Christ Crucified, Sermon 19
SERMON XIX.
ISAIAH LIII.IV, V.
Verſ. 4. Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our ſorrows: yet we did eſteem him ſtricken, ſmitten of God, and afflicted.
Verſ. 5. But he was wounded for our tranſgreſſions, he was bruiſed for our iniquities: the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon him, and with his ſtripes we are healed.
THis is a moſt wonderful Subject that the Prophet is here diſcourſing of, even that which concerneth the ſufferings of our bleſſed Lord Jeſus, by way of prediction ſeveral hundreds of years before his Incarnation; It was much that he was to be a man of ſorrows, and acquainted with grief; But this was more, that he was deſpiſed, and we eſteemed him not; There is wonderful grace upon the one ſide, that our Lord became ſo very low, and wonderful contempt and enmity on the other ſide, that we deſpiſed him, and eſteemed him not, even becauſe of his lowneſs.
In the words now read, and forward, the Prophet ſets himſelf to remove the offence that men took at our Lords Humiliation, by ſhewing them, that although he became ſo low, yet he was not to be the leſs eſteemed of for that; And the ground which he layes down to remove the offence, is in the firſt words of the Text, which in ſum is this, that there was nothing in himſelf wherefore he ſhould have been brought ſo low, there was no ſin in him, neither was there any guile found in his mouth, but he was graciouſly pleaſed to take on him that which we ſhould have born; and therefore men ought not to ſtumble and offend at his ſtooping to bear that which would with its weight have cruſhed them eternally, and thereby to make their peace with God: in the 6. verſ. he ſhews how it came to paſs that he ſtooped ſo low, All we (ſaith he) like ſheep have gone aſtray, and turned every one of us to our own way, and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all; We had loſt our ſelves, and God in the depth of his eternal wiſdom, love, and good-will, found out the way to ſave us; wherein (to ſpeak ſo) a Covenant was tranſacted betwixt God and the Mediator, who becomes Cautioner for our ſins, which are transferred on him: From the 7. verſ. to the 10. verſ. he goes on in ſhewing the execution of this tranſaction, and how the Cautioner performed all according to his engagement; And from the 10. verſ. to the cloſe, we have the promiſes made to him for his ſatisfaction: The ſcope is, as to remove the ſcandal of the Croſs, ſo to hold out our Lords purſuing the work of ſatisfaction to the Juſtice of God for elect ſinners, and the good ſucceſs he had in it.
In the 4, and 5. verſes we have three things, 1. This ground aſſerted, Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our ſorrows. 2. Mens enmity aggreged from this, yet we did eſteem him ſtricken, ſmitten of God, and afflicted; In the very mean time that he condeſcended to ſtoop ſo low for us, and to bear that which we ſhould have born, we eſteemed but little of him, we looked on him as a plagued man. 3. This is more fully explained, verſ. 5. But he was wounded for our tranſgreſſions, he was bruiſed for our iniquities, He was ſo handled for our ſins, and the chaſtiſement of our peace was on him, that which made our peace with God was on him, By his ſtripes we are healed, the ſtripes that wounded and killed him cured us.
We have here then, rather as it were a ſad narration, then a Propheſie of the Goſpel holding out a part of our Lords ſufferings, yet a clear foundation of the conſolation of the people of God; it being the ground of all our Faith of the pardon of ſin, of our peace with God, and of our confident appearing before him, that our Lord was content to be thus dealt with, and to give his back to the ſmiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.
We ſhall clear the words in the aſſertion, which will ſerve to clear the words of the whole Chapter, and alſo of the Doctrines to be drawn from it. 1. The thing that Chriſt bare is called griefs and ſorrows, by which we underſtand the effects that ſin brings on men in the world, for its the ſame that in the 5. verſ. is called his being wounded for our tranſgreſſion, and bruiſed for our iniquity; It's a wounding that iniquity cauſeth, and meritoriouſly procureth; It's not ſin it ſelf, but the effect of ſin, to wit, the puniſhment the ſorrow and grief that ſin brings with it, called griefs and ſorrows; Partly becauſe grief and ſorrow is neceſſarily joyned with ſin, partly to ſhew the extremity and exceeding greatneſs of this grief and ſorrow, and the bitter fruits that ſin hath with it. 2. How is it ſaid that Chriſt hath born and carried their griefs and ſorrows? By this we underſtand, not only Chriſts removing of them, as he removed ſickneſs and diſeaſes, as it is ſaid, Matth. 8.16, 17. But alſo and mainly his actual and real enduring of them, as the phraſe is frequently uſed in Scripture; That man ſhall bear his iniquity, or he ſhall bear his ſin, Levit. 5. and many other places; It ſees out a real inflicting of the puniſhment that ſin deſerves, on him. 3. That it is ſaid our griefs, and our ſorrows, it is not needleſly or ſuperfluouſly ſet down, but to meet with the offence that men take at Chriſts humbling himſelf ſo low; As if he had ſaid, What aileth you to ſtumble at Chriſts coming ſo low, and being ſo afflicted? It was not for his own ſins, but for ours, that he was ſo handled; And they are called our griefs and ſorrows, 1. Becauſe we by our ſins procured them, they were our deſerving, and due to us, the debt was ours, though he as our Cautioner took it on himſelf. 2. Becauſe though the Elect have diſtinct reckonings, and peculiar ſins, ſome moe, ſome fewer, ſome greater, ſome leſſer, yet they are all put on Chriſts account; there is a combination of them, a gathering of them all on him, as the word is, verſ. 6. He hath laid on him, or made to meet on him the iniquities of us all.
The meaning then of the aſſertion is this; Surely this is the cauſe of Chriſts Humiliation, and this makes him not only to become Man, but to be a mean poor Man, and to have a comfortleſs and afflicted life in the World, that he hath taken on him that Puniſhment, Curſe and Wrath that was due to us for our Sins; and therefore he ought not to be offended and ſtumbled at.
Now becauſe Socinians, the great Enemies of Chriſts ſatisfaction, and of the comfort of his People, labour to elude this place, and to make Chriſt only an exemplary Saviour, and deny that he really and actually did undergo theſe Griefs and Sorrows for the Sins of his Elect; We ſhall a little clear and confirm the expoſition we have given; the queſtion is not about the taking away of Sin, but about the manner of removing it; They ſay that it is by Gods pardoning of it without a Satisfaction; We ſay it is by Chriſts Satisfaction; So the difficulty in expounding the words, is whether to expound them of Chriſts removing our Sorrows and Griefs from us, or of his bearing of them for our Sin, and ſo really taking it away: And that this Scripture means not of a ſimple removing of them, as he did remove Sickneſs, Matth 8.17. but by a real taking them on himſelf, and bearing of of them in order to the ſatisfaction of the Juſtice of God for our Sins: We ſhall give theſe Reaſons to confirm it. 1. Becauſe theſe words are to be underſtood of ſuch a bearing of Sorrows and Griefs as made Chriſt to be contemptible and deſpiſed before others, This is clear from the ſcope, for they are given as a reaſon why Chriſt was rejected and deſpiſed as a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief, and why Men ſhould not ſtumble at him for all that, becauſe it was for them; now, if he had only removed Sorrows from them as he did Sickneſſes, it had not been a cauſe of his Sorrow and Grief, nor of any Mans ſtumbling at him, but had been rather a cauſe of his exaltation in Mens eſteem; But its given here as a cauſe of that which went before in the firſt part of the 3. Verſe, and alſo as a reaſon why Men ſhould not ſtumble at him, and withall as an aggravation of their guil… who did ſtumble at him: Now it's clear that the ground of the Jews deſpiſing and mocking of him, was nor his removing of Sickneſſes and Diſeaſes, but his ſeeming to be given over unto Deaths power. 2. Becauſe that which is called here, bearing of ſorrows and griefs, is in the words following, called, a being wounded for our tranſgreſſions, which imports not only that h… was wounded, but that our Iniquities were the cauſe of his being wounded, and that the deſert of them was laid on him. 3. This wounding is holden forth, to be the ſtripes whereby we are healed; and all we like ſheep have gone aſtray, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all; we did the wrong but he made the amends; and it was ſuch a wounding as proves a cure to us, and makes way for our peace and reconciliation with God; and ſuch, as without it, there is no healing for us, for by his ſtripes we are healed; it's by his ſwallowing up of the river and torrent of Wrath that was in our way and would have drowned us eternally, had not he interpoſed for us, that we eſcape. 4. Conſider the parallel places to this in the New Teſtament, and we will find that this place holds our Chriſts re…l and actual bearing of our Sorrows and and Griefs; I ſhall only name three, The 1. Is that of the 2 Cor. 5.21. He hath made him to be ſin for us who knew no ſin, that we might be made the righteouſneſs of God in him, which can be no other way exponed but of Chriſts being made an Offering and Sacrifice for our Sins; he not being a Sinner himſelf, but becoming our Cautioner and engaging to pay our Debt, and to tell down the price for the ſatisfaction of Divine Juſtice; he is reckoned to be the Sinner, and our Sins are imputed to him, and he is dealt with as a Sinner. A 2d place is that of Gal. 3.13. Chriſt hath redeemed us from the curſe of the law, by being made a curſe for us, as it is written, curſed is every one that hangeth on a tree; The Sorrows and Griefs that Iſaiah ſays here he ſhould bear, are there exponed by the Apoſtle, to be, his being made a Curſe, or his bearing of the Curſe that we ſhould have born; it's not meant ſimply of his removing the Curſe from us, but it alſo ſets out the manner how he removed, to wit, by his own bearing of it himſelf, being nailed to the Croſs, according to the threatning given out before. The 3d. place is that of 1 Pet. 2.24. Who his own ſelf bare our ſins in his own body on the tree; where there is a direct reference to this place of Iſaiah, which is cited for confirmation of what the Apoſtle ſaith, and every word is full and hath a ſpecial ſignification and emphaſis in it, He his own ſelf bare, the ſame word that is here, and our ſins, and in his own body, and on the tree; intimating the loweſt ſtep of his Humiliation, by whoſe ſtripes ye were healed, for ye were as ſheep going aſtray, &c. by his bearing of our Sins the burden of Sin was taken off us, and we are ſet free.
I know that place of Matth. 8.17. hath its own difficulty, and therefore I ſhall ſpeak a word for clearing of it; he hath ſpoken verſ. 16. of Chriſt's healing all that were ſick, and then ſubjoyns in the 17. verſ. That it might be fulfilled which was ſpoken by Iſaias the prophet, ſaying, himſelf took our infirmities and bare our ſickneſſes; whereupon theſe enemies of Chriſt would infer, that this place of Scripture hath no other, nor further meaning, but of Chriſt's curing of ſome ſick Folks, and of the deputed or committed power which he hath to pardon ſins; but we ſuppoſe that the reaſons which we have already given, make it clear, that this cannot be the meaning of the place, to which we ſhall add firſt. A Reaſon or two, and ſecondly, Give you the true meaning of it.
The Reaſons why one cannot be the meaning of the place, are 1. Becauſe Acts 8.32. this Scripture is ſpoken of as being dayly a fulfilling by Chriſt, and therefore it could not be fulfilled in theſe few days wherein he was in the Fleſh upon Earth. 2. Becauſe this bearing of our Griefs and Sorrows is ſuch a piece of Chriſts Humiliation, as thereby he took on all the Griefs and Sorrows of all the Elect at once, both of theſe who lived in Iſaiah his time, and of theſe who lived before, and ſince his time, and therefore cannot be reſtricted to the curing of Temporal Diſeaſes in the days wherein he was on Earth, nay, not to the pardoning of the Sins of the Elect then living, there being many El…ct before and ſince comprehended in this his Satisfaction, which was moſt certainly a Satisfaction for the Sins of the Elect that were dead and to be born, as well as for the Sins of them that were then living.
2. For the meaning of the place, 1. We are not to look on Chriſt's curing of Sickneſſes and Diſeaſes, Matth. 8 16. as a proper fulfilling of this place, Iſa 52.4. but as many Scriptures are ſpoken by way of alluſion to other Scriprures, ſo is this; there is indeed ſome fulfilling of the one in the other, and ſome reſemblance betwixt the one and the other, and the reſemblance is this, even to ſhew Chriſts tenderneſs to the outward condition of Folks bodies, whereby he evidenced his tenderneſs and reſpect to the inward ſad condition of their immortal Souls whereinto they were brought through their Sin; the great thing aimed at by the Prophet. 2. If we conſider the Griefs and Sorrows that Chriſt bare and ſuffered complexly in their cauſe and eff…cts, he in healing of theſe Diſeaſes and Sickneſſes bare our Griefs and carried our Sorrows, becauſe when he took on our Debt, he took it on with all the conſequences of it; and ſo though Chriſt took on no Diſeaſe in his own Perſon, for we read not that he was ever ſick, yet in taking on the Debt in common of the Elect, he virtually took on all Sickneſſes and Diſeaſes, or what they ſuffered in all Diſeaſes or ſhould have ſuffered, he took it on together; and hereby he had a right, to ſpeak ſo, to the carrying of all Diſeaſes, and in carrying of them he had reſpect to the cauſe of them, to wit, Sin; therefore to ſuch as he cured, he ſays very often, Thy ſins be forgiven thee; he ſtudied to remove that in moſt of them he did deal with; and ſo looking on our Lord as taking on our Sins complexly with the cauſe, and as having a right to remove all the effects of Sin, evidencing it ſelf in the removing of theſe Diſeaſes whereof Sin was the cauſe, theſe words may be thus fulfilled; and ſo they are clear, and the Doctrine alſo; We have here no meer exemp…ary Saviour that hath done no more but confirmed his Doctrine, and given us a copy how to do and behave, but he hath really and actually born our Sorrows and Griefs, and removed our Debt, by undergoing the puniſhment due to us for Sin.
Obſerve here 1. That Sin, in no Fleſh, no, not in the Elect themſelves, is without Sorrow and Grief; Tribulation and Anguiſh are knit to it, or it hath theſe following on it; or take the Doctrine thus, Wherever there is Sin, there is the cauſe of much Sorrow and Grief; no more can the native cauſe be without the effect, then Sin can be without Sorrow and Grief, it's the plain aſſertion of Scripture. Rom. 2.8, 9. Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguiſh upon every ſoul of man that doth evil; which one place, putting the four words together ſays, 1. That there is Sorrow moſt certainly and inſeparably on every Soul that hath ſinned, And 2. That this Sorrow is exceeding great (which may alſo be the reaſon why this Sorrow is ſet out in two words in the Text) therefore four words are uſed by the Apoſtle to expreſs it: It's not our purpoſe here to diſpute, whether God in his Juſtice doth by neceſſity of Nature puniſh the Sinner: Theſe three things conſidered, will make out the Doctrine, which is, That there is a neceſſary connexion betwixt S…n and Sorrow, and that this Sorrow muſt needs be very great; 1. If we conſider the exceeding unſuitableneſs of Sin to the holy Law of God, and how it is a direct contrariety to that moſt pure and perfect Law. 2. If we conſider the perfectly holy Nature of God himſelf, The righteous Lord ſaith the P…almiſt, Pſal. 11.7. loveth righteouſneſs; and the Prophet Hab. 1.13. ſays, He is of purer eyes then that be can behold evil, and he cannot look upon iniquity; and though we need no… to diſpute Gods Soveraignty, yet it is clear that he is angry with the wicked every day, Pſal. 7.11. and he will by no means clear the guilty, Exod. 34.7. and tha… there is a greater ſuitableneſs in his inflicting Sorrow and Grief on a Sinner that walks contrary to him, then there is in ſhewing him Mercy; and there is a greater ſuitableneſs in his ſhewing Mercy to a humbled Sinner that is aiming to walk holily before him. 3. If we conſider the revealed will of God in the Threatning, who hath ſaid, the day thou eatest thou ſhalt ſurely die, we may ſay there is, as they ſpeak in the Schools, a hypothetick neceſſity of grief and ſorrow to follow on Sin, and that there is a neceſſary connexion betwixt them; and this may very well ſtand with the Mediator his coming in and interpoſing to take that Grief and Sorrow from off us, and to lay it on himſelf; but it was once ours becauſe of our Sin.
If it be aſk…d w…at Grief and Sorrow this is? We ſaid it's very great, and there is reaſon for it, for though our act of Sin. 1. As to the Subject that Sins, Man. And 2. As to the act of …in it ſelf, a ſinful thought word or deed that is ſoon gone, be finit; yet if we conſider Sin, 1. In reſpect of the object …gainſt whom, the infinite God. 2. In reſpect of the abſolute purity of Gods Law, a rule that bears ou… G…ds Image ſet down by infinite Wiſdom, and that may be ſome way called infinitely pure; and Sin as being againſt this pure rule that infinite Wiſdom hath ſet down; And 3. If we conſider it in no reſpect of its nature, every ſin being of this nature that though it cannot properly wrong the Majeſty of God, yet as to the intention of the thing, and even of the Sinner, it wrongs him; Sin in theſe reſpects may be called infinite, and the wrong done to the Majeſty of God thereby, may be called infinite; as theſe who built Babel, their intention in that work breathed forth infinite wrong to God, as having a direct tendency to bring them off from dependance on him; and ſo every Sin if it had its will and intent, would put God in ſubordination to it, and ſet it ſelf in his room, and therefore Sin in ſome reſpect as to the wrong againſt God is infinite.
2. Obſerve, That the real and very great Sorrow that the Sins of the Elect deſerved, our Lord Jeſus did realty and actually bear and ſuffer; as we have exponed the words and confirmed the expoſition given of them, ye have a clear confirmation of the Doctrine from them; 1. Griefs and Sorrows in the plural Number, ſhew intenſneſs of Sorrow and Grief. 2. That they are called ours, it ſhews our propriety in them, And 3. That it's ſaid Chriſt bare them; Theſe concur to prove the Doctrine; that the ſame Sorrow which the Sins of the Elect deſerved Chriſt bare; It not only ſays that our Lord bare Sorrows, but the ſame Sorrows that by the Sins of the Elect were due to them, and ſo there was a proportionableneſs betwixt the Sorrows that he bare, and the Sorrows they ſhould have endured; he took up the cup of Wrath that was filled for us, and that we would have been put to drink, and drank it out himſelf; ſuppoſe that our Lord had never died (as bleſſed be his Name, there is no ground to make the ſuppoſi…ion) the cup of S…rrow that the Elect would have drunken eternally, was the ſame cup that he drank our for them: It is true, we would diſtinguiſh betwixt theſe things that are eſſentially due to Sin as the puniſhment of it; and theſe things that are only accidentally due to it, the former Chriſt bare but not the latter; To clear both in a word or two, 1. Theſe things eſſentially due to Sin as neceſſarly included in the Threatning. The day thou eateſt thou ſhalt ſurely die; and in the curſe of the Law according to that, Curſed is every one that abides not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them, are Death and the Curſe, theſe are eſſentially the deſert of Sin; in which reſpect it was not only neceſſary that Chriſt ſhould become Man and …ffer, but that he ſhould ſuffer to death or ſh…uld die, and not only ſo, but that he ſhould die the curſed death of the Croſs, as the Threatning and Curſe put together hold out; and as to all theſe things that he underwent and met with before, and at his death, they were the accompliſhment of the Threatning due to us, and fulfilled in and by him in our room; ſo that as he himſelf ſaith, Luke 24.26. O fools and ſlow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have ſpoken, ought not Chriſt to have ſuffered theſe things and to have entered into his glory? therefore he behoved to be in an Agony, and to ſweat great drops of Blood, to be crucified and die, and to be laid in the Grave. 2. Theſe things which we call accidentally due to Sin, are mainly two, 1. That horrible deſperation of the damned in He…l, where they gnaw their tongues for pain and blaſpheme God; This we ſay is not properly and eſſentially the deſert of Sin, but only accidental; 1. In reſpect of the Creatures inability to bear the wrath that Sin deſerveth, and hence ariſeth not only a ſinleſs horrour which is natural, but a ſinful deſperation. 2. Add to this inability of the Creature, the enmity thereof, whereby it cometh to thwart with and contradict the will of God; hence the deſperation not only ariſeth but is increaſed: Now, our Lord Jeſus not being ſimply a Creature or a Man, but God and Man in one Perſon, he was able to bear the ſorrow and wrath due to the Elect for their Sin; and and there being no quarrel, nor ground of any quarrel betwixt God and him on his own account, though he had a natural and ſinleſs horrour at the cup of his Fathers diſpleaſure when put to his head; yet he had no ſinful deſperation. The 2d. thing accidentally due to Sin, is the eternal duration of Wrath or of the Curſe, becauſe the Sinner being a meer Creature, cannot at one ſhoke meet with the infinite Wrath of God, and ſatisfie Juſtice at once, therefore the Lord hath in his Wiſdom and Juſtice found out a way of ſupporting the Creature in its beeing, and continuing it for ever under wrath, becauſe it cannot, being finit, ſatisfie infinite Juſtice: But our Lord being God and Man, being of infinite worth or value, and of infinite ſtrength, was alſo to ſatisfie Juſtice, and bear at once, that which the El…ct could never have born; yet he had the eſſentials of that which ſin deſerved, to wit, death and the curſe to meet with, and did actually meet with them, as the hiding of his Fathers face, and the ſuſpending and keeping back of that conſolation, that by vertue of the perſonal union flowed from the God-head to the Man-head; And he alſo had the actual ſenſe and feeling of the wrath of God, the awaked Sword of the Juſtice of God actually ſmiting him; ſo that men wondered how he could be dead ſo ſoon. We ſhall only add a word or two of reaſons for clearing and confirming the Doctrine; and for proof of it, theſe three things concur, 1. That ſins deſerving by God's appointment, is to have ſorrow following on it. 2 That by God's appointment according to the Covenant of Redemption, the Son of God undertook that ſame very debt that was due by the Elect. And 3. That it was God's deſign not to paſs one of their ſins without ſatisfaction made to Juſtice, but to put at the Cautioner for them all; for the declaration of the riches and glory of the free grace of God when the ſinner is liberat, and not put to pay; An… for the declaration of the holy ſeverity and juſtice of God, when not one farthing is owing, but the Cautioner muſt needs pay it, and that both theſe meeting together, there may be to all generations a ſtanding and ſhining evidence of the unſearchable riches both of Gods Grace and of his Juſtice.
This is a ſweet Doctrine, and hath many maſſie, ſubſtantial, and ſoul refreſhing uſes: Out of this eater comes meat, and out of the ſtrong comes ſweet; This being the very marrow of the Goſpel, holding out not only Chriſts ſufferings, but that he ſuffered not at randome or by gueſs, but that he ſuffered the ſorrows and griefs that we ſhould have ſuffered; and though the equivalent might have been received, yet he would needs undergo the ſame ſufferings in their eſſentials: Which may exceedingly confirm the Faith and Hope of believers in him, of their exemption and freedom from the wrath and curſe of God, ſeing he ſuffered the ſame that they ſhould have ſuffered, had not he interpoſed betwixt them and it as their Cautioner and Surety.
Uſe 1. Hereby we may know what an evil and bitter thing ſin is that hath ſuch effects; Would God we could once prevail this far with you, as to make you take up and believe, that ſin hath ſorrow and grief inſeparably knit to it, and that the ſinner is miſerable and liable to death, and to the curſe of God, and there is no difference but this, that ſinners are inſenſible how miſerable they are, and ſo in greater capacity to be made obnoxious to that miſery; Do ye mind this, O ſinners, that God is angry with you every day? That indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguiſh is to every ſoul of man that does evil? That God will by no means clear the guilty? Tremble to think upon it; Many of you paſs as gay honeſt folks who will be found in this Roll: And would ye know your condition, and the hazard that ye run? It's of wrath and of the curſe of God eternally with deſperation and blaſphemy; And if that be miſery, ſin is miſery, or brings it; And the day comes when there ſhall be a ſtorm from Heaven of Fire and Thunder; that will melt the Elements above you, and not leave a ſtone upon a ſtone of theſe ſtately buildings on earrh about you; in which day ſinners will be confirmed in the belief of this truth, That it is an evil and bitter thing to depart from the living God.
To preſs this Uſe a little; There are two ſorts of ſinners, who, if they would ſoberly let the truth of this Doctrine ſink in their minds, they would ſee their folly: The 1. ſort are theſe who…ly quietly under bygone guilt unrepented of, as if the ſorrow were paſt, bec…uſe the Act is ſo; but think not ſo, will the juſt God av…nge ſin on his Son, and will he let it paſs in you? Ye that will grant ye are ſinners, and are under convictions of ſin, ye had need to take heed what is following it; As ye treaſure up ſin, ye are treaſuring up wrath againſt the day of wrath; O! wrath is a heaping up in ſtore for you. A 2. ſort are theſe that go on in ſin whatever be ſaid to the effects of it; and will confidently put their hand to it, as if there were no ſting in it at all, and drink it over as ſo much ſweet liquor, but of theſe ſtoln drinks that ſeem ſweet in ſecreet, will be vomited up again with pain, torment and ſorrow; and either it ſhall be grief and ſorrow to you in the way of repentance, or eternal grief and ſorrow when the cup of Gods wrath ſhall be put in your hand, and held to your head for evermore.
Uſe 2. By this ye may ſee a neceſſity of making uſe of the Mediator Chriſt Jeſus; It's Gods great mercy that he hath given a Mediator, and that the Mediator is come, and that he hath taken on our debt: What had been our eternal periſhing and wallowing in Hells torments with Devils, to his ſufferings? Alwayes this Doctrine ſaith that there is a neceſſity of making uſe of him, and receiving of him; And therefore either reſolve to meet with this ſorrow in your own perſons, or betake you to him, that by his interpoſing it may be kept off you; Weigh theſe two, that ſorrow, death, and the curſe, neceſſarily follow ſin; And that Jeſus Chriſt h…th died and undergone that curſe for elect ſinners, and then ye will ſee a neceſſity of being found in him, that ye may be free of the curſe; Which made Paul make that choiſe, Philip. 3 8, 9, I count all things dung that I may win Chriſt, and be found in him. Oft-times the allurements of the Goſpel prevail not to bring ſinners to Chri…t, but if it's allurements do not prevail, will not the conſideration of the vengeance of God perſwade you? However in theſe two Doctrines ye have in ſum this, the curſe of God following ſin, and a free and full Saviour holden out to you, by whom ye may evi…e the curſe; ye are invited …o make him welcome; Chooſe you, death and life are ſet before you, whereby you are put to it whether ye will adventure to meet with the curſe, or to make him welcome; Now God himſelf make you wiſe to make the right choiſe.