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THE 
 
 DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT 
 
 ILLUSTRATED ani** DEFENDED, 
 
 IK 
 
 EIGHT SERMONS, 
 
 / 
 
 ' PREACHED BEFOKB THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1795^ 
 
 AT THE 
 
 LECTURE FOUNDED BY 
 The late llev. JOHN BAMPTON, M. A. 
 
 CANON OF SALISBURY. 
 
 By DANIEL VEYSIE, B.Dl 
 
 FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE, 
 AND ONE OF HIS MAJESTY's PREACHERS AT WHlTEHALJf,. 
 
 OXFORD: 
 
 Printed for, fletcher and hanwell ; and for leich and 
 sotheby, york-street, covent garden, london, 
 
 MDCCXCV. 
 
IMPRIMATUR, 
 
 pHAN. WILLS, 
 
 ' VICE-CAN. 
 
TO 
 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 AND REVEREND 
 
 THE HEADS OF COLLEGES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, 
 
 THE 
 FOLLOWING SERMONS, 
 
 PREACHED BY THEIR APPOINTMENT, 
 
 ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
EXTRACT 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 LAST WILL AfJD TESTAMENT 
 
 OF THE XATE 
 
 REV. JQHN BAMPTON, 
 
 CANON OF SALISBURY. 
 
 " I give and bequeath my Lands and 
 
 " Eftates to the Chancellor, Maflers,' and 
 " Scholars of the Univerfity of Oxford for 
 " ever, to have and to hold all and fingular 
 " the fald Lands or Eftates upon truft, and t» 
 " the intents and purpofes hereinafter men- 
 " tioned ; that is to fay, I will and appoint 
 " that the Vice-Chancellor of the Univerfity 
 *' of Oxford for the time being Ihall take and 
 
 ** receive 
 
( vi ) 
 
 " receive all the rents, ilTues, and profits 
 " thereof, and (after all taxes, reparations 
 " and neceflary deductions made) ilhat he 
 " pay all thfe remainder to the '^fndowment 
 '• of eight Divinity Lefture Sermons, to be 
 " eftablilhed for ever in the faid Unlver' 
 " fity, and to be perfornied in the manner 
 " following : 
 
 " I diredl and appoint, that, upon the firft 
 " TueJday iri Eafter Terni, a Le<5lurer be 
 " yearly chofen by the Heads of Colleges 
 " only, and by no others, in the room ad- 
 "^ joining to the Printing-Houfe, between 
 " the hours of ten in the morning and two 
 *' in the afternoon, to preach eight Divinity 
 " LeAure SermorlS, thei year fblldwirig, at St. 
 , ** Mary's in Oxford, bet-W^een the comrhehce- 
 <' ffldfit of the kft ridnth in LeritTefrh, and 
 «' the end df the third Week in Ad Term. 
 
 ^' Aiid I dirndl arid appoint, that the i^ight 
 ^' Divinity Ijt&vAt Serntions fliall be preached 
 " tlpbh either of the folldWiiig fubjefts— to 
 " cotifirrfl and eftabHlh the Chriftiari MtH, 
 
 ♦* anci 
 
, ( vU ) - - 
 
 *^ Sind tQ gor^Cute all heretic^' ah^ fchiftnatics • 
 " — upon the diV^lne authority pf the Hc^ly 
 " Scriptures — upon the authority of the 
 "L -syritings of,, the primitive -FathiefS, ^.s to 
 ". ^he, ^aith a^^. praftice of the primitive 
 "; Q^^]fch^rr-ypi6n the piyinit-y of our Lord 
 "j ai}^. %YipW' 'J'efws, Chrift-^upon th& Di- 
 "• vinity gf" thg Mply Ql^oft — Upon the Ar-^ 
 " tides. ^ the Chrift-ian K^ith, as compre- 
 *'; henx^ed in the Apoftles' and Nicene 
 « Creeds. .■ju^U.^i^ -.a- 
 
 " Alfo I dired, that thirty Copies of the 
 
 " oght Divinity Lefture Sermons fliall be 
 
 " always printed, within two months after 
 
 " they are preached, and one copy fliall be 
 
 " given to the Chancellor of the Univerfity, 
 
 " and one copy to the Head of every Col- 
 
 " lege, and one copy to the Mayor of the ' 
 
 " city of Oxford, and one copy to be put 
 
 " into the Bodleian Library; and the ex- 
 
 " pence of printing them fliall be paid out 
 
 *' of the revenue of the Land or Eftates given 
 
 " for eflablifliing the Divinity LeSure Ser- 
 
 *' mons ; and the Preacher fliallnot be paid. 
 
( viii ) . 
 
 '' nor be entitled toi the revenue, before they 
 " are printed. 
 
 " Alio I dlre<ft and appoint, that no per- 
 " ion fliall be qualified , to preach the Divl- 
 " nity Lefture Sermons, unlefs he hath taken 
 " the Degree of Mafter of Arts at leaft, in 
 *' one of the two Unlverfities of Oxford or 
 " Cambridge} and that the fame perfbn 
 " fliall never preach the Divinity Leilure 
 *' Sermons tv^ice." 
 
S iE R M O N I. 
 
 i Tim. ii- ^, 
 
 ^Mrs is one God atid one Mediator betiveek God 
 and Men, the Man Chrijl Jefm. 
 
 BELIEF in God. is the fbundation of all 
 religion, both natural and revealed. And 
 as there never was a people fo barbarous as 
 to have loft all fenfe of religion, fo there 
 never was a people among whom the nbtioil 
 of a God was entirely obliterated. Even in 
 the. loweft ftate of. intelledlual degeneracy 
 mankind have ftill" retained fome apprehen- 
 fion of a fupernatural Power, whofe inter- 
 vention and invifible. agency they hav^ inva- 
 riably acknowledged, as often as events oc- 
 curred for which, they could not account by 
 natural means, or efFefts were produced for 
 which they could not aljign any viable caufe. 
 And wherever the^. faculties of' the human 
 
 'B mind 
 
3 S E R M O N i. 
 
 mind have been cultivated and impr6te^d, 
 there has generally prevailed a full perfuafidn- 
 of a great firft Csufe, from whofe creative 
 power all things derived their originy and by 
 whofe fuperintending Providence they are? 
 governed and upheld. Indeed fo conftant 
 and univerfal has b,een the belief of all man- 
 kind in the exiftence of a Deity, that it has 
 by fome been imagined to be a principle na* 
 tural to the mind of man,, and born in himv 
 Jiut however this be, we may venture at leaft 
 to affia», that it is a truth agreeable to the 
 reafon of man, and mull, always meet with 
 a willing aifent from every mind, the facul- 
 ties of which are not naturally defective, or 
 have not been depraved by vice and fenfli- 
 ality. 
 
 That God is one, i* a truth which has not 
 been fo univerfally received. Many nations 
 have acknowledged a m:TiltipEcity of Deities ; 
 and perhaps the unity of the divine nature 
 was never acknowledged by any nation, 
 which had not been in fome degree' illumi- 
 nated witj^i the says of divine li^t. At one 
 period of the world itwas the profeffed be- 
 lief of only a fingle people, who at that very 
 time were under the immediate care and di- 
 
 redioa 
 
Sermon I § 
 
 it&lon of Heaven, and were favoured with 
 pofitive declarations of the Divine will. And 
 even at prefent the inhabitants of the uhen- 
 lightehed parts of our globe acknowledge 
 Gods many, and LoMs many. And if to us 
 there is but one God, to what fliall we attri- 
 bute our knowledge of this truth, but to the 
 fevelation which that fame God has been 
 pleafed to make of his nature attd perfec- 
 tions ? But this truth, though, as it fliould. 
 feem, not difcoverable without fevelation, and 
 perhaps even now not reducible to any firft 
 principle, yet, being revealed, ftrotigly re- 
 commends itfelf to the beft reafon of man- 
 kind, and obtains from the approving mind a 
 teady and entire alTent. 
 
 From the exiftence of a great firft Caufcj 
 we naturally proceed to the relation in which 
 we ftand, and the duties which -^^e owe to 
 this divine Being. As well as the Creator, 
 he ' is the Lord' and Governor of the uni- 
 verfe; and as fuch may juftly claim from all 
 his creatures and fubjeds adoration and wor^ 
 Ihip; an entire fubmiffion to the difpenfa- 
 tions of his Providence, and an unreferved 
 obedience to the expreffions of his will. He 
 is alfo our Father and Protedor, upon whom 
 B z we 
 
4 SERMON I. 
 
 we depend for prefertation and fupport, and 
 from whom muft proceed the fupply of our 
 w^nts. He is therefore juftly entitled to. our 
 reverence and love ; to 6;ur praife for paft 
 inftances of boujity, and to our prayers for the 
 things of which we fland in need. 
 
 But God is the • great King of all the 
 earth, and no lefs glorious, in purity than in 
 greatnefs : we are firiful duft and afties. How 
 then will he deign to hold communion with 
 us, or hOw^ Ihall we prefume to appear before 
 him ? This fenfe of man's unworthinefs, 
 when compared with the Divine matjefty and 
 holinefs, feems little lefs; familiar to tl^e hu- 
 man mind than the belief of God's exiflence. 
 And therefore in all ages men, dreading the 
 immediate prefence of the Deity, have fought 
 the interpofition of Mediators and Intercef- 
 fors, by whofe miniftry all intercourfe might 
 be carried on between the great objects of 
 their worfliip and themfelves., Thus the 
 Heathens formed to themfelyes a crowd of 
 Mediators — beings of a middle order^to 
 whom they affigned the office of prefenting 
 to the Gods the addreflqs of men, and of 
 communicating to men the fa,voursr. of the 
 Gods. And this mode of commumcation 
 
 has 
 
S E R M O N I. 5 
 
 has received the iandlion of the true God ; 
 who ordained his covenant with the IfraeUtes 
 in the hand of a IVIediator, vii. Mofes; 
 through whom h^ made known to the peo- 
 ple his ftatutes and judgments. And much 
 after the fame manner the people performed 
 to God the religious worlhip and fervice 
 which their law prefcribed. For they were 
 not permitted to ftand bisfore God, and per- 
 form in perfbn the rites of their religion ; but 
 were commanded to have recourfe to the 
 mediation of their Priefts, through whom 
 they prefented their addreffes and offerings of 
 blood, and from whofe interpolation they 
 were taught to expeft the divine favour and 
 acceptance. 
 
 Nor was the New Covenant eftabliftied 
 without a Mediator. For as " there is one 
 God," fo there is " one Mediator between God 
 and Men." And it was to appear in this cha- 
 rad:er for the falvation of a fmful world, that 
 the divine Word, the fecond perfon of the 
 ever-bleffed Trinity, divefled himfelf of that 
 glory which he had with the Father before 
 the foundation of the world, even from all 
 eternity, and condefcended to take upon him 
 our flelh, ai^d to become man. For the 
 B 3 Apoftle, 
 
6 SERMON r. 
 
 Apoftle, having afferted that there is one Me- 
 diator between God and men, immediately 
 adds, that this Mediator is " the Ma,n Chrif^ 
 Jefus:" 
 
 From what has been faid, it appears that 
 the mediatorial eharadler implies at leaft two 
 diftintS offices, ufually denonainated the pro- 
 phetical and the facerdotal\ and that a Me- 
 diator is either a Prophet or 9. Prieft, accords 
 ing as h? is compiiljioned to a^, either in 
 the name of God for the piirpofe of declaring 
 his will to mankind, or in behalf of men for 
 the pvirpofe of recoinmending them to the 
 favour of God. Now tht; mediatorial cha- 
 radler of Chrift has been generally underftood 
 to include bpth thefe offices ; and accordingly 
 Chrift has ijlually been accounted both a 
 Prophet and a Prieft : a Prophet, or the Am- 
 baffador of God to men ; a Prieft, or the Ad- 
 vocate of men -yvith God. To thefe princi- 
 pal, and, if I may fo fpeak, eiTential branches 
 of the mediatorial character, JJivines, upon 
 the authority of the Scriptures, haV^ added ^ 
 third ; vi?. the regal \ to which our Lord Je-» 
 fus Chrift was admitted after his afcenfion 
 into heaven, as the reward of his fuffierin^ 
 iipo;;i earth, and for t^e benefit of that 
 
 Church 
 
SERMON I. 7 
 
 Church ^hich he had purchafcd with his 
 blood.. 
 
 Nor is it withoiut rcafon that the name 
 X^hrijii which anfwers to the Hebrew Mef~ 
 jiabt and fignifies anointed, has been thou^t 
 to indicate the three offices above-mentioned. 
 For as 'under the law the ceremony of anoint- 
 ing was by God's own appointment the mode 
 tif coihlecration to the three offices of Prophet, 
 Prieft, and King ; fo was Chrift alfo anointed, 
 not indeed with material oil, but with the 
 i^iritual undlion of the Holy Ghoft, to he the 
 Prophet, Prieft, and King of his people. He 
 is thieir Prophet, to declare the will of God, 
 and to make known the way of falvation ; 
 he is their Prieft, to interpofe in their behalf, 
 and by an offering of his own blood to pro- 
 cure for them a favourable acceptance in the 
 fight of God; and he is their King, to diftri- 
 bute among them his manifold gifts of grace 
 during their continuance in this lower world, 
 and to conduct them to ever-enduring man- 
 fions of glory in the world to come. 
 
 ,Of thefe offices the prophetical and regal 
 are univerfally acknowledged. " There never 
 exifted a fed of Chriftians, hardy enough to 
 deny that Chrift was that Prophet which 
 ihooild come into the world ; or that after 
 , B 4 having 
 
8 SERMON I. 
 
 having declared the will of' God, and finiflied 
 the work which was given him to do, he 
 alcended up on high far above all heavens ; 
 angels, and authorities and powers being 
 made fubjeft unto hin^ \ - But hi? facerdotal 
 
 office, 
 
 * Socinus and his immediate followers were ftrenuous 
 advocates for the regal office, affirming that by virtue of this 
 office Chrif?: was invefted with the power of delivering his 
 people from the puniihment of fin. Modern Socihians in- 
 deed betray an inclination to deprive the Saviour of the regal 
 as well as the facerdotal charafter, and to reduce him to the 
 condition of a mere Prophet. This I infer from an obfer- 
 vation which occurs in the Hiftory of the. Corruptions of 
 Chriftianity, vol. i. p. 272; where the Author, fpeaking of 
 the above opinion of Socinus, has the fbllowing words : 
 *^ Fauftus Socinus, who diftinguifhed himfelf fo much in 
 t^ recovering the original doftriiie of.the proper humamty 
 " of Chriji^ as to give occa.fion to all who now hold that 
 " do&ine to be called by his narpe, faw clearly the abfur- 
 " dity of what was advanced by the other reformers con- 
 ** cerning fatisfadUon being made to the juftice of God by 
 *^ the death of Chrift. Indeed it immediately follows from 
 " his principle's, that Chrift being only a man, though eyer 
 " fo innocent, his death could not, in any proper fenfe 
 " of the word, atone for the fins of other men. He was 
 *' however far from abandoning the do£trine of redemption 
 '* in the Scripture fenfe of the word, that is, of our deliver-- 
 t? ance from the guilt of fin by his Gofpel, as prompting 
 " repentance and reformation, and from the puniihment 
 " due to fin, by his power of giving eternal life to all that 
 ^' obey him, But^indeed^if God himfelf freely^ forgives the 
 
 *?■ fim 
 
SERMON I. 9 
 
 office, that office upon the difcharge of which 
 our hopes of life and falvation are principally 
 founded, has unhappily not been fo univerfally 
 acknowledged. There are not wanting men 
 who receive not Chrift as their Prieft, and 
 who .difown any immediate virtue in his 
 death to obtain remiffion of fins, and to pro- 
 cure for us God's favour and acceptance; 
 
 It is eafy to perceive ' that they who thus 
 deny the Prieftly office of our Redeemer, do 
 in effeft deny the whole icheme of Redemp- 
 tiofi, as held by our Church, or rather by the 
 univerfal Church of Chrift. In modern 
 times this deriial conftitutes a diftinguifhing 
 article in the creed of an heretical fe6k, called, 
 after the name of its founder, i/je Socman; 
 which firft g,ppeared about the time of the 
 reformation from Popery, and has continued 
 ever lince to infeft the Church. In our own 
 nation the opinions of this feft have never, 
 from the very firft, wanted advocates and 
 abettors ; and of late have been moft ftrenu-i 
 oufly afferted by a writer of very confiderable 
 eminence, in a well-known work, entitled 
 
 *S Jim ffmen upon their repentance., there could be no occa- 
 " Jion^ properly fpeakin^, for any thing farther being done to 
 *' avtrt the pmijhment with which they had been threat- 
 ^ ened." 
 
 *' A Hiftory 
 
lo SERMON I. 
 
 " A Hiftory of the Corruptions of* Ghrijli^ 
 anity." Among thefe corruptions the doc- 
 trine of Atonement has obtained a principal 
 place. In point of order it ranks the fqcond; 
 for the hiftory of this dodrine immediately 
 fucceeds that of opinions relating to Jefiis 
 Chrift : and in point of importance it , is 
 efteenjed by the hiftorian himfelf inferior to 
 jione ; as is apparent from the manner in 
 which it is introduced to the notice of his 
 readers. " As," f^ys he, " the do<ftrine of 
 ** the divine Unity was infringed by the in-? 
 *^ trodu(3ion of that of the Divinity of Chrift 
 *' and of the Holy Ghoft (as a perfori diftincS 
 " from the Father), fo the doArine of the 
 *' natural placability of the divine Being, and 
 ** our ideas of the equity of his government, 
 '' have been greatly debafed by the gradual 
 " introduiftion of the modern dodirine of 
 " Atonement *"." And prefently after he tell? 
 us, that he ciDnceives this dodlrine to be a 
 grofs mifreprefentation of the character and 
 moral governnient of God, and to aiFedl many 
 -other articles in the fcherne of Chriftianity, 
 greatly disfiguring and depraving it ; and 
 therefore he declares his intention of Ihewing, 
 in a fuller manner than he means to do with 
 
 •> Hift. of Cor, vol. |. p. 152. 
 
 refpeft 
 
SERMON I, II 
 
 Telpe<5l to any other corrviption of Chriftianlty,. 
 that it has no countenance whatever in rea- 
 fon or the Scriptures, and that the whole 
 dodrine, with every modification of it, has 
 been a departure from the primitive and ge' 
 nuine dodrine of Chriftianity ", 
 
 To an unprgudiced mind it muil: occafion 
 no .little furpri^e^ that a dod:rine, which, by 
 the coittfeffion of this author, is become in a 
 manner univerfal, and has taken the firmeft 
 hold upon men's minds, ihould have thus 
 creeped in, and prevailed without the leaft 
 countenance either from reafon or from the 
 Scriptures : and it behoves us to receive with 
 caution, and to examine with care, whatever 
 is advanced in fiipport of fo bold an affertion. 
 That the doftrine, if true, is of the greatell 
 importance, will not be denied ; fince it con- 
 cerns nothing lefs than the foundation upon 
 which are built all our hopes of paying to 
 God an acceptable fervice in this life, and of 
 being admitted to thg everlafllng enjoyment 
 of him in the life to come. Perfuaded my- 
 self of its truth, I Ihall offer no apology for 
 an humble, but honeft, attempt, to illuilrat© 
 §rid defend it ; nor do I know in what other 
 
 f JiiS;. of Cor. p. 153, 
 
 yvzy 
 
12 SERMON I. 
 
 way I can employ the ability which God hath 
 given me more advantageoufly to the caufe 
 of religion, or more agreeably to 'the inten- 
 tion of the Founder of this Ledluf e. 
 
 The doctrine of Atonement, then, is the 
 fiibje<5l of which I propofe to treat, and I 
 truft I fliall be able to fliew, in oppofition to 
 the writer above referred to, that it is con- 
 tained in the Scriptures, and that the argu- 
 ments by which it is affailed are in geiieral 
 inconclufive, and not unfrequently wholly 
 inapplicable to the point in queflion. And 
 becaufe in every coritroverfy it is of the ut- 
 moft confequence to afcertain tod determine _ 
 what this point is, in order to remove as' 
 much as poffible all occafion of mifconcep- 
 tion and erroneous judgment, thofe copious 
 fources of obje^lion and difpute, it is my de- 
 sign, in the remaining part of this difcourfe, 
 to prepare the way for the due inveftigation 
 of the fubjedl before us, by ftating the doc- 
 trine in its plain and fimple form, divefted of 
 every circumftance in which the iffue of the 
 controverfy is not immediately concerned. 
 
 And in order to this it will be neceflary, 
 in the firfl place, to afcertain the fcriptural 
 meaning of the term atonement. 
 
 To 
 
SERMON I. IS 
 
 ^0 6e^ at' one, is an dbfolete .form of fpeech, 
 iignifying to be reconciled, or to come.^ to an 
 agreement after having been at variance. And 
 accordingly atonement, which by Etymologifts 
 is derived from hence,' properly fignifies 
 agreement or reconciliation "* : and in this its 
 primitive fenfe, which was antiently its 
 common and ufual one, it is uniformly taken 
 in our tranflation of the - Scriptures. In the 
 Old Teftament it is frequently ufed with 
 reference to the legal fin-ofterings^ with the 
 blood of which the Prieft is faid to make an 
 atonement. The original w;ord ufed on thefe 
 occafions, which for the moft part is thus 
 tranflated, is alfo occafionally rendered to re^ 
 concile ; a ftrong preiumption that our Tranf- 
 lators annexed to ^hoth expreffions'the fame 
 , meaning. Thus in the iixteenth chapter of 
 Leviticus, the High Prieft, on the great day 
 of expiation, is comn^anded to fprinkle the 
 blood of the fin-oiferings, and to make an atone- 
 ment for the- holy place ; and prefently after 
 this very a<ft is called reconciling the holy 
 place'. In the original the word in both 
 
 ^ See Francifd Jtinii EtytnoltJgicum Anglicanum, and 
 Skinner's Etymologicon Linguae Anglicanae. See alfo 
 authorities for this u(p pf the word, drawn from the earlier 
 Englifh writers, in Johnfon's Diftionary. 
 
 * Lev. xvi. i6, lo, 
 
 places 
 
14 SERMON t 
 
 places is the fame; viz. IflD : as it is alio itl 
 the Septuagint, viz. e^tXctcxofiai, to appeafe oi 
 make propitious ; which word, for the moft 
 part> correfponds to faking atonement in our 
 verfion. In the New Teftament the term 
 atonement occurs but once ; and then it un- 
 queftionably lignifies reconciliation. It is in 
 the following paflkge from St. Paul's Epiftle 
 to the Romans* " For if when we were 
 " enemies we were reconciled (xarijXXayj^jitEv) 
 '* to God by the death of his Son> much 
 *' more being reconciled (jcaraXXayEyTSf) we 
 " fllall be faved by his life. And not only 
 " fo, but we alfo joy in God through our 
 " Lord Jefiis Chrift, by whom we have now 
 " received the atoriement {y<.a.ra.'k'Ka,yi\vf " /. e> 
 the recoilciliation ; as the word had twice 
 before been rendered in this very paffage* 
 From all which it is manifeft, that the ferip- 
 tural meaning of atonenlent is rtconciliation ; 
 and accordingly to aiTert of Chrift that hd 
 hath made an atonement for us by his blood, is 
 the fame as to aflert that he hath reconciled us 
 to God by his blood ; o^, in other words, that 
 by his death he hath made God propitious to 
 finful matij and hath procured for all who 
 believe in him pardon and acceptance. 
 
 ^ Rom. V. 10. 
 
 And 
 
SERMON L 15 
 
 And this propofition contains, as I con- 
 ceive, all that is eflential to the dodrine of 
 Atonement. It has indeed been ufual to 
 ftate-.the dodlrine in a fuller manner, fo as 
 not iimply to afiert our reconciliation to God 
 by the blood of Chrift, but a,lfo to luperadd 
 the ground and reafon of the reconciliation'. 
 And this addition, derived not fo m.uch from 
 the politive declarations of Scripture, as from 
 the views which men have entertained of the 
 fubjedl, and their reafonings re^e6ling it, has 
 been fo generally acquiefced in and acknowr 
 ledged, that it is commonly fuppofed to be 
 infeparably conne<9:ed with the dodlrine, and 
 to conftkute a neceffary and effential partL dF 
 it. But however true in itfelf, it has unfor- 
 tunately occafioned much mifreprefentatioir 
 and unjuft cenlure, and (as we Ihall fee in 
 the fequel) has been the foundation of moft 
 of the principal objeftioiw againil the dotftrine 
 itfelf. It is therefore become highly ufeful, 
 and even nece^ry, to feparate from the real 
 queftion this and every ether adventitiow 
 circumftance with which it has been ufually 
 implicated. 
 
 It has perhaps already occurred ta efery " 
 one who heats me, that the cjrcQmftance to 
 •which I principaUy refer, as an addition to 
 
 the 
 
i5 SERMON I. 
 
 the pure and fimple dodlrine of atonement, 
 or reconciliation by the death o£ Chrift, is the 
 following; viz. that Ghrifl died tomakefatif^ 
 faftion to the divine juftice. Now the fa* 
 cred writers no where, as far as I know, ex* 
 prefsly: alTert any fatisfaftion at all ds having 
 been effedled by the death of Ghrift. At the 
 fame time, it mufl: be acknowledged, that the 
 generality of Chriftians, in modern times at 
 leaft, have concurred in maintaining as abovfi-' 
 mentioned, that by the death of Chrift fatif- 
 fadtion was raa,d,t to the juftice of God ; - and 
 fo univerial has been this concurrence, that, 
 the doSirine af-EaihfaBion has been commonly 
 tifed as ia fynonimous expreffion for the doC" 
 trine of Atonement. Divines of our own 
 country may probably have been confirmed in 
 this ufe of the term, by its common accepta- 
 tion. For though it was antiently taken, in 
 ,wliat is ftill its fole fcriptural i&a^Q, to iignify 
 reconciliation, ye.t becaufe reconciliations ' are 
 for the moft part brought about by the ag- 
 greffor's making fatisfadlion for his wrong by 
 the payment of an equivalent to the party 
 aggrieved, therefore in procefs of time atone- 
 ment came to fignify compenfation and fatisjac- 
 thn ; and men accuftomed to this ufe of the 
 terra may have been led to imagine that the 
 
 work 
 
S E R M O N L \i 
 
 work of Chrift for our redemption, was un- 
 dertaken with a view to fombthirig of this 
 kind. But from whatever caufe it has arifen, 
 Certain it is, that the ' death of Chrift has been 
 called and accbunted not merely a propitia- 
 tion, or that on account of which God is be- 
 come merciful to man, and man acceptable 
 to Gbd J but further, a Jatisfa5Hon. And 
 this fatisfaftion is filppofed to have been re- 
 tjuired in confeqUence of that violation of the 
 divine law, and that difobedience to the divine 
 authority, which occafioned the fall of man. 
 And fihce the fatisfaftion muft of courfe be 
 made to God, whole law was broken, and 
 whofe authority was difobeycd, to what attri- 
 bute of the Deity could it with fuch pro- 
 priety be afcfibed as to his juftice, which 
 feeiiis efpecially Concerned to vindicate the 
 honour of the divine law, and to inflid; upon 
 offenders the due reward of their evil deeds ? 
 
 Goncernirig this fatisfadlion to the juftice 
 of God, there have been principally two opi- 
 nions. And firft, fonie, and thofe Divines of 
 great learning and piety, have contended for 
 the abfolute neceffity of fiich a Iktisfadtion, 
 in order to maintain the inviolability of the 
 Divine attributes. For they argue that fm is 
 fe oppofite to the purity and holinefs of God, 
 
 ^ C and 
 
i8 SERMON I. 
 
 and of confequence fo odious in his fight 
 that it cannot but provoke his difpleafure, 
 and expofe all who commit it to his wrath 
 and indignation. And fince juftice is eflen- 
 tial to the Divine nature, and exifts there in 
 a fupreme degree, it muft inflexibly require 
 the punifhment of thofe who are thns the 
 objeAs of wrath : nor is it poffible that the 
 punifliment due to fin could have been re- 
 mitted, if fatisfaftion had not been made to 
 the juftice of God. Hence they conclude, 
 that fuch fatisfaftion was adlually made by 
 Jefus Chrift ; whofe death, being an equiva- 
 lent for that of the whole human race, ob- 
 tained our acquittal, and laid the foundation 
 of our title to eternal life. 
 
 Others, in the fecond place, liot Contending 
 for the abfolute neceffity of a fatisfaftion to 
 Divine j«ftice, iniift only upon the wifdom 
 and fitnels of the meaflire : and; luch. con- 
 fider God in the light of a Governor, or 
 Judge, who for the direction of his fubjedls 
 had given them an expirefs law, and had 
 fan6lioned it by denouncing positive punifli- 
 ment againft all who ihould tranlgrefs it. 
 Now, fay they, it unqueftionably became the 
 Almighty Sovereign and Governor of the 
 univerfe to coniult the honou^ of his law, and 
 
 not 
 
SERMON I. . ic, 
 
 not to fuffer it to be violated with ittlpunity, 
 or without fatisfadlion, left the fiibjeds of his 
 authority fliould be itiduced to call in queftion 
 his juftice, and to vilify and fet at nought his 
 office of Judge. Willing, therefore, to Ihew 
 mercy to his offending creatures, but unwil- 
 ling that his forbearance of punilhment fliould 
 endanger the ends of his government, he was 
 pleafed to ordain a propitiation for fin. Ac- 
 cordingly he fent into the world his own Son, 
 who, by dyihg: for our fins, obtained our re- 
 leafe from all obligation to puniftiment, 
 while at the lame time he made a moft glo- 
 rious di^lay of the righteoufnels of God. And' 
 thus, it is contended, by the appointment of 
 Jefus Chrift to be a propitiation, fatisfadlion 
 was made for fin : the Divine law was fatif- 
 fied ; /', €. its claim was lilenced, and the 
 linner was no longer expofed to its rigour : 
 the Divine juftice was alfo fatisfied; i. e. it 
 no longer required that the punifhment due 
 to fin fliould be ittflicjlbd upon the offender. 
 In a word, according to this opinion, Chrift 
 is faid to have made fatisfa<?lion for our lins, 
 not becaiife his death is to be accounted an 
 adequate compenfation, or a full equivalent ; 
 but becaufe his luffering in our • ftead main- 
 tained the honour of the Divine law, and 
 
 C 2 gave 
 
so Sermon i. 
 
 gave free fcope to the mercy of the Latv- 
 giver, without any impeachment or diminu- 
 tion of his juftice. And fatisfa<ftion, in this 
 quahfied fenfe, has been commonly received 
 among Divines 3 and efpecially is maintained 
 by Grotius, in his celebrated treatife againft 
 Socinus, exprefsly entitled " De Satisfaftione 
 Chrifli;" and alfo by Stillingfleet, in his able 
 defence of Grotius againft the fubtleties of 
 Crellius ; both of whom confider God not as 
 a party aggrieved or offended, demanding full 
 amends and adequate conlpenfation for the 
 wrong he had fuffered ; but as a wife and 
 prudent Governor, requiring fiich a fatisfac- 
 tion as he might deem necefTary for main- 
 taining the authority of his laws, and for en- 
 abling him to extend mercy to criminals, with- 
 out giving encouragement to crime, or in any 
 refpeft endangering the purpofes of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Which of thefe opinions is true, or whe- 
 ther either of them be true, I am not called 
 upon to determine ; for neither of them is 
 eiTential to the do<3:riiie of Atonement : and 
 could it even be proved that both of them 
 are falfe, the real queftion would tiot be at 
 ail afFe(Sed. I cannot however refrain from 
 a. few obfervations, by way of reply to thofe; 
 
 harfli 
 
SERMON I. 21 
 
 harfli and unmerited cenfures, to which the 
 doftrine, confidered under this view, has un- 
 happily given rife. 
 
 I have aheady had occafion to bring for- 
 ward an aflertion, made by our Opponent at 
 the very commencement of the hiftory with 
 which we are at prefent concerned ; viz. that 
 f the do6trine of the natural placability of 
 " the divine Being, and our ideas of the 
 " equity of his government, have been greatly 
 " debafed by the introdudion of the doctrine 
 " of Atonement." The ground upon which 
 he hazards this aiTertion is, that this latter 
 doftrine ^' reprefents the divine Being as 
 " ijaithholding his mercy from the truly peni- 
 " tent, till a y?^// fatisfadlion be made to his 
 ?* juftice." Were this indeed the cafe, there 
 would, apparently at leaft, be fome foundation 
 for the charge, that the do6lrine of Atone- 
 ment debafes the natural placability, and mif- 
 reprefents the charafter and moral govern- 
 ment of God. For rigidly to demand fatif- 
 fadion for an offence, and, notwithftanding 
 the repentance of the oifendei;, ftill to conti- 
 nue implacable till the required fatisfad:ion 
 be made, feems to be the part of a mercilefa 
 and refentful Being, rather than of a bene- 
 volent and companionate God, fuch as is the 
 C 3 ■ God 
 
25 SERMON I. 
 
 God revealed to us in the holy Scriptures. 
 But this is not the cafe. On the other hand, 
 the charge thus brought againft the dodlrinc 
 of Atonement is founded upon a grofs mif- 
 ftatement of the fentiments of Believers re- 
 fpediing this dodlrine, to whom no fuch repre- 
 fentation of the divine Being, as is here fiip- 
 pofed, can juftly be imputed. Indeed it is 
 not pretended that this reprefentation can b? 
 inferred, except from the opinion of thofe 
 •who contend for a full fatisfaftion to the 
 juftice of God, which, as I before obferved, is 
 far from being the univerfal opinion. Nor 
 can it fairly be inferred even from this opi- 
 nion. For they who affert a fatisfadlion 
 in its mofl: rigid fenfe, ftill contend, that this 
 fatisfad;ion was made, or at leaft decreed, ac^ 
 cording to fome, frorn the very foundation of 
 the world ; and at furtheft immediately after 
 the fall, when as yet man was hardly fenfible 
 of his fin and folly. And therefore, even 
 under this view of the doftrine^ God cannot 
 be faid to withhold mercy from the truly pe- 
 nitent, when he was pleafed to open a way 
 for the exercife of his mercy, by the fatisfac- 
 tion of his juftice, before any repentance on 
 the part of man could poffibly have taken 
 place. In truth, the do<5lrine of Atonement, 
 
 under 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 33 
 
 •under whatever view we confider it, is fo far 
 from debafing, that it moft powerfully con- 
 firms and eftablilhes the placability of the 
 Peity. It reprefents not God as a refentful 
 Being, but as full of mercy and compafiion — 
 not vindiftively demanding fatisfaftion ; but 
 gracioufly appointing a propitiation — not 
 withholding mercy from the truly penitent ; 
 but even anticipating man's repentance, and 
 when we were enemies to him, freely pro- 
 viding the means of our reconciliation, and 
 fending his Son to die for ov^r fins '. 
 
 There is a further mifreprefentation of the 
 fentiments of Believers in the ftatement which 
 our Hifi:orian has given, of the manner in 
 which the doftrir^e of Atonement is con-, 
 tieded yrith that of the divinity of Jefiis 
 Ohrifl:. In contending for this connexion,, 
 we are fuppofed to argue after the following 
 manner. " Sin being an offence againft aa, 
 " infinite Beiiig, requires an infinite fatisfac- 
 "• tion, "vvhich can only be made by an infi- 
 *< nite perfon ; that is, one who is no lefs 
 " than God himfelf: Chrift therefore, in order 
 <' to niake this infinite fatisfadtion for th^ 
 
 I See this fubjaSl further difcufled in Serm. VI. 
 
 C 4 " fins 
 
24 SERMON 1. 
 
 " fins of men, mufi: himfelf be God, equal to 
 " the Father''." This argument, as it pro- 
 ceeds upon the fuppofition that an adequate 
 fatisfadlion was required for the :(ina of man- 
 kind, can only be objefted againft thofe who 
 are advocates for that opinion ; and is there- 
 fore unfairly attributed to Believers in gene- 
 ral. Indeed, even allowing the foundation 
 upon which it is built, it would ftill be a 
 weak argument, and might eafily be retorted. 
 For with no lefs reafon might it be argued, 
 that iln, being committed by a finite crea- 
 ture, requires only a finite latisfa6tion ; to the 
 making of which a finite perfbn is fully ade- 
 quate. If fiich an argument for the divinity 
 of Ghrift has unwarily fallen from any friend 
 to the dodlrine of Atonement, it is to be la- 
 mented that it fhould have been hazarded 
 unneceffarily, and without fufficient warrant 
 from Scripture. We believe indeed the di- 
 vinity of Chrift, becaufe the Scriptures have 
 exprefsly declared it : but, we pretend not to 
 infer it from the fuppofed neceffity of an in- 
 finite fatisfadlion : on the contrary, we infer 
 from it the love of God towards us, of which 
 the appointment of his divine Son to be the 
 
 '• Hift. of Cor. p. 153. 
 
 propitiation 
 
SERMON I. as 
 
 propitiation for our fins, is a moft convincing 
 proof; and we build upon it a fiire and cer- 
 tain expectation of his future favour. " He 
 ^' that fpared not his own Son, but delivered 
 " him up for us all, how Ihall he not with 
 ^' him alfo freely give us all things ' ?" 
 
 Another circumfi:ance connedled by our 
 Hiflorian with the dodtrine of Atonement, 
 and made as it were to fpring from it, is, the 
 imputation of Chrift's righteoufnefs to Be- 
 lievers as the' ground of their acceptance with 
 God. What was before obferved relpediing 
 fatisfadiion to Diviiie juftice, is alfo true of 
 imputed righteoufnefs ; it is no where ex- 
 prefsly afferted in the facred .writings. And 
 although our Hiftorian appears in words to 
 confider it as a neceflary appendage to the 
 doftrine of Atonement, and as univerfally 
 maintained by the advocates of this dodtrine ; 
 yet he could not be ignorant that the fad; is 
 otherwife ; and that imputed righteoulhefs is 
 not more a grouted of controverfy between 
 thole who believe the dodrine of Atonement 
 ^nd thofe who do not, than it is between 
 ^hofe who believe the dodrine among them-' 
 
 ' Rom, viii. 32. 
 
 felves. 
 
zS SERMON I. 
 
 felves. They who hold imputed righteouA 
 nefs, feem to be of opinion, that, fince Chrift 
 died in order to bear the punifliment of our 
 fms, no higher effed can ..properly be aforibed 
 to his death, than our deliverance from con- 
 demnation. But fomething further is necef- 
 iary to reftore us to Gfod's favour ; viz. a per- 
 fed; righteoufnefs. But fince fiich righteouf- 
 nefs is not inherent in even the beft of men, 
 it can be ours only by imputation. Arid hence 
 they argue, that, as by the imputation of our 
 guilt to Chrift we are delivered from the pu- 
 nifliment of fin ; fo by the imputation of his 
 righteoufnefs to us w^e are reftored to the fa- 
 vour of God. But this dodtrine, fo ftrongly 
 infifted upon by fome, is, in the eftimation of 
 others, unneceffary ir\ the Qhriftian fcheme. 
 It is graiited, that, in order to forgivenefs, we 
 -muft be cleanfed from the guilt of fin by the 
 blood of Chrift : now they argue, that to 
 thofe who are thus cleanfed, fm is not im- 
 puted ; that is, in other words, they are ac- 
 counted righteous ; they are in the fight of 
 God, as though they had never offended ; 
 and confequently are again become, what, had 
 they continued innocent,, they would n,ever 
 have ceafed to be, objeds of his love and 
 favour. And thus, according to this argu- 
 ment. 
 
SERMON I. 37 
 
 ment, not only pardon, but acceptance alfo, 
 is the immediate effe<ft of Chrift's deatht 
 
 I am not concerned to fliew which of 
 thefe opinions is moft confonant to the fpirit 
 and intention of the fjicred writings. It is 
 liifficient that imputed righteoufiiefs, how- 
 ever conliftent with the doftrine of Atone- 
 ment, is neverthelefs not effential to it, and 
 may therefore be confidered as an addition to 
 the pure and fimple do&ine. And I cannot 
 but obferve, that this or any other doftrine is 
 mifreprefented, when that is affumed as necef- 
 fary and effential, whiqh is merely adventi- 
 tious and accidental ; and which, if denied, 
 would ftill leave the geiiuine doftrine entire 
 and unimpaired. 
 
 As it is the profeffed intention of this dif- 
 courife to determine the, fcriptural meaning of 
 atonement, in order to aicertain the real na- 
 ture of the dod:rine, I think it not improper 
 in this place to animadvert upon the fenfe 
 which our Hiftorian has attempted to affix to 
 this term, as often as it occurs in the Old 
 Teftament — a fenfe, which, if it could be 
 fiipported, would entirely exclude every idea 
 of propitiation. He tells us, that, " from com- 
 ^' paring all the paffages in which atonement 
 
 " is 
 
z^ SERMON I. 
 
 '"- is mentioned, it is evident that it fignifies 
 " the making of any thing clean or /jo/y, fo 
 f' as to be fit to be ufed in thp fervice of 
 " Godj or, when applied to a per/on, fit to 
 " come into the prefenqe of God ; God 
 " being confidered as in a peculiar manner 
 " the King and Sovereign of the Ifraelitifb 
 " nation, a,nd, as it were, keeping a court 
 " a,mong them ''." 
 
 That the authority of the Seventy (who^ as 
 above ftated, render the original word by 
 i^iXoiCTKOf/^ui, to appeafe or make propitious) is 
 decidedly againft this interpretation, cannot 
 be denied. The truth is, there runs through 
 the Vvhole a miftake, arifing from a partial 
 view of the fubjeft, and a mifconception of 
 the nature and intention of the legal atone- 
 ments. That the perfon or thing, for which 
 • an atonement was made, was in confequenc? 
 of the atonement clearifed, or made holy, and 
 fit for the fervice of God, the Scriptures ex- 
 prefsly affert. But the efficacy of thefe 
 atonements did not flop here. The end 
 propofed by them was to recommend and 
 make acceptable to God the things intended 
 for his fervice, which on account of fome 
 
 ■^ Hift. of Cor. p. 193. 
 
 unfitnefs. 
 
S E R M O N i. ig 
 
 tinfitnefs, either natural or acquired, were 
 obje^ of difpleafure rather than of fa- 
 vour. Accordingly atonement implies d 
 double effe6l ; one referring to the thing, the 
 other to God. With refpe<3: to the thing, it 
 implies a removal of the uncleannefs which 
 ftiade it an objedl of difpleafure ; with refpedl 
 to God, it implies a removal of the difplea- 
 fure which the uricleAnnefe had occafibned. 
 The atonement was made Jbr the thihg^ 
 which being in itfelf unclean and unholy, was 
 in confequence cleanied and ikn6lified : but it 
 was made io God, that he might be reconciled 
 to, and take pleafiire in> thbfe things which> 
 in their natural ftate, were unworthy and 
 unfit for his fervice. Hence an atonement 
 was made for the altar, when it was driginally 
 confecrated ', and for the L»evites, whien they 
 were dedicated to their office aiid miniftry*"* 
 in ordfcr that, being cleanfed from that pol- 
 lution which naturally cleaves to all tertef- 
 trial things, they might become acceptable to 
 God, and fit for his fervice. In like manner, 
 and for the fame fealbn, atoilemepts were 
 appointed in cafes where the uncleannefs was 
 contraAed : for a houfe after having been in- 
 
 ' ExodL xxix. 36, 37. "" Num. viii. 12. 
 
 feded 
 
ga SERMON 1. 
 
 fedled with leproiy " ; at the purification of* a 
 leper ° ; after involuntary uncleannefs ^ and 
 fins of ignorance '' ; as w^ll as in fome cafes 
 of Avilful tranfgreffion, upon repentance and 
 refi:itution^ I am ready to allow, and I 
 fliall hereafter' Ihew at large, that the atone- 
 ments in all thefe cafes had no relation to the 
 pardon of fm in a moral fenfe i that was only 
 to be efFed:ed by the atonement made by 
 Chrift. I agree that they concerned only the 
 decency and propriety of public worfliip, 
 qualifying for appearing . before God in the 
 earthly tabernacle, and for being employed in 
 his fervice, for which any thing unclean or 
 polluted was confidered as difqualified. Still 
 I contend, that they referred immediately to 
 God, whofe favourable acceptance they were 
 intended to procure ; and were efFedlual to 
 the pardon, if not of fm in a moral fenfe, at 
 leaft of fomething analogous to.it; and which, 
 by way of diftinftidn, may not improperly be 
 called kga/ fin. 
 
 What has now been faid is, I truft, fufE- 
 cient to afcertain the true point upon which 
 
 " Lev. xiv. 53. " Lev. xiv. 18. 
 
 f Lev. XV. 15, 30. . ' Lev. iv. 20, 26, 35, — v. 18. 
 
 ' Lev. vi. 5. * See Serm. IIL 
 
 the 
 
SERMON 1. ' 31 
 
 the controverfy turns. The doftrine of 
 Atonement is, as we have feen, the dodtrine 
 of reconciliation ; and the queftion, freed 
 frorn-all extraneous and uneflential matter, 
 and reduced to its proper dimenfions, is> 
 whether Chrift immediately by his death 
 propitiated God, and procured for us the be- 
 nefits of the Gofpel-covenant ? The. Sociniaa 
 herefy maintains the negative fide of this 
 queftion, in oppofition to the Catholick- 
 Church, which, till thus difturbed, peaceably* 
 acquiefced in the affirmative. The Catholic 
 faith, in this important article, I have under- 
 taken to illufirate and defend : and what 1 
 have to offer may fitly be reduced to two; 
 general heads, according as its intention is 
 either dircdlly to confirm the dodrine ini 
 queflion, or to obviate objed:ions againft it.- 
 Agreeably to this divifioii, 1 propofe, in the 
 fequel: of thefe Difcourfes, 
 
 Firft, to adduce the pofitive proofs whicK 
 the Scriptures afford- in favour of this doc- 
 trine : And, 
 
 Secondly, to confider the principal objec- 
 tions which its Opponents, arid efpecially the 
 Hiflorian of the Corruptions of Chriflianity, 
 have urged againfl it. 
 
 Upon 
 
33 SERMON I. 
 
 Upon the former of thefe heads I propof^ 
 to enter in the next Difcourfe. In the mean 
 time, let no man be difappointed if Httle Ihall 
 be offered to his confideration, with which he 
 was not previoufly acquainted- It would be 
 as difficult as it is unneceiTary, to advance 
 any thing new upon a fubjedl which has 
 been fo often and fo ably difcuffed. In in- 
 veftigating any point of Chriftian doftrine, 
 all that can now be expelled, and perhaps all 
 that ought to be attempted, is to ftate with 
 accuracy and precificn what the true faith is ; 
 and having feledled the beft arguments in its 
 defence, to arrange them in the cleareft or- 
 der, and to place them in the 'moft ftriking 
 point of view; and if either new objeftions 
 have been raifed, or old ones revived, to 
 oppofe them with vigour and authority, but 
 with temper and moderation : and whoever 
 performs this fuccefsfuUy, does no mean fer* 
 vice to the caufe of truth and religion. Of 
 the prefent attempt it becomes not me to 
 fpeak : I have only to requeft your candid 
 attention to vvhat fliall be offered. 
 
 f^..- T 
 
 V 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON n. 
 
 I Tim. u 15. 
 
 
 -^Ms is a faithful faying, and inorthy of all ac- 
 ceptation, thai Chriji fefus came into the 
 'world to fame fnners, 
 
 TO deny that Jefus Chrlft is the Saviour 
 of mankind, would be in efFe<5l to deny 
 the truth of the Gofpel, and to renounce the 
 Chriftian name : and therefore^upon this great 
 and fundamental point there can be no quef- 
 tiqn among Chriftians ; all of every feft and 
 denomination muft affent to the general doc- 
 trine of the text, and, with the Apoftle, ac- 
 count it " a faithful faying, and worthy of all 
 ** acceptation." 
 
 But though Chriftians muft thus in gene- 
 ral terms afcribe the falvation of a finful 
 world to Jefus Chrili, yet concerning the 
 
 D method 
 
34 SERMON II. 
 
 method of this falvation, and the means by 
 which it was effefted, there may prevail, and 
 unhappily there has prevailed, no little differ- 
 ence of opinion. T'he Hiftorian of the Cor- 
 ruptions of Chriftianity refers it entirely to 
 the word , and doSfrine of Chrift : we, in cpn- 
 junftion with the majority of Chriftians, af- 
 cribe it immediately to his Jeat/j. According 
 to the former, the Saviour of the world is 
 merely a Prophet, commiffioned to promote 
 by his teaching the reformation of the linner : 
 accotding to the latter, he is- alfo a Prieft, 
 confecrated to appear before God in behalf of 
 marikind, and, by an offering of his own blood, 
 to make reconciliation for fms. In the So- 
 cinian fcheme^ the deati of the Saviour no 
 otherwife promotes the great end of his mif- 
 fion, than as it ferves to confirm the dodlrine 
 which he taught, and to exhibit a moll per- 
 fed; example of obedience to God : by the 
 Catholick Church it is accounted the founda- 
 tion of all our hopes of pardon and accept- 
 ance, and the means of procuring for us all 
 the benefits of the Gofpel-cOvenant. And 
 this faith of the Catholick Church refpeifling 
 the prieflly office of our Redeemer, and the 
 efficacy of his death, is that do&ine 6f 
 Atonement, the proofs of which, agreeably 
 
 to 
 
S E R M O K II. 55 
 
 to the plan propofed'in my lail Difcpurfe, I 
 am now to lay before you. 
 
 As atonement is a term borrowed from, 
 the Levitical law, and, when applied to the. 
 work of Chrift for our falvation, is to be taken 
 in its ftrid:ly legal fenfe, it will much affift 
 our inveftigation of the do6lrine in quelHon,. 
 if, in the firft place, we enquire after what 
 manner the legal atonements were made. , 
 
 We learn from the Old Tellament, that, 
 when the Ifiraelites were firft incorporated as 
 a religious body, the Tabernacle was the ap- 
 pointed place of public worfhip ; and that for, 
 the fervice of the Tabernacle the order of 
 Priefts was inftituted, to whom it exelufirely 
 belonged to ftand before God, and to perform,, 
 in the name and in behalf of the people, the 
 accuftomed rites of their -religion ; nor could- 
 the rrjembers of this facred community, 
 otherwife than through tbeir miniftration, 
 make their addreffes to God, or, when ex- 
 cluded from his favour, obtain forgi venefs and. 
 reconciliation. 
 
 The miniftration of the Priefts confifted for 
 
 the moft part in offering gifts and facrifices 
 
 for fin : for the worfhip of the Ifraelites was 
 
 entirely by facrifice; and all their addrefles to 
 
 Da the 
 
36 SERMON II. 
 
 •riie Deity were performed by means of facri- 
 'ficial rites, which ferved as fymbols or exter- 
 nal ligns of their internal afFeftions and de- 
 fires. By facrifice they addreffed themfelves 
 to God eithef in praife and thankfgiving fof 
 pafl: inftaflces of his bounty, or in prayer for 
 a continuance of his goodnefs. By facrifice 
 they implored forgivenefs for any fin or un- 
 deannefs, which had feparated them from the 
 congregation of God's people, and had ex- 
 cluded thCni from the worfhip of the Taber- 
 nacle. In this latter cafe (for with thefe fa- 
 crifices for fin, or fin-offerings as they were' 
 commonly called, ,we are principally con- 
 cerned) the Priefl: interceded for th6 ex- 
 cluded perfon, by offering or prefenting to 
 God the blood of the ^pp<)inted viAifn ; by 
 which h6 was faid to make atonement: for 
 the powet of rnalking afonertient was in the 
 blood, agreeably to the tefl:imbny of God 
 himfelf^ when he affigns the reafbn of the law 
 which forbids the eaiting of blood : '' For the' 
 *' life of the flefh is in the blood, and I hate 
 *' given it to you upon the altar to ftiake an 
 " atonement for your fouls ; for it is the blood 
 " that maketh an atonement for the foul ^Z** 
 
 * Lev. xvii. ri. 
 
 And 
 
SERMON 11. s7 
 
 And, in confequence of the atonement thus 
 made, the finner obtained forgivenefs and re- 
 admiflion to all the privileges of the Covenant. 
 It appears, then,, that under the law two 
 things were generally neceflary to atone-!- 
 ment ; a vidiim, by the offering of whofe 
 blood the atonement was made; and a Prieft, 
 by whom the blood was offered. And I con- 
 ceive; that I fhall fii^ciently prove thp doc- 
 trine in queftion, if I can fhew from the 
 Scriptures that in the Chriftian dilpenfation 
 ^ere are correfponding circumftances ; that 
 the death- or blppd of Chri{l,has a povver and 
 influence correfponding to that which, in the 
 Old Teffament is ^attributed to the blood of 
 the fm-ofSerings.; and that to Chrift himfelf 
 is afcribed an office and miniftry correfponding 
 to that which was formerly difcharged by the 
 LeviticaJ Priefts in the earthly Tabernacle. 
 In the prefent Difcourfe I Ihall enter upon the 
 proof of the former of thefe points : viz. that 
 the facred writers afcribe to the death or blood 
 of Chrift a power and influence, correfponding 
 to that which, under, the Old Teftament, wa^ 
 attributed to the blood of the fm-pfferings. 
 
 Jn fpeaking of the legal atonements*) I have 
 
 * Sjerm. I. p. a8. 
 ' , - D 3 , , already 
 
38 SERMON 11. 
 
 already had occasion to obferve, that the end 
 for which they were appointed, was to re- 
 commend and make acceptable to God the 
 things intended for his fervice, which on ac- 
 count of fbme uncleannefs or pollution were 
 difpleafing in his fight : and that, in order 
 to aceomplifh this end, they had the power 
 of removing both the pollution which had 
 occasioned the Divine dilpleafure, and alfo 
 the difpleaiure itfelf, to which the pollution 
 had given rife. Accordingly two things are 
 implied in atonement, viz. the purification 
 of the finner, and the propitiation of the di- 
 vine Being. 
 
 Now by fin we are reprefented in Scrip- 
 ture as impure, polluted <:reatures ; offenfive 
 and difpleafing to God, and obje<5ls of his 
 wrath and vengeance. But we are alfo re- 
 prefented as refcued from thefe evils by the 
 blood of Chrift ; to which is exprefsly ajferibed 
 the power of cleanfing from the pollution of 
 fin, and of procuring for us the favouf of a 
 reconciled God. 
 
 And in the firft place, purification from the 
 pollution of fin is afcribed in the Scriptures 
 to Chrift, and to the influence of his blood ; 
 by which we are faid to be jujlijied and fanc- 
 tlfied. Now to be juftified, is to be abfolved 
 
 from 
 
SERMON II. S9 
 
 ftoro guilt, and to be confidered as juft and 
 righteous. But St. Paul, fpeaking of Chrift, 
 affures the Romans, that theywere "juftified 
 " by ^ his blood ^" Again, to be fanAified, is to 
 be cleanfed from that pollution which renders 
 all mankind, in their natural ftate, odious and 
 ofFenfive in the fight of God, and tp be made 
 holy and fit for his fervice. This faji6lifying 
 power the fame Apoftle, in his EpifUe to the 
 Ephefians, gives to the death of Chrift, affert- 
 in^, that he " loved the Church, and gave 
 'f himfelf for it, that he might fanSiify and 
 " cleanfe it ^." And to the fame purpofe, in 
 his Epiftle to Titus, he declares that one o£ 
 the ends for which Chrift gave himfelf for us, 
 was, that he might " purify to himfelf a pe- 
 *^ Guliar people, zealous of good works °." In 
 the Epiflfc to the Hebrews, the blood of 
 Chrift is faid to " purge our confcience from 
 " dead works ^ ;" and we are alfo faid to be 
 " fanSi^ed through the offering of the body 
 " of Chrift \" And St. John, in the moft 
 exprefs language, declares of thofe who walk 
 in the light, /. e. who believe the Gofpel, that 
 " the blood of Jelus Chrift cimnfeth them 
 
 « Rom.,v. 9. ^ Eph. V. 25, 26. « Tit. ii. 14. 
 
 ^ Heb* Jx. 14. * Heb. x. 10. 
 
 D 4 " from 
 
40 SERMON II. 
 
 " ffom all fin ''." And in the Revelation he 
 addreffes himfelf to Chrift, under the charact 
 ter of him who '* loved us, and wajhed us 
 " from our fins in his ow^n blood '." 
 
 Secondly, the removal of God's difplea- 
 fiire, and our reftoration to his favour, are alfb 
 afcribed to Chrifl:, who is reprefented as ap- 
 pgujing or propitiating God, making our peace 
 with him, and reconciling us to him. I have 
 already'' obferved, that, in the Levitical law, 
 the Hebrew word 1fl3, which by our Tranf- 
 lators is fometimes rendered to make atonement 
 for, and fometimes to reconcile, is exprefiTed in 
 the Septuagirit verfion by i^i,'Ka,iT%o^ot.i, to ap- 
 peafe or make propitious'. In conformity to 
 this language^ our blefled Lord, in the Epiftle 
 to the Hebrews, is called " a merciful and 
 " faithful High Prieft, to make reconcilia- 
 " tion {iiq TO IXaiTKeS-Bii) for the fins of the 
 " people "." And St. John urges it as a proof 
 of the love of God towards us, that he " fent 
 '■' his Son to be the propitiation (Ixaa-f^ov) for 
 " our fins "." And in another place he com- 
 forts us with the afifurance, that, " if we fin, 
 '■^ we have an advocate with thp Father, Jefus 
 
 ^ J John i. 7. ' Rqv, i. 5. "^ Serm. I. p. 14. 
 
 1 Lev. xvi. 16, 17, 20. " Heb. ii. 17. 
 
 ^ 1 John iv. 10. 
 
 ^' Chrift 
 
SERMON II. 41 
 
 " Chfift the righteous, who is the propitia- 
 " iion (jXaff-jCtoff) for our lins °." And St. Paul, 
 having aflerted that we are juftified freely by 
 the grace of God, through the redemption 
 that is in Jefiis Chrift, goes on to declare, 
 that this Jeius " God hath fet forth to be a 
 *f propitiation (Ixa^iipiov) through faith in his 
 " blood »." 
 
 Many alfo are the paflages which fpeak of 
 Chrift as our peace-maker, and the means of 
 our reconciliation with God : luch as that of 
 St. Paul to the Romans, '^ For if when we 
 ". were enemies we were reconciled to God 
 " by the death of his Son, much more, 
 ^' being reconciled, we fhall be faved by his 
 " life. And not only fo, but we alfo joy 
 " in God through our Lord Jefus Chrift, by 
 " whorn we have now received the atone-- 
 " ment ^ ;" in the original ■iccLTO(Xka.yr,v, i. e. 
 the reconciliation, as the word was rendered 
 in the former part of the paflage '. And 
 again, in his Epiftle to the Ephefians ; " But 
 " now in Chrift Jeftis, ye, who fometimes 
 " were far off, are made nigh by the blood 
 ^' of Chrift : for he is our peace, who hath 
 
 " I John ii. 2. P Rom. iii. 25. 
 
 8 RoC . V. 10. I See Senn, J. p,. 14, 
 
 made 
 
42 SERMON II. 
 
 " made both one, and hath broken down the 
 " middle wall of partition between us, hav- 
 " ing aboliflied in his flefli the enmity, even 
 " the law of commandments contained in 
 " ordinances ; for to make in himfelf of 
 '* twain one new man, fo making peace ; and 
 " that he mi^t.reconcile both unto God in 
 " one body by the crofs, having flain the en- 
 " mity thereby '." In this pafTage the Apoftle 
 makes the death of Chrift upon the crofs, the 
 means of letting in the Gentiles to a partici- 
 pation of religious privileges, which before 
 were confined to the Jews ; and by abolifh- 
 ing the ceremonial law, which originally 
 made, and ferved ftill to keep up, a feparation 
 between them, of reducing them both into 
 one body, and of reconciling both, thus in- 
 corporated, to God. And in his Epiftle to 
 the Coloffians he affirms, that, having made 
 peace through the blood of his crofs, it pleafed 
 the Father, " by him to reconcile all things 
 " unto himfelf." 
 
 And thus with refpeft to thofe two leading 
 circumftances, which are neceilarily implied 
 in atonement, and in which, if I may fo 
 fpeak, the very elTence of atonement confifts, 
 
 ' Eph. ii. 13, 14, 15, 16. « Col, i, 20. 
 
 viz. 
 
SERMON II. 43 
 
 viz. the purification of the firmer, and the 
 propitiation of the Divine being, the blood of 
 Chrift appears to correfpond moft exadlly to 
 that blood which was given upon the Altar 
 under the legal difpenfation, and may there- 
 fore juftly be confidered as given for the fame 
 end, viz. to make an atonement for the foul. 
 
 But befides thefe pofitive declarations, 
 afcribing to Ghrift's blood that fame influence 
 by which the legal atonements were effed:ed, 
 there are alfb in the holy Scriptures various 
 parages, which tend moft powerfully to con- 
 firm the do&ine in queftion, by exhibiting 
 the death of Chrift under luch reprefentations 
 as declare it to be to us, what the fin-offer- 
 ings were to the Ifraelites of old, the means 
 of our deliverance from the punifhment of 
 fin, and of our reftoration to the favour of 
 God.' — Of thefe reprefentations, one of the 
 principal is that of a price or ranfom;. 
 
 K price, in the common acceptation of the 
 word, is fbmething given in exchange for 
 ibme other thing : and this price becomes a 
 ranfim, when it is given for the deliverance of 
 a perfon who is in a ftate of bondage or cap- 
 . tivity ; and the deliverance thus obtained is 
 •properly called redemptim. For sedemption, 
 
 in 
 
44 SERMON II. 
 
 in its original and proper meaning, is fbme- 
 what more than mere deliverance ; it is a 
 fur chafed deliverance — a deliverance efFeft'ed 
 by the payment of a ftipulate'd price ; which 
 price, as above Iftated, is properly called a 
 ranfom. 
 
 Nov7 the natural ftate of man is defcribed 
 in Scripture as a ftate of the moft abjedl and 
 fervile bondage. He is faid to be fold under 
 fm " ; to be the fervant of fin '^ ; to be under 
 the povi^er and dominion of the devil, of whom 
 he is taken captive at his will "^ : and Chrift, 
 who delivered us from this bondage, acquired 
 from hence the name of Redeemer ; the de- 
 liverance itfelf is called our redemption ; and the 
 ranfom, ox price which he paid for our redempr 
 tion, is afferted to be his own blood. - , 
 
 In the twenty rfifth chapter of Leviticus, 
 which treats of the redemption of fervants, 
 the Septuagint verfion exprefles the adl of re- 
 deeming by the verb Xurpsu ; the redemption 
 by Xurpa'irig ; and the ranfom, or price of re- 
 dedemption, by Xvtpov. The lamp language 
 is ufed in the New Teilament, to exprefs our 
 redemption from the bor^^dage of fin and Sa- 
 tan, arid from all the miferies confequent upon 
 
 " Rom, vii. 14. ' " Rom. vi. xy. * 2 Tim. ii. 36. 
 
 the 
 
Sermon ii. 
 
 45 
 
 the fell, by our Lord and Saviour 'Jefus Chrift. 
 Speaking of'himfelf, he fays, that " the Son 
 " of Man came to give his life a ranfom 
 " (XvT^ov) for many''." And St. Paullays of 
 him, that he " gaYe hitnfelf a ranfom (avri^ 
 " XvT^av) for all''." And the fame Apoftle 
 afferts of him, that " in him we have redemp- 
 " tion{rt\y aTToAuf/swCiv) through his blood, even 
 " the forgivenefs of fins »." . And St. Peter 
 fays exprcfsly, " ye w^ere not redeemed (gXu- 
 " rpwS-ijTs) with corruptible things, as filver 
 *' and gold,— but with the precious blood of 
 " Chrift^" 
 
 Of the fame import are thofe paflages 
 which reprefent us fimply as ' having • been 
 bought or purchafed by Chrift. St. Peter 
 fpeaks of fome " who denied the Lord that 
 " bought them {jov ayopa.a'a.vTa. aurag) '^ ;" and 
 fays St. Paul, *' ye are bought (^yo^aS^tjTB) with 
 " a price *:" which price is exprefsly fpeci- 
 iied in the Revelation of St. John, " Thou 
 " waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God 
 " by thy blood'' :" the word in the original is 
 jjyopao-a?, thou -haft purchafed us, or paid for 
 
 y 
 
 Matt. 
 
 xx> 28. 
 
 z 
 
 I Tim. 
 
 ii. 6. 
 
 ", Eph. 
 
 i.y. 
 
 Coll, i, 
 
 .14. 
 
 b 
 
 I Pet. 
 
 i. 18, 
 
 19. 
 
 ' 2 
 
 Pet. ii. 
 
 I. 
 
 ' I 
 
 Cor. vi. 
 
 .20. 
 
 e 
 
 Rev.v 
 
 • 9- 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 u.« 
 
46 SERMON IL 
 
 us the price of thy blood. Now that the 
 blood of Chrill, confideredias a price or ran- 
 fom, correfponds ■ in power and influence to 
 the fin-offerings under the law, is evident 
 from one of the paffages above quoted, in 
 which the redemption, afcribed to his blood, 
 is exprefsly called the forgivenefs of Jins ; the 
 very benefit which the Ifraelites obtained 
 through the legal atonements. 
 
 Another reprefentation of the death of 
 Chrift, much to our prefent purpofe, is that 
 of a punijhment undergone for us, and in 
 our Head. 
 
 Under the legal difpenfation, God was 
 pleafed to intimate his acceptance of vicarious 
 fiiffering, by the very appointment of vicSimSj 
 the fhedding of whofe blood made atonement 
 for the foul. For fmce in this cafe the death 
 of the vid:im difcharged the fmner from all 
 obligation to punifhment, what is this, in real- 
 ity, but a fubftitution of the former in the 
 room of the latter ? And this indeed may be 
 inferred from the very declaration, that it is 
 the blood that maketh an atonement for the foul : 
 that is, as the Septuagint renders it, a.vri ^^X'"!^} 
 injiead of the foul : which implies, that the 
 life of the vidim was given and accepted for 
 
 the 
 
SERMON 11. 47 
 
 the life of the fmner : or, in other words, 
 that the victim was fubftituted in the room of 
 the iinner. And this is further confirmed by 
 a ceremony, obferved at the prefentation of a 
 vidlim, intended for a fin-offering, at the door 
 of the Tabernacle. For he who brought the > 
 vidlim was commanded to lay his hand upon 
 the head of the animal ' : which adlion was 
 efteemed an acknowledgment of his own 
 guilt, and a prayer that it might be puniftied 
 in the yiftim upon which his hand was laid. 
 And accordingly we find, in the Rabbinical 
 writers,, a fet form of pirayer, which, accord- 
 ing to them, was always ufed upon this occa- 
 fion. In this form the delinquent acknow- 
 ledges his offence, and profefTes his repent- 
 ance ; and concludes with a petition that the 
 vidlina, upon which he laid his hands, might 
 ■he his .expiation. By which lafl expreffion he 
 was, as the Jews inform us, underftood to 
 mean, that the vidlim might be fubflituted in 
 his room, and that the ptmifhment which 
 iiimfelf had merited, might fall upon the 
 head of his offering ^. 
 
 f LeVi iv. 4, IS, 24, 29. 
 
 s See Outram de Sacrificiis, lib. i. cap. xv. § 10. where 
 the Reader will find the penitential forms which, as the Jews 
 themfelves affert, were antiently ufed on thefe occafions. 
 
 Now 
 
48 SERMON 11. 
 
 Now that Chrifl was. fubftituted in our 
 ftead, may be inferred from the paflages 
 above alleged, which fpeak of his blood as a 
 price or ranfom. For fince a priee is properly 
 that which is given in exchange for fbilie 
 other thing, it may be confidered as fubfti- 
 .tuted in the room of that other ; and confe- 
 quently Chrift, whofe life was given as the 
 price of our deliverance from death, may be 
 confidered as having been fubftituted in our 
 ftead. And to this agree the words of ou,r 
 Lord, above quoted; " The Son of Man came 
 *' to give his life a ranfom Jbr- many;" Xut^ov 
 avTt -TToXKcav, a ranfom injlead of mai;iy : and 
 alfo thofe of St. Paul, " He gave himfelf a 
 *' ranfom for all ;" avTiXur^ov, a ranfom m- 
 Jiead of all. 
 
 This fubftltution may alfo be inferred from 
 the words of Caiphas the High Prieft, which, 
 as St. John informs us, he Ipake prophetically 
 concerning Chrift : " It is," iays he, " expe- 
 " dient for us that one man fliould die for 
 " the people, and that the whole nation 
 *' perifh not*"." 
 
 And that Chrift was thus fubftituted in our 
 ftead, in order that, by his own fufFering, he 
 
 ^ John xi. 50. 
 
 might 
 
SERMON n. 4^ 
 
 inight deliver us from the punifhmerit dtie to 
 fin, is manifeft from thofe paiTages of Scrip- 
 ture which fpeak of him z.^ bearing our jins. 
 Ifaiah, prophefying concerning the Mefl&ah, 
 declares, that " the Lord hath laid on hirh 
 " the miquity of us all'':" and again, that 
 " he Ihkli bear the iniquities" and alfo that 
 " lie bare the Jin of many"'." And thefe 
 prophecies are ded^red in ' the ^New Tefta- 
 ment to have been accompliflied in the per- 
 fon of our bleffed Saviour ; who', according 
 to St. I^feter; *■' his ownfelf bare ourjins in his 
 " own body on the tree'." And in the 
 E^iftle to the Hebrews it is faid that " he 
 '' was 'offered to bear the Jim of many*"." 
 Now to bear Jin, as often as the idea of fuf- 
 fering is implied, is, in Scripture-language, to 
 bear fhe funijhmettt of Jin, as is evident from 
 the words of Ezekiel t " The Son 'i3ia:il not 
 " bear the iniquity of the Father " ;" where 
 the meaning, undoubtedly,' is, the Son Ihall 
 not be punijhed for the iniquity of the Father. 
 
 And that the liifFerings of Chrift are to be 
 coniidered ■ in the light of a punifhment, is 
 further evident from the words of St. Paul ; 
 
 • If, Cii, 6. "= rf. liii. li, 12. ' i Pet.ii. 24. 
 
 «■ Heb. ix. 28. " Ezek. xviii. 20. 
 
 E « Chrift 
 
5© SERMON II. 
 
 " Chrifl hath redeemed us from the curfe c^ 
 *" the law, being made a curfe for - us ; for it 
 " is written, Curfed is jcvery one that ha,ng- 
 *' eth dn ^ tree "." Where by " the curfe of 
 " the law" we are to tinderftand> the punilh- 
 ment denounced by the law againft fm ; from 
 which that we might be delivered, Chrift 
 condefcended to be conlidered as a malefadtor, 
 and to iuffer as fiich. In the fame fenfc we 
 may alfo uttderftand the Apoftle in another 
 place ; " for he hath made him to be Jin for 
 *' us, who knew no fin'." To thefe we 
 may add the paflages of Scripture, which affert 
 of Chrift, that he " fuffered for fms the 
 ** juft for the unjuft'' ;" that he " died for 
 " the ungodly ' ;" that he " gave himfelf 
 *'. for us ' ;" that he " died, for our iins ' ;" 
 and " was delivered for our offences"," 
 Theffej and a variety of fimilar expreffions, 
 which perpetually occur in the Scriptures, all 
 in their plain arid obvious fenfe conlpire to 
 prove, that Chrift, being ftibftituted in our 
 ftead, hath by his fufFefing delivered us from 
 that curfe and punifliment, to which, by reafon 
 of fm, we were become obnoxious : in this re" 
 
 o Gal. iii. 13. P 2Cor. V. 21. * i Pet. iii. 18. 
 
 ' Rorti. V. 6. » Tit. ii. 14. ' i Cot, xv. 3. 
 
 " Rom. iv. 25. 
 
 fpeft 
 
SERMON 11. sx 
 
 fped correfpqnding to the Ifegal facrifices for 
 fm, by which a iimilar deliverance was -ef- 
 feded. 
 
 I have reierved for the laft . place thofe 
 paffages of Scripture, in which the dpath of 
 Chrift is reprefented to us as a facrifice* 
 
 Among the Ifraelites, the, facrifices, which 
 their law either permitted or prefcribed,-were 
 of various kinds, and have received different 
 denominations, according to the intention of 
 the worfliipper, and the purpofe for which 
 thej were offered. If the end propofed was 
 to acknowledge a grateful fenfe of God's 
 goodnefs, and to return him thanks and praife 
 for pafl inftances of his bounty, the facrifices 
 employed for this purpofe were called eucha- 
 rijiic. If God was addrefled in order to ob- 
 tain a continuance of his favour> or to folicit 
 either deliverance from fome impending evil, 
 or the grant of fome expedled good, recourfe 
 was had to v(yws and free-^will offerings. If, 
 again, the worfliipper was in a ftate of fm 
 or uncleannefs, and was in confequence fepa- 
 rated from the congregation, and Excluded 
 from the worfliip of the Tabernacle, he im- 
 plored, forgivenef^s and re-admilE,on to his re- 
 ligious privileges, by expiatory facrifices. It 
 is to facrifices^' of this latter kind that the 
 E 2 writers 
 
5^5 Si£ II M N 11. 
 
 wpiters of the^New Teftament iri general 
 refer, when they ipeak of Chrift as a vid:im 
 ilain and offered for the fins of mankinds 
 Thus when St. Paul, in his Epiftle to the 
 Ephefians, aiTetts of Chrift, that he " loved 
 " us, and gare-'hihifelf for us, an offering and 
 " a facrifice to- God for a fweet-fmelling 
 " favour "/' what is this but afcribing to' the 
 death of Chrift the iame efFed: which the 
 burnt facrifices, under the law, once pbffelTed? 
 for from them' God is faid to have frtielled a 
 fweet favour; and they are exprefsly declared 
 to^be " accepted for the offerers, to make 
 " atonement for tliem*." 
 
 But the principal facrifices under the law, 
 to which an expiatory virt\ie is afcribed, are 
 thtjtn-offen'ngs: and accordingly to them- we 
 have moft frequent references ; and efpecially 
 to the fra-offerings which were offered on the 
 feaft of expiation. Ifaiah,* who prophefied 
 of the -Mefliah, that he fliould beaf pur ini- 
 quities, prophefied alfo,' that' his fbul fhould 
 be made an " offering for fin ^ ;" and, agree- 
 ably to this prophecy, we are told, in th6 
 Epiftle to' the Hebrews, that Chrift " was 
 *' offered to bear the fins of many "^ ;" and that 
 " we are fanftified," that is, delivered from 
 
 '' Eph. v.. 2. ^ * Lev. i. 4.-9. 
 
 y If. liii. X. 2.'Heb< ix. 28. 
 
 the 
 
& E R M 0» ^ ,:j H. ^3 
 
 tb« pollutijon of lin, « thrwgh ^a^r^ffering of 
 -." ^Kj^ , body ,"." . Jt is al;f9 with reference |p 
 the fame facirifjqes, that St^ I^etejr,^fpeaking ;of 
 our, redemption, by. thp blflo4, of Chrift, calls 
 \i)xa ." a /(««?4, without bl^mifli and ,>vithout 
 ^ fpot •' :" i^:£^, John the Baptift ftUes 
 him ";the J^^ of - God wJbiciv tak^th away 
 ", tj^ef. iin. of the worl^ *,.". ,;. jAnd perhaps th« 
 j true interpretation fii a paifB^ge above quptet^, 
 in. which it.jis faid thath? was made_yi« if^ 
 -US, is, that he was made, s^. Jin-offering for vis; 
 agreeably to ,the , . idiom of the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, in which HN^n,, which properly %ni- 
 fies^, fignifbs alfo the offiringfiox fin'. 
 
 ! But b^fides .thsfe references to therLeviti- 
 cal fa,crifices, in general, there are other paf- 
 fages of Scripture, which, in fpeaking of tlie 
 death of Qhrift, dirpdjtly rgfe^ to fuch .fecri- 
 ,ficps as were ^p,ppiijL,tjed to te offered, at Hated 
 times and%upon particular occafions. And 
 this I conceive to be the cafe with the words 
 delivered by our X'9r4 liiipfelf at the inftitus- 
 
 ' . ' . '.:,': ^ ^ 
 
 * Heb. X. iQ. •* I Pet. i. 19. * J<^ i. 29. 
 
 * '2 Cor. V. 21.' 
 
 * This idiom is preferved in the' Septuagint verfionj 
 where dfta^ia (the very word here ufed by the Apoftle) 
 Sometimes figijifies a pnroffering. S^t<Lev. iv. 21.* " ' 
 r E s tion 
 
54 S E R ^1 O N 11. 
 
 tion of the Euchari'S:, in which there appears 
 a dircA reference to the facrifices offered at 
 the dedicatibii of the Mofaical covenant. 
 
 The Eucharift is a facred rite, ordained by 
 our Lord for the exprefs purppfe of continu- 
 ing in his Church 'a perpetual memory of his 
 death, and of that peculiar benefit which the 
 fhedding of his blood was to procure for man- 
 kind, i In this holy facrament bread and wine 
 are the appointed fymbdls of his body and 
 blood. Of the bread he fays, " This is my 
 *' body :" and of the wine more, exprefsly, 
 " This IS niy blood of the New Teftament, 
 " which is Ihed for many, for the remlffion of 
 " fins ^" The mention of a New Tejiament 
 naturally reriiirids us of another, which, by the 
 introduction of this, became old, and was 
 ready to vanifh'away; And the expreffion, 
 " This is' my Mood of the New Teftament," 
 refers us immediately to that blood which 
 Mofes, ■ when he dedicated the ' Old Tefta- 
 ment, emphatically calls the blood of the 
 Covenant, or I'ejiamenti which God had 
 made with his people^. The blood of the 
 New Teftament was indeed ftied for many •, 
 even as many, pf whatever nation or kin- 
 
 s 
 
 ^ Matt. xxvi. a6j i8. s Exod, xxiy. 8. anjJHeb. ix. 2©' 
 
SERMON II. 55 
 
 dred, as fliould believe m Jefus ; in this re- 
 fped differing from the blood of the Old 
 Teftament, which was flied only for z.^ngli 
 family, the defcendants- of Abraham : but the 
 end for which it was Ihed is the fame in 
 both, viz. the remiffion of {ins. That the 
 blood of the Old Teftament had in view this 
 end, we affirm upon the authority of the 
 Epiftle to the Hebrews : f^ Whereujpon," fays 
 the Apoftle, >' neither the firft Teftament 
 " was dedicated without blood. For, when 
 " Mofes had fpoken every precept to all the 
 " people according to the law, he took the 
 *' blood of calves and of goats, with Water, 
 " and fcarlet wool, and hyffop, and fprinkledi 
 " both the book and all the people, faying, 
 *f This is the blood of the Teftament which 
 " God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, 
 " he fprinkled likewife with blood both the 
 " Taberna'cle and all the veflels of the mi- 
 " niftry. And almoft all things are by the 
 " law purged with blood ; and without fhed- 
 ".'ding of blood is no remiffion ." It is evi- 
 dent from this paftage, that the- facrifices 
 offered at the i dedication of the Old Tefta- 
 ment, were of the expiatory kind, and that 
 
 * Heb. ix. 18-— M. 
 
 E 4 the 
 
55 S E R.M)0 N IL 
 
 the blood then flied was intended to pmrify 
 the* perfons and things included withia the 
 covenant; or,tas the fame thing is alfo ex- 
 prefled in other words, to obtain for them re- 
 miffim.i that is, a_ removal of the guilt or pol- 
 lution, v<^hich rendered them unacceptable to 
 (jod. r And tha Apoftle immediately .pro- 
 ceeds to reafon from the things of the law, 
 which, •he calls patterns of things in the hea- 
 "vens \ that isj'jpatterns of the Goipel^difpen- 
 fation, ,- to the Gofpel-difpenfation' itfelf ; 
 whiehj he, declares, jwas purified after the 
 lame manner, only with blood'^of an infinitely 
 higher valu«. " It viz.% therefore neccflary 
 *' that the patterns of • things in the heavens 
 " fhould be purified with thefe ;" thefe fa- 
 crifices of brute beafts : :>"j(but the heavenly 
 " things themfelves with better facrifices than 
 " thefe V' even with the facrifice of Chrift 
 himfelf. Agreeably to our Lord's own de- 
 claration,! in the paflage more immediately 
 under confideration, ..where, fpeaking, of his 
 own blocid, which, in contradiftinAion to the 
 blood of the Mofaical covenant, he : caMs the 
 blood of the New Teftament, he afferts, that 
 it wag fl;ie4'"for the remiffion of fios." .*itis 
 
 ' Heb. ix. 23. 
 ^ ; , 4* '■ therefore 
 
SjE R M O N II. sy 
 
 tlierefore in the^^higheft degree probable tliat 
 OUT. Lord, when, he inftituted the Eucharift, 
 intended a reference to> the dedicatioi|i of the 
 Old Covenant, and to the facrifices) oife?red 
 uppn that. occasion. r This at 4eall is.certfiiji, 
 that, in fpeaking-of his own death, he, ern- 
 ploys the facrificial language of the law, and 
 afcribes to his bipod that power of cleanfing 
 from the pollution of fin, which is attributed, 
 in the Old Teftament, to the legal fm-ofFer- 
 ings. Confequently the paffage before us 
 affords a pofitive proof that the blood of 
 Chrift: was intended to make atonement ; and 
 was confidered in no other light by our Lord 
 himfelf. 
 
 But the moft illuftrious proof of the poitit 
 in queftion may be derived from this fame 
 Epiftle to the Hebrews, in which the Apoftle 
 inflitutes a comparifon, or parallel, between 
 the blood of Chrift and that blood which the " 
 legal High Prieft was accuftomed to offer, on 
 the feaft of expiation, in the inner Tabernacle, 
 or, as it is commonly called, the Holy of 
 Holies ; exprefsly maintaining, that as, by the 
 fandifying influence of the latter, the Ifrael- 
 ites were qualified for the ceremonial fervice 
 of the Tabernacle ; fo by the blood of Chrift, 
 
 l!, ' ' to 
 
58 SERMON II: 
 
 to which is afcribed a corref|)ohdiri^ influence. 
 Believers are qiialified for the fpiritual fervicc 
 required by theGofpeh 
 
 But I muft not'mow enter upon this part 
 of the argument, which will be found fuffi- 
 ciently copidiis to furnifli matter for a fepa- 
 rate Difcourfe. I fhall therefore referve the 
 full difcuffi'ori of it for the next Le^ur^,"' 
 
 SERMON 
 
S E R M O N III. 
 
 Heb. ix; 13, 14. 
 
 Tor if ihe blood of bulls and of goatSj and the 
 
 ajhes of an heifer, fiirinkling the unclean, 
 
 fanSlijietb to the purifying of the fejh: how 
 
 much more Jhall the blood qf Chrip, who, 
 
 ' through the eternal Spirit, offered himfelf "with- 
 out fpot to God, purge- your confcienie from 
 dead works to ferine the living Godf 
 
 THE defign of tliis- Eplftle to the He- 
 brews being to exalt the Chriftkn dif- 
 penfation, and to affert its pre-eminence 
 above the legal, the Apoftle, with this view, 
 arriong other thihgs^ dtaws a corhparifon, or 
 parallel, between the blood of Chrift and the 
 fin-offerings under the law; attributing to the 
 fornier a fuperior efficacy, in accorhplilhing 
 the very end for which the latter were ex- 
 prefsly inftituted, viz. the expiation of fin: 
 
 thus 
 
6o SERMON III. 
 
 thus furnifliing us with a moft convincing and 
 undeniable argument, in fupport of the doc- 
 trine forTW^iich we fqntend. . . 
 
 The 'text (in which the above-mentioned 
 parallel is drawn in the ftrongeft and moft 
 pointed manner) is iiaj^rally divided into two 
 diftindl parts or branches. In the former, the 
 Apoftle makes mention of certain facrifices, 
 ordained by the law ; to, which, in the latter, 
 he oppofes the blood of Chrift ; afcribing to 
 both, though in an unequal degree, a flanilar 
 power, for the purpofe of producing a cor- 
 reiponding effedl. , ,:;'; ■ 
 
 That we may the more readily apprehend 
 the full force of the argument to be, derived 
 from this important paffage, it will be necef- 
 fary to enter fomewhat at large into the feve- 
 ral particulars referred to by the Apoftle, and 
 efpecially thofe in the firft -branch of the text ; 
 which, accordingly, I fliall endeavour to ex- 
 plain in order. 
 
 i . ' ■ ' .1- 
 
 By the ." blopd of bulls and of~ goats," the 
 Apollle undoubtedly means thofe expiatory 
 •facrifices, which were annually offered on a fb- 
 lemn feftival, inftitutedfor the exprels purpofe 
 of maJyng an atonement for the whole congre- 
 gation of the Ifraelites ; and therefore em- 
 phatically 
 
SERMq'N III. 6 1 
 
 phatlcal'ly called the Jeaji of expiation. This 
 is evident from the context, in which 'niehtion 
 is made of the High Pri^eil's entranc^J^nto the 
 Holy of Holies, with the Hood of the facri- 
 fices here referred to ; which he was neVef 
 permitted to do, except Upon this bccafion. 
 The ceremoriies appointed to" be tifed, on 
 each return of this great folemnity, are de- 
 fcribed at large in the ffxteenth chapter of 
 Leviticus. It 'will he fufficient for out pre- 
 fent argument briefly to ftate, that, after the 
 viiSims were flain, the High Priefl took of the 
 blood, and carried it with him through the 
 vail into the inner Tabernacle, and there of- 
 fered it, or prefented it to God, by fprinkling 
 it with his finger upon and befoire the mercy- 
 feat ; making, by this ceremony, the ap- 
 pointed afonefoent. 
 
 To the blood of bulls and of goats, the 
 Apoftle 'adds, " the aftieS of an heifer fprihk- 
 " ling the unclean."- The law refpexSing 
 this victim tiiay be found in the " nineteenth 
 chapter of the book of Numbers : from which 
 we learn, that a red heifer, in w^hich was nb. 
 blemifh, and upon whofe neck the yoke had 
 n^ver come, was brought and flairi in pre- 
 sence of the Prieft ; who took of the blood, 
 and fprinkled it with his finger, fcven times, 
 
 towards 
 
6i S E R MO N III. 
 
 towards the Tabernacle, The body was then 
 burned before him, and afterwards the aflies 
 were coUedled, and laid up for the ufe of the 
 congregation, to be applied as occafion re-^ 
 quired. The mode of application was by 
 taking of the afhes, and pouring upon it 
 running water in a veffel. The unclean per- 
 Ibn was fprinkled with hyflbp dipped in this 
 water, and was by this ceremony cleanfed 
 from the pollution which he had contraded. 
 
 The text leads us to confider, in the next 
 place, the virtue and efficacy which the 
 blood or aflies of the vi(5tims here referred to, 
 "Was ordained to have ; it " fendlified to the pu- 
 " rifying of the flefli." It fanftified^ — in the 
 original dyia^ei, a word frequently ufed, in the 
 Septuagint verfion, to lignify iuch a cleanfmg 
 or purification of a thing taken from common 
 life, as confecrates it, or makes it holy and 
 meet for the iervice of God \ The Ifraelites 
 were a people precifely in this iltuation. God 
 had fele<9;ed them from the reft of mankind, 
 had called them with a holy calling, and pre- 
 pared them for his. own immediate fervice. 
 As his peculiar people, they enjoyed advan- 
 
 ' See below, p. 74. 
 
 ■tages 
 
S J RM O N , III. 6^ 
 
 tages and privileges, to which-, the other na- 
 tions of the .earth, had no pretenfion ; efpe- 
 ciajly tTie glorious privilege of accefs to God, 
 whole Tflfibleprefenqe difplayed.in the Taber- 
 nacle they were permitted to approach. 
 While other nations were afar off, and,' as it 
 were, without God in the world, cut off from 
 all conimuijion with him, and even unac- 
 quainted with his name, They were the' fa- 
 voured people of the Moft High, who con- 
 defcended to make, a covenant with them, 
 and to dv^^ell among them. .. While othet 
 nations were left to the liiggeftions of their 
 ovvn corrupt imaginations, without the know- 
 ledge of their duty, and without encourage- 
 ment to pradtife it. They had a guide to in- 
 llrudl, and promjfes to allure them : God 
 gave to; them a written law for the direction 
 of their condu6l, and covenanted to accept 
 and reward that worfliip and fervice which 
 h'imfelf had enjoined. Separate from the reffc 
 of mankind, ^ and forbidden to participate, in 
 their wicked and abomina,bIe practices, they 
 were deemed a holy people, called to a holy 
 fervice, and made capable of performing it 
 with acceptance, 
 
 it was to give them this capacity (in 
 which conlifted their dillinguilhing charafter), 
 
 that 
 
64 s:E R M O N III: 
 
 that they were originally fanBified, in the 
 fenfe above affigried to the wofd alyia.Tti, here 
 ufed by the Apoftle. For nothing dommon 
 or unclean can be acceptable to a pure atid 
 holy God; nor is any one qualified to be em- 
 ployed in his fervice, who does not poffefs 
 fuch a purity and holinefs as is fuited to the 
 nature of the fervice ka which he is called. 
 And lince the Ifraelites, before their call, 
 were not exempt from that pollution, which 
 renders 'all mankind, in their natural ftate, 
 unfit for communion with God, it pleafed 
 him to remove this- unfitnefs, and/ by a puri- 
 fication of the- uncleailnefs which occafioned 
 it, to prepare the chofen race for that holy 
 fervice to which they were appointed. And 
 for this purpofe he ordained certain facrifices, 
 to the blood of which he anilexed a clearifmg 
 and fanftifying influence ; for, as the Apoftle, 
 fpealiing of this 'very fubjedl, teftifies, in the 
 chaptei: before us, " almoft all things are by 
 " the law purged with blood ""j" purged from 
 the uncleannefs which naturally adheres to 
 them, and made holy and meet for the fer- 
 vice, of God. Hence, at the original dedica- 
 tion of the coyenant, Mofes fprinkled all the 
 
 '' Heb, ix. 22. 
 
 people 
 
S E It M O N III. ■ 65 
 
 pieople with the blood of the latcrifices offered 
 tipoh that occaflon '.• By this ceremony they 
 were' purified, and incorporated as a religious 
 "bodyl'attd were made capable of approaching 
 the prefence of God, and of perf6rhi(ing to 
 him an acceptable fervice. ■ * - 
 
 But the privilege, thus conferred, was not 
 to continue for ever. It pleafed God to make 
 with his ; people only a temporciry covenaiit, 
 which he ordained fhould" be renewed from 
 year to year continually. And for this pur- 
 pofe he inftituted a folemn feftival, called the 
 Day of Expia'tion ; on every return of which 
 he commanded that the whole congregation, 
 with every thiiig appertaining to religious 
 worfliip, fhould be purified,' and, as it were, 
 dedicated anew, by a re-confecration. And 
 fince individuals among the people Were li- 
 able to contrad: ocCafional impurities, fufE- 
 cient to exclude them from the Divine pre- 
 sence, provifiian was made for the purification 
 of fuch excluded' members, in order that they 
 might be re-admit'ted to their religious pri- 
 vileges. The facrifices referred to by the 
 Apoftle in the text, were exprefsly inftituted 
 for each of thefe occafions. There is afcribed 
 
 "= Exod. xxiv. 8. 
 
 F to 
 
66 SERMON Hi. 
 
 to them a fandlifying power;, a power of* 
 cleanfing from pollution, ajnd of making meet 
 for God's fervice. By " the blood of bulls and 
 ^ of goats" the whole congregation, on thd ap- 
 pointed feftival, was cleanfed and fanAified, 
 and the covenant renewed aiicj confirmed : the 
 ** allies of an heifer fprinkling the unclean,'* 
 removed occafional impurities, an4 reftored 
 the worftiipper to thole religious privileges, 
 from which his uncleannefs had excl^aded 
 him. 
 
 The nature of the poUutioii, for which a 
 remedy was thus provided by the law, is luf- 
 ficiently declared by the Apoftle, when he 
 affirms, that the ritSsin queftion " fandified to 
 " the purifying of the flejh ;" from which we 
 may underftand, that, under the old covenant, 
 mere external tincleannefs, which affeded 
 only the body of the worlhippfer, was fuffi- 
 cjerit to ex:clude him from the fervice of God, 
 and muft be removed before he could be re- 
 ftored to his religious privileges, 'this is' 
 evident from the law itfelf, which frequently, 
 and indeeii commonly, ordains purification, in 
 cafes where there is either no poffibility, of 
 moral uncleannefs, or no ground to impute it., 
 Inanimate things are, undoubtedly, incapable 
 
 of 
 
Sermon hi. 67 
 
 of moral uncleannefs ; yet thefe, as many of 
 them as were appointed to any facred offipe, 
 were commanded to be cleanfed and fandi- 
 fied. Thus, at the dedication of the cove- 
 nant, Mofes fpririkled with blood not only 
 the people, but alfb " the Tabernacle, and all 
 " the veffels of the miniftry ■*." And at the 
 confecration of Aaron and his family to the 
 fervice of the Tabernacle, their garments 
 were fandlified no lefs than their perfons. 
 • '* And thou fhalt take of the blood that k 
 " upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, 
 " and iprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his 
 " garments, and upon his fons, and upon the 
 " garments of his fons with him: and he 
 *' fhall be hallowed (in the Greek dyiu^ij- 
 " o-erai), and his garments, and his fons, and 
 " his fons' garments with him '." And foon 
 after, when Mofes is diredled to confecrate 
 the Altar, the command to him is, " And 
 " thou fhalt offer ievery day a bullock for a * 
 " fin-offering for atonement, and thou Ihalt 
 " cleanfe the Altar when thou haft made an 
 *' atonement for it {iv ru ayta^uv as sir eturu), 
 " And thou llialt anoint it, to fandify it (aVe 
 " u!^iot(rai ituro) ") 
 
 * Heb. ix. 21. « Exod. xxix. 2i. 
 
 ^ Exod. xxix. 36. * - 
 
 F Z An4 
 
58 SERMON II!. 
 
 And as th.6 law thus ordains purification irt 
 cafes where there is no capacity of moral un-* 
 cleannels^ fo likewife cafes may be adduced, 
 in which, whatever the capacity may be, there 
 is, neverthelefsy no ground to impute it. The 
 leprofyi for example, is a difeafe which no 
 tn^n willingly brings upon himfelf, and for 
 which no man is juftly chargeable with 
 blame : and yet the leper was accounted un- 
 holy, and unfit to appear before Gdd ; and 
 was accordingly feparated frorri the congre- 
 gation, and excluded from the worihip of the 
 Tabernacle. The fame was alfo the effedl of 
 involuntary difcharges of blood, and other 
 impuritiesi^. And in each of thefe cafes the 
 law provided certain facrifices and ceremo- 
 nies, by which the difeafed perfduj even aftei* 
 he w^as healed of his plague, was required tp 
 be cleanfed, before he was permitted to ap- 
 pear before God in the afiembly of his 
 people ''. 
 
 Thei-rites,- with vvhich our prefent fubje<^ 
 is more immediately: concerned, will be 
 found, upon examination, to have no greater 
 virtue or efficacy than thofe already: men- 
 tioned. As to the burnt heifer, the matter 
 
 « Lev. xiii. 45, 46. Num. v. 2. ■> t-ev. xiv. 4.— xv. 31. 
 :' ^ill 
 
SERMON Iir. 6g 
 
 will not admit of difpute : for by referring to 
 the law refpefting this vlftim;, we fliall £nd 
 that its afhes were never applied but for the 
 purification of external unclfcatibefe. If any 
 man touched the bddy of one who had died. 
 a natural' 'death',. of even came into the tent 
 where a dead body- was lying ^ ; or if he 
 touched the body, of one who had been llain 
 witk a ftvordin the open, fields; or if he 
 touched the bone of a man, or u grave * ; in 
 all thefe cafes he was accouhted unclean, and 
 was purified 'by being fprinkled, in the man-r 
 ner above defcribed, with the-, aljies; of the 
 burnt heifer "". And not only the man who 
 touched; the dea:d body, -was unclean, but the 
 tent alfo'in which the dead body lay,- and all 
 the; veffels, and- every thing that was in the 
 tent, were all unclean, and were purified by 
 the farrie cferemoriy". 
 
 It is evi'derit, then, from the exprefs lan- 
 guage of the law itfelf refpedling one of the 
 victims here mentioned by the Apoftle^ that 
 it was intended folely for the purification of 
 external . uncleanfteis. : • With reipedt to the 
 facrifices offered on the feaft of expiation, it 
 
 ' Num. xix. II. ^ Num. xix. 14. ' Num. xix. 16. 
 " JvTum. xix. 171 " Num. xix. j8. 
 
 F 3 may 
 
70 SERMON III. 
 
 may Be thought, perhaps, at firft view, that 
 the law afcribes to them a much higher 
 power : for we read that this iblemn feftival 
 was inftituted " to make' an atonement for the 
 ** children of lirael for ali their iins "." And 
 among the ceremonies obferved on this occa- 
 fion, the High Prieft was cornmanded to con- 
 fefs, over the fcape goat, " all the iniquities of 
 " the children of Ifrael, and all their tranfgref- 
 " fions in ^// their fins '' ;" which ftrong cxpref- 
 jGons, added to the fblemnity of the whole 
 proceeding, feein to intimate, that the end 
 propofed by thefe facrifices, was the expia-; 
 tion of fomewhat more than mere external 
 uncleannefe. But this was not the cafe. For 
 the virtue of this atonement was not confined 
 to the perfons of the liraelites, but was ex- 
 tended alfo to the Tabernacle, and to all the 
 things -employed in the fervice of God. For 
 when the High Prieft fprinkled the blood upon 
 the mercy-feat, and before th^ mercy-feat, we 
 read that the intention of this ceremony was 
 to make an atonement for the htily place ^. And 
 again, when having finifhed ^ ceremonies 
 within the Tabernacle, he is commanded to 
 go out unto the altar of burnt-ofFering, which 
 
 " Lev. xvi. 34. f Lev. xvi. 2r. * Lev. xvi. 1$. 
 
 ftood 
 
SERMON III. 7r. 
 
 ftood at the door of itke Tabernacle, to 
 fprinkle it alfo with blood,- it is for the ex- 
 prefs puTpofe of making an atoneptent for it*. 
 And when the prefcrlbed ceremonies are all 
 ended, he is exprefsly faid to have " made an 
 " end of reconciling the holy place, and the 
 " Tabernacle of the congregation, and the 
 ' " Altar'." 3ut fmce the Tabernacle, and the 
 veffels employed in the fervice of the Taber- 
 nacle, were none of th^pi capable, of moral 
 guilt, but n^verthelefs n^eeded expiation, 
 whence the neceffity of this expiation, unlels 
 to purify them from that external unclean- 
 neis which naturally adheres to all tfsrreibial 
 things ? And fince it is no where faid that thd" 
 atonement made for the holy place differed^ 
 either in kind, or in the reafoiis of its eftab?' 
 lilhment, from that which was rjjade for the 
 woi&ippers, does it not follow that the polf" 
 lution was in both the fame, and, confe- 
 quently, that the end propofedby thefe ifecri- 
 fices, was no other thai^ the expiatipn of 
 mere external uncleannefs ? 
 
 Nor let it be any objed:ion, that the im- 
 purities, for whiph this expiation was provided/ 
 are exprefsly called iniquities and Jins, For 
 
 r Lev, xvi. x%. ' LW.xvu id, 
 
 F 4 thefe 
 
fz^ SERMON III. 
 
 tbefe terms, do not;; in the language of; tfee 
 Old Teftamerit, 'n-eceffarily imply a deviation, 
 frotp »2or^/; reditiude, or a tran'fgre'ffion iof the; 
 ■tfioml. i lawi; .. but. ^re frequently ufed, when! 
 ijo thing more can be underftood than a prir 
 vation- of , that , bodify- purity which the cere-^ 
 mohiai law required. Thus we read of the- 
 irn^uity of-the fanSiuary, which; ;iti is i^id-jl the 
 Eriefts.fhall bear *., And Aarori is commanded 
 to w.ear, as a fore-front to the 'mitre, upon 
 his foreheadla plats of ^o;ld, on which was 
 engraven, x'HoLiNESS Tp the Lord, that 
 he, " may bear the iniquity of the holy things, 
 " which the children of Ifraelfball hallow in 
 *,Viall their: holy >gifts "." Thus alfo the afhes, 
 of- the burnt: heifer, though applied, only for 
 the purification: of external uncleannels, tis 
 neverthelefs gxprefsly called "the alihes of the' 
 *£? burnt heifer of>purification {or >Jin^." And 
 agairx, when a- man recovered from a leprofy,' 
 04 other involtintary difeafe, which the law 
 accountied ■ unclean, he j was required to c^ibr 
 for his cleanfing a ^;z-ofFering '. Thus, free 
 frpm blame' as the, unclean perfon muft be 
 efteemed in a rnoral poirit of view, in the eye 
 
 ' Numb. xviH. i. » Exod. xxviii. 38, 
 
 " l^um. xix. 17. " Ley. xiv. jg, 
 
 . ' of 
 
S.^E RM O N i III,. 75 
 
 a 
 
 «f- the 'law h^'^was not guiltrefs : .rhe was 
 detimed a finner ; and one whofe fin was of- 
 fii.ppEuting a,nature> as to defile eyen the 
 Tabernacle of the Moft High. . . And he, who, 
 being iii a ftate of legal uncleannefs, ftlll pre- 
 fiimedj rcgardlefs • of' the Divine ordinances, 
 to; join the ^congregation- of God's people, (and 
 to approach the Divine prefence, was ac- 
 e0UintedwQrth}[::of.'nQ:lefs, a punifliment than; 
 death'. . •. *' 'cTlierflfKttj'," fays' th& law rcfpedling 
 the laMaoit heifec' " •th^t' ihall, be:, unclean,; 
 "::andfliaU nqti purify hirnfelf, that foul fhall 
 '^-■bb cut ofFfrom the cpngregation :. becaufe 
 "■ heibhJath defiled ;tl\e Tabernacl'© of the 
 " Lord ; the 'water: of feparation hath not 
 <-'.'be€;n fprinkled." upon hirn;.. he is un-- 
 ** cleari''.'' ^tr 
 
 And this power of the, Levitieal facrifices, 
 to expiate only legal fins, is what the Apoftle; 
 muft be underftood to, mean, not jonlj in the 
 text, .but alfo at the ninth verfe of this chap- 
 ter, where he, virtually denies that they have 
 any : higher power; pofitively aflertiiig, that 
 " they could not rnake him that did the fer-: 
 "vice, perfecSi as' "peftaining to the con^ 
 f fcierice : ^wij i^wxfAivxt KoiTu (rvvei^ficriv rtXeiucrat 
 
 X Num-, xix. 20. 
 
 rov 
 
;4 SERMON m. 
 
 Tou XuTpevovToi' — of wbidh paffage, if we ^ve to 
 the word nXpua-ou the fenfe which, when ufed 
 on fimilar occafipns, it bears in the Septuagint 
 verlion '^ the meaning will be, " They could 
 " not confecretU the worfhipper, or qualify him 
 " for the office of ferving God, by purifying 
 'f^ the confcience." God had given to theni 
 fto fuch power ; nor were they in their owti 
 nature fitted for fuch a work ; iiiafmuch as; 
 they confifted folely in external obfervances, 
 and in rites with which the -body, and not 
 the confcience, of the worfhipper, was coiit 
 Cerned : or, to ufe the Apoftle's own lan- 
 guage, " they ftood only in meats and drinks, 
 " and divers waftiings, and C(^r«<3i/ ordinances, 
 " impofed on them until the time of reform-*^ 
 " ation-' ;'' until he who was the end of the 
 few fhpuld come, and be the Mediator of a 
 better covenant, eftabliflied upqn b^tte^r pro« 
 mifes than was this of Mofes. 
 
 * In the twenty-ninth chapter of Exodus, which prc- 
 fcribes the ceremonies to be obferved' in the confecration 6f 
 Aaron and his fons to the Prieft's office, this word fre- 
 quently occurs in the fenfe here afligned to it ; and in thi$ 
 Epiftle to the Hebrews, it is aJfo once taken by our Trant 
 lators in the fame fenfe^ " For the law maketh meaSigl^ 
 " Priefts which have infiripity : but the word of the oath* 
 " which was fince the law, maketh the Son, who is conje- 
 " crated- {Tirt>.iWfiinv) foi evermore." ch. vii. 28. 
 
 » Heb. ix. 10. 
 
 It 
 
SERMON III. 75 
 
 1 It appears, then, as well from the law it- 
 felf, as from the declaration of the Apoille, 
 that the rites and Sacrifices to which the text 
 refers, were intended folely to cleanfe the 
 body of the worlhipper from thofe impurities 
 which, tmder.the legal economy, difqualified 
 him from performing to God an acceptable 
 fexvlce ; they " faniftified to the purifying of 
 the flefli." llie Apoftle next aflerts the fu- 
 perior eflicacy of Chrift's blood, to qualify for 
 the fervice of God under the Chriftian dif- 
 penfation. If the blood of the Levitical fa- 
 crifices, carried by the High Prieft into the 
 Holy of Holies, had the power here afcribed 
 to it, of purifying the bodies of the Ifraelites, 
 rendering them holy and meet for the fervice 
 to which they were called, ♦' how much 
 '* more ihall the blood of Chrift, who through 
 '' the eternal fpirit offered himfelf without 
 " fpot to God, purge your confcienee from 
 ♦^ dead works^ to ferve the living God ?" 
 
 It is evident at firft view, that i&e blood 
 of Chrift, in this latter part of the text, is 
 made to correspond with the blood of bulb 
 and of goats, mentioned in the former part. 
 For thefe two are diredly oppofed to each 
 pther. " If the blood of bulls and of 
 
 " goats" 
 
;6 SERMON. III. 
 
 " goats" — " how much moJ-e the, blood of 
 " Chrift ?" And as on the feaft of expiation 
 the blaod of .the former jwas. offered by the 
 High Prieft, who for that piirpofe eptei'ed 
 with it through the vail into the inner Ta- 
 bernacle, fo Chrift is faid to have entered 
 into heaven /itfelf with his own bkod^; and, 
 as tlie text exprcfsly aflertsy to have "offered 
 i'Mmfelf to God." And this offering isfur- 
 ther ' feid ,to pi&ffefs the general qualification 
 re<^uired in all the legal.' offerings, (and in 
 tliofe appointed: for' the. feaft. of .expiation 
 amofig the feft); concerning, vvhich the law 
 ordains, that they fhould be perfedl: in their 
 kind, and without bleraifh ■ : for Chrift 
 " offered \ixmieU without fpot to God-" The 
 fpotlefs purity- required in the legal viiflims as 
 to their bodies, he poffeffed inwardly in his 
 foul ; • 'f he did no fin, neither was guile 
 " found in his, raoutb "^ ;" arid is therefore 
 not unaptly ftiled by St. Peter a lamb, the 
 emblem of purity and innocence ; " a lamb 
 *f; without blenjifti* and without fpot *." 
 , / It is alfo evident, that internal pollution, 
 or thafe defilements of the confcience which 
 "'■',' - ' ' '• ^ 
 
 * Heb. ix. 12,24. .'. ' Lev. xxii. 20, 21. 
 
 * 1 Pet. ii. 22. ' J Pet. i. 19. 
 
SERMON III. -jy 
 
 arife from fin in a moral fenfe, is here made 
 to fcorrefppnd with external pollutioh, or thofe 
 bodily defilements which were occafioned by 
 legal fin. And as the blood of the legal of- 
 ferings had the power of. cleanfing the pol- 
 luted bodies of the Ifraelites, and of purifying 
 them frbm that uncleannefs which excluded 
 them from the Divine prefence, fo even in a 
 greater degree (for the Apofiile here argues 
 from the lefs to the greater) has the blood of 
 Chrift the power of cleanfing the polluted 
 confcienc&s of Believers, and of purifying them 
 from the ftain of thofe evil works, the wages, 
 or natural defert of which, is death ^, or total 
 exchifion, and everlafting defl:ru6lion, from 
 the prefence of the Lord. " How much 
 " more Ihall the blood of Chrifi: purge your 
 " confcience from dead works ?" . 
 
 It is further evident, that the fpirittial \vor^ 
 fliip and fervice of the Gofpel is here made 
 to correfpond with the fi^r;?^/ ordinances, and 
 outward obfervances of the law. And as ^the 
 blood of the legal offerings fandlified the 
 Ifraelites, and quahfied them for the cererno- 
 nial worfhip of the Tabernacle,, fo the blood 
 of Chrift fandlifies the Chriftian Church, and 
 qualifies the true Believer for communion 
 
 ' Rom. vi. 23. 
 
 with 
 
;8 SERMON III. 
 
 with God, and for performing with accept- 
 ance that pure and fpiritual fervice which i» 
 required of him. " How much more fliall 
 *' the blood of Chrift purge y6ur coiifcience' 
 " from dead works, toferve the living Godf" 
 
 And thus does the blood of Chrift corre-' 
 fpond, in all elTential points, to the Levi- 
 tical facrifices fof fm. It is exprefsly called 
 an offering ; is affirmed, like the legal offer- 
 ings, to be perfeft and without fpot ; andj 
 like them alfo, to have the power of cleanf- 
 ing from pollution, and of qualifying^ for the 
 fervice of God. In point of real worth and 
 excellence, the legal offerings fell indeed in- 
 finitely fliort of the offering made by Chrift. 
 For the blood which was carried by the High 
 l^rieft within the vail, though accepted by 
 God, was after all bujt the blood of brute 
 beafts, and therefore in itfelf of very little 
 worth. Whereas Chrift made, in the hea- 
 venly Sandhiary, an offering of his own blood, 
 even the blood of the Son of God ; an offer- 
 ing than which the whole extent of nature 
 could not furnifh one more valuable in itfelf, 
 or more precious in the fight of God, of whofe 
 acceptance it was every way Worthy. 
 
 And as the evangelical offering is thus 
 
 more 
 
S E 11 M O N ill. 7p 
 
 ttiore valuable and excellent, fo is its efficacy 
 feroportionably greater arid more extenfive. 
 The legal offerings could only cleanfe the bo- 
 dies -of the Ifraelites, polluted with legal lirt : 
 but the blood of Chrift extends its cleanfing 
 influence eyen to the foul : it purges the con- 
 fcience from dead works ; from works for 
 which the law was fb far from pi;Oviding an 
 atonement, that it annexed to them the pe- 
 nalty of death : and confecrates the {inner to 
 a pure and fpiritual fervide ; a fervice as far 
 exceeding the ceremonial fervice of the Ta- 
 bernacle, as the inward purity of heart 
 and mind, required by the GoJ|)el, exceeds 
 the mere outward cleanlinels of the body, 
 l^vhich the law prefcribes ; and therefore more 
 worthy in itfelf, and, when performed in fin- 
 cerity, more acceptable to God, than the 
 nioft rigid and exadl compUance with all the 
 precepts of the Jewilh ritual. 
 
 The text, thus explained, applies raofi rea- 
 dily to the dodirine for which we are con- 
 tending, and affords, if I miflake not, an in- 
 controvertible argument in its fupport. This 
 argument 1 know not how to fet in a 
 ftronger point of view, than by a brief reca-^ 
 pitulation of what has been offered. 
 
 We 
 
8o S E RiM ON IH. 
 
 We learn 'from the' iaw,- given ' to 4;he de-» 
 fcendants of Abraham, that by fin, in a le^dl 
 fenfe, as it fignifies, that outward impurity 
 which afFedts the body, the Ifraelites' were 
 accounted unclean, andunfit to appcat before 
 God in the aff^mbly of his people. And we 
 learn from the law of nature, no lefs than 
 from the revealed will of God, that by fm in 
 a moral fenle, as it fignifies that inward cor- 
 ruption of heart and life which affedls the 
 confcience, we are all unclean, and unfit for 
 any communion with him, who ^Is of purer 
 eyes than to behold iniquity. For the for- 
 mer of thefe fins the law provided a remedy, 
 by appointing facrifices, to the blood or; afli6s 
 of which was annexed the power of pur-ify- 
 ing the flefh, and of reftoring the unclean 
 perfon to „.thofe religious privileges, from 
 which his . vmcleannefs had excluded him. 
 The fame, and even greater efficacy^ is by the 
 Apoftle afcribed to the blobd of Chrifi:, in 
 purifying, the confcience ; in cleanfing thofe 
 who are defiled with moral guilt, and in re- 
 moving that, inability- which- cut them off 
 from communion with God, aiid rendered 
 them unfit for his fervice. " If," fays the 
 Apoftle, M ihe blood ,of bulls and of goats, 
 " and the aflies of an heifer, Iprinkling the 
 
 " unclean. 
 
SERMON III. 8i 
 
 ** tlncleanj 3ran6tifieth {o the purifying- of 
 *' the flelh ; how much more ftaall the 
 *' blood of Chrift, who through the eternal 
 " Spirit offered himfelf without fpot to 
 " God, purge your confcience from dead 
 *' works to ^ ferve the living God ?" Now 
 fince atonement was the acknowledged confe- 
 quence of that cleanfmg influence which is 
 here afcribed to thfefe' L/evitical facrifices for 
 iin,:who, after the parallel thus drawn by 
 the Apoftle, is prepared to afTert, that the 
 offering, which Chrifl is faid to have made 
 of himfelf to God, was not for atonement 
 alfo? 
 
 Having now, in this and the preceding 
 Difcourfe, laid bfefore you what appears to me 
 the moft material p^-t of that abundant 
 evidence which the Scriptures afford, in fup- 
 port of the firfl pofition which I undertook 
 to prove, it may be of ufe in this place 
 briefly to obferve, by way of recapitulation, 
 that the proofs of this pofition have been 
 derived, firft, from the pofitive declarations 
 of Scripture, which afcribe to the blood of 
 Chrifl the general effefts and properties of a 
 propitiatory facrifice : fecondly, from the 
 fcriptural representations of > his death, by 
 Q which 
 
Si SERMON lit. 
 
 which it is exhibited to us under the thre^ 
 following views — as a price, as a punilh- 
 ment, ^nd as a fin-ofFering : thirdly, and 
 chiefly, from that exprefs comparifon, with 
 refpedl to this very point, which the Apoftle 
 to the Hebrews inftitutes between the Law 
 and the Gofpel. And frdm the whole it is, 
 I trail, fufficiently manifeft, that the facred 
 writers afcribe to the blood or death of 
 Chrift a power and influence, correlponding 
 to that which, under the Old Tefliament, was 
 attributed to the facrifices for fm. 
 
 The next thing to be fliewn, is, that the! 
 Scriptures afcribe to Chrifl: himfelf an ofiice 
 and miniftry, correlponding to that which was 
 antiently difcharged by the Levitical Priefts 
 in the Tabernacle erefted by Mofes, And 
 this I fhall make the fubjed of the next 
 Difcourle. 
 
 SERMON 
 
S E E M O N IV. 
 
 Heb. viii. I, 5, 
 
 We havefuch an High Prieji, who is fet on the 
 right hand of the throne of the Majejiy in the 
 heavens ; a minijler of the SanSiuary, and of 
 the true Tabernacle which the Lord pitched, 
 and not man. 
 
 TH E connexion of the Law with the 
 Gofpel, and the end for which, conli - 
 dered as fo conne6leid, it was originally or- 
 dained, is virtually afferted by St Paul, in his 
 'Epiftle to the Galatians. " The law," fays 
 he, *' was our fchoolmafter, to bring us unto 
 " Chrift \" By which we may underftand 
 that the legal difpenfation was inftituted for 
 the times before the comiifg of our Lord, \» 
 
 * Gal. iii. 24$ - ' ' ' 
 
 G 2 prepare 
 
84 SERMON IV. / 
 
 prcpirfe the people of God for the appeararice' 
 of the promifed Saviour, and to inftrudl them 
 in the nature and defign of his miffion. This 
 ■was its original ehd and defignation : and in 
 order to accomplifh this end, it was fo dif- 
 pofed by Divine wifdom, as to correfpond, in 
 ill eflential points, to that bettei- difpenfation, 
 by which in the fulnefs of time it was to be 
 fucceeded, and of which it is exprefsly called 
 the iype, that is, the fiattern of model. 
 
 Nor is the benefit yet ceafed. For now, 
 ihat this better difpenfation is fiiUy eftab* 
 lifhed, it ho lefs ferves for our inftrucflion in 
 the knowledge of Chrift and his religion : and 
 we may promife to ourfelves no little affift- 
 ance in elucidating- any obfcure or disputed 
 point relating to the Gofpel, by referring it 
 (under the dired:ion of the holy Scriptures) to 
 its correfponding circumftarice in the law. Of 
 its ufe in this refped: we have already, had 
 abundant experieiice : let us therefore, in the 
 fucceeding part of our enquiry, purfue the 
 fame method : and as we before flie wed that 
 the blaod of Chrift has a power and efficacy, 
 eorr'efponding to that which is attributed to 
 the Sacrifices for fin under the Old Teftament ; 
 fo let us now enquire, whether the Scriptures 
 do not afcribe to Chrift himfelf an office and 
 
 miniftry. 
 
SERMON IV. 85 
 
 /- 
 miniftry, correiponding.to that which was an- 
 tiently difcharged by the Levitical Priefls in 
 the Tabernacle ereifled by Mofes. 
 
 Under the legal oeconomy the priefthood 
 was confined to the family of Aaron, which 
 was taken from among the children, of Ifrael, 
 and appointed to Hand before God in the holy 
 place, and to minifter unto him. The na- 
 ture and d^fign. of th^ir office may be learned 
 from the Epiftle to the Hebrews. " Every 
 f High Prieft," fays the Apoftle, " taken 
 'f from among men, is ordained for men in 
 " things pertaining to God, that he may 
 " offer both gifts and facrifices for fins ''." He 
 is indeed, as we preiently after read, " called 
 " of God %" deriving all his title, to perform 
 the fundiions of his office, from Divine ■ ap- 
 pointment : but " he is ordained for men," 
 ading on their behalf, and for their benefit, 
 '' in things pertaining to God ;' performing 
 the aqcuftomed rites of religion, in order that 
 he may propitiate God, and make reconciliaT 
 tion for fins. Now what the Apofl;le here 
 aflerts of the High Prieft, of whom his fub- 
 je(3: led him particularly to fpeak, is equally 
 
 ^. Heb. V. I, ^ f Heb, v. 4. 
 
 G 3 true 
 
8^ SERMON IV. 
 
 true of all the Priefts. They were all " called of 
 " God," and were all appointed to " offer gifts 
 " and faCrifices for fms :" it may therefore be , 
 faid of them all, that they were " ordained for 
 " men in things pertaining to God." And hence 
 we infer in general, that the priefthood was in- 
 flituted for the benefit of men, but that the 
 Prieft, in the execution of his office, had re- 
 fpe6l unto God, to whom his miniftiry was 
 immediately addreffed. A Prieft, therefore,, 
 may be confidered as the Mediator between 
 God and men, or, as the Advocate of men 
 with God, commending them and their con^ 
 cerns to the Divine favour and protedlion, 
 and interceding for theni, that, notwith- 
 ftanding their fms and offences, God would 
 not for ever caft them out of his favour, 
 but would at length ceafe from his difplea- 
 fure, and again be gracious unto them. 
 
 That interpofition may in any cafe be at- 
 tended with fuccefs, two qualifications are 
 efpecially required in a Mediator : firft, that 
 he be acceptable to the perfon with whom he 
 interpofes ; for without an intereft of this 
 kind, the interpofition would be impertinent 
 and prefiamptuous, and confequently unfiic- 
 cefsful : fecondly, that ' he be ferioufly con- 
 cerned for the welfare of thbfe for whom he 
 
 interpofes ; 
 
SERMON IV. 8/ 
 
 interpofes ; otherwife, whatever his intereft 
 might be, it would be weakly and ineffec- 
 tually exerted. In both thefe, refpeAs the 
 legal Priefts were duly qualified to interpofe 
 between God and his people. They were a 
 holy race, called by God himfelf, and fepa^- 
 rated to their holy fund;ion by fplemn rites of 
 confecratiori : they were purified by ablutions 
 and facrifices, were fprinkled with the con^^ 
 fecrating oil, and invefted with hallowed gar- 
 ments ; and were thus fitted and prepared to 
 perforrn with acceptance that holy fervice to 
 which they were called. And as the fanclity, 
 thus irnprefled upon their charadler, rendered 
 them acceptable Mediators to God, fo their 
 relation to the people, from among whom 
 they were taken, engaged them to a faithful 
 &iid earneft difcharge of their miniftry. They 
 were all, both Priefts and People, defcended 
 from one common ftock, and were all in- 
 cluded within the fame covenant : and there- 
 fore the Prieft had a real intereft in the wel- 
 fare of the People ; and being, moreover, 
 himfelf encompafted with infirmity, he was 
 taught to pity and relieve the infirmities of 
 jhis brethren. 
 
 The interceffion of the Prieft is neceffarily 
 implied in hb offering for fm : and whoever 
 
 G 4 ^mong 
 
88 SERMON W. 
 
 among the Ifraelites, on account of any fin or 
 uncleannefs, was excluded from the worlhip 
 of the Tabernacle, could only recover the Di- 
 vine favour through the interceilion of the 
 Prieft, who was faid on thefe occafions fo make 
 atonement ; which he ordinarily did by ap- 
 pearing before God in the holy place, with 
 the blood of the appointed victim. An offer- 
 ing of blood was not indeed fo abfolutely re- 
 quired, but that on particular occafions the 
 law in this refpedt was relaxed ; as in the cafe 
 of extreme poverty, when the fubftitution of 
 a lefs expeniive offering was allowed *. But 
 on all occafions the miniflry of the Priefl was 
 fo indilpenfably nccelfary, that without it no 
 atonement could be made. Hence atone- ' 
 ment is ufiially afcribed to the ad; of the 
 Priefl ; and if any man had committed any 
 fin, or had contrafted, any uncleannefs, for 
 which the law had provided an atonement, 
 he was commanded to take the , appointed 
 offering to the Priefl ; and " the Priefl," fays 
 the law, ■' fhall make an atonement for him, 
 *« for his fm which he hath finned, and it fhall 
 " be forgiven him ' ;" and again, in the cafe 
 of an unclean perfon, " and the Priefl fhall 
 
 ^ Leiir. V. II. • Lev. v. lo, 13. 
 
 " make 
 
SERMON IV. 89 
 
 *' make an atonement for him, and he fhall 
 " be clean ^" So again on the feaft of ex- 
 piation, when an atonement was annually 
 made for the Tabernacle, the Altar, and the 
 whole Congregation, it was only by the mi- 
 niftry of the High Prieft,- that the fanftifying 
 power which the blood pofleffed, was applied, 
 and, as it were, called forth into ad:ion^. 
 And thus, as on the one hand the Prieft could 
 not ordinarily make atonement without an 
 offering of blood ; fo neither, on the other, 
 was the blood efFedtual, unlefs offered by the 
 Prieft : to his a&. the atonement is exprefsly 
 afcribed ; and only by his interceflion was 
 forgivenefs to be obtained. 
 
 In like manner, under the Gofpel-difpen- 
 fation, forgivenefs of fins, and our reconciliation 
 to God, are afcribed to the interceflion of Jefus 
 Chrift. He is exprefsly called our " Advocate 
 " with the Father •• ;" " a High Prieft over 
 " the houfe of God ' ;" " a minifter of the" 
 heavenly " fandiuary, and of the true Taber- 
 *' nacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. " 
 And this miniftry he is faid to have obtained, 
 
 ^ Lev. xiv. ao. s Lev. xvi. 16, 33. 
 
 J* I Johnii. I, i Heb. x. ?r. 
 
 like 
 
50 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 like the legal Priefts, by the exprefs appoint-j 
 ment of God himfelf : for as under the law, 
 " no man taketh this honour unto himfelf, 
 " but he that is called of God, as was Aaron ; 
 " fo alfo, Chrift glorified not himfelf, to be 
 " made an High iPrieft ; but he that faid 
 " unto him. Thou art my fon, to-day have \ 
 " begotten thee ''." 
 
 The qualifications, neceffary to enfure fiic- 
 cefs to the interpofition of a mediator, are alfo 
 afcribed to Ghrift. He is both acceptable ta 
 God, and compaffionately affected towards, 
 men. The legal Priefts derived their accept- 
 ablenefs from the fandlity of their charafter. 
 In like manner the Apoftle affirms, " that 
 " fuch an High Prieft became us, who is 
 ** holy, harmlefs, ,, undefiled, feparate from 
 " finners V And, when fpoken of in the 
 charadler of our advocate with the Father, he 
 is exprefsly called " Jefus Chrift the righteous °." 
 And by this fpotlefs purity, this holinefs of 
 foul and fpirit, typified by the external fanc- 
 tity of the legal Priefts, he is eminently qualir 
 fied to appear before God : and we are fur- 
 ther aflured, that his mediation is, in a pecu- 
 liar manner, acceptable to his heavenly Fa-> 
 
 ^ Heb. V. 4, 5.. ' Heb. vii. 26. ■" 1 John Ji- I- 
 
 ther. 
 
I I 
 
 SERMON rv. 51 
 
 ther, who declared of him by a voice from 
 heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in whom 
 *' I am well pleafed "." To this acceptable-^ 
 nefs in the fight of God, the Apoftle adds a 
 compaffionate regard for men, which he de- 
 rived from having hiftifelf experienced the in- 
 firmities of our nature. " For we have not 
 " an High Prieft which cannot be touched 
 " with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was 
 " in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
 " without fin °." " For verily he took not on 
 " him the nature of angels, but he took on 
 " him the feed of Abraham : wherefore in 
 *' all things it behoved him to be made like 
 " unto his brethren ; that he might be a 
 " merciful and faithful High Priefl in things 
 " pertaining ' to God, to make reconciliation 
 " for the fins of the people. For in that he 
 " himfelf hath fuffered, being tempted, he is 
 " able to fuccourthem thatare tempted'." 
 
 And not only do the facred writers afcribe 
 to Chrifl the title and qualifications requifite 
 for the prieflhood, but alfo the peculiar func- 
 tions of the office ; declaring, that in the 
 heavenly fandluary he made an offering to 
 God, even an offering of himfelf, or of his 
 
 » Matt. iii. 17. " Heb. iv. 15. p Heb. ii. 16, 17, 18. 
 
 own 
 
93 SERMON IV. 
 
 own blood " : that he put a^ay fin by the fa- 
 crifice of himfelf ' : that he by himfelf purged 
 our fins ' : that he fandlified the people with 
 his own blood ' : that he appears for us in 
 the prefence of God " : that he is at the 
 right hand of God, makifig interceffion for 
 us "" : all of them adls purely facerdotal, and 
 which cannot be afcribed to Chrift iri any but 
 the prieftly charadier. 
 
 But the truth of our general poiitlon will 
 more fully appear, by attending to the pa- 
 rallel which the Apoftle, in his Epiftle to the 
 Hebrews, draws between the Law and the 
 Gofpel. For this parallel is not confined to 
 the correfponding circumftances, with refpedl 
 to which it has been already confidered ; viz. 
 the blood of Chrift, and that of the legal fa- 
 crifices offered by the High Priefl on the 
 feaft of expiation ; but is extended alfo to 
 Chrift and the High Prieft confidered per- 
 ibnally, between whom a correfpondenqe, no 
 lefs exadl, is exprefsly maintained."^ 
 
 Of all the Priefts who officiated in the 
 Tabernacle, the High Prieft,. as his name 
 
 ? Heb. ix. 12, 14. ' Heb. ix. 26. 
 
 » Heb. 1,3. ' Heb. xiii. 12. 
 
 " Heb. ix. 24. " Rom. viii. 34. 
 
 imports, ^ 
 
SERMON IVi $3 
 
 imports, was the chief. He was feledted 
 from among the firft-born, and was initiated 
 by the iblemn ceremony of anointing. To 
 his charadler and office a peculiar holinefs was 
 annexed ; and to his adminiftration was com- 
 mitted that moft facred rite, by which the 
 covenant was annually renewed and con- 
 firmed : for to him it exclulively belonged to 
 offer for lin on the feall of expiation ; and 
 thus, while the miniftry of the inferior Priefts 
 was confiiied to the faii6luary, or outer Taber? 
 naclCi he was permitted to enter within the 
 vail into the Holy of Holies, or inner Taber- 
 .nacle : and his miniftry in this moft holy 
 .place is exprefsly laid to prefigvyre the minif- 
 try of Chrift in the heavenly fandluary, that' 
 " true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, 
 " and not man." 
 
 Under the legal economy there was a 
 double oblation of the vidims intended for 
 atonement. Of thefe the firft took place 
 while the viftim was yet alive ; and was 
 made by the prefentation of the animal itfelf 
 at the door of the Tabernacle. But by this 
 oblation no atonement was made : , it was 
 preparatory merely to that fecond and grand 
 oblaticMi, which took place within the Taber- 
 nacle, after the blood of the viftjm was Ihed. 
 
 On 
 
$4 SERMON IV. 
 
 On the feaft of expiation, the firfl: oblation 
 *Was made by the High Prieft, who prefented 
 the victims, fele6ted for this occafion, before 
 the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle, fetting 
 ihem apart by this ceremonyj and fanSlifymgi 
 •or confecratiftg them to that holy fervice foi* 
 which they were appointed. Correfponding 
 to this oblation was our Saviour Ghrift's / vo- 
 luntary resignation of himfelf to that painful 
 "and ignominious death which he fuffered for 
 our fake ; in teference to which he fays of 
 Ihirnfelf, in that prayer of his recorded by St. 
 John, which he addrefled to God immedi- 
 ately before his paffion, that h.Qfan5iified him- 
 felf for his Difciples ' : that is, as Commen- 
 tators obferve, that he offered himfelf to God 
 as a piacular vidlim ''. Agreeably to which 
 St Paul afferts, that he " became obedient 
 *' unto death, even the death of the crols "^ :" 
 and in another place more exprefsly, he " gave 
 " himfelf for us, an offering atid a facrifice to 
 ** God^" 
 
 The fecond oblation (with which we are 
 ^principally concerned in the prefent argu«- 
 ment) was made in the inner Tabernacle, 
 
 » John xvii. 19, ^ Vid. Whitby ift loc 
 
 * Phil. ii. «. » Eph. V. i. 
 
 into 
 
S E R M O N iV. ' t)| 
 
 into which the High Prieft, on this feaft of 
 txpiatidn, and never on any other occaiion, 
 entered alone through the vail with the blood 
 of the appointed facrifices; which he there 
 offered, by fprinkling it with his finger, upon 
 and before the mercy-feat ''. The inner Ta- 
 bernacle was the place in which God was faid 
 to dwell ; for there his glory was vifibly dif- 
 played, from between the two cherubims 
 which overlhadowed the mercy-feat'; and is 
 therefore an apt reprefentation of heaven, the 
 brighteft habitation of God's holinefs and 
 glory, into which Chrift, as the Apoftle aflures 
 us, is now entered with his own blood ; and 
 that for the exprefs purpofe, as the Apoftle 
 further aflures us, of offering it to God *. 
 
 But not , only does the Apoftle aflSgn to 
 Chrift, for the difcharge of his miniftry, a 
 place correfponding to that of which the 
 High Prieft w^as exclufively the minifter ; he 
 further afcribes to the miniftry of each, in 
 his refpeiSive place, a correfponding effeft. 
 
 In fpeaking of the feaft of expiation, I 
 have already, in a former difcourfe % had oc-- 
 
 * Lev. xvi. 14, 15, ' Exod. xxV. 8, 22. Pf. Ixxx, I, 
 
 * Heb. ix. 12, 14, f Serm, III. 
 
 caflpn 
 
^6 SERMON IV. 
 
 calion to confider the reafons of its eftablifli"' 
 ment, and the efficacy of* that blood, which 
 the liigK Prieft was accufiomed to offer in 
 the Hoiy of Holies. It will therefore be fuf- 
 ficient in this place briefly to obferve, that, at 
 the original dedication of the covenant, when 
 the Ilraelites were firft incorporated as a reli- 
 gious body, it pleafed God to confecrate 
 them, and feparate them to his fervice, by 
 ordaining, that they, and every thing to be em- 
 ployed in religious worlhip, fliould be purged 
 with blood. And, as he was pleafed to make 
 with them only a temporary covenant, he 
 further thought fit to ordain an annual repe- 
 tition of this ceremonial of confecration : and 
 for this purpofe he inflituted the feafl of ex- 
 piation ; on every return of which he com- 
 manded that tjie whole congregation, with 
 every thing appertaining to religious worlhip, 
 fhould be purified, and, as it were, confecrated 
 anew : which was accordingly done> by the 
 offering of the High Prieft in the Holy of 
 Holies. From all which it appears, that the 
 efFeft, produced by the mlniftry of the High 
 Priefi, was nothing lefs than the confecratioit 
 of the whole legal- economy for the enfuing 
 year ; the purification of the Tabernacle, that 
 it might be a fit refidence for the Deity ; and 
 
 the 
 
SERMON iV. ^7 
 
 the fandtificatidn of the people, that they 
 might be qualified for the holy fervice to 
 which they were called. 
 
 In like manner the Chiriftian Church was 
 ianiftified and preparfcd, by the offering of the 
 blood of Chrifl; " It was necjeffary," fays 
 theApoftle, " that the patterns of things in the 
 " heavens Ihould be purified with thefe" fa- 
 Crififces of beafls, " but the heaijenly things 
 " themfelves with better facrifices than thefe "^ ;" 
 even with the faCrifice of Chrifl himfelf. And 
 again, fpeaking of the offering which Chrifl 
 made of himfelf in heaven,/ he declares, that 
 by this offering he " perfeSied them that are 
 *' fandlified ^ ;" he perfe6led ; in the original 
 TBTikiiuKBv, he confecrated or dedicated; for 
 fuch, as I have already obferved ^, is the mean- 
 ing of the word, when ufedon fimilar oeca- 
 lions, in the Septuagint verfioiri : and that it 
 can have no other meaning in this pafTage, is 
 evident from the whole fcope of the Appflle's 
 argument, which manifeflly requires that' the 
 fame effed; fhould be afcribed to the offering 
 of Chrifl in heaven, which the offering of the 
 High Priefl in the Holy of Holies was ap- 
 pointed to produce ; and that, unqueflionably, 
 
 ^ Hcb, ix. 23. 8 Heb. x. 14. '' Sertn. III. p. 74. 
 H is. 
 
98 SERMON IV- 
 
 is, the cojifecration of thofe who partake of it$ 
 falutary influence. 
 
 And as, by the miniftry of the High Prleft^^ 
 the Ifraelites were quahfied for the worfhip of 
 the Tabernacle, fo li'kewife, through the offer- 
 ing made by Jefiis Chrift, we obtain permif- 
 fion to approach the prefence of God, and to 
 ferve; hini with acceptance. St. Paul aflure& 
 us, that through Chrift " we have accepurvto 
 " the Father ' ;" and again, that in him " we 
 " have boldnefs, and fiff^ with confidence'':" 
 and in thisJEpiftle to the Hebrews, the con- 
 fideration that " we have a great High Prieft,^ 
 " that is paifed into the heavens,Jefus the Son 
 " of God," is held out as an encouragement 
 to us to " cojne boldly to the throne of grace'." 
 And again in t^he tenth chapter, the Apoftle, 
 at the conclufion of his difcourfe upon the' 
 Priefthood of Chriit, and the benefits which 
 we derive from it, exhorts us to " dranjo near 
 " with a true heart, iafull aflurance of faith ""."^ 
 From all which it is manifeft that Jefus Chrift 
 is to us, under the Gofpel, what the High. 
 Prieft was to the Ifraelites of old. By his 
 office and miniftry in the heavenly Taber- 
 
 » Eph. ii. i8. ^ Eph. iii. 12. 
 
 ' Heb. iv. 14, 16. " Heb. x, aa. 
 
 nacic. 
 
SERMON IV. $9 
 
 fiaele, he faniftified and confecrated the whole 
 Chriftian Church, aiid hath- obtained for all 
 the members of it the glorious privilege of 
 accefi to God. 
 
 But whilei-Upon the authority of the 
 Apoft'le, we thus maintain a correfpondence 
 between Chrift, in his prieflly charadier, and 
 the legal High Prieft, let us not forgfet that 
 the chief defign of this Epiftle to the Hebrews, , 
 is to Ihew that the miniftry which Chrift hath 
 obtained, is more excellent than that to which 
 th^y were called who ferved^the Tabefnaclfc. 
 Accordingly, in the courfe of this Epiftle we 
 find enumerated a variety of circumftances, 
 in which this fuperior excellency confifts. By 
 following the Apoftle in this part of his argu- 
 ment, while we confirm the point concerning 
 which we are more immediately enquiring, 
 We fhall at the fame time acquire a more 
 diftinft view of the whole dodlrine tinder con- 
 fideration, and be able to afcertain, with 
 greater cleatnefs, the nature of thofe benefits 
 which our great High Prieft hath obtained for 
 us, 
 
 NoW' one drcumftance, upon which is 
 
 founded the fuperior excellency of Chrift's 
 
 H 3 priefthood 
 
loo SERMON IV*. 
 
 priefthood above that of the legal Priefts, iS', 
 the cpntinuance and unchangeablenejs of his office i 
 " Thou," fays the Apoftle, applying to our 
 Lord the words of the royal Prophet, in the 
 hundred and tenth Pfalm, " thou art a Prieft 
 •' for ever,. after the order of Melchiledeck "." 
 The law making men High Priefts which had 
 infirraitiy ", there was of neceffity a perpetual 
 change of the perfon who filled the oiRcCi 
 " They," that is, the High Priefts of the or- 
 der of Aaron, " were not fuffered to conti- 
 " riue, by reafori of death '' :" confequently 
 they were many in number, fucceeding each 
 other in a continued feries, till at ^length the 
 whole or-der was changed and abolifhed, by 
 the eftablifhment of that priefthood which it 
 typified and prefigured '. But the priefthood 
 of our Lord is without fiiccefifi.on or change : 
 he is in reality what Melchifedeck, from the 
 filence of the Scriptures refpedling him, is faid 
 to be, " a Prieft for ever." With refped: to 
 Melchifedeck, we read of no Prieft who went 
 before him in the order to which he belonged, 
 nor of any by whom he was fucceeded. In 
 his priefthood he ftands fmgly and alone ; nor 
 
 » Heb. vii. 17. ° Heb. vii. 28. 
 
 p Heb. vii. 23. ' Heb. vii. n, 12. 
 
 is 
 
SERMON IV. loi 
 
 is any thing recorded refpeding his genealogy 
 or family, his parentage or birth, his admif- 
 fion to the priefthood, or his removal, from it 
 by death ; on which account he is faid by the 
 Apdftle to be *' without father, without mo- 
 " ther, and without defcent;" to have " nei- 
 " ther beginning of days, nor end of life," 
 but to abidd " a Prieft continually '." In like 
 manner the prieflhood of our Lord: is un- 
 changeable, and without end. He is "a Prieft 
 *^ for ever," and will throughout all ages con- 
 tinue to exercife his miniftry for the benefit of 
 that Church, which he hath purchafed with 
 his own blood ; and having an unchangeable 
 priefthood, " he . is able to fave them to the 
 '■ uttermoft, that come unto God by him, 
 " feeing he ever liveth to make interceffion 
 " for them '." 
 
 Another circumftance, on account of which 
 ■the priefthood of our Lord is more excellent 
 than that of the fons of Aaron, is; t&e fuperior 
 efficacy of his minijlry. By a ^ngle offering he 
 confecrated at once, and for ever, his whole 
 Church, fo as to include not only the indivi- 
 dual members of whom it was then compofed, 
 
 ' Heb. vii, 3. » Heb. vii. 24, 25. 
 
 H 3 but 
 
103 SERMON IV. 
 
 but like wife, all who fliould, in after times, be 
 ingrafted into it by baptifm : or, ,to uf^ the 
 words of the Apoftle, " by one offering he 
 " hath perfected for ever them that are 
 *' fandified '."' But this the legal High 
 Priefts could nqt. dp. " The law," fays the 
 Apoftle,, " having a ihadow of good things to 
 *' come, and not the very image of the things, 
 " can never, with thofe facrifices which they 
 " offered year by year continually, make the 
 "■ comers thereunto perfedl " :" or rather, as 
 the paiTage fliould be tranflated, " cannot, 
 *' with thofe facrifices which they offer yet^r 
 " by year, make perfedtyor ev(r" that is, con- 
 fecrate for ever, " thofe who come untQ 
 *' Godi" viz. the wprfliippers of the Taber- 
 nacle. And the infiifficiency of the legal 
 economy in this refped, the ApQfjlle proceeds 
 to argue from the continual repetition of thefe 
 facrifices. " For then would they not have 
 " ceafed to be offered ?" Yes, verily : for to 
 what purpofe fliould that be repeated, which 
 has already anfwered the end propofed ^ 
 Whence the neceffity of an annual purifica-s 
 
 ' Heb. X. 14. 
 
 xtyariiDi •^r^a.yjjMruv , xatr etnnvrovvau; auraif Soffiai?, a{ irfoirfifucrtv, 
 si; TO ^ojjExsf sfeTroTs ^vt/nrcfi rus wfoff'efp^ijfiEifaf riXHtiir^t. Heb, 
 
 X. I, ;- • 
 
 tion>. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 03 
 
 tiorii if the worlhippers, by one offering, had 
 been confecrated ^or ever ? And of this the 
 worlhippers themfelveg would not have been 
 ignorant : becaufe that being " once purged," 
 or, rather, being completely purged by one offer- 
 ing*', they would " have had no niore con- 
 " fcience of fins ;" they would not have been 
 confcious that any further offering was necef- 
 fary to cleanfe and prepare them for the wor- 
 ihip of God, But, on the other hand, they 
 well knew that their peculiar privileges were 
 not conferred by a perpetual gift, but were 
 granted only for a year ; at the expiration of 
 which their covenant would be void, unlefs 
 renewed in the appointed manner ; and they 
 themfelves -vvould revest to their original inca- 
 pacity of approaching the Divine prefence, un- 
 lefs qualified afrelh by a recoafecration. And 
 therefore in thefe le^al facrifices there was ^' a 
 *' remembrance again made of fins every year, 
 
 " a?ra|xexaS^gH£»85 — The Apoftle in another place u(es 
 ^ fimilar expreffion. " ,Who needeth not daily, as thofe 
 " High Priefts, to offer up facrifice, firft for his own fins, 
 *' and then for, the peojde's; for this he did cmc?, when he 
 « offered up himfelf." " Semel, i^nitotL Magna eft hoc 
 " in locq, et aliis deinceps pluribus, hujus adverbii em- 
 ^ phdfis. Significat enim quod femel faftum eft, ita abfo- 
 '^ lutum fuiffe, ut repetere nujlo modo fit neceffe." Bez^ 
 Annot. inHeb.-vii. 27. 
 
 H 4 '' For 
 
104 SERMON IV. 
 
 " For it is not poflfible that the l?lqod of bulls 
 *' and pf goats Ihould take away fins " ;" tha^ 
 is, ftiQuld takp them away cortipjetely and for 
 ever. It had no iiich power in its own na-r 
 ture, nor had it received any fu9h ftom the 
 appointment of God. But what the legal 
 pfferings could only do by an annual repetition, 
 Ghrift, ^ by one offering, effedled for ever. 
 " By his own blood he entered in once into 
 " the holy place, having obtained eternql re- 
 " demption for us ''." - " For Chfifl: is • not 
 " entered into the hqly places m^de, with 
 " hands," into the earthly Tabernacle ereifled 
 by Mof^s, " but into heaven itfelf, now to 
 " appear \r\ the prefence of Gpd for us ; nor 
 " yet that he Ihould offer himf.^.lf often, as 
 " the, High Prieft entereth into the, holy 
 " place, every year with blood of others: (for 
 " then muft he often have fuffered fince the 
 " foundation pf the world) b,ut now once 
 " in the end of the world, hath he appeared 
 " to put away fin by the facrifice of him- 
 " felf ^" " And every Priefl ftandeth daily 
 " (that is, on everj day of expiation '), 
 
 '* miniflering 
 
 I 
 
 =5 Heb. 3C. i — 4, y Heb. ix. 12. »= Heb. ix. 24.-26. 
 
 " Commentators, in general, underftand the Apoftle to 
 
 ipeak in this place either of the daily facrifice, properly fo 
 
 called} 
 
SERMON .IV. 105 
 
 *^ miniftering and offering oftentimes the 
 *^ fame facrifiges, which can never ta.ke awaj 
 
 " fms; 
 
 called, or of thofe occafional lacrifices for fin, for the offer- 
 ing of which, among other things, the Priefts, in the order 
 pf their courfes, attended i!/«/i^ in the faji£tuary. But lam 
 rather pf opinion that he continues to difcourfe of the annual 
 facrifice, offered by the High Prieft in the Holy of Holies ; 
 with which, in the beginning of this chapter, he had conii- 
 pared the offering of Chrift. And in this I join with So- 
 cinuSj who obferves, that the expreffion daily does not here 
 fignify on e'uery day ^hut at a certain Jiated time continually. 
 And in fupport of this obfervation, he refers us to chap, 
 yii. 27. where fhe Apoftle ufes this very expreffion in the 
 fame fenfe. *f Who needeth not daily^ as thofe High 
 *' Priefts, to offer up fecrifice, firft for his o\vn fins, and 
 *' then for the people's.^' " Quotidie dicit; cum tamen 
 *J id fieret a Sacerdo|ibus fem^l tantum quotannis. Nufquam 
 *' enim legitur, fummum Sacerdotem in facrificiis, quae pro 
 *' populo fiebant, pro fe etiam pfferre debuifle, nifi in fk- 
 *' crificio illo anniverfario." De Servatore,, par. ii, cap. xvi. 
 
 Grotius, in contending for the common interpretation, 
 thus oppofes the argument of Socinus. " Sic et cap, x. 1 1. 
 V quotidiana fecrificia cum Chrifti faprificio cpmparantur: 
 *' cujus loci fententiam evertit Socinus quotidie, exponens 
 ^' quotannis, nullo exemplo. Nam quod locum Heb. vii. 
 " 27. adfert huic interpretationi firmandas, fruftra eft, cum 
 *' falfo fumat Sacerdotem in fplp anniverfario. facrificio pro 
 •' fe offerre debuiffe. Contra enim pro fe offerre debuit, 
 " quoties peccati fibi erat confcius. Lev. iv. 3." De Sa- 
 tisfaitione Chrifti, cap. x. 
 
 The reply of Crellius is as follows : " In loco citato^ 
 ^ cap. x. de facrificio anniverfario fermonem effe, fatis do- 
 
 " cere 
 
io6 SERMON IV". 
 
 " fins ;" or, which can by no means take 
 away fins for ever. " But this man, after 
 
 " he 
 
 ♦' cere poflunt ea, quae ab ipfo capitis initio leguntur ; undc 
 ■" CECtera, qu« hoc loco dicuntur, pendere, praeter rem ip- 
 " fam, Beza in fua verfione oftendit. Inftitutam enitn 
 " efle a divino auiSlore coUationem inter folenne facrifi- 
 " cium expiatorium, et facrificium Chrifti, verf. i, et 3, 
 ** aperte comprobant. Particulam illam x»9' ifitfaii non 
 ^' fimpliciter explicat Socinus per vocem guBtamtis^, ki; 
 ^'- eerto quodam tempore perpetuo, ut eo ioco, quern Grotius 
 " citavit, videre eft, h. e, certo quodam die quotanhis. Hoc' 
 '' vero nee fine exempio fecit Socinus, nee, fi exempluin 
 " deeflet, protinus repudiari deberet, cum rationem hujus 
 *' fuse ihterpretationis attulerit,~ quod de anniverfario (acri- 
 *' ficio hucufque inftitutus eflet fermo, quod veram obla- 
 " tionis Chrifti umbram fuifle antea doCuerat, Quod ad 
 *' locum cap. vii. 27. attinet^ in quo exemplum ejus figni- 
 " ficatiqnis extare Socinus fta£uit,*non dicit Socinus, fum- 
 <'■ mum Sacerdotem «'« fela anniverfario facrifido pro fe of- 
 *^ ferre i^ebuifie ; fed ita fcribit : Niifquam iegitur fiimmum 
 *? Sacerdotem in faerifi^iis^ qua pro populo fiebant^ pro' fe 
 f eti-(^tT( offerre debuiffe^ niji in facrificio ilk anniiierfario. 
 ^' In facrificiis igitur qua: pro populo fiebc^nt, debuifle pro 
 " fe etiam offerre fummum Sacerdotem, nifi in illo anni- 
 ♦' verfario, nufquam legi fcribit Socinus : non vero, eum 
 •* pro fe feparatim offerre non debuiffe, cum fibi delifti 
 ^^ alicujus effet cqnfcius, Id autem reftiffime urget Soci^ 
 •^ nus, quia Audlor D. loco d. cap. vii, manifefte facit 
 " mentionem facrificii, quod pro popujo fieret, in quo Sa- 
 f cerdos prius pro fe, turn demum pro populo offerre debu- 
 " erit. Ita enira ait : ^i (Pontifex nofter Chriftus) non 
 <-' hqhet quotidisnecejfey quiimdmodum illi Pontificts, prius 
 
 « pr(^ 
 
SERMON IV. 107 
 
 ^. 
 
 ** he had offered one facrifice for Tin, for evei: 
 ** fat down on the right hand of God; 
 f* from henceforth expediing till his enemies 
 ** be made his footftool. For by one offer- 
 *' ing he hath, perfefted for ever them that 
 *' are ianftificed ''." From all which we may 
 coUedl, that Chrift, having once entered into 
 the heavenly Tabernacle, abideth there con- 
 tinually, and by his prevailing interceffion ob- 
 tains for his Church the continued enjoy-- 
 ment of that glorious privilege^ which he pur- 
 ehafed withhis blood. 
 
 *' pra propriis peccatls vi£llv\qs offerre, detnde (pro pecca- 
 *' tis) populi. Hoc enim fecit femel cum feipfum obtuliu 
 *' Adde quod ne fie quidem, fi Grotium fequramur, Sacefr 
 " dos quotidie ofFerre debnerit^ non magis quam alius qui- 
 " vis e populo. Neque enim quotidie peccati alicujus fibi 
 *' erat confcius, prq quo offerre deberet, alias idem de quor 
 " libet Ifraelita dicendum effet. Quapropter reflifEme 
 *f ftatuit Sqcinus de anniverfario facyificio'ibi effe fermo- 
 *' nem, ac proinde vocetn quotidie ita interpretandam efle, 
 ^ ac fi diiSluin eflet, certo quodam die quotannis." Re-, 
 {ponfio ad lib. H. Grotii de Satisfac. cap. x. 
 
 On the fame fide I may cite the authority of Dr. Ham- 
 mond, who renders xa6' v/^E^ai', upon a day^ i, e. as he main- 
 tains in his Paraphrafe, upon the day of expiation. ^ 
 
 It may be added, in further fupport of this interpretation, 
 thaf fome-MSS of note read Kai w«j ftiv a^x"?^''^ 'f*' ""f 
 i/ie^at, &c. and every Higb Prieft ftandeth daily, &c. (fee 
 \Vetften) which reading is adopted by Grotius. 
 
 *> ffeb. X, II— 14, 
 
 The 
 
io8 SERMON IV, 
 
 ^ The miniftry which Chrifl hath obtained 
 is alfo more excellent than that of the Priefts 
 who ferved the Tabernacle, " by how much 
 ^* he is the Mediator of a better covenant, 
 *' which was eftabliflied upon better pro- 
 " mifes ^" He is the Mediator of a better 
 covenant ; a covenant which admits us to a 
 nearer and more intimate communion with 
 God, and to the participation of greater. and 
 more important benefits. The Ifraelites were 
 indeed admitted into the prefence of God ; 
 but they approached him with fear and 
 trembling ; and, though he condefcended to 
 be called their God, he ruled them with the 
 feverity of an avenging Judge, rather than 
 with the kindnefs o£ a compaflionate Parent. 
 But to us he appears in a milder charafter : 
 we have not received the fpirit of bondage 
 unto fear ; but we have received the fpirit of 
 adoption : God hath taken us into his family, 
 and hath permitted us to approach him with 
 the tender appellation of Father ''. The throne 
 of the great King is no longer furrounded 
 with the tremendous enfigns of terrible ma- 
 jefty ; but is a throne of grace, to which- in all 
 our fins, and all our wants, we may boldly- 
 
 ? Heb. viii. 6-. ^ Rom. viii. 15. 
 
 apply. 
 
SERMON IV. 109 
 
 apply, in the fiilkft confidence of being heard, 
 forgiven, and relieved. " Let us," fays the 
 ApofUe, " come boldly to the throne of 
 *- grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
 " grace to help in time of need ^" 
 
 And as the covenant is thus better, fo are 
 tlie promiies better upon which it was eftab- 
 Hfhed. Through Chrift we have not only 
 accefs to God in the Church militant here 
 upon earth, but we are encouraged to hope 
 for nearer approaches to the Divine prefencc 
 hereafter, in the Church triumphant in hea- 
 ven. And, in this refped:, the privilege con- 
 ferred upon the Chriftian Chx^rch infinitely 
 exceeds all that the Ifraelites enjoyed through 
 the miniftry of their High Prieft. The pror 
 inifes made to them were wholly of, a tempo^ 
 ral nature ; and the utmoft which their co- 
 venant taught them to €xpe6l, was the pof- 
 feffion, in peace and profperity, of that good 
 land, which God had promifed to their fa- 
 thers. But to the Chriftian Church the pro- 
 mifes run in a higher {train : we look for a 
 better country than was that of Canaan ; even 
 an heavenly one : and are taught to expe^ 
 not fo much temporal peace and profperitj, 
 as the enjoyment of that everlafting reft, 
 
 * Heb. iv. 16. 
 
 which 
 
lid SERMON IV. 
 
 which remaiheth to the people of God'. We 
 have " boldnefs to enter into the holieft by 
 " the blood of Jeftts ^ :" into heayen itfelf, 
 which he hath pj[5ened to all Believers; and 
 whither he, ^ our forerunner, is already 
 gone, to prepare for us mansions of blifs and 
 glory in his father's houfe ; and whence, 
 agreeably io his own promife, he will come 
 again, and receive us to himfelf, that where 
 he is, th^ere we may be alfo ''. 
 
 Such is the glorious privilege of th.6 Chrif- 
 tian C|(urch. We have accefs to God, and 
 the capacity of performing to him an accept- 
 able fervice in this life; and we have the fure 
 and certain hope of being admitted to the 
 everlafting enjoyrnent of him in the life to 
 come. Nor let any fincere Believer defpair 
 of obtaining, through the intdrceffion of his 
 Saviour, the aftual pofleffion of that immor- 
 tal happinefs, to which the privilege, enjoyed 
 bly the Church upon Carth, is merely prepa- 
 ratory. Is he alarmed by a fenfe of his own 
 corruption, and a dread of the Divine venge- 
 ance ? Let him remember, that in heaven 
 Jefus Chfirft, the High Priefl of our profef- 
 iion, continually appears for us in the prefence 
 of God ; where he Undertakes our caufe, in- 
 
 *■ Heb. iv. 9. s Heb» x. ig. '' John xiv. 2, 3. 
 
 terpofes 
 
S,E R ;M ON IV. nt 
 
 terpofes in our behalf, and obtains for us par- 
 don of our fins, and peace with God. " If 
 " any man fin, we have an advocate with the 
 " Father, Jefiis Chrift the righteous ' :" and 
 fo prevailing is the interceffion of our hea- 
 venly Advocate, that St. Paul boldly defies 
 all the enemies of our falvation to oppofe its 
 influence. " Who fhall lay any thing to 
 *' the charge of God's eled; ? It is God that 
 " juftifieth: who is he that condeftineth ? It 
 " is Chrift that died, yea rather that is rifen 
 " again, who is even at the right hand of - 
 " God, who alfo maketh interceffion for 
 " us ''," And in this Epiftle to the Hebrews, 
 the interceffion of our Redeemer is made the 
 ground of our hope and confidence in him. 
 *' Wherefore he is able to fave them to the 
 " uttermoft that come unto God by him, fee- 
 " ing he ever liveth to make interceffion for 
 '• themV 
 
 The truth, of the general pofitiort, which 1 
 undertook to prove in this Difcourfe, is, I 
 truft, by this time fiifficiently manifeft. We 
 have feen that the Scriptures contain many 
 general affertions of our Lord's prieftly cha- 
 
 ^ I John ii. I. •= Rom. viii. 33. ^ Heb. vii. 25. 
 
 ra(3:erj 
 
112 SERMON IV. 
 
 radler, afcribing to him both the tltk of 
 Prieft, and alfo the peculiar fup<9;ion.s of the 
 priefthood : and that, in fpeaking of his 
 priefthood, they contain particular references 
 to the legal High Prieft, and to the- funftions 
 difcharged by him on the feafl: of ' expiation ; 
 exprefsly declaring, that as the High Prieft 
 offered the blood of the buUock and the goat 
 in that holy place upon earth, wheje God 
 vouchfafed a vifible manifeftation of his glo- 
 rious prefence, and by his offering fand:ified 
 the Ifraelites, and gave them a title to the 
 temporal bleffings of their covenant ; fb 
 Chrift offered his own blood in heaven itfelf, 
 where the Divine glory fhines forth in the ful- 
 nefs of its fplendor, that by his offering he 
 might fandlify his Church, and make us ca- 
 pable of attaining thofe fpiritual and eternal 
 promifesj held out to us in the Gofpel : and 
 from the whole we hefitate not to infer, that 
 an office and miniftry is attributed to our 
 bleffed Lord in heaveii, correfponding to that 
 which was antiently difcharged by the Levi- 
 tlcal Priefts in the earthly Tabernacle. 
 
 And here I fhall beg leave to clofe the 
 Scriptxire-evidence, by which the doctrine of 
 Atonement is lupport^d : and have accord- 
 ingly 
 
SERMON IV. 113 
 
 ingly now completed what I have to offer 
 upon the firft of the two general heads, into 
 which, at the commencement of thefe Dif- 
 •jcourfes, I diflributed my fubjeft. 
 
 Under the fecond general head, I propofed 
 to confider the principal objedlions, which the 
 Opponents of this dodrine, and efpecially the 
 Hiftorian of the Corruptions of Chriftianity, 
 have urged againft it. Thefe objeftions may 
 alfo be reduced to two heads, according as the 
 intention of our adverfaries is, either to inva- 
 lidate the fcriptural proofs of the dodlrine in 
 queftion, by attributing to the facred writers 
 a fenfe, different from that for which we con- 
 tend ; or, fecondly, to oppofe the dodlrine in 
 a more direft and pofitive rnanner, by Ihew- 
 ing that it makes no part of that fcheme of 
 religion which is delivered to us in the Scrip- 
 tua-es. 
 
 I lliall begin with the objedlions of the for- 
 mer clafs ; and fhall accordingly, in the next 
 Difcourfe, endeavour to vindicate the facred 
 text from the attempts which have been made, 
 by Socinian writers, to pervert its meaning. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 I Cor. xiii. 13. 
 Now we fee through a glafs, darkly. 
 
 IN the preceding Led:ures it has heen my 
 endeavour to ftiew, that the dodtrine of 
 Atonement, by the' blood of Ghrift, is, con- 
 tained in the Scriptures : and in proof of this 
 pofitioii, I have colle<3:ed from the varipiis 
 books of Scripture a multitude of paiTages, 
 forming altogether a body of evidence io 
 uniform and confiftept, and, fo decifive of the 
 point in queftion, as apparently to leave not 
 the leaft room for cavil or difpute. 
 
 But it not uncommonly happens, that the 
 greateft difcord prevails, where the moft per- 
 fe<5l harmony might have been expedled. 
 The paffions and prejudices of men clofe their 
 eyes againft the cleareft light, and make them 
 eager to difpute againft the plaineft and moft 
 
 I 2 , . evident 
 
ii6 S E R M O N V. 
 
 evident truths ; nor is there ally truth, how- 
 ever plain and evident, which a fophift will 
 ,not contrive to t»ring into queflioij. And thus 
 it has happened in the cafe before tis. To 
 the doArine of Atonement, the teftimony 
 borne by the -U-ord of God, is, as we have 
 feen, moft fiill arid exprefs. And yet, not- 
 withflanding this teftimony, we find a deter- 
 mined Adverfary hardy enough to come for- 
 ward with the profefled intention of fhewing, 
 that the whole do(5lrine is p;f hunian inven- 
 tion, and has no countenance whatever in the 
 Scripturps "*. In va,in do we oppofe to this 
 bold affertion, the ^ many poiitive declarations 
 with which t^e books' of Scripture ^hoynd. 
 He cannot indeed deny the exigence of thefe 
 declarations ; ' but he contriA^es to elude their 
 force, and by' fophiftical expofitlons tq render 
 them lefs adverfe to the opinions of his, fe6l. 
 
 In the folidwing Difcourfe, I propofe to 
 confider the general method of interpretation 
 employed for this purpofe ; a,nd ihall ipndea- 
 vour to fliew, that it is adopted on the pre- 
 fer) t occafion without authority, and in direct 
 oppofition to the manifeft intention of the fa-^ 
 cred ^y titers. , 
 
 * Hift. of Cqn^vql, i. p. 1(53. 
 
 ■ Among 
 
SERMON V- li; 
 
 Ambhg the jJaLlTages of Scripture adduced 
 to prove the dodrine of Atonement, we de- 
 pierid with peculiar confidence upon thbfe, 
 which denoniinate the death of Chrift ajacri'- 
 jice and a Jin~offering, &nd which affert of his 
 blood, that it is our ranjom, and the frtce of 
 our redemption. And it muft bfe owned, that 
 the obvidus fenfe of &11 fuch expreffions is i6 
 ftfongly in favour of this dodrinc, that at firft 
 view one would thirtk it extremely difficult, if 
 not Utterly irripoffible, by any means to evade 
 their forte. But, great as the difficulty ap- 
 pears, a Socinian readily iurmounts it, by the 
 bare affiimption, that the language of Scrip- 
 ture is, on fuch occafions, nxcttXy Jigurdtive. 
 Thus the Hiftorian of the Corruptions of 
 Chriftianity admits, without hesitation, that 
 the death of Ch'rifl is called in Scripture- ^^- 
 crifice aftd a fin-offering : but then he affirms, 
 xktX theffe, and fuch like expreffions, are to be 
 figuratively interpreted ; and that, being fo in- 
 terpreted, they do not "oblige us to, believe 
 that Chrift died ' a facrifice in any other man- 
 atXy than as any perfon may be faid to be a 
 facrifice to the caufe irl which he dies "". " In 
 *^ fcvery fkcrifice," fays he, " the vi<^im iS 
 
 * Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. 278. 
 
 I 3. " flain 
 
ii8 & E R M^O N V. 
 
 \ * ■■ 
 
 " -flain for the benefit of the perfbn on whofe 
 - 1', account it is offered; fq Chrift, dying to pro- 
 "- cure the greatefl: poffible berjefit to the hu- 
 V .man race, is faid to have given his life a fa-' 
 " crijice .iot^n^j. and moreover, as the end of 
 ';' the Gofpel is to promote the reformation of 
 " fihners, in prd^r to procure the pardon of 
 '/.fm, the death of Chrift. is more exprefsly 
 ',', cortyi^dSQ^Xoa^n-offering''." And he con- 
 tends, that thefe points of refemblance be- 
 tween the death of Chrift and the Jewifh fa- 
 crifices, fiifticiently juftlfy "and explain the lan- 
 guage of the;Scriptures relating to ,it, without 
 fuppofmg that, the facrifices, prefcribed in the 
 Jewifh law, are {jjpfj of Chrift's iacrifice, or 
 aijbribing to the d(?ath of Chrift any 4mmediat<e 
 power of making expiation for ftn, and -.of 
 procuring pardon. And fpeaking of Ifaiah's 
 prophecy, "jjThou fhalt make his foul an of- 
 " feringforfin'," he affirmi^^ that, even al- 
 lowing the . propriety of our trariflation, *' it 
 " cannot be proved to exhibit any thing more 
 " thdio. a Jigurative allujion^" So again, he 
 admits that Chrift is faid to have sriven hi« 
 life iz mnjhm. ior, us: he .neverthelefs d"eni,ea 
 that we derive. any benefit immediately^ from 
 
 h Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. 182. <= If. liii. 10. 
 
 * Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. 184. ' ' 
 
 his 
 
S"E R^M'O NT v.-: i-icr 
 
 bis 4e^^; J nor will' he^ allow us t6-c6nfider 
 th?; giving of his; life as a real price-jpaid for 
 our -deliverance f^om death ; but -he iafferts,; 
 that this expreffiqn is Jigurativtfy applied to 
 Chriftj- beeaufe he died in confequence of hav- 
 ing vql^ntaiily, and for the love which he bore 
 to us, undertaken the work of pur falvation^.y 
 And in another pl-ace he affirms, that the death.- 
 of Chrift may be called a Jacrijkt.fdr fm, and 
 a ranfom ; vand,alfo;.that -Chrift, may, in a ge-- 
 neral-' w.ayi be faid to \i^\e died in our Jlead,-, 
 and to have borne ■ our Jiny'.'^n6-''ih:^t.^gurative' 
 language, even ftronger than this, may be ufed: 
 by perfons.^ w,hp do not confider the,tJmth. of 
 Chrift as having any immediate relation to the 
 forgivenefs of fins; but believe only, that it 
 was a neceflary circumftance in^thei fcheme 
 of the Gpfpel, and that this fcheme jwag ne- , 
 ceflary to reform the rWo-rld^ Andvthus, by 
 this, pretence of a'Jigufe , h.t endeavours, rnoft , 
 u,nwarrantably, to evade the true fenfe of 
 Scripture, and to fetafide as infignificant, aiid 
 witjiout force, the.plaineft and mioft pofitive 
 texts, againft which, if fairly interpreted, his 
 favourite hyppthefta could not be maintained. 
 It wil^ affift us in our inveftigation of this 
 
 « Hift. of Cor. v; i. p. 202. *' Ibid. p. 214. ) 
 
 I 4 method 
 
method of interpretaticm, fey wbidi the len^e 
 of Scripture is thus evaded, and explained 
 away, if we firit afcertain- what our Hiftoria-n 
 uuderfitan^ \iy figurative language. 
 
 From the foregoiwg- quotations it appears, 
 that \hz figurative fenfe of an expreffion is- op- 
 pofed to. its literal and proper fenfe ; and that 
 an expreffion becomes figurative, SVhen it is 
 transferred from the thing of which it is pro- 
 pefly fignificajst, to fome other thing, on ac- ' 
 count of fome ,refemblance which they bear, 
 or are fuppofed to bear, to each Other. Thus, 
 by way of example, a lion is properly an- ani- 
 mal, whofe charadleriftic quality is coUrage. 
 But a man, who pofleffes this quality in an 
 eminent degree, fo far refembles a lion, and is 
 figuratively called by that name. Thus alfo 
 thhfi is properly a painful fenfation> arifrng 
 ffom a drynefs of the throat, and occafioriing 
 an eager defire of drink. But there is in a 
 dry foil an aptnefs to receive moifture with 
 facility, fbmewhat refembling that eagernefs 
 for drink, which charad:erizes a thirfty ani- 
 mal ; and therefore a dry land is figuratively 
 called' a thirfiy land. Thus again, a viftim 
 devoted to death, and a^ually flain, and of- 
 fered to God, in order to procure for the 
 offerer the Divine favouf gnd' acceptance, is 
 
 properly 
 
SERMON V. 121 
 
 properly a /aerified : but the man wha, in 
 order to attain any end, expofes himfelf to 
 fuch danger, that his death is the inevitable 
 confeqitence, bears fome refemblatice to thfc 
 former, afid may therefore figuratively be 
 called a Jacfijke to the caufe in which he 
 dies. 
 
 And hence it further appears, tbat the fig- 
 nifi'cation of figurative language does not arife 
 from the real nature of the thing to which it is 
 transferred, but only from the iniagindtidn of 
 him •who trdnsfers it : and accordingly it does 
 not exprefe what is true and real in the thing 
 itfelf; but is applied by way of allufwn 
 Merely j for the fake perhaps of a rhetorical 
 flourifli, and in order to exprefs a thing in a 
 more ftriking and forcible manner. Thus the 
 real nature of a lion belongs not to a courage- 
 ous man : but becaufe the quality which 
 principally charafterizes the former animal, 
 exifts in an eminent degree in the latter, 
 therefore the imagination conceives them to 
 be, what thiey really are not, partakers of one 
 common nature, and applies to them one 
 common name. Thus alfo in a dry land 
 there is only an hrtaginary thirft: there is 
 really no eagernefs, no defire whatever ; only 
 its aptnefs to receive moifture with facility, is 
 
 conceived 
 
izz S- E R M: O N^ V. 
 
 conceived by the imagination to be of the 
 fame kind with that eager defire of drink 
 which is properly i&ir/l, and is therefore called, 
 by the fame name. So alfo in the giving up 
 of one's life for the fupport of any caufe, the 
 oblation, on acconnt of which it is called a 
 facrifice, is not real, but imaginary : there is 
 a mere exposure of a man's life to danger, and 
 it may be to inevitable lofs, which the ima- 
 gination conceives to be of the iame kind, 
 with that oblation which is nfeceflary to a 
 proper iacrifice ; and therefore the life fo ex- 
 pofed and loft, is alfo faid to he facrificed. 
 
 It is the opinion of this Author, that lan- 
 guage, if it cannot be literally interpreted, is- 
 neceffarily of the Jiguratroe kind here de- 
 fcribed, applied only by vfa.j oi allujion ; and 
 not to exprefs any truth or reality. And ac- 
 cordingly he argues, that where the words of 
 Scripture will not admit ^ of a, literal fenfe (as 
 on fome occafions they undeniably will not), 
 we muft then have recourfe to a figure., .But 
 this is a miflake. For there is a fpecies of 
 language, ufually called analogical; which, 
 though not ftriftly proper, is far from being* 
 m&tt\y Jigiitative : fmce in this cafe the name 
 of one thing' is transferred to another, on ac- 
 count, not of an imaginary rejemblance, but of 
 
 a real 
 
S E R M 1^1 V; 133 
 
 a ^reak-'Cerrefpondenee :- or, in other words, the 
 tranli^^i^H is, made, not becaufb the. things 
 t^emfelvss'ZXQ fimikr, but becaufe they are in 
 ^yci-^^x_ relations. For, agreeably, to the- defi- ' 
 nition of the Mp.thematicians; analog is the 
 Similitude of. relations: and is faid to take 
 place, when the- firft "of four magnitudes has 
 the fame ratio, or relation, to the fecond, which- 
 the third has -tQ the .fourth. Now analogical 
 la,nguage arifes from a fimilitude of this kind. 
 For when there fubfifts between two things 
 the fame relation as between fome other two, 
 then, on account of this analogy, the name 
 which properly belongs. to one of the terms in 
 one relation, is frequently transferred to its 
 corre^fponding term in the other relation ; and 
 is as truly fignificant of the real nature of the 
 thing in the relation in which it ftands, as it 
 could be were it the primitive and proper 
 word. 
 
 Permit me to illuftrate my meaning by an 
 example. — Our blefled Lord is ca,lkd in 
 Scripture the head of the Church ^. Now the 
 term head is not here to be underftood in a 
 iiridlly literal and proper fenfe : for literally 
 and, properly the head is the uppermoft and 
 
 «. .5ph. V, 23. 
 
 principal 
 
124. s-ER^M-'dK' V. 
 
 princ^al part of an arfimal ; the organ of 
 fenfation ; and the' fource from Vvhich all th& 
 other parts "deHve motion, and the pbwer of 
 performirtg^their refpedive fun^ions. ■ Nor is 
 it iherely Jigtir^tpve, fignificant of nothing real, 
 but applied only by way of allufion. It is 
 analogical:, for between CHl-lft arid his Church 
 there is the fame relation, as between the 
 head and the body : and firice what a literal 
 and proper head is to the animal frame, that 
 Chrifl: is to his Church ; therefore, on accbtint 
 of this analogy, he is called the head of his 
 Church : and the office which he fuftains 
 with refpeft to his Churcli, is as truly ex- 
 preffed by this analogical term, as it would be 
 by any ^r(?/^r word which could have been 
 employed. The Church is in like manner, 
 and on the fame account, called the body qf 
 Chriji, that is, the body of which Chrift is 
 the head. And not only fo, but bec^ufe 
 Chriftians are to the Church, what members 
 are to the body, the individual's who compofe 
 the Church, are further called members of 
 Chrift'sbody''. 
 
 It will be" found, upon examination, that all 
 languages are full of thefe analogical terms. 
 
 *■ I Cor. xii, 27. 
 
 Even 
 
SE R-M,0 Nj Vr 155 
 
 "E-xcn Jinfible objetSs are not uhfrequently de- 
 . nominated by .^ords borrowed from other 
 fenfible objeds, -with which we are b^etter ac- 
 quainted, or more immediately concerned. 
 Thus the term foot properly lignifies the lower 
 extremity of an animal, or that on which thp 
 animal {lands, B,ut becaufe the lower ex- 
 tremity or bafe of a mountain, is to the mdnn- 
 tairi what ih^Joot is to an animal, it is thprpr 
 fore called by the fame name^: and the term, 
 th^s applied, is figni|icant of fbmething real ; 
 fomething, which, if not a foot in ftridl pro- 
 priety of fpeech, is neverthelefs truly fo, con- 
 lidered with refped; to the circumftance upon 
 which the analogy is founded, 
 
 But this mode- of expreffion is more com-^ 
 mon with refpe<ft to our, mentalaad intelkBuai 
 facii|lties and operations ; vyhich we are wont to 
 denominate by words borrowed from lipiilar 
 funAions of the bodily organs, a,^d c;prre7 
 fponding attributes of mat€;rial things. -Thus 
 to fee, is properly to acquire impreffions of 
 fenfible objefts by the organ of fight : but to 
 the mind -is alio attributed an eye, \yith -v^hich 
 we are analogically f^id to fee objects intellec- 
 tual.- In like manner great and little, equal 
 -and unequal, fmooth and rough, fweet ^tiAfur, 
 are properly attributes of matterial fubftances : 
 
 but 
 
125 S E R MO N V. 
 
 but they are analogically afcrlbed to fuch as 
 are immaterial: for,' without intending a 
 figure> we {peak of a greiat mind and a little 
 mind ; and the natural temper of one man is 
 faid to be equal, fmooth, and fweet ; while 
 that of another is denominated unequal, 
 rough, and -four. And if we thus exprefs 
 fuch intelleBual things as fall more immedi- 
 ately under our bbfervation, and may accxard- 
 ingly be contemplated with greater accuracy 
 and attention, we cannot wonder that things 
 purely Jpiritual and divine, which are far re- 
 moved from our immediate and dire(fl infpec- 
 tion, fliould be exhibited to our apprehehfion 
 after -the fame manner. Indeed there is no 
 other way by which they could be exhibited 
 with effedl : for it is only by analogical re- 
 prefentations that we can form the leafl: con- 
 ception of the things relating to God and the 
 invifible World. We can have no diredl and 
 immediate idea or conception of thefe things ; 
 for they are not objed;s of fenfe, nor do they 
 make any part of that which pafles within 
 our own breafts. But material things, and 
 the powers and operations of our own mind, 
 furnilh us with analogies' by which we may, 
 in fome degree, conceive the nature of that 
 Being who is infinite, and of thofe things 
 
 which 
 
S E R MO N V. 127 
 
 which are fpiritual and heavenly. And the 
 conceptions 'which we thus form, however 
 imperfect and inadequate, are, rieverthelefs, as 
 far as they extend, juft and- true: confe- 
 queritly the language in which they are ex- 
 prefled, although borrowed, is not merely 
 figurative ; hut is fignificant of fomething real 
 in the nature of the things conceived. ' 
 
 Before I apply what has been faid, to the 
 point more immediately in queflion, it may' 
 not be improper to ftate a few inflances, in 
 which the analogy contended for^may plainly 
 be difcerned, and will hardly be denied. 
 
 "The anger of God, is. an expreffion which 
 frequently occurs in the Scriptures. But are 
 we to uhderftand it literally ? It were impious 
 to do fb : for the divine Being is without paf- 
 iions ; arid therefore cannot be flibjedl to an- 
 ger, properly fo called. Is then the ex^xe[- 
 {\6n 'merely Jlgarathe, and without meaning? 
 By no rrieans : that were to take away one 
 of the ftrongeft reftraints ilpon our corrupt 
 inclinations. "Is it not rather ajialogica I ; in- 
 tended to give lis fome conception of" a per- 
 fedion in the Divine nature, by referring us 
 to fomething in our own, to which it corre- 
 iponds ? In man it is the paffion of anger 
 
 which 
 
128 SERMON V, 
 
 which prompts him, upon receiving a provo- 
 cation, to punifli the offender. Now there is 
 in the Divine nature a perfection, which in- 
 clines the Deity to punifh thofe who wilfully 
 tranfgrefs his laws. And fmce this perfeiflion, 
 though not properly anger, is neverthelefs to 
 God, what anger is to man, on account of this 
 analogy the Scriptures have called it by the- 
 fame name : and in {o doing hav,e given us 
 to ur^derftand, that the fame feverity which an 
 angry man, polTeffed of power to execute his 
 ■yvill, would fhew to thofe who had provoked 
 his vengeance, we may exped: from God, 
 who is infinite in power, if we wilfully fin 
 againft him. 
 
 God is alfo faid to be cornpajjlonate and mer- 
 cifuL> Certainly not in a literal and proper 
 fenfe. But the Scriptures by thefe expref- 
 fions give us to underfta'nd, that, if notcom- 
 paffion and mercy properly fo called, there 
 are, neverthelefs, in the DivinC' nature per- 
 fedlions correfponding to thefe feelings, which 
 incline the Deity to relieve the wants, 
 and to forgive the fins, of his miferable and 
 offending creatures. And we are hence 
 affured, that if \vc mal^e our diftrefTes knqwij 
 unto God, and w^ith a true penitent heart, 
 and lively faith, turn unto him, we fliall ex- 
 perience 
 
SERMON; V. 
 
 i:?9 
 
 perieiicefrom him that lenity and ^indnefs, 
 which; in a correfponding fituation, a merci- 
 ful and compaffionate fellow-creature would 
 he d'ifpofed to fhew,.u§. , ....i 
 
 In like manner the rewards and funijhments 
 of the other world ax^ defcribed' by the fecred 
 writers in terms and phrafes, which are pro- 
 perly fignificant of fuch joys and torments as 
 are wont moft fenfibly to afFecft us in our pre- 
 fent ftate : not to fiirnifli us with any diredl 
 and pofitive knowledge of the iiivifible world; 
 for of this we are not capable. ; but by analog 
 gical reprefentations to give us fome concep- 
 tion of what we are to expedt hereafter ; a 
 conception, remote indeed and inadequate; 
 fufficient, however, to excite our hopes, and 
 to alarm our fears ; to quiclcen our diligence 
 in the great work of our falvation ; and to 
 induce us, by a-fuitable behaviour in this our 
 time of trial, to prepare for that awful day, 
 when we ihall, appear before the tribunal of 
 the great Judge, "^who will render to every 
 " man according to his deeds "." 
 
 The foregoing inftances,- in which the aria- 
 logy is evident and undeniable, will affift us 
 
 .' Rom. ii. 6. > 
 
 K ia 
 
130 SERMON V. 
 
 in giving a right interpretation to thofe paf- 
 fages of Scripture, which immediately relate 
 to our prefent fubjed:. 
 
 And firft, the blood, or life, of Chrift is 
 called in Scripture our ranfom, and the price of 
 our redemption.: Now, adniitting that thefe 
 expreflions are not to be underftood literally, 
 does it follow that they contain mere figure 
 and allufion ? By no means : they contain 
 truth and reality. They are analogical expref- 
 fions, ufed by the facred writers to give us 
 fome conception of the method, by which we 
 are delivered from the piinifhment of fin by 
 Jefiis Chrift. We know the rriifery of a ftatc 
 of bondage and captivity : and under this 
 view we are taught in Scripture to confider 
 the natural ftate of man : he is " fold under 
 " fm** ;" is " the fervant of fm ' ;" is under 
 the power and dominion of the Devil, by 
 whom he is "taken captive at his will ""." 
 We further know, that one method of ob- 
 taining deliverance from captivity, is the in- 
 terference of fom& friend, who undertakes to 
 redeem the captive, or to purchafe his freedom 
 by the, payrrient of a ftipulated price or ran- 
 fom. Under this ch'aradler, Chrift is . repre^ 
 
 •= Rom. vii. 14. ' ' Rom. vi. 17. " 2 Tim. il. 26, 
 
 fented 
 
SERMON V. 131 
 
 iented to have appeared for us. He came to 
 redeem, us from the power of fm and Satan,- 
 by paying for our deliverance no lefs a price 
 than his own blood. " In him we have re- 
 " demption through his blood " :" " The fon 
 " of man," fays he himfelf, " came to give 
 " his life a ranfomi for many ° •" and fays St. 
 Paul, ". he gave himfelf a ranfom for all ''.'' 
 Arid we are taught by this reprefentation, 
 that the blood of Chrift, in the deliverance of 
 finful man, correfponds to a price or r^nfbm 
 in the deliverance of a captive : and confe- 
 quently is a price and a ranfom, if not literally 
 and properly, at leEvft really and truly. And 
 this St. Peter plainly intimates, when he op- 
 pofes the blood of Chrift to thofe things- 
 which, in the dealings of men oije with ano- 
 ther, are commonly employed as ranfoms, or 
 prices of redemption. " Ye were not re- 
 *' deemed with corruptible things, as Jilver 
 "and gdd- — but with the precious blood of 
 " Chriji'^y Than which words language can- 
 not declare with greater plainnefs and preci- 
 sion, that the blood of Chrift is, in truth and 
 reality, as much a price as iilver and gold ;• 
 
 " Eph. i. 7. ° Matt. xx. 28. 
 
 P I Tim. ii. 6. 1 J Pet. i. 18, ig. ^ 
 
 K ,3 only 
 
133 SERMON y. 
 
 only a price of infinitely higher valu.e. Since, 
 then, we are not merely faid to be redeemed, 
 but further to be, redeemed with a price ; and 
 fince the price of our redemption is exprefsly 
 oppofed to fuch things as among men are 
 commonly ufed for that purpofe; there can be 
 in this place no room for a mere figurative 
 fenfe ; but we muft underftand the Apoftle 
 to mean, that; the blood of Chrift is to nian, 
 in his Spiritual captivity, what filver and gold 
 is. to. a real or proper captive ; the price of hi^ 
 redemption, or that to which his deliverance 
 is immediately owing. And this is 'the whole 
 for which we contend. 
 
 It has been infmuated % that the expref- 
 fions prke and ranfom, are merely figurative, 
 upon the ground that the reprefentations of 
 Scripture, upon this head, are not confiflent 
 and uniform. For the price of redemption 
 is laid to have been given, not only by Chrift, 
 but alfo by God himfelf : Thus we read in 
 St. John, ^that " God fo loved the world, that 
 '' he gave his only begotten Son ; that who- 
 " foever believeth in him ihould not perifli, 
 " but have everlafting life °." And again in 
 St. Paul, " he that fpared not his own fon. 
 
 ' Hift. of Cor. p. 2or. ' Johniii. i6. 
 
 " but 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 ^3'3 
 
 " but delivered iiim up for us all, hoW fhall 
 *' he hot with hito freely give us all things'?" 
 Were this any real objedlipn, it would admit 
 of an eafy ^ answer. For in neither of the 
 places alleged is God faid to have given his 
 fon as a price or ranfom. " He fo loved the 
 " world that he gave" — that is, gave to the 
 world, or fent into the world, " his only-be- 
 " gotten fon," " He fpared not his own 
 *' fon, but delivered hirn lip for us all ;" that 
 is, did not withhold him from us, but fent 
 him to pay the price of our redemption. And 
 thus, fmce God is not faid to have given the 
 fon in the fame fenfe that the Ion gave him- 
 felf, viz. as a ranfom, we need not have re- 
 courfe to a figure for reconciling this fup- 
 poled inconfiftency. 
 
 Attempts have alfo been made to with- 
 draw us from viewing the blood of Chrift in 
 the light of a real price, by the confideration 
 of the perfon to whom, if a price, it ought to 
 have been paid. For it has been , obferved, 
 that a price muft neceffariiy be paid to fome 
 one : 'and that a ranfom is always paid to 
 him, from whofe power the captive is re- 
 d^med. And hence it has been argued, that 
 
 ' Rom. viii. 32. ' 
 
 K 3 • if 
 
134 S E R M O N V. 
 
 if the blood of Chrift be the price of our re- 
 d^niption, it muft have been paid to the 
 D^vil; for to him mankind had been given 
 over in cofifequence of the fin of Adam. In 
 order to. obviate this apparently (hocking con- 
 fequence, attempts have been made to Ihew, 
 that the price -wzs, really paid ' to God ; and 
 that the Devil, in this cafe, is to be confidered 
 only as the executioner of- Divine vengeance; 
 How^ far this anfwer is fatisfaftory, I fliall not 
 ftay to enquire : it will be fiifficient to ob^ 
 ferve, that the argument itfelf is not well 
 founded. For let it be confidered, that the 
 blood of Chrift \s analogically' a price. Now 
 the name which properly belongs to one term 
 in an analogy, is transferred to its correfpondi 
 ing term, not becaufethe things expreffed by 
 this name correlpond to each other in every 
 poiBbl^ .jioint ; for this is by no nieans ne- 
 ceflary, ; but becaufe they correfpond in a cer- 
 tain refpeft : iior are we required to take 
 into confideration any circumftance, upon 
 which the fimilitude of the relations, is not 
 founded- Novv the blood of Chrift corre- 
 Iponds to a proper price', ii; the deliverance 
 efFed;ed by it : this is the circumftance upon 
 which the fimilitude of the relations is 
 founded j and therefgre to this alone are we 
 
 required 
 
SERMON V. 135 
 
 required to attend. Confequ'entl}r the objec- 
 tion, ariiing from the confideration of the 
 perfon to whom the price is paid, is nugatory 
 and futile ; inafmuch as it proceeds upon a 
 circumftance with which we are not neceffa- 
 rily concerned. 
 
 Secondly. The death of Chrift is frequently^ 
 called in Scripture a facrtfice and a Jin-offer- 
 ing : not, as the Socinian hypethefis aflerts, 
 Jiguratvoely, or merely iii allufion to the Jewifli 
 facrifices ; but rather analogically, becaufe the 
 death of Chrift is to the Chriftian Church, 
 what the facrifices for fin were to the wor- 
 shippers of the Tabernacle. Indeed the whole 
 Legal economy furnilhes abundant matter for 
 analogies of this kind, being fo conftituted 
 and contrived by Divine wifdom, as to. corre- 
 Ipond in a variety of inftances to the Chrif- 
 tian ; thus ferving, in an eminent degree, to 
 illuftrate and explain its nature and defign. 
 Foj. the Law has ah entire reference to the 
 Gofpel ; and was ordained, not as a diftind: 
 and feparate inftitution, but as a ftate of pre- 
 paration and previous inftruftion: to ufe the 
 language of St. Paul, it is " our fchoolmafter 
 *' to bjing us unto Chrift"." And more 
 
 » Gal. iii. 24.. 
 
 K- 4 efpecially 
 
136 SERMON V. 
 
 efpecially the things in the law which have 
 any relation to the worfhip of God, or were 
 confecrated and fet apart for holy purpofes, 
 were intended, not merely for the more or- 
 derly and acceptable performance of religious 
 worlhip in the times then prefent, but alfo 
 to delineate and fliadow forth another ftate of 
 things ; to be types dcndi figures oi a better dif- 
 penfation, to be eftablifhed in after times. 
 
 This typical nature of the legal difpenfatipn 
 the Apoftle himfelf afferts, when he iays of 
 the law, that it had " ajhadow of good things 
 " to cortie * ;" that it gave the outline, or 
 afforded; ari obfcure reprefentation of thofe 
 good things, which Chrift, in the fulnefs of 
 time, was to come and eftablilli. To the fame 
 purpofe he elfewhere affirms of, the Taber- 
 nacle, and the veflels employed in the fervice 
 of the Tabernacle, that they were " patterns of 
 " things in the heavens"." And of the inner 
 Tabernacle more efpecially, or the Holy of 
 Holies; that it was ?i figure of the higheft hea- 
 ven ''. And of the Priefts who offered gifts and 
 facrifices upon earth, he declares, that'''they 
 ferved " unta the example and Jhadaii) of hea- 
 
 " Heb: x. i. '^ Heb. ix. 23. 
 
 y Heb. ix. 24,., 
 
 " venly 
 
SERMON V. 137 
 
 *' venly things '." And he further declares a 
 variety of circtiniftanees in the Legal difpenfa- 
 tion, to \v hich he oppofes correfponding cir- 
 cumftances in the Ghriftian. Thus the 
 earthly and tempGrary promifes of the Law are 
 oppofed to the heavenly and eternal promifes 
 of the Gofpel ; the carnal ordinances of the 
 former, to the fpiritual inftitutions of the 
 latter : bodily pollution, to mental uncleannefs ; 
 the blood of the expiatory Jacrijices, to the 
 blood of Chriji ; and the power of the former 
 in cleanfmg the body, to the power of the 
 latter in purifying the confcience.. By all 
 which we are lufficiently authorifed to con- 
 fider the Law as a typical difpenfation, deline- 
 ating and prefiguring the ftate of things under 
 the Gofpel. And accordingly we affirm, that 
 the pafTages of Scripture which fpeak of 
 Chrift as a facrifice and a Jin-offering, do not 
 contain vs\tx& figurative allufions to the Jewilh 
 facrifices, but afcribe a real and immediate effi.- 
 cacy to Chrift's death; an efficacy, cofrelpond- 
 ing to that which was antiently produced by 
 the legal fin-ofFerings ; fmce, in effeft, they 
 aflert, that what a victim appointed for a 
 fm-ofFering was under the old covenant, that 
 
 " Heb. vHi. 5. 
 
 Chrift 
 
1^8 SERMON V. 
 
 Chrift hlmfelf is under the new : and as the 
 Hood of the legal fin-offerings cleanfed the 
 body, and qualified for" the ceremonial wor- 
 fhip prefcribed by the Law, fo the blood of 
 Chrift purifies the confcience, and confecrates 
 to the fpiritual fervice required in the Gof- 
 pel. 
 
 In like manner the office of Chrifl is ana- 
 hgkaliy reprefented to us by the name of 
 Prieji zn^. High Prieji. It has been already 
 afTerted, upon the authority of the Epiflle to 
 the Hebrews, that the High Prieft is a type 
 of Chrifl : confequently what the High Priefl 
 was in the Legal economy, that Chrifl is in 
 the Ghriflian. Under the Law, the High 
 Priefl was accuftomed to appear before God 
 in the inner Tabernacle, and by an offering of 
 blood to make an atonement for the people. 
 Such,; alfo, with refpedl to the Chriflian 
 Cb^irch, is the office of 'Chrifl in the hea- 
 venly Tabernacle. Having fuffered, as an ex- 
 piatory vidlim, upon the crofs, he afcended 
 into heaven, where he is reprefented as^ ap- 
 pearing for us in the prefence of God, and, by 
 an offerinig of his own blood, making reconr 
 ciliation for fins. Not that this reprefenta- 
 tion obliges us to fuppofe that Chrifl, , upon 
 his afcenfion into heaven, literall}' fprinkled 
 
 his 
 
SERMON V. 139 
 
 his own blood in the prefence of God, as tlie 
 High Prieft fprinkled the blood of the fin- 
 offeriiigs before the mercy-feat ; but it gives 
 us moft affuredly to underfland, that his in- 
 terposition in our behalf is attended with a 
 true and real effeft, correlponding to that 
 which was produced by the miniftry of tue 
 High Prieft in the earthly Tabernacle : that 
 as by the latter . the Ifraelites were fanAified, 
 and admitted to the enjoyment of the tem- 
 poral ' bleffings of their covenant, fo by the 
 former the members of the Chriftian Church 
 obtain remiffion of fins, and are made par- 
 takers ofrthe fpiritual bleffings promifed in the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 Chrift is alfo faid to make intercej/ion for us, 
 and to be our Advocate with, the Father. I 
 formerly Ihewed ^ that Chrift, by virtue of his 
 prieftly office, is neceflarily an IntercejJ'or for 
 his people, and their Advocate with God : fo 
 that thefe reprefentations are not really, dif- 
 ferent from that which has been already con- 
 ftdered. But fuppofmg them to bei diftind: 
 and feparate, they will neverthelefs ftjU be 
 found perfed;ly coniiftent both with it, and 
 with each other. In ftrid: propriety to make 
 
 » Serm. IV. 
 
 intercejpan 
 
J4b S E R M O N V. 
 
 interceJJloTi for a perfon, is to interpofe in his 
 behalf, for the purpofe of reconciling him 'to 
 one with whorb he is at variance : and hfe is 
 an Advocate, who pleads the caufe of another 
 in a court of judicature. Now we having, 
 by fm, offended God, he is reprefented as at 
 Variance with us upon this account, and as 
 iiaving caft us out of his favour. And Chrift ' 
 is reprefented as interpofing in our behalf, and 
 undertaking our caufe, that he might obtain 
 of his heavenly Father to be reconciled unto 
 us. We muft not indeed irnaginfe that Chrift 
 literally pleads our caufe, or in moving and 
 sperfuafive language intreats his heavenly Fa- 
 ther to forego his anger, and to rec-eivfe us 
 again to favour : biit the interpofrtion of 
 Chrift, if not literally and properly intercef- 
 fion, is, nev-erthelefs, analogous to it ; for 
 what a proper interceflbr is between Dne man 
 and another, that Chrift is between God and 
 •man : and what a proper advocate is before a 
 human judge, that Chrift is iri the prefehce of 
 God : it is by his intervention that we are 
 reconciled to God : it is by his ageticy that 
 we are acquitted and difch^ged ; and there- 
 fore he is truly and really our Interceflbr and 
 Advocate, if not literally, and in ftricl pro- 
 priety of fpeeeh. 
 
 Thus, 
 
StERMOiN. v.: hi 
 
 Thus, in variety of language, do the facred 
 "writers reprefent both the efficacy of Chrift'§ 
 death, and alfo the nature pf his interpofition 
 between; God and pian. It has, indeed, been 
 contended, that thefe different reprefentationg 
 are tJaemfelves an argument for a figurative 
 fenfe; becauie that: otherwife the facred 
 "Writers are juftly . chargeable "with inconfift- 
 ency in calling the fame thing by different 
 names. " If," afks the Hiftorian of the Cor- 
 ruptions of Chriftianity, " if one of the re- 
 " prefentations be real, and the reft figura- 
 '^ tive, how are, we to diftinguilh among 
 " them, when the writers themfelves give us 
 " no intimation of any fuch difference *" ?" I 
 anfwer, if thefe reprefentations are all, as we 
 affirm, analogical, it will follow that they arc 
 all real ; that is, that .they all exprefs fome 
 truth and reality^. And thus the whole ob- 
 je^ion falls to the ground. 
 
 But I wifh to meet the objecJlion fairly, and 
 not to take advantage of an inaccurate ex- 
 preffion. For, unqueftionably, by real, our 
 Hiftorian, in this place, means prober ; and 
 his argument, juftly ftated, would run thus ; 
 Since of many 'different reprefentations only 
 
 * Hift. of Gor. p, igz, 
 
 one 
 
145 SERMON y: 
 
 one can be proper, and in that cafe the refl 
 inuft be figurative, how are we to diflinguilh 
 among them ? how are we to difcover which 
 is the proper reprefentation, when the writers 
 themfelves give us no intimation of any fuch 
 difference ? And affuming that this cannot be 
 done, he infers, that they are , all figurative 
 alike. To this I reply, that, of many different 
 reprefentations, it is not neceffary either that 
 one Ihould be proper, and the reft figurative, 
 or that all Ihould be figurative alike. They 
 may be (and we contend that they are) all 
 analogical ; and thferi they may (and we con- 
 tend that they do) all exprefs the fame truth 
 and reality, only under different names. Nor 
 are the facred writers > any mote chargeable 
 with inconfiftency on this account, than they 
 would have been, had they illuftrated the fame 
 thing by different figures. And I would ob- 
 ferve in general, that the objedlions, urged by 
 Socinian writers againft the literal and proper 
 fenfe ,of the expreffions which we have now 
 been confidering, are not more favourable to 
 their interpretation, than to that for which 
 we contend ; which has this further advan- 
 tage, that, while it is agreeable to the lifual, 
 and indeed thp only method by which Divine 
 knowledge is, or can be communicated to 
 
 man. 
 
SERMON V. 143 
 
 man, it affords a clear and conliftent fenfe, 
 not arbitrarily impofed, but plainly fuggefted 
 by the words themfelves, and manifeftly in- 
 tended by the facred writers : whereas the 
 method of our adverfary is arbitrary and un- 
 limited, and evidently intended not fo much to 
 explain the real meaning of the facred writers, 
 as to make them fpeak a language not wholly 
 incompatible with his own hypothefis. 
 
 But befides this perversion of the facred 
 text, by the arbitrary impolition of a figura- 
 tive lenfe, the fame thing is alfb attempted, 
 in other inftances, by gloffes and flrained in- 
 terpretations. For example : Chrift is fre- 
 quently faid in the Scriptures to have died^or 
 us : which we underftand to mean that he 
 died injiead of us : and hence we argue, that 
 his death was the dired: and immediate occa- 
 fion of our deliverance from death. And 
 this, it muft be owned, is the obvious fenfe of 
 the words. But the Socinian propofes another 
 interpretation. For we are told that, in ge- 
 neral, Chrift's dying y«>r us, may be inter- 
 preted of his dying on our account, ox for our 
 benefit. " Or if," proceeds our Author, 
 " when rigoroufly interpreted, it fliould be 
 " found that if Chrift had not died, we muft 
 
 " have 
 
144 SERMON V. 
 
 " have died, it is ftill however only confequen— 
 " tially. fo, and by no. means properly ^.nd di- 
 " redtly io; as a fubjlkute for us. For if, in 
 •' confequence of Chrift not having been fent 
 " to inftrudl and reform the world, mankind 
 " had continued unreformed, and the necef- 
 " fary confe.quence of Chrift's coming was 
 " his. death, . by whatever means, and in 
 " whatever, manner it was brought abovft, it 
 " is plain that there was, in fadt, no other al- 
 ", ternative, but his death, or ours. How 
 " natural then was it, efpecially to writers 
 " accuftomed to the ftrong figurative exprejp- 
 " fion of the Eaft, to fay that he died in our 
 -' Jiead, without meaning it in a ftridl and 
 " proper it.^^ic ; as if God had abfolutely re- 
 " quired the death of Chrift, in order to fa- 
 " tisfy his juiiace for our fins, and as a necef- 
 " fary means of his forgiving Us ^" And thus, 
 while the words -clearly afcribe a direct and 
 immediate efficacy to tlae death of Chrifl, 
 which is alfq agreeable to the untortured fenfe 
 of other pafTages, the propofed interpretation 
 labours to deftroy this efficacy, and to place 
 the death pf the Saviour upon a , level with 
 ,that of a mere Prophet, or Martyr- : and,, for 
 
 "=. Hift. of Cor. p. 199. 
 
 this 
 
SERMON V; 145 
 
 tliispurpofe, unwarrantably fubftitutes a remote 
 and unnatural fenfe, in the room of thb plain, 
 and obvious di;ie, merely for the fake &f ac- 
 comrriodating the language of Scripture to the 
 interpreter's preconceived opinions. 
 
 But I need not dw^ell ' upon inftances of 
 this kind. For, unlefs it can be pofitively 
 Ihewn that the doftrine of Atonement makes 
 no part of the fcherne of Chriftianity, but is 
 foreign to the intention of the facred writers, 
 all fuch paflages as apparently favour this 
 dodirine, may juftly be cited in its fupport, 
 notwithftanding they may, by a ftrained in- 
 terpretation, be taken in another fenfe. Now 
 that there are paflages which do thus appa- 
 rently favour this do<3:rine, and cannot, with- 
 out flraining, be otherwife interpreted, will not 
 be denied. It is acknowledged by our Adver- 
 lary hinifelf ; who having declared that the 
 opinion, which he oppofes to this do6lririe of 
 Atonement) is the dodlrine of reafon, and of 
 the Old Teftament, and is likewife agreeable 
 to the general tenor of the New Teftament, 
 concludes his hiftory of this do6lrine with this 
 remarkable conceffion. " In this, then, let 
 " us acquiefce, not doubting but that, though 
 I *' perhaps not at prefent, we ftiall in time be 
 ^' able, without any effort or ftitaining, to ex- 
 
 L plain 
 
146 SERMON V. 
 
 *' plain all particular expreffions in the af)6^ 
 *' tolical epiftles, &c. in a manner perfe(3:ly 
 " confiftent with the general ftrain of their 
 " own writings, and the teft of the Serip* 
 " tures"*." 
 
 It appears, then, from the confeffion of our 
 Adverfary, that the language of Scripttife is,. 
 bn fome occafions at leaft, undeniably for us ; 
 and that there are paflages, the force of which 
 can only be eluded, by wrefting the words, 
 from their natural and obvious fenfe, and tor- 
 turing them into a different meaning. But 
 if this mode of proceeding be fair and allow- 
 able, there is no article of the Chriftian faith 
 which may not be called in queftion. For 
 the imperfe6lion of language necefCarily fub- 
 je^ts the moft precife and accurate expreffions 
 to mifconflruftion ; and let a writer be- ever 
 fo careful and guarded, the ingenuity of a 
 fophift will ftill contrive to pervert his mean- 
 ing, and fo impofe upon his words a fenfe 
 different from that which they obvioufly 
 bear, and which he originally intended. And 
 fince the language of Scripture is no lefs ca-» 
 pable of perverfion and mifconftruiftion than 
 that of any other book, it follows, that 
 
 * Hift. of Cor. p. 179< 
 
 iieithee 
 
S £ R M N V. 14; 
 
 il^itliei' the dodtrine of Atonement, nor my 
 other dodlrine, ean be fo pofitively and clearly- 
 revealed, as wholly to preclude all poffibility 
 of dilpute and oppoiition : fo that the force 
 of any language, even more precife and accu- 
 rate, if fuch could be found, than that in 
 which the dodlrine is at prefent revealed, 
 might, by the fame means, be evaded, and 
 the doctrine itfelf called in queftion. 
 
 But we fhould remember that God hath 
 given us a revelation of his will, not to exer- 
 cife our wit and ingenuity, but for Our infof- 
 mation and inftruftion. To the poof is the 
 Gofpel preached : and therefore, in all ne- 
 ceffary points, its meaning cannot be dark 
 and intricate, difcoverable only by the wife 
 and learned ; but muft be fimple and intel* 
 ligible, adapted to the capacity of thofe for, 
 whofe ufe it was deiigned. A forced inter- 
 pretation is always to be fulpefted : and even 
 where the words of Scripture will, without 
 effort or ftraining, admit of different fenfes, 
 the pref^erence Ihould be given, where it is 
 juftly due, to the moft natural and obvious. 
 And though we grant in general, that, in or- 
 der to preferve the confiftency of Revelation, 
 recourfe muft fometimes be had to a more 
 remote, and perhaps a figurative fenfe; we 
 
 L 3 may 
 
148 S E R M O N V. 
 
 may at leaft require that it be not done, but 
 upon fufficient grounds, and where the ne- 
 ceffity is moft apparent. And we fhould be 
 extremely careful, left affediion for a favourite 
 hypothefis influence our judgment ; left, 
 while, infupport of this hypothefis, we labour 
 to reconcile apparent difcordances in the fa- 
 cred volume, we in reality pervert its mean- 
 ing, to the prejudice of ibme important article 
 of our Chriftian faith. , 
 
 The application of thefe reflexions to the 
 cafe before us, muft in part have appeared al - 
 ready ; and will hereafter more fully appear, 
 Vvhen we come to confider the ground, upon 
 which our Hiftorian juftifies that method of 
 interpretation, which we have been examining 
 * in the preceding Difcourfe. 
 
 SERMON 
 
=3= 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 J Cor. i. 53- 
 
 JVe preach Chriji crucified; to the yews a 
 Jlumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolijhi- 
 nefs» 
 
 AN eftablifhed opinion, which claims to 
 be a Chriftian doftrine, and to be de- 
 rived from the Scriptures, cannot be oppofed 
 with the leaft: proipedl of J[uccefs, unlefs it 
 can be Ihewn, that the Advocates of this opi- 
 nion have miftaken th€ meaning of the in- 
 spired writers, and have appealed in its behalf 
 to paiTages of Scripture, which may and 
 ought to be taken in a different fenfe. This 
 accordingly has been attempted by the Hif- 
 torjan of the Corruptions of Chriftianity ; 
 who contends, that the fcriptural reprefent- 
 a,tions .of the death of Chrift, and various ex- 
 L 3 preffions 
 
150 SERMON VL 
 
 preffions relating to it, which are commonly 
 fuppofed to faTOur the do6lrine of Atone- 
 ment, have been greatly mifiinderftood, and 
 ought to be interpreted in another and a 
 better mahner, more confonant, as he con- 
 ceives, with the general tenor of Revelation, 
 and the true end of our Saviour's advent. 
 
 In order fully to eftablifli this politioh, it is 
 plainly incumbent upon him to prove thefe 
 two things : firft, that the words of Scriptuif^ 
 are capable of another fenfe ; and, fecondly, 
 that this other fenfe ought, in the prefent in-- 
 ftance, to be admitted. 
 
 In the l^ft Difcourfe we confidered the ge- 
 neral method of interpretation, by vvhich ,he 
 endeavours to prove the firft of thefe points ; 
 and found it to confift in torture and evafion^ 
 rather thah ip. dired: explanation ; and in the 
 arbitrary impofition of a remote and figurative 
 fenfe, contrary to the obvious meaning of the 
 expreffidns themfelves, and the manifeft in- 
 tention of the facred writers. 
 - But, for argument's fake, let us fuppofe 
 that he has thus far fiicceeded : let us allow 
 that the fenfe propofed, although forced and 
 upnatufal, is nevertheless not wholly inadmif- 
 fible ; but might be received, did the necef- 
 fity of the cafe jequire it, And let us now 
 
 , proceed 
 
SERMON VI. 151 
 
 proceed to examiae, whether fiich neceffity 
 really does exift ; whether our Hiftorian has 
 proved the fecond thing required, and has 
 made ont fuch a cafe, as will juflify our re* 
 je6tion lof the plain and obvious meaning of 
 the facred writings, in order to fubftitute in 
 its room thiat remote and figurative fenfe, for 
 ^hich he contends. 
 
 By referring to the Hiftory itfelf, it will be 
 foxijjd, that our Opponent, before he ven- 
 tures to propofe his interpretation of the pafr 
 fages relating to our prefent fubjedl, firft pre- 
 pares thff-way for its more eafy sdmiffion, 
 by attempting to prove, that the doftrine of 
 Atonement makes no part of that fcheme of 
 religion which is delivered to us in the Scripj 
 tures, but is wholly of human ' inventior^. 
 And indeed, could this be clearly and undeni- 
 ably proved, I would no longer difpute againft 
 the propofed interpretation. For in that cafe 
 the facred writers could never have had it in 
 <;ontemplation to reveal this do&ine; and cxjn- 
 fequently their language, whatever might be 
 its apparent meaning, mufl really bear a dif- 
 ferent fenfe ; and any confident {en{e, how- 
 ever remote, would be preferable to one, by 
 which a mere human devicp is conftituted a 
 L 4 Chriftian 
 
j^z SERMON VI, 
 
 Chriftian dodlrine. I am therefore by no 
 means unwilling that the admlffibility of the 
 propofed interpretation ihould be made to de^ 
 pend upon the fuccefs of this attempt. Let 
 us ^therefore conflder the objed-ions taken 
 againft our dodlrine upon this ground, and 
 examine the arguments, advanced by our 
 Hiftorian, in proof of the pofition above- 
 mentioned, viz. that the doftrine of Atone- 
 ment makes no part of that fchemp of reli- 
 gion, which is contained in the Scriptures. 
 
 And, firft, we are told, that " it is hardly 
 " poffible not to fulped: the truth of this 
 ^' dodlrine, when we confider that the gene- 
 " ral maxims to which, it may be reduced, 
 *' are no where laid down, or aflerted, in the 
 ^' Scriptures." And this, it is infmuated, is 
 contrary to the ufiial pra<3:ice of the iacred 
 writers, who generally " affign the reafons of 
 " fuch of the Divine proceedings refped;ing 
 " the human race, as are more difficult to he 
 *' comprehended, and the neceffity and pro- 
 ^' priety of which are not very obvious, and 
 i' rnight be liable to be called in queftion^." ■ 
 
 That fuch is the ufual praftice of the facred 
 
 •» Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. 154, 
 
 writers. 
 
SERMON VI. 153 
 
 "writers, is an aflertion, of which no proof 
 whatfoever is adduced. And I conceive that 
 the principle itfelf, if it were once admitted 
 as a proper rule of judging in Divine things, 
 might be produdlive of much mifchief, and 
 w^ould tend to the overthrow of all religion, 
 both natural and revealed. For upon this 
 ground we fliould be at liberty to call in 
 queftion every Divine proceeding, the reafon 
 of which was not exprefsly affigned, or the 
 neceffity and propriety of which we could 
 not comprehend. Now, in the common and 
 general courffe of things, it is allowed, that the 
 ways of God are frequently dark and intricate; 
 nor is it always eafy to reconcile them to our 
 natural notions of Divine perfeftion. But 
 fliall we on this account perverfely call in 
 queftion the fiiperintending providence, the 
 wifdom, the juftice, or the goodnefs of the 
 Deity ? Rather let us confefs our own weak- 
 nefs and incapacity, and adore that depth 
 which we cannot fathom. It is the fame in 
 the cafe of Revelation ; the general intention 
 of which is to teach us what God wills, not 
 •why he wills it j and to acquaint us, not fo 
 much with the reafons of his proceedings re- 
 iped:ing man, as with the proceedings them- 
 felves : and he expedls from us an humble ac- 
 ' quiefcence. 
 
154 S E R M O N VI. 
 
 quiefcence, although we may not readily com- 
 prehend the neceffity, or even the propriety, 
 of the things revealed. It is fufEcient for, us 
 to knov^r, in general, that God never a^s 
 without a caufe, and that what he does is 
 always wife and proper to be done. 
 
 Were it neceflary to prove the g-eneral doc- 
 trine here advanced, I might inftance, in con- 
 firmation of it, the law impofed upon the firft 
 man ; of which neither the end, nor the rea- 
 sons, are, as far as I know, any where de- 
 clared. We may indeed infer, that the en4 
 propofed was the trial of man's obedience^ 
 But why an efpecial trial was at all appointed, 
 and why fuch a trial as that to which man 
 was fubjeded, we are not told. With refpedt 
 alfo to, the influence of man's tranfgreffion, 
 we are told, in general, that this one man's 
 difob'edience introduced fm and death into the 
 world, and corrupted and depraved the whole 
 human race. But why the influence Ihpuld 
 be thus extenfive ; why the tranfgreilbi? 
 fiiould not alone fuffer, but fliould be per- 
 m,itted to tranfmit the ftain through a long 
 .feries of future generations ; thefe are circum- 
 ftances with which we are nearly concerned; 
 but of which we are in total ignorance. In 
 like manner we are told in general, that the 
 
 recovery 
 
SERMON VI. 155 
 
 recovery pf fallen man, and his reftoration to 
 the favour of God, was effefted " through 
 " the redemption that is in Jefus Chrifl;; 
 *' whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation 
 *' through faith in his blood '' :" but the rea- 
 Ions of this difpenfation, why a propitiation 
 fhould be ordained at all; and why fuch a 
 propitiation as that which the Divine wifdom 
 thought fit to adopt ; and how the blood of 
 Chrift attained the end for which it was flied, 
 are circumftances which, perhaps, are no 
 where exprefsly revealed. But let the word 
 of God ftill ftand fure : and let us with be- 
 <:oming thankfulnefs ftill receive the difpen-, 
 fation itfelf, and not prefumptuoufly rejedl it, 
 becaufe we are not admitted to the councils 
 of heaven, and indulged w^ith a knowledge of 
 every circumftance connedled with it. Not- 
 withftanding, therefore, we may not be able 
 to difcover, in any of the books of Scripture, 
 the principle upon which the dod;rine of 
 Atonement is founded, this need not excite 
 in us any furprife, nor ought the dod:rine it- 
 felf to fall, upon this account, under the leaft 
 iiifpicion. 
 
 '' Rom, iji, 24, 25. 
 
 But 
 
156 SERMON VI. 
 
 But let me not be thought to have miA 
 taken the force of our Hiftorian's argunaent. 
 I am aware that his intention was not to 
 aflert generally,' that there is nothing laid 
 down in the Scriptures which can be affumed 
 as the' principle, upon which the dod;rine of 
 Atonement is founded ; but only, that the 
 .pririciple which the doftrine itfelf holds forth, 
 or rather, that which fome aflertors 'of the 
 doftrine have affuraed as its principle, is no 
 where to be found in any of the books of 
 Scripture. The principle here alluded to, 
 upon which the modern dodlrine of Atone- 
 ment is reprefented entirely to depend, is the 
 following, viz. that God cannot extend his 
 ■mercy to iinners, till his juftice has been fully 
 ifatisfied.' It muft not be denied, that this prin- 
 ciple may be coUedled and inferred from the 
 writings of fome upon the fiibje<3;, who, in 
 explaining and defending this doilrine, may, as 
 we are here told, have afferted, that " fin is of 
 " fo heinous a nature, that God cannot par- 
 " don it without an adequate fatisfaftion 
 •" being made to hisjuflice, and to the ho- 
 " nour of his laws and government." But 
 ftill I contend, that affertions of this kind are 
 not neceffarily falfe, becaufe they cannot be 
 found in the holy Scriptures ; nor, fecondly, 
 
 C01JI4 
 
SERMON Vb 15; 
 
 Goiild they even be proved to be falfe, would 
 the dodrine of Atonement be at all afFedled. 
 
 And, firft, let us fuppofe that the principle 
 affigned is no where to be found in the holy 
 Scriptures ; ftill, I fay, it does not follow that 
 it is not the true principle upon which the 
 doftrine is founded. It has already been ob- 
 ferved, that the Scriptures do not always af- 
 fign the rea^ns of the Divine proceedings. 
 But iince God cannot be fuppofed ever to a6l 
 without a caufe, whatever he does muft be 
 founded upon fomething in his own nature, 
 or in the nature and reafon of the thing, 
 which makes it wife and proper to be done. 
 Confequerjtly where the Scriptures are filent 
 refped:ing the reafon of aiiy of the Divine 
 proceedings, there ftill muft be a reaibn; arid 
 any affigijable reafon may be the true one, 
 which is not repugnant to the nature of God, 
 or inconliftent with the nature of the thing 
 revealed. And therefore, in the prefent cafe, 
 it does not immediately follow, that the prin- 
 ciple affigned is not the true principle upon 
 which the docSrine of Atonement is founded, 
 notwithftanding we grant that it is no where 
 laid ; down as Hich in any of the books of 
 Scripture. 
 
 Biit, fecpndly, let us further grant, that the 
 
 filencfr 
 
iSS^ SERMON Vt 
 
 lilence of the Scriptures is fufficient to im-» 
 peach the principle of any doftrine ; and cori- 
 fequently that the one here affigned^ is hot the 
 true principle upon which the dod:rine in 
 queftion is founded t yet how does this affeft 
 the dodlrine itfelf ? If God does fbmetimes 
 conceal from us the reafons of his proceedings, 
 there may, and occafionally there will be 
 cafes, in which we mull confefs our ignorance, 
 and be contented to rely implicitly upon the 
 wifdom and goodnefs of the Deity for the 
 rectitude and fitnefs of what he does, with- 
 out prefutning to reduce his meafures to ouf 
 own ftandard of what is right and fit. But, 
 if the truth of " a doftrine Hill remains fure 
 and unimpaired, notwithftanding our igno-» 
 ranee of the foundation upon which it refts, 
 and our confequent inability to fix it upon 
 any principle at all, as little furely muft it be 
 affe<3:ed by our error in fitting it upon a falie 
 principle. 
 
 I am led to infill the more flrenuoufly* 
 tipon this point, becaufe many, if not the 
 greater part, of the arguments commonly 
 tiTged by Socinian writers, are direfted agaiirfl 
 the dodlrine confidered under this view of it j 
 Tiz. as maintaining the necelTity of an ade- 
 
 guaig 
 
S E R M O N VT. 
 
 '59 
 
 ^uate fatisfe<H:ion to the Divine juftlce, in or- 
 der to the pardon of fin : and when, as they 
 think, they have made it appear, that this 
 opinion is not fupported by any good autho- 
 rity, they immediately glory, as though they 
 had obtained a complete viAory. Whereas, 
 in truth, arguments of this kind bear not at 
 all upon the main queftion; which is, not 
 why an atonement was ordained, or to which 
 of the Divine attributes it was made ; but 
 limply, whether it has been made at all. So 
 that the ground, which the enemy is thus 
 eager to difpute, might be wholly abandoned, 
 and fairly given up, without the leaft injury 
 to our caufe. Not that the ground is in it- 
 felf altogether untenable. For arguments are 
 by no means wanting, by which, were it ne- 
 ceflary, we might fufficiently juftify and de- 
 fend the general pofition, that Chrift died to 
 make fatisfadlion for the fins of men : and 
 ftill further, that this fatisfaftion was made 
 to Divine juftice. By the juftice of God, we 
 here mean that attribute of his nature> by 
 which, in the impartial adminiftration of his 
 righteous government, he ordains the punifli- 
 mcnt of thofe who tranfgrefs his laws. For, 
 agreeably to the pra(flice of the facretl writers, 
 in ipeakiiftg of the -Deity, we dillinguifll in 
 
 his 
 
i6q sermon VL 
 
 his nature various attributes, obtained by and-*, 
 logy from* correfponding attributes in ouf 
 own ; to which we are worit to refer the Di^ 
 vine proceedings, each to that attribute which 
 is pecuharly adapted to it. Thus the creation 
 of the univerfe we attribute to his power ; its 
 harrnony and order, to his wifdom ; the boun- 
 tiful provifion made for our prefervation and 
 fupport, to his goodnefs ; the favour fliewn to 
 peiiitent {inners, to his mercy ; and in like 
 manner the punilhment of obftinate tranfgref- 
 fors, to his juftice. Now it is agreeable to 
 the natural apprehenfions of our own niind, 
 that God, who is effentially pure and holy, 
 and who neceflkrily holds fin in abhorrence, 
 ftiould be offended with thofe who wilfully 
 tranfgrefs his laws ; and they, with whom he 
 is offended, may reafonably exped: from his. 
 juftice the due reward of their evil deeds. 
 Declarations to the fame effedl abound 'in 
 the holy Scriptures ; from which we further 
 learn, that the Divine dilpleafure againft ftn 
 was not appeafed without a propitiation. It 
 is therefore reafonable to conclude, that it was, 
 on fome account or other, wife and proper 
 that he ftio>ild he propitiated, before he par- 
 doned iiru And iince, in confequence of the 
 pardon thus obtained, his juftice no longer 
 
 required 
 
S fe R k O N VI. , i6i 
 
 fequired that the pianifliment due to fin 
 jfhouM be inflidled upon the offenders ; is not 
 this in efFedt to fay, that, by means of the 
 appointed propitiation for fin, fatisfaftion wag 
 made to the Divine juftice. Though, there- 
 fore, I would not limit the Divine power, 
 and fay what the Almighty Governor of the 
 univerfe can, or cannot do, in his own world, 
 and with his own creatures ; though I would 
 not affert, that an adequate latisfaftion to Di- 
 vine juftice, or indeed any fatisfadlion at all, 
 was abfolutely and ihdilpenfably neceffary to 
 the pardon of fin (for of ■ this, independently 
 of Revelation, we can know nothing in our 
 prefent ftate) ; yet I fcruple not to iay, in 
 general terms, that, by the appointment of 
 God, fatisfadlion has been made to his juftice, 
 and that without fiich fatlsfaftion he did not 
 think fit - to remit the puniftiment of fin. 
 What would have enfiaed, fuppofing no fatif- 
 fa6lion had been appointed ; whether in fuch 
 cjafe it would have been confiftent with the 
 nature and attributes of God, thlt he fliould 
 be propitious to fallen man; is a queftion con- 
 cerning which the Scriptures are totally filent, 
 and therefore we prefume not to determine, 
 - And thus the notion of a fatisfadlion, al- 
 though no where, as far ^s I know, exprefsly 
 
 M afferted 
 
i6z SERMON Vl 
 
 affertedin the Scriptures, appears neverth'islefs 
 to bekgreeable to our own apprehenfions of the 
 Divine nature, and to the account given irl 
 the Scriptures of the Divine proceedings ; and 
 may therefore fafely be admitted. If, aftef 
 all, our Adverfaries ftlU remain hoftlle to this 
 mods of expreffing our opinion, 1 wilh not 
 to conteft the matter ; becaufe, as I befo;te 
 obfervedj it is a conteft in which the merits 
 of the queftion are not at all concerried. 
 We have done all that can reafonably be re- 
 quired of us, when we have proved from the 
 Scriptures, that Chrift, by dying for us, be- 
 came the propitiation for otir fins : nor is it 
 in thei leafl necefTary that we fhould further 
 Ihew, what were the reafons -vHrhich moved 
 God to ordain fuch a propitiation, or by what 
 mode of operation the death of Chfifl effefts 
 the purpofe for which it was ordained. 
 
 ' But the objedion does not ftop here, l^'or 
 wfq are tpld, not only that the facied, writers^ 
 in fpeaking of the malignant nature of fm, 
 never affert, that God cannot pardpn it withr 
 out an adequate fatisfaftion being ijiade to 
 his jufticej but furtJt^r* that *' the contrary 
 *' fentiment occurs every w}xer6; "viz, that 
 *' repentanq^ and a good life are, of them- 
 
 "fehes. 
 
SERMON Vr. 163 
 
 t( 
 
 Jelv0Si Sufficient to recommend us to the 
 *' Divine favour '°." This part of the objec- 
 tion diredlly meets the queftion ; and, if it 
 could be fupported, would tjverthrow, not 
 only the notion of a fatisfa6lion to Divine 
 jufticCj but alfo the whole doiftrine of Atone- 
 ment, with every modification of it. For if 
 repentance and a good life are, either in their 
 own nature, or by the exprefs appointment of . 
 God, liifficient 9f themjelves to recommend us 
 to the Divine favour, then the propitiation for 
 which we contend, muft be altogether unne- 
 ceflary, and therefore would not have been 
 appointed. Here then we may be fairly faid 
 to be at iflue ; and upon the determination 
 of this point, the decifion of the ' controversy 
 may be rriade to depend. Now, that repent- 
 ance and a good Ufe are pleafing in the fight 
 of God, and will be rewarded with his favour- 
 able aceeptaaee, the Scriptures unqueftion- 
 ably decliMre, and we moft thankfully acknow- 
 ledge. This, therefore, makes no part of the 
 prefent queftion ; which refers fblely to this 
 circumftance, bow, or on what account, re- 
 pentance and 3. good life came to be thus ac- 
 ceptable to God? whether they, are fo of 
 
 « Hift. of Cor. p. 155. 
 
 M z themfehes'. 
 
i64 SERMON Vr. 
 
 tb^mfehes; that is, on account of thei^ owri' 
 intriniic value, without reference to any ■ 
 atonement or propitiation for fin ; or whether' 
 they are become fo, through the atonement 
 made by Jefus Chrift? The expreffions> arid;, 
 paiTage's of Scripture, which, apparently favour 
 6ur fide of the queftion, are, notwithftanding' 
 any infinuation to the contrary, neither few 
 nor obfcure ^ ; and therefore, before we agree 
 to let -go our faith, and fufFer thefe paflages^ 
 to be explained away, it behoves us 'carefully 
 to enquire, whether our Opponent has fully 
 and fatisfad:orily made good his aflertion, that 
 rdjpentance and a good life are declared in the 
 Scriptures to ht,,of themfelves, fiifficient to re- 
 commend us to the Divine favour. Where 
 then, let us aflc, is any fuch declaration to be 
 found ? Is it. in the addrefies made by inspired 
 perfons to notorious- dinners, and in the ge- 
 neral exhortations to repentance ? We are 
 indeed referred t» thefe ; and it is inlinuated 
 that they are lb expreffed, as to exclude- 'the 
 doArine for w^hich we contend. For we' are 
 told, that, " notwithftanding fo many no-- 
 " torious finners, particular perfons, and 
 ** whole nations, are addreffed by infpired 
 
 '' Hift* of Cor. p. 156. 
 
 " perfon% 
 
SERMON VL i6s 
 
 ■'■ perfons, and their condu6l ftrongly remon- 
 -" ftrated againft in the courfe of the facred. 
 '" ' hiflory, none of them are ever direifted to 
 ■" any thing further thantheir own hearts and 
 " lives. Return unto me, and I will return 
 ■" unto you, is the fubftance of all they fSy on 
 " . thefe.DCcafions ^" 
 
 - Now had the queftion been concerning the 
 mceptablenefs of repentance, fuch paffages, as 
 contain general declarations of God's willing- 
 nefs to receive returning finners, would have 
 been urged with propriety and effedt. But 
 concerning this there is no difpute. We all 
 j^agree that God will be merciful to' fiich as 
 truly repent, and turn to him ; and therefore 
 ■we freely acknowledge all that -paffages of this 
 Jtind can be faidlto prove ; which is fimply, 
 that repentar^ce and a good life are acceptable 
 to God; but by no means that they are of 
 item/elves acceptable. And therefore in vain 
 are we referred tq thefe addreffes and exhort- 
 ations, for >fentiments incompatible with the 
 dod.rine of Atonement. 
 
 If it be infifted, that although paflages of 
 this kind do not pofitively prove that repent- 
 ance ^nd a good life are of themfelf es accepts 
 
 = Hift. of Cor. p. 156. 
 
 M 3 able, 
 
i66 SERMON VI. 
 
 able, yet they afford a kind of prefumptive 
 proof againft the doftrine of Atonemerlt ; he- 
 caufe, allowing it to be true, it is reafbnablfe 
 to conclude, that frequent intimations of it 
 would have accompanied the exhortations to 
 repentance, and the declarations of Divinfe 
 mercy, which every where abound in the fa- 
 cred books ; I wifli it to be coniidered, on 
 the other hand, that thefe exhortations and 
 declarations are all of them fubfequent to the 
 promife of a Redeemer : for, according to our 
 dodlrine, the covenant of works was imme- 
 diately fucceeded by the covenarit of grace ; 
 a,nd even from the fall of Adam, God became 
 propitious to mankind, in confequence of the 
 atonement to be made in after times, and, in 
 the contemplation of the Divine mind, con- 
 fidered as already made, by Jefus Chrift ; who 
 on this atcount is called " the Lamb, llain 
 ^' frorh the foundation of the world ^" So 
 that the addreffes to fmners, and the exhort- 
 ations to repentance, which abound in the 
 Scriptures, are founded upon, and confe- 
 quently prefiippofe, this work of Chrift : and 
 therefore are not to be confidered as declara- 
 tions of the terms upon which God, offended 
 
 ' Rev. xiii. 8. 
 
 by 
 
SERMON VI. z$y 
 
 hy the fins of men, will be appeafed, and 
 become propitious ; for he who is fo merci^ 
 ful as to declare his acceptance of fincere fe-» 
 pentance, in the room of that finlefs perfec- 
 tion which Was required by the firft covenant, 
 muft be confidered as already propitiated ; bufc 
 are rather expreffions of his companionate 
 concern for his creatures, and perfuafions that 
 they would not, by their own obftinacy and 
 wilful dilbbedience, deprive themfelves of 
 tiiofe bleffings, which, now that he is recon- 
 ciled, he is willing to beftoW upon them. It 
 would therefore be no impeachment of our 
 dodtrine, even if it could be proved that thefe 
 addfeffes and exhb^tations, which thus imply, 
 and are founded upon, a previous reconcilia- 
 tion, are not qonftantly, or indeed commonly, 
 accompanied by exprefs affertions of the re- 
 conciliation itfelf. indeed fuch affertiofls are 
 hardly to be expefted any where iii the Old 
 Teftament, under which both the reconcilia- 
 tion, and the manner of it, were but darkly 
 intimated in promifes and prediftions, and 
 faintly reprefented by types and ceremonial 
 obfervances : and in any part of Scripture are 
 father to be fought in fuch paflages, as ex- 
 prefsly treat of man's fall, and the method 
 by which he was reftored to a ftate of grace 
 M 4 "^ and 
 
i6? S E R M p N VI. 
 
 ^nd falvation, than in thofe which pre&jjpoie 
 this ftate of .falvation, and are addrefledto 
 fuch as have already been called to it, and are 
 a6lually in it. 
 
 We fliould, therefore,, be little difpofed to 
 allow that repentance and a good life are of 
 themfelves fuifficient to recommend -.us to the 
 Divine favour, even if it could be lliewn, that 
 the facredi writers in general, and efpecially 
 thofe of the Old Teftament, do not, in their 
 addrefles arid exhortations to iinners, make 
 mention of the dodlririe for which we con-r 
 tend. If, indeed, the intention of our docT 
 trine had been to fuperfede repentance and a 
 good life, the argument of our Opponent 
 would not have been without force. , But 
 this is not the cafe. A propitiation for fin, 
 and the acceptablenefs of repentance in con- 
 fequence of that propitiation, are perfedlly 
 confiftent ; and, for- aught that we know, 
 are infeparably eonned;ed. We know not 
 whether, without a propitiationj repentance 
 ■yvould have bpen acfceptable to God, or even 
 poffible to man : at leaft it is not for tis to fe^^ 
 parate what God hath joined together. And 
 yet upon their feparation the opinion of our 
 ^dverfary, that repentance and a good life are 
 of' themfelves fufficient to recommend; US to 
 ' ' the 
 
S E R M O N-: yi. 169 
 
 the Diyine fevour, entirely ' depends. For 
 this opinion is virtually founded upon, the two 
 following aflumptions : firft, that there is no- 
 thing; in the nature or attributes of God, 
 which requires a propitiation for fin, in order 
 to make repentance acceptable ; for if there 
 be, then repentance and a good life are not 
 of thfetnlfelves Sufficient: fecondly, that if 
 there had been no propitiations repentance and 
 a good life would, notwithftanding, have 
 been poffible to man. 
 
 ,;. And, firft, the opinion, that repehtance and 
 a good life are of themfelves fiifficient, is 
 founded upon the affumption that there is 
 nothing in the Divine nature, or attributes, 
 which requires a .propitiation for fin ; an af- 
 fiimption, incapable, as I conceive, of the 
 leaft proof. For the pofition itfelf prefup- 
 pofes fiich an intimate knowledge of the De- 
 ity, as is not attainable by man in his prefent 
 flate. ,':' Canft thou by fearching find out 
 " God ? Canft thou find out the Almighty 
 ':* unto perfed:ion ? It is as high as heaven, 
 " what canft thou do ? deeper than hell, 
 *•' what canft thou know ^?" It is referved 
 fgr ui§ in a future rftate, to fee God as he is. 
 
 s Job xi. 7, 8. 
 
 ■ At 
 
lyo SERMON VI. 
 
 At prefent our facilities are limited, and able 
 to give us a very imperfedl knowledge evert, 
 of the things which are before us ; and can 
 by no means raife us to the knowledge of 
 him who is infinite and invifible. We know 
 not God as he is ; and therefore, uftaffiifted bf 
 fevelation, we cannot determine what his at- 
 tributes do, or do not, require. Of this we 
 may be affured, that he beft knows what is 
 agreeable to the purity of his own nature, and 
 what will preferve the gloiry of his attributes 
 undiminiftied and unimpeached. Inflead, 
 therefore, of leaning to our own Uttderftartd- 
 ings, and of ptevioufly determining that no- 
 thing relating to God can be true, which does 
 not approve itfelf to our fallible judgment, it 
 will be fafer far to take his word for our guide, 
 and to receive with humility and fubmiffion 
 whatever we find to be thefe revealed ; in 
 the fuUeft confidence that his proceedings," 
 however they may appear to us, mufl:> in 
 themfelves, be wife and good. 
 
 The other aflumption, that repentance and 
 a good life would have been poffible to mart, 
 if no propitiation had been made, is equally 
 incapable of proof. If* as 'we believe, a pro- 
 pitiation has been made, it is impoffible for us 
 to fay whkt, without a propitiation, would 
 
 have 
 
SERMON VI. 171 
 
 ihave been our ftate. We know not the full 
 and prdcife meaning of the Divine threat, 
 " thou Ihalt iiirely die "^ :" whether it was 
 intended to convey to man, that, upon the 
 commiflion of fin, he fhould immediately and 
 at once be deprived of being, and reduced to 
 his primitive nothing ; or only that he, who 
 was originally defigned for a life of immorta- 
 lity and incorruption, fKould become mortal, 
 and fubjeft to death. But, whatever be the 
 meaning of the words, this at leafl is certain, 
 that the provifion which the promife of a Sa- 
 viour made for the expiation of man's offence, 
 ^eveirfed, in fome meafure, the fentence of 
 condemnation which the law denounced, and 
 placed the tranfgreffTof in a flate far different 
 from that in which he would have been, had 
 the vengeance of God been fully executed. It 
 was this gracious promife which made man 
 again an objed: of favour ; which again placed 
 him in a flate of trial ; and again brought 
 within his reach life and immortahty. And 
 therefore to the appointment of Jefus Chrift 
 to be a propitiation. We owe that God vouch- 
 fafes to accept that repentance, and that im- 
 perfed: virtue> of which man in liis prefent 
 
 ^ Gen. 11. 17, 
 
 ftate 
 
i;^ SERMON VI. 
 
 'ftate is capable,. And whp wil-1 fay, that th^ 
 yery , abiljitj to repent, and the very exiftenc? 
 of that virtue, irAperfed: as it is, muft not be 
 .jafcribed. to the fartie caufe?; Let ijs confider 
 'the cafe of offenders, whofe rank in thp- fcale 
 of being Was once higher than, that of. man, 
 ,^ven at his firfl. creation.:. I mean ^the angels 
 .who kept'.notitheir. firft eflate. - 'By their fall, 
 they were Ipit .for ever; being, a$ St-srjude 
 exprefles it,. "' feferved in eyerlafting chains 
 " under darkneis unto the judgment of the 
 :" great day S" without the moft diflant hopp 
 of efcaping thatfjery indignation, which lliall 
 devour the adverfaries of God, In their cafe 
 repentance would be 'unavailable. But we 
 -no where read that they either do or can re- 
 pent. Inftead of that mpek contrition, that 
 godly, forrpw, which, worketh repentance unto' 
 falvatiorl, and in^ires an humble hope of parr 
 don and acceptance ; theirs is a fraj;iti{; grief, 
 ariiing from .difappointed pride, ai^d venting 
 itfelf in an impious and majicioug^ rage againft 
 that unerring juftice, which has unalterably 
 iixed their doom. It is not for us to fay, 
 why that grace, which was vouchfafed to 
 fnan, was denied to then^. We know oiily 
 
 ? Jude 6. 
 
S E R-M ON VI. 173 
 
 that for them no propitiation was appointed ; 
 and who can tell whaJt, without a propitia- 
 tion, would have been the ftate of fallen man ? 
 Perhaps altogether as hopelefs and deplorable 
 as the fl;ate of fallen angels ! We, like them^ 
 might have been objects, not of mercy, but 
 of vengeance ; for ever cut off from God, and 
 doomed to irrevocable condemnation ! At all 
 events the contrary cannot be proved ; and 
 proved it ought to be, before we admit that 
 repentance and a good life are, of themfelves, 
 fufficicnt to recommend us to the Divine 
 favour. 
 
 But it is contended, that the Scriptures; 
 themfelves favouir this opinion, fince they 
 " uniformly reprefent Grod as our univerfal 
 " parent, pardonipg dinners freely ; that is," 
 We are told, " from his natural goodnefs and 
 *' mercy, whenever they truly repent, and' 
 " reform their lives ''." And this repre- 
 ientation of the Divine being, it is further 
 contended, is inconfiflent with the do<3:rine of 
 Atonement ; which, by making the pardon 
 of fin to depend upon a foreign confideration, 
 is fiippofed to limit and impofe a reftraint 
 
 * Hift. ofCor. pw 156* 
 
 Upon 
 
174 SERMON VI. 
 
 upon that goodnefs and compaflidn, which 
 the Scriptures affirm to be free and tincon- 
 fined. 
 
 It will not be difficult to fliew, that this 
 objedtion, if allowed to be valid, wotild mili- 
 tate no lefs againft the opinion of our Adver- 
 fary, than againft the doftrine of Atonement : 
 but that in reality it proceeds upon a grofa 
 miftake both of the true lenfe of Scripture, 
 and of the nature of our dodlrine. But 
 becaufe it is an objedlion which has been 
 frfequently urged, and upon which our Adver- 
 faries feem to depend with no little confi- 
 dence, it will be proper to enter more at large 
 into the fubjedl, than can conveniently be 
 done upon the prefent occafion : I fliall there- 
 fore referve the full consideration of it for the 
 next Difcourfe. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 »fl<kK M ' * » 
 
 I Cor. i. 33. 
 
 We preach Chriji crucified \ to the 'Jews a 
 .Rumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolijh'^ 
 nefs. 
 
 AMONG the various objeiftioni§, which 
 have been ufged by Socinian writ- 
 ers againft the doftrine of Atonement*, 
 none has been repeated more frequently, or 
 prefTed with greater earneftnefs and confi- 
 dence, than that which I am now to con- 
 sider: I mean, the fuppofed inconfiftency of 
 this dod:rine, with the free grace and good- 
 nefs of God. At the fame time thcre^ Is no 
 objedlion which reffcs upon a weaker founda- 
 tion, or betrays a more grofs mifunderftand- 
 ing of the. doftrine, which it profefles to 
 oppOfe. 
 i,- The 
 
175 SERMON VII. 
 
 The Hiftorian of the Cormptioijs of* Chi'iC- 
 tianity ftates and fupports this objed;ioii in 
 the following manner. Having aiTerted, 
 agreeably to the quotation made at the clofe 
 of the laft Difcourfe, that the Scriptures 
 " uniformly reprefent God as our univerfal 
 " parent, pardoning finners ^r^^^, that is, 
 *' from his natural goodnefs and mercy, when- 
 " ever they truly repent and reform their 
 " lives," he thus proceeds : " All the decla- 
 " rations of Divine mercy are made w^ithout 
 " referve or limitation to the truly penitent, 
 " through all the books of Scripture, with- 
 " out the moft diftant hint of aUy regard 
 " being had to the fuftcrings oi: merit of any 
 " being v^^hatever." In proof of this poli- 
 tion, he brings from the Old Teftament the 
 declaration w^hich God made of his charafter 
 to Mofes, prefently after th& Ifraelites had 
 finned, in making the golden calf. " And the 
 " Lordpaffedby before him, and proclaimed 
 " the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- 
 " cious, long fuffpring, abundant in goodnefs 
 " and truth, keeping mercy for thoufands, 
 " forgiving iniquity, and tranfgreffion, and' 
 ** fm^" And then, as a further proofi 
 
 ' Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. 
 
 upon 
 
SERMON VII. i;7 
 
 Upon which he feems chiefly to depend, he 
 quotes from the New ireftament the declara- 
 tion of the Apoftle, that we zxq jujiified freely 
 by the grace of God^. " No;w certainly," 
 proceeds he> - " if the favour had been pro- 
 *' cured by the fufFering of another perfon, 
 *' it^ould not have been faid to be bellowed 
 *' freely "J" And again in another place, com- 
 rnenting upon thefe fame words, he obferves, 
 that the word J^eely " implies thait forgive- 
 " nels is the free gift of God, and proceeds 
 ** frorn his effential goodnefs and mercy, with- 
 " out regard to any foreign confideration 
 " W^at^ver." 
 
 Let me briefly bring to yoiir recolledlion, 
 that the principal pofition, mentioned in the 
 preceding pafl^ge, is the following ; viz. that 
 the declarations of Divine mercy are made 
 without referve Or limitation to the truly pe- 
 nitent, Without the moft diftanthint of any 
 regard being had to the fufferihgs or merit of 
 any being whatever. Now that God hath 
 declared in Scripture, that flncere penitents 
 are the objed:s <5,f his mercy, I readily admit. 
 But then I contend, that this very circum- 
 
 * Rom. iii. 24.— Tit. iii. 7. 
 
 * Hift. of Cor. vol. i. p. 156* 
 
 N ftancc 
 
178 S E R M O N VII 
 
 fiance implies a tefprve and limitation. 
 .Under the Gofpel-difpenfatidn,- offers .of 
 mercy are made, not to the penitent merely, 
 'but to all without exception. Our Lord 
 commanded his Appftles to " preach the Gof- 
 " pel to every creature'." And he fays ©f 
 himfelf, that he " came to call Jinners to re- 
 " pentance/." But o£ the/e "fuch^ Only as 
 obey the call, are accepted of God, Since!, 
 then, forgivenefs is not extended indifcrimi- 
 nately toall who have finned, but is^confined 
 to fuch finners, as by repentance are qua-lified 
 for fo great a .bleffing, there , is, unqueftion- 
 ably, in the mode of God's difp'erifmg mercy, 
 a referve and limitation. ;. ' 
 
 As for the either, aflertion, that there is not 
 in, any of the^-bdoks of Scripture the moft 
 diftant hint that God; in difpenfmg mercy, 
 .pays regard to. the fufferings or nierit of any 
 being whateyer, it may be oppofed by a mul- 
 titude of inftances tO; the contrary, collected 
 froqi various parts of Scripture, The Pfalmift, 
 ipeaking of the wonders which God had 
 wrought for the deliverance of his people out 
 .of Egypt, and for their :prefervation in the 
 wildernels, declares, that thefe mercies were 
 
 ' Mark XV}. 15. .^^Markii. 17. 
 
 vouchfafed 
 
SERMON . VII. .179 
 
 v6uchfafed unto them, becaufe God " re- 
 *' niembered his holy promife, and- Abraham 
 " his fervantf." And wheri the Ifraelites 
 had provoked God by their fm, in making the 
 golden calf, Mofcs, in iriterceding for them, 
 does not recommend them to mercy on ac- 
 count of their fmcere repentance (for at. this 
 very time they were engaged in the idolatrous 
 aft), but he urges a foreign confideration ; 
 namely, the promife which God had made to 
 their forefathers, his tried and' faithful fer- 
 vants : " Remember," fays he, " Abraham, 
 *^ Ifaac, and' Ifrael,' thy fervants, to whom 
 " thou fwareft by thine own felf, and faidft 
 *' unto them, I will, multiplyyour feed as the 
 *' ftars of heaven, and all this, land that I 
 ." have fpoken of, will I give unto your feed, 
 *',and theyihall inherit it for ever." And 
 his prayer was heard ; for we read that " the 
 *' Lord repented of the evil which he thought 
 " to do unto, his people ''." And in another 
 .place, Mofes petitions for' them, not on ac- 
 count of their repentance, or obedience, for 
 he acknowledges their obftinacy and difobe- 
 dience;"but on aiccount of him felf, arid in 
 confideration of the favour which he had him- 
 
 T 
 
 E Pf. cv. 42. ^ Exod. xxxii, 13, 14, ' 
 
 ' N 2 . felf 
 
iBo SERMON Vir. 
 
 felf found with God. " If now," fays slue, 
 " I have ibund grace in thy fight, G Lord, 
 " let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongft ns 
 " (for it is a ftiff- necked people), and pardon 
 " our iniquity and our £n, and take us for 
 " thine inheritance." And God granted his 
 petition ; for in the very next verfe he fds- 
 clares, that he made a covenant with them'. 
 And in after-times .th& idolatry of iKing So- 
 lomon :was not pmniflied, as it deferved, wLbh 
 the lofs of his kingdoM ; but God was pleafed 
 to continue him king all the days of his life, 
 for ©anvid his father's fake ; " becaufe," iarjs 
 a prophet fpeaking in the name of God, " *he 
 " kept my commandments and my flatutes''." 
 And again in the reign of Hezekiah, wheii the 
 Affyrians came up .againft Jeruialem, Gad 
 declares by the prophet liaiiih, " 1^11 jdefend 
 " this city to fave it fpr mine own fake, and 
 " for my fervant David's fake '." So^that if, 
 upon this fubjedt, we are allowed to have re- 
 courfe to the Old Teftament, there is, not a 
 diftant hint, but politive proof, that God 
 does not always difpenfe mercy to the Inily 
 penitent, -merely as iixch, but fom-etimies pays 
 
 ' E^xod. xxxiv. 9, 10. "^ I Kings xr. 34. 
 
 * If. xxxvlu 35. 
 
 regard 
 
S E R M Q N VII. i8i 
 
 r«^t4' to a foreign ponfideration; by which he 
 isv even moved to be favourable to thofe who 
 continue ftill in their fins. 
 
 jNfor is our dodlrine in the leaft invalidated, 
 oc the opinion qf our Adverfary at all con^ 
 firmed, by the palFag^ quoted from the Old' 
 Teftament, which, at moft, is only filent re- • 
 fpedling a circumftance not necefT&ry to be 
 mentioned. For God is here merely pro* 
 claiming his name and his attributes, in com- 
 pliance with the requefl of his fervant Mofcs,. 
 who had deflred tq ice his glory : but pro - 
 fefTes not to declare eithea- the feafons of his 
 gracious deaUngs with mankind, or the me- 
 thod by which he thinks^tto carry his bene-^ 
 volent defigns into effedt. And therefore in 
 vain was this paflage adduced to prove, that 
 <jrod, in lliewing mercy, pays no regard to th^ 
 fuiierings or merit of any being whatever. 
 
 Still lefs to our Adverfary's purpofe is thiS 
 paflage from the New Teftament, which, evei^t 
 in the fenfe impofed upon it by himfelf, will 
 be found, upon examination, no morp to 
 prove his principal pofition, than thf- former 
 quotation from the Old Teilament ; ar^d, in 
 its true fenfe, is fo far from being conclufive 
 againft us, that.it is rather oij our .fide. 
 *', Beiiig juftified/' fays the Apo^lc, 5' freely 
 N 3 ■ " by 
 
iSz SERMON Vll. 
 
 "~ by his grace :" Jreely ; that is, fays our Au- 
 thor, " from the eifential goodnefs and mercy 
 " of God, without regard to any foreign con- 
 " fideration whatever." And, taking the 
 word in this fenfe, he argues, that, if " the 
 " favour had been procured by the fufFering 
 " of another perfon, it could not have been 
 " faid to be beftowed freely." Now, upon ' 
 the ground here affumed, a thing can then 
 only be faid to be done freely, when it is done 
 unconditionally ; when the will of the agent 
 is unconfined, and ex:empt from the operation 
 of any confideration without itfelf. But if 
 this be the meaning of the term ; if God, in 
 the pardon of fin, be fuppofed to proceed after 
 this method ; then, to ufe th^ words of an emi- 
 nent Prelate "", the higheft Antinomianifm is 
 the trueft do<3;rine. For fmce forgivenefs can 
 only be accounted a free gift by being de- 
 pendant upon no condition, and fubject to no 
 reftridlion, it follows, that the repentance and 
 amendment of the offender himfelf are no 
 more to be regarded, than the fufferings or 
 merit of any other being ; and confequently 
 that all finners, without referve or limitatibn, 
 
 ■" Stillingfleet, in his Difcourf? concerning the true rea^ 
 fori of the fufferings 'of Chrift, 
 
 have 
 
S E R M'^ON VII. 1^3 
 
 have an equal claim to pardon, whether they 
 repent or no. If, to avoid fo fliocking a con- 
 fequence, it be faid that God is free to chufe 
 the objefts to vi^hom he will fhew mercy, and' 
 to impofe upon them fuch reftriftions, and to 
 require in them fuch qualifications as he thinks 
 fit ; I contend it may, with equal reafon, be 
 aflTerted, that he is alfo free to difpenfe this 
 mercy for fiich reafons, and by fuch methods, 
 as he in his wifdom Ihall determine to be moft 
 conducive to his own glory, and the good of 
 his creatures. And I know of no reafon why 
 a regard to the fufFerings or merit of another 
 perfon fhould any rtiore deflroy the freedom 
 of the gift, than the requifition of certain 
 qvialifications in the objedl himfelf. And 
 thus, upon the ground afiumed by our Adver- . 
 fary, the argument, derived from this paflagey 
 either proves as much againft him as againft 
 us, or, which is rather the cafe, proves no- 
 thing againft either ; and is therefore wholly 
 inapplicable to the point in qu'eftiop. 
 
 But the argument itfplf proceeds upon a 
 miftake of the Apoftle's meaning. > For the 
 expreffion freely, has an immediate reference 
 to ourfelves, and to our own exertions in the 
 work of juftifi cation, not to any thing which 
 •;-■■■ , - N 4 has 
 
1 84 SERMON VII. 
 
 has been done by another in our behalf ; and 
 is here ufed to denote the manner in which 
 the bleffing is beftowed, not the means by 
 which it was procured. " Being juftified 
 " freely by his grace :" freely ; in the origi- 
 nal- Su^eav ; in the way of a gift, unmerited 
 by us ; and not in the way of a reward for 
 our worthinefs or defert : agreeably to the 
 affertion of the Apoftle in another place* 
 " Not by works of righteoufnefs, which we 
 *' have done, but according to his mercy he 
 " faved us "." To be juftifie^, is to be ac- 
 counted righteous in the fight of God, and to 
 be admitted as fuch to his favour and accept- 
 ance. But man, in his fallen ftate, had no- 
 thing in himfelf, and could do nothing of 
 himfelf, by which he might merit, or claim 
 as his due, {o great a benefit. By fin he was 
 become guilty before Gbd, and fubjedl to the 
 curfe of the law : by fin he had corrupted his 
 faculties, and had lofl: much of that light and 
 firength by means of which, while in a flat© 
 of innocence, he had both a knowledge of his 
 duty, aud alfo ability to perform it : fo that 
 unfinning obedience, which, under the firft 
 covenant, was the duty of man, and whicl^ 
 
 » Tit. iii. 5. 
 
 aloiie 
 
SERMON VII. 185 
 
 alone could give hitn a right and title . to life 
 and happinefs, was now no longer in his 
 power. Having, therefore, no pretenfion to 
 real righteoufnefs,our abfolution from the guilt 
 of fin, and our admiffion to the charadler and 
 privileges of righteous perfons, muft be im- 
 puted, not to our merit, but to God's grace ; 
 it is an a6t of mercy, which we muft acknow- 
 ledge and receive as a free gift, and not demand 
 as a due reward. 
 
 Nor is the freedom of the gift deftroyed, 
 either by the conditions upon which it is be- 
 ftowed, or by the means through which it 
 Was procured. Man being endued, under the 
 firft covenant, with powers fully adequate to 
 the performance of an entire obedience, fuch 
 an obedience might with juftice be required 
 of him ; and being required, became his duty. 
 And when, by the voluntary abufe of his fa- 
 culties, he had loft the ability to perform his 
 duty, this could impofe no obligation upon 
 God to accept of lefs. And therefore that 
 God ftiould cancel the firft, and enter into a 
 new covenant with us, in which he requires' 
 a duty better adapted to the natural powers 
 ftill remaining to us, and hath moreover pro- 
 , jnifed fiipernatural afliftance in the perform- 
 ance of it ; that inftead of unfinning obe- 
 dience. 
 
i86 SERMON Vli; 
 
 dience, which, accordiag to the tenor of the 
 firft covenant, "he might lliil have required, he^ 
 Ihould accept of our fincere endeavours to 
 obey his will, and Ihould engage to abfolv© 
 from guilt, and to receive as righteous, all 
 who truly repent and turn to him; this is 
 throughout a proceeding, not of juftice, but 
 of mercy ; and rauft be v«holly afcribed, not 
 to our merit, but to God's free grace. Not- 
 'withflanding, therefore, repentance and good' 
 works are required under the new covenant, 
 it is ftill a covenant of grace ; and the bene-' 
 fits of this covenant mufl: ftill be accounted a 
 gi/'i, the freedom of which is not deftroyed, or 
 in the leaft diminiihed, by the reftridli'on' 
 under which it is offered, 
 ' . Nor do the means, by which our jufhifica- 
 tion was effected, in any refpedl alter its na- 
 ture as a gift, or in the leaft diminifh. its free-, 
 dom. What thefe means are, the Apoftle 
 declares in the words immediately following ; 
 "Being juftified freely by his grace, through 
 '^ the redemption that is in ^efus Chriji ;" and 
 what we are to underftand by this redemption,' 
 he tells us n. another place ; where, fpeaking. 
 of Chrift, he afTures us, that in him " we 
 *• have redemption through his blood, the for-. 
 
 -..'■-. , *' givene^ 
 
SERMON VIL 187 
 
 *' ghenefs of Jim °." Under the Gofpel-dif-'^ 
 penfation, as under the Legal, a flieddihg of 
 blood was appointed in order to remiffion ; 
 and this blood was no 'other than that of Chrift 
 himfelf ; which, as the Prieft of his Church,' 
 he offered to God, and thus made an atone- 
 ment for us, and procured that abfolution 
 from the guilt of fin, without which we could 
 not have httn jujiijied, or accepted and treated? 
 as righteous perfons. And hence it is that 
 we are'faid to be " juftified through the re- 
 " demption that is in Jefus Chrift." But 
 this redemption was not procured by us, or 
 provided at our expence. It was therefultof 
 the pure love of God ; who, compaffionating 
 our mifery, himfelf provided the means of 
 our deliverance. And for this caufe he fent 
 into the world his only-begotten fon, who vo- 
 luntarily fubmitted to die upon the crofs, that 
 he might become the propitiation for our fms, 
 and reconcile us to God. Thus is the whole; 
 an entire ad; of mercy on the part of God and 
 Chrift.; begun and completed for our benefit, 
 but without our intervention : and therefore, 
 with refpeft to us, the pardon of fin, and our 
 confequent juflification, muft ftill be ac-^ 
 
 » Eph. i, 7. ■ , ^'-~' i 
 
 counted 
 
i88 SERMON VII. 
 
 counted a gift, notwitbfta'nding it comes to 
 MS " through the redemption that is in Jefus 
 " Chrift." 
 
 And thus the- dodrine of Atonement is -Co 
 far from infringing, that it rather illuftrates 
 and difplays the free grace and goodnefs of 
 Grod : confequently the objedlion which we 
 have now been coniidering, not only will not 
 bear the great flrefs which has been laid upon 
 it, but is even wholly unfounded, and falk 
 entirely to the ground. 
 
 The^ foregoing objeftion proceeds upon the 
 fuppofition that the do<ftrine of Atonement is 
 incohiiftent with tile pofitive declarations of 
 Scripture. There are other objeftions, which 
 are rather of a negative kind : being founded 
 upon the entire omiffion of this dod:rine"in 
 the Old Teftament ; and upon the profound 
 filence, obferved in the New by our Lord and 
 his Apoftles, upon occafions which apparently 
 required them to treat of it with the greateft 
 opennefs and freedom. 
 
 And, in the firfl place, with refpeft to the 
 Old Teftament it is afferted,; that, " if the, 
 " dodlrine of Atonement be true, it cannot, 
 " however, be pretended that David, or any 
 " other pious pej;fon" mentioned in that 
 
 book, 
 
SERMON VII. 189 
 
 book, " was at all acquainted with it." And 
 from this pofition it is inferred, either that 
 *' the belief of this do6lrine cannot be necef- 
 *^ faty to falvation, or indeed of much confe- 
 " qnence :" or, fec-ondly, admitting the im- 
 portance of the dodlriiiie, that " the whole f£ 
 *' the Old Teftattient is, throughout, a moi: 
 " unaccountable book, and the religion k 
 *' exhibits, defe^ive in the moft effential ar- 
 *' tide P.'' Now the truth of the pofition it- 
 ieif may juftly be called in queftion. For 
 the 014 Teftament contains inany indubitabljc 
 notices of this dodtrine. A Saviour to come 
 was exprefsly promifed, and plainly foretold : 
 and the method of the falvation was fignified 
 and Teprefented by the inftitutions and cere- 
 inonial obfervances of the law. Though^ 
 therefore, the holy men of old had not that 
 clear light whiph we under the Gofpel en- 
 joy, they were ^not wholly in the dark : they, 
 doubtleis, many of them, faw enough to con- 
 •vince them that their carnal ordinances had a 
 fpiritual meaning, and were not utterly un- 
 able to look through 'the fign to the thing fig- 
 nified by it. ' ' 
 
 But even admitting that the pious perfons^ 
 
 f Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. 157, 158. 
 
 mentioned 
 
ipo S E R M O N Vlt 
 
 mentioned in the Ol'd Teftament, were wholly 
 unacquainted with this dodrine, ftill we muft 
 not haftily infer, eithef that the dodrine is 
 unneceflary, or that the Old Teftament is de- 
 fe<5live. And firfl, it does not follow that the 
 do6lrine is unneceffary. We know that the 
 revelation of Divine truth was not full and 
 entire at once : its dawnir)gs, in early times, 
 .were faint and obfeufe : as the world ad- 
 vanced,, it gradually grew more clear and 
 diftinft ; till at length it burft forth into a 
 perfedl, day, at the appearance of him who is 
 emphatically called the light of the world '. 
 Now if the revelation qf the Divine will has 
 been thus gradual j if, under the Old Tefta- 
 ment, it was only begun, and was not c6n>- 
 pleted but by the preaching ofChrift and his 
 infpired Apoftles ; then muft they, who lived 
 before the: timles of the Gofpel, of neceffity 
 have been unacquainted with many important 
 truths. But let us not abfiirdly flippofe that 
 their ignorance can be any excufe for' our un- 
 -belief, or, becaufe a doctrine could not be be- 
 lieved before it was revealed, that therefore 
 the belief of it, when revealed, is a matter of 
 little confequepce. __',,__ 
 
 ' John viii. iz. 
 
 Let 
 
SERMON VIL 191 
 
 Let us attend to the force of this argument, 
 when applied to that dod;rine which, in the 
 eftimation of our Opponent, is of the greateii 
 importance, as being the diftinguilhing doc- 
 trine of Chriftianity ; I mean a relurredlion 
 to immortal life. , Now it is nipft certain 
 •that this dodlrine was not fully revealed before 
 the coming of Chrift. This our Opponent in 
 effed: acknowledges, when be afferts, that 
 " the true and proper defign of the Goipel, 
 *'-and confequently of the preaching and of 
 *' the death of Chrift, was to afcertain and 
 " exemplify the great dod:rines of a refurrec- 
 " tion and of a future -ftate '." And indeed 
 it would be difficult, perhaps it is impoffibk 
 .to produce from the Old Teftament any paf- 
 fage, in which thefe dodtrines are explicitly 
 and undeniably afferted. And therefore, .if 
 known at all, of which fome have doubted, 
 .they mufl have b,een very imperfectly known 
 to the holy men of old- But, if their igno- 
 rance does not leffen the importance qf thefp 
 dodtrines, (and what Chriftian will contend 
 that it .does, ?) furely it cannot more afFed: 
 the doctrine of Atonement; the belief of 
 which, even allowing it to have beeri un- 
 
 ' Hift. ofCor. p. 175. 
 
 known 
 
igz SERMON VIL 
 
 known to the antient people of God, Is fiot, 
 on this account, a matter of little confequenc6, 
 or become in any relpedl the lefe neceffary to 
 falvation. 
 
 After what has heen already fald, few words 
 will fufEce to Ihew the weaknefs of the othtt 
 inference, viz. that, admitting the truth and 
 importance of this do6trine, " the whole of" 
 " the Old Teftament is, throughout, a moft 
 " unaccountable book, and the religion it ex- 
 *' hibits is defed:ive in the moft effential ar* 
 " tide." For the very eircumftahce which, 
 in the opinion of this Author, renders the Old 
 Teftament a moft unaccountable book, is the 
 neceffary confequence of the method by which 
 the will of God has been revealed to man- 
 kind. It is not' for us to enquire, why God 
 concealed from one age of the world, what 
 he afterwards thought fit to make known. 
 t)oubtlefs each diftinft revelation was ade- 
 tjuate to the purpofe for which it was given, 
 and is therefore perfed: in its kind. At all 
 events the omiffion, or imperfect: revelation, 
 of the do(9:rine of Atonement, can no more 
 be called ^. defeat in the Old Teftament, 
 than the omiffion, or imperfe^ revelation, of 
 a refurreftion and a future ftate. And wc 
 pioufly believe that the ignorance of the an- 
 tient 
 
SERMON VII. 19J 
 
 tient Ifraelites, refpefting either dodlrine, will 
 be no hindrance to their enjoying the benefit 
 of both. : that in Chrift Jefus, and in confe- 
 quence of what he hath done, and fuffered for 
 mankind, their bodies will, with ours, be 
 raifed at the laft day ; and that fuch among 
 them as, agreeably to the light afforded them, 
 fmcerely endeavoured to ferve God, and to 
 work righteoufnefs, will be accepted of him. 
 
 But it is further objefted, that " the Jews, 
 " in our Saviour's time, had no idea of this 
 " do6trine ;. for if they had, they would have 
 " expelled a fuffering, and not a triumphant 
 " Meffiah '." And that their, ignorance was 
 not owing to any miftake refpefting the cha- 
 radler of the Meffiah, and the true end of his 
 coming into the world, is prefently after at- 
 tempted to be proved from the fdenee of our 
 Saviour ; who never, in the courfe of his 
 preaching, pointed out to them their error, or 
 drew their attention to the fuppofed great and 
 only true cauie of his death '. 
 
 This argument of our Opponent, like the 
 former, may fairly be turned upon himfelf ; 
 againft whom it proves at leaft as niuch as 
 
 ' Hift. of Cor. p. 158. ' Ibid, p. 159. 
 
 O againfl 
 
194 SERMON VII. 
 
 againfl us. The Jews, we are told, in our 
 Saviour's time, had no idea that Meffiah was 
 to die for the fins of the world. But had 
 they any more an idea that the true and 
 proper ,^end of his miffion and death was " to 
 " exemplify and afcertain the doctrines of a 
 " rfefurre6lion and a future ftate ?" It will 
 not be pretended. One great and powerful 
 feA among them difbwned the very notion 
 of a reftirreftion ; and they all agreed in 
 afcribing for Meffiah's appearance a very dif- 
 ferent caufe. They expedted from his con- 
 quering arm the fubjugation of their temporal 
 enemies, and the pofleffion of earthly power 
 and grandeur. Even his own Difciples had 
 ^no other expedation from him. Hence the 
 rebuke of Peter, when he fpake of the cruel 
 mockings, and the ignominious death, which 
 he was to accompliili at Jeruf^-lem. " Be it 
 " far from thee, Lord ; this fliall not be unto 
 " thee " :" as if he thought it unbecoming 
 the great Redeemer of God's people to fub- 
 mit to fuch indignity. And afterwards, hav- 
 ing feen him, agreeably to his own predic- 
 tions, betrayed and put to death, they feem 
 to have given up all hope and expedation 
 
 " Matt. xvl. 2z. 
 
 from 
 
SERMON VII. igs 
 
 ffom hiai. " We trufted," fay: they, we* 
 once fondly hoped " that it had been he' 
 " which fhould have redeeoied Ifrael"."' 
 And fo deeply rooted was this prejudice of' 
 theirs in expedling a triumphant, and not a- 
 fuffering Meffiah, that our Lord on this ac- 
 count accufes them of folly, and flownefs of 
 heart to believe w^hat the < prophets had 
 fpoken. " Ought not," fays he, " Chrift 
 " to have fuffered thefe things, and to enter 
 " into his glory*?" As to; the dodlrine of a 
 refurredlion, they had not the leaft concep-' 
 tion.that it was at all connedled with his. 
 miffion and death. For, notwithftanding he 
 concludes the account of his fiifFerings and 
 crucifixion with an affurance that the third' 
 day he fhould rife again, the Evangelift tells 
 us, that " they underftood none of thefe 
 " things : and this faying Was hid frorri them, 
 "neither knew they the things which were 
 " fpoken ^" And again, when, immedi-. 
 ately after his transfiguration, he charged • 
 Peter, and James, and John, to tell no man 
 what they had feen in the mount, till the fon 
 of man were rifen from the dead ; " they 
 
 " Luke xxiv. 21. '^ Luke, xxiv. 25, 26, 
 
 > Luke xviii. 34. ' 
 
 O « ■ « kept," 
 
ig6 SERMON Vil. 
 
 " kept," fays St. Mark, " that faying with 
 " themfelves, queftioning one with another 
 " what the riling from the, dead fliould 
 " mean '." And, fo far were they from ex- 
 pedling that fuch an event would happen, in 
 confequence of the predictions of the pro- 
 phets, that, even after it had taken place, 
 St, John tells us, " as yet they knew not 
 ** the Scripture, that he muft rife again from 
 "the dead a." And after, they were fully 
 convinced of the reality of this event, they 
 were fo far from confidering his refurretSion 
 as a pledge and a proof of their own, that thej 
 thought it merely preparatory to his appear- 
 ing in what they efteemed his proper charac- 
 ter ; " Lord," fay they, " wilt thou at this 
 " time reftore again the kingdom to IfraeP?" 
 But, notwithftanding, in thus expefting a tri- 
 umphant Meffiah and a temporal Deliverer, 
 they had unqueftionably miftaken Meffiah's 
 character, and were wholly ignorant of what 
 our Hiftorian efteems the only true end of his 
 million, our L/ord no where reproves them for 
 their error, or fets them right in a matter of 
 {q great importance. To his own Dilciples 
 he fays nothing of his fufferings, till after 
 
 ' Mark ix. lO. » John xx. 9. •» Ads i. 6. 
 
 . ^ they 
 
S E R M O M. Vtl igy 
 
 they had owned him to be the (thrift ". Even 
 after his refurredion, when they enquired of 
 him, whether he would at that time accom- 
 plifh -Vvhat they ftill fcrronfeoufly imagined to 
 be the fole end of Meffiah's appearance, he 
 does not yet undeceive them : he eludes the 
 (Jueftion, by faying, " It is not for you to 
 " know the times or the feafons which the 
 " Father hath put in his own power ^," pro- 
 mifing them at the fame time the gift 
 of the Holy Ghofl, who, by his Divine 
 agency, fliould fully illuminate their under - 
 {landings, and lead them into all truth. It 
 appears, then, that this objeftion, if allowed 
 to be valid againft our doftrine, would be no 
 lefs fatal to the opinion of our Adverfary : 
 for the Jews in geiifcral, afid our Lord's Dif- 
 ciples among the reft, were as ignorant of the 
 lattet as of the former ; and were fuffered t6 
 continue in ignorance till the time came for 
 the full difcovery of the things pettaining to 
 the kingdom of God. 
 
 But we are told that our Lord not only 
 ddes> not reftify the miftake of the Jews> and 
 
 * Matt. xvi. 21, Markviii. 31. Luke ix. 22. 
 •i Aftsi. 7, 
 
 O 3 explain 
 
.198 SERMON VII. 
 
 explain to them the flippofed true and only 
 •;great caufe of his death, but alio that he 
 keeps a profound filence upon this fubje^'in 
 the general courfe of his preaching, and in 
 his converfations with his Difciples, both be- 
 fore and after his refurreftion : and further, 
 that his Apoftles obferve the fame filence in 
 all their addreffes and difcourfes, recorded in 
 the hiftory of their Ads '. 
 -T Here, again, the argument may with equal 
 force be turned againft bur Adverfary. For 
 neither does our Lord, in any of his conver- 
 latipns with his Difciples, preis upon them 
 the neceffity of his own death, in order that, 
 by riling again, he may give a proof and ex^ 
 ample of a refurreftibn from the dead ; nor 
 do his Apoftles, in any of the places alleged, 
 infill upon this as the great and only true 
 caufe of his million. They indeed frequently 
 appeal to his refurreftion ; but, as will pre- 
 fently appear, it is for the moll part with a 
 different view. • 
 
 But I wilh not to dwell any longer upon 
 this point ; I would rather enquire whether a 
 fatisfad:ory reafon may not be affigned for 
 that filence, which is thus urged as an objec- 
 tion to our doiSrine. 
 
 ■« Hift. ofCor. p. 161. 
 
 That 
 
SERMON VII. 199 
 
 That there were many lubje^ls upon which 
 our Lord did not think fit to open himfelf, 
 even to his immediate followers, while he 
 was upon earth, he himfelf acknowledges, 
 afligning at the fame time the reafon of his 
 referve. " I have yet," fays he, " many 
 " things to fay unto you ; but ye cannot bear 
 ** them now ^" Men cannot bear that the 
 whole truth fhould break in upon them at 
 once ; but muft be gradually prepared for 
 its reception. It is with the fpiritual, as 
 with the natural man : we are not in a ftate 
 of infancy able to bear that ftrong nourilh- 
 ment which is proper and even neceflary for 
 us, at a maturer age : fo there are myfteries 
 belonging to the kingdom of God, which 
 ought not to be unfolded, except to thofe who 
 are come unto a perfed; man, " unto the 
 " meafiire of the ftature of the fulnefs of 
 " Chrifl^" St. Paul fpeaks of his Corin- 
 thian converts as in a ftate of childhood ; and 
 declares, that he had been obliged to Ipeak 
 unto them as unto babes in Ghrift, and to 
 feed them with milk, and not with meat j 
 for, fays he, " hitherto ye were not able to 
 " bear it, . neither yet now are ye able "". * 
 
 ^ John xvi. 12. « Eph, iv. 13. ^ 1 Cor, iii. 2. 
 O 4 The 
 
200 SERMON VII. 
 
 The work of converfion and inflru^ion is an 
 9,rduous work, requiring the greateft pnadence 
 and caution. The ground muft firft be 
 cleatcd, and the foundation properly laid, be- 
 fore the building can be raifed. In like man- 
 ner the mind muft be freed from antient pre- 
 judices, and be rightly inftru6ted in the prin- 
 ciples of the dodlrine of Chrift, before it cart 
 attain unto a perfedl knowledge of the Gofpel. 
 Our tleffed Saviour well knew the teftiper of 
 thofe with whom he had to do ; and what 
 mode of condu<9: was moft likely to prevail. 
 His countrymen, to whom he principally ad- 
 dreffed himfelf, entertained, as we have feen, 
 felfe notions of Meffiah's charadier ; and their 
 prejudices were fo deeply rooted, that no- 
 thing Ihort of Divine authority feemed ca- 
 pable of removing them. Accordingly our 
 Lord does not, immediately and at once, op- 
 pofe to thefe prejudices the real nature of his 
 miffion, by declaring, in ejcprefs terms, the 
 true end of his coming into the world : his 
 aim is rather, in the firft place, to convince 
 them of the Divine authority with which he 
 adled ; and to gain their attention to his doc- 
 trine, by performing among them fuch 
 mighty works, as they muft themfelves ac- 
 knowledge 
 
S E R'M O K VII. 201 
 
 knowledge no one could perform, Except 6bd 
 were with him. If, at his firft appearance, 
 he hadj without any preparation, publicly de- 
 clared the true end and defign of his miffion, 
 he woaald have given univerfal offfenfce to that 
 prejudiced people ; who, . inftead of hearing 
 him gladly, would with one confent have 
 combined againll him, as an enemy to their 
 nation, and a blafphemer of their God, with- 
 out attending to, or perhaps giving him an 
 opportunity of exhibiting, thofe prdofs of his 
 miffion to which he appealed. We th4Sre*- 
 fore find him, at his firft appearance, fcrupu- 
 loufly endeavouring to conceal from the peo- 
 ple his real charadier. The Devils, who 
 knew him, he fiiffered not to fpeak ' : and 
 after his immediate followers had confelTed 
 him to be the Chrift, " he ftraitly charged 
 " them, and commanded them to tell no 
 " man that thing"." The world in general 
 was not as yet prepared to receive this great 
 truth ; the public declaration of which was 
 referved for the Apoftles, who, aft^r the re- 
 flirredlion of their Lord, were to be his wit- 
 nefles to the ]^(^le. At prgfent, therefore, 
 the knowledge of the Saviour was cbnfined 
 
 ' Mark i. 3+. "^ Luke ix. 21. 
 
 to 
 
:202 SERMON VII. 
 
 to thefe chofen ,Diiciples ; and our Lord's 
 more immediate care was to prepaire them 
 for the work to which they were called. But 
 even to them he does not reveal himfelf 
 openly, and at once ; but leaves them, under 
 the influence of the holy Spirit, to draw their 
 own conclufion from what they faw and heard. 
 And when at length their conyidlion drew 
 from them the general confeffion above-men- 
 tioned, that he was " the Chrift of God," he 
 fuffers them ftill to remain in ignorance of the 
 true end of his miffion : nor was it till after 
 his afceniion into heaven, that their minds 
 were fully illuminated with the knowledge 
 of Divine truth. 
 
 Such was the prudence and caution ob- 
 ferved by our Lord, in revealing to his imme- 
 diate followers the truths of the Gofpel. And 
 the fame prudential condud: they, in their 
 turn, obferved, in delivering to others the 
 things which they had received. While our 
 Lord was upon earth, his doftrine and mi- 
 racles had fo far attracfled the notice of the 
 people, as to excite in them fome expeftation 
 of his being the great Deliverer, predid;ed by 
 the prophets. But, ignorant of Meffiah's 
 real charadler, and big with the hope of 
 worldly power and grartdeur, they were im- 
 patient 
 
SERMON VII. aQS 
 
 patient at the diikp{)ointment of their afpiring 
 views, and turned with difguft and abhorrence 
 from a crucified Saviour. To the Gentiles, 
 alio, the dodxine of the Crofs appeared no 
 lefs unreafbnable ; and could not fall of ex- 
 pofing the preachers of it to their con tern pt 
 and ridicule. Thus the preaching of Chrlft 
 crucified was " to the Jews a ftumbling- 
 " block, and to the Greeks fooliftinefs ;■' and 
 proved among both, the greateft Impediment 
 to the progrefs of the Gofpel. It was there- 
 fore the firft and Immediate care of the In- 
 ftru6lors of mankind, to remove this impe- 
 diment, and "to convince both Jews and 
 Greeks, that the crucified Jefus was, notwith- 
 ftandlng his Ignominious death, both Lord 
 and Chrlft ; a Prince and a Saviour ; the 
 proper objedl of their faith, and the firm 
 foundation of their hope. And as Jefiis 
 hjmfelf had formerly appealed to his miracles 
 in teftimony of his Divine miffion; ib they, 
 in confirmation of their do(flrinej infifted upon 
 that greateft of miracles, his refurrediion from 
 the dead ; which they every where held 
 forth, not fimply as the proof and pledge of 
 our own, but rather as a moft convincing 
 argume;nt that he is very Chrifl, advanced 
 to the higheft ftate of power and glory> 
 
 and 
 
2t4 s £ R M o N vn. 
 
 i.iid trdaAtitO. to b* the judge of q\iiek and 
 dead '. 
 
 In this general manner did tht Apoftles 
 ■f>reach the Gofpel to the unconverted : tod 
 of thofe whom they cohvinced by their 
 preaching, they required lio other confeffion 
 than fimply this ; that Jejus is the Chriftj the 
 Son of God: for theif faith in this fundamen- 
 tal doftrine being fully eftablifhed, they 
 would be difpofed to lay afide their formeir 
 prejudices^ and to receive, with meekheis and 
 
 'See St. Peter's difcourfe to 'AiKjems imriiediately after 
 the defcent of the Holy Spirit, A(£b iij and again in the terti- 
 plfe upon the Gurfc of the impotent nian, ch. iii ; and to Cor- 
 nelius, and the other Geniiles aflembled ■with hinijch. x. See 
 alfo St. Paul's drfcourfe to the j^ews at Antioch, ch. xiii ; 
 4nd at Theffalonica, ch. xvii. Theft all are among the places 
 referred to by Dr. Prieftlejr. The other places to which he 
 refers are the following : The fpeech of Stepbeh at his 
 trial} ch. vii ; the difcourfe of Philip the Evangclift to the 
 Eunuch, ch. viiij St, PauJ^s difcourfe to the Heathens at 
 Lyftra, ch. xiv. and at Athens, ch. xvii ; before Agrippa, 
 ch. itxvi. and at Rome, ch. xxviii. But on no one of thele 
 occaAoft? d6es the fpealter proffefs to treat of the de)£tririe of 
 Atonement, or of a refurredlion and a future ftate, Or of any 
 •of the peculiar dotSrines of Chriftianity : his defign is rather 
 to apologize for his own conduct ; or to convert and bring 
 over either the idolatrous Heathens to the wbrfhip of the 
 true God, or the unbelieving Jews to a gfeherkf confeflioii 
 of feith in Ghriftr, *' , 
 
 fubmiffion, 
 
s e; R M o N vji. 205^ 
 
 fubmiflion, thof? other Divine truths, in 
 which they jpiould afterwards be inftrufte4' 
 So tha^ the filence of our Lord in his cqn^ 
 yerfations with his Difciples, and of thefe 
 Diifciples in their fnbfequent addreffe? tp the" 
 unconverted, with relpedt to the do<Slrine 
 of Atonement, appears to have proceeded 
 fypnj prudence and defign ; and to have been 
 the iieGeflary confequence of that mode of in- 
 ftri^dlion, by which the truths of the Gofpel 
 were originally commxmicated. The teach- 
 ers q£ religion were referved only where re- 
 igrve was expedient, and tended tq the fur- 
 therance of the Gofpel : o^ other occaiio^is 
 they opened themfelves more freely. Even 
 John the Baptift, after he had prepared his 
 Difciples to receive our Lord as the promifed 
 -Mefljah, pointed him out to them under the 
 ch,ara<9:er of ** the larnb of God which tak- 
 '« eth away the iin of the world!"." And 
 our Lord himfelf at the inftitution of the Eu- 
 charift, when now his Difciples had fully ac- 
 knowledged him to be the Meffiah, and their 
 faith in him as fuch. was confirmed beyond 
 danger of being fhaken, fpeaks of his blood 
 jas being " fhcd for the reni.ifIion of fms "." 
 
 <" John i. 29, 36. » Matt. xxvi.. 28. 
 
 And 
 
;io6 SERMON VII. 
 
 And in the Ad;s of the Apoftles, that book> • 
 in which we are triumphantly told that not 
 a word is dropped by any of the Apoftles re- 
 fpedling this doftrlne ; in that very book St. 
 Paul exhorts the Ephefian Bijhops to " feed 
 " the Church of God, which he hath pur- 
 " chafed with his own blood °." And in his 
 epiftles to the feveral Chriftian Churches 
 whom he addreffes, he fhuns npt to declare 
 linto them the whole counfel of God; but 
 infifts-'(as do • alfo the other Apoftles) with 
 no lefs freedom and fulnefs upon this, than 
 upon any other undifputed dodrine of the 
 Chriftian faith. 
 
 It appears, then, that the occafions referred 
 to by our Hiftorian, were fo far, as is pre- 
 tended, j&om affording to our Lord and his 
 Apoftles an opportunity of difcourfing, with 
 opennefs and freedom, upon the dod;rine of 
 Atonement, that they rather required that 
 fllence and referve upon which the objection' 
 is founded. Confequently this objection, like 
 the others before confidered, is without force, 
 and falls to the ground. 
 
 We have now considered the principal of 
 thofe arguments, by which the Hiftorian of 
 
 ' " Afts XX. 28. ' 
 
 the 
 
SERMON VII. zoy 
 
 the Corruptions of Chriftianity has thought 
 fit to aiTail the dodlrine in queftion. And I 
 truft it muft have appeared that nothing ad- 
 vanced by him is any real objedlion ; much . 
 lefs of weight fufficient to juftify the rejec- 
 tion of the plain and obvious ferife of thofe 
 nurperous paffages of Scripture, by> v^rhich the 
 dodlrine is fiipported, in order to make room 
 for that remote and figurative ienfe, for which 
 he contends. And fince the dodlrine of 
 Atonement is thus agreeable to the plain,* 
 untortured fenfe of Scripture in a variety of 
 paiTages, and is no where irreconcileable with 
 the language of the facred writers ; fmce it 
 is perfedlly confident with the other acknow- 
 ledged - do<5lrines of our religion, and is in 
 common with them freely infifted upon by 
 the infpired penmen, whenever they judge 
 it fuitable to the occafion, and for the ad- 
 vantage of thofe to whom they addrcfled 
 themfelves ; Avhat Ihall hinder us from con- 
 cluding, that it is part of that " faith 
 " which was once delivered unto the 
 " Saints ''." Indeed, were the objeftions 
 againft it much more ferious than we have 
 found them to be, a dodlrine, confefTedly of 
 
 p Jud. 3. 
 
 fuch 
 
2o8 SERMON VII. 
 
 ^ch importance, ought not eafily to be re- 
 :figned. But when in reality thefe objedlions 
 are weak and frivolous, founded for the moft 
 part ijpGn mifconception and miftake, and at 
 beft are fpecious rather than fblid ; with how 
 much greater confidence fhall we preferve 
 and keep it ? To the followers of a vain and 
 fceptical philofophy, conceited of their own 
 knowledge, and trufting in their own right- 
 eoufnefs, the dodtrine, for which we con- 
 tend, may appear, as it did to the Greeks of 
 old, mere foolilhnefg. But to the humble 
 Chriftian, who takes the Scriptures for his 
 guide, it is a dodlrine full of comfort, and of 
 , hope. Senflble of the infufficiency of mere 
 human virtue, he difowns all confidence in 
 himfelf; and looks for acceptance, not on 
 account of his own righteoufnefs, but for the 
 lake and through the mediation of Jefiis 
 Chrift, who " fuffered for fms, the juft for 
 *' the unjuft, that he might bring us to 
 
 God 
 
 "^ I Pet Hi, 18. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 Rom. iii. ZS) 26. 
 
 Whom God hath Jet forth to be a propitiation, 
 through faith in his bloody to declare his 
 rigbteoufnefs for the remijjioh of fins that are 
 paji, through the forbearance of God \ to de- 
 clare, I fay, at .this time his righteoufnefs, 
 that he might be juji, and the ji^ifier of him 
 that believeth in Jefus. 
 
 IT is the peculiar excellency of the Chrif- 
 tian religion, that its declines are ad- 
 dreffed not to the underftanding merely, but 
 to tlie heart alio ; and are all of them emi- 
 nently calculated to affed: the lives of Be- 
 lievers, and to promote the pradice of piety 
 and virtu0. This , is the acknowledged ten- 
 dency of all the undoubted articles of our 
 moft -hoLy faith j nor can any. opinion, which 
 
 P has 
 
510 SERMON Vm. 
 
 has b^en generally received as a Chriftiati 
 dodlrine, be more effedually degraded from 
 its aflumed rank, thari by fhewing that it 
 tends rather to produce the oppofite effed:. 
 
 Upon this ground the dodlrine of Atone- 
 ment has been attacked and impeached. For 
 while, on the one hand, the advocates of this 
 dodlrine affirm vsrith confidence, that it has a 
 mofl: powerful influence upori the pradlice of 
 all who fmcerely receive it; its opponents, on 
 the other, no lefs confidently deny that it has 
 any fuch influence : they rather infinuate that 
 it has a pernicious tendency ; being, according 
 to their reprefentation, fo contrived as to give 
 the minds of men " unfavourable impreffions 
 ** of the Divine government, which, if not cor- 
 " redled by fomething elfe, muft," we are told, 
 " have an unfriendly afpeft upon their virtue." 
 
 It is not my defign to enter upon a regular 
 examination of the arguments adduced in 
 proof of that pernicious influence, which '\% 
 thus afcribed to our dodlrine. I Ihall only 
 qbferve, that they proceed principally upon 
 the fuppofition that it reprefents the Deity in 
 a vindiftive point of view, requiring fiall and 
 £idequate fatisfadiion ,t«s», his offended , juftice, 
 and withholding mercy even from fincere 
 penitents, till, fuch fatisfadion be> made. 
 
 Now 
 
SERMON Vm. air 
 
 Now it is infmuated \ that, according to 
 fuch a dodtrine, God's moral government is 
 founded upon a blind principle, whofe only- 
 end is to obtain fatisfaftion for itfelf, which, 
 when provoked, it craves indifcriminately of 
 all that come within its reach, or that throw 
 themfelves in its way. But in o^ppofition to 
 fuch a blind principle of government, and 
 fiich an unworthy end, our Author contends,' 
 that in the Deity goodnefs or benevolence (of 
 which jujiice is afferted to be a mere modifi- 
 cation) is the y^/f governing principle ; and 
 that its only object and end is the lupreitie 
 happinefs of God's creatures and fubjeAs. 
 Having thus ftated that in God's moral go- 
 vernment, the fole principle is goodnefs, and 
 the fole end, the happinefs of his creatures, 
 he proceeds to argue, that whatever has not 
 a tendency to promote the end^ muft be in- 
 confiftent with the principle : that in the all- 
 perfeiS: government of God, this end is not 
 promoted by any feverity fliewn to penitents 
 themfelves ; that therefore! to exercife feverity 
 upon them is unneceffary; and to exercife it 
 upon others, as the dod;rine of Atonement 
 requires, is abfurd. And this is the groijiridr 
 
 » Hift. of Cor. V. i. p. i68. 
 
 P 2 upon 
 
5U SERMON Vm. 
 
 upon which the dodrine of Atonement ii* 
 aflsFted to give the minds of mien thofe un- 
 favourable impreffions of the Divine govern- 
 ment, bj which> if uncorrected^ their virtue 
 would be endaiigefed. 
 
 In order to fliew the weaknefs and irrele- 
 vancy of this whole argument, I need only 
 briefly repeat what I have already difcourfed 
 upon at large. It has been- fhewn, that atone- 
 ment means fimply reconciliation ; and there- 
 fore does not neceflarily imply any fatisfa<flior» 
 at all : confequently the doctrine, considered 
 generally, cannot be affedled by an argument, 
 the very btfis of which is JaiisfaSiion to Di- 
 "vine jujiice. It has been further fhewn, that 
 of thofe who affert a fatisfaftion to Divine 
 juftice, the greater part mean not fuch a 
 rigid fatisfadion as an offended perfbn might 
 be fuppofed to claim as a matter of right, and 
 by way of compenfation ; but fuch as a pru- 
 dent governor, anxioufly concerned for the 
 welfare of his fubjedls, rnight think fit to re- 
 quire, in order to maintain a refpedl for his 
 lav/s, and to preferve his authority from con- 
 tempt. But the argument of our Hiftorian 
 proceeds upon the fuppofition of an adequate 
 fatisfadioh, claimed by the Almighty Gover- 
 nor of the univerfe,, fblely upon his own ac- 
 count ; 
 
SERMON VIH. Z13 
 
 couttt ; and is therefore wholly inapplicable to 
 the do(Srine of Atonement, confidered uilder 
 this view. Laftly, it has been flieWn^ that even 
 they who under'ftandya^w/^^zow in its mottrigid 
 fenfe, ftill fuppofe that it was requirednn order 
 to maintain the inviolability of the Divine 
 attributes, that God might be merciful with- 
 out prejudice to his juilice. But from this opi- 
 nion, it by no means foUows^ that fatisfa^ion 
 was blindly ot vindictively demanded ; on the 
 contrary, we fliould rather infer, thkt the ap- 
 pointment of it proceeded from the Divine 
 goodnefs or benevolence. So that under no 
 view of our doftrine ig there the leaft teafon 
 for afferting, that its Advocates intend any 
 Oppofition between the juftice of <j6d and 
 his goodriefs ; or that they mean to fet up a 
 principle pf government, which has not for 
 its objeft the; happinefs of God's creatures. 
 ■Thus this whole argument proceeds tipon a 
 miifconception, and a fallfe view of the fub- 
 . jed; : and the foundation being thus fandy 
 jand weak, the fiiperftrudlure cannot but fall. 
 
 But while I thus contend, that nothing in 
 
 the doftrine of Atonement, under any view 
 
 of it, is really inconfiftent with what is here 
 
 propofed as the principle of Gpd's moral go- 
 
 P 3 vernraeut. 
 
214 SERMON Vm. 
 
 vernment, and the end which it has in view ; 
 let me not be thought imphcitly to fubfcribe 
 to thepropolition itfelf in its full extent. For 
 if, I underftand, it right, it in effed: maintains, 
 that the fupreme Jhappinefs of God's crea-: 
 tures is th.&fole end of all the meafures of his 
 government, and confequently that any mea- 
 fiire, of .which this happinefs is not the pri- 
 mary and immediate objecl, cannot confift 
 with his governing principle. Now that the 
 meafures of God's government have all of 
 them, through his goodnefs, a general ten? 
 dency to promote the good of his creatures, I 
 readily allow : but that the good of his crea- 
 tures mufl be \}a& fdle, or indeed the great and 
 primary end of every meafure, I am not pre- 
 pared to admit. The Scriptures feem to 
 Jpeak a different language : they affirm, that 
 the glory of God is the great end of creation 
 itfelf ; and that the promotion of his glory is 
 the thing principally intended by the whole 
 courfe and order of the univerfe. " For of 
 " him, and through him, and to him, are all 
 " things : to whom be glory for ever **." 
 " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, 
 " and honour, and power : for thou haft 
 
 * Rom, xi. 36, 
 
 " created 
 
S E R M O N VIII. 515 
 
 *' created all things, and for thy pleafure 
 " they are, and were created'." Though 
 therefore we fhould fail in Ihewing that any 
 difpenfation was immediately defigned to pro- 
 mote our own happinefs, ftill it would by no 
 means follow that the difpenfation itfelf is 
 inconfiftent with the general defigh of God's 
 providence. Far be it.from us to luppofe that 
 always our good, and never his own gloiy, 
 ought to be the immediate objedl of the mea- 
 fures of his government. There may be in 
 the nature of God fomewhat fo adverfe to 
 fm, as to require the appointrrient of a propi- 
 tiation. It may be that the glory of his at- 
 tributes, of his juftice in particular,' may be 
 concerned in fuch an appointment : at leaft 
 we cannot know to the contrary : and there- 
 fore it is not for us to rejedl a prbpitiation on 
 account of its luppofed inconfiftency, with 
 what we may (ignorantly perh^s) affume as 
 the fundamental principle of God's govern- 
 ment. 
 
 But in the prefent cafe there is no fuch 
 inconfiftency. Fori whatever might be the 
 primary intention of a propitiation for fm, 
 confidered generally, we fcruple not to affirm^ 
 
 *= Rev. iv. II. 
 
 P 4 that 
 
3i6 SERMON VIII. 
 
 tiiat the propitiation appointed for the fin of 
 man, had in view the good of man : which, 
 jas I conceive, it efFeftiially promotes, not only 
 by procyring our deliverance from the pu-^ 
 flifliment of fm, and our reftoration to the 
 favour of God; but alfo by its influence 
 upon our condud;, derived from that mani- 
 feftation of the righteoufhefs or, juftice of 
 God, which isj exprefsly afcribed to it by the 
 Apo{ll0 in the text : a manifeftatidn, calcu- 
 lated to fill the ttnind with fuch avvfiil appre- 
 henfions of the Divine Being, as muft have a. 
 dire<3: tendency to promote repentance, and 
 ^e pradice of virtue. In the enfuing Dif- 
 courfe I. • ptQpofe to elucidate the Apoftle's 
 meaning, and to fix the true fenfe of the 
 words before us, that we may be able to ap- 
 ply, ^hem with advantage to our prefent ar- 
 gument : juid , I the more readily clofe my 
 labour with an illuftration of this important 
 pafiTage, becaufe I conceive it affords a ftrong 
 confirmation of the whole dodtrine for which 
 "we have been contending. 
 
 . In the chapter before us, the Apoftle is 
 
 'trea;ting of man's juftification in the fight of 
 
 God ; of which he propofes two methods : 
 
 the firft is by our own obedience to the Di-^ 
 
 .:Lii .. " 'vine 
 
SERMON 'VIIL 317 
 
 vrtie iaw ; the works of which " if a liian 
 ■**- do, he Ihall live -in them''." This obe- 
 dience he elfe where calls " the righteoufhefs 
 ", which is of the law*:" and fmce, if it 
 could be attained, it would proceed from 
 the exertion of thofe powers and faculties 
 whidi God hath implanted in our nature, it 
 is alfo called our own righteoufhefs ^. The 
 other method of juftifjcation is by the grace 
 of God, abfolvitig us from the guilt- of fm, 
 and not imputing our iniquities iinto- us. 
 And becaufe this non- imputation of fin, for 
 which we are thus indebted to the free grace 
 and goodnefs of God, hath, as far as our ac- 
 ceptance is concerned, the effeft of ad;ual 
 righteoufnefs, it is denominated, in oppo- 
 sition to the former, " the righteoufnefs of 
 " God." And, becaufe We apply the benefit 
 of it to ourfelves by faith, or a firiii perfua- 
 fion of the promifes of God, and a ftedfaft re- 
 liance upoii his goodnefs, it is further called 
 ** ; the righteoufnefs of God by faith." 
 
 Of thefe methods of juftification, the for- 
 mer is rejedled by the Apoftle, as inapplicable 
 to man in his prefent ftate of degeneracy and 
 jmperfedion ; fince he neither does nor can 
 
 * ^cv, xyiii. 5. « Rom. x. 5, * IK 3, 
 
 pay 
 
3]8 SERMON Vm. 
 
 pay that ftrid and entire obedience to the 
 Divine law, which is required of all who 
 feek in this manner to be accepted of God. 
 " By the deeds of the law ftiall no flefh be 
 " juftified J for by the law is the knowledge 
 " of fin." It remains, therefore, that we 
 have recourfe to the other method, which is 
 better adapted to the prefent condition of 
 man, • " For," fays the Apoftle, " all have 
 *' finned, and come fhort of the glory of 
 *.'. God ; being juftified freely by his grace." 
 And this juftification the Apoftle further de- 
 clares proceeds to us, not immediately from 
 God, but by the intervention of a Saviour. 
 *' Being juftified freely by his grace, through 
 " the rederbjition that is in Jefus Chrift." 
 
 Having thus laid the foundation of our ac- 
 ceptance in the mere graceandgoodneisbf God, 
 and declared the means by which it pleafed 
 God to carry into effedl his gracious defigns 
 towards rnankind, the Apoftle proceeds, in the 
 words of the text, to ftate, that this Jefiis, in 
 whom we have redemption, " God hath fet 
 " forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
 " his blood :" " whom God hath fet forth," 
 ov TTjsa&fiTo ^iog; whom God propoied, openly 
 exhibited, pr publicly announced " to be a 
 " propitiation," to be the perfon in whom he 
 
 is 
 
SERMON Vlir. 219 
 
 is reconciled to finful man, and through 
 whom he will accept as righteous all who by 
 faith apply to themfelves the virtue of that 
 blood which was fhed for the remiffion of 
 fins ^. 
 
 The 
 
 8 It has been obferved, that the word here rendered prs" 
 pitiatiafj, in the original iA«r»!giiii', is the fame which is ufed 
 in the Septuagint verfion, and alfo by the Apoftle himfelf 
 in his Epiftle to the Hebrews (ch. ix. 5.) to exprefs the 
 mercy-feat^ that outward covering of the aric, above which, 
 in the pld tabernacle, God dilplayed his yifible prefence to 
 the Ifraelites. Hence fome Commentators have contendedj 
 that it ought to have the fame meaning in the paflage be- 
 fore us ; which accordingly they render " whom God hath 
 '* fet forth to be a propitiatory or mercy-feat." The mercy- 
 feat was fo called, becaufe, under the Old Teftament, it 
 was the place where the High-Prieft, on the feaft of expia- 
 tion, fprinkled the blood of the fin-oiFerings, in order to 
 make an atonement for himfelf and the whole congrega- 
 tion : and fince God accepted the offering which was there 
 made, it may for this" reafon be accounted the medium, 
 through which Godfliewed himfelf propitious to his chofen 
 people. With reference to this, Jefus Ghrift may be 
 called a mercy-feat, as being the perfon, in or through 
 whom God fliews himfelf propitious to mankind. And, 
 as, under the Old Teftament, God was propitious to 
 thofe who came unto him, by appearing before his mercy- 
 feat with the blood of their fin-offerings ; fo, under the 
 Gofpel-difpenfation, he is propitious to thofe who' come 
 unto him by Jefus Chrift, through faith in that blood (elfe- 
 Vrhere called the blood of fprinkling) which he flied for the 
 
 remifEon 
 
3^0 SERMON VIIL 
 
 The intention, or delign, with which God 
 was pleafedthusto fet forth, or openly to exhi- 
 bit 
 
 remiffion of fins. (See Whitby's annotation on this 
 paflage.) 
 
 But an objeflion may be taken againft this interpreta- 
 tion, upon the ground that it gives to the word l^arvfios 
 a mere declarative fenfe, making the Saviour entirely paf- 
 five in efFefting a propitiation ; and affigning to him no 
 higher office than that of bearing teftimony to Grod's in-r 
 tentions towards mankind, or of declaring that the effeft 
 has been produced. Whereas the context, and full force 
 of the pafiage, feem to require that the word fhould be taken 
 aiSsively ; fo as to afcribe to the Saviour an agency in pro- 
 pitiating God. Accordingly it has been contended, that 
 the word fhould be rendered (agreeably to our own ver- 
 sion) proptiatkn ; fo that by i'Kar'^giat in this place, St, 
 Paul is affirmed to mean that very thing which St. John 
 expreffes by Jxaer/xo? ; which latter word never fignifies a 
 propitiatory^ or that by means of which God Qiews himfelf 
 propitious ; but a propitiation, or that on account of which 
 he ishecome propitious ; (fee Grotius de Saiisfac. chap. vii.) 
 3nd then the following words, " through faith in his 
 ♦' blood," ferve to declare both the means by which the 
 propitiation was effe£led, viz. by.the blood of Chrift fhed 
 for our fins, and alfo the manner in which we are to apply 
 the benefit of the propitiation to ourfelves, viz. by laith in. 
 the virtue and efficacy of that blood which was:i!hed. 
 
 There is ,j?et another interpretation, of which the rword 
 i^antfioK is capable : for (being deduced from i^ariigui?') it 
 may fjgnify a ^r«/i«Vifl^or, or the perfonby whom God is 
 rendered propitious, (vid. Bezse Annotat.). Taking the 
 
 ' wor4 
 
SERMON Vllt. ±u 
 
 bit the Redeemer as a propitiation, the Apofllc 
 fubjoins in the words immediately following : 
 " to declare his righteoufnefs for the re- 
 " miffion of fins that are paft, through the 
 *' forbearance of God." " To declare his 
 
 word in this fenfe, we have here afcrlbed to Chrift the fame 
 office which the High Prieft difcharged, under the Old Tef- 
 tament, on the feaft of expiation ; that of propitiating God 
 by an offering of blood; which blood, under the New 
 Teflrament, is that of Chrifl himfelf, wth which he en- 
 tered, not, as the legal High Prieft with the blood of bulls 
 and of goats, into the Tabernacle made with hands, but 
 into heaven itfelf, there to appear in the prefence of God 
 for us, that all who believe in him may, by virtue of that 
 blood which he offered, obtain pardon of fins, and accept- 
 ance in the fight of God. And this third interpretation, 
 while it is free from the objeftion urged againfl: the firft, 
 in as much as itafcribes to Chrift an agency in producing 
 the efieft, and not a mere power of declaring that the eSsdc. 
 is produced, does not, like the fecond, take exaftly in the 
 fame fenfe two words which have indeed the fame origin, 
 but whofe difference of termination feems to require fome 
 diiiinftion in meaning. 
 
 But, in which ever of thefe fenfes we take the word in 
 queftion, whether as a propitiatory, a propitiation, or a 
 pr($]^tiator } whether as the medium through which 
 God has declared himfelf propitious ; as the thing on ac- 
 count of which he is become propitious ; or as the agent by 
 whom he is made propitious ; it cannot, I think, be de- 
 nied, that the paflage before us afcribes to the blood of 
 Chrift a power of making propitiation, the efFe(3: of yvhich 
 we are to apply ta ourfelves by faith. 
 
 " righteoufnefs/' 
 
232 SERMON VIII. - 
 
 " righteoulhefs," eig sv^ei^iv ri?? ^ikouoitvvij; 
 aura, for a demonjiration, or rather, manifejia- 
 tion of his righteoitfnefs or juffice. Juftice, 
 when applied to the Divine nature, is that 
 attribute by which God, confidered as the- 
 governor of the univerfe, wills the punifli- 
 ment of thofe who tranfgrefs his laws. Con- 
 fequently by God's demonftrating or mani- 
 fefting his juflice, we may underftand his 
 taking fuch meafures, as prove to all the fiib- 
 je<5ls of his government the entir.e rectitude 
 of his nature, and his invariable adherence to 
 this effential branch of , his character. Now 
 the fetting forth of Jefus Chrift to be a pro- 
 , pitiation was a meaftire of this kind, ordained 
 by the all- wife Governor of the univerfe, to 
 convince the world that he is a righteous- 
 judge, abhorring fm, and whatever appear- 
 ances there may be to the contrary, enter- 
 taining a juft feverity againft it. I fay, 
 whatever appearances there may be to the 
 contrary: for that there were mch appear- 
 ances in the world, at the time of our Savi- 
 our's advent, the Apoftle himfelf teftifies in 
 the words immediately following : lict. t^v 
 Traoso'tv rcav mpyeyouoTuv a^a,fiTVjfjboi.Tuy ; which 
 our Tranflators have rendered " for the re- 
 " miffion of fins that are pafl: ;" but which, 
 
 perhaps. 
 
SERMON VIII. 323 
 
 {)erhaps, may more accurately be rendered, 
 agreeably to the reading of the margin, " for," 
 that is, on account of, •' the paffing over of fins 
 " that are paft," or rather " fins which had 
 " been committed before;"viz. before the time 
 when God thought fit to give to mankind this 
 manifeftation of his juftice. It is moft cer- 
 tain, that in preceding times, before the com- 
 ing of Chrift, God had pafiTed over fin, leav- 
 ing it unpuniflied, or at leafl; not punilhed as 
 it deferved, and as his own threatenings, de- 
 nounced frequently at the very time, and on 
 the very occafion, feemed to require. I may 
 inftance in that fin, to which the redemption 
 that is in Jefiis Chrift immediately refers, and 
 in which we are all moft nearly concerned j 
 I mean, the fin of our firft parents, in eating 
 the forbidden fruit. Of the tree of the know- 
 ledge of good and evil, God commanded 
 him, faying, " Thou fhalt not eat of it :" 
 and againft the breach of this^ command he 
 denounced fevereft vengeance. " In the day 
 " that thou eateft thereof, thou Ihalt furely 
 " die*"." The wifdora and goodnefs of the 
 lawgiver force us to acknowledge, that both 
 the commund and the penalty were wife 
 
 * Gen, ii. 17. 
 
 and 
 
^54 SERMON viir. 
 
 and good : and hi? juflice might te&ch us to 
 expeft that he threatened not in vain, but 
 would moft afluredly execute the fentence of 
 the law upon the offender. But this was not 
 the cafe : in the day that nian fmned, he did 
 not die : on the contrary, he was allowed a 
 further time of trial; and was left in the 
 mean while not entirely void of comfort, or 
 deftitute of hope. He was indeed denied 
 the enjoyment of an earthly paradife; but 
 he had before him the profpedl of higher 
 and more exalted blifs : and though, at the 
 end of his day of trial, he was to quit this 
 mortal ftate, yet his diiTolution. feems not fb 
 much the punijhmenf, as {imply the effeSi or 
 confiquence oi \i\% former fin ; and, with refpecl 
 both to himfelf, and to his pofterity, (who, 
 being air partakers. of his fallen nature, are 
 with him_fubje6l to death) fliould rather 
 be confidered merely as a paflage to another 
 ftate of exiftence, in which, if they are not 
 wanting t6 themfelves in this, they may 
 be happy to all eternity. Thus was the fin 
 of the firft man, againft w^ich the penalty of 
 death had been pofitively threatened, at moft 
 only partially punifhed : and although, in after 
 times, his pofterity had been guilty of the 
 grolTefl idolatry, and the pioft flagitious de-» 
 
 pari:ures 
 
SERMQN Vm. 225 
 
 partures from their duty ; yet God appears, in 
 a variety of inftapces, to have winked at thefe 
 enormities, and to have fnffered. men to pro-; 
 ceed, after the imagination of their own vain 
 - heart, with impunity, and almoft without. . 
 notice. 
 
 This paffing over of fm the Apoftle moft, 
 juftly imputes to " the forbearancp of God :" 
 and, in itfelf confidered, it is moll unqueftion- 
 ably greatly to the praife of his mercy, and to 
 the glory of his grace. But, on the other 
 hand, it affords no manifeftation of juftice in 
 the Deity ; and might therefore be the occa- 
 lion of men's entertaining falfe- notions of 
 God, injurious to his honour, and deftruftive 
 of their own welfare. Juftice, according to. 
 our natural conception, inftead of fuffering 
 fin to remain unpunifbed, requires that ven- 
 geance be fpeedily executed againft an evil 
 work. But if this awful attribute were per- 
 petually veiled from the fight of men ; if God 
 continued to be filent when they committed 
 fin, and fuffered ,them to go on without re- 
 proof, fparing when they - defervicd puniih- 
 ment, and even heaping his benefits upon 
 them ; might they not be tempted wickedly 
 to fuppofe that he is altogether fiich an one 
 as themfelves ; that . jufl:ice is no ^ffentiaj 
 
 Q part 
 
226 SERMON VIII. 
 
 part of his character; on the contrary, that 
 he views fin, not with indifference merely, 
 but with approbation ; and not only difre- 
 gards the adlions of men, whether they be 
 good or bad, but even takes pleafure in wick- 
 ednefs, and is not unwilling that evil fhould 
 dwell with him ? Or, if they proceeded not 
 to fuch an height of impiety, might they not 
 at leafl be led to build falfe hopes upon the 
 mercy of God, which, they might imagine, 
 wrould always triurnph over juflice, and not 
 fuffer hiin to rejed: the mofl da:ring arid ob- 
 flinate offenders ? And thus, in either cafe, 
 the forbearance of God, inflead of leading 
 men to reper^tance, would only harden their 
 impenitent heart, and encourage them to 
 greater degrees of violence and wickednefs. 
 Arid therefore God, that he might remove 
 all occafion of fo fatal an error, was pleafed 
 to fend into the world his fon Jefiis Chrifl, 
 in order to become the propitiation for our 
 fms, and a6tually to make that reconciliation 
 "which had been ordained from the foundation 
 of the Vi^orld. And by thus publicly fetting 
 forth and openly avowing the , method of 
 juftification appointed ' for finners, he hath 
 fully vindicated his own jufHce. For, being 
 now ^.ffured that -even the blood of thie fbn of 
 
 God 
 
SERMON VIII. 527 
 
 God was not efteemed too high a price to re- 
 deem- the forfeited fouls of men, and to fav6 
 them from the curfe and condemnatiofi of 
 the law, can we for a moment entertain a 
 thought injurious to the charatSer . of God ; 
 or impute his forbearance of punilhment to 
 any weaknefs or defedl in his nature ? Shall 
 "we not rather confefs, that, notwithllanding 
 his paffing over of fm, he is ftill a righteous 
 judge ; ftill concerned for the honour of his 
 law, and attentive to the a6lioils of men ? 
 
 Before the coming of Chrift, a propitiation 
 for iin was not indeed entirely unknown. But 
 heing only obfcurely promifed, and faintly ty- 
 pified by the legal atonements, it couldnot il- 
 iuftrate in any great -degree the Divine juftice : 
 and therefore the Apoftle adds, " to declare at 
 " this /««^ his righteoufnefs :" at this time; 
 that is, now that Chrift has appeared in the 
 world. For whatever might be the cafe be- 
 fore ; however the forbearance of God might 
 hitherto have obfcured his juftice ; - yet after 
 that Chrift had aftually appeared to pay the 
 ranfom, and to be the propitiation * for fm, 
 there was no longer any room for doubt. God 
 could not now appear any otherwife than juft, 
 although he accepted, and treated as righte- 
 ous, not thofe who, by a ftrid: and entirt 
 Q 3 obedience 
 
3^8 SERMON VIII. 
 
 obedience to : his law, poflefled in thenjfelves 
 fuch an abfplute righteoufnefs, as gave them 
 a poiitive claim to acceptance; but thofe 
 who, though finners in themfelves, yet, by 
 conforming to that gracious method of recon- 
 ciliation which himfelf had appointed, pof- 
 fefled that other kind of righteoufnefs, by 
 which juftification might be obtained ; even 
 the rightepulhefs of God by faith : " to de- 
 '^ clare, I fay, at this time his righteoufnefs ; 
 " that he might be juft, aiid the Juftifier of 
 " him that believeth in Jefus." 
 
 The text, thus explained, applies without 
 difficulty to the fubjeft before us, and affords 
 a moft convincing argument, that the doc- 
 trine of , Atonement is a practical dodlrine, 
 calculated to affeO: the lives, and to influence 
 the conduft, of all who fincerely receive it. 
 
 For, in the firffc place, the clear manifefla- 
 tion .which this dodlrine affords of the righte- 
 oufnefs of God, is a moft effedlual call ♦ to re- 
 pentance. : 
 
 No one, who thinks at all, could pofljbly 
 go on fecure in fin, did he not allay his fears 
 by fome delufive hope, and encourage him- 
 felf with a vain expedlation of efcaping, in the 
 ■end, the due reward of his deeds. Amorig 
 
 the 
 
SERMON VIII. 229 
 
 the methods of deceit which men thus prac- 
 tife upon themfelves, the^e is none greater, or 
 more frequent, than a dependaiice upon the- 
 Divine mercy. Upon this gracious attribute 
 of the Almighty, all who prefer their fins to' 
 their duty, are apt prelumptuoufly to rely; 
 and would fain flatter themfelves that it will 
 fcreen 'them from vengeance in the, day of 
 wrath, and not fuffer them to fall into final 
 condemnation. But let all who thus deceive 
 their own hearts, confider. witL attention the. 
 method of reconciliation which God himfelf 
 hath ordained ; and th€y will loon perceive, 
 that t&e fetting forth of J ejus Chriji to be' a: 
 propitiation, takes from the impenitent finneir 
 evjery. ground of ^prefiimptubuS hope, and. 
 teaches him the vanity of flying for' refuge to 
 the mercy of God, from tHe terrors^ of his 
 juftice. For " if the righteous fcarcely be 
 ", faved;" if they who fincerely obey the Gof- 
 pel of God be redeemed from deflru<5lion at {o 
 dear a rate ; " where fliall the finner a^nd the 
 " ungodly appear ?" If the blood of the fon of 
 God were not accounted too high a price to 
 fave our fouls .froni death, and to make even 
 penitent believers obje<9:s of mercy ; who caii 
 for a moment irnagihe that impenitent fin- 
 ners will finally efcape the judgment of God? 
 
 Q3 He 
 
330 S E R M N Vm. 
 
 He is indeed, as he proclaimed himfelf to 
 Mofcs, a " God mercifut and gracious, long- ■ 
 "- fiifFering, and ahuridant in goodnefs and 
 ". truth ; keeping mercy for thoufands, for- 
 *1 giving iniquity, and tranfgreffion, and fm." 
 But he is alio, as he proclaimed himfelf at 
 the fame time, a God " that will by no 
 " means clear the guilty'." Although a 
 God of mercy, he is flill a righteous Judge ; 
 and hath demonftrated himfelf to be juft, by 
 thjt very method of juftification which he 
 hath appointed for mankind. 
 
 But, fecondly, the effeft of this do6trine 
 is not confined to impenitent fmners. Such 
 alfb, as willingly obey the Gofpel of God, may 
 be partakers of its falutary influence, and de-. 
 rive from it ftrength and fupport in the' per- 
 formance of their duty. For the fetting forth 
 of Jefus Chrifl to be a propitiation, while it 
 demonftrates the juftice of God, proclaims at 
 the fame tirhe his abhorrence of fm, and 
 tends to fill the mind with fuch awful appre- 
 henfions of his purity and holinefs, as can 
 hardly fail of exciting in us an habitijal fear 
 of offending . him, and an earneft defire to 
 "walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleafing." 
 
 r Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 . 
 
 And 
 
SERMON Vlir. 331 
 
 And when we refledl, that, without fliedding 
 of blood, even the blood of the fon of God, 
 there was no remiffion, what- a deep fenfe 
 ttiuft we have of the evil of fin : and how 
 muft this confidefation work upqn us, to la- 
 ment with godly forrow- the corruptioft of 
 our nature, and the imperfection of our lives; 
 to mortify our finful lufls and afFeClions ; to 
 watch over our condud; with' care and cir- 
 cumfpedtion ; and, by patient continuance in 
 Syell-doing, to^ approve ourfelves to him who, 
 by the very method of our reconciliation to 
 himfelf, hath clearly manifefted that he is of 
 purer eyes than to behold iniquity. 
 
 Nor let it be imagined, as our Hiftorian 
 contends, that the do^rine of Atonement, 
 admitting that it raifes our ideas of the juf- 
 tice of God, muft in the fame proportion fink 
 , our ideas of his mercy ^. The redemption of 
 fallen man was, throughout, an aft of mercy-; 
 and the m:ethod by which it was efFedled is 
 lb far from lowering in the leaft degree, that 
 it raifes this attribute to an aftonifliihg height. 
 That in our fallen ftate God fhould deign to 
 look upon us, and, inftead of rigidly infli'd;- 
 ing the punilhment due to our fin, fliould, 
 
 " Hift.of Cor. p. 170. 
 
 Q 4 by 
 
233 SERMON Vm. 
 
 by the appointment of a propitiation, open a 
 way to, his favour,, and ag&in place within our 
 reach life andrhappinefs; that without defert 
 on our part, and even without folicitation,.he 
 fliould freely provide the means of our reconr 
 ciliation; to himfelf, and even when we were 
 enemies, fliould fend his fon to die for oulr 
 fins— can there be conceived greater. love 
 ihan^this ? or can any dp^rine more power- 
 fully vindicate, or more highly advance the 
 Divine mercy? And thus the doctrine of 
 Atonernent is fo far (as it has been aflerted) 
 frotti lofing on the one;hand what, it may 
 feem to have gained on the other, that it 
 may rather be faid to gain on both. On the 
 one hand, it demonftrates the juftice. of God ; 
 on the other, itdifplays his goodnefs, and ex- 
 alts his mercy.. And; what additional; mo- 
 tives are afforded, by this view^ of thfc doc- 
 trine, to the prad:ice of piety and virtue ! As 
 well as to alarm the fears of the carelefs and 
 unthinking, how admirably is it calculated to 
 enliven the hopes of the humble and con- 
 trite; to confirm the fai;th of the weak a,nd 
 defponding ; to inflame the love of the pious 
 and devput ; in a wprdj tp;.put in motion, 
 and give vigour to, all the fprings and prin- 
 ciples of aftion, and thus moil: powerfully to 
 
 engage 
 
SERMON VIII. 333 
 
 engage men to the pradiice of holinefs here, 
 by which alone they can fepure to themfelves 
 a life of happinefs hereafter. 
 
 But I need not dwell upon a cafe fo plain. 
 Ekiough, I truft, has already been faid, to 
 fliew that the do<5b:ine of Atonement is cal- 
 culated to afFecSt the lives and to influence 
 the condud: of Believers ; and confequently, 
 that we do not without juft feafon urge its 
 influence upon pradiice, as a ftrong argument 
 in its favour. And with this argument I 
 beg ' leave to clofe my illufl:ration and de- 
 fence of this important dodrine ; fijbjoining 
 only, by way of cpnclufion, a few general ob- 
 fervations. 
 
 The piirpofe of God, in the difpenfation of 
 grace and mercy, which this do&ine uhfolds , 
 to our view, was to refcue man from that 
 wrath and condemnation, to which, accord- 
 ing to the tenor of the firft covenant, his dif- 
 obedience had expofed him ; arid to place life 
 and immortality again within his reach. : To 
 carry into effedl, this gracious purpofe, God 
 vouchfafed to .ordain a propitiation for man's 
 offence i in tonfequence of which the fen- 
 tence of death, pronounced by the Divine 
 law, was reverfed ; and this prefent life, no 
 
 longer 
 
5^4 SERMON VIII. 
 
 longer a ftate of innocence' and enjoytrieht, 
 was converted into a ftate of trial and pre- 
 paration ; in which man is called upon to 
 repent and turn from fm, and, by a courfe of 
 habitual and perfevering holinefs, to qualify 
 and -prepare himfelf for a life of eternal hap- 
 pinefs in a future ftate. In the fulnefs of 
 time it pleafed God to fend into the world 
 his fon Jefus Chrift ; who, having taken our 
 nature upon him, condefcended to die upon 
 the crofs for our fms, and thus actually to be- 
 come that propitiation which had been or- 
 dained from the beginning. By the fanftify- 
 ing influence of his blood he has confecrated 
 and purified his whole church ; fo that all 
 who believe in him, obtain remiffion of fins ; 
 are juftified in the fight of God ; are adopted 
 into his family ; and are permitted to ap- 
 proach his prefence with the confidence of 
 fons, fure of finding a favourable acceptance, 
 together with fiich fupplies of heLp and 
 ftrength as will enable them to finifh their 
 courfe with joy, and finally to attain that 
 crown of everlafi:ing life, which is the end of 
 their faith, and the obj©<5t of their hope. 
 
 Thus, upon the reconciliation effected by 
 the death of Chrift, are founded all the mer- 
 cies of this prefent life, and all our hopes of 
 
 happinefs 
 
SERMON vnr: 535 
 
 happinefs hereafter. And this view of things 
 is, as we have feen, clearly agreeable to the 
 '' plain fenfe of Scripture, and to the obvious 
 intention of the facred writers. Should any 
 man ftill be ■aiifatisfied ; and aflc the reafoh of 
 thefe things ? fliould he enquire, why the 
 fliedding of blood was required for the remif- 
 fion of fins ? why a fimple declaration of 
 God's will to receive finners, upon repent- 
 ance, Would not have been fufficient, with- 
 out an atonement ? I am free to confefs my 
 ignorance, and helitate not to"^ fay, I cannot 
 tell. But let us not haftily conclude, that 
 therefore no atonement has been made. Our 
 very ignorance is an argument of the folly and 
 danger of fuch a conclufion. Many f things., 
 at prefent concealed from lis, might, if 
 known, clearly evince the propriety, the ex- 
 pediency, the neceffity of an atonement. Its 
 propriety and expediency are ill fonle mea- 
 fure manifeft, notwithftanding our prefent 
 faint and circumfcribed view, from the glo- 
 rious difplay which it makes of the Divine 
 attributes, of the juftice, the mercy, the 
 goodiieis of the Deity ; and from the bene- 
 ficial confequences which this difplay is cal- 
 culated to produce in ourfelves. Arid who can 
 tell what there may be in the' pure and holy 
 
 nature 
 
2^6 SERMON VIII. 
 
 nature o£ God, which may make a propitia- 
 tion even neceffary ? God is omnipotent : 
 but it is no impeachment of his omnipotence 
 to affert, that he cannot do what is either ab- 
 solutely impoffible, or inconfiftent with his 
 moral perfed:ions. He cannot lie: he pan- 
 nOt deceive : it would be contrary to his na- 
 l;ure to do fo. And who will fay that it is 
 not equally contrary to, his nature to pardon 
 fin without a propitiation ? This at leaft, is 
 certain, that we no where read of rnercy 
 Ihewn to fallen creatures, upon any other 
 ground. For fallen man a propitiation was 
 appointed ; and he became an obje6l of 
 mercy. For fallen angels no propitiation ap- 
 pears to have been appointed ; and they are 
 referved. in chains of darkhefs unto the judg- 
 ment of the great, day. , Why thefe things 
 are fo,fmce God, has not been pleafed to re- 
 veal, we do not prefume to fay, nor does it: 
 become us to enquire. It is not. for m to pe- 
 netrate ti^e clouds and darknefs vyhich fur- 
 round the throne of God. . ■ Jt rather becomes 
 us humbly to acquiefce in the Divine appoint- 
 ments ; and whatever difficulties arife, or ob- 
 jedlioris occUr, to refolve them all into the 
 unfearchablenefs'ofthat myfteridus excellence, 
 whofe ways are not the ways of man. This 
 
 one 
 
SERMON VIII. Z7,j 
 
 one cbnfideration, duly atterlded to, will 
 teach us the vanity of being wife above that 
 which is written, and of leaning to bur owii 
 underftandings, in oppofition to the revealed 
 will of God. It will rather teach us to re- 
 ceive with becoming gratitude that gracious 
 method of reconciliatioii which God hath or- 
 dained, and, having received it, to hold it faft 
 with unlhaken confidence. 
 
 And, that we may the more readily be in- 
 duced to refift every effort of our adyeriaries 
 to undermine our faith, let us weigh with at- 
 tention the danger to which fiich are expofed 
 as depart from it. The cafe of apoftates is 
 allowed to be defperate. "If any man 
 " draw back, my foul," fays God, " fliall 
 " have no pleafure in him '." And it be- 
 hoves us to confider well, whether, by reject- 
 ing the docftrine of Atonement, we do not in 
 Ibme meafure incur the giiilt of thofe who 
 apoftatize from the faith. " If," fays the 
 Apoftle, " we fm wilfully after that we have 
 " received the knowledge of the truth ;' ■ 
 that is, if, after we have embraced the doc- 
 trine of Chrlll:, we again determine' to reject: 
 and abandon it ; " there remaineth no more 
 
 » Heb. X. 38. 
 
 ** facrifice 
 
238 SERMON Vin. 
 
 " facrifice for fins, but a certain fearful loofc- 
 " ing for of judgment and £ery indigna- 
 " tion, which fliall devour the adverfaries. 
 " He that defpifed Mofes' law, died without 
 " mercy, under two or three witnefles : of 
 " how much forer punifhment, fuppofe ye^ 
 " fliall he be thought worthy, who hath trod- 
 " den under foot the fon of God, and hath 
 " counted the blood of the covenant, where- 
 " with he was fandiified, an unholy thing, 
 " and hath dofie defpite unto the Spirit of 
 " his grace *"?", Let it be remembered, that 
 this folemn denunciation of the Apoflle is 
 irnmediately fubjoined to his difcourfe upon 
 the Sacrifice and Priefthood of Chrift, and 
 may therefore well be thought to be nearly 
 connected with it. And we may further ob- 
 ferve, that he feems to place the great danger 
 of apoflacy in the privation of a fufficient fa- 
 crifice for fin, to avert the wrath of God. 
 Now, though we do not abfolutely tread 
 under foot the fon of God, yet if we deprive 
 hirri of one of his effential charaftefs ; though 
 we do not count his blood an unholy thing, 
 yet if we^ efteem it worthlefs, and deny its 
 atoning power, in what does our cafe effen- 
 
 " Heb. X. 26—49. 
 
 tially 
 
% E R M O N VIII. 2S9 
 
 tially differ from that of real apoftates ? Un- 
 clean and polluted with fin, we dare not ap- 
 pear before God. But where fhall we walh 
 and be clean, if not in the fountain of Chrifl's 
 blood ? He condefcended to die for our fins ; 
 and upon his death we may build the furefl 
 hope of pardon and acceptance. But if we 
 negleft fo great falvation, what further facri- 
 fice for fin remaineth to us ? There can be 
 no greater : there is no pther. And if this 
 be wanting to avert from us the Divine ven- 
 geance, what have we to expeft but the judg- 
 ment of an unreconciled God, and that fiery 
 indignation which fhall mofl afTuredly devour 
 the adverfaries of the truth ? 
 
 Take heed, therefore, lefl ye fall into fo 
 fatal an error. But rather be perfuaded to 
 hold fafl the profeflion of your faith without 
 wavering ; being afTured that " he is faithful 
 " who proniifed "." So fhall ye not be " of 
 " them who draw back nanto perdition ; but 
 " of them who believe to the faving of the 
 " foul°." 
 
 " Heb. X. 23. • Heb. x. 39. 
 
 FINIS. 
 

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