and the pleasure of tlie Lord shall prosper in his hand/ It is not to be looked upon as a strange history, and so to stir up a little wonder or a little fond inty, as at a tragical story, but to fill us with a broken- hearted sense and deep thankfulness, that the Son of God should come to recover our forfeited mercies. Wlien we were sentenced to death by a righteous law, and had sold ourselves to Satan, and cast away the mercies of our creation, and by our multiplied rebellions made ourselves ' ready for execution, then the Son of God pitied our case, undertook our ransom, and paid it to the utmost farthing.
[2.] Consider the consequent benefits, both here and hereafter : Isa. liii. 5, ' But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed ; ' and, Eev. i. 5, 6, ' Who hath loved us, and washed us in his blood, and made us kings and priests unto God.' In the heavenly priesthood nothing will appear in us dis- pleasing to God ; the love and praise of God will be our whole employ- ment. In expectation of this happy hour we must begin our sacrifices here. •
[3.] Let us not by affected scruples blunt the edge of our comfort. Christians would know too soon their peculiar interest in God's love, whether intended to us, and so disoblige ourselves from our duty. These affected scruples are a sin, because secret things do not belong to us, but the open declarations of God concerning our duty, Deut. xxix. 29. It is the part of a deceitful heart to betray a known duty by a scruple. We would not do so in case of temporal danger. If a boat be overturned, we will not make scruples. When any come to our help, whether they shall be accepted or not, do not refuse your help and cure, but improve the offer : 1 Tim. i 15, ' This is a true and faithful saying, Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' If Christ came to save sinners, I am sinner enough for Christ to save, creeping in at the back-door of a promise. God hath opened the way for all ; if they perish it is through their own default. He hath sent messengers into the world : Mark xvi. IG, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned ; ' and if you are within hearing of the gospel, you have more cause to hope than to scruple : Acts xiii. 26, ' To you is the word of salvation sent ; ' not brought but sent ; * Know it for thy good,' Job v. 27 ; and rouse up yourselves. ' What shall we say to these things ? ' Rom. viii. 39, ' If God be for us, who can be against us ? '
[4.] Though weak in faith and love to God, yet Christ died one for all. The best have not a more worthy redeemer than the worst of sinners. 'Go, preach the gospel to every creature.' Exod. xxx. 15, the rich and poor have the same ransom ; 1 Cor. i. 2, ' Jesus Christ, theirs and ours ; ' and, Rom. iii. 22, ' Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all that believe ; for there is no difference ; ' and, 2 Peter i. 1, ' To them who have obtained like precious faith with us.' A jewel received by a child and a giant, it is the same jewel ; so strong and weak faith are built upon one and the same righteousness of Christ.
2. Let us devote ourselves to God in the sense of this love, to walk before him in all thankful obedience. Christ hath borne our burden,
\^ER. 14.] SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. 189
and instead thereof offered his burden, which is light and easy ; he took the curse upon him, but we take his yoke, Mat. xi. 29. He freely accepted the work of mediator, Heb. x. 7 ; will you as freely return to his service ?
SEKMON XXVIII. Then loere all dead. — 2 Cor. v. 14.
We have handled the intensiveness of Christ's love — he died ; the- extent — how ' for all ' is to be interpreted ; now the fruit, dying to sin and living to righteousness.
1. The first in this last clause — ' Then were all dead,' not carnally in sin, but mystically in Christ ; dead in Christ to sin. In the original the words run thus — on eh virep ttuvtcov airWavev apa ol TravTC^ aireOavov, not dead in regard of the merits of sin, but dead in the merits of Christ ; for the apostle speaketh here of death and life, with reference and cor- respondence to Christ's death and resurrection, as the original pattern of them ; in which sense we are said to die when Christ died for us, and to live when he rose again.
2. He speaketh of such a death as is the foundation of the spiritual life : He died for them, then were all dead ; and he died for them, that they might live to him that died for them and rose again. Our translation seemeth to create a prejudice to this exposition, ' were dead' in the Greek ; it is — ol irdvT€<i airedavov, ' all died,' or all are dead — that is, to sin, the world, and self-interests ; and besides, it seemeth to be difficult to understand how all believers were dead when Christ died, since most were not then born, and had no actual existence in the world; and after they are converted, they feel much of the power of sin in themselves.