in their sins! What is, if this be not, "to crucify to yourselves the Son of God afresh, and to put him to an open shame?" I know you cannot but all blame Judas for betraying, Pilate for condemning, and the Jews for crucifying your blessed Saviour. But, what? Will you act the same tragedy over again; and do that yourselves, which you so justly abhor in them? O that this might not be said of any one here present!

But, that you would all for the future be revenged of your sins, for the miseries they brought upon your Saviour, and serve them, as they served him,—even "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts," and give up yourselves to him, who gave himself for you on purpose that he might "redeem you from all iniquity, and purify you to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works:" that this may be the happy effect of your meeting together upon this sad and solemn occasion, give me leave to conclude with this brief exhortation to you :

Men, brethren, and fathers, we have this day been looking upon him whom we have pierced, and, I hope, mourning for him; we have considered how much the eternal Son of God hath suffered in our natures, that we might not suffer in our own persons unto all eternity; how he became not only a man, but "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," destitute, afflicted, tormented, crucified, and all to satisfy God's justice for our sins, and to purchase for us all things necessary to make us happy. Now, therefore, that you have heard so much of what the Son of God hath suffered for your sakes, you cannot surely but look upon yourselves as highly obliged to do all you can for his sake.

In his name, therefore, and for his sake, I beseech you all, by his agony and bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, by his death and burial,' that you would doat no longer upon the toys and trifles of this lower world, but love, honour, and prefer him, your Saviour, before all things in it. For his sake I beseech you to deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him,

avoiding whatsoever you know to be forbidden, and doing whatsoever is commanded by him. For his sake I beseech you "let your light so shine before men, that others may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." in heaven." For his sake I beseech you to be constant in your devotions to God, stedfast in the profession of your faith, and zealous for that religion which he hath prescribed and settled amongst you. For his sake I beseech you to be sober and temperate in the use of his creatures, free and liberal in your contributions to his poor members, just and righteous in all your dealings; in short, I beseech you all, for Christ Jesus' sake, to live continually in the true faith and fear of Almighty God, in humble obedience to the king, and to all that are in authority under him, in brotherly love and charity to one another; and, when you have done all, put your full trust and confidence in Him, and Him alone, both for the pardon of your sins, and for the acceptance of your persons and performances before God.

Do but all this for his sake, and then I dare assure you, you will soon find the fruit and efficacy of his death and passion for you; for then he will be your advocate in heaven, and plead your cause before his Father; he will take care that your sins be all pardoned, and your obligations to punishment cancelled and made void; he will supply you continually with the influences of his Holy Spirit, and with all things necessary both for life and godliness; he will carry you through all the changes and chances of this mortal life, so as to make them all conspire and work together for your good; he will defend you against all the attempts and contrivances both of men and devils, so that the gates of hell itself shall never be able to prevail against you; and at last he will take you to himself, to live with him, to be kings, and priests, and glorified saints, in heaven; when all your mourning for him shall be turned into praises and adorations of him, and you will spend eternity itself in doing that, which I humbly desire you all to join with me in doing

at this time, even in praising and magnifying the eternal God our Saviour, of whom we have been now speaking, in the words of the holy evangelist :

"Unto him that loved us, and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests to God and the Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

SERMON XVIII.

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION THE CAUSE OF OUR

JUSTIFICATION.

ROм. iv. 25.

"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

THE apostle is here speaking of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and positively asserts two things concerning him, much to be observed of all who hope to be saved by him. The first is, "that he was delivered for our offences;" he was delivered by his Father, "who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all'." He was delivered by himself, of his own accord; "no man," saith he, "taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself?" He was delivered both by his Father and himself into the hands of the Jews; they delivered him to Pilate the Roman governor; Pilate, having unjustly condemned him, delivered him to the soldiers; the soldiers, after many horrid abuses put upon him, crucified him with two notorious malefactors, that were justly condemned and executed for their crimes. Jesus himself, the eternal Son of God, was thus delivered up to death, even to the death of the cross; and that doubtless for some sin too; for "death

1 Rom. viii. 32.

2 John x. 18.

is the wages" only "of sin;" therefore where there is no sin, there can be no death: but he could not be delivered for any sin of his own, for he had none; and, therefore, as the apostle here saith, "he was delivered for our offences," for the sins of mankind, as being of that nature in which he was so delivered. The malefactors, which were crucified with him, suffered each man for his own sins; but He suffered for the sins of other men, or rather for the sins of all men, and for ours among the rest. This the prophet long ago foretold, or, rather, did not foretel, but spake of it as a thing already done, because it was as certain to be done as if it had been done already; and it was looked upon as done from the beginning of the world, because God then said it should be; hence, I say, the prophet, speaking of Christ, saith, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all 3." This also is the constant language of the New Testament. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. "He his own self bare our sins in his own body." "He suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God"." "He was made a curse for us "." "He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity." "He was made sin for us," or "an offering for our sins "." "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." There are many such places in God's holy word, whereby we are fully assured, from himself, that his Son suffered death for us;-that death which he had threatened against us as sinners, and which we, therefore, must all have suffered in our own persons, if he had not suffered it in our stead.

3 Isa. liii. 5, 6.
6 Ib. iii. 18.
9 2 Cor. v. 21.

4 1 Cor. xv. 3.
7 Gal. iii. 13.
11 John ii. 2.

5 1 Pet. ii. 24. 8 Tit. ii. 14.