Discourses, or, Sermons on several Scriptures

And that is the second Reason why it was impossible Christ should be holden of Death, because it was foretold of him, that ⟨p. 112⟩his Soul should not rest in Hell; that is, either his Body in the Grave, or his Soul in a State of Separation from his Body.

Thirdly, ¹Another Argument is this: It was impossible Christ could be holden by Death, upon the Account of God's Justice. For Justice, as it doth oblige to inflict Punishment upon the Guilty, so also to absolve and acquit the Innocent. Now, though Christ knew no Sin, yet was he made Sin for us; that is, our Sins were imputed to, and charged upon him, and so, through a voluntary Susception and Undertaking of them, he became guilty of them: Hereupon Divine Justice seized upon him, as being our Surety, and demanded Satisfaction from him for our Offences: Now no other Satisfaction would be acceptable ⟨p. 113⟩unto God, nor commensurate to our Sins, but the bearing of an infinite Load of Wrath and Vengeance; which if it had been laid upon us, must have been prolonged to an Eternity of Sufferings; for because we are finite Creatures, we cannot bear infinite Degrees of Wrath at once, and therefore we must have lain under those infinite Degrees of Wrath to an infinite Duration: But now Christ being God, he could bear the Load of infinite Degrees of Wrath at once upon him. In that one bitter Draught, the whole Cup of that Fury and Wrath of God, that we should have been everlastingly a drinking off, by little Drops, Christ drank off at once. Now it is the Nature and Constitution of all Laws, that when a Person by undergoing the Penalty that ⟨p. 114⟩those Laws require, hath made satisfaction for the Offence committed, the Person satisfying ought to be protected as innocent. It could not therefore consist with the Justice of God, that when Christ had satisfied his utmost Demands, that any of the punishment due to our Sins, for which he satisfied, should have lain upon him longer; for that would have been no other than punishing without an Offence. Now nothing is clearer in Scripture, than that Death is a punishment inflicted upon us for Sin: