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were filled with rage, and 'took up stones to cast at him;' John viii. 58. And they give a reason of their madness, John x. 33. namely, that he, being a man, should make himself to be God.' This was such a thing, they thought, as could never enter into the heart of a wise and sober man; namely, that being so, owning himself to be such, he should yet say of himself, that he was God. This is that which no reason can comprehend, which nothing in nature can parallel or illustrate, that one and the same person should be both God and man. And this is the principal plea of the Socinians at this day, who through the Mahometans succeed unto the Jews in an opposition unto the divine nature of Christ.

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But all this difficulty is solved by the glory of Christ in this condescension; for although in himself, or his own divine person, he was over all God blessed for ever;' yet he humbled himself for the salvation of the church unto the eternal glory of God, to take our nature upon him, and to be made man: and those who cannot see a divine glory in his so doing, do neither know him, nor love him, nor believe in him, nor do any way belong unto him.

Because

So is it with the men of these abominations. they cannot behold the glory hereof, they deny the foundation of our religion, namely, the divine person of Christ. Seeing he would be made man, he shall be esteemed by them no more than a man. So do they reject that glory of God, his infinite wisdom, goodness, and grace, wherein he is more concerned than in the whole creation. And they dig up the root of all evangelical truths, which are nothing but branches from it.

It is true and must be confessed, that herein it is that our Lord Jesus Christ is a stumbling-stone, and a rock of offence' unto the world. If we should confess him only as a prophet, a man sent by God, there would not be much contest about him, nor opposition unto him. The Mahometans do all acknowledge it, and the Jews would not long deny it; for their hatred against him was, and is, solely because he professed himself to be God, and as such was believed on in the world. And at this day partly through the insinuation of the Socinians, and partly from the efficacy of their own blindness and unbelief, multitudes are willing to

grant him to be a prophet sent of God, who do not, who will not, who cannot, believe the mystery of this condescension in the susception of our nature, nor see the glory of it. But take this away, and all our religion is taken away with it. Farewell Christianity as unto the mystery, the glory, the truth, the efficacy of it; let a refined heathenism be established in its room. But this is the rock on which the church is built, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.

4. This condescension of Christ was not by a phantasm or an appearance only. One of the first heresies that pestered the church immediately after the days of the apostles, was this, that all that was done or suffered by Christ as a man, were not the acts, doings, or sufferings of one that was truly and really a man, but an outward representation of things, like the appearance of angels in the shape of men, eating and drinking under the Old Testament; and suitably hereunto some in our days have spoken; namely, that there was only an appearance of Christ in the man Jesus at Jerusalem, in whom he suffered no more than in other believers. But the ancient Christians told those men the truth; namely, that as they had feigned unto themselves an imaginary Christ, so they should have an imaginary salvation only.'

But the true nature of this divine condescension doth consist in these three things:

1. That the eternal person of the Son of God, or the divine nature in the person of the Son, did by an ineffable act of his divine power and love, assume our nature into an individual subsistence in or with himself; that is, to be his own, even as the divine nature is his. This is the infallible foundation of faith even to them who can comprehend very little of these divine mysteries. They can, and do believe, that the Son of God did take our nature to be his own; so as that whatever was done therein, was done by him, as it is with every other man. Every man hath human nature appropriated unto himself by an individual subsistence; whereby he becomes to be that man which he is, and not another; or that nature which is common unto all, becomes in him to be peculiarly his own, as if there were none partaker of it but himself. Adam in his first creation, when all human nature was in him alone, was no more that individual man

which he was, than every man is now the man that he is, by his individual subsistence. So the Lord Christ taking that nature which is common unto all, into a peculiar subsistence in his own person, it becometh his, and he the man Christ Jesus. This was the mind that was in him.

2. By reason of this assumption of our nature, with his doing and suffering therein, whereby he was found in fashion as a man, the glory of his divine person was veiled, and he made himself of no reputation. This also belongs unto his condescension, as the first general effect and fruit of it. But we have spoken of it before.

3. It is also to be observed, that in the assumption of our nature to be his own, he did not change it into a thing divine and spiritual; but preserved it entire in all its essential properties and actings. Hence it really did and suffered, was tried, tempted, and forsaken as the same nature in any other man might do and be. That nature, as it was peculiarly his, and therefore he, or his person therein, was exposed unto all the temporary evils which the same nature is subject unto in any other person.

This is a short general view of this incomprehensible condescension of the Son of God, as it is described by the. apostle, Phil. ii. 5-8. And this is that wherein in an especial manner we are to behold the glory of Christ by faith whilst we are in this world.

But had we the tongue of men and angels, we were not able in any just measure to express the glory of this condescension. For it is the most ineffable effect of the divine wisdom of the Father, and of the love of the Son, the highest evidence of the care of God towards mankind. What can be equal unto it? What can be like it? It is the glory of Christian religion, and the animating soul of all'evangelical truth. This carrieth the mystery of the wisdom of God, above the reason or understanding of men and angels, to be the object of faith and admiration only. A mystery it is that becomes the greatness of God with his infinite distance from the whole creation; which renders it unbecoming him that all his ways and works should be comprehensible by any of his creatures; Job xi. 4, 5. 9. Rom. xi. 34-36.

He who was eternally in the form of God, that is, was essentially so, God by nature, equally participant of the

same divine nature with God the Father; 'God overall blessed for ever;' who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth; he takes on him the nature of man, takes it to be his own; whereby he was no less truly a man in time, than he was truly God from eternity. And to increase the wonder of this mystery, because it was necessary unto the end he designed, he so humbled himself in this assumption of our nature, as to make himself of no reputation in this world; yea, unto that degree, that he said of himself, that he was a worm and no man, in comparison of them who were of any esteem.

We speak of these things in a poor, low, broken manner; we teach them as they are revealed in the Scripture; we labour by faith to adhere unto them as revealed: but when we come into a steady, direct view and consideration of the thing itself, our minds fail, our hearts tremble, and we can find no rest, but in a holy admiration of what we cannot comprehend. Here we are at a loss, and know that we shall be so whilst we are in this world: but all the ineffable fruits and benefits of this truth are communicated unto them that do believe.

It is with reference hereunto, that that great promise concerning him is given unto the church, Isa. viii. 14. ' He shall be for a sanctuary;' (namely, unto all that believe, as it is expounded, 1 Pet. ii. 8.) but for a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them that stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed.'

He is herein a sanctuary, an assured refuge unto all that betake themselves unto him. What is it that any man in distress, who flies thereunto, may look for in a sanctuary? A supply of all his wants, a deliverance from all his fears, a defence against all his dangers, is proposed unto him therein. Such is the Lord Christ herein unto sin-distressed souls; he is a refuge unto us in all spiritual distresses and disconsolations, Heb. vi. 18. See the exposition of the place. Are we, or any of us, burdened with a sense of sin? Are we perplexed with temptations? Are we bowed down under the oppression of any spiritual adversary? Do we on any of these accounts' walk in darkness and have no light?' One view of the glory of Christ herein is able to support us and relieve us.

Unto whom we betake ourselves for relief in any case, we have regard to nothing but their will and their power. If they have both, we are sure of relief. And what shall we fear in the will of Christ as unto this end? What will he not do for us? He who thus emptied and humbled himself, who so infinitely condescended from the prerogative of his glory in his being and self-sufficiency, in the susception of our nature for the discharge of the office of a mediator on our behalf; will he not relieve us in all our distresses? Will he not do all for us we stand in need of, that we may be eternally saved? Will he not be a sanctuary unto us?

Nor have we hereon any ground to fear his power; for by this infinite condescension to be a suffering man, he lost nothing of his power as God omnipotent; nothing of his infinite wisdom or glorious grace. He could still do, all that he could do as God from eternity. If there be any thing therefore in a coalescency of infinite power, with infinite condescension, to constitute a sanctuary for distressed sinners, it is all in Christ Jesus. And if we see him not glorious herein, it is because there is no light of faith in us.

This then is the rest wherewith we may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshment. Herein is he a hidingplace from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' Hereon he says, 'I have satiated the weary soul, and have refreshed every sorrowful soul.' Under this consideration it is, that in all evangelical promises and invitations for coming to him, he is proposed unto distressed sinners, as their only sanctuary.

Herein is he a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence unto the unbelieving and disobedient, who stumble at the word.' They cannot, they will not, see the glory of this condescension; they neither desire nor labour so to do; yea, they hate it and despise it. Christ in it is a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence' unto them. Wherefore they choose rather utterly to deny his divine person, than allow that he did thus abase himself for our sakes. Rather than they will own this glory, they will allow him no glory. A man they say he was, and no more, and this was his glory. This is that principle of darkness and unbelief, which works effectually at this day in the minds of many. They think

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