Natural thirst is (as before was noted) a desire of refreshment by humid nourishment, and it is common both to believers and unbelievers in this world. God's dear saints have been driven to such extremities in this life, that their tongues have even failed for thirst. " When the poor and needy seek water, and there is. " none, and their tongue faileth for thirst," Isa. xli. 17. And of the people of God in their captivity, it is said, Lam. iv. 4. " The " tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth " for thirst. The young children ask bread, and no man break- " eth it unto them. They that feed delicately are desolate in the " streets ; they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills." To this many that fear the Lord have been reduced.
A penal thirst, is God's just denying of all refreshments or re- lief to sinners in their extremities, and that as a due punishment for their sin. This believers shall never feel, because when Christ thirsted upon the cross, he made full satisfaction to God in their room. These sufferings of Christ, as they were ordained for them, so the benefits of them are truly imputed to them. And for the natural thirst, that shall be satisfied : for in heaven we shall live without these necessities and dependencies upon the creature ; we shall be equal with the angels in the way and manner of living and subsisting, KfayysXoi Ziovrzs, Luke, xx. 36. And for the gra- cious thirsting of their souls for God, it shall be fully satisfied. So it is promised, Mat. v. 6. " Blessed are they which hunger and
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" thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled :" They shall then depend no more upon the stream, but drink from the over- flowing fountain itself, Psal. xxxvi. 8. " They shall be abundantly " satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make " them drink of the river of thy pleasures : for with thee is the "fountain of life, and in thy light shall we see light:11 There they shall drink and praise, and praise and drink for evermore ; all their thirsty desires shall be filled with complete satisfaction. O how desirable a state is heaven upon this account ! and how should we be restless till we come thither ; as the thirsty traveller is until lie meet that cool, refreshing spring he wants and seeks for. This present state is a state of thirsting, that to come of refreshment and satisfaction. Some drops indeed come from the fountain by faith, but they quench not the believer's thirst ; rather like water sprink- led on the fire, they make it burn the more : but there the thirsty soul hath enough.
O bless God, that Jesus Christ thirsted under the heat of his wrath once, that you might not be scorched with it for ever. If he had not cried, I thirst, you must have cried out of thirst eternally, and never be satisfied.
Inf. 6. Lastly ; Did Christ in the extremity of his sufferings cry, / thirst ? Then how great, beyond all compare, is the love of God to sinners, icho for their sokes exposed the Son of his love to such extreme sufferings ?
Three considerations marvellously heighten that love of the Father.
First, His putting the Lord Jesus into such a condition. There is none of us would endure to see a child of our own lie panting, and thirsting in the extremity of torments, for the fairest inheri- tance on earth ; much less to have the soul of a child conflicting with the wrath of God, and making such heart-rending complaints as Christ made upon the cross, if we might have the largest empire in the world for it : yet, such was the strength of the love of God to us, that he willingly gave Jesus Christ to all this misery and torture for us. What shall we call this love? O the heighth, length, depth, and breadth of that love which passeth knowledge f The love of God to Jesus Christ was infinitely beyond all the love we have for our children, as the sea is more than a spoonful of water : and yet, as dearly as he loved him, he was content to expose him to all this, rather than we should perish eternally.
Secondly, As God the Father was content to expose Christ to this extremity, so in that extremity to hear his bitter cries, and dolorous complaints, and yet not relieve him with the least re- freshment till he fainted and died under it. He heard the cries of his Son; that voice, I thirst, pierced heaven, and reached the
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Father's ear ; but yet he will not refresh him in his agonies, nor abate him any thing of the debt he was now paying, and all this for the love he had to poor sinners. Had Christ been relieved in his sufferings, and spared, then God could not have pitied or spared us. The extremity of Christ's sufferings was an act of jus- tice to him ; and the greatest mercy to us that ever could be ma- nifested. Nor indeed (though Christ so bitterly complains of his thirst) was he willing to be relieved, till he had finished his work. O love unspeakable ! He doth not complain, that he might be re- lieved, but to manifest how great that sorrow was which his soul now felt upon our account.
Thirdly, And it should never be forgotten, that Jesus Christ was exposed to these extremities of sorrow for sinners, the great- est of sinners, who deserved not one drop of mercy from God. This commends the love of God singularly to us, in that " whilst " we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," Rom. v. 1. Thus the love of God in Jesus Christ still rises higher and higher in every discovery of it. Admire, adore, and be ravished with the thoughts of this love !
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.
The sixth excellent Saying of Christ upon the Cross, illustrated.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It isjinish- ed ; and he bowed his head, and. gave up the ghost.
J- T is finished. This is the sixth remarkable word of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, uttered as a triumphant shout when he saw the glorious issue of all his sufferings now at hand.
It is but one word in the original ; but in that one word is con- tained the sum of all joy ; the very spirits of all divine consolation. The ancient Greeks reckoned it their excellency to speak much in a little : "to * give a sea of matter in a drop of language." What they only sought, is here found. I find some variety, (and in- deed variety rather than contrariety), among expositors about the
* TlO.ayov ^ayjtiaruv, iv %c0.ayiw.ri pyjiAaruv. Cypr. Sect, 568.
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