DISCOURSE XI.

A Homily for Good-Friday-Of the Death and Paffion of our Savior Jesus Christ.

PHILIPPIANS ii. 8.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himfelf, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

O every real chriftian-to every returning penitent, the event of which this day reminds us, muft afford an awful fubject of most devout and humble confideration; for furely it would reflect the fouleft difgrace upon the very name of chriftian to let this feafon pass, without a folemn record of the gracious work of our redemption, wrought, as about this time, through the tender love and mercy of our Savior Jefus Chrift, who, while we were finners (and his bitter enemies of courfe), was fo aftonishingly gracious, as to lay down his life for our fakes, and through his atonement made for our offence, to deliver us from the power of the devil, fin and death; nay even from the fentence of of eternal condemnation, to which we were liable by VOL. II.

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our fallen nature, without his help to fave us. Surely, if the celebrated exploits of our fellowcreatures are worthy of remembrance; if we judge it right to express fome acts of praife and gratitude for the advantages ourselves, or the community, may have received from the generous exertions of mortal men; how much more dath it behove us to keep in mind, and magnify the wonderful and bleffed confequence of Chrift's death and sufferings, whereby he hath reconciled us to our heavenly Father; fo that, as before we were justly children of wrath, we are now become, through the merits of Chrift, the children of grace, or returning favor; we are entitled to call him Abba, Father ; are confidered as his converted children; and made real inheritors with Chrift, his only Son, of the kingdom of heaven.

Now when we duly weigh the character of the person who hath done this for us, Chrift's gracious love towards his creatures, receives an additional degree of value, and confequently an increase of praife; for, He who thought it not robbery to be equal with his Father in heaven, and was poffeffed of every glory, power, and enjoyment of his divine nature, yet condefcended to diveft himself, for a feafon, of all thefe exalted honors, to defcend into this vale of mifery and impurity, to become mortal man, and even to humble himself to the degrading office of a fervant, that he might minifter for our good, and provide for the cternal happiness of ungrateful rebels, who had forfaken God's moft holy laws, and were entirely devoted to the finful pleafures of a degenerated and evil nature. Yet, even in this ftate of almoft defperate enmity, Chrift placed himfelf between the merited wrath of God against our foul offences, cancelled the feverity of the obligation, which fubjected us to the divine difpleasure, and fatisfied that infinite juftice, which could no otherwife have been atoned, and (as the

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apostle St. Paul expreffes it, Coloff. ii. 14.) blotting out the band writing of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

As frail creatures, who had fallen from original innocence, and forfeited the protection of our heavenly Father, the debt became too great for us to pay; and without payment, or perfect obedience, the Almighty, whole attributes are all equally infinite, (and confequently cantrot behold impurity, or imperfection) could not poffibly be reconciled to fuch creatures as were in a state of increafing degeneracy and fin. It is evident likewife, from the above condition of man, that he had not power of himself to pay the debt. When therefore we take thefe things into serious confideration, first, the great love of our dear Redeemer, that mystery of God and Chrift, (Coloff. ii. 2.) fecondly, the grievous nature and heavy debt of fin; and that God, even when we were dead in our fins, bath quickened us together with him, forgiving us all our trefpaffes, (Col. ii, 13.) thirdly, That the debt was of fuch necessity to be entirely discharged, in order to the poffibility of our acceptance, that it could not otherwife be done, but by the fufferings and facrifice of the innocent, (the just to die for the unjust ;) who, I fay, when he meditates thoroughly on thefe wonderful events, can fail to hate fin in his heart, and to be alarmed at its moft fure, and dreadful effects, as oppofing the purity and holinefs of God. Well may we be afraid of its deadly poifon, when we fee its taint in our nature was so strong, and God's hatred of it fo great, that he could not be fatisfied by any thing men and angels could effect, but that only the death of his only and well-beloved Son could purchase our redemption. And when we reflect further, that it was for our fins, together with thofe of the whole world, that

this most innocent and fpotlefs Lamb of God, devoted himself to fulfil his Father's will towards us finful creatures, we fhall find abundantly more reafon to reproach ourfelves, every time we crucify the Lord afreth, by our wilful stubbornness and impenitent hearts, than to accufe the temporary malice of the Jews, whofe cruelty perfecuted him to the death. All mankind bore a part in the cause of his fufferings: They were principally the inftruments of inflicting the penalty he was to endure, for the joint wickedness of human nature, which could no otherwife have been forgiven. Deeply, therefore, doth it concern us, to fearch and condemn our own hearts; to humble ourselves, and confefs and lament our great wretchednefs, without the bleffing of a Redeemer. Let us dwell a little on this alarming truth. If in the great wifdom, and infinite mercy of God, he faw fit not to fpare the Son of his love, but to allow him to fubmit and be fmitten for fins of which his holy foul could never have been guilty; if there was a neceffity in this, in order to magnify the divine mercy towards his helpless creatures, O how much more ought we to be truly forry for our daily and manifold fins against fo good a Being! How ought it to urge us to repentance, to fincere contrition, and an endeavour after reformation. It requires no depth of underftanding, no extraordinary knowledge, to determine that if a man loves fin, that is, continues therein, it is impoffible to be in God's favor. No one can dare to fay he loveth his Savior truly, and cherish vice (the author of his death) at the fame time. The proof of our regard for Chrift is the abstaining from all fin. Attend to his own unerring words; Whofo keepeth my commandments, be it is that loveth me. Let us, above all things, beware of running into temptation, for in proportion as we yield to God's enemy, who is likewife our most deadly foe, we become

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traitors to the Lord, who bought us. "By continuing in our fins werthall, in a worfe fenfe, become the crucifiers of our Lord, than they who actually nailed him to the crofs. And to prevent us from fuch wicked guilt,, let us weigh the danger all fuch are in, according to the Apoftle's exhortation in Hebrews vi. 6. that as they crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to open fhame, fo fhall it be more difficult, after fuch a falling off, to renew them again unto repentance. We should confider alfo, what St. Paul admonisheth in another place, Rom. vi. 23. that if the wages of fin is death, even death eternal, it feriously concerneth us to beware of rifking fuch a danger. Neither becaufe Chrift, through the all-fufficient merits of his death, hath obtained a poffibility of our being faved from the curfe of the law, are we therefore prefumptuously to continue in fin, that grace may abound. Against this deadly error the apoftle warns his difciples, in the fecond verfe of the fame chapter, for if we live after the flesh, (that is, follow the finful lufts thereof) the Almighty threateneth, by the mouth of the fame apoftle, that we shall die; but if we through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live, Rom. viii. 13. For if the fpirit of him that raised up Jefus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Chrift from the dead, fhall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you, ver. II. Here therefore we have a proof whether we be in Chrift, or Christ in us, because then, fin will be dead in us, that is, we hall not ferve fin; but if fin rule, or reign in us, then is God, the fountain of all grace and virtue, departed from us. In that cafe, the evil fpirit taketh poffeffion of us, and moft affuredly all who die under his dorninion, will find themfelves in a moft miferable state. They will never rife to life, but only to endless condemnation, fince they are not of thofe who are in Chrift Jefus, who all profefs this never-failing fign, that they walk not after the flesh,

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