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from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us." Gal. iii. 13. And my text faith, "He "bare our fins in his own body on the tree." Now in exact correfpondence with these, the fentiments of the infpired writers, we frequently hear them fpeak of Christ's suffering in our stead; because our fins were put to his account, and he fuffered as tho' he had been a finner, juftly chargeable with fuch a multitude of perfonal tranfgreffions.

v. 7.

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Hence that evangelical prophet has it, "The "chaftisement of our peace was upon him. He "was cut of out the land of the living, for the "tranfgreffion of my people was he ftricken." And, by his knowledge shall my righteous fervant justify many, for he fhall bear their ini"quities." Bleffed Paul, calls him our paffover, "Chrift our paffover is facrificed for us. I Cor. "And once in the end of the world, he "hath appeared to put away fin, by the facrifice "of himself; and was offered to bear the fins "of many." Heb. ix. 26, 27. The fufferings of Chrift as narrated by the evangelists must be conceived to be the most exquifite and fevere; and it might well be faid in refpect thereof, "come "and fee if there ever was any forrow, like unto 86 my forrow, which is done unto me; wherewith "the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his "fierce anger." Lam. i. 12. And if fin be the only fource of forrow, and cause of fuffering; how is it poffible that Jefus a perfon most holy, in whom there was no fin, neither guile found in his mouth, fhould yet fuffer in the highest degree, and that not only in his body by the hands of barbarous and bloody-minded men; but also in his

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foul, by the just and equitable sentence, and procedure of a righteous and moft gracious God? For he was ftricken and fmitten of God, and afflicted," If. liii. 4. And in the garden, when alone," being in an agony, his fweat was "like great drops of blood falling to the ground." How impoffible it is to account for thefe things if we refufe to receive inftruction from the fpirit of truth, as fpeaking in his bleffed book; but when this is religiously adverted to, how confiftent and confortable do all these facred truths appear. Then we fee " mercy and truth meet to

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gether, righteousness and peace kindly kiffing one another." Then a way, a new and living way is opened whereby the guilty, but now ranfomed finner may efcape; and hereby the law, the pure and perfect law of God is magnified and made honourable. It appears, therefore, from the moft unquestionable teftimony, that Chrift bare the fins, and fuffered in the room or stead of others, "He fuffered for fins, the juft for the un

juft, that he might bring us to God;" which leads us in the laft place to prove, that what he fuffered was full and fatisfactory to the procuring all the bleffednefs to finners the wifdom and goodnefs of God had determined. This we fhall endeavour to elucidate and fettle by noting 1ft, The dignity of the fufferer. 2d, The greatness of his fufferings, and 3dly, by confidering his refurrection, as an indubitable proof of the fufficiency of his fufferings. As the fcriptures fometimes refpect our Saviour as man, or affuming the human nature, and in which fenfe, my father is greater than I, and fometimes in refpect to the divine, and then it is faid, I and my father are one.

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is with an eye to the latter we would be fuppofed to speak, when treating of the dignity of the Redeemer's perfon. But what finite mind can grasp, comprehend or conceive the greatnefs, power, and majesty of Jehovah! What can parallel those ftriking interrogations in the book of Job, ch. 38, &c? What can compare with the lofty defcriptions of the glory and mightiness of God to be met with in the book of Pfalms! How is the mind of man bewildered, and led into a labyrinth of inextricable perplexity, when drawn out in contemplation of that almighty fiat, and its marvellous effects. HE Spake, and it was done, HE commanded and it stood fast. Speak we of exiftence, his name JEHOVAH, alludes to his everlastingness, for, before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Of wisdom,-this is great and knows no bound, à depth where all our thoughts are drown'd. Who knows but he whereupon the foundations of the earth are laid? Or how by his - power be shut up the fea as with doors, when it first iffued as out of the womb? Who can conceive his glory and majefty, when riding upon the heaven of heavens, or attended with myriads of angels he majestically walks on the wings of the wind. At his rebuke the deep foundations of the world are difcovered, even at the blaft of the breath of his noftrils. And when he bows the heavens and comes down in answer to the prayer of finful dust and afhes, the earth shakes and trembles, the folid foundations of the hills are moved; a terrible fmoke proceedeth from his noftrils, and devouring fire out of his mouth. At his exceffive glory, dark

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falvation of his fervant on the wings of the wind. ed wings of cherubim be flies, and haftes to the mes Bees and falls beneath Him, on the expandAnd yet, hear it O heavens, and be aftonifhed O earth! This God is become our more ftupendiously marvellous, than all that fuGod and Saviour, by an act of undeferved mercy, the human nature, and appeared in man! This preme and fovereign majefty. This God, affumed is that mystery of Godliness, God manifefted in the feh, which is the very foundation of the truth, The child to be born of the virgin must be called Immanuel, God with us, and the word that was made flesh, is that which in the beginning was with God, and was God; and by whom all things were made. John i. 1, 2. Yea all things were made by bin, and for him, even angels, principalities, and powers, &c. which created beings, as himfelf was creator, he must be effentially different from, and fuperior to. Colof. i. 16. Paul who who had been taught by him, and of him, in the third heaven, the habitation of his holiness; tells the Phillippians, ch. ii. 6. That Chrift thought it no robbery to be equal with God, no infringement on another's right, being himself Jehovahs; notwithstanding he emptied himself of that dazling glory which mortal eye cannot behold, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of man and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, and became obedient even to the death of the cross.When thus we view the co-equal Son of God, by marvellous and miftic union taking hold of the feed of Abraham; that God and man, he might have the right of redemption, and power

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to redeem; what fins of finite man can be conceived, beyond the reach of fuch infinite fatisfaction, as he is capable to make? Allowing that the fins of man as committed against a God of infinite perfections, deferve infinite punishment as condign, lo! here is infinity itself engaged, and engaged to pay a price in full for precious fouls. And this may lead us, 2dly, to notice the greatnefs of his fufferings incarnate. But who can think of these without a figh, or speak or write of them without a tear? The prophet faw him at a distance, and declared the depth of woe, that man of forrows must wade thro' to bring falvation to his people. "I am difpifed of men, and

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a reproach of the people; all they that fee me laugh me to fcorn; they shoot out the lip and "fhake the head, they gaped upon me with their "mouths, as a ravening, and a roaring lion. &c." Dogs, have compaffed me, the affembly of the "wicked have enclosed me; they pierced my "hands and my feet, I may tell all my bones.' Pf. 22. All this and much more was fulfilled in our bleffed Lord. When he first appear'd in our world, he came as a stranger into a strange country; no regal pomp to aggrandize his person, or courtly fplendour to celebrate his natal day; but the meek and humble Jefus is born of an * obfcure virgin, in a mean and stinking stable, and wrapped in fwathes laid in a manger. Nor was his following life different to this beginning; " he was a man of forrows, and acquainted with "grief."

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*Obfcure respecting the etymology of the heb. (hamlah)

hid under the care of parents, &c.

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