3. The determining of all the sufferings of Christ ; not a sorrow, but God had it in his thoughts before all worlds. Every bruise and stroke was a further discovery of his eternal counsel : Acts ii. 23, ' Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.' Mark it, oopLafxkvri jBovXtj koX Trpoyvoiaet. There was an express counsel for that, even the greatest mischief their wickedness could execute upon Christ ; they had other thoughts than to conform to God's will, yet they did but discover it, and draw it out to the world : Luke xxii. 22, ' The Son of man goeth as it was determined.' Which checketh our laziness, that we do no more consider the several actions of Christ, they being all appointed and ordered in much counsel by the Father : Acts iv. 27, 28, ' Of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou liast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.' What Herod and the Jews, and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles did, was all that God would have to be done. Every particular was conceived and devised in the decree of God, and so necessary to be fulfilled ; * For who hath resisted his will ?' Rom. ix. 19. God will cause the decree to bring forth, and the world shall see what is conceived in the womb of his counsels.
4. There are some expressions which seem to imply as if there were more than a bare knowledge and permission in this great affair, as if there were some kind of action in Christ's sufferings. As here, ' It pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to grief ; ' Zech. xiii. 7, ' Awake, 0 sword, against my she])herd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts ; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.' God is said to awake and stir up the sword
372 A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION UPON [ISA. LIII. 10.
af^ainst Clirist, whicli implieth more than a bare snfFering, some kind of efficiency and concnrrent act of God to tlie bruisinpr and grief of Christ. For that })lace is meant of Clirist, my shepherd and my fellow ; there is no shepherd that is God's fellow bnt Christ. Besides, Christ applieth it to himself: Mat. xxvi. 31, ' For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.' It will be worthy the inqniring, then, what acts of God, what efficiency there was from him towards the sufferings of Christ ?
1. Thus far God concurred, by a withdrawing of his presence and the sight of his favour ; so God might be said to put him to grief indeed, for so Christ complaineth, Mat. xxvii, 46, ' My God, my God, why hast thou for.^aken me ? ' That was the greatest torment that could be upon Christ's spirit. His humanity would not have been sensible of all the other sorrows, if there were not a suspension of that joy and comfort which otherwise he might have taken in the union of the Godhead. I say, in this sense God may be said to put him to grief, by the withdrawing of his love and presence of grace from his apprehension.
2. By sustaining the wicked instruments in their natures, beings, and actings, whilst they were drawing out their spite and violence against Clu-ist : Acts xvii. 28, ' In him we live, and move, and have our beings.' It is by his concurrence the action is brought forth. God could have blasted the hand of violence, blown them all into nothing, even in the heat of their fury against his Son ; but the Lord upheld them in their beings and actings. As Christ said to Pilate, John xix. 11, ' Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.' If there were not some leave and con- cession fi'om heaven, they could do nothing. God can suspend the actions of the creature at his pleasure, as he did the fire from burning when the three children were in it. And therefore so far God con- curred to the supporting of the creature in acts of violence and sin against Christ : men have not a power of themselves, separate from a providential assistance, to operate or exercise any power in them. Though God doth not take away their power, yet if he doth not co- operate with their power, nothing will be done ; as the beasts stood still when the wheels stood still, Ezek. i. 21. When God stands still, all second causes are silent, and move not at that time. And though he does not dissolve their beings, he can suspend their motion, if lie will not work with them. There is his concurrence to the action, though not to the pravity and wickedness of it. I conceive that is dangerous and unsafe to say.
3. By serving his love and glory by their wickedness, that bruised and afflicted Christ. God would not have permitted it if he did not know how to make good use of it, and how he might reduce it by his goodness and' wisdom to his glory. So far he would uphold them in their actings as to serve his purposes of snlvation, and to cause his pleasure to prosper. It pleased the Lord to bruise Christ, that he might bruise the serpent. His aim was at his head, though Christ's heel was bruised in the enterprise: Gen. iii. 15, ' It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt brui.se his heel.' God doth ninke sin itself to turn to his own glory. As Gregory said of Adam's fall, it was fa4ix