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cession from his father, and the idols set up to his hand, the continuance of them had less of sin, because more of temptation; but he built again those high places and altars to idols after they had been broken down, ver. 3, and dashed in pieces that reformation his Father had completed.

4. Affronting God to his very face. He sets up his idols, as it were to nose God, and built altars in the house of the Lord, and in the two courts of his temple, whereof God had said he would have his name there for ever, ver. 4, 5, 7. He brought in all the stars of heaven to be sharers in that worship which was only due to the God of heaven. What, could he find no other place for his idols, but in the very temple of God? must God be cast out of his house, to make room for Baal?

5. Murder. Perhaps of his children, which he caused to pass through the fire as an offering to his idol, ver. 6. It may be it was only for purification. But he had the guilt of much innocent blood upon him, the streams whereof ran down in every part of the city. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he filled Jerusalem with blood from one end to the other, 2 Kings 21. 16.

6. Covenant with the devil. He used enchantments, and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, ver. 6, yea, he had acquaintance with more devils than one, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards in the plural number.

7. His other men's sins. He did not only lead the people by his example, but compelled them by his commands. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen God had rooted out, 2 Chron. 33. 9, to make room for them. Hereby, he contracted the guilt of the whole nation upon himself.

8. Obstinacy against admonitions. God spake to him and his people, but they would not hearken, or alter their course, 2 Kings 21. 10.

9. Continuance in it. He ascended the throne young, at twelve years old, ver. 1. It is uncertain how long he continued in this sin. Torniellus thinks fifteen years. Bellarmine twenty-seven. Kinchi fifty years, reckoning but five years of his life after his restoration. What a world of sin, and aggravations of it, were there in this man! and yet God was intreated, ver. 19.

3. The stock whereof Christ came, seems to intimate this; God might have kept the stock, whence Christ descended according to the flesh, pure, and free from being tainted with any notorious crimes; but we find sins of a crimson dye even among them. There are no women reckoned up in Christ's genealogy, but such as in scripture are noted for looseness, Mat. 1. 3. Tamar who played the harlot with Judah her father-in-law, Gen. 28. Rahab, ver. 5, the harlot of Jericho. Ruth, ver. 5, a Gentile, and a Moabitess; the root of whose generation was Lot's son by incest with his own daughter., Bathsheba, ver. 6, David's adulteress. He chose these repenting sinners, out of whose loins Christ was to come, that the greatest sinners might not be afraid to come to him.

Was David, whose son our Saviour is called, much better? It is true, he was a man after God's own heart, but yet very notorious for that act of murder and adultery, and with more aggravating circumstances than usually are met with in acts of the like nature, 2 Sam. 11. Uriah was a godly man, and had a sense of the condition of the church and nation whereof he was a member, ver. 11, and such a man's bed David is not only content to defile, but he pollutes his soul with drunkenness, ver. 13, lays snares for his life, not in a manly, but sly and treacherous manner; for while he doth caress him, and show him a fair countenance in his palace, he draws up secret instructions to Joab so to order the business, that Uriah might be thrust into his grave, and makes him the post to carry

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the commission for his own death, ver. 15. 16. After all this he hath no remorse when he hears of the loss of so godly and valiant a man, but wipes his mouth, and sweeps all the dirt to the door of Providence, ver. 25. Now Christ's stock being thus tainted, was methinks an evidence that penitents though before of the greatest pollutions, might be welcome to him. And that as he picked out such out of whose loins to proceed, so he would pick out such also in whose hearts to reside.

4. It was Christ's employment in the world to court and gain such kind of creatures. The first thing he did, while in the manger, was to snatch some of the devil's prophets out of his service, and take them into his own, Mat. 2. 1, some of the Magi, who were astrologers and idolaters. When he fled from Herod's cruelty, he chose Egypt, the most idolatrous country in the world, for his sanctuary; a place where the people worshipped oxen, crocodiles, cats, garlic, putida numina, all kind of riff-raff, to show that he often comes to sojourn in the blackest souls. The first people he took care to preach to, were the seamen, who usually are the rudest, and most debauched sort of men, as gaining the vices, as well as the commodities of those nations they traffic with, Mat. 4. 13. The inhabitants of those sea-coasts are said to sit in darkness, ver. 16, in darkness both of sin and ignorance, just as the Egyptians were not able to stir in that thick darkness, which was sent as a plague upon them. And the country, by reason of the vices of the inhabitants, is called the region and shadow of death; a title properly belonging to hell itself. To call sinners to repentance, was the errand of his coming. And he usually delighted to chuse such that had not the least pretence to merit, Mark 2. 17. Matthew a publican, Zaccheus an extortioner, store of that generation of men and harlots, and very little company besides.

He chose his attendants out of the devil's rabble;

and he was more Jesus, à Saviour, among this sort of trash, than among all other sorts of people, for all his design was to get clients out of hell itself. What was that woman that he must needs go out of his way to convert? a harlot, John 4. 18, an idolater, for the Samaritans had a mixed worship, a linseywoolsey religion, and upon that account were hateful to the Jews. She continued in her adultery at the very time Christ spake to her, yet he makes her a monument of his grace; and not only so, but the first preacher of the gospel to her neighbours; Is not this the Christ? ver. 29, and an instrument to conduct them to him, Come, see a man which told me all things, &c. Was any more defiled than Mary Magdalen? seven devils would make her sooty to purpose, and so many did Christ cast out of her; Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalen, Mark 16. 9; out of whom he cast seven devils. This lustful devil he turns into a weeping saint.

What was that Canaanitish woman, who had so powerful a faith infused? One sprung of a cursed stock, hateful to God, rooted out of the pleasant land, a dog, not a child; she comes a dog, but returns à child; Christ made this crab in a wilderness to bring forth fruit, even the best that heaven could afford; viz. the fruit of faith; and larger and better bunches of it, than at that time sprouted out of any branches of the Jewish vine, so well planted, and so often watered by Christ himself. When he comes to act his last part in the world, he saves a thief, who was got to hell-gates, ready to be pushed in by the devil Do you find examples among the pharisees? No; dunghill-sinners take heaven by violence, while the proud pharisees lose it by their own righteousness. Scribes and doctors continue devils in the chair, while harlots commence saints from the stews, and the thief proceeds a convert on the cross.

Since there was but one that in his own person

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he converted, after he went to heaven, what was he? One that had breathed out slaughters and threatenings against the church, Acts 9. ¡. To do so, was as common with him, and natural to him, as to suck in air, and breathe it out again: this man galloping to hell as fast as his mad rage and passion could carry him, he stops in his career, ordains a preacher of a persecutor; gives him as large a commission, as he had given, any of his favourites; for he makes him the chiefest apostle of the gentiles. What bogs and miry places did Christ drain, and make fruitful gardens? What barren and thorny wildernesses did he change into pleasant paradises? He made subjects of vengeance objects of mercy; he told the woman of Samaria, who lived in fornication, that he was the Messiah, The woman saith to him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee, am he, John 4. 25; which he never discovered to the self-righteous pharisees, nor indeed in so many words to his disciples, till Peter's confession of him.

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5. The commission Christ gave to his apostles, was to this purpose. He bids them proclaim the promise free to all, Go ye into all the world, Mark 16. 15, and preach the gospel to every creature. All the world, every creature. He put no difference between men in this respect, though you meet with them in the likeness of beasts, and devils, never so wicked, never so abominable; as long as they are creatures, reach out the cup of salvation to them, if they will drink, open the treasures of grace to them, if they will receive them; indent with them for nothing but faith for justification, and profession of it for their salvation.

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This commission is set out by the parable of a king, commanding his servants to fetch the maimed, halt, and blind, with their wounds, sores, and infirmities about them, Luke 14. 21, 23. Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.