it is added and they talked of his decease His whole life was a life of sorrows Faith in his blood doth not exclude his obedience and other parts of his sufferings but all are comprehended under this most eminent part which was most grievous and painful to body and soul 1. His Body What torments did that endure What scourgings piercings and the exquisiteness of his bodily temperature and constitution would augment his torture He had not dulled and blunted his spirits and sense by intemperance 2. His Soul What punishment of sense was there on his Soul in his Agony in the Garden when he sweat as it were clods of blood and complained My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death and an Angel was fain to comfort him when he cryed Father if it be possible let this cup pass sure there were some dregs some gall and wormwood in his cup. What punishment of loss when he cryed out Why hast thou for saken me We hid as it were our faces from him saith the Prophet but this was a small matter in comparison of God's hiding his face His Disciples forsook him but he complains not of their forsaking but why hast thou forsaken me If it be asked What need of soul-suffering soul-trouble was not bodily enough It is answered already God would have sufferings as near the same threatned as could be would dispense as little with the Law as might be How are the Socinians here upon the rack when to give an account of his crying out and discomposure beyond the ordinary rate of Martyrs for they shouted and triumphed since they maintain he suffered no otherwise and on no other account than they did only to attest the truth and leave us an example of patience They make his groaning heavier than his strokes if he had no more of bitterness in his Cup than they 2. A shameful death God set him forth to a publick notorious shameful death that he might be just c. It was at a solemn time the Passover when the Jews were come from all parts of the Land and Proselytes and others from remote parts of the World and at the most publike place Jerusalem Then and there the God of Heaven was spit on stripped and whipt naked in the sight of the multitude crucified before all Israel and in the sight of the Sun All Nations have as it were by consent agreed that hanging on a tree crucifying should be the most contemptible death of the vilâ—st of Creatures and vilest of men Whom you sâ—â—w and Acts 5. 20 hanged on a tree the emphasis of the shame is hanged on a tree So endured the Cross and despising the shame It is a shame for a King â—o suffer an ignominious death how much more for God He suffered as a Malefactor as a Traytor against Caesar his Prince as a Blasphemer of his God as a Deceiver and Impostor Yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted We that is the generality of the people esteemed him as one smitten for his own sins justly condemned for his own sins and so far from taking away condemnation from others He was numbred with transgressors accounted a wicked person suffered with thieves as being accounted the fittest companion for them To live with iâ—famy is accounted worse than death What is it then to dye with infamy Many men could with less regret bear the pain of hanging than the shame of it He is insulted over in his miseries nothing is so intolerable as shame to noble ingenuous spirits He is scoffed at in all his Offices as Priest He saved others himself he cannot save As Prophet Prophesie unto us who smoâ—e thee This Deceiver c. As King Hail King of the Jews I am the reproach of men Psal 22 6 and despised of the people was spoken not without cause of him in the type 3. Cursed death that God might be just c. I must not leave this out though I have an averseness to speak of things I do not well understand And I must confess that I do not so clearly understand as I do other things what is meant by Curse distinct from pain and shame But I will tell you my thoughts of it As Benedictio blessing as Amiraldus saith seemeth to be the solemn declaration of the good will of one superiour in Power and Dignity The Heb. 7. 7. less is blessed of the greater So Maledictio 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seemeth to be nothing else but a solemn declaration of the anger and displeasure of the Rector and higher Powers So that every death that carrieth in it the tokens and marks of the displeasure of the higher Powers may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a curse This is it that it be inflicted by the King for a fault and therefore a death of hanging on a Tree which is inflicted for a fault by the authority of the Higher Powers being a painful and especially a shameful death wherein the chief of punishment consists is accounted a Curse by the consent of Nations That Curse which the Apostle alludeth to seemeth to be only some Gal. 3. 10. ceremonial Curse which was pronounced Dâ—ut 21. 23. on every one that hanged on a tree I suppose whether rightfully or wrongfully hanged such a carkass was to be shunned in a special manner and not to be buried with ordinary burial it may be And this Ceremonial Curse was by the wise foreseeing Providence of God pronounced on every one hanging on a Tree that it might be typical of Christ being cursed with another kind of curse in being hanged on a tree with a moral Curse the Curse of the Moral Law which was due to sinners Cursed is he that continues not in all things written in the Law What a Curse did he bear in being made a curse for us What millions of Talents of vengeance were in his cup All the curses written in the Book of the Law in a sense fell on him he was made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 piaculum The Son of God's dearest love became the subject of his Rectoral displeasure for us children of wrath that we might becom objects of his favour 4. An undeserved death of his own as for any fault That God c. No guile was in his mouth The Lamb without spot in all things like us yet without sin holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners By his knowledg shall my righteous servant justifie many And the stress is laid here in righteous He who knew no sin was made sin for us He was not like the High Priest who was first to offer for himself and then for the people Therefore God ordained him to be born of a Virgin by the Holy Ghost that he Isa 53. 4 5. might be without sin These seem to be opposed We did esteem him smitten of God and afflicted that is smitten as an offender for his own faults as being so far from taking away the curse from us that
of compensation and expiation in their stead What possible reason can be given why no Sacrifices were to be offered for them that were to be taken away out of the land of the living 3. Now Christ is called our Sacrifice Walk in love as Christ also hath Eph. 5. 2. loved us and hath given himself for us an Offering and Sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour He alludeth to the expression of the Old Testament where God is said to smell a sweet savour or a savour of rest in their Sacrifices He is called as was said before Gen. 8. 21 Lev. 1. 9. by the name of his own Types Lamb without spot Behold the Lamb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lamb of God the eminent Lamb the true propitiatory Lamb indeed that did that in reality which others but represented that did really take away and expiate the sins of the World So he is called our Passeover I will here answer two Objections more before I pass to another general head Object But can one satisfie himself Christ was God and so the party offended as well as Man Answ Passing by what may colourably be said upon consideration of the distinctions of Persons I answer 1. Do we not read of God reconciling the World to himself God was 2 Cor. 5. 19. the Agent in it and this he could not do but by finding out some way to satisfie and propitiate himself that he might not impute their sins 2. Did not Zaleucus in part help to satisfie his own Law by his own suffering losing one of his own eyes as we heard in the story fore-mentioned And this is not accounted an imprudent act but commended highly by the Authors that relate it as a worthy noble act and expedient and I told you we have only one thing to object against it which cannot be objected here 3. Tell me O vain dark man that wouldst teach God that repliest against God What way was there else possible Think a little on that What way so ever you will propound as suppose of less satisfaction by some meer creature or no satisfaction you may see the reason why you like it better is because you have not the hatred of Sin and love of Holiness and care of Law and Justice that God hath nor indeed such as you ought to have or else you must say You would have had God suffer Mankind remedilesly to perish and then it is because you have not that love to Mankind that God and Christ had And this last is the most seeming rational ground of our offence and surely we will easily be prejudiced against and offended with what God doth when God displeaseth us because he did not leave us irrecoverably to perish without remedy O curvae in terris animae caelestium manes O the crooked mind ef dark man Object But some have objected It is impossible one cannot suffer for another I have already answered what can be objected about the injustice but here the impossibility is objected Answ 1. God's ways are above our ways and understandings Shall we say that is impossible which he hath said he hath done because we cannot understand it 2. It is not oriously possible God's forbidding Men to punish one for another argueth the thing possible he would not forbid impossible things The Heathens knew it very possible we may see by their offering up the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul 3. It is so highly possible that it hath been and is common amongst Men. How common is the translation of punishment from one to another as in Hostages and men undertaking to bring out the offender liable to the mulct of the offender Solomon writeth much about avoiding suretiship because the debter failing he must pay Which takes it for granted as a thing common 4. If the Papists who yet would not be accounted Socinians and many of them are not should scoff at this doctrine of Justification by Christ's Righteousness and Satisfaction as absurd impossible as some of them do you may tell them how shamefully they contradict themselves and grant it eminently possible by their proclaiming a Justification by the merits and sufferings of Saints Saint Francis his Wounds and Becket's Blood yea the Virgin 's Milk will justifie Men yea the scourgings and severities and good deeds of Men of their religious Orders will so stand Men in stead as if they had done those things themselvs And yet some of them can make little or nothing of Christ's Death 5. To declare his Righteousness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to declare plainly his Righteousness There is such a rectitude in God's Nature as causeth him to hate sin and inclineth him to punish it and this natural justice inclineth him to punish fin in the person that commits it but yet not as fire burneth that cannot do otherwise but this inclination or this which we must conceive as analogical to an inclination is subject to his wisdom and orderable by it And this Oeconomy or dispensation concerning a Satisfaction was as Governour and Rector of the world that he might not dishonour Himself in pardoning to secure the glory of his Justice which would otherwise have been aspersed by sins impunity and to please himself in displaying the glory of his Attributes God is just and this was an act of justice governing justice to declare at this time c. We are prone to think that this time of the Gospel was only a time of love grace and compassion to sinners but we see it was also a time of Demonstration of Justice of the strictest justice and most inflexible holiness and hatred of sin He hereby sheweth how little he respecteth persons that if the dearest Son of his love will intercede undertake for the pardon of sinners He shall pay dear for it Here is inexorable Justice indeed There were indeed former demonstrations of God's justice in the Destruction of the Old World Overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Babylonian Captivity but never any like this at this time to vindicate his injured Law and Honour before Men and Angels It is natural to God to have a regard to himself to his own honour and concernment that he make not himseif contemptible slighted as a patron of sin or no great en 〈…〉 to it And as Rector it beho 〈…〉 assert his Majesty and keep up the repute of his Law and Government How unworthy is it of a Rector by impunity and indulgence to seem to have a confederacy with the breakers of his Law Though he pardon offenders yet it must be in such a way as there may be no ground of suspition as if he was pleased with sin become such a one as themselves or not highly displeased with the violators of his Law it must be upon dreadfully-awing honourable terms What can you imagin Christ's Death was a compensation for or a satisfaction unto but to those high and glorious Attributes of his
of things and I hope you will easily be convinced what are the terms 1. There are the same terms and conditions of Justification and of Salvation Whatsoever is the condition of the one is also of the other For the Apostle argueth in the same manner against salvation by works as justification by works Yea it is apparent in the nature of the thing for Justification passively taken as I told you before is nothing else but right to salvation and we need no more for Heaven than right to it Do but get and keep right to Heaven which is Justification and we need no more on our part As for possession that is God's work by his Angels carrying away souls raising bodies Many worthy men have said That Repentance sincere Obedience are only for Possession and not for Right But we are not to work for Possession at all we need not get upon a Hill when about to dye to save the Angels a labour of carrying our souls too far Do but get and keep Right and to deny Possession to us if we have right to it by Promise would be unfaithfulness in God which we need not to fear Therefore if you will grant that all the things I have spoken of are required necessary to salvation then they are also to justification Only still it is here as in all other things of like nature Consent hearty consent to the Gospel-terms immediately instateth us in Justification and right to Heaven But if we would have continuance of our Justification and right to Heaven we must continue to consent to those terms as to the sincerity of our hearts and endeavours else we should lose our Justification and right to Heaven and the reason why we cease not to be justified is because God keeps us from departing from him by keeping in us care and watchfulness Thus we see whatsoever we may lawfully do for Salvation the same we may lawfully do for Justification 2. Whatsoever duty there is that if we do not we should have no right to salvation or justification that is a condition of our salvation and justification It is too common a saying and a great upholder of the Antinomian way Do but believe say some and by believing they do not mean as I do the whole of Christianity but some one act as believing my sins are pardoned or reliance or accepting Christ for my Saviour and such acts as accepting Christ for Lord and sincere obedience will follow but they are not conditions of Justification and Salvation but put that one act and they will naturally and inevitably follow But ask them Suppose they do not follow They will answer You must not suppose it they will for they dare not ordinarily say That if they do not follow it you will yet have right to Heaven I will shew you the vanity of such talk This is virtually to say God never made promise to these as conditions never suspended salvation on them but they will follow faith naturally This is to say Godliness hath not the promise of this life or however not of that to come else it would be a condition of the promise The instance that is usually brought of it is this There cannot be a seeing-eye without the body yet it is the eye that only sees So Faith only is the Condition only attains right but cannot be without works Now I will bring this to make it like the case in hand Suppose one promise you such a reward if you bring him and give him the seeing eye of such a Beast we are sure if the meaning be according to the words you would have right to the reward if you brought him a seeing-eye without the body though indeed you cannot yet we are sure if you did you would have right and he would be unjust in denying you the reward though you brought not the body And on the contrary Suppose we be sure this is a truth If you should bring him a seeing-eye it would not attain right without the body Then we are equally sure that we mistook his words or meaning he spake synecdochically for then it is equally a condition that the body be brought as that the seeing-eye be brought and it is equally influential into right for come to those things that do naturally and universally accompany and follow one another and where but one of them is made the condition and the other not the absence of that which is not a condition would no way hinder right and so not right to Justification and Salvation If a man become a Christian indeed it naturally and inevitably follows he shall be hated of wicked men but God never suspending Justification and Salvation upon it never making this a Condition we may truly say If a man be a sincere Christian it would not hinder his justification and salvation though the wicked did not hate him So if it be true that a man cannot be a true Christian but he must eat drink and breathe these are natural Concomitants yet these not being made Conditions though he did never eat drink nor breathe he shall be saved If you can say of any Grace or any measure of Grace as Assurance or Joy That it is not necessary to justification and salvation Then only you may say They are not Conditions of these If any one beloved sin knowingly and wilfully continued in would hinder a man's pardon justification or right to Heaven then a sincere desire and endeavour according to his ability to get rid of that beloved sin is a Condition of his Pardon and Justification 3. All Conditions of Justification and Salvation are equally Conditions equally influential into right If only an accident or mode of a thing be made a Condition with the thing it is equally a Condition with the thing it self If one promise to bring me a white Horse and you shall have such a reward It is equally a condition and as much influential into right that it be White as that it be a Horse so in any instance you can bring either in fact or fiction If I promise something upon condition you bring me a Hundred and you bring only Ninety-nine you have no more right than if you brought none and the odd one is as much a Condition as Ninety-nine If any shall say The Condition is a working Faith then that it be working is equally a Condition and equally influential into right as that it be Faith 4. There is no such thing as receiving Righteousness or Justification or Pardon Many make this their great strong hold Repentance and sincere Obedience are not receptive receiving Graces as Faith is and so cannot receive Justification and Righteousness Now this falls for there is no act of receiving these Justification Right to Heaven Righteousness cometh on Men. The free gift came upon all to justification As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation As condemnation cometh upon men without any act of receiving it
righteously to punish offences and not to let things run at random And God is not to be considered as a private person that pardoneth as a party offended or as a Creditor that parteth with his own right but as the publick Judg and Governour of the World who is by taking this place upon him engaged to judg and rule righteously and to render to men according to their works There is a wide difference between Pecuniary debts which one forgives as a private man or injuries done to a man in particular which he forgives as a private man and Criminal offences against Law and Government A Magistrate being also in another respect a private man having a private interest of his own may as other men forgive things which belong to his profit as Debts and may forgive injuries and affronts done to him so far as they prejudice his private Interest But he may not justly however ordinarily forgive things which belong to his Office and Duty incumbent on him as Governour to punish in vindictive Justice for hereby he would be wanting in his duty and also guilty of violating the authority of his own Law and Rule and of undoing of the Commonwealth by lenity and indulgence I know a Rector or Governour may in some cases dispense with and not execute his Law For sometimes Laws are unjustly made sometime about low petty matters that do not much concern the Common-weal to have them executed sometime it would tend to the destruction of the Community to execute them though not unwisely made at first and sometime he wants power to execute them the offenders being too numerous or too potent and so it may be his duty to pardon and dispense with the penalty without any more ado e. g. Saul intentionally made a good Law threatned death to any that should eat before the evening that he might obtain the greater conquest over his flying Enemies Jonathan his Son transgresseth it Saul resolves to execute the Law the people hinder him and rescue Jonathan now Saul could not execute the Law for want of strength for the people are the strength of the King And there seemeth to be much reason in what Jonathan said It was an ill Law and proved a hinderance to the slaughter of his enemies and in what the people plead to wit That he might well dispence with this Law as to Jonathan because he had wrought with God that day a great salvation There was indeed such a deed done by him that day such a high meritorious act as would amount to a partial if not a total satisfaction So that it would not much weaken Government encourage Offendors take off from the repute of Saul's Rectoral Justice to pardon one in such a circumstance But a Rector cannot without injustice ordinarily and in weighty causes dispense with his Laws since it would be To be wanting to his duty and it would certainly tend to the debauching and ruin of the Community by breaking the reins of Government and encouraging Offenders It is ordinarily as much the duty of the supream Magistrate to execute good Laws or some way to keep them sacred and honourable as it is to make good Laws for both duties are built upon the same foundation Who will say That Parents may justly lawfully and honestly cast off all care of correcting their Children for their faults and leave all things to their wills This would be not so much a parting with their right as the Objection speaks as a ceasing from and being wanting in their duty and office and God's Rectorship and Government is to be conceived of by us analogically to an Office 2. Hence learn the Excellency and Satisfactoriness of the Christian Religion and our great felicity in living in these last days and shiningdays of the Son of Man wherein the Earth is and hath been filled with the glory of the Grace and Mercy and of the Justice and Holiness of God in comparison of former days The Christian Religion discovers plainly to us that which the Heathens were fearfully bewildred about They had Convictions of sin and terrors and consternations of mind for sin and fearful lookings for of judgment and fiery indignation They knew that they that did such things as they did were worthy of death they saw need of Rom. 1. 31 attoning God need of an Expiation and some of them saw the blood of Bulls and Goats could not take away sin Some offered not knowing what they did the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul when they might be flying and hovering about in their meditations and enquiries after these things like Noah's Dove and find no rest We have this safe Ark of the Righteousness and Satisfaction of Christ discovered and opened to us where there is Rest for the sole of the foot of our souls When their soul drew near to the grave and their life to the Destroyer they had none to tell them of such a Righteousness such a Ransome The Heathens had indeed some obscure wavering knowledg of this fundamental Article of Religion the Remission of sins partly by Tradition which in ancient times was more convincing in after and corrupter days more obscure and doubtful partly by the Law of Nature in the Book of Providence seeing the goodness and benignity of God to them notwithstanding their great provocations they might and did thence waveringly gather That God was merciful and would be found in mercy of them that did turn and seek him diligently He left not himself without witness in that he did them good and gave them rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons filling their hearts with food and gladness and this was that Acts 14. 17. 17. 27. they should seek the Lord if haply they might feel after him and find him But this knowledg was so weakned by the contrary arguments that militate against it That that very deep apprehension of God's Holiness and Justice and those very consternations of mind for sins which were likely to conduce in working this repentance and reformation would be very apt much to weaken if not almost to blot out this notion That there was hope for them and forgiveness with him that he might be served and feared That it is no wonder if it was ineffectual to work this change and these diligent enquiries after God and that Salvation which they were not fully sure was attainable though yet it was their hainous sin and high irrationality and madness not thus to seek him though to the undoing of themselves in this life upon these probabilities and half-promises if haply and it may be if we turn we shall live and this will be their greatest condemnation It is no wonder if never any did sincerely and thoroughly turn from sin to God amongst them since Tradition was quite worn out or rendred suspicious and unconvincing without some supernatural Revelation as by the Prophets and their Writings I say since Tradition lost or corrupted for in
For this Holiness they have in a more glorious manner than our Christ within us our imperfect holiness can present to their view This was not that Christ crucified that the Apostle did so prize the knowledg of And this work of Grace could never have been within us had it not been for a Christ without us and had it been within us yet it would never have been available to Salvation or Justification but for the Christ without us There is no blood no satisfaction in this Christ within us nothing but what would have been esteemed by God and is in reality as menstruous rags in respect of attaining Justification without this work of Christ without us upon the Cross And yet these would make Grace should I say I rather say Morality and Civility yea to speak truly of some of them Incivility and Discourtesie their righteousness though it be a Gospel-command to be courteous These delight so little in our Christ without us that it is with much difficulty that they will confess Christ come and crucified in the flesh if indeed they will confess it for-some shrink at such a question and would fain put it off And I dare say That any of you that ever heard them talk can bear witness that they speak not as men delighting in or making any account of this Propitiation Ransom c. Cursed are they that love not our Lord Jesus These honour not God The honour that cometh to God by works of Creation and Providence is counted as no honour in comparison of the honour that comes to him by this Redemption therefore it is said He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father God accounteth all honour as no honour in comparison of this Hence we read Ephes 3. ult Vnto him be glory in the Church by Jesus Christ Phil. 1. 11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God And Spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ And in Heaven the loudest and highest praises will be upon this account Worthy is the Lamb to receive honour c. These seeking to establish their own righteousness make void the righteousness of God through their ignorance of the righteousness of God Wonderful that ever the Devil should so bewitch people that ever the God of this world should so far blind men's eyes that ever he should so prevail with this device to work Christianity out of men's hearts so as to make them renounce the Christian Religion under pretence of high Christianity to look on Christ as a carnal Christ or the blood of Christ as a common or unholy thing on our Redeemer whom all Christians venerate and adore as a low nothing and to call his faithful Ministers Lyers and Deceivers But study you these things that you may admire Christ for he is and is to be admired in and of all his people Here is not such obscurity as to discourage your endeavoâ—rs nor such facility as to occasion your contempt You may easily see enough to admire all your days and yet still you are to learn It may be said to them of the highest form Go and learn what it means what Christ crucified means Here is a riddle of Mercy a riddle of Wisdom a riddle of Justice Christ is called Wonderful He is so in his Natures Offices Death Let these things be much in your mind It is like his complaint Diem perdidi I have lost a day to have cause to say I have lived another day and have not had a serious thought of Christ and his Death Do this in remembrance of me Look upon him whom we have pierced Study the reasons and ends of his sorrows and sufferings He dyed not as a fool dieth it was for some great End and this end must not be frustrated Wo to us if it be as to us This knowledg would be better to us than our daily bread this study is more necessary than our appointed food Is there but one Medicine in the World to heal us and will you not learn it study it and the use and virtue of it and how to apply it by Meditation that it may have its diversity of effects upon us St. Paul desired to know nothing but Christ and him crucified And Peter's last words of Exhortation in his last Epistle are Grow in grace and in the knowledg of our Lord Jesus And acting our faith and knowledg of these things by Meditation would be hugely influential to work and encrease Grace Come to other knowledg and he that encreaseth knowledg encreaseth grief and sorrow but he that encreaseth in this knowledg and is suitably affected with it layeth a foundation for perfect peace quietness and assurance for ever Let Ministers study this more and so preach this more I desire to know nothing among you that is to know so as to preach nothing among you save Christ and him crucified Preach not your selves but Christ Vse much plainness of speech Preach not like Moses with a vail on your face Let not people live and dye in ignorance of Christ if you can help it Discover all to sinners Let them see the Lord their Righteousness Now in studying and contemplating these things Admire 1. Admire the Justice of God Never was such Justice heard of since the world began Justice in a Mystery He spared not his Son that he might spare Sinners He hardned his heart against the cry of his Son that he might opeu his heart to the cry of Sinners Behold how he not only loved us but hated sin The dreadful instances of man cast out of Paradise the drowning of the World the destruction of Jerusalem the reservation of the faln Angels in horror and darkness are fearful Monuments of God's hatred of sin But here Justice and Holiness shine as the Sun in the Firmament When his beloved Son stood in the place and stead of Sinners he must dye such a shameful painful accursed death Surely had there been any respect of persons with God could Justice have been perverted and drawn aside with any considerations his only beloved Son should have escaped Here is inexorable Justice inflexible Justice This declared his Righteousness indeed that he would not spare Sin but punish it though on his innocent Son Here is infinite Justice fear it dread it Make this God thy fear and thy dread 2. Admire the love of the Father and the Son The Father Bless God for this Propitiation How dreadful was our condition How if Justice had taken thee by the throat and said Pay me what thou owest thou couldst not have reply'd Have patience with me and I will pay thee all God lays great engagements upon us in causing his Sun to shine in giving rain and fruitful seasons in making provision for our bodies but that which should endear him most to the world and should occasion our highest praises should be the providing a Righteousness for our souls Oh that
which I never saw or heard endeavoured to be answered except by the Pope as I said and therefore I shall be the more large in answering of it and thus it lies We are sure that God's becoming man was more than if all the men in the world had ceased to be and then on the other hand God was not so prodigal of his Sons blood as to have poured it all out if one drop would have served the turn and answered the ends of Satisfaction for which it was shed Ans I shall answer it plainly in these few Propositions 1. Christ's Sufferings were not proper solution a payment of the same but a satisfaction a refusable though valuable consideration His Sufferings were not an execution of the Law or Threat but a Satisfaction that it might not be executed See this more fully explained afterward 2. Satisfaction consists not in indivisibili in a Mathematical point that we can say Just so much is just and no more 3. Satisfactions being refusable payments one may require more than a valuable consideration without any injustice yea as much more as wisdom seems meet If some useful member in a Commonwealth as a man fit for a General should commit some crime which he is to be banished for by the Laws of the Land and some Noble-man should intercede to the Rector the King and offer himself to be whipped through the City to save this mans banishment here though the whipping of a Nobleman be a greater matter intrinsically and of greater value yet if he to keep up Law and Justice should refuse to accept of this offer here is nothing of injustice yea suppose five Nobles should then offer themselves to be used in like manner there is no injustice if he should say I will not pardon him except ten Nobles will be thus treated to save his banishment Here is nothing of injustice because it is only a Satisfaction it is refusable and he may refuse in infinitum though a thousand should thus offer themselves 4. Those are more honourable Satisfactions and do more answer the ends of Satisfactions that are of greater value than the penalty it self the greater the Satisfaction is it doth by so much the more speak inexorable Justice and shew how little ground offenders have for the future to expect pardon and impunity 5. Those are more honourable Satisfactions caeteris paribus that keep as near as may be to the penalty threatned by the Law because they represent the penalty more lively and call it to mind more effectually As if the Noble-man himself should be banished to save the others banishment rather than be scourged or pay money The known story of Zaleucus is worth relating here This Zaleucus was King of the Locrians and he designing the welfare and reformation of his people makes many good Laws amongst which this was one That whosoever should commit Adultery should lose both his eyes The Prince and Heir apparent was found guilty the King resolves to execute the Law on his Son the people intercede in his behalf and no doubt would shew him a great necessity of dispensing with the Law it would damage the Commonwealth to have his Successor blind At last overcome with their importunities he finds out this expedient to keep up Law and Government he put out one of his own and one of his Son's eyes Suppose Zaleucus had cut off both his own arms or had put out out one of his Son's eyes and cut off his own right hand it would wonderfully have declared inexorable Justice and they would have had little ground to have upbraided him with partiality for there was some necessity to dispense with the Law and it was done upon a dreadfully awing consideration and his Subjects would have had very little encouragement to transgress in hope of relaxation of his Law for the future But yet it more kept up the repute of the Law when he did keep so near the very penalty of it self Here were exacted two eyes his own and Son 's This is Answer enough to this Question God though he could for the reasons formerly mentioned admit of change of persons yet he thought it not good in wisdom to admit change of penalties or however as little a change as was necessary for the main ends that we might be saved and Christ overcome death and be compleatly a Redeemer Death was threatned and Death shall be inflicted and without blood there shall be no remission Yea Soul-death was threatned and shall for some time be inflicted and if man could not see Soul-suffering yet Angels might yea and men might in some measure by his crying out by his sweating of clods of blood and by his telling us of it and God atâ—esting whatever he testified by Miracles So that whatever intrinsecal value a little penalty inflicted on Christ might be of which I have you see freely granted yet God made account that a little penalty inflicted on Christ would not be enough to declare his righteousness but would have some great and wonderful sufferings to awe the World Men and Angels to declare his hatred of sin and how difficulty he obtained of himself to dispense with his Law and how little hope transgressors may have of impunity that shall make their condition hopeless the second time by refusing Christ and Mercy God would have satisfaction to the purpose plenteous redemption a plenteous price of redemption good measure pressed down shaken together and running over You see there is no inconveniency in saying He hath received at the Lord Christ's hand double for all our sins God will magnifie his Law and make it honourable for his righteousness sake saith the Prophet He means I suppose Isa 42 2â— in the punishing of transgressors and indeed God hath magnified his Law and made it honourable in this way of pardoning transgressors All the Earth should be filled and resound with the glory of this Justice Thus you see this part He set him forth to dye And under this head I will set before you these six Qualifications or Modifications of his death 1. He dyed a grievous painful death that God might be just c. His whole life was indeed a continued suffering of God a continued abasement It is observed we read of his weeping but never of his laughing This I know doth not prove he never did laugh and suppose it did it would not prove it unlawful for us for what was the power and faculty given for If for use we are sure it was not to laugh at spiritual things It may be he never did laugh it is possible that never 〈◊〉 was seen on that face that was tâ— be the cause of our joy laughter and cheerfulness He was ever and anon thinking of the bitter Cup he was to drink for our health One of the bravest days that ever he saw in the days of his servitude was the Transfiguration day when Moses and Elias appeared with him in Glory yet then