man Nature over its grand Adverfary, who had CHA P. fubjected it to Death, in its Life and Exaltation XII. far above all the dignified Angelick Hoft, to the Right Hand of God. And that we have actually there, by means thereof, the most prevailing Advocate, the moft tender and affectionate Interceffor, and moft merciful KING and JUDGE. Who, by partaking equally of the Divine, and Human Nature, is, in the nature of things, the moft exact, unexceptionable Mediator between, that can be devised by, God or Man: Being equally interested in, and related and affected to both, the Balance of Favour, Juftice, and Duty, is held in the moft equal Hand And therefore He is the trueft MEDIUM, and the propereft CENTER of Communication; to derive from God unto Man, all Mercies, Gifts, Bleffings, fpiritual and temporal, all Promises and Performances of Covenant; and to convey, and recommend from Man to God, all Addreffes of Prayer and Thanksgiving, all engaged Duty and Service of Repentance and Amendment, all Sorrows and Sufferings for the Sake of a good Confcience, and to offer up all the Sacrifices to Heaven that Men are now allow'd to offer upon Earth.

ALL these Intercourfes are kept up, and carried on in the powerful Name of Chrift; fo dear to God, and for that reafon fhould be as dear to, and refpected by Man. Therefore are we required, Whatfoever we do in Word or Deed, to do all in the Name of the Lord Jefus, giving Thanks to God the Father by Him. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, whatsoever ye fhall ask the Father in my

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* Col. iii. 17.

D d

Name,

CHAP. Name, he will give it you. Hitberto ye have asked XII. nothing in my Name, afk and ye shall receive, that

your Foy may be full. TO DO ALL in the Name of the Lord, is, 1. " To have respect in all "Things to his Will, as knowing we are obliged 66 to live to him, to the Honour of his "Name and Doctrine'. 2. To be defirous that

our Actions may be well pleasing to Him3. "3. To expect Acceptance of our Actions, Prayers, and Praises through Him*. 4. A "Recompence of them from Him hereafter "". In the Name, has feveral Acceptations in Scripture, 1. In the Authority of, or Commiffion from. I am come in my Father's Name". I command thee in the Nome of the Lord Jesu s to come out of. So', agreeably to this, Charge in the King's Name. 2. For the Sake; He that receiveth a Prophet in the Name of°. 3. Instead of; Comforter fhall come, whom God will fend in my Name" 4. Power; I have kept them in thy Name". 5. In Profeffion and Acknowledgment of, Belief in; Thus the Form of Baptifm; not by Authority or Commiffion from. 6. In Aid and Affiftance; thus David, I come to thee in the Name of 3.

IN these Senfes chiefly we come to God, IN THE NAME of the Mediator, Chrift, in Dependance upon Him for free Access even unto1, Acceptance with God; according to thofe Commands of praying, and giving Thanks'.

THE Mediator afferts the Right of his Name, and affures his Followers of the Power, of it from his own Power of granting, and at the fame time directs them what was his, and what fhould be their Intention in applying to his Name, or expecting a favourable Return: Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, John xiv. 13.

THIS Intercourfe and Difpenfation of God in Chrift, is admirably calculated to give us true Notions both of God, and Ourselves; whereon the Stress of true Religion fo very much depends. 1. Of the infinite Holiness and Sanctity of God. Seeing he will immediately, and of Himself, maintain no Communication or Dealing with fuch a finful Creature as Man, who has by wilful Tranfgreffion, corrupted and polluted himself egregiously in his Sight; and, without a Mediator to fanctify and cleanse him from Iniquity, would never admit him into his Prefence, or, without his Intervention, have any Converse with him.

THIS moreover gives us moft convincing, right Notions, that He is no arbitrary, fickle, capricious Being; in Confutation of the Deifts groundless Imputations to his Methods of ruling and governing us by a Mediator. For what can poffibly reprefent him farther diftant from Arbitrariness, Fickleness, or Caprice, than his actual referring, and fixing himself to a MEDIATOR, a third Perfon between himself and us; notwithstanding he is fo infinitely fuperior to us in Dignity, and is the offended and difobliged Party? And in doing fo, he may well expoftulate, Are Dd 2

not

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XII.

XH.

CHAP. not my Ways equal? The mighty God makes the Overture, and advances not only the first Step, but the greatest Part of the Way, towards a Reconciliation with his diminutive Creature Man ; that is done at infinite Expence of Mercy, and Difplay of Goodnefs and Placability of Anger on his Part, as before fhewn; where does the Stop, Difficulty, Dilatorinefs remain, for a perfeet Peace and Friendship, but wholly and folely on Man's Part, who purely demurs and dallies in his Danger? The leaft in Confideration is the laft in accepting to be reconciled to God; are not your Ways unequal?

ARE not thy Ways very unequal, Son of Man born of a Woman! great in nothing, fo much as Stubbornnefs and Pride against thy Maker, arifen in thy Heart moft prepofterously from thy Fall and Meannefs! Are they not unequal without Measure, and perverse beyond Bounds? Are not thy Ways arbitrary, guided by mere Will and Fancy? Whilft thou wickedly thoughteft me to be fuch a one as thy felf, and takeft Measure of me and my Ways, by thyfelf and thy Ways; and pique at me, before thy Neighbours, for what is only to be found in thyself! Thy Reasonings, therefore, and thy Ways only are arbitrary and wilful, and thy Conclufions against me, are iniquitous and wrong before me, and Man!

2. THIS Difpenfation of an INTERCESSOR gives us a true Knowledge and Notion of our felves; as it furnishes us with a meet Opinion, and proper Thoughts of our own very great Unworthinefs, and manifold Deffections from the right Way, our own Confcience bearing Witnefs; which throws us at fuch a Distance, and renders

us

us unapproachable, and our best Conduct difa- CHAP. greeable and exceptionable every Way, but thro' that only Way, the one Mediator Jesus Christ.

THE Heathen Sentiments of their own Meannefs and Unworthiness, and of God's Greatness and Purity, which occafion'd their Application to and Dependance upon Mediators, were no Fault in them, but a right Foundation of think ing founded in Nature. But their Fault was; they built upon that right Foundation all sorts of wrong, incompetent, worthless Mediators; they every where worfhipp'd for fuch, as by Nature were no Gods; and the Mediator their foolish Heart pitch'd upon intercepted and engroffed the Worship in fome fenfible Image, which they ftupidly glorify'd as God; and they retained not the invifible God in their Knowledge, nor in any religious Respect, at the fame Time they knew him to be God incorruptible, and invifible, by his vifible corruptible Works; and fo were guilty of Idolatry. Our Author, pag. 74. contrary to the common Dictates of the Law of Nature affirming, "That Respect which they fhewed to the fupreme "Being, and the Thoughts of their own Unwor

thiness, were unworthy Notions in the Hea"thens." Can any thing be more the Sentiment of Reafon, or the confcious Senfe of our guilty Nature, than fuch an high Opinion of God, and fuch a low one of our own ill Defervings?

BUT the Papists, though they pretend to go upon the fame Ground, are more inexcufable, in bringing back Idolatry into the Religion of Chrift, who came purposely into the World to extinguish it: Because they have the Knowledge of the true and only Mediator, and of many Commands to Dd 3 the

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