The reasons of the Christian religion the first part, of godliness, proving by natural…

And his Goodness and Love is as resplendent in it all: for this is the effect of the whole design, to set up a Glass in the work of our Redemption, in which God's Love and Goodness should be as wonderfully represented to mankind, as his Power was in the works of Creation. Here sinful man is saved by a means which he never thought of or desired: he is fetched up from the gates of hell; redeemed from the Sentence of the righteous violated Law of God, and the execution of his Justice: The Eternal Word so condescendeth to man in the assumption of our nature, as that the greatness of the love and mercy, incomprehensible to man, becomes the greatest difficulty to our belief. He revealeth to us the things of the world above, and bringeth life and immortality to light: He dwelleth with men; He converseth with the meanest: He preacheth the glad tidings of Salvation to the world: He refuseth not such familiarity with the poorest or the worst, as is needful to their cure: He spendeth his time in doing good, and healing all manner of bodily diseases: He refuseth the honours and riches of the world, and the pleasures of the flesh, to work out our salvation: He beareth the ingratitude and abuse of sinners, and endureth to be scorned, buffeted, spit upon, tormented and crucified by those, to whom he had done no greater wrong than to seek their salvation: He maketh himself a Sacrifice for sin, to show the world what sin deserved, and to save them from the deserved punishment. God had at first decreed and declared, that death should be the punishment of sin: and Satan had maliciously drawn man to it, by contradicting this threatening of God, and making man believe that God would falsify his word, and that he did envy man the felicity of his advancement to be liker God in knowledge: And now ⟨p. 271⟩Christ will first justify the truth and righteousness of God, and will demonstrate himself by dying in our stead, that death is indeed the wages of sin; and will show the world, that God is so far from envying their felicity, that he will purchase it at the dearest rate, and deliver them freely from the misery which sin and Satan had involved them in. Thus Enemies are reconciled by the sufferings of him whom they offended; even by his sufferings in the flesh, whose Godhead could not suffer; and by his death as Man, who as God was most immortal.

And his Goodness and Love is as resplendent in it all: for this is the effect of the whole design, to set up a Glass in the work of our Redemption, in which God's Love and Goodness should be as wonderfully represented to mankind, as his Power was in the works of Creation. Here sinful man is saved by a means which he never thought of or desired: he is fetch'd up from the gates of hell; redeemed from the Sentence of the righteous violated Law of God, and the execution of his Justice: The Eternal Word so condescendeth to man in the assumption of our nature, as that the greatness of the love and mercy, incomprehensible to man, becomes the greatest difficulty to our belief. He revealeth to us the things of the world above, and bringeth life and immortality to light: He dwelleth with men; He converseth with the meanest: He preacheth the glad tidings of Salvation to the world: He refuseth not such familiarity with the poorest or the worst, as is needful to their cure: He spendeth his time in doing good, and healing all manner of bodily diseases: He refuseth the honours and riches of the world, and the pleasures of the flesh, to work out our salvation: He beareth the ingratitude and abuse of sinners, and endureth to be scorned, buffeted, spit upon, tormented and crucified by those, to whom he had done no greater wrong than to seek their salvation: He maketh himself a Sacrifice for sin, to shew the world what sin deserved, and to save them from the deserved punishment. God had at first decreed and declared, that death should be the punishment of sin: and Satan had maliciously drawn man to it, by contradicting this threatning of God, and making man believe that God would falsifie his word, and that he did envy man the felicity of his advancement to be liker God in knowledge: And now