And which is more then so; as he dyed by the justice of God, and the wickedness of men, so by the malice of Satan: for our Saviour saith in Luke 22. 52. This is the very hour and power of darkness. The gates of Hell were opened to pour upon him all the vengeance they were able. It was fore-told in Gen. 3. 15. It shall bruise they head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The Serpent should bruise his heel, that is Christ, the seed of the woman. His heel, you will say that falls far short of death; to pinch a man on the heel, it may make him go lamely, but not kill him: but the holy Ghost intends, that all the mischief that Satan works against Christ or any of his members, it doth but reach to the bruising of the heel. It bruised his heel, that implies, that Christ should have a body like ours: and his heel, that is the lower part of Christ, his humanity, Satan should bruise it. And he shall break thy head; it is the same word, and therefore you may take them both for breaking, or both for bruising: therefore Peter expounds it well (in 1 Pet. 3. 18.) when he tells you Christ suffered for sin, The just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh: His heel was bruised, that is, his flesh. So that though the Lord suffered unsupportable misery, to be forsaken of his Disciples, betrayed by one, and forsworn by another, to be forsaken of his Father in regard of any comfortable fellowship he had with him: Though he suffered all this, in inward and outward man, to such extremity that ⟨p. 170⟩made him sweat drops of blood, and in the end to g•ve up the ghost, yet all this was but the heel, the lower part of Christ as it were; for his personal union is not in the least measure intercepted: his head and counsel stands sure, and all his endeavours will find a blessed accomplishment. Whereas the Lord breaks the head of Satan, not only cuts him off from all hope of fellowship in grace, but all his plots shall be disappointed at length, and all execution of his designs, they shall be bruised: the Son of God comes to dissolve the works of Satan, to undo them. Thus comes the Lamb to be slain. The reason of the point is double.
And which is more then so; as he dyed by the justice of God, and the wickednesse of men, so by the malice of Satan: for our Saviour saith in Luke 22. 52. This is the very hour and power of darknesse. The gates of Hell were opened to powre upon him all the vengence they were able. It was fore-tould in Gen. 3. 15. It shall bruise they head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The Serpent should bruise his heel, that is Christ, the seed of the woman. His heel, you will say that falls far short of death; to pinch a man on the heele, it may make him go lamely, but not kill him: but the holy Ghost intends, that all the mischief that Satan works against Christ or any of his members, it doth but reach to the bruising of the heele. It bruised his heele, that implies, that Christ should have a body like ours: and his heele, that is the lower part of Christ, his humanity, Satan should bruise it. And he shall break thy head; it is the same word, and therefore you may take them both for breaking, or both for bruising: therefore Peter expounds it well (in 1 Pet. 3. 18.) when he tells you Christ suffered for sinne, The just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh: His heele was brused, that is, his flesh. So that though the Lord suffered unsupportable misery, to be forsaken of his Disciples, betrayed by one, and forsworn by another, to be forsaken of his Father in regard of any comfortable fellowship he had with him: Though he suffered all this, in inward and outward man, to such extremity that ⟨p. 170⟩made him sweat drops of blood, and in the end to g•ve up the ghost, yet all this was but the heele, the lower part of Christ as it were; for his personal union is not in the least measure intercepted: his head and councel stands sure, and all his indeavours will finde a blessed accomplishment. Whereas the Lord breakes the head of Satan, not onely cuts him off from all hope of fellowship in grace, but all his plots shall be disappointed at length, and all execution of his designes, they shall be brused: the Sonne of God comes to d•ssolve the works of Satan, to undoe them. Thus comes the Lamb to be slaine. The reason of the point is double.
