2. The time of continuance. The damned must bear the wrath of God to all eternity, because they can never satisfy the justice of God, and therefore they must lie by it world without end ; as one that payeth a thousand pounds by a shilling or a penny a-week, is a long time in paying the debt ; whereas a rich and able man layeth it down in cumulo, in one heap all at once ; or as a payment in gold taketh up less room than a payment in pence or brass farthings, yet the sum is the same. Christ made an infinite satisfaction in a finite time, and bore that wrath of God in a few hours which would have overwhelmed the creatures. The eternity of wrath is abundantly recompensed in the infiniteness of the person, and the greatness of the sufferings ; his blood was the blood of God, Acts xx. 28.
3. Another circumstance accompanying the pains of the second death, and unavoidably attending it in reprobates, is desperation, and a fearful looking for of the fiery indignation of God, Heb. x. 7 ; but this is accidental to the punishment itself, and only occasioned by the sinner's view of their woful and remediless condition ; but this neither did nor could possibly befal the Lord Jesus, for he was able by his divine power both to suffer and satisfy, to undergo and overcome, this dreadful brunt of the wrath of God, and therefore expected a good issue in his conflict : Ps. xvi. 9, 10, ' My flesh shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy holy one to see corruption ; ' it is applied to Christ, Acts ii. A shallow stream may easily drown a child, whereas a grown man may hope to escape out of a far deeper place ; yea, a skilful swimmer out of the ocean. Christ passed through that sea of wrath Avhich would have drowned all the world ; yea, came safe to shore. Well then, it showeth the reality and truth of his satisfaction.
2. It showeth the fulness and sufficiency of his satisfaction, and that Christ undertook no more than he was able to perform ; for, though but one, yet he is accepted for all, as one sacrifice offered by the high priest was enough for all the congregation. The burnt- offering for private men, and for the whole congregation, was the same — a young bullock without blemish. All had but one sacrifice ; only for private men the burnt-offering was offered by common priests.
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and for the congregation by the high priest ; or as the same sun serveth for every one, and also for all the world, so the same Christ, the sun of righteousness, serveth for all ; or as one Adam was enough to ruin all, so one Christ was enough to save all ; yea, much more, as in Christ the divine power is more effectual. The scripture often insisteth upon the oneness of the person, and the oneness of the sacri- fice ; as in that oracle Avhich dropped from the mouth of Caiaphas — ' It is expedient for one to die for all the people,' John xi. 51, 52, which is interpreted of the redemption of the elect, 'He prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation ; and not for that nation only, hut that he should gather together in one the children of God which were scattered abroad/ This one Christ is accepted for all ; for it is more than if all the world had died. God was more pleased with this sacrifice than he was displeased with Adam's sin, or the sins of all the world. 1 Tim. ii. 6, ' There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus ; ' as one mediator, so one sacrifice : Heb. x. 10, * We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all ; ' and ver. 14, ' For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified ; ' and Heb. ix. 26, ' He once in the end of the world appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ; ' and ver. 28, ' So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.' The scripture doth so emphatically insist upon this circumstance, to show that there needeth no more to be done to satisfy God's justice ; that is sufliciently done already, which is a great comfort to us ; for you are not left under the care of making satisfaction for your own sins, but only of accepting the Eedeemer who hath satisfied ; and if you perish, it will be for want of faith in you, not for want of satis- faction in Christ : the business is even brought to your doors, and left upon your hands, whether you will accept of the grace offered. Secondly. How the great love of God appeareth in this.
1. In that he would not prosecute his right against us, who were fallen in law and unable to recover ourselves. Noxa sequitur caput — ' The soul that sinneth shall die,' Exod. xxxii. 33. He might have refused any mediation, and all our necks might have gone for it. It was great love that God would think of a surety ; he might have exacted the whole debt of us : Thou hast sinned, and thou shalt pay. It is some relaxing of the rigour of the law that he would take person for person. Moses was rejected when he interposed as a mediator, but so was not Christ.