Thirdly, to the ways of godliness that leads to all 1this: great and blessed are the things of the Kingdom 2of Heaven; from whence is all this? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all this comes, another reward was due to us, we were wretched guilty creatures, fire-brands of hell, children of perdition, cast out unto an eternal curse; but the Lord Christ, who was the wisdom of the Father, set his heart upon us, and spake for us from all eternity, and would not satisfy himself in delivering of mankind from that miserable and lost condition in which they were, but so set his heart upon them, as he intended to make it his great work for the manifestation of the riches of his grace, to raise this poor wretched creature to a height of happiness and glory, that it might appear to Angels, to the world, yea to the blessed Trinity it self, what the Son of God is able to do, to raise a creature from misery unto glory; and so his heart was set upon mankind, that though it must cost him the eclipsing of his own glory, though he must come to be made a prey to the world, and if a man, a man of sorrows, yea, made a curse it self in the abstract, that man might have this glory and happiness, and yet he was content with all; and at last this is all he prays for as a fruit of his sufferings and merits, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; as if he should say, If I can but have this, I am well, I have enough for all the sufferings ⟨p. 656⟩that I did endure. This indeed is called a reward, but it is the reward of another manner of righteousness then our own; were it that there were no other righteousness but our own, though our own should be true righteousness, the reward would never come to this height; but this is first the reward of the merit, of the death, of the blood, and of the perfect righteousness of the Son of God, and so in him it comes to be our reward, therefore it is Christ that is our life, and happiness, and glory. O let us join with those blessed Elders in Rev. 5. 8, 9. that fell down before the Lamb, having all harps in their hands, and golden vials full of odours, and sung, Worthy art thou who wast slain, and hast redeemed us unto God by thy blood, to receive honour, and blessing, and glory; and that we might join in that blessed melody that St.
Thirdly, to the ways of godliness that leads to all 1this: great and blessed are the things of the Kingdom 2of Heaven; from whence is all this? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all this comes, another reward was due to us, we were wretched guilty creatures, fire-brands of hell, children of perdition, cast out unto an eternal curse; but the Lord Christ, who was the wisdom of the Father, set his heart upon us, and spake for us from all eternity, and would not satisfie himself in delivering of mankinde from that miserable and lost condition in which they were, but so set his heart upon them, as he intended to make it his great work for the manifestation of the riches of his grace, to raise this poor wretched creature to a height of happiness and glory, that it might appear to Angels, to the world, yea to the blessed Trinity it self, what the Son of God is able to do, to raise a creature from misery unto glory; and so his heart was set upon mankinde, that though it must cost him the eclipsing of his own glory, though he must come to be made a prey to the world, and if a man, a man of sorrows, yea, made a curse it self in the abstract, that man might have this glory and happiness, and yet he was content with all; and at last this is all he prays for as a fruit of his sufferings and merits, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; as if he should say, If I can but have this, I am well, I have enough for all the sufferings ⟨p. 656⟩that I did endure. This indeed is called a reward, but it is the reward of another maner of righteousness then our own; were it that there were no other righteousness but our own, though our own should be true righteousness, the reward would never come to this height; but this is first the reward of the merit, of the death, of the blood, and of the perfect righteousness of the Son of God, and so in him it comes to be our reward, therefore it is Christ that is our life, and happiness, and glory. O let us joyn with those blessed Elders in Rev. 5. 8, 9. that fell down before the Lamb, having all harps in their hands, and golden vials full of odours, and sung, Worthy art thou who wast slain, and hast redeemed us unto God by thy blood, to receive honor, and blessing, and glory; and that we might joyn in that blessed melody that St.
- 13.
- 2What love is due to Christ.
