as the fountain and spring of their eternal felicity. The God-man was the foundation of their union with God, and through him they were to receive all divine communications. The revelation of him was to be made known to them, as to us, in a gradual manner. They beheld him with wonder, and celebrated his praise, when he became for a little while lower than they by his incarnation. They saw him when he ascended up into glory, and had such a sight of him as increased their love of him and delight in him. When he entered into Heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of God for us, they were ready with their song to celebrate his glorious and everlasting praise. "And I be"held," says John, "and I heard the "voice of many angels round about the "throne, and the beasts (or living crea "tures) and the elders: and the number "of them was ten thousand times ten "thousand, and thousands of thousands;

66

saying with a loud voice, worthy is the "Lamb that was slain, to receive power, "and riches, and wisdom, and strength, " and honour, and glory, and blessing *. They love him for loving us; and praise him for that vast exprefsion of it, his washing us from our sins in his own. blood. They join in all the worship of the

w 1 Tim. iii. 16.

* Rev. v. 11, 12.

glorified before the throne, in giving honour and blessing to God and the Lamb.

This world was made for man. On it the Lord God brought forth Adam the first man, as the head of nature to all his offspring. In his loins were contained all the elect of human race, so that they were by creation brought forth in him, as in one pure and holy head; from whom they were to receive their natural being, life, and comfort, which they were by generation to partake of, and in succeeding ages enjoy. It pleased Jehovah to will to leave Adam, though perfectly holy by creation, to the freedom and guidance of his own mutable will; by which his mutability would be seen; and that by falling from his state of original purity and happiness, in which he was to be placed by the Lord God, he would involve all his posterity, elect and non-elect, in a state of sin, guilt, and condemnation. Thus they would become exceedingly sinful, their nature being wholly corrupted and entirely defiled by the fall, which would give proof to the human race, as the fall of angels did to the angelic, that the rational creature left in its creature-state, and to the conduct and guidance of its own mutable will, could not continue a single moment in the state and frame,

in which God made man, viz. pure, holy, and righteous. This consequently would shew God alone to be immutable, and would prove the creature of itself, merely as a creature, subject to vanity or mutability. And this was to make way for Jehovah to reveal his Christ to elect sinners, as their Saviour; which revelation, as it would most exactly suit their sinful case, would also set forth and manifest with: surprising lustre and glory the everlasting love of all the persons in the Godhead towards the elect sinners of mankind, and that in such a manner as could not fail to fill their minds with admiration, and constrain them under views, experiences, and enjoyments of it, to ery out, God is love! "In this was "manifested the love of God towards us,. "because that God sent his only be66 gotten Son into the world that we "might live through him. Herein is: "love, not that we loved God, but that "he loved us, and sent his Son to be "the propitiation for our sins." In Jehovah's exercising his decrees towards angels and men, in the permifsion of the fall, a way was opened for discovering his eternal designs of grace towards elect an gels and elect men. The former were to be raised up far beyond their original state

y 1 John iv. 8, 9, 10.

by supercreation grace, and admitted to such a sight and knowledge of God, by the beatific vision of him in the person of God-man, as would swallow up their minds in the everlasting contemplation of his blefsednefs, and make them ineffably blessed in the enjoyment thereof, in which their everlasting happiness would consist, and which would continue them impeccable for ever and ever. The elect of human race, not lefs favourites of free grace than the former, were to share largely in the blessings of divine favour. They were to have a double share of blefsings in consequence of their union with the Son of God. As God's Benjamins, they were to have the upper and the nether springs of everlasting love, grace, and mercy opened for them, and flowing forth towards them. They were to be raised up from and above all the evil and miseries of the fall, and appear "A glorious church, "without spot or wrinkle, or any such "thing." In the eternal designs of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost towards the elect IN CHRIST, all things were designed to illustrate and exalt the riches, freenefs, glory, and sovereignty of grace. The fall itself was as a foil to set it off. The sinfulness and misery of the elect, which they were plunged into, were only designed to glorify the Lord Jesus,

as the head and Saviour of his church and people. By his being their head they were preserved in him, and intitled to all spiritual blefsings. By the latter they were to receive their eternal redemption. As sin would draw a veil over, and keep out of sight, the ancient glory in which they shone forth, when viewed by Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as presented in the eternal settlements of grace, as the bride the Lamb's wife; it was decreed, that Christ, the Lord of glory, should for a little while be made lower than the angels, and experience sufferings and death on the behalf, and for the benefit of his people. He was to lay aside his glory, and because "the "children were partakers of flesh and

blood, he also was likewise to take part of the same, that through death "he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil". O the depth of EVERLASTING LOVE! The love of God is one of the deepest mysteries of eternity-the miracle of Heaven-the wonder in glory. Not a saint, nor angel, will ever be able to exprefs or conceive the immensity of itwhat it is for God to love his people in Christ with an everlasting love; and to be re-iterating the thoughts of it in his own infinite mind from eternity to z Heb. ii, 14.