That which remains of our present inquiry, is concerning those
1. Man was made to serve God in all things. In his person--in his
For our recovery out of this state and condition, considering how we
The consideration of the divine grace and wisdom herein the apostle
This submission of the Son of God unto an estate of absolute and
This way did divine wisdom find out and contrive, whereby more glory
2. Adam was poor in himself, as a creature must be. What riches he
In this state infinite wisdom has provided for our relief, unto the
3. The sin of man consisted formally in disobedience; and it was the
The recompense, with respect unto the glory of God, for disobedience
Unto the glory of God in all these ends, the person of Christ, as an
4. God made man the lord of all things here below. He was, as it
5. Mankind was to be recovered unto faith and trust in God, as also
Sinners generally live in a neglect and contempt of God, in an enmity
All these discouragements are absolutely provided against in that way
(1.) Faith is not capable of greater encouragement or confirmation
This the Scripture proposeth as that which gives a just expectation
(2.) This treaty principally consists in a divans declaration, that
(3.) Whereas, if we will return unto God by faith, we are also to
(4.) The whole race of mankind falling into sin against God, and
6. Divine Wisdom, in the way of our recovery by Jesus Christ, God
But divine Wisdom thought meet to aggravate the reproach of this
Job 28 from verse 12 unto the end of the chapter, there is an inquiry
To cast an everlasting reproach of folly on this contrivance of the
What more evident conviction could there be of the folly of mankind
Wherefore, seeing God, in infinite grace and mercy, would recover us
To bear the shame of this folly, to be deeply sensible of it, and to
7. God, in infinite wisdom, has by this means secured the whole
godliness has the "promise of the life that now is, and of that which
(1.) It was too great a trust--even the whole inheritance of heaven
(2.) No mere creators could secure this inheritance that it should be
But all this infinite wisdom has provided for in the great "mystery
[1.] He who is thus made the "heir of all" is meet to be intrusted
[2.] Any failure in his own person was absolutely impossible. The
[3.] He is able to preserve all those who shall be heirs of this
8. The wisdom of God was gloriously exalted in the righteous
This work of God, with respect unto him, is expressed in the
For the power which Satan had over mankind was in itself unjust. For,
Hereon did Satan make an entrance into one of the principal parts of
9. Whereas there are three distinct persons in the holy Trinity, it
(1.) We had by sin lost the image of God, and thereby all gracious
(2.) We were by nature the sons of God. We stood in relation of sons
(3.) The sum of what we can comprehend in this great mystery ariseth
Wherefore, this work of our redemption and recovery being the
These are some few of those things wherein the infinite wisdom of God
Howbeit, we are with all diligence to inquire into it whilst we are
This is that which the prophets of old inquired into and after with
This the angels bow down to look into, although their concerns
Is it not much to be lamented that many Christians content themselves
Is it not much more to be lamented, that many who are called
[1.] It will bring in steadfastness in believing, as unto the
[2.] The acting of faith hereon is that which is accompanied with its
[3.] Abounding in this duty is the most effectual means of freeing
[4.] And hereby are we prepared for the enjoyment of glory above. No
And how can we better or otherwise be prepared for it, but by the
evidences of divine condecency, or suitableness unto infinite wisdom
and goodness, which we may gather from the nature of this work, and
its effects as expressed in divine revelation. Some few instances
hereof I shall choose out from amongst many that might be insisted on.
soul and body--in all his faculties, powers, and senses-- all that was
given unto him or intrusted with him--he was not his own, but every
way a servant, in all that he was in all that he had, in all that he
did or was to do. This he was made for--this state and condition was
necessary unto him as a creature. It could be no otherwise with any
that was so; it was so with the angels, who were greater in dignity
and power than man. The very name of creature includes the condition
of universal subjection and service unto the Creator. This condition,
in and by his sin, Adam designed to desert and to free himself from.
He would exalt himself out of the state of service and obedience
absolute and universal, into a condition of self-sufficiency--of
domination and rule. He would be as God, like unto God; that is,
subject no more to him, be in no more dependence on him--but advance
his own will above the will of God. And there is somewhat of this in
every sin;--the sinner would advance his own will in opposition unto
and above the will of God. But what was the event hereof? Man, by
endeavouring to free himself from absolute subjection and universal
service, to invade absolute dominion, fell into absolute and eternal
ruin.
cast ourselves into it, the way insisted on was found out by divine
wisdom--namely, the incarnation of the Son of God; for he was Lord of
all, had absolute dominion over all, owed no service, no obedience for
himself--being in the form of God, and equal unto him. From this state
of absolute dominion he descended into a condition of absolute
service. As Adam sinned and fell by leaving that state of
absolute service which was due unto him, proper unto his nature,
inseparable from it,--to attempt a state of absolute dominion which
was not his own, not due unto him, not consistent with his nature; so
the Son of God, being made the second Adam, relieved us by descending
from a state of absolute dominion, which was his own--due to his
nature--to take on him a state of absolute service, which was not his
own, nor due unto him. And this being inconsistent with his own divine
nature, he performed it by taking our nature on him--making it his
own. He descended as much beneath himself in his self-humiliation, as
Adam designed to ascend above himself in his pride and
self-exaltation.
proposeth unto us, Pail 2: 6-8, "Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 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."
Adam being in the form--that is, the state and condition--of a
servant, did by robbery attempt to take upon him the "form of God," or
to make himself equal unto him. The Lord Christ being in the "form of
God"--that is, his essential form, of the same nature with him--
accounted it no robbery to be in the state and condition of God, to be
"equal to him;" but being made in the "fashion of a man," taking on
him our nature, he also submitted unto the form or the state and
condition of a servant therein. He had dominion over all, owed service
and obedience unto none, being in the "form of God," and equal unto
him--the condition which Adam aspired unto; but he condescended unto a
state of absolute subjection and service for our recovery. This did no
more belong unto him on his own account, than it belonged unto Adam to
be like unto God, or equal to him. Wherefore it is said that he
humbled himself unto it, as Adam would have exalted himself unto a
state of dignity which was not his due.
universal service is declared by the apostle, Heb. 10:5. For those
words of the Psalmist, "Mine ears hast thou digged," or bored, Ps.
40:6, he renders, "A body hast thou prepared me." There is an allusion
in the words of the prophecy unto him under the law who gave up
himself in absolute and perpetual service; in sign whereof his ears
were bored with an awl. So the body of Christ was prepared for him,
that therein he might be in a state of absolute service unto God. So
he became to have nothing of his own--the original state that Adam
would have forsaken; no, not [even] his life--he was obedient unto the
death.
did arise unto the holiness and righteousness of God from his
condescension unto universal service and obedience who was over all,
God blessed for ever, than dishonour was cast upon them by the self-
exaltation of him who, being in all things a servant, designed to be
like unto God.
had in his hand or power, they were none of his own, they were only
trusted with him for especial service. In this state of poverty he
commits the robbery of attempting to be like unto God. Being poor, he
would make himself rich by the rapine of an equality with God. This
brought on him and us all, as it was meet it should, the loss of all
that we were trusted with. Hereby we lost the image of God--lost our
right unto the creatures here below--lost ourselves and our souls.
This was the issue of his attempt to be rich when he was poor.
glory of God. For the Lord Jesus Christ being rich in himself, for our
sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich, 2
Cor. 8: 9. He was rich in that riches which Adam designed by robbery;
for "he was in the form of God, and accounted it no robbery to be
equal with God." But he made himself poor for our sakes, with poverty
which Adam would have relinquished; yea, to that degree that "he had
not where to lay his head"--he had nothing. Hereby he made a
compensation for what he never made spoil of, or paid what he never
took. In this condescension of his, out of grace and love to mankind,
was God more glorified than he was dishonored in the sinful exaltation
of Adam out of pride and self-love.
disobedience of him who was every way and in all things obliged unto
obedience. For man--by all that he was, by all that he had received,
by all that he expected or was farther capable of, by the constitution
of his own nature, by the nature and authority of God, with his
relation thereunto--was indispensably obliged unto universal
obedience. His sin, therefore, was the disobedience of him who was
absolutely obliged unto obedience by the very constitution of his
being and necessary relation unto God. This was that which rendered it
so exceeding sinful, and the consequent of it eternally miserable; and
from this obligation his sin, in any one instance, was a total
renunciation of all obedience unto God.
must be by obedience, as has been before declared. and if there be not
a full obedience yielded unto the law of God in that nature that
sinned, man cannot be saved without an eternal violation of the glory
of God therein. But the disobedience of him who was every way obliged
unto obedience could not be compensated but by his obedience who was
no way obliged thereunto; and this could be only the obedience of him
that is God, (for all creatures are obliged to obedience for
themselves,) and it could be performed only by him who was man.
Wherefore, for the accomplishment of this obedience, he who, in his
own person as God, was above the law, was in his human nature, in his
own person as man, made under the law. Had he not been made under the
law, what he did could not have been obedience; and had he not been in
himself above the law, his obedience could not have been beneficial
unto us. The sin of Adam (and the same is in the nature of every sin)
consisted in this--that he who was naturally every way under the law,
and subject unto it, would be every way above the law, and no way
obliged by it. Wherefore it was taken away, unto the glory of God, by
his obedience, who being in himself above the law, no way subject unto
it, yet submitted, humbled himself, to be "made under the law," to be
every way obliged by it. See Gal. 3: 13, 4: 4. This is the subject of
the discourse of the apostle, Rom. 5, from verse 12 to the end of the
chapter.
effect of infinite wisdom, was meet and able to be a mediator and
undertaker between God and man. In the union of both our natures in
the same person he was so meet by his relation unto both;--unto God by
filiation, or Sonship; unto us by brotherhood, or nearness of kindred,
Heb. 2: 14. And he was able from the dignity of his person; for the
temporary sufferings of him who was eternal were a full compensation
for the eternal sufferings of them who were temporary.
were, the heir of God, as unto the inheritance of this world in
present, and as unto a blessed state in eternal glory. But he lost all
right and title hereunto by sin. He made forfeiture of the whole by
the law of tenure whereby he held it, and God took the forfeiture.
Wherefore he designs a new heir of all, and vests the whole
inheritance of heaven and earth in him, even in his Son. He appointed
him "the heir of all things," Heb. 1: 2. This translation of God's
inheritance the apostle declares, Heb. 2: 6-9; for the words which he
cites from Ps. 8: 4-6,--"What is man, that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and
honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet,"--do declare the original
condition of mankind in general. But man forfeited the dominion and
inheritance that he was intrusted withal; and God settleth it anew,
solely in the man Christ Jesus. So the apostle adds, "We see not yet
all things put under him;" but we see it all accomplished in Jesus,
verse 8. But as all other inheritances do descend with their, so did
this unto him with its burden. There was a great debt upon it--the
debt of sin. This he was to undergo, to make payment of, or
satisfaction for, or he could not rightly enter upon the inheritance.
This could no otherwise be done but by his suffering in our nature, as
has been declared. He who was the heir of all, was in himself to purge
our sins. Herein did the infinite wisdom of God manifest itself, in
that he conveyed the inheritance of all things unto him who was meet
and able so to enter upon it, so to enjoy and possess it, as that no
detriment or damage might arise unto the riches, the revenue, the
glory of God, from the waste made by the former possessor.
unto the love of him above all. All these things had utterly forsaken
our nature; and the reduction of them into it is a work of the
greatest difficulty. We had so provoked God, he had given such
evidences of his wrath and displeasure against us, and our minds
thereon were so alienated from him, as we stood in need of the
strongest motives and highest encouragements once to attempt to return
unto him, so as to place all our faith and trust in him, and all our
love upon him.
against him; but whenever they are convinced of a necessity to
endeavour a return unto him, the first thing they have to conflict
withal is fear. Beginning to understand who and what he is, as also
how things stand between him and them, they are afraid to have
anything to do with him, and judge it impossible that they should find
acceptance with him. This was the sense that Adam himself had upon his
sin, when he was afraid, and hid himself. And the sense of other
sinners is frequently expressed unto the same purpose in Scripture.
See Isa. 33:14; Micah 6: 6, 7.
of our recovery which infinite wisdom has found out. It were a thing
delightful to dwell on the securities given us therein, as unto our
acceptance, in all those principles, acts, and duties wherein the
renovation of the image of God does consist. I must contract my
meditations, and shall therefore instance in some few things only unto
that purpose.
than lieth in this one consideration--that what we are to believe unto
this end is delivered unto us by God himself in our nature. What could
confirm our faith and hope in God, what could encourage us to expect
acceptance with God, like this ineffable testimony of his goodwill
unto us? The nature of things is not capable of greater assurance,
seeing the divine nature is capable of no greater condescension.
that, against all fears and oppositions, we should close with divine
calls and invitations to return unto God: "Last of all he sent unto
them his son, saying, They will reverence my son," Matt. 21: 37,--they
will believe the message which I send by him. He has "spoken unto us
by his Son"--"the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person," Heb. 1: 1-3. The consideration hereof is sufficient to
dispel all that darkness and confusion which fear, dread, and guilt do
bring on the minds of men, when they are invited to return unto God.
That that God against whom we have sinned should speak unto us, and
treat with us, in our oven nature, about a return unto himself, is the
utmost that divine excellencies could condescend unto. And as this was
needful for us, (though proud men and senseless of sin understand it
not,) so, if it be refused, it will be attended with the sorest
destruction, Heb. 12: 25.
all the causes of fear and dread upon the account of sin are removed
and taken away. This is the substance of the Gospel, as it is declared
by the apostle, 2 Cor. 5: 18-21. Wherefore, if hereon we refuse to
return unto God--to make him the object of our faith, trust, love, and
delight--it is not by reason of any old or former sin, not of that of
our original apostasy from God, nor of the effects of it against the
law, [but] by the means of a new sin, outdoing them all in guilt and
contempt of God. Such is final unbelief against the proposal of the
gospel. It has more malignity in it than all other sins whatever. But
by this way of our recovery, all cause of fear and dread is taken away-
from their hatred of him and enmity unto him--the fruits whereof they
must feed on to eternity.
return unto him in love, what greater motive can there be unto it than
that infinite love of the Father and the Son unto us, which is
gloriously displayed in this way of our recovery? See 1 John 4: 9, 10
"Si amare pigebat, saltem redamare ne pigeat."
apostasy from him, there was no example left unto them to manifest how
excellent, how glorious and comely a thing it is, to live unto God, to
believe and trust in him--to cleave unto him unchangeably by love; for
they were utter stranger unto what is done by angels above, nor could
be affected with their example. But without a pattern of these things,
manifesting their excellency and reward, they could not earnestly
endeavour to attain unto them. This is given us most conspicuously in
the human nature of Christ. See Heb. 12: 2, 3. Hereby, therefore,
everything needful for our encouragement to return unto God is, in
infinite wisdom, provided for and proposed unto us.
manifest in the flesh, designed to glorify a state of obedience unto
God, and to cast the reproach of the most inexpressible folly on the
relinquishment of that state by sin. For, as God would recover and
restore us; so be would do it in a way of obedience on our part of
that obedience which we had forsaken. The design of man, which was
imposed on him by the craft of Satan, was to become wise like unto
God, knowing good and evil. The folly of this endeavour was quickly
discovered in its effects. Sense of nakedness, with shame, misery, and
death, immediately ensued thereon.
folly. He would let us see wherein the true knowledge of good and evil
did consist, and how foolishly we had aspired unto it by a
relinquishment of that state of obedience wherein we were created.
after wisdom, and the place of its habitation. All creatures give an
account that it is not in them, that it is hid from theme only they
have heard the fame thereof. All the context is to evince that it is
essentially and originally only in God himself. But if we cannot
comprehend it in itself, yet may we not know what is wisdom unto us,
and what is required thereunto? Yes, saith he; for "unto man he said,
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil
is understanding," verse 28. Man, on the other hand, by the suggestion
of Satan, thought, and now of himself continues to think, otherwise;
namely, that the way to be wise is to relinquish these things. The
world will not be persuaded that "the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and
to depart from evil is understanding;" yea, there is nothing that the
most of men do more despise and scorn, than thoughts that true wisdom
does consist in faith, love, fear, and obedience unto God. See Ps. 14:
6. Whatever else may be pleaded to be in it, yet sure enough they are
that those who count it wisdom are but fools
devil and man, and uncontrollably to evince wherein alone true wisdom
does consist, God would glorify a state of obedience. He would render
it incomparably more amiable, desirable, and excellent, than ever it
could have appeared to have been in the obedience of all the angels in
heaven and men on earth, had they continued therein. This he did in
this way of our recovery,--in that his own eternal Son entered into a
state of obedience, and took upon him the "form" or condition "of a
servant" unto God.
in hearkening unto the suggestion of Satan to seek after wisdom in
another condition? How could that great maxim, which is laid down in
opposition unto all vain thoughts of man, be more eminently
exemplified--that "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart
from evil, that is understanding?" What greater evidence could be
given, that the nature of man is not capable of a better condition
than that of service and universal obedience unto God? How could any
state be represented more amiable, desirable, and blessed? In the
obedience of Christ, of the Son of God in our nature, apostate sinners
are upbraided with their folly in relinquishing that state which, by
his susception of it, is rendered so glorious. What have we attained
by leaving that condition which the eternal Son of God delighted in?
"I delight," saith he, "to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is in
the midst of my bowels," Ps. 40:8--margin. It is the highest
demonstration that our nature is not capable of more order, more
beauty, more glory, than consists in obedience unto God. And that
state which we fell into upon our forsaking of it, we now know to be
all darkness, confusion, and misery.
unto himself; and, in his righteousness and holiness, would do this in
a way of obedience,--of that obedience which we had forsaken; it has
an eminent impression of divine wisdom upon it, that in this mystery
of God manifest in the flesh, the only means of our recovery, he would
cast the reproach of the most inexpressible folly on our apostasy from
a state of it, and render it amiable and desirable unto all who are to
return unto him.
live in a constant prospect and view of the glory of obedience in the
person of Christ, with a sedulous endeavour for conformity thereunto,
is the highest attainment of our wisdom in this world;--and whosoever
is otherwise minded, is so at his own utmost peril.
inheritance of this life and that which is to come from a second
forfeiture. Whatever God will bestow on the children of men, he grants
it unto them in the way of an inheritance. So the land of Canaan,
chosen out for a representative of spiritual and eternal things, was
granted unto Abraham and his seed for an inheritance. And his interest
in the promise is expressed by being "heir of the world." All the
things of this life, that are really good and useful unto us, do
belong unto this inheritance. So they did when it was vested in Adam.
All things of grace and glory do so also. And the whole of the
privilege of believers is, that they are heirs of salvation. Hence
is to come," l Tim. 4: 8. And the promise is only of the inheritance.
This inheritance, as was before intimated, was lost in Adam, and
forfeited into the hand of the great Lord, the great possessor of
heaven and earth. In his sovereign grace and goodness he was pleased
again to restore it--as unto all the benefits of it--unto the former
tenants; and that with an addition of grace, and a more exceeding
weight of glory. But withal, infinite wisdom provides that a second
forfeiture shall not be made of it. Wherefore the grant of it is not
made immediately unto any of those for whose use and benefit it is
prepared and granted. They had been once tried, and failed in their
trust, unto their own eternal beggary and ruin, had not infinite grace
interposed for their relief. And it did not become the wisdom and
glory of God to make a second grant of it, which might be frustrate in
like manner. Wherefore he would not commit it again unto any mere
creature whatever; nor would it safely have been so done with security
unto his glory. For--
and earth, all the riches of grace and glory--to be committed unto any
one of them. God would not give this glory unto any one creature. If
it be said it was first committed unto Adam, and therefore to have it
again is not an honour above the capacity of a creature; I say that
the nature of the inheritance is greatly changed. The whole of what
was intrusted with Adam comes exceedingly short of what God has nor
prepared as the inheritance of the church. There is grace in it, and
glory added unto it, which Adam neither had nor could have right unto.
It is now of that nature, as could neither be intrusted with, nor
communicated by, any mere crew Besides, he that has it is the object
of the faith and trust of the church; nor can any be interested in any
part of this inheritance without the exercise of those and all other
graces on him whose the inheritance is. And so to be the object of our
faith, is the prerogative of the divine nature alone.
lost no more; and yet if it were so, it would be highly derogatory
unto the glory of God. For two things were required hereunto,--First,
That he in whom this trust is vested should be in himself incapable of
any such failure, as through which, by the immutable, eternal law of
obedience unto God, a forfeiture of it should be made;--Secondly, That
he undertake for them all who shall be heirs of salvation, who shall
enjoy this inheritance, that none of them should lose or forfeit their
own personal interest in it, or the terms whereon it is conveyed and
communicated unto them. But no mere creature was sufficient unto these
ends; for no one of them, in and by him in the constitution of his
nature, is absolutely free from falling from God, himself They may
receive--the angels in heaven and the glorified saints have received--
such a confirmation, in and by grace, as that they shall never
actually apostatise or fall from God; but this they have not from
themselves, nor the principles of their own nature,--which is
necessary unto him that shall receive this trust. For so when it was
first vested in Adam, he was left to preserve it by the innate
concreated abilities of his own nature. And as unto the latter, all
the angels in heaven cannot undertake to secure the obedience of any
one man, so as that the conveyance of the inheritance may be sure unto
him. Wherefore, with respect hereunto, those angels themselves though
the most holy and glorious of all the creatures of God, have no
greater trust or interest than to be "ministering spirits, sent forth
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. 1: 14. So
unmet are they to have the whole inheritance vested in any of them.
of godliness God manifest in the flesh." God herein makes his only Son
the best of all things, and vests the whole inheritance absolutely in
him. For the promise, which is the court-roll of heaven--the only
external mean and record of its conveyance--was originally made unto
Christ only. God said not, "And to seeds as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ," Gal 3: 16. And we become again
heirs of God only as we are joint heirs with Christ, Rom. 8: 17; that
is by being taken into a participation of that inheritance which is
vested in him alone. For many may be partakers of the benefit of that
whose right and title is in one alone, when it is conveyed unto him
for their use. And hereby the ends before mentioned are fully provided
for. For--
with the glory of it. For where this grant is solemnly expressed, it
is declared that he is the "brightness of the Father's glory, and the
express image of his person," Heb. 1: 2, 3; and that by him the worlds
were made. He alone was meet to be this heir who is partaker of the
divine nature, and by whom all things were created; for such things
belong unto it as cannot appertain unto any other. The reader may
consult, if he please, our exposition of that place of the apostle.
subsistence of the human nature in the person of the Son of God,
rendered the least sin utterly impossible unto him; for all the moral
operations of that nature are the acts of the person of the Son of
God. And hereby not only is the inheritance secured but also an
assurance that it is so is given unto all them that do believe. This
is the life and soul of all Gospel comforts, that the whole
inheritance of grace and glory is vested in Christ, where it can never
suffer loss or damage. When we are sensible of the want of grace,
should we go unto God, and say, "Father, give us the portion of goods
that falls unto us," as the prodigal did, we should quickly consume
it, and bring ourselves unto the utmost misery, as he did also. But in
Christ the whole inheritance is secured for evermore.
inheritance, that they forfeit not their own personal interest
therein, according unto the terms of the covenant whereby it is made
over to them. He can and will, by the power of his grace, preserve
them all unto the full enjoyment of the purchased inheritance. We hold
our title by the rod at the will of the Lord; and many failures we are
liable unto, whereon we are "in misericordia Domini," and are subject
unto amercements/ But yet the whole inheritance being granted unto
Christ is eternally secured for us, and we are by his grace preserved
from such offences against the supreme Lord, or committing any such
wastes, as should cast us out of our possession. See Ps. 89: 27-32.
Thus in all things infinite wisdom has provided that no second
forfeiture should be made of the inheritance of grace and glory, which
as it would have been eternally ruinous unto mankind, so it was
inconsistent with the glory and honour of God.
destruction of Satan and his interest, by the incarnation and
mediation of the Son of God. He had prevailed against the first way of
the manifestation of divine glory; and therein both pleased and prided
himself. Nothing could ever give such satisfaction unto the malicious
murderer, as the breach he had occasioned between God and man, with
his hopes and apprehensions that it would be eternal He had no other
thoughts but that the whole race of mankind, which God had designed
unto the enjoyment of himself, should be everlastingly ruined. So he
had satisfied his envy against man in his eternal destruction with
himself, and his malice against God in depriving him of his glory.
Hereon, upon the distance that he had made between God and man, he
interposed himself, and boasted himself for a long season as "The god
of this world," who had all power over it and in it. It belonged unto
the honour of the wisdom of God that he should be defeated in this
triumph. Neither was it meet that this should be done by a mere act of
sovereign omnipotent power; for he would yet glory in his craft and
the success of it,--that there was no way to disappoint him, but by
crushing him with power, without respect unto righteousness or
demonstration of wisdom. Wherefore, it must be done in such a way as
wherein he might see, unto his eternal shame and confusion, all his
arts and subtleties defeated by infinite wisdom, and his enterprise
overthrown in a way of right and equity. The remark that the Holy
Ghost puts on the serpent, which was his instrument in drawing man
unto apostasy from God--namely, that he was "more sure than any beast
of the field"--is only to intimate wherein Satan designed his attempt,
and from whence he hoped for his success. It was not an act of power
or rage; but of craft, counsel, subtlety, and deceit. Herein he
gloried and prided himself; wherefore the way to disappoint him with
shame, must be a contrivance of infinite wisdom, turning all his
artifices into mere folly.
Scripture two ways:--First, it is called the spoiling of him, as unto
his power and the prey that he had taken. The "strong man armed" was
to be bound, and his goods spoiled. The Lord Christ, by his death,
"destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." He
"led captivity captive," spoiling principalities and powers,
triumphing over them in his cross. So Abraham, when he smote the
kings, not only delivered Lot, who was their captive, but also took
all their spoils. Again, it is expressed by the destruction of his
works: "For this cause was the Son of God manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil." The spoils which he had in his own
power were taken from him, and the works which he had erected in the
minds of men were demolished. The web which he had woven to clothe
himself withal, as the god of this world, was unravelled to the last
thread. And although all this seems to represent a work of power, yet
was it indeed an effect of wisdom and righteousness principally.
(1.) He obtained it by fraud and deceit: "The serpent beguiled"
Eve. (2.) He possessed it with injustice, with respect unto God, being
an invader of his right and possession. (3.) He used and exercised it
with malice, tyranny, and rage;--so as that it was every way unjust,
both in its foundation and execution. With respect hereunto he was
justly destroyed by omnipotent power, which puts forth itself in his
eternal punishment. But, on the other side, mankind did suffer justly
under his power--being given up unto it in the righteous judgment of
God. For one may suffer justly what another does unjustly inflict; as
when one causelessly strikes an innocent man, if he strikes him again,
he who did the first injury suffereth justly, but the other does
unjustly in revenging himself. Wherefore, as man was given up unto him
in a way of punishment, he was a lawful captive, and was not to be
delivered but in a way of justice. And this was done in a way that
Satan never thought of. For, by the obedience and sufferings of the
Son of God incarnate, there was full satisfaction made unto the
justice of God for the sins of man, a reparation of his glory, and an
exaltation of the honour of his holiness, with all the other
properties of his nature, as also of his law, outbalancing all the
diminution of it by the first apostasy of mankind; as has been
declared. Immediately hereon all the charms of Satan were dissolved,
all his chains loosed, his darkness that he had brought on the
creation dispelled, his whole plot and design defeated;--whereon he
saw himself, and was exposed unto all the holy angels of heaven, in
all the counsels, craft, and power he had boasted of, to be nothing
but a congeries--a mass of darkness, malice, folly, impotency, and
rage.
his eternal torments, in that furious self-maceration which he is
given up unto on the consideration of his defeat and disappointment.
Absolute power he always feared, and what it would produce; for he
believes that, and trembles. But against any other war he thought he
had secured himself. It lies plain to every understanding, what shame,
confusion, and self-revenge, the proud apostate was cast into, upon
his holy, righteous disappointment of his design; whereas he had
always promised himself to carry his cause, or at least to put God to
act in the destruction of his dominion, by mere omnipotent power,
without regard unto any other properties of his nature To find that
which he contrived for the destruction of the glory of God--the
disappointment of his ends in the creation of all things--and the
eternal ruin of mankind, to issue in a more glorious exaltation of the
holy properties of the divine nature, and an unspeakable augmentation
of blessedness unto mankind itself, is the highest aggravation of his
eternal torments. This was a work every way becoming the infinite
wisdom of God.
became the wisdom of God that the Son, the second person, should
undertake this work, and be incarnate. I shall but sparingly touch on
this glorious mystery; for as unto the reason of it, it is absolutely
resolved into the infinite wisdom and sovereign counsel of the divine
will. And all such things are the objects of a holy admiration--not
curiously to be inquired into. To intrude ourselves into the things
which we have not seen--that is, which are not revealed--in those
concernments of them which are not revealed, is not unto the advantage
of faith in our edification. But as unto what is declared of them--
either immediately and directly, or by their relation unto other known
truths--we may meditate on them unto the improvement of faith and love
towards God. And some things are thus evident unto us in this mystery.
acceptance with him,--all interest in his love and favor. In our
recovery, as we have declared, this image is again to be restored unto
us, or we are to be renewed into the likeness of God. And there was a
condecency unto divine wisdom, that this work should, in a peculiar
manner, be effected by him who is the essential image of God--that is,
the Father. This, as we have formerly showed, was the person of the
Son. Receiving his personal subsistence, and therewithal the divine
nature, with all its essential properties, from the Father by eternal
generation, he was thereon the express image of his person, and the
brightness of his glory. Whatever is in the person of the Father is in
the person of the Son, and being all received from the Father, he is
his essential image. And one end of his incubation was, that he might
be the representative image of God unto us. Whereas, therefore, in the
work of our recovery, the image of God should be restored in us, there
was a condecency that it should be done by him who was the essential
image of God; for it consists in the communication of the effects and
likeness of the same image unto us which was essentially in himself
unto him by virtue of our creation--the communication of his image and
likeness--with the preparation of an inheritance for us. On the same
accounts the angels are frequently called the sons of God. This title,
this relation unto God, we utterly lost by sin, becoming aliens from
him, and enemies unto him. Without a recovery into this estate we
cannot be restored, nor brought unto the enjoyment of God. And this
cannot be done but by adoption. Now, it seems convenient unto divine
wisdom that he should recover our sonship by adoption, who was himself
the essential and eternal Son of God.
from the consideration of the order of the holy persons of the blessed
Trinity in their operations; for their order herein does follow that
of their subsistence. Unto this great work there are peculiarly
required, authority, love, and power--all directed by infinite wisdom.
These originally reside in the person of the Father, and the acting of
them in this matter is constantly ascribed unto him. He sent the Son,
as he gives the Spirit, by an act of sovereign authority. And he sent
the Son from his eternal love;--he loved the world, and sent his Son
to die. This is constantly assigned to be the effect of the love and
grace of the Father. And he wrought in Christ, and he works in us,
with respect unto the end of this mystery, with the "exceeding
greatness of his power," Eph. 1: 19. The Son, who is the second person
in the order of subsistence, in the order of operation puts the whole
authority, love, and power of the Father in execution. This order of
subsistence and operation thereon is expressly declared by the
apostle, 1 Cor. 8: 6, "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom
are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are
all things, and we by him." The Father is the original fountain and
spring,; "ex hou", from whom--[from] whose original authority, love,
goodness, and power--are all these things. That expression, "from
him," peculiarly denotes the eternal original of all things. But how
are this authority, goodness, love, and power in the Father, whence
all these things spring and arise, made effectual--how are their
effects wrought out and accomplished? "There is one Lord," even Jesus
Christ, a distinct person from the Father, "di hou", "by whom are all
things." He works in the order of his subsistence, to execute, work,
and accomplish all that originally proceedeth from the Father. By the
Holy Spirit, who is the third person in order of subsistence, there is
made a perfecting application of the whole unto all its proper ends
especial effect of the authority, love, and power of the Father--it
was to be executed in and by the person of the Son; as the application
of it unto us is made by the Holy Ghost. Hence it became not the
person of the Father to assume our nature;--it belonged not thereunto
in the order of subsistence and operation in the blessed Trinity. The
authority, love, and power whence the whole work proceeded, were his
in a peculiar manner. But the execution of what infinite wisdom
designed in them and by them belonged unto another. Nor did this
belong unto the person of the Holy Spirit, who, in order of divine
operation following that of his subsistence, was to perfect the whole
work, in making application of it unto the church when it was wrought.
Wherefore it was every way suited unto divine wisdom--unto the order
of the Holy Persons in their subsistence and operation--that this work
should be undertaken and accomplished in the person of the Son. What
is farther must be referred unto another world.
in this holy contrivance giveth forth some rays of itself into
enlightened minds and truly humbled souls. But how little a portion of
it is heard by us! How weak, how low are our conceptions about it! We
cannot herein find out the Almighty unto perfection. No small part of
the glory of heaven will consist in that comprehension which we shall
have of the mystery of the wisdom, love, and grace of God herein.
here in the way. It is the very centre of all glorious evangelical
truths. Not one of them can be understood, believed, or improved as
they ought, without a due comprehension of their relation hereunto; as
we have showed before.
all diligence, even the mystery of God manifest in the flesh, with the
glory that ensued thereon, 1 Pet. 1: 11. Yet had they not that light
to discern it by which we have. The "least in the kingdom of God," as
to the knowledge of this mystery, may be above the greatest of them.
And ought we not to fear lest our sloth under the beams of the sun
should be condemned by their diligence in the twilight?
therein are not equal to ours. But angels are angels, and prophets
were prophets; we are a generation of poor, sinful men, who are
little concerned in the glory of God or our own duty.
with a very superficiary knowledge of these things? How are the
studies, the abilities, the time, and diligence of many excellent
persons engaged in, and laid out about, the works of nature, and the
effects of divine wisdom and power in them, by whom any endeavor to
inquire into this glorious mystery is neglected, if not despised!
Alas! The light of divine wisdom in the greatest works of nature holds
not the proportion of the meanest star unto the sun in its full
strength, unto that glory of it which shines in this mystery of God
manifest in the flesh, and the work accomplished thereby! A little
time shall put an end unto the whole subject of their inquiries, with
all the concernment of God and man in them for evermore. This alone is
that which fills up eternity, and which, although it be now with some
a nothing, yet will shortly be all.
Christians do even despise these mysteries? Some oppose them directly
with pernicious heresies about the person of Christ, denying his
divine nature, or the personal union of his two natures whereby the
whole mystery of infinite wisdom is evacuated and rejected; and some
there are who, though they do not deny the truth of this mystery, yet
they both despise and reproach such as with any diligence endeavor to
inquire into it. I shall add the words used on a like occasion, unto
them who sincerely believe the mysteries of the Gospel: "But ye,
beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." And the due
contemplation of this mystery will certainly be attended with many
spiritual advantages.
especial concerns of our own souls; so as to give unto God the glory
that is his due thereon. This is the work, these are the ends, of
faith, Rom. 5: 1-5. We see how many Christians who are sincere
believers, yet fluctuate in their minds with great uncertainties as
unto their own state and condition. The principal reason of it is,
because they are "unskillful in the word of righteousness," and so are
babes, in a weak condition, as the apostle speaks, Heb. 5: 13. This is
the way of spiritual peace. When the soul of a believer is able to
take a view of the glory of the wisdom of God, exalting all the other
holy properties of his nature, in this great mystery unto our
salvation, it will obviate all fears, remove all objections, and be a
means of bringing in assured peace into the mind; which without a due
comprehension of it will never be attained.
great power to change and transform the soul into the image and
likeness of Chris. So is it expressed by the apostle, 2 Cor. 3: 18,
"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord"--we all beholding--"katoptizomenoi", not taking a
transient glance of these things, but diligently inspecting them, as
those do who, through a glass, design a steady view of things at a
distance. That which we are thus to behold by the continued actings of
faith in holy contemplation, is the "glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ," as it is expressed, chap. 4: 6; which is nothing but that
mystery of godliness in whose explanation we have been engaged. And
what is the effect of the steady contemplation of this mystery by
faith? "Metamorfoumetha"--"we are changed"--made quite other creatures
than we were--cast into the form, figure, and image of Jesus Christ
the great design of all believers in this world. Would we, then, be
like unto Christ? Would we bear the image of the heavenly, as we have
borne the image of the earthy? Is nothing so detestable unto us as the
deformed image of the old man, in the lusts of the mind and of the
flesh? Is nothing so amiable and desirable as the image of Christ, and
the representation of God in him? This is the way, this is the means
of attaining the end which we aim at.
us, in particular, from the shame and bane of profession in
earthlyminded. There is nothing so unbecoming a Christian as to have
his mind always exercised about, always filled with thoughts of,
earthly things and according as men's thoughts are exercised about
them, their affections are increased and inflamed towards them. These
things mutually promote one another, and there is a kind of
circulation in them. Multiplied thoughts inflame affections, and
inflamed affections increase the number of thoughts concerning them.
Nothing is more repugnant unto the whole life of faith, nothing more
obstructive unto the exercise of all grace, than a prevalence of this
frame of mind. And at this season, in an especial manner, it is
visibly preying on the vitals of religion. To abound in the
contemplation of this mystery, and in the exercise of faith about it,
as it is diametrically opposed unto this frame, so it will gradually
cast it out of the soul. And without this we shall labour in the fire
for deliverance from this pernicious evil.
small part of that glory consists in the eternal contemplation and
adoration of the wisdom, goodness, love, and power of God in this
mystery, and the effects of it; as shall afterward be declared.
implanting a sense of it on our minds by sedulous contemplation whilst
we are in this world? God will not take us into heaven, into the
vision and possession of heavenly glory, with our heads and hearts
reeking with the thoughts and affections of earthly things. He has
appointed means to make us "meet for the inheritance of the saints in
light," before he will bring us into the enjoyment of it. And this is
the principal way whereby he doth it; for hereby it is that we are
"changed" into the image of Christ, "from glory to glory," and make
the nearest approaches unto the eternal fullness of it.