hath many ways manifested his hatred of fin. It ap- Chap. 3. pears in the Threatning, in which he speaks, as it were, out of the fire, and breathes out a Death and a Curse against it. It further appears, when the Threatning comes forth in actual Judgments, in which God falls upon his own creature, the work of his own hands. It more appears, when Wrath comes down, not upon this or that finner, but upon multitudes; and not upon the offending perfons only, but upon their Infant-relations; upon their fellowcreatures, upon the very places where they acted their iniquities. Adam finned, and Wrath fell upon the whole Race of mankind: nay, and a Blast and a Curfe fell upon the Creation; fuch as makes it groan and travel in pain with an univerfal Vanity. The old World was drowned in fenfualities, and a Deluge fweeps away them and their fellowcreatures. The Sodomites burned in their unnatural lufts, and fire and brimftone was rained down upon them. Korah, Dathan and Abiram turned Rebels, and the Earth opened her mouth and swallowed up them, and all that appertained to them. These are notable Tokens of difpleasure, but a greater is yet behind. The Eternal Son of God cannot affume our flesh, and stand as a Sponfor for us, but he must bear an infinite Wrath, fuch as was due to the fin of a World. Though he were the Wisdom of God, he must be fore amazed, and ready to faint away in a fit of horror; Though the Fathers joy, he must be euro, furrounded with forrows even unto death. He bore up all things, yet now under the burden of Wrath he must fall and grovel upon the ground: He must F

pour out

tears

Chap. 3.

tears and strong cryes to God, that the bitter Cup may pals; He must be in an Agony, a dismal con flict with the Wrath of God, and fweat great drops and clotters of blood under the preflure of it. The bleffed and beloved One of God he was, yet he must be made a Curfe, and upon a tormenting Cross cry out, My God! My God! why haft thon for faken me? The Sun muft now withdraw his light, and the Earth quake in sympathy with their Creator. Oh! What a fpectacle of difpleasure was here!" What is a Deluge, or the groans of a diffolving World in comparison? There meer creatures fuffer, but here God in the flesh. The Marks of di→ vine Wrath were now fet upon that humane Nature, which, as affumed into an infinite Perfon, is far above all the Creation. Never was there fo high a demonstration of Gods infinite hatred and antipathy against fin, as there is here. No created Un- derftanding of Men or Angels could ever have found out fuch a wonderful Manifestation as this is. Infinite Wisdom did it, to make fin look like it felf, infinitely odious.

Moreover, As it is the nature of Hatred to be a Murderer, to feek the not-being of the thing hated; fo it was the great Defign of this Mysterie to extirpate fin out of the hearts of men. For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil, 1 John 3. 8. There are three things in fin: the guilt, the pow er, and the being. The aim of a crucified Chrift was to extirpate them all: Chrift was made Sin and a Curfe for us. He did by his fweet-fmelling Sacrifice fully satisfie the Law and Justice of God:

And

And why did he do it, but that the bonds of guilt Chap. 3. might be broken off from us? The ftrength of fin, in binding us over to Death and Hell, is the Law; and the Law, in its threatning of a Curfe and Condemnation, is the voice of vindictive Justice: thefe two being fully fatisfied in Chrift, the guilt of fin becomes powerless, and unable to hold fuch finners, as by Faith and Repentance partake in that Satisfaction. There was in Chrifts Sufferings, not only a fulness of Satisfaction, but a redundance of Merit: Thereby he procured the Holy Spirit for us; and why fo, but that the power of fin might be dif folved in us? Our own fpirit of it felf could not, would not do this; but the divine Spirit, which Chrift hath procured, doth in true Believers effect it. Sin is no longer a prevailing-Law in the heart; the Holy Spirit takes away its dominion, that the Throne of Chrift may be fet there. It is true, as Saint Bernard faith, Velis, nolis, infra fines tuos habitat Jebufæus, Sin hath a being in Believers; but even that doth the holy Spirit in the Article of Death remove from them, that their Souls may fly away into that pure Region, where are the fpirits of juft men made perfect. Thus God manifefts his hatred of fin, in that he laid in the Sufferings of Chrift a design for the extirpation of it.

4. Gods Holiness, as it imports a love of holinefs in man, is here, clearly feen, in that, when it was loft, he did fo much for the recovery of it. Holiness, that divine Life (being by the Fall beaten out of the heart of man) ftood without in the letter of the Law; but that it might be recovered into the heart of man again, that his heart might

Chap. 3.

be made a Sanctuary, an holy Place for the divine
Majesty to dwell and take pleasure in, God hath
done very much, and been at a vast expence about
it. He hath not only wished for Holiness; O that
there were fuch an heart in them! Deut. 5. 29; but
he hath fent his own Son into the flesh to be a rare
Pattern and Samplar of it; nay, and to bleed and
die upon a Crofs, that it might be revived in poor
fallen man. It could not be revived there without
the holy Spirit, and that could never have been
had, unless Juftice were fatisfied; and Satisfaction
could not be made without a Sacrifice of infinite
value. Chrift therefore was made fuch an One,
that the holy Spirit might come and re-imprint Ho-
linefs in man again. God died in the flesh, that
man might live in the Spirit. One great end of
Chrifts fufferings, was Holiness; He gave himself for
us, that he might purifie to himself a peculiar people,
Tit. 2. 14; that he might have a glorious Church, not
having Spot or wrinkle, Ephef. 5. 27. Rather than
lofe Holiness, which is the Glory, He would humble
himself to the fhame of a Crofs; rather than we
fhould not be fanctified, or confecrated to God in
Holiness, he would fanctifie and confecrate himself
to be a facrifice to Juftice. Oh! What a rate or
value doth God fet upon Holiness in man! How
highly must he delight and take pleasure
in it,
when he will come in the flesh and die, rather
than fuffer it to be extinct in the World? a greater
demonstration of Love to it than this cannot poff-
bly be imagined.

Further, Gods love to Holiness appears in this that he orders things fo, that no man can partake

of

of Jefus Chrift, unless he fubject himself to the holy Chap. 3. terms of the Gofpel: he that names the Name of Chrift, must depart from iniquity. What if Christ be a moft glorious Saviour and Redeemer? What though he fulfilled Righteousness and made Satisfaction? What though he opened a way into the Holy of Holies, into the Glory and Immortality there? Notwithstanding all this, without Repenting there is nothing but perishing; without Holiness there is no feeing of God. A life after the flesh must end in death. The divine Justice and Law, which was fully fatisfied in Chrift, will feize upon rebellious finners, and ask a fecond Satisfaction, as if there had been none before: the divine hatred of fin, which was fo fignally evident in the fufferings of Chrift, will appear again in their utter ruin and deftruction. Things are fo knit together, that Holiness must be neceflary to make us happy. Chrift is a Saviour and a Lord too; where he faves from Hell, there he rules in the pure ways towards Heaven. His blood and Spirit are ever in Conjunction: if the one deliver from Guilt and Wrath, the other fubdues fin, and implants Holiness. Promises and Precepts, which are intermixed in the Word, must be both taken toge ther into the heart; where the latter hath not obedience, the former can minifter no comfort. True Faith receives an entire Chrift; as it refts upon his Merits and Righteousness, so it fubjects to his Spirit and Word in all things. That hope of Heaven, which purifies not, is indeed a Prefumption and not an Hope; a Cobweb hanging in a vain heartTM, and not an Anchor fure and ftedfaft, entring into that within the Vail. God out of love to Holines

hath.