and there was nothing that he had to expect from us for his pains; we could never reward him for his work; and all that we fhall do to eternity, is only, thro' his grace, to blefs him for what he hath done.

4. He engaged firmly, and that both in point of conftancy and courage, In point of courage; he engaged in the work couragioufly, though he had juftice, and wrath, and hell, and heaven, and all on his top; yea, and poor man alfo, for whom he engaged; yet, how couragiously did he go through with his work! fo firmly, as not to be moved with difcouragements. He went and fet his face up to Jerufalem, where he was to be crucified; and you fee wherewith he encouraged himself, Pfal. xvi. 8, compared with Acts ii. 25. Becaufe the Lord is at my right-hand, I fhall not be moved:" God's hand was upon the Man of his right-hand, upon the Son of man whom he made flrong for himself; and therefore the right-hand of the Lord did valiantly: "The right-hand of the Lord was exalted; the righthand of the Lord did valiantly."-As he engaged firmly in point of courage, fo alfo in point of conftancy: he never took his word again, but flood to the bargain; neither fear of the wrath of his Father, nor sense of the unworthiness of the finner, nor yet the frequent falls and relapfes of his people, could make him alter; he forefaw all their relapfes into fin, and into the fame fins, yet could it not move him to break the bargain; therefore, "Return ye backfliding children, I will heal your back. flidings," Jer. iii. 22.; yea, "I will heal your backflid. ing, and love you freely," Hofea xiv. 4. Your inconftancy, might he fay, fhall not make me inconftant too : he hates putting away, and continues in his love.

5. He engaged timeoufly and fpeedily; he did not linger, for the matter could not admit of a delay: when our neck was on the block, and the ax of divine judgment coming down, as it were, to give the fatal ftroak, he cries fpeedily, Hold, hold thy hand. What, might God fay, will you come and be a facrifice in their room? No fooner is the motion made to him, than presently he was on fire of love to be thus employed and fubftitute in our room as a facrifice; "Lo I come:"

he

When the plague

he fpeaks like one ready to run. was begun, Mofes commands Aaron to go quickly into the congregation to make an atonement, Numb. xvi. 46. The fentence of divine wrath, which is a terrible plague, was gone out; and therefore Chrift does fpeedily engage

to make the atonement.

6. He engaged heartily; he engaged his heart to approach unto God. This being the main particular, with respect to the manner of the fact, or that branch of the fingularity of it, exprefly mentioned in the text; therefore let us elpecially take notice of this, "He engaged his heart to approach.-He engaged his heart;" that is, not only did he engage for his foul, as fome understand it, that his foul fhould be made an offering for fin; but alfo, he engaged his heart, that is, he engaged willingly; and fo it was with a thoufand good-wills: Lo I come, Father; thy will is my will." He engaged his heart;" that is, he engaged cordially, chearfully, and affectionately; "I delight to do thy will, O my God!" We never read that Chrift had a fad heart to quit, for a while, that joy and pleasure that he had in heaven: Why, what was the matter? You fee it, Prov. viii. 31.; he had fo much pleasure and fatisfaction in the work he was engaged in, that it is faid, "His delights were with the fons of men, rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth," even the places where his fick patients lay. It was not for any pleasure that he took in habitable places; nay, it was not places, but perfons in fuch and fuch a place; fome of my fick patients ly in this corner of the world, and fome of them in that corner; fome of them ly among the ifles, and uttermoft parts of the earth; fome of them ly in yonder ifle of Britain, fome of them in Scotland; and, mày not I fay, fome of them ly in Fife, and fome of them in Dunfermline? He rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, where he had patients to heal; "His delights were with the fons of men;" For his heart was engaged in his work, he heartily confented to it from all eternity. And though' eternity cannot be divided into parts, yet, to fpeak after the manner of our conception, he spent the rest of that eternity in rejoicing in the thoughts of it.

But more particularly, that his heart was engaged, will appear, if you confider,

(1.) That not only did he give his hearty confent from all eternity, but fo foon as ever he had created the world by his almighty arm, then presently he falls about his work and bufinefs: for he was flain from the foundation of the world. It is true, he came not perfonally for the space of about four thousand years, from the beginning of the world: but though he came not in perfon, yet he came by proxy: The infinite wifdom of God thought fit to order matters fo, that many a facrifice was fent to be a fhadow of this good thing that was to come; and many a fervant did he fend to affure them that he was a-coming.

(2.) When the fulnefs of time was come, that he appeared on the ftage of the earth, he fhewed, in the whole courfe of his life, how much his heart was engaged in his mediatorial work. When he was yet a child, and his parents loft him, and found him in the temple, and began to chide with him; what fays Chrift? Luke ii. 49. "How was it that you fought me ? wift ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" Never did a hungry man delight more in meat, than Christ delighted in the work of our redemption: It was his meat and drink to do the will of him that fent him..

(3.) That his heart was engaged in the work, appears from his zeal against every thing that had a tendency to hinder his going on to the hardest and highest part of his work. What can be more expreffive of a heart engaged in the work, than the paffage you have, Mat. xvi. 23. There Peter began to rebuke Christ, when he fpake of his fufferings; "Be it far from three, Lord." One would think, that Chrift would have taken this in good part, and that it was love in Peter; but we never read that Chrift took any thing fo ill: he turned about, like a man in the greatest paffion, and fays, "Get thee behind me, Satan:" Never was fuch a word heard from the mouth of Chrift, and that spoken to a faint. It is Peter's voice, but the devil hath tuned it: What would become of an elect world, if I fhould stop

here?

here? "Get thee behind me, Satan." His heart was engaged to the work.

(4.) It appears from his longing to pay the debt which he had engaged to pay: "I have a baptism to be: baptized with, and how am I ftraitened until it be finished!" He longed to be plunged over head and ears, as it were, in the ocean of divine wrath and when it came near to the time of his death, it is noted, Luke ix. 18. He went before, afcending up to Jerufalem;" as a child, that is going with his friends to a place where he defires to be, runs out before, as being fond to be forward; fo Chrift went before, and all the way talked of it to them, as we ufe to talk of what we pant after: Yea, when it came near to his fuffering, he cannot forbear telling his difciples, That with defire he defired to eat that paffover; wherein he faw, as in a glass, how he was to fuffer. And when Judas went forth to betray him, he said, "What thou doeft, do quickly," John xiii. 37.; and when he was gone, he rejoiced, and faid, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him:" He reckoned the work done, because the inflrument that fet all a-work was gone out. And, at the end of the 14th chapter of John, he brake off, as it were, in the midst of the fermon, and says, "Arife, let us go hence." Of all works, preaching was moft pleafant to him; but behold he breaks off, and goes out, that he might be taken and crucified, that the occafion might not flip. And then he does not ftay till Judas found him out; no, he goes forth to the place where Judas and his band were, and offered himself a willing facrifice, When they said, "We feek Jefus of Nazareth" he answers, "I am he," John xviii. 4, 5. and when Peter would have rescued him, he bade him put up his fword, faying, "The cup which my Father hath given me to drink, fhall I not drink it ?" Yea, when he was beaten and buffeted, how did he give his back to the fmiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair?" He was led as a lamb to the flaughter; and as a fheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth." Yea, when hanging on a orofs, he had

enough

enough to provoke fo great a fpirit to have refcued himfeif, when they cried, "Come down, and we will believe thee: If thou canst fave thyfelf, we will belie e that thou cant fave others :" Nay, fay they, "He faved others, but himself he cannot fave." He might, like a Samson, have broken down the pillars of heaven and earth about their ears; but he bears all patiently. And then, how his heart was engaged, appears in the very laft act; "He bowed his head," and cried out with a joyful heart, "It is finifhed:" the work which my Father gave me to do, is finifhed; the work which I engaged my heart unto, is finished: And fo he gave up the ghost, committing his spirit into his Father's hand, as a pledge and token that the engagement was fulfilled. And now, this work being accomplished, fhall we not think that his heart is as much engaged to the work of redemption by power, as it was to the work of redemption by price? Yea, He hath entered into heaven, now to appear in the prefence of God for us," Heb. ix. 24. 66 If, when we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; how much more, being reconciled, fhall we be faved by his life?" Rom. v. 10. "He that was dead is alive, and lives for evermore; and he ever lives to make interceffion' for us." He lives to apply, by the power of his Spirit, what he purchased by the price of his blood. Thus you fee the fingularity of the fact, both to the matter and manner of it; and how his heart was engaged to approach unto God: And fo far is he from being diffatisfied with the bargain, that never a repenting thought was in his heart to this day, with refpect to the whole of his work.

IV. The Fourth thing propofed, was, To give the reafons of the doctrine, why Chrift did so heartily come under the engagement; together with the reafons of our faith about it; or, why it is that JEHOVAH'S teftimony is added in thefe words, "Saith the Lord :" "Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? SAITH THE LORD."

Now, as to the First of these, viz. the reafon why