what comfort is this unto us to have such a Jesus, who himself bare our sins, even all our sins, left not one unsatisfied for, laid down a full ransom, a full price, such an expiatory sacrifice as that now we are out of the hands of justice, and wrath, and death, and curse, and hell, and are reconciled and made near by the blood of the everlasting covenant! The blood of Christ, as the Scripture speaks, is the blood of God,' Acts xx. 28, so that there is not only satisfaction, but merit in his blood. There is more in Christ's blood than mere payment or satisfaction. There was merit also in it, to acquire and procure and purchase all spiritual good, and all eternal good for the people of God; not only immunities from sin, death, wrath, curse, hell, &c., but privileges and dignities of sons and heirs; yea, all grace, and all love, and all peace, and all glory, even that glorious inheritance purchased by his blood, Eph. i. 14.

Remember this once for all, that in justification our debts are charged upon Christ, they go upon his accounts. You know that in sin there is the vicious and staining quality of it, and there is the resulting guilt of it, which is the obligation of a sinner over to the judgment-seat of God to answer for it. Now this guilt, in which lies our debt, this is charged upon Christ. Therefore, saith the apostle, 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,' 2 Cor. v. 19; 'And hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,' ver. 21. You know in law the wife's debts are charged upon the husband; and if the debtor be disabled, then the creditor sues the surety. Fide-jussor, or surety and debtor, in law are reputed as one person. Now Christ is our fidejussor. 'He is made sin for us,' saith the apostle; 'for us'—that is, in our stead-a surety for us, one who puts our scores on his accounts, our burden on his shoulders. So saith that princely prophet Isaiah: Isa. liii. 4, 5, He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.' How so? He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities;' that is, he stood in our stead, he took upon him the answering of our sins, the satisfying of our debts, the clearing of our guilt; and therefore was it that he was so bruised, &c.

You remember the scape-goat; upon his head all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins were confessed and put: And the goat did bear upon him all their iniquities,' Lev. xvi. 21, 22. What is the meaning of this? Surely Jesus Christ, upon whom our sins were laid, and who alone died for the ungodly, Rom. v. 6, ' and bore our burdens away.' Therefore the believer in the sense of guilt should run unto Christ, and offer up his blood unto the Father, and say, 'Lord, it is true, I owe thee so much; yet, Father, forgive me; remember that thine own Son was my ransom, his blood was the price; he was my surety, and undertook to answer for my sins. I beseech thee, accept of his atonement, for he is my surety, my redemption. Thou must be satisfied! but Christ hath satisfied thee, not for himself-what sins had he of his own ?-but for me. They were my debts which he satisfied for; and look over thy book, and thou shalt find it so; for thou hast said, "He was made sin for us, and that he was wounded for our transgressions." Now, what a singular support, what an admirable comfort is this, that we

ourselves are not to make up our accounts and reckonings; but that Christ hath cleared all accounts and reckonings between God and us. Therefore it is said that in his blood we have redemption, even the forgiveness of sins,' Eph. i. 7.

Quest. Whether it were not against the justice of God that Christ, who was in himself innocent, without all sin, a Lamb without a spot, should bear and endure all these punishments for us who were the offending and guilty and obnoxious persons only? Or if you please thus,

Whether God was not unjust to give his Son Jesus Christ to be our surety and mediator and redeemer and saviour, forasmuch as Christ could not be any one of these for and unto us but by a willing susception of our sins upon himself, to be for them responsible unto the justice of God, in suffering those punishments which were due for our sins?

I shall speak a few words to this main question. I say, then, that it is not always and in all cases unjust, but it is sometimes and in some cases very just, to punish one who is himself innocent, for him or those who are the nocent and guilty. Grotius in his book, De Satisfactione, gives divers instances; but I shall mention only two.

First, In the case of conjunction, where the innocent party and the nocent party do become legally one party; and therefore if a man marries a woman indebted, he thereupon becomes obnoxious to pay her debts, although, absolutely considered, he was not obnoxious thereunto. But,

And be

Secondly, In case of suretyship, where a person, knowing the weak and insufficient condition of another, doth yet voluntarily put forth himself, and will be bound to the creditor for him as his surety to answer for him, by reason of which suretyship the creditor may come upon him, and deal with him as he might have dealt with the principal debtor himself; and this course we do ordinarily take with sureties for the recovery of our right, without any violation of justice. Now, both these are exactly applicable to the business in hand; for Jesus Christ was pleased to marry our nature unto himself; he did partake of our flesh and blood, and became man, and one with us. sides that, he did, both by the will of his Father and his own free consent, become our surety, and was content to stand in our stead or room, so as to be made sin and curse for us-that is, to have all our debts and sorrows, all our sins and punishments laid upon him, and did engage himself to satisfy God by bearing and suffering what we should have borne and suffered. And therefore although Jesus Christ, absolutely considered in himself, was innocent and had no sin inherent in himself, which therefore might make him liable to death and wrath and curse, yet by becoming one with us, and sustaining the office of our surety, our sins were laid on him, and our sins being laid upon him, he made himself therefore obnoxious, and that justly, to all those punishments which he did suffer for our sins. I do confess, that had Christ been unwilling and forced into this suretyship, or had any detriment or prejudice risen to any party concerned in this transaction, then some complaint might have been made concerning the justice of God. But,

[1.] First, There was a willingness on all sides for the passive work of Christ. First, God the Father, who was the offended party, he was willing, which Christ assures us of when he said, 'Thy will be done,' Mat. xxvi. 42; Acts iv. 25-28. Secondly, We poor sinners, who are the offending party, are willing. We accept of this gracious and wonderful redemption, and bless the Lord who ' so loved us as to give his Son for us.' And, thirdly, Jesus Christ was willing to suffer for us: Behold I come,' Ps. xl. 7: And shall I not drink of the cup which my Father hath given me to drink?' John xviii. 11: 'I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished?' Luke xii. 50. He calls the death of his cross a baptism, partly because it was a certain immersion into extreme calamities into which he was cast, and partly because in the cross he was so to be sprinkled in his own blood as if he had been drowned and baptized in it. The Greek word, ovvéxoμai, that is here rendered straitened, signifies to be pained, pressed, or pent up, not with such a grief as made him unwilling to come to it, but with such as made him desire that it were once over. There seems,' saith Grotius, 'to be a similitude implied in the original word, taken from a woman with child, which is so afraid of her bringing forth that yet she would fain be eased of her burden.' John x. 11, 'I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' Christ is that good Shepherd by an excellency, that held not his life dear for his sheep's safety: ver 15, 'I lay down my life for the sheep': ver. 17, 'Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life:' ver. 18, No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.' A necessity there was of our Saviour's death, but it was a necessity of immutability— because God had decreed it, Acts ii. 23-not of coaction. He laid down his life freely, he died willingly. But,

[2.] Secondly, No parties whatsoever were prejudiced, or lost by it. We lost nothing by it, for we are saved by his death, and reconciled by his death; and Christ lost nothing by it: Ought_not Christ to have suffered these things, and enter into his glory?' Luke xxiv. 26. 'The Captain of our salvation is made perfect through sufferings,' Heb. ii. 10. You may see Christ's glorious rewards for his sufferings in that Isa. liii. 10-12. And God the Father lost nothing by it, for he is glorified by it: 'I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do,' John xvii. 4. Yea, he is fully satisfied and repaired again in all the honour which he lost by our sinning-I say he is now fully repaired again by the sufferings of Christ, in which he found a price sufficient, and a ransom, and enough to make peace for ever. In the day of account, a Christian's great plea is, that Christ has been his surety, and paid his debts, and made up his accounts for him.

II. Now, from what has been said last, a Christian may form up this second plea to the ten scriptures in the margin,1 that refer either to the general judgment or to the particular judgment that will pass upon every Christian immediately after death. O blessed Lord! upon my first believing and closing with Jesus Christ, thou didst justify me in the

1 Eccles. xi. 9, and xii. 14; Mat. xii. 36, and xviii. 23; Luke xvi. 2; Rom. xiv. 10, 12; 2 Cor. v. 10; Heb. ix. 27, and xiii. 17; 1 Pet. iv. 5.

court of glory from all my sins, both as to guilt and punishment. Upon my first act of believing, thou didst pardon all my sins, thou didst forgive all my iniquities, thou didst blot out all my transgressions; and as upon my first believing thou didst give me the remission of all my sins, so upon my first believing thou didst free me from a state of condemnation, and interest me in the great salvation. Upon my first believing, I was united to Jesus Christ, and I was clothed with the righteousness of Christ, which covered all my sins and discharged me from all my transgressions, Rom. viii. 10; Heb. ii. 3; and remember, O Lord, that at the very moment of my dissolution thou didst really, perfectly, universally, and finally forgive all my sins. Every debt that moment was discharged, and every score that moment was crossed, and every bill and bond that moment was cancelled, so that there was not left in the book of thy remembrance one sin, no, not the least sin, standing upon record against my soul; and besides all this, thou knowest, O Lord, that all my sins were laid upon Christ my surety, Heb. vii. 21, 22, and that he became responsible for them all. He did die, he did lay down his life, he did make his soul an offering for my sins, he did become a curse, he did endure thy infinite wrath, he did give complete satisfaction, and a full compensation unto thy justice for all my sins, debts, trespasses. This is my plea, O Lord! and by this plea I shall stand. 'Well,' saith the Lord, I allow of this plea, I accept of this plea as just, honourable, and righteous. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' But,

Seventhly, Consider, that whatever we are bound to do, or to suffer by the law of God, all that did Christ do and suffer for us, as being our surety and mediator. Now the law of God hath a double challenge or demand upon us; one is of active obedience, in fulfilling what it requires; the other is of passive obedience, in suffering that punishment which lies upon us, for the transgression of it, in doing what it forbids. For as we are created by God, we did owe unto him all obedience which he required; and as we sinned against God, we did owe unto him a suffering of all that punishment which he threatened, and we being fallen by transgression, can neither pay the one debt, nor yet the other; we cannot do all that the law requires, nay of ourselves we can do nothing; neither can we so suffer as to satisfy God in his justice wronged by us, or to recover ourselves into life and favour again; and therefore Jesus Christ, who was God, made man, did become our surety, and stood in our stead or room; and he did perform what we should but could not perform; and he did bear our sins and our sorrows. He did suffer and bear for us what we ourselves should have borne and suffered, whereby he did fully satisfy the justice of God, and made our peace, and purchased life and happiness for us. Let me a little more clearly and fully open this great truth in these few particulars.

(1.) First, Jesus Christ did perform that active obedience unto the law of God, which we should, but, by reason of sin, could not perform; in which respect he is said, Gal. iv. 4, to be made under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law.' So far was Christ under the law, as to redeem them that were under the law. But redeem them that were under the law he could not, unless by dis

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charging the bonds of the law in force upon us; and all those bonds could not be, and were not discharged, unless a perfect righteousness had been presented on our behalf, who were under the law, to fulfil the law. Now there is a twofold righteousness necessary to the actual fulfilling of the law: one is an internal righteousness of the nature of man; the other is an external righteousness of the life or works of man: both of these do the law require. The former, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,' &c., which is the sum of the first table; And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,' which is the sum of the second table: the latter, Do this and live,' Lev. xviii. 5, He that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, to do them, is cursed,' Gal. iii. 10. Now both these righteousnesses were found in Christ. First, the internal: Heb. vii. 26, 'He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners; Heb. ix. 14, And offered himself without spot to God;' 2 Cor. v. 21, 'He knew no sin.' Secondly, external: 1 Peter ii. 22, ' He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;' John xvii. 4, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do;' Mat. iii. 15, He must fulfil all righteousness,' Rom. x. 4; Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.' Now concerning Christ's active obedience to the law of God, these things are considerable in it.

[1] First, The universality of it: he did whatsoever his Father required, and left nothing of his Father's will undone. He kept the whole law, and offended not in one point. Whatever was required of us, by virtue of any law, that he did, and fulfilled. Hence he is said to be made under the law, Gal. iv. 4, subject or obnoxious to it, to all the precepts or commands of it. Christ was so made under the law, as those were under the law whom he was to redeem. Now we were under the law, not only as obnoxious to its penalties, but as bound to all the duties of it. That this is our being under the law, is evident by that of the apostle: Gal. iv. 21, 'Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law. Surely it was not the penalty of the law they desired to be under, but to be under it in respect of obedience. So Mat. iii. 15. Here Christ tells you, that it became him to fulfil all righteousness,' Tâσav dikaιoσúvny, all manner of righteousness whatsoever; that is, everything that God required, as is evident from the application of that general axiom to the baptism of John. But,

[2] Secondly, The exactness and perfection of it. He kept the whole law exactly. As he was not wanting in matter, so he did not fail in the manner of performing his Father's will. There was no defects, nothing lacking in his obedience; he did all things well. What we are pressing towards, and reaching forth unto, he attained; he was perfect in every good work, and stood complete in the whole will of his Father. And hence it is, that it is recorded of him, that he was without sin, knew no sin, did no sin, which could not be if he had failed in anything. But,

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[3.] Thirdly, The constancy of it. Christ did not obey by fits, but constantly. Though we cannot, yet he continued in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' This righteous one held on his way, he did not fail, nor was he discouraged; yea, when