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he might be capable of suffering pain, and anguish, and death it self, in the room and stead of sinful men. It was because the children, who were given to Christ, were partakers of flesh and blood, therefore he himself also took part of the same, Heb. ii. 13, 14. that through death he might redeem them, that by his own dying he might make an atonement for their sins. Heb. x. 5. Sacrifice and offering of beasts thou wouldst not accept as equivalent for the sins of men; but a body hast thou prepared me, saith our Lord, that men might be redeemed by the offering of the body of Christ, once for all.

It was in the prospect of the Son of God becoming man, by taking flesh and blood upon him, that God spoke thus to David: “I have exalted one chosen out of the people," that is, out of mankind; “I have laid help upon one that is mighty." And when he was found in fashion as a man, God laid on him the iniquities of us all by imputation, even as the sins and iniquities and trespasses of the children of Israel were laid on the head of the goat of old, by the confession and hand of Aaron. Lev. xvi. 21.

When the guilt was transferred to him, as far as it was possible for the Son of God to bear it, he then became liable to punishment; and, indeed, that appears to me to be the truest and justest idea of transferred or imputed guilt; viz. when a surety is accepted, to suffer in the room of the offender, then pain or penalty is due to him by consent. And as this is the true original and foundation of expiatory sacrifices, as I have shown before, so this seems to be the particular manner wherein scripture teaches us this doctrine. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. v. 21. His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. 1 Pet. ii. 24. The chastisement or punishment of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. Isa. liii. 5. And in many other places of scripture we read the same sort of language. This doctrine is supported with great strength by the most learned and pious Dr. Owen, in his short Treatise of the Satisfaction of Christ.

That when they see

Law can discover sin, but not remove,

Dr. Watts,

Save by those shadowy expiations weak,
(The blood of bulls and goats,) they may conclude
Some blood more precious must be paid for man.

MILTON.

The same expression is used with reference to a covenant, and signifies the abolition of the contract, which was done by cancelling the deed, expunging the articles of stipulation, or reducing them to one entire blot. By the covenant of works, all mankind became obnoxious to condemnation, were bound over to death. By the grace of Christ, our obligation to punishment is disannulled, and the hand-writing of condemnation is blotted out. Should you ask, How is this effected? By paying a ransom and offering a sacrifice. Should you further inquire, of what this ransom and sacrifice consisted? Of nothing less than the precious blood, (Heb. ix. 12.) the inestimable life, (Mark x. 45.) the divinely-magnificent person of Christ. (Heb. ix. 14.)

These, then, are the capital ideas included in the original word, a covering, by way of defence; a covering, by way of concealment ; and a blotting, in order to cancel.

As the brain, the source of sensation, sends out various detachments of nerves to animate and actuate all the parts of the vital system; so, the capital idea, the idea of atonement, branches itself into a variety of subordinate, yet similar significations, which run through the whole economy of the Gospel, to enliven and quicken the spirit of a believer. Let me instance in a few particulars. This richly-significant word denotes the exercise of divine mercy, (Deut. xxxii. 43.) the pardon of sin, (Deut xxxi. 8. 2 Chron. xxx. 18.) a cleansing from guilt, (Num. xxxv, 33.) purging from transgression, (Ps. lxv. 3.) reconciliation for iniquity, (Dan. ix. 24.) the pacifying of wrath, (Ezek. xvi. 63.) Do not these passages (each expressed by some branch of the verb, which conveys to us the idea of atoning) plainly intimate, that the atonement of Christ is the meritorious cause of these desirable effects, is the foundation of every act of divine goodness, and of every blessing vouchsafed to sinners ?

Hervey.

The satisfaction of Christ is the foundation of pardon. This sa

tisfaction lies in the expiatory sacrifice offered by Christ upon the cross; hence expiation, or atonement, is joined with pardon in Scripture. The priest was to make atonement, that the sin might be forgiven. An expiatory sacrifice led the way to forgiveness under the law; and so it does now under the Gospel. Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. If you have not the blood of Christ in your eye, when you go to God for pardon, never think to speed. Elisha Cole.

Moses saw two Hebrews striving together, and endeavoured to set them at one again. Had he succeeded, he would have produced a one-ment; he would have made them at-one-ment: in plain English, he would have made them friends again. Now this was effected between a justly-offended God and sinful men by the death of Jesus Christ: and thus God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,

Robinson. Sir, I obey your orders cheerfully; it is a favourite subject, and concerns me much. If Jesus Christ is not truly God, he cannot save me; no atonement can be made by his death. Neither need he come from heaven, merely as a prophet to instruct me. He might have taught me just the same things by the mouth of Paul or Peter, as by his own mouth; and they might have confirmed their truth by their death, as well as himself; but they could make no atonement ou a cross for sin; none but a real God-man can do this.

Berridge.

The opinion, that the Deity might be appeased by expiatory sacrifices has been very widely diffused among the human race; and the attempt has generally been made by shedding the blood and burning a part of the body of some useful animal. This notion and practice seems very remote from the dictates of our natural reason: and it is extremely improbable that it should have been the result of man's invention. We may therefore most rationally conclude that it was purely the doctrine of revelation, and the ap pointment of God, handed down by tradition from the progenitors of our race, to the several branches of their posterity; and it is cer

tain that we meet with it in the Bible immediately after the entrance of sin, when Cain's oblation of the first fruits of the earth was rejected, and Abel's sacrifice of the firstlings of the flock was accepted: we may naturally conclude that the latter was presented according to divine appointment, and the former was not. But if we inquire into the reason of this appointment, the practice of the patriarchs, &c. and the multiplied precepts in the Mosaic law, as to this particular, we shall not easily arrive at any satisfactory solution, except we admit the doctrine of Christ's atonement, and suppose them to refer to him, as the substance of all these shadows.

The rules and general usages respecting the expiatory sacrifices under the Old Testament, may assist us in understanding the nature of our Lord's atonement, of which they were types and prefigurations. The offender, whose crimes might be thus expiated, was required, according to the nature of the case, to bring his offering of the flock or of the herd," to the door of the tabernacle." The very nature of the animals appointed for sacrifice was significant: not the ferocious, the noxious, the subtle, or the unclean; but such as were gentle, docile, and valuable; and none of these were to be offerred, but such as were " without blemish," or perfect in their kind. The offender was directed to bring an offering in which he had a property, to be presented unto God, and thus substituted in his stead, for this particular purpose. He was then " to lay his hands upon the head" of the sacrifice, which denoted the translation of guilt from him, by the imputation to the substituted animal. This is generally thought to have been attended by a confession of his sins, prayers for pardon, through the acceptance of his oblation. And doubtless, it implied as much, and would be attended at least with secret devotions to that effect, by every pious Israelite Levit. i. 5.

and

The priests were next employed "to shed the blood of the sacrifice," which being the life of every animal, was reserved to make atonement, and was therefore not allowed to be eaten, under the Old. Testament dispensation, Lev. xvii. 11. Afterwards the body, or part of it, as the fat, &c. was burned upon the altar with the fire which came immediately from heaven, both at the opening of the taber

nacle worship, and afterwards at the consecration of Solomon's temple. Lev. ix. 24. 2 Chron. vii. 1-3. Now, who can help perceiving that this fire represented the avenging justice of God, (who is a consuming fire) and that when it consumed the harmless, unblemished sacrifice, while the guilty offerer escaped, is aptly prefigured the way of a sinner's salvation, through the expiatory sufferings of the spotless Lamb of God. The animal's violent death, by the shedding of its blood, denoted the offender's desert of temporal death; and the subsequent burning of its fat, or flesh, shewed him to be exposed to future vengeance; but then they represented the guilt and punishment, in both respects, as translated from him to the sacrifice, which bore them in his stead; and the whole ceremony, which concluded with the sprinkling of the blood, aud in many cases its application to all those things that pertained to the worship of God, evidently typified the believer's deliverance from guilt and punishment, from the sting and dread of death, and finally from death itself; from sin and all its consequences; the acceptance his person and services; and his participation of eternal life and felicity, through" Him who loved him, and washed him from his sins in his own blood."

of

Scott.

Throughout the Mosaic economy, the doctrine of an atonement was set forth in lively colours by the bleeding victims on the Jewish altar. Prophets spoke of it in the most unequivocal terms, and apostles asserted it as the fundamental article of Christianity: yea, the exclamation of John, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," was but the echo of what patriarchs, priests, and prophets had proclained ages before.

A very distant view of the perfections of Deity, connected with a little acquaintance with human depravity, will constrain the man, whose eyes are not blinded by the god of this world, to receive the sentiment of the apostle, " that without shedding of blood there is no remission ;" and this solemn truth admitted, will render the atonement of Christ an essential doctrine..

The victim which infinite wisdom appointed was no other than the co-equal Son of God; and because Deity could not suffer, a body was prepared for him, that perfect humanity might bleed in

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