Page:A Treatise of the Covenant of Grace (John Ball).djvu/296

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284
How Christ hath fulfilled the office of Mediatour,

teares, and was heard in the thing he feared. In the New Testament the word signifieth reverence, Luke 2. 25. Act. 2. 5. and 8. 2. Heb. 12. 28. or circumspect caution joyned with feare. Heb. 11. 7. Act. 23. 10. but feare is most fit to this place, as it signifieth commonly in good Authours, and by the phrase it selfe may be confirmed: for he was heard from his feare, as he was delivered from death.

The second effect of this Agonie was a bloudie sweat. In a cold night, when our Saviour lay upon the ground, in the open aire, no man being neere unto him, no violence offered unto his body, he did sweat clotted bloud, in such abundance, that it streamed through his apparell, and wet the ground. Never was there sweat like this sweat, nor anguish of soul like this anguish that he then endured. But these I may call the beginnings of sorrow. Upon the crosse he uttered that dolefull complaint, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?Matt. 26. He complaineth not that his heavenly Father had forsaken his, but him. Formerly he had wept over Jerusalem, and commended his DisciplesJoh. 17. unto the custody of his Father, being assured they should be gathered, though for the time dispersed. But the cause of this lamentation was, that being now in the hands of his cruell, bloudy, mercilesse enemies, left to endure the extremity of their rage and fury, his Father for a time withdrew from him that solace he was wont to find in him. The unity of his person was never dissolved, his righteousnesse or graces were never either taken away or diminished: neither is it possible he should want assurance of future deliverance and present support: but for a time the Father did with-draw the sense of favour and comfort, that his humane nature might suffer what our sinnes deserved. This dereliction was altogether without sin; because Christ our Saviour brought it not upon himselfe, but was called unto it, and in the conflict his faith was most firm, not shaken with any degree of unbelief: in which cases only the want of comfort is a fault, scil. when we bring it upon our selves, or stain it with infidelity.

It is here objected, that an innocent person ought not to suffer for a nocent, for guilt is inseparable from sin; The sonne shall not beare the iniquity of his Father, neither shall the Father beare the iniquity of the son, the soul that sinneth the same shall die. Ezek. 18. 20.

For the clearing of this objection, we must note, that there is atwo-