Firsts Accepting of persons is noted in scripture as the sinful act of a corrupt man ; a thing which God abhors, being the corrup- tion and abuse of that power and authority which men have in judgment; overlooking the merit of the cause through sinful re- spect to the quality of the person whose cause it is ; so that the cause doth not commend the person, but the person the cause. This God every where brands in men, as a vile perverting of judg- ment, and utterly disclaims it himself, Gal. ii. 6. " God accepteth " no man's person;" Rom. ii. 11. "There is no respect of persons with God."
Secondly) There is also an accepting of persons, which is the gra- cious act of a merciful God ; whereby he receives both the persons and duties of believers into special grace and favour for Christ's sake ; and of this my text speaks. In which act of favour three things are supposed or included.
First) It supposes an estate of alienation and enmity ; those only are accepted into favour that were out of favour ; and indeed so stood the case with us, Eph. ii. 12, 13. "Ye were aliens and " strangers, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar " off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ :" So the apostle Peter, in 1 Pet. ii. 10. " Which in time past were not a people, but " now are the people of God ; which had not obtained mercy, " but now have obtained mercy." The fall made a fearful breach betwixt God and man. Sin, like a thick cloud, intercepted all the beams of divine favour from us ; the satisfaction of Christ dis- solves that cloud, Isa. xliv. 22. " I have blotted out, as a thick " cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins." This dark cloud thus dissolved, the face of God shines forth again with cheer-
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ful beams of favour and love upon all, who, by faith, are interested in Jesus Christ.
Secondly, It includes the removing of guilt from the persons of believers, by the imputation of Christ's righteousness to them, Rom. v. 1, 2. " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, " through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom also we have access " by faith into this grace wherein we stand :" for the face of God cannot shine upon the wicked ; the person must be first made righteous, before he can be made accepted.
Thirdly, It includes the offering up, or tendering of our persons and duties to God by Jesus Christ. Accepting implies presenting or tendering : believers indeed do present themselves to God, Rom. xii. 1. But Christ's presenting them makes their tender of them- selves acceptable to the Lord ; Col. i. %% " In the body of his " flesh through death to present you holy, and unblameable, and " unreproveable, in his sight.1' Christ leads every believer, as it were, by the hand, into the gracious presence of God ; after this manner bespeaking acceptance for him : " Father, here is a poor " soul that was born in sin, hath lived in rebellion against thee all " his days ; he hath broken all thy laws, and deserved all thy " wrath ; yet he is one of that number which thou gavest me be- " fore the Avorld was. I have made full payment by my blood for " all his sins : I have opened his eyes to see the sinfulness and " misery of his condition : broken his heart for his rebellions " against thee ; bowed his will in obedience unto thy will ; united " him to myself by faith, as a living member of my body : and '* now, Lord, since he is become mine by regeneration, let him " be thine also by special acceptation : let the same love with " which thou lovest me embrace him also, who is now become " mine." And so much for the first particular, viz. What ac- ceptation with God is.
Secondly, In the next place I must shew you how it appears that believers are thus ingratiated, or brought into the special favour of God by Jesus Christ. And this will be evinced divers ways.
First, By the titles of love and endearedness, with which the Lord graceth and honoureth believers, who are sometimes called the household of' God, Eph. ii. 19. the friends of God, James ii. 23. the dear children of God, Eph. v. 1. the peculiar people of God, 1 Pet. ii. 9- a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in the hand of their God, Isa. lxii. 3. The object of his delight and pleasure, PsaJ. cxlvii. 10, 11. O what term* of endearedness doth God use towards his people ! Doth not all this speak them to be in special favour with him ? Which of all these alone doth not signify a person highly in favour with God.
Secondly, The gracious manner in which he treats them upon
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the throne of grace, to which he allows them to come with bold- ness, Heb. iv. 16. This also speaks them in the special favour of God ; he allows them to come to him in prayer, with the liberty, confidence and filial boldness of children to a father ; Gal. iv. 6. " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son " into your hearts, crying Abba, Father ;" the familiar voice of a dear child : yea, which is a wonderful condescension of the great God to poor worms of the earth, he saith, Isa. xlv. 11. " Thus " saith the Lord, the holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me " of things to come concerning my sons ; and concerning the work " of my hands command ye me :" an expression so full of grace and special favour to believers, that it needs great caution in read- ing and understanding such an high and astonishing expression : the meaning is, that God hath, as it were, subjected the works of his hands to the prayers of his saints ; and it is as if he had said, if my glory, and your necessity shall require it, do but ask me in prayer, and whatever my Almighty Power can do, I will do it for you. However, let no favourite of heaven forget the infinite dis- tance betwixt himself and God. Abraham was a great favourite of heaven, and was called the friend of God ; yet see with what hu- mility of spirit and reverential awe he addresseth God, Gen. xviii. 27. " Behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, " which am but dust and ashes." So that you see the titles of fa- vour above-mentioned are no empty titles.