II. What he fuffered. Chrift Jefus, and him crucified; though all the course of his life was a continual fuffering, and the preamble or walk unto his death, which was the end of his life; yet this was the compleating of all the ret, and the tide and waves of his fuffering did ftill rife higher and higher, till it arrived in this; and the feveral fteps and afcents unto the cross, though they began from his birth, yet those that were more immediate began with the preparation to the paffover. The council held by the chief priefts and fcribes, for the crucifying of our Saviour, was fat upon two days before the paffover 1. And this was the firit ftep to Mount Calvary : and doubtless it was no fmall addition to our Saviour's paffion, that it was hatched in the council of the chief priests and fcribes, the then external vifible church, the husbandmen of the vineyard 2. But this is not all; as the vifible church of the Jews is the conclave where this council is formed; fo Judas, a member of the vifible church of Christ, one of the twelve, is the inftrument to effect it. He contracts with them for thirty pieces of filver, to betray his master unto them. And furely this could not choose but be a great grief to our Saviour, that one of his felect apostles fhould turn apoftate, and thereby bring a blemish upon the rest.

Upon the day of eating the paffover, called the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, our Saviour and his difciples keep the paffover together in Jerufalem; and there the two memorials of our Saviour's paffion meet; that of the paffover inftituted by God, and the Ifraelites going out of Egypt; and the bread and wine after fupper, intituted by our Saviour, to fucceed in the place of the former, and each did queftionless make a deep impreffion upon our Saviour, in which he anticipated his paffion, and lively reprefented to him that breaking and pouring out of his blood and foul, which he was fuddenly to fuffer: and doubtlefs 'Matth. xxvi. 2. Mark, xiv. 1. Matth. xxi. 39. Matth. xxvi. 14. in a lively manner.

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here began a great measure of our Saviour's paffion, in the apprehenfion which he had of that eminent ftorm, that he muft fpeedily undergo. From the fupper they go together to the Mount of Olives, and there he acquaints his difciples of a speedy and forrowful parting they must have; the fhepherd is to be fmitten that night, and the fheep to be scattered; and as he forefaw Judas's treachery, fo he forefees Peter's infirmity; the storm fhould be fo violent, that Peter himself, the refoluteft apoftle, fhall deny his mafter that night, and deny him thrice: and furely the forefight of the distraction that should befall his poor difciples, could not choose but add much to their tender master's affliction: All ye fhall be offended because ' of me this night'.'

And now let us follow our bleffed Lord from the Mount of Olives in the garden, called by the apoftles Gethsemane, with the affections of love and wonder in fome measure becoming fuch an entertainment of our thoughts. The time that he chofe for his retirement, was the dead time of the night; a season that might the more contribute to the firength of that fadnefs, which the pre-apprehenfion of his imminent paffion must needs occafion. The place that he chose, a folitary retired garden, where nothing might or could interrupt, or divert the intensiveness of his forrow and fear and, to make both the time and place the more opportune for his agony, he leaves the reft of his dif ciples, and takes with him only Peter, and the two fons of Zebedee 2. And to thefe he imparts the beginning of his forrow, that they might be witneffes of it, My foul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death; but yet commands their distance, Tarry ye here and watch with me, and he went little further.' Watch with me.' The confusion of his foul was fo great, that the only Son of God diftrufts his own [human] ability to bear it; and yet his fubmiffion to this terrible conflict [was] fo willing, that he leaves them that he had appointed to watch

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1 Matth. xxvi. 31. Matth. xxvi. 27. Matth. xxvi. 38, 39.

with him. "He went a little further.' The three dif ciples had doubtlefs a fympathy with their mafter's forrow, and yet the will of God fo orders it, that their excess of love and grief muft not keep their eyes waking, notwithstanding it was the last request of their forrowful mafter. The difciples flept 1. And thus every circumftance of time, place and perfons contribute to a fad and folitary opportunity for this moft terrible and black conflict. And now in this garden the mighty God puts his fon to grief, lades him with our forrows 2, withdraws and hides from him the light of his favour and countenance; interpofeth a thick and black cloud between the divinity and the human nature, darts into his foul the fad and fharp manifeftations of his wrath; overwhelms his foul with one wave after another; fends into him the most exquifite pre-apprehenfions of thofe fad and fevere fufferings he was the next day to undergo; begins to make his foul an offering for fin, and heightens his forrow, confufion, and aftonishment unto the uttermoft. In fum, the mighty God, the God of the fpirits of all flefh, who knows the way into the foul, and how to fill it with the moft fad and black aftonishment and forrow, was pleafed at this time to eftrange and eclipfe the manifeftation of his light and love to his only Son, as far as was poffibly confiftent with his fecret and eternal love unto him; to throw into him as fad and amazing apprehenfions of his wrath, as was poffible to be confiftent with the human nature to bear; to fortify and ftrengthen his fenfe of it, and forrow for, and under it, unto the uttermoft, that so his grief, and forrow, and confufion of foul might be brim-full, and as much as the exacteft constitution of a human nature could poffibly bear. And thus now at this time the arm of the mighty God was bruifing the foul of his only Son 3. And certainly the extremity of this agony within, muft needs be very great, if we confider the flrange effects it had without: 1. That pathetical defcription thereof

1 Matth. xxvi. 40. * Isaiah liii. 4. Isaiah liii. 10.
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that

that our Saviour himself makes of it: My foul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death 1,' fo forrowful, exceeding forrowful, forrowful unto death; and the expreffions of the evangelis, He began to be for'rowful, and very heavy 2.' He began to be fore amazed, and to be very heavy 3.' It was fuch a forrow as brought with it an amazement, an aftonishment. 2. Again, that frange request to his difciples, Tarry ye and watch with me;' as if he feared the forrow would overwhelm him. 2. Again, his prayer, and the manner of it, evidence a moit wonderful perturbation within. He fell on his face and prayed; and what was the thing he prayed? Father, if it be poffible, let this cup pafs from me;' or Abba Father, all things are poffible unto thee, take away this cup from me 5,' &c. Although that this was the very end for which he came into the world; the cup which in former times he reached after, and was ftraitened till it were fulfilled; yet fuch a reprefentation there is thereof to his foul, that although in the will of his obedience he submits; Not my will, but thine be done;' yet his nature fhrinks and starts at it; and he engageth Almighty God, as much, and upon as great arguments as were poffible, to decline the feverity of that wrath which he was now to grapple with: 1. Upon the account of his omnipotency; All things are poffible to thee:' 2. Upon the account of his relation; Abba Father: It is not a ftranger that importunes thee; it is thy Son; that Son in whom 'thou didst proclaim thyfelf well pleafed; that Son 'whom thou heareft always; it is he that begs of thee; and begs of thee a difpenfation from that which he most declines, because he most loves thee, the terrible, unfupportable hiding thy face from me.' And this was not one fingle request, but thrice repeated, reiterated, and that with more earneftnessAnd again he went away, and prayed, and spake the fame words. And being, in an agony, he prayed

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* Matth. xxvi. 37. Mark xiv. 33. ↑ Matth. xi. Mark xiv. 39.

'more

'more earnestly 1.' Certainly, that impreffion upon his foul, that caused him to deprecate that for which he was born, to deprecate it fo often, fo earnestly, must needs be a forrow and apprehenfion of a very terrible and exceeding extremity. 4. Such was the weight of his forrow and confufion of his foul, that it even exceeding the ftrength of his [human] nature to bear it, it was ready to diffolve the union between his body and foul; infomuch, that to add farther ftrength unto him, and capacity to undergo the measure of it, an angel from heaven is fent, not [merely] to comfort, but to strengthen him; to add a farther degree of strength to his human nature, to bear the weight of that wrath, which had in good earneft made his foul forrowful unto death, had it not been ftrengthened by the ministration of an angel 2. And this affiftance of the angel, as it did not allay the forrows of his foul, so neither did it intermit his importunity to be delivered from the thing he felt and feared; but did only fupport and ftrengthen him to bear a greater burthen of it; and as the measure of his ftrength was increased, fo was the burthen which he muft undergo, increased, for after this he prayed again more earnestly the third time 3. The fupply of his ftrength was fucceeded with an addition of forrow, and the increase of his forrow was followed with the greater importunity: He 'prayed more earnestly with ftrong crying and tears 4.' And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly: ' and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood fall'ing down to the ground 5.' This was his third addrefs to his Father 6. And here was the highest pitch of our Saviour's paffion in the garden. His foul was in an agony, in the greatest concuffion, confufion, and extremity of forrow, fear, anguish, and astonishment, that was poffible to be inflicted by the mighty hand of God, on the foul of Chrift, that could be confiftent with the purity of the nature of our Saviour, and the Luke xxii. 43. 9 Luke xxii. 44. 4 Heb. v. 7. Matth. xxvi. 44. infepa

'Luke xxii. 44. Luke xxii. 44.