the saints of the most High, Dan. ix. 27. Yet such will be the spirituality of this state, that it will be a counterbalance to the grandeur and riches of it, so that the saints shall not be hurt thereby; as in the times of Constantine; which leads me further to observe,

III. That the reign of Christ in this state, will be more spiritual than now; from whence it has its name. I. There will be more plentiful effusions of the Spirit of God upon ministers and churches, in this state; the wilderness of the Gentiles shall become a fruitful field, Isai. xxxiii. 15. II. The saints in general will be more spiritualized than now; they will have more spiritual frames of soul; there will be less of that frothiness, vanity, and emptiness, which now too often appear in them; they will frequently meet together, and speak often one to another, about divine, spiritual, and experimental things. 111. The graces of the Spirit of God will be more in exercise. The grace of love will be the distinguishing character of this state; and which will answer to its name, Philadelphia, which signifies brotherly love. IV. There will be abundance of peace in this reign, even of outward peace; no more wars, nor rumours of wars; swords and spears will be beaten into plough shares and pruning hooks, and war shall be learnt no more. Wolves, and leopards, and bears, shall be as tame as lambs, kids, and calves; and shall feed and lie down together. v. There will be a great degree of holiness in all saints, of every class and rank; all the Lord's people will be righteous; Every pot in Jerusalem, and in Judea, that is, every member of the church, shall be holiness unto the Lord; in his sight, and to his glory; yea, holiness to the Lord shall be upon the bells of the horses.

Book III.

OF THE BLESSINGS OF GRACE WHICH COME BY CHRIST, AND OF THE DOCTRINES IN WHICH THEY ARE HELD FORTH.

OF REDEMPTION BY CHRIST.

I. I SHALL settle the meaning of the word; and shew what it supposes, includes, and is designed by it. Our English word Redemption, is from the Latin tongue, and signifies, buying again; the obtaining of something by paying a proper price for it; sometimes the simple verb agorazo to buy, is used, 1 Cor. vi. 20. Sometimes the compound word exagorazo, is used; which signifies, to buy again, or out of the hands of another, as in Gal. iii. 13. In other places lutroo is used, or others derived from it; which signifies, the deliverance of a slave, or captive, from his thraldom, by paying a ransom price for him, 1 Pet. i. 18. There are various typical redemptions, and that are of a civil nature, which may serve to illustrate our spiritual and eternal redemption by Christ. 1. The deliverance of the people of Israel out of their captivities. The deliverance of the people of Israel out of Egypt was a very special and remarkable type of redemption by Christ, out of a worse state of bondage than that of Egypt. II. The ransom of the people of Israel, when numbered, was typical of the ransom by Christ; which was made by paying half a shekel, called the atonement money for their souls, and

which was paid alike for a rich man, as a poor man; whereby they were preserved from any plague among them, Exod. xxx. 12-16. Christ's people are all redeemed from their sins, and with the same price, the price of his blood. 111. The buying again of an Israelite, waxen poor, and sold to another, by any near akin to him; is a lively representation of the purchase and redemption of the Lord's poor people, Lev. xxv. 47-49. who, in a state of nature are poor, and wretched and miserable; when such was the grace of Christ, who, though rich, for their sakes became poor, that they, through his poverty might be made rich. Only Christ, the near Kinsman of his people, can do this, and has done it. IV. The delivery of a debtor from prison, by paying his debts for him, is an emblem of deliverance and redemption by Christ: Christ has cleared the whole score, in consequence of which is proclaimed, in the gospel, liberty to the captives, v. The ransoming of persons out of slavery, by paying a ransom price for them, serves to give an idea of the redemption of the Lord's people by Christ; I have found a ransom, Job. xxxiii. 4. In which there is an allusion to a custom in the Eastern countries, to put their slaves in an evening into a pit, where they are close shut up till the morning, and then taken out, to be put to their slavish employments; but not delivered, unless a sufficient ransom is given for them and such is the blood of the covenant. These views of redemption, plainly point out to us the following things, with respect to the Lord's people. 1. That they are, previous to their redemption, and, which that supposes, in a state of captivity and bondage. All having sinned, judgment, or the judicial sentence, came upon ali men to condemnation in a legal way. 11. That redemption by Christ is a deliverance from this. It is a redemption from sin, original and actual, Tit. ii. 14. from avenging justice, on account of sin; from the guilt and dominion of sin; it is a deliverance from the law, and from eternal death and wrath to come. 111. That redemption by Christ is such a deliverance, as that it is setting persons quite free, and at entire liberty. This will

have its full completion on all accounts, when the saints shall be delivered from every degree of bondage, into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

OF THE CAUSES OF REDEMPTION BY

CHRIST.

I. THE moving cause of it, or from whence it springs and dows; and that is the everlasting love of God; God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son; In this was manifested the love of God, &c. 1 John iv. 9.

II. The procuring cause, or Author of redemption, is Christ, the Son of God; he was appointed to it, and assented to it. 1. If it be asked, how Christ came to be the Redeemer? it may be answered as the love, grace and mercy of God the Father moved him to resolve upon redemption, and appoint his Son, and call him to this work; so like love, grace, and mercy wrought in the heart of the Son of God to accept of this call, and engage in this work; in his love, and in his pity, he redeemed them, as he did Israel of old, Isai. Ixiii. 9. he said I will ransom them, I will redeem them; as from the grave and death, so from every other enemy, Hos. xiii. 14. 11. The fit ness of Christ to be a Redeemer of his people is worthy of notice. Now Christ's fitness for the work of redemption, lies in his being God and man in one person; he is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature; and so fit to be a mediator be. tween God and man. As man, he could be made under the law, and so capable of yielding obedience to it. As God he would be zealously concerned for the glory of the divine perfections, and secure the honour of them, in the redemption wrought out by him. 11. The means by which redemption is wrought out by Christ; and that is by his blood, his life, to which it is often ascribed, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. Christ, as he had the full disposal of his own life, freely gave his life a ransom price; I lay down my life for the sheep, says he, I lay it down of myself, Matt. xx. 28. John.x. 15, 18. a great emphasis put upon this, that the price with which men are redeemed,

SS

is the precious blood of Christ, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. for if he had any sin in him, he could not have been a redeemer from sin. Now this price is paid into the hands of God, whose justice is offended, whose law is broken, and who is the lawgiver, that is able to save and to destroy. It was not paid into the hands of Satan, or any other enemy; for their power was only an usurpation; he had no legal right to hold them captives; and therefore the delivery of them out of his hand, is by power and not by price: but the justice of God had a legal right to shut them up, and detain them as prisoners, till satisfaction is given; and therefore redemption from avenging justice, which is properly the redemption that is by Christ, is by a price paid to justice for the ransom of them. III. The final cause, or causes, or ends, for which redemption was wrought out and obtained by Christ in this way; and they are these. 1. That the justice of God might be satisfied in the salvation of a sinner, Rom. iii. 25, 26. 2. That the people of God might be reconciled unto him, and have peace with him, and joy through believing in Christ, Rom. v. 10, 11. 3. Another end of redemption by Christ is, that they might enjoy the blessing of adoption; for so it is said, that God sent his Son to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of Sons, Gal. iv. 4, 5. 4. The sanctification of God's elect, is another end of redemption by Christ; Who gave himself for them, that he might redeem them from all iniquity; and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, Tit. ii. 14, and again, Christ is said to love the church, and give himself for it, a ransom price for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, Eph. v. 25. 26. In a word, Christ has redeemed them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for them, that the blessing of Abraham, even all the blessings of the covenant of grace, in which Abraham was interested, might come on them through Jesus Christ, Gal. 3. 14. 6. And lastly, the subordinate end of redemption, is the everlasting salvation of God's elect, and their eternal life and happiness; and the ultimate end, is the glory of God, of his grace and justice, and of all the perfections of his nature.