A Discourse Grounded on Proverbs, Part 2 · Section 24
Sect. XXIV.
BUt though I dare not but Think with Scripture that the blood of Christ (that is,Miſtake to think one drop of Chriſt blood ſufficient, the Death of Christ, for ſo the Scripture is to be underſtood when it ſpeaks of his blood) is of Infinite …lue and vertue, Acts 20, 28.being Gods own blood, yet dare I not think with thoſe who (without Scripture) affirm that One drop of Chriſts blood was ſufficient to ſave the World, The Death of Chriſt neceſſary:for the Apoſtle ſaith expreſsly, that He is Mediatour of the New Teſtament through DEATH,Hebr. 9, 15 foreign,Verſe 16, to Redemption (no Redemption without Death) for where a Teſtament is (ſaith He) there Muſt be the Death of Him that made the Teſtament. as Teſtato…And He proves it by the killing of the Sacrifices in the Law,Verſe 22, 23 That without ſhedding of blood (he means dying) there is no Remiſsion; And that it was Neceſsary Christ ſhould enter by his own Blood, that is, (for ſo he explains it) by the Sacrifice (not of a drop or few drops but) of Himſelf, and that no otherwiſe than by Death; Verſe 26 Verſe 27, 28for as it was appointed unto Men once to die, So Chriſt muſt be Once offered. SuretyFor the Debt that We ow to the Covenant of Works is Death, In the day that thou eatest thereof thou ſhalt Die: Gen. 2, 17This Debt muſt Our Surety under the New-Covenant pay,Hebr. 7, 22 though a Covenant of Graee,Rom. 5, 21 for GRACE muſt reign by Righteouſneſs; for Chriſt was not onelyonly for Our Good, Ch iſt ſuffered in our ſtead,but in our ſtead, (like the Ram in the ſtead or room of Iſaack) for the Chaſtiſement of our Peace was upon Him. Gen. 22, 13And therefore (not one drop of his Blood onelyonly but) his Soul muſt be made the Offering for Sin, Iaſ. 53, 5, 10Verſe 12.and He must powre out his Soul to the Death, verſe 4for He was to bear Our Sorrows, which were the ſorrows of Death, as you have ſeen: which Text though a learned …an,Grot. in lo… who ſomtimes had written worthily for Chriſts ſatisfaction, falling afterwards off by Temptation, would fain diſtort, by expounding it of the Prophet Ieremiah, yet two great Apoſtles, Philip and Peter, Act 8, 34, 35do underſtand and expound it of Chriſt and no other, by whoſe alone ſtripes we are healed. So Chriſt himſelf alſo, who knew what would ſerve the …urn, tells his Diſciples plainly, …ha… there was no way but one, He must go away, He must depart, John 16, 7yet he had long before this even …t eight days old, loſt more than a drop of blood for them in his Circumciſion, but ſtill for all that,Luke 2, 2… the Son of man muſt go to Jeruſalem,Mat. 16, 2… and muſt ſuffer many things▪ and be killed: and it was His Life and no leſs that He muſt give for a Ranſom for many.chap. 20, …
'Tis true indeed, this One Life of His was worth Thouſands of Ours, The precio…ſneſs of Chriſts Death: Acts 2, 24as Davids Men ſaid of Davids, and his Suffering Death (though it were not poſsible He ſhould be held of it,)2 Sam. 18, 3 gave Infinite Iuſtice that Satisfaction and full Payment, becauſe He that Suffered was an Infinite Perſon, that Millions of D…mned ones, (Men and Angels) in Hell cannot give or make in Millions of Ages, Chriſt fully Satisfyed, wa… lawfuly diſcharged,but the ſubjects of the Sufffering being Finite, the duration or Term of the Suffering muſt be in ſ…me ſort Infinite, that is to ſay, without End; But now God ſends His Angel, Matt. 28, 2as a publick Miniſter, to roul away the Stone from Christs Sepulchre (not that Chriſt needed an Angels help to further his Reſurrection, for He that had power to take up his life again, John 10, 18could not want ſtrength like another Sampſon, Ju 16, 9, 12to ſhake off thoſe ſorry ſhackles of his Sepulchre, but) I ſay the Key muſt be turned by Gods own …fficer, and the Priſon door ſet …pen, to declare to All the world …hat Our Debt, by His Death, was fully paid, in that Our Surety did not Break Priſon, but was …et at Liberty, which the damned …hall never be, becauſe they can …ever pay the uttermost Farthing.
But ſtill We muſt take heed while We pretend High Thoughts …f Christ, We muſt not pretend …igh Thoughts of Chriſt to harbour hard thoughts of Godthat we harbour not …ard thoughts of God, as if He would exact of Our Surety more …han was due, or were indeed pro…ſe or prodigal of the Blood of his …on; No, no, God counted it as …recious ſure as thou canſt do for …hine Heart, and if Men be loath …o be laviſh of corruptible things, 1 Pet. 1, ……uch as Silver and Gold, ſure God …ould never have been ſo of the …recious blood of Chriſt, 19,as a Lamb …ithout ſpot,; for if a drop would have done it, Circumciſion might have excuſed the Paſſion, and the Propathia, or Bloody Sweat in the Garden, the Bloody Death upon the CROSS: and ſo Christ have dyed in vain, Galat. 2, 21a thought which the Apoſtle ſo much abhors; for as He there reaſons concerning the Law, I may argue in this preſent caſe, if Righteouſneſs could have been by a drop of his Blood, then Christ dyed foreign, as one would ſay, Gratis, in a complement, and for a meer flouriſh of his kindneſs, which the Apoſtle will by no means admit. No, no, The Temple of his body muſt be deſtroyed, Joh. 2, 19, 21which the loſs of a Drop of his blood would not do; He muſt be made SIN for VsUs; now the wages of Sin (for he knew no ſin, Rom. 6, 23as to the work of Sin, but He muſt be made Sin, as to the wages of Sin which) is Death; That W… might be made the Righteouſneſs of 2 Cor 5, 21God in Him. And that He might Redeem us from the Curſe of the L…w, He muſt be made a Curſe for Us, that is, He muſt hang upon the Tree till he be dead, for in that ſence it is that the Apoſtle quotes that in the Law of Moſes where it is written,Deut. 21, 22 23 Curſed is He that hangeth upon a Tree.
And the truth is,Scripture thoughts of Chriſt our onelyonly right and high Thoughts. Luk. 24, 25 26 as our Scriptural Thoughts of Chriſt are our onelyonly Right Thoughts, (O fools & ſlow of heart, ought not Christ to have ſuffered theſe things? &c) ſo are they alſo our High Thoughts; for herein God commended his Love to us (not that Chriſt was Circumciſed for us, though that were Love,Rom. 5, 8 Not Chriſt bleeding, but his dying the grand commendation of his Love. to looſe a few drops of his precious Blood for Us, but this is the high commendation of his Love) that He Dyed for VsUs; for many there are that would wllingly enough looſe a little Blood for a Friend, that would not die for their Friend, …ut this was Love, that though We were Enemies, He not onelyonly Bled for Us, but Dyed for VsUs. For ſuppoſe you had been ear-witneſſes of the great Councel of Peace between the Father and the Son,Hebr: 10, 3 4, 5 (whereof we have ſuch plain Intimations in Scripture) ſaith God, Loyonder are a multitude of Sinners, and a multitude of Sacrifices, but I can have no pleaſure in the One or the Other, but if Thou, my Son, wilt but come in the Room of both, I ſhall be ſatisfyed,Mat. 3, 17 In whom, as well as with whom, I ſhall be well pleaſed; But know then, that there muſt be Dying; Hebr. 9, 12or there can be no Doing; for the Sinners ſhould Die; and the Sacrifices they do Die, and thou muſt Die, or elſe my Wrath can not be appeaſed, the Sinner can not be acquitted; and then that you had heard Chriſt thus making anſwer, If it muſt be ſo,Heb. 10, 5, 7 Lo I come, Lord, in the Volume of thy Book it is written of Me, even to do this thy Will O God; Verſe 5if this be the way, Let it be ſo; a Body haſt thou prepared me, Iſaia. 50, 5, 6and mine Ears haſt thou opened, and I was not Rebellious, neither turned I away back, Lo here is my Back to the ſmiters, and my cheeks for them that pull off the hair, and my Face for ſhame and ſpitting; And if all this be not ſufficient, here is my Soul too for a Sacrifice,Iſaia: 53, 10 for an Offering for Sin, and if Thou be but ſatiſfyed, I am Satisfyed, for as never had Mother ſorrow in her Birth-pangs for a Son; like my Sorrow, ſo never was Mother ſatisfyed in a Son as I am in my Seed. When thou ſhalt make his Soul an Offering for Sin, Iſaia. 53:1…He ſhall ſee his Seed, and the Pleaſure of the Lord proſper in his hand: Verſe 1…He ſhall ſee of the Travail of his Soul and be Satisfyed. And therefore well mayeſt Thou be ſatisfyed, O my Soul, as with Marrow and with Fatneſs, to think of all this. If it pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him, Vere 10that He might ſpare thee, and if the Son were ſatisfyed to be ſo ſerved to juſtify thee, and to bear thine Iniquities; Verſe 11ſhall this Thought not be pleaſing to thee? That He ſhould not onelyonly be Cut (as in his Circumciſion) but Cut off out of the Land of the Living (as in his Paſſion) even Meſſiah the Prince, Verſe 8be cut off for thee, to finiſh thy Tranſgreſſion, Dan. 5, 24, 25to make an end of Sin, to make Reconciliation for the Tranſgreſſion, and to bring in Everlaſting Righteouſneſs That He ſhould be delivered for thine Offences, Rom, 4, 25an… raiſed again for thy Iustification, without thy deſert or deſire, o… thy care or thy Thought before all this was done for thee; doth it not deſerve now thy Love, and thy joy, and thy Care, and thy Thoughts, Jer. 23, 6to be laid out upon it▪ nay to be taken up with it? Tha… The Lord ſhould be Thy Righteouſneſs; Iſaiah 32, 2and this Man thine hiding place, and thy Peace, and that by Blood onelyonly, ſo making Peace; That thine Acceptation ſhould be in Him, Ep… 2, 13, 15and thy Redemption through his Blood, Eph 1, 6, 7,and neither the One nor the other by Doing, nor by thy Dying, but thy Reconciliation by His Death, Rom. 5:10and thy Salvation by His Life; Oh how dear ſhould the Thought of this Dying Riſing Lord be to thee, who once ſuffered for Sins, 1 Pet. 3, 1…the IUST for the Vnjuſt, that he might bring us to God, put to Death in the Fleſh, or Manhood, but quickened in, or through the Spirit, that is, the God-head▪