full fum or value that fhould fatisfy that juftice: it coft more to redeem a foul, than all that they were worth;

The redemption of the foul is precious, and ceafes for ever," fays the Pfalmift. But Chrift, having unfearchable riches, is a mafs of treafure big enough for the purpofe; and therefore, when he was laid in the balance with infinite juftice, he was found of fufficient weight to poife it, without any creature's help to hold down the fcale: nay, "He looked, and there was none to help, none to uphold; therefore his own arm brought falvation." And, "He trode the wine prefs alone, and of the people there were none with him," Ifa. Ixiii. 3. 5. Who, among the creatures, could go thorow conquering and to conquer, as Chrift did, when he had heaven, earth, and hell to grapple with? What think ye of Chrift then? What worth do you think he is of?

Upon the whole, before I leave this point, let me afk thefe two queftions, to bring home this one, concerning what worth do you think Chrift is of

The first question is, What price would you buy him at, if you were to buy him? Surely, if you had a due thought of Chrift, and a discovery of the Pearl, you would, for joy, fell your all to buy it, Matth. xiii. 44, 45, 46. And when all is done, you would fee, your all to be nothing at all, and the Pearl to be all in all. Indeed this treature is fo great, this Pearl is fo precious, that it cannot be bought at any price; and therefore the price of it is, no money, no price; altogether free, Ifa. lv. 1. “Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." To buy here, is to beg, and take freely; yet, if the question be, What would you give for him, if he were to be bought? Surely, if you knew your own need, and his infinite fulness and fuitablenefs for you, the queftion will fuggeft fome great thought of Chrift. O`a thoufand worlds, if I had them, would I give for him! Yea, but there are fome that hold him at a very low price, they would not give a groat or fixpence for Christ or his intereft; they would not part with a fhilling, or a crown, for Chrift or his caufe, Chrift or his gofpel;

X 4

nav,

nay, they will not part with a beaftly luft for him, their idols and the world are of greater price to them. But there are others that know his worth better, and are willing to forfake all for him; We have forfaken all, and fol lowed thee, Matth. xix. 27. The holy martyrs thought not their lives and their hearts-blood too dear for Chrift; Rev. xii. 11. They loved not their lives unto the death; that is, they defpifed their lives in comparison of Chrift; they expofed their bodies to horrible and painful deaths, their temporal eftates to the fpoil, taking joyfully the fpoiling of their goods, and expofing their perfons to all manner of fhame and contempt for the caufe of Chrift. O but a foul that by faith apprehends the worth of Christ, will chearfully and willingly give all for him; and having got Chrift, will go away rejoicing, and think his bargain to be yery good, very great!

The fecond queftion is, What rate would ye fell him at, if ye were to fell him! Judas fold him, and the high priests bought him for thirty pieces of filver, A goodly price that I was prized at of them, Zech. xi. 13. It is ironically fpoken, A bonny price for a God-man ; Caft it to the potter, fays the Lord. Men of darkened understandings, corrupt minds, and depraved affections, will fell Chrift and his caufe, Chrift and a good confcience, for a trifle: yea, many betray his caufe for fome poor worldly confideration. O for fuch a fpirit as I read of in the forty martyrs, that fuffered under Lucinius, anno 300, that when Agricolaus his deputy, one of the devil's agents, fet upon them feveral ways to draw them to deny Chrift, and at laft tempted them with an offer of money and preferment, they all cried out with one confent, ο Αϊδίο της ο Αϊδίο της, χρήματα διδες Tá αxou oтa: O Eternity, Eternity! give us money that will laft to eternity, and gold that will abide for ever, fuch as Chrift can give us.' They flighted that pitiful wealth which was current only in this beggarly world, when coming in competition with Chrift and his durable riches; they would not fell Chrift for a world, nay, not for a world of worlds. Oh! at what rate would you fell Chrift! Surely, if you think duly and highly of him, you will buy him at any rate, but fell

him at no rate. It is eafy indeed to frame a paffing thought, Oh! who would put Chrift in the balance with any thing! But ftay till a day of trial come, and the queftion be brought clofe home, Now, will you quit Chrift and his caufe, or will you quit with father and mother, and wife and children, and estate and fortune, 'houfes and yards, and life and all?' I imagine that would be a hard queftion; "Skin for fkin, all that a man hath will he give for his life:" He will quit all, before he quit with his life. Surely, if Chrift be your life, you would quit all other lives for him; a natural life, a temporal life, a life of pleasure, a life of honour, a life of ease and worldly accommodations; and if you think much of him, there is fome life you have quit for him already, at leaft in part, and in defire and endeavour, namely, a life of fin, a life of felf, a life of legal righteoufnefs, that the life you live, may be a life of faith on the Son of God. Now, I fuppofe, all thefe whats are imported in the queftion: 1. What good do you think of him? 2. What glory do you think to be in him? 3. What ufe do you think he is for? What worth do you 4. think he is of, when he is to be bought or fold? This question bears all these in its bofom, What think ye of Chrift?

4thly, The fourth and laft thing propofed upon the explication of the import of the queftion, was, to fhew the import of it fubjectively confidered; or with re spect to the perfons that are the fubjects thereof; or to whom the queftion is put, in the pronoun YE, What think YE of Chrift? And under this confideration we may take a fourfold view of the question.

1. View it as it was put to the Jews in general, for fo were these to whom Chrift is here fpeaking: ye that are Jews, What think ye of Chrift? Ye that are the people of whom, concerning the flesh, Chrift came, for (as ye own concerning Chrift) he is the fon of David; and ye are the people to whom he and his gofpel behoved firft to come; For Salvation is of the Jews, John iv. 22. Ye are his own people; and, What think ye of Chrift? Alas! He came to his own, and his own received him not; they thought nothing of him when he came and therefore, as Paul fays, Acts xxviii. 28. The falvation of God is fent

to

to the Gentiles; and he adds, they will bear it. Now, of confequence, Christ and the gospel, and this question with it, comes to you, Gentiles, faying, What think ye of Chrift? Oh! will ye think nothing of him? Or, will ye make Paul a liar, who faid, ye fhould hear it? Or, rather, will ye give the lie to the Spirit of God ? Nay, whatever the moft part do, yet as many as were ordained to eternal life, will be brought to think highly of Chrift, by getting the faving knowledge, faith, love, and efteem of him.

2. View the queftion as it was put to the Pharifees, a fet of hypocrites and felf-righteous perfons: ye that are Pharifees, What think ye of Chrift? Ye are strict obfervers of the letter of the law, and think much of your long prayers, your giving alms of all that you poffefs, your fafting twice a-week, your being no open drunkards, whoremongers, extortioners, nor like this or that publican; but while you think fo much of yourfelves and your own righteousness, and think nothing of Chrift, publicans and harlots go into the kingdom before you; therefore, what think ye of Chrift the fon of David, the Lord of David, the Lord of the law, by whom alone everlasting righteoufnefs is brought in, answering the spirit, and not the letter of the law only? The question then comes to be propofed to all of the fame kidney with thefe Pharifees: Ye that are hypocrites, and felf-juftifying perfons, What think ye of Chrift? Ye that are thinking, O you are an honeft man, you have always been a good neighbour, juft in your dealing, civil in your carriage, and fo you fancy yourfelf to be touching the law blameless: What, man! are you content to be judged by the law? Then to Cæfar let us go; to the law let us go: but only look the law broad in the face; look not only to the out-fide of the law, like a man looking only to the back and out fide of a looking-glafs, or to the frame and edge of it, where he does not fee himfelf; but look to the in-fide of the looking-glafs of the law, to the fpirituality of it; fet your face to the face of the glafs, and you will fee what a deformed, filthy creature you are, fo you will find it curfing you to your face, and curfing you to hell for every wicked thought, as well as action,

faying,

faying, "Curfed is every one that continues not in all thinks written in the book of the law to do them.”—Therefore, you have need to think again, and think better than ever you did, about a law-juftifying righte cufnefs; and to think there is need of this queftion, What think ye of Chrift?

3. View the queftion as it was put to the Sadducees; for it feems they were combined with the Pharifees here againft Chrift, if you compare ver. 23. and 34. Now, thefe Sadducees were a fect of people that denied the immortality of the foul, the refurrection of the body,' the exiftence of spirits and angels, Acts xxiii. 8.: In a word, they were half Atheists, if not wholly fo; like the graceless wits of our day, that call themselves Freethinkers: Well, fays Chrift, What think ye of Chrift? Whofe fon is be? If you could view him as not only David's fon, but David's Lord and God; and as the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, not the God of the dead, but of the living; would you perfift in thefe atheistical tenets, concerning the refurrection of the body, the being of fouls? No, no. The queftion then is applicable to all that fort of people: ye that are Atheists, Deifts, and damnable erroneous Free-thinkers, Oh! What think ye of Chrift? No doubt, with Herod and his men of war, you fet him at nought! But, Oh! will you think again, and recal your thoughts? Let them fix upon Chrift a while, and you fhall find all the truths of the Bible cleared and vindicated, by him who is the truth itself; and that this eternal Son of God is fent from the Father, of purpose to confirm them by his doctrine, life, death, and refurrection. Again,

4. View the queftion, with refpe&t to its general defign, which is (together with all other fcriptures) the profit of all to whom it comes; for their reproof, correction, or inftruction in righteoufnefs, 2 Tim. iii. 16.; and for convincing of finners, or confirming of faints: and fo it comes to all and every one of us, minifters or people, high and low, rich and poor; What think ye of Chrift? And here I have occafion to look round about me, and afk the queftion at all and every one that hears me; and indeed we may begin firft at ourselves.