by the sinner immediately to God. Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed, Amos iii, 3. That the worship of God might be restored again in the world, it was indispensably necessary, that some one must interpose between sinners and the Holy God. Should they approach him immediately, in their own names he would be to them a "consuming fire," Isa. xxvii, 4, 5. And here because God would not lose the glory of his grace, and other holy excellencies of his nature, but would have a revenue of glory continued to himself from the worship of his creatures here on earth, and because in his love he would not have all sinners to perish under the curse of the old covenant which they had broken, he found out, in the deep counsel of his will, the office of priesthood, viz. that there should be ONE to transact the whole worship of sinners in the presence of God for them, and render what they should do themselves acceptable unto him in this condition, no creature could undertake the office of being a Priest; for the first thing he undertakes must be to make atonement.

The Son of God undertakes to be this Priest for sinners. "We have a great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God." The words are expressive of his whole person, and each nature therein is also distinctly signified.

1. "The Son of God" denotes the divine person and nature. Here the sacred truth of the Trinity of Persons in the divine essence openeth itself to the creatures. The nature or being of God is absolutely or numerically one; all his natural properties are essentially the same; and all his operations are undivided, as being the effects of one principle, one power, one wisdom. Hence it could not by any such acts be manifested, that there was more than one per

son in that one nature or being. But now, in these actings of the persons in the Trinity, ad intra, where one person is as it were the object of the other persons acting, the sacred truth of the plurality of persons, in the same single undivided essence, is gloriously manifested. The Son undertaking to become an High Priest for sinners openly declares the eternal Word to be distinct from the person of the Father. And in these distinct and mutual actings of the divine persons is the mysterious truth of the Holy Trinity most safely contemplated. Here also the mysterious fountain of divine grace, the springs of life and salvation which are with God, are opened. These things flow from the counsel that was between the Father and Son, when he undertook to be an High Priest for us. Grace and mercy are the accomplishment of those counsels. On the divine priesthood of Christ also depended all that religion, and all those institutions of worship, which were of old in the church. Upon the entrance of sin, there was an end put to all the religion that was in the world, as to any glory to God, or advantage to the souls of men. How came it then to be restored? Wherefore did God appoint a priesthood, sacrifices, and worship? What was aimed at, or what could be effected thereby? Men were still sinners, obnoxious to the law and its curse; and of what signification could their service be? Here lay the invisible foundations of this new order of things; the Son of God had made an interposition for sinners, undertaken to be their HIGH PRIEST, to reconcile them to God, and therefore to make their worship acceptable.

$18. 2. This Son of God is "Jesus," which denotes his human nature. Jesus is the name of a man; "She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name. Jesus," Matt. i, 21. Every High Priest, saith our

apostle, is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices unto God; and therefore of necessity he who would be our High Priest must have somewhat to offer; somewhat of his own. And what had the "Son of God," absolutely considered, as his own to offer? All things necessarily required in the matter and form of an offering, are eternally incompatible with the infinite excellency of the divine nature. Shall he then take an offering out of the works of creation? Shall he take the blood of bulls and goats for this purpose, as did Aaron? The offering indeed of these things might represent the sacrifice that should take away sin; but take away sin itself it could not. For what wisdom or equity is there in this, that whereas man had sinned, other brute creatures, which were none of his own, (having forfeited his right to them) should be an acceptable sacrifice in his stead? Besides, what proportion did the blood of bulls and goats bear to the justice of God, that satisfaction for sin should be made to it thereby? Should then the Son of God have taken and appointed any one man to be a sacrifice for others? But every man is a sinner; the sacrifice of any one would have been a provocation to God. And shall we suppose that he would allow of a real expiatory sacrifice, which was leprous all over? It would have been so far from yielding a sweet savor to God, from being an atonement for all men, for any one man, for the man himself that should have been offered, that it would have been the highest provocation to the eyes of his glory. Wherefore this "Son of God," became himself "Jesus;" took human nature, the seed of Abraham, into union with himself, that he might have of his own to offer unto God. And this, by its oneness with our nature that had sinned, being itself not touched with sin, was meet to be offered for us; and so God redeem

ed his church "with his own blood," Acts xx, 28. Thus our High Priest is Jesus the Son of God; which the apostle proposeth for our encouragement to steadfastness in our profession.

§19. Obs. 4. The church of God hath a standing perpetual advantage, in the union of our nature to the person of the Son of God, as our High Priest. We all acknowledge this, on account of the sacrifice he offered for us; but are apt to think that this work being well over, what yet remains to be done for us may be as well discharged by him who is only God; for since Jesus dies no more, what profit is there in his flesh? On the contrary, many and great are the advantages of the ressurrection of the body of Christ, and therein of his human nature; for he revived, "that he might be Lord both of the dead and living," Rom. xiv, 9. And this was the testimony that he was discharged from the penalty of the law, and the whole debt for which he had undertaken to make satisfaction; Acts ii, 24; Rom. xiii, 33, 34. Without this we could have said of him only as the disciples did, when they knew not of his ressurrection; "we trusted it had been he who should have redeemed Israel," Luke xxiv, 21. And hereby he had an illustrious and uncontrolable testimony given to his being "the Son of God," Rom. i, 4. Hereby also he laid the foundation, and gave an infallible pledge of the future blessed ressurrection, which all that believe in him shall obtain. The exaltation of our nature in glory was needful for the support and consolation of the church; and, what deserved particular notice, hence his ability to be affected with a sense of our infirmities and sufferings, for this s appropriated to him on account of his human nature. "He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities."

$20. This passion of his may be considered four

ways:

1. As it is an eminent virtue in human nature, as absolutely innocent; Jesus being "holy and undefiled, and separate from sinners." Now, though in that blessed state wherein we were created, there was no actual object on which we could exercise compassion, seeing every thing was at rest, in its proper place and order; yet was there no virtue more inlaid in our natural constitution, as being absolutely inseparable from goodness and benignity upon a supposition of a suitable object.

2. As a grace of the Spirit. For, besides the spotless innocency and purity of our nature in him, there was a super-addition of all grace to it, by virtue of its union with the person of the Son of God, and the unction it had from the Holy Spirit. Hence there was an all-fulness of grace communicated unto him; for he received not the Spirit and his graces by meas ure, John iii, 34. Of this fulness, "compassion" is an eminent part; for of this kind are all the principal fruits of the Spirit, Gal. v, 22, 23, and by this, in a peculiar manner, did he make a representation of God's nature to us, as full of pity, compassion, and tender affections. And here,

3. He had a peculiar furniture of graces, virtues, habits, and inclinations, suited to the worthy discharge of his office in our behalf. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and peculiarly anointed him to that end, Isa. xi, 2-4, chap. Ixi, 1-3. Thus was he every way furnished, as to his nature, for mercy and compassion.

4. He took an experience of such infirmities and sufferings in himself, as are the proper objects of compassion when found in others.