shed innocent blood, but the blood of God ; the best of mercies is by him desired for the worst of sinners.
Thirdly, The motive or argument urged to procure this mercy for them, is this5t/or they know not what they do. As if he should say. Lord, what these poor creatures do, is not so much out of malice to me as the Son of God ; but it is from their ignorance. Did they know who, and what I am, they would rather be nailed to the cross themselves, than do it. To the same purpose the apos- tle saith, 1 Cor. ii. 8. " Whom none of the princes of this a world knew ; for had they known it, they would not have cru- " cified the Lord of glory.1' Yet this is not to be extended to all that had an hand in the death of Christ, but to the ignorant mul- titude, among whom, some of God's elect Avere, who afterwards believed in him, whose blood they spilt, Acts iii. 17. " And now, " brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it." For them this prayer of Christ was heard. Hence the notes are,
Doct. 1. That ignorance is the usual cause of enmity to Christ.
Doct. 2. That there is forgiveness with God, for such as oppose Christ through ignorance.
Doct. 3. That to forgive enemies, and beg 'forgiveness for them> is the true character and property of the Christian spirit.
These observations contain so much practical truth, that it would be worth our time to open and apply them distinctly ;
Doct. 1. That ignorance is the usual cause of enmity to Christ.
" These things (saith the Lord) will they do, because they have " not known the Father, nor me," John xvi. 3. What thing doth he mean ? Why, kill and destroy the people of God, and therein suppose they do God good service, (i. e.) think to oblige and gratify the Father, by their butchering his children. So Jer. ix. 3. " They proceed from evil to evil ; and have not known me, " saith the Lord," q. d. Had they the knowledge of God, this would check and stop them in their ways of wickedness ? and so Psal. lxxiv. 20. " The dark places of the earth are full of the ha- " bitations of cruelty."
Three things must be inquired into, viz. what their ignorance of Christ was. Whence it was. And how it disposed them to such enmity against him.
First, What was their ignorance who crucified Christ ? Igno-
SEltM. XXX. THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. 371
ranee is two-fold, simple, or respective*. Simple ignorance is not supposable in those persons, for in many things they were a know- ing people. But it was respective, particular ignorance, Rom. ix. 25. " Blindness in part is happened to Israel.'1 They knew many other truths, but did not know Jesus Christ; in that their eyes were held. Natural light they had ; yea, and scripture light they had; but in this particular, that this was the Son of God, the Sa- viour of the world, therein they were blind and ignorant.
But how could that be ! Had they not heard at least of his mi- raculous works? Did they not see how his birth, life and death, squared with the prophecies, both in time, place, and manner? Whence should this their ignorance be when they saw, or at least might have seen, the scriptures fulfilled in him ; and that he came among them in a time when they were big with expectations of the Messiah ?
It is true, indeed, they knew the scriptures ; and it cannot but be supposed the fame of his mighty works had reached their ears : But yet,
First, Though they had the scriptures among them, they mis- understood them ; and did not rightly measure Christ by that right rule. You find, John vii. 52. how they reason with Nicodemus against Christ ; u Art thou also of Galilee ? Search, and see : for " out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." Here is a double mistake: First, They supposed Christ to arise out of Galilee, whereas he was of Bethlehem, though much conversant in the parts of Galilee : And, Secondly, They thought, because they could, find no prophet had arisen out of Galilee, therefore none should.
Another mistake that blinded them about Christ, was from their conceit that Christ should not die, but live for ever, John xii. 34. " We have heard out of the law, that Christ abideth for ever : and " how sayest thou, the Son of man must be lifted up ? who is the " Son of man ?" That scripture which probably they urge against tlie mortality of Christ, is Iaa. ix. 7. " Of the increase of his go- " vernment and peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of " David," &c In like manner, John vii. 27. we find them in ano- ther mistake ; " We know this man whence he is ; but when Christ ic cometh, no man knoweth whence he is." This, likely, pro- ceeded from their misunderstanding of Micah v. 2. " His goings " forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Thus were they blinded about the person of Christ, by misinterpretations of scripture-prophecies.
Secondly, Another thing occasioning their mistake of Christ, was the outward meanness and despicableness of his condition. They
* a-rXwj, vel xnra n. Vol. I. A a
372 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. . SERM. XXX.
expected a pompous Messiah, one that should come with state and glory, becoming the king of Israel. But when they saw him in the form of a servant, coming in poverty, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, they utterly rejected him : " We hid as it " were our faces from him ; he was despised, and we esteemed " him not," Isa. liii. 3. Nor is it any great wonder these should be scandalized at his poverty, when the disciples themselves had such carnal apprehensions of his kingdom, Mark x. 37, 38.
Thirdly, Add to this, their implicit faith in the learned rabbies and doctors, who utterly misled them in this matter, and greatly prejudiced them against Christ. " Lo, (said they) he speaketh " boldly, and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed " that this is the very Christ ?" They pinned their faith upon the rulers' sleeves, and suffered them to carry it whether they would. This was their ignorance, and these its causes.
Thirdly, Let us see, in the next place, how this disposed them to such enmity against Christ. And this it doth three ways.
First, Ignorance disposes men to enmity and opposition to Christ, by removing those hinderances that would otherwise keep them from it, as checks and rebukes of conscience, by which they are restrained from evil ; but conscience binding and reproving in the authority and virtue of the law of God, where that law is not known, there can be no reproofs; and therefore we truly say, That ignorance is virtually every sin.
Secondly, Ignorance enslaves and subjects the soul to the lusts of Satan ; he is " the ruler of the darkness of this world," Eph. vi. 12. There is no work so base and vile, but an ignorant man will undertake it.