was he to be persecuted and put to death by men only, but to be an object also of the Divine displeasure. Therefore it was foretold by the prophet in the text, that, " although* he had done no violence, neither was there any deceit in his rnouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to grief."
From these words we shall take occasion to con- sider, first, The innocence of Jesus ; secondly, The conduct of the Father towards him ; and thirdly, The reasons of that conduct.
I. Let us consider the innocence of Jesus —
The declaration of our Lord's innocence is here peculiarly strong : it is not merely asserted, That he did no violence, but it is taken for granted as a thing which could not admit of one moment's doubt ; " al- though he had done no violence." And indeed, well might it be taken for granted; for, if he were not innocent himself, he could not be a propitiation for our sins : if he had in the least deviated from the perfect law of God, he himself had needed an atonement for his own sins, as much as we for ours. Under the cere- monial law, the lamb that was to be offered in sacri- fice at the passover was solemnly set apart four days before, in order that it might be examined ; and, if it had the least spot or blemish, it was not worthy to be offered. To this St. Peter refers, when he calls our Lord "a Lamb without blemish, and without spot:" and it should seem that our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem just four days before the passover, and the strict examination of him before Pilate and the chief priests, were intended to fulfil that type. In reference to the same, St. John says, " He was manifested to take away our sin ; and in him was no sin ;" for if there had been any in him, he could not have removed ours.
a The word "because" should be translated "although.'" See Bishop Lowth's version, which removes all the obscurities from this passage. If this subject were treated separately, and not in a series of Sermons on the chapter, the first and last clauses of the text should be omitted.