CHAP II. Of the Redeemer's triumph over the hearts of finners upon earth. "Many fhall V. CHRIST's I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up alfo out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and fet my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praifes unto our God: many fhall fee it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. INTRODUCTION. T HE promifes, prophecies, and doctrines of the Old Teftament, meet in Jefus Chrift, as the different radii, from whatever point of the circumference, meet in the center. They have all a regard, more immediate or remote, to him; and can only afford encouragement and confolation to finners, as they refpect the Saviour. There are a variety of paffages in the Old Teftament writings, A which which have fuch a direct and evident relation to` the Meffiah, that almost no Christians difagree in the application of them; but there are others, tho' no lefs expreffive of the Meffiah, in his humbled or exalted state, or both, which are not univerfally viewed in that light. Of these we take the paffage now mentioned to be one: for though generally thefe verfes are confidered as pointing out the exercife of David, the then church, or after faints, they are more probably a prophetical defcription of his exercise who is David's Lord, the church's head, and the king of faints,, namely, of the Old Teftament Meffiah, our New Testament Redeemer; and they are fo, chiefly, because we find the 6th, 7th, and 8th verfes of that pfalm quoted and applied to Jefus Chrift, by the author of the epiftle to the Hebrews, in the xth chapter of that epistle, 5th, 6th and 7th verses; and having an infpired commentator to copy after, we need have no reluctance in treading his steps *. Befides, the repeated mention our Lord makes of what was written of him in the pfalms, as well as by Mofes and the prophets, corroborates the prefumption; and fur *The original text runs thus: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not defire, mine "ears haft thou opened: burnt-offering and fin-offering haft thou not required. Then faid I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, () my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." The quotation by the apoftle runs thus : "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he "faith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a "body haft thou prepared me in burnt-offerings, "and facrifices for fin thou haft had no pleasure: then "faid I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is "written of me) to do thy will, O God." ther ther juftifies the application of that passage to him +. To which it need scarce be added, that in the Acts of the apostles, we are informed of their following that immaculate pattern, once, again and again ‡, for the imitation, doubtless, of after faints, in their study of the Old Testament fcriptures. PART I. Of the REDEEMER'S Humiliation or Cross. CHAP I. Of Chrift's active obedience, or of his waiting, waiting patiently, and crying. HIS waiting for the Father fays, that, as the Meffiah, or Chrift, he ftood and acted in the capacity of the Father's fervant; and did fo in the different regards to be mentioned: according to the doctrine of the holy Ghoft, Pfal. cxxiii. 2. where the church is reprefented as faying, "Be"hold, as the eyes of fervants look unto the hands "of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto "the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon "the Lord our God." For our Lord, in his mediatory character, is denominated the Father's fervant, both by Old and New Teftament writers. The prophet reprefents the Father as faying of Chrift the Meffiah, "Behold my Servant whom I + Luke xx. 42. and xxiv. 44. Acts ii. 25, 26, 27, 23. and xiii. 33, 35. A 2 66 uphold; 1 uphold; mine Elect in whom my foul delight"eth," If. xlii. 1. And the apostle, infpired from the fame original, expreffeth himself to the fame purpofe; though from the view of Chrift's divinity, confiders it as a ftupenduous act of condefcenfion in him: "Who being in the form of "God (faid he) thought it no robbery to be equal "with God, but made himself of no reputation, "and took upon him the form of a fervant," Phil. ii. 6, 7. Our Lord in his humiliation, not only bore the defignation of a fervant, but confidered himself as fuch, and therefore came to do his Father's work, to negotiate the errand and bufinefs of heaven. However voluntary and cheerful in the whole, he acted ftrictly by commiffion; and, in the execution of it, ftudied the Father's approbation, as his fole conftituent in that refpect; "My meat (faid he) is to "do the will of him that fent me, and to finish "his work," John iv. 34. "I feek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which fent me," John v. 30. and again, "I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished the work which thou gav. "eft me to do," John xvii. 4. In the execution of his Father's will, our Lord, as Man-Mediator, acted a dependence upon the Father, for what ftrength, through bearing and confolation he needed. Confidered as man, viewed as a creature, his circumftances required daily fupplies from heaven, as to foul and body both. Accordingly, for thefe, in the station of a fervant, as well as in the capacity of a fon, he was properly and perfonally a believer: "Behold my servant, (said the Father, pointing at the Meffiah) whom I uphold," If. xlii. 1. In his divine nature, Christ was independent; whence, in fo far as the Father upheld him, he must be confidered as man; and the Fa ther's |