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which rejects him who took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham. Unbelief upon the matter denies this glorious truth, and fays, No thanks to God for taking hold of the feed of Abraham; he might as well have taken on the nature of angels, for I will not be obliged to him for falvation.' The unbeliever chooses rather to go to hell with his lufts, than to go to heaven with Chrift: he crucifies "the Son of God afresh, and puts him to an open fhame:" he tramples the blood of Chrift under his feet; for which reafon Chrift declares, that he " that believeth not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him," John iii. 18. 36.

7thly, See, from this doctrine, the great difference between the first and the fecond Adam; the head of the covenant of works, and the head of the new covenant. Why, the first Adam, as the apoftle tells us, was but a made creature, and he" was made a living foul; but the last Adam is a quickening fpirit: the firft Adam was of the earth earthy; but the fecond Adam is the Lord from heaven:" who took not on him the nature of angels, but took on him the human nature, in the feed of Abraham. O what a bleffed exchange doth the finner make, when he quits the firft Adam and his covenant, and betakes himself to a fecond Adam, and takes hold of him as the head of the covenant of grace! when he doth fo, he quits the foundation of fand, and builds upon that "rock of ages, against which the gates of hell thall never prevail." The first Adam is a fountain of death to all his pofterity, Rom. v. 12. "By one man fin entered into the world, and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all have finned:" but the fecond Adam is the fountain of life to all his feed; "I am the refurrection, and the life; and he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet fhall he live:" and this we are affured of by the record of a glorious Trinity, 1 John v. 11. "This is the record, that God hath given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

8thly, See, from this doctrine, what is the great work and bufineis of these who fit down at a communion table; what it is that makes a worthy or unworthy communicant. That which makes a worthy communicant, is a "right difcerning of the Lord's body;" and when this is wanting, a man becomes "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and fo eats and drinks judgement to his own foul." Now, what is it to dif cern the Lord's body? It is just an infight into this doctrine, or text, that the eternal Son of God, he took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham. More particularly, I will tell you two or three things included in difcerning the Lord's body.

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(1.) It is to have the mind enlightened with a faving knowledge of the mystery of falvation, as the plan of it is laid out before us in the word, or in the perfon and mediation of Jefus, 2 Cor. iv. 6. "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath fhined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift."

(2.) It is to fee the love and wisdom of the Father, in preparing a body for his eternal Son, in which the fulness of the Godhead fhould dwell, as in a temple.

(3.) It is to fee the Holy Ghoft forming that body, by his overshadowing power, in the womb of the virgin, fo as that it might be free of original fin, and might be a sacrifice without spot or blemish, to be offered up unto God.

(4.) It is to fee the eternal Son of God wearing that body in a personal union with himself, in order to his giving an infinite value unto what he was to do and fuffer for us.

(5.) It is to fee him offering up that body and blood, which he had thus affumed, in our room and stead, a facrifice for the fatisfaction of justice for our fin; for he offered up himself for us" a facrifice and offering of a sweet smelling favour;" to fee the just suffering for the unjust, to bring us to God. Now, when the foul thus difcerns the body of Chrift, or the myflery of the incarnation of the Son of God, then faith eats his flelh and drinks his blood, like "fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees, well refined." Oh Sirs! fee if, like Samfon, you can this day find the honey-combs of falvation, and the great and precious promifes, in the carcafe of the flain Lion of the tribe of Judah, for this "is meat indeed, and drink indeed."

Ufe fecond may be of Trial. Oh Sirs! what think you of him who took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham; have you given him his errand into the world, by believing in him? Is thy foul crying, "Hofanna to the Son of David;" Oh!" bleffed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," to fave us: Oh! "this is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift came into the world to fave finners, of whom I am chief?" Is thy heart glowing with love to him, who is altogether lovely? and saying, Oh "whom have I in heaven" but him?" yea, doubtless, I count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jefus my Lord." Well, if this be the difpofition of thy foul, I invite you to come and feaft with him." Eat, O friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved. Eat ye that which is good, and let your foul delight itself in fatnefs, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, well or-. VOL. III.

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dered in all things, and fure:" the whole good of the cove nant is before you.

Ufe third of Exhortation, to all hearing me, young and old, great and small, rich and poor. Whoever you are, if you be of the human kind, men and women, sprung of Adam; Oh! will ye anfwer the defign of the Son of God, his taking on our nature, when he paft by the nature of angels, by believing in him? The Father prefents him to you, as the object of his delight, that you may believe in him, Ifa. xlii. 1. "Behold my fervant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my foul delighteth," &c. Chrift himfelf invites and calls us to this, Ifa. xlv. 22. "Look unto me, and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."

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Quest. What will we behold, or fee, in an incarnate God? In him who took on him the feed of Abraham? when he pailed by the nature of angels? Anfw. There are wonders to be feen in him, which the ftanding holy angels behold with admiration and eternal wonder. 1. O come and fee an angry God reconciled; God looking out with a fmile upon the guilty finners, through the veil of the human nature, 2 Cor. v. 19." God was in Chrift reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them;" crying, "Fury is not in me", for the fake of him in whom I am well pleased, Ifa. xii. 1. 2. Luke ii. 10-12. &c. 2. In him you may fee God dwelling with man upon earth, and "the whole earth filled with his glory." 3. In him you will fee the great God, that gives laws unto angels and men, made under his own law, that he might magnify it, and make it honourable, that fo❝ the righteoufness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” who had broken every command of it. 4. In him you will fee "the hand-writing which was against us," and bound us over to wrath, wo, and mifery, cancelled and torn; fo that you may cry, who can lay any thing to your charge? 5. In him you will fee the brandifhed and flaming fword of juftice, that was ready to be foaked in the blood of the guilty finner, awakening against the man who is God's fellow, Zech. xiii. 7. and having drunk of his royal blood, the fword is again put up in its fcabbard, and the white flag of peace caft out with this motto, "He hath made peace by the blood of his crofs." 6. Here you will fee the head of the old ferpent bruised, and the Lamb of God overcoming him by his own blood. "Through death he deftroyed him that had the power of death.". 7. In him you will fee the two infuperable mountains of natural and moral distance between God and man removed, and made as a plain. The natural distance

diftance is removed in his incarnation, and the moral distance in his fatisfaction. All bars and impediments that flood in our way from law and juftice removed, which could never have been effected by all the angels in heaven, or men upon earth; and yet this is done, and done by him, who took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham. 8. Here you will fee" the veil of the temple rent from top to bottom, and the way to the holieft of all opened;" fo that we may now "enter in with boldness by the blood of Jefus." The veil of the ceremonial law is rent, the veil of the curfe of the moral law is rent, in the rending afunder of the foul and body of Chrift upon Mount Calvary. 9. In him you may fee God, first marrying our nature into a perfonal union with himself, and then, having come upon a level with us, or having become one of our tribe, or family, prefents himfelf as a Bridegroom, profering marriage with our perfons; for this is the voice of Immanuel God-man, If. liv. 5. " Thy maker is thine husband (the Lord of hofts is his name)"; or, Hof. ii. 19. "I will betrothe thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betrothe thee unto me in righteoufnefs, and in judgement, and in loving-kindness, and in mercy; I will ever betrothe thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou fhalt know the Lord," viz. in a way of conjugal love and communion. 10. Here you will fee him confirming the, covenant of grace and promife, and turning it into an inviolable teftamentary deed, which no man can difannul. Dan. ix. 27. "He fhall confirm the covenant with many." Heb. ix. 16. 17. "Where a testament is, there must also of neceffity be the death of the teftator, for a teftament is of force after men are dead: otherwife it is of no force at all while the teftator liveth." Sirs, this is what we are to prefent you with in this holy ordinance of the fupper, even the confirmed teftament of him who took on him the feed of Abraham;" for Luke xxii. 29. "This cup (fays Chrift) is the new teftament in my blood," Matth. xxvi. 27. " drink ye all of it."

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Secondly, Another word of exhortation is this. I call you who are the fons and daughters of Zion, not only to " go forth and behold king Solomon," and the wonders of his perfon and mediation, but I call you to be his bride and spouse, by giving the heart and hand to him as the bridegroom. Let there be a match this day made up betwixt Chrift and your fouls. Has the glorious Son of God, "the brightness of his Father's glory," taken hold of your nature in the family of Abraham? O then take hold of him as your kinfman; and fay, as Kuth did unto Boaz, "Spread thy fkirt over me,"

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and perform the kinfman's part by marrying me. Sirs, I tell you, that our bleffed goel and kinfman, as he took part of your flesh, fo he wears your nature, that he may wed you, and betrothe you unto himself for ever. Oh! will you go with the man, "Immanuel, God with us?" His hand is stretched out, while I am speaking, faying to every one in this company, "Behold me! behold me!" O! fubfcribe the contract with heart and hand, faying, 'I am the Lords; I will be for thee, and not for another, who took not on thee the nature of angels, but took on thee the nature of man, or the feed of Abraham. Oh! that this may be the weeding-day.'

"All things are ready, O come to the marriage." 1. The Bridegroom is ready, the matchlefs Immanuel; behold he ftandeth behind your wall. "Behold the Bridegroom cometh," yea he is come; he stands at the door and knocks, faying, Open to me, Rev. iii. 20. &c. 2. The Bridegroom's Father is ready; he confents that there fhould be a match between you and his eternal Son; he cries from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. This is his commandment, that ye believe in him," and fo take him as my unfpeakable gift. 3. The Spirit, the third perfon of the glorious Trinity, is ready, as the minifter, to caft the everlasting knot between you and him, Rev. xxii. 17. "The Spirit faith, Come." Heb. iii. 7. 8. The Holy Ghoft faith," To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Many a kind motion doth the Spirit of God make on your fouls, in order to carry on the match. 4. The friends of the Bridegroom, all faithful minifters and Chriftians, are ready they rejoice "greatly becaufe of the Bridegroom's voice" in the gofpel, offering marriage to you. Oh to hear the voice of the bride alfo faying, "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousands-His countenance is as Lebanon; excellent as the cedars-My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies; until the day break, and the fhadows flee away." 5. The contract is ready, I mean the covenant of grace. The draught of it was made at the table of the council of peace from eternity, and the ex-, tract of it is in the Bible you have amongit your hands and we bring it forth to you in the preaching of the gofpel, and prefent it to every one, faying, "To you (and you, and you), is the word of this falvation fent. The promife is to you, and to your feed." Oh! let us all fear, left a promife being made, any of us fhould come fhort of it through unbelief. 6. The marriage-houfe is ready, both the lower and the higher Stories of it are ready: and that moment you believe, you en

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