The aiiections are planted for this end upon the report of that which is good to them, to embrace it, to join with it. Therefore let us never think our state good, till we find our hearts warmed with the goodness of divine supernatural truths. ' Oh ! how do I love thy law ! ' saith David, Ps. cxix. 97. He wonders at his own affections. Let us labour to have great affections, answerable to the things ; and never leave till we can love them and joy and delight in them, as the greatest things ; and with blessed St Paul, account ' all as dung and dross, in comparison of them,' Philip, iii. 8. That knowledge is only saving knowledge that works the heart to a [love, to a joy and delight, that works the whole man to practice and obedience ; that is only spiritual knowledge. All other knowledge serves for nothing but to minister God matter of justifying our damnation ; that our damna- tion will be just ; that knowing these things, we do not work our hearts to love them, but we rest in the naked barren knowledge of them. It is a pitiful thing, to know things no further and no deeper, than to minister matter of our just damnation. Now all that have not a transforming know- ledge, that have not a spiritual knowledge, they are in this state. There- fore we should labour to see spiritual things, in a spiritual light ; for where spiritual light is, there is alway spiritual heat ; where spiritual evidence is in the understanding, there is spiritual embracing in the afi'ections. Evi- dence brings quickness. Supernatural light and supernatural life, they go together. Let us labour, therefore, that our apprehension of these great mysteries may be supernatural and spiritual ; and then as the judgment apprehends them ' without controversy' to be true, the afi'ections will be present, to close with them. So much for the preface, ' without contro- versy, great is the mystery of godliness.' Now we come to the particulars of this great mystery,
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* God manifested in the flesh.'
This, and the other branches that follow, they are all spoken of Christ. Indeed, the ' mystery of godliness' is nothing but Christ, and that which Christ did. Christ was ' manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.' So that from the general we may observe this, that
Christ is the scope of the Scripture.
Christ is the pearl of that ring ; Christ is the main, the centre wherein all those lines end. Take away Christ, what remains ? Therefore in the whole Scriptures, let us see that we have an eye to Christ ; all is nothing but Christ. The mystery of religion is Christ * manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,' &c., all is but Christ.
And that is the reason the Jews understand not the Scriptures better, because they seek not Christ there. Take away Christ, take away all out of the Scriptures, they are but empty things. Therefore, when we read them, think of somewhat that they may lead us to Christ, as all the Scrip- tures lead, one way or other, to Christ, as I might shew in particular, but I only name it in general.
He begins here with this, ' God manifested in the flesh ;' not God taken essentially, but taken personally. God, in the second person, was mani- fested. All actions are of persons. The second person was incarnate. The three persons are all God ; yet they were not all incarnate, because it was a personal action of the second person.
Quest. And why in that person ?
Ans. 1. Because he was the image of God. And none but the image of God could restore as to that image. He was the Son of God, and none but the natural Son could make us sons. He is the ' wisdom' of the Father, to make us wise, and he is the ' first beloved' to make us beloved. Such reasons are given by the school-men, and not disagreeable to Scripture. For, indeed, it is appropriate to the second Person, the great work of the incarnation, * God in the flesh.' Therefore they usually compare the incarnation of Christ to a garment made by three virgins, sisters; and one of them wears it. So all the three persons had a hand in the garment of Christ's flesh. The Father had a work in it, and the Holy Ghost sanctified it, yet he only wore it. Therefore the second person is ' God manifest in the flesh.'
By ' flesh,' here, is meant human nature ; the property of human nature, both body and soul. And by ' flesh' also, is usually understood the infir- mities and weakness of man, the miserable condition of man. So ' God manifest in the flesh,' that is, in our nature and the properties of it, he put that on ; and not only so, but our infirmities, and weaknesses, our miseries, and which is more, he took our flesh when it was tainted with treason, our base nature after it was fallen, which was a wondrous fruit of love. As if one should wear a man's colours or livery after he is proclaimed traitor ; it is a great grace to such a man. For Christ to wear our garment •when we were proclaimed traitors, after we were fallen, it was a wondrous dignation.* And he took not only our nature, but our flesh. He was ' God manifest in the flesh,'' that is, in the infirmities of our nature. He took our whole nature, a human body and human soul. And he took our nature upon him when it was at the worst ; not in innocency, but with all the infirmities that are natural infirmities, not personal. Therefore he came to be so that he might be pitiful.