ly patience appeared to greater advantage, shined forth with the most distinguished splendour.

The manner in which our Lord exercifed his believing dependence was no lefs peculiar, than the manner in which he performed his Father's work. For though he abfolutely believed the truth of his Father's promises to him, he left the time and the way of performance intirely to the Father himself. And if his harmlefs human nature feemed, under the hottest conflict, to recoil, and to exprefs a wishfulness that the bitterness of his cup might immediately pass over, he inftantly recovered himself; and at once, refuming the bravery peculiar to him, as the captain of his people's falvation, faid, "Ne"vertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt," Matth. xxvi. 39. Nor could the highest degrees of fufferings inflicted, the highest penal demands made, by the Father upon him, as the furety of finners, interrupt his believing claim of relation to the Father, and intereft in him. For when bruifed, bleeding and groaning, under the immenfe load of law-wrath upon the crofs, we find his faith fcrewed up to the highest pitch; making him, with holy, believing, intrepid refolution, to cry, "My God," and again, "My God," Pfal. xxii. Matth. xxvii. 46.

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Though our Lord's perfonal miniftry was, comparatively, unfuccefsful; though in particular corners, he did not many mighty works, because of their unbelief; though, through the whole of his tabernacling on earth, he had reafon to fay, "I "have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength "for nought, and in vain,” If. xlix. 4. yet he believed, that after his tranflation to heaven, the ends of his death, as to all for whom he fuffered, fhould eventually and effectually be reached. The Father having promifed concerning him, that "he should

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fay,

"fee of the travail of his foul, and fhould be fatis"fied," If. liii. 11. faith in him, anfwering to the Father's veracity in that promife, made him "All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me," John vi. 37. However thy men were then to repair underneath the banners of falvation; the bleffed Jefus was perfuaded, that, as to all his elect feed, the veffels of mercy, his Father would draw them to him, and glorify him in them. Whence he could affure his difciples, of the defcent of the holy Ghoft, of his going to prepare a place for them, and of his cing them again, to their unspeakable, indelible, everlasting joy.

Under whatever calumny and reproach, our Lord was laid, by the fcourge of tongues; howe; ver mifconftructed and mifreprefented by his enemies, open or disguised; he rested fatisfied in the Father's approbation of him, and determination concerning him; perfuaded he would make his righteoufnefs break forth as the light, and his judgment as the noon day. In this faith, the Man Christ enjoyed peace in the midst of war, ferenity in the midst of tumult, and happiness when, to the human eye, he was only a man of forrows, and acquainted with griefs. For "When he was revil"ed (fays the apostle) he reviled not again; when "he fuffered, he threatened not; but committed "himself to him that judgeth righteously," 1 Peter iii. 23.

Our Lord crying to the Father is a term, imports ing the fame as prayer and fupplication to God. "Ceafe not (faid the Ifraclites to Samuel) to cry "unto the Lord for us, that he will fave us out of the hand of the Philistines," 1 Sam. vii. &. And "this poor man (fays the prophet, very pro

"bably,

"bably, of the Meffiah) cried, and the Lord heard "him, and faved him out of all his troubles," Pfal. xxxiv. 6. As a praying perfon, the man Chrift spent much of his time on earth in that exercife, thereby maintaining delightful intercourse with his Father, and fetting an amiable pattern before his people. For, "When he had fent the "multitudes away, he went up into a mountain, "apart to pray," Matth. xiv. 23. Again, "In "the morning, rising up a great while before day, "he went out, departed into a folitary place, and "there prayed," Mark i. 35. And again, "He

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went out into a mountain to pray, and continu"ed all night in prayer to God," Luke vi. 12. Nor was our Lord only much employed in prayer, but his crying to God pointed out earneftness, pain and diftrefs in it; his prayers were quite the reverfe of that formality and indifference, that wandering and inattention, which accompany, ftain and difgrace, the best prayers of the best men on whom the fun ever shone. His prayers were all expreffive of his feelings, and kept pace exactly with them. For as he did no fin, fo "neither was guile found "in his mouth," 1 Pet. ii. 22. and it was under the fevereft diftrefs that the prophet reprefented. him, as "crying day and night," Pfal. xxii. 2. The earneftnefs and anxiety of the children of Ifrael, when they "fighed by reafon of the bondage, "and cried," Exod. ii. 23. or of the Ekronites, when the hand of God being very heavy upon them, "the cry of the city went up to heaven," r Sam. v. 12. Thefe and fuch inflances, though vastly short of that holy expreffive ardour pointed out by the Redeemer's cry, tend to illuftrate and caft a light upon it.

Our Lord's prayers while on earth, were sometimes expreffed in words, fuch as could be heard

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and understood by others: accordingly, we have feveral fpecimens of them, tranfmitted by the evangelifts; the most remarkable of which, is that whereof the whole 17th chapter of John confifts. But his cry was likeways expreffed, on fome occafions, by the effufion of tears, through which, as from other caufes, "his vifage was marred more "than any man, and his form more than the fons "of men," If. lii. 14. Thus we are informed of his weeping once and again, Luke xix. 41. and John xi. 35. and affured, that "he offered up "prayers and fupplications with tears," Heb. v. 7. On other occafions, it was expreffed by fighs and groans, as what were too big for utterance: for we are told, that "looking up to heaven, he "fighed," Mark vii. 34. that "he fighed deeply "in his fpirit," Mark viii. 12. that "he groaned

in the fpirit, and was troubled," John xi. 33. and that "he again groaned in himfelf," verf. 38. This, however, is not the whole. The cry of the Man Chrift was fometimes expreffed by actual crying, nay, roaring; as what his unutterable feelings extorted from him, when exercifing the greatest patience that humanity, in her highest innocence, was capable of. By the prophet he is reprefented as faying, "Why art thou fo far from

helping me, from the words of my roaring?" Pfal. xxii. 1. Upon the crois, as the accomplishment of that prophecy, "he cried (once and again) "with a loud voice;" with the laft of which cries. he yielded up his immaculate fpirit, Matth. xxvii. 46, 50. And the apoflle bears witnefs, that "in "the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and "fupplications, with ftrong crying," Heb. v. 7. But why infift on these things? were not his needs and wants, as Man-Mediator, were they not in themselves a continual cry, in the cars of the Fa

ther?

ther? His hunger, thirst, weariness, reproach, pain and distress, were all as fo many tongues, upon which eloquence, argument and perfuafion always fat. To every ftudent of the fcriptures, it will at once appear, that our Lord had fuch needs, felt fuch wants; nay, that from the manger to the grave, he was moftly, if not wholly, fuch a man of forrows and acquainted with griefs. And unless it could be imagined, that the Father had lefs con. cern about his own Son, than about the irrational tribes; it is plain, thefe manifold neceffities of his came up, as in the most expreffive language, before the throne: for infpiration affures us, that "God giveth to the beaft his food, and to the

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young ravens which cry," Pfal. cxlvii. 9. and our Lord himself taught his difciples, that their heavenly Father "fed the fowls of the air, who "neither fow, reap, nor gather into barns," Matth. vi. 26.

When thus humbled, the prayers or cries of the Man Chrift were put up on his own behalf. "0

my Father (faid he, once, again and again) if "it be poffible, let this cup pafs from me; but if "this cup may not pass from me, except I drink "it, thy will be done," Matth. xxvi. 39, 42. "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that

thy Son alfo may glorify thee. O Father, glo"rify me with thine own felf; with the glory "which I had with thee, before the world was, John xvii. 1, 5. “Be not thou far from me, "Lord, O my ftrength, hafte thee to help me, "deliver my foul from the fwerd, my darling from "the power of the dog; fave me from the lions "mouth," Pfal. xxii. 19, 20, 21, But though our Lord prayed for himfelf, his cries, or prayers, were by no means confined to himfelf; for we find his concern about the promotion of his Father's.

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