Sect. 4. Use 1. Information in four particulars.

ANd first, This Truth will afford us mat∣ter of very useful Information, to esta∣blish our judgements in some particulars of special concernment.

Page  871 It holds forth unto us the strange mis∣chievousness of sin in the nature and work∣ings of it. Oh the excessive sinfulness, the unspeakable poysonfulness of sin, that could reach as high as heaven, and bring the Son of the Eternal God under the Curse. Oh that the sons and daughters of Adam would look about them, & begin at length seriously to consider, what an hideous Monster they nourish, what a venemous Serpent they keep, yea hug in their bosomes. Look upon it in this glass, and see how black, and ugly it ap∣pears. If you have not seen it by the Mini∣stry of the Law, so as to humble you, and to lay you low before the Lord, I beseech you, turn your eyes unto Jesus Christ, and see what foul work it hath made, what mis∣chief it hath brought on him. Behold here a strange sight, a sad spectacle, the blessed Son of God made acursed. The justice of the Law hath found him amongst sinners, and singled him out from all the company, and set him as a mark to shoot at, yea, hath spent all the arrows of its quiver upon him, and thereby hath mangled, and rent, and torn, and wounded him grievously, yea hath brought him down to the gates of death, e∣ven as low as hell. When thou hast present∣ed him to thy minde in this pittiful pickle, then reflect upon thy self, and say, What evill beast hath done this? Was it any of∣fence that he hath done against the Law in his own person, that hath provoked it to pour out such a flood of curses upon him▪ Page  88 Oh no, he was holy, harmless, undefiled, there was no spot of unrighteousness in him. It was for my rebellion, treason, apostacy from my Maker,* I have sinned, and Christ hath suffered the curse for my sin. Take now a survey of the several branches of this curse, and see how it dogged him all along from his birth, to his burial, especially the griefes, and the groans, the sorrows, and the sweats, the tears, the terrors, and the tor∣ments of his soul under the power of the second death, and then say in thy heart, Oh fool that I was, I did not beleeve, that sin had been so exceeding bad as it is, I see now it is no tame beast, but an unreasonable ra∣venous devouring Serpent, full of deadly poyson. Canst thou see all this heavy load lying on the back of Christ, and yet judge any sin to be small, or go on with a proud heart, and a high look, maintaining thine old league with sin, and continuing in the hell of thine accursed natural condition, as if it were thy heaven?

2 It re-mindes us further of the greatness of that misery, whereinto man is implunged by sin: For if Christ be made a curse, who had no sin of his own, but onely ours laid upon him; What a grievous curse then, must needs lye upon them, who have the guilt of their personal sins sticking close to their con∣sciences, and still lye weltring in their own gore-blood? especially on those wretched souls which must bear the wrath due to sin in their own persons for ever? The men of the Page  89 world put the evil day far from them, they feel no harme, they fear no danger, and therefore they blesse themselves in their pre∣sent state, and say, No curse shall take hold upon them: But oh how much better were it to reason thus? Christ was made a curse for sinners, therefore surely sinners in them∣selves, and without Christ are in a desperate condition. If we should see a man grievous∣ly tormented, and put to death with extra∣ordinary tortures, and should withall under∣stand, that he suffered all these things for another mans crimes, and not for his own, we would conclude thus, Surely, that man was a notorious Malefactor; and if the stroke of Justice had fallen upon his own head, what a terrible death must he have indured? If this curse was so bitter, his wrath so heavy on Christ our Surety, how unspeak∣ably bitter, and heavy would it be on us the principals? Yea bring it home to thy self, and say, Alas, What have I done? I have surely spun a fair thred, I have brought my self into a lamentable condition, that either the Son of God must come down from hea∣ven, and be made a curse for me, or else I must lye by it for ever. Let us work this me∣ditation on our hearts for our deeper humi∣liation.

3 It presents unto us the exactness and impartialness of the justice of God against sinners, in that he will let the curse fall even on the head of his onely begotten Son, if he finde sin upon him. Tribulation, and Page  90 anguish must be upon every soul of man that doth evill, without respect of persons, Rom. 2.9, 11. An unquestionable Maxime, for we see tribulation, and anguish have fallen heavy upon the soul of the Man-Christ, though he did no evil himself, onely because he was numbred with the Transgressors, and bare the sins of many by imputation. We may look upon it as a miracle of Justice, and stand wondring at the Lords proceedings a∣gainst Christ, how the curse was inflicted on him; in all the punishments of it; yea, the most grievous and piercing that can be ima∣gined. If any might have escaped, who more likely than the Son of his bosome, the Son of his delights? but he might not be spared. Justice will not suffer it, but puts in its plea, and saith, I expect reparation for the transgression of my righteous Law; If therefore Jesus Christ hath undertaken to pay this debt for sinners, let him look to it, I must, and will be satisfied to the uttermost farthing. He is willing to be their Surety, and to stand in their room; let him therefore bear the whole burden, I will not acquit him, till he hath discharged the whole debt. No, no, his loud crying, and tears, his bloody and painful sweats, his fervent, and heaven-piercing prayers, his often renewed petiti∣ons, that this cup might pass away from him, not any one of these, nor all these could prevail, to stay the hand of Divine justice, but he must take off this cup of the Curse, and drink it even to the bottome. Oh that Page  91 our secure sinners in Sion, would weigh these things sadly, and take the measure of the Lords severity against sin, by his dealing with his own Son, and think thus, If these things be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? Luke 23.31. If he was so strict with his Son, what will he be to his slave? If he dealt so sharply with his dar∣ling, how will he deal with his enemy? If his righteous servant escape thus hardly, where shall the ungodly, and sinner appear? Prov. 11.31.

4 It commends unto us the unspeakable∣ness of the love of the Lord Jesus to poor undone sinners. Behold here, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, the brightness of his Fathers glory, and the dearly beloved of his soul, who is cloathed with honour and ma∣jesty, and whom all the Angels worship, even he is come down from heaven, hath laid aside his Majesty, put off the robes of his glory and abased himself to the lower parts of the earth, to become not onely a worm, and a reproach of men, but also a curse for Adam, & his wretched posterity, to take off the curse of the Law from their shoulders, and to stand accursed in their stead? Listen, and hear,* how sweetly he bespeaks the Lord on our behalf. Holy Father, here is a company of poor mi∣serable debtors, very bankrupts, wretched malefactors, which lye under thy heavy dis∣pleasure, and are the children of death; but Page  92 I appear here as their Surety, I have taken all upon me, require no debt, inflict no pu∣nishment on them, put it all on mine ac∣counts, I will discharge all their scores, I will answer whatsoever can be laid to their charge. Oh incomparable love, surpassing all that can be found in the creature; the highest pitch whereof reacheth but to friends, Joh. 15.13. that is, to such as are friendly, kinde, beneficial to us, from whom we have received such good turns, as do oblige us to a return of thankfulness; and yet even this love is very rare. To dare to dye for a good man, that is, a kinde man, that hath been good to us, is but a peradventure,* Rom. 5.7. But God commends his love to us, in that while we were sinners, and therefore enemies, Christ dyed for us, vers. 8.10. So then, here is un∣paralleld loving kindness; for who would stoop thus low? Who would become con∣temptible, yea, abominable for others? who would bee content to lye under the ex∣tremest miseries for enemies, traitors, and the worst of creatures? Who would enter∣tain, and imbrace a curse upon any tearms, and not rather shun, and avoid it? yet this hath the Lord Jesus done for us. Oh that we had hearts to admire this miracle of mercy.