A. 4. Jesus Christ united himself to man, ' that man might be drawn nearer to God.' God before was an enemy to us, by reason
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of sin ; l)ut Clirist talking our flesh, dotli mediate for us, and bring us into favour with (iod. As when a king is angry witli a subject, tl)e king's son marries the daugh- ter of tliis subject, and so mediates for this subject, and brings him into favour J with the king again ; so, when God the ' Father Avas angry with us, Christ mar- | ried liimself to our natui'e, and now medi- ates for us witli liis Father, and brings us to be friends again, and now God looks upon us with a favourable aspect. As Joab pleaded for Absalom, and brought him to king Da^sad, and David kissed him, so doth Jesus Christ ingratiate us into the love and favour of God. Therefore he may well be called a peace-maker, lumng taken our flesh upon him, and so made peace be- tween us and his angry Father,
Use \st. Branch 1. See here, as in a glass, the infinite Ioac of God the Father ; that when we had lost ourselves by sin, then God, in the riches of his grace, did send forth his Son, made of a woman, to redeem us. And behold the infinite love of Christ, that he was A\il]ing thus to con- descend to take our flesh. Surely the an-* gels would have disdained to have taken our flesh, it would have been a disparage- ment to them ! What king would be will- ing to wear sackcloth over his cloth of gold? But Christ did not disdain to take our flesh. O the love of Christ ! had not Christ been made flesh, we had been made a curse ; had not he been incarnate, we had been incarcerate, and had been for ever in pi-ison. Well might an angel be the herald to proclaim this joyful news of Christ's incarnation, Luke ii. 10., " Be- old, I bring you good tidings of great joy ; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour ; which is Christ the Lord." The love of Christ in being incar- nate, will the more appear if we considei-,
1. Whence Christ came. Me came from heaven, and from the richest place in hea- ven, his Father's bosom, that hive of sweet- ness.
2. To whom Christ came. Was it to his friends ? No ; he came to sinful man. Man that had defaced his image, abused his loA'e ; man who was turned rebel ; yet he came to man, resolving to conquer ob-
stinacy with kindness. If he would come to any, why not to the angels that fell ? Heb. ii. 16., " He took not upon him the nature of angels." The angels are of a more noble extract, — moi'e intelligible crea- tures,— more able for service ; ay, but be- hold the love of Christ, he came not to the fallen angels, but to mankind. Among the several wonders of the loadstone, this is not the least, that it will not draw gold or pearl, but despising these, it draws the iron to it, one of the most inferior metals : thus Christ leaves the angels, those noble spirits, the gold and the pearl, and he comes to poor sinful man and draws him into his embraces.
3. In what manner he came. He came not in the majesty of a king, attended with his life-guard, but he came poor ; not like the heir of heaven, but like one of an infe- rior descent. The place he was born in was poor : not the royal city Jerusalem, but Bethlehem, a poor obscure place. He \A'as born in an inn, and a manger was his cradle, the cobwebs his curtains, the beasts his companions ; he descended of poor }>a- rents. One would have thought, if Cluist would have come into the world, he Avould have made choice of some queen or person- age of honour to haA e descended from ; but he comes of mean obscure parents ; that they Avere poor aj)pears by their off'ering, Luke ii. 24., " A pair of turtle-doves," which Avas the usual olfering of the poor, LeA^ xii. 8. Christ Avas so poor, that Avhen he Avanted money, lie Avas lain to Avork a miracle for it. Mat. xvii. 27. He, Avhcn he died, made no will. He came into the world poor.
4. Why he came. That he might take our flesh, and redeem us ; that he might instate us into a kingdom. He )vas poor that he might make us rich, 2 Cor. viii. 3. He AA'as born of a virgin that Ave might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his Spirit. He lay in the manger that Ave might lie in jiaradise. He came down from heaven that he might brinjr us to heaven. Aiid Avhat AAas all this but love ? If our hearts be not rocks, this love of Christ should affect us, Behold love that passeth knowledge ! Eph. iii. 10.
Branch 2. S<;e here the Avonderful humi-
IN HIS INCARNATION.
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