terness of suffering, which your mediator has tasted in your stead. Let this consideration move you to a more ardent love of him, who has emptied your cup of sufferings of all its bitterness, and alleviated your afflictions, by mingling with them the sweets of his enlivening comforts.

III. In the next place, we are to consider the crueifixion itself. St. John, who is known to have been present, describes this transaction in a very succinct manner, where they crucified him.' It seems as if this Evangelist, when he was going to describe this bloody and barbarous action, was so affected with the melancholy subject, that the tender love he bore to his divine master would not suffer him to dwell upon the particulars. The Roman manner of crucifying malefactors was as follows. The cross being first raised perpendicularly, and firmly fixed in the ground, the criminal who was to be fastened on it was stripped naked, and so exposed to the public view, without the least covering. Then the soldiers lifted him on a piece of timber, which projected from the erect beam of the cross, like a kind of seat, and so placed him on it, that the legs hung down on each side of this seat. Then they proceeded to stretch out the per part of the body, and to extend both arms; and, having first bound them to the transverse beam of the cross, nailed them to it with large iron nails, driven through the palms of each hand. Lastly, the legs were stretched out; and being placed close to each other, each of them was separately nailed to the perpendicular beam of the cross. In this ignominious and painful manner, according to the most probable conjectures, was the Lord of life crucified.

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But the extraordinary pain and ignominy with which this punishment was attended, will appear more evident, if we consider,

I. That the person who was to be crucified was stripped from head to foot, and thus was fastened to the cross quite naked, in the sight of a vast number of

spectators. What an indignity was this, for this divine teacher, and prophet, the supreme messenger of the heavenly father! the Roman laws ordered none to be crucified but the worst of malefactors, who was deemed unworthy to tread on the earth; but the divine law farther annexes a particular execration on this punishment, for he that is hanged is to be accursed of God, (Deut. xxi. 23.) This punishment was likewise extremely painful. For as the criminal was previously scourged, when his garments were taken off they must naturally tear the wounds open again, which must be a very sensible pain. The whole body was so strained on the cross, that the bones were in a manner dislocated, and the ribs appeared so plain that they might be counted, (Psalm xxii. 17.) The hands and feet were not only stretched and bound with cords, but were also pierced with large nails; and as the sensation is exquisite in these parts of the body, by reason of the many ramifications of the nerves with which they are stored, we may naturally think that the nailing of them must occasion the most excruciating pains. After all this, the body, torn by the scourges and pierced by the nails, remained for some hours in the open air, slowly bleeding to death, and languishing under inexpressible

torture,

Oh, what an astonishing humiliation is this! that the Lord of Glory should take on him such a painful and infamous death, and be obedient to his Father, even to the death of the cross; that those hands should be pierced, which spread out the heavens, and by their touch had healed so many impotent and sick; that nails should be driven through those feet, to which a promise is given, that all enemies shall lie down before them in the dust; that he, from whom all derive their clothing, should be stripped of his garments; that the King of Israel should be an abomination, and the Deity become a curse.

Upon these circumstances of our Saviour's passion, let us make the following observations :

First, as the place where our blessed Lord was crucified, was not chosen without God's direction; so neither was the punishment of crucifixion appointed for the Saviour of the world without the wisest views. For this sort of death was very suitable to the mystery of our redemption, as will appear by the following particulars.

1. It aptly represented Christ's mediatorial office; for as he here hung between heaven and earth, so he was that exalted and adorable person who was to adjust the concerns of mankind with God, and reconcile heaven and earth.

2. By this lingering punishment on the cross, where the crucified person lived several hours, and some times two or three days, our Saviour's patience, resignation, and obedience was most properly tried, and his inconceivable love to the human race displayed to the admiration of angels and men.

3. By reason of the curse annexed to this death, it' was the best adapted to him, who was to be a curse, in order to obtain a blessing for us.

4. By this ignominious and painful death, the justice of God, and his extreme hatred of sin, were signally manifested.

5. It was a punishment by which the sacred blood of Christ, which was to be our ransom, and to purify our consciences from dead works, was to be abundantly shed.

6. This exaltation of Christ on the cross was a type of his future exaltation to the right hand of God.

7. Lastly, the wisdom of God had before, by many types and prophecies in the Old Testament, signified that the Messiah was to die by this kind of punishment. The prophecies of David and Zachariah (Psalm xxii. and Zach. xii. 10.) were particularly fulfilled by our Saviour's crucifixion. The offering of Isaac, the erecting of a brazen serpent, the Paschal Lamb, and indeed all sacrifices, which were lifted up, and laid on the altar to be consumed by fire, were types which

prefigured the death of Christ on the cross. Let us therefore humbly adore the infinite wisdom of God, which, from such wise motives, appointed this sort of punishment to be inflicted on our mediator. Let us admire the Father's unspeakable love, in thus giving up his only begotten Son to the most ignominious and painful death. But let us also gratefully revere the transcendent love of the Son, in descending from the throne of God to die on the cross, and humbling himself below the comprehension of man or angel.

Secondly, The crucifixion of Christ is to be accounted the most essential part of his sufferings.

By our Saviour's suffering on the tree, our sin which was committed at the tree of knowledge, and the innumerable transgressions which have been the consequences of our fall, are expiated. Our Mediator, by permitting his hands to be extended, and nailed to the cross, has satisfied for our first parents' sin, in stretching forth their sinful hands to the forbidden fruit. By suffering his sacred feet to be nailed to the cross, he has satisfied for their approach to the forbidden tree, and our voluntary choice of the ways of perdition, if we leave them by repentance. By suffering himself to be raised up as a gazing-stock, while he expired by such an ignominious and painful death, he has atoned for the presumptuous arrogance of our first parents, by which they attempted to lift themselves up to the very throne of God, and impiously wished to have no superior. Oh wonderful love! worthy subject of our continual meditations, and deserving our most grateful acknowledgments! So deep an humiliation, so low an abasement of a person of such transcendent dignity, must necessarily be productive of glorious and wonderful effects. On this cross our reconciliation was atchieved, (Eph. ii. 16.) On this cross peace was concluded betwixt heaven and earth, (Col. i. 20.) On this cross the hand writing, that was against us, was cancelled, blotted out, and taken away, (Col. ii. 14.) On this cross the

curse was repealed, and the blessing obtained, (Gal. iii. 13, 14.) This cross is as it were the ladder by which man ascends to heaven, and the Throne of Grace, where the sinner finds pardon and forgiveness. This is the triumphal car of the commander in chief of God's host. Here he triumphed over sin, which he bore in his own body on the cross. Here he triumphed over the power of satan, whose head was bruised by the heel of him who trod the old serpent under foot. Here he triumphed over the curse of the law, and placed his redeemed in perfect security. Here, at the same time, he hung as it were, in the most endearing attitude, extending his arms in order to gather in and embrace all the truly penitent. Let us learn from our blesssed Saviour's crucifixion, how we are to crucify the old man, and to mortify self-conceit, self-love, and every inordinate desire. Henceforth the world must be crucified unto us; and, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, must be as loathsome in our eyes as an executed malefactor. Henceforth we must harbour no sinful thoughts, no viscious desires which are displeasing to our crucified Saviour. Henceforth the reproach of Christ must be our glory, and his cross our standard by which we must live and die. We must say to our Redeemer, as faithful Ittai did to David, As the Lord liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be,' (2 Sam. xv. 21.) Oh blessed fellowship of the cross, the consequence of which is a fellowship of glory!

IV. We come now, in the last place, to consider our blessed Lord's intercession for his enemies during his crucifixion. St. Luke observes that when they crucified the blessed Jesus, he cried out, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' In all appearance, these words were uttered by our blessed Saviour while the Roman soldiers were extending his sacred body, and nailing it to the cross.

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