oufnefs of God, from faith to faith"; even that righteousness, which Christ, whe is God over all, has wrought out for his people; which God is well pleased with, and graciously imputes unto them; his juftice being satisfied with it, and his law magnified and made honourable by it; and which faith lays hold upoa as a juftifying righteousness; being pure, spotlefs, perfect and compleat; and fo by it, all that believe are juftified from all things, from which they could not be juftified by the law of Mofes . 5. It is the word of life. It is the Spirit which giveth life; it is the means of giving and communicating fpiritual life to dead finners, when attended with the fpirit and power of Chrift; it is the favour of life unto life, and alfo the means of reviving and refreshing drooping believers; and moreover, fhows the path of life, the way to eternal life and happiness by Chrift; for life and immortality are brought to light, not by the light of nature, nor by the law of Mofes, buc through the gospel of Chrift. 6. It is the word of falvation. It brings the news of falvation by Chrift; it is a declaration of it; it gives an account both of the author and nature of it; it defcribes the persons interested in it; it encourages poor fouls to look to Christ for it, and is the means of the application of it; it is the power of God unto fal vation, to every one that believeth. Now fuch a word as this which comes from God, is clothed with his authority, has the fignature of truth upon it, and is charged with matters of the greatest moment and concern; fuch as our reconciliation with God, our justification before him, and the way of life and salvation by Chrift, ought to be attended to; and whatsoever that makes known unto us, enjoins on us, or directs us to, fhould be regarded by us; which brings me, II. To fhew you what that way is which this word exhorts us to walk in. The grand and principal way is Chrift; the leffer ones are the paths of doctrine and duty, and each of these we are directed to by the word behind us. 1. Chrift is the chief and principal way the word directs us to walk in; yea, he himself fays, I am the way '. Under this head I shall endeavour to show you, (1.) What Chrift is the way unto. (2.) What a way he is. (1.) What he is the way unto: he is the way to the Father; he is the way to the covenant of grace, and to a participation and enjoyment of all the bleffings and promises of it. He is the way of falvation, and to heaven, and eternal glory. n Rom. i. 17. 92 Tim. i. 10. t John xiv. 6. [1.] He [1] He is the way to the Father; he is the Father's way to us, and our way to the Father. Jehovah the Father never took one step towards the falvation of his people out of Chrift; his thoughts about it began with him; he poffefed him in the beginning of his way of grace, before his works of old", of creation and providence; all his purposes, refolutions, and determinations concerning that matter, were in him; the whole fcheme of it is according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Chrift Jefus our Lord": he drew the plan and model of reconciliation in him, in the counfel of peace that was held with him; he chofe his elect in him, and bleffed them with all fpiritual bleffings in him; grace was given to them in him before the world began. All fulness of grace was put into his hands as Mediator, that they might receive out of it, in all generations, grace for grace. The goings-forth of God, in the way of grace to his people, both in eternity and in time, have always been through Chrift. And as he is the Father's way to us, he is our way to the Father: I am the way, fays he, no man cometh unto the Father but by me; none of all the individuals of human nature can come to him in any other way; but through him both Jews and Gentiles have an access by one spirit unto the Father; hence he is faid to be able to fave to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. There is no way to God upon the foot of the covenant of works. Man was made after the image, and in the likeness of God; was in a state of friendship and amity with God; was the favourite and darling of heaven; was placed in the most delightful and fruitful spot in all the globe, and had a power to eat of every tree in the garden, excepting one; all the creatures of the earth were subject to him, and he had all things about him for convenience and delight: But man being in honour abode not long; fin foon feparated chief friends; man listened to the voice of the tempter, turned his back on God, and apoftatized from him; upon which he was both ashamed and afraid to appear before God, when called by him, but was obliged to it; and after his araignment, trial, and sentence, he was drove out of his earthly paradife; and cherubims and a flaming fword were placed at the eaft of the garden, to keep the way of the tree of life; intimating, that there was no coming to God, nor obtaining life,. by the covenant of works. God is a confuming fire; there is no drawing nigh to an abfolute God, to God out of Chrift: Who can engage his heart to approach unto him? There is need of a day's-man to lay his hands on both: There is no access without a Mediator. Chrift is the Mediator between God and man, typified by Jacob's ladder, which was fet upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven; he has affumed human nature, fulfilled the law, and satisfied divine juftice in it, and fo has removed the obstacles which were in the way of a finner's coming to God. He "Prov. viii. 22. Ephes. iii. 11. x Ephes. ii. 18. y Heb. vii. 25. He takes his own people, as it were, by the hand, and leads them into his Father's prefence, fo that they have boldness, and access with confidence, by the faith of him: though they are black in themselves they are comely in him, through the perfect comeliness and righteousness he puts upon them; hence their perfons are accepted in the beloved, and fo likewise are their services; their prayers to God are odours of a fweet fmelling favour, being prefented to him perfumed with the incenfe of his mediation; their facrifices of prayer and praise are acceptable to God through him; wherefore it is right that we should by him offer the facrifice of praife to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name; especially, fince, [2] Chrift is the way to the participation and enjoyment of the bleffings of the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace was made with Chrift from everlasting, as the head and reprefentative of God's elect, and for, and on the behalf of them. It was ordered in all things for God's glory, and their good, being ftored with all fpiritual bleffings fuitable for them, and enfured to them; all which were put into the hands of Chrift for them. Now, though all these blefsings were originally provided, laid up, and fecured in this covenant by the free grace of God, yet they all come to us through the blood of Chrift; hence that is called the blood of the everlasting covenant. Nor is there any coming at any of them but by him; thus, for instance, forgiveness of fin is a bleffing of the covenant; I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, says God, and their fins and their in quities will I remember no more: but then this comes to us through the blood of Chrift; there is no pardon to be had in any other way, none to be expected from an absolute God, from God out of Chrift; in him we have redemption, through his blood, even the forgiveness of our firs, according to the riches of bis grace. Nor can we come at it, but by him, and by saying as the poor publican did, God be merciful, inadını, be propitious to me a finner f; or, God be merci, ful to me a finner, through the propitiatory facrifice of his Son. Juftification is owing to the free grace of God, as the impulfive and moving caufe of it, but then it is alfo by the blood and righteoufnefs of Chrift, and through the redemption that is in him. Adoption is a bleffing of grace, provided for, and bestowed upon the elect in the covenant of grace; but inafmuch as fin threw obstacles in the way of their actual and perfonal enjoyment of it, Chrift came and redeemed them by his blood, that they might receive the adoption of children. In a word, though eternal life was promifed in the covenant, before the world began, by God that cannot lie, yet Chrift came to procure it for us, and convey it to us; he came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly i. [3.] Chrift Heb. xii 20. [3.] Chrift is the way of falvation which the word of God directs us to, and the ministers of it fhew unto us. He is the way of falvation which God has fixed, refolved, and determined on. God has appointed him to be his falvation. unto the ends of the earth; and those which he has appointed not unto wrath, but to obtain falvation, he has appointed them to obtain it by Christ Jesus. The Lord, as he is determined to save them, he is determined to fave them in this, and in no other way: I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will fave them by the Lord their God; and will not fave them by bow, nor by fword, nor by battle, by borfes, nor by borsemen; wherefore, though there may be many devices in a man's heart; one man may contrive one way of falvation, and another man another, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand'. This is a way agreeable to all the divine perfections; the glory of them is great in this way of falvation; here mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace bave kissed each otherTM. The rights and honours of God's justice and holiness are hereby secured, as well as the riches of his love, grace, and mercy, difplayed. This is a way of falvation in which Satan is most grievously mortified; for it must be a great mortification to that proud spirit to have his head bruised, himself, and works destroyed, and for men to be saved by the seed of the woman; by Christ in human nature, the ruin of which nature he had contrived, and brought about. A way in which the loftinefs of man is bowed down, and the haughtiness of man is made low"; the creature is debafed, his works of righteousness laid aside, a blast is blown on all his goodlinefs, and the Lord alone is exalted. A way which is entirely fuitable to a poor finner's cafe, in which every thing needful for him, pardon, and cleansing, righteousness, and holiness, grace of every kind, and alfo glory, are provided for him. Such a way of falvation is Chrift, that the vileft and chiefest of finners have no reason to despair of it; for whoever looks to him for it, and believes in him, fhall not perish, but have everlafting life. To fay no more, it is a way in which the righteous, though they. are faid to be scarcely faved, by reason of their afflictions, trials, and temptations, yet they are, and will be certainly faved with an everlasting falvation. [4] Chrift is the way to heaven and eternal happiness. Having obtained by his blood eternal redemption for his people, he is entered into heaven as a forerunner, to take poffeffion of it in their name, and prepare it for them. He is the great captain of falvation, who brings many fons to glory, through the Spirit's work of grace upon their fouls, and by virtue of his own blood and righteousness; by the one as their meetness, and by the other as their right to their heavenly inheritance, without which none will ever fee or enter into the kingdom of heaven. But I go on, VOL. I. * Hofea i. 7. I Prov. xix. 21. • Peter iv. 18. 3 H 2. To Pfalm lxxxv. 10. 2. To fhew what a way Chrift is: he is the only way, a new and a living one, a plain and straight way, a narrow one indeed, but yet safe and sure. [1] He is the only way. I am, says he, the way; emphatically and eminently fo, the best and the only one: he is the only way to the Father; no linful man ever did, or could, or can, or will come to the Father, but by him; there is but one Mediator between God and man, the man Chrift Jefus. He is the only way to the covenant of grace, and the bleffings of it; none ever enjoyed any of them, but in and by him: he is the alone Mediator, furety, and meffenger of it; he is the only way of falvation; he is the head of the corner; neither is there falvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be faved. It is in vain to expect it from any other person or quarter, from hills and mountains of duties, fervices, and works of rigteousness done by us; in him alone is the falvation of Ifrael. There never was, nor never will be, any other way of falvation to heaven, and eternal glory; for though there may be ways which feem right to men, the end thereof is death. [2.] Chrift is a new way'; not newly contrived or found out, for he was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was'; nor newly difcovered, for he was made known as the feed of the woman to our first parents, immediately after the fall; nor newly made ufe of, for he was the lamb flain from the foundation of the world", to whose blood, righteousness, and facrifice, all the Old-Teftament faints looked, and by whofe grace they were faved, as we are but he is called the new way, in oppofition to the old way, by the covenant of works, and becaufe he is more clearly revealed as the way under the gofpel-difpenfation; the holy Ghost this fignifying, that the way into the bolieft of all was not yet made manifeft, that is, fo clearly, while the firft tabernacle was yet Standing". Moreover, he may be called fo, because he was lately flain, his blood was newly fhed, and his facrifice but a little while ago offered up; he is •d☺ ❤rçalC, “the new flain way," as fome render the phrase. Besides, he is the new way, because he is always new, and never old: he is Jefus, the way of falvation, the fame to day, yesterday, and for ever. [3.] He is a living way. He is the living Mediator and Redeemer; our way to God lies not through the facrifices of flain beafts, of dead carcafes, but through a living Saviour, who is the author both of fpiritual and eternal life. He gives fpiritual life to his people, to enable them to walk in himself, the way; for there are none but living perfons walk here, and he maintains that life in them, fo that none in this way ever die, and he gives unto them eternal life. He is the |