fame with his Hands, which were nailed to the Crofs, Heb.9. he feals it with his Blood: For where a Testament is, 16, 17. there must also of neceffity be the Death of the Teftator For a Teftament is of Force after Men are dead; otherwife it is of no Strength at all whilst the Teftator liveth.

It is finished: Now all things he had to accomplish in this Life were finished, now all the Types and legal Sacrifices, all the Promifes and Prophecies of the Meffias his Incarnation and Paffion were finifhed; now God's Juftice was fatisfied, and Man's Redemption accomplished, For by one Offering he hath perfected for ever them that are, Heb. fanctified.

10. 14.

Therefore he prayed, and as an obedient Son that deferved to be heard for his Piety, he prayed the more earneftly, I have glorified thee on Earth, I have finished the Work which thou gavest me to do; and now, O Father, glorifie thou me with thine own felf, with the Glory that I had with thee before the World was. Bleffed is the Servant, who after the Example of our bleffed Lord and Mafter, works the Work of him that fends him, whilft it is Day, for the Night cometh, when no Man can Work.

T

To Day, O Chriftian, whilft it is called to Day, What foever thy Hand findeth to do, do it with all thy Might; For there is no Device ner Knowledge in the Grave whither. thou goeft: That fo finishing our Day and our Task together, every one of us may fay with great Comfort and a good Confcience, I have fought a good Fight, I have finished my Course, I have kept the Faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteoufness, which the Lord the righteous Fudge (ball give unto me, and unto all them alfo who love his appearing.

Our Saviour's laft Word on the Crofs was this in the Text, Father, into thy Hands I commend my Spirit: He had made his Legacy already, and left all things in

Order,

Order, his Clothes to the Soldiers, his bleffed Mother to the Care of the beloved Difciple; He had prayed for his Enemies, and promised a Place in Paradife to the penitent Thief; He had given his Body in Sacrifice, and his Blood a Ranfom for our Sins, and now he carries nothing with him out of the World but his Soul, and this he recommends to his heavenly Father, faying, &c.

Pfal.

This Recommendation was compofed by the Holy Ghoft formerly for this End, and for our Inftruction likewife, to take Words with us when we pray, even a Form of found Words; the Words of the Scripture 2. 2. and the Words of the Church, which is infpired by Hof. the Spirit of God: Therefore he taught his Difciples, 14. 2. and commanded them when they prayed, to fay, Our Father, &c.

Father, into thy Hands, &c. He prays not as a Servant, or as a Supplicant, as St. Stephen did, faying, O Lord receive my Spirit: Or as old Simeon, Now Lord lettest thou thy Servant depart in Peace: But as a Son that had Power to lay down his Life, and to take it up again, "Father, &c. And when Jefus had cried, &c.

Our bleffed Saviour had cried once already upon the Crofs with a loud Voice, when he was wrestling with the Wrath of God for our Sins; and now he cries again, citing all the Creatures judicially, as it were, to see our Redemption fealed, and our Ranfom payed, when he was commending his Soul unto his heavenly Father, that we in our laft Minutes may in like manner, by virtue of this Recommendation, commit the keeping of our Souls unto God, as unto a faithful Creator: For here our dying Saviour commends not only this precious Soul of his, which was perfonally united to the Divine Nature, but every Soul likewife that is united to him

-F 2

by

2.

by Faith and Love, as it is written, The Souls of the Wif. 3. Righteous are in God's Hands, and no Torment shall touch them: All the Powers of Darkness are not able to pluck them out of Chrift his Hands, nor out of his John Father's Hands: Why? He is able to fave them to the 10. 28. uttermost that cometh unto God by him, feing he ever liveth to make Interceffion for them, that where he is, they may be alfo.. As he hath alfo promifed, faying, All that John the Father giveth me come unto me, and him that cometh 6.:37. unto me, I will in no wife caft out.

These were our Saviour's laft Words upon the Crofs; but fay, O my Soul, what was thy bleffed Saviour mufing all the Time he hang upon the Crofs? Said he nothing befidés, did not the Extremity of his Pain tempt him to Impatience and Murmuring? No, verily all thefe grievous Sufferings could neither damp his Confidence in his heavenly Father, nor leffen his Charity to his greatest Enemies; but all the while he was fearching in the Spirit what Scriptures were yet to fulfil, what Prophecies were yet to accomplish, and what more he fhould do for his Vineyard than he had done already Shortly, we may easily divine what he was mufing all thefe painful Hours of his Crucifixion, then his Spirit was making Interceffion for us with Groanings that could not be uttered, as appears by thefe ardent Prayers he poured out already for his Enemies, for out of the Abundance of the Heart, the Mouth fpeaketh.

Now, having heard what our Saviour faid, let us in the next Place confider what he fuffered upon the Cross: Where he was lifted up (as the heave Offerings were under the Law) between the Heaven and the Earth, to fhew himself by this bloody Sacrifice the Conqueror of the Prince of the Power of the Air, and the Mediator betwixt God and Man; as he foretold formerly, faying,

Now

Now is the Judgment of this World, now spall the Prince of this World be caft out: And if I be lifted up from the Joh.12 Earth, I will draw all Men unto me. This he faid, fignifying 31, 32′ what Death he should die. And as Mofes lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness, even fo must the Son of Man be lifted up, as a Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World, that whofoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting Life.

But how was it poffible for Chrift to fuffer, is not he over all God, bleffed for ever? Is the Deity capable of any Pain or Paffion? To this the Apoftle anfwers out of the Pfalms, Wherefore when he cometh into the Heb. World, he faith, A Body hast thou prepared for me: That 10. is, Chrift fuffered in Refpect of his Humane Nature, but not in Refpect of his Divine Nature; therefore the Son of God condefcended to become the Son of Man, that he might fuffer for us in the Flefh: Who Pet. himself bore our Sins in his own Body on the Tree, fays 2. 24.. the Scripture, whereby he did Purchase a great Mercy unto us, and unto himself an infinite Reward of Honour and Worship: Which invites us to fpeak a little, First, Of the Grievoufnefs of Chrift's Sufferings. Next, Of the Caufes thereof: And then of the Benefits which flow from the fame.

First, Chrift's Sufferings were very great, for fuffering as a publick Perfon, and as a Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World: Never any Man or Martyr endured the like, it we confider either the Parties he had to wrestle with for our fakes, namely, the Wrath of God, and all the Powers of Darkness; befides that natural Fear he had, as Man, of fo cruel and fhameful Death Suffering betwixt two Thieves, which caufed him pray fo earneftly, and yet with fo great Refignation to his heavenly Father, when he kneeled down and fell on his Face, faying, Father, if it be poffible, let this

Cup

I

Cup pass from me. Or if we confider the Delicacy of his Body, and the Clearnefs of his Apprehenfion, which made him fo fenfible of Pain, and the Terrors of the Lord, that entring upon his Paffion in the Garden, where he began his Agony (and it was in a Garden where our Sins and Mifery firft began) his Sweat was as it were great Drops of Blood falling down to the Ground, and he began to be very heavy and fore amazed, faying, My Soul is exceeding forrowful, even unto Death: But because there was no other Way fo endearing, con venient and powerful to redeem Mankind, than by this bloody Sacrifice for Sin, therefore he fubjoined, Never, theless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Ifa. 50.

6.

And now, having been alive but three Hours upon the Crofs, when fome have continued as many Days in their Crucifixion, it was not ftrange Pilate marvelled that he was dead. already and expired fooner than he expected: Whereby we may gather, that our blessed Lord fuffered much more than the Holy Evangelifts could exprefs, or we conceive: He had been fo weary and weakned with continual Sufferings by his cruel Enemies the two former Nights, when he was toffed from one falfe Judge unto another, being ftricken with Reeds, buffeted with their Hands, and abufed with a thousand Indignities, as it is written, I gave my Back to the Smiters, and my Cheeks to them that plucked off the Hair: I hid not my Face from Shame and Spitting." He had already fuffered fo many Stripes, and fo much Effufion of Blood, when he was fcourged all his blessed Body over by a whole Band of Soldiers, that he was not able to bear the tranfverfe Part of his Crofs: But Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear it for him to the Place of his Crucifixion: Not out of Pity by his cruel Enemies to eafe him of his Burden, but to referve him for greater Sufferings, and a more publick and fhameful Death.