Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

(1.) He is God's Shepherd, becaufe God made him fo; he has the Father's contmiffion for this effect, John vi, 27. "Him hath God the Father fealed." Chrift was appointed and authorized; he was elected for this effect; "Behold, my fervant, whom I uphold; mine elest, in whom my fou! delighteth." He tranf acted with him for this effect; "I have made a covenant with my chofen." He formally called him to this employment, and fet him up to be a Shepherd, Ezek. xxxiv. 23. "I will fet up one Shepherd over them, and he fhall feed them; he fhall be their Shepherd" He qualified him for this work, by a fupere tinent unction; "I have put my Spirit upon him, and he fhall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."

[ocr errors]

(2.) He is God's Shepherd, because God gave him the fheep, John xvii. 6. Thine they were, and thou gaveft them me !" thine they were by election, and thou gaveft them me, to be redeemed by me. This donation of the fheep to Chrift is begun in election, aud accomplified in effectual vocation; "All that the Father hath given me, fhall come to me."

3. He is God's Shepherd, becaufe God recommends all his fheep to his fpecial care, John vi. 39. "This is the Father's will, which has fent me, that of all which he has given me, I fhould lofe nothing." God has given him the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermoft ends of the earth for his poffeffion. All whom he chofe to be the objects of his fpecial love, he lodges as a truft in the hands of Chrift: he gave him the charge of the fheep, and his inftructions are, not only to lofe none, no not the leaft of them, the weakest of them; but to lofe nothing and as he will lofe none, no perfon; fo he will lofe nothing, no part of the perfon; neither foul nor body.

(4.) He is God's Shepherd: Why? God appointed him to lay down his life for his fheep, John x. 18. "I lay down my life for my fheep; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again: this commandment have I received of my Father." Chrift fuf fered death, not only voluntarily, but in a way of fub. jection to his Father, that fo the merit of his death VOL. I.

D

might

might be every way full and acceptable to the Father. And fo again,

(5.) He is God's Shepherd, becaufe God approves of his undertaking and work, as his Shepherd, and loves him, for this very realon, John x. 17. He approves of his doing and dying: his foul is delighted in tais Shepherd; "Mine elect in whom my foul delighteth." Hẹ openly declares his affection in him; "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. The Lord is well pleafed for his righteoufnels fake."

66

(6.) In a word, he is God's Shepherd, becaufe God the Father and Chrift are equally concerned in keeping the theep, John x. 27,-39. The Father does fo intruft Chrift with the fheep, as yet he cafts not off the care of them; they are in the Father's hands as well as Chrifl's: He and his Father are one;" though perfonally diftin&t, yet effentially one. The man that Is God's Fellow, in this has fellow fhip with the Father, that the Father's fheep are his fheep; and his fheep are the Father's, fheep: and they are equally concerned and engaged in keeping the fheep; only Chrift, as Mediator, is engaged for them as the Father's fervant and commiffioner; My Shepherd.- Now, thus much concerning the character of the perfon whom the fword of the Lord of Hofs mul awake again: and, O if we had a view, by a faving faith, of this glorious cne, God's Shepherd, the man that is his Fellow, God-man Mediator, we could fay no less than that he is white and ruddy, the chief among ten thousands. The white and red of his infinitely fair face would charm and allure us. Now,

II. The Second thing, What for a Sword must awake against this man? Why, in general, it is the fword of God's awful juftice; which is metaphorically called a Sword, becaufe of its terrible, piercing, wounding, killing nature. Now, the froaks of this fword are either mediate or immediate. 1. Mediate, by the hands of men; particularly the fword of the civil magiftrate: Or, 2. Immediate, by the hands of God himfelf, without the intervention of fuch outward

means.

means. Now, the fword of juftice, that awaked againft Chrift, and finote the Shepherd, is to be confidered in both thefe refpects; for his fuffering, as our Surety, by the firoak of juftice's fword, was both external upon his body, and internal upon his

foul.

(1.) There was his external fufferings in his body: and herein justice did ftrike more mediately. by the hand of man, and efpecially in his feverelt bodily fuf ferings; juftice did employ and make ufe of the fword of the civil magiflrate. Magiftrates have the fword of civil power and authority put into their hands, and they ought not to bear the fword in vain: they are a power which God has ordained, and armed with the fword for the punishment of malefactors; though this be the right ufe of the magiftrate's fword, yet fometimes the magiftrate makes unjuft ufe of it; as in this cafe, when the civil government, Herod, Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Ifrael, were gathered together againft the holy child Jefus, Acts iv. 27. But whatever injuflice was therein, on man's part, yet, on God's part, impartial juflice did therein act, while it did thereby bring about the death and fufferings of the Surety, which the hand and counfel of God determined before to be done, Acts iv. 26.

(2.) There were his internal fufferings in his foul; and herein juftice did ftrike more immediately; for, "It pleafed the Lord to bruife him, and to make his foul an offering for fin," Ifa. liii. 10. Thus the fword of juftice was fuch as pierced both his foul and body. This two-edged fword was edged with the violence of earth, and with the fury of heaven; it was edged with the curfe of the law, and with the wrath of God. more particularly, what for a fword is this? O rouze up your ears and hearts to hear and confider what for a fword it was that awaked against the man that is God's Fellow!

But

1. It is a Broad Sword; fo broad that it covers all mankind, and hangs over all Chriftlefs finners, who would all have fallen a facrifice to it, unlefs Chrift had

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

come between them and it. When this fword did awake againft Chrift, he found it as broad as the curfe denounced again mankind, upon the back of our fall in Adam, which you may read. that you may the better understand what the man that is God's Fellow underwent, when he fubfiitute himself in our room, and undertook to fuffer the punishment due for our fins, the curie pronounced againft Adam, and in him against all his polterity, and which, in all the parts of it, lighted upon Chrift; you read of it generally, Gen. . 17. In the day thou eatcft, thou fhalt furely die; or, dying, thou halt die" and more particularly, Gen. iii. 17, 18, 19. Curfed is the ground for thy fake, in forrow fhalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns alfo and thiftes fhall it bring forth to thee, and thou fhalt eat the herb of the field. In the fweat of thy face fhalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it waft thon taken for dull thou art, and unto duft fhalt thou return." Where you fee the curfe has three parts. 1. The frailties and infirnities that human nature was fubject to after the fall. 2. The calamities incident to man's life; "Thou fhalt eat thy meat with the fweat of thy brows: thorns and thiftles hall the ground bring forth." 3. Death; *Duft thou art, and to duft thou fhalt return :" which has in it the death of the foul as well, as the body. Here is an abridgment of all the curfes of the Bible; and this broad fword muft awake againft the man that is God's Fellow, and our Surety, for this curfe in alk its parts feized upon him.

(1.) The firft was the frailties and infirmities of hu man nature, a part of the curfe: this feized upon Chrift at his incarnation; for his body was of the duft like ours, fubject to the like infirmities with ours; he took not on him our nature in its prime and glory, but after broken and fhattered with the fall, Rom. viii. 3. "He came in the likeness of finful fleth, and for fin condemned fin in the flesh."

(2.) As to the calamities and miferies that attend. ed man's life, this part of the curfe feized on him alfo; he cat his bread with the fweat of his brows,

when

when he followed the calling of an handicraftsman'; and after he entered into his public miniftry, he travelled from place to place, watched whole nights in prayer; and thus might be faid truly to eat his bread with the fweat of his brows. As for other calamities never one met with more; the world denied him a lodging; the fig-tree denied him figs; he was blafphemed by his enemies, betrayed by one of his difciples, and forfaken by them all.

(3.) As for the Death threatened in the curfe; why dying, he died indeed; for the fword did run through his body and foul at once, when he endured the curie, and defpifed the fhame: his body was fore tortured, and his foul was fore amazed, and very heavy, Mark xiv. 33. His bodily fufferings were extremely great, as' you may fee from the evangelifls; and yet as nothing in comparison of his foul fufferings, while he endured the wrath of God immediately upon his fout.-— Here was a broad fword indeed, as broad and extenfive as all the curfes of the law, all the wrath that the elec deferved for their fin; for God defigned not to pals one of their hus, without a fatisfaction made to juf tice, but to fue the Cautioner for them all; but he needed a broad back that could bear the fhock of fuch a broad fword! Well, fo he had; for he was God as well as man; Awake, O fword! against the Man,

My Fellow."

[ocr errors]

2. It is a long fword; if we may fo call it, infinite in length, from the point to the hilt of the fword: it is as long as eternity; and this makes the punish. ment of the damned eternal, becaufe the fword of divine wrath, that pierces them, is fo long, that it never can reach to the hilt, in fuch finite worms as they are. The duration of the wrath and the curfe is eternal; because the inner, being a mere creature, Gannot at one fhock meet with the infinite wrath of God, and fatisfy juftice at once; therefore God fupports the poor damned creature for ever under wrath ; because it cannot, being finite, fatisfy infinite juftice: but our Shepherd, being God-man, the man God's Fellow and therefore being of infinite worth and

D3

value,

« VorigeDoorgaan »