was between them both; and Christ is, as the Septuagint verfion of Ifai. ix. 6. calls him, the Angel of the great council; and he is the Wisdom of God, that dwells with prudence, and finds out the knowledge of witty inventions"; of which this of the ransom and redemption of men is not the least. And especially if the finding a ransom respects the impetration of redemption; this peculiarly belongs to Chrift; of him it is said, having obtained, or as it is in the orignal text, baving found eternal redemption for us*; he is the ranfomer, and the ransom-price; he is the man the peace, and who has made peace by the blood of his cross, and reconciled men to God by his fufferings and death, and is become the author of eter nal falvation. But I go on to confider, II. The happy effect and confequence of the ranfom found, which is an order for deliverance from going down to the pit. And here I shall inquire what pit this is, a deliverance from going down to which is here ordered; and then by whom this order is given, and to whom directed.. 1. By the pit is commonly understood the grave, and which in this book, and elsewhere, is so called; the word fignifies corruption, and it has this name from hence, because in it the bodies of men putrify and corrupt: but the grave is what all men go down into; it is the house appointed for all living; it is man's long home, to which he is going, and where he must lodge till the resurrection : all men by divine appointment, die, and are brought to the grave, and there laid; good men as well as bad men, such as are ranfomed by Christ, as well as others. It is true indeed that faints are delivered from it as a punishment; death is abolished, and the grave destroyed, as penal evils; but then they are not delivered from death itself, and from going down into the grave; they may have a reprieve for a time, and be spared a while longer; the fick man may recover strength before be goes bence and is no more; he may not be given over to death, though forely chaftened; this fickness he labours under may not be unto death; he may be reftored and return, when he has been brought to the gates of it but then fuch an ordinary event as the recovery of a fick man, seems to be too small a matter be founded upon fuch an extraordinary and marvellous affair as the ransom of Christ, and does not answer the grand defign of it; rather therefore by this pit is meant the bottomlefs pit, the pit of deftruction, which the wicked go into, even hell, eternal wrath and ruin'; and which, though: the elect of God are deferving of as others, yet, being ranfamed by Chrift,, they are delivered from it. I proceed to inquire, Zech. vi. 13.. * Evgar, Heb. ix. 12. Prov. viii. 12. So Cocceius interprets it.. 7. Ne defcendat in foveam, infernalem ac æternam perniciem. Michael. not, in loc 2, By 2. By whom, and to whom is this order given. Those who think the grave is intended by the pit, fuppofe thefe words, deliver him from going down to it, are addreffed either to the disease itself the fick man is afflicted with; fo Mr Broughton renders the words, "Spare him, O killing malady, from defcending into "the pit;" difeafes are the fervants of God, they come when he bids them, and they depart when he orders them fo to do: he sometimes fays to them, as he did to the destroying angel, It is enough; the ends are answered for which the malady was fent, and it must be continued no longer; often fo it is, that upon the fick man's prayers, or those of his friends, he is raised up from his fick-bed, and delivered from the grave: or else the address is to the minifter, as others think, that attends the fick man, affifts him, and prays for him; who is fent to tell him that he shall not die but live, as Nathan was fent to David, and Ifaiah to Hezekiah, which is declaratively, though not authoritatively, delivering from the grave: but the words are rather an address of God the Father to his Son, the angel and interpreter with him, lying in his bofom; upon finding the ranfom, upon the contrivance of the scheme of redemption, after the agreement and covenant made; fending him forth in the fulness of time, to give himself a ransom for his people, and redeem and fave them from deftruction, fince fuch a way was found out and agreed upon; for the words may be rendered, "redeem him from going down to the pit," as the word fignifies"; and to whom can this be fo properly faid as to Chrift the redeemer? or elfe this is the addrefs of the Father to law and justice, upon the ransom being found, or the redemption obtained by Chrift; fince that is done, juftice, let this man go free; law, Let open thy prifon doors, and no longer detain this captive; hell and death, give up your claim to him, feeing the ranfom-price is paid for him. Or these words may be confidered as the words of the Son to the Father, the angel, the meffenger and interpreter with God, the advocate with him; who appears the prefence of God for his people, and pleads his propitiatory facrifice for them, urges on their behalf the atonement he has made, and the ranfom he has given for them, and infists upon their deliverance from wrath and ruin; and declares it to his heavenly Father as his will, that they be faved from hell, and be with him in heaven, where he is, and behold his glory". I come now to the laft general head, in III. To observe the grace of God displayed in all this; then he is gracious, and Jaith; not the minifter that affifts the fick perfon, and has pity on him, and y So the Dutch annotators. and Caryll in loc. pray's T is the fame with, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra obferve. Utrumque confignat redemptionem, vel liberationem captivi, quæ fit foluto pretio, vel & fubftituta anima loco anima, vita loco vitæ. • John xvii. 24. prays for him; but either the angel, the meffenger, the interpreter, one among a thoufand, the Word that is with God, the advocate with the Father, who is graci ous and merciful to his ranfomed ones; and has in a very wonderful manner fhewn his grace and love in becoming furety for them; engaging to be their Saviour and Redeemer, promifing to pay their debts for them, and to be their ranfomer, and give himself a ranfam-price for them: the grace of Chrift is wellknown, and clearly feen in his affumption of human nature, taking part of the fame flesh and blood with his children, appearing in the form of a fervant, who was Lord of all, and becoming poor, who was rich, even God over all, bleffed for ever and greater love than this could never be expreffed by men, than to lay down his life for a friend; but fuch is the grace of Christ, that he has laid down his life for his enemies, and died for men while they were finners, and had no love for him and his grace is further displayed in his wonderful and prevalent interceffion for them; for their converfion; for the application of pardoning grace to them; for the preservation of them from all evil; for their final perfeverance; for their deliverance from hell and death; and for their eternal glorification. Or rather, the He here is God the Father, who is faid to be gracious, and is fo; he has proclaimed his name in Christ, a God gracións and merciful, abundant in goodness and truth; pardoning iniquity, tranfgreffion and fin; he is the God of all grace, and has in various ways manifested his grace unto the fons of men, and especially in the affair of their ranfom, redemption and falva. tion. His grace appears in finding Chrift the ranfom; for though this was the invention of wisdom, it was grace set wisdom at work to contrive the amazing scheme; it was becaufe God loved his people with an everlasting love, and as an instance of that love, chofe them to be holy and happy, and resolved upon their eternal falvation, that he caft about in his infinite mind to find out and pursue the best ways and means of effecting it; it was wondrous grace in him to fend his Son to be the ransomer and ransom-price, when Wisdom could find none fo fit and proper for this purpose as he; it was marvellous grace to agree to part with him, and in the fulness of time to fend him to redeem loft finners from fin, Satan, law, death and hell: herein he fhewed forth his grace, yea the riches, the fulness of his grace, even the exceeding riches of it in this instance of kindness; fending his Son in the likeness of finful flesh to be a facrifice for fin, to make atonement for it, and be the ranfom of his people: herein his love was manifested to the highest degree, and he gave the greatest commendation of it that could be; for a greater perfon could not be fent, or a greater gift bestowed: if it was an inftance of the love of God to his people the Jews, с המקום "the place," he who fills up all space and place, fo Jarchi and Aben Ezra. • Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. that that be gave Egypt for their ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for them, men for them, and people for their life; how much greater proof of his love has he given, by not Sparing his own Son, but delivering him up for us all? Had he given all the angels in heaven, and all the rest of mankind on earth, a ransom for his chosen, it would not have been fuch an evidence of his love as the gift of his Son. And then, when Chrift had given his life a ransom, it was grace to accept of this ranfom-price in the room and stead of his people; for though it was a full and fufficient one, which law and juftice could not object unto, and with which they must be both pleased and satisfied; yet God was not obliged to accept of it in the room and stead of finful men, had he not voluntarily agreed in the covenant .of grace to accept of it as a vicarious facrifice and proper atonement for them otherwise he might have infifted upon fatisfaction from the finner himself; but fuch was his grace, that he accepts the ransom of his Son in his room. Moreover, the grace of God is greatly displayed in what he has done upon the score of this ranfom-price paid, and redemption obtained, in the justification of the perfons, and in the pardon of the fins of those for whom it is given: juftification proceeds upon, and is through the redemption which is in Chrift; and this is an act of God's free grace; fo fays the apoftle, being juftified freely by bis grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Chrift; it is with a view to the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and to his life and blood being given as a ranfom for his people, and to the redemption thereby procured, that God justifies any, and this is by his grace; and as if to fay fo was not enough to express the riches of it, it is faid to be freely by his grace; not only the righteoufnefs of God, his ftrict justice is declared, in this method of justifying finners, whereby he appears to be jufk ftrictly just, whilft he is the justifier of him that believes in Jefus; but the free grace of God is abundantly manifeft in it, in accepting the righteousness of Chrift, in the imputation of it to his people without works, and in the application of it by his Spirit: hence it is called the free gift, the gift of grace, and an abundance of grace: fo likewise forgiveness of fin is a branch of redemption obtained by the ranfom-price; hence, fays the apostle, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, according to the riches of bis grace; though pardon of fin is through the blood of Chrift fhed for it, and with refpect to that is an act of justice, yet notwithstanding it is according to grace, and the riches of it; though it is upon the foot of fatisfaction and atonement, yet it was. grace that provided Chrift the lamb for the burnt-offering; it was grace that fent him to make reconciliation for fin, and to fhed his blood for the remiffion of it; and it was grace that accepted the expiatory facrifice, and declares the finner forgiven on account of it; and which makes application of the blood of Chrift f Rom. v. 15-17. · Ephes. i. 7. e Rom. iii. 24. Ifai. xliii. 3. *• Chrift to the finner's confcience for that purpose; and who becomes very fensible of the freeness of the grace of God, and of the multitude of his tender mercies in the forgiveness of his fins. In fhort, the whole of falvation, which flows from the ranfom given, and is no other than a deliverance from going down to the pit, or from hell, wrath, and ruin, is entirely of grace, and not of works. God, in faving men, does not proceed according to their works, but according to his own grace; it is not by works of righteousness which they have done, even the best, but by his abundant mercy and rich grace, that he faves them, through the blood and righteousness of his Son, and the regeneration of the bleffed Spirit; and to this it will be afcribed by all the faints throughout an endless eternity, when the constant acclamation will be, Grace, grace unto it. And thus have I endeavoured to open and improve this passage of scripture on this folemn occafion, as time would allow me. It may be expected I should now fay fomething concerning our deceased friend and brother. I am very fenfible that he himself was very averse to encomiums of the dead at such seasons, and for my own part I have no inclination to them; I fhall therefore fay nothing of him in his civil and moral character; how he behaved in his family as a parent and master, you that are of it know full well; and how he behaved as a neighbour, you that were his neighbours can bear witnefs; I fhall only say a few things as to his fpiritual and eternal concerns. It pleafed God to call him by his grace, and reveal his Son in him, in his younger days; and as he knew it was his duty with the mouth to make confeffion unto falvation, as well as with the heart to believe unto righteousness, he very early gave up himfelf to this church of Chrift, of which he was a member upwards of twenty-fix years; and, allowing for the common infirmities of life, his conversation, so far as known by us, was agreeable to the profeflion he made. I doubt not but that he had that true faith which works by love to Chrift and his people; a crucified Chrift was precious to him; his blood, his righteoufnefs, and all that belong to him; he loved him, his people, his gofpel, and his ordinances; he was an humble christian, tender and compaffionate to the poor, to whom he behaved very respectfully both by words and deeds; he had a very mean opinion of himself, being very sensible of the corruption of his nature, and the plague of his heart, and of his deficiencies and imperfections in life: to this was owing the great reluctance with which he accepted the office of a deacon, as many of you well know, and for the fame reafon chofe to officiate in it only when pure neceffity obliged him. to it. In a vifit to him in his late illness, which iffued in death, he told me he had had fome delightful views of eternal things, and his interest in them; and added, that he should be very ungrateful if he did not believe that Christ shed his blood for him: that paffage of fcripture being mentioned in conversaVOL. L 3 Y tion, |