XXXII. Indeed, no creature might aspire to fo auguft an ho- SERM. nour, none could achieve fo marvellous a work, as to redeem from infinite guilt and mifery the noblest part of all the vifible creation: none could prefume to invade that high prerogative of God, or attempt to infringe the truth of that reiterated proclamation, I, even I, am the Lord, Ifa. xliii. and befde me there is no Saviour. 11. xlv. 21. Hof. xiii. 4. Wherefore, feeing that a fupereminent dignity of perfon was required in our Mediator, and that an immenfe value was to be prefented for our ranfom; feeing that God faw there was no man, and wondered (or took fpecial Ifa. lix. 16. κατινίησι, notice) that there was no interceffor; it must be his arm LXX. alone that could bring falvation; none befide God himself could intermeddle therein. But how could God undertake the bufinefs? Could he become a fuitor or interceffor to his offended felf? Could he present a sacrifice, or disburse a fatisfaction to his own juftice? Could God alone contract and ftipulate with God in our behalf? No; furely man alfo muft concur in the tranfaction: fome amends muft iffue from him, fomewhat must be paid out of our ftock: human will and confent must be interpofed, to ratify a firm covenant with us, inducing obligation on our part. It was decent and expedient, that as man, by wilful tranfgreffion and prefumptuous felf-pleafing, had so highly offended, injured, and difhonoured his Maker; fo man alfo, by willing obedience, and patient fubmiffion to God's pleasure, should greatly content, right, and glorify him. Luke i. 78. Rom. v. 8. John vi. 38. Here then did lie the ftrefs; this was the knot, which Ephef. i. 8. only divine wisdom could loofe. And fo indeed it did in Ephef. i. 5. a most effectual and admirable way: for in correfpond- Tit. iii. 4. ence to all the exigences of the cafe, (that God and man Gal. iv. 4. both might act their parts in faving us,) the bleffed eter- Heb. x. 7. nal Word, the only Son of God, by the good-will of his John i. 14. Father, did vouchfafe to intercede for us, and to under-v. 15. take our redemption; in order thereto voluntarily being Ephef. i. 6. fent down from heaven, affuming human flesh, subjecting poft. viii. himfelf to all the infirmities of our frail nature, and to the 12: worft inconveniences of our low condition; therein merit- Tit. ii. 14. Heb. v. 2. Conft. A 1 Tim. ii. 6. SERM. ing God's favour to us, by a perfect obedience to the XXXII. law, and fatisfying God's justice by a most patient endurHeb. ix. 15. ance of pains in our behalf; in completion of all, willingly laying down his life for the ranfom of our fouls, and pouring forth his blood in facrifice for our fins. ii. 9. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Θανάτου δὲ σαυρᾶ. This is that great and wonderful mystery of godliness, (or of our holy religion,) the which St. Paul here doth exprefs, in these words concerning our bleffed Saviour; Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himfelf, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In which words are contained divers points very obfervable. But feeing the time will not allow me to treat on them in any measure as they deserve, I fhall (waving all the reft) infift but upon one particular, couched in the laft words, even the death of the cross; which by a special emphafis do excite us to confider the manner of that holy paffion which we now commemorate; the contemplation whereof, as it is moft feasonable, fo it is ever very profitable. Now then in this kind of paffion we may confider divers notable adjuncts; namely thefe: 1. Its being in appearance criminal. 2. Its being moft bitter and painful. 3. Its being moft ignominious and fhameful. 4. Its peculiar advantageousness to the designs of our Lord in fuffering. 5. Its practical efficacy. I. We may confider our Lord's fuffering as criminal; or as in femblance being an execution of justice upon Ifa, liii. 12. him. He, as the Prophet foretold of him, was numbered 2 Cor. v. 21. among the tranfgreffors; and God, faith St. Paul, made him fin for us, who knew no fin: that is, God ordered him to be treated as a moft finful or criminous perfon, who in himself was perfectly innocent, and void of the least inclination to offend. John v. 18. I. 30, &c. vii. 12. So in effect it was, that he was impeached of the higheft crimes; as a violator of the divine laws in divers in 40. stances; as a defigner to fubvert their religion and tem- SERM. ple; as an impoftor, deluding and feducing the people; XXXII. as a blafphemer, affuming to himself the properties and Matt. xxvi. prerogatives of God; as a feditious and rebellious perfon, 61. xxvii. perverting the nation, inhibiting payments of tribute to Luke xxiii. Cæfar, ufurping royal authority, and styling himself Chrift Matt. xxvii. a king in a word, as a malefactor, or one guilty of enor-63. mous offences; fo his perfecutors avowed to Pilate, If, poft. v. 14. said they, he were not a malefactor, we would not have de- xaxorous. livered him up unto thee. As fuch he was reprefented 30. and arraigned; as fuch, although by a sentence wrested by malicious importunity, against the will and confcience of the judge, he was condemned, and accordingly fuffered death. Conft. A John xviii. Now whereas any death or paffion of our Lord, as being in itself immensely valuable, and most precious in the fight of God, might have been fufficient toward the accomplishment of his general defigns, (the appeafing God's wrath, the fatisfaction of divine juftice, the expiation of our guilt ;) it may be inquired, why God should thus éxpofe him, or why he fhould choose to fuffer under this odious and ugly character? Which inquiry is the more confiderable, because it is especially this circumstance which croffeth the fleshly fenfe and worldly prejudices of men, so as to have rendered the Gofpel offenfive to the fuperftitious Jews, and defpicable to conceited Gentiles. For fo Tryphon in Justin Martyr, although, from conviction by teftimonies of Scripture, he did admit the Meffias was to fuffer hardly, yet that it fhould be in this accurfed manner, he could not digeft. So the great adver- Orig. c. faries of Christianity (Celfus, Porphyry, Julian) did with 83. vii. p. moft contempt urge this exception against it. So St. Paul 368. Aug. did obferve, that Chrift crucified was unto the Jews a 10. 28. Cyftumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. Where- ril. c. Jul. fore, to avoid those scandals, and that we may better ad- 1Cor. 23.i. mire the wisdom of God in this difpenfation, it may be fit to affign some reasons intimated in holy Scripture, or * Cur fi Deus fuit, et mori voluit, non faltem honefto aliquo mortis genere affectus eft? &c. La&. iv. 26. Juft. M. Dial. p. 317. Celf. ü. p. de Civ. D. vi. p. 194. SERM. bearing conformity to its doctrine, why it was thus or XXXII. dered. Such are these. 52. 55. 1. As our Saviour freely did undertake a life of greateft meanness and hardship, fo upon the like accounts he might be pleafed to undergo a death moft loathfome and uncomfortable. There is nothing to man's nature (efpecially to the best natures, in which modesty and ingenuity do furvive) more abominable than fuch a death. God for good purposes hath planted in our conftitution a quick fenfe of difgrace; and, of all difgraces, that which proceedeth from an imputation of crimes is moft pungent; and being conscious of our innocence doth heighten the fmart; and to reflect upon ourselves dying under it, leaving the world with an indelible stain upon our name and memory, is yet more grievous. yet more grievous. Even to languish by degrees, enduring the torments of a long, however sharp disease, would to an honeft mind feem more eligible, than in this manner, being reputed and handled as a villain, to find a quick and easy dispatch. Of which human refentment may we not observe a Luke xxii. touch in that expoftulation, Be ye come out, as against a Matt. xxvi. thief, with fwords and fiaves? If as a man he did not like to be profecuted as a thief; yet willingly did he choose it, as he did other moft diftafteful things pertaining to our nature, (the likeness of man,) and incident to that low condition, (the form of a fervant,) into which he did put himfelf: fuch as were, to endure penury, and to fare hardly, to be flighted, envied, hated, reproached through all his courfe of life. It is well faid by a Pagan philofopher, that no man doth exprefs fuch a respect and devotion to virtue, as doth he who forfeiteth the repute of being a good man, that he may not lofe the confcience of being fuchy. This our Lord willingly made his cafe, being content not only to expose his life, but to prostitute his fame, for the interests of goodness. ▾ Nemo mihi videtur pluris æftimare virtutem, nemo illi magis effe devotus, quam qui boni viri famam perdidit, ne confcientiam perderet. Sen. Ep. 81. Had he died otherwise, he might have feemed to pur- SERM. chase our welfare at a fomewhat easier rate; he had not XXXII. been fo complete a fufferer; he had not tafted the worst that man is liable to endure: there had been a comfort in feeming innocent, detracting from the perfection of his fufferance. 32, 39. Whereas therefore he often was in hazard of death, John v. 18. both from the clandeftine machinations and the outrage-39. vii. 1, viii. 37, 40, ous violences of those who maligned him, he did induf- 19, 25. x. triously shun a death so plaufible, and honourable, if I may fo fpeak; it being not fo difgraceful to fall by private malice, or by fudden rage, as by the folemn deliberate proceeding of men in public authority and principal credit. 21. Mark ix. 31. Accordingly this kind of death did not fall upon him by furprise, or by chance; but he did from the beginning John vi. 64. foresee it; he plainly with fatisfaction did aim at it: he, as it is related in the Gofpels, did fhew his difciples, that it was incumbent on him by God's appointment and his own choice; that he ought, it is faid, to fuffer many Matt. xvi. things, to be rejected by the chief priests, elders, and Luke ix.22. fcribes, to be vilified by them, to be delivered up to the xviii. 32,33. Gentiles, to be mocked, and fcourged, and crucified, as a flagitious flave. Thus would our bleffed Saviour, in conformity to the rest of his voluntary afflictions, and for a confummation of them, not only fuffer in his body by fore wounds and bruifes, and in his foul by doleful agonies, but in his name alfo and reputation by the fouleft fcandals; undergoing as well all the infamy as the infirmity which did belong to us, or might befall us: thus meaning by all means throughly to express his charity, and exercife his compaffion towards us; thus advancing his merit, and difcharging the utmoft fatisfaction in our behalf. 2. Death paffing on him as a malefactor by public sentence, did beft fuit to the nature of his undertaking, was moft congruous to his intent, did moft aptly represent what he was doing, and imply the reason of his performance. For we all are guilty in a most high degree, and in a manner very notorious; the fouleft fhame, together |