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both to read and hear of such doctrines, as the eternal generation of Christ, and the pre-existence of the human soul of Christ. But contrary to both, I say, that Christ is God's Christ coequally; for the Father is God the Father by his own underived self-existence; the Son of God is God the Son by his own underived self-existence; and the Holy Ghost is God the Holy Ghost by his own underived self-existence. Therefore, God the Father said to Moses I am that I am :" Christ said to the Phari"Before Abraham was, I am ;" and the Holy Ghost calls upon the church in the following emphatic manner, " Hearken unto me O Jacob and Israel my called; I am he I am the first, I also am the last." 'Let God be true, and every man a liar." Israel's Father, is I am," Israel's Saviour is " I am," Israel's Teacher is "" I am." Christ therefore being I am,' he, underivedly possesses in himself all divine perfections, eternal majesty, infinite knowledge, almighty power, immutable truth, inflexible justice, and unsullied holiness, being really and sovereignly his own, Thus is he God the Father's Christ, and God the Holy Ghost's Christ coequally. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God existing in a Trinity of persons. My faith grasps, but can neither explore, nor explain this mystery.

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Christ is God's covenantly. Truth, design, and importance, are conspicuous features of the covenant of peace, and needful parts of the economy of grace. A covenant would be of no worth without truth: but as God the Father is a God of truth; as God the Son is truth; and as God the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth; so what each promises must be truth; and the covenant must be a covenant of truth. In this covenant, each person of the glorious trinity promised one to other to love, save, and accept the election of grace. As the Triune God has promised to love them, he can never

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hate one of them; for then he would cease to be the God of inflexible truth. As the Triune God has promised to save them, he can never leave them to save themselves in whole or part; for then he would cease to be the God of Almighty Truth. As the Triune God has promised to accept the people he can never reject one of them; for then he would cease to be the God of immutable truth. So that we must try Arminianism, Mongrel Calvinism, Duty-faithism and every other ism, by this threefold cord which is not quickly broken. If they will not measure equal length therewith, we may be sure they are but lies at best, and reject them accordingly, holding fast to the form of sound words," which sound words run thus, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David.” Now as the covenant is a covenant of truth, the people interested in it, are saved according to truth, which truth is to dwell in them, for they cannot worship God in truth, believe God in truth, love God in truth, nor eternally glorify God in truth; unless spiritual truth, divine truth, almighty truth, eternal truth, and infinite truth dwell in them; and as all this is in Christ as God, he in ancient covenant engaged to assume our nature, and thereby bring truth in the infinity, eternity, and boundless fulness of it into our nature: through the possession of which we are enabled to worship God in Spirit and in truth. Thus the Holy Ghost quickens us, sanctifies us, and perfects his work in our souls by Christ the truth: so that Christ engaging in covenant to be the medium of truth, he is in this view of him God's Christ covenantly. Design is another feature of the covenant, which design is, that the heirs of promise might have strong consolation." This design could never be accomplished, if new covenant mercies were not "sure mercies;" but they become "sure," by being treasured up in Christ; so that in Him all these mercies dwell in all

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their fulness, preciousness, efficacy, and glory. Therefore, all who have an indissoluble union to Him by eternal election, must as a certain consequence of the covenant provision made in Him, and their election union to Him be made partakers of these mercies. Thus Christ is their

covenant head and they are his covenant members, who most assuredly must be covenantly interested in what he possesses, in consequence of this mystical relationship; and must be everlastingly benefited thereby. We therefore discover that all God designs to bless his people with, is in Christ for them, and made sure by Christ unto them. So that Christ being the fountain Head of all blessings, he is in this view of Him, God's Christ covenantly.

Importance is another feature of the covenant of Grace. The people

interested in this covenant are sinners: and while love is determined to have its objects, justice is determined to maintain its rights. Therefore, who can undertake this solemn business? Here is " a number that no man can number out of every nation and language, and people and tongue," whose sins must he put away, whose merited curse must be endured, and whose breaches of the law must be healed; or they must endure the awful penalty themselves. Not only so, but love, the sovereign love of God is determined to raise them from the depths of misery and guilt to the highest heavens, to dignify and glorify them in a righteousness, far beyond the righteousness demanded by the law. Now as the number of God's elect is a number no man can number," pray how could a mere human soul grasp the people? and still less was a human soul capable of numbering their sins; nor is this all, for if Christ had possessed a human soul before the law was given, how could the law "under" which his people were made, lay hold of him as their surety? Therefore Jehovah

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Jesus (not the human soul of Jesus) entered into a covenant with the Father and the Holy Ghost, to put away the sins of the people and bring in everlasting righteousness.

On Canaan's heavenly banks,
see the mighty God,

Who said in covenant settlements,
"I come to do thy will;"
"I come," the Lord of hosts,
Well able to deliver

All my children from the jaws of hell:
I come, to grasp the people

And their sins, to put aside their guilt,
Endure the curse,

And harmonize divine perfections.

Thus Christ engaged in covenant, to bury the curse of the law, the sins of the people, their law relation, and law accountability to God, with all their guilt in the boundless ocean of his own blood, and to bring in for them an eternal revenue of righteousness, by which they should be rendered ineffably glorious in the eyes of the Lord. Then "let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the tops of the mountains."

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1. The preciousness of the Lord Christ. Jesus is of no ordinary value to the saints. Whatever he is, they, by grace in their own experience, find, as said Peter (1. ii. 7.), Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious." Not that believing adds, but rather discovers him as precious. The eye that sees the sun or the landscape, makes neither glorious or beautiful : the beauties are not in the eye, but in the object beheld! Thus the excellencies and preciousness of Christ, are not in the faith of the saints, but rather in Christ himself. He therefore is precious, and such he is personally; relatively; positively; comparatively and superlatively. Nor is this true only of him as he is now in glory, but as he was on earth; as in his present state of exaltation, so in his past condition of deep humiliation. These two, comprise the conditions in which he is presented to the view of believers, in the text.

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But it has been said, he is personally precious, and that too as Man, so as he stands alone among all other men, as gold is alone among all other metals both in purity and value; therefore David asked, "who in the heaven can be compared unto Jehovah? among the sons of the mighty, can be likened unto Jehovah?" Ps. lxxxix, 6. Such as he is in name, such he is in person; and both for the sake of distinction and description: the prophet Isaiah declared (vii. 14.), “ Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." He therefore who is as truly Man as other men, is as truly God as either the Father or the Holy Ghost: nor was he ever otherwise as Man, than God. From this union of the Son of God with the nature of his elect, arises his being personally so great, glorious and precious.

He is also relatively precious, to his Father and God, as his only Son and Servant; and to his elect, in virtue of their being in him, and his standing with them; for all he is, he

is to them; all he has, he has for them; all he has done, is for them; and in being " made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption," he is, as said Paul (1 Cor. i. 29, 30.), made all such to his people. In having suffered for sin, he suffered for their sin; in having bled and died, it was for them; in being a Redeemer, Saviour, Prophet, Priest and King, such he was and is, to and for them; for their present good, and everlasting happiness.

He is likewise positively precious. It is true our Jesus, while sojourning here below, was without any external excellency; so as that, when men looked upon him, they saw no difference between him and others; as may be learnt from that question proposed to the church, "What is thy beloved, more than another beloved?" Song v. 9. But neither men's ignorance of, nor blindness to Christ's excellencies, could nor can detract from his glory, no more than a blind man's not seeing, can detract from the sun's splendour: for as we are aware, the sun remains equally splendid whether men see it or not; therefore, as the sun is positively glorious, so Christ is positively precious; for he is so great and blessed, as to be in his one person, both God and Man. And although he be Man, he is the mighty Man, the God mighty the Fellow of Jehovah sabaoth. But, our text says, he is more precious." Gold, is more precious than all other metals: but Jesus is more precious, yea, he is infinitely and ineffably more precious than it ! Gold has an earthly, not an heavenly; a temporal, and not an everlasting value: whereas Jesus, is the very reverse! And because heavenly, are better than earthly; and everlasting, than temporal things; Jesus is therefore" more precious than fine gold, yea, than the golden wedge of Ophir." But not only is gold more precious than all other metals, it is equally true of most earthly things, because of its intrinsic value and use. So is

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the Lord Jesus more precious than all beside, whether among men or angels; whether of earthly or heavenly things; with him none may or can be compared! Surely, as one taught of the Lord, Asaph cried out, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth I desire beside thee." Ps. lxxiii. 25.

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And he is also superlatively, most precious. He is the most precious object in the love of God the Father, not only as his Son, but the elect head of his body the church, "for in all things he has the pre-eminence." Col. i. 18. And he is the most precious of all the gifts, which God the Father has ever bestowed on his people. On this account and because of his distinguished pre-eminence, Jesus called himself "The Gift of God." John iv. 10. It is not said this is the only, but rather it is the highest and greatest of his gifts, yea he is the most precious of them all. But such he is with his people; and hence their blessed confession, My beloved is white and ruddy: the chiefest among ten thousand." Song v. 10. As a friend, he is the most precious of all friends, "for he loveth at all times." Prov. xvi. 17. As a brother, he is the most precious of all brethren, "for he was born for adversity." xvii. 17. As a father, he is the most precious of all fathers, for he is everlasting," Isa. ix. 6. And as an husband, he is the most precious of all husbands; for not only is he so great, that he is "Jehovah of Hosts" Isa. liv. 5., but he is so merciful and gracious as her husband, that he, as said the Holy Ghost, loved the church, and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that she should be holy, and without blemish." Eph. v. 25-7

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11. But we now proceed, to show Jehovah effected what he here promi

sed, in two ways. 1st. By creation. 2ndly. By revelation. Though the raising up of Christ, was the gracious act of the Three in Jehovah; yet, was it specially promised by, and attributed to the Father; and as he declared, "I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people" Ps. lxxxix. 19. so as here, he promised, "I will make a man &c." No sooner had Adam transgressed, than immediately God was pleased to promise him a Saviour; and until the incarnation of the Son of God, this promise, was what the Old Testament saints had, by faith to live upon.

This was said of Christ, in contradistinction to Adam and all his posterity: for surely such was not the first Adam, or any of his family, for he and they were but ordinary men; whereas Christ is an extraordinary man, in that at the same time and in person he is man, he is also God; as truly God, as truly man: not two, but one person with two natures; the human and divine united in one person. And surely it was, as touching both this union and glorious person, that Paul said, “There is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Tim. ii. 5. And but for this union, Jesus of the seed of Abraham with the person of the Son of Ged, Jesus had been no other than another man! his blood of no more value than another's! and consequently his obedience no more and of no greater value than another's! his sufferings and death no more than another's! and his name not better than another man's! But in virtue of this union, he is all this above others; and what he is as man, he is as made or created in that nature which he assumed in the womb of Mary, and not his divine person, as may be abundantly proved from the scriptures. But this promise is also fulfilled, in the Lord's making known Christ to his people; for, by this revelation he makes him precious

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to them. It is not said, this revelation puts, but rather opens the preciousness of Christ; for as Christ said, No can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him," John vi. 44.; for the real state of the case is this, as all are naturally dead, so blind and ignorant of God, his Christ, and themselves, on these accounts his work is absolutely needful, in order to Christ's being known and valued. And the blessed effect of this work wrought in the hearts of any of his people, is, as Christ declares : Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me," John vi. 45.

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From this teaching also it follows, that Christ becomes precious and altogether lovely; for with him, in their estimation, none may, or can be compared. What Job said, the Lord in a measure enables his people to say, Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof; it cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire; the gold and the crystal cannot equal it," (xxviii. 12-17).

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If Christ be compared with others, he is," as the church says, the chiefest among ten thousand." with any in heaven or on earth, then their language is, "whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." If with what a poor sinner does and has, then they say, as did Paul, count them but dung;" so that he is in truth to his elect, precious, and that too in all he is. And oh what is he not. In all he has, and oh! what has he not? In all he has done, and oh what has he not done? In all he has suffered, and oh! what has he not suffered ? Jesus is above comparison! The difference between him and others, is not one of degree, but of kind; therefore, he stands

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By the blessing of the Lord, we are once more permitted to behold the first sabbath in the new year; may the Lord grant that it may be a day long to be remembered by many precious and immortal souls; may they who have fled for refuge, and have laid hold of the hope set forth in the Gospel, find it to be a sweet day of sacred rest: not only from their lawful callings, but from the cruel temptations of their spiritual enemy, who is ever upon the watch, trying if possible, to disturb the rest of the children of God. May the Lord enable you to come forth this day, being lifted up by the prayers of the faithful in Christ Jesus; may God the Holy Spirit descend and touch your tongue with a live coal from off his sacred altar, so that you may be enabled this day, as you have many times

before, to set forth a full and a finished salvation, by, and through the precious blood of Christ, so that while you are endeavouring to refresh the souls of others, you may find your own soul refreshed. May God of his infinite mercy grant that this day there may be a great outpouring of his most Holy Spirit, experienced in all his faithful churches, but especially within this little hill of Zion; so that the kingdom of Satan may not only be made to shake, but like the walls of Jericho, by, and through the

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