this doctrine confiftent with God's declaration; "The "counfel of the Lord, it shall stand, and he will do all his "pleafure?" The real tendency of this doctrine is towards Atheism. For he cannot be the true God, whose will is ineffectual, whofe purposes are frustrated by the 'creature. W P. 48. foot." He had now the mortification to fee this vef"fel of wrath (Judas) prepared in his own family." The author feems to forget the confeflion of Peter; Lord, thou knowest all things." Does he not represent this as a prefent difcovery, and as a difcovery that produced a mortification? John gives a very different account of it; "He "knew from the beginning who fhould betray him." Judas was not prepared in Christ's family as a veffel of wrath; for Chrift knew hini from the beginning as "the fon of "perdition." P. 161. 1. 25. "The Lord Jefus really poffeffed---the fanie favour with God, now when hanging on the cross, as on thefe fplendid occafions when he fed five thousand "perfons." As the Father was always well pleased with the Mediator, during the whole of his life, becaufe of his perfect righteoufnefs; it is alfo true that Chrift was as really in his official character under the curfe of the law, when in his cradle, as when hanging on the crofs; though at his death the tokens of divine indignation were more peculiarly displayed. But, from the ftrain of the treatife, it is evident that the author means, that our Lord Jefus, even at this time, in no refpect bore the wrath of God. For we have already seen that he denies any portion of divine wrath in the fufferings of Chrift, fo late as his agony in the garden: And hence he grants nothing more than an "alteration of his outward circumstances *." P. 177. We have here an account of our Lord's defertion, as expreffed by thefe words: "My God, my God, why hast thou forfaken me?" His defcription of this he begins with the following fuppofition: "Perhaps, however, our Lord was overcome at laft by his fufferings--“ as indeed these words have been understood, and urged "by fome against our Saviour's character; concluding "them to be words of extreme impatience, and even of "abfolute dejection and defpair." Who these fome are, *P. 62. J. 4. D 2 whom whom he has in his eye, he is not pleased to inform us. Only, it is obfervable enough, that he mentions no intermediate opinion between that blafphemous one and his own; as if he meant tacitly to charge it, as do the Papifts, on the friends of the atonement*. Let us hear the other opinion: "Others, with much more reafon, as I apprehend, "confider this exclamation of the holy Jefus only as a fer"vent address made to God, for an end of his excruciat"ing pains, in the fame words which had been formerly "ufed by his royal ancestor David. The words might "have been rendered, How far, or for how long a time "haft thou forfaken me ?" To fet afide the ordinary interpretation of these words he advances a new one. But this can never alter their sense, or remove the conclufion deduced from them. Even grant this view, they fill admit that he was forfaken, whether we confider him as asking the question, to exprefs his affecting fenfe of the awful nature of this desertion, or as only enquiring how long it fhould continue. But this is not enough. This is a mere outline. For the very meaning of the word forfaken muft be denied.". In the Hebrew ftile God is faid to forfake "men, when he fuffers them to fall into great calamities, and does not interpofe fuddenly for their deliverance, though in the mean while he love them tenderly." Although it be granted, that in the Hebrew ftile God is faid to forfake men in the fense of which our author fpeaks; yet this avails nothing, unless he could demonftrate that the expreffion will admit of no other sense. But the fame Syriac or Chaldaic word, fabachtani or fabaktani, which our Lord uses, occurs, as far as we can find, but thrice in the old teflament; and in one of thefe places it is used to denote a judicial defertion. "The kingdom fhall not be left to other people ; that is, it shall not be abandoned to the deftruction of any greater power, like the other monar chies that preceded it, which were fucceffively deftroyed or fwallowed up, the one by the other. Alfo, the word used § by David in Pf. xxii. 1. not only fignifies to leave for the purpose of trial, but also in the way of judgment or indig nation, as appears from the fame David's deprecation of this calamity; Put not thy fervant away in anger-leave me "not ." This is the word which his enemies used, when they * Vide Turret, de fatisf. verit. par. 5. § 12. & 14. + P. 178. 1.4. , Azab. || Pf. xxvii. Dan. ii. 44. they thought that he was utterly caft off: "God hath for"faken him *”, Therefore he "Now afterwards: prays "when I am old and gray-headed forfake me not." And again, "O forfake me not utterly +." And in this fenfe he declares: " I have not feen the righteous forfaken ‡.” Indeed this word, when applied to God, more frequently fignifies defertion of a penal nature, than that which only implies the idea of fatherly chaftifement. The fame thing might be observed with refpect to the word by which Chrift's expreffion is tranflated in the gofpels. Always when it is applied to God as deferting any one, it fignifies a defertion in the sense of punishment. To mention one instance only, it is used to denote the power of death in its full extent: "Thou will not leave my foul in hell ." He farther obferves**, that thefe words "exprefs in ef"fect the fame fense with the words immediately follow❝ing in that place, Why art thou fo far from helping me." But even these words will not bear the fenfe he puts on them" For how long a time haft thou forfaken me?" For, to every candid reader they muft clearly exprefs, not fo properly the continuance of the divine abfence in whatfoever refpect, as the greatnefs of it; not merely the delay of deliverance, but the feverity of hiding. For we may ufe the fame freedom with our author, and take the words immediately following as expreffing the fenfe of thefe; "I cry in the day time, but thou heareft me not." 60 · But the Doctor is not aware of the falfe ftep which he makes, in endeavouring to deprive these words of their proper meaning. For his view lays him under the neceffity of confidering them as "a fervent addrefs made to "God for an end of his excruciating pains, that he would bring them to a fpeedy conclufion-as an ardent with that a period might be put to these mortal tortures +t.” Now, if he confine this defire of deliverance to his “ex"treme bodily pain," as he does++; it is not eafy to apprehend, that he can make the refignation of our Lord to the will of his Father as perfect as the fcripture reprefents it. It is lawful indeed for any one to pray unconditionally for deliverance from vindictive wrath, but not to pray in the * Pf. lxxi. II. Ο εγκαταλείπω. **P. 177. 1. 6. Pf. xxxvii. 25. ¶ Ver. 18. + cvix. 8. ( the fame manner for deliverance from fatherly chastisement. Now, if we reckon this a prayer prefented in the latter fenfe, and merely refpecting a speedy termination of bodily pain, whence is it that our Saviour expreffes it with no fort of limitation? If it be confined to this, or understood of this principally, it cannot be eafily fhewn that it did not argue fome degree of impatience under thofe fufferings, which his Father was pleased to inflict. If he knew that there was nothing but love in the whole of this difpenfation, why fo extremely anxious to be freed from it? If this expreffed fo ardent a wish for deliverance from bodily pain, how can we learn from "this paffage of our Saviour's life "a deliberate and unreferved compliance with the will of "God, and fubmiffion to his difpofals, with refpect to us, "in all circumstances, how-fhocking foever to our natu"ral feelings and inclinations *." For true refignation confifts in patiently bearing whatever fufferings our compaffionate Father may inflict, as long as it may be his pleasure to continue them. It is our author's doctrine alone, that feems to charge our Lord with " abfolute dejection." For I refer it to you, my brethren, whether it does not appear more to argue impatience in the fufferer, to cry out with regard to the length of his fufferings, and to folicit a termination of them, than humbly to ask the reafon of God's contending? In a word, how does his view of Chrift's language on this occafion agree with what he fays elsewhere; "If "he seem to betray any mark of human weakness in the "near profpect and contemplation of his fufferings, it is "certain that he difcovered nothing of that kind when ac"tually engaged with them +." Whatever our author may apprehend, we attribute no defpair to our Saviour in his defertion. This was impoffible. Nor was it neceffary: For although he, as our Surety, fuftained what was equivalent to the pains of hell, yet defpair, as a fruit of divine indignation, is not effential to thefe, but arifes from the fate of the miferable creature, who has no hope of deliverance. Chrift's desertion did not affect his divine nature. He was not really deprived of the divine love, for, on the contrary, God never loved his Son more ardently than when he hung upon the crofs; "Therefore (faith Chrift) doth my "Father love me, because I lay down my life t." It im * P. 39. 1. 25. + P. 44. 1. 10. John x. 17. plied plied no privation of his holiness; nor was he denied the real support of divine power. But he wanted a prefent sense of God's love, with respect to his human nature; nay, he had a real feeling of the divine indignation. The power of the divine nature was not experienced in the holy human foul of Chrift, as it had always been heretofore. As that was "the hour and power of darkness, (as) the prince "of this world" was then faid to come, it is most likely that Christ at that time struggled with the most dreadful temptations from Satan, trying to drive him to defpair; though they were altogether ineffectual. Befides, this defertion was only for a short time; because the temporary desertion of one really God, with refpect to his divine nature, was equivalent to the eternal desertion of mere creatures; and therefore sustained by the juftice of God, inftead of the everlasting suffering which his people merited, in a "deftruc"tion from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Unless" the chastisement of their (6 peace had been upon him," he would never have had reafon to cry out, "Why haft thou forfaken me*" P. 180. foot. "Indeed it (his death) feems to have "been haftened through the special favour of God to the "Son of his love. Jefus had defired a speedy difmiffion "from his fufferings, when all things were fulfilled, and "God granted his defire. Having given full proof of his "patience and obedience, God was pleased to thorten the "duration of his pains, and to release him from the tor"ments of the crofs, fooner than the ftrength of nature gave reafon to expect." This circumftance, by all friends to the divinity of Chrift, has been reckoned a ftrong proof of the truth of his divine nature; and indeed, an act of it, and a verification of his own words: "No one taketh it "from me, but I lay it down of myfelf. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." But our author thinks differently. With him, it was all an act of special favour on the part of the Father; no act of divine power on the part of the Son. of the Son. It was to fhorten the duration of his pains, not to declare the dignity of the suf ferer. *The learned reader who wishes to fee more on this fubject may confult Turret, de fatisf. verit, par. 5. Marckii, exercitat. in N. T. ad loc. + John x. 18. |