The safety of appearing at the day of judgement, in the righteousness of Christ

1. It was great love that God should send his son to endure such sore sufferings for us; it was much that God should condescend upon any account that his Son should undergo such sufferings: it was a great thing that God should be willing that Christ should be brought into such a condition, when we consider the glorious excellency of his person, and the dear love of the Father to him, it may well be admired by us that God should find in his heart to put him upon such sufferings: we may well conclude that those persons for whose sakes all this was, were greatly beloved of God, that the heart of God was mightily concerned in their good: it was a great thing for the glorious Son of God to suffer any thing, much more to bear what he did: his suffering was very great, he was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, Isa. 53.4.

1. He suffered much pain, though many men have endured more, yet it was a great deal that the Son of God endured: especially when he was cruelly scourged, and after that crucified; that manner of death was exquisitely painful, Psal. 22 16. they pierced my hands and my feet: the nailing of his body ⟨p. 74⟩to the cross, and the weight of his body being born by those wounded parts for so many hours, could not be without exquisite pain: he expresses it by his bones being out of joint, Psal. 22.14▪ it must needs be a terrible torture, because persons that were crucified, was not wont to be very long in that condition before they dyed. The suddenness of their death could not be from the mere effusion of blood, but the exquisiteness of their pain contributed much to it.

1. He suffered much pain, though many men have endured more, yet it was a great deal that the Son of God endured: especially when he was cruelly scourged, and after that crucified; that manner of death was exquisitely painful,