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according to the flesh, he would raise up sit on his throne; he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." I think Mr. Loud will find it a hard task to prove that Christ's divinity can, in any sense whatever, be called the fruit of David's loins, because the text asserts that he is the fruit of his loins accordto the flesh, not according to his Godhead. For the Godhead of Christ is David's root, which gave David his existence as a creature, and which gave him his existence as a saint; and which root supplied him both with natural life and with grace; yea, Christ as God is called David's Jehovah, who made him, governed him, gave him grace, and saved his soul; whom he acknowledged, in whom he believed, and whom he worshipped. Divinity, or divinity changed into flesh, can never be the fruit of a fallen mortal's loins. But God swore to David that, according to the flesh, Christ should be the fruit of his body, Psal. cxxxii. 11; the fruit of his loins, Acts ii. 30; his son, Matt. xx. 30; his offspring, Rev. xxii. 16; and accordingly he was the virgin Mary's seed, who was of the house and lineage of David, and which seed was once in David's loins; and, if it were not so, what becomes of the oath of God; God cannot be perjured. O what sad lengths men go when destitute of the Spirit, and given up to believe a lie! and how clear it is, from the above texts, that it was the humanity, and not the Deity, of Christ

VOL. XII.

that suffered. Peter speaks of no other parts suf fering but the soul and body of Christ. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." Which terms, hell and corruption, are both explained by the apostle himself; the first by loosing the pains of death, the second by raising the body from the tomb. The pains of death were loosed from his soul just as he had ended his first cry on the cross, as we have proved, and as Paul says, he was heard in that he feared; and the answer was given to that bitter cry. Upon which God shone into his soul, as well pleased, lifted up the light of his countenance upon him, filled him with unutterable joy and comfort: all which is expressed in the following words; "I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is at my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad, my flesh also shall rest in hope." As soon as his heart rejoiced the pains of death were loosed; and, as soon as the joy of his heart had made his tongue glad, he cried, “ It is finished," bowed his head, gave up the ghost, and all was over. His soul went without spot into the hands of God, filled with unspeakable joy and gladness, where sorrow and sighing for ever flee away. And this is expressly called the joy that was set before him, for the sake of which he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God, Heb. xii. 2. But to lie three days and three nights

in hell fire can never be called a joy set before him, as an encouragement to him to endure the cross; for the cross itself would have been much lighter than hell fire. Peter and Paul both agree in this, that there were no sufferings endured beyond the cross; there it was that the pains of death were loosed, and soon after the power of death was loosed from the body also.

For, as dying pains, or the pains of death, which end in a dissolution of the body from the soul, at which instant the soul goes to God to receive its doom, and as it is the body that bears the pains of temporal death, and by which separating pains the body is left in the bonds of corruption; so the Jews, who viewed Christ as a deceiver, an impostor, and a sinner, expected that this would unavoidably have been his fate; hence malice requested that his death might be by crucifixion, which was a Roman, not a Jewish death, hoping thereby to bring his soul and body under the curse of God, because their law says that he which hangeth upon a tree is cursed of God. Hence malice wished and expected that the end of Christ, whom they hated with cruel hatred, would have been damnation; and they were so confident of this, that without hesitation they imprecated his blood on themselves and all their children; and therefore preferred a murderer before him, and crucified him between two thieves. This malicious evil, and bloody crime, Peter charges home upon them, calling it the deed of their wicked

hands; telling them that they were all mistaken; that the pains of death were loosed; and that this Holy One, whom they judged as an impostor, did not see corruption, for the pains of his soul were loosed on the cross, and the other in the tomb; that he was risen from the dead, and that they were all witnesses of it. And he adds, "Let all the house of Israel know that God has made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." This awful charge was accompanied with the sword of the Spirit, and they were pricked in their heart at such an awful testimony against them, which extorted from them the following cry; "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" These convinced Jews saw their awful mistake. They thought that they had blotted out the name of Jesus from under heaven, and that it should have been no more in remembrance; while the chief rulers and priests, having cast him out of the vineyard and slain him, vainly thought that his inheritance should have been theirs. But he was raised up to requite them. So they were all mistaken; and so is Mr. Loud, who supposes that he descended into the regions of the damned; for the text says it was the pains of death that were loosed, and not the pains of hell.

But there is another text produced in favour of the Saviour's descension into hell, which is 1 Pet. iii. 18-20. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, (that he

might bring us to God) being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which some time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing; wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." There is nothing in this passage that in the least favours, much less supports, the notion of our Lord's suffering in hell fire; but the contrary. The apostle asserts that Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. The word, once, may be applied to the whole life of Christ, for he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief all his days; he suffered from the manger to the cross. But the apostle seems to confine the word to his sufferings on the cross, as himself explains it; "Being put to death in the flesh." What is before called his once suffering, is here called "being put to death in the flesh;" which words confine the Lord's soul sufferings and his bodily sufferings both to be endured and ended on the cross; for it was in the flesh he suffered, and in the flesh he was put to death: but disembodied, or out of the flesh, he never suffered at all; there is nothing of this in all the Bible; consequently he never was in hell; for, if he had, he must have suffered more than once; once on the cross, and once more in hell fire.

Moreover, the apostle confines the Lord's sufferings and death to his human nature only. He suffered once, he was "put to death in the flesh."

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