upon him in both points of view, with diftinguishing pleasure; and confider themselves as particularly interested in what he was, did, fuffered, enjoyed, and procured, as Man Mediator. Nor are his fufferings inexpreffive of the trials to which his members may be expofed, under which they may groan in the house of their pilgrimage; for as they all will be made conform to him in his glory, it is no more than reasonable, they should be like him in his low condition.

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In these low circumftances, however, our Lord can only be confidered as Man-Mediator. fuppofe the contrary, would argue the groffeft blafphemy, the highest impiety; because, in his divine nature, he neither fuffered, nor was capable of it; in that view he was, is, and continues the independent Jehovah, infinitely happy, infinitely removed from every circumftance fubverfive of perfection in happincfs. None of these paffions or connections, which to mortals are the fource of their infelicities, are, or can poffibly be known by him, who is the immortal, the everlasting God. So that when infpired writers represent him in fuch humbled circumftances, we must confider him only as the Man Chrift Jefus. In which capacity, indeed, though he was abfolutely divefted of these paffions which are the teeming womb of forrow and distress to mere men; yet his connections were fuch, as laid him under inevitable obligations to go through the hotteft furnace of trial ever mortal trode, and through fuch a furnace, as no man but himself was ever capable of treading. He was connected with the Law-giver by covenant, and with law-breakers by fubftitution; and thence expofed, juftly expofed, to all the Law-giver could demand, and to all the law-breaker fhould undergo.

The horrible pit and the miry clay are only dif ferent

ferent modes of the fame fituation. It is literally a noify pit, a well, or a bafon; in which, through the fall of waters, as from a breaking cataract or prominent cascade, there is a mighty noife. In allufion to which the pfalmift faid of himfelf, " Deep "calleth unto deep, at the noise of thy waterfpouts; all thy waves and billows are gone over me," Pfal. xlii. 7. And as in the bottom of these caverns there is generally fuch a collection of mud and gravel, that one's feet has no folid foundation, upon which to reft; though a perfon literally in fuch fituation was able to bear the danger and inconveniency, arifing from the fall and noise of waters about him; he behoved, from the very nature of the things,. to perish; from the other circumstance, of the yielding bottom upon which he stood. Thus the Meffiah is reprefented, as faying, "I fink in deep mire, where there is no "standing," Pfal. lxix. 2. Besides, from this striking figure, it would feem, that though the perfon · in fuch perilous circumstances had a way through which he might make his escape; yet the mire, in which he dipt, was of fuch an entangling nature, fo tough and congealed, that it held him faft in proportion as it gave way: than which, nothing can exhibite a livelier, more fignificant picture of our Lord's forlorn circumstances in his human nature upon earth.

SE C T. I.

A pit into which, among men, criminals are caft, being a place of fhame, difgrace and contempt; this figure points out the Redeemer's affumption of our nature, and his appearing in the likeness of finful flesh, as, during his humiliation, a state of ignominy and shame. The undertaking was truly noble,

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noble, generous and divine. But as perfonating and representing finners; as ftanding in their lawroom and stead; he appeared in an ignoble point of light. He was confidered as if he had himself been a tranfgreffor; as if in perfon a law-breaker; as if not only a finner, but the greatest and groffeft of all finners; nay, confidered as if all the iniquities of all the ranfomed ones had been accumulated together in his perfon and character, as Man-Mediator. To this purpose, it was faid of him, by the evangelical prophet, that "he was numbered "with the tranfgreffors," If. liii. 12. and accomplished in him, when he fuffered between two finners, as if more sinful than either, as if a greater tranfgreffor than both. Nay, on this stupenduous doctrine, the apostle fays more in one word, than we know language fully to open up. "God

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(fays he) hath made him to be fin for us," 2 Cor. v. 21. not only made him appear in the likeness and character of a finner; but, as if all fin had met and concentered in his perfon, he made him fin, fet him in fuch a point of light, substitute him in the room of fuch a number of vile finners, that, in that abstracted view, nothing but fin, guilt and obligation to fufferings, punishment and death, appeared. Nor was our Lord only a finner, in way of fubftitution by the Father, and right of requifition by the law; but was accounted fuch by men, while he tabernacled with them upon earth; nay, was treated by them, as if not only a finful and worthless man, but as if a messenger detached from the conclave from below. This man is not of "God, (faid they at one time) because he keepeth "not the fabbath day," John ix. 16. We know, "(faith they, at another) that this man is a fin· "ner," verf. 24. again, faid they, "He hath a devil, "and is mad," John x. 20. and, at the concluding

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fcene of his fuffering, don't you hear them crying, "Away with him, away with him?" John xix. 15. as if a nusance, burden and peft to fociety, as if vile to fuch degree, that, the earth groaned underneath him. Of this, too, the Redeemer himfelf had fuch a feeling, fuch a delicate fenfe, that the prophet represents him as faying, "I am a 83 worm, and no man." Pfalm xxii. 6. accounted a mean, base, grovelling reptile; as is fit for nothing, but to be trampled upon, and trod under foot. How justly, then, is this fituation compared to a place of difgrace, as well as diftrefs?

Such a pit, having floods of water breaking continually in upon it, with impetuous rapidity, rushing down as from an immenfe precipice, gufhing forth, as from a hovering, diftended, bursting cataract or water spout; ferves, elegantly ferves, to point out the terms in which men, finful men, ftand with God; and in which the Man Chrift, when doing and fuffering in their room, ftood with his Father. Sin no fooner entered into the world, men were no fooner in the pit of tranfgreffion, than the clouds of wrath began to gather, and to hover above their guilty heads; now and then breaking out in a visible manner, as by the flood on the old world, by fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, by the opening earth swallowing up Korah and his unhappy affociates. And, as the clouds of wrath, in particular inftances, broke out in a vifible manner; fo, fince the fall, they have continued to discharge themselves in a real, though infenfible way, upon the workers of iniquity, in all thefe pains and perils, in all that diftrefs and danger, with which a prefent ftate is fo imbittered; and to discharge themselves upon the finally impenitent, in the fucceffive damnation of their refpective fouls. But never did those clouds of wrath gather to fuch an awful head,

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head, never did they wear fuch a louring aspect,, nor fall with equal intrepidity and vengeance, as when, the Man Chrift, in the room of finners, was the object upon whom they were levelled, and against whom they were directed. In pouring out his wrath upon particular perfons, cities, focieties or nations; Jehovah, the God of truth, punished them indeed, but punished them only for their own iniquities whereas, in reckoning with the Mediater, though the Father faw no iniquity in himself to punish him for, he had countlefs vials of inexpreffible wrath to pour out upon him; not for the fins of one perfon, or city, or nation, or generation; but for the whole fins of a whole elect world. Whence he pronounces fentence against him, confidered as our furety, in these furprising, these amazing terms; "Awake, O fword, against my fhepherd, "and against the man that is my fellow, faith the "Lord of hofts: fmite the fhepherd," Zech. xiii. 7. In execution of this tremenduous fentence, "The Lord (actually) laid on him the iniquity "of us all," If. hii. 6. i. e. the wrath due to the manifold iniquity of all the ranfomed ones; and, under the dreadful conflict, our Lord himself is reprefented as faying, "The waters are come in into "my foul," Pfal. Ixix. 1. O firs, if the wrath of God, poured out into the foul of one finner, for his own fins only, makes fuch a hell of anguifh and mifery; what a hell must the Man Chrift have gone through, under the weight of all the wrath due to thousands, and ten thoufands; nay, under the load of all the wrath, due to fuch " a great multitude "" as no man can number!" But vaft as his hell of wrath behoved to be; "furely he hath born our "griefs, and carried our forrows; he was wounded "for our tranfgreffions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chaftifement of our peace was up

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