the work itself is by grace, ver. 7. here is ufe made of every word almost, whereby the exceeding rich grace, kindness, mercy, and goodness of God may be expreffed, all concurring in this work. As, 1. His goodnefs, benignity, readiness to communicate of himself, and his good things that may be profitable to us. 2. Mercy, love, and propenfity of mind to help, affift, relieve them of whom he speaks, towards whom he is so affected: and mercy, forgiveness, compaffion, tenderness, to them that fuffer: and free pardoning, bounty, undeferved love: and all this is faid to be tou theou foteros; he exercises all these properties and attributes of his nature towards us, that he may fave us: and in the bestowing of it, giving us the Holy Ghost, it is faid, he poured him out, as water out of a veffel, without ftop and hesitation, and that not in a small measure, but richly and in abundance: whence as to the work itself, it is emphatically faid, dekaiothentes te ekeinou chathiti: juftified by the grace of him, who is fuch an one. And this do the faints of God in their communion with Chrift, exceedingly rejoice in before him, that the way of their acceptation before God, is a way of grace, kindness and mercy, that they might not boast in themselves, but in the Lord, and his goodnefs; crying, how great is thy goodness? how great is thy bounty?

3. They approve of it, and rejoice in it, as a

way of great peace and fecurity to themselves and their own fouls. They remember what was their state and condition, whilft they went about to fet up a righteousness of their own, and were not fubject to the righteousness of Chrift: how miferably they were toffed up and down, with continual fluc tuating thoughts: fometimes they had hope, and

fome.

fometimes they were full of fear: fometimes they thought themselves in fome good condition, and anon were at the very brink of hell; their confciences being racked and torn, with fin and fear: but now, being juftified by faith, they have peace with God, Rom. v. 1. all is quiet and ferene; not only that storm is over, but they are in the haven where they would be. They have abiding peace with God. Hence is that defcription of Christ, to a poor foul, Ifa. xxxii. 2. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempeft, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the Shadow of a great rock in a weary land: Wind, and tempeft, and drought, and wearinefs, nothing now troubles the foul that is in Christ, he hath an hiding-place and a covert, and rivers of water, and the shadow of a great rock, for his fecurity. This is the great mystery of faith in this business of our acceptation with God by Chrift; that whereas the foul of a believer finds enough in him, and upon him, to rend the very caul of the heart, to fill him with fears, terror, difquietments all his days, yet through Chrift, he is at perfect peace with God, Ifa. xxvi. 3. Pfal. iv. 6, 7, 8. Hence do the fouls of believers exceedingly magnify Jesus Christ: that they can behold the face of God, with boldness, confidence, peace, joy, affurance, that they can call him Father, bear themselves on his love, walk up and down in quietnefs and without fear; how glorious is the Son of God, in this grace? They remember the wormwood and gall, that they have eaten, the vinegar and tears they have drunk, the trembling of their fouls like an afpen leaf that is fhaken with the wind, whenever they thought of God, what contrivances they have had to hide, and

fly

fly and efcape; to be brought now to fettlement and fecurity, muft needs greatly affect them.

4. They cordially approve of this righteousness, because it is a way and means of the exceeding exaltation and honour of the Lord Jefus, whom their fouls do love. Being once brought to an acquaintance with Jefus Chrift, their hearts defire nothing more than that he may be honoured and glorified to the utmoft, and in all things have the preheminence. Now what can tend more to the advancing and honouring of him in our hearts, than to know that he is made of God unto us, Wifdom and righ teousness, 1 Cor. i. 30. Not that he is this or that part of our acceptation with God: but he is all, he is the whole. They know that in the account of his working out their acceptation with God. He is,

1. Honoured of God his Father, Phil. ii. 7, 8, 9, 10. He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God alfo bath highly exalted him, and given him a -name which is above every name; that at the name sof Jefus every knee hould bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confefs, that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Whether that word wherefore, denotes a connexion of caufality, or only a confequence, this is evident, that on the account of his fuffering, and as the end of it, he was honoured and exalted of God; to an -unfpeakeable preheminence, dignity, and authority; according as God had promised him, on the fame account, Ifa. liii. 11, 12. Acts ii. 36. and y. 30, 31. Сс

And

And therefore it is faid, that when He had by himfelf purged our fins, he fat down at the right hand of the Majefty on high, Heb. i. 3.

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2. He is on this account honoured of all the angels in heaven, éven because of this great work of bringing finners unto God: for they do not only bow down and defire to look into the mystery of the crofs, Pet. i. 12. but worship and praise him always on this account, Rev. v. 11, 12, 13, 14. heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and living creatures, and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, faying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I fuying, bleffing, honour, glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the living creatures faid Amen, and the four and twen ty elders fell down and worshipped him, that liveth for ever and ever. The reafon given of this glorious and wonderful doxology, this attribution of honour and glory, to Jefus Chrift, by the whole hoft of heaven, is because he was the Lamb that was flain: that is, because of the work of our redemption, and our bringing unto God. And it is not a little refreshment and rejoycing to the fouls of the faints, to know, that all the angels of God, the whole host of heaven, which never finned, do yet continually rejoice, and afcribe prayers and honour to the Lord Jefus, for his bringing them to peace and favour with God.

3. He is honoured by his faints all the world over: and indeed if they do not, who fhould. If they honour him not as they honour the Father, they were of all men the most unworthy: but fee what they do, Rev. i. 5, 6. Unto him that loved us, and walked us from our fins in his own blood, and bath made us kings and priests to God and his Father, to him be glory for ever and ever, Amen. chap. *. 8, 9, 10. The four living creatures and four and twenty elders, fell down before the Lamb, baving every one of them harps, and golden viols full of odors, which are the prayers of his faints; and they fung a new fong, faying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the feals thereof for thou wast flain, and haft redeemed us unto God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and haft made us unto God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on earth. The great folemn worship of the christian church, confifts in this affignation of honour and glory to the Lord Jefus: therefore do they love him, honour him, delight in him, as Paul, Phil. iii. 8. and fo the Spoufe, Cant. V. 9, 10, 11. and this is on this account.

5. They cordially approve of this righteousness, this way of acceptation as that which brings glory to God as fuch. When they were labouring under the guilt of fin, that which did most of all perplex their fouls was, that their fafety was inconfiftent with the glory and honour of the great God; with his juftice, faithfulness, and truth; all which were engaged for the deftruction of fin; and how to come off from ruin, without the lofs of their honour he faw not. But now by the revelation of this righteoufnefs from faith, to faith, they plainly fee, that all the properties of God are exceedingly

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