other. But look to our defire of God's glory, and our own falvation, men and angels could never have contrived how thefe two defires could be reconciled, if Mercy and Truth had not met together, and kiffed each other; for the glory of God's truth and righteoufnefs, in the threatening of his law, feems to reft fatisfied with nothing lefs than our deftruction; and therefore to defire God's glory, would have been to defire our own damnation; and, confequently, in defiring our own falvation, we muft have defired God's difhonour: but now this bleffed contrivance of infinite Wifdom, let us fee how thefe two are not only reconciled, but made infeparable; "Having fet forth Chrift to be the propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteoufness in the remiffion of fins." (3) Thefe feemingly oppofite attributes meet and kils each other, that feemingly oppofite graces might meet and embrace each other: for example, reverence and confidence; how fhall fear and reverence meet to. gether with faith and confidence? Why, Truth and Righteoufnefs are at the meeting; and therefore fear and reverence becomes us; but Mercy and Peace are allo on the bench, therefore faith and holy confidence may boldly flẹp in; "We have boldness to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus." (4.) Thefe oppofite-like attributes meet and embrace each other, that oppofite-like duties may meet together; prayer and praife feem oppofite duties in fome cafes; prayer fuppofes our wants to be great, otherwife, why hould we pray?--Praife fuppofes our enjoyments to be great, otherwife, why fhould we praife? Well, Truth and Righteoufnefs, thefe awful attributes prefent at the meeting, fay, We have nothing in ourfelves, therefore we ought to pray; but Meray and Peace fay, we have all, we have enough in Chrift, and therefore we ought to praife. Humiliation and gloriation feem oppofite duties; but the feemingly orpofite attributes of God meeting together, bring alfo thefe duties to meet and embrace each other.Is Truth and Righteoufnefs in the company with Mercy and Peace? then humiliation is our duty but is Mer су cy and Peace in company with Truth and Righteouf nels? Then gloriation is our duty. "Let him that glories, glory in the Lord." (5) Thefe feemingly oppofite attributes of God meet and embrace each other, that feemingly oppofite experiences may meet and embrace each other, and be reconciled, though feemingly irreconcileable. There are fad experiences, and fweet experiences: O! here is the fad experience of a guilty confcience, a powerful corruption, and a conquering temptation: can ever that be reconciled with the experience of holy peace, pardon, and victory? Yea, here is a foundation laid for the reconciliation of thefe oppofites. If Juftice and Mercy have met together, then a guilty confcience, and a mercy-feat may meet together; a prevalent cor, ruption, and pardoning, purifying blood may meet together, as they did in the pfalmitt's cafe; Iniquities prevail against me: but as for our tranfgreffions, thou fhalt purge them away," Pfal. lxv. 3.-The fad experience of fatherly anger, or of the feeling of divine wrath, may meet with the fweet experience of felt love and favour; for Mercy and Juftice are met together, Ifa. liv. 7, 8.-The fad experience of perplexing thoughts, may meet with the fweet experience of fpiritual confolation, and be fwallowed up therein; fince Truth and Juftice have met with Mercy and Peace: Hence it was that these two met together in David; "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my foul," Pfalm xcix. 19. O is fuch a fad experience confiftent with an intereft in Chrift? Why, both terrible and amiable attributes of God meet together in Chrift; and therefore it is not ftrange, that the faddeft and fweetest experiences meet together, fo as not to be inconfiftent with the ftate of a believer that is in Chrift, To fee awful Juftice, and lovely Mercy meeting to gether, in a fweet-fmelling facrifice, is a greater wonder, than to fee your faddeft and fweeteft experiences meeting in Chrift, to make up a HALLELUJAN, Praife ye the Lord:' and the former meeting is the reafon of this. (6.) Thefe irreconcileable - like attributes of God L3 meet meet and embrace each other, that irreconcileable-like Scriptures might meet together and embrace each other: How fhall Exod. xxxiv. 7." He will by no means clear the guilty," (or, juflify the finner) be reconciled with Rom. iv. 5. where he is faid to juftify the ungodly? O! how can these two oppofites meet together?— Why, Mercy and Truth have met together in Chrift, to make up a match betwixt them: a ranfom is found, a propitiation is fet forth; why then, thefe oppofitelike fcriptures may meet together, and kifs each other: "He will by no means clear the guilty," without a ranfom, a propitiation. Well, is the ranfom found, and propitiation fet forth? then he will juflify the ungodly on that ground; " Deliver his foul from going down to the pit, I have found out a ranfom." Now he can juftify the finner, and be juft in fo doing, while he draws him in to Chrift by faith, Romans iii. 25, 26.Thus you fee the reafons of the meeting. In a word, they meet together upon a defign to bring the greatest good out of the greatest evil, and the highest glory out of the deepest mifery, to the praife of all God's glorious perfections, V. The Fifth thing propofed, was the Application, in a few Inferences. Is it fo, that in the falvation of finners by Jefus Chrift, the glorious attributes and perfecti ons of God do thus harmonioufly confpire, and embrace each other? Then hence we may fee, 1. What a dreadful evil sIN is, which fets all the attributes of God, as it were, in oppofition to one, another, and puts all the world into confufion, and every thing out of order; it fets heaven and earth, and all things in them at variance, one againft another: to think light of fin, is to think light of this glorious meeting of divine attributes, that met together to break this rebellion, and take order with this horrid infurrection against heaven. O! what a great matter is the falvation of a finner! ere that can take place, this grand meeting must be called; all the injured attri butes of God muft have an honourable reparation. Juftice mult be fatisfied; Truth vindicated; Righteouf nefa nefs cleared; and in order to all this, a Surety must be provided, even a God in our nature: the guilt must be imputed to him, and the iniquity of us all muft be laid upon him; and then a bloody tragedy muft be acted upon his foul and body; till he fink to death under the weight of infinite wrath. 2. Hence fee, what a wonderful Perfon our LORD JESUS CHRIST is, in who fo many wonders meet together. It is in him, that Mercy and Truth, Righteoufnefs and Peace, do meet together, and kifs each other; here all the illuftrious perfections of the divine nature do glorioufly confpire; here is the bright conftellation of all the divine attributes fhining forth in him; and every star performs its revolutions in this orb. Behold in him the bright glory and excellency of God's grace and love; a whole Trinity in concert, to perform each Perfon his own part, and each attribute its own work; and Chrift, the image of the invifible God, fet forth to be a GLORIOUS THEATRE, on which men and angels might fee the fplendour of the tranfaction: "He is the brightnefs of the Father's glory, and the exprefs image of hist perfon:" here is the great mystery of godlinefs, God manifefted in the flefh, and all his attributes meeting together, and kiffing each other in our IMMANUEL, Godman. There are two things meet in Chrift, which fhould make him wonderful to us: the one is, all our fins meet together on him, that they may be condemned according to that word, Ifaiah liii. 6. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us ali;" (or, made them to MEET on him.) The other is, all the attributes. of God meet in him, that they may be glorified. And indeed there is no faving or fatisfying knowledge of any property of God, but what is to be had in Chrifl: to fee God to be a merciful, juft, true, righteous, good, and holy God, is neither a faving, nor a fatisfying fight; unless we fee these attributes meeting in Chrift for our falvation; and to fee this, is to fee the glory of God, in the face of Chrift; here fee the glory of divine Mercy? What is pardoning mercy? It is God's free, gracious acceptance of a finner, upon fatiffaction made to his juftice, in the blood of Jefus." Nor is any difcovery of mercy, but as relating to the fatisfaction of juftice, confiftent with the glory of God: mercy cannot be feen favingly, but as meeting with justice in Chrift. Here alfo we fee the glory of divine truth in the exact accomplishment of all his threatenings and promifes: that original threatening and commination, whence all other threatenings flow, Gen. ii. 17. "In the day thou eateft thereof, thou fhalt furely die," backed with a curfe, "For curfed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them," is in him accomplished fully, and the truth of God therein cleared to our falvation, while he tafted death for us, and he was made a curfe for us: fo that in every threatening his truth is made glorious. And as to the promifes, they are all Yea and Amen in Chrift Jefus, to the glory of God by us, 2 Cor. i. 20. And fo of all the other attributes of God, they are made glorious, and exalted in Chrift to our falvation. Hence, when Chrift defired his Father to glorify his name, John xii. 23. to make his name, that is, his nature, properties, and perfections all glorious in the work of redemption, that he had in hand; he was inflantly anfwered from heaven, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again:" I will give my attributes their utmoft glory in thee. 3. Hence fee the difference betwixt the law and the gofpel: one great difference betwixt them lies in this, that in the law, the finner that hath violated the fame, may fee Truth flanding engaged against him, but no Mercy in company with Truth; and Righteoufnefs in arms against him, but no Peace in company with Righteournefs; Juftice without mercy, and war without peace to the finner,' is the motto of the law; for therein Truth and Righteoufnefs meet together, but Mercy and Peace are not at the meeting; and fo the language of the law, to you that are out of Chrift, and under the law, is, No mercy, no peace, but the wrath of God, the vengeance of God, the curfe of God, upon you; and that fo fure, as God is a God of truth and righteoufnefs. There is the law. But in the gospel, Mercy and Peace come into the meeting, and make up a match betwixt all the oppo |