Evident it is that these were the principal ends of God in the creation of all things. Wherefore this constitution of our nature, and the fumishment of it with the image of God, was the most eminent effect of infinite wisdom in all the outward works of the divine nature.
(2.) In the entrance of sin, and by apostasy from God, man volun- tarily rejected and defaced this blessed rejjresentation of the righteous- ness and holiness of God — this great efiect of his goodness and wis- dom, in its tendency unto his eternal glory, and our enjoyment of him. No greater dishonour could be done unto him — no endeavour could have been more pernicious in casting contempt on his counsel. For as his holiness, which was represented in that image, was despoiled, so we did what lay in us to defeat the contrivance of his wisdom. This will be evident by reflecting on the ends of it now mentioned. For—
[1.] Hereon there remained nothing, in all the creation here below,
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whereby any representation might be made of God's hohness and righteousness, or any of the moral perfections of his nature. How- could it be done, this image being lost out of the world? The brute, inanimate part of the creation, however stupendously great in its matter and glorious in its outward form, was no way capable of it. The nature of man under the loss of this image — fallen, depraved, polluted, and corrupted — gives rather a representation and image of Satan than of God. Hence — instead of goodness, love, righteousness, holiness, peace, all virtues usefully communicative and effective of the good of the whole race of mankind, which would have been effects of this image of God, and representatives of his nature — the whole world, from and by the nature of man, is filled with envy, malice, revenge, cruelty, oppression, and all engines of promoting self, whereunto man is wholly turned, as fallen off from God. He that would learn the divine nature, from the representation that is made of it in the pre- sent actings of the nature of man, will be gradually led unto the devil instead of God. Wherefore no greater indignity could be offered unto divine wisdom and holiness, than there was in this rejection of the image of God wherein we were created.
[2.] There was no way left whereby glory might redound unto God from the remainder of the creation here below. For the nature of man alone was designed to be the way and means of it, by virtue of the image of God implanted on it. Wherefore man by sin did not only draw off himself from that relation unto God wherein he was made, but drew off the whole creation here below with himself into a uselessness unto his glory. And upon the entrance of sin, before the cure of our apostasy was actually accomplished, the generality of mankind divided the creatures into two sorts — those above, or the heavenly bodies, and those here below. Those of the first sort they worshipped as their gods ; and those of the other sort they abused unto their lusts. Wherefore God was every way dishonoured in and by them all, nor was there any glory given him on their account. What some attempted to do of that nature, in a wisdom of their own, ended in folly and a renewed dishonour of God ; as the apostle declares, Eom. i. 18, 19, 21, 22.
[3.] Man hereby lost all power and ability of attaining that end for which he was made — namely, the eternal enjoyment of God. Upon the matter, and as much as in us lay, the whole end of God in the creation of all things here below was utterly defeated.
But that which was the malignity and poison of this sin, was the con- tempt that was cast on the holiness of God, whose representation, and all its express characters, were utterly despised and rejected therein. Herein, then, lay the concernment of the holiness or righteousness of God in this sin of our nature, which we are inquiring after. Unless
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some reparation be made for the indignity cast upon it in the rejec- tion of the image and representation of it — unless there be some way whereby it may be more eminently exalted in the nature of man than it was debased and despised in the same nature; it was just, equal, righteous with God — that which becomes the rectitude and purity of his nature — that mankind should perish eternally m that condition whereinto it was cast by sin.
It was not, therefore, consistent with the glory of God, that man- kind should be restored, that this nature of ours should be brought unto the enjoyment of him, unless his holiness be more exalted, be more conspicuously represented in the same nature, than ever it was depressed or despised thereby. The demonstration of its glory in any other nature, as in that of angels, would not serve unto this end ; as we shall see afterward.
We must now a little return unto what we before laid down. Wisdom being the directive power of all divine operations, and the end of all those operations being the glory of God himself, or the demonstration of the excellencies of the holy properties of his nature, it was incumbent thereon to provide for the honour and glory of divine holiness in an exaltation answerable unto the attempt for its debasement. Without the consideration hereof, we can have no due prospect of the actings of infinite wisdom in this great work of our redemption and recovery by the incarnation of the Son of God.