upon him the chastisement of our peace; and did offer up SERM. his foul an offering and facrifice for our fins; thereby ex- XXVII. piating them, propitiating God's wrath, and reconciling Ifa. liii. 5, God unto us, purging us from guilt, and procuring entire 10. remiffion for our fins; the which confiderations do fuffi-1 John ii. 2. ciently argue our fins, in way of defert, to have been the iv. 10. causes of his death. Heb. x. 12. Rom.iii. 25. 19. Now for the ends which our Lord's death aimethat, and the effects which it produceth, (these we join, because 2 Cor. v. in reality they are the fame,) they, in Scripture reckoning Eph. ii. 16. and expreffion, are various and many: the most general Heb. ix. 14, are these, comprehending divers others fubordinate to 23, 26. them. I i. 7. John iii. 36. 1 John i. 7. Rom. iii. 5. 20.) 4. 1. The illustration of God's glory, by demonftrating 28. and displaying therein his most excellent attributes and Col. i. 14. perfections; so doth St. Paul teach us; Whom God, faith Rev. i. 5. he, hath fet forth a propitiation by faith in his blood, εἰς Col. i. 27. ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ, for a demonstration of his right- Eph. ii. 7. eousness; that is, as I take it, of his goodness, his justice, his fidelity, his constancy, of all those commendable (John xxi. perfections, which are expressed in dealing with others; and our Lord, his paffion being instantly to follow, made this reflection; Now is the Son of man glorified, and God John xiii. is glorified in him; and, I have glorified thee upon earth; 131. xvii. have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. God did therein shew himself most highly good and gracious, in so providing for the welfare of those who deferved nothing of him, who deferved ill of him, who had offended and injured him very heinously: he manifefted himself most strictly just, in not fuffering iniquity to go unpunished, but rather than so, expofing his own dear Son to punishment, and in him choofing himself to fuffer; he declared his wifdom in contriving so admirable an expedient, whereby both his goodness might be exercised, and his justice not infringed; he shewed his veracity, fidelity, and conftancy, in executing by his providence what he before had designed and promised, although so grievous and bitter to the Son of his love: he therein also laid a ground of declaring his almighty power, in raifing SERM. him from the dead, as likewise of his goodness and justice XXVII. in exalting him: thus by our Saviour's death was the divine glory much illustrated, and our good consequently promoted; for that we therein contemplating him fo amiable for goodness, so terrible for justice, so venerable for all excellency, may be induced thence to love him, to dread him, to worship and reverence him, as it becometh us, and as it is necessary for us in order to our happiness. 2. The dignifying and exaltation of our Lord himself; by acquiring unto him in a manner a new right unto, and instating him in an universal dominion, in a transcendent glory, in perfect joy accruing to him by remuneration for so excellent an instance of fubmiffion and obedience to God's will. This is that which our Lord John xiii. foresaw and foretold; If God was glorified in him, then 32. xvii. 5. will God glorify him in himself, and shall straightway Rom.xiv. 9. glorify him: and, To this end, faith St. Paul, Christ died, that he might be the Lord of the dead and living: and, Heb. ii. 9. For the suffering of death he was crowned with glory and Phil. ii. 8,9. honour, faith the Apostle to the Hebrews: and, He was Heb. ii. 10. obedient to the death, therefore God exalted him: and, The Prince of our falvation was perfected by suffering: and, Heb. xii. 2. For the joy that was fet before him he endured the cross: Ifa. liii. 11. and, He, faid the Prophet of him, shall fee the travail of Rev. v. 12, his foul, and be fatisfied: and, Worthy, say the heavenly 9. host in the Apocalypse, is the Lamb that is flain, (worthy is he, for that he was flain, and did redeem us to God by (Tit. ii. 14.) his blood,) to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and Strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 3. The salvation of mankind; the which he was defigned to procure by his death, and in many respects he did promote it thereby. He did it by appeasing that wrath of God which he naturally beareth toward iniquity, and reconciling God to men, who by fin were alienated from him; by procuring a favourable disposition and intentions of grace toward us. Rom. v. 8, While we were finners, faith St. Paul, Christ died for us, (and finners, or wicked men, God cannot like or endure: 10. 16. Ifa iii. 8. Thou art not, faith the Pfalmist, a God that haft pleasure SERM. in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee; the foolish XXVII. shall not stand in thy fight; thou hateft all workers of ini-Pfal. v. 4. quity: and, The wicked, and him that loveth violence, his xi.5.xxxiv. foul hateth: yet for us, being fuch, Christ died, removing Hab. i. 3. thereby that just hatred and displeasure; as St. Paul prefently after expresseth and expoundeth it; When, faith he, we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son:) and otherwhere, God, faith he, was in Christ re-2 Cor. v. 19. conciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trefpasses unto them; the non-imputation of our fins is expressed as a fingular effect, an instance, an argument of his being in mind reconciled and favourably difpofed toward us: and again; He died to reconcile both (Jews and Eph. ii. 16. Gentiles) unto God in one body by the cross, having flain 21, &c. the enmity thereby; that is, God being thereby reconciled to all people, they became thence united together in the common relation of friends and fellow-fervants to God; becoming, as it there follows, fellow-citizens with Ephef. ii. the faints, and of the household of God, (or allied unto him οἰκεῖοι τοῦ by spiritual relations.) Col. i. 20, 19. Θεοῦ. Again, It furthered our falvation, by purchasing the remiffion of our fins, and juftification of our persons; our freedom from condemnation and punishment, our appearance as upright, and acceptable in God's fight; upon the conditions of faith and repentance propounded in the Gospel; in regard to which effects he is faid thereby to redeem us from our fins, to bear them, to take them away, to expiate them, to cleanfe, to purge, to sanctify us from them: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Rom. viii. God's elect? Who shall condemn them? It is Christ that 34. died; that is, Christ's death hath freed them from all liableness to guilt and condemnation. Christ hath redeem- Gal. iii. 13. ed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us; that is, he by undergoing an accursed kind of death (1 Pet. ii. hath purchased an indemnity and impunity for the tranf-24.) gressors of God's Law: and, Being justified by his blood, Rom. v. 8. we shall be saved by him from wrath; that is, from the effects of God's just displeasure, condemnation, and pu Matt. xxvi. 28. 26, 28. vii. SERM. nishment: and, In whom, faith St. Paul again clearly, we XXVII. have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of fins, Ephef. i. 7. according to the riches of his grace: and, My blood, faith Col. i. 14. our Lord, is the blood of the new testament, which was Shed for many for the remission of fins: and, Chrift, faith Heb. ix. 27, the Apostle to the Hebrews, was once offered to bear the 27. fin of many, (or of the many, the multitude of men.) Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared, εἰς ἀθέτησιν ἁμαρτίας, for the abolition of fin by the facrifice of John i. 29. himself: and, Behold, faid St. John the Baptist, the Lamb (Heb. x. 4, of God, that taketh away the fins of the world : and, 11.) 1 John i. 7. The blood of Christ doth, faith St. John, cleanse us from Rev. i. 5. all fin: He loved us, and washed us from our fins in his 1 John ii. 2. iv. 10. 12. Eph. v. 25 own blood: He is a propitiation for our fins; and not for our fins only, but for the fins of the whole world: and, Heb. xiii. Jefus, that by his blood he might fanctify the people, did 25, Suffer out of the gate: He delivered himself up for the Church, that he might fanctify it-that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any fuch thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 27. Our Lord also by his death procured our falvation, as having thereby purchased for us means fufficient to free us from the power and dominion of fin, to purify our Tit. ii. 14. hearts, and fanctify our lives; for, He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works: and, He gave himself for our fins, that he might redeem us from this 1 Pet. i. 18, present evil world: and, We were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with filver, or with gold; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, from our vain conversation, delivered from our 19. 1 Pet. ii. 24. fathers: and, He by his own self bare our fins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to fin should live unto Rom. vi. 2, righteousness: We are with him dead to fin; our old man is crucified with him, that the body of fin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not ferve fin. 6, 8, 11. In fubordination to, coincidence or concurrence with, the principal designs and effects, our Lord alfo died for the reparation of God's honour, which we by contempt of SERM. his authority and violation of his law had impaired, but XXVII. our Saviour by fo fignal an obedience thereto did repair; for the recovery of God's right, which was infringed by withdrawing so great and noble a part of his creation from its due allegiance and service; the which he recovered and restored to him; for the fatisfaction to God's juftice, provoked by so heinous impieties and iniquities; the which was abundantly performed by so infinitely valuable a compenfation and facrifice offered thereto. Alfo for ratification of the new covenant between God and us; whence his blood is called, the blood of the cove-Heb. x. 29. nant, the blood of the new testament. Matt. xxvi. 28. For the pacifying and reconciling all things in heaven 1Cor. xi. 25. Col. i. 20. and earth; removing all causes of dissension and distance; Eph. ii. 25. inducing obligations to concord and charity. For pulling out the fting, and removing the terrors of 1 Cor. xv. death; destroying (or defeating) him that had the power Heb. ii. 14, of death, and delivering them who through the fear of 15. death are all their life-time fubject to death. Καταργή σας. For the fuppreffing, vanquishing, and triumphing over Col. ii. 15. the powers of hell and darkness, the which he did, as St. Paul telleth us, achieve upon his cross: and by his death John xii. he telleth us, that the prince of this world was condemned, 31. xvi. 11. and caft out. For engaging us to the practice of all righteousness and obedience, (especially to the most excellent, high, and hard parts thereof, charity, humility, meekness, patience, self-denial, utmost constancy and perfeverance,) both from our obligation in regard to what he suffered for us, and in imitation of his example; for, We should run with pa- Heb. xii. tience the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus, the 1, 2. author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was Set before him endured the cross, defpifing the shame: and, Chrift having fuffered for us in the flesh, we should, faith 1 Pet. iv. 1, St. Peter, arm ourselves with the same mind, so as no longer to live the rest of our time in the flesh to the luft of men, but to the will of God. Lastly, for attestation unto and confirmation of divine 12. |