Page images
PDF
EPUB

ftately house, and provides it with all neceffary furniture, before he gave him a being. He rears up the beautiful fabric of heaven and earth for his ufe. He "gives the fun to rule by day, and the moon to rule by night," that by these luminaries he might fee about him, and behold the other works of God. He spreads out the heavens as a curtain and canopy over his head, and ftudds and embellishes it with an innumerable multitude of glittering ftars, like fo many stones of fire. He plants the garden of Eden with all manner of trees, and plants, and fruits. He calculates and adjusts the creation, to gratify both his fenfitive and rational appetite: he makes colours to please his eye, founds to pleafe his ear, delicious fruits and meats to gratify his tafte, and favoury fmells his fcent: he frames wonders in heaven above, and earth below, for his reasonable foul to pry and wade into with pleasure and delight. Thus, I fay, God difcovers his regard unto man, by building and furnishing a lodging for him, before he had gi ven him a being. But, 2dly, Let us confider the regard God fhews unto man in the course of his common providence, and that notwithstanding his apoftafy from the state in which he was created. 1. Then, although we be all tranfgreffors from the very womb, yet he continues a fucceffion of men upon the face of the earth: what a wonder was it, that upon the first fin of Adam, he did not hew down the root of mankind, and throw him into hell, in order to prevent the sprouting up of fo many branches that have sprung off him, bearing the bitter fruits of fin and rebellion against God? and yet, in his wonderful patience and long suffering, he continues a race of mankind upon earth, when he could, with fo much eafe, rid himself of his adverfaries, and avenge himself of his enemies. O! what is man? 2. Let us fee the wonderful care that God has in and about the formation of man in the womb. What acceffion had you, or I, or yet our parents, in giving us these hands and feet, and other bodily members? how came it about, that these members and bodily parts are fo well shaped, and that we were not born monfters? why, it is the hand of Providence that moulded and fashioned us after this manner. David, Pfal. cxxxix. 14. obferves this with praife and gratitude; "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." 3. Whenever man is brought into the world, although he is the moft helpless creature in himfelf, yet he has provided the belt of help to cherish and preferve him. He not only helps us into the world, and keeps us from being ftifled in the birth, but he provides the knees to dandle, and the breafts to fuckle us. He not only infpired our parents with tender care and affeçzion towards us in our non-age and infancy; but he himfçif,

as a tender parent, nourished and brought us up, preferving and providing for us, giving us our daily bread, and all the neceffaries and conveniencies of life. Have any of us comfortable dwellings in a family capacity? why, it is God that fets the folitary in families. Have any of you a stock of children like olive plants round about your table? why, children are God's heritage, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Have you riches and worldly fubftance? why, this is of the Lord, as he tells Ifrael; "It is his bleffing that maketh rich ?" it is the Lord that giveth you to be rich. Has he given to any worldly honours and preferments? it is "God that fets up one, and cafts another down." Oh! how doth God follow man with goodness and mercy every year, and every day and moment! How quickly would all fleth be ftarved to death, if he did not open his large granaries every year, caufing the earth to produce the grain that nourisheth us, and other creatures! The pfalmift David obferves this as matter of praise, Pfal. cxlv. 15. 16. "The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou giveft them their meat in due feafon; thou openeft thy hand, and fatisfieft the defire of every living thing." Oh, how wonderful is it, to behold the connection of caufes that God has eftablished! how he has linked heaven and earth together, by his powerful hand, in order to the maintaining of man upon earth! Hof. ii. 21. 22. "And it fhall come to pass in that day, I will hear, faith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they fhall hear the earth, and the earth fhall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they fhall hear Jezreel." Oh! what is man? or the fon of man, that the great wheels of the creation fhould be carried about for his benefit and fuftenance. And, to conclude this head of common providence, and the kindness God fhews unto man there, let us obferve, how the innocent creatures that never finned against God, or violate the laws of their creation, are every day flaughtered for the use of rebel nothing man; the fishes of the fea, the fowls of the air, the beafls of the field, their lives facrificed to fuftain the life of man, who has forfeited his title unto all good things, either in this world or the world to come. Oh, what a favourite muft man be above the reft of the creatures? And fo valuable is the life of man, that he has made it one of the ten commandments of the moral law, binding to all generations, that none thall kill man, or take away his life, till his own immediate hand put an end and period to it. Life shall go for life; "Whosoever fheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed:" and that for this good reafon, because that "after the image of God created he him." Oh, may not this fhort hint of the kinduefs of God to man, running out in the channel

[ocr errors]

channel of common providence, make us to cry with David, here in the text, Lord, what is man? &c. But to pass this head of God's common goodness to man, in creation and providence.

Secondly, Let us next take a view of the good of his chofen, that we may triumphantly praise with his inheritance upon a day of thanksgiving. And here, believers, worthy communicants, let me turn even the doctrine into a word of exhortation, and call you in the words of the pfalmift, upon a thankf giving day: "Sing unto the Lord, O ye faints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness." And to excite and engage you to this duty, you will confider with me a little, what knowledge the great God has taken of you, and what account he has made of you by the outgoings of his love. 1. Before time. 2. In time. 3. After time ends, in eternity.

1. I fay will you take a view of his love and kindness towards you before time, and let that engage you to cry, What is man that thou takest knowledge of him, and of me in particular? (1.) Then I fay, Let us run back to the ancient years of eternity, and fee how the kindness and love of God to man, did appear then; " when God looked upon you in your blood, he faid unto you, Live, and your time was a time of love." Oh! is it not wonderful to fee electing love, paffing by the fallen angels, and refting upon fuch a poor pitiful creature as fallen finful man? And when he paffed by kings and princes, noble, and wife, and rich, and many thousands that the world would think would been the objects of his love, he paffed by them, and pitched upon thee, a poor creature that no body regards. Oh! is not thy foul faying, "What am I, that God hath taken fuch knowledge of me? that he should have loved me with an everlasting love? that he should have chofen me before the foundations of the world? and predeftinated me to the adoption of children, by Jefus Chrift to himfelf?" (2.) The decree of electing love being past, a method must be found out for thy falvation, confiftent with the honour of the law and juftice of God: and therefore, as if man, and the fon of man, had been fome great creature, and thou in parti cular, believer, a council of the Trinity must be called to advise the matter; and thus the plan of thy falvation was laid.'Oh, fays the eternal Father, my love is fet upon a remnant of Adam's family, and I have propofed to fave them, and to bring them to glory: but oh, how thall I put them among the children? I fee that they will violate my law, and become liable to my wrath and juftice, and my love to them cannot tent in a prejudice unto juftice: and therefore, O Son of my VOL. III. eternal

X

eternal love, I fet thee up, and ordain tree to affume their na ture in the fulness of time; a body for this end have prepared for thee, that thou mayft, as their Surety and Redeemer, fulfil my law in their room, and fatisfy my juftice, by the facrifice of thy death: and I hereupon promife, that I will ftand by thee in the work; mine arm fhall ftrengthen thee; I will raife thee from the dead, and fet thee on my right hand; and I will give them as a feed to ferve thee, thou shalt be their Head, their Husband, their Advocate, and Mediator, and thou fhalt reign over them as a peculiar kingdom, for ever and for ever. I agree with my whole heart to the overture, fays the eternal Son; "Lo, l'come; in the volume of thy book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God;" yea this law of redemption is within my heart; it is feated in the midst of my bowels.' Agrees to it, fays the Holy Ghost: I will form his human nature, by my overshadowing power, in the womb of the virgin : I will fanctify his human nature, and make it a fit refidence for the fulness of the Godhead to dwell in, that, out of that fulness, they may receive grace for grace: I will take of the things that are his, and fhew them unto them; and carry on the work of fanctification in them, till they be brought unto glory.'-Thus, I fay, the plan and method of thy falvation was laid, believer, in eternity, before the foundations of the world was laid. O then, fhall not the confideration of all this make us cry, Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? or the fon of man, that thou makeft account of him?

2. Let us come down from eternity to time, and see what work is made, in the execution of this glorious project of free grace and love towards man. This world being created, as a theatre upon which the glorious fcene was to be acted; man is brought forth into the ftage; a covenant of works tranfacted between God and him, by the breach of which man is plunged into an abyfs of mifery and fin. But no fooner is he fallen, but the eternal purpose and project of infinite love and wisdom begins to break forth; and fo the fcene of grace begins to be acted. When man is trembling at the apprehenfions of being ftricken through with the flaming fword of justice, a promise of relief and deliverance breaks out from under the dark cloud of wrath, "That the feed of the woman fhould bruife the head of the ferpent." An angry and offended God on a fudden becomes IMMANUEL, God with us, to avenge the quartel upon the old ferpent, for the hurt he had done his viceroy and reprefentative in this lower world. This grace contained in the first proniife, is gradually opened in promifes, types, and prophecies, during the Old Teltament occonomy; until, according to the concert in the council of peace, and declared refolution

in paradife, the great and renowned champion, the Son of God, actually takes the field: and having put on the coat of the human nature that his Father had provided for him, he works wonders in it for that petty creature man, that he might bring about his faivation. What did he? fay you. Anfw. Oh! What did he not, that was neceffary to break up the way, and clear the paffage to glory and eternal life, for man? Why, in fo many words (for I cannot infiit on particulars), by his obedience to the death, "He finishes tranfgreffion, and makes an end of fin; he makes reconciliation for inquity: he brings in an everlafting righteoufuefs." He "confirms a new covenant with many he makes the facrifice and oblation to ceafe," and unhinges the Mofaic ceconomy; he reveals the counfel of God anent redemption; opens up the myf tery of Calvation in his doctrine; confirms it from heaven by a multitude of miracles; "he magnifies the law and makes it honourable; he spoils principalities and powers, and triumphs over them in his crofs; through death he deftroys death, and him that had the power of death," he wrefts the keys of death out of the devil's hand, and takes them into his own cuftody, that he might make it a paffage to glory, instead of being a paffage to hell: he dies for our offences, and rifes again for our juftification; he afcends up to heaven with a fhout of triumph and victory; and its down on the "right hand of the Majetty on high," as the public Head and Reprefentative ofhis friends on earth, and to appear in the prefence of God for them." A little after he is fet down upon the throne, he pours down his Spirit, like "the rushing of a mighty wind, upon his difciples at Pentecoft; and gives gifts unto men; gives fome apostles, fome prophets, fome evangelifts, fome paftors, fome teachers;" and fends them abroad, with a power of working miracles, and of fpeaking all languages; to proclaim the glory of his finifhed falvation to every creature under heaven; That whofoever believed in him might not perish, but have everlasting life." And Oh! may not a reflex view of all this work about man make us cry, Lord, what is man, that thou taket knowledge of him? or what the fon of man that thou makeft fo great account of bim?

[ocr errors]

Well, is that all? No; for he doth yet more for man in time. Having finished the falvation of man in a way of purchafe, his voice is unto men, and the fons of men; he proclaims his falvation unto the ends of the earth, and caufes the joyful found of the gospel-trumpet to be heard to the world's end. And oh! what wonders doth he work here to make way for the falvation of poor man! A throne of grace is reared, to which man may have recourse with boldness, "that he may

« EelmineJätka »