work followed ; in redemption there was doing and dying. The work of redemption could be brought about by none but God. God must come down from heaven, God must be made man, God must be made sin, God must be made a curse, 2 Oor. v. 21 ; Gal. iii. 13.
Thirdly, In the creation God arrayed himself with majesty, power, and other like properties, fit for a great work ; in the work of redemp- tion he put on weakness, he assumed a nature subject to infirmities, and the infirmities of that nature. He did as David did when he fought against Goliah, he ' put off all armour, and took his staff in his hand, and drew near to the Philistine,' 1 Sam. xvii. 39, 40.
Fourthly, In the work of creation there was nothing to witlifitand God, to make opposition against God ; but in the work of redemption there was justice against mercy, wrath against pity; death, and he that had the power of death, was vanquished, Heb. ii. 14, 15 ; Col. ii. 14, 15.
Fifthly, By creation man was made after God's image, like him, Gen. i. 26, 27 ; by redemption man was made a member of the same mystical body ' whereof Christ is the head,' Eph. i. 22, 23.
Sixthly, By creation man received a natural being, by redemption a spiritual.
Seventhly, By creation man received a possibility to stand, by re- demption a certainty of standing and impossibility of falling, John x. 28-31 ; 1 Pet. i. 5 ; Jer. xxxii. 40, 41.
Eighthly, By creation man was placed in an earthly paradise, but by redemption he is advanced to an heavenly paradise.
Thus you see how the work of redemption transcends the work of creation. Again, the works of providence are great, very great, in the eye of God, of angels, of men ; but what are the works of providence to the works of redemption ? For in order to the accomplishment of that great work, Christ must put off his royal robes, take a journey from heaven to earth, assume our nature, do and die, &c. Again, the work of redemption by Christ will be found a great work, if you will but compare it with those redemptions that were but types of this. Israel's redemption from their Egyptian bondage, and from their Babylonish bondage, were very great redemptions, that were brought about by a strong hand, a mighty hand, and an out-stretched arm, as the Scripture speaks ; but, alas I what were those redemptions to our being redeemed from the love of sin, the guilt of sin, the dominion of sin, the damnatory power of sin, and to our being redeemed from the power of Satan, the curse of the law, hell and wrath to come? 1 Thes. i. 10. Lastly, the great things that are wrapped up in the womb, in the belly, of redemption, speak out our redemption by Christ to be a very great redemption. In the womb of this redemption you shall find reconciliation, justification, adoption, eternal salvation, &c. ; and are not these great, very great, things ? Surely yes. But,
[2.] A second excellent property of that redemption that we have by Christ is this, that it is a free and gracious redemption. All the rounds in this ladder of redemption are made up of free, rich, and sovereign grace. Though our redemption cost Christ dear, as has been before hinted, yet as to us it is most free : Eph. i. 7, ' In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, accord-
VERY CLEARLY AND LARGELY OPENED. 355
ing to the riches of his grace ; ' that is, according to his exceeding great and abundant grace: 'Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,' i Our redemption is from the free love and favour of God. It was free grace that put God the Father upon finding out a waj for the redemption of lost sinners. It was free grace that put God upon providing of such a surety, as should undertake the work of redemption, as should carry on the work of redemption, and as should accomplish and complete the work of redemption ; and it was free grace that moved God the Father to accept of what Christ did and suffered, in order to the bringing about of our redemption ; and it is free grace tliat moves God to make an application of this redemption to the souls of his people. Ah, poor souls ! the Lord looks not, neither for money nor money's worth from you, towards the purchase of your redemption, and therefore always look upon your redemption as the mere fruit of rich grace, Isa. lii. 3. But,
[3.] The third excellent property of that redemption that we have by Jesus Christ is this, it is a full and plenteous redemption : Ps. cxxx. 7, ' Let Israel hope in the Lord ; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.' Christ redeems us from all sin, and from all the consequences of sin. He redeems from death, and from the power of the grave ; he redeems us from the law, and from the malediction of the law. Christ took that off"; he was made a curse for all that believe on him. 2 He did not only stand in the room of eminent believers, but he stood in the room of all believers, and endured the wrath of God to the uttermost for evei y one that belie veth on him. Every believer is freed from a cursed estate by the Jeast faith. Every degree of true faith makes the condition to be a state of life, and passeth us from death and condemnation : * There is no condemnation to them that are in Clirist Jesus.' And Christ .redeems us from this present evil world, and from the earth, and from among men, and from wrath to come, and from ' the hands of all our enemies.'^ Jesus Christ hath gone thorough-stitch^ with the work of our redemption. Christ does not his work by halves ; all his works are perfect ; there is no defect or flaw in them at all. Christ does not redeem us from some of our sins, and leave us to grapple with the rest ; he doth not work out some part of our redemption, and leave us to work out the rest ; he doth not bear the heat and burden of divine wrath in part, and leave us to wrestle with other parts of divine wrath. Oh, no ; Christ makes most complete work of it. He redeems us from ' all our iniquities ; he delivers us out of the hands of all our enemies,' Heb. vii. 25. He pays all debts, he cuts all scores, he delivers from all wrath, he takes off the whole curse, he saves to the uttermost, and will settle us in a state of full and perfect freedom, when grace shall be turned into glory. In heaven our redemption shall be entire and perfect.
[4.] The fourth excellent property of that redemption that we have
^ airoKvTpuKTLv. This word properly signifies a deliverance, -which is brought to pass by paying of a ransom and price. See Mat. xx. 28; 1 Cor. vi. 20 ; 1 Pet. i. 18. '■■' Hosea xiii. 14 ; Titus ii. 14 ; Eom. vii. 6 ; Gal. iv. 5, and iii. 13. 3 Rom. viii. 1 ; Gal. i. 4 ; Kev. xiv. 3, 4 ; 1 Thes. i. 10 ; Luke i. 71, 74. * ' Completely.'— G,
356 THE COVENANT OF REDEMPTION