THE SECOND SERMON. 123
eecond person in the Trinity. And then he is God and man, and there- fore he is fit to be mediator, to lay his hand on both sides, on man as man, on God as God, And Christ is a friend to both, to God as to God,* and to man as man, and therefore he is fit to be an umpire, to be a day's-man, to be a mediator. And he hath done it to purpose, making that good in heaven that he did on earth. And therefore labour to make a gracious use of all this, I know nothing in the world more useful, no point of divinity more pregnant, no greater spring of sanctifying duty, than that God and man were one, to make God and us one. He married our nature, that he might marry our persons.
Use 1, And if it be so that God and man are brought to terms of recon- ciHation on such a foundation as God-man, then ought not ire to improve this comfort ? Have we such a foundation of comfort, and shall not we make use of it ? Shall we have wisdom in the things of this world, and not make use of the grand comforts that concern our souls ?
Use 2, But how shall we improve it ? In all our necessities and wants go to God. How ? Through Christ, God-man, who is in heaven making intercession and appearing for us by virtue of his satisfaction made on earth, and therefore we may go boldly to the throne of grace to God, being reconciled by God. God hath God at his right hand, appearing for us, and shall we be afraid to go to the throne of grace ? When we want strength, comforts, or anything, go to God, in the mediation of Emmanuel, and then God can deny nothing to us that we ask with the spirit of faith in the name of Christ.
I beseech you, therefore, let this be the main use, continually to improve the gracious privileges we have by Emmanuel. Our nature is now accept- able to God in Christ, because he hath purified it in himself, and God's nature is lovely to us, because he hath taken our nature. If God loved his own Son, he will love our nature as joined to his Son, and God's nature is lovely to us. He took our flesh upon him, and made himself bone of our bone. And shall not we like and aflect that which was so graciously procured by Emmanuel,
Consider of it, and let it be ground of reverent and bold prayer, in all our wants to go to God in Emmanuel.
Use 3. Let us make use of it likewise in behalf of the church. The church is ' Emmanuel's land,' as ye have it in the next chapter : verse 8, ' The stretching out of his wings shall be the breadth of thy land, 0 Emmanuel.' The church of the Jews was Emmanuel's land, but then it was impaled within the pale of the Jews. But now the Gentiles are taken in. The church is scattered and spread abroad over the whole earth. And therefore go to God in behalf of the church. Thou tookest our nature into unity of thy person, that thou mightest be a gracious and a merciful head. And therefore look in mercy on thine own mystical body, the church. They, before Christ came in the flesh, who had the spirit of faith, knew the church of the Jews could not be extinct, because Emmanuel was to come of it.
And we may know the church shall never be destroyed till the second coming of Christ, because those things are not yet performed that God hath promised, and must be performed. And therefore we may go as boldly to Christ, and spread the cause of the church before him now, as they spread the cause of the Jews before him then ; look upon thy land, look upon thy church, 0 Emmanuel.
* Qu. ' as God' ?— Ed.
124 MIRACLE OF MIRACLES.
That there must be a church we must beheve, and we cannot believe a lion ens. We must have ground for our faith, and therefore never fear that heresy shall overspread the face of the church, ' Emmanuel's land' shall be preserved by some way or other, though not perhaps by the way we expect. God must have a church to the end of the world. The gospel must get ground. Antichrist must fall. God hath said it, and man cannot unsay it. And therefore in all estates of the church spread its cause before Emmanuel.
When Emmanuel came once, the church of the Jews wasted. There- fore, if you will have good arguments against the Jews, this is a good one to convince them, that Christ is come in the flesh. The church of the Jews was to continue till Emmanuel, but the church of the Jews hath ceased to continue, and is now no church. There is now no family of David, and therefore Emmanuel is come.
And for a further use, let us have thoughts of the second coming of Emmanuel, as they had thoughts of the first. Christ was called the con- solation of Israel at his first coming, and in the New Testament it is every- where expressed a sign of a gracious man to look for the appearing of Jesus Christ, and to love it. Now let us comfort ourselves that this Emmanuel will appear in our flesh ere long ; let us wait for the * consola- tion of Israel.' Emmanuel came down to us, to take our nature upon him, and to satisfy God's wrath, that he might take us to heaven with himself, and that we might be for ever with him in glory. And therefore let us, if we wovild make a true use of Emmanuel, desire to be with him. Christ delighted, before he came in the flesh, to be with the sons of men, and he is with us now by his Spirit, and so will be with his church to the end of the world ; and shall not we be with him as much as we may ? Indeed, he loved our nature so much, that he descended from the height of majesty to take our misery and business* upon him, and shall not we desire to be with him in glory ?