» 1 Pet. i. 18, 19 ; Kom. iii. 25, and v. i, 10 ; 2 Cor. v. 19, 21 ; Col. i. 19, 20. ' Heb. vii. 26; John viii. 46, and xiv. 30; 1 John iii. 5.
VERY CLEARLY AND LARGELY OPENED. 339
Christ's words and works were upright, just, and sincere. Christ's innocency is sufficiently vindicated, ver. 9. It is true, Christ suffered great and grievous things, but not for his own sins ; ' For he had done no violence, neither was any deceit found in his mouth ;' but for ours. Christ had now put himself in the sinner's stead, and was become his surety, and so obnoxious to whatever the sinner had deserved in his own person ; and upon this account, and no other, was he wounded, bruised, and chastised. The Lord Jesus had no sin in him by inhesion^ but he had a great deal of sin upon him by imputation : ' He was made sin that knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,' 2 Cor. v. 21. It pleased our Lord Jesus Christ to put himself under our guilt, and therefore it pleased the Fatlier to wound him, bruise liim, and chastise him. But,
[4.] Fourthly, Observe with me, that ^eace a7id reconciliation luith God, and the healing of all our sinful maladies, and our deliverance from ivrath to come, are all such noble favours as are purchased for us by the blood of Christ :'^ ver. 5, ' The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.' Christ was chastised to procure our peace, by removal of our sins, that set God and us asunder ; the guilt thereof being discharged with the price of his blood, and we reconciled to God by the same price. Christ was pun- ished that we by him might obtain perfect peace with God, who was at enmity with us by reason of our sins. By Christ's stripes we are freed both from sin and punishment. Now because some produce this scripture to justify that corrupt doctrine of universal redemption, give me leave to argue thus from it. That chastisement for sin that was laid upon the person of Jesus Christ procured peace for them for whom he was so chastised, Isa. Ivii. 21 ; Eph. ii. 14 ; but there was no peace procured for the reprobates, or those who should never believe, ergo. . . . Further, ' By his stripes we are healed.' Whence I reason thus : the stripes inflicted upon Christ are intended, and do become healing medicines for them for whom they are inflicted ; but they never become healing medicines for reprobates or unbe- lievers : Nahum iii. 9, ' There is no healing of their bruise.' Ergo. . . But,
[5.] Fifthly, Observe with me, that the great and the grievous sufferings that were inflicted upon Jesus Christ he did endure freely, willingly, meekly, patiently, according to the covetiant and agreement that was made between the Father and himself: ver. 7, ' He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.' This is a very pregnant place to prove the satisfaction made by Christ's sufferings for our sins ; if we look upon the words as they run in the original, for thus they run ; ' It was exacted, and he answered ;' that is, the penalty due to God's justice for our sins was exacted of Christ, and he sustained the same for us. The prophet doth not speak of one and the same party or parties, both sinning and suffering or sustaining penalties for their own defaults ; but as one suffering, for the sins of another, and sus- taining grievous penalties for faults made and faults committed by
1 1 Thes. i. 10; 1 Pet. i. 18, 19 ; Eom. iii. 25, and v. 1, 16 ; 2 Uor. v. 19, 21.
340 THE COVENANT OF REDEMPTION
other persons The words, rightly read and understood, do sufficiently confirm the doctrine of satisfaction, made to God's justice by Christ's sufferings, for our sins. The penalty due to us was, in rigour of jus- tice, exacted of him, and he became a sponsor or surety for us, by undertaking in our behalf the discharge of it. Christ did voluntarily undertake and engage himself unto God his Father in our behalf, as a surety for the payment of all our debts. They were exacted of him, and he answered for them all ; that is, he not only undertook them, but he also discharged us of them. So we use the word commonly in our English tongue ; to answer a debt, for to discharge it ; and this is most true of our dear Lord Jesus, for he answered our debt, and caused our bond to be cancelled, that it might never come to be put in suit against us, either in this or that other world, John xix. 30 ; Kom. iv. 25 ; Col. ii. 14. ' Yet he opened not his mouth : ' this has respect to his patience ; for the oppressions and afflictions that he sustained for others, and that in regard of those by whom he suffered them unjustly, yet was he silent. He neither murmured or repined at God's disposal of things in that manner, nor used any railing or reviling speeches against those that dealt so despitefully with him, but carried himself calmly and quietly under them ; Christ having an eye to his voluntary obedience and submission to the will of his Father, and agreement thereunto, Mat. xxvi. 39, 42 ; Mark xiv. 36 ; John xviii. 23 ; 1 Pet. ii. 23. He undertook willingly what his Father required of him, and as willingly, when the time came, underwent it ; neither hanging back or opposing aught in way of contradiction thereunto, when it was by his Father propounded to him at first ; nor afterward seeking to shift it off", v/hen he was to perfoim what he had engaged himself unto, by pleading aught for himself, and the releasement of him from their most unjust proceedings in whose hands he then was. ' He opened not his mouth' to confute the slanders and false accusa- tions of his enemies ; neither did he utter anything to the prejudice of them that put him to death, but prayed for them that crucified him , Luke xxiii. 34 ; Mat. xxvi. 63, and xxvii. 12, 14. ' He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,' — properly, as a ewe-lamb, or she-lamb ; the ewe is mentioned as the quieter of that kind, because the rams are sometimes more unruly, — ' and as a sheep that is dumb before tlic face of her shearers.' A lamb doth not bite nor push him that is going about to kill it, but goeth as quietly to the shambles or the slaughter-house as if it w^ere going to the fold wherein it is usually lodged, or the field where it is wont to feed. But,