He gave his life a ransom for many, Matt. xx. 28. and every.... one of those many were known unto him. I know my sheep, saith our Lord, and I lay down my life for them, John x. 14, 15. Oh what rotten doctrine is that which possesses the minds of a great many people, who think that the Son of God laid down his life to be a sufficient price for the saving of men, and then left it to men to improve this price, according as their own free-will should incline them; so that at this rate Christ might have died and no man been saved by him. If I may so say, this was to make Christ die as a fool dieth; but he is infinitely wise, and knew well wherefore he laid down his life. There was love in it to persons, therefore you still find it running this way, he loved ME, and gave himself for ME, Gal. ii. 20. "If he had not loved me he had never died for me." Rev. i. 5. To him that loved US, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; if I may so say, all the life-blood of the Son of God was drawn out of his veins, by the force of the love of his heart. Husbands, love your wives, saith the apostle, Eph. v. 25. as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. Whenever you read this word, the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and hear of its great interest in our salvation, you should say, Be hold how he loved us!

2dly, There is herein to be observed the most wonderful abasement and condescension of Jesus Christ, that he should stoop so low as to shed his blood that it might be sprinkled upon ungodly sinners. There is none that the Father loves so as he did his Son, and there is nothing that he hates as he doth sin; now, that the only beloved of the Father's soul should be given for the expiation of the only thing that his soul abhorreth, what marvellous condescension is here! That Christ himself should stoop so low, who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, or as God, Phil. ii. 6, 7.; that he should stoop so low as to be made of no reputation, and to take upon him the form of a servant; that this great one should count it no shame to be made sin, and to be made a curse for us, 2 Cor. v. 21. Gal. iii. 13. what wonderfui condescension is this! Who being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, he by himself, saith the apos

tle, Heb. i. 3. purged our sins. You would think that the purging such an abominable kennel as our sins, was a work base enough, and low enough for a devil; aye, but the Son of God himself stooped to this, and his condescension was his glory.

3dly, In this interest that the springling of Christ's blood hath in the way of sur salvation, there is the infinite wisdom of God to be seen. It is called the manifold wisdom of God, Eph. iii. 10. Christ crucified is called the widom of God, 1 Cor. i. 24. Wisdom among men is seen in bringing about effectually impossible-like matters: he is a wise man who can do that; who can reconcile things plainly discordant; things plainly cross one to another; it is great wisdom to reconcile such things and all this is done by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is justice and mercy in God, that do here kiss one another. Justice in God is natively directed to the destroying of a sinner; and the mercy of God is directed to the saving of a sinner; now, how mercy can save without reflecting upon justice, and how justice can be satisfied without consuming the sinner, here lay the difficulty that Christ's blood only could reconcile. Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, Rom. iii. 24, 25, 26.

4thly, In this interest that Christ's blood hath in our salvation we may perceive, for the raising our faith and wonder, a new way to heaven that is now reared up, a way to heaven that every one who is good is pleased with it. The apostle speaks of this way, Heb. x. 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; his rent flesh, that is the meaning of it. I shall speak a little further concerning this new way to heaven; for it will be my main work, in prosecuting this exhortation, to press you to take it. All who are good are pleased with it. 1. The justice of God is pleased with it:

that the justice of God should be pleased with a way to heaven for sinners is a marvellous thing; but justice is pleased with this; for hereby it gets a full satisfaction. The justice of God never got such a satisfaction as by the blood of Christ. Blinded sinners think to appease the justice of God, and to atone it by their own little doings; but justice never got a satisfaction but by the shedding of this blood. 2. The law is satisfied and pleased with this way to heaven. I do not say the law of God tells us the way to heaven, it is the gospel only that reveals this; but when the law sees the way to heaven revealed in the gospel, it hath nothing to say against it. The righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, Rom. iii. 21. We do not destroy the law by this way. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law, Rom. iii. 31. God's law never got so much honour in this world, and never will get so much honour in the next world, as it did by shedding the blood of Jesus Christ. When the law sheds the blood of a sinner, it gets some glory; but how small is that honour which arises to the law from the destruction of a criminal? Aye, but when God's own Son comes to offer to the law the blood of God, what a dignity is this to the law? That the law hath this, as it were, to record, "I "have not only sent multitudes of sinners to hell, but I pu"nished God's own Son in man's nature; he fulfilled all the ❝righteousness that I demanded, and performed all the obe“dience that I craved." All the punishment that the law inflicted he bore; he was made under the law, and fulfilled the whole law. 3. This new way to heaven, by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, is pleasing to all the BLESSED THREE, to FATHER, SON, and SPIRIT. The Father is pleased with this way of salvation by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus; for it was his own contrivance, it was his own act, his own pleasure it is called the pleasure of JEHOVAH, Isa. liii. 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise him, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. How did the Lord's pleasure prosper in Christ's hand? If I may so say, the pleasure of the Lord could not have prospered in Christ's hands till the pleasure of the Lord had been in shedding his blood; and thus the plea

sure of the Lord prospered in his hands. Our Lord himself was pleased with it, it was his delight; he died cheerfully and willingly; this lay at his heart: Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, burnt offering and sin-offering hast thou not required; then said I, lo! I come: in the volume of thy book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy lar is within my heart, Psal. xl. 6, 7. Heb. x. 8, 9. The Holy Ghost is also well pleased with it; for he sanctified him, and witnessed to him at his death, but more especially at his resurrection. 4. We may go further about this; all the angels in heaven are satisfied with this new way of salvation: they are mightily pleased with it; though it is not the way of their salvation, it is a way they are highly pleased with: they pry into it, and they give praise for it, i Pet. i. 12. The suffering of Christ, and the glory that shall follow, are things that the angels desire to look into. To the intent, saith the apostle, Eph. iii. 10. that now'unto principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. And they praise in heaven on this account; Rev. v. 11, 12. And I beheld, and heard the voice of many angels about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. We do not know that the angels get any good by Christ's death; they did not stand in need of the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, but they stood in need of confirming grace from their great head; for our Lord Jesus Christ is the head of principalities and powers. Col. ii. 10. The angels are part of the triumphant church above, and are under the headship of Jesus Christ, as the word frequently speaks. The angels in heaven are pleased with this new way; for there is joy in heaven, in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth and is brought home to God by Jesus Christ. 5. All the glorified saints in heaven are pleased with this way to heaven, by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ and of this there is no doubt; for their everlasting praise proceeds on this account. Rev. v. 9. They sung a new song, saying, Thou art VOL. IV.

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worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to Ged by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation: from thence rises their song of praise. 6. This way of salvation is pleasing to all believers that are on the face of the earth. To be saved, to come to heaven, by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, is pleasing to every believer; nay more, if I may so say, it is their being heartily pleased with this that makes them belie vers; for believing stands in a heart-satisfaction with the sprinkled blood of Jesus. Aye, but are there none who are displeased with this way of salvation? Yes, there are; and their being displeased with it is the praise of it. All the devils are bitterly displeased with this sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon sinners; for they know they have no share in it: the greatest enmity that the devil hath is against Jesus Christ as a Saviour. All the damned in hell are displeased at this; for they are past all hopes of benefit thereby. And all unbelievers upon earth are displeased with it; because they do not know it. So that this way of salvation by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, is pleasing to all heaven, and only displeasing to hell, and to poor blind unbelievers here upon earth. So much for this first Use.-Learn to admire at this strange way of salvation, to save us by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ!

Use 2. I would now, in the next place, lead you to the examining and trying yourselves, whether this sprinkling hath come upon you or not; a very important matter this to be managed by every one!" Hath this sprinkling of the blood "of Jesus come upon me? Am I sprinkled by it?" It is not enough that Christ's blood was shed, and that you know wherefore, to sprinkle the altar above for satisfaction; to sprinkle heaven to make an entrance therein for poor sinners; to sprinkle the covenant, and to seal it for a charter and testament of Jesus Christ; but you must labour to know whe ther this sprinkling hath come upon you. It is not enough that you sit under the gospel and the preaching of it: truly the preaching of the gospel rightly, is like the bunch of hys sop that Moses put into the bason of the blood of the corenant, and sprinkled it round among the people; and the