25. May. 1690
53. Isai. 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities (Doctr.). Our transgressions & our iniquities were ye causes why Christ ye Son of God was wounded & bruised. We are speaking to ye (4th Quest.) What were Christs wounds & bruises (An.) They may be referred both to his Life &c Death. (1) To his Life: wherein may be considered (1) His private Life: wherein is to be considered his Infancy: Circumcision: Oblation: Flight into Egypt & Subjection to his Parents: all wch have been spoken unto, & some reasons given of those severall peices of his Humiliation & condescendency. And so we should now nextly speak of Christs Publick Life: only we will first add somewhat of Use to what has been said before.
- 1. Use. Hince see the wonderfull love of Christ: such a great person, such a Publick person, as he was; wo was infinitely above the Angels, & yet hath stooped to a private Capacity to restore us unto our publick capacity, that we had continued in, had it not been for the Fall. He became a private person, that we might become publick persons.
- 2. Use. Let Childeren be exhorted to Love the Lord Jesus Christ: Because Christ himself became a Child; to show that he dos not only consult the Salvation of grown persons, & Elder persons; but also of young persons; of babes & infants: & to show also that such thô never so young yet need an interst in Christ as their Mediatour. And therefore O children! O young Ones! love Jesus Christ: Love the Son of God, who for the Sake of Babes, & Children, did himself become a Babe a Child &c. And sais Christ of such are the Kingdom of Heaven. 10. Mark. 14. Such are now in Heaven: yea many more Such shall come to Heaven hereafter. The tender age of children is so far from barring them from the Kingdom of God: that none can be interested herein, unless in divers respects they become as little Children. And therefore let little children Love Christ &c
- 3. Use. Let none young or old despise the Sacraments. Christ hath Instituted them: & not only instituted them, but also sanctifyed them by his own use of them. He was Circumcised to signify his approbation of that ordinance used of old: & he also was baptized (as may be touched hereafter) to sanctify that ordinance in his own person &c therefore let none be so prophane as to slight or despise the Sacraments: or ordinances of Christ.
- 4. Use. Here is matter of encouragement to all to come to Christ Jesus. In that Christ Jesus is the first begotten of the Father. Now then you that are far off from God, if you would be brought near to God, brought into his Family, into his houshold, why then come to Christ the First-begotten. For God has made him the First-born among many Brethren. 8. Rom. 29. Christ is first Gods Son, as Mediatour God-Man, &c then those that are in Christ are Gods sons & daughters. &c.
- 5. Use. Consolation to all afflicted Christians. Thô you are afflicted never so early: why it was no more than what your Elder-brother Christ met withall & that betimes. He was persecuted betimes & afflicted in his youth, & he has born the curse, and so took out ye wormwood, & ye gall, that otherwise thou must have undergone thyself.
- 6. Use. Last maybe Instruction to Children and Parents.
- 1. To Children. Be ye instructed unto Obedience to your Parents in all lawfull things. You have this duty required of you in the 5th commandment: & you have Christ here setting you a fair Copy to write after. It is said. 2. Luke. 51. That he was subject to his Parents.
- 2. To Parents. Be ye instructed to require & command nothing of your Children which is sinfull &c unlawfull: if ye do ye cannot expect obedience: Christ would not subject to any thing unlawfull, or sinfull: nor is it likely that his good Parents would require any such thing, to be sure not knowingly &c.
We come now to the second thing
- II. Then let us consider Christs Publick life: and consider what a wounded bruised, humbled, & abased life, his publick life was. And in this his Publick life we may consider
- 1. The Temptations of our Lord Jesus. He was (sais the Holy-Ghost) in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 4. Hebr. 15. Manifold have been the temptations of the truly godly. It is reported of Luther that in his preaching he was wont to meet with every mans temptation: & being once asked how he could do so? Why sais he: Mine own manifold temptations, & experiences, are the cause thereof: For from his tender years he was much beaten & exercised wth Spiritual conflicts.62 I but none have been so tempted as Christ Jesus. He was tempted of God, when in his Agony. And of the Divel, quickly after his Baptism (as we have formerly shown you). And of the Divels instruments throughout his whole life. The Divel hath not ceased to wound and pierse, this Holy One wth his fiery darts.
- 2. The Poverty of Jesus Christ. Though he was Rich (being the Lord of the whole world) yet (sais the Apostle) you know he became poor. 2. Cor. 8. 9. Not having where to lay his head 8. Matth. 20. Nor wherewith to pay Tribute unto Caesar till he had sent to sea for it. 17. Matth. 24. ad finem. So that he wo was heir of all things, somtimes was scarce owner of any thing. In this respect then Christ was wounded bruised, & humbled.
- 3. The Labours of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thô he was poor, yet it was not through any Idleness. For he was unwearyed in his service of his Heavenly Father. He went up & down doing good. 10. Acts. 38. Sometimes casting out Divels, somtimes curing diseases, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, feet to the Lame: oftentimes preaching, & sometimes spending whole nights in prayer. Travelling from one Countrey to another: somtimes doing good in one Countrey, somtimes in another. And we read somtimes of his being weary wth his huge travells. 4. John. 6. In this respect also our Lord Jesus Humbled & abased himself.
- 4. The Reproaches of our Lord Jesus Christ: Thô he was more excellent than the Mountains of Prey, & altogether Lovely, & never did any thing amiss, yet he fell under a world of Revilings & Reproachings. He had all manner of disgraces cast upon him, & that not by the mean, beggarly & unlearned, but by the great & famous ones, the Scribes, Pharisees, Elders, High-Priests, and Rulers of ye City & the Synagouges. As
- 1. They Reproached his person & parentage, 13. Matt. 55. Is this not the Carpenters Son? &c.
- 2. They Reproached & vilifyed his Principles & Practices. They did not spare to give it forth that he was a Drunkard, a Gluton, a Rioter, a Companion of the very worst & basest of fellows, even Publicanes & sinners. 7. Luke. 34.
- 3. They Reproached & vilifyed his Preaching & Doctrine. And they vilifyed his Doctrine
- 1. As Hereticall. 9. John. 29. We know (say they) that God spake unto Moses: but as for this ffellow (meaning Christ) we know not from whence he is. Moses & his Doctrine we own to be of God, but this mans doctrine is different from that, & therefore we cannot approve of it. And therefore they often upbraided & vilifyed Christ as if he did things unlawfull.
- 2. As Traiterous & Treacherous. And this is a great part of their slanderous accusation of him unto Pilate (the President under Tiberius) 23. Luke. 2. We found this Fellow perverting the Nation, & forbidding to give Tribute unto Cæsar &c.
- 4. Last: They Reproached & vilifyed his Miracles. They reported of him as a Magician & Divelish Conjurer. The Miracles that he did by ye finger & power of God they reported that they were all done by his familiarity & correspondency Wth the Cursed & Damned Divels. 3. Mark. 22. He hath Beelzebub, & by the Prince of the Divels casteth he out Divels. Nay they were so Divelish in their Reproaches of him, as to say somtimes to his very face, Thou art mad, & hast a Divel. 10. John. 20. Thus we se Christ was wounded wth Reproaches. His person & parentage: his principles & practices: his Doctrine & Miracles. And what Reproaches more could he undergo? So that he might well complain, as in the 69. Ps. 20. Reproach hath broken mine heart, & I am full of heaviness.
- 5. The great hazards & dangers of our Lord Jesus Christ: Thô he deserved no injurious assaults, yet he met wth many. Whilest he lived in the employ of his Carpenters occupation, he enjoyed quietness & safety: but wn he once comes to the sacred employ of his publick Ministry Satans instruments surrounded him, wth great fury & malice. The first sermon that ever he preached at Nazareth (as is very likely) they laid violent hands on him because of his plain dealing, & for a reward of his holy labours would very likely have broke his neck, down a steep-hill. 4. Luke. 24–30. The Officers afterwards were often sent to seize him. And Trappanners fee’d to ensnare him. And proclamations made that if any knew where he was yt they should discover him: (for somtimes he was fain to hide himself) And a law made that whosoever should confess him to be the Christ should be excommunicated.
- 6. Last: The great sorrows that the life of our Lord Jesus was filled with. All ye wounds wch now have been mentioned could not but cause much sorrow in our Dear Lord Jesus. For he was not made of stone or iron, so that he should not be touched wth his afflictions. No they did all peirse & wound him during his whole life. But especially he was wounded wth the fore-thoughts of the Wounds and bruises that he was to undergo in his last Passion 12. Luke. 50. I have a baptism to be baptized with & how am I streightened till it be accomplished! Not with such a grief as made him unwilling to come to it, but with such a grief as made him desire that it were over. Christ often foretold his Disciples of his last sufferings: & no doubt he had piersing thoughts thereof in his own soul many hundereds of times. As if any one of us should certainly know that some two or three year hince; we should be rackt to Death: or be burned to death &c. And so much for Christs life: His private life, & his public life what wounds & bruises he endured thereby. We should now (2) come to speak of Christs Death to which our text has speciall reference. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, i.e. especially in his Death: yet not excluding the wounds & bruises of his life: for that was for our transgressions also.
But I will conclude wth some Use of wt has been said
- 1. From Christs Temptations.
- 1. Use. Hince we may learn that the best may be tempted: Nay the best are most woundedly tempted. As Abr: David. Paul. Luther. And here Christ Jesus himself. And therefore let none think they are cast-awayes because they are wounded & bruised wth temptations: but if they give way to all manner of temptations, then they may fear: Yea that is a sad brand of a wretched & cursed Cast-away
- 2. Use. Counsell to tempted ones, to go to Christ for help against sinking under temptations. For this end was Christ tempted yt he might have compassion upon tempted ones. 2. Heb. ult. And for this end are many wounded with temptations, yt they may be put upon running to a Saviour that was wounded with temptations. They are stung by the fiery Serpent yt they may look to the brazen Serpent &c.
- 2. From Christs Poverty.
- 1. Use. Caution agst despising the poor, meerly bec: they are poor. That is the way to despise Christ. Christ is still poor in his members 1. Cor. 1. 26. 27. 28. Not many noble—And therefore remember ye Caution. 22. Prov. 22. Rob not the poor, because he is poor. Rob him not of ye estimation that is due to him &c.
- 2. Use. To instruct the rich to part with all for Christ & his service wn he calls for it. This thou Rich Christian art bound unto in way of gratitude. For thy sake he became poor. 2. Cor. 8. 7. 8. 9.
- 3. From Christs Labours.
- Use. Exhort: to put all upon hard labour in all that is duty. To Labour in prayer &c. Abounding in the work of the Lord. 1. Cor. 15. ult
- 4. From Christs Reproaches.
- 1. Use. To teach us to bear up under Reproaches. Have we a care we deserve none, & then we may rejoyce wn we are wounded wth any. 1. Pet. 4. 14.
- 2. Use. Caution against Reviling & Reproaching of any: for this is to savour of the worst of Spirits especially when our Reproaches are against such poor Ministers, whose desire is your best welfare, & whose endeavour is to be found faithfull.
- 5. Last: From Christs Hazards.
- Use. Exhort: To prize our happy dayes, & to Bless God wth hearts full of thankfullness, for them that we may be godly without hazarding publick offence &c.
Vide conciones sequentes magis susius tractatas63