Hence learn : —
1. The heinousness of sin. You see it is no easy matter to recon- cile sinners to God. It cost Christ a life of sorrows, and afterwards a painful, shameful, and an accursed death ; the loss of actual comfort, and a terrible feeling, or an amazing sense of the wrath of God. We jest and sport away our souls, but Christ found it hard work to save them, and recover them to God. Suicly they that sin freely in thought, and foully in act, have low thoughts of the blood of Christ, You count it common blood : Heb, x. 29, ' And have counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.' When you make it a light thing to sin, you do in effect say so. When a precious vessel cannot be mended or repaired but with the cost of a thousand pounds, you would be careful liow you break it. You slight the sufferings of Christ when you break with God for every irifle. Is it nothing for the Son of God to come down from heaven to die for poor sinners ? He callcth to you, ' Behold, all ye that pass by, is any borrow like unto my sorrow ?' Is it nothing to offend your heavenly
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Father, and to lie under the burden of his displeasure ? By his deal- ing with his dear Son, substituted into the room and place of sinners, God would convince all wicked and hard-hearted sinners what it is to break his commandments. Dare you, after all this, to go on pleasingly and delightfully in an evil course, as if God made a small matter of our sins P Now he is satisfied for them by a Mediator.
2. Learn hence the terribleness of God s wrath. It put Jesus Christ upon dying, yea, upon much travail of soul. Christ knew before all that he was to suffer, and yet he is amazed when it came upon him. Many roar upon their death-beds when the anger of the Lord breaketh in upon them like an armed man. Tliey never thought of their danger before, and were not prepared for it ; but Christ knew it before. Besides, Christ had no personal guilt to weaken his strength; you have wounded consciences. Christ had all graces in him to the height; but you have none or little patience and' fortitude. Christ was God- man, you are poor creatures. Christ knew what glory his sufferings would bring to God, what good to man ; and yet he feareth what he was to undergo ; and Christ knew they would be short, yet he prayeth, ' Father, save me from this hour:' but yours are to endure for ever. The Lord Jesus is lifted up as a sign of salvation to them that trust in him, and is a pledge of what shall light upon the wicked to all eternity — an instance to all others of God's wrath. God will make you see what it is to lie under his wrath. If a spark of it light upon the conscience, what a burden is a man to himself !
3. We learn hence the greatness of our obligations to Christ, that he willingly condescended to endure such hard and bitter things for our sakes. He Avould be deserted and submit to soul-troubles ; he knew well enough what it would cost him, yet he willingly undertook the business : Ps. xl. 7, 8, ' Then said I, Lo, I come ; in the volume of the book it is written of me, 1 delight to do thy will, 0 my God ; thy law is within my heart.' Divine justice is there introduced proposing its demands : Son, you must take a body and suffer in it. Man's blood is tainted, and you must be formed in fashion like one of them, and stand before me in their stead. You must expect to be tempted by the devil, hunted and baited by men, — to be responsible to my justice, to bear my wrath, and to be handled as if you were the sinner in law. And Christ said, Heb. x. 7, ' Lo, I come to do thy will, 0 God ;' I am satisfied and well pleased with the terms. Oh ! woe unto us, if after all this we should slight Christ, and will not come at him, though it cost us travail of soul. To pray, wait, meditate, is tedious, and to break our hard hearts we are hardly brought to ; yet how will- ingly and readily did Christ undergo all his sufferings for our sakes !
4. We learn hence what reason we have to be willing to suffer any- thing for Christ, and to yield obedience to God at the dearest rate. We are called upon in the gospel to take up our cross and follow Christ, and when he invited us first to engage with him, he gave us warning of it ; yet most men hope to shift well enough for all this, and are not troubled, and out of the irapatiency of the flesh repine when it cometh really and actually to their share to take it up and bear it. Certainly, in the general, we should not desire a better lot than Christ himself had ; for the disciple is not above his Lord : ' If they have