kinfman and brother, he might redeem the forfeited inheritance; and by fuffering in our room, the juft for the unjust, might bring us to God.It is plain, that the ftation here affigned to Chrift belongs to him in the character of Emanuel," which is, being interpreted, God with us," or, "God "manifested in the flesh.” Accordingly,

66

he is styled, in immediate connection with his headship, the firft-born from the dead; which neceffarily fuppofes his previous incarnation and fufferings. And the church, 'which is here called his body, is exprefsly faid by Paul, in the charge which he gave to the elders of Ephefus, to have been "purchased by him with his own blood." Here, my brethren, he is reprefented to us in fuch an endearing relation, as cannot fail, if we understand it aright, to fill our hearts at once with the highest admiration, the warmeft gratitude, and most triumphant joy. Chrift is faid to be "the "head of all principality and power," at the 10th verfe of the following chapter; but it is not added, these are his body. In like manner, we are told, Eph. i. at the close, that "God,

God, who raised him from the dead, hath "fet him at his own right hand in the hea

t

venly places, far above all principality, "and power, and might, and dominion, "and every name that is named, not only "in this world, but alfo in that which "is to come; and hath put all things "under his feet, and given him to be "head over all things to the church." That is, he hath placed him at the head of all things, and given him fupreme dominion over them; fo that the highest angels are only minifters, or fervants, in his kingdom, whom he fends forth to minifter to the heirs of falvation. But his relation to his church, though it includes dominion, yet it carries in it a more close and intimate connection. He is not only head over his church, in refpect of fupreme authority, as a king is the political head over his fubjects; but he is the head of his church, in respect of vital influence: for so the Apostle himself explains it in the following chapter, verfe 19. He is that head "from which "all the body by joints and bands having "nourishment miniftered, and knit to

gether, increaseth with the increase of "God."

But your time will not permit me to enlarge upon this fubject: let it fuffice at prefent to observe, that what Adam was in the first creation, that is Chrift in the new creation. Hence he gets the name of the Second Adam; and it is expressly faid of the first Adam, Rom. v. 14. " that he was "the figure of him that was to come. I fhall not pretend to trace out the refemblance between thefe two different HEADS in all its extent; and yet it is obvious, that a great part of the Scripture-language which is employed to defcribe the nature of that station which Chrift holds in the church, not only alludes to this refemblance, but is fo much founded upon it, that without fome juft conception of the figure or type, our views of the antitype must be very dark and imperfect.

If we look at the ftate of things in the first creation, we fhall find Adam placed in a station of the highest importance. Befides the dominion that was given him over the inferior creatures, he was confti

tuted,

tuted, in the most proper sense of the word, the bead of mankind, in as much as "of that one blood were to be made all the "nations of men that should dwell upon "the face of the whole earth." The life of all his posterity was depofited in him. He was the root, and his defcendants, in all their fucceffive generations, are the branches which grow out of it. This is the plain account which the Scriptures give us; and the clofenefs of our connection with the firft Adam is fatally illuftrated by its effects, which cannot efcape our obfervation. It is too apparent, that life is conveyed to us under the fame awful forfeiture which Adam incurred; for in confequence of the fentence pronounced against him on account of his tranfgreffion, "Duft thou art, and unto duft thou fhalt "return," we find, in fact, that " it is ap

pointed unto all men once to die," and that there is no difcharge in that war"fare."

This is the figure by which we are taught to form our conceptions of Jefus Christ, and of the place he holds in that

new

new creation, which is here distinguished by the names of his church and his body. And to those who are acquainted with what the Scriptures fay concerning Chrift, many circumstances will occur from the hints I have already fuggefted, in which the refemblance between the first and fecond Adam may easily be traced with the moft critical exactnefs. But, bleffed be God, there is one circumftance of the greatest importance in which the refemblance doth not hold, as will appear from the information the Apostle gives us concerning the third particular I took notice of: namely,

III. The qualifications of our Redeemer, for performing what belongs to him as the bead of his church.

It pleafed the Father, faith he, verfe 19. that in him fhould all fulness dwell.

The first Adam received the gift of life from God, which he held in truft for all his posterity, upon a condition the most gentle and eafy that can poffibly be imagined: but he failed in the performance of