ward man. What refreshments had Chrift in this world; but fuch as came immediately from his Father, or those holy ones now scattered from him? In one day he lofeth both heavenly and earthly comforts. Now, as God dealt by Christ, he may, at one time or other, deal with his people. You have your comforts from heaven; so had Chrift, in a fuller measure than ever you had, or can have. He had comforts from his little flock; you have your comforts from the fociety of the faints, the ordinances of God, comfortable relations, &c. Yet none of these are so firmly fettled upon you, but you may be left deftitute of them all in one day. God did take all comfort from Chrift, both outward and inward; and are you greater than he? God fometimes takes outward, and leaves inward comfort; fometimes he takes inward, and leaves outward comfort: but the time may come, when God may ftrip you of both.

This was the cafe of Job, a favourite of God, who was blessed with outward and inward comforts: yet a time came when God ftripped him of all, and made him poor to a proverb, as to alloutward comfort; and the venom of his arrows drank up his fpirit,

and the inward comfors thereof./

Should the Lord deal thus with any of you, how seasonable and relieving will the following confiderations be?

First, Though the Lord deal thus with you, yet this is no new thing; he hath fo dealt with others, yea, with Jefus Chrift that was his fellow. If thefe things were done in the green tree, in him that never deferved it for any fin of his own, how little reafon have we to complain? Nay,

Secondly, Therefore did this befal Jesus Christ before you, that the like condition might be fanctified to you, when you shall be brought into it. For therefore did Jefus Christ pass through fuch varieties of conditions, on purpose that he might take away the curfe, and leave a bleffing in thofe conditions, against the time that you should come into them. Moreover,

Thirdly, Though inward comforts and outward comforts were both removed from Christ, in one day, yet he wanted not fupport in the absence of both. How relieving a confideration is this! John xvi. 32. "Behold, (faith he) the hour cometh, yea, "is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, " and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the "Father is with me." With me by way of fupport, when not by way of comfort. Thy God, Christian, can in like manner fupport thee, when all fenfible comforts fhrink away together from thy foul and body in one day.

Laftly, It deferves a remark, that this comfortless forfaken con

SERM. XXIX. dition of Chrift, immediately preceded the day of his greatest glory and comfort. Naturalifts obferve, the greatest darkness is a little before the dawning of the morning. It was fo with Chrift, it may be fo with thee. It was but a little while and he had better company than theirs that forfook him. Act therefore your faith upon this, that the most glorious light ufually follows the thickest darkness. The louder your groans are now, the louder your triumphs hereafter will be. The horror of your prefent, will but add to the luftre of your future ftate.

SERMON

XXIX.

மம

Opens the Manner of CHRIST'S Death, in refpect of the Patience thereof.

Isa. liii. 7. He was oppreffed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a sheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth.

HOW

OW our Lord Jefus Chrift carried on the work of our redemption in his humble ftate, both in his incarnation, life, and death, hath in part been discovered in the former fermons. I have fhewed you the kind or nature of that death he died; and am now engaged, by the method propofed, to open the manner of his death. The folitarinefs or lonelinefs of Chrift in his fufferings, was the subject of the last fermon. The patience and meeknefs of Chrift in his fufferings comes, in order, to be opened in this.

This chapter treats wholly of the fufferings of Chrift, and the bleffed fruits thereof. Hornbeck * tells us of a learned Jew, "that ingenuously confeffed, this very chapter converted him to "the Christian faith. And fuch delight he had in it, that he read "it more than a thousand times over." Such is the clearness of this prophecy, that he who penned it, is defervedly ftiled the evangelical prophet. I cannot allow time to annalize the chapter; but my work lying in the feventh verfe, I fhall fpeak to

* Ingenue profiteor illud ipfum caput ad fidem Chriftianam me adduxiffe, nam plus millies illud caput perlegi, Hornbeck contra Jud, lib. 6. cap. I. P, 498.

these two branches or parts of it, viz. The grievous fufferings of Chrift, and the glorious ornament he put upon them.

First, Chrift's grievous fufferings; "he was afflicted, and "he was oppreffed, brought to the flaughter, and fhorn as a "fheep," i. e. he loft both fleece and blood, life, and comforts of life. "He was oppreffed;" the † word fignifies both "to "anfwer and opprefs, humble or deprefs." The other word, rendered afflicted, fignifies "to exact and afflict," and fo implies Chrift to ftand before God, as a furety before the creditor; who exacts the utmost fatisfaction from him, by causing him to fuffer according to the utmost rigour and feverity of the law. It did not fuffice that he was fhorn as a sheep, i. e. that he was ftripped and deprived of his riches, ornaments, and comforts; but his blood and life must go for it alfo. He is brought to the flaughter. These were his grievous sufferings.

Secondly, Here is the glorious ornament he put upon those grievous fufferings, even the ornament of a meek and patient fpirit. He opened not his mouth; but went as a beep to be born, or a lamb to the flaughter. The lamb goes as quiet to the flaughter-house, as to the fold. By this lively and lovely fimilitude, the patience of Christ is here expreffed to us ‡. Yet Chrift's dumbness and filence is not to be understood fimply, but univerfally; as though he fpake nothing at all when he suffered for he uttered many excellent and weighty words upon the cross, as you fhall hear in the following difcourfes; but it must be understood refpectively, i. e. he never opened his mouth repiningly, paffionately, or revengefully, under his greatest tortures and highest provocations. Whence the note is,

;

Doct. That Jefus Chrift fupported the burden of his fufferings, with admirable patience and meekness, of fpirit.

It is a true obfervation, that meekness inviteth injury, but always to its own coft. And it was evidently verified in the fufferings of Chrift. Chrift's meeknefs triumphed over the affronts and injuries of his enemies, much more than they tri

Refpondit, Humanavit. Demifit. Depreffit. VII Exegit. Buxtorf.

That he may the more commend Chrift's patience and meeknefs, as his glorious ornament, he compares him to a sheep and a lamb. Marler, in loc.

SERM. XXIX. umphed over him. Patience never had a more glorious triumph, than it had upon the crofs.

The meeknefs and patience of his fpirit, amidst injuries and provocations, is excellently fet forth in 1 Pet. ii. 22, 23. “Who "did no fin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who when "he was reviled, reviled not again; when he fuffered, he "threatned not, but committed himfelf to him that judgeth " righteously."

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In this point we have thefe three things to open doctrinally. 1. The burden of fufferings, and provocations that Jefus Chrift was oppreffed with.

2. The meeknefs and admirable patience with which he fupported that burden.

3. The caufes and grounds of that perfect patience which he then exercised.

First, The burden of fufferings and provocations which Christ fupported, was very great: For on him met all forts and kinds of trouble at once, and those in their highest degrees and fullest ftrength. Troubles in his foul, and thefe were the foul of his troubles. His foul was laden with fpiritual horrors and troubles, as deep as it could fwim, Mark xiv. 33. " He began to be fore "amazed and very heavy." The wrath of an infinite dreadful God beat him down to the dust. quifite tortures in every part. the feat and fubject of torment.

His body full of pain and exNot a member of fenfe but was

His name and honour fuffered the vileft indignities, blafphemies, and horrid reproaches that the malignity of Satan and wicked men could belch out against it. He was called a blafphemer, feditious, one that had a devil, a glutton, a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and harlots, the carpenter's fon, this fellow. He that was God's fellow, as you heard lately, now this fellow. Contempt was poured upon all his offices. Upon his Kingly office, when they crowned him with thorns, arrayed him with purple, bowed the knee in mockery to him, and cried, "Hail king of the Jews." His Prophetical office, when they blinded him, and then bid him "prophefy who finote him." His Prieftly office, when they reviled him on the crofs, faying, "He "faved others, himself he cannot fave." They fcourged him, fpit in his face; and (mote him on the head and face. Befides, the very kind of death they put him to, was reproachful and ignominious; as you heard before.

Now all this, and much more than this, meeting at once upon an innocent and dignified perfon; one that was greater than all; that lay in the bofom of God; and from eternity had his fmiles

and honours: upon one that could have crushed all his enemies as a moth; I fay, for him to bear all this, without the least difcompofure of fpirit, or breach of patience, is the highest triumph of patience that ever was in the world. It was one of the greateft wonders of that wonderful day.

Secondly, And that is the next thing we have to confider, even this almighty patience and unpatterned meeknefs of Chrift, fupporting fuch a burden with fuch evenness and steadiness of fpirit. Chriftian patience, or the grace of patience, is an ability or power to fuffer hard and heavy things, according to the will of God.

It is a power, and a glorious power, that ftrengthens the fuffering foul to bear. It is our paffive fortitude, Col. i. 11.,

Strengthned with all might, according to his glorious power, "unto all patience, and long-fuffering with joyfulness;" i. e. ftrengthned with a might or power of God himself. Or fuch as might appear to be the proper imprefs and image of that divine power, which is both its principle and pattern. For the patience which God exercises towards finners, that daily wrong and load him, is called power, and great power, Num. xiv. 17. "Let "the power of my Lord be great, as thou haft spoken, faying, "The Lord is long-fuffering, forgiving," &c. Hence it is obved, Prov. xxiv. 10. That the lofs or breaking of our patience under adverfity, argues a decay of ftrength in the foul. "If "thou faint in the day of adverfity, thy ftrength is small."

It is a power or ability in the foul, to bear hard, heavy, and difficult things. Such only are the objects of patience. God hath feveral forts of burdens to impofe upon his people. Some heavier, others lighter; fome to be carried but a few hours, others many days; others all our days: fome more fpiritual, bearing upon the foul; fome more external, touching or punishing the flesh immediately; and the spirit by way of fympathy: and fometimes both forts are laid together. So they were at this time on Chrift. His foul burdened as deep as it could fwim; full of the fenfe, the bitter fenfe and apprehenfion of the wrath of God: his body filled with tortures: in every member and fenfe grief took up his lodging. Here was the highest exercise of patience.

It is a power to bear hard and heavy things, according to the Ccc 2

These two virtues, viz. vapuavn, i. e. patience, and manpoi.e. meeknefs, are infeparable concomitants of that strength

and fortitude, which the Spirit bestows on us. Daven.