THE ONE SACRIFICE. A SERMON. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and burntofferings thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burntofferings and sacrifices for sin thou hast no pleasure: then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of thy book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. -HEB. X. 4-7. THE apostle Paul in 2 Cor. v. 18th, 19th, and 20th verses, does summarily tell us what is the argument (as I may so speak) of that great mystery of the gospel. The theme it dilates upon is reconciliation; ' To wit,' says he, 'that God was in Christ reconciling the world.' And therefore the title he gives the doctrine of it is this,' The ministry of reconciliation.' And so the foot of the angels' song, Luke ii. 14, was reconciliation, which consists of two parts, peace and good will.' The full scope of the words you may conceive as cast into this frame; and withal, what is the sum of all I have to deliver to you about it. 1. The world, the whole world of mankind, being created in an estate of amity and friendship with God, as the word zaraλλáynte, reconcile, implies. To make friends again, argues former friendship. 2. And then, this whole lump of men being treacherously fallen off from God into a deep rebellion against him, and become of the devil's seed and faction, 3. God, who is infinite in love and rich in mercy, bearing everlasting and secret good will to some of these rebels in all ages, hath always maintained certain lieger ambassadors in the world (as ver. 20 implies), to treat with this rebellious rout, and conclude a peace betwixt them and him. 4. And that his agents and dealers for him, whom in his business he hath and doth employ, might be fully enabled to conclude it, he hath furnished them (as all other ambassadors use to be) with a large and gracious commission, the title of which is, the ministry of reconciliation,' ver. 18; Hath given to us,' &c., which includes in it two things. First, The delivery of a gracious message, as from himself, intimating and manifesting his royal mind and inclination, how it stands towards them. For when two are at variance, there can never be any hope of peace or agreement, unless the party injured shews an inclineableness at least to listen to it. VOL. V. H h Now, the effect of that message in brief is, First, That whereas they might conceive him most justly to be averse to the very motion of it, that yet he for his part is not only contented and inclined to listen to an agreement, but is, and hath been, ever so fully willing to, and desirous of it, that as he hath been a-reconciling the world; even from everlasting God was reconciling, &c., hath made (as it were) his chief business, that he hath plotted and been desirous to bring about. And though all things else are of him, as ver. 18 tells us, yet this mainly above all the rest, totus in illo, wholly set upon it. And, secondly, whereas presently it might be thought that he being so just and so jealous a God, sensible of the least injury, so tender of his glory, and jealous of the least wrong to it, as that he would require and propound to have full satisfaction first, as the condition of their agreement; which that they, or any other creature, either were able or willing to perform, was out of all hope. Therefore, secondly, I say, he bids us declare, for that also men need not trouble themselves, for he himself hath been so jealous in this business, as that he hath took order for it beforehand. He hath been in Christ, reconciling the world;' that is, in him and by him (as a mediator and umpire, and surety between him and you), this great matter hath been taken up and accorded. He and Jesus Christ, his only Son, have from all eternity laid their heads together (as we may speak with reverence) to end the quarrel. Christ should undertake to satisfy his Father for all the wrong was done him. 'He was made sin,' that is, a surety and a satisfaction for it, who knew no sin,' ver. 21, That they,' &c. And God the Father upon it is so fully satisfied, as he is ready not to impute their sins to them, but to impute all Christ's righteousness to them, and to receive them into favour more fully than ever. 'God was in Christ reconciling the world, not imputing their sins,' &c. 6 The second part of our commission is, that he hath given us full power and authority to deal with men about it, and to transact and perfect this agreement, with charge to tell this message to all and every man in the world. And upon this ground, that reconciliation is to be obtained from God for them, to entreat them to be reconciled. And when men accordingly seek it, as thus revealed to them, though by us, it is as if God had done it, ver. 20, As though God,' and, I in Christ's stead,' says the apostle. And this, my brethren, is to preach the gospel unto men; which is the best news that ever ear heard, or tongue was employed to utter; which took up God's thoughts from eternity, and lay hid in his breast, which none but he and his Son knew. Which, if it were but for the antiquity of the story of it, it is worth the relating, it being the greatest plot and state affair that ever was transacted in heaven or earth, or ever will be. Having by way of preface to the great business of reconciliation, said thus much, I now proceed to the words of my text, 'For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin,' &c. These words are a record of the greatest and deepest mystery of state, and the secret passages thereof, that ever yet was transacted either in heaven or earth: no less than the consultation and conference, yea, the very words that passed between God the Father and the Son, spoken at the council-table, at which no one was present besides, but the great secretary of state, the blessed Spirit, who revealed this. And this, when they sat upon the greatest business of state, the treaty of peace between God and men; and this, just at the time when God was despatching his Son to come down into the world, and had prepared him a body ready for him to transact it in. Then when he cometh into the world, he saith,' &c. Which speech of his hath yet further reference unto, and quotes a record far more ancient, even the first general council kept in heaven, and the records of it, In the volume of thy book,' &c. The book is, liber decretalium, the book of God's decrees; yea, and a record that was written in the first page of that book. In the volume of the book,' indefinitely says the psalmist. But the Holy Ghost, who had read over and written every leaf of it, quoting it here, says, iv nepaλídı roũ Bíov, in capite, in the beginning of it, which varies not the sense, but interprets it. And if you hope to find it (as some have gone about to do) in the first words of Genesis-In principio creavit Deus-you are deceived; it is the book of God's decrees; there Christ remembers it written, that he was appointed to do God's will. 6 More plainly, the words contain much of the first part of the story of the gospel (the riches of the glory' of which I have elsewhere discoursed of in general). For as there are three persons, as I have formerly shewed, who have a joint hand in that work of salvation, the subject of the gospel, so the whole story of the gospel hath three parts also, in every of which some one of them bears an especial part. The first part God the Father had the chiefest hand in, who drew the platform of this great work, contrived it, made the motion first to his Son, as you shall see anon. The second, God the Son, when he came down and took flesh, and, clothing himself in the habit of a servant, transacted the redemption of the world according to that draft. As after him, when he was off the stage, came the Spirit, to apply what he had done, and all the benefits of it, whose work makes up the third part. Now this first part, which is most hidden, being invisibly done in heaven before the world was, the discovery of which gives light to the other two, which, of all stories that ever were recorded, is the ancientest. This is the subject of my discourse, and partly of this text; I shall discover so much of it as the words carry me unto, and divide and open the text in handling of it. And first, to begin with the business itself, which is the subject of this story, which was the aim and end of all. The 4th verse tells us it was the taking away of sins. This I mention first, because it is the hinge the text and my discourse turns on. And to accomplish this, what needed so much ado? Nothing had been more easy for God than to take away sins, by taking away the sinners, both at a stroke, and so to cause sin to cease, as Ezekiel speaks, Ezek. xxiii. 48. Nay, was it not a hard thing for him to keep his hands off them? And therefore it is attributed to the greatness of his power, that he is able to contain himself, Num. xiv. 17. And it had been nothing out of his way to have taken sin and sinners thus away, he is able enough to bear the loss of souls. 'What is it to thee if the nations perish?' Wisd. xii. He weakens not himself, as kings do when they cut off an army of rebels, and so are forced to forgive the most, because their glory consists in the multitude of their subjects. No; he could create enough anew. But this is not my meaning, but so to take away sins, as the sinner might stand still, to stand and be justified in his sight. There are some, even among |