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"unto us a son is given." Say then, O my soul, art thou a son of God, dost thou resemble God, (according to thy capacity) being holy, even as he is holy? Why then, Christ was incarnate for thee, he was given to thee, if thy sonship be not clear enough, thou mayest try it further by these following rules.

1. The sons of God, fear God. "If I be a father, where is my honor? (saith God) If I be a master, where is my fear?" Mal. 1:6. If I be a son of God, there will be an holy fear and trembling upon me in all my approaches unto God. I know there is a servile mercenary fear, and that is unworthy and unbeseeming the son of God; but there is a filial fear, and that is an excellent check and bridle to all our wantonness. What son will not fear the frowns and anger of his loving father? "I dare not do this, (will he say) my father will be offended, and I, whither shall I go?" Agreeably to this is the apostle's advice, "If ye call on the Father, pass your sojourning here with fear," 1 Pet. 1:17.

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2. The sons of God love God, and obey God out of a principle of love. Suppose there were no heaven or glory to bestow upon a regenerate person, yet would he obey God out of a principle of love; not that it is unlawful for the child of God to have an eye unto the recompense of reward; Moses' reason of "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, was, for that he had respect unto the recompense of reward," he had respect in the original, "He had a fixed intent eye," Heb. 11:26. There was in him a love of reward, and yet withal a love of God, and therefore his love of reward was not mercenary; but this I say, Though there were no reward at all, a child of God hath such a principle of love within him, that for love's sake he would obey his God: he is led by the Spirit, and therefore he obeys; now the spirit that leads him is a spirit of love, and" as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God," Rom. 8:14.

3. The sons of God imitate God in his love and goodness to all men. Our Saviour amplifies this excellent property of God, "He causeth his sun to shine upon good and bad;" and thence he concludeth, "Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," Matth. 5:48. Goodness to bad men is the highest degree of grace, and as it were the perfection of all: O my soul, canst thou imitate God in this? Consider how thy Father bears it, though the wicked provoke him day by day, yet for all that he doth not quickly revenge; vengeance indeed is only his, and he may in justice do what he will that way; and it is the opinion of some, that if the most patient man in the world should but sit in God's throne one day, and see and observe the doings and miscarriages of the sons of men, he would quickly set all the world on fire; yet God seeth all, and for all that he doth not make the earth presently to gape and devour us; he puts not out the glorious light of the sun, he does not dissolve the work of the creation, he doth not for man's sin presently blast every thing into dust: what an excellent pattern is this for thee to write after? Canst thou but forgive thy enemies? Do well to them that do evil to thee? O this is a sure sign of grace and sonship! It is storied of some Heathens, who beating a Christian almost to death, asked him, "What great matter Christ did ever for him?" "Even this, (said the Christian) That I can forgive you, though you use me thus cruelly." Here was a child of God indeed: it is a sweet resemblance of our Father, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ" to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, to do good unto them that hate us, to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us," Matth, 5:44. O my soul, look on this, consult this ground of hope; if this law be written

in thy heart, write it down amongst thy evidences, that thou art God's son, yea, that even unto thee a Son is given.

To review the grounds; what, is a child born to me, and a son given to me? What, am I indeed new born? Am I indeed God's son or daughter? Do I upon the search find in my soul new desires, new comforts, new contentments? What, are my words, and works, and affections, and conversation new? Is there in me a new nature, a new principle? Hath the Spirit, by way of infusing or shedding, given me a new power, a new ability, a seed of spiritual life which I had not before? Do I upon the search find, that I fear God, and love God, and imitate God, in some good measure in his love and goodness towards all men? Can I indeed and really forgive an enemy, and according to opportunity and my ability, do good unto them that do evil unto me? Why should I not then confidently and comfortably hope, that I have my share and interest in the birth of Christ, in the blessed incarnation and conception of Jesus Christ? Away, away, all despairs, and dejections, and despondencies of spirit! if these be my grounds of hope, it is time to hold up head, and heart, and hands, and with all cheerfulness and confidence, and to say with the spouse, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine."

SECT. V. Of believing in Jesus in that respect.

5. LET us believe in Jesus carrying on the great work of our salvation, at his first coming or incarnation. I know many staggerings are oft in Christians, "What, is it likely that Christ should be incarnate for me? That such a God, should do such a thing for such a sinful, woful, abominable wretch as I am?" Ah! my soul, put thy propriety in Christ's incarnation out of dispute, that thou mayest be able to say, "As God was manifest in the flesh, and I may not doubt it; so God is manifest in me, and I dare not deny it."

But, to help the soul in this choice duty, I shall first propose the hinderances of faith. 2. The helps of faith in this respect. 3. The manner how to act our faith. 4. The encouragements to bring on the soul to believe its part in this blessed incarnation of Jesus Christ.

For the first, there are but three things that can hinder faith; As

1. The exceeding unworthiness of the soul; and to this purpose are those complaints, "What! Christ incarnate for me! for such a dead dog as I am! What king would dethrone himself, and become a toad to save toads? And am not I at a greater distance from God, than a toad is from me? Hath not sin made my soul more ugly in God's eye, than any loathsome toad can be in my eye? O! I am less than the least of all God's mercies, I am fitter for hell and devils, than for union and communion with God and Christ, I dare not, I cannot believe.

2. The infinite exactness of divine justice which must be satisfied; a soul deeply and seriously considering of this, startles thereat, and cries, O what will become of my soul? one of the least sins that I stand guilty of deserves death, and eternal wrath, the wages of sin is death; and I cannot satisfy; though I have trespassed to many millions of talents, I have not one mite of mine own to pay; O then how should I believe? What thoughts can I entertain of God's mercy and love to me-ward? God's law condemns me, my own conscience accuseth me, and justice will have its due.

3. The want of a Mediator, or some suitable person, which may stand between the sinner and God. If on my part there be unworthiness, and on God's part exact, and strict, and severe justice; and withal I see no

mediator, which I may go unto, and first close withal before I deal with the infinite glory of God himself, how should I but despair, and cry out? "O wretched man that I am! O that I had never been; or if I must needs have a being, Oh that I had been a toad, or serpent, or any venomous creature, rather than a man; for when they die, they perish, and there is an end of them, but the end of a reprobate sinner, is torments without end: O wo and alas! I cannot believe, there is no room for faith in this case!" These are the hinderances.

2. The helps of faith in this sad condition are these:

1. A consideration that God is pleased to pass by, and to overlook the unworthiness of his poor creatures: this we see plain in the very act of his incarnation; himself disdains not to be as his poor creatures, to wear their own flesh, to take upon him human nature, and in all things to become like unto man, sin only excepted.

2. A consideration that God satisfies justice, by setting up Christ, who is justice itself; now was it that "mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other;" now was it that free grace and merit, that fulness and nothingness were made one; now was it that all things became nothing, and nothing all things: our nature which lay in rags, was enriched with the unsearchable treasures of glory; now was it that God was made flesh; and so that flesh which was so weak, as not able to save its own life, was now enabled to save millions of souls, and to bring forth the greatest designs of God; now was it that truth ran to mercy and embraced her, and righteousness to peace, and kissed her; in Christ they meet, yea, in him was the infinite exactness of God's justice satisfied.

3. A consideration that God hath set up Christ as a mediator, That he was incarnate in order to reconciliation, and salvation of souls: but for the accomplishment of this design Christ had never been incarnate; the very end of his uniting flesh unto him, was in order to the reconciliation of us poor souls! alas, we had sinned, and by sin deserved everlasting damnation, but to save us, and to satisfy himself, God takes our nature, and joins it to his Son, and calls that Christ a Saviour: this is the gospel notion of Christ: for what is Christ, but God "himself in our nature, transacting our peace?" In this Christ is that fulness, and righteousness, and love, and bowels to receive the first acts of our faith; and to have immediate union and communion with us; indeed we pitch not our faith first or immediately on God himself; yet at last we come to him, and our faith lives in God (as one saith sweetly) before it is aware, through the sweet intervention of that person which is God himself, only called by another name, "The Lord Jesus Christ," and these are the helps of faith, in reference to. our unworthiness, God's justice, and the want of a Mediator betwixt God and us.

3. The manner how to act our faith on Christ incarnate is this.

1. Faith must directly go to Christ: we indeed find in the Bible some particular promises of this and that grace; and in proper speaking the way to live by faith; it is to live upon the promises in the want of the thing, or to apprehend the thing itself contained in the promise: but the promises are not given to the elect immediately without Christ. No, no, first Christ and then all other things; "incline your ears," and come unto me. 1. Come unto Christ, and then "I will make an everlasting covenant; (which contains all the promises) even the sure mercies of David," Isa. 55:3. As in marriage, the woman first consents to have the man, and then all the benefits that necessarily follow: so the soul by faith, first

pitcheth upon Christ himself, and then on the privileges that flow from Christ. Say, soul, dost thou want any temporal blessing? Suppose it be the payment of debts, thy daily bread, health, &c. Why, look now through the scripture for promises of these things, and let thy faith act thus, "If God hath given me Christ, the greatest blessing, then certainly he will give me all these things, so far as they may be for my good." In the twenty-third Psalm we find a bundle of promises, but he begins thus, "The Lord is my shepherd," saith David, Psal. 23:1. And what then? "Therefore I shall not want;" the believing patriarchs" through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions," Heb. 11:33. Did wonders in the world; but what did they chiefly look to in this their faith? Surely to the promise to come, and to that better thing, Christ himself, verse 39,40. And therefore the apostle concludes, "Having such a cloud of witnesses," that thus lived and died by faith, "Let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," Heb. 12:2.

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2. Faith must directly go to Christ as God in our flesh: some think it a carnal apprehension of Jesus Christ, to know him as in flesh; I confess to know him only so, and absolutely so, to consider Jesus no other way, but as having flesh, and going up and down in weakness; it is no better than a carnal apprehension; but to consider Christ as God in flesh, and to consider that flesh as acted by God, and filled with God, it is not a carnal, but a true and spiritual apprehension of Jesus Christ, and hither is faith to be directed immediately, and in the first place; suppose a case of danger by some enemies, and I find a promise of protection from my enemies, I look on that; but in the first place, thus I argue, if the Lord hath given me Christ (God in the flesh) to save me from hell, then much more will he save me from these fleshly enemies. Thus Judah had a promise, that Syria should not prevail against Judah. They doubted of this; but how doth the Lord seek to assure them? Why, thus, "A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his name shall be Emmanuel," Isa. 7:14. seems a strange reason to flesh and blood: I knew one turn infidel, and deny Jesus Christ upon this very argument; ah, (thought he) "What a grand imposture is this, that Christ's conception, and Christ's birth many years after should be a present sign of the ruin of Rezin king of Aram, and of the preservation of Ahaz king of Judah?" Alas, poor soul, he was not acquainted with this art of living by faith; he might have seen the very same reason elsewhere, "The yoke of their burden, and the staff of their shoulder, and the rod of their oppressor should be broken,-For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given," Isa. 9:4.6. If their faith had not first respected Christ incarnate, they could never have expected any temporal deliverance by that promise of deliverance first laid down; but in this way they might, and so may we.-You will say, Whát is this to us? They looked for Christ to come in the flesh, but now he is come, and that time and design is gone and past many a year since; I an swer, no; the time is gone, but the design is not; Christ remains God in the flesh to this very day; he came not as once to manifest himself in the flesh, to satisfy God's justice in the flesh for sin, and so to lay it down again; that flesh remains, and shall remain; nor is it without use; for all the spirit and life which the saints now have, or which the saints shall have unto the end of the world, it is to be conveyed through that flesh; yea, the Spirit itself dwells in it, and is conveyed through it; and therefore if they had so much gospel-spirit in the time of the Old Testament (which indeed was rare) how much more should we go to Christ, as God

in the flesh, and look upon it as a standing ordinance, and believe perfectly on it?

3. Faith must go and lie at the feet of Christ; faith must fix and fasten itself on this God in our flesh: some go to Christ, and look on Jesus with loose and transient glances, they bring in but fleshly, secondary, ordinary actings of faith, they have but coarse and common apprehensions of Jesus Christ. Oh! but we should come to Christ with solemn serious spirits; we should look on Jesus piercingly, till we see him as God is in him, and as such a person thus and thus qualified from heaven; we should labor to apprehend what is the riches of this glorious mystery of Christ's incarnation; we should dive into the depths of his glorious actings; we should study this mystery above all other studies. Nothing is so pleasant, and nothing is more deep: than one person should be God and man, that God should be man in our nature, and yet not assume the person of a man; that blessedness should be made a curse, that heaven should be let down into hell, that the God of the world would shut himself up, as it were, in a body; that the invisible God should be made visible to sense; that all things should become nothing, and make itself of no reputation; that God should make our nature, which had sinned against him, to be the great ordinance of reconciling us unto himself; that God should take our flesh, and dwell in it with all the fulness, and make that flesh more glorious than the angels, and advance that flesh into oneness with himself, and through that flesh open all his counsels, and rich discoveries of love and free grace unto the sons of men; that this man-God, God. man should be our Saviour, Redeemer, Reconciler, Father, Friend; Oh what mysteries are these! No wonder if when Christ was born, the apostle cries, "We saw his glory, as of the only begotten Son of God," John 1:14. Noting out, that at first sight of him, so much glory sparkled from him as could appear from none but a God walking up and down the world. O my soul, let not such a treasury be unlooked into; set faith on work with a redoubled strength; surely we live not like men under this great design, if our eye of faith be not firmly and steadfastly set on this. O that we were but insighted into these glories! that we were but ac quainted with these lively discoveries! how blessedly might we "live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us Gal. 2:20.

4. Faith must look principally to the end and meaning of Christ, as God coming in the flesh. Now what was the design and meaning of Christ in this? The apostle answers, Rom. 8:3. "God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, to condemn sin in the flesh," i. e. God the Father sent into the world his eternal and only begotten Son, whom in his eternal council, he had designed to the office of a Mediator, to take away or abolish, in the first place, original sin. Mark these two words, "he condemned sin in the flesh," the first word condemned, is by a metonomy put for that which follows condemnation, namely for the abolishing of sin; as condemned persons used to be cut off, and to be taken out of the world, that they may be no more; so Christ hath condemned or abolished this sin. For the se cond word," in the flesh," is meant that human nature which Christ assumed: he abolished sin altogether in his own nature: and that flesh of his, being perfectly holy, and the holiness of it being imputed unto us, it takes away our guilt in respect of the impureness of our nature also. Some may object, If this were so, then were we without original sin? I answer, the flesh, or the nature which Christ took upon him, was altogether without sin, and by imputation of it, we are in proportion freed from sin; Christ had

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