Sermon 20

Isaiah 53:4-5 Verse 4. Surely he has born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Verse 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.

If we had the faith of that which the Prophet speaks here, and the thorough conviction who it is of whom he speaks, we would be in a holy transport of admiration and astonishment at the hearing of it; that it is he who is the Prince of life, that was bruised and wounded, and that these bruises, wounds and stripes are ours, were for us, and the price and satisfaction for our iniquities to divine justice; and yet that even he in the performing of all this, is despised and scorned by those whose good he is thus pursuing and seeking after, O! how should it be wondered at?

These words (as we showed) hold forth these three: 1. The cause or end of Christ's suffering — Surely he has born our griefs, and carried our sorrows; which is to remove and take away the scandal that might arise from Christ's humiliation, described in the foregoing words; He was low indeed but there was no guilt found in his mouth; it was for no quarrel that God had at himself, but he undertook our debt, and therefore carried our sorrows. 2. The aggravation of men's enmity, and desperate wickedness, that yet notwithstanding of all this, we esteemed him smitten of God, and afflicted. 3. We have the exposition of the first part more clearly set down: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, etc., where more fully he expounds what in the beginning of verse 4 he asserted.

We expounded the first part of the words, and showed that these griefs and sorrows held forth the due desert of sin, called ours, because they are the due and particular desert of our sins, and that which they procured, and that Christ's bearing of them, was not only meant of his taking away, or removing from us of sorrows and griefs, as he did diseases, but of his real undergoing of that which we should have undergone, even such a bearing as made others think him smitten and plagued of God, and such as wounded and bruised him, even such as made him become a curse for us, and such as procured healing to us; all which proves that it was a real undergoing of sorrow and grief.

We spoke to two doctrines from this part: 1. That sin has sorrow necessarily knit to it, and never lacks sorrow following on it. 2. That Christ Jesus undertook these same sorrows, and really bore these same griefs that sin procured to the elect, or that by sin were due to them.

That we may proceed to observe somewhat more, and for clearer access to the doctrine, we shall speak a word to a question that may be moved here.

What is meant by these words, our, we, and us? He has born our griefs, the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all, by his stripes we are healed? And the rather I would speak to this, because throughout the chapter we will find these pronouns very frequent. We know in Scripture our and us are sometimes extended to all mankind, so we are all lost in Adam, and sin has a dominion over us all; and that part of the words (verse 6), All we like sheep have gone astray, may well be extended to all mankind. Sometimes it is to be restricted to God's elect, and so all comprehends only such and all such; and in this respect our, us, and we, and all, are contradistinguished from many others in the world; and take not in all men, as (Galatians 4:26), Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all; which is spoken in opposition to the bond woman and her children spoken of before; so that this our, us, and we, are not to be extended to all individual men in the world, as if Christ had satisfied the justice of God for all, but it is to be applied to God's elect, separated in his purpose from others, and in God's design appointed to be redeemed and satisfied for by Christ. And the words being thus expounded they lead us to this doctrine, that Jesus Christ in bearing the punishment of sin, had a particular and distinct respect to some definite sinners; for confirmation of it, we shall not go out of the Chapter, the scope whereof we would clear a little; and if we look through the chapter, we will find five grounds to clear these words are to be thus restricted.

For 1. We are to expound this universal with respect to God's purpose and Covenant, the contrivance of the Elect's Redemption, and to the death of Christ, the execution of it, and so these words our, us, we, all are, and must be restricted to these, and in them we are to find out who they are: Now, who these are, we find clear, John 6:37, 39. In the 37th verse where he says, All that the Father has given me shall come to me, And verse 39, This is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing; It's in a word these whom the Father has given to Christ, and as many as are given will believe: And certainly these that are given to Christ to be redeemed by him, are the same whose iniquities the Father makes to meet on him; And these are distinguished from these not given (John 17:6, 11), and are called his sheep (John 10:15, and 17), Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, to wit, for my sheep: And all the strain of this Chapter being to show God's way of contriving and prosecuting the work of Redemption, and Christ's executing thereof according to the Covenant of Redemption; All this spoken of Christ's suffering must be expounded according to that engagement. 2. Whereas it is said, verse 8, For the transgressions of my people was he stricken; It is certain, this our and us and we for whom Christ was stricken, must be restricted to God's people; That is his peculiar people who are his by electing love, as Christ says (John 17:6), Yours they were, and you gave them to me; They are not his as all the World are his, but are contradistinguished from the world as his own peculiar, purposed, designed people; Sure all the World are not God's People in this sense, therefore they are called his sheep, and contradistinguished from these who are not his sheep (John 10:17). And therefore we are to look on these words, our, us, and we, as of equivalent extent with the peculiar people of God; He carried the punishment of the sins of all God's people that are his peculiar election. 3. So verse 10, When you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed; Hence we gather this, that these whose iniquities [reconstructed: Christ] bore, are Christ's seed, and for these he purposely laid down his life, as these whom he expected should be saved for satisfying of him for the travel of his soul, and for no more, and these cannot certainly be all the World, there being such contradistinction between Christ Mystical, or his seed comprehending the Elect, and the seed of the Serpent comprehending the Reprobate and Wicked, who are said to be of their father the Devil; These are Christ's seed who are spiritually begotten of him, and these doubtless are not all the World, and for these only he suffered; So that our sins here, are the sins of all the seed. 4. Look to verse 11, where it is said, By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities: Where it is clear whose sins they are that Christ bears; it's theirs who are justified by his knowledge, or by faith in his blood, and justification by faith in his blood, and redemption by his blood, are commensurate, and of equal extent: Now, it being certain as to the event, that not all the World, nor all in the visible Church, are justified by the Faith of Christ, it must also be certain that the sins of others who are not, nor shall not be justified, were never purposely borne by Christ: And this ground as all the rest, will be the more clear, if we consider that it is given as an Argument why they must be justified, because he has borne their iniquities. A 5th ground may be gathered from the last words of the Chapter, He made intercession for the transgressors; from which we may reason, that Christ's intercession and his satisfaction, are of equal extent, he satisfies for no more than he intercedes for; Now, it was not for all the World, nor indefinitely and by guess for all in the visible Church that Christ did intercede, but for them that the Father had given him out of the world (John 17:9, and verse 6), Yours they were, and you gave them me: And verse 10, All mine are yours, and yours are mine; Christ's death being the ground of his intercession, and it being by virtue of his death that he interceded, his death and intercession must be of the same extent; He intercedes for such and such sinners, because he has paid a price for them, that there may be a good account made of them at the last day.

The 1st use of it serves to clear a great and precious truth concerning God's Covenant and discriminating love whereby he has put difference between some and others. 2. It serves to stir them up who are thus differenced, to admire at, and to commend his love, who has been graciously mindful of them when others are past by. 3. It serves also to clear other Scriptures, and this same Chapter, and to teach us, not to make common to all, the privileges bestowed on some peculiar ones; and to guard us against the vilifying and profaning of our Lord's sufferings, as if he had no special and peculiar design in them, or as if they might be frustrated in the design of them contrary to the promises made to him of the Father.

And therefore here to obviate an Objection which is made from the 6th verse, All we like sheep have gone astray; from which some would infer, that it's all who like sheep have strayed, whose iniquities Christ has borne; We say, that, that all is not meant to comprehend them whose iniquities Christ has borne only, but to hold out the extent of straying; or, the meaning is not to show that his suffering and satisfying of Justice, extended to all that strayed; but to show that the Elect for whom he suffered had all of them strayed, as well as others; And this is like the reasoning which the Apostle has (2 Corinthians 5:14), If one died for all, then were all dead; The meaning of which is not, that Christ died for all that were dead, but this is the meaning, that all for whom Christ died were once dead: so here while it's said, All we like sheep have gone astray; It is to show that the Elect strayed and esteemed him not as well as others, and had [reconstructed: God's] curse lying on them as their due, until Christ interposed and took it off them as well as others. The point might have also use for confirmation, but we do not follow these.

2. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, that is our griefs and sorrows who are his elect, his people, his seed, who flee to him for refuge, and are justified by his knowledge, or by faith in him, and for whom he makes intercession; Hence observe, that believers would endeavor the strengthening of themselves in the faith of this, that Jesus Christ has borne their griefs and sorrows, and has satisfied justice for them in particular; they would study to be in case on good ground with the prophet, to say, Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; To make it sure that they are in the roll of elect believers, and justified persons; To say with the Apostle Paul (Galatians 3:13), He was made a curse for us; And with the same apostle (2 Corinthians 5, final verse), to say, He was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him; And to say with the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 2:24), Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree; they speak always by way of application; So in these places whereby we confirmed the doctrine, that Christ really bore that punishment of the sins of the elect, are expressed in an applicatory way; And that notable place (Galatians 2:20), Where, as if it were not enough to say, he loved us, and gave himself for us, he draws it nearer and more home, and says, Who loved me, and gave himself for me. But that you may not mistake the point, my meaning is not, that every body off hand should make application of Christ's death; O! the presumption and desperate security that destroys thousands of souls here; as if there were no such distinction as we held forth in the first doctrine, nor any bar to be put in the way of that fancied universal application of Christ's dying for all sinners; whereas we show that it was for his sheep, and these given to him of the Father only, that he died, and for no more; But this is my meaning, that (as it is, 2 Peter 1:10) you would give diligence to make your calling and election sure, and [reconstructed: but] in an orderly way you would secure and fasten your interest in Christ's death; Not to make this the first thing that you apprehend for the foundation of your faith, that he died for you in particular, for that were to come to the top of the stairs, before you begin to set foot on the first step; But the orderly way is to make sure your fleeing to Christ in the sense of sin, and your closing with him on his own terms, and your having the characters of his people engraved on you; And then from such premises you may draw this conclusion as the result thereof, Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: Then you may be satisfactorily confirmed in this, that when Christ transacted and bargained with the Father about the elect, when he prayed, and took the cup of his Father's wrath and drank it out for them, he minded your names, and was made a curse in your room: The reason is drawn from the advantage of such a doctrine, as having hanging on it the consolation of all the promises of God; for we can never comfortably apply, nor be delighted in the promises, till we come to make particular application of Christ's purpose and purchase in the work of redemption: This is it that clears boundaries, and draws a line between us and reprobate ungodly men, and that keeps from the fear of eternal death that pursues them; And it gives some ground of hope to lay hold on, and grip to, as to our enjoying of Christ's purchase: I know there is nothing that [reconstructed: folk] had more need to be sober and wary in the search of, and in the securing themselves in, than this; yet by the same command that enjoins us, to make our covenant-state, our calling and election sure, we are bound to make our redemption sure; And having at some length spoken of the way of making sure our believing, on the 1st verse, we may insist the less on this, of making sure our redemption by Christ.

The 1st use serves for information; To let you know, 1. That there are many professing Christians, that account this a curious, nice, and conceited thing, to study to be sure, and to make it sure, that Christ in his death and sufferings minded them in particular; Others may think it impossible; And all may think it a right hard and difficult thing, and indeed so it is; But yet we would have you to consider, 1. That simply it is not impossible, else we should say, that the comfort of the people of God were impossible. 2. That it is no curious thing, for the Lord does not lay the obligation to curiosity on any, though we would wish that many had a holy curiosity to know God's mind towards them, that they might not live in the dark about such a concerning business. 3. That the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him (Psalm 25:14), And even this same secret concerning redemption is with them, and he will show them his covenant: And indeed it were no small matter to have this manifested.

And therefore as a second use of the point, we would commend to you the study of making this sure; for it has many notable advantages attending it; it would provoke to humility, and to thankfulness to him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; it would make a comfortable and cheerful Christian life; it would warm the heart with love to God, and to Jesus Christ who has thus loved us as to give himself for us. When we commend this to you, it's no strange, nice, needless, curious, or unattainable thing, nor would we have you when you cannot attain it, to sit down discouraged; neither would we have you take any extraordinary way to come by it; nor waiting for any new light but that which is in the Bible; nor would we have you resolving to do no other thing till you attain to this. But this we would have you to do, even to make faith in Christ sure, by fleeing to him, and casting your burden on him, by cordial receiving of him, and acquiescing in him; and then you make all sure. The committing of yourselves to him to be saved by his price paid to Divine Justice, and resting on him as he is held out in the Gospel, is the way to read your interest in his Redemption. And this is it that we have (Galatians 3; Galatians 2:19), where it is disputed at length, that we are heirs of Abraham by believing, and by the law (says the Apostle) I am dead to the law, that I might live to God: I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I live in the flesh is by the faith of the Son of God. Hence he concludes, Who loved me, and gave himself for me; and this he proves in the last words, I do not frustrate the grace of God, I do not disappoint it. I mar it not in its end and design; it is (as if he had said) seeking a lost sinner to save, and I give it a lost sinner to be saved. For though God's decree be the first step to salvation, and the work of Redemption follows on it, and then believing on both; yet to come to the knowledge of God's decree of election, and of our concern in the covenant of Redemption, we look downward, and seek first to know if we have right to make application of that which was thought upon long since concerning us, and this we do by reflecting on the way we have come to believing. If we have been convinced and made sensible of sin, and of our lost condition by nature, if we have not smothered that conviction but cherished it; if we have not run to this or that duty for satisfying of Divine Justice, and for making of our peace thereby, but were necessitated to betake ourselves to Jesus Christ made offer of in the Gospel for the salvation of sinners, and if we have closed with him as he was offered. And if we have done so, we may from there conclude that he has loved us, and given himself to save us; because he has humbled me for sin (may the serious soul say) and given me this faith to believe in him, and this is his promise which I rest upon, that I shall be saved. Or you may try your interest in his Redemption thus; whether am I one of God's people or not? Whether do I walk like them? And so go through the marks and signs of holiness, asking yourself, What sincerity is there in me? What mortification? What humility, meekness, love to God and his children? And what fruits of faith in new obedience? These two, faith and holiness, are the pillars that bear up the house of assurance; working and not resting on it, believing and yet not growing vain and light because of it, but so much the rather studying holiness; and to go on between and with these two, till we come to read God's mind about our election and Redemption. For neither believing nor holiness can make any alteration in the bargain of Redemption, yet it will warrant our application of the bargain, and clear our interest in it; as the Apostle Peter plainly insinuates when he thus exhorts, Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. How is that? Will diligence make God alter his decree of election, or make it any surer in itself? No, by no means, but it will assure us of it; for by so doing an entrance shall be ministered to us abundantly into his everlasting kingdom; by giving all diligence to add one grace to another, and one degree of grace to another, there shall be a wide door opened to us to go in to heaven by. And there is no hazard in commending this doctrine to you all, even the study of faith and holiness, thereby to come to the knowledge of God's secret counsel concerning you.

And therefore as a third use of this point, know that all of you that prejudge yourselves of this comfort of your interest in Christ's purchase, do bring the blame of it on yourselves: If any shall profanely object, if God has purposed so many shall get good of Christ's sufferings, and no more, what will my faith and holiness do if I be not elected? And what can my unbelief and negligence prejudge me if I be elected? We showed in the former use, what faith and holiness will do; and we tell you here, what your unbelief and negligence will do, and it's this, it will seclude you from all the blessings of the covenant, and bring you under the sentence of condemnation; for as the conditional promise looks to the believer and unbeliever; and so it is not Christ's purchase, nor the difference God has made in his purpose of election, that is the cause why you are damned and not justified; but you are damned because you transgressed God's law and when salvation was offered to you through Christ, you would not close with the offer; and you are not justified, because you betook not yourselves to him for righteousness but continued in your sin, and in seeking righteousness by the law: for although this universal be not true, that Christ died for all men, yet this universal is true that they are all justified that by faith flee to Jesus Christ for refuge. Therefore these two are put together (John 6:37): All that the Father has given me shall come to me, and him that comes I will in no wise cast out; For I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the Father's will that sent me. If it should be asked, what is the Father's will? He answers, This is the Father's will that sent me, that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing; There are (as if he had said) some committed to me to be redeemed by me, and I will lose none of them. And lest it should yet be objected, but I know not if I be given to Christ to be redeemed by him; He adds, And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one that sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life. In which words, we have two wills, to say so, both having the same promise and effect, the first he relates to the secret paction of redemption, verse 39. And the second is his revealed will pointing at our duty, verse 40. And so if any should say, I know not if I be given to Christ, I know not if I be elected; This answer is here given, What is that to you? It's not to be searched into at the first hand, and broken in upon per saltum, and at the broad side: That is God's secret will, and that which is his revealed will belongs to you, and that is, to see that you believe, and if you believe, the same promise that is annexed to believing is annexed to election, and they sweetly tryst together, and are of equal extent, to wit, believing and to be given to Christ. And therefore let me commend it to you, to hold you content with God's revealed will; for it is not the ground of your faith, I mean as to its first closing with Christ, that of all given to Christ he shall lose none; but this is the ground of it, that every one that sees the Son, and believes on him, shall have everlasting life. And we may add this word as one motive among others to faith and holiness, that by your studying of these you may turn over the words of the Prophet here to yourselves, and say, Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; and that of the Apostle (Galatians 2), who loved me, and gave himself for me; also, that word of Peter cited before, His own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree; and O! what consolation is there?

The 4th use of it is, to commend the practice of this to the believer that has indeed fled to Jesus Christ; and to show the great privilege that they have who are such. The practice of it is, that believers should seek to be established and confirmed in the particular application of Christ's death to themselves; not only to know that he suffered for the elect and for believers, but for them in particular, that as it is (Hebrews 4:16) they may come with boldness to the throne of God, and confidently assert their interest; and as it is (Hebrews 6), they may grow up to the full assurance of hope to the end. We suppose there are many believers that dare not disclaim the covenant and their interest in Christ, who yet are fearful to make this particular application, Jesus Christ has loved me, and given himself for me; but if they could knit the effects with the cause from where they came, they might attain to it; for the man that can say I am fled to Christ for refuge, he may also say, that he purposely laid down his life to pay my debt; and he is warranted of Christ to make this application of his particular intention towards him. Upon the other side, the more consolation be in this to believers, it speaks the greater ground of terror to unbelievers, because of the prejudice they sustain by the want of this; and as many of you as make not faith and holiness your study, you lie out of the reach of this consolation that flows from Christ's bearing the griefs and sorrows of his own. And therefore let the profane, senseless multitude that know not what it is to die to the law, or to live to holiness, as you would not commit sacrilege, stand aback, and not dare to meddle with this redemption, till you stoop and come in at this door of faith and holiness; and let as many as are in this way admit of the consolation, for it's the Lord's allowance upon you; but for others if you presume to take hold of it, the Lord will wring it from you, and let you know to your cost that you had nothing to do with it.