HH ON THS ATONEMENT INTERCESSION JESUS CHRIST. THE REV. WILLIAM SYMINGTON. IK FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY ROBERT CARTER, 112 Canal-street SCATCHERD & ADAMS, PRINTERS. 1836. To the Publisher of Symington on the Atonement and Intercession of Jesus Christ. Sir, Understanding, through a common friend, that" you wish for my opinion of the recent work of " Symington on the atonement and intercession of Christ," I take this method of informing you, that, from a hasty perusal, my judgment of the sentiments and execution is very favourable. The exhibition of this cardinal doctrine is clear, sound, and sentimental ; and is entirely in accordance with the standards of the Presbyterian, Dutch Re formed, and other Calvinistic churches in this country. And not only is the matter sound and evangelical, but the style is uncommonly good. It is perspicuous and forcible, and possesses an animation which cannot but interest the serious reader. On a subject which presents so many contro verted points, it can. scarcely haexpectcd that all ortjiodox-mp.n will acquiesce in every sentiment expressed by the Author ; but it is beUeved that the views here given, of the necessity and vicarious nature of the Atonement, will commend themselves to all who take the Scriptures for their guide. The substance of all that is valuable in Magee and John Pye 'Smith will be found embodied in this Treatise ; and the Essay on the Intercession of Christ, is with great propriety annexed, as this is a part of the sacerdotal office- of the Redeemer, and necessary to render the Atonement efficacious in behalf of those for whom it was made. The whole subject is here so excellently treat ed, that although I could wish that some points had been more thoroughly discussed, yet I am unable to mention any single Treatise on this important subject that I can more unreservedly recommend. Princeton iV. /. 18(4 iVoj.) — In the three cases in which this term occurs in the New Testa ment (which are the only cases in the scriptures), it is applied to him by whom atonement is effected.f It is the same word which the Seventy employ to translate 133 atonement. The cover of the ark, or mercy -seat, is called by them iXaoVrig iov. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes the same use of it4 The verb (SXa m other parts of scripture where it is used for a sin-offering, is, though femi nine itself, connected with a masculine adjunct. See Exod. xxix. 14. Lev. iv. 21, 24. — v. 9, and other places of Leviticus, where the masculine pronoun xin 's use& instead of the feminine j^rv But in Gen. xviii. 20. — xx. 9. Exod. xxxii. 21, 30, and other places, where the word occurs in its original signification of sin, it has constantly the adjective connected in the feminine.' — Magee, v. ii. pp. 236, 237. See also Faber, p. 129. ANCIENT SACRIFICES. 103 him,' read, ' Unto thee is its desire, and thou shalt rule over it,' as expressive of Cain's having full power over the animal which he was to use as a burnt-offering. Viewed in this light, the passage amounts to a command addressed by the Almighty himself to Cain, directing him, in case of sin, to take the necessary step of presenting a sin-offer ing. The command, too, from the manner in which it is introduced, supposes the rite of sacri fice to have been previously appointed ; as what he is commanded to perform seems plainly to have been an antecedent duty, and to have been known to him as such. But as an offering for sin could not have been appointed before the existence of sin, it follows that the appointment must have taken place some time between the fall of Adam and the offerings of Cain and Abel. And, as it is reasonable to conclude that God, with whom the appointment originated, - would introduce it just when it became necessary, we are thus led to trace the divine origin of sacrifice to the very period of the fall.* There are two objections commonly urged against the divine institution of sacrifice, which it becomes us, in candour, to weigh. The first is, the alleged silence of the sacred writers on the subject. They are not silent with regard to the fact ; instances of sacrifice are re corded ; but whether these occurred in virtue of * See the subject of this paragraph most conclusively argued in the able Treatise of Mr. Faber, so often referred to, pp. 85 — 138. Also Magee, v. ii. p. 229. 104 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. an existing divine institution, or in consequence of a mere spontaneous impulse on the part of the offerer, is not staled. Now in reply to this, it might be deemed sufficient to say, that for such silence it is possible to account without supposing the non-existence of that of which we are speak ing. The very commonness and notoriety of the observance at the time when the Pentateuch was written might account for the omission of the ori ginal command. The succinct brevity of the sa cred narrative rendered it impossible that every minute circumstance could find a place in it. Nor is the divine institution of sacrifices the only thing that has been omitted. There are other things, belonging to the same period, of which no men tion is made in the narrative, but of which we read in other parts of scripture. It may be sufficient to remind the reader, as instances, of the fall of angels, the prophecy of Enoch, and the preaching of Noah, of which we read iu the New Testament, but of none of which have we the slightest inti mation in the narrative of the period when they occurred. An example still more in point, is that of the institution of the Sabbath. Indeed, it has been supposed by those who advocate the human origin of primitive sacrifice, to be a circumstance greatly in their favour, that the sacred historian is careful to record the divine original of a day of sabbatical rest, while of the rite of sacrifice he makes no similar record. But how stands the fact ? There is mention made, in the narrative, of the fact that God rested on the seventh day from all his work whieh he had made, and that ANCIENT SACRIFICES. 105 God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. ' But there is nothing said of the institution of a seventh day of rest in so many words : we have no express command enjoining the observance of such a day. We legitimately infer from the re corded facts, that there must have been such a command. And this is just what we do in the case of sacrifice. There are facts stated of the early observance of the rite, with manifest marks of divine approbation ; there is no explicit intima tion of its having been originally enjoined by God ; but, without an express intimation to this effect, we are enabled, from what is recorded, to infer that there must have existed such an institution. The two instances are in these respects on a level, and if the silence of scripture on the subject of sacrifice is to be held as a valid argument against its divine original, so also must the silence of scripture on the subject of the Sabbath be held as a valid argument against its divine original. But we are not to dictate to God, as to the method in which he shall make known any part of his will to man. There are other ways of conveying a truth besides that of a formal scholastic enuncia tion. Many of the most important truths of our holy religion want this formality ; and, by those who admit these truths, it ought to be reckoned no objection to the divine origin of sacrifice that the scriptures contain no precise intimation of the fact. Another objection to the divine origin of primi tive sacrifice has been founded on those passages of scripture in which sacrifices seem to be disowned 106 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. by God. Such are those passages in the Psalms in which He is said not to desire sacrifice, nor to de light in burnt-offering ; and a parallel passage in the prophecies of Jeremiah.* In reply to this ob jection, it is easy to see that the expressions in question cannot be taken- literally, as in this case they would contradict the whole of what is con tained in Leviticus and Deuteronomy respecting the appointment of sacrifices. They must there fore be understood, like similar expressions in other parts of scripture, in a comparative sense ; and then their meaning will be that God desires not sacrifices, unless they be accompanied with those inward principles and that outward beha viour without which they cannot be acceptable to Him. It is thus that God, by the prophet Isaiah, addresses the people of Israel, on account of their wickedness : — ' To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 1 — Bring no more vain oblations, incense is an abomination unto me ; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with — Your hands are full of blood.'jf In this light the language under consideration is in accordance with that of the wise man : — ' The sa crifice of the toicked is an abomination to the Lord.' Or the meaning may be, that other things are pre ferred to sacrifices, although the latter are not ex cluded. The language of exclusion is often em ployed when only the preference of one thing to another is meant. ' I will have mercy and not sa crifice,' means, I prefer mercy to sacrifice. ' Labour * Psalm xl. 6.— 1. 9.— Ii. 16. Jer. vii. 22, 23. f Isaiah i. 11, 15. See also Isaiah lxvi. 3. Amos. v. 21, 22. ANCIENT SACRIFICES. 107 not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth to everlasting life,' cannot be understood as condemning a diligent attention to business, but as commending attention to spiritual things in preference to those which perish with the using. On the same principle must we explain the words of the apostle, ' Adam was not deceived but the wo man,' as meaning that the man was not first in transgression. The whole, then, that can be le gitimately inferred from those passages on which the objection in question is founded, is that Jeho vah prefers the dutiful obedience of his creatures to the mere performance of ritual services ; not that the latter is not acceptable to him, but that the former is more acceptable ; in short, that ' to obey is better than sacrifice, to hearken than the fat of rams.' V. Having now seen the divine origin of sacri fice established, we hope, beyond all reasonable doubt, it remains to complete our argument in behalf of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that we consider what was the use or design of this insti tution. Every institution of God must have an end worthy of himself and appropriate to the appoint ed means. Nor does it seem possible to conceive, consistently with the wisdom and goodness of God, that the institution of sacrifice could have any de sign short of being a prefigurative memorial of the way in which he had determined to save the life of man which had been forfeited by sin. By trans gression, the human race had forfeited the life they possessed, and all right to its continuance. 108 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. Of this there could not be a more striking repre sentation than was given in requiring a living creature to be sacrificed on occasion of every of fence ; while the symbol still farther intimated, in an equally striking manner, God's willingness to accept of the life of a substitute for that of the actual offender. The institution of sacrifice thus taught man at once the evil of sin, the punish ment sin deserved, and the way by which he might escape this merited consequence. Death by sin, and life by substitution, were as clearly pointed out, as can well be conceived possible, in symbo lical language. Both the fall and the recovery of man, the death introduced by sin and the death by which sin was to be taken away, were thus strikingly portrayed. And, as it is impossible to conceive that the life of an irrational animal could be deemed an adequate compensation for the life of a moral creature, it is clear that the institution must have been regarded as prefigurative of a greater and more excellent sacrifice afterwards to be offered up. A promise of a great deliverer had, indeed, been conveyed to our guilty progeni tors ; and nothing is more natural than to suppose, that sacrifice was appointed as a memorial of the deliverance which he was to effect. ' If we admit,' says one of the ablest advocates of the doctrine, ' that the scheme of redemption by the death of the only begotten Son of God, was determined from the beginning ; that is, if we admit, that when God had ordained the deU verance of man, he had ordained the means ; if we admit that Christ was the Lamb slain from the ANCIENT SACRIFICES. 109 foundation of the world ; what memorial could be devised more apposite, than that of animal sacri fice ? — exemplifying by the slaying of the victim the death which had been denounced against man's disobedience : — thus exhibiting the awful lesson of that death which was the wages of sin, and at the same time representing that death which was actually to be undergone by the Re deemer of mankind : — and hereby connecting in one view, the two great cardinal events in the history of man, the fall, and the recovery : the death denounced against sin, and the death ap pointed for that Holy One, who was to lay down his life, to deliver man from the consequences of sin. The institution of animal sacrifice seems then tp have been peculiarly significant, as con taining all the elements of religious knowledge : and the adoption of this rite, with sincere and pi ous feelings, would at the same time imply an humble sense of the unworthiness of the offerer ; a confession that death, which was inflicted on the victim, was the desert of those sins which had arisen from man's transgression ; and a full reli ance on the promises of deliverance, joined to an acquiescence in the means appointed for its accom plishment. If this view of the matter be just,' adds he, ' there is nothing improbable even in the sup position that that part of the signification of the rite, which related to the sacrifice of Christ, might have been in some degree made known from the beginning.'* Why the learned author 9hould * Magee, v. ii. pp. 61, 52. L 110 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. have felt any hesitation on this point, we must confess ourselves at a loss to perceive. It was Jesus Christ who was from the beginning the alone object of saving faith, and as an ignorant belief can never be looked upon as entitled to this cha racter, man must have had from the beginning some knowledge of the reference of the sacrificial rite to Him who was to appear in the end as the propitiation for our sins. Without such a refer ence the rite itself must have been an unmeaning, useless, burdensome ceremony ; and, without some such knowledge, the observance of it must have been any thing but a reasonable service — must have been, on the contrary, a piece of heartless drudgery. Nor, taking this view of the matter, can we reckon it as at all a fanciful supposition, that the very first promise of a Saviour given to man was accompanied with the significant ratification of a sacrifice, setting forth that bruising of the heel of the woman's seed by which the serpent's head was to be bruised. And it is not a little interest ing to remark, how, on this supposition, the first blood which stained the earth was that of a sacri fice, and the first idea which the forefathers of our race Avould have of death was derived from that of a victim slain to prefigure Him who was after wards to Abolish death and bring life and incor- ruption to light by his gospel. ' How much,' says Dr. Pye Smith with great beauty and eloquence, ' how much must the impression on the heart have been increased, when the first sacrifice was offer ed : when the parents of our race, recent from ancient sacrifices. Ill their guilty fall, were abased by the divine re buke, driven from their blissful seat, and filled with dismay at the threatening of death ! A threat ening piercing through their souls, but of the na ture and effects of which they could form none but vague ideas. But when directed by stern au thority, to apply some instrument of death to the lamb which, with endearing innocence, had sport ed around them, — an act of whose effects they as yet knew nothing, — they heard its unexpected cries, they beheld the appalling sight of streaming blood, and struggling agonies, and life's last throes, — they gazed upon the breathless body, and they were told this is death : how stricken must they have been with horror, such as no description could ever paint ! When, farther, they had to go through all the other process of the sacrifice, their hands reluctant, and their hearts broken, and all their soul crushed down by the sad consciousness that these horrid things were the fruit of their sin, and yet contained the hope of their deliverance, — who can imagine the extremity of their feelings V* Now let us collect together in a single sentence the different points of the argument thus elaborat ed. Sacrifices have existed from the remotest ages of the world, and prevailed among every peo ple under heaven ; — these sacrifices have been, without all controversy, of an expiatory and vica rious nature ; — it is found impossible to account for their existence but on the principle of their be ing derived from an original divine institution ; — * Disc, or Sac, pp. 9, 10. 112 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. of such an institution, we can conceive of no de sign worthy of God, short of its being to prefigure the death of the Lord Jesus Christ : — but, as the type and antitype must resemble each other in their most essential and significant features, the typical sacrifices of ancient divine institution be ing vicarious and expiatory must be held demon strative of the atoning nature of the Saviour's death. Such is the first argument in support of the doc trine of atonement — an argument which prejudice may resist and ignorance despise, but which it will not be easy, either by learning, or reasoning, or scripture, to oyerturn. How inexcusable, then, are such as deny the atonement of Jesus Christ ! Blind, insolent, and rash, they arraign the wisdom of God, for which conduct they are reproved by the heathen them selves. Though reason could never have devised the plan of substitution, the vicarious nature of pagan sacrifices is a proof that there is something in God's method of redemption, when revealed, which unsophisticated reason cannot gainsay or resist. The testimony hence derived in favour of our doctrine is, thus, universal as the practice of the rite of which we have been speaking ; and every sacrifice of the heathen may be regarded in this way, as pointing directly to the one perfect sacrifice of the Son of God. The errors and su perstitions which are mingled up and incorporated with these offerings, cannot but awaken, in the breast of the true christian, a feeling of pity for ancient sacrifices. 113 those who are without the sacred writings, and of gratitude for this inestimable boon. It is impossi ble to reflect on the high antiquity of the sacri ficial institute, without thinking of the divine goodness manifested in giving to man at so early a period the knowledge of atonement. This doc trine, so essential to his hopes as a sinner, was coeval with the fall, so that the very first human transgressor was made acquainted with the way by which the fatal consequences of guilt might be for ever averted. Nor is the wisdom of God less apparent in thus preparing the world for the uni versal reception of the only true religion. Wher ever Christianity can be carried, the people must be so far prepared to acquiesce in its grand essen tial principle of salvation by an atoning sacrifice. Every part of the gentile world is familiar with the idea of substitution, jind the very terms which this principle suggests the use of, are to be found incorporated in almost every language on earth. Without this, the prospect of the universal spread of the christian faith must have been, humanly speaking, much more hopeless, as the difficulty of bringing men to understand its nature must have been greatly increased. l2 114 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. SECTION V. PROOF LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. The distinction put on Abraham and his pos terity by their being selected as the depositaries of certain peculiar privileges, is a striking circum stance in the providential development of God's purposes of grace. It forms an era in the history of the species, and more particularly of the church. It pleased God to separate the family in question from the rest of mankind ; to appoint them laws peculiar to themselves ; and so to situate them that they should have every opportunity of punctually observing the institutions of Jehovah. The prescrip tion of these laws occurred about two thousand five hundred years from the creation of the world, and about fifteen hundred years before the advent of Christ. The laws themselves embraced every thing respecting the civil and religious interests of the people ; and among those of a religious nature, the law of sacrifice held a prominent place. This was not the first time that the rite in ques tion was mentioned. We have seen that it was known to the church long before. And, indeed, the manner in which it is introduced, in the Levitical code, is no small confirmation of the view we have given, in the preceding section, of the divine origin LEVITICAL sacrifices. 115 of primitive sacrifice. It is not brought forward as a new thing, on which the authority of God is stamped for the first time. New regulations re specting the mode and the occasion of the rite are laid down, but the rite itself is not made the subject of any authoritative enactment. It is taken for granted that the rite exists, and that its divine authority is acknowledged and well understood. ' Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them : if any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offer ing of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock.'* Such is the manner in which the Levitical insti tutes regarding sacrifice are introduced ; and it must be admitted to furnish a striking corrobora tion of the views of those who believe that the ordi nance was not then appointed for the first time. It is not meant by these observations, to insi nuate a doubt with respect to the divine authority of the sacrifices which existed under the law. That regulations were prescribed by Jehovah re specting the substance of which these sacrifices should consist, the qualifications they were re quired to possess, the mode in which they should be offered, and the occasions on which they were to be presented, is quite sufficient evidence that the rite itself possessed the sanction of divine au thority. We are thus enabled to appeal to the nature and design of the Levitical sacrifices as a second argument in favour of the doctrine of Christ's atonement. This position, like, that of + Lev. l, 2. 116 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. which we have already disposed, admits of ample illustration. To perceive its force, it will be re quisite to attend, in proper order, to these distinct statements : — that sacrifices were sanctioned by God as a part of the religious service of the He brews — that many of these sacrifices were un questionably expiatory and vicarious in their na ture — that they were in themselves incompetent to remove moral guilt — that they were designed to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ and were actually fulfilled in him. If these statements are success fully established, it will not be possible to resist the inference that the death of the Son of God was a real and proper atonement for sin. I. Sacrifices formed an essential part of the divinely authorized religious services of the Jews. There can be no dispute on this point. The law was given on the first day of the first month of the second year after the deliverance from Egypt ; and the same year, on the arrival of the children of Israel at Kadesh-barnea, the Levitical priesthood was instituted, and every regulation connected with it laid down. No one who be lieves the Bible to be true, and who takes the trouble to peruse the books of Exodus and Leviti cus, can call in question the divine authority of the Jewish sacrifices. These sacrifices, however, were of various kinds. They are geneially di vided into bloody and unbloody. The latter were, strictly speaking, rather offerings than sacrifices ; they consisted solely of vegetable substances, such as meal, bread, corn, oil, and frankincense ; and were not admissible as sin-offerings, excepting in levitical sacrifices. 117 the case of persons so very poor as to be unable to provide an offering of two young pigeons or turtle doves. The bloody sacrifices again were partly stated and partly ccasional. The occasional sacri fices were of four kinds : — Burnt-offerings, or ho locausts, which were free-will offerings, devoted to God by the spontaneous act of the offerers ;* — Peace-offerings, which were presented in token of reconciliation to the Lord, either in the way of petition or of thanksgiving;! — Sin-offerings, which were required for sins of ignorance, or sins con tracted wilfully ; f — and Trespass-offerings, which were to be presented when a person was in doubt whether he had violated the law or not.§ The stated sacrifices were some of them daily ; some weekly ; some monthly ; and some yearly. The daily sacrifices were to be offered morning and evening. || The weekly sacrifices were to be pre sented on the Sabbath day, when the daily sacri fices were doubled. % The monthly sacrifices occurred on occasion of the new moon.** And there were four occasions on which annual sacri fices were appointed to be offered ; — at the feast of the passover, at the feast of pentecost, at the feast of tabernacles, and on the day of expiation, ff All these sacrifices had the express sanction of God, as any one may easily satisfy himself, by looking into the laws divinely prescribed respect- * Lev. i. 1, 10, 14.— vi. 1—6. f Lev. iii. 1—6. J Lev. iv. 2—19. § Lev. vii. 1—10. ||Lev.vi.8 — 19. iNum. xxviii.9, 10. ** Num. xxviii. 11 — 14. ft See Home's Introd. v. iii. pp. 226—284. Also Dr. Winer's Bible Diet, cited by Dr. P. Smith. Disc. p. 239, &c. 118 PROOF of ATONEMENT. ing them, recorded in the books of Exodus, Levi ticus, and Numbers. II. It is not pretended that the Jewish sacrifices were, without exception, propitiatory ; but cer tainly many of them were vicarious and expiatory in their nature. It is freely admitted that the unbloody offerings at the feasts of pentecost and tabernacles, were only eucharistical, commemorative, or impetra- tory ; but it is presumed that all the bloody sacri fices were of the description above specified, in volving a transference of guilt and substitution of punishment. With regard to the burnt-offering we read : — ' If his offering he a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish — and he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt-offering ; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him.'* With regard to the peace-offering : — ' If his oblation be sacrifices of peace-offering he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 'f With regard to the sin-offering : — ' If the whole congre gation of Israel sin through ignorance then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin and the elders ofthe congregation shall LAY THEIR HANDS UPON THE HEAD of the bullock before the Lord and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.':): — With regard to the trespass-offering : — ' As the sin-offering is, so is the trespass-offering ; * Lev. i. 3, 4. ] Lev. iii. 1, 2. J Lev. iv. 13—20. LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 119 there is one law for them : the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.'* — With re- regard to at least one of the sacrifices appointed to be offered on the occasion of the passover, we read : — ' And one goat for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you.'f With regard to that on the day of expiation there is no room to doubt : — ' Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement : it shall be an holy convocation unto you ; and ye shall af flict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day ; for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.':}: Many more passages might be added, in which similar language is employed ; but these may be deemed sufficient to establish the position, that the bloody sacrifices of the Jews were vicari ous in their nature and import. We are aware of the objections that have been started against this view of the legal sacrifices ; but they have all received the most triumphant refutation. § Indeed, let any one calmly consider the circumstances connected with the act of sacri ficing : — the selection of the victim ; the relation of the animal to the person for whom it was offer ed ; its substitution in his stead ; his confessing over it all his iniquities ; the imposition of hands on the head of the victim ; its being actually slain and offered to God ; let any impartial person can- * Lev. vii. 7. t N"™- xxviii. 22. t Lev. xxiii. 27, 28. § Magee, v. i. pp. 354—366. 120 PROOF OF atonement. didly consider these circumstances, and say whe ther he can resist the inference that the sacrifice was regarded as a piacular substitute for the indi vidual by whom it was brought to the altar. The ceremony of the scape-goat in particular, merits 'attention in this connexion. This sacred solemnity belonged to the annual day of expia tion. It consisted in presenting to the Lord two goats, one of which was slain, and the other sent away alive into the wilderness. The two animals together made but one offering, as the language of the statute expresses more than once : — ' He shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering. Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin-offering ; but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him [i. e. together with the other goat) and to let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness.'* Each contributed to the atone ment, and both were essential to the perfection of The ceremony. Now, the imposition of hands on the animals, and the confession of sins which accompanied it, point out unequivocally that the sins of the people were understood to be transfer red to the victim, and, by means of this substitute, expiated or taken away. ' And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their * Lev. xvi. 5, 9, 10. LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 121 Sins, PUTTING THEM UPON THE HEAD of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon HIM all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited.'* III. Let it now be remarked that the Jewish sacrifices were not, in themselves, sufficient to take away sin, that is, to atone for moral guilt. That they were offered in cases of moral offence admits of the most satisfactory proof. We are aware that a contrary opinion has been strenu ously maintained. It has been supposed that it was only in cases of ceremonial offence, of breaches of the ceremonial law, or of sins of ignorance to which no moral character could properly attach, that sacrifices were admissible. Not to say that Bins of ignorance may involve moral guilt, as ig norance itself is often criminal ; not to insist that breaches of the ceremonial law might well be con sidered as involving moral turpitude from the state of mind which they indicated ; not to remark that once in the year, at least, atonement was to be made for all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and of course for moral as well as ceremo nial offences ; not to build on these things, it is sufficient to observe that sacrifices were required in cases of fraud, injustice, perjury, debauchery — all of them direct violations of the moral law, which it was impossible to commit without such a state of mind being implied as could not but be highly criminal in the view of a holy and just God. * Lev. xvi. 21, 22. M 122 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. It ie true, there were certain moral offences of an aggravated nature, such as idolatry,, adultery, murder, and blasphemy, for which no sacrifice was appointedj or permitted to be offered. But the reason of this was, not that sacrifices were inad missible in cases of moral delinquency, but that the offences in question subjected the offenders to death, and consequently did not admit of exemp tion from the outward penalty attached to all of fences of the law, and which exemption always resulted from the offering of an acceptable sacri fice. Nor from the circumstance of a sacrifice being inadmissible is it to be supposed that these offences were unpardonable. They were .capital offences against the state, and therefore no sacri fice, tending to reinstate the offender in his place in society, was to be offered. But the guilty per son might still lift a penitential prayer to the throne of mercy, and, through the propitiation of Christ, might obtain the full forgiveness of his iniquity, be restored to the favour of God, and be admitted to his presence for ever.* Independently of this, however, it is clear that the legal sacrifices had a respect to moral guilt, being offered on occasion of breaches of the moral law. Now, what we wish to be observed, is their ut- * ' Gluod si pro quibusdam peccatis ultroneis gravioribus nullum legitur institutum sacrificium, qualia erant homicidium, idololatriae, adulterium, et similia quae -\i% fim elata manu et per superbiam fiebant, ideo hoc factum est, quia puniri ea Deus voluit supplicio capitali, atque adeo peccantes non opus habuerunt hoc remedio, cum eorum mors fuerit instar expiationis cujusdam publico.' — Tur retin, v. ii. p. 470. LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 123 ter inefficacy, in themselves, to expiate moral transgression. ' Which was a figure for the time then present,' says the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, 'in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the ser vice perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.'* The conscience of the offerer told of guilt which they could not atone, of pollution which they could not remove, of wrath from which they could not pro tect. * The law being a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto per fect.'^ That moral perfection which consists in justification, sanctification, peace with and access to God, they could never effect, from an inherent unfitness for such a purpose. ' For it is not POSSIBLE THAT THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND OF GOATS should take away sins.'^: The reason of this inefficaciousness of the legal sacrifices, was, not simply that they were not appointed by God for the purpose in question. It is true, they were not appointed for such an end. But the inspired apostle carries the reason much higher — they could not have been so appointed by a wise and perfect God, because inherently inadequate to fulfil any such design. It was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. They did not comport with the majesty of Him against whom the sin was committed, the great God of heaven and earth, whom the death of a beast could * Heb. ix. 9. f Seb. x, 1. J Heb. x. 4. 124 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. never appease. They gave no proper expression of the divine displeasure at sin ; the holy repug nance of God's nature at iniquity, and his righteous determination to punish it, could not be thus un equivocally announced ; if something more had not been required to procure remission, it could never have appeared that sin was exceedingly sin ful. They gave no adequate exhibition of the inviolable rectitude and authority of God's moral government or law ; for if such was all that was requisite to secure exemption from the penalty annexed to its violation, no inference could be more legitimate than that its requirements were originally too strict, its sanctions originally too severe, and that it might be violated with compa rative impunity. They bore no proper relation to the sinner, either in point of nature or legal obli gation ; the animals which composed them were in respect of nature greatly inferior to man, and in no sense under that law the breach of which occasioned the guilt. And they possessed no value at all proportioned to the life that had been for feited, and which required to be redeemed ; that was the Ufe of an intelligent, moral, immortal creature, but the sacrifice was only an irrational, perishing beast. For these and similar reasons, the sacrifices of the law could not take away sin. Lebanon was not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a sin-offering : and it might well be asked, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with thousands of rivers of oil 1 It does not follow from this, that the Jewish sacrifices were useless. Because they did not serve LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 125 a purpose for which they were never designed, it would be rash surely to infer that they served no purpose at all. They served all the purposes for which they were appointed. They taught the evil of sin and its desert of death, ' In those sacri fices there was a remembrance made of sins every year.' They were offerings of memorial bringing iniquity to remembrance. And they not only re minded men of their sins, but strikingly intimated that these sins were remembered also by God ; that something more was necessary to cover them from the eye of omniscient justice ; that something else was required before they could assure them selves that he would no more remember them. They also procured the remission of those temporal penalties which attached to the iniquities of the people of Israel. From the theocratic nature of the constitution, every violation of the laws pos sessed a double character. As an offence against the statute law, it had a civil character, and ex posed to temporal pains ; as an offence against the moral law, it had a moral character, and ex posed to spiritual pains. The sacrifices seem to have procured a remission of the temporal pains, whatever might be the inward feeling and exer cise of the offerer, and to have restored him to his status in the commonwealth. And this is all the use which many conceive the legal offerings to have served. But we presume they served a far ther and much higher end — an end connected with the remission of moral guilt. Though ina dequate, in themselves, to procure such remission, they were capable of prefiguring that which could, m2 126 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. Though unable tb atone for a single moral trans gression, they could point distinctly forward to that one offering by which Christ was afterwards to perfect for ever them that are sanctified. This was their great and chief use ; and, when offered by those whose faith clearly embraced and whose hearts cordially approved this ultimate reference, it is not too much to believe that they were con nected with the remission of those spiritual pains to which the contraction of moral guilt exposed the offender. IV. It is, thus, incumbent on us, in the prose cution of our argument, to show that the Jewish sacrifices were designed to prefigure Christ, and were actually fulfilled in him. From this, it is presumed, all their value and efficacy arose. Without such a reference, it is impossible to account for their appointment by a wise and beneficent God. To them the remark is equally applicable as to the patriarchal sacri fices, that, excepting on the principle of being pre figurative of Christ, they appear useless and un meaning, a culpable waste of animal life and valuable property, and an intolerable yoke of burdensome exaction. This itself affords strong presumptive evidence of their ultimate design ; but the direct proof is neither scanty nor obscure. If we look into the writings of the prophets, we find them speaking of the legal sacrifices, in such connexion with that of the Messiah, as plainly to intimate the fulfilment of the former in the latter. ' Sacrifice and offering,' says David, ' thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou opened : burnt- LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 127 offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within ray heart.'* That this prediction refers to Messiah, is obvious from the use to which it is applied in the epistle to the Hebrews. ' Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering,' ~&c.f It is to the Son of God, in regard of his in carnation, that the inspired writer refers when he speaks of his coming into the world ; on which oc casion he is represented as having used the lan guage in question. This language could not be used by David or any other member of the Jewish church, of whom sacrifice and offering were pe remptorily required ; neither is it necessary to sup pose that it was employed literally, in so many words, by the Messiah at his advent in the flesh ; it is sufficient to understand it as expressive gene rally of what was then his great design or inten tion. And what is it that he expresses 1 The speech consists of four clauses, each of which, ac cording to the poetical structure of the psalm, makes a line of a tetrastich or stanza of four lines, the first corresponding to the third, and the second to the fourth ; thus : ' Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire ; Mine ears hast thou opened ; Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I como,' &c. Now, ' sacrifice and offering,' ' burnt-offering and sin-offering,' must be understood as meaning the * Psal. xl. 6—3. t Heb. a. 5—7, 128 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. whole sacrificial rites of the law. Of these it ia affirmed, that God ' did not desire — did not re quire' them ; whieh cannot mean absolutely that they were not required, for this is contrary to the whole tenor of the law. Nor can it mean merely that God had no pleasure in these sacrifices when improperly presented, for this does not comport with the scope of the passage. But it plainly enough intimates, that they were not required by God as a real atonement for sin ; that for such a purpose they were quite inadequate ; that God could take no delight, could feel no satisfaction or complacency in them in this view ; that, in short for such a purpose they were never appointed, and could not be accepted by the moral governor of the world. But, on the other hand, he says, ' Mine ears hast thou opened' (or ' a body hast thou prepared me'), and ' Lo, I come, in the volume ofthe book,' &c. Whichever reading of the former clause we adopt, whether that of the Hebrew text, or that of the Septuagint translation which is adopted by Paul, the meaning is the same ; it denotes the en tire devotedness of Christ to the will ofhis Father in offering himself as a proper sacrifice for sin, — his full acquiescence in this as the grand purpose of his incarnation. Such also is the import of the corresponding clause, ' In the volume of the book,' &c. The book of the law, the pentateuch, the only volume extant when the psalm was penned, taught in general that a higher sacrifice was re quisite to accomplish the will of God, and contain ed several particular and distinct predictions re- LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 129 specting the Messiah himself. A body, or human nature, was provided, in which he might accom plish what the Levitical sacrifices could not effect, might do that which Jehovah willed, and in which he could take full pleasure ; and this the person age by whom the language is spoken fulfilled, most readily, cheerfully, and piously, without the least reluctance or aversion. Such is plainly enough the import of this famous passage. In this way it invincibly asserts the prefigurative reference of the sacrifices of the law to that of Christ : and if any shadow of doubt should remain of the correctness of this view, let it be dissipated for ever by the testimony of the inspired writer who thus expounds its meaning : — ' Above, when he said, sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offering, and offering for sin, thou wouldest not,' &C. ' HE TAKETH AWAY THE FIRST THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH THE SECOND.' That is, he abolishes the legal sacrifices first spoken of, as in sufficient for the purpose of a real atonement ; and confirms or ratifies the work of Christ, second spoken of, as all-efficacious and perfect.* It is * It has been remarked above, that whichever reading we adopt of the second line in the passage now explained, it comes to the same thing. It may be proper to set down in a note, the various methods resorted to for the purpose of reconciling these readings ; the one of which occurs in the psalm itself, and the other in the quo tation from it in the epistle to the Hebrews. 1. It has been supposed that the clause is unimportant, and has no proper bearing on the object for which the apostle makes the quotation ; and that, therefore, quoting, as was then the custom^ from the Septuagint, he does not take the trouble to correct, but takes it just as he finds it But if we are right in our interpretation of the 130 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. not easy to see how the idea could have been more strongly expressed, that Christ was actually to passage, the clause is important, and, independently of this, it is not to be thought that an inspired writer would lend his support to an error, supposing the rendering of the LXX. to be wrong. 2. It has been thought that the apostle merely brings an argu mentum ad hominem against the Jews, with whom he is reasoning. They acknowledged the Septuagint translation, and it was enough for his purpose to confute them from what they admitted as autho ritative. But it does not comport with the ideas we form of the per fect integrity of an inspired writer, to suppose him bringing forward as scripture what was not so, even although it was so understood by those with whom he is contending. It was not for victory that he contended, but for the purpose of awakening conviction on the ground of truth. At least, if he so argued we should expect him to apprize us of it, which is not done in the case under consideration. 3. It has also been imagined, that the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews does not profess to quote literally, but to give the sense of the passage from which he quotes — that he quotes, not ad literam, but ad sensum. Now, this is frequently done : and it is not a little in favour of this view, that the two expressions are strictly the same in meaning. ' Mine ears thou hast opened,' whether referring to the ancient law respecting servants (Exod. xxi. 5), or to the common mode of expressing willing obedience (Is. 1. 5), denotes perfect sub- missiveness. And the other clause, ' A body hast thou prepared me,' means just the same thing ; bodies being often used for ser vants or slaves, as in Rev. xviii. 13, where, in the inventory of Baby lon's merchandise, we find ' horses, and chariots, and slaoe s, ( substitute, r\-\} |N, then a body. The letters in both cases bear a strong resemblance to each other ; and it is not at all impossible, nor even improbable, that, in the course of transcription, the one might have been substituted for the other. This suggestion was first made by Dr. Kennicott, and is adopted by Owen, Pye Smith, and M' Lean ; but we do not find it so much as alluded to by professor Stu art in his critical commentary on the Hebrews. LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 131 fulfil what the legal offerings were intrinsically incapable of accomplishing, and thus to supersede these sacrificial observances completely and for ever. The prophet Daniel may also be adduced as a witness. His celebrated prediction, in the ninth chapter of his book, plainly teaches, that when Messiah the prince should be cut off, for the pur pose of finishing transgression and bringing in everlasting righteousness, the sacrifice and the ob lation, which had previously existed among the people of Israel, should be abolished. From this it is a natural and irresistible inference, that the Jewish sacrifices were symbolical representations of the sacrifice of Christ. ' Seventy weeks are de termined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. and he shall confirm the covenant with many, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.'* If we turn to the New Testament, we shall find no lack of evidence to prove that the sacrifices of the legal dispensation had a designed reference to Christ. His person and his death are spoken of in such terms as to leave no room to doubt on the Those who wish to pursue this inquiry farther, may consult the authors just referred to, and also Carpenter's Scripture Difficulties, where they will find a learned dissertation on the passage ; pp. 536 —548. * Dan. ix. 24—27. 132 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. subject. John the baptist says, ' Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.'* Christ himself tells us, that 'the Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many.'f Paul speaks of Christ having ' given himself for us an offer ing and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.':): Throughout the epistle to the He brews, this apostle speaks of Jesus as a, priest — a high priest — a sacrifice ; as offering himself to God, — bearing the sins of many — and offering one sacri fice for sins. From such expressions the inference is plain — an inference which we are not left to draw of ourselves, the Spirit of God having given it in so many words, — that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, and the law a school master to bring us to Christ. § Indeed, the striking analogy subsisting betwixt the legal sacrifices and that of Christ, strongly corroborates the view that the latter is the sub stance, reality, and antitype of the former. With regard to sacrifices in general, the selection of the victim, the properties it required to possess, its substitution in room of the offerer, its death, and its presentation to God on the altar, are circum stances all of which are most exactly fulfilled in the eternal appointment, the spotless purity, the actual substitution, and the final crucifixion of the incarnate Redeemer. The minute distinctions that have been industriously traced between the sin-offerings of the law and the death of the Mes- * John i. 29. t Matt. xx. 28. $ Eph. v. S. § Rom. x. 4. Gal. iii. 24. levitical sacrifices. 133 siah, affect not in the least the inference deducible from the above analogy, as these differences arise solely from the necessary superiority of the anti type as ^compared with the type. — In the case of the annual expiation, the points of resemblance are still more numeious and striking. Here, the exclusive nature of Christ's office as our great High Priest, his making atonement for the whole chosen of God, and his entrance into the highest heavens, not without blood, there to minister on their behalf in the immediate presence of the Most High, were distinctly shadowed forth. But the Jewish rite which, above all, prefigured the sacrifice of Christ, is the passover. It has been questioned, indeed, whether the paschal lamb partook of the nature of a sacrifice at all : and others besides Socinians have held the opi nion, that it was solely of a festal nature. Those who wish to examine the question minutely, can consult the document to which reference is made in the margin.* It may be sufficient here to ob serve, that there seems to be abundant reason to conclude, that the paschal lamb was a real sacri fice. Indeed, it is expressly so called, again and again : — ' It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt — Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven ; neither shall the sacri fice of the feast of the passover be left unto the * Magee (v. i. pp. 297 — 321) maintains the sacrificial character of the paschal lamh. The opposite view is held by Mr. Orme in his treatise on the Lord's Supper, pp. 13, 14. 134 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. morning — Thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God — Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates ; but at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even.'* Besides, priests were employ ed in slaying the paschal lamb : — 'Moreover, Jo siah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem, and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the ser vice of the house of the Lord ; and said unto the Levites — so kill the passover, and sanctify your selves, and prepare your brethren. So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment, and they killed the pass- over, AND THE PRIESTS SPRINKLED THE BLOOD from their hands. 'f The sprinkling of the blood by the priests is related elsewhere : — ' Then they killed the passover — the priests sprinkled the blood which they received of the hand of the Levites.'f Moreover, the paschal lamb was to be offered only in the tabernacle or temple, the place appointed for sacrifice : — ' Thou mayest not sacrifice the pass- over within any of thy gates, but at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in.'§ On these grounds do we regard our selves as warranted to view the passover in the light of a true and proper sacrifice ; and the ana- * Exod. xii. 27. xxxiv. 25. Deut. xvi. 2, 5, 6. f 2 Chron. xxxv. 1—11. t 2 Chron. xxx. 15, 16. § Deut. xvi. 5, 6. levitical sacrifices. 135 logy betwixt it and Christ is too marked and par ticular to admit of a doubt that the one was de signed to prefigure the other. The paschal lamb itself, both in its natural qualities and particular circumstances, strikingly portrayed the person of the Redeemer. The pro verbial meekness and unresisting patience of the animal, rendered it a fit representative of Him who was ' led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearers, so he open ed not his mouth.' Its being without spot and blemish, pointed directly to him who was ' holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.' Its being taken out from the flock, agrees with his being chosen from among men, a possessor of the nature of those for whom he was to die. Its being $et apart some time before, typified his eternal dedi cation in tho covenant of peace. Not less strik ing is the analogy in the matter of its suffering and death. The roasting of the paschal lamb with fire, points not obscurely to the nature and intensity of those sufferings which the Son of God endured from men, and devils, and his hea venly Father, and which drew from him the ago nizing complaint, ' My heart is like wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.' Even the form in which it is said to have been roasted bore a striking resemblance to the death of the cross. Justin Martyr, who flourished in the beginning of the second century, tells us, in his conference with Trypho the Jew, that the animal was transfixed longitudinally with one spit, and horizontally with another which passed through the forelegs, thus 136 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. giving it the exact form of a person under cruci fixion. To some this may seem a trifling circum stance. But the fact at least, is abundantly sin gular : and, as it cannot be doubted, we are not at liberty to overlook so striking a coincidence; be lieving that nothing is unworthy of notice which it has seemed good to Him who is sovereign in alF his ways to connect with the prefiguration of the death of his Son. The time, too, when the pas chal offering was slain, namely, betwixt the even ings, corresponds to that when the crucifixion of Christ took place. And the advantages resulting from the one resemble the blessings connected with the other ; — protection, redemption, and sal vation. Considering this manifold analogy, we- can no longer wonder that the apostle should have said, ' even Christ our passover is sacri ficed for us.'* The analogy in the case of the scape-goat is- not less remarkable ; but we shall not wait to spe cify the particulars. Enough has been adduced for the sake of our argument. There is only one additional circumstance to which we would advert here, namely, the memorable and undoubted fact, that immediately after the death of Christ the Jewish sacrifices were completely abolished, and have never been restored. In a short period, the Levitical genealogies fell into inextricable confu sion, so that it became impossible for any one to- substantiate his right to the sacerdotal office ; and it was not long till the sacred structure, within * l Cor. v. 7. LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 137 whose precincts alone legitimate sacrifice could be offered, was irretrievably demolished, and every attempt to rebuild it has been met with the frown of an incensed Providence. It is now impossible, without a miracle, to offer a single sacrifice agree ably to the prescriptions of the legal economy. The institution has fully answered its purpose in pointing forward to Christ, and, as has been well remarked, ' by the finger of Omnipotence its ex piration is recorded on the everlasting columns of historic truth.' To prevent cavil, it may be proper, before con cluding this department, to take notice of some things that have been urged in opposition to the view on which the argument it contains is built. That the sacrifices of the law were designed to prefigure Christ is essential to this argument, and this, we think, has been proved in the foregoing pages. Yet it is fair to remark, that other views have been taken of the nature and design of these rites, which, if they could only be substantiated, would go far to overturn the above reasoning. It may help to strengthen our position, if we allow ourselves time to examine a little more closely these views. It has been alleged by some that the legal sacri fices were appointed, simply in accommodation to the heathenish taste acquired by the Israelites while in Egypt. No supposition can be more re pugnant to all right conceptions regarding the divine character. The inclinations of man are naturally corrupt ; and to suppose them a rule of procedure to the Deity, or a standard to fix the n2 138 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. forms of religious worship, is altogether monstrous and absurd. Besides, in the present case, the supposition is at variance with facts. So far from the Jewish worship being formed on the model of the Egyptian rites, in order to meet the perverted taste which the people had contracted in the land of their captivity, we know that they were led about in the wilderness forty years, till the gene ration who came out of Egypt had perished, with out being permitted to enter that country where their religious rites could be observed in perfection. The generation who entered Canaan were uncon- taminated with the pagan ceremonies of which their fathers were witnesses ; and, lest they should become corrupted with any species of false wor ship, they weie required to extirpate completely the race of idolators who were previously in pos session of the land that had been assigned them by God. Nay, in the book of statutes with which they were furnished, express warning was given against imitating the conduct or practising the rites of any heathen nation whatever, with special reference to Egypt and Canaan. ' Speak unto the children of Israel,' said Jehovah to Moses, ' and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt WHEREIN YE DWELT, SHALL YE NOT DO ; and AFTER THE DOINGS OF THE LAND OF CaNAAN, whither I bring you, shall ye not do ; neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein ; I am the Lord your God.'* How * Lev. xviii. 2 — 4. levitical sacrifices. 139 can it be thought, after this, that the Levitical rites were formed on the model of the Egyptian ceremonies ] Or what language can more deci dedly express the marked opposition that existed betwixt the ordinances of the heathen and the Lord's ordinances 1 In addition to these things it may be observed, that it is more reasonable to sup pose the Levitical economy was formed with the view of preserving the Israelites from idolatry, than that it was itself an imitation of an idola trous system. Others, again, suppose that the sacrifices of the Jews were mere emblems of holiness, or memorials of divine placability, and not types of a better sacrifice at all. That they served these, purposes, along with others, might perhaps be safely grant ed ; but that such was their sole use and design cannot be so easily conceded. It must occur to every sober thinker on the subject, that for these purposes they were not indispensably requisite, there being other methods of expressing the same things. Moreover, it must be admitted, that a great deal more was signified by them. Nor is it unworthy of notice, that neither the holiness nor placability of God, as we have seen in another de partment of the subject, can be shown to consist with, the pardon of sin, on any other principle than that of an atonement. And it is not a little unfortunate for the supporters of this opinion, that the cases in which symbols of the holiness and placability of God were most necessary, such as murder and adultery, did not admit of sacrifices being offered at all. 140 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. It has, also, been maintained, in opposition to the view we have taken of the Levitical economy, that it was not the sacrifices which made atone ment, but the appearance of the high priest in the holy of holies. From this it is inferred, that the death of Christ constituted no part of his sacer dotal work, the whole of which, it is alleged, was performed in heaven. It is sufficient, in reply, to remark, that the appearance of the high priest in the inner sanctuary presupposed the offering of a sacrifice. Unless a sacrifice had been previously offered on the brazen altar he could not enter within the veil, at least his entering could serve no purpose whatever ; the blood of the burnt- offering had to be carried by him into the holy place and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat. The one was as much a part of his priestly functions as the other; and if the latter prefigured Christ in any part of his sacerdotal service, so also did the former ; to separate them is to put asunder what God has joined together. But the view which is most commonly taken by the modern enemies of Christ's atonement, is, that although the sacrifices of the law were real and proper sacrifices, so far from being types of Christ, the sacrificial language used respecting him in the new testament is employed only figura tively, in allusion to the customs and practices of the Jew?, with a view to conciliate that people to the Christian religion. It is wonderful that this position should ever have been maintained, con sidering how contradictory it is to scripture and to reason. The very same terms are so often applied LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 141 to the sacrifices of the law and to that of Christ, that, if the latter is not a real and proper sacrifice, the language of scripture seems fitted to mislead rather than instruct. Indeed, the object of the whole epistle to the Hebrews seems to be lost sight of by those who hold the opinion we are now considering. The design of this part of scripture evidently is, to remove the objections of the Jews to the Christian economy, by showing that every thing which was possessed under the law is enjoyed in equal, nay greater, perfection under the gospel ; — that Christianity has its high priest, and its sacrifice, and its sanctuary, as well as Judaism. And are we to suppose that the pri vileges and blessings of the new dispensation, which the apostle describes by such language, are merely figurative, — shadowy emblems and not substantial realities ; and that all his powerful reasoning, to secure the attachment of the Jews to the religion of Jesus, is built on a deception,, and consists only of a well-managed trick in which a disingenuous use is made of the language of accommodation 1 Is it not infinitely more worthy of the character of an inspired writer to believe, that he affirms, what undoubtedly his words are calculated and designed to convey, that the im port of the legal ceremonies is completely fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ 1 The theory in question reverses the scriptural order of relation between the rites of the law and the privileges of the gos pel. In innumerable instances are the former spoken of as types, figures, shadows, of which the antitype, the reality, the substance is affirmed 142 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. to be Christ. But, if the sacrifice of Christ was only figurative, this order is inverted ; the sacri fice, sanctuary, and high priest of the new dispen sation are the shadows of which those under the law are the substance. Nothing more can require to be said to expose the unsoundness of the view on which we are animadverting. Yet we cannot help remarking, how much more reasonable and natural it is to suppose, as the Jewish religion un doubtedly possesses a less degree of perfection than the Christian, that the language employed under the former should derive its complexion from what was to exist under the latter, than the re verse. It is surely more likely that the less per fect system should look forward to the more per fect, than that the more perfect should go back to the less perfect. It appears a more rational mode of proceeding, to construct a scaffolding with re ference to the form and dimensions of a contem plated building, than to shape the building agreea bly to a scaffolding which happened to exist before. In like manner, it is more reasonable to view the sacrificial language in use under the law as taking its rise from the reality of that sacrifice which was afterwards to exist, than to suppose that such lan guage is employed with, reference to the latter only in accommodation to the modes of speaking in use under a more imperfect economy. In short, it were much nearer the truth to maintain, that the only real and proper sacrifice is that of Christ, and that all others were only figures of it. This is the substance ; the rest were shadows. ' Which are a shadow of things to come,' says Paul when LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 143 treating of the Levitical rites, 'but the body is OF CHRIST.' The futility of all other views of the Jewish economy, thus confirms the sentiment before ex pressed, of its figurative reference to Christ — the only view which satisfactorily explains its usages, or comports with the wisdom of its divine Author ; and which infallibly conducts, as we shall see, to an irrefragable argument in favour of the doctrine of atonement. V. We are now prepared to deduce, from the preceding evidence, an argument in favour of the atoning nature of Christ's death. The sacrifices of the law, we have seen, were expiatory and vicarious ; — these expiatory and vi carious sacrifices were designed prefigurations of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ ; — therefore, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was expiatory and vicarious too. Such is our argument. If the premises are admitted, the inference cannot be re fused. The type and the antitype must corre spond in every essential point. Nothing was so characteristic of the typical sacrifices as their pro pitiatory nature : and, if the antjtype possess not this quality, the whole typical economy is nullified. In this case the sacrifices of the law were useless, nay worse than useless ; they were positively hurtful ; they were fitted to mislead more than to assist the ancient worshipper. They taught him, as plainly as symbolical language could teach, to look forward to a sacrifice which should be a real substitute for the sins of men. If, therefore, we hold that the death and sacrifice of Christ were 144 PROOF OF ATONEMENT, destitute of every thing atoning in their nature, we must be prepared to admit that the entire Le vitical economy was a divinely established system of delusion — a grave imposture palmed upon a whole nation by the express appointment of God. The admission of the doctrine of Christ's atoning sacrifice can alone save us from this blasphemous assumption. On this principle, the legal dispen sation admits of an easy solution ; it appears to be not simply harmless but useful, highly useful, and every way worthy of its righteous and beneficent Author. It is not possible to conclude this section, with out recommending to our readers the diligent study ofthe Levitical institutes, particularly those respecting sacrifice. This we would enjoin, not as matter of vain curiosity, but of profitable and delightful instruction. Without this, the beauty and force of many parts of the new testament scriptures must be lost. An acquaintance with the laws respecting the daily oblations, the pas chal lamb, the scape goat, and suchlike, cannot fail to afford valuable assistance in understanding the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. The spiritual reader, as he peruses the pages of the law, will never be without sufficient matter to remind him of the great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the atone ment. When burdened with sin, he will learn to put his hand by faith on the head of the blessed LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 145 Surety, by whom all his iniquities may be carried to the land of forgetfulness. From the bleeding victim of Calvary, his thoughts will be conducted to the heavenly sanctuary, where the true Priest appears in the presence of God for us, not without blood. In connexion with the institutes of the law, let the epistle to the Hebrews be made the subject of devout investigation. The latter records the ful filment of the former. This masterpiece of skil ful reasoning is adapted not to Jews only, but to all who need a priest, a sacrifice, a Saviour. Every sinner of the family of man will find here what is suited to his case, if he has only the wis dom to perceive and the grace to improve it. The dignity of the Christian high priest, the worth of his sacrifice, the efficacy of his intercessions, are here set forth in the most lucid and impressive style ; and nowhere can the sin-burdened soul, panting for salvation, go, with such prospects of finding relief, as to this incomparable composition, an acquaintance with which will do more to es tablish the faith, and comfort the heart, and direct the conduct of an humble inquirer, than all that has been written since the days of the apostles. Happy they who read, believe, and apply. Where fore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand ofthe throne of the Majesty in the heavens ; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. o 146 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. SECTION VI. PROOF PROPHECY. The glorious Person, of whose work we are now treating, is He of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. From the legal institutes we naturally pass to prophetic intimations, in proof of Christ's atonement. In proceeding thus, we advance into still clearer light. The evidence adduced, it will be remarked, is not merely cumulative, each suc cessive proof being only an addition to the number of arguments ; but progressive, each being, in its own nature, stronger than that by which it is pre ceded, inasmuch as it is drawn from a source in which the light is more perfect, the evidence more direct, and the reasoning less open to dispute. The light derived from the laic is brighter than that derived from the ancient and universal practice of mankind ; and the light derived from prophecy is brighter still than that furnished by the law. If, on the one hand, the law may be regarded as a key to unlock the more difficult wards of prophe cy ; on the other, prophecy may be looked upon as an exposition, an inspired exposition, of the law. Prophecy lifts the veil which had previously concealed the mystery of man's redemption, and rescues it from the shade of these ceremonial rites, prophecy. 147 through which, comparatively speaking, it could be but faintly discerned. The mystery of redemption forming the proper subject of a revelation from heaven, it was to be expected that the prophecy which came not in old time by the will of man, but which holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, should treat distinctly of this matter. This ex pectation is justified by fact, and by the assertions of the new testament. The apostles not only de clared that ' the Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets, testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow,' but pro tested that, in their public ministrations, they ' said none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer.'* Nay Jesus himself, in conversation respecting his sufferings with two of his disciples after his resurrection, made express reference, more than once, to the writings of the prophets on this very subject : — ' O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spo ken ! Ought not Christ to. have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ? and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concern ing himself — These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the psalms con cerning me. Then opened he their understand- * 1 Pet. i. II. Acts xxvi. 25, 24. 148 PROOF OF ATONEMENT." ing, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer.'* The passages in the prophecies which treat of the sufferings of Christ are innumerable. Indeed ' God hath showed, by the mouth of all the pro phets, that Christ should suffer.' But, instead of going over the whole of the prophetical testimo nies, it will serve our purpose better to confine our attention to two, in which not merely ihe fact, but the nature and the reason, of the Messiah's suffer ings, are stated with great fulness, clearness, and force. Isaiah liii. The first of these is the distinguished description of the sufferings and death of Christ given by Isaiah in his fifty-third chapter, which has been justly called one of the brightest constellations in the prophetic hemisphere. I. The prophecy, which commences at the I3th verse of the preceding chapter, notwithstanding the objections of certain enemies of the truth, bears an obvious reference to the Messiah. TheTargum or Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan Ben Uzziel supports this view, as well as other early Jewish expositors : not to speak of the earli est Christian fathers. Indeed the testimony of the new testament writers is too decided on this point, to admit of any room for doubt, in the minds of all humble and candid interpreters of the word of God. Matthew quotes, with reference to Jesus * Luke xxiv, 25—27, 44.-46. PROPHECY. 149 of Nazareth, the fourth verse of this chapter : — ' Himself took our infirmities and bare our sick nesses.'* Mark and Luke refer, with the same view, to the twelfth verse : — ' And he was num bered with the transgressors. 'f John, speaking of the unbelief of the people with regard to the miracles of Christ, finds in it a fulfilment of the first verse : — ' Lord, who hath believed our report 1 and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been re vealed V\ In the Acts of the Apostles, that beau tiful part of the prophecy which speaks of the Messiah being led as a sheep to the slaughter, is represented as the text from which Philip preached to the eunuch concerning Christ : — ' Then Philip began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. '§ And Peter, in his first epistle, has obviously a view to the prediction of Isaiah, when he speaks of Christ thus : — ' Who did no sin, nei ther was guile found in his mouth. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree — by wrhose stripes we are healed. 'If These testimonies will be sufficient to convince all who regard Christ and his apostles as correct interpreters of the old testament scriptures, that this prophecy of Isaiah refers to the Messiah. That this should ever have been called in question, by any who claim the Christian name, might have excited surprise, had we not known, that, in every age, there have been those who have resisted the clearest evidence in supportof the most vital andimportant gospel truth, * Matt viii. 17. f Mark *v- 29, Luke xxii. 37. \ John xii. 38. § Acts viii. 35. IT 1 Pet. ii. 22, 24. O 2 150 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. The grounds on which it has been denied that this prediction refers to the sufferings of the Mes siah are most untenable. No small stress has been laid by some on the want of all allusion to it, in illustration of the doctrine of substitution, in the writings of Paul. The fact is singular enough, it must be acknowledged ; but the inference de duced from it is far from being conclusive. We are not at liberty to say from what source the in finitely wise God should draw his confirmations or illustrations of the precious truths he is pleased to make known to us by his Spirit. Our duty is to receive and improve what he has seen meet to give ; without complaining, either that he has not given us more, or that that which he has given is not different from what it is. The application of the language of some parts of this remarkable portion of revealed truth, has been thought to pro ceed on the principle of accommodation. Without denying that such a use is ever made, in the new testament scriptures, of the language of the old, it is sufficient at present to remark, how preposte rous it is to resort to this method of interpretation in a case like the present, where the passages quoted are expressly declared by the inspired wri ters to have a reference to the Messiah.* II. This prediction treats of the sufferings of the Messiah. These are set forth with a plenitude and variety * Other objections to the application of Isaiah's prophecy to Christ have been started by Neologians. Such as take an interest in these matters will find them all stated and refuted in a very able note by Dr. Pye Smith.— Disc, on Sac, &c, pp. 260—271. prophecy. 15i of expression, which it is deeply interesting and highly instructive to mark and consider. The terms and phrases made use of for this purpose, are truly worthy of notice, and a consideration of these lies directly within the line of our argu ment. It may also serve a gbod end, to note the translations given of the original of these respec tive expressions, by some of our most distinguish ed modern biblical scholars, even such as do not accord in sentiment with the doctrine which it is our object to establish.* The following classi fication of terms and phrases, may help to give us some idea of the amount of evidence which the prophecy contains, to the extent of Messiah's sufferings : — 1 ' Despised and rejected of men.' v. 3. n.nj o'Bf'R Snnv Despised, nor accounted in the number of men. (Lowth.) — Despised and neglected by men. (Dr. P. Smith.) — Contemptible ! the most feeble of men ! (Michaelis.) — Disdained'is he, scorned among men. (Seiler.) — Disdained was he, and deserted by men. (Gesenius.) — The most despised and rejected of men. (Rosenmueller.) 2. ' A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.' v. 3. ,l?n jnvi nfatop trx. Lowth adopts the common version. A man of sorrows and familiar with sufferings. (P. Smith.) — Pull of sufferings, and recognised only by his loounds. (Mich.) — The man of sorrows, known by his sufferings. (Seil.) — Sorrow-laden and marked with disease. (Gesen.) — * fhese translations are given at length by Dr. Smith, in the Note last referred to. 152 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. A man afflicted with sorrows, eminently marked with disease. (Rosen.) 3. 'Stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.' v. 4. n.yjq? dtiSk nap y_ni- Judicially stricken, smit- of God, and afflicted. (Lowth.) — Stricken, smitten, by God, and devoted to affliction. (P. Smith.) — Marked out by the stroke of God and thrown down. (Mich.) — By God punished, smitten, and tormented. (Seil.) — Punished by God, smitten and distressed by God. (Gesen.) — Ruin-stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Rosen.) 4. 'Wounded.' Vjrip. v. 5. Lowth, Michaelis, Gesenius, and Rosenmueller adopt the common version. — Pierced. (P. Smith.) — Pierced through. (Seil.) 5. ' Bruised.' v. 5. X3"»p- Smitten. (Lowth and Seller.) — Crushed. (P. Smith.) Broken. (Mich.) — Smitten down. (Gesen.) — Bruised. (Ro sen.) 6. ' Chastisement.' v. 5. idid. Lowth, Smith, and Rosenmueller follow the common version. — Punishment. (Mich., Seil., and Gesen.) 7. ' Stripes.' v. 5. rn?D- Bruises. (Lowth and Mich.) — Bloody stripes. (P. Smith.) — Wounded. (Seil.) — Wounds. (Gesen.) — Wheals. (Rosen.) 8. 'He was oppressed.' v. 7. fejij. It was ex acted. (Lowth and Seil.) — It is exacted. (P. Smith.) — He came to it. (Mich.) — III treated was he. (Gesen. ) — Cruelly treated. (Rosen.) 9. ' He was cut off out of the land of the living.' v. 8. D"n p«p yii. Smith and Rosen, adopt the common version. — Cut off from the land of the PROPHECY. 153 living. (Lowth.) — Torn out of the land of the liv ing. (Mich.) — Out of the land of the living he is torn away. (Seil.) — Taken away out ofthe land of the living. (Gesen.) 10. ' Travail of soul.' v. 11. l'tfaaSpy. The common version is -adopted by Lowth. — The effects of his soul's pains. (P. Smith.) — Severe toil. (Mich.) — Labour. (Seil.) — Sorrows. (Rosen.) 11. ' He hath poured out his soul unto death.' v. 12. nipS nfl.m Lowth adopts the com mon version — He yieldeth his life to death. (P. Smith.) — He poured out his life's blood unto death. (Mich, and Seil.) — He gave up his life unto death. (Gesen.) — He poured out his life unto death. (Rosen.) III. We have now seen that this singular pre diction refers to the Messiah, and to the Messiah as suffering. The punitive character of his suf ferings, as here set forth, is the next thing to which we solicit attention. We have before adverted to the distinction be tween suffering on account of sin and suffering dis connected from guilt, the latter being what is called calamity, the former punishment.* Now the suf ferings of Messiah, as they are here exhibited, were of the former description, — not calamitous, but punitive. He suffered for sin ; whether his own or that of others, remains to be seen ; mean while, we beg attention to those expressions in the prediction which distinctly mark the punitivt * Seep. 12. 154 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. character of Messiah's sufferings. They are the following : — 1. 'He hath borne griefs.' v. 4. "Ni'}. 'He shall bear iniquities.' v. 11. baq\ 'He bare the sin.' v. 12. Nija The original word, in the first and last of these verses, is the same ; and, in their rendering of it, there is a close agreement among all the critics formerly referred to. In the second passage, the original word is different, al though our translation and that of most of the other critics, are the same. Dr. Smith, however, renders it ' take away,' and Rosenmueller renders it ' made atonement.' That Messiah took away the sins of his people, by making atonement for them, we, of course, believe to be true, and to be taught, in this part of scripture ; although, per haps, it admits of being questioned, whether this be the exact import of the phrases we are now con sidering. It is the opinion of many learned men, that the original terms denote, not so much the removal of sin, as the sustaining of guilt ; not so much the bearing of it away, as the bearing of its weight ; not so much Christ's being the means of taking sin from others, as his actually lying under its load, or being subjected to its awful pressure. himself. They thus point our attention to the re sult of his sufferings, rather than to the manner in which these sufferings effected their result. The enemies of the doctrine for which we are contend ing, are anxious to restrict their meaning to the result : but that they mark the manner of bring ing about the result, seems capable of being satis factorily established. The reference to the Jewish prophecy. 155 ceremony of the scape-goat, which was understood to ' bear upon him all the iniquities' of the children of Israel ' unto a land not inhabited,'* is supposed to be strongly in favour of the former view ; but, if another circumstance connected with this rite is duly considered, it will be seen to be not less strongly corroborative of the latter, for the high priest was to confess over the animal all the ini quities of the children of Israel, ' putting them upon the head of the goat,' and this as a pre paratory step to his being 'sent away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.'f It is also worthy of notice, that these original terms, when they occur in connexion with sins or iniquities, never signify to bear away, but to bear a burden ; to sustain a load ; to bear the punishment of sin, the suffering due to iniquity. Hence the doctrine of this prediction is, that the load of guilt, the burden of punishment, was borne by the Messiah, that is, that his sufferings were pu nitive, f 2. ' The chastisement of peace was upon him.' v. 5. *id*o. Lowth, Rosenmueller, and P. Smith, agree with the common version. Michaelis, Sel ler, and Gesenius employ the word punishment. Each of these supposes sin or guilt, and conse quently determines the view of Messiah's suffer ings we are now attempting to set forth. 3. ' He was wounded- for transgressions — bruised * Lev. xvi. 22. f Lev. xvi. 21. I For a very full, elaborate, and learned criticism on the words in question, see Magee, v. i. pp. 408—463, 156 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. for iniquities.' v. 5. The critics employ different words here, but always such as convey the idea of crime or moral turpitude. 4. ' He bare sin.' v. 1 2. The same remark ap plies to this expression. 5. ' Thou shalt make his soul a sin-offering.' v. 10. DtfN. A propitiatory sacrifice. (Lowth.) — A sacrifice for sin. (Smith.) — A trespass-offering. (Mich., Seil., Gesen.) — An atoning sacrifice. (Ro sen.) This requires no comment. Thus ample is the evidence of the punitive character of Messiah's sufferings. These suffer ings were not mere calamities, then, or afflictions which came upon the person without any refer ence to guilt, but partook directly of the nature of a punishment or penalty, judicially inflicted, somehow or other, on account of moral transgres sion. IV. It remains to examine whether the guilt, for which Messiah suffered a legal punishment, was his own ; and, on this point, the evidence is no less full, which this prediction supplies, of the substitutionary character of the punishment the Messiah endured. 1 . ' He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.' v. 9. No wrong, neither any guile. (Lowth.) — No injustice, no guile. (Smith.) — No unrighteousness, no deceit. (Mich.) — No wrong, neither any deceit. (Seil.) — No injustice, and no deceit. (Gesen.) — Nor violence, nor deceit. (Rosen.) Language strongly affirmative of the personal innocence of the sufferer. 2. ' He hath borne our griefs, and carried our PROPHECY. 157 sorrows.' ' He was wounded for our transgres sions ; bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was upon him.' v, 4, 5. Language as strongly implying that the guilt for which he suffered was that of others. 3. 'The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.' v. 6. ' He shall bear their iniquities.' v. IL 'if e bare the sin of many.' v. 12. Language in which the substitution of one for another is not merely supposed, but most distinctly expressed. Some of these phrases have an undoubted re ference to the ancient ceremony of the scape goat. Let us, by an effort of imagination, sup pose ourselves witnessing this expressive rite. The animals are selected. The sins of the people of Israel are typically transferred. The priest pro nounces the imprecation of vengeance due to these sins. The whole congregation stand round in silent awe. As the one goat is immolated and laid on the altar, a prophet of the Lord, wrapt in holy visions, pronounces these words, ' He was wounded for our transgressions.' And, as the other animal bounds from the view into the land of oblivion, the same sacred person exclaims under the same divine influence, ' Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.' Would there be one, we ask, in all the solemnized assembly, who could fail to perceive that the person to whom the prediction referred was pointed out as a real vicarious sacrifice 1 Such is th& -testimony of this remarkable pas sage of hoiy writ to the doctrine of Christ's atone ment. The more it is examined, the more decided p 158 PROOF OF atonement. will the evidence it affords appear. The doctrine is interwoven with its very texture, so as not to be separated from it but by a process which must ef fect the destruction of the fabric itself. While the prophecy holds a place in the volume of in spiration, it will not be possible to rob the church of this precious truth. ' If the scriptures,' to adopt the words of Dr. Smith, ' are of any use to mankind : if they convey any definite sentiments, if we can at all rely on the meaning of the words, if the strength and variety of phrase here employ ed by the wisdom of inspiration can avail to in form and impress our minds, — we must believe that the Messiah would devote himself as a volun tary sacrifice, a real and effectual expiation, suffering the heaviest woes, and all the bitterness of death, in concurrence with the gracious inten tions of Jehovah, and for the salvation of rebel lious men.'* The other prophecy to which we refer is Daniel ix. 24 — 27. The reference of this splendid prediction to the Messiah is admitted on all hands. Indeed the ex press mention made in it of ' Messiah the Prince' precludes all doubt on this point. And its fulfil ment in Jesus of Nazareth is not less plainly es tablished, by the agreement of the description with his general character and history, and by the seventy weeks, when dated from the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, terminating in the year of his crucifixion. * Dis, on Sac, pp, 31, 32. PROPHECY.- 159 The death of the Messiah is obviously meant by lus being ' cut off ;' phraseology which implies a painful, violent, and untimely death at the hands of others. The character under which he should die, name ly, as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of others, is here distinctly marked by a variety of im pressive language. The sacrificial nature of his death is, first of all, clearly implied in the circum stance that immediately on its taking place the sa crifice and oblation should cease : thus pointing him out as the great antitypical sacrifice, the offering of which necessarily put an end to every other. To this circumstance there is supposed by some to be a reference in the clause, ' to make an end of sins,' v. 24, or ' sin-offerings,' as the word may signify. — There is, next, the very remarkable clause, ' but not for himself,' in which his death is most ex plicitly taken off the ground of personal demerit. — While the expiatory and propitiatory nature of his sacrifice is directly affirmed, in its object being declared to be ' to finish transgression, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlast ing righteousness.' v. 24. It is unnecessary to go more at length into this part of scripture ; or even to dwell longer on this department of proof. These passages of Isaiah and Daniel are sufficient to show, that evidence in support of our doctrine is not wanting in the writings of those prophets who were prompted, by the divine Spirit, to testify beforehand the suffer ings of Christ and the glory that should follow. So conclusive, indeed, is the testimony thus sup- 160 PROOF OF atonement. plied, that after duly considering its amount, we can only express our wonder at the wilful blind ness or lamentable perversity of mind by which its force is resisted. SECTION VII. PROOF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. The circumstance on which we are now to found is matter of fact. The sufferings of Jesu& Christ are recorded in indubitable history. The argument derivable from this source, is of a strong er nature than any of the preceding. History is so much more plain and distinct than prophecy, that the evidence it affords must be higher than that which is derived from the latter. The facts regarding the sufferings of the Son of God are not affected by the sentiments that are entertained respecting the nature and design of these sufferings. The doctrinal opinions of men may differ, but historical truths must ever re main one and unalterable. There is no room for diversity here'; whoever admits the canonical authority of the writings of the evangelists, must give credit to the statements they contain ; these are subjects of belief, not of opinion. And how stands the matter of fact with regard to the suf ferings of Emmanuel 1 It will be admitted by all who believe the new testament history, that, in their nature, variety, intensity, and continuance, these sufferings were Qf no ordinary character. Christ's sufferings. 161 His whole life was a scene of suffering. From his birth to his death, from the cradle to the cross, from the manger at Bethlehem to the tomb of Jo seph, sorrow and suffering seem to have marked him as their own. While yet a babe in his mo ther's arms, he was driven into exile, to escape the fury of those who sought his life ; when- but a youth, he was doomed to follow a servile employ ment, that he might procure the means of bodily subsistence ; and when he became a man, he was successively reproached, persecuted, accused, con demned, and crucified. At every period of his abode on earth we meet with the same general features of suffering ; we see them in the weep ing infant, the pensive youth, the man of sorrows, and the bleeding victim of Calvary. He seems to have been marked out as the object of bitter hatred, the moment he entered our world ; to have been followed throughout with deadly malice ; and to have been at last hunted down with implacable revenge. The cup of woe, put to his lips at his birth, was never removed till he wrung out its bit ter dregs on the cross. Called to dip his feet, so soon as he was born, in the troubled waters of affliction, wave after wave continued ever after to lash with undiminished strength, deep calling un to deep, till the billows of death overwhelmed him, and cast his exanimate body on the desolate shore. Every variety of suffering was compressed into his life of woe. He suffered poverty in all its ri gour ; being born in a stable and cradled hi a man ger, being ofttjmes dependent on the charity of ?2 162 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. others for a precarious support, having no property that he could call his own, and being in many cases worse situated than the inferior orders of creation :— ' Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.' He suffered reproach in all its bitterness; which to one, conscious of per fect innocence, as he was, and possessing the keen est moral sensibility, must have been inconceiv ably severe. The most malignant accusations, the vilest aspersions, the most cutting sarcasms, were directed against his person, character, and suffer ings ; and he who had done no violence, neither was guile found in his mouth, had to submit to be taunted as a glutton, a wine bibber, a deceiver, a blasphemer, a Samaritan, a devil, nay the Prince of devils. He suffered temptation in all its malignity. The prince of darkness assailed him with all his ingenuity and power, and let loose upon him his legions, with their infernal suggestions, and wicked purposes, and cruel aims, surrounding him as strong bulls of Bashan, and gaping on him with their mouths like ravening and roaring lions. He suffered the indignity of an unjust trial ; being rudely apprehended, dragged unceremoniously to the bar, falsely accused, subjected to the testimo- ny of suborned witnesses, and finally condemned without a shadow of proof. He suffered erucifixion with all its ignominy and pain, being subjected to the previous scourging ; bearing the cross on his lacerated body ; having the bolts driven with fe rocity into his hands and feet ; having the whole joints of his body dissevered by the upright beam Christ's sufferings. 163 being let fall with a sudden jerk into its place in the ground ; being left to linger out a wretched existence amid the taunts, and jeers, and insults of an unfeeling mob ; and having his heart pierced through with the spear of the infuriated soldier, whose demoniac wickedness impelled him to seek infamous distinction by an act of gratuitous barba rity. He suffered, above all, the wrath of God. It pleased the Father to bruise him. His agony in the garden and on the cross cannot otherwise be accounted for. When he came into the place called Gethsemane, ' he began to be sorrowful and very heavy'* — ' he began to be sore amazed'^ — he said ' My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death':): — 'being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground'§ — in the cli max of his anguish, falling on the ground, thrice did he pray ' O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me' — 'he offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and teais.'|| And, when hanging on the cross, he gave utter ance to the bitter, piercing, piteous cry of felt de sertion, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me V In all this description, the translation falls as far short of the original language, as the ener getic original falls short of the awful reality ; no words being adequate to express that fearful amount of mingled terror, and amazement, and * 1 Matt. xxvi. 37. vplaro kviretoOat Kai aittitove^v. f Mark xiv. 33. Ijpfn-o i«8a/i|3fi ) us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. — Our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for (inrif) us. — + Smith on Sac, p. 286. APOSTOLICAL WRITINGS. 181 Who gave himself a ransom for (utfej) all. — Who gave himself for (u*%) us. — Christ also suffered for (hiteg) us. — He laid down his life for (tisref) us.'* — The prepositions employed in these texts naturally denote the idea of substitution. The Greek language has no terms by which such an idea can be more significantly expressed ; andit is not to be questioned that both sacred and pro fane writers use them in this acceptation. The first of them, — chrl, — literally involves the idea of apposition, of one thing set over against another ; whence naturally spring those of commutation, recompense, and substitution. Xenophon, speak ing of Artaxerxes being made a subject instead of a king, expresses it thus : — iig SoSXov rWi fiadiXsug- — Our Lord says, ' Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent l'f — avri 'rxJMog aipiv iieiSiiiei au™ ; In these cases the idea of substitution is sufficiently apparent. Nor is it less so surely when Christ is said to give his life a ransom for many — Xutjov hvrl *oXXgjv ; to give himself a ransom for all — fivriXurjov tirfeg iramov. — The other preposi tion, — v*$g, — which most commonly occurs, lite rally signifies over, and thus denotes the idea of covering, protection, substitution — that which is placed over another to save that other by receiving what must otherwise have wrought his destruc tion. The phrase t«eg rourw ogftdavsSv occurs in Xe nophon, in the sense of to die in the stead of one. The same is the sense in which the word occurs * Matt. xx. 28. Rom. v. 6 ; viii. 32. 1 Cor. v. 7. 2 Cor. v. 21. GaL iiL 13. Eph. v. 2. 1 Thess. v. 10. 1 Tim. ii. 6. Tit. ii. 14. 1 Pet. ii. 21. t John iii. 16. t Luke xi. 11. R 182 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. in John xv. 13, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,' r-fyi ¦vLu^^v aiSrou b-rtsg tojv (pi'Xuv abnv. Such being the case, we are naturally led to conclude that the same is the import of the preposition in the nume rous passages quoted above with reference to the death of Christ, namely, that he died in our stead, that his death was substituted for ours. It forms no valid objection to this conclusion that the same phraseology occurs in circumstances which do not admit of precisely the same terms being employed in explanation. The same prepo sition, or one of similar import, is used with refer ence to sin, as is employed in the above texts with reference to the sinner. Thus it is said, speaking of Christ : — ' Who was delivered for (Sia.) our of fences. — Christ died for (yirsg) our sins. — Who gave himself for (virsg) our sins. — Christ also hath once suffered for (*s|j) sins. — He is the propitia tion for (*s£i) our sins ; and not for («sgl) ours only, but also for (*eg!) the sins of the whole world. — He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for («£') our sins.'* Now, it is admitted that in these and similar passages the preposition for can not have exactly the same meaning as when used with respect to persons. We can say with pro priety that Christ died in our stead, but not that he died in stead of our offences. In the latter case, for must be viewed as synonymous with on account of — he gave himself on account of our sins ; he was delivered on account o/our offences. But this * Rom. iv. 25 ; 1 Cor, xv. 3 ; Gal. i. 4 ; 1 Pet iii. 18 ; 1 John il 2 ; John iv. 10. APOSTOLICAL WRITINGS. 183 does not prove that the sense of the preposition, in the other case, is not correctly expressed by the phrase in question. It only shows that the same preposition has different meanings, or ad mits of being taken in different senses, according to the subject to which it happens to be applied. It is not necessary, neither is it possible even on the theory of our opponents, to give one uniform meaning to the word in every case where it occurs. Of course its being used in one set of passages in one specific sense agreeable to the nature of the subject spoken of, is no proof that it is not employ ed in another set of passages in another specific sense agreeable to the nature of the subject treat ed of in those passages. And this conclusion will appear the more tenable, when it is observed, that, although different shades of meaning attach to the same word in the respective phrases, the phra ses themselves, taken as a whole, express but one doctrinal truth. In the propositions Christ died for us, and Christ died for our sins, the word for bears different significations, but the propositions themselves are equivalent ; both statements con tain the same idea ; the meaning of each is con sistent with that of the other. Christ's dying on account of our sins, and dying in the stead of us sin ners, amount to the same thing. To reason from the sense of the preposition in the one phrase, against that in which it is used in the other, when the phrases themselves are notwithstanding identical, is utterly futile and nugatory. But the enemies of atonement will insist that the proper meaning of the term in question, in all 184 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. the cases in which it occurs, is on account of, or, for our advantage — that it denotes the final cause, and not substitution. It is perfectly true that Christ died for our benefit, that he suffered on our account, and this is doubtless implied in the phra seology in question ; but that it is all that is im plied, that it does not imply also that the way in which our advantage was promoted was by the substitution of another in our stead, we are not prepared to admit. — First of all, it is worthy of re mark that the above explanation does not preserve a uniformity of meaning in the passages in ques tion. That the phrase Christ died for us should mean that he died for our benefit is intelligible enough ; but does the phrase Christ died for our sins mean that he died for the benefit of our sins ? — Besides, if those passages which teach that Christ died for our sins, offences, &c, mean nothing more than that we reap important advantages from his death with respect to the pardon of sin, in as much as that death was a means of confirm ing or making known to us the doctrine of forgive ness which he taught, it seems impossible to ac count for such a beneficial result being connected exclusively with his death, and not with his mi nistry, his miracles, his example, or his resurrec tion. It is manifest that one and all of these contributed to our advantage in respect of our be ing made acquainted with the doctrine of pardon, at least as much as — not to say, more than — his death. In his ministry he taught the doctrine ; by his miracles he confirmed it ; in his life he ex emplified it ; while his resurrection added strength APOSTOLICAL WRITINGS. 185 to the evidence by which all that he taught was supported. Yet is it never said that Christ preach ed for our sins ; that he healed the sick, or raised the dead, or gave sight to the blind for our sins ; or that he lived for our sins ; or that he rose the third day for our offences. On the supposition we are combating, however, such phraseology should have occurred as frequently as that of which we are endeavouring to ascertain the meaning. And from it& non-occurrence, from its manifest un- couthness and unintelligibility, we conclude that, when the inspired writers speak of Christ dying ' for our offences, there must be some other connex ion between the death of Christ and man's deliver ance from sin, than that which is supposed in the former being a confirmation of the doctrine of pardon ; in short, that the death of Christ not merely confirmed the doctrine, but procured the benefit, of remission. But the untenableness of this method of ex plaining the phraseology in question may be plac ed in a still stronger light. If the sufferings and death of Christ are for us in no higher sense than that of being for our benefit, then might the same language have been used with respect to the apos tles and disciples of our Lord. It cannot be doubt ed, that numerous and important advantages re sult to believers, from the sufferings of the apos tles and primitive Christians. Their constancy in suffering, and their heroism in submitting to martyrdom, not only taught the most valuable moral lessons, but tended to strengthen the evi dence by which the divine origin of the religion r2 186 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. they professed is supported. Of this circumstance they were distinctly aware, and they recognized the fact with disinterested satisfaction. ' Yea and if I be offered,' says Paul, ' upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.'* ' Who now rejoice,' says he on another occasion, 'in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church,f — ' and whether we be afflicted, it is for your con solation and salvation.'f But are we at liberty to infer, from this language, that the sufferings of Christ bear no other relation to the advantages of ' his people than do those of the apostles 1 Was Christ delivered for our offences in no higher sense than Paul the apostle may be said to have been f On the theory of interpretation we are combating, we must regard thein as exactly parallel. But this is a conclusion from which, at least, Paul himself would have shrunk back with abhorrence. What else can we make of his appeal to the Co rinthians : — ' Was Paul crucified for you V§ Sure ly he could never have employed such language, had he believed that the crucifixion of Christ had no other relation to the salvation of Christians than that merely of being for their benefit. Such is the proof of the atonement of Christ, derived from the writings of the new testament. The doctrine of the remission of sins through the atoning blood of Jesus, indeed, pervades these writings, and like the sun, invests their pages with * Phil. ii. 17. | Col. i. 24. } 2 Cor. 1.6. § 1 Cor. i. 13. APOSTOLICAL WRITINGS. 187 a sacred light. ' That the sufferings of the Re deemer,' says the eloquent Robert Hall, ' were vicarious and piacular, that he appeared in the character of a substitute for sinners, in distinction from a mere example, teacher, or martyr, is so un questionably the doctrine of the inspired writers, that to deny it, is not so properly to mistake, as to contradict their testimony ; it must be ascribed, not to any obscurity in revelation itself, but to a want of submission to its authority. The doctrine in question is so often asserted in the clearest terms, and tacitly assumed as a fundamental prin ciple in so many more ; it is intermingled so closely with all the statements of truth, and inculcations of duty throughout the holy scriptures, that to, endeavour to exclude it from revelation is as hope less an attempt as to separate colour from the rain bow, or extension from matter.'* To the same purpose is the testimony of another eminent writer, with whose words we conclude our adduction of proof : — ' That Christ suffered and died as an atonement for the sins of mankind, is a doctrine so constantly and so strongly enforced through eveiy part of the new testament, that whoever will seriously peruse those writings, and deny that it is there, may with as much reason and truth, after reading the works of Thucydides and Livy, assert, that in them no mention is made of any facts rela tive to the histories of Greece and Rome.'f We have, thus, given a view of the evidence by * Hall's Works, i. 489. f Spame Jenyns' View of the Internal Evidence, &c, ninth ed., p. 22, note. 188 PROOF OF ATONEMENT. which the fact of Christ's atonement is supported. In the antiquity and universal prevalence of vica rious sacrifices, for whose existence we have found it impossible to account excepting on the principle of being instituted by God to prefigure the sacri fice of Christ, we have one argument. In the sacrifices of the Levitical economy, purposely designed, and eminently calculated, to lead to Christ, we have another argument. The prophe cies of the old testament supply us with a third. The facts of Christ's sufferings, of which it is otherwise impossible to give a satisfactory expla nation, furnish us with a fourth. While the pas sages in the new testament scriptures which speak of Christ making reconciliation ; of his being a propitiation ; of his giving a ransom and making redemption ; of his being made sin, a curse, a sa crifice ; and of his dying for us and our sins, add a fifth proof to this body of evidence. The whole of these arguments are taken from the word of God. Some of them are deduced by way of infe rence from established premises ; others are de rived from a careful exegesis of scripture lan guage ; but each rests on a basis of infallible truth, and all together constitute a mass of evi dence so clear, cogent, and convincing, as nothing but the most wilful enmity to the truth can resist. If the sacred scriptures, and not our own precon ceived opinions and prejudices, are the standard to which we are to appeal, it seems impossible, but by the most obstinate moral perversity, to refuse the testimony they bear on this momentous sub ject. In short, unless the doctrine of substitution SUBSTANCE, &C. 189 is admitted, the sacred volume seems reduced to a mass of unintelligible, meaningless, contradictory assertions ; the feelings of the writers seem to be out of all harmonious proportion with the nature of their subject ; their elevation is fanaticism, their enthusiasm idolatry, and their transports of passion indicate only zeal without knowledge : we may safely join issue with those who represent them as ' babblers,' for, in this case, their reason ings are inconclusive, their inferences unsup ported by their premises, and their premises them selves at variance with fact. Let us beware of adopting opinions, or acting a part which leads to such frightful consequences ; and let us yield our minds up, with all becoming submission, to the divinely authoritative testimony by which it is affirmed that Christ hath loved us and hath GIVEN HIMSELF FOR US, AN OFFERING AND A SACRI FICE to God, for a sweet-smelling savour. SECTION IX. MATTER OR SUBSTANCE OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT. Here we are to inquire what it was by which Christ made atonement for sin. That he did make an atonement, we consider as established in some preceding sections ; it is natural next to ask how this was effected. , Christ did many things while on earth ; he taught, he obeyed, he suffered, he died. Now, the thing to be ascertained, is, by 100 SUBSTANCE OF which of these he gave that satisfaction to the law and justice of God in which we conceive the es sence of atonement to consist. The truth, on this topic, we are inclined to think, lies in the fol lowing statement : — That Christ made atonement by his sufferings alone ; that all his sufferings were comprehended in the matter of his atone ment ; and that a peculiar importance attaches, in this connexion, to the sufferings ofhis soul and of the concluding period of his life. Let us attend to the several branches of this position. I. Christ made atonement by his sufferings alone. This statement has been questioned by some of the older writers on the subject, and the opinion it involves has been deemed heretical. To this con clusion they have been led, by taking a more ex tensive view of the nature of atonement than re spect to strict accuracy of definition seems to war rant. Indeed the whole controversy, on this point, depends on the extent of meaning which is at tached to the word atonement. If understood to embrace the whole of the Saviour's work for the redemption of man, then more than his sufferings ought to be included in its substance. On the other hand, if by the atonement of Christ is meant only a particular department of the work perform ed by him for our salvation, correct thinking will require us to restrict our view of its matter to his sufferings alone. To obviate all difficulty on this subject, it seems necessary only to advert to our definition of atone ment. It is this — That satisfaction given to the law and justice of God, by the sufferings and , ATONEMENT. 191 death of Jesus Christ, on behalf of elect sinners of mankind, on account of which they are delivered from condemnation. From the terms of this defi nition, the atonement of Christ is understood to consist in giving satisfaction to the law of God, so as to procure escape from its curse ; and, taking this as a correct view of the nature of atonement, it follows, as a thing of course, that its matter should be restricted to suffering. This will appear in a clearer light if the follow ing observations are attended to. The law of God is to be viewed in a twofold light, — in its precept and in its penalty ; the one prescribing duty and demanding obedience, the other denouncing pu nishment on the guilty violator. Corresponding to these, there is a twofold view to be taken of man's relation to the law, — consisting in an obli gation to obey the precept, and an obnoxiousness to suffer the penalty in case of transgression. Man's subjection to the law, again, may be view ed in three lights, — natural, federal, and penal. Natural subjection to the law arises necessarily out of man's circumstances as a moral creature, and cannot be increased, or diminished, or nulli fied, by any thing which is done either by himself or by another in his stead : it remains unalterably the same at all times, and abides through eterni ty : it belongs to man as a moral being, and con tinues during the period of his existence : it could not be obliterated, but by an entire change of na ture, which is tantamount to an annihilation of his existence. Federal subjection springs from the covenant form ofthe law, in which the fulfil- 192 SUBSTANCE OF ment of duties is enforced, not merely by a threat ening of punishment, which seems to be essential to the very nature of a law, but by a promise of reward which the abstract view of law does not necessarily require. This belongs not to man as a creature, but as a party in a voluntary transaction or economical arrangement, the obligation of which is supposed to cease when the object for which it has been entered into has been accom plished ; that is to say, when the condition of the convenant is fulfilled. Penal subjection consists in an obligation to suffer the punishment due to the breach of the law, and is incurred by a viola tion of its requirements. These different kinds of subjection are founded on different views of the divine character, and are alike indispensable, ex cepting on the principle that the claims of Deity are answered. The first is founded on the nature of God, and is necessarily immutable. The second is founded on the will of God, and can only be dis pensed with by a fulfilment of the whole condition of the covenant. The third is founded on the re tributive justice of God, and can cease only when the penalty has been fully borne. Fallen man is to be regarded as under subjec tion to the law of God in these three lights : — na turally, federally, penally. He is under natural subjection, as a creature. He is under federal subjection, as included in the covenant which God made with Adam in his character of legal repre sentative of his posterity. He is under penal sub jection, as involved in the guilt resulting from the ATONEMENT. 193 violation of the original covenant engagement, and from his own actual transgression. Now, man's need of salvation arises out of his inability to meet this threefold obligation of God's holy and righteous law. He is under subjection, but he cannot fulfill what that subjection supposes to be required of him. He is under natural sub jection ; but he cannot meet the requirements of the law, because morally depraved. He is under federal subjection ; but he cannot yield the per fect obedience which is the condition of the cove nant, because he is without strength. He is un der penal subjection ; but he can never fully en dure what the sanction of the law prescribes, be cause the punishment it denounces is eyerlasting. The salvation of man must, therefore, include two things : — deliverance from the federal and penal obligation of the law, and qualification for the fulfilment of that natural obligation from which there can be no deliverance. To qualify man for complying with what his natural obliga tion to the law imposes, is the work of the Holy Spirit, in regeneration and sanctification. To de liver man from the federal and penal obligation of the law, is the work of Jesus Christ. But the work of Christ, it will thus be seen, must consist of two parts, or rather is to be viewed in two lights — as a satisfaction to the federal demands of the law, and as a compliance with its penal sanction. The former is necessary to give man a title trf the life promised in the covenant, and is effected by positive obedience to the whole precepts of the law. The latter is necessary to free man from 194 SUBSTANCE OF the death or curse denounced in the covenant on human disobedience, and is effected by suffering the whole amount of the penalty. Now, it is the last of these objects which is contemplated by the atonement, and hence the necessity of restricting its matter to suffering. It is not to be understood, that, in making this distinction between the positive obedience and pe nal suffering of Christ, it is meant to be insinuated that these were ever actually separated from one another. Is Christ divided ? No, by no means. The work of Christ is one, although it may be ad vantageously viewed in different lights, or as in cluding different parts. It is not supposed, that in some acts he obeyed, and that in other acts he suffered only. Obedience and suffering are differ ent views, or, if you will, different parts of his me diatorial work ; but they are inseparable from one another — inseparable in covenant, in act, and in consequence. They are inseparably connected in the covenant, both being included in the stipulat ed condition which he engaged to fulfill, namely, that he should make reconciliation for iniquity and bring in an everlasting righteousness. They were inseparably united in what he did ; — while he suffered he obeyed, and while he obeyed he suffered ; he became obedient unto death. They are inseparable in the consequences of his work ; that is to say, no one ever reaps the fruits of the one, without reaping also those of the other ; whoever is delivered from death, is made a parta ker also of life ; whoever is freed from condemna tion, is put in possession of a valid title to glory ; ATONEMENT. 195 whoever receives forgiveness of sins, obtains, at the same time, inheritance among them who are sancti fied. Yet, though thus indissolubly united, they are nevertheless distinguishable from one ano ther ; and the work of the Redeemer admits of a corresponding distinction, in the aspects in which it may be viewed. The formal matter or substance of Christ's atonement is, thus, his sufferings, by which he fulfilled the penal obligation of the law, and procured the pardon of sin or deliverance from guilt ; as distinguished from his formal obedience, by which he complied with the preceptive de mands of the law, and in virtue of which his people are regarded as righteous and entitled to glory. II. The whole of Christ's sufferings are compre hended in the matter of his atonement. It was not by those of his soul to the exclusion of those of his body, or by those of the latter period of his life on earth to the exclusion of those of an earlier date, that he effected the purchase of our salvation. All were necessary, from his birth to his death, from the feeble cry of infancy to the piercing complaint of desertion. From the bene volence of God we conclude, that not a single pang was inflicted more than was requisite, Every pain he endured, every grief which he felt, consituted an indispensable part of that sacrifice by which he made reconciliation for the iniquities of his people. All his sufferings were of a vicari ous, none of them of a personal nature. In every case he suffered/or us, never for himself; he suffered, the just for th? unjust that he mightbringustoGod, 196 SUBSTANCE OF Some have held the opinion, that as a creature, Christ was under natural obligation to the law for himself. This we reckon an objectional state ment, as it overlooks the circumstance that he had no personal existence as man, and it is a per son alone that can be the subject of a law ; as well as that his being under the law naturally for himself as a creature, must have disqualified him for coming under it federally for others as a surety. But even were it admitted that he was under na tural subjection to the law on his own account, it is never supposed by any that he was under penal subjection to the law for himself; he had no sin, consequently was entitled to no degree of suffering on his own account ; he had no iniquity of his own oi1 which he required to atone by his sufferings ; nor was there any moral discipline of a personal nature to be subserved by what he endured. It pleased God, indeed, to make the captain of our salvation perfect through suffering"; but it was a relative perfection as the surety of sinners, not a personal perfection as the Son of God, that was, in this way, promoted. What is said of his death, may be affirmed of every suffering by which it was preceded — it was not for himself. Not one throb of pain did he feel, not one pang of sor row did he experience, not one sigh of anguish did he heave, not one tear of grief did he shed, for himself. All were for men ; all were for us. If not one of his sufferings was personal, it follows that they were all substitutionary, that they were all, of course, included in the matter or substance of his atoning sacrifice. During the whole period ATONEMENT. 197 of his mortal life the victim was a-slaying. At the moment of his birth, the sword of justice was unsheathed against the man who is Jehovah's fel low, and returned not to its scabbard till it had been bathed in the blood of Calvary. It may be deemed at variance with this view of the subject, that the redemption Of man is some times in scripture ascribed simply to the blood of Christ, or to his death alone. But such language is not to be understood as limiting the atonement of Christ to the simple act of dying, or to those sufferings in which there was an effusion of literal blood. The bloody agony of the garden, and the accursed death of the cross were prominent and concluding parts of his sufferings, and, by a com mon figure, were fit representatives of the whole. They we're the last portions, so to speak, the com pletion of his humiliation, without which all that went before must have been vain; and maybe regarded as having procured salvation, in the same way as the last instalment of a sum which is paid by degrees, may be supposed to cancel the debt and procure a discharge. But, as when Christ is said to have been ' obedient unto death,' we are to understand the phrase, not of a single act, but of the duration of his obedience through out the whole period of his life, so may it be said that he suffered unto death, as expressive of the du ration of his suffering throughout the whole of his earthly course. III. Yet is it not intended by these remarks to deny that a special importance attaches to the suffer- s 2 198 SUBSTANCE OF ings of Christ's soul, and of the concluding period of his life. It is impossible to peruse the scriptures atten tively and not perceive that a special emphasis is put upon these. We are not to confine the mat ter of atonement to any one kind or degree of suffering ; but as little are we at liberty to overlook the speciality that attaches to those sufferings to which we now refer. His bodily pains were of consequence, but the agonies of his holy soul were of more consequence. The suffering of in fancy and childhood and youth are not to be lost sight of, but those of the final conflict call for particular notice. The soul is often spoken of with peculiar em phasis. ' Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin — The waters are come in unto my soul — My soul is full of troubles and my life draweth nigh to the grave — My soul is exceeding sorrow- ful'even unto death — Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say V* What our divine surety suffered in his soul must ever surpass all our pow ers of description or conception. The language used by the inspired writers denotes the highest pitch of intensity, while we have the best reason to suppose that every variety of inward agony which a sinless spirit can possibly feel was expe rienced by him. His soul was exceeding sorrow ful; — the most pungent sorrow filled his bosom; his heart was pierced through with many sorrows ; he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with * Is. liii, 11 ; Ps. lxix. 1.— lxxxviii. 3 ; Mat. xxvi. 38 ; John xii. 27. ATONEMENT. 199 grief. He began to be very heavy : — an unutter able load of dejection, an overpowering weight of consternation pressed down his spirits to the low est depth of depression. He was sore amazed : — filled with inexpressible wonder and horrific terror at the evil of sin, and the magnitude of the curse to be endured for its expiation. His soul was trou bled ; — agitated with alarm, filled with apprehen sion, overwhelmed with anguish, at thought, of that awful wrath which he had to endure; at sight of that thick darkness, that midnight gloom of hell which he had to approach and to dissipate ; at experience of that condemnation which now weighed him down under its mountain load ; at taste of that cup of gall which had to be drunk with all its wormwood bitterness. Well might he take up the complaint, ' My soul is full of trou bles ; the waters are come in unto my soul.' And thus was it that ' he made his soul an offering for sin.' Nor can it be doubted that the sufferings of the latter period of his life possess a speciality of inte rest. The period of his mysterious agony, his awful desertion, and his actual death calls for particular notice. This is what is emphatically called ' his hour — the hour and the power of darkness — the hour that he should depart out of this world.'* It was now that he was subjected to that inexplicable agony which, in the absence of every adequate external cause, covered him over with a copious sweat of blood. It was now * John vii. 30 ; Luke xxii. 53 ; John xiii. 1. 200 SUBSTANCE OF that he was cruelly deserted by all his former friends, there not being among the whole multi tude of those whom he had cured of their sick nesses, to whom he had preached the gospel of salvation, and whom he had chosen as his disci ples, one to abide with him in his dire extremity, but being left to utter the heavy complaint, ' I looked for some to take pity, but there was none ; and for comforters, but 1 found none.'* It was now that he suffered the withdrawment of all sensible tokens of his Father's love ; the suspen sion of every kind of sensible support, of every display of divine complacency ; the felt manifes tation of God's righteous displeasure at sin ; the total eclipse of the hallowed light which had formerly cheered him amid the deepest gloom ; the paternal desertion which drew from him the deep groan of bereavement, ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.' It was now that he suffered the pains of actual dissolution ; he died the death of the cross ; he bowed the head and gave up the ghost. It was no faint, no swoon, no temporary suspension of the vital functions. It was death, — a complete separation of the soul and body ; the heart having been pierced by the soldier's spear, and his enemies themselves bear ing witness to the reality of his departure. * Then came the soldiers and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him : but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs : but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, * Psalm lxix. 20. ATONEMENT. 201 and forthwith came thereout blood and water,'* This was the period when emphatically the Son of God made atonement for sin ; when the tide of suffering rose to its height ; when the dregs of the bitter cup of anguish were wrung out ; when the sentence of woe reached its climax. A period, into which whatever is painful in torture, ignomi nious in shame, distressing in privation, terrific in satanic assault, and overwhelming in experienced wrath, was, as it were, compressed ! — a period, whether to the sufferer himself or to the guilty world whose cause he undertook, the most awfully momentous that had ever occurred since the com mencement of time. Such, then, is what constitutes the matter or substance of Christ's atonement, — his sufferings, all his sufferings, and the sufferings of his soul and ofthe concluding period of his life in particu lar. It is not necessary to suppose that the suf ferings which Christ endured on our behalf were precisely the same in kind and degree which are experienced by the wicked in the place of final woe. There are, on the one hand, ingredients in their misery which he could not feel, as remorse, despair, and the fury of evil passions. Remorse, he could not feel, for his soul was a stranger to personal guilt. Despair he could not feel, for he had full assurance of deliverance from the bondage of death and the prison of the grave. And as for sinful passions, they had at no time a seat in his breast. On the other hand, there were ingre dients in the sufferings of Christ, arising from the * John xix. 32—34, 202 SUBSTANCE OF repugnance of his pure soul at moral defilement, Which those who go down to the pit are incapable of feeling. ' It is, I humbly conceive,' says Dr. Pye Smith, ' worse than improper to represent the sufferings of Jesus Christ, in their last and most terrible extremity, as the same with those of con demned sinners in the state of punishment. In the case of such incorrigible and wretched crimi nals, there is a leading circumstance which could not, by any possibility, exist in the suffering Sa viour. They eat of the fruit of their own way, and are filled with their own devices. A most material part of their misery consists in the unrestrained power of sinful passions, for ever raging but for ever un gratified. Their minds are constantly torn with the racking consciousness of personal guilt ; with mutual aggravations and insults ; with the remorse of despair : with malice, fury, and blasphemy against the Holy and Blessed God himself ; and with an indubitable sense of Jehovah's righteous abhorrence and rejection of them. No such passions as these, nor the slightest tincture of them, could have place in the breast of the holy Jesus. That meek and purest Lamb offered himself without spot. His heart, though broken and bleeding with ago nies to us unknown, ever felt a perfect resignation tothe hand that smote him, and a full acquiescence in all the bitterness ofthe cup which was appointed him to drink : the resignation and acquiescence of love and conviction. He suffered in such a manner as a being perfectly holy could suffer. Though, animated by the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross and despised the shame ; yet ATONEMENT. 203 there appear to have been seasons in the hour of his deepest extremity, in which he underwent the entire absence of divine joy and every kind of comfort or sensible support. What but a total eclipse of the sun of consolation, could have wrung from him that exceedingly bitter and piercing cry, My God ! My God ! why hast thou forsaken me ? — The fire of Heaven consumed the sacrifice. The tremendous manifestations of God's displeasure against sin he endured, though in him was no sin : and he endured them in a manner of which even those unhappy spirits who shall drink the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, will never be able to form an adequate idea ! They know not the holy and exquisite sensibility which belonged to this immaculate sacrifice. That clear sight of the transgressions of his people in all their heinousness and atrocity, and that acute sense of the infinite vileness of sin, its baseness, ingratitude, and evil in every respect which he possessed, — must have produced, in him, a feeling of extreme distress, of a kind and to a degree which no creature, whose moral sense is impair ed by personal sin, can justly conceive. As such a feeling would accrue from the purity and ardour ofhis love to God and holiness, acting in his perfect ly peculiar circumstances ; so it would be increased by the pity and tenderness which he ever felt to wards the objects of his redeeming love. A wise and good father is more deeply distressed by a crime which his beloved child has perpetrated, thanby the same offence if committed by an indifferent person.'* * Disc, on Sac, pp. 45 — 47. 204 VALUE OF SECTION X. value of Christ's atonement. Whatever may be the philosophical difficulties in which the subject is involved, there is no idea with which we are more familiar than that of cau sality. The terms power, cause, and effect, are in daily and constant use. It seems capable of satis factory demonstration that the only correct notion attachable to these words, is that of invariable antecedence and consequence. There are certain things which never exist without being immedi ately followed by certain definite events. To the antecedent we give the name of cause, to the con sequent the name of effect ; and the proper notion oi power is, not that in the antecedent there is any thing which produces the consequent, but the sim ple fact of their combination, — the naked circum stance of immediate invariable antecedence. The fact of the conjunction of the objects is all that we know or are capable of perceiving in the matter ; the bond of connexion, the tie which binds them together, the connecting link, is an incomprehen sible mystery, in every case impenetrable to human sagacity. It seems, therefore, reasonable to con clude that the real immediate cause of every effect is the will of the Supreme Intelligence ; and that atonement. 205 those invariable antecedences and consequences in events, which we denominate causes and ef fects, are nothing but the order of that perfect harmonious system which the Almighty has esta blished in the universe. It is not, however, to be inferred from this, that the connexion of cause and effect has no other foundation than mere arbi trary will, or capricious appointment. Far from us be the unworthy thought. From the known character of God we are bound to believe that, in every case, a wise and righteous ground of con nexion exists. This inference is no way invali dated by the circumstance that we are unable, in any instance, to tell what that is which constitutes the bond of connexion. Such, we are inclined to think, is the uniform procedure of the Almighty in all his works — the true account of the pheno mena ofthe universe, which exhibits a constituted series of antecedents and consequents, under the control and direction of infinite wisdom, infinite holiness, and infinite power. To this grand law of God's universal govern ment, the economy of human salvation,- it is hum bly presumed, will be found to present not the shadow of an exception. For the production of the effect, which is in this case salvation, there ex ists a proper and adequate cause in the vicarious. sufferings of the Son of God. The means bear a true relation to the end. The great object of re deeming mercy is effected in perfect and beautiful consistency with legislative rectitude. These are but parts of the one all-wise system of the uni verse, and the connexion betwixt them rests on a T 206 value of basis of infinite wisdom and justice. This basis is the formation of a moral constitution, according to which, on the one hand, guilt and punishment should be transferred to a divine Substitute, and, on the other hand, the obedience and sufferings of this surety imputed to those who are to be saved. This transference of sin and imputation of merit proceed, let it be distinctly marked, on principles of right reason and perfect equity, on a divinely- constituted union of nature and federal relation ship between the spotless victim and those who reap the advantages of his meritorious sufferings. By this constitution, such a reciprocal proprietor ship is made to exist betwixt the parties, that, as regards the benevolent issue, the universal law of cause and effect which God has established is up held and illustrated rather than infringed. Tak ing the benevolent intention and holy nature of deity into the account, that the sufferings and death of the Son of God should procure the salva tion of sinners, rests on as firm a basis of philoso phical truth as any other case of antecedence and consequence in the universe.* This brings us directly to the subject of this sec tion, which is to inquire what it was about the sacrifice of Christ which rendered it an adequate cause to produce the effect of human salvation ; that is to say, what it is that constitutes the moral worth or value of Christ's atonement. The value of Christ's atonement we conceive to arise, not from the nature, or intensity, or continu- * See Smith's Disc on Sac, pp. 38, 282. ATONEMENT. 207 ance of his sufferings. The work of Jesus was not a mere commercial affair of debt and payment. We have no conception that, had the number of those for whom he suffered been greater than it was, or had their sins been more numerous or more aggravated than they were, his sufferings must have been proportionally increased. Neither can we subscribe to the notion that one pang or pain of all that he endured was itself sufficient to effect atonement. We conceive, on the contrary, that he suffered nothing but what was necessary, that if less could have sufficed less would have been required ; while, on the other hand, the in trinsic worth of what he actually endured was such as to render it sufficient for the salvation of niany more than shall be ultimately saved, had God only seen meet to extend to them his mercy in Christ Jesus. The sufferings of Christ we re gard as a moral satisfaction to the law and go vernment of God, which would have been neces sary had there been only one to be saved, and which would have been found sufficient had the whole human race without exception been to rank among the redeemed. Just as the arrangement which exists for the outward illumination of our globe, would have been required had there been but one inhabitant to reap the benefit presently enjoyed, and would have been sufficient had there been many more millions in existence than actu ally inhabit the earth. The worth or value of Christ's atoning sacrifice we conceive to have arisen, not from one circumstance alone, but from several circumstances combined, none of which 208 VALUE OF can be dispensed with in forming a proper estimate on the subject. , These- circumstances we shall now attempt to unfold, I. The first is the dignity ofthe Saviour's person. He who, in making atonement, is at once the priest and the sacrifice, is divine. He is the Son of God, the brightness of his glory, and the ex press image of his person. He is God himself, coequal with the Father, Jehovah's fellow. Titles which involve essential dignity are unhesitatingly ascribed to him. He is spoken of as possessing all the necessary attributes of Deity. Works which belong only to God, are said to be performed by him. And the highest forms of divine worship are used by all moral creatures, in doing him ho mage. The truth of these assertions, we must be permitted to take for granted, as to exhibit even an outline of their evidence would lead us into an improper digression. The doctrine of Christ's dignity is prominently set forth in the volume of revealed truth. It is the glory of Christianity. It sparkles, like a radiant gem, in every part of the sacred field. It invests the whole Christian sys tem with heavenly beauty. It imparts a peculiar grandeur and sublimity to the doctrines of the cross. From the dignity of the party offended by man's sin, it was requisite that he, who should success fully transact for pardon, should possess a corres ponding elevation of character. He who is of fended is the infinite Jehovah, the great God of heaven and of earth. It is the infinite Majesty whose honour has been violated ; it is the throne ATONEMENT. 209 of the Eternal whose stability and authority have been invaded. To effect reconciliation, in such a case, is a work to which no man, no angel, no su- perangelic creature is adequate. No priest of less personal consequence than the Lord of glory, is conipetent to the office of appeasing the wrath of the high and lofty one who inhabiteth eternity. But we have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. The sacrifice by which atonement is made for offences of infinite moral turpitude, must be pos sessed of infinite moral worth. The relative value arising from divine appointment is not enough ; else it could never have been said, ' It is not possi ble, that the blood of bulls and of goats could take away sin.' The blood of inferior animals was as capable as any other of all the worth which mere appointment can impart. But an intrinsic worth was required, which could be possessed by nothing short of ' blood divine.' Hence the sacrifice of Christ is so often spoken of in scripture as being himself. ' Christ hath loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God. — Who gave HiMSELF*a ransom for all. — When he had by himself purged our sins. — He offered up himself, — He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.'* As the substance of Christ's atoning sacrifice consisted in his sufferings or death, it has been alleged that its intrinsic worth could be nothing * Eph. v. 8 ; 1 Tim. ii. 6 ; Heb. i. 3.— vii. 27— ix, 26. T % 210 value of more than human, as his human nature alone could suffer and die. But the close and insepara ble union subsisting between the divine and hu man natures in the person of the Son of God is here to be remembered. Although the human nature alone could either suffer or die, it was the Son of God, as possessed of this nature, who endur ed the sufferings and died the death of the cross. The possession of a human nature qualified him for suffering; the divinity ofhis person gave to his- suffering a worth equivalent to its own dignity. Although the human nature was alone capable of suffering, it was nevertheless the person to whom this nature belonged who suffered. It may be thought that at this rate, as the person was divine, such an assertion involves the blasphemy that Deity suffered. By no means. When a person suffers it does not follow that he suffers in all that pertains to him. He may suffer in his property and not suffer in his honour ; he may suffer in his happiness and not in his character ; he may suffer in his body, and not in his soul : still it is the per son who suffers. So, in the case before us, while the Son of God suffers in his human nature it is still the person which suffers. If, before we are entitled to say that a person suffers, all that per tains to him must suffer, it follows that we can never say a person dies, as the soul, an essential constituent part of the person, never dies. But, granting that it is the person who suffers, it may still be said that the value of these sufferings is to be estimated only by the nature of that in which he suffers. When a martyr suffers death, as it is ATONEMENT. 211 the body only that dies, there cannot belong to his death a worth proportioned to his soul. In like manner, when Christ suffers, as Deity cannot suf fer, his sufferings, it may be said, can possess only the worth of humanity. But this is to leave out of consideration altogether a circumstance which is allowed by all to have the effect of in creasing the value of certain acts and sufferings. The circumstance to which I refer is dignity of cha racter. There are some things which are of the same value, by whomsoever performed. Money, for example, paid by a prince, is of no more mer cantile value than money paid by any other man. But there are other things in which the case is widely different, their value depending, in some measure, on the dignity of him by whom they ale performed. The relative value of certain actions depends on the rank in the scale of intellectual, or moral, or social being of the person who performs them. To the action of an inferior animal we attach less value than to that of a human crea ture ; — to that of a man less, again, than to that of an angel.1 On the same principle, the action of a peasant and that of a king may differ materially, with regard to relative worth. In one point of view, the life of a slave and the life of a monarch are of equal value ; they are both human crea tures. But, in another point of view, the life of a king is of far greater value than the life of a slave : and the act of laying down his life involves a high er degree of worth in the one than in the other. This distinction iss recognized in the address of the people to king David, when he would go forth with 212 „ VALUE OF them to battle : — ' Thou shalt not go forth : for if we flee away, they will not care for us ; neither if half of us die, will they care for us : but now THOU ART WORTH TEN THOUSAND OF US.'* For a king to submit to excruciating tortures and an ig nominious death, with a view to save some one of his subjects, will be reckoned by all a more meri torious piece of conduct than if such had been sub mitted to by one who held the place merely of a fellow subject. Yet here it might be said, it is humanity and not royalty which suffers, and why attach to it a value arising from the latter, rather than confine it to that which springs from the for mer circumstance ? The case is parallel to that of which we are now speaking. The humanity of Christ alone could either suffer or die, but that humanity belonged to a person who is divine, and this gave to his sufferings and death the value of divinity. f * 2 Sam. xviii. 3. t 'To suppose, because humanity only is capable of suffering, that therefore humanity only is necessary to atonement, is to render dignity oj character of no account. When Zaleucus, one of the Gre cian kings, had made a law against adultery, that whosoever was guilty of this crime should lose both his eyes, his own son is said to have been the first transgressor. To preserve the honour of the law, and at the same time to save his own son from total blindness, the father had recourse to an expedient of losing one of his own eyes, and his son one of his. This expedient, though it did not conform to the letter ofthe law, yet was well adapted to preserve the spirit of it, as it served to evince to tlie nation the determination of the king to punish adultery, as much, perhaps more than if the sentence had literally been put intoexecution against the offender. But if instead of this he had appointed that one eye of an animal should be put out, in order to save that ofhis son, or if a common subject had offered to lose an eye, would cither have answered the purpose ? The animal, ATONEMENT. 213 How it comes to pass, that the personal dignity of the sufferer conveys to the sufferings of his hu manity a worth proportioned to him who suffers rather than to that which suffers, we pretend not fully to explain. The above observations, how ever, serve to show that the principle on which this is affirmed, is one on which we are not alto gether unaccustomed to reason. It is not meant to be inferred that any analogies, such as that re sorted to above, can give us a complete idea of the nature of a case which is transcendently and awfully peculiar. It is enough if they serve to neutralize the objections of such as are disposed to cavil at the truth. On a subject of this nature, it ill becomes us to speak either with carelessness or with precipitation. It is to be approached only with cautious reverence. Here, if anywhere, we should be careful to be ' lowly wise.' Yet we may be permitted to show the reasonableness of a doc trine, and to expose the temerity and presumption of its adversaries, without laying ourselves open to the charge of being wise above what is written. The following statement may not altogether be without its use, in shedding a ray of light on this acknowledgedly great and profound mystery : — A person only can perform moral acts : The human and the subject, were each possessed of an eye, as well as the so vereign. It might be added, too, that it was mere bodily pain ; and seeing it was in the body only that this penalty could be endured, any being that possessed a body was equally capable of enduring it. True, they might endure it, but would their suffering have answered the same end ? Would it have satisfied justice ? Would it have had the same effect upon the nation, or tended equally to restore the tone of injured authority ?' — Works of And. Fuller, v. V. p, 565, 214 VALUE OF nature of Christ possessed no personal subsistence : Of course, although the human nature of Christ alone could either suffer or obey, the obedience and sufferings of his humanity, viewed in them selves could have no moral character : To give them a moral character they must be viewed in connexion with his person : Whence it follows that, the obedience and sufferings of Christ, physi cally considered, possessed only the worth of hu manity, but morally considered possessed a worth proportioned to the dignity of his divine person. Now, the sufferings and death of Christ for the sins of his people were of a moral character, being endured with a view to meet the claims of the di vine moral government, to satisfy the law and jus tice of God. It follows that there attached to them all the value which divine dignity could impart.* * On this delicate point, I beg to confirm the view I have given, by referring the reader to the following paragraphs by Dr. Pye Smith. ' I. The assumption of human nature by the eternal word, who is God, was the act of an infinite mind, knowing, intending, and con templating all the results of that act of assumption, through the period ofthe designed humiliation and forever. To the divine mind, near ness and remoteness of time or space are equal. Consequently, as the actual assumption of human nature was the first result of the omnipotent will, so the same act, or volition, must equally have car ried forwards and communicated its original divine value to all the subsequent moral and mediatorial acts ofthe incarnate Saviour. 'II. The union of the divine and human natures, in Ins person was constant and invariable. The scriptures afford us no reason to think that the Messiah's human nature, though retaining always its essential properties, had ever a separate subsistence. To the mother of Jesus it was announced, ' The holy Being which is born of thee, shall be called the Son of God :' and according to the prophetic de- ATONEMENT. 215 But we are more concerned with the evidence of the fact, than with the explanation of the mode, of this great and important truth. Those who hold the doctrine of Christ's divinity, can never hesitate to admit that the sufficiency or efficacy of his atonement springs from the supreme dignity of his person as the Son of God. The validity of his sacrifice takes its rise from his true and essential divinity. To this the testimony of scripture is distinctly borne. The epistle to the Hebrews, which treats professedly of the insufficiency of the legal sacrifices, and the intrinsic validity of that of Christ, commences with an elaborate demonstra tion of Christ's divinity, as the basis on which the subsequent reasoning is made to rest. The High Priestof the Christian professionis explicitly shown claration, as soon as men could say, ' Unto us a child is born,' so soon was it the fact that his name was called ' The wonderful, the counsellor, the mighty God.' It was the Mediator, in his wlwle per son, that acted for the salvation of man ; though it was impossible that the divine nature could be subject to suffering. ' From these two positions I infer a third, which I venture to pro pose, as an unexceptionable mode of stating this important, though profound and difficult subject : — 'III. All the acts of our Lord Jesus Christ that were physical, or merely intellectual, were acts of his human nature alone, being ne cessary to the subsistence of =" human nature : but all hi3 moral acts, and all the moral qualities of his complex acts ; or, in other terms, all that he did in and for the execution ofhis mediatorial office and work ; — were ^impressed with the essential dignity and moral value of his divine perfection. ' These reasons appear to me sufficient to authorize our attribut ing to this holy sacrifice, a value properly ^finite, on account of the divine nature of him who offered it. A most important conclu sion ! Rich in blessing to the contrite sinner : full of joy to the obe dient believer.'— Disc, on Sac. pp. 69—71. 216 VALUE OF to be the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person ; to be much better than the angels ; to be God whose throne is for ever and ever ; to be Jehovah who laid the foun dations of the earth, who shall remain when all else has perished, who is the same and his years shall not fail. While, in another part of the book, the blood of Christ is represented as deriving its superiority over the ceremonial sacrifices, from its being offered ' through the Eternal Spirit' — a phrase understood by some of our most eminent critics and divines to refer to the divine dignity of his person. ' How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered him self without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.'* It is because Jesus Christ is God's Son that his blood possesses intrinsic validity to cleanse from all sin. The value of the gift and the sufficiency of the propitiatory sacrifice arise from the same circum stance. ' God sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'- 'f II. But this is not all. Relationship of nature to those for whom the atonement was made, is an essen tial element in its validity. Christ required to be real and proper man, as much as the true God. To qualify him for mak ing atonement he must possess opposite attributes, a frail and mortal nature combined with ineffable dignity of person. We allude not now to the ne cessity of the incarnation to fit the Messiah for suf fering, to render him susceptible of pain and death, *Heb. ix. 14. fl John iv. 10. atonement. 217 to make the offering of himself as a sacrifice a thing possible. We refer rather to the possession of human nature as imparting a character of worth or validity to what he did. This was requisite, not more to enable him to suffer, than to impart to his sufferings an essential value in the estimation of the divine law. Had the work of our redemp tion been a mere mercantile transaction, it matter ed not by whom the price might have been paid. But being a moral satisfaction to the law of God for the sins of men, there existed a moral fitness or necessity that the satisfaction should be made by one in the nature of those who had sinned and were to be redeemed. The Redeemer behoved, as of old, to be a kinsman, a brother. Without this, neither could the moral government of God be vindicated, nor the glory of the divine Lawgiver maintained, nor the principles of the law upheld. The law in its precept was suited to man, and in its curse it had a claim upon man. Its require ments were such as man only could fulfill ; its penalty such as one possessing the nature of man only could bear. The penalty was suffering even unto death ; and no angel, no one who had not a body as well as a soul, could die. The death only of a man could possess a moral and legal con gruity to the curse of a law given to man and broken by man. It was not, then, merely to qualify him for suffering that the Messiah took upon him the nature of man, but to qualify him for such suffering as should possess validity in the eye of the divine law. Both he that sanetifieth and they who are sanctified must he all of one.* * i. t. all of one nature. U 218 VALUE OF Therefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto" his brethren, that he might make reconcilia tion for the sins of the people. Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection ofthe dead. The serpent's head could be bruised, only by the SEED OF THE WOMAN.* III. Freedom himself from all personal obligation to suffer, is another essential ingredient in the value of Christ's atonement. He who makes atonement for others must him self be entirely free from that which renders the atonement necessary. What renders atonement necessary is sin. But Jesus was altogether holy. It would seem to be a dictate of reason and com mon sense, that vicarious punishment cannot be borne by one who is himself a sharer in the guilt which calls for it. The law, in this case, has a previous claim upon him. His own state renders an atonement necessary. He cannot remove his own guilt by his sufferings, and how can it be pos sible that he should remove the guilt of others ] A substitutionary victim must itself be perfectly spotless and pure. This was plainly enough pointed out in the Levitical law. The high priest was required to possess a high degree of ceremonial purity. Per fect moral purity was impossible ; but the necessity of this in the antitype, was sufficiently taught, by this legal functionary being required to be free from all bodily defect or deformity, to be the son of one who was a virgin and not a widow when married to his father, and by his being exempted * Heb. ii. 11, 17 ; 1 Cor. xv. 21 ; Gen. iii. 15. ATONEMENT. 219 from certain methods of contracting ceremonial defilement. The sacrificial victim, also, was to be a lamb without blemish and without spot. To the same purpose was it enacted that the red heifer should not only be one without spot leherein was no blemish, but one upon which never came yoke.* All this, doubtless, was designed to shadow forth the immaculate purity of the great High Priest of our profession, who put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. In virtue of his spotless innocence, Jesus was completely free from all manner of legal obligation to suffer, arising from himself. Legal obligation to the curse may arise from one or both of two things : either from being born under the curse, that is to say, from original sin ; or from becom ing exposed to the penalty in consequence of a personal breach of its requirements, that is, by ac tual transgression. Infants of the human family are under it in the former way ; adults in both : but Jesus was neither the one nor the other. He was free from all actual sin. His obedience to the divine law, under which he voluntarily brought himself, was complete. His thoughts were ever pure ; guile was not found in his mouth ; and he did always those things that pleas ed his father. As regarded God, he fully exem plified the duties of religion ; — cherishing every pious emotion of love, faith, gratitude, patience, and submission ; and scrupulously performing, with punctuality and exactness, every act of devo tion, meditation, prayer, praise, and attendance on * Num. xix. 2 ; Deut. xxi. 3. 220 value of the services of public worship. As respected men, every social duty, whether of affection and obedi ence and respect to relatives, or of kindness and fidelity to friends, or of justice and equity and be nevolence and integrity in general society, was fully exhibited. Nor were the personal duties of temperance, sobriety, circumspection, and self- command, less strictly observed by him. These are not unsupported assertions. The tes timony borne to the innocence of the Saviour's life is mast complete and decisive. Prophets spake of him as the' Holy One,' who ' had done no violence, neithef was any deceit in his mouth.' The angel announced him as ' that holy thing' which should be born of Mary. Himself said ' I do always those things that please the Father*- 'Which of you con vinceth me of sin1?— the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.' His apostles spoke of him as one ' who knew no sin ' — who was * Without sin * — ' who was holy, harmless, undefil- ed, and separate from sinners '— ' who did no sin^ neither was guilt found in his mouth ' — one, of whom it could be said, ' in him is no sin.' But the most decisive testimony of all is that which -was borne by his inveterate enemies. The Jews,, who were brim-full of prejudice against his person and claims, were unwillingly compelled to affirm, ' He hath done all things well.' The traitor who gave him up to his enemies, exclaimed under the agonies' of conviction, « I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood.' The judge, who un justly doomed him to the cross, acknowledged, ' I find no fault in this man.' Nay, even the fallen ATONEMENT. 221 spirits were forced to confess, saying, 'Let us alone : what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth 1 Art thou come to destroy us ! I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.'* Such is the evidence that Christ did not bring himself under the curse. Some of these passages are quite as decisive m favour of the innocence of the Saviour's nature, as of that of his life. That he was not born under the curse is as unequivocally taught as that he did not bring himself under it. Indeed, an innocent life would seem to afford very satisfactory proof of an innocent nature. We can conceive of a holy na ture lapsing into sin, as has been exemplified both in angels and men ; but how a holy life, a life free from the slightest taint of corruption, could spring from a nature in every degree corrupt, is, we must say, to us utterly inconceivable. It seems a na tural impossibility. An impure fountain cannot but send forth impure streams : a corrupt tree cannot but bear corrupt fruit. To contend there fore, as some have done, for the sinlessness of the Saviour's life, aud yet to maintain the sinfulness of his nature, appears to us to be grossly contra dictory and paradoxical. But of the strict inno cence of the Saviour's nature, of its perfect freedom from whatever should entitle it to the character of ' fallen,' we should reckon his own words as deci sive : — ' The prince of this world hath nothing in * Psalm xvi. 10 ; Is. liii. 9 ; Luke i. 35 ; John viii. 29, 46. — xiv. 30 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Heb. iv. 1 5.— vii. 26 ; 1 Pet. ii. 22 ; 1 John iii. 5 ; Mark vii. 37; Matt, xxvii. 4 ; Luke xxiii. 4; Mark i. 24. U % 222 VALUE OF me.' To the same effect is the testimony of the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews ;-— ' who is holy,' (o'tfios) signifying purity of nature, as distin guished from ' harmless' (uxaxog) meaning freedom from evil in respect of external conduct, and also from ' undefiled,' (du,iavi-oj) which seems to denote f> purity of official qualification and administration. Nor can there be any thing more unequivocal than the language of the angel, when, making known his miraculous birth, he calls him 'that Holy thing,' (to ayiov). This refers to what was con ceived and born of Mary ; not ' fallen and sinful flesh,' but a 'holy thing,' essentially and naturally holy from the first moment ofits existence. The miraculous nature of the conception of our Lord's humanity affords additional proof of this point. By being born of a virgin, being in a pecu liar sense the seed of the woman, the human na ture of Christ escaped all connexion with the Adamic covenant. It was at once connected with the race of man, and yet free from the contamina tion springing from Adam's federal representation of his natural descendants. This is what consti tutes the incarnation the great mystery of godli ness, and but for this it is not only not easy to assign any good reason for the miraculous nature of his conception at all, but even difficult to vindi cate it from consequences that are necessarily and positively injurious. If, even notwithstanding its miraculous production, his human nature was fallen and sinful, one can scarce help asking for what purpose a miracle was wrought at all in the matter, seeing that fallen and sinful humanity atonement. 223 could have been produced without any miracle whatever. But the miracle was not only in this respect Useless : it Was, at the same time, calcu lated to convey the impression that the Truman nature of Christ differed essentially, in this par ticular, from man's nature in general,— ^an im pression which, on the supposition against which we are contending, was false and delusive. We wait not to argue the holiness of Christ's human nature from the oneness of his person ; from the necessity of such holiness to his being a proper example to his people ; from the impossi bility otherwise of his death being voluntary; and from his having survived the conflict with the powers of darkness and the enemy death, which is not else to be accounted for. The discussion of these points would carry us too far away from out general design. But we deem it necessary to men tion them. How full, and varied, and unequivocal the testimony of scripture may be, there are many who will not hesitate unceremoniously to set aside the evidence of particular texts, by having recourse to some vague or loose mode of interpretation. For the sake of such, it must be made known, that the view taken of these particular texts is fully borne out and supported by certain general princi ples, which, while they harmonize with the mean ing attached to individual passages of scripture, themselves peremptorily and independently re quire us to admit the immaculate holiness of Christ's atoning sacrifice. The perfect innocence of the Saviour's nature and life — thus, we hope, satisfactorily established--- 224 VALUE OF enters essentially into that which constitutes the moral worth or intrinsic value ofhis vicarious suf ferings". It shows him to have been free from all legal obligation to suffering in himself. The law of God had in this way no claim upon him for subjection to its curse ; and he was thus far at liberty to suffer the penalty due to sin, on behalf of others. It is on this principle that the apostle speaks of his personal innocence as essential to his sacerdotal character and work. 'Such an high priest,' says he, ' became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins, and then for the people's.' IV. It was further necessary to the validit}- of Christ's atonement that he should be entirely at his own disposal. It is not enough that the substitute, being inno cent, is free from the claims of the law to which he gives satisfaction for others. He may be un der obligations to another law, the fulfilment of whose demands may render it impossible for him to occupy the place of a surety. His whole time and energies may be thus, as it were, previously" engaged, so as to put it out. of his power to make a transfer of any part of them for the behoof of others. This is, indeed, (he case with all creatures. What ever service they are capable of performing, they owe originally and necessarily to God. They are, from their very nature, incapable of meriting any thing for themselves, much more for others. The right of self-disposal belongs not to creatures. atonement. 225 Themselves and all that pertains to them, are the property of' Him who made and preserves them. They are under law to God, and at liberty to dis pose of themselves only as that law directs. It thus appears that an angel of light, though per fectly innocent, and free from all the claims of the particular legal constitution under which man is bound over to punishment, could not have fur nished a sacrifice, of value to atone for human guilt. Angels are creatures, and as such, are ne cessarily under law to God. They are not under the covenant which God made with man, to be sure ; but the law under which they exist de mands all their energies, it has a claim upon them for the full amount of the service they are capable of performing, and thus denies them all right of giving satisfaction to another law, in behalf of a different order of creatures. But the Son of God, not being a creaturej was originally under no law. He was perfectly at his own disposal. Whatever he might choose, of his own free will to do or to suffer, was what no ex isting law had a previous right to. He was not only not under the law which man had broken, but he was under no other law ; he was not only innocent, but free to dispose of himself as might seem to him to be fit. He was Lord of all, and subject to none. He, and he only, was entitled to assume such language as this : — ' Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh from me, but I- lay it down of myself: I have POWER TO LAY IT DOWN, and I HAVE POWER to 226 VALUE OF take it again.' He here not merely claims to have acted voluntarily, but to have had a right, a legal right, (i^ovttia.) so to do. This is what no creature could ever say. In giving his life a ran som for many, Christ gave what was strictly his own, and entirely at his own disposal. Without this, it does not appear that what he did could have been possessed of value ; subjection to one law could not have been yielded without the vio lation of another, and this was sufficient tp deprive it of all moral worth. V. Christ, in making atonement, was perfectly voluntary ; and here we have another ingredient in its value. Without this, it is clear, all the other ingredi ents were of no avail. Let his person be ever so dignified ; let him be ever so closely related to man ; let him be as free as possible from all moral contamination; nay, let him be entirely at his own disposal, it is manifest that, unless he chose actually to dispose of himself in the manner in question, no validity could attach to what he did. Vicarious satisfaction can never be compulsory ; voluntariness enters into its very essence. Every well-ordered mind revolts at the idea of one per son being compelled to suffer for another. Such an act involves the highest injustice ; and the supposition of attempting to satisfy the claims of infinite rectitude by what amounts to a direct vio lation of the principle of equity is too monstrous and shocking ever to be entertained. The sacri fice must not be dragged to the altar. So much is this a dictate of reason, that even the heathen ATONEMENT. 227 reckoned it an unpropitious omen, if the animal showed any reluctance. In all that he did to make atonement for sin, Jesus manifested no degree of reluctance. At every step we meet with evidence of the most per fect willingness. To the proposal in the eternal covenant he gave his cheerful consent, — ' Sacri fice and offering thou didst not desire, burnt-offer ing and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come ; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heait.'* It was the same spirit that dictated the well-known reply to his mother, when yet young, — ' How is it that ye sought me 1 Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business.'f At a later period he said, ' I lay down my life : no man {oidslg, no one) taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.f In no instance did he manifest the slightest symptom of backwardness. The inspired writers speak of him as submitting to every suffering with a fixed determination of purpose which nothing could shake. ' He gave his back to the smiters and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair — He gave himself a ransom for all. — He gave himself for us — He bowed his head and gave up the ghost.'§ His death was as voluntary as any part of his sufferings. The Roman soldiers, indeed, were employed in crucifying him ; and this instrumen tality was necessary to prevent his being involved * Psal. xl. 6— 8. f Luke "-49. } John x. 17, 18. 5 Is. 1. 6 ; 1 Tim. ii. 6 ; Eph. v. 25 ; John xix. 30. 228 value of in the guilt of suicide. But we err egregiously if we suppose that, notwithstanding of this, he died otherwise than voluntarily. ' I lay down my life ; no one taketh it from me,' is his own unequivocal and emphatic language. He died, neither from disease nor exhaustion. Just before he expired, he had strength enough to cry with a loud voice, ' It is finished.' He could then, or at any other moment, had it so pleased him, have stepped down from the cross, to the confusion of those who as sailed him with the bitter taunt, 'If thou be the Christ, come down from the cross and save thy self.' But, then, the scriptures should not have been fulfilled, nor the redemption of man have been effected, Nevertheless, his own decisive words, as well as the fact of his divinity, leave us without a doubt that, had he not cheerfully given it up of, his own accord, earth or hell could not have wrung from him his life. Neither could cruel men, nor hellish hosts have borne off his body in triumph to the grave, had he not freely resolved to descend into the tomb. The very time of his death was that of his own choice ; for neither could the barbarities of his persecutors precipitate, nor the lingering punishment of crucifixion pro tract it beyond the period in which he determined himself to yield up the ghost ; and, accordingly, when the soldiers came to break his legs, they found that he was dead already. The voluntary nature of the Saviour's death, it may here be remarked by the way, affords a strong argument in proof of the divinity of his person, and also of the spotless innocence of his humanity. atonement. 229 Had he been a creature, even a super-angelic crea ture, brought into being for the purpose of dying for us, his death could not have been said to be voluntary. Much less could this be said if his human nature had been in any sense sinful, for then he must have died of necessity, not of free will ; he must have died, as has been said, 'by the common property of flesh to die because it was ac cursed in the loins of our first parents,' and then the doctrine of atonement with all its comforting influences, must have been given up. This willingness of Christ to suffer and to die, was not the result of ignorance. A person may thoughtlessly engage to submit to treatment, of the amount of which he may not, at the moment of engagement, be aware ; and, when the reality comes to be known, he may, from the force of honour or some such principle, persevere in his de termination to suffer. But such suffering could scarcely be called voluntary. Such, at all events, was not that of Christ. He knew, from the first, the full amount of what he was to endure. It was, with the perfect knowledge of all that should be fall him in the Jewish capital, that 'he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.'* It tvas, know ing every bitter ingredient that was infused into the mingled chalice of woe, that he said, 'The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it.'f It was, with a full understanding of all the terrors with which that cloud of Jehovah's wrath was charged which was soon to burst in awful vengeance on his head, that he magnani- *Lukeix. 51. tJohnxviii.il. X 230 value of mously exclaimed, ' I have a baptism to be bap tized with, and how am I straitened till it be ac complished.'* It was no sudden impulse of tran sient enthusiasni which moved the Son of God to undertake the work of our redemption. It was no momentary movement of generous pity, which the experience of difficulties and dangers might cool or extirpate. No. It was a settled and im movable purpose, which time and obstacles only served to strengthen and confirm. Instead of shrinking from dangers, and seeking excuses for desisting from his expressed determination, his fortitude seemed to gather power in proportion as he approached the final scene of complete woe ; and, it is remarkable, that the only occasion on which he ever used language that might be said to indicate a degree of intemperate feeling, was when an attempt was made to dissuade him from suffering. On representing to his disciples that he must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things, Peter presumed to expostulate with him, saying, ' Be it far from thee, Lord : this shall not be unto thee ;' but he turned and said unto Peter, ' Get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an offence unto me : for thou savourest not the things that be of God, hut those that be of men. 'f From all this it appears, that the work of Christ, iu giving himself up to suffer and die for us, was strictly voluntary. In no step of that glorious un dertaking, was he constrained by any thing but his own free will and matchless love. It was a high act of sovereign grace ; nota boon forcibly wrung + Luke xii. 50. f Matt. xvi. 22, 23. atonement. 231 from a reluctant benefactor. To deny this, is to destroy altogether its efficacy. ' It is of the utmost importance for us to know,' as has been beautifully observed, ' that through every step of the painful process through which he passed, the benefits de rived to us by his sufferings, were not by constraint wrung from him, but willingly^ purchased for us, that he was not bound to endurance by the iron chain of his own fallen and sinful personal consti tution, but by the golden chain of that love to God whose glorious perfections he was manifesting to the universe, and of that love to men through whose salvation he was making the manifestation, which no waters could quench, and no floods could drown.'* VI. There is one ingredient still necessary. It is of such essential importance as to have been supposed by many to be all that is requisite. In a compensatory arrangement, such as the atonement is, both parties must be voluntary. Not only must the one party be willing to make the com pensation ; the other must be willing to accept of it when made. The appointment of the Father is no less important than the voluntary engagement of the Son ; and this, we have now to state, is. a prerequisite to validity which the work of Christ distinctly possessed. The necessity of divine appointment will appear, if it is considered, that God, being the party of fended by man's sin, had a right to determine whether sin should be pardoned at all, and if, to be pardoned, on what ground. It was not enough, * Dods, p. 126. 232 va'lue of that a person heroic and benevolent enough should be found, to offer to substitute himself in the place of the guilty. To the offended sovereign does it belong to determine whether the proposed substi tution shall serve all the ends of justice. Of this He is the only judge. And, supposing him satis fied on this point, it is still a part of his sovereign prerogative to determine whether he shall be pleas ed to accept of this, or shall insist that the penalty be inflicted on the person offending. To say other wise, is to hold the monstrous opinion, that the Almighty could be compelled to adopt a line of procedure pointed out by another. In short, the acceptance of commutative satisfaction is such a deviation from the .ordinary course of legislative wisdom, that none but the sovereign legislator himself is qualified to say when it may be wise and proper to put forth so high an exertion of the dis pensing power. The power of dispensing, m any particular, with the laws, can reside only in him who has the power of making the laws. Now, in the case before us, there is a dispensing with the letter of the law as far as it requires the personal punishment of the offender. It is thus clear as noon-day that, had not God volun tarily consented to accept of the sufferings of Christ, these sufferings, however otherwise pre cious, could have been of no avail. They might have been rejected, as an unauthorized interference with the regular flow of legislative procedure. No security could have existed for tlieir ever being accepted. Intrinsically valuable though they were, they might have been relatively worthless ; and, ATONEMENT. 233 as regards the grand designof appeasing the wrath of God, the precious blood of Christ might have been as water spilt upon the ground. The evidence that the sacrifice of Christ was ap pointed by God is happily as satisfactory as the necessity for the appointment is indispensable. In giving himself for our sins that he might redeem us from the present evil world, he acted ' according to the will of God, even our Father.'* It was, in consequence of no fortuitous concurrence of cir cumstances, or private overture of benevolence, that Jesus died, but from ' being delivered by the determinate counsel 'and foreknowledge of God.'f The character in which he suffered was stamped with the authority of a divine delegation, — 'I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.'f At the very time that he claims for himself the character of entire self-de- votement, he fails not to point distinctly to his com mission from above, — ' I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. '§' Just before entering on the final scene of woe to which so much importance is attached, did he say, ' As the Father gave me commandment so I do ; arise, let us go hence. '|| Not less decisive is the testi mony of the apostles. ' Whom,' says Paul, ' God hath set forth (foreordained, iegos6e- 23- § John x. 18. || John xiv. 31. H Rom. iii. 25, x 2 234 value of Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israe L were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.' And again, 'Ye were not redeemed with corrupti ble things as silver and gold — but with the pre^ cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained be fore the foundation of the world.'* In beautiful harmony with these testimonies is the descriptive language of the beloved disciple, ' The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.''] Thus does it fully appear that, in making atonement for our sins, Jesus acted, not only with the full consent, but under the high commission of God. He it was who awaked, by his vindictive call, the fiery sword of vengeance against the Shepherd, the man that was his fellow, which continued to smite with relentless severity till justice was satisfied, and could not be quiet because the Lord had given it a charge. So true is it that • the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.' These are the circumstances, then, which consti tute the validity of Christ's atonement. They are all of them necessary ; not one can be dispensed with. Exclude any one of them, and it will be instantly seen to nullify all the rest. They resolve themselves into supreme divinity, perfect humanity, and divine appointment. These, not singly but together, are what conferred on the sufferings and death of our Mediator that high character of intrinsic and * Acts iv. 27, 28 ; 1 Pet. i. 19, 20. | Rev. xiii. 8. ATONEMENT. 235 relative worth which rendered theni a complete atonement to the law and justice of God for the sins of men. Without these, they had had no ef ficacy. In this case, the dying conqueror had never given utterance to the expiring shout of ex ultation, ' It is finished :' Never had he arisen from the grave, and ascended to glory, and sat down at the right hand of God, amid the welcom ing shouts of enraptured seraphim : The mediato rial glory which eclipses the splendours of the she kinah had never thrown around him its celestial radiance : Nor had the sceptre of universal empire ever been put into his hand. From the perfection of his atonement, arising out of the circumstances specified above, does it proceed, that he makes in tercession for us within the vail of the upper sanc tuary ; that he dispenses with a munificent hand the gifts of his purchase, and causes the prey of a great spoil to be divided. And peace, and pardon, and redemption, and holiness, and eternal glory, are among the rich fruits of the royal and trium phant conquest he achieved, when, by his infinite ly meritorious death, he spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly. With the most entire confidence, then, may the needy sinner, smitten with the deepest sense of conscious unworthiness, rely for salvation on this all-suffi cient atonement. 236 EXTENT OF SECTION XI. EXTENT OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT. The point of which we are now to treat has been extensively agitated, as well in ancient as in modern times. At a very remote period, Faustus, the leader of the pelagians, and Sirmandus, an acknowledged semipelagian, advocated the senti ment that Christ died for all men ; and were op posed by Augustine, Prosper, Fulgentius, Remi- gius, and other fearless defenders of the truth. In the Romish church, this controversy was carried on with no small degree of warmth, the Jesuits espousing the one side and the Jansenists the other. From the papists it passed to the protes- tants, Lutherans and Arminians advocating the cause of universality, while the Calvinists con tended for a definite or restricted extent. The opinion of the remonstrants on this topic was pointedly condemned by the synod of Dort.* It still constitutes a prominent feature in the contro versy between Arminians and Calvinists ; and even some, who are otherwise free from the Ar minian taint, have adopted notions on this point that are at variance with the Calvinistic creed. The Hopkinsian controversy, which has of late dis- * Turretini Institutio, v. ii. pp. 495, 496. atonement. 237 tfacted the American churches, involves, amongst its peculiarities, the point in question. And in our own country, as cannot but be known to many of our readers, the question respecting the extent of Christ's atonement has been agitated of late with considerable keenness ; nor has the side of what we conceive to be truth, been always espoused by those who are otherwise evangelical in theii doc trinal opinions. I. Before going into any thing like argument it will be proper to attend to some preliminary ex planations. On the extent of Christ's atonement, the two opinions that have long divided the church are expressed by the terms definite and indefinite. The former means that Christ died, satisfied divine justice, and made atonement, only for such as are saved. The latter means that Christ died, satis fied divine justice, or made atonement, for all man kind without exception, as well those who are not saved as those who are. The one regards the death of Christ as a legal satisfaction . to the law and justice of God on behalf of elect sinners : the other regards it as a general moral vindication of the divine government, without respect to those to whom it may be rendered effectual, and of course equally applicable to all. The former opinion, or what is called definite atonement is that which we adopt, and which we shall endeavour to explain, prove, and defend, in our subsequent observations. It may be thus stated :— that the Lord Jesus Christ made atonement to God ry his death, only for the sins of those, to whom, in the 338 EXTENT OF SOVEREIGN GOOD PLEASURE OF THE ALMIGHTY, THE BENEFITS OF HIS DEATH SHALL BE FINALLY applied. By this definition, the extent of Christ's atonement is limited to those who ultimately enjoy its fruits ; it is restricted to the elect of God, for whom alone we conceive him to have laid down his life. However, to prevent mistakes, and to give us a clear understanding of the point in dis pute, it may be necessary to offer a few explana tory remarks. 1. The point in dispute, let it be carefully ob served, does not respect the intrinsic worth of Christ's death. This is admitted, on both hands, to be infinite. There is no room for controversy here. As has been shown in the preceding sec tion, the inherent worth of Christ's atonement ari ses not from the nature, intensity, or continuance of his sufferings, but from his personal dignity and other concurrent circumstances, which stamp a character of infinite value on all that he endured. On this ground we hold that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ possessed an intrinsic value suffi-> dent for the salvation of the whole world. In this sense it was adequate to the redemption of every human being—- able to procure the expiation of every man's sins that ever existed, or ever shall exist to the end of time. Here we feel no hesita tion ; nor can we qualify these assertions in the slightest degree, We shall yield to none in our estimate of the intrinsic worth of Christ's atone ment. That worth we hold to be, in the strictest sense of the term, infinite — absolute — all- sufficient. If sufficiency were the point on ATONEMENT. 239 which the controversy turned, it might soon be ended ; and Ave are strongly inclined to believe, that nothing more than this is meant by many of those who contend for Christ's having died for all men ; it is with such persons a mistake of words more than of opinion. In the fullest sense ofthe terms, then, we regard the atonement of Christ as sufficient for all. This all-sufficiency is what lays foundation for the unrestricted universality of the gospel call. And from every such view of the atonement as would imply that it was not suf ficient for all, or that there was not an ample war rant in the invitations of the gospel for all to look to it for salvation, we utterly dissent. Against every such limitation or restriction we enter our solemn and deliberate protest, as alike dishonour ing to Christ, and unwarranted by the testimony of scripture. Nor would we hesitate for a moment to adopt the following strong protestation of an eminent writer, as expressive of our own settled conviction on the subject: — 'Such is my impres sion of its sufficiency, that were all the guilt of all the millions of mankind that have ever lived con centrated in my own person, I should see no rea son, relying on that blood which cleanseth from all sin, to indulge despair.'* 2. Neither does the present controversy turn on the application of Christ's atonement. The extent of apphcation is also allowed, on both hands, to be limited. Our opponents must admit that the atonement is made effectual only to some. Only such as believe, ultimately come to share in the * Dr. Wardlaw. 240 extent of benefits of the Redeemer's purchase ; and it is ad mitted that all men have not faith. There have been persons — as Puccius and Huberas among the ancients — who have maintained that all men actually reap the saving benefits of Christ's blood ; and there are those even in our own day, who con tend for the ultimate eternal welfare of the whole race of mankind: but as these sentiments are held in connexion with the most vague and erroneous views of the nature of the Redeemer's work, in connexion in short with a denial of the doctrine of atonement, with those who maintain them we can not consider ourselves as having at present any dispute. Those with whom we contend restrict the application of atonement to believers, while they, allow that many shall perish finally and eternally in a state of unbelief. 3. The present question, then, hinges solely on the divine intention regarding the subjects of atone ment, or what is called the destination of Christ's death. This, some maintain, extends to all man kind without exception, and not to those merely who are saved by it in the end. This is the turn ing point of the controversy. The question is not, whether Christ's atonement is sufficient for all, or whether all finally enjoy the benefit of his atone ment : but whether it was the secret design, in tention, or determination of God that his Son should make atonement for all, or only for the select specified number who are finally saved. Now, confining ourselves to the divine intention or design regarding the objects of the atonement, there are only these supposable cases, one of which ATONEMENT. 241 must constitute the truth on this important and much litigated point : — The design or intention of God must have been, that his Son should make atonement by his death ; — either for some of the sins of all men — or for all the sins of all men — or for all the sins of some men — or for the sins of no man in particular, but for sin in general. The first of these suppositions we do not know to be held by any : nor is this wonderful, when it is considered, that to die for only some of the sins of men would avail nothing for salvation, as what remained unatoned for would be sufficient to en sure condemnation. The second and the fourth are involved in one another, as the advocates of universal or indefinite atonement seem to mean, by Christ's dying for the sins of all men, that his death was a moral satisfaction to the divine law for sin in general, which, without a designed re ference to any one in particular, was capable of being applied to all. Now this is the sentiment whieh we mean to oppose, by proving and vindi cating the third supposition, namely, that it was the design or intention of God that his Son should make atonement for all the sins of some men only. II. These explanations prepare the way for the proof that the atonement is definite or limited as to its extent, that is to say, that Christ made atone ment for the sins of only some men. 1. And here we appeal, first of all, to the spe ciality and immutability of ihe divine purpose respect ing the subjects of salvation. We enter not on the wide field of controversy Y 242 EXTENT OF connected with the doctrine of divine decrees. A sovereign act of election from all everlasting is ad mitted, we believe, by those with whom we at pre sent contend. Indeed, it is difficult to see how this can be denied by any who believe in the wisdom and foreknowledge of God, or who pay respect to the direct testimony of scripture. It is admitted that there is such a thing as salvation, and that this salvation is the privilege, not of all, but only of some of the human race. It must also be ad mitted, that, in effecting salvation, the Divine Being acts agreeably to a preconceived plan or designed arrangement. To deny this is to impute to the infinitely wise God conduct such as we as cribe only to the most foolish and thoughtless among men ; conduct such as is exemplified in no other department of the Almighty's works, for in all of them we meet with such order and regulari ty as evince the existence of an original purpose or design. Well, then, if God, in the matter of salvation, acts according to design, and it so hap pens that salvation is limited in its application to some, does it not follow that it was the design of God that it should be so limited 1 And, if it was the eternal purpose of God that only some should be saved by the death of Christ, with what pro priety can it be held that it was his design that Christ should die for all 1 Does not this amount to the supposition, that God designed his Son should die for some to whom it was not his design that his death should be effectual 1 That is to say, that it was God's design that the death of Christ should be ineffectual with regard to some of those ATONEMENT. 243 for whom it was designed — that God designed the existence of a cause which should not be attended with its designed effect. This appears to us to be unworthy a Being of infinite wisdom, and at vari ance with the direct scripture testimony, that whom he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, them he also called, and whom he called them he also justified, and whom he justified them he also glorified. Besides, the purposes of God must be allowed to be immutable. Scripture asserts, and reason ap proves the assertion, that his counsel stands and he will do all his pleasure. All the designs of a Being of infinite wisdom and Almighty power must be fulfilled. It is impossible to see how they can ever be frustrated. To assert that they can, savours of blasphemy. If, therefore, it was the design of God that Christ should make atonement for all, this design must be accomplished in the salvation of all. But, if the fact is that only some are saved, it must have been the design of God that atonement should be made only for some, else the designs of God may be frustrated — the intentions of the divine will may be disappointed. If it was the purpose of God that atonement should be made for all, and yet the fact turns out to be that only spine are benefited by the atonement, how comes it about that it fails with regard to the others 1 It cannot be from any deficiency of knowledge, for God is omniscient. It cannot be from any\ defi ciency of wisdom, for his understanding is infinite. It cannot be from any alteration of affection, for he rests in his lpve, Jt cannot be from any defect 244 EXTENT OF of power, for his arm is omnipotent, and who hath resisted his will ] We are reduced to the conclu sion that the design of God, whatever it is, is in fallibly accomplished, and of course, are compelled to adopt the opinion, that, as the atonement actu ally extends but to some, it was the original pur pose of the divine will that it should not extend further. The fact is the best interpreter of the di vine intention. 2. The rectitude of the divine character conducts to the same inference. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right " A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he. Reason, conscience, revelation, and provi dence all concur in attesting this perfection ofhis nature. The supreme Being gives to every one his due. This principle cannot be violated in a single instance. He cannot, according to this, either remit sin without satisfaction, or punish sin where satisfaction for it has been received. The one is as inconsistent with perfect equity as the other. If the punishment for sin has been borne, the remission of the offence follows of course. The principles of rectitude suppose this, nay perempto rily demand it ; justice could not be satisfied with out it. Agreeably to this reasoning it follows, that the death of Christ being a legal satisfaction for sin, all for whom he died must enjoy the re mission of their offences. It is as much at vari ance with strict justice or equity that any for whom Christ has given satisfaction should continue under condemnation, as that they should have been de livered from guilt without a satisfaction being given ATONEMENT. 245 for them at all. But it is admitted that all are not delivered from the punishment of sin, that there are many who perish in final condemnation. We are therefore compelled to infer that for such no satisfaction has been given to the claims of infi nite justice — no atonement has been made. If this is denied, the monstrous impossibility must be maintained, that the infallible judge refuses to re-* mit the punishment of some for whose offences he has received a full compensation ; that he finally condemns some the price of whose deliverance from condemnation has been paid to him ; that, with regard to the sins of some of mankind, he seeks satisfaction in their personal punishment after having obtained satisfaction for them in the sufferings of Christ ; that is to say, that an infi nitely righteous God takes double payment for the same debt, double satisfaction for the same offence, first from the surety, and then from those for whom the surety stood bound. It is needless to add that these conclusions are revolting to every right feel ing of equity, and must be totally inapplicable to the procedure of Him who ' loveth righteousness and hateth wickedness.' 3. Let the connexion of the atonement with the covenant of grace be considered, and farther confir mation will be given to our argument. The scriptures represent the divine persons as en tering into a federal agreement for the salvation of men. In this covenant of peace, the Father is the representative of the godhead, and the Son representative of those who are to be redeemed. He is on this account called the Mediator and the y2 246 EXTENT OF Surety of the covenant. Whatever he did as Me diator or Surety, must, therefore, have been done in connexion with the covenant. His death was the condition of the covenant. It was stipulated, as the condition of his having a seed to serve him, that he should make his soul an offering for sin ; that he should bear their iniquities ; that he should pour out his soul unto death. In reference to this, the blood of the ancient sacrifices was called the blood ofthe covenant, while, of his own, the Saviour testifies, this cup is the new testament in my blood. The blood of Christ was not shed by accident, it was not poured out at random or on a venture. No : he laid down his life by covenant. The terms of the covenant must, therefore, define the designed extent of the objects of his death. If all mankind are included in the covenant, — if the Surety of the covenant represented, in this eternal transaction, the whole human race, then the atonement of Christ must have been indefinite. But, if the children of the covenant, as is admit ted, are only a given specified number of the hu man family, then must the atonement of the Me diator be restricted to them. There seems no evad ing this inference. To give the designed objects of the Saviour's atonement a greater extension than the covenant of grace is to nullify its character as the stipulated condition of the covenant, and to render nugatory and unavailing the consolatory address by which the heart of many an awakened sinner has been soothed, ' Behold the blood of the covenant.' 4. We may refer, also, to the very nature of atone ment. ATONEMENT. 247 What is the atonement of Christ 1 It has been already defined and explained as that perfect satis faction to the law and justice of God, on account of which sinners are delivered from condemnation. Or, in other words, it is that which removes the of fence subsisting between God and men, and pro cures a reconciliation. It supposes a compensa tion to be made to the lawgiver, in consideration of which certain specific blessings flow out to men. From its very nature, then, all for whom the atone ment is made must reap its fruits. It is no atone ment without this. That any of those for whom Christ died should fail to enjoy the benefits of his death, is, in this way, utterly inconceivable. It is not more at variance with the purpose of God, or the equity of the divine character, or the tenor of the covenant of grace, than with the very nature of the Saviour's work. His work is an atonement, that is, a reconciliation ; and to talk of his making atonement for such as are never reconciled, is a contradiction in terms : it is to say he makes atone ment and yet "no atonement, in the case of the same individuals. The same conclusion follows from other descriptions of the work of Christ. He is said to give satisfaction for sin ; but how can he have given satisfaction for the sins of those on whom the law is to take satisfaction eternally? He is said to appease divine justice ; but can the justice of God be appeased, in the case of those against whom its flaming sword shall awake for ever and ever ? He is said to expiate our offences ; but how can those sins for which the guilty per petrators are to suffer everlastingly have been ex- 248 EXTENT OF piated 1 He is said to redeem from the curse ofthe law ; but how can those who are to be kept in eternal thraldom have redemption through his blood 1 He is spoken of as propitiating the wrath of God ; but how can those be interested in his propitiation who are to be the objects of Jehovah's unceasing displeasure 1 He is described, in fine, as procuring by his death grace and glory ; but how can this apply to the case of those who con tinue under the power of corruption here, and sink hereafter into never-ending perdition ? We ap peal, then, to the very nature of atonement ; we revert to the terms of our definition, in proof of the definite object of Christ's death. Any other view is directly at variance with these terms, and this we should conceive as sufficient in itself to deter mine the controversy. All views of an indefinite extent are at once put to flight by this question, What is the atonement 1 What renders the present argument more em phatic is, that, previous to the atonement being actually made, multitudes had been placed be yond the reach of ever being benefited by it. Be fore Christ died many of the human race had gone to the place of woe, where God has forgotten to be gracious, and where his mercy is clean gone. But, according to the opinion we are combating, the eternal salvation of these was included in the designed extent of the atonement. And what have we here? Why, the supposition, not merely that Christ made atonement on Calvary for many who should afterwards, through unbelief, come short of an actual participation in the benefits of ATONEMENT. 249 his death, but that he made atonement for thou sands who, long before he did so, had gone down to irretrievable perdition, and were on this account, at the very time, placed beyond the possibility of ever receiving from his death a single benefit. Such are the palpable inconsistencies, nay, the monstrous absurdities, which the error in question compels men to adopt. 5. The connexion of the death of Christ with his resurrection and his intercession, and with the gift of the Spirit, is here deserving of attention. The death and resurrection of the Saviour bear a close relation to each other. In whatever cha racter he died, in the same character he rose from the dead. If he laid down his life as Head of the. church, and Surety of his people, and Mediator of the covenant, in the same capacities did he take -it up again. The persons interested in the one event and in the other, are the same. k Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our justifica tion.'* He died for none, for whose sake he did not rise. And for whom did he rise 1 Who are they who are benefited by his resurrection 1 Those, surely, who ' shall come forth unto the re- sUrrection of life.' ' Now Christ is risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept.'] The sleep here is not the sleep of death merely, which all undergo, but that refreshing rest to which the death of the righteous is compared, and which is called, by the same apostle, in another of his writings, sleeping in Jesus : — ' Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.'f Then * Rom. iv. 25. f 1 Cor. xv. 20. | 1 Thess. iv. 14, 250 EXTENT OF he adds, in language fully corroborative of the re stricted extent of those who profit by his resurrec tion, ' Every man in his own order ; Christ the first-fruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.'* Those, then, to whom Christ in his resurrection stood in the relation ofthe first-fruits, are they who sleep in Christ, they who are Christ's, and not the whole race of mankind. And, from the connexion subsisting between his resurrection and his death, for these only can he be held to have died. A similar relation subsists betwixt the death and the intercession of Christ. Such is the economy of our salvation, that his intercession is necessary Oto a participation of the fruits of his death. No one can ever partake of the latter without the for mer. Of course, he cannot be supposed to have died for any for whom he does not intercede, as he cannot be supposed to intercede for any for whom he has not died. And for whom does he make intercession'! For all, or only some of the human race ? Let us see. ' I pray not for the world, BUT FOR THEM WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME.' 'Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me, be with me where 1 am.'f If he died for all, how comes it that he prays only for some 1 Are there any for whom he died, for whom he neglects or refuses to pray 1 The thing is incredible, im possible, on every view that can be taken of the Redeemer's character and work. If he died for all, he must pray for all ; and, if he prays for all, all must be saved, for him the Father heareth always. * 1 Cor. xv. 23. f John xvii. 9, 24, ATONEMENT. 251 But the intercession of Christ is manifestly special and restricted, as respects tbe persons who are the subjects of it. Whence, we feel warranted to con clude, that an analogous restriction attends his death. The work of Christ and that of the Holy Spirit are also closelyconnected,and bear an exact correspon dence the one to the other. It is not our object to trace this correspondence extensively. The fact, however, is abundantly evident. ' This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ ; not by water only, but by water and blood : and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.'* The ancient ceremony of the two birds, one of which was to be killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and the other to be dipt alive in the blood of the slain bird, significantly prefigured this connexion. Nor do the writers of the new testament fail to call our attention to the circumstance. ' The blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 'f God's having ' sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, bears a distinct rela tion to His 'sending forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.'f How ap propriate and expressive, in this view, was the act of the divine Saviour, when, just after his resur rection from the dead, ' he breathed on the disci ples, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.'§ In the economy of redemption, they bear * 1 John v. 6. t Gal. '". 14. I Gal. iv. 4—6. § John xx. 22. 252 EXTENT OF so close a relation to one another, as to induce the belief that they must necessarily be coextensive as regards those who are their objects. The connex ion is, indeed, inseparable. If the atonement re moves the legal. obstructions to man's salvation, the Spirit removes such as are moral ; but it were alike preposterous and nugatory to conceive that there are any who enjoy the one without the other, — any who are delivered by Christ from the con demnation, without being rescued by the Spirit from the power, of sin. If the atonement opens the door of the heavenly sanctuary, the Spirit's Work is necessary to fit for inhabiting the holy place ; and it were of no avail that the one of these were secured for any without the other. If the atonement of Christ lays the foundation, the Spirit by his work rears the superstructure of grace ; but it were a reflection alike on the wis dom and goodness of our covenant God, to suppose that there are any who possess the former of these blessings without the latter, which is necessary to its perfection and utility. The question, then, ¦comes to be, do all receive the gift of the Spirit ] Are all actually regenerated, sanctified, and put in possession of eternal life 1 If not, we have no ground for supposing that all are interested in the atoning virtue of Christ's precious blood ; for, as we have seen, the work of Christ and the fruits of the Spirit have a corresponding extent. ' He who spared not his own Son, but delivered bim up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.' This is good reasoning, but it is fatal to the opinion we are combating, as it in- ATONEMENT. 253 fallibly establishes that all for whom God deliver ed up his own Son shall certainly come to the en joyment of every fruit of his purchase. 6. Some weight is deserving of being attached to the limited application and even revelation of the atonement. The argument from the limited application, is substantially involved in what we have already said respecting the nature of atonement, and its inseparable connexion with the work of the Spirit. Ofthe designed extent of Christ's atonement, we may judge from that of its influence. Is the effect or application of the atonement universal or re stricted? Restricted, as we have already seen is acknowledged on all hands. But as the omnipo tent and omniscient God cannot fail in any of his designs, the actual effect lets us know the extent of the designed effect. Betwixt these there can never exist any proper disagreement. And as the effects of atonement, namely, redemption, recon ciliation, sanctification, and glory, extend but to some, we are bound to apply to the atonement it self a similar restriction in the designed extent of its subjects. Even the limited extent to which the atone ment has been revealed, would seem to point to the%ame conclusion. A knowledge of the fact, is, according to the plan of our salvation, neces sary, in the case of adults, to a participation in its fruits. ' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved :' but ' faith cometh by hear ing, and hearing by the word of God ;' and ' how shall they believe in him of whom they have not 254 EXTENT OF heard, and how shall they hear without a preach er V It seems to follow from this, that all for whom the remedy, revealed in the gospel is designed, must be put in possession of the gospel. They must believe that they may be saved ; — they must know that they may believe ; — and they must hear that they may know. Many, for whose ulti mate benefit the remedy itself is not secretly de signed, may possess the revelation of it ; but all, for whom it is so designed, must. Now, in con nexion with this, consider the limited diffusion of the gospel. In every age of the world, the reve lation of mercy has been, in fact, restricted to a few. In ancient times, the Almighty showed his word to Jacob and his judgments to Israel, while the nations at large sat in darkness. In later times, although the diffusion has been more wide, and the command has been that the gospel should be preached to every creature, it has actually been greatly limited compared with the population of the world. To this hour there are hundreds of millions of our race who remain unvisited by the day-spring from on high. And if we suppose that for these the atonement which the gospel teveals was as much designed as for the others, we shall be led to the most unworthy views of the divine character. God could have made it known to all, and yet it seems he has npt. It is vain to plead the remissness of those whose duty it was to diffuse the benefit of gospel light among their be nighted fellow men ; for as they were completely under his sovereign control, this, although it leaves them inexcusable, leaves the fact wholly unex- ATONEMENT. 255 plained as regards the purpose and design of God. The thing has happened under his superintending providence, and must, therefore, be in harmony with the secret councils of his will. It is, of'course, utterly irreconcilable with the notion that the atonement of Jesus Christ was designed for all. What would men think ofthe prince, who, design ing to emancipate all the inhabitants of a rebelli ous province of his empire, should provide a suffi cient ground of escape for all, but should commu nicate the knowledge of this merciful provision only to a few, while the greater number were al lowed to continue in perpetual durance in conse quence of their unhappy ignorance ? Or, what would men think of the physician, who should benevolently devise and prepare a medicine de signed to cure a disease of universal prevalence, and yet suffer multitudes for whom it was so de signed to remain ignorant of its existence, thus rendering it impossible for them to avail them selves of its healing virtues ] Such things might occur among men, with whom generosity, and hu manity, and consistency, and wisdom, are but rare qualities, but that anything analogous should ever occur in the arrangements of Him whose under standing is infinite, whose nature is love, and in whom compassion flows, is utterly inconceivable. We hold, then, the limited diffusion of the gospel to be demonstrative of the definite nature of Christ's atonement. 7. We take the liberty of adverting to the absur dity that attends every other supposition but that of a definite atonement, 256* EXTENT OF There are, as we have seen, only four supposi tions on the subject : — that Christ died, either for some of the sins of all men ; or for all the sins of all men ; or for all the sins of some men ; or for the sins of no one in particular, but for sin in gene ral. The first is held by none : the .third is that which it is our object to prove : the second and fourth are what are held by the opponents of our doctrine ; and these,, we are now to show, involve such as maintain them in absurdity. That Christ made atonement for all the sins of all men, is a supposition fraught with absurdity. As we have already seen, it supposes him to be the Saviour of those who are never saved, the Redeemer of those who are never redeemed, the Deliverer of thou sands who are never delivered but remain under eternal condemnation. But this is not the absur dity we have at present in view. When those who hold the sentiment that Christ made atone ment for the sins of all men, are asked, why, in this case, it happens that any are condemned 1 they readily reply, that salvation was procured for men on the condition that they should believe, and, not believing, they of course cannot be saved. The reason, in short, why many of those for whom Christ died fail to reap the benefits ofhis death, is their unbelief. Now here is a series of absurdi ties. It is supposed, for one thing, that many are condemned for unbelief, although, as we have seen, they had not an opportunity of believing, never having been put in possession of the gospel. Then, again, it is supposed that men are able of themselves to believe — that faith is a spontaneous ATONEMENT. 257 net of the natural man, irrespective ofthe death of Christ, and that without which the death of Christ can have no efficacy ; whereas, according to the scriptures, faith is the gift of God, an act of the new man only, and an effect, not the cause, ofthe efficacy of Christ's death. This being the case, it is absurd to talk ofits being the condition of man's salvation, on the fulfilment of wliich the effect of the atonement hinges. For, if man cannot believe of himself, if the power to do so is God's gift, con ferred put of respect to and in consequence of the virtue of Christ's atonement, it is as absurd to speak of Christ's making atonement for men on condition that they believe, as it would be to offer a blind man a sum of money on condition that he will open his eyes. Besides, on this supposition, the death of Christ might have been utterly and for ever unavailing, with respect to the whole human race. The efficacy of the atonement is thus suspended on the condition of man's belief; the reason why it proves inefficacipus, in the case of any, is the unbelief of the persons in question ; but had all chosen not to believe — and what some do, all might have done — the atonement had been rendered altogether useless. Every view of salva tion, then, is absurd, which does not provide se curity for the existence of faith in all for whom it is designed. Christ died, not to render salvation possible merely, but certain. Nor are these the only absurdities with which this supposition is burdened. The benefit of Christ's atonement, it is said, extends not to all men, because of the unbelief of some. But unbelief is either z2 258 EXTENT OF a sin or not a sin. If it is not a sin, it is un accountable that any should be condemned, or come short of salvation, on account of it. If a sin, Christ either made atonement for it, or did not make atonement for it. If Christ made atonement for the sin of unbelief in all men, it is inconceiv able that any should perish on account of that sin. If Christ did not make atonement for it, then he made not atonement for all the sins "of all men. To say then that Christ made atonement for all the sins of all men, and yet that many perish be cause of unbelief, is absurd. From this dilemma we see no way of escape ; and the abettors of the point in dispute must lay their account with being tossed on one or other of its horns, till they are pleased to abandon the untenable position they have assumed. That Christ made atonement for no man's sins in particular, but for sin in general, is a supposi tion as absurd as that we have now exposed. We are afraid the idea is not uncommonly entertained, that the death of Christ was only a public exhibi tion of God's displeasure at sin, introduced simply with a view to maintain the honour of the divine moral government. Not to mention other objec tions to this view of the subject, we remark at present that it leads to absurdity. Christ, accord ing to this, did not die for sinners, but for sin. But sin, apart from sinners, has no counterpart in na ture ; it is a metaphysical abstraction, a nonentity. Sin is a moral quality, which, like all other quali ties, supposes necessarily a subject to which it be longs ; and it were every whit as rational to talk ATONEMENT. 259 of redness existing apart from an object that is red, or roundness apart from an object that is round, as of sin apart from a sinner. Separate sin from sin ners and you have a mere abstraction, for which it is dishonouring to the character of the blessed Saviour to suppose him to make atonement. Add to all, that sin in general, — sin in the ab stract, includes the sin of angels as well as that of men. And, if Christ died only to make a pub lic display of the divine abhorrence at sin in gene ral, we see not why the extent of the atonement should be limited even to the human family ; we see not why, besides comprehending the whole race of man, it should not also embrace all the fallen angels without exception. So absurd in itself, and so subversive in its tendency of the whole gospel of economy, is the supposition we have thus endeavoured to overthrow. 8. But let us close our proof with a direct ap peal to the testimony of the divine word. What say the scriptures 1 The arguments already adduced, it is not doubted, are scriptural ar guments. They are founded on views of the divine character, the covenant of grace, and the Saviour's work, which are taken from the word of God. But, in advancing them, we may be said rather to be ' reasoning out of the scriptures,' than to be appealing directly to the scriptures them selves. The former line of procedure serves to show the harmony of our doctrine with the sys tem of revealed truth at large : the latter calls the attention to individual texts which have a direct bearing on the subject, and which, by confining SCO EXTENT OF ourselves to the other, would be in danger of be ing overlopked. We shall give a specimen cf the texts which might easily be marshalled in over powering numbers, and this we shall do in the order of the books of scripture in which they occur. We pass over the old testament writings, with one remark of a general kind, namely, that they everywhere suppose and recognize a distinction between the people of God or the Israelites, and the Gentiles or the nations of the world : and that tlie benefits of the sacrificial rite, which prefigured the atonement of Christ, were exclusively limited to those who are included under the former de scription. This distinction is incorporated in the very first intimation given to man of the divine Victim, an intimation in which the seed of tlie serpent and the Seed of the woman are placed in striking and instructive antithesis ; nor is it ever afterwards suffered to drop out of sight. We wait- not to advert, in particular, to such expressions as these, ' For the transgression of my people was he Stricken,' ' He bare the sins of many ;' but pro ceed to the writings of the new testament, to which we principally make appeal in this depart ment of our argument. Let the reader candidly peruse these words — ' Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name 1 and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then ATONEMENT. 261 will I profess unto them, I never knew you : de part from me ye that work iniquity.'* Here a broad line of distinction is drawn between two classes of the human family, with respect to one of which the Saviour makes the appalling affirma tion, ' I never knew you.' The import of the words, according to scripture usage, it is by no means difficult to ascertain. The doctrine of the Saviour's omniscience precludes the idea that sim ple knowledge is all that is designed. The anta gonist assertions, ' You only have I known of all the families of the eaith,' and ' The Lord knoweth them that are his,'f leave us no room to hesitate. The reference can only be to a special saving cogni zance, of which some are the objects, and others not. But with what shadow of plausibility can such knowledge be denied, with regard to any for whom Jesus suffered, whose sins he actually bore in his own body on the tree 1 Are there any such whom he never knew ? Take another testimony from the same evan gelist :— ' At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. '% It is here affirmed, as plainly as language can do it, that there are some of mankind from whom the saving benefits of Christ's kingdom are ' hid.' Now, we are not concerned what interpre tation is put upon this phrase. That it imports some awful privation in the matter of the soul's * Matt. vii. 21—23. t Amos iii. 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19. { Matt, xi, 25. 262 EXTENT OF eternal interests, cannot be denied. What we have to do with is this, whether Christ's being said to have hid these things from the wise and prudent, can be made to comport or agree with his having pro cured these very things for the same individuals by his death. Can it be honouring to ' the only wise God, our Saviour,' to suppose in his conduct so glaring a contradiction, as that of first purchasing, at the expense of his own precious blood, saving benefits for men, and then deliberately hiding these purchased benefits from those for whom they were thus expensively provided 1 Take what view you will of the hiding from the wise and prudent, it will be found to be incompatible with the persons in question ever having been interest ed in the atonement of Christ. In the following passages, the distinction made between the sheep and the goats or the wolves, for the former of whom only Christ is said to lay down his life, ought to be carefully marked and duly weighed : — ' 1 am the good shepherd : the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. / lay down my life for the sheep. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.'* Besides the restriction of Christ's laying down his life, — that is, his atonement, — to the sheep, the identity of those for whom he laid dewn his life and thpse + Johnx. 11, 15,26,27,28, ATONEMENT. 263 to whom is given eternal life so that they shall never perish, is deserving of particular notice. The singularly decided passage in our Lord's intercessory prayer has already been commented on, and here requires only to be noted : — ' I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me. For their sakes 1 sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Fa ther, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am.'* Paul says, ' But God commended his love to wards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.'f We know not how it could be more clear ly taught that those for whom Christ died are jus tified by his blood and dehvered from the wrath to come ; but this cannot be affirmed of all. To the same purpose this apostle gives utterance to the challenge, ' Who shall lay any (hing to the charge of God's elect 1 It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth 1 It is Christ that died.' The death of Christ is thus supposed to be the best possible security against condemna tion : none for whom Christ died can ever be ex posed to the curse ; but there are some on whom the curse will press for ever : of course it cannot-, be said that for such Christ died. The next text we adduce is this : — ' For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.'f It will be allowed, that by Christ be- * John xvii. 9, 19, 24. f Rom. v. 8, 9. J 2 Cor. v. 21. 264 EXTENT OF ing made sin, is meant his suffering for our atone ment. But the object of his being made sin is, that those for whom he is so made, might be made the righteousness of God in him. These are of the same extent, as regards the persons interested in them. They are, in fact, the very same per sons for whom he was made sin, and who are, in consequence, made the righteousness of God in him. Now, that all are not made the righteousness of God in Christ need not to be proved; and we have only to draw the inference, that for all he has not been made sin. Two other kindred passages may close this de partment of proof : — ' Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it.'* Two points, in favour of our position, are furnished by this text : — in the first place, it is the church, and not the world, for which Christ gave himself; and, in the second place, the love of Christ, by which he was actuated in so doing, is peculiar and exclusive towards the church, as that of husbands is required to be toward their wives. The latter consideration completely sets aside the discreditable shift by which some have endeavour ed to get rid of this passage, namely, by alleging that Christ's giving himself for the church does not imply that he gave himself for no others. On this principle, we should be obliged to admit that Christ's loving the church does not imply that he loved none else ; and, then, what becomes of the passage as setting forth an example or pattern for * EPh. v, 25. ATONEMENT. 265 the imitation of husbands ? Analogous to this text is that of the same apostle, in his epistle to Titus : — ' Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto him self a peculiar people, zealous of good works.'* This requires no comment. Those for whom Christ gave himself are a peculiar people, and not the whole race of mankind indiscriminately. III. Opposed to these arguments are certain objections to the doctrine of a definite atonement, which, it is proper, we should weigh with candour, and against which it becomes us to vindicate the position we have taken up. 1. It is objected that the restriction for which we contend is derogatory to the honour and the me rits of Christ. To this we reply, that it belongs not to man to determine the share of honour due to the Saviour. This is the prerogative of God. And, supposing it admitted — which it is not — that less honour would redound to Christ from his atonement being defi nite, if the honour of making a definite atonement is all that God designed he should have, or all which he himself claims or expects, what right have men to interfere and say it is not sufficient \ On the principle on which this objection rests, might it be contended that Christ made atonement' for fallen angels as well as for men, because, for sooth, it may be supposed to be more honouring to Christ to hold such a sentiment than the other. The thing with which we have to do is, not which of two suppositions reflects the greatest degree of * Tit. ii. 14. 2a 266 EXTENT OF honour on the Redeemer, but which is the fact. Jesus claims the honour only of what he performs. He makes not atonement for angels, and claims not the honour of so doing : and if he makes atone ment only for some of the human family, the ho nour of so doing is all he requires, and more he will not receive. But all this proceeds on the assumption, that what is alleged is the fact, namely, that the theory of our opponents is, abstractly speaking, more ho nouring to Christ than the doctrine for which we contend. This, however, is more than we are disposed to concede. The objection overlooks whence it is that the merit or honour of Christ's atonement proceeds ; it proceeds not from its effi ciency, but from its sufficiency. Its worth is to be estimated, not by what it effects, but by what it is capable of effecting. The latter arises from its in trinsic merit, and is, as we have seen, infinite : the former depends on the sovereign will of God, and may be held to be limited, as in fact it is, without detracting in the slightest degree from the honour and merit of the Saviour. The restriction of the atonement is attributable solely to the divine pur pose, and leaves altogether unaffected the intrin sic merits of the Redeemer's work. Sufficiency and efficiency are not always co-extensive, even in the works of God. The evidences of revealed religion supply an apt confirmation of this remark. Every believer in the bible must admit that these evidences are sufficient to convince all, but we know that they are efficient to convince only some. But the restricted extent of their actual efficiency is no ATONEMENT. 267 Valid objection against their perfect sufficiency. Our readers can easily apply this illustration to the point in hand. Nor is this all. The objection may be fairly retorted on those who make it. It is, in our hum ble opinion, the doctrine of an indefinite atonement which reflects dishonour on Christ. We think it might safely be left to the candid decision of any unprejudiced judge to determine, whether it be more dishonouring to Christ to suppose, as our doctrine does, that all for whom he died shall be saved and finally secured in the possession of every gracious benefit ; or to suppose, as the doctrine of our opponents does, that the greater number of those for whom he died shall be eternally lost, without deriving from his death a single saving blessing. No rational mind can hesitate to con clude, that it is more glorifying to the High Priest of our profession, to regard his atoning sacrifice as one which infallibly secures the eternal well- being of all for whom it was offered, than to regard it of such a nature as to admit of many for whom it was offered being doomed injustice to everlast ing woe. Whether, we ask, is it more creditable to an intelligent agent to maintain that what he performs effects its design, or that it comes short, to a great extent, of accomplishing the object for which it is wrought ? 2. It is alleged against our view of the extent of the atonement that it supposes an unnecessary redundancy in the merits of Christ's death. If Christ's death be, intrinsically considered, of value sufficient for all and yet designed only for 268 EXTENT OF some, does not this suppose a superabundance of merit, which is available for no end whatever, and with regard to which the question may be asked, ' To what purpose is this waste V To this we reply, in the first place, that, even admitting the divine intention with respect to the atonement to be unlimited, the same difficulty meets us with regard to a restricted application. Whatever is the extent of destination, it is admit ted that the actual efficiency is limited. Now, as in this case the degree of available merit ex ceeds the extent of actual good done, every one must perceive that there is as much room as in the other case for the question, ' To what purpose is this waste V The difficulty presses with as great force on the opinion of our opponents as on ours. Again, it may be remarked, that it accords with the general procedure of God in other departments of his works, to confer his favours with a profusion which to many may seem redundant and unne cessary. For example, he causes his rain to fall on barren deserts, sterile rocks, and the watery deep, as well as on fertile hills and valleys. There are many fertile tracts of land wliich have never been cultivated ; much spontaneous fruit grows in regions where there is not an inhabitant. And how many flowers expand their blossoms and dif fuse their fragrance, in wilds where there is not a human being to admire tbeir beauty or inhale their sweets. Are we at liberty to say that, in such cases, there is a wasteful exuberance of di vine goodness or of providential care % No more can it be said that, in the case before us, there is ATONEMENT. 269 an unnecessary redundance of merit. We must not, in the one case any more than in the other, presume to limit the Almighty, or to sit in judg ment on the works of his hands ; but firmly be lieve it will be seen in the end that he has done nothing in vain. Moreover ; let it be observed, that the objection proceeds on the mistaken supposition, that the atonement of Christ is an exact equivalent for the sins of men, and that, had the number to be saved been either more or less than they are, or had their sins been of greater or less amount, the sufferings of the Redeemer must have varied in proportion. Now, to this view of the subject there are insuper able objections. It is at variance with what we have before established, namely, the infinite in trinsic value of Christ's atonement. It overlooks the grand design of the atonement, which was, not simply to secure a mere commutative satisfac tion to the justice of God, but to glorify all the di vine perfections, and to make an illustrious mani festation of the principles of his government before the whole universe of moral creatures. It leaves no room for such an unlimited offer of Christ in the gospel, as to render those who reject him with out excuse ; for if the atonement of Christ bore an exact proportion, in point of worth, to the sins of those who are actually saved by it, then the sal vation of any others was a natural impossibility, and no blame could attach to such for neglecting to embrace the proffered boon ; indeed there would be no ground on which such an offer could be made. Nay, it would require us to believe, that 2 a2 270 EXTENT OF a far greater display of the righteousness of God and his abhorrence at sin could have been made by the sufferings of men than by those of Christ ; for, as, on the supposition in question, the number actually saved is limited, and the sufferings of Christ were an exact counterpart of the sufferings due to the sins of that limited number, it was only necessary that the whole human race should have suffered for their own sins, to secuie an amount of suffering greatly superior to that ofthe Saviour of sinners. For these reasons, we reject the theory of atonement against which the objection is point ed, and hold by the view already explained, namely, that the sufferings of Christ are to be re garded in the light of a moral satisfaction to the law and justice of God, which would have been requisite had there been but one sinner to be saved, and had that sinner had but one sin, and which would have been adequate had the number to be saved been to any conceivable extent greater than it is. But to this view of the subject the objec tion does not apply, as the merit of the atonement is not greater than, according to this, is absolutely indispensable. 3. The universal offer made of Christ in the gospel, has been urged as another objection. The fact on which this objection is founded we admit without reservation. We contend for the unlimited extent of the gospel call, and regard every attempt to restrict it as hostile alike to the letter and the spirit of the gospel. Here we take the phrases ' every creature ' — ' all the world ' — * every one ' — ' whosoever will,' &c, in the fullest ATONEMENT. 271 extent of acceptation of which they admit. The ministers of religion ought to esteem it a privilege and a pleasure, not less than a duty, to be permit ted, as ambassadors for Christ, beseechingly to say to all who come within the reach of their voice, ' We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye re conciled to God.' Nor is it denied that the gene ral invitations of the gospel rest, as their basis, on the atonement of Jesus Christ. ' We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye- reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.' ' All things are ready — come unto the marriage.'* We do not pretend to be able to remove every dif ficulty, connected with the reconcilableness of the unrestricted offer of salvation and particular re demption. The subject involves all the difficul ties connected with the profound abyss of the di vine deorees, which it is not for short-sighted man to pretend ability to fathom. If we can only say what may be sufficient to nullify the objection, to show the unreasonableness of cavillers, or to re move the perplexity of humble inquirers, we shall not come short, pf our aim. With these views, we beg to submit, with all deference, the following considerations. It would not be a sufficient reason for rejecting, either the doctrine of a definite atonement, or that of an unlimited gospel call, that we found it im possible to reconcile them with one another. That we are incapable of reconciling them does not prove them to be irreconcilable. God may be capable of * 2 Cor. v. 20, 21 ; Matt. xxii. 4. 272 EXTENT OF reconciling them ; creatures of a higher intellec tual and moral rank may see their reconcilable ness ; or we ourselves, when elevated to a brighter sphere of being, may yet be fully equal to the dif ficult problem. Their perfect consistency with one another, is not the ground on which we are required to believe either the one or the other. This ground is, with regard to both, the testimony of God in his word. To this testimony we must yield implicit submission, and we must beware of the daring presumption of refusing to receive what God has made known, because of its appearing to our reason either unintelligible in itself, or incon sistent with some other acknowledged dictate of inspiration. The principles of human obligation are not af fected by the secret will of God. What man ought to do, is one thing ; what God will do, is another thing. Now, the gospel call may be regarded as expressive of man's duty, rather than of the divine intention. God may and does command many things, which he knows the persons commanded will never fulfill. These things it is the duty of man to do, but it is not the secret will of God to accomplish. By the warnings, and remonstran ces, and solemn admonitions of Noah, he called the antidiluvians to repent and be saved from the waters of the deluge ; and that it was their duty to do so, is not surely disproved by what we now know, from the fact, that it was not the secret de sign of God to save them. By means of his ser vant Moses, God commanded Pharaoh to let Israel go, as a means of saving his own life and those of ATONEMENT. 273 his people ; it was his duty certainly to obey this command ; but it was not the secret intention of God that the Egyptians and their king should es cape the destruction of the Red sea. The Jews and Roman soldiers were under obligation, from the command ' Thou shalt not kill,' not to put Jesus of Nazareth to death ; yet it was in conse quence of being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, that he was taken, and by wicked hands crucified and slain. In like manner, may we not say, that the unlimit ed offer of the gospel proves only that it is the duty of all men to believe in Christ for salvation, and not that it is the design or intention of God that all should be saved by him or that he should obtain salvation for all. The unlimited nature of the gospel call neces sarily results from God's plan of salvation. It is God's method to save men by faith. With his reasons for so doing we are not at present con cerned. It is enough for us to know, that ' it hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them which believe.' Now, to this the unrestrict ed offer of Christ is essential, as otherwise men could have no warrant for faith. The warrant of faith is the testimony of God in the gospel. And, it may be asked, could not this testimony have been made only to those to whom it was his design to give grace to receive it ? We answer, — not, without doing away with that mixed state of hu man existence, which God has appointed for im portant purposes ; — not, without making a prema ture disclosure of who are the objects of his special 274 EXTENT OF favour, and who are not, tQ the entire subversion of that moral economy, under which it is the good pleasure of his will that men should subsist in this world; — not, without even subverting the very design of salvation by faith. For, on this supposi tion, the very communicating of the divine testi mony to any one would amount to a virtual inti mation of his own personal salvation ; it would make that salvation as sure as it could possibly be made ; and where, in this case, would there be room for that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen? Thus does it appear, that, if God should choose to save some of the human family by faith in the gospel message, it is necessary to this design that the publication of this message be universal. We must either deny that God has a right to save any by means of faith in the gospel — and who are they that will take upon them thus to limit the Holy One of Israel 1 — or admit that an unrestricted gospel offer is perfectly consistent and indispensa ble. The objection we are considering militates as directly against the limited application, as against the restricted intention, of Christ's atonement. It is asked, how can God offer to all salvation by Christ, if this salvation has not been purchased for all ? We ask, on the same principle, how can God offer to all salvation by Christ, when, even supposing it purchased, it is his intention not to con fer it on all 1 And when our opponents have given a satisfactory reply to the latter question, we shall have no difficulty whatever in replying to the ATONEMENT. 275 former. A designed limited application, which our opponents admit, affords no broader a basis for the universal offer, than a designed limited purchase. The difficulty is only, by this means, shifted a step forward, where it presses, not only with all its original weight, but with that of other encumbrances which it has gathered in its pro gress. The ground on which the universality of the gospel offer proceeds, is the all-sufficiency of Christ's atonement. This the universal gospel message supposes and affirms. It is not said in the gospel, that Christ died with the intention that all should be saved, but that his atonement is a sufficient ground of salvation to all, and that all who rest on this ground by faith shall be saved. This is all that the gospel asserts ; and there is nothing here but what is true, and fit to be made known to all. Nor is any thing more requisite to vindi cate the universality of the gospel offer from the charge of inconsistency or insincerity. The atonement of Christ being sufficient for all, pos sessing a glorious, infinite, all-sufficiency, it is with propriety made known and offered to the ac ceptance of all. There is, in this case, no natural impossibility in the salvation of any man. The secret design of God, by which the application is restricted, has no causal influence in producing unbelief. The obstacles to salvation are all moral, that is to say, are such only as arise from the na tive rebellion and hardness of man's own heart. A sufficient ground of salvation exists ; the appro priate means of salvation are provided ; and, of 276 EXTENT OF course, a proper foundation is laid for man's ac countability, so that, in rejecting salvation by Christ, he is absolutely without excuse. ' He that believeth not shall be condemned.' Add to these considerations, that the univer sality of the gospel offer is necessary to glorify God. We are too apt to limit our views, in this matter, to the interests of man. But the gracious character of Deity, and the beauty of the scheme of mercy, are also concerned in it. By the uni versal offer, means of salvation are provided for all, and God's willingness to save all that come unto him is widely proclaimed. It is thus made known, that he is ' long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.' He is revealed as ' God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.' And the sincerity of his own remarkable declara- ration is seen and vindicated,— r' As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel.' It is, further, made to appear, that the reason, the sole reason, why men perish in their sins, is not, in any sense, because Christ did not die for them, but because they would not avail themselves of the merits of his death, by believing the record wliich God hath given of his Son. The character of God is vindicated from every aspersion, and the blame of eternal misery is seen to rest with the unbelieving themselves. ' This is the con- ATONEMENT. 277 demnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.' 4. The universal terms used in scripture, in speaking ofthe subjects of Christ's atonement, con stitute the most plausible objection to the view we have adopted. Before proceeding to consider the particular terms and phrases in question, we crave attention to some general remarks, applicable to the whole, and which, in our opinion, ought of themselves to go far, in the way of removing any difficulty that may be felt on that head. First then, the difference betwixt the old and new testament dispensations, with regard to ex tent, is deserving of marked attention. The former was greatly restricted ; it was almost exclusively confined to one people ; and to this limitation the members of the church had been long accustomed. The new dispensation, again, was possessed of an opposite character ; it was distinguished by a uni versal extension of its privileges ; it threw down the middle wall of partition by which the Jews were kept separate from the other nations of the earth, broadly maintained that there was no differ ence between the Jew and the Gentile, and opened its arms to Greek and Jew, Barbarian and Scythian, bond and free. But the previous state of thinge had given rise to deep-seated prejudices in favour of exclusive privilege, which it was no easy mat ter to uproot. Although the Saviour had mani fested a regard for a Roman centurion, and for a woman of Canaan, and had even plainly declared 2 b 278 EXTENT OF ' other sheep I have which are not of this fold,' still the exclusive sentiment appears to have re tained a firm hold on the minds even of his own disciples. They were Jews, and were manifestly reluctant to descend to a common level with others, in regard to the enjoyment of religious privilege ; a miracle even required to be wrought to convince an apostle that God is no respecter of persons, and to carry home to him the lesson, ' What God hath cleansed, that call not thou com mon.'* If such narrow views were entertained by those who had the best opportunities of correct information, we need not wonder at the bigoted prejudices of others. The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles awakened the jealousy ofthe Jews, and to such a length did they carry their opposi tion, that they even persecuted the preachers, ' forbidding them to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved.'f Take one specimen : — ' And the next Sabbath-day came almost tbe whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blasphem ing. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles : for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou * Acts xi. 9. 1 1 Thes. ii. 15. 16. ATONEMENT. 279 shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.'* Considering such a state of things, it is surely not difficult to account for the use of terms of extensive import, in speaking of the bless ings of the new economy. To mark the contrast, the strongest language that could be employed became necessary. In these circumstances, we can conceive of nothing more natural than to use the phrases all men, all the world, &c, to denote men in general, without regard to national dis tinction. Nor let it be surmised that, in giving' this explanation, we are supposing language to be employed which is not strictly true or correct. We make no such supposition ; we reason pnthe com monly received principle of verbal interpretation : it is an ordinary occurrence to use a general desig nation, when it is intended to express a general principle, and not to include each individual com prehended in the general designation employed. Take, as an explanation of what we mean, these words uttered in reference to the conversion of Cornelius : — • Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.' What do they ex press 1 Not that to every individual of the Gen tile world God had granted repentance unto life ; but that the conversion of Cornelius, a Roman soldier, evolved and established the principle that Gentiles as well as Jews were eligible to the en joyment of saving blessings. In precisely the same way, are we warranted, to explain the phrases in question as meaning, not that Christ * Acts xiii. 44 — 47. 280 EXTENT OF died for all men without exception, or for every individual in the world, but for all without distinc tion of national character. Bearing this in mind, and remembering that it is the language of a Jew addressed to Jews, the words of John cannot be misunderstood : — ' If any man sin we have an ad vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.'* The same principle will apply to many similar passages. The difference between all without exception and all -ivithout distinction is deserv ing of particular attention in this controversy. If we do not greatly mistake, it supplies the true solution of the apparent difficulty on which the objection before us is founded. That Christ made atonement for all without distinction is freely con ceded ; that he made atonement for all without ex ception cannot be maintained, as we have seen, without involving ourselves in the most palpable contradiction ; nor is there any thing, it appears, in the language of scripture, which requires us to adopt such a supposition. But further, it may even be admitted that there are certain advantages or privileges, not of a saving nature, resulting from the death of Christ, the par ticipation of which, by those who live under the gospel, may be held to be strictly universal. The preservation ofthe human race itself may be trac ed up to this source ; and certainly we are in debted to it for the means of moral and religious * J John ii, I, 2, ATONEMENT. 281 improvement, for much valuable and useful know ledge, for a more full and clear exhibition of duty, for greater restraints on wickedness, and stronger incentives to righteousness, and benevolence, and purity ; with many other things, contributing to the prosperity of society and the welfare of indi viduals, which unassisted reason or civil legisla tion could never have secured.* The system of grace, established on earth and resting as its basis on the atonement of Christ, surrounds, so to speak, 'our guilty world with an atmosphere of natural and moral good, and scatters an endless variety of personal and social enjoyments.' These advan tages are strictly universal ; and if the sentiment that Christ died for all men, were understood to have no higher reference than these, we might not feel ourselves called upon to dispute it. Still, at the same time, we should be disposed to ques tion the propriety of the language employed to ex press the sentiment in question. Because certain benefits, not of a saving nature, spring to all men from the death of Christ, we do not conceive it proper to say that Christ died for all men. It is plain that, in this sense, the phrase expresses a meaning different altogether from that which it bears when used with reference to the subjects of saving grace, or the objects of God's purpose of mercy. And, with nearly the same propriety, might it be affirmed that Christ died for angels, for it is not to be disputed, as we shall afterwards see, that they also derive important advantages * Hill's Lectures, v. hi. p. 9. 2 B 2 282 EXTENT OF from the death of Christ, more especially an en largement of knowledge and an accession of com panions, which, but for this, they could- never have enjoyed. Besides ; it ought to be observed, that universal terms are not to be stretched beyond that with re ference to which they are used. They denote all comprehended within a specified whole, but the whole itself may be limited. In this sense, the term all may express an endless variety of exten sion ; it may be all the members of a family, or all the citizens of a town, or all the population of a country, or all the inhabitants of the globe. Its meaning must be defined by that which is spoken of. That Christ died for all, is certainly affirmed ; but for all whom ? This is the question. Whether for all the human family ? or only for all that were given him by his Father, — for all his own, for all his church ? Because, in speaking of privileges secured for the people of Great Britain, a writer should happen to say that these privileges were secured for all, it would surely be unfair to infer that he meant they were secured for all the in habitants of the earth. Not less unwarrantable is it, because Christ is said to have died for all, when the whole context is treating of the privi leges of the people of God, to draw the conclusion, that he died for all the human family without ex ception. And it is here not a little noticeable, that, in the whole compass of revelation, so far as we are aware, it is never once said, in so many terms, that Christ died for all men, or for every man. In the received version, it is true, the words men ATONEMENT. 28S and man occur, but there are no corresponding terms in the original ; all and every one are the words employed, leaving the sense to be filled up by the connexion. It may here also be remarked, that the Greek language possesses terms more strictly expressive of absolute universality than those which are used in treating of the extent of Christ's death ;* so that we may infer, it was not the design of the inspired writers to express the greatest degree of universality, else these more ex tensive terms would have been employed. Having make these general observations, we are now prepared for entering on a more close re view of the particular passages of scripture, on which the objection we are considering is founded. These passages may be arranged into two classes : — Such as connect the death of Christ with the world or the whole world — and such as speak ofhis having died for all men or for every man. The passages which connect the death of Christ with the world or the whole world, are six in num ber. It may be premised, that the term world is used in scripture subjectively for the material world, or the world containing ; as in the expressions, ' the world was made by him,' and ' the field is the world.'f It is also used adjunctively for the world contained, that is, the men in the world ; as when God is said to 'judge the world.'f It is scarcely necessary to remark, that it is in the latter sense * HSt is the word most commonly employed. But it is allowed not to have the same intensity as «rras, aifinas, or luatrros, which we believe are not used in this connexion. f John i. 10 ; Matt. xiii. 33. f Rom. iii. 6. 284 EXTENT OF the term occurs in the present controversy. But even in this sense, its meaning is not always uni form ; it sometimes means all men collectively, and at other times all distributively, that is, some of all classes. Nothing is clearer than that the phrases the world, all the world, and the whole world, often occur in circumstances where absolute col lective universality is perfectly inadmissible. Such is the case in the following passages : — ' There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed ;'* where all the world can mean only the inhabitants of the Roman em pire : — ' The world knew -him not ;'f where all the inhabitants of the earth cannot be meant, as there certainly existed, even then, some who knew Christ : — ' Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ; behold the world is gone after him ;'f where, as denoting those who waited on the ministry of Jesus, a very restricted sense only of the term can be applicable : — ' The whole world lieth in wick edness ;'§ where, though more extensive than in the last quotation, universality is totally inadmis sible, as, at the time this language was used, there were, at least, several thousand godly persons in the world : — ' All the world wondered after the beast ;'|| at the time to which this language ap plies there were with the Lamb on mount Zion a hundred and forty and four thousand, who had not the mark of the beast in their forehead. Thus is it distinctly proved that the phrases in question * Luke ii. 1. f John i. 10. J John xii. 29. § 1 John v. 19. || Rev. xiii. 3. ATONEMENT, 285 do not necessarily denote universality. If absolute universality is to be understood, when they occur in reference to the death of Christ, it must be on some other ground than the scripture usage of the language. And if the extent of import at tachable to the words is to be determined by cir cumstances connected with the thing spoken of, we candidly submit whether the principles former ly advanced, from the purposes of God, the cove nant of grace, the resurrection and intercession of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, are not sufficient to warrant a restricted import, while the general observations, lately made, determine the nature and extent of this limitation. But let us look at the passages themselves in which these phrases occur. ' Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.'* Here, the fact that the Lamb of God does not take away the sin of every individual in the world, peremptorily demands that the term shall be taken in a restricted accep tation ; while the circumstance of the address having been made originally to Jews, sufficiently accounts, on a principle formerly explained, for the use of an extensive term. John was sent to announce a new order of things, widely different, in point of extent, from the levitical economy, which had now waxed old and was ready to va nish away. ' For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in * John i. 29. 286 EXTENT OF him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to con demn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.'* The same remarks apply to this passage as to the last. The latter expres sion in it explains what is meant by the world. We have only to ask, whether every individual in the world is actually saved by God's only begotten Son, to ascertain the extent of that world which is the object of God's redeeming love ; for it must be blasphemy to suppose that the design for which God sent his Son into the world, could, even in the slightest degree, be thwarted. ' We have heard him oursalves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 'f This expresses the opinion of certain Samaritans, and, as they were believers, it may be supposed to be according to truth. It represents Jesus as the Saviour of the world. If the appella tion be understood to denote only fulness of me rit pr sufficiency of means for salvation, there can be no difficulty in explaining it. But if it be sup posed to denote the actual procurement of salva tion, then the ultimate fact comes in to determine that the term ' world ' shall be taken in a restrict ed sense, for it is not more a solecism in language than revolting to every right and honourable con ception regarding Christ, to speak of him as the Saviour of those who are lost. The same remarks apply, in all their force, to the Saviour's own words : — ' The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life * John iii. 16, 17. t John iv. 42. ATONEMENT, 287 of the world.'* An express contrast is designed between the privileges of ancient Israel and those of which Jesus was to be the immediate author, which sufficiently accounts for the universal term in this place; while, as in all the other instances, the fact obliges us to adopt a limited interpreta tion. The same principles must guide us in explain ing the apostle's words : — ' God was in Christ re conciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.'f It is enough, here, to ask whether all without exception are reconcil ed to God 1 — whether all participate in the bless edness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth not his sin ? ' If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous': and he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours Only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 'f This seems, at first sight, the strongest passage of all in support of the objection, yet there is not one, which, when viewed in its connexion, is more easily explained in consistency with the view we have adopted. The chief explanation has already been- brought forward, in speaking ofthe compara tive extent of the new and old testament privileges. The contrast is here plainly marked — ' our sins ;' the sins of the whole world.' The aim of the pas sage, too, is clearly to afford consolation to believ ers when they fall into sin, not to hold out en couragement to the wicked to commit iniquity. * John vi, 51. f 2 Cor. v. 19. J 1 John ii. I, 2. 288 EXTENT OF 'Propitiation 'itself supposes an actual deliverance from the wrath of the Almighty, in which we are certain all do not share, for we read of some on whom the wrath of God abideth for ever. More over, the propitiation for sin is connected with ad vocacy, by which, as before explained, the refer ence of the former term is necessarily limited. Not to mention the passages before adduced, in which the very same phrase occurs in a connex ion which necessarily precludes absolute univer sality : to which we here beg leave to add other two : — ' I also will keep thee from the hour of temp tation which shall come upon all the world. — The great dragon, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.'* The second class of texts, on which the objec tion in question is founded, consists of those in which Christ is said to die for all men or for every man. We must here remind the reader of the es tablished canon of criticism before laid down, namely, that the extent of import attaching to uni versal terms depends on the subject in reference to which they are used. Now, the term all is often employed in scripture in a restricted, or distribu tive sense. For example, when Paul says, ' For all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's,'f the term must be restricted to those selfish persons of whom he complains in the con text, yet the term itself is as naked and general as in any case in which it is used in connexion with the death of Christ. Again, when the same wri- + Rev. iii. 10. xiL 9. f Phil. ii. 21. ATONEMENT. 289 ter says, ' marriage is honourable in all,'* the term must likewise be restricted, as there are not only many who enter into marriage dishonourably, but many who never marry at all. Further, when he says, ' I exhort, that supplications, prayers, in tercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men,'f that the term is to be understood not col lectively but distributively, is plain from what fol lows, ' for kings and for all that are in authority.' Keeping these things in mind, the passages in which similar language is used in connexion with the death of Christ, can give us no difficulty. But it may be proper to look a little more closely into these passages themselves. ' And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, wil1 draw all men unto me.' f The word 'men 'is a supplement ; the original is ' all ' (*it\g tfavrdf. Now, the rule with regard to universal terms is, not to extend them beyond the subject of which the writer hap pens to be treating ; and, in the case before us, the persons spoken of are the 'sons' whom the Captain of salvation brings to glory, — 'they who are sanctified,'— his ' brethren,' — 'the children which God had given him ;' from all which we are surely warranted to presume the meaning of the disputed expression to be, that Jesus tasted death for every one of these, and not for every one of the human race. Nor is this interpretation different from what we are required to adopt in similar instances, in which even stronger language is employed in the original. ' But the manifes-. tation of the Spirit is given to every man (kxcafru) to profit withal'f This cannot possibly be under stood universally. Neither can the following, where even the term man ocours in the Greek,-^ ' Whom we preach, warning every man (cravra a.v6guirov) and teaching every man,' {rtavra, every reason to- believe, was with the view of it* being a theatre on which to- exhibit the work of man's- re demption by the eternal Son . It is the workman ship of his hand. This= is the purpose which it serves ; and that it was framed with a view to its serving its purpose is. surely no disputable assertion! Difficulties connected with that profound mystery the origin1 of moral evil, may encumber this state ment. But we are not bound to remove every dif ficulty from such a subject before being entitled to demand for it the assent of the mind. The^ apostle, in express terms^ not only claims for Christ, the honour of the world's creation, but asserts the^ purpose of its creation to terminate in Him : — 'All things were created by him, and for him.' He is* thermal as well as the efficient cause of this world's creation. Our earth was selected as the chosen spot on which the mystery of redemption was to be displayed ; and all the scenes of the mediatorial economy were here exhibited. The advent of the promised Messiah took place here ; here was led his instructive life; here were wrought his won drous miracles ; here were spoken his still more wondrous addresses ; here were borne his mysteri ous sufferings ; here was accomplished his awful decease; and here were achieved his glorious vic tories over men and devils, over sin and death. This is indeed the glory of our world. That it waa the abode of Christ and the scene of redemption, throws over it a surpassing lustre, imparts to it a matchless honour. ' It is the glory of the world that he who formed it dwelt in it ; of the air, that 324 RESULTS OP he breathed it ; of the sun, that it shone on him ; of the ground, that it bore him ; of the sea, that he walked on it ; of the elements, that they nourished him;ofthewaters,thattheyrefreshedhim;ofusmen, thathe livedanddiedamongus,yea, thathelived and diedforus.'* Yes; andwemayadd,haditorilybeen thatit was stained withhis blood,it was honoured by himbeyond all human conception. — Itisthreugh the atonement, also, that the things of this world come to be properly enjoyed, as it lays a foundation for that covenant-right to their possession which is es sential to all true enjoyment. The righteous en joy the good things of the present life, because they know they are secured for them by the blood of Emmanuel, and are taught to use them as the pro vision of a temporary state, looking forward to a better and an enduring portion in the skies. And thus it is, that to them the rose of the garden ap pears to wear a deeper blush, and the lily of the field to reflect a purer tint, and the sun to shine with a richer splendour, and the morning star to sparkle with a brighter beam, because they are the handiworks, as they are the consecrated em blems of him who died on Calvary. -" One spirit — His, Who wore the platted thorns with bleeding brows, Rules universal nature. Not a flower But shows some touch, in frechle, streak, or stain, Of his unrivalled prnril His presence who made all so fair, perceived, Makes all still fairer." Cowpek. * M'Laurin. ATONEMENT. 325 The dispensation of providence regards the atonement as its centre. Redemption is the grand central point of providence, and atonement is the central point of redemption. The whole appara tus of redemption owes its being and its efficacy to the death of Christ ; and every movement of the complicated wheels of providence derives its im pulse from redemption. Preceding events look forward, succeeding events point backward, and meet as in a common centre in the cross. The course of providence for four thousand years before the advent of the Son of God prepared the way for this stupendous event ; and the train of occurren ces since only serves to follow up the great design ofhis coming. ' The Lord reigneth — the govern ment is upon his shoulders.' ' The world is, there fore, not a wandering star, abandoned in wrath, discarded from use, rushing to destruction, but is still held for a design, and turned to an account the most glorious. Its Maker has not denounced nor disowned his. property. It may be a rebel, but he is still its sovereign : it may be a recusant, but he is still its Lord.'* The dispensation of mercy, in all its several stages, stands, of course, in intimate connexion with the cross of Christ. Revelation, the record of these progressive dispensations, is everywhere sprinkled with tbe blood of atonement. History type, prophecy, song, epistle, all breathe the sweet- smelling savour of this one tfcene ; and their va ried contents derive a character of unity from this pervading circumstance. * Hamilton's Sermons. 2f 326 RESULTS OF From Adam to Moses, the practice of sacrifice ing, we have seen, existed. Adam, Abel, Noah, Lot, Abraham, all presented their burnt-offerings, which, from the substance of which they consist ed, and the language in which they were spoken of, appear to have been both designed and under stood to prefigure the great Christian Expiation. Without this they have no meaning, no worth ; but are a cruel mockery of man's misery, and a deception of human hopes. The Mosaic economy had innumerable rites and institutions, calculated to convey distinct ideas of propitiation and vicarious suffering. But, without the atonement of Christ, they were meaningless, useless, hurtful all. The whole system was no thing better than a pompous parade of gaudy cere monies ; a criminal waste of valuable property ; a wanton infliction of unnecessary pain on sentient unoffending creatures. The atonement of Christ is what gives it all its significancy, utility, and consistency. The peculiarity of the new testament dispensa tion consists in a free, full, unhampered proclama tion of mercy and salvation in the Loid Jesus Christ, to all men. It is an offer of eternal life and every spiritual blessing to them that believe. ' Holding forth the words of eternal life.' ' Come unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is no Saviour.' But on what ground do these universal proffers proceed ] Whence derive they their consistency and their power, but from the perfect all-sufficient atonement of the son of God ] ' We preach Christ ATONEMENT. 327 trucified.' * I determined not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.' *'God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This is the language held by its ministers ; and, indeed, every indivi dual benefit it bestows, they are accustomed to speak of in language which marks the same con nexion. Is it redemption ] ' We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.' Is it reconciliation ] ' God hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.' Is it peace ? ' We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' Is it justification ] ' Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.' The gospel minister's commission is sealed with the blood and stamped with the cross of Emmanuel ; nor can he ever execute it, in consistency with the character and glory of God, unless he exhibit the sacrifice of Christ as the chief article of his message, the burden of his doctrine, the central orb of the Christian system which gives to every part its living energy, and binds the whole together in sweet and indissolur ble union. The divine forbearance toward our guilty race is greatly more extensive than either the effieacy or revelation of the dispensation of mercy. The history of the world is one continued illustration of this fact. The loud warnings which are uttered in the ears of mortal offenders, the apparent reluc tance with which the sovereign Judge proceeds to execute his threatenings, and the manifest reser vation even with which they are inflicted, bespeak 328 RESULTS OT the long-suffering and forbearance of God. ' Judge ment is his work — his strange work.' ' Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be destroyed.' ' How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ] how shall I de liver thee, Israel ] how shall I make thee as Ad- mah ] how shall I set thee as Zeboim V ' Yea, many a time turned he is anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.' Now, how are we to ac count for this, in consistency with the character of God ] On the principle of the atonement alone. Natural benevolence does not explain it, as this would have dictated the same course towards the angels who sinned, whereas the dispensation of forbearance is limited entirely to our race. Nor is it that He is waiting to see whether man will not clear himself of guilt, and return of his own accord to the path of duty. No. He knows that forbearance, in itself, can never secure salvation. Man may as soon annihilate himself or create a world, as emerge from guilt to innocence by his own merit, from corruption to holiness by his own power. It is with no such view, then, that the Almighty forbears to execute his just judgments on the workers of iniquity. The atonement of Christ explains the phenomenon, and gives con sistency te this part of the divine procedure toward fallen man. The atoning death of Christ renders the salvation of men possible ; and the execution of justice is suspended, that men may have time and opportunity to repent and be saved, for God is not willing that any should perish, but rather that they should turn unto him and live. But for the atonement, mankind had known as little of the ATONEMENT. S29 divine forbearance as the fallen angels ; the guilty pair had perished as soon as they had sinned ; the instant of their disobedience and that of their death had been the same ; at the eating of the for bidden fruit, not merely had 'sky lowered, and muttered thunder,' but the bolt had leapt from the heavens, and bursting on their heads, crushed them in their impotent rebellion. Even the final judgment will exhibit a connex ion with the work of Christ. Not only is all judg ment committed to the Son, as part of his media torial reward ; but the equitable condemnation of the unbelieving and impenitent will derive its character and force from this source, while the sovereign acquittal of the righteous will rest upon the atonement as its proper foundation. The eternal state, whether of bliss or of misery, will derive a character from this circumstance. In heaven, the relations of the redeemed to God, and to the Lamb, shall take their rise from the atone ment ; all the communications of knowledge, and holiness, and felicity, shall flow through eternity in this channel ; while every service they perform, shall find acceptance with God only on this ground. And in hell, it is not to be questioned, that the miseries of the damned shall be incon ceivably aggravated by the contemptuous disre gard they have shown to the way of escape provid ed for them by God in the death of his Son. The rejection of Christ gives a highly aggravated cha racter to their sin ; and the remembrance of this rejection will give weight and pungency to their misery. The blood of Christ which extinguishes 2 f 2 330 RESULTS OF. the fire of Tophet as regards such as believe, will have only the effect of making its flames burn more intensely as regards the finally impenitent. The thought of having despised Christ, and count ed the blood of atonement a common thing, will haunt the wretched memories of the wicked for ever and ever, inflicting on them, without cessa tion or diminished intensity, the horrific effects of its torturing power. ' If I had not come and spo ken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin.' ' He that despis ed Moses' law died without mercy : of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace V VII. In fine. The atonement of Jesus Christ will form a theme of interesting and improving contempla tion to the whole universe of moral creatures through out eternity. The saving effects of this blessed fact are limited, it is true, to our race : not so its moral effects. These are wide as the universe. It is not the re deemed from among men only that sing praise to the Lamb ; angels, beings of a higher order, more ethereal in their nature, and of more elevated en dowments, strike their harps to the song, ' Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.' Angels desire to look into this mystery, and claim right to celebrate the praises of the Redeemer of men. And well they may. By the atonement of the Son of God, new and enlarged discoveries are made to them ATONEMENT. 331 of the character of God. ' Unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places are made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.' Without this, they could never have known even what they do of the natural and moral perfections of the Deity : and of his gracious character they could not have had so much as an idea. But here they have a display of infinite sovereignty, in saving men at all, and not leaving them, like the rebels of their own class, to perish in their sins ; and of infinite love and mercy, in choosing for salvation, of the two races of sinful creatures, that which occupied the lowest place. These are views for which they are entirely indebted to the scheme of atonement ; for had none been saved, they could have had no knowledge of mercy ; had both orders of fallen creatures been saved, they could not have had the same display of sovereign ty ; and had angels been preferred to men, they could not have known that the mercy of God was the greatest possible. Marvellous wisdom ! which thus, by overlooking the order of angels, gave them a brighter manifestation than could other wise have been given of the character of God ! What a scheme this for intelligent creatures of the highest rank to revolve through eternity ! As moial creatures, too, angels cannot but feel inter ested in the atonement, which establishes the in violable rectitude of the divine government. As benevolent in their dispositions, they must also take delight in what confers such an amount of dignity, and holiness, and happiness, on so large a number of human beings. And we have only 332 RESULTS, &c. to reflect, that the redeemed from among men are, in virtue of their redemption, introduced to the companionship of angels, to see that these celestial beings have another most powerful reason for con templating, with the deepest interest, the atone ment of Jesus. The things in heaven and things in earth are thus brought together into one. Men and angels are, in consequence, to engage in the same exercises, partake of the same privileges, share in and reflect the same glory. And it ad mits not of doubt, that this companionship will prove a source of knowledge and of happiness to even the ' elder sons of light.' Thus extensive does the subject we have had under review appear to be in its influence. Men, some men only, are the subjects of Christ's atone ment ; but its moral bearing embraces not merely the human race, but the whole moral family of God. As a source of instruction, social happiness, and moral delight, it reaches far beyond the bounds of our earth. It not only scatters blessings over the plains of this lower world, but calls forth the benedictions of angels, awakens the sympathies of the heavenly hosts, and animates celestial beings to jubilant songs of thanksgiving and praise. Who, then, dare represent it as unimportant ] Who can estimate the consequences of treating it with neglect ! Rather let us count it all our sal vation and all pur desire. ' To them that believe he is precious.' 'How shall we escape if we neg lect SO GREAT SALVATION !' PART SECOND. INTERCESSION. SECTION I. REALITY OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. Intercession is the correlate of atonement. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that those who deny the doctrine of Christ's atonement, should have maintained the position that his in tercession is only figurative. This is the view taken of the subject by Socinians, who resolve the intercession of Christ into his kingly office, un derstanding by it nothing more than the exercise of his regal power in communicating to men the blessings of his mediation. That the Saviour possesses and exerts such a power, is not by any means denied, but that it is the same thing as his intercession, and is all that is meant by this part of his work, may fairly be disputed on the most satisfactory grounds. The relation which intercession bears to atone ment has just been remarked. They are corre late ideas. They stand to each other in much the same character as do the ideas of creation and providence. The providence of God consists in upholding all things, or maintaining in being the 334 REALITY OF creatures he has made : it is best conceived of as a continued putting forth of the creative" energy* So the intercession of Christ is the continued effi cacy of his expiatory merit ; on which account it has been spoken of by some of the ancient writers as a perpetual oblation. If the providence of God were suspended, all created being must be annihi lated ; and if Jesus were not to make intercession, the merit of his atonement would prove utterly unavailing. The arguments by which the reality of atonement has been established, thus support the reality of intercession. Admit the necessity and truth of Christ's atoning sacrifice, and the certainty and prevalence of his intercession within the vail naturally and irrefragably follow. Christ's intercession is, indeed, essential to the fulfilment of the covenant of grace. As ' media tor of the covenant,' every thing which he per forms as a priest has a relation to this divine econo my. The sacerdotal functions of oblation and intercession have regard respectively to the con dition and the administration of the covenant. The stipulated condition of the covenant is, that satisfaction shall be made to the law and justice of God for the sins of those who are redeemed ; and this is done by the sacrifice of Christ. "The administration ofthe covenant comprehends what ever is concerned with putting ami maintaining the covenant children in possession of the bless ings of redemption : and this takes its rise directly and immediately from the intercession of Christ. True it is, the agency of the Spirit and the instru mentality of means are concerned in this object : INTERCESSION. 335 but, in the economy of man's salvation, the inter cession of the Mediator is necessary alike to the operation of the one, and to the efficacy of the other. It is so arranged by infinite wisdom that all the good done to the souls of men, in connex ion with the covenant of grace, shall be begun, carriedforward, completed, and maintained through eternity, in relation to Christ's intercession. The perfection of his priesthood also demon strates the reality of his intercession. That Christ's intercession belongs to his priestly, and not to his regal, office, is a necessary proof of its reality. And that it constitutes one of his sacer dotal functions, appears from the connexion in which it is spoken of : — ' He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.'* To bear sin, means, we have seen, to make atonement and it is here connected with making intercession. ' Who is he that condemneth ] It is Christ who died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh inter cession for us.'f Christ died as a priest, and here his intercession stands connected with his death. But the connexion is expressed in so many terms, in the following words : — ' This man, because he eontinueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood : wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.'! More over, he is spoken of as being a priest in heaven. Not on the cross only does he act in his sacerdotal character: — 'He shall be a priest upon his * Is. liu. 12. f Rom. viii. 34. flleb. vii. 24, 25. 336 REALITY OF throne.'* His priestly office claims the stamp of perpetuity : — ' Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of MelchiZedek.'f Heaven is the scene of his priestly acts : — ' We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.'!. If, then, Christ is a priest on the throne of the heavens for ever, there must be some sacerdotal act which he performs in this situation. And what is this act 7 Oblation it cannot be ; he offeredhimself a sacri fice for sin once for all ; by one offering he perfected for ever them that are sanctified : and this one oblation was made upon earth. It can only, then, be intercession/; and if it is denied that Christ is thus occupied in heaven, the name Priest is an empty sound, and you fix on him the degrading stigma of holding an office without a function, of accepting a title without a corresponding work. If farther proof be necessary, it is derived from the fact, that the intercession of Christ is ever repre sented as proceeding on the ground of his atone ment. One passage may suffice in proof of this assertion ; that, namely, in which his propitiation is exhibited as supporting his all-powerful, com forting advocacy : — ' If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right eous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins.'§ But the best evidence of all, is that which is fur nished by the act of the high priest under the law. It was not enough that he offered sacrifice on the brazen altar in the outer part ofthe tabernacle, on the day of expiation ; he must afterwards enter » Zech. vi. 13. f Ps- «• 4. } Heb. viii. 1. § 1 John ii. 1, 2. intercession. 337 into the holy place, and burn sweet incense on the golden altar, after having sprinkled it seven times with the blood of atonement. ' And Aaron shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testi mony, that he die. not.'* The import of this sig nificant ceremony we are not left to conjecture. ' Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.'] ' And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.' ] The intercession of Christ was signifi cantly prefigured by this solemn act of the ancient high priest : and as the latter was, without doubt, a sacerdotal act, so also must be the former. In this way does it appear, that, for the reality of Christ's intercession, we have the same evidence as for the reality of his priesthood. If the one is figurative, the other is also figurative ; if the one is real, the other is also real. And, unless it is meant to reduce the whole sacerdotal character of the Redeemer to a thin shadow, a mere figment, * Lev. xvi. 12, 13. t Heb- «• 24. } Rev. viii. 3, 4. 2 G REALITY Of his intercession must be held to be a true and pro per intercession. We might even contend that the circumstances of the people of God render the intercession of Christ necessary. Numerous and daily are their wants: they are made up of wants : their necessi ties are innumerable and constant. Blessings to supply these necessities, it is true, are procured by the atoning sacrifice of the Redeemer. But who shall apply to God for the bestowment of these purchased benefits ? They cannot themselves ; they have neither merit, nor skill, nor even at first inclination to apply for any such thing ; they can not plead tlieir own cause ; they are altogether unfit to appear in the presence of God for them selves ; another must appear for them. Without the intercession, the purchase of Christ had thus been in vain, and the elect of God must have remained strangers for ever to a single saving blessing. The passages, then, which speak of the work of intercession, we regard as descriptive of a high and glorious function which is actually performed by the Saviour of sinners. A function, without a be lieving knowledge of which we can neither behold the Saviour's glory, nor understand the nature of man's salvation, nor experience the comforts ofthe redeemed. It is no valid objection to the view we have given of this subject, that God loves his people, and has determined tp confer pn them the blessings purchased by his Son. If so, it has been asked, where is there need or room for Christ's interces- INTERCESSION. sion 1 The objection proceeds altogether on a mistaken conception regarding the use and object of the Saviour's intercession. It is not to awaken the love of the Father ; it is not to obtain a decree in favour of those who are its subjects, that con stitutes the object of this mediatorial function. Far be the impious thought ! Its very existence is a fruit of God's love — an evidence of his gra cious purpose. It is, that his Almighty love may be displayed, his sovereign decree fulfilled, in a way most consistent with the divine glory, most compatible with the honour of the divine govern ment, most productive of the good of man, and most consonant with the interests of the moral universe at large. It is the method by which God has wisely determined to express his affection, and fulfil his purposes of mercy toward fallen men. And no objection on this ground, can be urged against the intercession of Christ, whieh will not apply with equal force against our presenting a prayer on our own behalf, or on that of our fellow men. Neither is there any validity in the objection, that intercession supposes something derogatory to the honour of the Redeemer. It is true, that the act of petitioning, in one point of view, implies inferiority in the petitioner with reference to the person petitioned. But, in the case before us, there is no inferiority supposed inconsistent either with the personal dignity or with the mediatorial glory of the Son of God. His person is divine, and on this the value of both his sacrifice and in tercession greatly depends ; but as they are official 340 REALITY OF functions, whatever inferiority they may possess is wholly official, and affects not in the least his dig nity as God. If it is not incompatible with his divine Majesty to offer himself as an oblation, no more can it be so to plead the cause of his people. If it was not derogatory to the honour of the Re deemer to assume the office, it cannot be deroga tory to discharge its functions. The discharge of official duties can never disgrace an official functionary, unless the office itself be discredita ble. This part of service is expressly represented as required of the only begotten of the Father, ' Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession ;'* and so far from being dishonoured by such a requirement, it is the very purpose for which he lives in official glory. ' He ever liveth to make intercession for them.'j- It is to be remembered, too, that, in making inter cession, he pleads not for himself, but for others. The humiliation attaching to personal supplica tion has no place here. To petition on behalf of another is compatible, not only with equality, but even with superiority in the petitioner over him with whom he intercedes. And, then, it is to be borne in mind, that an essential distinction exists, in respect of their nature, between the prayers pre sented by Christ in his state of humiliation, and those in his state of exaltation and glory. On earth, 'he offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death ;' but no infirmities of * Ps. ii. 8. f Heb. vii. 25. intercession. 341 this kind attach to his intercessory prayers on high; there all tears are wiped away from his, as from his people's, eyes ; there is nothing of. servility or servitude supposed in these ; they partake more of demand than of petition, of claim than of request ; and evince rather the dignity of a claimant urging a right, than the poverty of a suppliant begging an unmerited favour. ' Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am.' Say not, then, that there is any thing degrading in the supposition that Christ should make inter cession. No. While his church has a want, while his people's necessities continue, he will count it his delight, his pleasure, his honour, his glory, to present their case to his Father, and to secure for them the bestowment of every needed boon. SECTION II. NATURE OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. To intercede, means literally to ' pass between.' The term is used figuratively, to denote mediating between two parties with a view of reconciling dif ferences, particularly in the way of supplicating in favour of one with another. In this sense, ' inter cession' is frequently affirmed of Christ in the scriptures : — ' Who also maketh intercession for us.'* ' He ever liveth to make intercession for them.'f The verb employed in these passages * Rom. v. 34. t Heb. vii. 25. 2 g 2 342 NATURE OF (frnyxavew,) when connected with the preposition that follows (i( heaven. They have requests to prefer : sins to be pardoned ; wants to be supplied ; iniqui ties to confess with shame ; blessings to acknow ledge with gratitude. And how shall they ap proach a throne of such awful majesty ; how enter a court of such inexorable justice ! The mediato rial Angel before the throne, fhe Advocate at the bar, is their encouragement. ' Through him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father — In him we have boldness and access with confidence — Seeing that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace — Having an High Priest over * Is. liv. 7, 8, 10. INTERCESSION. 367 tlie house of God, let us draw7 near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith.'* It is through the intercession of Christ that the services of the people of God are rendered acceptable. The services required of them are special, mani-r fold, great, and arduous. The whole moral law is the measure of these services. And it is a mat ter of no small consequence for them to know, not only in what strength these services may be per formed, but by what merit they can be accepted. If- they are not to be received and acknowledged by God, the performance of them must be nullified. The law requires perfection, but the services of the people of God are at best imperfect ; the law requires unblemished obedience, but their services are at best tainted with pollution. How then shall they be accepted ] Through the interces sion of Christ. This makes up for all their defi ciencies ; this removes all their blemishes. The prayers of the saints ascend up before God out of the Angel's hand, in which is held a golden cen ser with much incense. And what is true of the prayers of the saints is true also of all their other services — their songs of praise, their tears of peni tence, their works of faith and labours of love, their deeds of mercy, and their acts of holy obedi ence. Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar.'] It is in this way that God overlooks all their imperfections ; he sees no iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Is rael ; he smells a sweet savour in the performances ? Eph. ii. 18.— iii 12 ; Heb. iv. 14, 16.— x. 21, 22. t Is- •«• 7- 308 JM Al A JL.lt vr of his children ; their sacrifices of righteousness are well-pleasing and acceptable in his sight ; and, although in themselves like ' pillars of smoke,' dark, confused, and ill-savoured, the)7 come up before him ' perfumed with myrrh and frankin cense, and all the powders of the merchant.' Like Aaron of old, our great High Priest has on his forehead the inscription, Holiness to the Lord, that he ' may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts.'* So far from the performances of men being the ground of their acceptance with God, it thus appears, that for the acceptance of our performances themselves we are indebted to the merits of another. Our services, as well as our persons, are accepted in the Beloved. By ex pecting to be accepted for any thing that we do, we set aside the Saviour's atonement ; by expect ing that any thing we do shall be accepted on ac count of its intrinsic excellence, we set aside the Saviour's intercession. And it is thus we are ena bled to understand how it comes about, that ' a cup of cold water given to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose its reward,' while ' the ploughing of the wicked is sin.' In fine, the intercession of Christ secures the com plete salvation of the chosen of God, their entrance into heaven, and their everlasting continuance in a slate of perfect blessedness. God is a rock, and his work is perfect. What he begins, he completes ; nor rests till he has secured for his redeemed perfect acquit- * Exod. xxviii. 38. INTERCESSION. 369 tal beyond the reach of accusation, deliverance from all temptation, immaculate holiness, and uninterrupted and permanent peace. It is by his intercession that he thus saves to the uttermost. ' Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liv eth to make intercession for them.'* The work of sal vation being thus. completed, the redeemed are ad mitted into heaven, for which they are prepared. Their reception into glory is the matter of distinct request on the part of the Saviour. ' Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.'f The title of admis sion, it is true, is the Saviour's death ; but the im mediate cause pf their admissipn is hisintercessipn. It is by this that the title, sp tp speak, is carried intc heaven, and presented to God, and pled as the ground on which their admission is to take place. He entered into heaven, not without blood, tb ap pear in the presence of God for us. He goes to the portals of the upper sanctuary, holding in his hand the memorials of his sacrifice ; at his ap proach the celestial gates fly open ; he enters in the name and on behalf of his pepple ; he ppens and np pne can shut, till all his redeemed and chosen have followed him thither ; and, then, he shuts and no one can open, either to invade their peace' or to pluck one of the countless multitude from their happy abode. The permanent continuance ofthe redeemed in * Heb. vii. 25, f John xvii. 24. 370 MATTER OF the state of glory stands connected, in the same manner, with the intercession of Jesus. ' He is a priest for ever.' Not only is everlasting glory the effect of his intercession ; but it is the subject of everlasting intercession. ' He ever liveth to make intercession.' The perpetuity of heavenly bless ings, and the acceptance of celestial services, must all be traced to this source. Not a ray of light, not a smile of favour, not a thrill of gladness, not a note of joy, for which the inhabitants of heaven are not indebted tp the Angel standing with the golden censer full of incense, before the throne. Remove this illustrious personage from his situa tion ; divest him of his official character ; put out of view his sacerdotal function ; and all security for the continuance of celestial benefits is gone, — the crowns fall from the heads ofthe redeemed, the palms of victory drop from their hands, the harps of gold are unstrung, and the shouts of halleluiah cease for ever ; nay, heaven must discharge itself of its human inhabitants, and the whole be sent away into irremediable perdition ! But no such appalling catastrophe need ever be feared : Christ EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION ! INTERCESSION. 371 SECTION IV. properties of Christ's intercession. From the character of the advocate, we may judge what will be the qualities of his advocacy. Possessed of infinite wisdom and knowledge, the intercession of Christ cannot but be eminently skilful. A skilful advocate must know well the case of his client, the character of the judge with whom he has to deal, and the law according to which he must plead. Christ's knowledge of all these is perfect. He knows perfectly all his peo ple, and all their cases. ' He needeth not that any should testify of man ; for he knows what is in man.' 'He searcheth the reins and hearts.' All the exercises and doings of his children are thoroughly understood by him. Their wants, ne cessities, sins, and infirmities, are better known to him than to themselves ; even their inward breath ings and secret groanings are as well understood as ' the well set phrase of the orator.' Nor this only in respect of his intuitive omniscience as God, but ofhis experimental knowledge as man. Expe rience must add powerfully to the skill of an in tercessor ; and this advantage is possessed by Christ in an eminent degree. * For in that he 372 properties of himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.' Had he no other knowledge pf his people than what is derived from their own statements and prayers, he could not plead their cause with skill. They are often greatly ignorant of themselves, form the most mis taken ideas, entertain the most inadequate views of their own wants, and are unable properly to ex press even what they may adequately feel. Their petitions for themselves are often, from these causes, defective, erring, and stammering. But never so those of their divine Intercessor pn their behalf. By him, their thoughts, affections, and desires, are fully appreciated, and their case repre sented with consummate skill. He knows, too, Him with whom he has to plead. Much of an advocate's skill must depend upon this, so as to be able to adapt his manner of pleading to the temper and disposition of the judge Our In tercessor is thoroughly acquainted with the cha racter of God. 'No one knoweth the Father but the Son.' He is thus qualified to adapt his appeals to features of the divine character corresponding to their nature. Are his people weak ] He goes, on their behalf, to God as the Lord of Hosts. Have they fallen into sin, and are in need of pardon ] He addresses God as a God of holiness. Does he plead the fulfilment of promises ] He makes his appeal to the righteousness of Jehovah. Nor is he less skilfully acquainted with the law according to which his intercessions are to be re gulated. And it is not, as is too often the case among men, by evading, pr ccncealing, or pervert- ' intercession. 373 ing, or explaining away the law, that this advocate exhibits his skill. No ; he admits its authority, vindicates its claims, and maintains inviolably the rectitude of all its sanctions. Nor does he ever at tempt to make it appear that those for whom he pleads have not violated its requirements, and ren dered themselves obnoxious to its punishments. But his ability is shown in skilfully pleading the fulness of his own merits, by which satisfaction has been given to the law, and every blessing secured in consistency with the claims of infinite equity. Such, in short, is his skill, that he asks whatever his people need, only what they need, what has actually been procured for them, and what it every way comports with the character and law of God to confer ; so that no cause can ever fail in his hands from want of knowledge or wisdom to con duct it. Moral purity characterizes the intercession of Christ. The necessity of this was set forth under the law, in the altar of incense being ofypure gold. Both the pleader and the plea must be holy. Christ intercedes not for sin, but for sinners. The tendency of all that he asks is to purify from all iniquity, and to. perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. No request of a contrary character could ever be presented to a holy and righteous God, or could ever possibly be granted. Nor could any thing of this kind ever comport with the character ofthe Advocate himself. He is no corrupt venal pleader. He is the righteous Lord that loveth righteousness. To this is the efficacy of his inter cession ascribed by the apostle : — ' He is able to 2 K 374 properties of save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.' Corruption in an advocate, if detected, is sufficient to blast his cause even at the bar of man. And the slightest taint of impurity in Christ would have disqualified him for conducting a successful advocacy on behalf of his people, at the bar of God. Corruption may be concealed from an earthly judge, but no degree of it could escape undetected by the omniscient Judge of all. The intercession of Christ is as pure and sinless as his sacrifice. Every thing about it is holy, — the matter in which it consists, the plea on which it rests, the place in which it is conducted, the per son by whom it is managed, and the judge before whom it is transacted. Truly may our Advocate with the Father be described as ' Jesus Christ the righteous.' Jesus Christ is a compassionate intercessor. The advocate who is to plead the cause of the wretched must not be hard-hearted and unfeeling ; he must be able to enter into their feelings and to make their case his own. Without this he can never expect to succeed ; but, thus qualified, it is scarcely possible for him to fail. His language, looks, tones, and whole manner, indeed, will acquire a more melting influence, in proportion to the depth ofthe compassion with which he is touched. So of Christ it is said, that it behoved him to be a ' merciful,' as well as a ' faithful,' high priest ; and, had he not been merciful, he could not have INTERCESSION. 375 been faithful. But ' in him compassions flow ;' the compassions, not of divinity merely, but of humanity ; of a humanity, too, the sensibilities of which were exquisitely fine, from its being unaf fected by the blunting influence of sin. And even the delicate sensibilities of his holy human nature were heightened by his personal experiences. He who pleads the cause of those in whose miseries himself once shared, must be admirably fitted to do it with effect. 'We have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our in firmities ; but who was, in all respects, tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' He tasted of all the sorrows of human life. Of the severest afflic tions, the bitterest temptations, the most pungent. sorrows, the most awful privations, he had full and frequent trial. He was, not only cast into the same mould as his people with respect to na ture, but into the same furnace with respect to affliction. And, although he had no knowledge of the evil of sin from personal feeling, well he knew its weight and its bitterness from having had its guilt imputed and its punishment exacted of him. Nor let any one object, that, although this might be the case while Christ was on earth, it cannot be expected to continue now that he is in heaven. His exaltation to glory has wrought no change on his nature or his affections. He is the same in heaven that he was upon earth. He is still possessed of human nature — God-man — Emmanuel, God with us. And it is not more cer tain that, in his exalted state, human blood flows in his veins, than that human sympathies glow in 376 PROPERTIES OF his breast. He feels more for the objects of his intercession than man or angel can do, nay, than they can even do for themselves. The pity of Christians for themselves can never equal the pity with which they are regarded by their Saviour ; for theirs is the pity of a corrupted nature, his of uncontaminated humanity ; theirs the pity of mere human nature, his of human nature indissolubly linked with all the tender mercies of Deity. Much importance attaches to the promptitude of an intercessor. The value of a bestowment often depends on the time of its being conferred. Allow the crisis to pass, and the gift loses its va lue. A successful advocate must seize the ear liest opportunity for taking up and introducing the cause of his client. This is a property of our Loid's intercession. He is ready to receive the applications, and to present the cases of his peo ple. He is never absent from his place ; they know always where he is to be found ; he is ever at the right hand of God, waiting to undertake what they may commit to his charge. Nor, after it is committed, does it run any risk of being lost through neglect. No ; as he is of 'quick under standing' to perceive, so is he of prompt activity lo prosecute, whatever he undertakes. The atti tude in which he was beheld by the proto-martyr, in his remarkable vision, indicates at once readi ness to undertake and activity to prosecute what ever is committed to him. He was seen standing : ' He looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw- the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right INTERCESSION. 377 hand of God.'* With what promptitude, for ex ample, does he interpose in behalf of the church, when, in the dispensations of providence, a fit time for the restoration of Jerusalem presents it self: — 'O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Ju dah, against which thou hast had indignatipn these threescere and ten years ]' This gives the people of God encouragement to go with boldness to the throne of grace, that they may obtain mer cy, and find grace to help in the time of need. Their times of need are well known to the Advocate with the Father, and not one of them will he suf fer to pass unnoticed, or unimproved. Christians may themselves overlook the fit time for making application to God, but not so their glorious inter cessor. They may rely on him with perfect confi dence, that when they sin, he will pleadfor pardon ; when they are accused, he will vindicate their cha racter; when they are afflicted, he will procure them succour ; when they are tempted, he will pray for them that their faith fail not ; and when they perform with diligence their duties, he will give them acceptance with the Father. We would not have them to expect that he will procure them cpmforts unless they make application for them, for, in that case, they could neither be relished nor felt ; but when they do make earnest and be lieving application, they will find that the bless ings are already procured, and ready to be put into their hands. If they but open their mouths wide, he will see to it that they are filled abundantly, * Acts vii. 55, 2 K % 378 PROPERTIES OF He can solicit blessings from the Father, and be stow them on his disciples, at the same time. While he presents the golden censer at the altar of burnt -incense on high, he can extend the scep tre of mercy to the humble suppliant below. The work of intercession can occasion no delay in the communication of needed benefits ; for to plead their bestowment, and actually to bestow them, are the work ofthe same moment. The preceding remarks prepare us to hear of the earnestness of Christ's intercession. His skill, com passion, and promptitude, all suppose this. This is an essential property in successful pleading, whether for ourselves or for others. It is more apt, certainly, to occur in the former case than in the latter ; many, who exhibit all the warmth of animation in petitioning for themselves, being cold enough in presenting requests for others. But it is not so in the present instance. Nothing can exceed the fervour of our Saviour's intercession. The earnestness he displayed in laying the foun dation of our salvation in his sufferings on earth, when he was straitened till his bloody baptism should be accomplished, and used strong crying and tears, may be taken as a pledge that he will not be less earnest in carrying out his benevolent undertaking to its completion in heaven. The specimen of intercession which he gave before he left our world, so full of holy ardour and vehe mence, may serve to give us some idea of the warmth with which the same work is conducted in the sanctuary above. The affection, too, which he bears to his people, cannot but give a peculiar INTERCESSION. 379 eagerness to his supplications on their behalf. He bears them upon his heart, as the names of the children of Israel were engraven on the breastplate worn by the high priest of old when he went into the holy of holies ; and the burning coals of fire with which the incense-censer was filled, were an apt, though faint representation, of the holy ardour with which the love ofthe Redeemer glows when he ministers as our intercessor before the throne of God. He is no cold selfish pleader; his soul is in the work; his prayers are the prayers of the heart ; love prompts all his requests, selects the best arguments, and urges the strongest pleas. ' Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me 1 saith the Lord.' Yes, Christians, your prayers for yourselves are nothing like so fervent as those of the Redeemer for you. Oh how shamefully cold, and languid, and lifeless, and formal, in many cases, are your petitions ! How often do you use words without feeling, and put forth a frothy vehemence of language when there is no corresponding ardency within ! Every saint must have something of this kind with which to accuse himself; but no such charge can be brought against Christ. His intercessions ever exceed in ardency, our warmest addresses, our most vehe ment appeals. We can never be said to plead with all our heart ; he never pleads in any other way. The authoritative character of our Lord's inter cession should not be overlooked. It is not enough that an advocate be a person of skill, integrity, compassion, and zeal ; he must also be authorized ; 380 PROPERTIES OF he must bear a commission ; he must be regularly licensed to practise at the bar. There must be a legal, as well as an intellectual and moral, quali fication. This, in the case of Christ, is undoubt ed. He does not assume of himself the office of intercessor, nor does he derive his commission from his people, but from God. ' / will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me : saith the Lord.' His intercession is a part of his sacer dotal functions ; and we know ' Christ glorified not himself tp be made an high priest, but He that said unto him, Thou art my son, to-day have I begotten thee.' His general suretyship implies such a special commission ; for it supposes a right to see all the stipulations of the covenant fulfilled, all the debts of the covenant childien discharged, and payment made of every purchased benefit" The very manner in which he conducts his inter cession carries in it thus much. He sues for the new coyenant blessings, more as a matter of right than of favour; he demands rather than petitions; he claims rather than begs. There is a tone about his requests — ' Father, 1 will ' — that bespeaks the authority under which he acts. They savour of the throne not less than of the altar. He is a Priest upon his Thrpne. Betwixt the intercession of Christ and advocacy among men, there are, as we have seen, many points of resemblance, but, in other respects, it is altogether peculiar. It possesses a character of utter exclusiveness ; neither man nor angel must invade it ; so absolute is it, indeed, as to exclude even the other persons of the godhead. This pe- INTERCESSION. 381 culiarity was set forth in the type. No man, not even the king himself, might intrude into the functions of the priesthood in general ; nor was any one but the high priest permitted to carry in cense, on the day of expiation, into the holy of holies. There is none else in heaven or in earth, . either qualified, or authorized, or required, to make intercession. ' No one cometh unto the Father but by him.' ' Through him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father.' ' There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' The saints may, indeed, lawfully inter cede for one another, but in a*way very different from Christ. They intercede on earth, he in hea ven ; he on the footing of his own merit, they al together denied to every thing like personal worth as the ground on which they trust for being heard. Angels may not intrude on this high and peculiar function of the Lord of angels. They are often said to praise, but never, that we are aware of, to pray. Nor can they have any personal disposable merit to form the foundation of vicarious interces sions. To represent either angels or men as joint intercessors with Christ, as is done by the church of Rome, is to be guilty of a daring invasion of a high and exclusive prerogative of the one Media tor. To the entrance into the holy place not made with hands, in the sense in which we are now speaking of it, the language of the prophet may be fitly accommodated : — ' This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Is rael, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be 382 properties of shut. It is for the Prince.'* Yes, Messiah the Prince, the Prince of peace, claims the work of intercession as his peculiar prerogative. It is a prerogative, indeed, which he claims as his to the exclusion, as we have said, even of the other per sons of the godhead. The Father, as the repre sentative of Deity, sustaining the character of the , judicial sovereign with whom the intercession must be transacted, cannot be supposed to act in the capacity of intercessor. We read, indeed, of the Spirit's intercession — ' The Spirit maketh in tercession for the saints according to the will of God,' — but it is essentially different from that of Christ. We cannot, at present, enter minutely into all the distinctions between them. That of Christ is personal ; that of the Spirit moral. The Spirit does not stand up, as does Christ, before God in the court of heaven, and literally plead the cause of men. Such a supposition, besides implying a reflection on the perfection of Christ's work, is at variance with the exclusive divinity of the Spirit, he having no human nature as Christ has in which he can appropriately appear in the capacity of a pleader. The Spirit's intercession consists in the moral influence he exerts on the souls of the people of God, in leading them out to pray fpr themselves, by discovering to them the matter of prayer ; by imparting a disposition or inclination to pray ; by fixing the mind on the subject of prayer ; by giving enlargement, free dom, and confidence in the exercise ; and by di recting them in the use of proper arguments. * Ezek. xliv. 2, 3. INTERCESSION. 383 From this it will plainly enough appear, in what the intercession of Christ and that of the Holy Spirit differ from one another. They differ in their nature, the one being meritorious and the other moral ; in their objects, that of the one being to remove the obstacles to man's salvation that exist on the part of God, that of the other to remove those which exist on the part of man; in their locality, the one being in heaven, the other on earth ; in the relation which they bear to their sub jects, the one being without men, the other with in ; and in their effects, the one enabling to pray, the other rendering prayer acceptable to God. It thus appears that the intercession of the Spirit interferes in no point whatever with that of Christ, but leaves it in all its naked peculiarity or exclu- siveness. The prevalence or efficacy of Christ's interces sion is a feature on which we might descant at great length. It is an inviting theme, so full is it of comfort and encouragement. It often hap pens, among men, that the most urgent petitions, the most touching appeals on behalf of the oppress ed, the wretched, and the needy, are permitted to remain disregarded and- unheard. But not one request of our divine Advocate can possibly share this fate. Him the Father heareth always. This view admits of ample confirmation and illustra tion. It was typified, indeed, under the law, by the success which attended the entrance of the high priest into the holy of holies on the day of expiation ; for, had he not been accepted, the fire would have been extinguished on the golden altar, 384 PROPERTIES OF the censer of incense would have dropped from, his hand, and he would never have been permitted to return to bless the people. In the twenty-first Psalm, which, from the lofty terms in which it is conceived, must have a higher reference than to the literal David, we read, ' Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the re quest of his lips.'* Nor did Christ ever, while on earth, intercede in vain. ' Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me,' is his own testimony on one particular occasion, to which he subjoins the general affirmation, ' And I knew that thou hear est me always.'f The apostle assures us, that 'when in the days of his flesh he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, he was heard in that he feared. '] One re quest only was he ever denied, ' Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me.' But this was no part of his intercession : it was the natural shrinking of his holy human nature from the aw ful scene that was before him ; and, instead of militating against our position, it gives it support, inasmuch as his drinking the bitter cup of mingled woe, which could not possibly pass from him, laid a meritorious foundation "for the success of his ad vocacy. If that one prayer had been heard on his own behalf, not another could have been heard on ours. When the character of the intercessor is considered, there can be no reason to dread his ever being unheard. The dignity of his person must give weight and influence to his petitions ; * Ps. xxi. 2. t John xi. 41, 42. J Heb. r. 7. INTERCESSION. 385 the relation in which he stands to God as a Son, cannot but have its effect ; nor are his personal and official qualifications here to be forgotten. That one who is infinitely wise, and holy, and compassionate ; whose diligence, and zeal, and affection are boundless ; who acts moreover under the high authority of a divine commission, should fail in his suit is utterly impossible. Were he man only, or even angel, failure were not impossible-; but being the Son of God, Jehovah's fellow, it must be that as a Prince he has power with God and shall prevail. The foundation on which his intercession rests affords farther security. It pro ceeds on the footing of his atonement. He asks nothing for which he has not paid the full price of his precious blood. What he seeks is what he has merited ; and he who has ' accepted his sacri fice' cannot but ' grant him his heart's desire,' cannot ' withhold from him the request of his lips.' Nor is there in the matter of his intercession, as before delineated, any thing but what is good in itself, agreeable to the will of God, and fitted to advance the glories of the godhead. The objects, too, for whom he pleads, are all the chosen of God, the children, the friends of Him with whom he pleads, dear to his heart as to his own, alike the objects of his complacent affection and esteem, *¦ The Father himself loveth them.' Add to all these considerations, the security arising from the results of Christ's intercession that have been al ready realised. How many souls have been con-: verted, how many sins pardoned, how many temp tations repelled, how many acts of holy obedience 2l PROPERTIES OF performed and accepted, how many sons brought to full and eternal glory, in all of which the effi cacy of Christ's intercession has been proved by the best of all evidence — its actual effects ! So abundant, thus, is the evidence of its prevalence, that the timid can have no reason for distrust, the unbeliever no excuse for neglect. It only remains to observe the constancy of Christ's intercession. He is continually employed in this work. His oblation was the work of com paratively a short period, but his intercession never ceases. Human benevolence may become languid, may intermit for a time, or may finally die away altogether. But not so the benevolence which prompts the petitions of our Advocate. He can never become languid from ignorance of his people's wants, for he is omniscient ; nor from want of affection, for his love is abiding ; nor ftom want of merit, for his sacrifice is of unfailing vir tue ; nor from fatigue, for he is the almighty and immutable God. Nothing can ever occasion a suspension. A moment's intermission would prove fatal to the eternal interests of all the elect. But, while attending to the case of one, he has no need to suspend attention to that of another. In numerable as are his applicants, he attends to the wants of each as if there were not another that needed his care. Multiplicity cannot bewilder, variety cannot divide, importance cannot oppress his thoughts. To him the care of millions is no burden. Ten thousand claims meet with the same attention as if there were but one. His un- d Handing, his love, his merit, his power, are all INTERCESSION. 387 infinite ; and we must beware of measuring him by the low standard of our own limited capacities. Nor can his intercession ever come to an end. There will be need for it for ever. So long as his people sin, he will plead for pardon ; so long as they are tempted, he will procure them strength to resist ; so long as they continue to perform ser vices, he will continue to give them acceptance ; so long as they are in the wilderness, he will pro cure them guidance and safety ; nay, so long as the blessings of Heaven are enjoyed, will he plead his merits as the ground on which they are be stowed. Through eternity will he continue to plead on behalf of his people. Never shall they cease to be the objects of his care ; never shall their names be erased from his breast ; never shalt their cause be taken from his lips : never shall the odour-breathing censer drop from his hand ; nor shall his blessed merits ever cease to rise up iri a cloud of fragrant incense before the Lord. He EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM. SECTION V. - results of Christ's intercession. The intercession of Christ affords a bright dis play of the love of God. In appointing for men an advocate at all, and especially such an advo cate, this feature of the divine character, so con spicuous in every other part of redemption, is strik- 388 RESULTS OF ingly developed. Without this appointment the purchased salvation could never have been en joyed ; man could never have successfully pled his own cause ; and the evils to which he is con stantly exposed, must inevitably have wrought his ruin. His services could never have been accept ed ; temptations must have placed him in daily jeopardy ; and his sins should have brought him, without fail, under condemnation. Without it, even the people of God could never reach final sal vation ; not a prayer which they might offer could be heard ; not a service they might perform could be accepted ; not an assault of satan eould they repel ; and the very first sin, however small, that they should commit, would sink them to perdition. How, then, is the love of God displayed in provid ing for men an advocate to plead their cause, and to secure them against such fatal consequences ! And, then, such an advocate; not a man like ourselves, not an angel of light, not a seraph of glory, but his Son, his own Son, his only begotten, well-beloved Son, equal to himself in every divine perfection, the noblest personage in the universe. Herein is love ! Let us contemplate it with grate ful adoration, and dwell upon the delightful theme till our enraptured hearts reciprocate the emotion, till we can say, ' We love him because he so loved us.' How does the sabject illustrate, also, the love of the Son ! This is equally apparent, in his being pleased to identify himself, by becoming their ad vocate, with guilty, polluted, rebellious, worthless, wretched creatures of our fallen race. This he intercession. 389 was under no obligation to do ; it was; his own spontaneous act, flowing from the good pleasure of his will. And, when his personal dignity is considered, his love is enhanced by the condescen sion supposed ; for, although exalted far above all* principalities and powers, and having a name above every name,— though having all things under his feet, and receiving the homage of an gels, and regulating the affairs of the universe, he disdains not to espouse the cause of us mortal worms, and to become our suppliant with the Father. As love induced him tb undertake the work, so is it evinced in the promptitude, and earnestness, and diligence, and zeal, and ceaseless constancy, with which it is prosecuted, laying uff under obligations to regard with admiration, and to acknowledge with gratitude, such disinterested affection. The intercession supplies an argument of no mean force for the divinity of Christ. This doc trine, indeed, runs like a golden thread through the whole system of man's salvation, connecting itself with every part, and giving strength and consistency to the whole. It is no less necessary to the efficacy of his intercession than to the worth of his sacrifice* To know minutely all' the cases- of so many millions of people ; to listen to, and understand, such a multitude of simultaneous ap plications ; to represent them all with perfect skill, and in due order ; to give effect to all the pleas demanded by their endless variety, must require' qualifications nothing short of divine. No finite being could ever be fit for such an undertaking, 2 i 2 390 RESULTS OF What finite mind could understand the matter ! What finite power could sustain the load ! What finite worth could secure success ! An under taking this, sufficient to confound and crush to the dust the mightiest of creatures, nay, all created being combined. None but a divine person is qualified to be the intercessor of elect sinners. Such is our advocate with the Father. ' This is the true God, and eternal life.' : The intercession of Christ confirms the efficacy of his death. It all proceeds on the ground of his atonement. But for this a single petition could not have been presented on our behalf. The high priest's entering into the sanctuary with the cen ser pf incense supposed the expiatory sacrifice to have been previously offered, for he had to carry with him its blood. In like manner, our Lord's intercession supposes his sacrifice to have been previously offered and accepted, and every act of intercessory interposition establishes the efficacy of his meritorious death. If at any time our faith in the latter truth happen to be staggered, if we want confirmation of this fundamental verity, we have only to look on high, and contemplate the Angel standing at the altar, having a golden censer with much incense, and to behold the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascending up before God out of the Angel's hand. It gives perfect security to the people of God. Their present state is imperfect. The matter of Christ's intercession supposes this ; there would be no need for him to pray for pardon if there were INTERCESSION. 391 not guilt, or for sanctification if there were not corruption ; so that the sinless perfection, to which some presumptuously lay claim, is not more at variance with christian humility than with the work in which the Saviour is engaged. But against the despondency which this imperfection might otherwise occasion, the people of God have the security of final perfection, arising from the work of intercession. Their security springs not from any thing naturally indestructible in the principle ofthe new life of which they are possessed, nor from any want of criminality in the sins they com mit, nor from any thing less dangerous in the cir cumstances in which they are placed, but wholly from the intercession of Christ. Tlie principle of the new life may, in itself, be liable to decay, but Christ by his intercession will uphold it ; their sins may deserve condemnation, but he intercedes for pardon ; they may be openly exposed to dan ger, but his intercession interposes a shield of in fallible protection. Not a sin can they commit, for which his merits cannot secure forgiveness ; not an accusation can be charged Upon them which he has not skill to answer ; not a tempta tion can assail them which he has not power to repel ; not a service can they perform, however imperfect, to which he cannot give acceptance in the sight of God. Their final salvation is thus rendered absolutely secure, and in a spirit, not of haughty self-confidence, but of humble depen dence on the Advocate with the Father, may they bid defiance to all opposition, and calmly trust that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. 392 RESULTS OF The church is thus surrounded as with a wall of adamant, which no enemy can either penetrate or overthrow. Infidelity may open wide its mouth, and heresy may pour forth its polluted streams,. and persecution may light its fires, and immorality may spread, its thousand snares, and war and famine and pestilence may spread devastation all around, but not one, nor ail of these together, can prove a match for that angel-intercessor who cries with a loud voice, ' Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the ser vants of our God in their foreheads.' How ought the people of God to beware of dis honouring Christ's intercession. It has already been remarked what an abuse of this function takes place when encouragement is taken from it to indulge in sin. But it is also dishonoured by being neglected or overlooked. This we fear is no uncommon occurrence. There is a disposition in many to regard what Christ has done, to the neglect of what he is doing. Not that we would have men to think less of the former, but more of the latter. Surely the preceding pages have been read to little purpose, if they have not left the im pression on the mind that the present work of Christ in heaven is of no inferior moment. Much is said of it in the scriptures, not a little is made of it by the inspired writers. The purpose for which the Saviour lives in mediatorial glory can not be of small importance ; ' he ever liveth to make intercession ;' ' if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son* much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by INTERCESSION. 393 his life.* Let us then think highly, and think much, of the intercession as well as the death of Christ. Let us see, too, that we restrain not prayer before God. This would be to do what we can to nullify the Saviour's character as an advo cate, as, in this case, he could have no service to offer, no cause to undertake, no matter to perfume with the fragrance, of his merits. Such as would put honour on Christ's intercession must ' pray without ceasing.' Nor let any indulge unreason able despondency. The intercession of Christ ought to prove an antidote to every such feeling. Hear how the apostle reasons on the subject : — * He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.' To those who have right views of this truth, there can be no room for despair. Yet there are professing Christians who give themselves up to a morbid melancholy brood ing over their sins and short-comings; which could be warranted only on the supposition that there were no advocate with the Father, no intercessor within the vail, no days-man to plead their cause and secure their salvation. A view of the fact and properties of the Saviour's intercession should charm away all gloomy forebodings ; and chris tians, who feel as if cast out from God's sight, would we exhort to look again to that Holy Tem ple where pleads the Ministers of the upper sanc tuary, and to be no more sad. Let all seek an interest in, and daily improve, this view of the Saviour's character and work. Those who are duly sensible of their situation will be dis- 394 RESULTS, &c. posed, like the Israelites when they were bitten with the fiery serpents, to look around for some one to pray for them. To whom can they go with safety but to Christ 1 He alone can pray for the people. Let theni believe in his name, trust in his merits, and obey his commands,and they may lay their account with sharing in the benefits of his intercession. Daily they need, and they may daily have recourse to him, in this character. Oh tliat men would consider the misery of being with out an interest in this part of the Saviour's work ! To be without the prayers of our friends is deemed a calamity. To be denied the intercession of such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job, is justly represented in scripture as no light thing. ' Pray not thou for this people, neither lift a cry or a prayer for them,' is one of the heaviest judgments that can befall a backsliding nation. How dreadful beyond all conception, then, must it be to have no interest in the prayers of Christ ! But this is not all, for not to have his prayers for us is to have them against us. He prays for the destruction of his enemies. That blood which speaks so powerfully for the salvation of those who believe, cries loudly for ven geance on such as despise and abuse it. Let the unbelieving and ungodly ponder this, and tremble. And who can tell the happiness which an interest in tbe intercession of Christ is fitted to yield ! It is a doctrine full of comfort to saints, as of terror to sinners. It is calculated to fill the heart with joy, to know that, whatever may be their sinful weaknesses and infirmities, they shall not bring them into condemnation, — that, whatever be their CONCLUSION. 395 temptations, their faith shall not be permitted to fail, — that, whatever their backsliding, they shall not finally fall away, — that, however weak, and cold, and Confused, their devotions, they shall be rendered, nevertheless, a sweet-smelling savour to God. In sin and duty, in health and sickness, in prosperity and adversity, in life and death, the doctrine of Christ's intercession gives joy and com fort to the believer. Be it, then, the concern of all who read these pages, earnestly to seek such an interest in what the Saviour has done and fe still doing, that they may be able to assume as their own, the triumphant appeal of the apostle : — ' Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ] It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ]' ' Thus have we brought to a conclusion our in quiries into these deeply-interesting subjects. And we cannot part with our readers, without remind ing them of the necessity of making a personal application of the glorious truths which have oc cupied their attention, before turning their thoughts to any thing else. Let them not regard them as matters of curious speculation, or content them selves with a mere doctrinal belief. To their be ing rightly appreciated, and properly improved, they must become the subjects of a saving faith. No doctrines stand more closely connected with the eternal salvation of the soul. Let not the reader, then, rise from the perusal of these pages, without seriously and conscientiously asking him- 396 CONCLUSION. self these questions: — Am I interested in the atonement and intercession of Jesus Christ] Have I faith iu the sacrifice of the great High Priest ] Has my soul been sprinkled with his precious blood ] Does he plead in my behalf with the Fa ther ] Is my name engraven on his heart ] Have I any good reason to conclude, that he is even now praying that my sins may be forgiven, that my faith may not fail in the hour of temptation, and that I may be kept from the evil which is in the world ] Were I called, at this moment, to recline my head on the pillow of death, could I indulge the comforting assurance that the advo cate within the vail, whom the Father heareth always, would present on my behalf the request, ' Father, I will that he whom thou hast given me b ewith me where I am,' and that, in answer to .this prayer, my disembodied spirit should be ush ered, in perfect holiness, into the immediate and unclouded presence of my covenant God, and into all the glories of the heavenly kingdom ] These are solemn questions. Let no one neglect to put them to himself, or hesitate to press them, till, if no favourable answer can be candidly returned, at least such convictions have been awakened, as no occupation can dissipate, no exercise allay but a believing appropriation of the blood and advo cacy of the great High Priest of our profession. May the Spirit of all grace, whose prerogative it is to take the things of Christ and show them unto men, be pleased to grant, that the perusal of these sheets may thus prove the means of salvation to many ; and to the only wise God, our Saviour, be all the glory. Amen ! INDEX. Abel's sacrifice, 97. Absurdity of supposing Christ's atonement to be indefinite, 255. Acceptance of sacrifices, a proof of their divine origin, 95. ' All men,' passages in which the phrase occurs explained, 288. Ancient sacrifices, 79. Vicarious nature, 84. Use and design, 107. Antiquity of sacrificing, 79. Apostolical writings, proof of atonement from, 172. Apphcation of atonement limited, 240. Appointment of God, an element in the value of Christ's atonement, 231. Atonement, doctrine defined,' 5. Term explained, 7. Objections to, considered, 15. Necessity of, shown, 52. Proof of reality, 78. Matter, 189. Value, 204. Extent, 236. Results, 304. Cain, expostulation of God with, 100. Causation, law of, observed in man's salvation, 204. Christ, legaUy though not personally guilty, 37. Suffered volunta rily, 39, 226. His divine dignity, 208. His innocence, 218. Ori ginally under no law, 222. Coats of skin used by our first parents, 81. Creation, how connected with atonement, 323. Curse, in what sense Christ made a, 178. Death of Christ voluntary, 227. Definite atonement explained, 237. Divinity of Christ, essential to value of atonement, 208. Efficacy of Christ's death, proved by his intercession, 390. Elect, only for such Christ makes intercession, 351. Example, not sufficient to account for the sufferings of Christ, 169. Expiation, term explained, 12. Extent of Christ's atonement explained, 237. Proved to be definite, 241. ' For,' the preposition, in what sense used in connexion with the work of Christ, 180. Forbearance of God connected with the atonement, 311. 2 M 398 INDEX. God not changed by atonement, 20. His perfections, 54. His cha racter illustrated. 304. Goodness of Gpd, 59. Good works, not sufficient to obtain pardon, 71. Guilt, in what sense it belonged to Christ, 37. Heathen sacrifices vicarious, 86. Hebrews, importance of epistle to, 145. •Himself,' import of Christ's sacrifice being said to be, 209. HoUness of God, 55. Holiness of Christ, 218. Holiness of his life, 219. Holiness of his nature, 221. Honour of Christ, not impunged by his atonement being definite, 265. Intercession not incompatible with, 339. Humanity of Christ, necessary to the worth of his atonement, 216. Its perfect purity, 218. Inefficacy, of every expedient but atonement to procure pardon of- sin, 66. Of repentbnce, 66. Of good works, 71. Infinite intrinsic worth of Christ's death, 238. Innocent suffering for the guilty, no valid objection to Christ's atone ment, 33. Intercession of Christ, 333. Correlate of atonement, 333. Reality, 333. Term explained, 341. Wherein consists, 342. How per formed, 347. For whom made, 351. For what, 356. Its pro perties, 388. Judgment, final, affected by atonement, 329. Justice of God, 56. Justice and mercy consistent, 19. Law of God, renders atonement necessary to pardon, 60. Cannot be relaxed, 61. Levitical institutes ought to be studied, 144. Levitical sacrifices, 114. Many of them propitiatory, 118. Not sufficient to take away sin, 121. Prefigurative of Christ, 126. Erroneous views taken of their design, 137. Love of God, not caused by atonement, 17. Displayed in Christ's intercession, 405. Matter, of Christ's atonement, 189. Ofhis intercession, 351. Middle system described, 3. Miraculous conception of Christ, a proof of tlie spotlessness o! his human nature, 222. INDEX. 399 Moral government of God, renders atonement necessary to pardon, 60. Vindicated and established by the atonement, 198. Nature of Christ's intercession, 341. Necessity, in what sense affirmed of atonement, 52. Noah's sacrifice vicarious, 88. Objections, to atonement considered, 15. To divine origin of sacri fice answered, 103. Origin of primitive sacrifice, 89. Not human, 90. Divine, 90. Pardon, strictly gracious notwithstanding the atonement, 27. In cluded in matter of Christ's intercession, 358. Paschal lamb, a proper sacrifice, 133. Passover, prefigurative of Christ, 133. Patriarchal sacrifices, vicarious, 86. Perfections of God prove necessity of atonement, 54. Illustrated by the atonement, 304. PossibiUty of those perishing for whom Christ diedj passages which seem to imply, explained, 281. Propitiation, term explained, 9. Passages in which applied to work of Christ, 174. Prophecy, proof of atonement from, 146. Providence, affected by atonement, 323. Punitive character of Christ's sufferings, 153. Ransom, work of Christ so called, 175. Reconciliation, term explained, 8. In what sense affirmed of God, 21. Work of Christ so called, 172. Rectitude of the divine character, an argument for atonement being definite, 244. Redemption, term explained, 8. Work of Christ so called, 175. Redundancy, supposed in the merits of Christ's death, an objection to atonement being definite, 267. Repentance, insufficient to procure pardon of sin, 66. Results, of Christ's atonement, 304. Sacrifice, in what sense God said not to desire, 105. Work of Christ so called, 179. Sacrifices, of great antiquity. 79. Universal prevalence, 82. Hea then, 85. Levitical, 114. Erroneous views respecting the design ofthe legal sacrifices, 137. Why the services of believers called sacrifices, 180. Cessation at death of Christ, 136. Salvation, imperfect views taken of by enemies of atonement, 48. Complete, secured by Christ's atonement, 312. 400 INDEX. Satan, his accusations and temptations included in the matter of Christ's intercession, 360. Satisfaction, term explained, 10. Scape-goat, ceremony of, 120, 155. Security of the people of God springs from the intercession of Christ 390. Services of God's people rendered acceptable by the intercession of Christ, 367. Silence of scripture, improperly adduced against divine origin of sacrifice, 103. Sin, inadequate views of, taken by the enemies of atonement, 47 In what sense Christ made sin, 178. Exceeding evil of sin shown by atonement, 310. Socinian system described, 2. Subjection to the law, different kinds of, 191. Substitution, term explained, 11. Passages in which language of, applied to Christ's work, 180. Sufferings of Christ, an argument for atonement, 160. Punitive character of, 153. Substitutionary, 156. Their continuance, 161. . Their variety, 161. Not explained on the principle of retributive justice, 164 ; nor of discipUne, 165 ; nor of being confirmatory of his doctrine, 165 ; nor of example, 169. Sufferings of his soul, 197. Not the same as those of lost spirits, 201. Terms explained, 7. Truth of God, 55. Universe of moral creatures,interested in the atonement by Christ,330. Universality of sacrifices, S2. Universal offer ofthe gospel, 270. Universal terms employed in speaking of the subjects of Christ's atonement, explained, 277.' Unipue character of Christ's atonement, 44. Use and design, of ancient sacrifices to prefigure Christ, 106. Of Levitical sacrifices, 126. Value of Christ's atonement, 204. From what it does not proceed, 207. From what it does, 208. Vicarious, what the word means, 12. ' World,' ' whole world,' &c, passages in which these terms occur explained, 283. Worth of Christ's sacrifice, divine, 209.