Opens the fourth excellent Saying of CHRIST upon Crofs.

the

MAT. XXVII. 46. And about the ninth hour Fefus cried with a loud voice, faying, Eli, Eli, lama fabachthani; that is to say, My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?

TH

HIS verfe contains the fourth memorable faying of Chrift upon the cross; words able to rend the hardest heart in the world: it is the voice of the Son of God in an agony his fufferings were great, very great before, but never in that extremity as now; when this heaven-rending and heart-melting out-cry brake from him upon the crofs, Eli, Eli, lama fabachthani? In which are confiderable, the time, matter, and manner of this his fad complaint.

Firft, The time when it was uttered, "about the ninth hour," (i. e.) about three of the clock after noon. For as the Jews divided the night into four quarters, or watches; fo they divided the day, in like manner, into four quarters, or greater hours: which had their names from that hour of the day that clofed the quarter. So that beginning their account of their leffer hours from fix in the morning, which with them was the first, their ninth hour answered to our third after noon. And this is heedfully marked by the evangelifts, on purpose to shew us how long Chrift hanged in diftrefs upon the cross, both in foul and body, which at least was full three hours: towards the end whereof his foul was fo filled, diftreffed, and overwhelmed, that this doleful cry brake from his foul, in bitter, anguish, "My God, my God," &c.

Secondly, The matter of the complaint. It is not of the cruel tortures he felt in his body, nor of the fcoffs and reproaches of his name; he mentions not a word of these, they were all swallowed up in the fufferings within, as the river is fwalowed up in the fea, or the leffer flame in the greater. He feems to neglect all these, and only complains of what was more burdenfome than ten thousand croffes: even his Father's deferting him," My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?"

*** I know thefe are the words of one in agony, and in the utmost anguish of foul. Heinfius on the place.

It is a more inward trouble that burdens him, darkness upon his fpirit, the hidings of God's face from him, an affliction he was totally a stranger to till now; here he lays his hand in this complaint. This was the pained place, to which he points in this dolorous outcry.

Thirdly, The manner in which he utters his fad complaint, and that was with a remarkable vehemency, "he cried with a "loud voice," not like a dying man, in whom nature was spent, but as one full of vigour, life, and fenfe. He gathered all his fpirits together, ftirred up the whole power of nature, when he made this grievous outcry. There is in it also an emphatical reduplication, which fhews with what vehemency it was uttered; not fingly, my God, but he doubles it, "My God, my "God," as diftreffed perfons ufe to do. So Elisha, when Elijah was feparated from him by the chariots and horses of fire, cries out, "My father, my father."

:

Nay, moreover, to increafe the force and vehemency of this complaint, here is an affectionate interrogation, "Why haft "thou forfaken me?" Queftions, efpecially fuch as this, are full of fpirits. It is as if he were furprized by the strangeness of this affliction and roufing up himself with an unusual vehemency, turns himself to the Father, and cries, Why fo, my Father? O what doft thou mean by this? What! hide that face from me that was never hid before! What! and hide it from me now, in the depth of my other torments and troubles! O what new, what strange things are thefe! Laftly, here is an obfervable variation of the language in which this aftonishing complaint was uttered; for he speaks both Hebrew and Syriac in one breath, Eli, Eli, lama, are all Hebrew, fabachthani is a Syriac word, uled here for emphafis fake. Hence we obferve.

Doct. That God in defign to heighten the fufferings of Chrift to the uttermoft, forfook him in the time of his greatest diftrefs; to the unspeakable affliction and anguish of his. foul.

This propofition fhall be confidered in three parts: The defertion itself; the defign or end of it; the effect and influence it had on Chrift.

First, The defertion itself. Divine desertion generally confidered, is God's withdrawing himself from any, not as to his effence, that fills heaven and earth, and conftantly remains the fame; but 'tis the withdrawment of his favour, grace, and

SERM. XXXII. love; when thefe are gone God is faid to be gone. And this is done two ways, either abfolutely, and wholly, or refpectively, and only as to manifestation. In the first fente, devils are forfaken of God. They once were in his favour and love, but they have utterly and finally loft it. God is fo withdrawn from them, as that he will never take them into favour any more. In the other fenfe he fometimes forfakes his dearest children, (i. e.) he removes all fweet manifeftations of his favour and love for a time, and carries it to them as a firanger, though his love be ftill the fame.

And this kind of defertion, which is refpective, temporary, and only in regard of manifeftation, is juftly diftinguished from the various ends and defigns of it, into probational, cautional, caftigatory, and penal. Probational desertions are only for the proof and trial of grace. Cautional desertions are defigned to prevent fin. Caftigatory defertions are God's rods to "chaftite his people for fin. Penal defertions are fuch as are inflicted as the juft reward of fin, for the reparation of that wrong finners have done by their fins. Of this fort was Chrift's defertion. A part of the curfe, and a fpecial part. And his bearing it was no fmall part of the reparation, or fatisfaction he made for our fins.

More particularly, to open the nature of this defertion of Chrift by his Father, there being much of intricacy and difficulty in it; I fhall proceed in the explication of it negatively, and pofitively.

First, Negatively. When Chrift cries out of God's forfaking him, he doth not mean, that he had diffolved the perfonal union of the two natures. Not as if the marriage-knot which united our nature to the perfon of Chrift was loofed, or a divorce made betwixt them: No, for when he was forfaken of God, he was ftill true and real God-man in one person.

Secondly, When Chrift bewails the Father's forfaking him, he doth not mean, that he pulled away the prop of divine support from him, by which he had till then endured the tortures and fufferings that oppreffed him: no, though the Father deserted, yet he ftill fupported him. And fo much is intimated in thefe words of Chrift, Eli, Eli, which fignifies my ftrong One, my ftrong One. God was with him by way of fupport, when withdrawn as to manifeftations of love and favour. In respect of God's fupporting prefence which was with Chrift at this time, 'tis faid, Ifa. xlii. 1. "behold my fervant, whom I uphold:" and John xvi. 33. "I am not alone, but my father is with "pe." So that this cannot be the meaning of it.

Thirdly, Much lefs is it bis meaning, that God had left him, as to inherent grace and fanctification; recalling that spirit of holinefs which had anointed him above his fellows: no, no; when he was forfaken, he remained as holy as ever: he had indeed lefs comfort, but not lefs holiness than before. Such a desertion had irritated and made void the very end of his death. And his facrifice could never have yielded fuch a fragrant odour to God as it did, Eph. v. 2.

Fourthly, The love of God was not fo withdrawn from Christ, as that the Father had now no love for him, nor delight in him. That is impoffible; he can no more ceafe to love Chrift, than to love himself. His love was not turned into wrath; though his wrath only was now manifefted to him as our furety; and hid his love from him, as his beloved Son.

Fifthly, Nor was Chrift for faken by his Father finally, upon what account foever it was that he was forfaken: no, it was but for a few hours that the dark cloud dwelt upon his foul; it foon paffed away, and the bright and glorious face of God fhone forth again as bright as ever, Pfal. xxii. 1, 24. compared.

Sixthly, and laftly, It was not a mutual defertion, or a defertion on both parts; the Father forfook him, but he forfook not his Father. When God withdrew, he followed him, cry ing, "My God, my God."

Yet to fpeak pofitively of it; though it did not diffolve the perfonal union, nor cut off divine fupports, nor remove his inherent grace, nor turn his Father's love into hatred, nor continue for ever, nor yet was it on both parts, Christ's forfaking God, as well as God forfaking Chrift: yet 1 fay it was,

First, A very fad defertion, the like unto which in all refpects never was experienced by any, nor can be to the end of the world. All his other things were but fmall things to this; they bore upon his body, this upon his foul; they came from the hands of vile men, this from the hands of a dear Father. He fuffered both in body and foul; but the fufferings of his foul were the very foul of his fufferings. Under all his other fufferings he opened not his mouth; but this touched the quick, that he could not but cry out, "My God, my God, why haft "thou forfaken me?"

Secondly, As it was fad, fo it was a penal defertion, inflicted on him for fatisfaction for thofe fins of ours, which deferved that God fhould forfake us for ever, as the damned are forfaken by him. So that this cry (as one obferves) was like the perpetual briek of them that are caft away for ever: this was that VOL. I. Kkk

hell, and the torments of it, which Chrift, our furety, luffered for us. For look, as there lies a twofold mifery upon the damned, in hell, viz. pain of fenfe, and pain of lofs; fo upon Chrift anfwerably there was not only an impreffion of wrath, but also a fubtraction or withdrawment of all fenfible favour and love. Hence it is faid by himself, John xii. 27. And now my foul, Telapaxta, is troubled. The word fignifies, troubled as they that are in hell are troubled. Though God did not leave his foul in hell, as others are, he having enough to pay the debt which they have not, yet in the torments thereof, at this time, he was; yea, in fufferings at this time in his foul, equivalent to all that, which our fouls fhould have fuffered there to all eternity.

Thirdly, It was a desertion that was real, and not fictitious *. He doth not perfonate a deferted foul, and fpeak as if God had withdrawn the comfortable fenfe and influence of his love from him; but the thing was fo indeed. The Godhead restrained and kept back, for this time, all its joys, comforts, and fenfe of love from the manhood, yielding it nothing but fupport. This bitter doleful outcry of Chrift gives evidence enough of the reality of it: he did not feign, but feel the burdenfomeness of it.

Fourthly, This defertion fell out in the time of Christ's greatest need of comfort that ever he had in all the time of his life on earth. His father forfook him at that time, when all earthly comforts had forfaken him, and all outward evils had broken in together upon him; when men, yea, the best of men stood afar off, and none but barbarous enemies were about him. When pains and shame, and all miferies even weighed him down: then, even then, to compleat and fill up his fufferings, God ftands afar off

too.

Fifthly, and lastly, It was fuch a defertion as left him only to the fupports of his faith. He had nothing elfe now but his Father's covenant and promise to hang upon. And indeed, as a judicious author pertinently obferves, the faith of Chrift did feveral ways act and manifest itself, in these very words of complaint in the text.

For though all comfortable fights of God, and fenfe of love

* It is not in a fictitious and theatrical manner, that he laments his being deferted of the Father; and what fome maintain, that he spoke thus, according to the opinion of the vulgar, is a foolish cavil. Calvin.

+ Mr. Cafe's Correction, inftruction, p. 51, 52.