after the fall, when Adam ceased to be any longer a public person.-He was not représented by him. For our grand progenitor was the representative of none but his natural offspring. The holy Jesus, therefore, not being naturally descended from him, could not be represented by him. It appears, indeed, highly incongruous for us to imagine, that he who was of the earth, earthy, should be the representative of him who is the Lord from heaven; of him who is, in all respects, his Great Superior. It could not be, that One who is the Son of God, as well as the seed of a woman, should acknowledge Adam for his federal head. Our Lord therefore had no concern in his guilt, as a dscendant from him; which is the case of all his natural posterity. The promised Seed not being included in that covenant under which the first human pair stood, could not be chargeable with any part of that guilt which attended the violation of it. Original guilt becomes ours in virtue of Adam's relation to

us, as our public representative; and hence it is imputed to us by a righteous God. For if we had not been some way involved in the first transgression, before it was imputed to us, it could not justly have been charged upon us. Because it is not the imputation of Adam's offence that makes it ours but being legally ours, in consequence of our natural and federal relation to him, it is justly imputed to us.

Nor could the Lord Redeemer be liable to the necessary consequence of Adam's offence; that is, a depravation of nature. This immediately followed, as the natural effect of his first transgression: which transgression, being committed by him as our representative, is legally ours; and hence we share with him in its natural and awful effects. In other words, we derive a corrupt nature from him, be cause we were guilty with him. Nor was the imputation of his offence to us, the cause of this woful effect but his offence being legally ours, prior to that imputation. But, as Christ was not concerned with him in original guilt, having no relation to him as a federal head; the natural consequence of that guilt could not take place in him, as it does in us, being represented by Adam and descended from him according to the common course of nature. Thus was the human nature of Jesus Christ entirely free from all contamination: and thus that holy thing, which was formed in the womb of the virgin, by the power of the Most High, was constituted the second Adam, in opposition to the first. This production of the human nature of our glorious Immanuel, being in a way supernatural and divine, is called the creation of a new thing in

the earth. Jer. xxxi. 22. Thus Christ became a partaker of the nature which had sinned, without the least sinfulness of that nature.

It was absolutely necessary also, that our Mediator and Surety should be God as well as man. For as he could neither have obeyed, nor suffered if he had not possessed a created nature; so, had he been a mere man, however immaculate, he could not have redeemed one soul. Nay, though he had possessed the highest possible created excellencies, they would not have been sufficient; because he would still have been a dependent being. For as it is essential to Deity, to be underived and selfexistent, so it is essential to a creature to be derived and dependent. The loftiest seraph that sings in glory is as really dependent on God, every moment of his existence, as the meanest worm that crawls. In this respect, an angel and an insect are on a level. Every intelligent creature, therefore, whether human or angelic, having received existence from the Almighty, and being continually dependent on him, as the all-producing, all-supporting first cause; must be obliged to perpetual obedience, by virtue of that relation in which he stands to God, as his Maker and Preserver. It is highly absurd to suppose it possible for any creature to supererogate, or to do more in a way of obedience to Him from whom his all was received, than he is under the strongest obligations to perform, in consequence of his absolute and universal dependance. But whatever is previously due from any one, on his own account, cannot be transferred to another, without rendering the first devoid of that obedience which it is absolutely necessary for him to have,