divine juftice, and he himself is God, how could he die and make fatisfaction to himself?

Anf. 1. God cannot be faid properly to fatisfy himself; for that would be the fame thing as to pardon fin fimply, without any fatisfaction.

2. There is a twofold confideration of Christ, one in refpect of his divine nature or effence, in which fense he is both the object against which the offence is committed, and to whom for it the fatisfaction is made: and there is another confideration of Chrift in refpect of his perfon, and economy or office; in which fenfe he properly fatisfied God, feeing he was in respect of his manhood another and inferior to God. So he fays, John xiv. 28. My Father is greater than I. The blood of the man Chrift Jefus is the matter of the fatisfaction; the divine nature dignifies it, and makes it of infinite value.

3. It is not inconfiftent with reason, that the Son of God clothed in our nature fhould by his death make fatisfaction to the Deity, and confequently to himself. For in the according of two different parties, a perfon that belongs to one of them may interpofe for reconciliation, provided that he divefts his own intereft, and leaves it with the party from which he comes, As for inftance, Let us fuppofe two perfons, a father and a fon, both poffeffed of the fupreme power, and offended by rebellious fubjects. It is not inconfiftent, that the fon interpofe as a mediator to restore them to the favour of the prince his father. And by this he alfo reconciles them to himself, and procures pardon for that offence, by which his own majefty was lefed. Now, this is a fit illuftration of the great work of our redemption, fo far as human things can reprefent divine. For all the perfons of the holy Trinity were equally provoked by our fin; and to obtain our pardon, the Son, with confent of the Father, deposits his interefts in his hands, and as a Mediator intervenes between us and his Father, who in this tranfaction is confidered as the guardian of the rights of heaven; and

having performed what divine juftice required, he reconciled the world to God, i. e. to the Father, himself, and the eternal Spirit. In this cafe his person is the fame, but his quality is different. He made fatisfaction as a Mediator, and received it as God, which is no way inconsistent.

Queft. Seeing Chrift really fuffered for the fins of his people, whether did he suffer the fame punishment that they deserved, and which the law threatened, or only fomething equivalent to it? It would feem that Chrift did not fuffer the fame thing that the law threatened, and which we juftly deferved for fin; for then he muft have fuffered eternal death. It was not only the firft, but the second death that the law threatened. Therefore Chrift's temporal death did not fatisfy the law and justice of God for us.

There are very learned and pious writers on both fides of this question. Yet I humbly think, that, without any inconvenience, both may be affirmed in different refpects. To clear this, you would know, that the punishment which Chrift endured in our stead, may be confidered either as to its fubftance or effence, or with respect to the accidental circumstances which attend it, when inflicted on the damned. Now, if we confider it as to fubftance or effence, it was the very fame which the finner fhould have undergone. Man by his fall was liable to death, and to the curfe and wrath of God, and Chrift hath borne this in the elect's room. But if we confider it with respect to the accidental circumftances which attend it when it is inflicted on the damned, then it was not the very fame, but a punishment equivalent to it. The accidental circumftances of this punishment as inflicted on the damned, are, blafphemy, rage, and an impotent fiercenefs of mind, which are not appointed by the law, but are only accidentals, ariling from the wickednefs and perverfenefs of their fpirits. Now, our bleffed Saviour was not, nor poffibly could be, liable to these. The great holiness and fanctity of his perfon

reihin against all these. Befides, the hes indicted upon the damned is eterwith final defpair, and the intoleguilty tiaging confcience- This is

ang warm that gnaws upon their vitals.

cemer having no real guilt, was cm of confcience; and his tempowere equivalent to the eternal punishumed, and fully fatisfactory to divine of the infinite dignity and excelto that he was not capable of de

ey appears, that Chrift offered him

isfy the juftice of God offended by der to confirm your faith in this imone of the fundamental doctrines of gton, let me again call your attention to particulars, which I fhall but barely

the neceffity of this fatisfaction. Withag of blood there is no remiffion.

The

, the nature of fin, and the fanction of sarily required it. And the event mafor it is not conceivable, how, if fin could A taken away with a bare word, the Lord have fetched a compafs by the blood of his own

der the truth of it. Chrift did really and the facrifice of himself, fatisfy the juftice of AAN. For he bare the punishment due to our ii. 5. He died for us, in our room and stead, o. 7. and not for our good only, which may For all the martyrs. Compare 1 Cor. i. 13. He Af us with his blood, and gave himself a ranfom ar fouls, and fo has taken away our fins in the ...thereof. His fufferings were the fufferings of a e perfon; and fo, though not infinite in durayet infinite in value. He was Lord of his own

3. Confider the perfection of it. He fatisfied completely for the fins of his people. His fatisfaction fully anfwered the demands of the juftice and law of God. This is plain from the excellency of the perfon fuffering, Col. i. 19.; this the apoftle teftifies, Heb. x. 14. forecited; and from the discharge he got in his refurrection, and exaltation to the Father's right hand. Whatever is left to his people to fuffer, it is not to fatisfy the juftice of God, but for their correction, that they may be made partakers of his holiness.

Having thus fhewed that one end for which Christ offered up himself a facrifice to God, was to fatisfy his juftice, I proceed,

SECONDLY, TO fhew that another end, as a native confequence of the other, was to reconcile elect finners unto God. Here I fhall,

1. Explain the nature of reconciliation.

2. Prove that reconciliation with God is the bleffed fruit and effect of Chrift's death.

3. Shew what influence the death of Chrift has on this.

First, As to the nature of reconciliation, feveral things are implied in it. As,

1. A former friendship and favour. God and man were once in good terms. There was a time wherein they met and lovingly converfed together. When Adam dropt from the fingers of his Creator, he was the friend and favourite of heaven. He had the law of God written on his heart, and a ftrong bent and inclination in his will to obey it. In that ftate there was no place for reconciliation: for then there was no breach between God and his creature.

2. It implies an enmity between God and man. Man fell from his primitive ftate of favour and friendship with heaven, and joined iffue with the devil, God's greatest enemy. Whereupon the Lord took the forfeiture of his poffeffion, turned him out of paradife, and hindered his re-entrance by a flaming fword. There is now a dreadful war betwixt earth and hea VOL. II.

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alfo actually perfected. The glory of all the divine at tributes appeared in him in its higheft luftre, 2 Cor. iv. 6. They all centered in him, and fhone forth in their greatest fplendor, not only in his incarnation, but alfo and chiefly in his facrifice. The mercy and juftice of God appear in combination here, and fet off one another's luftre. Mercy could not be glorified, unless juftice had been fatisfied; and juftice had not been evidently discovered, if the tokens of divine wrath had not been feen upon Chrift. Grace had never failed to us, but in the ftreams of the Mediator's blood. Without the fhedding of blood, fays the apostle, there is no remiffion. Divine juftice had not been fo fully known in the eternal groans and fhrieks of a world of guilty creatures, nor could fin have ap、 peared fo odious to the holiness of God by eternal fcars upon devils and men, as by a deluge of blood from the heart of this facrifice. Without the fufferings of Chrift the glory of the divine perfections had lain in the cabinet of the divine nature without the

difcovery of their full beams. And though they were active in the defigning of it, yet.they had not been declared to men or angels without the bringing' of Chrift to the altar. By the ftroke upon his foul all the glories of God flashed out to the view of the creature. All the divine perfections were glorified in the fufferings of Chrift; his mercy, juftice, power, and wifdom. Here the unfearchable depths of manifold wildom were unfolded. Such a wifdom of God fhined in the crofs, as the angels never beheld in his face upon his throne; wifdom to cure a defperate difeafe by the death of the physician; to turn the greateft evil to the greateft good; to bring forth mercy by the execution of juftice, and the fhedding of blood: how furprising and, aftonifhing is this! The ultimate end and defign of Chrift's facrifice was the honour of God in our redemption. Chrift fought not his own glory, but the glory of him that fent him, Joan viii. 50. He fought the glory of his Father in the fal