1 Pet. ii. 24. Who his oivn self bare our sins in his oivn body on the tree, that loe, being dead to sins, should live unto right- eousness : by ivhose stripes ye were healed.
AN attentive reader of the New Testament cannot but have observed, that there is one subject in parti- cular to which the Apostles frequently recur, and on which they delight pre-eminently to dwell : and that is, the great work of redemption. St. Paul scarcely ever has occasion to mention the name of Christ, but he digresses from his main subject, to indulge the feelings of his heart in expatiating upon the glory and excellency of his Divine Master. It is the same with the Apostle Peter. He has been speaking to ser- vants ; and instructing them to bear with meekness and patience any injuries that may be inflicted on them for the Gospel's sake : and he has proposed to them the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose patience, under the most painful sufferings, was alto- gether unmoved and inexhaustible. But he could not be satisfied with the bare recital of the Saviour's excellence. Having touched on the subject, he must enlarge upon it, and not leave it till he has more fully declared the greatness of our obligations to him. Yet was this digression not by any means irrelevant to his purpose. It had a manifest bearing upon his main subject ; and was, in that view, capable of the richest improvement.
In opening to you his words, I will,
I. Consider the work of redemption, as here set forth—
And, that we may enter the more fully into it, let us distinctly shew,
1. Who is the person here spoken of —
[He was a man : for what he did, he did " in his own body." But was he a mere man ? No : he was God as well
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