in beforehand in store for them. God hath made provision for them, that they should be born in his house, and brought up in his family, under the best advantages, and fairest prospects of obtaining eternal life. This gives parents a comfortable prospect for their children. If we view them only as an increase of sinful men, who come into the world under the ruins of the fall, we shall have such a dark and melancholy prospect concerning them, as might reasonably stifle the desire of having children. But by attending to the tenor of the covenant of promise, we are taught to view them in another light, and under another character; as born under the covenant of grace, as God's children by adoption, and as heirs of many valuable privileges and promises. If they die in childhood, I know of no reason why we may not suppose it is well with them or if they live to grow up, we have grounds of hope they shall reap the benefit of the privileges of the covenant for their salvation. The many gracious promises of the covenant are a strong foundation for the faith of parents to rest upon, and to improve in their supplication at the throne of grace for their children. These promises likewise afford great encouragement to take special pains in their education, in hopes that their endeavors to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, shall not be in vain; but that, whilst they are endeav oring to instruct them, and to lead them forward to know and acknowledge their covenant God, he will pour out his spirit upon them in his saving influen

ces.

20

THE CONCLUSION.

THE ruin and recovery of man, appear from what has been offered, to be properly ascribed to Adam, and Christ. As Adam was the head and leader of the apostacy of the human race, so is Christ the head and author of their recovery. And by attending to the glorious characters under which the Son of God is revealed in the gospel, it appears that he stands in various relations to different denominations of the children of men; and they accordingly are differently interested in him, and receive very different privileges and blessings from him. Christ is in some sense a covenant head, Savior and Redeemer to the whole human race; and they receive from him in these relations, the present life, with all the comforts and enjoyments of it. But Christ in all his offices, is more nearly related to his visible church and covenant people, than to the rest of the world; and they receive from him the more valuable privileges of divine revelation, with the means of grace, and peculiar advantages for working out their salvation. And as the Lord Jesus Christ is more nearly related, and more closely connected with his visible church, than he is to the rest of mankind; so he is connected more closely still tɔ his spiritual body of true believers, with whom the treaty of peace is happily concluded, in their being brought to a saving union with him by faith; in consequence of which they have obtained a sure title to eternal life.

Careful inspection into the character and offices of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only discovers these various connexions with the different denominations of mankind; but we may also here discover him in some connexions which surpass the human species, and take in the angelic world; yea. the whole system of the intellectual creation. For it is declared to be the good pleasure of God, "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together

in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heav en, and which are on earth." Eph. i. 10.

It evidently appears in the gospel plan, that the safety, blessedness and glory of men, consist in, and flow out from their union with the blessed God; a foundation for which is laid in the union of the divine and human nature in the Son of God. And as the safety, glory and blessedness of men consist in this, so this must also necessarily be the case with the whole intelligent created system, so far as we are able to judge of it: union with their Creator seems necessary in the nature of things, to their safety and blessedness. And the Son of God appears plainly pointed out, as the person in and by whom this union is accomplished. He seems to be the Mediator of access to God, and of divine communications from him, even to the angels of light, who are gathered together into one, in him, as well as to the children of men. Indeed, the tenor and form of the union of the angelic world with the Son of God, is not so expressly set forth in the gospel, as is that of mankind; doubtless there may be a great variety with respect to that, among the different ranks of beings; but that they are somehow united to Christ, and to God thro' him, is manifestly a doctrine taught in the gospel. This is represented in forecited Eph. i. 10, where we are told of the purpose of God "to gather together in one, all things in Christ." And of the like import is that in the 20-23d verses, where we are told that "God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to his church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Eph. iv. 10.

and

He that descended is the same that also ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." Philip. ii. 9, 10, 11. "Wherefore God also hath

highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" Colos. i. 15, 16, 17, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature for by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him; and he is before all things and by him all things consist" And verse, 20. By him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in heaven, or things in earth." Heb. i. 2, 3. "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power."

Thus we have the apostolic representation of this wonderful and glorious connextion and union of the whole intelligent system with our exalted Savior, who is the mysterious person in whom the whole intelligent creation are united to God as the foundation of their safety and blessedness. How the Creator and

the creature, between whose natures there is such an infinite distance, shall be brought into a state of such a close and intimate union as should be an effectual security of safety, and source of blessedness to the creature, is beyond finite understanding to discover. And that the son of God, who is our Redeemer should be the person, in and by whom this union with God, of all rational, created beings, should be brought about, should render him glorious in our eyes, and precious to our hearts.

And if such a Mediator of access to God is, in the nature of things, necessary to fill up that infinite distance between the Creator and the creature, and bring about that union of the creature to God which is ne

cessary to their safety and blessedness, as is clearly intimated and implied in the foregoing glorious and exalted character of the Son of God; it will be necessary to allow, that the case of Adam, in the state in which he was created, did require such a Mediator, as well as the rest of the intelligent creation; and that the discovery of the Son of God in this character, was included in that covenant dispensation which he was placed under. The record which Moses hath made of this first covenant dispensation is so very concise, that we are unable positively to say whether it contained any discovery of such a Mediator, or not yet there are some things in the sacred scripture, (as I shall show presently,) referring to that dispensation, which very naturally intimate such a discovery as being contained in it. Indeed, if the Son of God was revealed to Adam in the first covenant, as a Mediator of access to God; yet we cannot suppose him to be then revealed in such a character, clothed with such offices, and having such work assigned him, as were afterward necessary to his redeeming fallen, sinful man. These things became necessary to him that he might save sinners. But Adam night see the necessity of a Mediator of access to God, although his then present state did not require a Mediator with such characters as were necessary to save from sin. The Son of God is said to be, "The brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person:" but I cannot see how he should acquire such a character by his incarnation and sufferings: doubtless this character belonged to him before he was manifested in the flesh. Ilis glory was eclipsed, or as it were, veiled, when he took flesh upon him. But when he was about to finish the scene of his humiliation, we find him praying to be restored to the glory which he had with the Father before the world was. John xvii. 5. Which glory, it is natural for us to understand to be that, on account of which he is said to be the brightness of the Father's glory, and express image of his person. Perhaps, no created mind was capable to discover the