manner of his death might have a farther acceffion of fcorn and reproach, he is placed between two thieves that were crucified with him, with an infcription of derifion upon his crofs, in all the moft univerfal languages of all the world, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; and the people and priests ftanding by with geftures and words of derifion, and even to a letter, affuming those very gestures and words which were fo many hundred of years predicted in the paffion. He

' trufted in God, let him deliver him, if he will have 'him2;' and one of those very thieves, that was even dying as a malefactor, yet was filled with such a devilish fpirit, that he upbraids and derides him.

And now our Saviour is under the torments and fhame of this curfed execution; but, though these his fufferings of his body and outward man, were very grievous, infomuch that they could not but extremely afflict him; yet it is strange to see how little he was transported under them, in all his contumelies, reproaches, and accufations, fcarce a word answered: he answered them nothing to all his abusings, ftrokes, ridiculous garments, crown of thorns, tearing of his body with fcourging; yet not a word; but as a fheep 'before the fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his 'mouth 3.' In all his rackings upon the crofs, and nailing of his limbs to it, and all the anguifh, that, for the space of fix hours from the third hour, wherein he was crucified 4, until the ninth hour, wherein he gave up the ghoft 5, not a word of complaint; but he refused those very fupplies which were ufually given to fupprefs the violence of the pain, vinegar and gall 6. But when we come to the afflictions of his foul, they were of a higher dimenfion in the garden, when no other storm was upon him, but what was within him, he falls down upon his face and prays; and again; and a third time; and is amazed, and forrowful unto death; and fweats drops of blood: and doubtless

4

Matth. xxvii. 39, 40.

2 Psalms xxii. 8.

' Mark xv. 25, Matth. xxvii. 46, Matth. xxvii. 34. F 3

3 Isaiah liii. 7.

whilft

whilft he was under the reproaches, and buffetings, and whippings, and thorns, he was not without a terrible and confufed fadness and heaviness within, which, though they did not mitigate the torments of his body, yet did infinitely exceed them: the fpirit and the foul is most exquifitely fenfible, and it is that which feels the pains inflicted upon the body. Certainly, therefore, the wound of the spirit itfelf, the fountain of fenfe, muft needs be exceedingly grievous and hence it was, that though all the injuries and torments of our Saviour could fcarce wring a complaint from him, yet the weight of that wrath that lay upon his foul, now made an offering for fin, did wring from him thofe bitter and terrible cries, that one would wonder fhould proceed from him, that was one with the Father; My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me1?' From the fixth hour to the ninth, darkness was over all the land 2, fuch a darknefs as bred an aftonishment even in firangers and other countries. The dark nefs of the world, though a fuitable drefs for fuch a time, wherein the Son of God muft die, and the fun of righteoufnefs muft be eclipfed; yet it was nothing in comparifon of that difmal fhadow that covered our Saviour's foul all this time. About the ninth hour, our Saviour cried that cry, My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?' Manifefiing the depth of his forrow, and the perfect fenfe he had of it. Why haft thou forfaken me?' More could not have been fuffered, or been faid; every word carries in it an accent of horror. Thou, 'that art the great God, from whom, and in whom, every thing hath its being and comfort; furely if in thy prefence is fulness of joy, in thy withdrawings must be fulness of horror and confufion; and yet it is thou that haft forfaken me. Forfaken; hadft thou never been with me, as I had not known the • bleffedness of thy fruition, fo I could not have meaMatth. xxvii. 46. 1 2 Matth. xxvii. 45. ·

6

• fured

"fured the extremity of my lofs; the excefs of the happiness that I had in thy prefence, adds to the excefs of my mifery in the fuffe ing of thy abfence. Forfaken me; not withdrawn thyfelf to a diftance, • but forfaken me; and forfaken me at fuch a time as, this, when I ftand more in need of thy prefence than ever; when I am forfaken of my countrymen, of my kindred, of my difciples, then to be forfaken of thee, when I am under the fhame and pains of a cruel and curfed death; under the fcorns and derifions of 'those that hate me; under the weight and preffure ' of all the fins of the world; under the ftrugglings 'with terrors in my foul, fent from thy mighty hand, 'under the visible approach of death, the king of 'terrors; under a veil of darkness without, and the feeming triumph of the power of darkness within; then to be forfaken, and forfaken of thee, whom I had only left to be my fupport. Forfaken me: it is not a ftranger that thou forfakeft; it is thy Son; thy only Son; in whom thou didst heretofore proclaim thyfelf well pleafed; that Son whom though thou now forfakeft, yet forgets not his duty unto thee, nor dependance upon thee; but ftill lays hold on thee; and though thou fhakeft me off, yet I must ftill call upon thee, with the humble confidence of My God, my God, ftill, Why haft thou forfaken me? To be forfaken, and to be forfaken of God, of my God; of him that is not only my God, but my 'Father, and that at fuch a time; and yet not to 'know why.' Oh bleffed Saviour, the prophets that fpake by thy own fpirit did tell thee why; and that very pfalm, out of which thou takeft this bitter cry, doth tell thee why; and thou thyfelf within fome few days, or hours before, didit tell us why; and doft thou now afk us why? Didit thou not choose even that which thou now groanest under? and wert willing to put thy foul in our fouls ftead, and bear the fin of those which are now thy burden? Certainly we

6

may with all humility and reverence conceive, that at the time of this bitter cry, our Saviour's foul was, for the prefent, overshadowed with so much astonishment and forrow, that it did for the prefent over-power and cover the actual and diftinct fenfe of the reafon of it; at leaft in that measure and degree in which he fuffered. This cry of our Saviour was about the ninth hour, a little before his death, and having fulfilled one prophecy in this terrible cry, contained in the very words of Pfalm xxii, he fulfils another; he faith, I thirst 1,' and prefently they give him vinegar to drink. And between this and his death there intervene these paffages. 1. His proclaiming to the world, that the work of our redemption was finished,' when he received the 'vinegar, he faid, it is finifhed 2.' 2. A fecond cry with a loud voice 3. The words are not expreffed of his fecond cry; only both Evangelifts, Matthew and Luke, testify it was a cry with a loud voice; to evidence to the world that in the very article of his giv ing up of the ghoft, the ftrength of nature was not wholly spent, for he cried with a loud voice. 3. The comfortable refignation of his foul into the hands of his Father Father, into thy hands I commend my fpirit 4' And although, but even now, the black ftorm was upon his soul, that made him cry out with that loud and bitter cry, yet the cloud is over, and with comfort he delivers up his foul into the hands of that God, whom he thought, but even now had forfaken him. It is more than probable, that that bitter cry was uttered at the very zenith of his pains; and when he had taken the vinegar, and proclaimed that it is finished; though they were all wrapt up in a very fmall time, about the end of the ninth hour, yet now there remained no more, but for him to give up his spirit, which he inftantly thereupon did: He faid, it is finished, he bowed the head, and gave up the ghoft 5. Now the things wonderfully obfervable in

3

1 John xix. 28. 2 John xix. 30. Matth. xxvii. 50. Luke xxiii. 46. John xix. 30.

the

the death of our Saviour are many. 1. That it was a voluntary delivering up of his fpirit; this is that which he faid, No man taketh it from me, but I lay it 'down: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again; this commandment have I received of my Father 1.' And truly this voluntary delivering up of his foul, was well near as great an evidence of his divinity, as his refuming it again; fo that this very delivering up of his foul, converted the When he faw that he fo cried and gave up the ghost, he said, truly this man was the fon of 'God 2.' Now that he thus voluntarily gave up his fpirit, is evident; 1. By the ftrength of nature that was yet upon him, in the very article of his death, he cried with a loud voice. 2. That the thieves who were crucified at the fame time, died not till there was a farther violence used by breaking their legs 3, but he expired to prevent the violence of the foldiers, and to fulfil the type and prophecy, 'Not a bone of him fhall

४

centurion.

be broken 4.' 3. That the fuddenness of his death caused admiration in those that well knew the lingering course of such a death; in the Centurion 5, in Pilate 6, which might probably be the cause that the infolent foldier, to fecure the affurance of his death, pierced his fide with a fpear 7, and thereby fulfilled that other fcripture which he never thought of 8.

Now the wonderful occurrences that accompanied our Saviour's death were very many, and confiderable. 1. A ftrange and particular fulfilling of the prophecies and types, that were concerning our Saviour's death, and the very individual circumftances that attended it; and all to confirm our faith, that this was indeed the Meffias, and that he was thus delivered over to death, by the most certain and pre-determinate counfel of God; the time of his death fo exactly predicted by Daniel 9, the parallel circumftances with the pafchal lamb, in

1 John x. 18. 5 Mark xv. 39. 9 Dan. ix. 25. 26.

2 Mark xv. 39. 6 Mark xv. 44.

John xix. 52. 4 John xix. 36. 7 Johu xix. 34. $ John xv. 37.

the