purposed in himself, Eph. i. 9, 10. It was in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 2 Tim. i. 9, 10. It is unto this highest spring your faith must rise by all the lower steps it takes; even to the deep design of God in purposing salvation by Jesus Christ to his chosen. And it is revealed to us in the word as purposed by him, to the eternal praise of his grace, to the exalting of his Son Jesus, the undertaker of the work of saving, and to bring in a great salvation for his people.

2. What passed in time about this. In the fulness of time God sent his Son into the world. When he came, that was fulfilled, Isa. ix. 6. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. He was born, and given to us; for he came to die, and to be given for us. On this I would offer four things.

1st, When our Lord came, and set about his work he came for, he looked on himself, preached and declared himself, to be a representer, by his office, of his people to God; that he was the sacrifice for sin and sinners, Heb. x. 5,-10.; that his flesh and blood was the meat that came down from heaven, which he must give for eternal life to his people, and that all must feed on by faith that had any mind to live, John vi. 35,-58. Yea, when he was first made manifest to Israel, John Baptist, the first preacher of Christ as come, preacheth and points him forth to be the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, John i. 29.; a Lamb for purity, a Lamb for sacrifice, and the Lamb of God, sent and provided by .God, (as his type was, Gen. xxii. 8.), and acceptable unto God. But what was spoken in the ear in closets in Christ's time on earth, was proclaimed on house-tops (as he bid them, Luke xii. 3.) when Christ had done his work, and was gone to heaven. His apostles, and all his servants in all ages, have made it their business to set forth Christ as the only sacrifice for sin, and the only High-priest to introduce sinners into God's favour, in and by the virtue of his sacrifice. They have not begun to preach Christ rightly, that have not first of all declared how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 1 Cor. xv. 3.; and then of his resurrection, ver. 4. Ministers must neither leave Christ in his grave, nor preach a glorified Jesus, without remembering his death.

2dly, We find that the law and justice of God dealt with our Lord, when he was come, as with a representative of sinners. There was nothing in him, that justice and law should exact on him for; he owed no debt of his own contracting; yet law and justice dealt severely with him. The Lamb of God was without spot; yet his life must go, and his blood be shed for sin. There had been no justice in the Lord's bruising of his beloved and spotless Son, if he had not been answerable at the highest bar for the sins of others, for which he was stricken, Isa. liii. 8. In that chapter, (in which it is something strange that a Jew cannot see Jesus; but far more, that any that bear the name of Christians, should make the eunuch's question, Acts viii. 34. I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? and will not take Philip's answer, ver. 35. who from that scripture preached unto him Jesus), in that of Isa. liii. we have the prophet preaching Christ like an apostle, concerning his work, his death, the cause and fruits of it, with New Testament brightness and glory; and this several hundreds of years before Christ came into the world. I shall touch at a few things in it that belong to my present purpose. In ver. 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Every man is not charged with the sorrows of others, except in common sympathy, which all owe towards others in distress. Christ not only had this, but a near and close feeling of, and pressure by them, that was proper to him only: yea, he bore the sorrows of many, whose sorrows were over before he came, and of far more, whose sorrows were not begun, long after he came to bear them. Yet ye did bear them to save them; for that grief and sorrow that men have, which Christ did not bear, will be everlasting sorrow. But what had Christ to do with their sorrow? In verse 5. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. His wounds and bruises were very heavy, but not without a cause; only the cause is strange: they were for transgressions, for iniquities; but these were none of his, but ours. The wounds were his; but the sin was ours, that deserved the blows. And thus our peace, our healing cometh. But what had Christ to do with our iniquities? ver. 6. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us VOL. II.

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all. And he took the burden on him, and was only able to bear it, and did bear it away. The Lord hath resolved, that sin and sorrow shall go together. So was it with the Sa

viour; if sin be laid on him, sorrow shall follow it. So is it with sinners; their sin will bring dreadful sorrow, except Christ take away both. Sirs, you have formerly known, or do at present, or shall hereafter know, what a heavy burden sin is; how insupportable it is; and how surely that soul must sink into hell, that hath this burden lying on himself. And indeed, until the burden of sin be felt to be too heavy for them, and a burden that all the world cannot bear for them, men will think lightly of Christ's undertaking, and will never employ him, but in a compliment. Know this, and accordingly chuse your course: It is resolved in heaven, and declared in the gospel on earth, that every sinner's iniquity shall either be borne by the sinner himself, to his eternal damnation, or by the surety, Jesus Christ, to the believer's eternal salvation. But well did the prophet preface to this doctrine, ver. 1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? This gospel-doctrine will never be welcome to an unbeliever; and none are made believers but by the revealing of the arm, and putting forth of the power of the Lord upon their hearts. Till then, sinners will mock God, both in their contracting the debt of sin, and in their devices of paying that debt; and both are very sinful work. God hath fixed his way of satisfying his justice, and will not alter, Men must either betake themselves to Jesus Christ by faith, or lay their account with hell. That sinner is blind, and ignorant of God's justice, and of the strictness of his law, that thinks that sin against Gol can be expiated by any thing, but the blood of him that is God. And he that dare not trust to the sufferings and virtue of Christ's atonement made for sin, knows not God's mercy, nor the truth as it is in Jesus, Eph. iv. 21. Let all sinners therefore take heed, what course they take in the matter of the burden of sin. Take heed, that you mock not God in studying to pay it in false coin. All your own, all creature coin, is but reprobate metal in heaven's court and kingdom. It may pass on earth, and in a deluded conscience: but how little doth

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that signify? and how short while will that little last? It is but hay and stubble, which Christ hath many fires to burn it up with. But for Christians, I advise you, in reading the prophets and apostles, concerning Christ and his sufferings, to make use of this as a key to open up all, as a light that enlightens all, That all the sufferings of Christ were laid on him, and endured by him, and presented unto God, as he did represent his guilty people; otherwise justice could not exact on him, nor his people be saved by them. See how Christ expresseth this in the celebration and institution of his last supper. He taketh, blesseth, breaketh, and giveth bread, and calls it, my body given for you. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you, Luke xxii. 19, 20. I do not mind the Antichristian synagogue, (for a church it is not, but in an usurped name, or in a vain notion), who have abused and perverted these plain and easy words, more than devils or men did ever pervert any words of God or man before; and have, upon that abuse of them, set up the grossest idol that ever a Heathen worshipped; for such as worship sun, and moon, and the host of heaven, have God's glorious workmanship before their eyes; yea, the Egyptians garden and herb gods are preferable greatly to a bit paste, knead and baked by a baker in his oven, conjured into a pitiful godhead by the mumbling of a priest, and first worshipped, and then swallowed down as other food, by the besotted people. Nothing less than the dreadful wrath of God can be in mens believing this lie, that the man's reason and all his senses militate against, 2 Thess. ii. 10, 11, 12. But many that are not infected with this strong delusion, understand no more by Christ's words in this sacred ordinance, than that the bread and wine, so used as Christ appointed, do signify the sufferings unto death of our Lord Jesus Christ, cruelly handled by wicked men, and severely dealt with by the justice of God; but the cause and end of his death, they mind not. This Christ puts us in mind of, in these words: "For you, and for "your sins, and for the remission of them; you, and your "sins, are the cause of my death; and my death is the cause

"of your forgiveness." Christians, if you keep out that word, for you; if your faith do not echo to Christ for you, with you or for me, I assure you, that the bread and wine on the Lord's table, and the same creatures on your own table, will be of equal signification, as to soul-nourishment; and that is, none at all.

3dly, We find, that when Christ had thus been dealt with, as representing his people, there was a high acceptance of his sacrifice. The Father that put him to all this, was mightily pleased with him, and with his death. Here behold the depth and mystery of God's saving men by Jesus Christ. God's justice against sin squeezed out Christ's life, and by that squeezed out eternal salvation for them he died for. Here is wisdom, and here is love, 1 John iv. 8, 9, 10.

4thly, Hence it is, that all believers on Christ are graciously accepted with the Father. Whenever this blood shed for them, is sprinkled on them; whenever the virtue of this blood is applied to them by his Spirit, and applied unto by their faith, they are represented to God in it and with it, and are therefore accepted.

Secondly, Let us, in the next place, look into this chapter, John xvii. and learn something of Christ's representing his church and people unto God. It is as fit a portion of the word, as any for that end; and in it I would look to two things: 1. What is in it about Christ, the representer. 2. What of his people, whom he represents in this solemn address to his Father.

1. About Christ, the representer, we find these things:

1st, Our Lord notes the time in which he was to do his great work he came into the world for: Father, the hour is come, it is at hand: "the hour of my dying for my sheep." John xii. 27. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. As if our Lord had said, "I should lose my main end "I came into the world for, if it was not for this hour." This was that special hour, in which Christ was to make the grand representation unto God, of all his people for their redemption, and of all their sins for their expiation. This was Christ's dying-hour, and the church's redemption-hour.