....4..4..

what the Almighty intended in the revelation of himself which he made to Mofes, "Who will by no means clear the guilty ?" Does not this mean, that

he will not clear them without fatisfaction made to his injured juftice and holiness? Is it not said, that, to finners as fuch, "Our God is a consuming fire?" Did not the controverfy between him and his creatures. commence with the first transgression? Is not the breach perpetually widened by the commiffion of actual fins? Our iniquities have feparated between us and, our. God; they have concealed his face and favour from us, and provoked his wrathful indignation. * • But

1

*There can be no right judgment made of the nature and demerit of fin, without a due confideration of the nature and holiness of HIM against whom it is committed. Nothing, therefore, will state our thoughts aright concerning the guilt and demerit of fin, but a deep confideration of the infinite greatnefs, holinefs, righteoufnefs, and power of God. To which we may add, that God, in dealing with finners, acts not as to the effects of these properties of his nature, but on a preceding contempt of his bounty, grace, and mercy; as it is impoffible that fin fhould come into the world but by the contempt of thefe; for, antecedently to all poffibility of finning, God communicates the effects of his goodness and bounty to the creation; and in reference to those fins which are against the gospel, the effect of his grace and mercy.

ན་》ནབ་ས་ར་པ

But let me confider, How can I hope for reconciliation with the offended Majesty of heaven? Will the Lord be pacified by my prayers, by my tears, by my refolution to perform new obedience, or by my actual endeavours to difcharge the duties incumbent upon me? Will the fire of God's dif pleasure be quenched by any fufferings, or any forrows of mine? Alas! there is nothing in any of these fufficient to fatisfy for my past offences. Could I, from this moment to the end of life, perfectly keep the law, without offending in any one point, by thought, word, or deed, this would only be performing immediate duty; it would be no payment of the past debt.'

What then, my dear fellow-finner, is there no remedy? In the writings of Mofes I find the institution of facrifices. Living creatures were, according to divine appointment, presented before God; their blood was fhed, and their flefh was confumed by fire upon the altar. These facrifices certainly muft respect fin, and an atonement to be

made

This is that which will give us a due measure of the guilt and demerit of fin. We are to look upon it as a contempt of infinite goodnefs, bounty, grace, and mercy and as rifing up against infinite greatness, holinefs, righteoufnefs and power. Then we fhall view it as it is.'-Dr. Owen, on Heb. x. 30.

...44.

made for it. What other end could be defigned by the effufion of blood in the fervice of the living God? But it was impoffible that the blood of bulls and of goats fhould really take away fin. This however is done by the blood of Jefus Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit,, offered himself without fpot to God. We were by nature the enemies of God, and children of wrath. Millions of actual tranfgreffions had exposed us ftill more to his awful indignation. If peace and reconciliation were not made for us, we could not expect to be accepted of him, or to receive any token of favour from him. *

The
I

** 'It was a great work to make peace with God for finners, to make atonement for fin, and establish our reconciliation with God. This doctrine is the life and spirit of our religion, the centre wherein all the lines of it meet. "God forbid that I should glory fave in the cross of our Lord Jefus Chrift." Those perfons by whom a conftant confideration of this is neglected, are ftrangers to the animating fpirit of that religion which they outwardly profefs. And therefore Satan employs all his artifices to divert the minds of men from a due attention to it. To this cause we afcribe much of the devotion of the Romanifts, which effectually draws off the mind, not only from a fpiritual contemplation of the excellency of Chrift's offering, and its glorious benefits, but also from the

ra

The Sovereign of the universe designed to ma nifeft his righteousness, his grace, his love, and his wisdom in the fubftitution of his only begotten Son in our room, that he might suffer and die for our fins, the juft for the unjust, and so bring us to God. "He fet forth Jefus to be a propitiation,

to declare his righteousness." The righteousness

rational comprehenfion of the truth of the doctrine concerning what he did and fuffered.

On the other hand, the Socinians please themfelves and deceive others with a vain imagination that. there was no fuch work to be done. If we may believe them, there was no atonement to be made for fin, no expiatory facrifice to be offered, no peace thereby to be made with God, no compensation to his justice, by answering the sentence and curse of the law due to fin. But furely, if they had not an unpardonable mixture of confidence and dexterity, they could not find out evasions against so many exprefs divine teftimonies as are directly oppofite to their fond imagination, even tolerably to fatisfy their own minds; or to fuppofe that any man can with patience bear the account they must give of the agency, the prayers, the tears, the cries, the fears, the wreftling, and the travail of the foul of Chrift, on their fuppofition. But we may pafs them over at prefent, as enemies of the crofs of Chrift; namely, of that crofs whereby he made peace with God for finners.

· Others

of God was most eminently glorified in the reconciliation wrought out by the Mediator, when he made an atonement for us by his blood. Herein alfo is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be the propitiation

for

• Others there are, who by no means approve of any diligent inquiry into these myfteries. Our whole duty, according to them, is to be conversant in morality but as for this fountain of grace; this basis of eternal glory; this demonstration of divine wisdom, holinefs, righteousness and love; this great difcovery of the purity of the law, and of the vileness of sin; this firft, great, principal fubject of the gofpel, and motive of faith and obedience; this root and cause of all peace with God; of all fincere and uncorrupted love towards him; of all joy and confolation from him-they think it scarcely deferves a place among the objects of their contemplation. But fuch as are admitted into the fellowship of the fufferings of Christ, will not fo eafily part with their immortal intereft therein. I fear not indeed to fay, that he is likely to be the best, the most humble, the most holy and fruitful chriftian, who is most diligent in fpiritual inquiries into this great mystery of reconciliation by the blood of the cross, and in the exercise of faith about it. Nor is there any fuch powerful mean of preferving the foul in a conftant abhorrency of fin, and watchfulness against it, as a due apprehenfion of what it coft the Son of God to make atonement for it.'-Dr. Owen, on Heb. v. 7. abridged by Dr. Williams.