plead for sinners, who devolve
themselves upon him, so he will not spare if need require, to degrade
himself further, if I may say so, and of an advocate become a supplicant.
And truly he ceased not in the days of his flesh to pray for us, "with
strong cries and tears," Heb. v. 7. And now he still lives to make
intercession for us. He can turn from the plea of justice, to the
intercession and supplication of mercy, and if strict justice will not
help him, yet grace and favour he is sure will not disappoint him.

There is a divine contexture of justice and mercy in the business of man's
redemption, and there is nothing so much declares infinite wisdom, as the
method, order, and frame of it. Mercy might have been showed to sinners,
in gracious and free pardon of their sins, and dispensing with the
punishment due to their persons, yet the Lord's justice and faithfulness
in that first commination might be wronged and disappointed by it, if no
satisfaction should be made for such infinite offences, if the law were
wholly made void both in the punishment, as also to the person. Therefore
in the infinite depths of God's wisdom there was a way found out to
declare both mercy and justice, to make both to shine gloriously in this
work, and indeed that is the great wonder of men and angels, such a
conjunction or constellation of divine attributes in one work. And indeed,
it is only the most happy and favourable aspect in which we can behold the
divine Majesty. The Psalmist, Psalm lxxxv., expects much good from this
conjunction of the celestial attributes, and prognosticates salvation to
be near at hand, and all good things, as the immediate effect of it. There
is a meeting there, as it were, of some honourable personages, (ver. 10,
11) such as are in heaven. The meeting is strange, if you consider the
parties,--Mercy and Truth, Righteousness and Peace. If Mercy and Peace had
met thus friendly, it had been less wonder, but it would seem, that
Righteousness and Truth should stand off, or meet only to reason and
dispute the business with Mercy. But here is the wonder,--Mercy and Truth
meet in a friendly manner, and "kiss one another." There is a perfect
agreement and harmony amongst them, about this matter of our salvation.
There was a kind of parting at man's fall, but they met again at Christ's
birth. Here is the uniting principle, "Truth springing out of the earth."
Because he who is "the truth and the life, was to spring out of the