Thoughts. The time that he chofe for his Retirement, was the dead time of the Night; a Seafon that might the more contributes to the Strength of that Sadnefs, which the pre-apprehenfion of his imminent Paffion muft needs occafion. The place that he chofe, a folitary retired Garden, where nothing might or could interrupt, or divert the intenfivenefs of his Sorrow and Fear: And to make both the Time and Place the more opportune for his Agony, he leaves the reft of his Difciples, and takes with him only Peter, and the two Sons of Zebedee, Matth. 26. 37. And to these he imparts the beginning of his Sorrow, that they might be witneffes of it, Matth. 26. 37, My Soul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death; but yet commands their diftance, verfe 38. Tarry ye here and watch with me, and he went a little further. Watch with me: The Confufion of his Soul was fo great, that the only Son of God diftrufts his own [human] Ability to bear it; and yet his fubmiffion to this terrible Conflict [was] fo willing, that he leaves them that he had appointed to watch with him. He went a little further. The three Disciples had doubtless a Sympathy with their Mafter's Sorrow, and yet the Will of God fo orders it, that their Excefs of Love and Grief muft not keep their Eyes waking, notwithstanding it was the laft Requeft of their for rowful Mafter. The Difciples flept, Matth. 26. 40. And thus every Circumftance of Time, Place, and Perfons contribute to a fad and folitary Opportunity for this most terrible and black Conflict. And now in this Garden the mighty God puts his Son to Grief, lades him with our Sorrows, Ifa. 53. 4. withdraws and hides from him the light of his Favour and Countenance; interpofeth a thick and black Cloud between the Divinity and the Human Nature, darts into his Soul the fad and sharp Manifeftations of his Wrath; overwhelms his Soul with one Wave after another; fends into him the moft exquifite pre-apprehenfions of thofe fad and fevere Sufferings he was the next Day to undergo, begins to make his Soul an Offering for Sin, and heightens his Sorrow, Confufion, and Aftonishment unto the uttermoft. In fum, he mighty God, the God of the Spirits of all Flesh, who knows the

way

way into the Soul, and how to fill it with the most fad and black Aftonishment and Sorrow, was pleafed at this time to eftrange and eclipfe the Manifeftation of his Light and Love to his only Son, as far as was poffibly confiftent with his fecret and eternal Love unto him; to throw into him as fad and amazing Apprehenfions of his Wrath, as was poffible to be confiftent with the human Nature to bear; to fortifie and strengthen his Sense of it, and Sorrow for, and under it, unto the uttermoft, that fo his Grief, and Sorrow, and Confufion of Soul might be brim-full, and as much as the exacteft Constitution of a human Nature could poffibly bear. And thus now at this time the Arm of the mighty God was bruifing the Soul of his only Son: Ifa. 53. 16. And certainly the extremity of this Agony within, muft needs be very great, if we confider the ftrange Effects it had without: 1. That pathetical Description thereof that our Saviour himself makes of it, My Soul is exceeding forrowful, even unto death, Matth. 26. 37. fo forrowful, exceeding forrowful, forrowful unto Death; and the Expreffions of the Evangelifts, Matth. 26. 37. He began to be forrowful, and very heavy. Mark. 14. 33. He began to be fore amazed, and to be very heavy. It was fuch a Sorrow as brought with it an Amazement, an Astonishment. 2. Again, that ftrange Request to his Difciples, Tarry ye and watch with me; as if he feared the Sorrow would overwhelm him. 2. Again, his Prayer, and the manner of it, evidence a moft wonderful Perturbation within, Matth. 26. 39. He fell on bis Face and prayed; and what was the thing he prayed? Father, if it be poffible, let this Cup pass from me; or as Mark 14. 36. Abba Father, all things are poffible unto thee, take away this Cup from me, &c. Although that this was the very end for which he came into the World: The Cup which in former Times he reached after, and was ftraitned till it were fulfilled; yet fuch a Reprefentation there is thereof to his Soul, that although in the Will of his Obedience, he fubmits; Not my Will, but thine be done: Yet his Nature fhrinks and starts at it; and he engageth Almighty God, as much, and upon as great Arguments as was poffible, to decline the feverity of that Wrath which

it.

he was now to grapple with: 1. Upon the account of his Omnipotency; All things are poffible to thee: 2. Upon the account of his Relation; Abba Father: C It is not a

Stranger that importunes thee; it is thy Son; that Son ' in whom thou didft proclaim thy felf well-pleased; that • Son whom thou heareft always; it is he that begs of thee; and begs of thee a Difpenfation from that which he most declines, because he most loves thee, the terrible, unfupportable hiding thy Face from me. And this was not one fingle Requeft, but thrice repeated, reiterated, and that with more earnestness, Mark 14. 39. And again he went away and prayed, and Spake the fame words: Luke 22. 44. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly.Certainly, that Impreffion upon his Soul, that caufed him to deprecate that for which he was born, to deprecate it fo often, fo earnestly, must needs be a Sorrow and Apprehenfion of a very terrible and exceeding Extremity. 4. Such was the weight of his Sorrow and Confusion of his Soul, that it even exceeding the Strength of his [human] Nature to bear it, it was ready to diffolve the Union between his Body and Soul; infomuch, that to add farther Strength unto him, and Capacity to undergo the measure of it, an Angel from Heaven is fent, not [meerly] to comfort, but to ftrengthen him; to add a farther degree of Strength to his human Nature, to bear the weight of that Wrath, which had in good earneft made his Soul forrowful unto Death, had it not been ftrengthned by the Miniftration of an Angel, Luke. 22. 43. And this Affiftance of the Angel, as it did not allay the Sorrow of his Soul, fo neither did it internit his Importunity to be delivered from the thing he felt and feared; but did only fupport and ftrengthen him to bear a greater Burthen of it, and as the measure of his Strength was increafed, fo was the Burthen which he. muft undergo, increased, for after this he prayed again more earnestly the third time, Luke 22. 43. The fupply of his Strength was fucceeded with an Addition of Sorrow, and the increase of his Sorrow was followed with the greater Importunity; He prayed more earnestly, Heb. 5. 7. With strong crying and

tears,

tears, Luke 23. 44. And being in an Agony, he prayed more Earnestly, and his Sweat was as it were great Drops of Blood falling down to the Ground. This was his third Addrefs to his Father, Matth. 26. 44. And here was the highest pitch of our Saviour's Paffion in the Garden. His Soul was in an Agony, in the greatest Concuffion, Confufion, and Extremity of Sorrow, Fear, Anguish, and Aftonishment, that was poffible to be inflicted by the mighty Hand of God, on the Soul of Chrift, that could be confiftent with the Purity of the Nature of our Saviour, and the infeparable Union that it had with the divine Nature: Infomuch, that the Confusion and Distraction of his Soul under it, and the ftruggling and grappling of his Soul with it, did make fuch an Impreffion upon his Body, that the like was never before or fince. The Seafon of the Year was cold, for fo it appears, John 18. 18. The Servants and Officers had made a Fire of Coals, for it was cold; and the Seafon of the Time was cold, it was, as near as we may guefs, about mid-night, when the Sun was at his greateft diftance, and obftructed in his Influence by the Interpofition of the Earth; for it appears they came with Lanthorns and Torches when they apprehended him, John 18. 3. And he was brought to the High Priest's Hall, a little before Cockcrowing, after fome time had been spent in his Examination, Matth. 26. 69. And yet for all this, fuch is the Agony and Perturbation of our Saviour's Soul, that in this cold Seafon it puts his Body in a Sweat, a Sweat of Blood, great Drops of Blood, Drops of Blood falling down to the Ground; and certainly it was no light Conflict within, that caufed fuch a ftrange and unheard of fymptom without. Certainly the Storm in the Soul of Chrift muft needs be very terrible, that his Blood, the Seat of his vital Spirits, could no longer abide the Sense of it, but started out in a Sweat of Blood, and fuch a Sweat, that was more than confiftent with the ordina ry Conftitution of human Nature. And during this time, even from the eating of the Paffoever until this third Addrefs to his Father was over, the fuffering of our Saviour lay principally, if not only in his Soul. Al