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the mystery of godliness, God manifefted in the flesh: He took not on him the nature of angels, but the feed of Abraham. More particularly,

(1.) He was a poor man; a man very poor and mean in outward respects: poor in his birth; he was not born of a queen, nor laid in a palace; but born of a poor virgin, and laid in a manger: He was poor in his life; feveral people miniftred to him of their fubStance: yea, The foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nefts, but the son of man had not where to lay bis head. Though he was rich, yet for our fakes he became poor. Let not poor people quarrel at their lot; Chrift, God's equal, was a poor man.

(2.) He was a diftreffed man; A man of furrows, and acquainted with griefs: a man of the fame infirmities with us, except finful ones: In all things it behoved him to be like unto his brethren; that he might be a merciful and faithful High-priest, Heb. ii. 17.; and, He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without fin, Heb. iii. 15. He was hungry, thirsty, weary, tempted, afflicted, and every way diftreffed. Let no diftreffed person think it strange that they are fo, since God's Fellow was a distressed man.

(3.) He was a true man; he had a true body and a reasonable foul: his body was nailed to the tree; they pierced his hands and his feet: his foul was exceeding forrowful, even unto death. As man he went through all the ages of men; firft, he was conceived; then, he was a babe; next, a youth; and at last, came to the perfect stature of a man. But,

(4) He was a good man, an holy man; immaculate was the conception of the holy child Jefus: we come defiled into the world, but Chrift brought no fin into the world with him; and all the devils could not make him fin; for, The prince of this world could find nothing in him, either of original or actual fin: He was made fin for us, who knew no fin; but was holy, harmless, undefiled, and feperate from finners. Never was there fuch an holy man upon earth: fee Heb. v. 7. He was heard, in that he feared; or, he

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was heard for his piety and holiness. Since Adam fell, never was there a man but this, that was heard and accepted of God for his own piety and holiness.

(5.) He was a wife man the wifeft man that ever was: Solomon was very wife, but behold, a wifer than Solomon is here. He answered the learned doctors, to their amazement, when he was twelve years old: Yea, all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and anfwers, Luke ii. 47. And fometimes asked questions to which no man was able to anfwer a word, nor durft afk him any more questions, Mat. xxii. 46. and no wonder, for he was the power of God, and the wisdom of God; and in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge: and hence he revealed the glorious truths that were before concealed. He was a wife man indeed. Yet,

(6.) He was a mortal man as we are, and he actually died as we muft; he was put to a painful and fhameful death; and his curfed death, which yet we may call his bleffed death, we are to commemorate this day. This man fell a facrifice to the awakened fword of infinite juftice; the Shepherd was fmitten and flain, for he was a mortal man; if it be lawful to call him a man,' as Jofephus, a Jew, faid. For,

In a word, he is a wonderful man; to all eternity his name fhall be called wonderful, Ifa. ix. 6. This wonderful man is our peace-maker with God; This man fhall be the peace when the Affyrian cometh into our land. This wonderful man is our only covert from the furious storm of divine wrath; A man fhall be an hiding-place from the ftorm, and a covert from the tempest. But,

2. Why muft our Redeemer be a man? Why, for the following reafons.

(1.) He must be a man in regard of the tranfaction between the Father and the Son. Not only was God's truth engaged in the promise, that the feed of the woman fhould be fent; that to us a child fhould be born, to us a Son given, and that a virgin fhould bring forth fen, and call his name Immanuel, God with us, God

in our nature; and not only was God, in his infinite wisdom, refolved, in the weakness of our nature, to perfect his own ftrength, and get the greater glory; and that as by one man's disobedience, many were made finners; fo by the obedience of one, many should be made righteous; but alfo, it being agreed between the Father and the Son, in the covenant of redemption, or grace, that the Son fhould offer up a facrifice for us; it was alfo agreed, that there must be somewhat to offer, Heb. viii. 3. Somewhat of greater value than all the world; for, nothing could be a fufficient facrifice for the expiation of fin. If Chrift had not been man, he could have had nothing to offer up as a facrifice to God: God himself provided a facrifice, as he did a ram in the room of Ifaac: Sacrifice and offering thou wouldft not; a body haft thou prepared me. This body, this facrifice, was provided in the counfel of peace ; and being thus provided, Chrift comes chearfully to offer it, Lo, I come; I delight to do thy will, O my God.

(2.) He must be a man in regard of us; he would not have redeemed us, if according to the law, the right of redemption had not belonged to him as our kinfman, Lev. xxv. 25.; and being man, he is fit to communicate to us the things of God in fuch a way, as we are capable to receive. If God fhould appear to us immediately, in his terrible glory, we would be afraid of him, as Ifrael were, and run away from him; and hide ourselves, as Adam did: yea, thus we have a merciful High-prieft, that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. As man he had experience of our afflictions: are we forrowful? fo was he; Sorrowful, even unto death: are we grieved? he was acquainted with grief: are we in poverty? fo was he: are we fmitten? fo was he: are we deferted? fo was he having a natural fibnefs to us, being bone of our bone, and flesh of our flefh.

(3.) He must be a man in regard of justice: juftice required that the fame nature that finned fhould be punished for fin, and make fatisfaction for fin. God

faid, The foul that finneth fhall die: now, die we must, either in our own perfons, or in our Surety, in our own nature. If any angel had fulfilled the law, what had that been to us? if any angel had fuffered God's wrath, what had that been to us, to man? Though God allowed the change, or commutation of perfons, yet not the commutation of natures; the fame nature that finned must suffer.

(4.) He must be a man in respect of the devil; the devil conquered man, and man must conquer the devil: Satan must be foiled by the fame nature that was foiled by him; The feed of the woman must bruise the head of the ferpent. For this caufe, therefore, the Son of God was manifefted in our flesh, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

(5.) He must be man in regard of fin, which must be cured by the contrary antidote. Our fin was pride, Gen. iii. 5. being but men we defired to be gods; therefore the cure is by humility, wherefore God becomes man. Man broke the law, and man must keep the law: by our fin we tranfgreffed the boundaries of God's law; Chrift, therefore, is made of a woman, made under the law. Sin defaced the glory of God, therefore he who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, becomes of no reputation; and comes in the form of a fervant. Sin is a Deicide, ftriking at the being of God, feeking his life; therefore he that had a life equal with God's, laid down his life, for the fatisfaction of this wrong. Awake, Ofword, against the man that is my Fellow.

(6.) He must be a man in regard of paffability or fufferings; Without fuffering, or fhading of blood, there was no remiffion. He that will fave us then, muft die for us, and fhed his blood for us; which he could not do, had he been merely God; For God is a Spirit. He becomes man, that he may be in cafe to enter the lifts with justice: juftice could not get at him with one ftroak; but as foon as he was man, then, Awake, O fword, against the man that is my Fellow, faith the Lord of hofts. But, why could not the sword of justice awake

wake against him till he was man? Why, as God, fin could not get hold of him; and fo juftice could not get a hit of him for fin: the law could not challange him; the curfe could not reach him: but whenever he becomes man, our Surety, then they all flee about him; and compass him about like bulls of Bafhan. As he becomes man for us, he becomes fin for us; and then he lay open to the curfe; and justice took him by the throat; the fword awaked. When Chrift faw the dreadful sword of wrath, that was to be thrust through his heart, indeed it put the man to his knees, Father, let this cup pass from me; the human nature trembled, and fwate great drops of blood, in his proleptic agony: However, the man was God as well as inan; and therefore he wrestled through. This might lead me,

3dly, To fhew you the need of his being both God and man in one perfon: The man, God's Fellow. The cause of God, and the cause of man is referred to Chrift; therefore he partakes of both natures, that he may be faithful to God, and merciful to man: a fit Mediator between God and man, to lay his hand upon both parties, while he partakes of both natures.Our Redeemer must be both fubject to the law, and fulfil the law meritoriously: now, if he had not been man, he could not be fubject to the law; and if he had not been God, he could not have merited by fulfilling the law; but now, being God-man, by his obedience, he hath magnified the law, and made it honourable.-Our Redeemer was to give his foul an offering for fin now, if he had not been man, he could not have had a foul to offer; if he had not been God, his foul could not have upheld itself; but must have died when his foul was exceeding forrowful even unto death: but now, his divine nature did fupport his human body, and his human foul, under the weight of that burden which would have crushed a world of men and angels. Our Redeemer must both fuffer and fatisfy: now, if he had not been man, he could not have fuffered; and if he had not been

God,