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yonder bruised reed is a holy man? And where is divine providence, if not even the smallest guilt can be attached to this martyr? Most true it is, that if in this Jesus we only perceive the righteous and innocent being which he is in his own person, then in our narrative there is a rock, on which the whole doctrine of divine providence suffers shipwreck. Then it is clear that chance rules every thing; that there is no superintendence of eternal righteousness, and no God of wisdom and order! Every thinking being is thus compelled to admit, that either the weight of sin rests upon Jesus, or he must henceforward renounce the blessed and consoling idea of a divine providence. There is no other alternative. And so, my brethren, our history, which we have been contemplating to-day, seems to me to prove this truth, that Christ bore the burden of our sins; and surely all that confirms it must be welcome to us, for it is the gospel of peace.

II. Either the suffering Jesus is punished by God, or the whole occurrence remains inexplicable. You know of what immense importance it is that the doctrine be firmly established, that Jesus underwent all with which the divine law threatens sinners. A gospel which could promise us mercy, without informing us who was to bear the curse which had rested upon us, never could have tranquillized our minds, and calmed our terrors; for of this I am certain, that I, as a transgressor, deserve death, and not life. The law pronounces against me a sentence of death, and this sentence is irrevocable. The holy and just God must put it into execution, or how otherwise can he remain

just and holy? Thus I stand in need of a gospel, which not merely promises me salvation, but which shows me I am acquitted by eternal justice, and not by caprice. And such a gospel we have; for I main tain that the sentence of death under which we lay has been executed in the person of our great representative, who made atonement for our guilt. Our peace of mind, therefore, rests henceforward upon a rock; for the sufferings which Christ underwent, were the punishments of God for our sins: and our curse was laid upon the Lamb who was slain, not merely for us, but in our stead.

The history which we contemplate to-day, clearly proves that the passion of our great Mediator was of this mysterious nature. Regard for a moment the terrific scene; look at the Man of sorrows, and then say if these wonders can be accounted for in any other way than by admitting that Jesus was punished by God for the sins of others. But perhaps you may say, "No! the Father did not punish the Son, he merely tried him!" If so, I appeal to your feelings, and ask if the Almighty could thus have subjected the Beloved of his heart, whose faithfulness and holiness he knew from all eternity, to the utmost extent of disgrace and torture, for no other purpose than to prove and try him? Will you reply, "God did not wish to punish his only-begotten Son, but to purify him?” Then I remind you that nothing can be purified which is not mingled with impure element.

And will you subscribe to the opinion of those who maintain that Christ took upon himself our original

sin in order to annihilate it by a conflict with his own flesh? If so, let me ask you how you can make this blasphemous doctrine agree with the words, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me:" or, in other words, He finds no point in my character whereby I can be assailed by his temptations. Perhaps you will now say, God did not punish his Son, but only gave us in him an example and pattern to teach us how we should undergo suffering. What! such a gigantic sacrifice in order to attain such a small object! so dear a price for such an unimportant result! No, no, my brethren; regard once more Him that was despised and rejected of men; look at his agonized countenance, his bleeding back, his head crowned with thorns; and listen to the blasphemies and hellish laughter which pierce his very soul; and then yield to the voice of your heart, which calls out in the most earnest manner, "Truly if God had only meant to try his beloved Son, or give him as an example to us, he would have attained his object by very different means, than by subjecting him to the most wanton cruelty and debasement!" Yes, give ear to that inward voice, which tells you that Jesus must have borne the curse of our sins; for in no other point of view can the mystery of his sufferings and of his passion be explained.

Most assuredly, my brethren, it must have been so; and deep and wonderful thoughts must have passed through the soul of our Redeemer at the moment when the wretches who surrounded him cried out, mocking, "Prophesy, who it is that smote thee?" Alas! he knew well who it was that smote him: the Father

himself smote him, although humanly speaking, it was with a bleeding heart. The words, "Cursed be every one!" were in him fulfilled: he suffered what was due to our sins; and in his passion he was the man of whom it was written in the Prophets, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered,"

III. Either the Sufferer in our text made ample sat · isfaction for us to Divine Justice, or we are lost beyond redemption. This is most vividly impressed upon our minds, when we regard the tormentors by whom the Redeemer is surrounded. Think you that they may venture to hope for heaven and happiness? The question appears, at first sight, almost absurd; but I repea it. Tell me, then, what think ye? With one voice I hear you reply, "If those sinners can ever be justified, and enjoy the love of God and the blessedness of heaven, then we no longer pretend to know what God and heaven are! God must annihilate them, and pursue them with the thunders of his vengeance; or else his throne is no longer established in righteousness!" You are right, my brethren; he must condemn them; he must, if he is just and holy. But are you aware who the people are, whom you thus adjudge to be worthy of death? My brethren, I entreat you to believe me, they are our representatives. Perhaps I may fail to convince you; but in that case a greater will demonstrate it-the Invisible, of whom it stands written, that "when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin." John xvi. 18. If this be true, it is evi

dent that we are by nature no better than the miscreants who wreaked their evil passions on our unoffending Lord; for in our own bodies we carry the germ

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and seed of that leprosy of sin which broke out so terriffically in them. The same brand of hatred, bitterness, and enmity to Christ, has been impressed on our houses, and on our very limbs; though in our persons perhaps the volcanic crater may only smoke, while in theirs it burst forth into flames. No, you hold nothing strange or foreign to yourselves in those servants of Satan; you see only the old Adam unveiled. That poisonous plant whose roots are visible in yourselves, in them has attained the ripeness of summer. But God looks into the heart, and in his eyes ye stand on an equality with those sinners. And now, my brethren, I hold you to your word, and judge you from your own mouths. In holy zeal you have cried out, "If God be just, those evil doers can expect nothing but condemnation!" You thus pronounced your own sentence, for in reality you resemble them. "Yes," I hear you repeat, "if it can be proved that we are no better than those miscreants, God must cast us from his presence, or -"Now what is this or ?66 or another must suffer in our place, and thus satisfy the Divine Justice." Yes, my brethren, ye have spoken truly; and the scene of moral corruption which we contemplate to day, forces us to exclaim, "Ample satisfaction must have been made for our sins, or we are lost beyond redemption !"

IV. Either we are at variance with sin, and hate it; or we do not love Jesus! And to this conclusion our

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