Thirdly, Ex parte nostri. Yea, and it was no less necessary upon our account that this work should be finished ; for, had not Christ finished this work, sin had quickly finished all our lives, com- forts, and hopes. Without the finishing this work, not a son or daughter of Adam could ever have seen the face of God. There- fore it is said, John iii. 14, 15. "As Moses lifted up the serpent " in the wilderness, so [must] the Son of man be lifted up ; that " whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- " lasting life." On all these accounts the finishing of this work was necessary.
Secondly, As it was necessary this work should be finished, so the finishing of it was exceeding difficult : It cost many a cry, many a groan, and many a tear, before Christ could say, It is finished. All the angels in heaven were not able, by their united strength, to lift that burden one inch from the ground, which Christ bare upon his shoulders, yea, and bare it away. But how heavy a burden this was, may in part appear by his agony in the garden, and the bitter outcries he made upon the cross, which in their proper places have been opened.
Thirdly, and lastly, It was a most precious work which Christ finished by his death ; that work was dispatched and finished in few hours, which will be the matter of everlasting songs and triumphs to the angels and saints to all eternity. O it was a pre- cious work ! The mercies that now flow out of this fountain, viz. justification, sanctification, adoption, &c. are not to be valued ; besides the endless happiness and glory of the world to come, which cannot enter into the heart of man to conceive. If the an- gels sang when the foundation-stone was laid, what shouts, Avhat triumphs should there be among the saints, when this voice is heard, It is finished I
Secondly, Let us next inform ourselves how, and in what manner
434? THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. SERM. XXXV.
Jesus Christ finished this glorious work ; and if you search the scriptures upon that account, you will find that he finished it obe- diently, freely, diligently, and fully.
First, This blessed work was finished by Jesus Christ most obe- diently, Phil. ii. 8. " He became obedient to death, even the death " of the cross.1"* " His obedience was the obedience of a servant, " though not servile obedience V So it was foretold of him, before he touched this work, Isa. 1. 5. " The Lord God hath " opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away "back;" i. e. My Father told me the very worst of it; he told me what hard and heavy things I must undergo, if ever I finished this design of redemption ; and I was not rebellious, i. e. I heartily submitted to, and accepted all those difficulties ; for there is a Meiosis in the words ; I was content to stoop to the hardest and most ignominious part of it, rather than not finish it.
Secondly, As Christ finished it obediently, so he finished it freely. Freedom and obedience in acting are not at all opposite to, or exclusive of each other. Moses" mother nursed him in obe- dience to the command of Pharaoh's daughter, yet most freely with respect to her own delight and contentment in that work. So it is said of Christ, and that by his own mouth, John x. 17, 18. " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my " life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, " but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and " I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I " received of my Father." He liked the work for the end's sake. When he had a prospect of it from eternity, then were his delights with the sons of men : then he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, Prov. viii. 30, 31. And when he came into the world about it, with what a full and free consent did his heart echo to the voice of his Father calling him to it ; just as you shall some- times hear an echo answering your voice two or three times over, Psal. xl. " Lo, I come : I delight to do thy will : thy law is within " my heart."" He finished the work freely.
Thirdly, As he finished it freely, so he finished it diligently ; he wrought hard from the morning of his life to the end of it : he was never idle wherever he was, but " went about doing good," Acts x. 38. Sometimes he was so intent upon his work, that " he forgat to eat bread," John iv. 30, 31. As the life of some men is but a diversion from one trifle to another, from one plea- sure to another ; so the whole life of Christ was spent and taken up betwixt one work and another : never was a life so filled up with
Obedientia scrvi, non servilis.
CEftlt. XXXV. THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. 435
labour : the very moments of his time were all employed for God to finish this work.
Fourthly -, and lastly, He finished it completely and fully. All that was to be done by way of impetration and meritorious redemption is fully done; no hand can come after his; angels can add nothing to it *. " That is perfected to which nothing is wanting, and to " which nothing can be added." Such is the work Christ finished. Whatever the law demanded is perfectly paid; what- ever a sinner needs, is perfectly obtained and purchased ; nothing can be added to what Christ hath done ; he put the last hand to it, when he said, It is finished. Thus you see what the work was, and how Christ finished it.
Thirdly, In the last place, let us consider what assurance or evi- dence we have that Christ hath so finished redemption-work : and if you pursue that enquiry, you will find these, among other plain evidences of it.
First, When Christ died, redemption-work must needs be finish- ed, inasmuch as the blood, as well as the obedience of Christ, was of infinite value and efficacy, sufficiently able to accomplish all the ends for which it was shed ; " and that not by divine acceptation, " but upon the account of its proper valuef." This effect, viz. the finishing redemption work meritoriously by Christ, doth not ex- ceed the power of the cause to which we assign it, viz. the death of Christ. And if there be a sole sufficient cause in act, what hinders but the effect should follow? There was certainly enough in Christ's blood to satisfy the utmost demand of justice : when that therefore is actually shed, justice is fully paid, and, consequently, the souls for whom, and in whose names it is paid, are fully redeem- ed from the curse by the merit thereof.