ord, and we the servants; he
the King, and we the poor beggars, he the brightness of his Father's
glory, and we the shame and ignominy of the whole creation, he counting it
no robbery to be equal with God, and being in the form of God, and we not
equal to the worst of creatures, because of sin, and being in the form of
devils! Had it been a holy and righteous man for sinners, it had been a
strange enough exchange, but he is not only holy and harmless, but higher
than the heavens. O what a vast descent was this, from heaven to earth,
from a Lord to a servant, from an eternal Spirit to mortal flesh, from God
to creatures! And to descend thus far for such persons, not only unworthy
in themselves, such as could not conciliate any liking, but such as might
procure loathing,--as is described, Ezek. xvi., Rom. v. 6, 1 Pet. iii.
18,--"while we were enemies," and might have expected a commissioner from
heaven, with vengeance against us. Behold how the mysterious design of
love breaks up and opens itself to the world, in sending his own Son for
us! And this is exceedingly aggravated from the absolute freedom of it,
that there was nothing to pre-engage him to it, but infinite impediments
in the way to dissuade him, many impediments to his affection, and many
difficulties to his power, and then, no gain nor advantage to be expected
from such creatures, notwithstanding of such an undertaking for them.

Now, herein is the strongest support of faith, and the greatest incentive
to love, and the mightiest persuasive to obedience that can be. I say, the
strongest support of faith, for, a soul apprehending the greatness and
heinousness of sin and the inviolableness of God's righteousness, with the
purity of his holiness, can hardly be persuaded, that any thing can
compense that infinite wrong that is done to his Majesty, though
ordinarily the small and superficial apprehension of sin makes a kind of
facility in this, or an empty credulity of the gospel. The reason why most
men do not question and doubt of the gospel, and of their acceptance
before God, is not because they are established in the faith, but rather
because they do not so seriously and deeply believe, and ponder their own
sins, and God's holiness, which, if many did, they would find it a greater
difficulty to attain to a solid and quieting persuasion of the grounds of
the gospel: they would find much ado to settle that point of the readiness
of God, to pardon and accept sinners