The ReforreElion ofChriji. 355 is applicable to him. And here I fhall not trouble you with the various Opinicnj of chafe chat have attempted to interpret thefe Words, Thou ~vilt not lea'l.lt mr Soul in Hell, that by this HeJI, into which Chrift defcended, IS ~eam the Place of the Damned. where he preached the Gofpel to them, free1ng chafe that would believe fro:n their Pain~. Others think that this I-Iell, into which Chri.fi defcended was one great Partition of it, called Limbu1 Parrum, the Repofiwry of eh~ Souls of chafe F_atha-1 wh_o died in Obedience eo God, and in Faith eo the M ejjiru, before Ctmfi came m the ~lefh: And the R~afon of his Defcem chirher was, .chat he might releafe chafe Souls from C.hams, and carry them with him eo Heaven ; ~o that ever fin:e, th~t. M~njion m HeO hath been left void, without any Inhabttants. But thts Oprmon 1s ~ot capable of any fufficient Proof; I !halt therefore give you that Interpretation and Judgment which c~rries with it the ftrongeft Current, both of Scripture and Reafim. The \Vords H:rdes,. that we ~ranjlate Heil, is very often, by the Septuagint, in che Old Teftamtnt, ufed eo fig~tfie the Grave, or.ch~ State of the Dead. S_o Gen . .q..;.. in Gm. 44· JjiJtJdes, we tranj/.Jte lt the. Grave, ~ut tt 1~ the fame Word that _ts 3'· ufcd for Hell in the Ti.xt. And thus che Word ts ufed m other Places of Sent: trm: as alfo in other Authori, to fignifie the Place and State of the Dead, and of feparate Souls. And for the leaving the Soul of Chrift in Hades, or in H ell, we muft know, that it is a thing_ that is. not unufual in Scripture, to call a Man that is du:d by the Name of Soul: So the Septuagint tranflate t.hat Place in Leviticus, Thq fhalt not be defiled with dead Souls, meaning dead Carcafes, Lev. u. nrither Jha/1 they go into anJ dead Souls, the \Vord is dead Bodieo;. But not to de- u. rain you any longer on this Speculation, though of great ufe for the right underfianding of this excellent Place of Scripture: 1f we cake Hell for the Gra'Ve, we muft take rhe S11ul for the Bod;; Thou ?vilr nflt leave my Body in the Grave: But jf by Hell be here underfiood che State of Death, that is, the State of Sepuarion of Soul and Body, the Interpretation will be more eafie and natural, Thou ?vilt not lea'Ve my Soul in a Stace of Separation from the Body, but wilt cer.. tainly unite them together ~gain, and raife me up before I /hall feel Corrup:- tion. Thus I have given you the Interpretation of the Pr11phecy of David, which, upon the Account of God's Truth and Veracity, was to take effed: in che Re{r~rre8ion of our Saviour ; and therefore being foretold he jhould not fee Corrup;- titm, the Faithfulnefs of God was obliged within that time inviolably to raife him up. And that is the fecond Re•fon why it was impoffible Chrill lhould be holden of Death, becaufe ic was foretold of him, that his Soul jiJ,uld not reft in Hell ; chat is,either his Body in the Grave,or his Soul in a State of Separation from his Body. Thirdly, Another .Argummt is this : It wat impojJW/e Chrift couldbe holdrn by Death, Ill. upon the .Account ~f God't .1tljlice. For Jufiice, as it doth oblige t0 intlid: PunHh- G~d's Ju~ ment upon the Guilty, fo alfo to abfolve and acquit the lnpocenc. 1\J'ow,chough ftufi;jfiultl Chrifi knew no Sin, yet was he made Sin for us, that is, Our Sins were imputed ':!£r/~;;, to, and charged upon him, andfo, through a voluntary Sufception and Under-/ye in th6 taking of them, he became guilty of them: Hereupon Divine Jufiice feized up- Gt-JWt. on him,as being our Surety,and demanded~atisfattion from hiril for our OffenCes: Now no ocher Sacisfadion would he accbpcable umo God, nor commenfurare to our Sins,but the bearing of an infini~eLoadof Wrath and Vengeance · which if it had been laid Upon us,muft have been prolonged to an Ererniry of Sufferings ; for beCaufe we are finite Creat~res, we cannot bear infinite Degrees of \V rath at once, and therefore we muft have lain under thofe infinite ' Degre~s of Wrath to an in fin ire Duration: Bur now Chrifi being God, be co.ul# bear rr :! the Load of infinite Degrees of Wrath at once upon him. In that one 'birter Draught, the whole Cup of that Fury and Wrath of God', that we lhould ha•e been everlallingly a drinking off, by little Drop•, Chrill drank off at once. N~w it is the Nature and Conflituri~of all LauJJ, that whell it Perfon by un~er .. gmng the Penalty chat chafe reqmre, bath made Satisfaction for the Offence committed, . the Perfon facisfying ought to be preceded as innocent. It could not therefore confift with the ']ujlice of God, that when Chrifi had fatisfied 'his utmoit Demands, that any of the punifhmem due eo our Sins for which he fatisfied, Ihould have lain upon him longer; for that would have' been no other than puniihing without an Offence. Now nothing is clearer in Script•r1 than Zzz ~ : 'that
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=