3. To love God. You have the greatest experience of the love of the Godhead that po.ssibly you could have, that there should be a covenant between the persons of tlie Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that they would nnituaily engage one another for your good. It is the highest endearment you could have from them, that God should ordain you his Son to carry on the work of your sal- vati<^in ; therefore engage and give up yourselves to God again : seeing the Lord should devise such a way, and Clirist effect it, give up your- selves by covenant to God.
Ijiit 1 come now to the matter, or to handle the words absolutely, and not considered under that conditional and federate form : ' When thou shalt make his sold an offering foi- sin,' or, as it is in the Heljrew, ' When he shall make his soul sin {(i.sr/utm), the sin or the trespass- offering. His soul, that is, himself : ' What is a man profited if he
ISA. LIII. 10.] THE FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. 387
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?' Mat. xvi. 26 ; that is, himself, body and soul. So his soul, that is himself, shall he make an offering for sin. His whole man was offered up. He could not sacrifice his divinity. The apostle Peter saith, ' He suffered in the flesh.'
Doct. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the only true satisfactory and expiatory sacrifice for sin.
1. Because it was of God's own ordaining. God will be pleased with nothing but what he appoints. Foolish man would fain give laws to heaven, and think to please God with what liketh himself best either in worship or in sacrifices ; as if GcO(\ would be enticed by their own lure. Christ is the only ascham : God requireth not ten thou- sand rivers of oil ; and all things else are nothing to God's will. Christ was of his own appointment, and therefore expiatory : Kom. iii, 25, ' Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation ; ' 1 John iv. 10, ' God hath sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.' It is not expiatory, if God, the party offended, did not accept of Christ : Eph. V. 2, ' He gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour ;' that is, for an acceptable sacrifice : all other sacrifices were an abomination to this.
2. Other sacrifices were but types of this, they could not make the comers to them perfect, as the apostle proveth, Heb. ix. 9. There was expiation, but not real, except Christ was eyed in them. They could not make him that did the service perfect, as appertaining to the conscience : that is, they could not satisfy the conscience. The sin was not forgiven through their worthiness, they could not have any solid ground that justice was satisfied ; this is a thing that natu- rally troubleth a man, how to satisfy justice, and to appease the revengeful deity. Naturally there is sucli a sense in guilty man, and that was the reason why they would have somewhat above sacrifices, because still there was something that stuck with them, that this was not enough. And therefore they in Micah added their first-born, Micah vi. ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6, ' And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom.' There was somewhat that caused parents to be so unnatural besides the example of the heathens. And truly it was because their consciences were not perfect. They had not the good answer that Peter speaketh of, they could not be persuaded God was appeased by the killing of a beast.
3. No other thing could be satisfactory and expiatory besides the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah bringeth in God as saying, ' He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, therefore his arm brought salvation.' Man could have had no other person to interpose for him. Therefore Christ, who is the arm of the Lord, he brought salvation to him. All the angels in heaven were not able to lay down a valuable consideration ; there was no intercessor, no intervener, none that could come between man and wrath. No creature can stand before infinite wrath to coun- termand it ; man was not able, nor all his tears available. The law taketh no notice of sorrow for sin. It is true, the creature was easily inclined to think of merit in that which is dolorous and costly ; but it
388 A TRACTICAL EXPOSITION UPON [ISA. LIII. 10.
is but a vain thou.iilit, the law is satisfied only through full and com- plete obedience. Your prayers would nut do. Christ doth not barely pray to God, but ofter himself also. His entreaties alone would not have been sufficient : Heb. ix. 22, ' Without shedding of blood there is no remissiun.'
4. Christ sacrificing of himself complied with God's design, which is double : —
[1.] To discover the glory of the Trinity, his love to the souls of men, and the Spirit's efficacy. These things would not have been drawn out for the creatures' benefit, had it not been for this design. The Father is glorified in being the contriver, the Son in being the Mediator, the Spirit as the applier and settler of comfort in the hearts of Christians. This was a high honour to Christ, next to that personal glory that he had with the Father before all worlds. When Christ was about to die, he saith, John xiii. 31, 'Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.' Tlie Son especially ; and not him alone, but the whole Godhead ; the Spirit is glorified in your sense and experience of him.