ceptable unto him. And if it were subject unto guilt on its own account, it could make no satisfaction for the sin of others. Here, therefore, again occurs nodus vindice dignus, a difficulty which nothing but divine wisdom could expedite.

To take a little farther view hereof, we must consider on what grounds these things (spiritual defilement and guilt) do adhere unto our nature as they are in all our individual persons. And the first of these is, that our entire nature, as unto our participation of it, was in Adam, as our head and representative. Hence his sin became the sin of us all, is justly imputed unto us, and charged on us. 'In him we all sinned;' all did so who were in him as their common representative when he sinned. Hereby we became the natural children of wrath,' or liable unto the wrath of God for the common sin of our nature, in the natural and legal head or spring of it. And the other is, that we derive our nature from Adam by the way of natural generation. By that means alone is the nature of our first parents as defiled communicated unto us. For by this means do we become to appertain unto the stock, as it was degenerate and corrupt. Wherefore that part of our nature, wherein and whereby this great work was to be wrought, must, as unto its essence and substance, be derived from our first parents, yet so as never to have been in Adam as a common representative; nor be derived from him by natural generation.

The bringing forth of our nature in such an instance, wherein it should relate no less really and truly unto the first Adam than we do ourselves, whereby there is the strictest alliance of nature between him so partaker of it, and us, yet so, as not in the least to participate of the guilt of the first sin, nor of the defilement of our nature thereby, must be an effect of infinite wisdom, beyond the conceptions of any created understanding. And this, as we know, was done in the person of Christ; for his human nature was never in Adam as his representative, nor was he comprised in the covenant wherein he stood. For he derived it legally, only from and after the first promise, when Adam ceased to be a common person. Nor did it proceed from him by natural generation, the only means of the derivation of its depravation and pollution. For it was a holy thing,' created in the womb of the Virgin by the

power of the Most High. O the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God!'

It was necessary therefore on all these considerations, it was so unto the glory of the holy properties of the divine nature, and the reparation of the honour of his holiness and righteousness, that he by whom the work of our recovery was to be wrought, should be a man, partaker of the nature that sinned, yet free from all sin, and all the consequents of it. And this did divine wisdom contrive and accomplish in the human nature' of Jesus Christ.

But yet, in the second place, on all the considerations before-mentioned, it is no less evident, that this work could not be wrought or effected by him who was no more than a mere man, who had no nature but ours, who was a human person, and no more. There was no one act which he was to perform, in order unto our deliverance, but did require a divine power to render it efficacious. But herein lies that great mystery of godliness, whereunto a continual opposition hath been made by the gates of hell, as we manifested in the entrance of this discourse. But whereas it belongs unto the foundation of our faith, we must inquire into it, and confirm the truth of it with such demonstrations as divine revelation doth accommodate us withal. And three things are to be spoken unto.

First, We are to give in rational evidences, that the recovery of mankind was not to be effected by any one who was a mere man, and no more, though it were absolutely necessary that a man he should be; he must be God also.

Secondly, We must inquire into the suitableness or condecency unto divine wisdom, in the redemption and salvation of the church by Jesus Christ, who was God and man in one person. And thereon give a description of the person of Christ and its constitution, which suiteth all the ends of infinite wisdom in this glorious work. The first of these falls under sundry plain demonstrations.

1. That human nature might be restored, or any portion of mankind be eternally saved unto the glory of God, it was necessary, as we proved before, that an obedience should be yielded unto God and his law, which should give and bring more glory and honour unto his holiness, than there was dishonour reflected on it, by the disobedience of us all.

Those who are otherwise minded, care not what becomes of the glory of God, so that wicked, sinful man may be saved one way or other. But these thoughts spring out of our apostacy, and belong not unto that estate wherein we loved God above all, and preferred his glory above all, as it was with us at the first in the original constitution of our nature. But such an obedience could never be yielded unto God by any mere creature whatever; not by any one who was only a man, however dignified and exalted in state and condition above all others. For to suppose that God should be pleased and glorified with the obedience of any one man, more than he was displeased and dishonoured by the disobedience of Adam, and all his posterity, is to fancy things that have no ground in reason or justice, or any way suitable unto divine wisdom and holiness. He who undertaketh this work must have somewhat that is divine and infinite to put an infinite value on his obedience; that is, he must be God.

2. The obedience of such a one, of a mere man, could have no influence at all on the recovery of mankind, nor the salvation of the church. For whatever it were, it would be all due from him for himself, and so could only profit or benefit himself. For what is due from any on his own account, cannot redound or be reckoned unto the advantage of another. But there is no mere creature, nor can there be any such, but he is obliged for himself unto all the obedience unto God, that he is capable of the performance of in this world, as we have before declared. Yea, universal obedience in all possible instances is so absolutely necessary unto him as a creature made in dependence on God, and for the enjoyment of him, that the voluntary omission of it in any one instance, would be a criminal disobedience, ruinous unto his own soul. Wherefore, no such obedience could be accepted as any kind of compensation for the disobedience of others, or in their stead. He then that performs this obedience must be one who was not originally obliged thereunto, on his own account or for himself. And this must be a divine person and none other; for every mere creature is so obliged. And there is nothing more fundamental in gospel principles, than that the Lord Christ in his divine person was above the law, and for himself owed no obedience there

unto. But by his own condescension, as he was made of a woman for us, so he was made under the law for us. And therefore, those by whom the divine person of Christ is denied, do all of them contend that he yielded obedience unto God for himself, and not for us. But herein they bid defiance unto the principal effect of divine wisdom, wherein God will be eternally glorified.

3. The people to be freed, redeemed, and brought unto glory, were great and innumerable; 'a great multitude which no man can number;' Rev. vii. 9. The sins which they were to be delivered, ransomed, and justified from, for which a propitiation was to be made, were next unto absolutely infinite. They wholly surpass the comprehension of any created understanding, or the compass of imagination. And in every one of them there was something reductively infinite, as committed against an infinite majesty. The miseries which hereon all these persons were obnoxious unto, were infinite, because eternal; or all that evil which our nature is capable to suffer, was by them all eternally to be undergone.

By all these persons, in all these sins, there was an inroad made on the rule and government of God, an affront given unto his justice in the violation of his law. Nor can any of them be delivered from the consequents hereof in eternal misery, without a compensation and satisfaction made unto the justice of God. To assert the contrary, is to suppose that upon the matter, it is all one to him whether he be obeyed or disobeyed, whether he be honoured or dishonoured in and by his creatures. And this is all one as to deny his very being; seeing itopposeth the glory of his essential properties. Now to suppose that a mere man, by his temporary suffering of external pains, should make satisfaction unto the justice of God for all the sins of all these persons so as it should be right and just with him, not only to save and deliver them from all the evils they were liable unto, but also to bring them unto life and glory, is to constitute a mediation between God and man that should consist in appearance and ostentation, and not be an effect of divine wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, nor have its foundation in the nature and equity of things themselves. For the things supposed will not be reduced unto any rules

of justice or proportion, that one of them should be conceived in any sense to answer unto the other; that is, there is nothing which answers any rule, notions, or conceptions of justice; nothing that might be exemplary unto men in the punishment of crimes, that the sins of an infinite number of men, deserving every one of them eternal death, should be expiated by the temporary sufferings of one mere nian, so as to demonstrate the righteousness of God in the punishment of sin. But God doth not do these things for shew or appearance, but according unto the real exigence of the holy properties of his nature. And on that supposition there must be a proportion between the things themselves, namely, the sufferings of one, and the deliverance of all.

Nor could the faith of man ever find a stable foundation to fix upon on the supposition before-mentioned. No faith is able to conflict with this objection, that the sufferings of one mere man should be accepted with God as a just compensation for the sins of the whole church. Men who in things of this nature satisfy themselves with notions and fancies may digest such suppositions; but those who make use of faith for their own delivery from under a conviction of sin, the nature and demerit of it, with a sense of the wrath of God, and the curse of the law against it, can find no relief in such notions or apprehensions. But it became the wisdom of God, in the dispensation of himself herein unto the church, so to order things, as that faith might have an immoveable rock to build upon. This alone it hath in the person of Christ, God and man, his obedience and sufferings. Wherefore, those by whom the divine nature of the Lord Christ is denied, do all of them absolutely deny also that he made any satisfaction unto divine justice for sin. They will rather swallow all the absurdities which the absolute dismission of sin without satisfaction or punishment doth bring along with it, than grant that a mere man could make any such satisfaction by his temporary sufferings for the sins of the world. And on the other hand, whoever doth truly and sincerely believe the divine person of Christ, namely, that he was God and man in one person, and as such a person acted in the whole work of mediation, he cannot shut his eyes against the glorious light of this truth,