The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

Thirdly, our Saviour suffered pain in his soul as he was our Mediator in our room, and in our stead, and as he had our sins imputed to him: The Manhood bore the sufferings, and the Godhead supported him in the sufferings: this conclusion I thought good to add, to meet with a strange dream of Bellarmine, and that is this, saith he, if the Lord Jesus Christ did suffer the wrath of God the Father, then the guiltless should have been condemned, and the innocent punished; and how can God do this? or how can our Saviour suffer this? Is not God the Father unjust to punish the just? and Christ unwise, to suffer as unjust, being just? I answer, it is a silly weak cavil, therefore take but these two respects with you, and you shall see it will be plain, for as Christ was in himself considered, he was guiltless, and therefore approved of, and beloved of the Father: but as he took our sins, and our guilt upon him, he was accounted as a sinner, though he was not a sinner, and he took our sins on him by imputation; and therefore no reason, but he should suffer them, and the punishment of them, not in regard of any sin that he had or did; but because it was imputed to him; therefore ⟨p. 219⟩God the Father condemned him as guilty: so runs the phrase of Scripture, He suffered for our sins, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed: he suffered not for any sins that he had committed, but for the condition of all sinful nature imputed to him, and these divers respects we do practise, for ordinarily we are bound to love a creature as God made him, and then to hate him as he makes himself sinful, the Judge goes to the trial of a Nisi prius, and his son comes before him in the person of the debtor: now though the Judge love him as a son, yet he will condemn him as a surety; the Judge loves and pities him in one regard, but yet he passeth sentence against him in another regard: So it is here with the Lord Jesus Christ, when God the Father stands upon the tribunal of justice, and was pleased to follow the suit against the party offending, our Saviour steps into our room, and submits himself to the censure of the Father, and as we were accounted, so he was content to be accounted; and as we were to suffer, so he was content to suffer for us:

Thirdly, our Saviour suffered paine in his soule as he was our Mediatour in our roome, and in our stead, and as he had our sinnes imputed to him: The Manhood bore the sufferings, and the Godhead supported him in the sufferings: this conclusion I thought good to adde, to meet with a strange dream of Bellarmine, and that is this, saith he, if the Lord Jesus Christ did suffer the wrath of God the Father, then the guiltlesse should have beene condemned, and the innocent punished; and how can God doe this? or how can our Saviour suffer this? Is not God the Father unjust to punish the just? and Christ unwise, to suffer as unjust, being just? I answer, it is a silly weake cavill, therefore take but these two respects with you, and you shall see it will bee plaine, for as Christ was in himselfe considered, he was guiltlesse, and therefore approved of, and beloved of the Father: but as hee tooke our sinnes, and our guilt upon him, hee was accounted as a sinner, though he was not a sinner, and he tooke our sins on him by imputation; and therefore no reason, but he should suffer them, and the punishment of them, not in regard of any sinne that hee had or did; but because it was imputed to him; therefore