underwent both in foul and body, when he made this fearful outcry: And canft thou, O communicant, fee fuch a tragedy acted on the bleeding Jefus with dry eyes? This facrament is, as it were, a vifible fermon on our Saviour's passion; in it we behold the whole tragedy that was acted on the crofs. Here we view the whole circumftances of the barbarous malice of the Jews and Romans, against the innocent Son of God. And we should endeavour to be as much affected therewith, as if we had seen the fame acted with our bodily eyes.

Moreover, Think now upon Chrift's cry upon the cross, when he said, I thirst, I thirst. No wonder he cried fo, when there was a furnace of wrath kindled in his foul, a fire that dried up his ftrength and moisture like a potsherd, and made his tongue cleave to his jaws. A ftrange complaint! I thirst: The creator is thirsting, and there is no creature to give refreshment. Strange! Might not one have cried, "O where were all the wells in Jerufalem at this time? Where all the fountains, rivers, and lakes in the world? Where all the vines of that fruitful land, when my Lord and Saviour could not get a drink? Fy upon you all, that would let glorious King Jefus be burnt up with thirft." O, but they might have anfwered, "We dare not own nor relieve him at this time: God hath laid an arrest on us, and we dare not break it to ferve our master." How ftrange to hear the fountains and vines fay, We will give Pilate and Herod, and all the enemies of Chrift drink; but we will give Chrift himself none, though he die for thirst! Oh, is there no liquor for precious Chrift in all the earth, but bitter gall and vinegar to increase his thirst and torment: Not a cup of cold water for the Lord of glory, not a drop to cool his fcorched tongue; but he must die crying out, I thirft. But O, if my Saviour had not thirfted on the crofs, I had thirfted with Dives in hell; nay, all the elect had lien there in that lake of fire, and cried for ever, I thirft, I thirft.

And further, Confider the extent and univerfality of his fufferings. He fuffered in both natures. His Godhead indeed could not fuffer grief, but it fuffered an e

clipfe,

clipfe, and lay under a vail for thirty three years, except one hour it broke out and fhone on mount Tabor. He fuffered in all his offices; for they mocked and ridiculed him as a prophet, defpifed and infulted him as a prieft, abused and flighted him as a king, putting a mock fceptre in his hand, and arraying him with an old purple robe, mock habiliments of majesty. He fuffered in all the powers and faculties of his foul, and in all the fenfes and members of his body: His head, heart, hands, back, fides, and feet, were all mangled and pierced, and no part of him free but his tongue, to pray for his enemies. He fuffered in his outward goods; for what he had of this kind were his garments, and these were taken from him. Moreover, he was wounded in his name and reputation; for he suffered as a blafphemer against God, as a traitor against the Roman emperor, and as an enemy to Mofes's law, though he was entirely innocent as to all the three. He fuffered from all hands; from heaven, from earth, from hell; from Herod, from Pilate, from the High Prieft: from the Romans, from the Jews, from the foldiers; from the clergy; from the lawyers; from rulers, from come mons; from friends, from foes: from difciples, from strangers; all were against him: But, which was worst of all, God was against him too. For he being fubftitute in the room of finners, God acted as an inexora ble judge toward him; he smote him with the sword of justice, frowned on him in a terrible manner, and withdrew from him all the fenfible feelings of his loving kindness, and restrained the influence of those beams which might any way refresh his troubled foul in the hour of his greatest need. So that there was never any forrow like our Redeemer's forrow.

Hence it was that he offered up his fupplications with fuch strong crying and tears, Heb. v. 7. Hearken, O communicant, how Chrift wept and fobbed in the gar den, and how loud he cried on the crofs, Father, Father: Mercy, mercy: My God, my God. But, what a fray think you was there in heaven at this time?— Why? The Son of God weeping! The Creator of the earth crying and fobbing on the earth! Never was there VOL. I.

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fuch

fuch a commotion in heaven or earth, either before, or ever fhall be after. What a ftir was there among the angels, when their Lord was weeping, crying, and fobbing? How amazed were they, and intent upon the iffue! Strange! might they fay, he that takes up the ifles as a little thing, crying fo hideously at this time! He that can bear up heaven and earth with a finger, weeping! What can be the matter? Surely there was more than the tree on Chrift's back, more than the thorns in his temples, or the nails in his hands and feet. Oh, there were the curfes of God's law on the tree that Christ bore, which were heavier than ten thousand mountains of iron! The poifon of God's wrath went in with the thorns and the iron nails, and entered into his very foul.

Chrift's martyrs and sufferers have rejoiced in their fufferings, and fung praises under their tortures; and yet Chrift, who is the author of their strength and comfort, doth himself complain and weep! Oh but all the martyrs fufferings were nothing but flea-bitings to Chrift's! They had God's prefence with them in their trials; but Chrift had God angry and withdrawn from him: Nay, the Lord did run upon him as a giant, and made him the butt of his envenomed arrows. Hence it was, that our Lord, at the fight of his wrath, began to fear and be fore amazed, Mark xiv. 33 The word in the original language is ekthambeisthai, i. e. to be afenifbed with terror. To fee millions of men defpairjog, is not fo much as to fee Chrift beginning to fear. And O it was not a small fear that was on our Redeemer; no, it was a great fear and amazement. Never was any man fo afraid of the torments of hell, as Christ (ftanding in our room) was of his Father's wrath; because never man knew the power of that wrath so well as he. O what anguish was there at Chrift's heart, that made it to bleed without any outward violence, and that blood to burft through both flesh, skin and garments at once! The perfect knowledge which Chrift had of things aggravated his fufferings: He did not fhut his eyes when he drank the cup; no, he perfectly faw how dreggith and bitter it was, and yet he ventur

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ed on it. Many men fear not hell, because they do foresee it not; if they did fee that pit open for them before they came at it, it might perhaps cause them tremble at their fins, and many wicked men might run mad at the horror of it: But Chrift clearly forefaw all he met with, which was far greater and worse than the torments of any damned foul; and this made him to be amazed with fear.

Finally, confider how our Redeemer at laft bowed his head, and gave up the ghoft! Strange fight! to fee the Lord of Life death's prifoner! to see the Princely head of Jefus falling down upon his breast! To fee the Lord of life wanting life; to fee these eyes, that were oft lift up to heaven in prayer, now waxed dim and fixed that they cannot move! To fee that mouth, that fpake as never man spake, now filent and not able to speak a word! An affecting fight! The world never faw the like! To fee the fair corpfe of glorious Jefus rolled in linen, and laid in a filent grave ! To fee him lying there dead, that raised Lazarus from the grave, to fee him wanting life, that gave life to men and angels; and all for thy fake, O believing commu nicant !

And then, how moving were the circumstances of his paffion! Remember how fhamefully the Lord of glory was put to death, how he was ftript and hung naked before all Ifrael, and before the fun. And, where was it? Even at Jerufalem, which he had honoured with his prefence, taught with his preachings, aftonished with his miracles, and bewailed with his tears "O Jerufalem, Jerufalem (faid he) how oft would I have gathered you, but you would not! O if thou hadft known in this thy day!" &c.What place in Jerufalem was it? Without the gates of Calvary, among the stinking bones of vile malefactors. When was it? At the paffover, a time of great concourfe of all the Jews and profelytes: A time when they should receive the figure, they reject the fubftance; when they fhould kill and eat the facramental lamb in faith and thankfulnefs, they kill the immaculate Lamb of God our true paffover in cruelty and contempt.

-With whom? Even in midft of two thieves, as if he had been the captain of thieves. How great was 3 X 2

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the difgrace and contempt that was poured on the glorious Redeemer of Ifrael! Behold, he who thought it no robbery to be equal with. God, is himfelf made equal with robbers and malefactors! Jeremy laments it, in Ifrael's cafe, as a piece of the most reproachful treatment, that princes were hung up by their hands, Lam. v. 12. Oh, thus was the Prince of the kings of the earth treated for our fakes; and, fhall we not be deeply affected with it?

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III. Another fuitable subject of meditation at the Lord's table, is the willingness of our Redeemer to undergo all these fufferings for us. He was no-wife importuned or compelled, but moft freely undertook to pay the elect's debt, Pfal. xl. 7. 8." Then, faid I, Lo, I come, I delight to do thy will." As if he had faid,

Father, I fee no other is able to pay the debt of these poor bankrupts. The Levitical priefts, for all the beafts they have killed, and all the facrifices they have offered thefe many hundreds of years, they have not been able to pay fo much as one farthing of the elect's debt to this day; it is all entirely owing ftill."" Sacrifice and offering thou wouldeft not ;" I see these will not do; but I know what will: Then faid he, “ Lo, I come;" I'll be furety, and I will do the work effectually; but I must leave the glory of heaven for a time, Then farewell, Father, for thirty-three years; farewell, all my angels, and all my faints, till I come back again; I must go and relieve these perishing fouls, and I will do it to purpofe." The Lord faith to us, by that wife man Solomon, "Be not furety for any man:" But, faith Chrift, Though I give that advice to others, yet I will not take it to myfelf; I will be furety for many men, yea, for ftrangers, though my very garments should be taken away for it: My heart bleeds for them; I cannot see them thrown into an eternal prison, when I am able to pay their debt; I will go and pay it for them. Well, when the time came to pay the debt, did he begin to rue the bargain? When he found the debt. great, and the payment heavy, did he fhun his creditors, as many men do? No; he is as willing to pay the elect's debt, as God to exact it. "With defire,"

fays