now, he must be actually flain; therefore, "Awake, O fword." God was now fpeaking of the day of Chrift, the gospel-day in the firit verfe of the chapter, where our text lies, faying, "In that day, there fhall be a fountain opened to the houfe of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerufalem, for fin, and for uncleannefs:" Now how fhall this fountain be opened? Why, the sword of juftice mult pierce the fide and heart of the Son of God, and fo open a fountain of cleanfing blood; therefore, when the decree breaks forth, he fays, "Awake, Ofword."

3. "Awake, O fword;" it imports, that the fword of juflice did not rafhly fmite the man that is God's Fellow: A man in his fleep, or half-fleeping, may give a rafh unadvifed firoak to his fellow; but before God gave the ftroak to the man that is his Fellow, he did awake his juftice, as it were, out of fleep, and proceeded upon the matureft deliberation; Awake, O fword." It was no unadvifed ftroak that Chrift got by the fword of juftice; it was the fruit of a glorious tranfaction: neither did the fword ftrike him without a warrant, by particular orders from the Judge of all: It was warranted to brandifh itfelf against him; "Awake, O fword."

4. It imports, that juftice was Lively and Vigorous in executing the vengeance due upon our Surety for our fin: Juftice did not give him a fleepy, lazy, drowsy blow; but a frong, lively, awakened blow: as it is faid, in another cale, Ifa lii. 9. "Awake, awake, put on ftrength, O arm of the Lord:" fo, Awake, O fword, put on ftrength. Well, juftice arifes, as it were, like one out of fleep, puts on its cloaths of vengeance, and armour of power, rallies its forces, goes forth with warlike robes, and attacks the man that is God's Fellow with all its force; and acts, like itfelf, with impartial equity, without fparing our Surety, because of his quality, Rom. viii. 32. "God fpared not his own Son: Awake, O fword."

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5. Awake, O fword," it imports the great concern and earneftnefs that was in God's heart to have his juftice fatisfied: O fword; " Awake, O fword." God

speaks

fpeaks here with affectionate concern: O fword! O juftice! thou must be honoured, glorified, and fatise fied, one way or other and feeing I have propofed to my eternal Son to bear the ftroak of vengeance in the room of elect finners; and feeing he has undertaken it, my very heart is fet upon the accomplishment of this glorious work; my juftice is one of the pearls of my crown; I will not fhew mercy to the detriment of my juftice. A facrifice I muft have, a facrifice I will have; therefore, Awake, O fword."

6. I think it imports, not only God's concern ta have his juftice fatisfied this way, but his great delight in the fatisfaction; "Awake, O fword, against the man that is my Fellow." With what infinite pleafure and fatisfaction does the fword of juftice give the bloody ftroak to this glorious perfon?" It pleafed the Lord to bruife him, and put him to grief," Ifa. liii. 19. Why, how is this confiftent with the ineffable love he had to his eternally Beloved? Yes, molt confiftent; for the Father loved the Son in dying, and for dying; John x. 17.) "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. He loved his Son for this very act of obedience which, he yielded to him; Chrift's obedience to the death, was the highest and most acceptable worship, and fervice to. God, that ever was, or ever will be; it is a facrifice. of fuch a sweet finell that it drowned the flink of all the firs of an elect world; a facrifice more pleafing to, God than all their fins were displeasing: and therefore,, with infinite pleasure and fatisfaction, he fays, Awake, Ofword. This leads me to

IV. The Fourth thing propofed, What Special Hand JEHOVAH the Lord of hoils had in making this awful fword to awake against this glorious perfon?" Awake, Ofword,-faith the Lord of hofts," It was the Lord of hofts, the eternal Father of this eternal Son that muf tered the hofts of vengeance against him, and had the main and principal hand in Chrift's fufferings, which we are to commemorate this day. JEHOVAH's hand

was

was fupreme in this bufinefs; and that in thefe four refpects.

1. It was JEHOVAй, the Lord of hofls, that determined all before-hand, and agreed with his Son for that ef fect. It was concluded in the counfel of God what he fhould fuffer, what fhould be the price that JEHOVAH would have, and the facrifice he would accept of from his hands. It was not the Jews, nor the fcribes and Pharifees, nor Pilate, but principally it was the Lord's doing, and the accomplishment of his eternal counfel, Acts iv. 27, 28. "Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Ifrael were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counfel determined before to be done." In all they were doing they did nothing, but what was carved out before in the eternal counfel of God; and therefore fays Peter, Acts ii. 23. Him being delivered by the determinate counfel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and flain."

2. As he, the great JEHOVA, the Lord of hofts, determined, that the fword fhould awake against him, fo he prepared the fubject capable to receive the flroak of juftice's fword; Heb. x. 5. "A body haft thou prepared me." He gave him a nature, a foul and body capable of fuffering: the ftroak of justice fell only upon the man Chrift, upon his human nature; though the dignity of his divine perfon did infinitely inhance the merit of his fufferings; yet his divine perfon, his divine nature was never reached, nor reachable, by the fword of juftice; the eternal Word was untangible and incapable of fuffering, till the Word was made flesh. Now, this flesh, this human nature, he pre. pared.

3. It was JEHOVAH, the Lord of hofts, that ordered and over-ruled all his fufferings, when it came to the execution of his antient decree. He who governs all the counfels, thoughts, and actions of men, did, in a fpecial manner, govern and over-rule the fufferings of the Mediator. Though wicked men were following their own designs, and were flirred and acted by the devil, who is faid to have put it into the heart of

Judes

Judas to betray Chrift; yet God had the ordering of all, who fhould betray him; what death he fhould die; how he should be pierced; and yet not a bone of him broken.

4. It was JEHOVAH, The Lord of hofts, that had an active hand in reaching the ftroak to Chrift; he was, the chief party that purfued Chrift with the fword of juftice in his hand: "It pleafed the Lord to bruife him, and to put him to grief." It was he that was exacting the elect's debt of him; and, therefore Chrift looked over Pilate and Herod, and all the wicked inftruments ufed in this work, as of no confideration in this matter; he looked over them to the Lord JEHOVAH his Father, and fays to the chief of them, Pilate, (that cowardly felf-condemned judge) "Thou couldst have no power over me, except it were given thee from above." It was this intereft that his Father had in his fufferings that made him fay, John xviii. 11. "The cup which my Father hath given me, fhall I not drink it ?" His Father purfued him as Cautioner in our room; and to his Father, he cries when the fword was running through his heart; "My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?" He fpared not his own Son, when he cried, but would have him drink out the bitter cup to the bottom: "Awake, O fword, against my Shepherd, and against the mau that is my Fellow, faith the Lord of hots; fmite the fhepherd." The meffage comes from him, and he gave the fword a charge, and orders it to fmite him; it was this, more than the whips, the thorns, the nails, the fpear, that made him cry Another and a higher hand brought his foul to more bitterness, than all the fufferings he endured from men. Thus his foul was crucified more than his body; and his heart had fharper nails to pierce it than his hands and feet.

V. The Fifth thing, viz. The Reafons of the doctrine; Why the Lord of hofts ordered the fword of juftice to awake against his Shepherd, the man that is his Fellow? Surely it was neceffary, that the fword fhould awake against him, "Ought not Chrift to have

fuf

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fuffered thefe things?" fays our Lord himself, Luke xxiv. 26. However innocent he was in himfelf; yet our fins, which were laid upon him, deferved to be thus treated; and therefore he, as our-Sarety, who had the guilt of the world lying upon him, fays, Pial. Ixix. 5. O God, thou knowelt my foolifhnefs; and my wickedness is not hid from thee :" Thefe are the words of Chrill, of whom David was a type. He had enough of fin imputatively; and our fins had never been expiated, our Judge never atoned, our fouls never faved, our fiate never fecured, juflice never fatisfied, the bond never cancelled, if the fword had not awaked against him. Ought he not then to have fuffered the firoak of the fword? Yea, he gave his oath for it to his Father from eternity; and all the promifes, prophecies, types, and facrifices of old pointed out this. God was ready to come down with fury in his heart, and red-hot thunder-bolts in his hand, to fink all mankind to hell and ought not Chrift to fuffer and interpofe? Yea, glory to God, that he did. But more particu larly,

T

1. The Lord of hofts, the Rector of the univerfe, defigned by this method to rectify what was out of courfe, by the fin of man, and to bring all things to rights. By the fall, the univerfal frame fuffered a convulfion: the covenant of works was broken; the devil was reigning and raging in the earth; and all the honour of God's workmanship, in the firft creation, was like to be loft. Now, the fupreme Rector comes, with the fword of juftice to rectify thefe diforders, by: drenching his fword in the blood of his eternal Son. Was the covenant of works broken? Behold here is the condition of it fulfilled, by his active and paffive obedience; yea, both the two covenants, of works and of grace, were at once fulfilled in his obedience to the death: this is the proper condition of each of thefe covenants.-Was the devil reigning and raging on the earth? Behold! by this blow of juftice's fword, given to Chrift, the devil and all our fpiritual enemies are deftroyed; "For this caufe was the Son of God manifefted, that he might deftroy the works of the

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devil."