The Works of Jeremiah Burroughs 8, Treatise · Chapter 23
CHAP. XXIII.
A Seventh diſcovery of Gods diſpleaſure againſt ſin, opened from the ſufferings of Chriſt. Firſt, See the ſeveral expreſſions of Scripture: 1 He was ſorrowful to death, 2 He began to be amazed, 3 He began to be in an Agony. Secondly, See the effects of Chriſts being in an Agony, 1 He fell grovelling on the ground, 2 He ſwet drops of blood, 3 He cries to God if it be poſſible to let this cup paſs from me. Thirdly, There is eight Conſiderations of Chriſts ſufferings.
SEventhly, And that is greater than all that hath been ſaid: Put all the former ſix together; His dealings with the Angels, and with Man-kind; The dreadful giving of the Law; His dreadful Judgments for ſmal ſins; And examples of his wrath abroad in the world; And the eternal torments in Hell: Put all theſe ſix together, and yet I ſay all theſe ſix is not ſo much to manifeſt the diſpleaſure of God againſt ſin as this one that now I ſhall tell you of: and if there be any thing in the world that ſhould make us to ſee the evil of ſin, it ſhould be this; if any thing make our hearts to ſhake and tremble at the evil of that ſin of which it is ſo much guiltie, then this I ſay that now I ſpeak of ſhould do it; and that is this, The dealings of God the Father with his Son: when Jeſus Chriſt that was the ſecond Perſon of the Trinity, God bleſſed for ever, came to be our Mediator, and to have but our ſins imputed unto him; and according to Scripturs phraſe, to be made ſin: Do but then take notice how God deals with him, how God manifeſts himſelf to his own Son, when his own Son did but take mans ſin upon him, to anſwer for it: do but then conſider how God the Father did deal with him. The Scripture ſaith, he did not ſpare his Son, but let out the vials of his wrath upon him in a moſt dreadful manner. If we do but conſider,
Firſt, that Chriſt God bleſſed for ever ſhould come and be in the form of a Servant, ſhould be a man of ſorrows as the Scripture ſpeaks, that in the whol courſe of his life ſhould live a contemptible life before men, and undergo grievous ſufferings. But becauſe I muſt haſten, do but look upon Chriſt in his Agony, and upon the Croſs at his death, and there you will ſee the dreadful diſpleaſure of God againſt ſin, and in nothing more than that. True, there is the bright glaſs of the Law wherein we may ſee the evil of ſin: but there is the red glaſs of the ſufferings of Chriſt, and in that we may ſee more of the evil of ſin than if God ſhould let us down to Hell, and if there we ſhould ſee all the tortures and torments of the damned in Hell, ſee them how they lie ſweltring under Gods wrath there; it were not ſo much as beholding ſin through the red glaſs of the ſufferings of Jeſus Chriſt, and that of his Agony. And give me leave a little to ſhew to you how God let out himſelf againſt his Son when he came into the Garden; and a little before when he was to die and ſuffer upon the Croſs. And for this conſider theſe two things:
Firſt, The ſeveral Expreſſions the holy Ghoſt uſeth in the ſeveral Evangeliſts for the ſetting out of thoſe dreadful things Chriſt ſuffered as a fruit of Gods diſpleaſure upon him.
1 One Evangeliſt ſaith that Chriſt was very foreign Praepoſitio foreign, auget ſignificationem, declarat animum undique maerora obſeſſū & circum vallatum.ſorrowful even to the death, Mat. 26. 38. he began to be (the word in the Original ſignifies) compaſſed about with ſorrows, to have ſorrows round about him, and as it were beſet and beſieged with grief; and it was to the very death, uſque ad mortem, ſorrowful to the very death: What was it for? upon the apprehenſion of the wrath of his Father, which he was to endure for the ſin of man: he was ſorrowful to the death in the apprehenſion of it. You it may be upon the ſight of ſin content your ſelves with ſome ſlight little ſorrow. You will it may be, when foreign ſignificat attonitum eſſe ex ſignificationem auget, ita ut ſit animo & corpore per horreſcere. Medici v…cant horripilationem. Gerrh. in Harm.you are told of ſin, cry, Lord have mercy upon me, I am ſorry for it, and ſo paſs it away. But Chriſt when God comes to deal with him, he makes his ſoul to be compaſſed about with ſorrows, ſorrowful to the death for our ſins.
2 Another Evangeliſt tels us he began to be amazed, Mark, 14. 33. that is, when Chriſt came to drink the Cup of the wrath of his Father, due for our ſins, he ſtood amazed at the ſight of the dreadfulneſs of that Cup he was to drink of; becauſe he knew what Gods wrath was, he underſtood what it was before he drunk of it; and this made him ſtand amazed at it. Many ſinners hear Gods wrath, and this makes them fear, but they be not amazed at it, they can paſs it away and they be not affected with it afterward; becauſe they underſtand it not, they know not what it is for a Creature to ſtand before the wrath of an infinite Deity: Who knows the power of thy wrath? ſaith the Scripture: therfore they be not amazed. But Chriſt that knew full well what the wrath of God was, and ſaw to the bottom of it, he underſtood to the dregs what that Cup was; and he ſtood amazed at the ſight of it when he was to drink it.
3 Another Evangeliſt hath this Expreſſion, foreign, of foreign. Beza Heſychius dicit ſignificare palaeſtrum & bellum proprle eſt timor quo corripi ſolent in certamen deſcenſury. Stephan. in Theſ.('tis in Luke 22. 44.) Chriſt began to be in an Agony: Now the word Agony, ſignifies a ſtrife, a combat; it is taken from the word that ſtgnifies a combate in Battel. Chriſt was in an Agony, in a Combate: Combate, with what? with whom? With the Wrath of God, he ſaw coming out upon him to ſink him; he ſaw the Curſe of the Law come out upon him; he ſaw the infinite Juſtice of God, of the infinite Deity come out upon him: and he was in an Agony, in combate with the infinite Juſtice and wrath of God, and the dreadful Curſe of the Law, and ſo Chriſt came to be in an Agony. Theſe be the three Expreſſions of the Evangeliſts.
Secondly, Conſider the Effects of Chriſts being in an Agony, and apprehending the wrath of his Father for ſin.
1 One Effect was this, you ſhall find it in the ſtory of the Goſpel, that the text ſaith, he fell grovelling upon the ground upon the apprehenſion of Gods wrath and diſplevſure upon him for ſin, which he was to ſuffer: he fell down grovelling upon the ground. When he that upholds the Heavens and the Earth by his Power, now falls grovelling upon the Earth, having the weight and burden of mans Sin upon him he falls upon his face, he falls to the ground. Certainly Brethren, Chriſt had that weight and burden upon him, that would have preſt all the Angels in Heaven, and Men in the World down to the bottomleſs gulf of deſpair: If all the ſtrength of all the men that ever were ſince the beginning of the world, and all the Angels in Heaven were put into one, and he had but that weight upon him that Chriſt had, it would have made him ſink down into eternal deſpair: for had not Chriſt been God as well as Man, he could never have born it, but would have ſunk down eternally: But the burden and weight was ſo great that he ſinks down to the ground.
2 A ſecond effect of Chriſts bearing the wrath of God for Sin is this, He ſweat great drops of blood; the word in the Original is Clodders of Blood; Blood thickned into Clods. Never was there ſuch a ſweat; it was in the Winters night, a cold night, abroad upon the ground in a cold Winters night, and he had nothing elſe upon him to make him ſweat but the burden of ſin, and the weight of the wrath of God being upon him, he being under that burden ſweat, and ſuch a ſweat as made the very blood break through his very Veins and run to Clodders, and ſo run down upon the ground Clodders of Blood: and all this but upon the apprehenſion of the wrath of God his Father againſt him for our Sin. Now you know when Porters be under great Burdens, ſomtimes they ſweat; but never did any ſweat like this ſweat of Chriſt, being under the weight of mans Sin, ſweat ſo as Clodders of Blood ſhould fall from him: One would think fear ſhould rather draw in the Blood; fear naturally draws in the blood to the heart: therefore it is that men and women when they are ſkar'd, and are afraid, they are ſo pale in their Countenance; fear cauſeth paleneſs in the outward parts, becauſe the blood retires to the heart when they be afraid. But ſuch was the amazement upon Chriſt, upon the apprehenſion of the wrath of his Father for Sin, that it ſends out blood in Clodders trickling down his ſides.
3 And then a third expreſſion which ſhew the effect of Gods wrath on Chriſt, is the Prayer of Chriſt; Chriſt doth as it were ſhrink under this weight and burden of ſin, and cries to God, if it be poſſible let this Cup paſs from me. When we cry with vehemency, we ſay, if it be poſſible let it be thus or thus; but Chriſt cries out ſo three times. We may apprehend Chriſt taking as it were the Cup of the wrath of his Father in his hand, and becauſe he knew it was the end wherefore he came into the world, that he muſt drink of it for ſatisfaction for mans Sin; and being willing to ſave Man-kind, that he knew could not be ſaved but he muſt drink the Cup, he takes it in his hand readie to drink it; but beholding the hidiouſneſs and dreadfulneſs of this Cup, and knowing what was in it, he puts it away, and cries, Father if it be poſſible, let this Cup paſs: but now he ſees if he did not drink it, all the Children of men muſt be eternally damned; for ſuch was our miſerie, if Chriſt had not drunk this Cup, we had all eternally periſh't; therefore Chriſt puts it to his mouth again (as it were) the ſecond time; but yet ſeeing what dreadfulneſs was in this Cup, and he knowing it, he takes it away again, and cries, If it be poſſible, let this Cup paſs: but yet having love to Man-kind, being loth to ſee ſo many thouſands of poor Creatures periſh eternally, he puts it to his mouth again a third time; and yet ſeeing the dreadfulneſs of it, puts it away again, and yet ſaith, If it be poſſible let it paſs. This might make a man tremble to think that he ſhall (as Job ſaith 21. Job) drink of the wrath of God: Thus it was with Chriſt, and all this while he did not drink it: But afterwards when he comes to the Croſs, there he drunk the Cup of Gods wrath, and there he cries out with another cry more bitter than all the other, and that is, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? ſo that he apprehends himſelf forſaken. Oh the wrath of the Almighty that then was upon the Spirit of Jeſus Chriſt at that time: What! for the ſon of God bleſſed for evermore thus to cry out, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me! Oh you Heavens how could you be able to behold ſuch a Spectacle as this was, or the Earth be able to bear it! Truly, neither Heaven nor Earth were able; for the Scripture ſaith, that the Sun withdrew his light, and was darkened ſo many hours; it was from twelve to three, that the Sun withdrew his light and did not ſhine, but there was diſmal darkneſs in the world as not being able to behold ſuch a Spectacle as this: and the Earth ſhook and trembled, and the Graves opened, and the Rocks clove in ſunder, the very ſtones themſelves were affected with ſuch a work as this; and the vale of the Temple rent aſunder: theſe things were done upon Chriſts bearing of the Wrath of his Father for Sin. Here you have the fruits of Gods diſpleaſure for ſin, and in this you may ſee, ſurely ſin muſt needs be a vile thing that cauſeth God the Father thus to deal with his own Son, when he had mans ſin upon him.
Thirdly, Conſider yet further, for there is much in it, and if this do not ſhew the evil of ſin, and cauſe you to fear and tremble, thoſe that be guilty of ſin, and their conſciences tell them ſo; if their hearts tremble not, certainly their hearts be hard, and their minds be blinded, and little hopes can they have for the preſent of ever having their parts in theſe ſufferings of Chriſt; what ſhall Chriſt ſuffer ſuch ſufferings, and wilt thou go away and have ſlight thoughts of ſin? ſhall ſin be ſo great a burden to Chriſt, and wilt thou be ſo merry under it? Certainly you ſee it is more than you were aware of: for you to ſay, I truſt in Jeſus Chriſt, and hope to be ſaved by Jeſus Chriſt; you ſee how Chriſt felt ſin, the Scripture ſaith he was made a Curſe: Were it not we had it from the holy Ghoſt, no man or Angel durſt ſay ſo, that Chriſt ſhould be made a Curſe; in the abſtract, not Curſed, but made a Curſe: What! he that was God and Man, by the ſin of man was made a Curſe! Oh the diſpleaſure of God againſt ſin! But yet to give it you a little more fully, ſee theſe Aggravations, and you will ſay, certainly the diſpleaſure of God was great againſt his Son.
1 As firſt, All that Chriſt ſuffered he perfectly knew it long before he ſuffered, and yet it was ſo dreadful unto him. Oh Brethren, there be many men and women underſtand nothing at all of the wrath of God againſt ſin, theſe think there is no great matter in it: Of all the men and women in the world, when they come to ſuffer this wrath, it will be dreadful to them, becauſe it come unexpectedly; they that went on merrily and cheerfully in the waies of ſin, and for the wrath of God, never thought of it; now then when the wrath of God comes on them, it will be more dangerous and intollerable: This is the reaſon why many people when their conſciences are awakened upon their ſick Beds, then they deſpair, crying and roaring under Gods wrath and rage with deſpair: Why? Becauſe they never in their lives came to underſtand the danger of ſin, and of Gods wrath for ſin; and becauſe it comes now ſuddenly upon them, they be not able to bear it. But it was not ſo with Chriſt, Chriſt underſtood this long before; he knew what it would be before he took our Nature, and he knew what it would be when he came in humane Nature to undertake it. Thoſe men and women that know not what ſtorms and tempeſts are, it is grievous to them when they come to know them ſuddenly; when they are in the midſt of a ſtorm or tempeſt at Sea, Oh they are grievous: but Marriners that know beforehand what they are like to meet withal, it is not grievous to them. But Chriſt though he knew it beforehand, yet how dreadful was it to him when it came?
2 Conſider, Chriſt had no ſin in himſelf to weaken his ſtrength, and take away his ſtrength, and ſo make the burden greater; he had no ſin but only by imputation. But now when the wrath of God comes upon us, we having ſo much ſin in our Natures, this weakens us, and will therefore make the burden of Divine wrath ſo much the more intollerable to us: For as it is with a ſound man, If a great weight be laid upon a man healthful and ſtrong, he feels not the burden of it; but if you lay the ſame weight upon a man very ſick and weak through diſtemper of body, it is grievous to him: So here, If the weight of Sin were ſo grievous to Chriſt that had no diſtemper of weakneſs, how grievous will it be to a ſinner that is diſtempered, and ſo weakened with ſin? If the ſhoulders of a Porter be ſore, and all the Skin off, and a boyl upon his ſhoulder, how grievous would the burden be then? So it is with us, when God comes to lay the burden of his Wrath upon us, we be but weak Creatures at the beſt, but through the diſtemper of ſin in our hearts we are more weak and more unable to bear: becauſe we be ſore, and have boyls of ſin; this makes Gods wrath much more dreadful; but it was not ſo with Chriſt.
3 Chriſt had abſolute perfect Patience, there was not the leaſt impatiency in Chriſt: therefore when Chriſt that had perfect Patience, and yet did thus cry out and ſweat, and was thus ſorrowful under it, ſurely there was ſome fearful burden in this. Some men and women will lie and roar out under ſome pains, and it may be it is great, but had they perfect patience, they would not make ſuch dolor and out-cries: it is through the weakneſs of their Patience that they make ſuch out-cries, and manifeſt ſuch ſence of their affliction. But Chriſt made not ſuch out-cries through impatiency.
4 Conſider, Chriſt had the ſtrength of an infinite Deity to ſupport him: He had the ſtrength of God, he was God and Man, he had the ſtrength of the Divine Nature to ſupport the Humane Nature which no Creature can have as Chriſt had; for there was an Hypoſtatical union between the Divine and Humane Nature at that time, and yet notwithſtanding the Hypoſtatical union of both Natures, yet Chriſt expreſſeth himſelf thus, and is thus ſenſible of the Wrath upon him for the ſin of Man.
5 Conſider, Chriſt was the Captain of all that were to ſuffer hereafter: and therfore he would if he had had no more upon him than that which the humane Nature could have born, have manifeſted (one would think) abundance of Reſolution and Magnanimity, and not have cried out ſo: and ſurely had there not been the ſuffering of the Wrath of the Deity, and the Curſe of the Law in it; certainly he that was the Captain of all that were to ſuffer, he would have manifeſted it to be a light burden he met withal; for there be many Martyrs have ſuffered outwardly as great Extremities as ever Chriſt did, for outward torture, and born them with joy; therfore ſeeing the Martyrs many of them ſuffering greater tortures to their bodies, and have born them with Joy; no ſorrow, nor crying out, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? nor, If it be poſſible, let this cup paſs, but endured them with a great deal of Joy. Now how comes it to paſs that the Martyrs did bear them with ſuch joy, and Chriſt the Captain of them all falls to the Earth, and cries out ſo? Certainly there was more in Chriſts ſufferings than in all the ſufferings in the world, more of the diſpleaſure of God.
6 Conſider, That it was through the ſtrength of Chriſt that all that ever did ſuffer were inabled to ſuffer what they did undergo. Now if Chriſt had that ſtrength, that through him all the Martyrs were inabled to ſuffer what they did; certainly Chriſt had abundance of ſtrength in himſelf to ſuffer when he came to it: How comes it to paſs then that the ſtrength whereby they were inabled to ſuffer being from Chriſt, they manifeſted not that horror and trouble that Chriſt himſelf did? Certainly therefore Chriſt ſuffered other manner of things than they did.
7 Conſider this, Chriſt did know what an infinit good his ſufferings would do: that by ſuffering he ſhould ſave ſo many thouſands, reconcile God and man, glorifie his Father, that he ſhould do the greateſt work for God and his Father that ever was; that by his ſufferings there ſhould be that work done that ſhould be matter of eternal praiſe, and Hallelujahs of the Saints and Angels eternally in the Heavens: And yet though Chriſt knew and underſtood what good ſhould be done by his ſufferings, yet ſee how ſenſible he was of the greatneſs of it. One would have thought the good he ſaw to be done ſhould much have lightened it; and ſo certainly it did.
8 Conſider, Chriſt did know his ſufferings were to continue but a litle while; though they were extream, yet that they ſhould laſt but for a few hours, and then he ſhould be glorified. And yet though he did underſtand his ſufferings were to laſt but a few hours, and then himſelf ſhould come to glory; yet for all this they were thus hidious and dreadful to him. Oh Lord, then how hidious ſhall the ſufferings of the damned be to them, when as every damned ſoul that goes to Hell, knows certainly how he muſt lie to all eternity; after thouſands of thouſands, and ten thouſand millions of years; after ſo many thouſands of years as there be drops in thoſe mighty Waters which you ſail over; yet the time is no more expired than the very firſt moment they enter'd into thoſe miſerable torments.
Conſider of this thus you that have to do in the great Waters, conſider how many drops there might be in the Sea, as big as the bill of a Bird could carry, and that this Bird ſhould be ſuppoſed once in a thouſand years to carry away one drop, yet this Bird would ſooner empty that mighty Sea than the torments of the damned ſhould be at an end. Oh how dreadful will it be to them when as Chriſts tortures which he did endure but a little while, made him to cry out ſo. Oh Brethren, put all theſe together and then know the evil of ſin. Oh that we could apprehend it now before we come to feel it. For this is the end for which I ſpeak of theſe things and preſent them before you, that you may now know them, and never come to feel experimentally what they be. Bleſſed be thoſe that in hearing tremble and beleeve, and do not come to know by experience that dreadful evil in them. If God ſhould in his infinite wiſdom have ſtudied (as one may ſo ſpeak) from all Eternity to have found out a way to have preſented ſin to be dreadful to the Children of men, we could not conceive how infinite Wiſdom ſhould from all eternity have found out an Argument to manifeſt the evil of ſin more, or ſo much as in the ſufferings of Jeſus Chriſt: So that in them God doth as it were ſay, Wel, I ſee wretched Men and Women will not beleeve the evil of ſin; well, among other Arguments, I will have one, that if poſſible, ſhall Convince all wicked hard hearts in the world to make them ſee what ſin is, and that is in my Son, in my dealings with my Son; and that wrath of mine I ſhall lay upon my Son; this ſhall make it appear to them what ſin is. Now if God have done this on purpoſe to render Sin odious and abominable, and a moſt dreadful Evil; Oh wo then to that Soul, that after all this ſhall go on in waies of Sin pleaſingly and delightfully, and eaſily entertain Sin.