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did determine the controverfy, and put it out of all doubt and queftion, that he was the Son of God. And then his afcenfion, and fitting at the right hand of God, this gives us the affurance of a blefied immortality, and is a demonftration of a life to come, and a pledge of everlasting glory and happiness. And can any thing tend more to the encouragement of obedience, and to make us dead to the pleafures and enjoyments of this life, than the affurance of eternal life and happiness? And then the confequents of his exaltation, they do eminently conduce to our recovery. The fending of the Holy Ghost to lead us into all truth, to fanctify us, to affift us, and to comfort us under the greatest troubles and afflictions; and the powerful interceffion of Christ in our behalf, and his return to judgment; the expectation whereof, is the great argument to repentance, and holiness of life: Acts xvii. 30, 31. And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men every-where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given af furance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And thus I have endeavoured to prove, that the redemption of man by Jefus Chrift, is a defign of admirable wisdom.

The ufe I fhall make of it, is to convince us of the unreasonableness of unbelief, and the folly and madnefs of impenitency.

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First, The unreasonableness of unbelief. The gofpel reveals to us the wife counsel and difpenfation of God for our redemption; and thofe who disbelieve the gospel, they reject the counsel of God against themselves, as it is faid of the unbelieving Pharifees and Lawyers, Luke vii. 30. The gofpel reveals to us a defign fo reasonable and full of wisdom, that they who can disbelieve it are defperate perfons, devoted to ruin. 1 Cor. i. 18. The cross of Chrift is to them that perish, foolishness. 2 Cor. iv 3. 4. But if our gofpel be bid, it is hid to them that are loft; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not, left the light of the glorious goVOL. VI.

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fpel of Chrift, who is the image of God, should fine unto them. The gofpel carries fo much light and evidence in it, that it cannot be hid from any but fuch whofe eyes are blinded by the Devil and their lufts.

He that will duly weigh and confider things, and look narrowly into this wife difpenfation of God, fhall find nothing to object against it; nay, shall difcover in it the greatest motives and inducements to believe. We are apt to believe any thing that is reafonable, especially if it be for our advantage. Now this wife difpenfation of God is not only reafonable in itfelf, but beneficial to us; it does at once highly gratify our understandings, and fatisfy our intereft; why fhould we not then believe and entertain it ?

I. The defign of the gofpel is reasonable, and gratifies our understandings. And in this refpect, the gofpel hath incomparable advantages above any other religion. The end of all religion is to advance piety and holiness, and real goodness among men; and the more any religion advanceth thefe, the more reasonable it is. Now the great incitements and arguments to piety, are the excellency and perfection of the divine nature; fear of punishment, and hopes of pardon and reward. Now the gofpel reprefents all thefe to the greatest advantage.

1. It reprefents the perfections of God to the greateft advantage, especially thofe which tend moft to the promotion of piety, and the love of God in us; his juftice and mercy.

(1.) His juftice. The gofpel reprefents it inflexible in its rights, and inexorable, and that will not in any cafe let fin go unpunished. The impartiality of the divine juftice appears in this difpenfation, that when God pardons the finner, yet he will punish fin fo feverely in his own Son, who was the furety. Now, what could more tend to discountenance fin, and convince us of the great evil of it?

(2.) His mercy. This difpenfation is a great demonftration of the mercy, and goodness, and love of God, in fending his Son to dy for finners, and

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in faving us by devoting and facrificing him, John iii. 16. For God so loved the world, that he Rom. v. 8. But God commendeth only begotten Son. his love towards us, in that while we were yet finners, Chrift died for us. 1 John iv. 9, 10. In this was manifefted the love of God towards us, because God fent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins. Now this reprefentation of God's mercy and love, which the gospel makes, is of great force and efficacy to melt our

hearts into love to God.

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2. The fecond argument to piety, is fear of punishment. The gospel hath revealed to us the miseit hath made of thofe who continue in their fin ry clear and terrible difcoveries of thofe torments which attend finners in another world, and hath opened to us the treasures of God's wrath; fo that now under the gospel, hell is naked before us, and deftruction hath no covering; and this is one thing which makes the gospel fo powerful an engine to deftroy fin, Rom. i. 16, 18. The gospel is the power of God unto falvation; for therein is the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

3. Hopes of pardon and reward. And this, added to the former, renders the gofpel the most powerful them inftrument to take men off from fin, and engage to holiness that can be imagined. The means to draw men from fin, when they are once awakened with the fear of vengeance, is hopes of pardon and mercy, and the way to encourage obedience for the future, is hope of reward. Now, as an argument to us to retreat and draw back from fin, the gospel promifes pardon and indemnity to us; and as an incitement to holiness, the gospel opens heaven to us, and fets before us everlafting glory and happiness, and gives us the greateft affurance of it.

This is the first, the defign of the gofpel is reafonable, in that it does eminently and directly ferve the ends of piety and religion.

II. This difpenfation of God is beneficial to us, and

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fatisfies our intereft; and this adds to the unreason. ableness of our unbelief, this defign of God being not only reasonable in itself, but defirable to us, that it fhould be fo; because of the eminent advantages that redound to us by it. The defign of the gospel is to deliver us from the guilt and dominion of fin, and the tyranny of fatan; to reftore us to the image and favour of God; and, by making us partakers of a divine nature, to bring us to eternal life. And is there any thing of real advantage which is not comprehended in this? Is it not defirable to every man, that there fhould be a way whereby our guilty confciences may be quieted and appeafed; whereby we may be delivered from the fear of death and hell? Is it not defirable to be freed from the flavery of our lufts, and refcued from the tyranny and power of the great deftroyer of fouls? Is it not defirable to be like God, and to be affured of his love and favour, who is the best friend and the most dangerous enemy; and to be fecured, that when we leave this world, we fhall be unfpeakably happy for ever? Now the gofpel conveys thefe benefits to us; and if this be the cafe of the gofpel, and there be nothing in this defign of our redemption, but what is wife, and reasonable, and exceedingly for our benefit and advantage; why fhould any man be fo averfe to the belief of it? Why fhould unbelief be counted a piece of wit? Is it wit to fet ourfelves against reafon, and to oppose our best interest? It is wickedness, and prejudice, and inconfideratenefs, which disbelieves the gofpel. Those who do confider things, welcome this good news, and embrace thefe glad tidings. wifdom is juftified of her children. To them who are truly fenfible of their own intereft, and willing to accept of reasonable evidence, this is not only a true faying, but worthy of all acceptation; that Chrift came into the world to fave finners.

Secondly, This doth convince men of the madness and folly of impenitency. Now fince the wifdom of God hath contrived fuch a way for our recovery, and by the declaration of God's wrath, and difpleafure against fin, hath given us fuch arguments to re

pentance,

pentance, and by discovering a way of pardon and mercy, hath given us fuch encouragement to repentance, how great must the folly of impenitency be For confider,

1. That impenitency directly fets itself against the wisdom of God. If after all this we continue in our fins, we reject the counsel of God against ourselves, we defpife the wifdom of God, and charge that with folly and we do it against ourselves, to our own injury and ruin. If we live in our fins, and cherish our lufts, we directly oppofe the end of our redemption, we contradict the great defign of the gofpel, we contemn the admirable contrivance of God's wifdom, who fent his Son into the world on purpose to deftroy fin; for we uphold that which he came to deftroy, 1 John iii. 5. Ye know that he was manifefted to take away our fins. Now fhall we continue in fin, when we know the Son of God was manifefted to take away fin? God cannot but take it very ill at our hands, when he hath laid out the riches of his wifdom in this defign, for us to go about to defeat him in it; this is at once to be unthankful to God,and injurious to ourselves: It is fuch a madness, as if a condemned man fhould defpife a pardon; as if a prifoner fhould be fond of his fetters, and refuse deliverance, as if a man defperately fick fhould fight with his Phyfician, and put away health from him.. If we do not comply with the wisdom of God, which hath contrived our recovery, we forfake our own mercy, and neglect a great falvation; we love death,, and hate our own fouls, Prov. viii. 14, 15, 16..

2. Confider, we cannot expect the wisdom of God fhould do more for our recovery, than hath been already done; the wisdom of God will not try any further means. Matth. xxi. 37. Laft of all be fentbis Son. If we defpife this way, if we tread underfoot the Son of God, and count the blood of the cove-nant, whereby we are fanctified, an unholy thing,. there will remain no more facrifice for fin, Heb. x. 26. 29. What can expiate the guilt of fin, if the blood of Chrift do not? What fhall take us off from fin, what shall sanctify us, if the blood of the coverM. m. 3

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