A Golden Chain

Thus much of the crucifying of Christ: now followeth his death. For having laid down his soul into the hands of his father, the holy Ghost saith, he gave up the ghost: ¹to give us to understand, that his death was no fantastical but a real death, in that his body and soul were •evered as truly as when any of us die. In treating of Christs death we must consider many points. The first, that it was needful that he should die, and that for two causes. First, to satisfy Gods justice: for sin is so odious a thing in Gods sight, that he will punish it with an extreme punishment: therefore Christ standing in our room must not only suffer the miseries of this life, but also die on the cross, that the very extremity of punishment which we should have borne, might be laid on him: and so we in Christ, might fully satisfy Gods justice: for the wages of sin is death. Secondly, Christ died that he might fulfil the trueth of Gods word which had said, that man for eating the forbidden fruit should die the death. ²The properties of Christs death are two: the first, that it was a volū tarry and willing death: the second, that it was a cursed death. For the first, whereas I say Christs death was voluntary, I mean that Christ died willingly, and of his own free accord gave up himself to suffer upon the cross. Howsoever the Jews did arraign, and condemn, and crucify him, yet if he had not willed his own death, and of his free accord given himself to die: not the Jews nor all the whole world could ever have taken away his life from him He died not by constraint or compulsion, but most willingly: and therefore he saith,³ No man taketh my life from me, but I (saith he) lay it down of my self: I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again. And our Saviour Christ gave evident tokens hereof in his death, for then Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Ordinarily men that die on the cross, languish away by little & little, & before they come to yield up their lives they loose their speech,⁴ and only rattle or make a noise in the throat: but Christ at that very instant when he was to give up the ghost, cried with a loud voice: which showeth plainly, that he in his death was more then a conqueror over death.