[1.] By what Christ felt. He lost his actual comforts, felt strange agonies, insomuch that he sweat drops of blood. We are of weak spirits, and soon dismayed, but his soul was exceeding sorrowful : ' If this be done in the green tree, what shall be done to the dry ?' Many times, a little before a shower, falls a gloominess and sad blackness : so it was in Christ's spirit.
[2.] The saints, when the little finger of God is upon them, how have they roared all the day long ! Ps. xl. 12, 'Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up ; they are more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth me.' All life and spirit is gone when God sets home but one sin upon the conscience. Job saith, chap. vi. 4, ' The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison thereof drinks up my spirits.'
[3.] You may know it by your own experience. When conscience is a little opened, what horrors and disquiets are there ! Prov. xviii. 14, ' A wounded spirit who can bear ?' Then for thousands of rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil ! Cain crieth out, ' My iniquity is greater than I can bear.'
[4.] Consider the life to come, and the threatenings of the word concerning those that die in their sins: Heb. x. 31, ' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' Who can conceive what it is to remain in chains of darkness ? 2 Peter ii. 4. Sins that now lie asleep like sleepy lions will be then roused up : Mark ix. 44, ' Their worm never dieth, and their fire is not quenched.' This is the portion of them that bear their own burden and their own transgres- sions.
2. AVhen you begin to feel the burden of sin, make use of Christ for ease ; remember this burden is laid upon him : Mat. xi. 28, ' Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' The weight lieth upon us, not to press us down to hell and despair, but to go to Christ, as they were to do under the law to the sacrifice. Lev. i. 4. They were to lay their hand upon the head of the sacrifice — a rite expressing that the sacrifice did bear the burden of their sins. This they were to do with brokenness of heart, acknow- ledging their offences — acknowledging that they were worthy to die as the beast died — owning the sacrifice of atonement, Christ Jesus : Ps. li. 17, ' The sacrifices of a broken heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise.' So John i. 29, ' Behold tlie Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world ;' ' Look on him whom they have pierced,' Zech. xii. 10. This was done to renew the covenant : Ps. 1. 5, ' Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.' And they were to promise to walk with God in all humble obedience.
Use 2. Is exhortation, to beseech you to believe this truth, that your
328 A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION UPON [ISA. LIII. 6.
iniquities arc cast upon Christ. A man hath no benefit by it till he believeth. There is as much need of your believing as of Christ's suffering. Believe in ' the Lamb of God, that lakes away the sins of the world.'
1. As soon as you feel sin a burden, ease yourselves by considering it is laid upon Christ. Free grace, as it doth not exclude the merits of Christ, so not the application of faith : Rom. iii. 25, ' Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.' The business was transacted between God and Cluist before all w'orlds. Faith gets it copied out to the soul. You are weary and heavy laden with sin, come then to him. Mat. xi. 28, with a lively faith ; not as if by faith we did anew laytlie burden of sin upon Christ, only then we apprehend it to be done for our sakes.
2. After you have gotten an interest in him by faith, renew the sense of your pardon. God seeth as a just God, and so our sins should be matter of humiliation to us ; but he covereth them as a merciful God, and so it is matter of comfort. Sins, they were long since laid upon Christ ; renew thy pardon again by faith, and strive to get an actual sense of it. Remember, Christ's soul was heavy to the death, that thou mightest go free.
But you say, I could take comfort in these things if I knew that my sins were laid upon Christ ; it is only the sins of the elect are laid upon Christ.
Ans. The text saith, ' The iniquities of us all.'
Doct. That Christ is set forth in the gospel, as having all men's sins laid upon him. The w'ord carrieth it in such a general way, that none is excei)ted, and there are very many other places to confirm it, where Christ is said to reconcile the world : 2 Cor. v. 19, ' God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself;' and to 'taste death for every man,' Heb. ii. 9 ; and to ' die for all.' It is good to mark that : 2 Cor. v. 14, ' If one died for all.' I shall come to the reasons why Christ is proposed so generally.