18. GOD therein promifes to fend his only Son, who is God equal with himself, to Earth, to become Man, like unto us in all Things, Sin only excepted; and he to do for us these feveral Things.

19. First, TO make known to us the whole Will of his Father, in the Performance' whereof we shall be fure to be accepted and rewarded by him. And this was one great Part of his Bufinefs, which he performed in thofe many Precepts and Sermons we find fet down in the Gospel. And herein he is our Prophet, it being the Work of a Prophet of old not only to foretel, but to teach. Our Duty in this Particular is to hearken diligently to him, to be moft ready and defirous to learn that Will of God, which he came from Heaven to reveal to us.

20. THE Second Thing he was to do for us, was to fatisfy God for our Sins; not only that one of Adam, but all the Sins of all Mankind that truly repent and amend ; and by this means to obtain for us Forgiveness of Sins, the Favour of God, and fo to redeem us from Hell and eternal Damnation, which was the Punishment due to our Sin. All this he did for us by his Death. He offered up himself a Sacrifice for the Sins of all those who heartily bewail and forfake them: And in this he is our Priest, it being the Priest's Office to offer Sacrifice for the Sins of the Peo

ple.

ple. Our Duty in this Particular is, First, Truly and heartily to repent us of, and forfake our Sins, without which they will never be forgiven us, tho' Chrift have died. Secondly, Stedfaftly to believe, that if we do that, we fhall have the Benefit of that Sacrifice of his; all our Sins, how many and great foever, thall be forgiven us, and we faved from those eternal Punishments which were due unto us for them. Another Part of the Priest's Office was Blefing and Praying for the People; and this alfo Chrift performs to us. It was his fpecial Commiffion from his Father to blefs us; as St. Peter tells us, Acts iii. 26. God fent bis Son Jefus to bless you; and the following Words fhew wherein that Bleffing confifts, in turning away every one of you from his Iniquity. Thofe Means, which he has used for the turning us from our Sins, are to be reckoned of all other the greatestBleffings; and for the other Part, that of Praying, that he not only performed on Earth, but continues ftill to do it in Heaven; He fits on the Right-hand of God, and makes Request for us, Rom. viii. 34. Our Duty herein is not to refift this unfpeakable Bleffing of his, but to be willing to be thus bleft in the being turned from our Sins, and not to make void and fruitless all his Prayers and Interceffions for us, which will never prevail for us, whilst we continue in them.

21. THE third Thing that Chrift was to do for us, was to enable us, or give us Strength to do what God requires of us. This he doth First, by taking off from the Hardness of the Law given to Adam, which was, never to commit the leaft Sin, upon Pain of Damnation; and requiring of us only an honest and hearty Endeavour to do what we are able, and where we fail, accepting of fincere Repentance. Secondly, By fending his Holy Spirit into our Hearts, to govern and rule us, to give us Strength to overcome Temptations to Sin, and to do all that he now under the Gospel requires of us. And in this he is our King; it being the Office of a King to govern and rule, and to fubdue Enemies.. Our Duty in this particular is to give up our felves obedient Subjects of his, to be governed and ruled by him, to obey all his Laws, not to take part with any Rebel, that is, not to cherish any one Sin, but diligently to pray for his Grace to enable us to fubdue all, and then carefully to make ufe of it to that Purpose.

22. Lastly, He has purchased for all that faithfully obey him, an eternal, glorious Inheritance, the Kingdom of Heaven, whither he is gone before to take Poffeffion for us. Our Duty herein is to be exceeding careful that we forfeit not our Parts in it, which we fhall certainly do, if we continue impeni

tent

tent in any Sin Secondly, Not to faften our Affections on this World, but to raise them according to the Precept of the Apostle, Col. i. 2. Set your Affections on Things above, and not on Things on the Earth; continually longing to come to the Poffeffion of that bleffed Inheritance of ours, in comparison where-of all Things here below fhould feem vileand mean to us.

23. THIS is the Sum of that fecond Co-venant we are now under; wherein you feewhat Chrift hath done, how he executes thofe Three Great Offices of King, Priest, and Prophet; as alfo what is required of us, without our faithful Performance of which, all that he hath done fhall never ftand us in any ftead; for he will never be a Prieft to fave any, who take him not as well for their Pro-phet to teach, as their King to rule them: Nay, if we neglect our part of this Covenant, our Condition will be yet worse, than if it had never been made; for we fhall then be to answer, not for the Breach of Law only, as in the first, but for the Abuse of Mer-cy, which is of all Sins the most provoking. On the other fide, if we faithfully perform it, that is, fet our felves heartily to the obeying of every Precept of Chrift, not going on wilfully in any one Sin, but bewailing and forfaking whatever we have formerly been guilty of, it is then moft certain, that all the

fore

fore mentioned Benefits of Christ belong to

us.

24. AND now you fee how little Reason you have to caft off the Care of your Souls, upon a Conceit they are paft Cure, for that it is plain they are not; nay, certainly they are in that very Condition, which of all others makes them fitteft for our Care. If they had not been thus redeemed by Chrift, they hád been then fo hopeless, that Care would have been in vain: On the other fide, if his Redemption had been fuch, that all Men fhould be faved by it, tho' they live as they lift, we should have thought it needless to take Care for them, because they were fafe without it. But it hath pleased God fo to order it, that our Care must be the Means, by which they must receive the Good, even of all that Chrift hath done for them..

25. AND now if, after all that God hath done to fave thefe Souls of ours, we will not bestow a little Care on them ourselves, we very well deserve to perish. If a Physician fhould undertake a Patient, that were in fome defperate Disease, and by his Skill bring him. fo far out of it, that he were fure to recover, if he would but take care of himself, and obferve thofe Rules the Phyfician fet him; would you not think that Man weary of his Life, that would refufe to do that? So certainly that Man is weary of his Soul, wilfully cafts it