The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

First, from the wrath of God coming upon him for our sins.

First, from the wrath of God comming upon him for our sinnes.

Secondly, our Saviour did willingly according to the agreement made between him and the Father, put himself under the wrath of the Father; he laid his head upon the block, and upon the anvil, under the blow of divine Justice. Now it is not the wrath of God alone, nor the willingness of Christ alone, but from the wrath of God coming upon him, and his willingness in submitting to the wrath of God: for Justice saith, if these be saved, thou must suffer; and Christ saith, I am contented, I will, yet so far as I see fit, and may be for my honour; this shows that he did it willingly: Therefore he was a cause by counsel, and a voluntary disposer of his own work; therefore he might either satisfy justice by bearing the whole wrath of God, or else he might take a breathing while as he saw fit; so that howsoever you frame the objection, yet the answer is clear: for when a man hath taken work to do by the great, he may go to his work, or he may leave his work, provided that he do perform it according to bargain: ⟨p. 258⟩or a man may speak if he will, or else if he will, he may keep silence: so Christ undertook to suffer for us, but provided when he would, and as he would: Matthew 26.37. He began to wax sorrowful, that is, he did it freely, he entered into the combat of Gods displeasure, he undertook it when he would, and as much at once as he would, provided that he did pay and suffer all, for the curse doth not require that Christ should suffer all at once, but only that he should satisfy the justice of God again: the humane nature of Christ could not so well bear all the wrath of God at once; therefore he took it at three times: as when a man cannot well drink a great potion at one draught, he drinks and breathes, and then drinks again and breathes, and then drinks the third time: so Christ was resolved to bear all the wrath of God, and because it was too grievous for the humane nature to drink it all at once, therefore he drinks and breaths again, and then drinks the second time, and breaths again; and so drinks the third time, and so our Saviour was able to suffer all, and not to be driven to any distemper or weakness; for all those distempers of affections, they arise from these three grounds: 1 Either affections prevent judgement: 2 Or else it will not yield to judgement: 3 Or thirdly, it disturbs judgement.