Upon one declaration of Scripture2 let the reader fix his eye. "With his stripes we are healed" (Is. liii. 5). God here treats sin as a disease, and he sets before us the costly3 remedy which he has provided.
I ask you very solemnly to accompany me in your meditations4, for a few minutes, while I bring before you the stripes of the Lord Jesus. The Lord resolved to restore us, and therefore he sent his only-begotten Son, "very God of very God," that he might descend5 into this world to take upon himself our nature, in order to our redemption. He lived as a man among men; and, in due time, after thirty years or more of obedience6, the time came when he should do us the greatest service of all, namely, stand in our stead, and bear "the chastisement7 of our peace." He went to Gethsemane, and there, at the first taste of our bitter cup, he sweat great drops of blood. He went to Pilate's hall, and Herod's judgment-seat, and there drank draughts8 of pain and scorn in our room and place. Last of all, they took him to the cross, and nailed him there to die—to die in our stead. The word "stripes" is used to set forth9 his sufferings, both of body and of soul. The whole of Christ was made a sacrifice for us: his whole manhood suffered. As to his body, it shared with his mind in a grief that never can be described. In the beginning of his passion, when he emphatically suffered instead of us, he was in an agony, and from his bodily frame a[67] bloody10 sweat distilled11 so copiously12 as to fall to the ground. It is very rarely that a man sweats blood. There have been one or two instances of it, and they have been followed by almost immediate13 death; but our Saviour14 lived—lived after an agony which, to anyone else, would have proved fatal. Ere he could cleanse15 his face from this dreadful crimson16, they hurried him to the high priest's hall. In the dead of night they bound him, and led him away. Anon they took him to Pilate and to Herod. These scourged18 him, and their soldiers spat19 in his face, and buffeted20 him, and put on his head a crown of thorns. Scourging21 is one of the most awful tortures that can be inflicted22 by malice23. It was formerly24 the disgrace of the British army that the "cat" was used upon the soldier: a brutal25 infliction26 of torture. But to the Roman, cruelty was so natural that he made his common punishments worse than brutal. The Roman scourge17 is said to have been made of the sinews of oxen, twisted into knots, and into these knots were inserted slivers27 of bone, and huckle-bones of sheep; so that every time the scourge fell upon the bare back, "the plowers made deep furrows28." Our Saviour was called upon to endure the fierce pain of the Roman[68] scourge, and this not as the finis of his punishment, but as a preface to crucifixion. To this his persecutors added buffeting29, and plucking of the hair: they spared him no form of pain. In all his faintness, through bleeding and fasting, they made him carry his cross until another was forced, by the forethought of their cruelty, to bear it, lest their victim should die on the road. They stripped him, and threw him down, and nailed him to the wood. They pierced his hands and his feet. They lifted up the tree, with him upon it, and then dashed it down into its place in the ground, so that all his limbs were dislocated, according to the lament30 of the twenty-second psalm31, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint32." He hung in the burning sun till the fever dissolved his strength, and he said, "My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels33. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws34; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death." There he hung, a spectacle to God and men. The weight of his body was first sustained by his feet, till the nails tore through the tender nerves: and then the painful load began to drag upon his hands, and rend35 those sensitive[69] parts of his frame. How small a wound in the hand has brought on lockjaw! How awful must have been the torment36 caused by that dragging iron tearing through the delicate parts of the hands and feet! Now were all manner of bodily pains centred in his tortured frame. All the while his enemies stood around, pointing at him in scorn, thrusting out their tongues in mockery, jesting at his prayers, and gloating over his sufferings. He cried, "I thirst," and then they gave him vinegar mingled37 with gall38. After a while he said, "It is finished." He had endured the utmost of appointed grief, and had made full vindication39 to divine justice: then, and not till then, he gave up the ghost. Holy men of old have enlarged most lovingly upon the bodily sufferings of our Lord, and I have no hesitation40 in doing the same, trusting that trembling sinners may see salvation41 in these painful "stripes" of the Redeemer.
To describe the outward sufferings of our Lord is not easy: I acknowledge that I have failed. But his soul-sufferings, which were the soul of his sufferings, who can even conceive, much less express, what they were? At the very first I told you that he sweat great drops of blood. That was his heart[70] driving out its life-floods to the surface through the terrible depression of spirit which was upon him. He said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." The betrayal by Judas, and the desertion of the twelve, grieved our Lord; but the weight of our sin was the real pressure on his heart. Our guilt42 was the olive-press which forced from him the moisture of his life. No language can ever tell his agony in prospect43 of his passion; how little then can we conceive the passion itself? When nailed to the cross, he endured what no martyr44 ever suffered; for martyrs45, when they have died, have been so sustained of God that they have rejoiced amid their pain; but our Redeemer was forsaken46 of his Father, until he cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" That was the bitterest cry of all, the utmost depth of his unfathomable grief. Yet was it needful that he should be deserted47, because God must turn his back on sin, and consequently upon him who was made sin for us. The soul of the great Substitute suffered a horror of misery48 instead of that horror of hell into which sinners would have been plunged49 had he not taken their sin upon himself, and been made a curse for them. It is written, "Cursed is[71] every one that hangeth on a tree;" but who knows what that curse means?
The remedy for your sins and mine is found in the substitutionary sufferings of the Lord Jesus, and in these only. These "stripes" of the Lord Jesus Christ were on our behalf. Do you enquire50, "Is there anything for us to do, to remove the guilt of sin?" I answer: There is nothing whatever for you to do. By the stripes of Jesus we are healed. All those stripes he has endured, and left not one of them for us to bear.
"But must we not believe on him?" Ay, certainly. If I say of a certain ointment51 that it heals, I do not deny that you need a bandage with which to apply it to the wound. Faith is the linen52 which binds53 the plaster of Christ's reconciliation54 to the sore of our sin. The linen does not heal; that is the work of the ointment. So faith does not heal; that is the work of the atonement of Christ.
"But we must repent," cries another. Assuredly we must, and shall, for repentance55 is the first sign of healing; but the stripes of Jesus heal us, and not our repentance. These stripes, when applied56 to the heart, work repentance in us: we hate sin because it made Jesus suffer.
When you intelligently trust in Jesus as having suffered for you, then you discover the fact that God will never punish you for the same offence for which Jesus died. His justice will not permit him to see the debt paid, first, by the Surety, and then again by the debtor57. Justice cannot twice demand a recompense: if my bleeding Surety has borne my guilt, then I cannot bear it. Accepting Christ Jesus as suffering for me, I have accepted a complete discharge from judicial58 liability. I have been condemned59 in Christ, and there is, therefore, now no condemnation60 to me any more. This is the ground-work of the security of the sinner who believes in Jesus: he lives because Jesus died in his room, and place, and stead; and he is acceptable before God because Jesus is accepted. The person for whom Jesus is an accepted Substitute must go free; none can touch him; he is clear. O my hearer, wilt61 thou have Jesus Christ to be thy Substitute? If so, thou art free. "He that believeth on him is not condemned." Thus "with his stripes we are healed."

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1
iniquity
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n.邪恶;不公正 | |
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2
scripture
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n.经文,圣书,手稿;Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》,《圣经》中的一段 | |
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3
costly
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adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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4
meditations
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默想( meditation的名词复数 ); 默念; 沉思; 冥想 | |
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descend
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vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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obedience
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n.服从,顺从 | |
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chastisement
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n.惩罚 | |
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draughts
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n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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distilled
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adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华 | |
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copiously
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adv.丰富地,充裕地 | |
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immediate
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adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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saviour
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n.拯救者,救星 | |
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cleanse
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vt.使清洁,使纯洁,清洗 | |
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crimson
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n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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17
scourge
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n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏 | |
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scourged
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鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 ); 惩罚,压迫 | |
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19
spat
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n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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20
buffeted
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反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 ); 连续猛击; 打来打去; 推来搡去 | |
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21
scourging
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鞭打( scourge的现在分词 ); 惩罚,压迫 | |
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inflicted
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把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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malice
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n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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formerly
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adv.从前,以前 | |
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brutal
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adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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infliction
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n.(强加于人身的)痛苦,刑罚 | |
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slivers
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(切割或断裂下来的)薄长条,碎片( sliver的名词复数 ) | |
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furrows
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n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 );(脸上的)皱纹v.犁田,开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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buffeting
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振动 | |
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lament
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n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹 | |
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psalm
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n.赞美诗,圣诗 | |
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joint
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adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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bowels
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n.肠,内脏,内部;肠( bowel的名词复数 );内部,最深处 | |
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jaws
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n.口部;嘴 | |
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rend
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vt.把…撕开,割裂;把…揪下来,强行夺取 | |
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torment
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n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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mingled
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混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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gall
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v.使烦恼,使焦躁,难堪;n.磨难 | |
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vindication
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n.洗冤,证实 | |
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hesitation
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n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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salvation
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n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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prospect
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n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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martyr
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n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲 | |
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45
martyrs
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n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情) | |
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46
Forsaken
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adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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47
deserted
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adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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48
misery
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n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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49
plunged
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v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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50
enquire
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v.打听,询问;调查,查问 | |
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51
ointment
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n.药膏,油膏,软膏 | |
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52
linen
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n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的 | |
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53
binds
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v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 );装订;捆绑;(用长布条)缠绕 | |
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54
reconciliation
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n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
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55
repentance
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n.懊悔 | |
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56
applied
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adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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57
debtor
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n.借方,债务人 | |
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58
judicial
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adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的 | |
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59
condemned
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adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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60
condemnation
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n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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61
wilt
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v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱 | |
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