October 1

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands"—Isa. Iid. 10.

WHAT are we to understand by such expressions as these? Is the language applicable to one who was only to teach a system of morals, and die a martyr's death? The doctrine of Christ's substitution is clearly taught us here. Here are four things with respect to the sufferings of Christ; their unparalleled severity, their important design, their high sanction, and their glorious results.

THEIR UNPARALLELED SEVERITY. Many expressions are employed in Scripture to impress this on our minds. There are three in this place; he was bruised, put to grief, and made an offering. Let us divide his sufferings into two classes:—

Mental. How excruciating were these! It is here said, his soul was made an offering for sin. Before he suffered in his body, before he was crowned with thorns, and pierced with nails, he cried out in the garden. "Now is my soul troubled." There are three things we should form adequate ideas of, before we can have any just conception of our Saviour's sufferings,—his spotless purity of soul, the accumulated load of guilt he bore, and the mighty pressure of Jehovah's wrath.

Bodily. In reference to his bodily sufferings, it is said he was wounded, bruized, stricken, smitten, and afflicted. Think of the cruel scourge, the thorny crown, and the accursed tree. He gave his back to the smitters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.

THEIR IMPORTANT DESIGN. The end of these sufferings, with regard to the human race, may be summed up in these two things,—

The removal of the greatest evil. That is, sin. He was made an offering for sin. Here is an allusion to the Jewish sacrifices for the expiation of sin. By his cross he has made an end of sin, presented a full and satisfactory atonement for it.

The introduction of the greatest good. That is, salvation. All spiritual blessings come through him. Grace on earth and glory in heaven. In all the gallery of Scripture painting, says a living author, the great central object, however studded with stars of light, is the Man of sorrows: this circumstance, in connection with our own sins and troubles, will render plaintive the songs of Zion, and cast a melancholy shadowing even over her brightest scenes.