sufferings without this we have no life in us Let us therefore take heed how we have slight thoughts of the sufferings of Christ this is to slight them when we do not study the virtue of these sufferings when we do not see our need of them and do not apply our selves to them that we may be saved by them 4. Then are the sufferings of Christ contemned when we come unworthily to the Lords Table The Sacrament of the Supper it is the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ when therefore we rush upon the Sacrament in a rude manner we do in an eminent way contemn the sufferings of Christ The Supper of the Lord is called a shewing forth the Lords death 1 Cor. 11.26 As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lords death till he come This phrase of shewing forth the Lords death implies three things in it 1. It implies the inward assent of the mind that we do indeed with our hearts and minds believe that Christ did dye and suffer such things for us as we read of in the Gospel 2. This phrase of shewing forth the Lords death implies the profession and confession of our faith before the world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we owne it and profess it before the world that we believe such and such things concerning Christ 3. It implies our faith in our our reliance upon the death and sufferings of Christ for salvation that is our expectation of salvation by the death of Christ and by that means only All this I take to be implied in this phrase of shewing forth the death of Christ the Sacrament therefore being a shewing forth of Christs death when we come to the Sacrament we have to do with the death and sufferings of Christ in a peculiar manner if therefore we rush upon that Ordinance in a rude or unworthy manner we must of necessity contemn the sufferings of Christ because the Sacrament is the special and peculiar Ordinance that is appointed to represent to us the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus and that this is one way of contemning Christs sufferings the Apostle is exceeding clear and plain 1 Cor. 11.27 Whosoever shall eat and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. As much as if he should say Every unworthy Communicant every unworthy receiver at the Lords Table is guilty of no small sin he is guilty of the very body and blood of Christ that is he is as one that hath imbrued his hands in Christs blood he is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. The Ancients expound it to this sense Every unworthy receiver and Communicant that comes in a rude manner to the Lords Supper is like Judas that betrayed Christ like the Jews that buffeted and spit upon him like to Pilate that condemned him and like the Souldiers that crucified him these dealt unworthily with the body of Christ and so doth every unworthy Communicant deal unworthily with the body of Christ The others indeed abused and dealt unworthily with his natural body but every unworthy Communicant deals unworthily with his sacramental body and the sin of the one is so much the greater than the sin of the other because many of them that had a hand in the crucifixion of the body of our Saviour looked upon him as an ordinary man they did not look upon him as the Son of God Hence doth the Apostle say If they had known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory 1 Cor. 2.8 But now rude Christians who rush irreverently upon this Ordinance do profess they believe him to be the Son of God the Saviour of the world and yet offer indignity to him They therefore that come unworthily to the Lords Table do in an eminent manner contemn the sufferings of Christ But here it may be useful for us to inquire What is it to come unworthily Who are they that come unworthily Whosoever shall eat this bread 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily 1 Cor. 11.29 The Greek word as Peter Martyr observes Indecenter parùm congruè minùs apposité signifies in this place as much as indecently not congruously not in that fit manner as he ought to do he eats and drinks unworthily that comes in an indecent manner without due preparation to this Ordinance I shall more particularly shew what this unworthy receiving is in two or three things 1. Then do we come unworthily to the Sacrament when we have not a due reverence of those great and sublime Mysteries that are set before us in the Sacrament Whoever shall drink this cup of the Lord saith the Apostle this Cup of the Lord here is an accent that it is the Lords bread the Lords cup the bread that we partake of in the Sacrament is the Lords bread and the cup that we drink of in the Sacrament is the Lords cup. Some may say so is all our bread the bread that we live upon daily is the Lords bread and the cup we drink of daily is the Lords cup it is he that spreads our tables for us and causeth our cups to run over But we must consider that the bread here spoken of the sacramental Bread and the sacramental Cup are called the Lords bread and the Lords cup in a peculiar manner it is that bread that is instituted to signifie and represent the Lords body and it is that cup that is instituted to represent the Lords blood therefore when we look upon the sacramental bread as common ordinary bread when we drink of the sacramental wine as common ordinary wine this is a prophanation of this Ordinance We ought to be sensible of the Mystery that is in this Ordinance namely that the Lords body and his blood are represented to us by the outward signs The ancient Church were wont to call the Mysteries represented to us in the Sacrament tremendous Mysteries O here are tremendous Mysteries indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if we rightly consider what they are that are set before us in the Sacrament to see the incorporeal God assuming a humane body to see God personally inhabit in that flesh that suffered and offering that very body of his in which he was crucified dyed rose again and ascended into Heaven to be the food of our souls these are wonderful Mysteries indeed and yet these are the Mysteries that are represented to us in the Sacrament in the Sacrament we see the Son of God and God to have assumed a part of our flesh and then offering himself up in that flesh a Sacrifice for our sins and as we see the Son of God first giving himself for us upon the Cross so in the Sacrament we see him giving himself to us Here lyes the mystery of the Sacrament In the Sacrament we do not only see Christ giving himself for us but we also see
these to the terrours of natural death and to the terrours of supernatural death O let us not think it an indifferent thing whether we get a part in Christ yea or no certainly God did not put his innocent Son to suffer all these things we have heard of in vain and certainly if the Gospel be true Christ hath suffered all these things and if Christ hath suffered all these things then all of us did stand in need of them and if we need them it concerns us deeply to make sure our part and interest in them The end of the sixth Sermon SERMON VII Joh. 15.13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends I Come now to speak particularly of that which was formerly mentioned in the general and here we shall shew 1. How it was that our Saviour suffered fear and what the fear was that he underwent 2. I shall shew how it was that he suffered grief because these are the two things which the Evangelist insists upon in the Text formerly mentioned Mark 14.33 1. Our Saviour was afflicted with sore fear yea he was even overwhelmed and oppressed by fear yet without sin hence is that expression of the Apostle Heb. 5.7 He was heard in that he feared But here it may be said Object What was that fear that our Saviour was struck with when he is said to be amazed with fear or astonished with fear I answer Answ It was the fear or horror of Divine wrath due to us for our sins Certainly it was not a corporal death that our Saviour feared so much many of the Martyrs by the Grace they had received were much carried above the fear of a corporal death much more may we suppose that the perfect and consummate Grace that was in the heart of our Saviour would have carried him above the fear of a natural death but it was the fear of Divine wrath that he was struck with therefore is it that he crys out Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me What was this cup Certainly the cup of Divine wrath as I may shew you more hereafter this then was that which our Saviour feared the wrath of God Fear says a Learned man was cast into the humane nature of our Saviour which being a creature fear might possess it lest it should be swallowed up of an angry God who did exact as much as rigid justice ought or could require from so great a person who was the Surety or Vndertaker Our Saviour knew right-well that he was to bear not the guilt of one or two or a few sins not the guilt of some lesser sins only but the guilt of the greatest sins he knew that he was to bear the guilt not of the sins of some of the Elect only but the guilt of all the sins of all the Elect what a torrent then or sea rather of wrath must our Saviour needs see coming on his most holy Soul when the wrath of God which was due for the sins of all the Elect was like to come upon him at once Well therefore might he be afraid If it be possible for Satan to aggravate and blow up the guilt of a little sin as we would account it in the eye of a mans conscience so as it shall seem the greatest sin in all the world as certainly he can and those that have to do with troubled consciences know how often he doth it and such a sin is ready to make a soul to despair unless Divine Grace do step in and help it into what a consternation then may we well suppose the humane soul of our Saviour to be cast when the sins of all the Elect the most great horrid and hainous sins as well as the least were bound upon him by the omnipotent hand of God his Father and he knew he was to answer for them all well might our Saviour fear in this case Neither is it to be wondred at that our Saviour should be thus struck with fear and astonishment if we consider that Christ did not only take our nature but he took the infirmities of our nature namely such as were inculpable and without sin and he also assumed our natural affections as grief sorrow and the like It is natural to the creature to fear and tremble at the sight and presence of an angry God thus we read how the rocks clave in sunder and the mountains have trembled when God hath shewn forth the terribleness of his Majesty and it is natural to men when any terrible object presents it self and some evil approaches although it be not as yet inflicted especially when some such evil approches as is greater than a mans strength to fear and be astonished therefore our Saviour having the verity and truth of our nature in him and having the verity and truth of humane passions in him yet without sin having the most terrible object that ever was set before him and that which would have been too great for him to bear had he been but meer man and that is the wrath of the great God due to the sins of all the Elect well might he be astonished and fear 2. Our Saviour was oppressed with grief and sorrow as well as fear Fear is such a passion as ariseth from some imminent or impending evil grief is a passion that ariseth from some present or inflicted evil Fear is the expectation of some suture evil grief is that which ariseth from the sense of some present evil Now our Saviour had not only fear but grief he felt that in his most holy Soul which was cause of greatest grief and sorrow to him This is set forth by the Evangelist Matthew Mat. 26.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He began to be sorrowful and very heavy He began to be grieved and very heavy The Greek word is a full and a significant word The Criticks in the Greek Tongue render it by other words which signifie to be in an agony to be very much grieved Our Saviour was in an agony of sorrow oppressed and overwhelmed with sorrow and therefore it follows in the next words He began to be grieved and very heavy and he said to them that is to his Disciples My soul is exceeding sorrowful So great was our Saviours sorrow that he could not contain himself he must needs vent his sorrow by telling it to his Disciples I say our Saviour seeks a vent for his sorrow by acquainting his Disciples how great his sorrow was he saith to them My soul is exceeding sorrowful There are many holy Souls that will bear great sorrows and undergo many burdens and temptations and yet declare them unto none Certainly had our Saviours sorrows been but common and ordinary he would not have complained of them to his Disciples but so great was his sorrow that he is fain to seek for a little ease by venting himself to his Disciples And what is it that he
saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 undequaque tristis est anima mea My soul is exceeding sorrowful My soul is sorrowful on every side so the word properly signifies my soul is environed or compassed about with sorrow sorrow and grief possess me all over Yet that is not all but he adds farther My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death So great was his grief and sorrow before he came to the Cross and the sufferings that he underwent there that the greatness of his grief and sorrow had almost brought him to death before-hand yea we may well suppose that had not our Saviour had the power of the Divinity to support him the strength of his sorrows in the Garden before he came to the Cross might have taken away his natural life He saith his soul was heavy to the very death We see how many are killed with grief when grief and sorrow rises to a great height many have had their natural spirits suppressed and dyed away under it Now our Saviours sorrows did far exceed the sorrows of all other men yea if all mens sorrows were put together our Saviours sorrows exceeded them all and the reason is because he sustained the person of all the Elect and he bare the punishment not only of a few sins but of all the sins of all his people at once Therefore if he had not had the power of the Divinity to have supported him the greatness of his sorrows might have sunk him and brought him down to death but having other things to suffer upon the Cross besides those things he suffered in the Garden he was not sorrowful unto death absolutely that is not sorrowful so as to dye in and by those sorrows but yet he was sorrowful next to death setting aside death it self his sorrow and grief in the Garden was so great as it could not have been greater even in death it self My soul is sorrowful unto death Thus I have shewed how our Saviour suffered a great deal of anxiety and perplexity in his mind in respect of fear in respect of grief but this is only in general But to come a little nearer the matter and the thing it self 2. Our Saviour conflicted with the sense of Gods wrath in his soul I have shewed how he suffered the greatest anxiety perplexity and grief in his mind Now I shall shew how the great sorrows our Saviour underwent did arise from the conflict he had with Gods wrath in his soul Mat. 26. Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me What cup was this Truly the cup of Divine wrath The cup of God is the wrath of God Calix Dei ira Dei est ira Dei justa est vindicta quae imponitur à justo Judice the wrath of God is the just revenge which is inflicted by a just Judge for our sins and this is the cup our Saviour drank of our Saviour that he might bear the punishment that was due to us for our sins tasted of the wrath of God conflicted with the sense of Gods wrath The better to take in this we must consider that the sense of Divine wrath is part of the punishment that is due to us for our sins yea it is a principal part of the punishment and a great part of the pains and torments of Hell consists in it It is a speech of Luther The greatest temptation of all others is that temptation by which God is set in direct opposition to a man and appears contrary to him Quâ Deus contrarius homini ponitur This temptation saith he is an unsupportable temptation and is properly Hell it self and no man can tell how great this temptation is but he that hath felt it Now when a man is under the sense of Gods wrath he apprehends God to be contrary to him and to be set in direct opposition against him and as was said this is part of the punishment that is due to us for sin Observe what is spoken to this purpose Rom. 2.8 9. But to hem that are contentious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil The Apostle is here speaking what is the punishment that shall come upon men for sin now he describes it by this Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish Now by these expressions indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish I conceive the Apostle doth not only intend the effects of Divine wrath all the miseries that shall be laid upon the damned as the effects of Divine wrath but he also intends the impression of Divine wrath upon the conscience of the sinner and therefore he expresseth it by so many words that intimate so much indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish these words plainly intimate the horror and anguish that shall be upon the spirit of the damned and whence doth this tribulation and anguish arise certainly from the fense of Gods wrath When our first Parents had sinned God appeared to them as an angry God in an angry manner to Adam he saith Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I said thou shalt not eat and to the Woman he said What is this that thou hast done Both these are expressions of anger When therefore man had sinned God appears to him as an angry God Now our Saviour being to take upon him the guilt of our sins he was to conflict with the sense of Gods wrath and therefore he had great and deep apprehensions fastned upon his soul concerning the displeasure that was due from God to us by reason of sin Christ when he came to suffer for our sins saw the Justice of God armed with revenge against us for our sins he saw the Justice of God ready to take hold on him as our Surety who had taken upon him the guilt of our sins There is a Learned man who is no friend to the Soul sufferings of Christ but makes it his business to oppose them that yet in discussing that argument is at last brought to this confession Christ saith he in his sufferings had a present sight of the Divine Majesty sitting as it were in Judgment and armed with the infinite power of Divine Justice to avenge the sins of men This is the confession of an Adversary that opposes the Soul-sufferings of Christ Now they which do assert the Soul-sufferings of Christ do only add thus much more That Christ did not only see Gods wrath that was due to us for our sins but he tasted of it and felt it and conflicted with the sense of it for to what purpose should he see it and not feel it Or how could Christs seeing the weight of Divine wrath that was due to us and not bearing it have expiated and taken away the guilt of our sins The sense of Divine wrath was that which was due to us as the punishment of sin for the Law saith Cursed is he that continueth not in all
wrath of God for ever O it is of infinite concernment to us to make haste to him and to embrace him that was made a curse for us that we might be delivered from the curse Christ was made a curse for us that he might deliver them from the curse who flee for refuge to the hope set before them Nothing can pacifie the sin-revenging Justice of God but holding up Christ in the arms of our faith who was made a curse and upon whom the curse hath spent all its venom all its force and strength He that believes on the Son is not condemned Joh. 3.18 Oh let the Doctrine of the Curse which hath been opened make Christ more and more precious to us let us embrace him with both the arms of our faith If we can hide our selves in the Righteousness and Satisfaction of Christ the curse which we have deserved shall never overtake us The end of the ninth Sermon SERMON X. Joh. 15.13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends I Come to a third Particular to shew you how it was that Christ was made a curse for us The third Particular is this In Christs being made a curse the wrath of God was consummated upon him Christ in being made a curse for us bare the whole punishment that was due to us It was not part of the punishment only but the whole punishment which was due to us that Christ underwent All the curses of the Law did as it were meet upon him and there was nothing wanting which the Law would inflict upon sinners as sinners but the curse brought upon Christ as our Surety The curse notes the utmost execution of evil upon the sinner It is in the nature of the curse to imprecate the greatest evil upon a person and to bring the utmost evil upon him that it can Therefore Christ being made a curse for us he bare all the punishment that the Law could inflict Maledictio Christi continet omnem poenam nostram Christs being made a curse says a Learned man contains in it all our punishment Whatever punishment was due to us was contained in this That Christ was made a curse And another Judicious Divine hath a passage to this purpose In Christs being made a curse the fulness of Gods wrath and the dregs of that horrible cup was wholly poured out upon that sacred head of his when together and at once Heaven and Earth and Hell seemed to conspire together to exact from our Surety that punishment that was due to our sins in that cursed kind of death which was a sign or Symbol of the Divine curse that lay upon him The whole punishment that was due to us for our sins was laid upon Christ in his being made a curse Hence is that expression Isa 53.6 10. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all or as it is in the Margent He hath made the iniquity of us all to meet upon him The sins of all the Elect did meet on Christ that is God did charge all the sins of the Elect upon Christ Christ was reckoned a sinner by imputation as it is in the last verse of that Chapter He was numbred with the transgressors and he bare the sins of â—â—ny He was numbred with the transgressors Christ though he was no sinner in himself yet he was reckoned a sinner 1 Cor. 6.20 He made him to be sin that knew no sin Now as all the sins of the Elect were charged upon Christ in a way of imputation so the punishment of their sins was laid upon him Hence is that expression The chastisement of our peace was upon him Isa 53.3 that is the whole punishment due to us was laid upon Christ and this is called the chastisement of our peace because Christs undergoing of this punishment was that which was necessary to make our peace the Justice of God required satisfaction and unless the punishment which the Law threatens were some way born and undergone God would not be at peace with us therefore saith the Prophet The chastisement of our peace was upon him that is the punishment that was due to us was inflicted and laid upon our Surety that so we that were at variance with God before might now be brought into peace with him Therefore it follows in the same place By his stripes we are healed the chastisement of our people was upon him and by his stripes we are healed Christ bearing that which we should have born he undergoing our punishment this is the means to make our peace with God Hence also is that expression of the Apostle Peter 1 Pet. 2.24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree Christ our Surety bare all our sins he hath born the guilt and punishment of all the sins of the Elect and that wholly and fully whatever the Law and Divine Justice would inflict upon us as sinners that Christ our Surety hath born for us Hence is it that our Saviour immediately before his death uttered these words It is finished Joh. 19.30 It is finished 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acta transacta omnia Beza consummated or perfected all things were done and transacted by Christ that were necessary to be done by him Christ did not make an end of his sufferings until he had suffered all that he was to suffer It is finished that is as another expounds that expression Christ fulfilled all the Scripture-prophecies the subst ance of the Types were fulfilled in him and he fulfilled all that which God determined to be paid for the expiation of sin Christ finished the whole work of our Redemption he left nothing undone and unsuffered that was to be done and suffered in order to the accomplishment of our Salvation It is finished as much as if it had been said Nothing remains more to be suffered but the very act of dying and giving up his life which he was now just about to do all that the Law and Justice could inflict upon him was inflicted upon him and therefore he said It was finished Hence are those expressions we have in the Book of Daniel Dan. 9.24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sin and to make reconciliation for iniquity Consider those expressions to make an end of sin and to make reconciliation for iniquity That expression which we translate to make an end of sin it is in the Originai to seal up sin Christ hath sealed up sin in respect of the guilt of it as to condemnation Christ by his death hath so sealed up sin that sin hath no more power to condemn those who believe on him he hath perfectly taken away the condemning power of it Hence is it said That Christ hath rased out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing
it to his cross Col. 2.14 and he is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world Joh. 1.29 that is he hath perfectly taken away sin as to the guilt and condemnation of it Now this could not have been if Christ had not suffered all that was to be suffered he could not have made an end of sin he could not have taken away the condemning power of it if all the punishment that was to be inflicted upon the sinner had not been inflicted upon him but now Christ by offering himself a Sacrifice for our sins hath born the whole punishment so that nothing more remains to be suffered that Divine Justice can demand This is implied in his being made a curse namely that the wrath of God was spent upon Christ to the utmost and that Divine Justice could desire no more than what was laid upon him The last Particular to clear this how Christ was made a curse is this The curse took hold on Christ so far as that Christ was exterminated and cut off by it The utmost punishment that can be inflicted upon a Malefactor amongst men is death the extermination of him from mankind cutting him off from the land of the living separating him from the society of mankind Now the curse proceeded upon Christ so far as that Christ was cut off by it Hence are those expressions of the Prophet He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he smitten or stricken Isa 53.8 So likewise we have the same expression in the Book of Daniel Dan. 9.26 After sixty two weeks shall Messias be cut off but not for himself Christ the true Messias was to be cut off but not for himself that is not for any sin of his own but he was cut off for us because he bare the guilt of our sins To understand this we must know that nothing satisfies the Law but the death of the sinner We know what the sentence was that God pronounced upon our first Parents In the day that thou eatest thou shalt dye the death and this is the general sentence of the Law The soul that sins shall dye and The wages of sin is death Death is part of the curse yea death is as it were the consummation of the curse Death as it is the inlet unto eternal death so it is the consummation of the curse The curse aims at the extermination and utter destruction of the sinner A man that is taken away by a corporal death he is for ever destroyed as to men though his soul survive yet he is taken from amongst men he hath no communion with mankind Death is the destruction of a person as to any fellowship and communion that he is to have with mankind any longer in this world and therefore death is the utmost consummation of punishment amongst men Thus the curse cuts off Christ and Christ dyes as bearing the curse yea the curse is consummated in the death of Christ Christ was accursed even as Adam was It is a good expression of one of the Ancients Christ descended as low as Adam did and so dissolved the curse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ by descending where Adam had brought himself by his Fall dissolves the curse that Adam had brought upon himself and his posterity the curse that was upon Adam brought him to death Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return The curse lying upon Adam subjected him to a state of mortality and brought him under the power of death Christ therefore being made a curse for us the curse subjects him to death and takes away his life Hence is that expression Heb. 2.9 That Christ tasted death for every man Death is the completion of the curse because the death of the body is the inlet to eternal death to those who are still under the power of the curse It is true Christ did not taste the pains of eternal death after his natural life was ended but Christ tasted the pains of supernatural death before the taking away of his natural life as I have shewed heretofore and here we may observe this difference in Christs sufferings and the damned's sufferings The damned suffer the pains of Hell after this life Christ suffered the pains of Hell here in this life corporal death is but the beginning of the damned's punishment but Christ at his death finished his sufferings So that in the order of suffering there is some difference between what Christ suffered and what the damned suffer The damned suffer the pains of Hell after this life Christ suffered them in this life yet Christ underwent death as a part of the curse and death as it is a part of the curse and a fruit of Gods wrath is a terrible thing yea most terrible and yet Christ that he might make satisfaction for us conflicted with this King of Terrors Christ as he was man had a natural fear of death as we have yet without sin and the reason is because Christ taking on him our nature took also upon him the infirmities of our nature Now there may be a natural fear of death without sin nature abhorring that which is contrary to it self and this was in our Saviour Christ being our Surety and seeing death coming upon him as part of the curse and as a part of the punishment due to us for our sins this made him to fear death Hence is that expression Heb. 5.7 He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him from death and was heard in what he feared Christ feared death as he was man especially he feared it as he saw it a part of the curse that was due to us and yet though he feared it the thing that he feared came upon him It is true the Apostle saith He was heard in what he feared How was he heard Was Christ heard so as to his fear of death as to be delivered from death No certainly if Christ had not dyed we must have dyed in our sins If Christ had not dyed we must have undergone death as a part of the curse How then is it said He was heard in what he feared He was heard so as that he was supported when he dyed and he was heard in being raised from the dead the third day so that he was heard in what he feared in his supportation under his sufferings and in his Resurrection but dye he must death was part of the curse yea the completion of the curse therefore Christ our Surety cannot escape death Christus sponsor noster communi maledictione nobis debitâ feriendus erat Christ says one being our Surety was to be struck with that common curse that was due to us death was due to us the great thing threatned upon sin therefore Christ being our Surety must of necessity undergo it Hence is that of Austin Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree Why
till we are brought to eternal life therefore the Satisfaction of Christ is of constant Use to us The end of the twelfth Sermon SERMON XIII Joh. 15.13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends THat which we were last upon was Why we ought to live by faith upon the Sacrifice and Satisfaction of Christ Two Considerations have already been offered 1. Consid 1 Because the Satisfaction of Christ is the only means of our reconciliation with God 2. Consid 2 Christs Sufferings and Satisfaction are the food and nourishment of our souls the means to continue us in the favour of God as well as to bring us into it at first I shall only add a third and then proceed 3. Consid 3 God hath ordained and appointed the death of Christ as the means of reconciliation and offers it to us for that end That the death of Christ is the means of our reconciliation with God hath been shewn at large heretofore that it is so by Divine ordination and appointment and that God propounds and offers it to us to be received by faith on our part is that which I am now to speak of and for this we must have recourse unto that Text Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quem proposuit Deus Whom God hath set forth or propounded as a propitiation This expression Whom God hath set forth may have relation to two things 1. It may have relation to the Eternal Decree of God namely that God from Eternity hath decreed Christ to be our propitiation and decreed his death to be the means of our propitiation 1 Pet. 1.18 Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world Consider that expression Who verily was foreordained 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be a slain Lamb his death was decreed and foreordained to be the means and only means of our reconciliation with God 2. This expression Whom God hath set forth may have reference and respect to the revelation and tender that is made of Christ in the Gospel Whom God hath propounded or set forth that is God hath propounded Christ and his death in the Gospel as the means of reconciliation The Apostle speaking of the Gospel saith That therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith Rom. 1.17 God hath revealed the righteousness of his Son in the Gospel as the great object of our faith Now Christs righteousness is nothing else but the result of his obedience active and passive as it is commonly called Christ giving that obedience to the Law which the Law requires Christ suffering and undergoing the punishment which the Law exacts from us for the breach of it this is the righteousness of Christ and this is that which the Gospel tenders to us as the object of our faith to be embraced and received by us Therein saith the Apostle is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as much as if he should say The Gospel reveals the righteousness of Christ to be embraced and entertained of us by faith on our part Now if God do propound the righteousness of Christ whereof the sufferings and satisfaction of Christ are a principal part as the great object of our faith it concerns us then to have a constant recourse to this and to make use of it and therefore that expression is very observable in the Text before mentioned The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel from faith to faith Why from faith to faith The meaning I take to be that our faith ought to take a firm and fast hold of the righteousness of Christ and to take a deeper rooting in it from day to day We should not be content with some general apprehensions of this righteousness and that we have known a little of it but we should grow from faith to faith our faith should take deeper and firmer rooting in it continually I now come to the second thing propounded and that was to shew how we ought to make use of the Sacrifice and Satisfaction of Christ so as to draw down the virtue and benefit of it unto our own souls I take this to be an inquiry of great moment because much of the life of faith consists in the right understanding and practice of it I shall therefore propound several things by way of direction to shew how we ought to make use of the satisfaction of Christ so as to draw down the benefit and virtue of it unto our own souls 1. If we would make use of the Satisfaction of Christ let us look upon our selves as guilty persons most worthy of Divine wrath and condemnation as considered in our selves Satisfaction supposeth guilt an innocent person need not to have any satisfaction made for him an innocent person hath done no wrong and therefore nothing need to be tendered for him by way of compensation If therefore we would have the benefit of Christs satisfaction we must first see that we are guilty and condemned persons in our selves This was shadowed forth in the Levitical Ordinances he that brought his offering to the Priest was to lay his hand on the head of the Sacrifice Levit. 1.4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement This Rite of laying the hand on the head of the Sacrifice or Offering by him that brought it did carry in it a tacit or secret confession of the persons guiltiness he did hereby confess that he was worthy to be put to death for his sin He that brought the Sacrifice by laying his hand on the head of the Sacrifice did hereby profess that the beast suffered what he deserved That the beast being slain was an argument and token that he deserved to be so dealt with himself that he deserved to be destroyed for his sins therefore when we come to make use of the Satisfaction of Christ and his Sacrifice we ought to be sensible of our own guiltiness and worthiness of condemnation consider what the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 11.31 If we judge our selves we shall not be judged of the Lord. If we would have benefit from Christs satisfaction we must first judge our selves worthy of condemnation Christs righteousness and satisfaction is sweet to none but a self-condemned person Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest saith our Saviour Mat. 11.28 We must be weary and heavy laden with the sense of our own guiltiness before we can prize the satisfaction of Christ We ought therefore when ever we come to make use of the satiffaction of Christ to see what
for you That very body of Christ in which he suffered dyed rose again is offered to us in the Sacrament to be looked upon by faith The Sacrament is as the Ancients call it Verbum visibile a visible Word The Sacrament declares by visible signs and representations that which the Word doth in another way Now as it is a great sin to contemn Christ when he is made known to us in the way of the Word so it is a great sin to contemn Christ when he is revealed to us by his own signs and symbols which are of his own institution instituted on purpose by himself to make himself known to us 2. The Sacrament is appointed to confirm our union and communion with Christ The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. The ancient Church called the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Sacramentum unionis the Sacrament of Vnion because it is that special Ordinance by which our union and communion with Christ is strengthened and confirmed And our Saviour in effect tells us as much when he saith He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Job 6.56 When we eat Christs flesh and drink his blood Christ dwells in us and we in him Now when we profess the nearest union and communion with the person of Christ and with the death and sufferings of Christ and we slight both his person and his sufferings this must needs be a great sin Thus have we heard now how Christ and his sufferings may be contemned there is another thing that may be added and that is 5. That Apostates such as fall from deny and renounce the faith of Christ they once presessed they do in an eminent manner pour contempt upon the sufferings of Christ Of these the Apostle speaks in a peculiar manner Heb. 10. and of these he saith That they account the blood of the Covenant by which they are sanctified an unholy thing He that apostatizes from the Christian Profession what doth he do but make a mock of Christ and his sufferings as if all that he had formerly professed concerning Christ and his sufferings were but a meer sable Now it concerns us greatly to see that we be not found in the number of such who are contemners of Christs person or of his sufferings and the reason is because great punishment is denounced on such Heb. 10.29 Of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace There is a sorer punishment shall be inflicted upon such who despise the person of Christ and contemn his sufferings and I verily believe this is one main cause of the Judgments which God hath already executed and will yet further execute upon the unthankful world because his Son hath been revealed to the world in this last Century of years more than in former Ages by that clear and great light that hath broken forth and yet men make no reckoning of Christ and of his grace but are grown worse and worse more profane and atheistical under the light of the Gospel that hath shone upon them As Idolatry was the great sin that God did avenge under the Old Testament upon the Jews that were then his professing people so the contempt of the Gospel wherein there hath been a plain and manifest revelation of the Son of God and of that grace and salvation which is brought by his death and sufferings seems to be the great sin that God is avenging upon professing Christians The end of the nineteenth Sermon SERMON XX. Joh. 15.13 Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends I Proceed now to another Consideration to shew the greatness of Christs Love in his Sufferings Consid 7 The love of Christ in his sufferings appears in this That the Son of God so great a person should suffer such things as he did suffer for us The love of Christ doth not only appear from the consideration of the excellency of the person suffering but also from the consideration of the things themselves that he suffered for us that so great a person should suffer so much shame such reproach such indignity as he did for us this is that which commends Christs love to us Heb. 12.2 He endured the cross and despised the shame Isa 50.6 I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting That the Son of God should suffer such things for us poor men that he should suffer such pains and torments in soul and body for us this commends his love to us The sufferings of Christ did far exceed the sufferings of any other man yea if the sufferings of all men were put together they are not to be compared with the sufferings of Christ and the reason is because Christ did suffer the very pains of Hell for us as we have heard Christ did not only suffer from men but he suffered from the hands of his Father it pleased the Father to bruise him he put him to grief Isa 53. Christ did not only suffer in his body but he suffered in his soul yea his soul-sufferings were the greatest sufferings there it was that he suffered dereliction there it was that he suffered the sense of Gods wrath no sorrows were ever like to Christs sorrows and yet these sorrows Christ did voluntarily and electively undergo for our sakes Our Saviour knew before-hand what his sufferings were like to be and yet he freely underwent them Christ did not rush upon his sufferings unawares but he knew what his sufferings would be and yet he was content to undergo them for our sakes Luk. 12.50 I have a baptism to be baptized with he speaks of the Baptism of his sufferings The Lord Jesus knew that he was to undergo such sore and grievous sufferings and yet he voluntarily underwent them he did not rum ignorantly upon them but he knew before-hand what he was to suffer and yet he chose voluntarily to suffer that which he knew would be so bitter and grievous to him It is a great alleviation of a mans sufferings not to know what he hath to suffer the contemplation of a mans sufferings before-hand is sometimes almost as great a suffering as the suffering it self that he is to undergo but yet the Son of God had the contemplation and foresight in his mind of the sufferings that he was to undergo for us yet he was content notwithstanding to under go them Mat. 16.21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew to his Disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the
Elders and chief Priests and Scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day Our Saviour was not ignorant of his own sufferings but had a perfect contemplation of them in his mind before-hand he knew how great and bitter and sore they would be and yet he was content to undergo them for our sakes Consid 8 The love of Christ in his sufferings appears in this That so great a person should give himself to suffer such things to expiate so vile a thing as sin which yet he hated so much and had power to punish that the life of the best person should go to expiate the worst thing this is admirable Sin is the worst of evils the vilest thing in the world Now that the life of the most excellent person the life of the Son of God should be given to expiate so vile a thing as sin this is admirable indeed The Lord hath caused to meet on him the iniquity or perversness of us all Isa 53. Sin is the perversness of the creature it is the crookedness or depravation of a mans actions sin is a defection or turning aside from a right path and yet the Son of God gave himself to expiate so vile a thing as sin is Dedit tam inaestimabile pretium pro tam despecta odioque dignissima re Luther It is a speech of Luther He gave so inestimable a price for our sins for a thing so vile so despicable so worthy to be hated What more abominable what more odious in the sight of God than sin and yet the Son of God gave himself to expiate our sins Sin is most hareful to Christ Heb. 1.9 Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity it is spoken of Christ and yet though Christ hated sin so much he gave himself for our sins Gal. 1.4 Who gave himself for our sins and as Christ hated sin so had he power to punish and to be avenged for it and yet rather than we should undergo the punishment that was due to us he himself who had power to inflict the punishment and might justly have done it was content to suffer the punishment for us Well may we cry out with Luther O the condescension and love of God to wards man God was the person offended and yet God came to suffer the punishment that man deserved Consid 9 The love of Christ in his sufferings appears in this That Christ had all the Elect before him at once and suffered for all the Elect. It was not for one or a few of the Elect only that he suffered or for some or a few of their sins that he suffered but it was for all the sins of all the Elect Eph. 5.25 Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it It was the Church that Christ gave himself for Christ knew all his sheep by name and he laid down his life for his sheep Paul could say He hath loved me and given himself for me and every true Believer may say He hath loved me and given himself for me Why now what an insinite Sea and Ocean of love must there needs be in the heart of Christ when as Christ out of the greatness of his love gave himself as a Sacrifice to expiate the guilt of all the sins of all the Elect that ever had been committed or should be committed to the end of the world This is set forth by the Apostle 1 Joh. 2.2 He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world that is Christ is not only the propitiation for ours sins who do now live and believe on him but he is also the propitiation for the sins of all others who shall live after us and believe on him even to the end of the world The virtue of Christs death and the efficacy of his sufferings to the Elect of all Ages Consid 10 The love of Christ in his sufferings appears in this That Christ by his death and sufferings hath delivered us from that which was the greatest matter of fear to us The great thing which all the sons of men have feared hath been death and the consequence of death The great thing threatned for sin was death In the day that thou eatest thou shalt dye the death Death was the great punishment threatned for sin hence it comes to pass that all mankind ever since the Fall have been under a slavish fear of death and the consequence of death The great things which we do naturally dread are death and what follows death Hell and the wrath of God Now Christ by laying down his life hath taken away the fear of death and the consequences of death This is fully expressed by the Apostle Heb. 2.14 That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage There are two things which the Apostle intimates are the great things that do keep men in bondage all their days the one is the fear of death and the other is the power that the Devil had over men That he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil The Devil hath not the power of death simply and absolutely but he is said to have the power of death as he is the Executioner of Gods wrath and drags men to the torments of Hell Now Christ by his death delivers us from both these he delivers us from the fear of death and from the power of the Devil 1. Christ by death delivers us from death the strength and venom of death is spent in the death of Christ Christ underwent death as it was the Curse that was denounced upon us for sin Now death is no more a part of the Curse to a Believer because Christ hath undergone it as a curse for us 2. Christ hath also undergone the pains and torments of Hell as formerly hath been shewed and therefore he hath enervated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made void or frustrated the power of the Devil as the word signifies Christ by his death hath taken away Satans power The Devil after a sort as he was the Executioner of Gods wrath might be said to have the power of death that is of eternal death after a sort and in a sense he hath power over those torments which the damned feel But now Christ having born those pains and torments for his people the Devil hath nothing to do with them he hath no power over them Could we contemplate death as we ought to do in the death of Christ we might see death to have lost all its strength all its venom in the death of Christ It is the observation of Luther Could we believe so firmly as we ought to do that Christ dyed for our sins and rose again for our justification there would remain nothing of fear or terrour in us for saith he the