vering that was upon the condemned man? Chrift has de ed it, Ifa. xxv. 7. Where is death, that stood befor finner with a grim face, and an open mouth, ready vour him? Chrift has fwallowed it up in victory, ve Glory, glory, glory to him that thus loved us, and w us from our fins in his own blood!

The fecond benefit flowing from the fame fpring of with Chrift, and coming by the way of juftification, is A peace wi h God, and peace of confcience according mealure of the fenfe the juftified have of their peace God, Rom. v. 1. Therefore being juftified by faith, wo peace with God Chap xiv 27. For the kingdom of not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and the Holy Ghoft. Whereas God was their enemy ᄇ now he is reconciled to them in Chrift; they are in a nant of peace with him; and as Abraham was fo the the friends of God. He is well pleafed with them beloved Son. His word, which spoke terror to them form now speaks peace, if they rightly take up its language. there is love in all his difpenfations towards them, makes all work together for their good. Their confci are purged of that guilt and filthinefs that fometime lay them his confcience purifying blood ftreams through fouls, by virtue of their union with him, Heb. ix. 14. much more fhall the blood of Chrift-purge your conf from dead works, to ferve the living God? The bond on their confciences, by the Spirit of God, actings as the of bondage, are taken off, never more to be laid on by hand. Rom. vii. 15. For ye have not received the Spil bondage again to fear. Hereby the confcience is quiet foon as the foul becomes confcious of the application o blood; which falls out fooner or latter, according t measure of faith, and as the only wile God fees meet to it. Unbelievers may have troubled confciences, which may get quieted again: but alas! their confciences be peaceable, ere they become pure; fo their peace is bu feed of greater horror and confufion. Larelessness may safe for a while, to a fick confcience; men neglectin wounds, they close again of their own accord, befor filthy matter is purged out. Many bury their guilt i

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length the man forgets his fin, and there is an end of it: but that is only an ease before death. Business, or the affairs of life, often give ease in this cafe. When Cain is banifhed from the prefence of the Lord, he falls a building of cities. When the evil foirit came upon Saul, he calls not for his Bible, nor for the priests to converse with him about his cafe; but for mufic, to play it away. So many, when their confciences begin to be uneafy, they fill their heads and han is with business, to divert themselves, and to regain cafe at any rate. Yea, fome will fin over the belly of their convictions, and fo fome get eafe to their confciences, as Hazael gave to his matter, by fiffling him Again the performing of duties may give fome eafe to a difquieted confcience; and this is all that legal profeflors bave recourse to for quieting of their confciences. When confcience is wounded; they will pray, confefs mourn, and refolve to do fo no more and fo they become whole again, without any applica tion of the blood of Chrift, by faith. But they, whole confciences are rightly quieted: come for peace and purging to the blood of fprinkling. Sin is a fweet morfel, that makes God's elect fick fouls ere they get it vomited up. It leaves a fting behind it, which fome one time or other, will create them no little pain.

Elibu fhews us both the cafe and cure, Job xxxiii. Be hold the cafe one may be in whom God has thoughts of love to. He darteth convictions into his confcience; and makes them flick fo faft, that he cannot rid himself of them, yer 16. He openeth the ears of men, and leateth their inAruction. his very body, fickens, ver. 19. He is chaftened allo with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with frang pain. He lofeth his ftomach, ver 20. His life abhorreth bread, and his foul dainty meat. His body pines away, fo that there is nothing on him but skin and bone, v. 21. His fef is confumed away, that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not feen, flick out. Tho' he is not prepared for death, he has no hopes of lite, ver 22. His foul draweth near unto the grave and, (which is the height of his mifery) his life to the deftroyers; he is looking every moment when devils, thefe deft oyers, Rom ix. 11. these murderers, or man Дyers, John viii. 44, will come and carry away his foul to hell. O dreadful cafe! yet there is hope. God defigne

defigns to keep back his foul from the pit, ver. 18. altho' he bring him forward to the brink of it. Now, fee how the

fick man is cured. The phyfician's art cannot prevail here: The disease lies more inward, than that his medicines can reach it. It is foul trouble that has brought the body into this disorder, and therefore the remedies must be applied to the fick man's foul and confcience. The phyfician for this cafe must be a spiritual phyfician: the remedies must be spiritual, a righteousness, a ransom or atonement. Upon the appli cation of thefe, the foul is cured, the confcience is quieted, and the body recovers, ver. 23, 24, 25, 26. 'If there be a ⚫meffenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to fhew unto man his uprightness: then he is gracious unto him, and faith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ranfom. His fleth fhall be frefher than a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth. He fhall pray unto God, and he fhall be favourable unto him, and he fhall fee his face with joy.' The proper phyfician for this patient, is a meffinger, an interpreter, ver. 23 that is, as fome expofitors, nor without ground, understand it, the great Phyfician Jefus Chrift, whom Job had called his Redeemer, chap. xix. 25. He is a messenger, the messenger of the co venant of peace.' Mal. iii. 1. who comes feasonably to the fick man. He is an Interpreter, the great interpreter of God's counfels of love to finners, John i. 28, One among ' a thousand,' even the chief among ten thousand,' Gant, v. 10. One chofen out of the people,' Pfal. Ixxxix 29. One to whom the Lord hath given the tongue of the learned,to fpeak a word in season to him that is weary, Ifa. 1.4.5.0. It is he that is with him, by his Spirit, now, to convince him of righteoffs,' John xvi. 8. as he was with him before, to ⚫ convince him of fin and judgment.' His work now is to fhew unto him his uprightness, or his righteoufnefs, i. e. the interpreter Chrift his righteoufnefs; which is the only righteoufnefs arifing from the paying of a ranfom, and upon which a finner is delivered from going down to the pit,' ver 24. And thus Chrift is faid to declare God's name,' Pfal xxii. 22. and to preach righteoufnefs,' Pfal. xl. 9. The phrafe is re markable: it is not to fhew unto the man, but unto man his, righteoufnefs; which not obfcurely intimates, that he is more than a man, who hews; or declareth this righteoufnels.

Compare

237 Compare Amos iv. 13. and created the wind, and declareth unto man what is his 'thought' There seems to be in it a sweet allufion to the first declaration of this righteoufnels unto man, or as the word is, unto Adam after the fall, while he lay under terror from apprehenfions of the wrath of God: which declaration was made by the Meffenger, the Interpreter, namely the eternal word of the Son of God, called, The voice of the Lord God, Gen iii E. and by him appearing, probably in human shape. Now, while, by his Spirit, he is the Preacher of righteousness to the man, it is fuppofed the nran lays hold on the offered righteousness; whereupon the ranfom is applied to him, and he is delivered from going down to the pit: for God hath a ransom for him. This is intimate to him: God faith, ‹ Deliver him,' ver. 24 Hereupon his confcience, being purged by the blood of atonement, is pacified. and fweetly quieted; he fhall pray unto God-and fee his face with joy,' which before he beheld with horror, ver. 26. That is a New Teftament language, Having an High priest • over the boufe of God,' he fhall draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience,' Heb. x. 21, 22. But then, what becomes of the body, the weak and weary fleth? Why, 'his 'flefh fhall be fresher than a child's, he fhall return to the • days of his youth, ver. 25. Yea, all his bones, (which were chaftened with ftrong pain, ver. 19.) shall fay, Lord, whe ' is like unto thee?' Pfal. xxxv 10.

He that formeth the mountains,

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A Third benefit flowing from union with Chrift, is Adoption. Believers, being united to Chrift, become children of God, and members of the family of heaven. By their union with him, who is the Son of God by nature, they become the Sons of God by grace, John i 12 As when a branch is cut off from one tree, and grafted in the branch of another; the ingrafted branch, by means of its union with the adopting branch (as fome not unfitly have called it) is made a branch of the fame stock, with that into which it is ingrafted: fo finners being ingrafted into Jefus Christ, whofe name is the Branch, his Father is their Father, his God their God,' John xx. 17. And thus they, who are by nature children of the devil, become the children of God. They have the Spirit of adoption,' Rom. viii. 15.

namely

namely, the Spirit of his Son, which bring them to C children to a father; to pour out their complaint bofom, and to feek neceffary fupply, Gal. iv. 6. Bec are fons, God hath fent forth the Spirit of his Son in hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Under all their wea they have fatherly pity, and compaffion fhewn them ciii. 13 Like as a father pitieth his children: fo th pitieth them that fear him. Altho' they were but four found in a defart land; yet now that to them belong doption, he keeps them as the apple of his eye, Deut xx Whofoever pursue them, they have a refuge Prov. ›

His children (hall have a place of refuge. In a time mon calamity, they have chambers for protection, whe may be hid, until the indignation be overpalt, Ifa. xx And he is not only their refuge for protection, but th tion for provifion, in that refuge; P/al.cxlii. 5. Thou refuge and my portion in the land of the living They a vided for, for eternity, Heb. xi 16. He hath prepa them a city.' And what he fees they have need of fo they fhall not want, Mat. vi. 31, 32. Take no thoug ing, what fhall we eat? Or what fhall we drin wherewithal fhall we be clothed? For your heavenly knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Sea correction is likewife their privilège as fons: fo they fuffered to pafs with their faults, as happens to othe are not children, but fervants of the family, and turned out of doors for their miscarriages at length xii. 7. If ye endure chaffening, God dealeth with with fons for what fon is he whom the Father cha not?' They are heirs of, and fhall inhereit the promife vi. 12. Nay, they are heirs of God, who himfelf portion of their inheritance, Pfal. xvi. 5. and j in with Chrift, Rom. viii. 17. And because they are th dren of the great King, and young heirs of glory have angels for their attendants, who are fent forth hifter for them that fhall be heirs of falvation, Heb.

A Fourth benefit is Sanctification, 1 Cor. i 30. him are ye in Chrift Jefus, who of God is made wisdom and righteoufnefs and fanctification. Being to Chrift, they partake of his Spirit which is the s