VOL. III. D d
418 COMMENTARY ON
ticuliir men died, and themselves died only.'* Let ns look upon God in- carnate, and sec ourselves in him, see God in Clirist, see Christ a public person ; for therefore the second Person took the manhood, that he might be a public person.
Christ took not our persons, but our nature; that our nature being knit to the second person, he might be a public person ; as Adam was a public man for all mankind. Therefore think of all the promises in Christ as God- man, that ho was the man Christ, made man for us. This is wondrous comfortable, let us solace ourselves with it.
Take away Christ, and the promises in Christ, and what is there in the world ? Nothing but idolatiy and superstition, staggering and wavering, and darkness and blindness, and popery and devilishness. Who reigns in the world but the devil and antichrist, heathenism and paganism, and all filthiness ? Take away Christ, the sound knowledge of Christ incarnate, and the sound knowledge of the promises, the clear, settled promises in Christ, and what is the life of man but a horrible confusion, even a hell upon earth ? Where Christ is not known, what are the lives of men, the utmost quintessence of them, but only projecting for an estate here in this world, and then to slip into hell ? To live a civil life, as morality perhaps may fit a man for that, and then to be cast into hell.
Out of Christ there is no salvation, no certain comfort, no life, no Hght, nothing to be reckoned on out of Christ, and the promises in Christ. There- fore let us love them, and build on them, and make much of the truth we have, and get into Christ ; for ' all the promises in him are yea and amen.' God hath no commerce with us immediately but by Christ the mediator, through whom he looks on us, and in whom he conveys all good to us.
The Scripture is termed a paradise. It is like a paradise, wherein we have the streams of the water of life, and the tree of Hfe, Jesus Christ, and wherein we have the promises of life ; and there is no angel to keep the door, or gate, or entrance of this paradise, but rather we are allured to come to it to refresh ourselves. There is God himself walking, there is Christ himself the tree of life. Therefore, we should make the Scriptures won- drous familiar to us, especially single out the promises, make use of them. Learn what it is to live by faith in the promises, for * all the promises in Jesus Christ, in him are yea and in him amen.'
' To the glory of God by ns.' The end of all this, that God will engage himself by promises, that he will stablish these promises so sure in Christ Jesus the Mediator, God and man, that he will make them ' yea and amen ' in him, it is for his own glory, and ' to the glory of God ' by us ministers ; for we preach these promises to the people, and people believe them, and they believing give glory to God.
Obs. God's glory is manifested in the gospel, especially when it is believed in the j^romises.
What wondrous glory hath God in the promises in Christ !
More a great deal than in the creation. In the creation man was made according to God's image. Now, in the gospel we are created according to Jesus Christ, God-man. There God added light to light, comfort to com- fort. He made man good, and would have continued him good. But here is the glory of his mercy and goodness in Christ. Here he doth good to sinners. He raiseth a sinner to mercy. He doth not add light to hght, but he brings light out of darkness. In the gospel mercy strives with * See the passage from Leo, in foot-note, vol. I. page 369. — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, \'ER. 20. 419
misery, and strives with sin, and overcomes all our ills. It is God's will in the gospel to do good to sinners. Mercy is added to sinful men, contrary against contraiy, God's goodness triumphing over the misery of man.
The righteousness that Adam had, it was the righteousness of a creature, of a man ; hut the obedience we have in Christ, it is the obedience of God- man. Therefore, that being imputed to us, it is a more exquisite righteous- ness. It brings us to God and entitles us to heaven. It is infinitely more than Adam's was. God manifests greater glory than in the creation. There is greater love, and greater mercy, and greater goodness manifested in the gospel than to Adam in innocency.
Our estate in Christ is more perfect. His estate was not ' yea and amen,' for it was ' yea ' to-day and ' nay ' to-morrow. He stood but a while. But in Christ the ' promises are yea and amen.' He had no promise, we have. Our estate by promises in Christ is better than ever Adam's was, as we are in a better root than he, for he was not in Christ the Mediator. We by faith are united to Christ, Mediator ; and by virtue of the promise, God, where he begins, he will make an end ; where he is Alpha, he will be Omega. What a glory is this to God, that he can repair man to a better estate than ever he had at the first, as God's mending is ever for the better. The state of grace and glory is better than ever the state of nature was ; spiritual is better than natural. Therefore, it is much for the gloiy of the wisdom of God that he can in Christ reconcile justice and mercy, and shew more mercy than ever he did in making man out of the dust of the earth, and all is to the glory of God. These attributes especially are glorious in the promises in Christ.