The Fountain of Life Opened

To be short, His Faith laid hold on God, under a most suitable Title, or Attribute, Eli, Eli, my strong one, my strong one, q. d. O thou with whom is infinite and everlasting strength, thou that hast hitherto supported my Man-hood, and according to thy promise upheld thy Servant; what, wilt thou now forsake me? My strong one I lean upon thee. To these supports and refuges of Faith this desertion shut up Christ. By these things he stood ⟨p. 453⟩when all other visible and sensible comforts shrunk away both from his soul and body. This is the true though brief account of the nature and quality of Christs desertion.

Secondly, In the next place let us consider the designs, and ends §2of it; which were principally Satisfaction and Sanctification. Satisfaction for those sins of ours which deserved that we should be totally and everlastingly forsaken of God. This is the desert of every sin, and the damned do feel it, and shall to all Eternity. God is gone from them for ever, not essentially, the just God is with them still, the God of power is still with them, the avenging God is ever with them; but the merciful God is gone, and gone for ever. And thus would he have withdrawn himself from every soul that sinned, had not Christ born that punishment for us, in his own soul; if he had not cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? we must have howled out this hideous complaint in the lowest Hell for ever, O righteous God, O dreadful, O terrible God, thou hast for ever forsaken me.

Secondly, In the next place let us consider the designs, and ends §2of it; which were principally Satisfaction and Sanctification. Satisfaction for those sins of ours which deserved that we should be totally and everlastingly forsaken of God. This is the desert of every sin, and the damned do feel it, and shall to all Eternity. God is gone from them for ever, not essentially, the just God is with them still, the God of power is still with them, the avenging God is ever with them; but the merciful God is gone, and gone for ever. And thus would he have withdrawn himself from every soul that sinned, had not Christ born that punishment for us, in his own soul; if he had not cryed, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? we must have howled out this hideous complaint in the lowest Hell for ever, O righteous God, O dreadful, O terrible God, thou hast for ever forsaken me.