Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

2. Faith must directly go to Christ as God in our flesh; some think it a carnal apprehension of Jesus Christ, to know him as in flesh; I confess to know him only so, and absolutely so; to consider Jesus no other way, but as having flesh, and going up and down in weakness; it is no better than a carnal apprehension; but to consider Christ as God in flesh, and to consider that flesh as acted by God, and filled with God, it is not a carnal, but a true and spiritual apprehension of Jesus Christ; and hither is faith to be directed immediately, and in the first place; suppose a case of danger by some enemies, and I find a promise of protection from my enemies, I look on that; but in the first place thus I argue, if the Lord hath given me Christ (God in the flesh) to save me from Hell, then much more will he save me from these fleshly enemies. Thus Judah had a promise, that Syria should not prevail against Judah, they doubted of this,¹ but how doth the Lord seek to assure them? why thus, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his name shall be Immanuel: this seems a strong reason to flesh and blood; I knew one turn Infidel, and to deny Jesus Christ upon this very argument. Ah (thought he) what a grand imposture is this, that Christ's conception, and Christ's birth many years after, should be a present sign of ruin of Rezin King of Aram, and of the preservation of Ahaz King of Judah? alas poor soul, he was not acquainted with this art of living by faith; he might have seen the very same reason elsewhere, the yoke of their burden, ²and the stuff of their shoulder, and the rod of their oppressor shall be broken—for unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given; if their faith had not first respected Christ incarnate, they could never have expected any temporal deliverance by that promise of deliverance, first laid down; But in this way they might, and so may we.—You will say what's this to us? they looked for Christ to come in the flesh, but now he is come, and that time and design is gone and past many a year since; I answer no, the time is gone, but the design is not; Christ remains God in the flesh to this very day; he came not as once to manifest himself in flesh, to satisfy Gods justice in the flesh for sin, and so to lay it down again; that flesh remains, and shall remain;

2. Faith must directly go to Christ as God in our flesh; some think it a carnal apprehension of Jesus Christ, to know him as in flesh; I confess to know him only so, and absolutely so; to consider Jesus no other way, but as having flesh, and going up and down in weakness; it is no better than a carnal apprehension; but to consider Christ as God in flesh, and to consider that flesh as acted by God, and filled with God, it is not a carnal, but a true and spiritual apprehension of Jesus Christ; and hither is faith to be directed immediately, and in the first place; suppose a case of danger by some enemies, and I find a promise of protection from my enemies, I look on that; but in the first place thus I argue, if the Lord hath given me Christ (God in the flesh) to save me from Hell, then much more will he save me from these fleshly enemies. Thus Juda had a promise, that Syria should not prevail against Judah, they doubted of this,