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deny not, but the death of Christ hath a proper end in respect of God; to wit, the manifestation of his glory, whence he calls him his servant in whom he will be glorified; Isa. xlix. And the bringing of many sons to glory wherewith he was betrusted, was to the manifestation and praise of his glorious grace, that so his love to his elect might gloriously appear, his salvation being borne out by Christ to the utmost parts of the earth, and this full declaration of his glory by the way of mercy tempered with justice; for he set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, that he might be just, and the justifier of them that believe in Jesus;' Rom. iii. 25. Is all that which accrued to the Lord by the death of his Son, and not any right and liberty of doing that which before he would have done, but could not for his justice. In respect of us the end of the oblation and bloodshedding of Jesus Christ was, not that God might if he would, but that he should by virtue of that compact and covenant, which was the foundation of the merit of Christ, bestow upon us all the good things which Christ aimed at, and intended to purchase and procure by his offering of himself for us unto God, which is in the next place to be declared.

CHAP. III.

More particularly of the immediate end of the death of Christ, with the several ways whereby it is designed.

WHAT the Scripture affirms in this particular, we laid down in the entrance of the whole discourse; which, now having enlarged in explication of our sense and meaning therein, must be more particularly asserted by an application of the particular places (which are very many), to our thesis as before declared, whereof this is the sum: 'Jesus Christ, according to the counsel and will of his Father, did offer himself upon the cross, to the procurement of those things before recounted, and maketh continual intercession, with this intent and purpose; that all the good things so procured by his death, might be actually and infallibly bestowed on, and applied to, all and every one for whom he died, according to

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1. the will and counsel of God.' Let us now see what the Scripture saith hereunto, the sundry places whereof we shall range under these heads.

First, Those that hold out the intention and counsel of God, with our Saviour's own mind, whose will was one with his Father's in this business.

Secondly, Those that lay down the actual accomplishment or effect of his oblation; what it did really procure, effect, and produce.

Thirdly, Those that point out the persons for whom Christ died, as designed peculiarly to be the object of this work of redemption in the end and purpose of God.

For the first, or those which hold out the counsel, purpose, mind, intention, and will of God, and our Saviour in this work. Matt. xviii. 11. The Son of man came to save that which was lost;' which words he repeateth again upon another occasion; Luke xix. 10. In the first place, they are in the front of the parable of 'seeking the lost sheep;' in the other, they are in the close of the recovery of lost Zaccheus ; and in both places set forth the end of Christ's coming, which was to do the will of his Father, by the recovery of lost sinners; and that as Zaccheus was recovered by conversion, by bringing into the free covenant, making him a son of Abraham; or as the lost sheep, which he lays upon his shoulder, and bringeth home; so that unless he findeth that which he seeketh for, unless he recover that which he cometh to save, he faileth of his purpose. Secondly, Matt. i. 21. Where the angel declareth the end of Christ's coming in the flesh, and consequently of all his sufferings therein, is to the same purpose, he was to save his people from their sins. Whatsoever is required for a complete and perfect saving of his peculiar people from their sins, was intended by his coming; to say that he did but in part, or in some regard effect the work of salvation, is of ill report to Christian ears.

Thirdly, The like expression is that also of Paul, 1 Tim. i. 15. evidently declaring the end of our Saviour's coming according to the will and counsel of his Father; viz. To save sinners; not to open a door for them to come in, if they will or can; not to make a way passable, that they may be saved; not to purchase reconciliation and pardon of his Father, which perhaps they shall never enjoy; but actually

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to save them from all the guilt and power of sin, and from the wrath of God for sin, which if he doth not accomplish, he fails of the end of his coming; and if that ought not to be affirmed, surely he came for no more than towards whom that effect is procured. The compact of his Father with him, and his promise made unto him, of seeing his seed, and carrying along the pleasure of the Lord prosperously;" Isa. liii. 10-12. I before declared; from which it is apparent, that the decree and purpose of giving actually unto Christ a believing generation, whom he calleth the children that God gave him;' Heb. ii. 13. is inseparably annexed to the decree of Christ's making his soul an offering for sin,' and is the end and aim thereof.

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Fourthly, As the apostle farther declareth, Heb. ii. 14, 15. Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death,' &c. Than which words nothing can more clearly set forth the entire end of that whole dispensation of the incarnation and offering of Jesus Christ, even a deliverance of the children whom God gave him from the power of death, hell, and the devil; so bringing them nigh unto God nothing at all of the purchasing of a possible deliverance for all and every one; nay, all are not those children which God gave him, all are not delivered from death, and him that had the power of it, and therefore it was not for all for whom he then took flesh and blood.

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Fifthly, The same purpose and intention we have, Eph. v. 25, 26. Christ loved his church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy, and without blemish.' As also, Tit. ii. 14. He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.' I think nothing can be clearer than those two places; nor is it possible for the wit of man to invent expressions so fully and lively to set out the thing we intend, as it is in both these places by the Holy Ghost.

Sixthly, What did Christ do? 'He gave himself,' say both these places alike; 'for his church,' saith one; 'for us,' saith the other; both words of equal extent and force, as all men know. To what end did he this? To sanctify and cleanse it, to present it to himself a holy and glorious church, without spot or wrinkle,' saith he to the Ephesians; 'to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works,' saith he to Titus. I ask now, are all men of this church? Are all in that rank of men, among whom Paul placeth himself and Titus? are all purged, purified, sanctified, made glorious, brought nigh unto Christ? or doth Christ fail in his aim towards the greatest part of men? I dare not close with any of these.

Seventhly, Will you have our Saviour Christ himself expressing this more evidently, restraining the object, declaring his whole design and purpose, and affirming the end of his death; John xvii. 19. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.' For their sakes? Whose I pray? The men whom thou hast given me out of the world;' ver. 6. Not the whole world, whom he prayed not for; ver. 9. 'I sanctify myself.' Whereunto? To the work I am now going about, even to be an oblation. And to what end ? ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ὦσιν ἡγιασμένοι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, “ that they also may be truly sanctified;' that iva there (that they) signifies the intent and purpose of Christ, it designs out the end he aimed at, which our hope is, and that is the hope of the gospel, that he hath accomplished; for the Deliverer that comes out of Sion, turns away ungodliness from Jacob;' Rom. xi. 26. And that herein there was a concurrence of the will of his Father, yea that this his purpose was to fulfil the will of his Father, which he came to do.

Eighthly, And that this also was his counsel is apparent ; Gal. i. 4. For our Lord Jesus gave himself for our sin, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father;' which will and purpose of his, the apostle farther declares, chap. iv. 4-6. God sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons;' and because sons,'our deliverance from the law, and thereby our freedom from the guilt of sin; our adoption to sons, receiving the Spirit, and drawing nigh unto

God, are all of them in the purpose of the Father, giving his only Son for us.

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Ninthly, I shall add but one place more, of the very many more that might be cited to this purpose, and that in 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath made him to be sin for us, that knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' The purpose of God in making his Son to be sin is, that those for whom he was made sin might become righteousness; that was the end of God's sending Christ to be so, and Christ's willingness to become so: now if the Lord did not purpose what is not fulfilled, yea, what he knew should never be fulfilled, and what he would not work at all that it might be fulfilled (either of which are most atheistical expressions), then he made Christ sin for no more than do in the effect become actually righteousness in him; so that the counsel and will of God, with the purpose and intention of Christ by his oblation and bloodshedding was to fulfil that will and counsel, is from these places made apparent: from all which we draw this argument; that which the Father and the Son intended to accomplish, in and towards all those for whom Christ died by his death, that is most certainly effected; (if any shall deny this proposition, I will at any time, by the Lord's assistance, take up the assertion of it). But the Father and his Son intended by the death of Christ to redeem, purge, sanctify, purify, deliver from death, Satan, the curse of the law, to quit off all sin, to make righteousness in Christ, to bring nigh unto God, all those for whom he died, as was above proved. Therefore, Christ died for all, and only those in and towards whom all these things recounted are effected: which whether they are all and every one, I leave to all and every one to judge that hath any knowledge in these things.

Secondly, The second rank contains those places which lay down the actual accomplishment and effect of this oblation; or what it doth really produce and effect in and towards them for whom it is an obiation. Such are Heb. ix. 12. 14. By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,-the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works to serve the living God.' Two things are here observed to the

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